Architectural Designs - Custom Home Design Plans Knowledge Base

Custom Home Design Plans Knowledge Base

Are there any online programs that i can download to design custom floor plans for homes? I just want to put the ones that I have on paper onto the computer but I haven't been successful so far. Is there any program that I can use to put these blueprints on the computer that are free?

I own wooded land in the US, What steps do I need to follow to have a custom home built? I have never purchased a home or had one built, and I do not want to buy what is commonly called a "custom home" in a cookie cutter subdivision. I have ideas for the design on the home and plan to be involved in the design and construction process. I just need to know how to get started.

How much would architect design fees be for a 3br/3ba off-grid home in rural Central California? My husband and I are planning on building a second home on a very long-term basis. This home will most likely be where we'll retire to. We'll have to do this in stages for financial reasons. We're planning on buying a large piece of rural property, and having a well-planned, mostly-to-fully off-grid home designed that is simple but beautiful and not too large (between 1800sf - 2400sf). We'd love to do a prefab, but, depending on the nature of the land, it might have to be a custom design. I just have no clue as to what architectural fees could be. Thanks for any feedback on this.

How do i unlink text in Wordpress? House Plans Online-Custom Home Designs-Home Plan Modifications-Light Commercial Plans On our Contact us page in wordpress-these phrases appear in Blue because they are linked to other pages How do I unlink them

WHere to Buy Home Blueprints In NORTH CAROLINA? I am looking to purchase home blueprints, would like to know where to find Pre drawn plans at a reasonable price as well as someone who can custom design plans for a good price.

What are the limitations in designing a custom Type-V home? Hi there, I want to build a small (1000 sq.ft.)home on a TIGHT budget. I just want alot of open space, like a loft, but I'd also like HIGH ceilings, maybe slanted ceilings, plant shelves, inset lights or track lighting, maybe a couple of columns, etc. I'm told that a Type-V home is easy to get plans approved (the home will be in Los Angeles) and approvals can take over a year if the home is complex and the plans needs to be changed several times. What cool stuff can and can't be done to Type-V standards? I've got a Type-V sheet, but I don't understand all the technical stuff. I'll get a builder to do the real plans, but I've got to give him a starting point. Feel free to point me to books/web sites, etc., and through in some ideas! Thanks!! Hi there, I want to design my own small (1000 sq.ft.)home on a TIGHT budget. I just want alot of open space, like a loft, but I'd also like HIGH ceilings, maybe slanted ceilings, plant shelves, inset lights or track lighting, maybe a couple of columns, etc. I'm told that a Type-V home is easy to get plans approved (the home will be in Los Angeles) and approvals can take over a year if the home is complex and the plans needs to be changed several times. What cool stuff can and can't be done to Type-V standards? I've got a Type-V sheet, but I don't understand all the technical stuff. I'll get a builder to do the real plans, but I've got to give him a starting point. Feel free to point me to books/web sites, etc., and through in some ideas! Thanks!!

How can My business be advertise in the local yellow page and internationally.? Locally in the areas of Building Designer, Home Design and Planning, Drafting Services, Custom Residence. And Internationally in the Architect area.

Custom design Tattoo? Hello, I planned to get a tattoo on my birthday.... Already I got my back,chest and right arm done.... This time its goin to be my left arm....half sleeve... I'd like you guys to suggest me some place(www) where I can get my custom design done.... Reason....my artist is not at home...he is on tour...he will be back exactly on my birthday(16th May)....so I planned to get the design done by someone.....

Where can I find free used magazines...? I am looking for anything related to architect, house designs, house plans, wood projects, home designing magazines or books. I can not afford subcriptions and I would love to take old to new magazines/books in good condition for my interest, but where can I find them? I tried posting on Craigslist, and no luck Some of the magazines that I am interested are: Architectural Digest Dwell Residential Architect Fine Homebuilding Custom Home Remodeling Interior Design Architecture Week Architecture House Beautiful This Old House Fine Woodworking I am also looking for any books including house plans, style of homes, modern buildings, styles of architecture and more. I also perfers bigger lots of magazines/books to make it worth the trip.

Someone who is able to give a definite answer: Do we owe them for the "plans"? We are in the process of building a custom home. We came up with the design of the house ourselves (my husband is a Structural Engineer). Anyway, we were initially going to go with a particular builder who said they could do it for XX dollars. We gave them our design, they gave it to their architect to draw up. He did. Long story short, we have decided NOT to go with this builder because in the three months that we have been dealing with them, their price has continually changed (ie: price per square foot went up $47!!). Each visit, they tell us something different. They are now trying to tell us we owe them $4600 for the plans (it was initally $2500). We do not have a contract with them. Do we owe them for the plans?

Could I get some details about designing my own custom home? Please note, designing my own house, everything I want, this is all theoretical. Alright, listen. First, don't tell me "YOU are NUTS, that is WAY expensive." I already know that. I'm pretty young right now, but I've always wanted to grow up to be an architect and interior designer, and I've already proven to be good at it, but 15 - 20 years in the future I hope I can have my own custom house, which has been my dream. I know it will cost a LOT of money, but remember, this is all theoretical. I want a 3600 sq ft house, and it'll maybe cost around $150 - $200 per square foot. Doing the math, it can range from $540,000 to $720,000. Then I need to take into consideration the costs of things like appliances, furniture, all the good stuff I'd want in my backyard, yeah yeah. I want it to be in a location not in a neighborhood or anything, but on an open land that is not too far from a town in Metro Detroit. Dunno how much location would cost, or the land, or the furniture (There's gonna be tons of that) or getting electricity, water, sewer system etc. in, and I need to know the total cost, so I can make a good estimate of how much money I'll want in the long run - my plan is to work for X amount of years until I can afford to have my own dream house, then continue working until retirement. So, I need to make an accurate guestimation of how much I'll need to save up before making that dream come true, and I know it'll take years and over a million dollars and all, but remember, theory, not realistic, so go nuts. Any ideas? I want to know costs for specific things, too, mainly things I wouldn't know about. Adding in, it doesn't matter, I wanted to know about what I asked, not about that. And if you think 3600 sq ft is small then you are snobby and rich.

Desperately seeking architect/website for small,inexpensive.functional,budgeted home for retired couple.? Most websites specialize in "custom design" We just want small, functional home. Most designs we visit are all the same! We are on strict budget and have ideas, that feel we could include in basic type. You have to feel the "vibe" , would like something different than everyone else has, and love a round house which we have seen on the interent The manufacturere is on wrong side of the USA to make cost efficient to ship materials. We plan to relocate in Washington State.. We are looking for websites or any assistance that can come our way.

Opinions On Custom, Home-Made Styrofoam/Grout Gecko Tanks Scapes.? This is just pretty general really, more opinion based, maybe even inspirational to you? I've really gotten to like the idea of people's home made Gecko habitats. Most I have seen are made from grout and Styrofoam, while others are made from insulating foams. Of course, all finished with sealants and paints for a good look, some with added glued sand for traction. Personally I think they look pretty neat. I was kind of wondering more so three things on them; 1) Are any of the materials used actually dangerous? I know they all say like non toxic, but grout for example, I don't see as being that great if it say chips or something? 2) how would this work with heat lamps and under tank heaters? For example with under tank heaters would they actually hold/conduct the heat well? 3) how would you clean them? Would it maybe be worth having a thin layer of substrate on the floor too that gets changed, or just take out the grouted layout and clean it? But yeah, just some opinions on the usefulness etc. of it all would be nice. If they are more practical/natural for a Gecko etc., just general thoughts really. Here's some I have been looking at: http://www.captivebredreptileforums.co.uk/vivarium-design/38974-leopard-gecko-vivarium-design.html my personal favourite; seems very well planned and natural. http://geckoforums.net/showthread.php?t=47761 Very simplistic and natural.. I don't like how its exposed foam though - dangerous to the Gecko if it decides to have a nibble? http://geckoforums.net/showthread.php?t=70163 VERY intuitive! I just think at the end its over crowded and doesn't provide enough floor space for a Gecko. (also, if it's possible to have it fully grouted, as well as a fully grouted floor without substrate, perhaps this could be an alternative for sand lovers as it looks very sandy still and save some Gecko lives?) Definitely a future career for any good, creative people! You could call yourself like Gecko-Scapes or something xD

Would you hire this architect? I am in the midst of planning to build a custom home for my family and am considering hiring Dominick Tringali Architects as the architect for the home design. Has anyone ever used their service? Check them out at www.dtarchitects.com.

What sites can I go to to find plans, suggestions, and services for constructing a classic two-story library? It's always been my dream to have a two floor library with custom built-in shelves, one or more spiral staircases, a balcony, and other features that make it feel truly classic. I like lots of nooks and niches for chairs, reading areas, computers, and other media. Basically, I'd like two design a home where one wing would be a two floor library. Any suggestions on where to go or who could help me with that? If this was so easy to find on google, I wouldn't have bothered asking. It's difficult to find layouts and pictures of classic home libraries. If you have some examples, feel free to post them.

How can I find some discussion groups about building an energy efficient home ? My wife and I are early in the design phase of planning to build an energy efficient custom home in western Oregon. We have the land, water, power & septic are in, and the site is approved to be built on. We have a designer, and know roughly the layout. It will be around 2400 sq ft. on one level. Construction cost : under $280,000 ( not inc. land ). If we had the money, we'd have ALL the bells and whistles , but we don't. We'd like it to meet "ENERGY STAR " efficiency standards . We get Natural Gas. We have lots of wood that blows down every year. We will have either a wood furnace or wood stove. Considering ground source heat pump, PV solar panels, foam or rice hull insulation. No straw bales/ concrete slabs/ radiant floor heat. What's the best way to get the most bang for the buck ? Thanks ,

How Do I Sell Electronics In-State & Nationwide? My husband and I own a consulting business that is based in Johnson County Kansas. Currently, we design custom system proposals and plans for people, but do not sell or install the equipment. We want to transition the business to also do the selling and installation of the custom home electronic systems that we design. We have had several customers request this in other locations nationwide. How do we do this legally? What licenses or permits do I need? What do we need to file? I contacted the KS Dept of Revenue, Secretary of State's Office, KS Business Center, and the County. No one seems to know. They keep referring me to the other one and I am going around in circles!!! I know someone has to know! Electronic Integrators are not new! People sell and install these systems all the time. Can anyone help me? Any advice or info would be great! Thanks!

where can I find plans to build a rolling library ladder? You can buy the ladders, and even have them custom made, but they cost close to 1,000. I know how to build an angled ladder. But I am building a loft bed (6 feet high), and I want to have an angled ladder that travels back and forth. I want it to be safe, and similar in design to the ones at the library, barnes & noble etc. What hardware would I need, and can I get it at Home depot or Loewes? I am open to interesting ideas.

Whats wrong with my HTML code? Very frustrating!? Hi there, I am taking this online class and the teacher is not helpful and met taking this class online was just a huge mistake. Please look at the below code and let me know whats wrong with it. Its all messed up! More so the second table data tab. <title>dHome Intro</title> </head> <body> dHome Inc. is the leading manufacturer of dome structures in the world. Our domes are built to exacting standards using the highest quality materials. We've been building domes for over 35 years and have a proven track record of providing quality homes at reasonable prices. <table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="224" height="348"; float: right"> <tr> <td width="20"><img src="back3.jpg" &nbsp</td> <td width="200"> <img src="back4.jpg" font-size: 12; font-family: sans-serif; color: white">Why build a dome house? Domes are stronger and safer than conventional homes, and their design provides more stability against hurricanes, tornados, and earthquakes. Dome houses are also more energy efficient. A dome home has approximately 30 to 50% less roof and wall area exposed to the elements than conventional homes, resulting in reduced energy costs. The spherical space also provides for a natural air flow, minimizing cold spots and increasing interior comfort. </td> <td width="30"><img src="back5.jpg" &nbsp</td> </tr> A dome house provides you with a totally new living experience in a spacious and open environment. Imagine a curved ceiling more than 20 feet high with skylights bringing the beauty of the outdoors into your home. We provide plans for eight different domes, ranging from a 36' model providing 1000 square feet of living space, to a 48' diameter model covering over 1800 square feet and containing a loft capable of supporting a master bedroom. Each plan includes options for customized triangular windows using annodized aluminum frames with thermal break rubber seals, and argon filled insulated glass. Custom plans are also available upon request. </body> </html> Thanks so much! <html> <head> this is at the top of my assignment...i just forgot to paste it.

Architectural or Mechanical Engineering Possibilities? Will i be able to get into a good architectural or mechanical engineering school with a 3.05 gpa but i haven't taken my sats yet which i plan on getting at least 650 on the math and 550 on the english/writing? If i can get into a good school which do i have a better success rate in starting my own mechanical engineering company building something or architectural engineering company designing custom homes for rich people

Computer Repair Business Names? I am planning to open a computer repair business dealing mainly with computer maintenance, custom built systems, and web design. I plan to start it from working at home and then taking it bigger if I am successful. I am looking for a name that is catchy but still pertains to my business and its possible growth. I live in Wythe County, Virginia, so use this information if needed.

Which major should i choose? Will i be able to get into a good architectural or mechanical engineering school with a 3.05 gpa but i haven't taken my sats yet which i plan on getting at least 650 on the math and 550 on the english/writing? If i can get into a good school which do i have a better success rate in starting my own mechanical engineering company building something or architectural engineering company designing custom homes for rich people

how to deal with a depressed dissrespectful 17yr old? About a Month ago my husband and I decided to let his younger sister move in with us to help us offset the cost of daycare so we Both could work and survive (daycare out here is about $600/mo full time flat rate) but having her here seems to be more stress then its worth she rarely comes out of her room she doesn’t help clean and when I cook dinner and call for her she waits until all of us are done and then comes down to eat and leaves all the stuff out she has a potty mouth and my 3 year old is walking around saying stuff that is not appropriate. She made plans about moving back home with her father 2 weeks after moving here one week after we took her to MI to see our family (her mother) and friends. Her friend is suppose to come get her on Saturday and she never bothered to tell us, we found out from looking at her myspace profile I seriously think that she never planned on telling us ever and was just going to run away, and now she is on her myspace talking about “nosey b****es need to stay outta my s***” and much worse I told my husband about it and that I think she was directing it twords me and he told me I am to nosey and need to mind my business and leave her alone he is the type that would just let her run away and not even sweat about where she is or what she is doing where I am caring and like to try to make people happy but nothing I do makes this girl happy I take her shopping cook foods she likes and let her move into my daughters room b/c it was bigger I even bought her paint to paint her room the color she wanted and let her paint over the custom design I did for my daughter. I don’t have any idea about what to do with her anymore and sure could use some ideas her best friend is a 28 year old woman and her 7 year old daughter that live back where she moved from, i would like to think that this woman is guiding her but i dont think she is. my husband and her father are just alike they would rather warn her and let her live her life and learn her lesson the hard way. and because of this i look like the bad person when i try to "controle" her. her mother tries to help guide her but that is hard to do when she lives so far away she dont eventalk to her older sister or mother anymore b/c they try to guide her and give her bounderies. i want to help her but shes has been on her own her whole life relying on her friends to pay her way whenever they do anything (with the exception of her needs her father provided the basics when her friends didnt) now that shes with us she just sits in her room talking on the phone or on the computer she dont have her licence or a car or ever had a job.

Dose anyone have any idea of rough estimate fees from engineers in Southern California? I'm planning to design & build a log cabin in Southern California; with residential characteristics in the project; wondering if anyone with first hand expirience knows of engineer fees: such as fees from Electrical, Plumbing, & Stuctural Engineers; in as far as plan reviews/drawings/cunsulting fees/paper work: I will be drawing the plans myself; they need to cordinate w/ my plans (I'm an architectural draftsman; using CAD) & I will cordinate w/my logging company's log plans; wanting to leave the architect out of my venture. Plans: 1600-2010 square feet; two story, 2 ded, 2 bath. My request based on design aspects of the engineers; not the building/construction portion: aiming to shoot for a custom log home that needs to go thru the/my City/County. Any advice, tips, or shortcuts anyone can give me I would really appriciate it. Thanks.

Kitchen Design ideas? I am having a home built and starting everything from scratch, I would like a few ideas. We have custom oak cabinetry being made, we can pick the stain color. We are planning on having just vinyl flooring, it will have stainless steel appliances. It will have a formica counter top. So my question is, What is a nice combination of stains/counter colors/floor design to compliment each other. I like rich colors, clean lines and a nice flow. The flooring will flow from the kitchen to the bathroom and laundry room also. Any idea would be nice.

How do you avoid buying "too much house" but still getting one that's got class and visual appeal? How does a person who plans on living alone in a new house find a house that isn't too big but still has plenty of visual appeal and some classy amenities? For example, granite countertops, cherry wood cabinets, walk-in closets, large garage, "rock wall" design around the base exterior of the home, etc...... these things could easily be built into an 1,100-sq-foot home, but it is definitely not done so frequently, at least not that I've been able to find. I do not need a 2,000-sq-foot home, but apparently that is what you have to buy in order to get such features. And I know that people can have custom homes built, but I'm concerned that it would be a hassle. I'd rather not have the expense of the extra unnecessary square footage, i.e., purchasing it, heating it, insuring it, etc. Any recommendations or information/experience to share?

What's the average cost of a custom wrought iron staircase? We are going to build our dream home and I'd like to have a ballpark figure to add to our budget. I know the costs vary from standard to premium designs. Our house plan has a curved staircase and I am picturing my stair rails with a continuous intricate scroll design. Does anyone out there have any clue on what it might cost? Thanks! Thanks, Dave. If your costs were indeed fair market/average, that makes me a happy woman. I was hoping that the cost would be about 10-12 thousand dollars or below.

Ideas/Advice for small-business based on Copyrighted idea? I would like to start a small (home-based) business custom-building models/replicas based on a character from a popular TV series. Can anyone recommend the proper procedures required that would ensure that ALL copyrights are respected? Do I contact the studio involved in making the series to get their permission? Should I hire an attorney for this? ANY info or advice would be greatly appreciated! (p.s. I plan to offer my custom-made models within a specially-designed glass case. Can anyone ALSO recommend a company I can contact to build these cases for me??)

Planning to buy a custom built computer and here are the spefications, is it good? What you think its worth? ASUS M4A785TD-V EVO Motherboard (Socket AM3/DDR3 RAM) AMD 620 Propus 2.6GHz Quad-Core Processor OCZ Obsidian DDR3 1600 RAM (4GB total; 2x2gb) Samsung Spinpoint F3 500GB Hard Drive Corsair 650TX Power Supply (650w) Raidmax Smilodon Case Blu-Ray Drive (Reads Blu-Ray, Burns DVD/CD w/ Lightscribe) Windows 7 Home Premium (64-Bit) w/ CoA I will provide more specifications for the hardware at the bottom of the description. Motherboard Brand ASUS Model M4A785TD-V EVO CPU Socket Type AM3 CPU Type Phenom II / Athlon II / Sempron 100 Series FSB 2600MHz Hyper Transport (5200 MT/s) North Bridge AMD 785G South Bridge AMD SB710 Number of Memory Slots 4×240pin Memory Standard DDR3 1800(O.C.)/1600(O.C.)/1333/1066/800 ECC,Non-ECC,Un-buffered Memory Maximum Memory Supported 16GB Channel Supported Dual Channel PCI Express 2.0 x16 2 x PCIe 2.0 x16 (blue @ x16 mode,gray @ x4 mode) PCI Express x1 1 PCI Slots 3 PATA 1 xUltraDMA 133/100/66 for up to 2 PATA devices SATA 3Gb/s 5 SATA RAID 0/1/10/JBOD Onboard Video Chipset ATI Radeon HD 4200 GPU SidePort Memory - onboard 128MB DDR3 1333 memory Audio Chipset VIA VT1708S Audio Channels 8 Channels LAN Chipset Realtek RTL8112L Max LAN Speed 10/100/1000Mbps Rear Panel Ports PS/2 1 Video Ports D-Sub + DVI HDMI 1 x HDMI USB 1.1/2.0 6 x USB 2.0 IEEE 1394 1 x IEEE 1394a eSATA 1 x eSATA 3Gb/s S/PDIF Out 1 x Optical Audio Ports 6 Ports Onboard USB 6 x USB 2.0 Onboard 1394 1x 1394a Form Factor ATX Dimensions 12.0" x 9.6" Power Pin 24 Pin Processor Brand AMD Processors Type Desktop Series Athlon II X4 Model ADX620WFGIBOX CPU Socket Type Socket AM3 Core Propus Multi-Core Quad-Core Name Athlon II X4 620 Operating Frequency 2.6GHz Hyper Transports 4000MHz L2 Cache 4 x 512KB Manufacturing Tech 45 nm 64 bit Support Yes Hyper-Transport Support Yes Virtualization Technology Support Yes Voltage 0.925-1.425V Thermal Design Power 95W Hard Drive Brand SAMSUNG Series Spinpoint F3 Model HD502HJ Packaging Bare Drive Interface SATA 3.0Gb/s Capacity 500GB RPM 7200 RPM Cache 16MB Average Seek Time 8.9ms Average Latency 4.17ms Form Factor 3.5" RAM Brand OCZ Series Obsidian Model OCZ3OB1600LV4GK Type 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM Capacity 4GB (2 x 2GB) Speed DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Cas Latency 9 Timing 9-9-9-24 Voltage 1.65V Multi-channel Kit Dual Channel Kit Heat Spreader Yes Features Obsidian Black XTC Heatspreader Power Supply Brand CORSAIR Model CMPSU-650TX Type ATX12V / EPS12V Maximum Power 650W Fans Thermally controlled 120mm fan PFC Active Main Connector 20+4Pin +12V Rails Single PCI-Express Connector 2 x 6+2-Pin SATA Power Connector 8 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Modular No Efficiency > 80% Energy-Efficient 80 PLUS Certified Over Voltage Protection Yes Input Voltage 100 - 240 V Input Frequency Range 50/60 Hz Input Current 10A Output +3.3V@24A,+5V@30A,+12V@52A,-12V@0.8A,+5VSB@3.0A MTBF >100,000 Hours Approvals UL, CE, CB, TUV, FCC, CCC Dimensions 5.9"(W) x 3.4"(H) X 5.9"(L) Connectors 1 x Main connector (20+4Pin) 1 x 12V(4/8Pin) 8 x peripheral 8 x SATA 2 x Floppy 2 x PCI-E Features Ultra-quiet 120mm double ball-bearing fan delivers excellent airflow 80%+ energy efficiency at 20%, 50% and 100% load condition for less heat generation and lower energy bill 99% Active Power Factor Correction provides clean and reliable power to your system Universal AC input 90~264V automatically scans and detects the correct voltage Dedicated single +12V rail offers maximum compatibility with latest components

Will I need a Business License or a Tax ID number, or is it considered a hobby? I am a stay at home mom. I want to turn my love of desiging into a small "hobby" type career. Im starting a small home based business of Inviations / Announcements etc. All Graphic Based. I custom design or "clients" can choose from a series of already made templates made BY ME, and I give the rights of the JPG out and they can print wherever they want however they want etc... Do I need a Business license to do this? or a Tax ID number? i dont plan on charging out the rear end for services, and I heard you need to make a certain amount in a year to be made to get a Tax ID number... how does this whole thing work? TIA!

What kind of job would be good for an aspie to get in the city centre? (Norwich)? I have mild aspergers syndrome, and my main problem is social interaction. I'm 17 and in my first year of college and I really want to start earning some money. I used to work on a farm sorting the eggs out on the conveyor belt and letting the chickens out. I had to quit this job due to a house move from the countryside to Norwich. Now I'm here, I have no idea where to go to find what kind of suitable jobs are available. The only jobs I've seen advertised are jobs in shops, meaning lots of social interaction and I'd probably panic, especially during busy times. I would either want a job working at home (I was planning on making custom doctor who toys in various shapes and designs until I realised that even the really good customs on ebay weren't selling) or a saturday or sunday job (the farm work was every sunday). Working at a shop counter aside, I have no idea what kind of work is available for me in the middle of a city. I'm fine with noise, as long as I don't really have to interact with people much. The library in Norwich is massive, I don't think I'd be able to keep up D:

What should I look for in a Professional grade computer for Graphic Design and photo editing? I need a computer suitable for a small business. In this business I will be editing photos with adobe photo shop. I will combine clients personal family photos/slides/home movies etc. into a digital photo disc set to music and I may include animation and flash. Potential clients will also be businesses who hire me to edit photos for printing in booklets, flyer's, brochures etc. or for web sites. I am making a savings plan / budget for when I finish college next year. I need some input. I don't really know what you need for a professional grade computer. Is there an online custom computer builder that I can chat with?

What should I look for in a computer that will be used for photo editing and graphic design? I need a computer suitable for a small business. In this business I will be editing photos with adobe photo shop. I will combine clients personal family photos/slides/home movies etc. into a digital photo disc set to music and I may include animation and flash. Potential clients will also be businesses who hire me to edit photos for printing in booklets, flyer's, brochures etc. or for web sites. I am making a savings plan / budget for when I finish college next year. I need some input. I don't really know what you need for a professional grade computer. Is there an online custom computer builder that I can chat with?

I like what this other website has! Is it JavaScript or Flash? How can I create something similar on my site? I own a very small semi-custom homebuilding company. As you know, in this economy, the real estate industry is suffering. I don't have the money now for a graphic designer. I want something like the "Design Your Own Home" feature on this site: http://www.tollbrothers.com/DYOH.html?plan=somerset_868_ Are there online tutorials of how to do something like this? I would love to have a similar feature for my website. Serious answers only please.

Would it be illegal if i painted and sold electronics with Louis Vuitton designs? I was wondering if I could put LV designs onto custom painted electronics and sell them without being sued basically. HAHA. Its a home project thing and my intention is not to say that it was authentically endorsed by LV. It just has LV on it...just a novelty thing. Was planning to sell it on ebay. Thanks guys! ARGH. I knew it. Haha. What about other things like the Pokemon Pokeball? or Manga Titles such as Bleach & Naruto? Video game Titles? e.g. Final Fantasy? Dang guys! that pretty much wraps everything up. I'm probably going to have to do my own designs...which are unrecognizable and hold no value...Guess i'm going underground.

Would you say this is a good thing? I am 18 and very much interested in death customs and I have planned my funeral, designed my own mausoleum (at age 10), and told people what I want them to wear at my funeral. Like I said, this has been a life long obsession for me and I started thinking about mausoleums at around 10 after I visited one. I think they're beautiful and want to have mine built before I die so that I can see it and be in it and paint the walls and decorate it in a way that I like. I told everyone that if I were to die young, I want them all to wear black at my funeral and I want the ladies to have black lace veils in their faces and black gloves and men in tuxedos and I want everything to be very fancy and sophisticated. I have never met another person my age who has an interest in mausoleums and funeral-planning. I think I would be a great funeral director and I've always wanted to own my own funeral home and be the one who fixes everything and greets people, but I don't have enough money to start a business. Do you think that being obsessed with death and the beauty of it to be a good or a bad thing?

Which laptop is better for gaming and general use? Alienware m18x PROCESSORIntel® Core™ i7 2670QM 2.2GHz (3.1GHz w/Turbo Boost, 6MB Cache) OPERATING SYSTEMGenuine Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64bit MEMORY8GB Dual Channel DDR3 at 1600MHz (4DIMMS) VIDEO CARDDual 2GB GDDR5 AMD Radeon HD 6990M AMD CrossFireX HARD DRIVE1 TB RAID 0 (2x 500GB) 7200RPM SATA 3Gb/s WIRELESS + BLUETOOTHIntel® Advanced-N 6200 a/g/n 2x2 MIMO Technology and Bluetooth 3.0 INTERNAL OPTICAL DRIVESlot-Load Dual Layer DVD Burner (DVD+-RW, CD-RW) SOUND OPTIONSInternal High-Definition 5.1 Surround Sound Audio SYSTEM COLORSpace Black Anodized Aluminum PERSONALIZED PLATEPersonalized Plate ALIENFX COLORPlasma Purple OS CUSTOMIZATIONAlien Cyborg PRE-INSTALLED SOFTWARESteam and Portal™ Factory Installed WIRELESS MICERazer Naga Epic MMO Gaming Mouse - Black My Accessories WARRANTY AND SERVICE1 Year Basic Plan SECURITY SOFTWARENo Anti-Virus Software Selected ALSO INCLUDED WITH YOUR SYSTEM LCD PANEL18.4-inch WideFHD 1920 x 1080 WLED NAMEPLATEThank you for Purchasing Alienware POWER ADAPTERSAlienware M18x 330W A/C Adapter Adobe Reader Acrobat SWAdobe Acrobat X Reader Total:$2958 OR THE Origin eon 17 Laptop Exterior: Laptop Exterior: Design Neurons The ORIGIN Difference: Truly Custom PCs. Want a component that is not on our site? Call or email us and we will include it in your system. Included Chassis and Primary Display: EON17 platform with Intel Core i7 and 1920 x 1080 Full HD 17.3" LED Backlit Glossy Screen Included Graphics Card: Dual 1.5GB GDDR5 NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460M (3GB of Total GFX) Processor: Intel Core i7 950 3.06GHz LGA 1366 Quad-Core Processor (8MB L3 Cache) Included Memory: 6GB Triple-Channel DDR3 SDRAM at 1333MHz - 3 X 2GB Included RAID Configuration: None Included Hard Drive One: 250GB 7200rpm SATA 300 Hard Drive Included Hard Drive Two: None Included Hard Drive Three: None Included Optical Drive: 8X DVD+/-R/RW/4X +DL Super-Multi Drive & Software Included Audio: Integrated High-Definition Audio and up to 7.1 Channel support Included Networking: Intel Centrino Ultimate-N 6300 Wireless dual-band module - Up to 450 Mbps (Bluetooth on EON17 only) Bluetooth: Internal Bluetooth Module Included SuperSpeed USB 3.0: Two SuperSpeed USB 3.0 Ports Included Media Card Reader: 9-in-1 Media Card Reader Included Finger Print Reader: Integrated Biometric Fingerprint Reader Included Web Camera: Built-in 2.0 Megapixel Video Camera Included Operating System: Genuine MS Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit Edition Included Warranty: 1 Year Part Replacement and 45 Day Free Shipping Warranty with DVD image and Lifetime Support/Labor Included No Dead Pixel Guarantee: No Dead Pixel Guarantee Included ORIGIN Maximum Protection Shipping Process: Standard Packaging Included Additional Charges: Free ORIGIN T-shirt: ORIGIN T-shirt XLarge Mouse: Cyborg R.A.T 7 Gaming mouse total:$3052 Ps i would like it to run supreme commander 2 on max settings

Advice on living with in-laws in a different country? Hello everyone, i moved to Holland 8 months ago with my 12 yr. old daughter. We moved to the Netherlands because my fiance is Dutch,and he also has an obligation to his employment/er in Holland. He also purchased a home that will soon be completed in 2 months. When we initially decided to relocate, the plan was to live w/ his parents until the house was completed. I was a little hesitant about the idea, but having faith that it will all work out. I knew of the challenges that would be ahead, but never imagined how difficult it really would be. New language, living in a village (coming from a large city), surrounded by people constantly hounding me w/many questions, and treating me like i'm ignorant as i do things differently (as im from a different country) My daughter is doing good. She speaks the language almost fluently- has friends and is doing good in school. She often expresses to me how difficult it is for her to understand in school sometimes. She too has her moments of frustration. I am struggling w/not being able to find a job as the language poses as a barrier for me at the moment. I worked in healthcare for 11 years and had a wonderful job in my home country. I'm studying the language continuously, and doing my best the only way i know how. In a village where I don't know anyone, and being so far away from family and friends, and not being able to drive here yet-has really been a challenge. We live w/ my future in-laws, and my S-in law comes almost everyday w/ her children. She often tries to conveniently drop the kids off to me, or sends the kids upstairs to me while she drinks coffee w/ her mother and aunts. The kids are very wild- biting, kicking, scratching, and throwing things. Its very difficult to tend them when once again the languge is a barrier. I find myself being very reclusive at times, and it is very saddening to me. I cry almost every day in private. It is also hard for me to eat dinner w/ the family when I know my F-in law makes rude remarks about me, as my daughter is able to understand what he says-even if i don't. My M-inlaw is a very nice lady, but alot of times i feel like she wants things to be her way entirely. Ex: when my fiance and I were planning our kitchen set up, she immediately sat at the table and made herself the 3rd party (as if we had to get her approval) of our ideas. Needless to say we did not design our kitchen the way we had initially planned. What we ended up doing with it was more of her idea. My fiance is the youngest of her children, i do understand it is difficult to let him go, but he is afterall is 35 yrs old. He tells his mother every time we have a disagreement, or she listens to us intently with both ears wide open. She then calls her daughter to let her daughter know that my fiance and I had an arguement. She then feels like it is sometimes her right to have "talks" with me, as she does at times w/ other members of the family. She also finds it necessary to explain everything to me from cleaning, to ironing, to mothering my child. She has also casually insulted me in front of the family, and passing it off so "nicely." I'm very tolerant of the situation, but it is emotionally painful to live this way. I do everything I possibly can think of to lighten the situation. In a village there is not alot to do to escape the situation. I go on several bike rides per day, walks through the woods until I have blisters on my feet. It is custom here that coffee drinking is at 10am and 5 pm everyday. Alot of times I can't even bring myself to be comfortable to sit at the table while several conversations go on in another language, and often at times during coffee drinking time i'm the subject of the conversation w/ my fiances aunts, mother and sister. I do what I can to be polite and bear it. I wait for the days to pass, so that night will come and I can sleep w/o thinking about the living situation. I do my best to hide my feelings, although i have expressed to my fiance many times how unhappy i am living w/his parents. The tears easily stream down my face from day to day, even writing this article. I feel so alone here, but I have so much faith that it will get better. Can anyone offer me any advice on my situation? Please help me decide what to do.

Sources for hard to find building materials? We are designing our own home, and the style is a little unconventional. We will be using sustainable/low-impact construction methods for the most part. We need help finding sources for some materials that we plan to use. Here is a list of what we are looking for. If anyone can point us to a seller, preferably with a website, that provides any of these, please answer! -We will need large, round doors and windows. The windows *must open.* Can be custom if need be. -Bulk amounts of rice husks. -Reclaimed barbed wire fencing -Hydraulic lime plaster

Starting a business in Tulare? Hey all, So this has been on the back burner for at least 5 years now. I've been wanting to start up a business in Tulare, CA. for quite some time, but have been unable to for scholastic reasons (college). What I've been planning to do is open up a media based business in that town. I'm a computer scientist and animator and have been wanting to combine those two skills together to create a small but viable business in game design or 3D animation. The reason why I chose tulare was because of cheaper property over Los Angeles and it's also my home town. The business will consist of two parts. The studio/offices where the programing and animation work occurs and then the sales side. This side will consist of selling goods and services to people. On this side of the building I was thinking of having an internet bar, people pay $8 for 24 hours of internet, also we will be selling software games, cameras and computer parts. In the center I was planning to have some sort of bar that has a soda fountain people could buy custom virgin drinks to have while they kick back and surf the web or buy goods. Now, my question is, is to fill the holes... I want a business that I can work with, mostly in my animtion and computer science fields, but we would in theory be so far out from major businesses like LA or silicon valley (we're RIGHT in the middle) how would one go about being competitive in a vice like that? Also, how would a business like the one I just mentioned (split, cooperate and sales) function, I thought it would be a great idea to bring in money from the sales side to help with the cooperate side. Is that a good idea. Also who do I talk to in order to break ground to build. Also, who do I talk to to get a LOAN to start building. As you can see I still have many unanswered questions on how to execute this business so all you business folk out there, if you could lend a helping hand on this and give some suggestions, I'll take anything you have!

I want to make a series of desk lamps and then sell them in art galleries...What do I need to do legally? Basically, I don't want to sell lamps that burn peoples homes down. On top of that, I don't want to design/make/sell lamps that burn peoples homes down and then get taken to court and lose everything. Can someone help me out? I'm pretty sure all products sold in the US need some type of "OK" that they can be sold and are safe. What if it is more of an art project though? These are very artsy lamps that I plan on selling mainly on custom orders I've received from friends of friends. What do I need to do to be covered legally? Thanks, Ed

Help with my barbie sweet 16 partay!? (:? Hi! I'm turning sixteen in less then three months and we've been planning this party for at least 3 months now. it's going to be at a venue at the hilton with a roon (all glass windows) overlooking the ocean. the color scheme is hot pink black and accented with white and silver. my entrance is going to be me walking into tik tok by kesha and i will be singing it while my closest friends are dancing a dance i choreographed. i still think my entrance might need a little more tho. any ideas? the tables will be decorated with white table clothes and black overlays with pink sequins, etc layed accross them the center pieces will be different barbies (ex: beach barbie on a base with sand and shells then down to the uniform pink/black base all have). i think my moms also getting custom candy bars made to put on the tables. the center of the venue is the dance floor and i think i need something to kind of play this up other then empty space. any idea? in the same allignment as the dance floor will be the dj and my cake on a light up table. the cake will be like a wedding cake but made to fit the theme. after the intro everyone will be able to get food which includes mini burgers, mini hotdogs, fries, sweet potatoe fries, chicken nuggets, etc. i wanted to stick with a mini BARBIE Q food theme. there will also be the normal beverages and special pink lemonade as my special barbie drink. after eating and maybe dancing a little i will do my father daughter dance to "butterfly kisses" and "the hustle" mixed and then my friends and i will perform a coupled dance to "barbie girl". i will then light the 16 candles with my close people. its the whole tradition thing where u call up people who are important to you. we are making a candelabra because my mom used to do party stuff. it will be black and pink feathers then mirror then glittery black then pink letters spelling out my name and silver candles. after that we will do the cake and i will cut the cake to "sugar sugar". after that everyone will pretty much be free to dance all night. other details include there will be a candy and ice cream bar and they will be decorated with zebra table clothes and black overlays with a pink bottom with pink stuff on top. the guests will be allowed to take candy home as a favor. is there anything else i could do favor wise? oh and finally i have my design for invites but i want something special with them. like something touchable other then a piece of paper to say ur gonna have an awesome night. one girl ik is giving out masks for a masqurade. i dont want to ask my parents to buy 100 barbies but just something. i also wanted to get "barbie" to hand them out but that might be considered "distracting" at school so how would i do that? thanks in advance i didnt ask you to judge my family's prosperity. were not rich. most of these things are already set in stone the only things i need help with is maybe something i can give out with my invite and a cool way to do it @gotoitalyforloveandlife thanks for not being rude about it. the big sweet 16 is more of a family tradition.

Should we stop "Catch and release" of illegal aliens? Do you agree with the statements made here? Do you seriously feel this is a danger to society when they are released? Do illegals who are released back into society show up for their hearings with Immigration officials? Or do they relocate to other parts of the country? ########################################################## The Return Of Catch-And-Release The Federale Agent August 7, 2009 No trout, but illegal aliens. John Morton, the head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, who never arrested a single criminal or illegal alien, has decided to make over ICE's detention policy and proceedure. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/08/06/AR2009080601543.html?hpid=moreheadlines He claims that this is not about changing the numbers in custody, but about the conditions. "The changes should not reduce the number of ICE detainees, he said. 'This is not about whether or not we detain people, this is about how we detain them,' he said. " However, the story goes on to say this: "ICE will stop sending families to the T. Don Hutto Residential Center near Austin, a 512-bed former state prison. The Bush administration highlighted the family detention facility as a symbol of its immigration crackdown efforts, but it became a lightning rod for litigation over the government's treatment of children. ICE will instead begin relocating the 127 remaining detainees at Hutto, Morton said. Some will be transferred to an 84-bed former nursing home in Pennsylvania, the Berks Family Shelter Care facility, while others will be considered for programs that do not require detention, such as home monitoring, he said. He said no deadline to complete the moves has been set." So, the real plan is to release as many illegal aliens as possible. The return to catch-and-release. Just part of the Obama plan to increase the number of illegal aliens in the U.S. for the upcoming amnesty. Morton claims that a new system will be built based on not holding illegal aliens with other criminals. "'With these reforms, ICE will move away from our present decentralized jail approach to a system that is wholly designed for and based on civil detention needs and the needs of the people we detain.'" No plan to centralize the holding of illegal aliens from the current decentralized system that uses empty beds in state and local prisons and jails can save money either. To build and staff a series of new large custody facilities near large cities such as New York, San Francisco, Phoenix, Dallas, Atlanta, etc. will cost billions. Obviously the government cannot afford that right now and it certainly cannot be build int 3-5 years. So the solution will inevitably be to release the aliens. The majority of whom will become fugitives as over 90% of aliens released before their hearing never show and 99% become fugitives after being ordered deported. Given that the Bush Amnesty included absconders, this appears to be the plan to reward illegal immigration and absconders.

Is this a good way to make the economy grow? I have noticed a lot of middle eastern countries right now are going through aggressive construction projects. I happen to run into this one in saudi arabia called "king abdullah economic city" I will post a quote about it ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Overview With a total development area of 173 km² (66.8 sq mi), the city is located along the coast of the Red Sea, around 100 km north of Jeddah, the commercial hub of the kingdom, the city is also going to be approximately an hour away from the holy Islamic cities of Mecca and Medina by car. And as reportedly an hour away of all Middle Eastern capital cities by plane. The total cost of the city is $80 billion (around SR 300 billion), with the project being built by Emaar, The Economic City. A Tadawul-listed company created from Emaar Properties, a Dubai-based Public Joint Stock Company and one of the world’s largest real estate companies, and SAGIA (Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority) which is the main facilitator of the project. The city, along with other five economic cities, is a part of an ambitious "10×10" program to place Saudi Arabia among the world’s top ten competitive investment destinations by the year 2010, planned by SAGIA. The first stage of the city is planned to be completed in 2010, while the whole city is going to be fully completed by 2020. The city will help diversify the oil-based economy of the kingdom by bringing direct foreign and domestic investments. The city also will help create up to one million jobs for the youthful population of the country, where 40% of the population are under 15. City Components Industrial Zone The Industrial Zone is estimated to cover 63 million m². The 4,400 hectares of land will be dedicated to industrial and light manufacturing facilities - identified as key growth drivers for the Saudi economy - and can now host 2,700 industrial tenants. The jobs created estimated to be in industrial and light industries (330,000); research and development (150,000); business and office (200,000); services (115,000); hospitality (60,000) and education and community services (145,000). The "Plastics Valley" planned within the zone will use raw materials readily available in Saudi Arabia to produce high-end plastics used in automotive, biomedical, construction and food packaging industries. Sea Port The Sea Port is estimated to cover 13.8 million sq meters, it will be the largest in the region with a capacity of over 10 million*twenty-foot equivalent units*(TEU) of containers per year. The port will have facilities to handle cargo and dry bulk, and will be equipped to receive the world’s largest vessels. Another key component of the Port will be a custom-built Hajj Terminal with a capacity to handle up to 300,000 pilgrims on their way to Mecca and Medina, the holy Muslim cities. Residential Areas The residential area is planned to include 260,000 apartments and 56,000 villas. It will be divided into smaller residential, commercial, and recreational areas. Parks and green spaces will be used extensively throughout the residential area. The area is estimated to be home for around half a million residents, and another ten thousand tourists. Each district would feature its own public amenities, such as mosques, shops and recreational venues. Sea Resort The Resorts Area will be designed to feature services and amenities, hoping to draw both local and international tourists. Set to become a major destination on the map of Saudi Arabia and the map of the Middle East as a whole. It will include hotels, shopping centers and other recreational facilities. The number of hotel rooms and suites are proposed to be 25,000 hotel rooms in more than 120 hotels. Among the tourist draws at the resort is an 18-hole golf course, with training facilities and driving range. An equestrian club, yacht club and a range of water sports will also be constructed. Educational Zone The Educational Zone is a part of plan to bring the Saudis capabilities and aspirations in technology to globally competitive levels. The Educational Zone is planned to consist of multi-university campus flanked by two Research & Development parks. The multi-university campus is designed to accommodate 18,000 students, and a 7,500 faculty and staff members. Central Business District The Central Business District (CBD) is planned to offer 3.8 million m² of office space, hotels and mixed-use commercial space. The Financial Island, within the CBD, has now been doubled in area to cover 14 hectares of land, which will be the largest regional financial nerve center for the world’s leading banks, investment houses and insurance groups. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ This project cost 80 billion dollars! That is a lot of money. Do you guys think this is a good way to make the economy grow

Which Laptop should i get?? Ok so im planning to get a laptop this weekend, since my financial is coming in this week. anyways i found two that im deciding to get. heres the the first one: http://www.bestbuy.com/site/HP+-+Pavilion+Laptop+/+AMD+A-Series+Processor+/+14%26%2334%3B+Display+/+4GB+Memory+-+Pewter/3441428.p?id=1218402865010&skuId=3441428 Its an HP for $379.99 Product Features •VISION Technology by AMD Makes your digital photos and Web sites look amazing and gives a boost to digital music playback. •AMD Dual-Core A4-3300M Accelerated Processor with AMD Radeon HD 6480G discrete-class graphics For efficient system processing. •4GB DDR3 SDRAM For multitasking power, expandable to 8GB. •Multiformat DVD±RW/CD-RW drive Burn custom DVDs and CDs. •14" LED-backlit high-definition widescreen display With BrightView technology and 1366 x 768 resolution showcases movies and games in stunning clarity. •320GB hard drive (5400 rpm) Offers spacious storage and fast read/write times. •AMD Radeon HD 6480G graphics Feature up to 2037MB total video memory for lush images. HDMI output for connection to an HDTV. •Built-in webcam with microphone Makes it easy to video chat with family and friends. •Multiformat media reader Supports Secure Digital, MultiMediaCard, Memory Stick, Memory Stick PRO and xD-Picture Card formats. •3 high-speed USB 2.0 ports For fast digital video, audio and data transfer. •Built-in high-speed wireless LAN (802.11b/g/n) Connect to the Internet without wires. •Built-in 10/100Base-T Ethernet LAN With RJ-45 connector for quick and easy wired Web connection. •Weighs 4.7 lbs. and measures just 1.4" thin For easy portability. •Long battery life Of up to 6 hours and 30 minutes to give you more time away from an outlet. •Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit Edition operating system preinstalled Provides a stable platform for word processing, Web navigation, gaming, media storage and more. •Software package included With CyberLink PowerDVD, Adobe Reader X and more. Also includes Microsoft Office Starter 2010 (product key card required for activation; sold separately). •ENERGY STAR qualified Designed to use less energy and meets strict energy efficiency guidelines set by the Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Department of Energy. •AMD, AMD Arrow logo, AMD Athlon, AMD PowerNow!, HyperTransport and combinations thereof are trademarks of Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. •HP Imprint finish in pewter For a sleek look. Heres my second choice: its also an HP but this one is $399.99 and a bigegr hard drive: http://www.bestbuy.com/site/HP+-+Pavilion+Laptop+/+AMD+A-Series+Processor+/+15.6%26%2334%3B+Display+/+4GB+Memory+-+Pewter/3441359.p?skuId=3441359&id=1218402880816 What's Included •HP Pavilion Laptop / AMD A-Series Processor / 15.6" Display / 4GB Memory / 500GB Hard Drive •6-cell lithium-ion battery •65W AC adapter •Software: CyberLink PowerDVD; Adobe Reader X and more •Owner's manual Product Features •VISION Technology by AMD Makes your digital photos and Web sites look amazing and gives a boost to digital music playback. •AMD Dual-Core A4-330M Accelerated Processor with AMD Radeon HD 6480G discrete-class graphics For efficient system processing. •4GB DDR3 SDRAM For multitasking power, expandable to 8GB. •Multiformat DVD±RW/CD-RW drive Create custom DVDs and CDs. •15.6" LED-backlit high-definition display With BrightView technology and 1366 x 768 resolution showcases movies and games in stunning clarity. •500GB hard drive (5400 rpm) Offers spacious storage and fast read/write times. •AMD Radeon HD 6480G discrete-class graphics Feature up to 2037MB total video memory for lush images with vivid detail. HDMI output for connection to an HDTV. •Built-in HP webcam with microphone Makes it easy to video chat with family and friends. •Multiformat media reader Supports Secure Digital, MultiMediaCard, Memory Stick, Memory Stick PRO and xD-Picture Card formats. •3 high-speed USB 2.0 ports For fast digital video, audio and data transfer. •Built-in high-speed wireless LAN (802.11b/g/n) Connect to the Internet without wires. •Bluetooth 2.0 interface Easily link with other Bluetooth-enabled devices, such as a mobile phone or MP3 player. •Built-in 10/100Base-T Ethernet LAN With RJ-45 connector for quick and easy wired Web connection. •Weighs 5.2 lbs. and measures just 1.4" thin For easy portability. Full-size keyboard allows easy data entry. •HP Imprint finish in pewter Offers a stylish appearance. •Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium Edition 64-bit operating system preinstalled Provides a stable platform for word processing, Web navigation, gaming, media storage and more. •Software package included With CyberLink PowerDVD, Adobe Reader X and more. Microsoft Office Starter 2010 also included (product key card required for activation; sold separately). •ENERGY STAR qualified Designed to use less energy and meets strict

What do you use for alternative Healing? Does anyone use any devices that help with pain and stiffness.I won the pendent made by Fusion- Excel and Nano Zero Point Energy Wand .They are both FAKE they do nothing for me. Does anyone have the- PYRO-ENERGEN is the first and latest electrostatic therapy device designed in eradicating the paranormal wave (dark matter/energy), which are the cause of various diseases. It is an efficient professionally designed unit, thoroughly tested, and guaranteed to operate per specifications. PYRO-ENERGEN produces static electricity and has been proven to eradicate the the paranormal wave (dark matter/energy), which is the cause of various diseases such as HIV/AIDS, cancer, herpes, hepatitis, and influenza. Static electricity exists naturally in our atmosphere and is essential to living things and beneficial to repel the world's maladies, thus, there are no side effects at all. Static electricity is therefore one of the best elements for the treatment of diseases. Stanley Kolt is a healer/so he calls himself and invented a device Apparatus for the treatment of arthritis utilizing magnetic field therapy includes an adjustable voltage source adapted to be connected to a source of line voltage and a coil connected to the adjustable voltage source. The coil is wound on a bobbin having a centrally disposed opening suitable for receiving therein appendages of a human being as well as body portions thereof. The bobbin is formed of copper or one of its alloys.Electromagnetic Energy and Scalar Energy. ONLY $3000 to by and it is custom made for your waist. Very secretive- no one ever heard on him on the WEB.Stanley Kolt. Here is his web...if your interested.You have to live in NYC he comes to your home and makes you sign a contact you can rent the device or buy it it is called The Coil so I told by a friend in NYC. Looks like a hool la hoop with and attachment connecting to electricity. Does that mean is give you radiation though the wiring. You have to stay still for 2 hours a day to get a treatment I was told.Sound odd. Looks like a hool la hoop with and attachment connecting to electricity. Does that mean is give you radiation though the wiring. You have to stay still for 2 hours a day to get a treatment I was told.Sound odd.On the web does not answer my one email to him with a few questions. I do no plan to buy this unless their is proof. http://gangrenetreatments.com/credentials.html

Need some to proofread my autobio? My name is Preston Lee Veal and I'm an ideal seventeen year old highschool student. I was born on May 5, 1990 at Natchez Regional Hospital in Natchez Mississippi. I am the youngest of five children. My parents are Eddie Darnell Veal Sr. and Jacqueline Cage-Veal. My father is a security guard at Fayette, Mississippi Correctional Facility, while my mother is a faithful home maker. She has been a very valued and lovely asset to our family. I begin my education journey at the Woodville Head Start Center at the tender age of four. I attended Kindergarten at Wilkinson County at the age of five, and continued my educational experience through the sixth grade. I received many awards in my elementary years such as Perfect Attendance, Honor Roll and Outstanding Acheivement. I finished my education in 2001-2002 school year. I attended middle school, particulary my seventh grade school year, at Wilkinson County High School in 2002-2003. The William Winans Middle School opened and gained accrediation in the community of Centreville during the summer of 2003. I attended William Winans Middle School in Centreville Mississippi during my 2004- 2005 school year. I entered there when I was in the 8th grade at the age of 13. Prior to my freshmen year at Wilkinson County High school, I enrolled in a summer program called Upward Bound. Upward Bound is a educational program designed to assist low income second generation highschool student with financial and educational needs. During my tenure at Upward I obtain vauable life skills as well as positive social skills. Thanks to the help of the Upward Bound program I was able to unlock my full educational potential. I'm currently completing my final semester at the Upward Bound program. From 2004 until the present I've been attending Wilkinson County High School. I'm currently a senior there anticipating graudating in May 23, 2008. My years at Wilkinson County High have been very intriguing and well spent. During my tenure at Wilkinson County High I have met a lot of revoultionary minds, both in the staff and the student body. One very influential teacher, as far as my educational experience, was Mrs. Joyce Norwood, my highschool English teacher. This wity and remarkable women has motivated me to work diglienty at achieving my goals. She also kept me entertained with her excellent sense of humor. My home life is very exciting. I enjoy playing basketball, swimming, doing new and interesting activites and hanging out with my family. I enjoy going to church every chance I get. I'm a member of Wilson Community Pentecostal and The First Pentecostal Church of Sanders Fork. My churches are a great community of wonderful people dedicated to the advancement of the community and the Christian faith. try to live a life that is pleasing to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. During my stay at my churches I have learned alot about the Bible as well as church customs and laws. Immediatly after high school I plan to attend Jackson State University. Jackson State is a coeducational institution located in Jackson, Mississippi JSU is supported by state legistalitve appropriations, which are supplemented by student fees and private grants. Jackson State University is the university of my choice because of its strong academic background, and rich African American heritage. While at Jackson State University I plan to major in History and minor in Music. After I graduate from Jackson State University I plan to either futher my education or acquire a teaching occupation.

And.. don't you think the voters in Az. WILL vote this in? Ariz. cops may get immigrant law role Plan advances in state House; aim is to give issue to voters By Howard Fischer Capitol Media Services Tucson, Arizona | Published: 04.09.2008 advertisementPHOENIX — Arizona voters could get a chance to require law-enforcement officers to ask people they arrest if they're in the country legally. If they're not, police would have the option of referring them for prosecution, or if no charges are pursued, turning them over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. HCR 2039, given preliminary approval in the state House on Tuesday, also would prohibit state or local governments from having any policies, official or otherwise, forbidding officers to ask those they stop about their immigration status. The proposal also would make it a crime just to be in the country in violation of federal immigration laws. The measure still requires final House action and Senate approval before it goes to voters. Rep. Russell Pearce, R-Mesa, proposed the measure as a ballot item because Gov. Janet Napolitano has previously vetoed a similar plan — a tactic he used before for several items voters approved in 2006 after the governor had nixed them. At the center of the debate is what role local law enforcement should play in dealing with the estimated 450,000 or more people in Arizona illegally. Pearce said rank-and-file police officers want the ability to stop and detain illegal entrants. But he said many have been stymied by city or police-chief policies that block them from routinely asking about immigration status. If someone believes city or county officials are directing their officers not to enforce the law, that person can sue. Judges would be empowered to withhold all state funding "until the policy is rescinded" or levy penalties of $5,000 per day. The measure provoked a sharp debate among lawmakers over how active a role state and local governments should take in dealing with illegal immigration. Rep. Tom Chabin, D-Flagstaff, said legislators should not be telling individual communities what the priorities of police should be. "Some like the way the local sheriff does 'sweeps' to capture dishwashers and people who clean our homes and people who work in nursing homes," he said, referring to Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio. "Law enforcement in local jurisdictions has their own discipline and their own community standards and their own sense of priority of keeping the streets safe and capturing real criminals," he said. "We don't see the need, then, of this nuisance legislation." And Rep. Tom Prezelski, D-Tucson, said this kind of law would be "wasting the time of our police departments." Pearce said the measure is not designed to make police become immigration enforcers. He said the measure, if it becomes law, would ensure that individual officers have the ability to pursue cases in which they believe people are here illegally, even if all they do is to call ICE. But Rep. Steve Gallardo, D-Phoenix, said nothing in the law now bars officers from notifying federal officials of people they suspect are illegal entrants. "This takes it a step further," he said. "It gives them a whole 'nother layer of responsibility," Gallardo continued, which would create more work for police who should be fighting crime. Rep. John Kavanagh, R-Fountain Hills, countered that police are now blocked from using their judgment because of local "sanctuary" policies, which he said tie the hands of officers. "During the course of a routine patrol, arrest or summons, they should be able to pursue the immigration status of anybody they have reason to believe is here illegally," Kavanagh said. "If they would do this, we would have plenty of enforcement, and we would be removing many dangerous criminals from our streets. "Let's give the local cop on the street the authority to use his instincts and his training to take care of this problem," he said. "Illegal immigration should not be exempt from scrutiny and good-faith efforts of our law-enforcement officials to crack down on this problem."

Wedding Dress Website? What's the best free way to advertise my business? I get wedding dresses made for people, custom made and we either copy a picture they send us or help them design something. Its just a small home run business but the quality is flawless. i just don't know how to get the name out there without spending more than i have as i'm planning my own wedding at the same time. Answer to the question about putting more than one dres together we can do anything people ask for. We do all types of dresses people as for, we have a website that explains everything, i don't htink i can post it on here though. We made a dress where we used the top of one dress on the bottom of another, you can also add straps, different beading, colours...anything!! You can email me if you want to know any more. :)

Help me come up with a business name for Custom made art work? Hi, I am looking for ideas on what to call my custom made art work business. I specialise in creating Vintage inspired bus/tram scrolls on canvas, They make a stylish addition to your home or a memorable gift and are a great way to personalize your travel memories or anything that is meaningful for you. Designs also can be anything for example Overseas Travel destinations you have been to, Places you want to travel to (great motivation to plan holidays), Favourite Bands, Favorite Movies, Custom Birth announcement...my creations are endless. Looking at an online business with heavy advertising through social networking sites. Just need a catch name. I was thinking something along the line of...Thumbprint Design..."For Artwork that's as individual as you are"? Help

Why have we not heard about this - ICE Passport fraud, money laundering and potential terrorist findings? from the inside By Douglas J. Hagmann, Director 7 March 2011: There is a major national scandal involving multiple breaches of national security by Muslims working in federal law enforcement positions that you are not hearing about. Through a combination of blatant stupidity and calculated design, we’ve let our enemies inside our “house” and access to our security, which is a situation that is purposely being downplayed by this administration and the complicit corporate media. The very people who embrace the ideology that caused the mass slaughter of 3,000 people nearly ten years ago has infiltrated nearly all agencies of our government, from the White House to various law enforcement agencies. A glimpse into the realm of corruption and the “impossible allegiance” by practicing Muslims to their job and country is illustrated by a recent case involving an intelligence analyst working for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). It should provide an indication of just how bad things really are. Last week, testimony in a Texas courtroom disclosed that an investigation of “alleged misconduct” by a “small number of employees” of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is in progress. By all accounts, that is an understatement that is being reported by the corporate media. According to sources close to this author, the number of government employees under suspicion is growing, and most involve Muslims working in positions of law enforcement authority and oversight. The corporate media is reporting this story as a case of passport fraud or misuse by an official within the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), but it’s a much larger story that involves high-ranking officials, alleged monetary kickbacks, blackmail and potential money laundering for Middle Eastern terrorists. Washington, DC ICE Deputy Director placed on administrative leave On 4 February 2011, the deputy director of intelligence at the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) headquarters in Washington, DC, James M. WOOSLEY, was escorted from his desk and the building by internal security officials. He was placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of an investigation of allegations that he helped an employee submit fake travel expense reports and received financial kickbacks from the employee for his efforts. As of this date, he has yet to be charge with any crime. As WOOSLEY was being escorted from ICE headquarters, FBI agents were raiding the El Paso, Texas home of WOOSLEY subordinate ICE Supervisory Intelligence Analyst Ahmed Adil ABDALLAT, 63, a naturalized U.S. citizen from Jordan and a devout Muslim. The FBI seized nearly 30 boxes of evidence from ABDALLAT’s residence. A federal detention hearing for ABDALLAT was held last week, who is also accused of using a diplomatic passport to make eight-(8) unauthorized personal trips to Jordan since 2007. The trips are at the center of the allegedly fictitious travel reimbursements. In March 2007, ABDALLAT was issued a diplomatic passport to perform various temporary duties in U.S. Embassy’s in several foreign countries. The indictment alleges that on eight different occasions since October 2007, ABDALLAT used his official diplomatic passport for the personal purposes to travel to and from Amman, Jordan. Half of those trips occurred after ABDALLAT was permanently assigned to duty in El Paso and no longer had any official embassy, mission or related activities which required overseas travel on a diplomatic passport. During last week’s detention hearing, FBI Special Agent Shannon N. Enochs testified that WOOSLEY, ABDALLAT ‘s supervisor for over ten years, approved ABDALLAT ‘s bogus travel expenses that totaled about $123,000. WOOSLEY and another official reporting to him were reportedly paid about $58,000 as part of the plan. According to the FBI agent’s testimony, ABDALLAT would compensate WOOSLEY by personal checks, wire transfers to his bank account, and left him cash at his DC headquarters. ABDALLAT also allegedly paid some of WOOSLEY’s mortgage and utility bills. ABDALLAT, meanwhile, reportedly made three wire transfers to Jordan totaling over a half-million dollars during a six-month period. An investigation being headed by the FBI has also linked ABDALLAT to Jordanian bank accounts containing an additional $1.2 million. According to sources close to this author, the investigation involves additional officials within the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, and financial transactions that exceed the total amounts identified to date. http://homelandsecurityus.com/archives/4602

Jews of Iraq? What about them? Of course I thought I knew it all back then. I was young, idealistic, and more than willing to put my life at risk for my convictions. It was 1947 and I wasn't quite 18 when the Iraqi authorities caught me for smuggling young Iraqi Jews like myself out of Iraq, into Iran, and then on to the Promised Land of the soon-to-be established Israel. I was an Iraqi Jew in the Zionist underground. My Iraqi jailers did everything they could to extract the names of my co-conspirators. Fifty years later, pain still throbs in my right toe-a reminder of the day my captors used pliers to remove my toenails. On another occasion, they hauled me to the flat roof of the prison, stripped me bare on a frigid January day, then threw a bucket of cold water over me. I was left there, chained to the railing, for hours. But I never once considered giving them the information they wanted. I was a true believer. My preoccupation during what I refer to as my "two years in hell" was with survival and escape. I had no interest then in the broad sweep of Jewish history in Iraq even though my family had been part of it right from the beginning. We were originally Haroons, a large and important family of the "Babylonian Diaspora." My ancestors had settled in Iraq more than 2,600 years ago-600 years before Christianity, and 1,200 years before Islam. I am descended from Jews who built the tomb of Yehezkel, a Jewish prophet of pre-biblical times. My town, where I was born in 1929, is Hillah, not far from the ancient site of Babylon. The original Jews found Babylon, with its nourishing Tigris and Euphrates rivers, to be truly a land of milk, honey, abundance-and opportunity. Although Jews, like other minorities in what became Iraq, experienced periods of oppression and discrimination depending on the rulers of the period, their general trajectory over two and one-half millennia was upward. Under the late Ottoman rule, for example, Jewish social and religious institutions, schools, and medical facilities flourished without outside interference, and Jews were prominent in government and business. As I sat there in my cell, unaware that a death sentence soon would be handed down against me, I could not have recounted any personal grievances that my family members would have lodged against the government or the Muslim majority. Our family had been treated well and had prospered, first as farmers with some 50,000 acres devoted to rice, dates and Arab horses. Then, with the Ottomans, we bought and purified gold that was shipped to Istanbul and turned into coinage. The Turks were responsible in fact for changing our name to reflect our occupation-we became Khalaschi, meaning "Makers of Pure." I did not volunteer the information to my father that I had joined the Zionist underground. He found out several months before I was arrested when he saw me writing Hebrew and using words and expressions unfamiliar to him. He was even more surprised to learn that, yes, I had decided I would soon move to Israel myself. He was scornful. "You'll come back with your tail between your legs," he predicted. About 125,000 Jews left Iraq for Israel in the late 1940s and into 1952, most because they had been lied to and put into a panic by what I came to learn were Zionist bombs. But my mother and father were among the 6,000 who did not go to Israel. Although physically I never did return to Iraq-that bridge had been burned in any event-my heart has made the journey there many, many times. My father had it right. I was imprisoned at the military camp of Abu-Greib, about 7 miles from Baghdad. When the military court handed down my sentence of death by hanging, I had nothing to lose by attempting the escape I had been planning for many months. It was a strange recipe for an escape: a dab of butter, an orange peel, and some army clothing that I had asked a friend to buy for me at a flea market. I deliberately ate as much bread as I could to put on fat in anticipation of the day I became 18, when they could formally charge me with a crime and attach the 50-pound ball and chain that was standard prisoner issue. Later, after my leg had been shackled, I went on a starvation diet that often left me weak-kneed. The pat of butter was to lubricate my leg in preparation for extricating it from the metal band. The orange peel I surreptitiously stuck into the lock on the night of my planned escape, having studied how it could be placed in such a way as to keep the lock from closing. As the jailers turned to go after locking up, I put on the old army issue that was indistinguishable from what they were wearing-a long, green coat and a stocking cap that I pulled down over much of my face (it was winter). Then I just quietly opened the door and joined the departing group of soldiers as they strode down the hall and outside, and I offered a "good night" to the shift guard as I left. A friend with a car was waiting to speed me away. Later I made my way to the new state of Israel, arriving in May, 1950. My passport had my name in Arabic and English, but the English couldn't capture the "kh" sound, so it was rendered simply as Klaski. At the border, the immigration people applied the English version, which had an Eastern European, Ashkenazi ring to it. In one way, this "mistake" was my key to discovering very soon just how the Israeli caste system worked. They asked me where I wanted to go and what I wanted to do. I was the son of a farmer; I knew all the problems of the farm, so I volunteered to go to Dafnah, a farming kibbutz in the high Galilee. I only lasted a few weeks. The new immigrants were given the worst of everything. The food was the same, but that was the only thing that everyone had in common. For the immigrants, bad cigarettes, even bad toothpaste. Everything. I left. Then, through the Jewish Agency, I was advised to go to al-Majdal (later renamed Ashkelon), an Arab town about 9 miles from Gaza, very close to the Mediterranean. The Israeli government planned to turn it into a farmers' city, so my farm background would be an asset there. When I reported to the Labor Office in al-Majdal, they saw that I could read and write Arabic and Hebrew and they said that I could find a good-paying job with the Military Governor's office. The Arabs were under the authority of these Israeli Military Governors. A clerk handed me a bunch of forms in Arabic and Hebrew. Now it dawned on me. Before Israel could establish its farmers' city, it had to rid al-Majdal of its indigenous Palestinians. The forms were petitions to the United Nations Inspectors asking for transfer out of Israel to Gaza, which was under Egyptian control. I read over the petition. In signing, the Palestinian would be saying that he was of sound mind and body and was making the request for transfer free of pressure or duress. Of course, there was no way that they would leave without being pressured to do so. These families had been there hundreds of years, as farmers, primitive artisans, weavers. The Military Governor prohibited them from pursuing their livelihoods, just penned them up until they lost hope of resuming their normal lives. That's when they signed to leave. I was there and heard their grief. "Our hearts are in pain when we look at the orange trees that we planted with our own hands. Please let us go, let us give water to those trees. God will not be pleased with us if we leave His trees untended." I asked the Military Governor to give them relief, but he said, "No, we want them to leave." I could no longer be part of this oppression and I left. Those Palestinians who didn't sign up for transfers were taken by force-just put in trucks and dumped in Gaza. About four thousand people were driven from al-Majdal in one way or another. The few who remained were collaborators with the Israeli authorities. Subsequently, I wrote letters trying to get a government job elsewhere and I got many immediate responses asking me to come for an interview. Then they would discover that my face didn't match my Polish/Ashkenazi name. They would ask if I spoke Yiddish or Polish, and when I said I didn't, they would ask where I came by a Polish name. Desperate for a good job, I would usually say that I thought my great-grandfather was from Poland. I was advised time and again that "we'll give you a call." Eventually, three to four years after coming to Israel, I changed my name to Giladi, which is close to the code name, Gilad, that I had in the Zionist underground. Klaski wasn't doing me any good anyway, and my Eastern friends were always chiding me about the name they knew didn't go with my origins as an Iraqi Jew. I was disillusioned at what I found in the Promised Land, disillusioned personally, disillusioned at the institutionalized racism, disillusioned at what I was beginning to learn about Zionism's cruelties. The principal interest Israel had in Jews from Islamic countries was as a supply of cheap labor, especially for the farm work that was beneath the urbanized Eastern European Jews. Ben Gurion needed the "Oriental" Jews to farm the thousands of acres of land left by Palestinians who were driven out by Israeli forces in 1948. And I began to find out about the barbaric methods used to rid the fledgling state of as many Palestinians as possible. The world recoils today at the thought of bacteriological warfare, but Israel was probably the first to actually use it in the Middle East. In the 1948 war, Jewish forces would empty Arab villages of their populations, often by threats, sometimes by just gunning down a half-dozen unarmed Arabs as examples to the rest. To make sure the Arabs couldn't return to make a fresh life for themselves in these villages, the Israelis put typhus and dysentery bacteria into the water wells. Uri Mileshtin, an official historian for the Israeli Defense Force, has written and spoken about the use of bacteriological agents. According to Mileshtin, Moshe Dayan, a division commander at the time, gave orders in 1948 to remove Arabs from their villages, bulldoze their homes, and render water wells unusable with typhus and dysentery bacteria. Acre was so situated that it could practically defend itself with one big gun, so the Haganah put bacteria into the spring that fed the town. The spring was called Capri and it ran from the north near a kibbutz. The Haganah put typhus bacteria into the water going to Acre, the people got sick, and the Jewish forces occupied Acre. This worked so well that they sent a Haganah division dressed as Arabs into Gaza, where there were Egyptian forces, and the Egyptians caught them putting two cans of bacteria, typhus and dysentery, into the water supply in wanton disregard of the civilian population. "In war, there is no sentiment," one of the captured Haganah men was quoted as saying. My activism in Israel began shortly after I received a letter from the Socialist/Zionist Party asking me to help with their Arabic newspaper. When I showed up at their offices at Central House in Tel Aviv, I asked around to see just where I should report. I showed the letter to a couple of people there and, without even looking at it, they would motion me away with the words, "Room No. 8." When I saw that they weren't even reading the letter, I inquired of several others. But the response was the same, "Room No. 8," with not a glance at the paper I put in front of them. So I went to Room 8 and saw that it was the Department of Jews from Islamic Countries. I was disgusted and angry. Either I am a member of the party or I'm not. Do I have a different ideology or different politics because I am an Arab Jew? It's segregation, I thought, just like a Negroes' Department. I turned around and walked out. That was the start of my open protests. That same year I organized a demonstration in Ashkelon against Ben Gurion's racist policies and 10,000 people turned out. There wasn't much opportunity for those of us who were second class citizens to do much about it when Israel was on a war footing with outside enemies. After the 1967 war, I was in the Army myself and served in the Sinai when there was continued fighting along the Suez Canal. But the cease-fire with Egypt in 1970 gave us our opening. We took to the streets and organized politically to demand equal rights. If it's our country, if we were expected to risk our lives in a border war, then we expected equal treatment. We mounted the struggle so tenaciously and received so much publicity that the Israeli government tried to discredit our movement by calling us "Israel's Black Panthers." They were thinking in racist terms, really, in assuming the Israeli public would reject an organization whose ideology was being compared to that of radical blacks in the United States. But we saw that what we were doing was no different than what blacks in the United States were fighting against-segregation, discrimination, unequal treatment. Rather than reject the label, we adopted it proudly. I had posters of Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, Nelson Mandela and other civil rights activists plastered all over my office. With the Israeli invasion of Lebanon and the Israeli-condoned Sabra and Shatilla massacres, I had had enough of Israel. I became a United States citizen and made certain to revoke my Israeli citizenship. I could never have written and published my book in Israel, not with the censorship they would impose. Even in America, I had great difficulty finding a publisher because many are subject to pressures of one kind or another from Israel and its friends. I ended up paying $60,000 from my own pocket to publish Ben Gurion's Scandals: How the Haganah & the Mossad Eliminated Jews, virtually the entire proceeds from having sold my house in Israel. I still was afraid that the printer would back out or that legal proceedings would be initiated to stop its publication, like the Israeli government did in an attempt to prevent former Mossad case officer Victor Ostrovsky from publishing his first book. Ben Gurion's Scandals had to be translated into English from two languages. I wrote in Hebrew when I was in Israel and hoped to publish the book there, and I wrote in Arabic when I was completing the book after coming to the U.S. But I was so worried that something would stop publication that I told the printer not to wait for the translations to be thoroughly checked and proofread. Now I realize that the publicity of a lawsuit would just have created a controversial interest in the book. I am using bank vault storage for the valuable documents that back up what I have written. These documents, including some that I illegally copied from the archives at Yad Vashem, confirm what I saw myself, what I was told by other witnesses, and what reputable historians and others have written concerning the Zionist bombings in Iraq, Arab peace overtures that were rebuffed, and incidents of violence and death inflicted by Jews on Jews in the cause of creating Israel. The Riots of 1941 If, as I have said, my family in Iraq was not persecuted personally and I knew no deprivation as a member of the Jewish minority, what led me to the steps of the gallows as a member of the Zionist underground? To answer that question, it is necessary to establish the context of the massacre that occurred in Baghdad on June 1, 1941, when several hundred Iraqi Jews were killed in riots involving junior officers of the Iraqi army. I was 12 years of age and many of those killed were my friends. I was angry, and very confused. What I didn't know at the time was that the riots most likely were stirred up by the British, in collusion with a pro-British Iraqi leadership. With the breakup of the Ottoman Empire following WW I, Iraq came under British "tutelage." Amir Faisal, son of Sharif Hussein who had led the Arab Revolt against the Ottoman sultan, was brought in from Mecca by the British to become King of Iraq in 1921. Many Jews were appointed to key administrative posts, including that of economics minister. Britain retained final authority over domestic and external affairs. Britain's pro-Zionist attitude in Palestine, however, triggered a growing anti-Zionist backlash in Iraq, as it did in all Arab countries. Writing at the end of 1934, Sir Francis Humphreys, Britain's Ambassador in Baghdad, noted that, while before WW I Iraqi Jews had enjoyed a more favorable position than any other minority in the country, since then "Zionism has sown dissension between Jews and Arabs, and a bitterness has grown up between the two peoples which did not previously exist." King Faisal died in 1933. He was succeeded by his son Ghazi, who died in a motor car accident in 1939. The crown then passed to Ghazi's 4-year-old son, Faisal II, whose uncle, Abd al-Ilah, was named regent. Abd al-Ilah selected Nouri el-Said as prime minister. El-Said supported the British and, as hatred of the British grew, he was forced from office in March 1940 by four senior army officers who advocated Iraq's independence from Britain. Calling themselves the Golden Square, the officers compelled the regent to name as prime minister Rashid Ali al-Kilani, leader of the National Brotherhood party. The time was 1940 and Britain was reeling from a strong German offensive. Al-Kilani and the Golden Square saw this as their opportunity to rid themselves of the British once and for all. Cautiously they began to negotiate for German support, which led the pro-British regent Abd al-Ilah to dismiss al-Kilani in January 1941. By April, however, the Golden Square officers had reinstated the prime minister. This provoked the British to send a military force into Basra on April 12, 1941. Basra, Iraq's second largest city, had a Jewish population of 30,000. Most of these Jews made their livings from import/export, money changing, retailing, as workers in the airports, railways, and ports, or as senior government employees. On the same day, April 12, supporters of the pro-British regent notified the Jewish leaders that the regent wanted to meet with them. As was their custom, the leaders brought flowers for the regent. Contrary to custom, however, the cars that drove them to the meeting place dropped them off at the site where the British soldiers were concentrated. Photographs of the Jews appeared in the following day's newspapers with the banner "Basra Jews Receive British Troops with Flowers." That same day, April 13, groups of angry Arab youths set about to take revenge against the Jews. Several Muslim notables in Basra heard of the plan and calmed things down. Later, it was learned that the regent was not in Basra at all and that the matter was a provocation by his pro-British supporters to bring about an ethnic war in order to give the British army a pretext to intervene. The British continued to land more forces in and around Basra. On May 7, 1941, their Gurkha unit, composed of Indian soldiers from that ethnic group, occupied Basra's el-Oshar quarter, a neighborhood with a large Jewish population. The soldiers, led by British officers, began looting. Many shops in the commercial district were plundered. Private homes were broken into. Cases of attempted rape were reported. Local residents, Jews and Muslims, responded with pistols and old rifles, but their bullets were no match for the soldiers' Tommy Guns. Afterwards, it was learned that the soldiers acted with the acquiescence, if not the blessing, of their British commanders. (It should be remembered that the Indian soldiers, especially those of the Gurkha unit, were known for their discipline, and it is highly unlikely they would have acted so riotously without orders.) The British goal clearly was to create chaos and to blacken the image of the pro-nationalist regime in Baghdad, thereby giving the British forces reason to proceed to the capital and to overthrow the al-Kilani government. Baghdad fell on May 30. Al-Kilani fled to Iran, along with the Golden Square officers. Radio stations run by the British reported that Regent Abd al-Ilah would be returning to the city and that thousands of Jews and others were planning to welcome him. What inflamed young Iraqis against the Jews most, however, was the radio announcer Yunas Bahri on the German station "Berlin," who reported in Arabic that Jews from Palestine were fighting alongside the British against Iraqi soldiers near the city of Faluja. The report was false. On Sunday, June 1, unarmed fighting broke out in Baghdad between Jews who were still celebrating their Shabuoth holiday and young Iraqis who thought the Jews were celebrating the return of the pro-British regent. That evening, a group of Iraqis stopped a bus, removed the Jewish passengers, murdered one and fatally wounded a second. About 8:30 the following morning, some 30 individuals in military and police uniforms opened fire along el-Amin street, a small downtown street whose jewelry, tailor and grocery shops were Jewish-owned. By 11 a.m., mobs of Iraqis with knives, switchblades and clubs were attacking Jewish homes in the area. The riots continued throughout Monday, June 2. During this time, many Muslims rose to defend their Jewish neighbors, while some Jews successfully defended themselves. There were 124 killed and 400 injured, according to a report written by a Jewish Agency messenger who was in Iraq at the time. Other estimates, possibly less reliable, put the death toll higher, as many as 500, with from 650 to 2,000 injured. From 500 to 1,300 stores and more than 1,000 homes and apartments were looted. Who was behind the rioting in the Jewish quarter? Yosef Meir, one of the most prominent activists in the Zionist underground movement in Iraq, known then as Yehoshafat, claims it was the British. Meir, who now works for the Israeli Defense Ministry, argues that, in order to make it appear that the regent was returning as the savior who would reestablish law and order, the British stirred up the riots against the most vulnerable and visible segment in the city, the Jews. And, not surprisingly, the riots ended as soon as the regent's loyal soldiers entered the capital. My own investigations as a journalist lead me to believe Meir is correct. Furthermore, I think his claims should be seen as based on documents in the archives of the Israeli Defense Ministry, the agency that published his book. Yet, even before his book came out, I had independent confirmation from a man I met in Iran in the late Forties. His name was Michael Timosian, an Iraqi Armenian. When I met him he was working as a male nurse at the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company in Abadan in the south of Iran. On June 2, 1941, however, he was working at the Baghdad hospital where many of the riot victims were brought. Most of these victims were Jews. Timosian said he was particularly interested in two patients whose conduct did not follow local custom. One had been hit by a bullet in his shoulder, the other by a bullet in his right knee. After the doctor removed the bullets, the staff tried to change their blood-soaked cloths. But the two men fought off their efforts, pretending to be speechless, although tests showed they could hear. To pacify them, the doctor injected them with anesthetics and, as they were sleeping, Timosian changed their cloths. He discovered that one of them had around his neck an identification tag of the type used by British troops, while the other had tattoos with Indian script on his right arm along with the familiar sword of the Gurkha. The next day when Timosian showed up for work, he was told that a British officer, his sergeant and two Indian Gurkha soldiers had come to the hospital early that morning. Staff members overheard the Gurkha soldiers talking with the wounded patients, who were not as dumb as they had pretended. The patients saluted the visitors, covered themselves with sheets and, without signing the required release forms, left the hospital with their visitors. Today there is no doubt in my mind that the anti-Jewish riots of 1941 were orchestrated by the British for geopolitical ends. David Kimche is certainly a man who was in a position to know the truth, and he has spoken publicly about British culpability. Kimche had been with British Intelligence during WW II and with the Mossad after the war. Later he became Director General of Israel's Foreign Ministry, the position he held in 1982 when he addressed a forum at the British Institute for International Affairs in London. In responding to hostile questions about Israel's invasion of Lebanon and the refugee camp massacres in Beirut, Kimche went on the attack, reminding the audience that there was scant concern in the British Foreign Office when British Gurkha units participated in the murder of 500 Jews in the streets of Baghdad in 1941. The Bombings of 1950-1951 The anti-Jewish riots of 1941 did more than create a pretext for the British to enter Baghdad to reinstate the pro-British regent and his pro-British prime minister, Nouri el-Said. They also gave the Zionists in Palestine a pretext to set up a Zionist underground in Iraq, first in Baghdad, then in other cities such as Basra, Amara, Hillah, Diwaneia, Abril and Karkouk. Following WW II, a succession of governments held brief power in Iraq. Zionist conquests in Palestine, particularly the massacre of Palestinians in the village of Deir Yassin, emboldened the anti-British movement in Iraq. When the Iraqi government signed a new treaty of friendship with London in January 1948, riots broke out all over the country. The treaty was quickly abandoned and Baghdad demanded removal of the British military mission that had run Iraq's army for 27 years. Later in 1948, Baghdad sent an army detachment to Palestine to fight the Zionists, and when Israel declared independence in May, Iraq closed the pipeline that fed its oil to Haifa's refinery. Abd al-Ilah, however, was still regent and the British quisling, Nouri el-Said, was back as prime minister. I was in the Abu-Greib prison in 1948, where I would remain until my escape to Iran in September 1949. Six months later-the exact date was March 19, 1950-a bomb went off at the American Cultural Center and Library in Baghdad, causing property damage and injuring a number of people. The center was a favorite meeting place for young Jews. The first bomb thrown directly at Jews occurred on April 8, 1950, at 9:15 p.m. A car with three young passengers hurled the grenade at Baghdad's El-Dar El-Bida Café, where Jews were celebrating Passover. Four people were seriously injured. That night leaflets were distributed calling on Jews to leave Iraq immediately. The next day, many Jews, most of them poor with nothing to lose, jammed emigration offices to renounce their citizenship and to apply for permission to leave for Israel. So many applied, in fact, that the police had to open registration offices in Jewish schools and synagogues. On May 10, at 3 a.m., a grenade was tossed in the direction of the display window of the Jewish-owned Beit-Lawi Automobile Company, destroying part of the building. No casualties were reported. On June 3, 1950, another grenade was tossed from a speeding car in the El-Batawin area of Baghdad where most rich Jews and middle class Iraqis lived. No one was hurt, but following the explosion Zionist activists sent telegrams to Israel requesting that the quota for immigration from Iraq be increased. On June 5, at 2:30 a.m., a bomb exploded next to the Jewish-owned Stanley Shashua building on El-Rashid street, resulting in property damage but no casualties. On January 14, 1951, at 7 p.m., a grenade was thrown at a group of Jews outside the Masouda Shem-Tov Synagogue. The explosive struck a high-voltage cable, electrocuting three Jews, one a young boy, Itzhak Elmacher, and wounding over 30 others. Following the attack, the exodus of Jews jumped to between 600-700 per day. Zionist propagandists still maintain that the bombs in Iraq were set off by anti-Jewish Iraqis who wanted Jews out of their country. The terrible truth is that the grenades that killed and maimed Iraqi Jews and damaged their property were thrown by Zionist Jews. Among the most important documents in my book, I believe, are copies of two leaflets published by the Zionist underground calling on Jews to leave Iraq. One is dated March 16, 1950, the other April 8, 1950. The difference between these two is critical. Both indicate the date of publication, but only the April 8th leaflet notes the time of day: 4 p.m. Why the time of day? Such a specification was unprecedented. Even the investigating judge, Salaman El-Beit, found it suspicious. Did the 4 p.m. writers want an alibi for a bombing they knew would occur five hours later? If so, how did they know about the bombing? The judge concluded they knew because a connection existed between the Zionist underground and the bomb throwers. This, too, was the conclusion of Wilbur Crane Eveland, a former senior officer in the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), whom I had the opportunity to meet in New York in 1988. In his book, Ropes of Sand, whose publication the CIA opposed, Eveland writes: In attempts to portray the Iraqis as anti-American and to terrorize the Jews, the Zionists planted bombs in the U.S. Information Service library and in synagogues. Soon leaflets began to appear urging Jews to flee to Israel. . . . Although the Iraqi police later provided our embassy with evidence to show that the synagogue and library bombings, as well as the anti-Jewish and anti-American leaflet campaigns, had been the work of an underground Zionist organization, most of the world believed reports that Arab terrorism had motivated the flight of the Iraqi Jews whom the Zionists had "rescued" really just in order to increase Israel's Jewish population." Eveland doesn't detail the evidence linking the Zionists to the attacks, but in my book I do. In 1955, for example, I organized in Israel a panel of Jewish attorneys of Iraqi origin to handle claims of Iraqi Jews who still had property in Iraq. One well known attorney, who asked that I not give his name, confided in me that the laboratory tests in Iraq had confirmed that the anti-American leaflets found at the American Cultural Center bombing were typed on the same typewriter and duplicated on the same stenciling machine as the leaflets distributed by the Zionist movement just before the April 8th bombing. Tests also showed that the type of explosive used in the Beit-Lawi attack matched traces of explosives found in the suitcase of an Iraqi Jew by the name of Yosef Basri. Basri, a lawyer, together with Shalom Salih, a shoemaker, would be put on trial for the attacks in December 1951 and executed the following month. Both men were members of Hashura, the military arm of the Zionist underground. Salih ultimately confessed that he, Basri and a third man, Yosef Habaza, carried out the attacks. By the time of the executions in January 1952, all but 6,000 of an estimated 125,000 Iraqi Jews had fled to Israel. Moreover, the pro-British, pro-Zionist puppet el-Said saw to it that all of their possessions were frozen, including their cash assets. (There were ways of getting Iraqi dinars out, but when the immigrants went to exchange them in Israel they found that the Israeli government kept 50 percent of the value.) Even those Iraqi Jews who had not registered to emigrate, but who happened to be abroad, faced loss of their nationality if they didn't return within a specified time. An ancient, cultured, prosperous community had been uprooted and its people transplanted to a land dominated by East European Jews, whose culture was not only foreign but entirely hateful to them. The Ultimate Criminals Zionist Leaders. From the start they knew that in order to establish a Jewish state they had to expel the indigenous Palestinian population to the neighboring Islamic states and import Jews from these same states. * Theodor Herzl, the architect of Zionism, thought it could be done by social engineering. In his diary entry for 12 June 1885, he wrote that Zionist settlers would have to "spirit the penniless population across the border by procuring employment for it in the transit countries, while denying it any employment in our own country." * Vladimir Jabotinsky, Prime Minister Netanyahu's ideological progenitor, frankly admitted that such a transfer of populations could only be brought about by force. * David Ben Gurion, Israel's first prime minister, told a Zionist Conference in 1937 that any proposed Jewish state would have to "transfer Arab populations out of the area, if possible of their own free will, if not by coercion." After 750,000 Palestinians were uprooted and their lands confiscated in 1948-49, Ben Gurion had to look to the Islamic countries for Jews who could fill the resultant cheap labor market. "Emissaries" were smuggled into these countries to "convince" Jews to leave either by trickery or fear. In the case of Iraq, both methods were used: uneducated Jews were told of a Messianic Israel in which the blind see, the lame walk, and onions grow as big as melons; educated Jews had bombs thrown at them. A few years after the bombings, in the early 1950s, a book was published in Iraq, in Arabic, titled Venom of the Zionist Viper. The author was one of the Iraqi investigators of the 1950-51 bombings and, in his book, he implicates the Israelis, specifically one of the emissaries sent by Israel, Mordechai Ben-Porat. As soon as the book came out, all copies just disappeared, even from libraries. The word was that agents of the Israeli Mossad, working through the U.S. Embassy, bought up all the books and destroyed them. I tried on three different occasions to have one sent to me in Israel, but each time Israeli censors in the post office intercepted it. British Leaders. Britain always acted in its best colonial interests. For that reason Foreign Minister Arthur Balfour sent his famous 1917 letter to Lord Rothschild in exchange for Zionist support in WW I. During WW II the British were primarily concerned with keeping their client states in the Western camp, while Zionists were most concerned with the immigration of European Jews to Palestine, even if this meant cooperating with the Nazis. (In my book I document numerous instances of such dealings by Ben Gurion and the Zionist leadership.) After WW II the international chessboard pitted communists against capitalists. In many countries, including the United States and Iraq, Jews represented a large part of the Communist party. In Iraq, hundreds of Jews of the working intelligentsia occupied key positions in the hierarchy of the Communist and Socialist parties. To keep their client countries in the capitalist camp, Britain had to make sure these governments had pro-British leaders. And if, as in Iraq, these leaders were overthrown, then an anti-Jewish riot or two could prove a useful pretext to invade the capital and reinstate the "right" leaders. Moreover, if the possibility existed of removing the communist influence from Iraq by transferring the whole Jewish community to Israel, well then, why not? Particularly if the leaders of Israel and Iraq conspired in the deed. The Iraqi Leaders. Both the regent Abd al-Ilah and his prime minister Nouri el- Said took directions from London. Toward the end of 1948, el-Said, who had already met with Israel's Prime Minister Ben Gurion in Vienna, began discussing with his Iraqi and British associates the need for an exchange of populations. Iraq would send the Jews in military trucks to Israel via Jordan, and Iraq would take in some of the Palestinians Israel had been evicting. His proposal included mutual confiscation of property. London nixed the idea as too radical. El-Said then went to his back-up plan and began to create the conditions that would make the lives of Iraqi Jews so miserable they would leave for Israel. Jewish government employees were fired from their jobs; Jewish merchants were denied import/export licenses; police began to arrest Jews for trivial reasons. Still the Jews did not leave in any great numbers. In September 1949, Israel sent the spy Mordechai Ben-Porat, the one mentioned in Venom of the Zionist Viper, to Iraq. One of the first things Ben-Porat did was to approach el-Said and promise him financial incentives to have a law enacted that would lift the citizenship of Iraqi Jews. Soon after, Zionist and Iraqi representatives began formulating a rough draft of the bill, according to the model dictated by Israel through its agents in Baghdad. The bill was passed by the Iraqi parliament in March 1950. It empowered the government to issue one-time exit visas to Jews wishing to leave the country. In March, the bombings began. Sixteen years later, the Israeli magazine Haolam Hazeh, published by Uri Avnery, then a Knesset member, accused Ben-Porat of the Baghdad bombings. Ben-Porat, who would become a Knesset member himself, denied the charge, but never sued the magazine for libel. And Iraqi Jews in Israel still call him Morad Abu al-Knabel, Mordechai of the Bombs. As I said, all this went well beyond the comprehension of a teenager. I knew Jews were being killed and an organization existed that could lead us to the Promised Land. So I helped in the exodus to Israel. Later, on occasions, I would bump into some of these Iraqi Jews in Israel. Not infrequently they'd express the sentiment that they could kill me for what I had done. Opportunities for Peace After the Israeli attack on the Jordanian village of Qibya in October, 1953, Ben Gurion went into voluntary exile at the Sedeh Boker kibbutz in the Negev. The Labor party then used to organize many buses for people to go visit him there, where they would see the former prime minister working with sheep. But that was only for show. Really he was writing his diary and continuing to be active behind the scenes. I went on such a tour. Ben Gurion's Scandals by N.Giladi How the Haganah and Mossad eliminated Jews. Available in our BookstoreWe were told not to try to speak to Ben Gurion, but when I saw him, I asked why, since Israel is a democracy with a parliament, does it not have a constitution? Ben Gurion said, "Look, boy"-I was 24 at the time-"if we have a constitution, we have to write in it the border of our country. And this is not our border, my dear." I asked, "Then where is the border?" He said, "Wherever the Sahal will come, this is the border." Sahal is the Israeli army. Ben Gurion told the world that Israel accepted the partition and the Arabs rejected it. Then Israel took half of the land that was promised to the Arab state. And still he was saying it was not enough. Israel needed more land. How can a country make peace with its neighbors if it wants to take their land? How can a country demand to be secure if it won't say what borders it will be satisfied with? For such a country, peace would be an inconvenience. I know now that from the beginning many Arab leaders wanted to make peace with Israel, but Israel always refused. Ben Gurion covered this up with propaganda. He said that the Arabs wanted to drive Israel into the sea and he called Gamal Abdel Nasser the Hitler of the Middle East whose foremost intent was to destroy Israel. He wanted America and Great Britain to treat Nasser like a pariah. In 1954, it seemed that America was getting less critical of Nasser. Then during a three-week period in July, several terrorist bombs were set off: at the United States Information Agency offices in Cairo and Alexandria, a British-owned theater, and the central post office in Cairo. An attempt to firebomb a cinema in Alexandria failed when the bomb went off in the pocket of one of the perpetrators. That led to the discovery that the terrorists were not anti-Western Egyptians, but were instead Israeli spies bent on souring the warming relationship between Egypt and the United States in what came to be known as the Lavon Affair. Ben Gurion was still living on his kibbutz. Moshe Sharett as prime minister was in contact with Abdel Nasser through the offices of Lord Maurice Orbach of Great Britain. Sharett asked Nasser to be lenient with the captured spies, and Nasser did all that was in his power to prevent a deterioration of the situation between the two countries. Then Ben Gurion returned as Defense Minister in February, 1955. Later that month Israeli troops attacked Egyptian military camps and Palestinian refugees in Gaza, killing 54 and injuring many more. The very night of the attack, Lord Orbach was on his way to deliver a message to Nasser, but was unable to get through because of the military action. When Orbach telephoned, Nasser's secretary told him that the attack proved that Israel did not want peace and that he was wasting his time as a mediator. In November, Ben Gurion announced in the Knesset that he was willing to meet with Abdel Nasser anywhere and at any time for the sake of peace and understanding. The next morning the Israeli military attacked an Egyptian military camp in the Sabaha region. Although Nasser felt pessimistic about achieving peace with Israel, he continued to send other mediators to try. One was through the American Friends Service Committee; another via the Prime Minister of Malta, Dom Minthoff; and still another through Marshall Tito of Yugoslavia. One that looked particularly promising was through Dennis Hamilton, editor of The London Times. Nasser told Hamilton that if only he could sit and talk with Ben Gurion for two or three hours, they would be able to settle the conflict and end the state of war between the two countries. When word of this reached Ben Gurion, he arranged to meet with Hamilton. They decided to pursue the matter with the Israeli ambassador in London, Arthur Luria, as liaison. On Hamilton's third trip to Egypt, Nasser met him with the text of a Ben Gurion speech stating that Israel would not give up an inch of land and would not take back a single refugee. Hamilton knew that Ben Gurion with his mouth had undermined a peace mission and missed an opportunity to settle the Israeli-Arab conflict. Nasser even sent his friend Ibrahim Izat of the Ruz El Yusuf weekly paper to meet with Israeli leaders in order to explore the political atmosphere and find out why the attacks were taking place if Israel really wanted peace. One of the men Izat met with was Yigal Yadin, a former Chief of Staff of the army who wrote this letter to me on 14 January 1982: Dear Mr. Giladi: Your letter reminded me of an event which I nearly forgot and of which I remember only a few details. Ibrahim Izat came to me if I am not mistaken under the request of the Foreign Ministry or one of its branches; he stayed in my house and we spoke for many hours. I do not remember him saying that he came on a mission from Nasser, but I have no doubt that he let it be understood that this was with his knowledge or acquiescence.... When Nasser decided to nationalize the Suez Canal in spite of opposition from the British and the French, Radio Cairo announced in Hebrew: If the Israeli government is not influenced by the British and the French imperialists, it will eventually result in greater understanding between the two states, and Egypt will reconsider Israel's request to have access to the Suez Canal. Israel responded that it had no designs on Egypt, but at that very moment Israeli representatives were in France planning the three-way attack that was to take place in October, 1956. All the while, Ben Gurion continued to talk about the Hitler of the Middle East. This brainwashing went on until late September, 1970, when Gamal Abdel Nasser passed away. Then, miracle of miracles, David Ben Gurion told the press: A week before he died I received an envoy from Abdel Nasser who asked to meet with me urgently in order to solve the problems between Israel and the Arab world. The public was surprised because they didn't know that Abdel Nasser had wanted this all along, but Israel sabotaged it. Nasser was not the only Arab leader who wanted to make peace with Israel. There were many others. Brigadier General Abdel Karim Qasem, before he seized power in Iraq in July, 1958, headed an underground organization that sent a delegation to Israel to make a secret agreement. Ben Gurion refused even to see him. I learned about this when I was a journalist in Israel. But whenever I tried to publish even a small part of it, the censor would stamp it "Not Allowed." Now, in Netanyahu, we are witnessing another attempt by an Israeli prime minister to fake an interest in making peace. Netanyahu and the Likud are setting Arafat up by demanding that he institute more and more repressive measures in the interest of Israeli "security." Sooner or later I suspect the Palestinians will have had enough of Arafat's strong-arm methods as Israel's quisling-and he'll be killed. Then the Israeli government will say, "See, we were ready to give him everything. You can't trust those Arabs-they kill each other. Now there's no one to even talk to about peace." Conclusion Alexis de Tocqueville once observed that it is easier for the world to accept a simple lie than a complex truth. Certainly it has been easier for the world to accept the Zionist lie that Jews were evicted from Muslim lands because of anti-Semitism, and that Israelis, never the Arabs, were the pursuers of peace. The truth is far more discerning: bigger players on the world stage were pulling the strings. These players, I believe, should be held accountable for their crimes, particularly when they willfully terrorized, dispossessed and killed innocent people on the altar of some ideological imperative. I believe, too, that the descendants of these leaders have a moral responsibility to compensate the victims and their descendants, and to do so not just with reparations, but by setting the historical record straight. That is why I established a panel of inquiry in Israel to seek reparations for Iraqi Jews who had been forced to leave behind their property and possessions in Iraq. That is why I joined the Black Panthers in confronting the Israeli government with the grievances of the Jews in Israel who came from Islamic lands. And that is why I have written my book and this article: to set the historical record straight. We Jews from Islamic lands did not leave our ancestral homes because of any natural enmity between Jews and Muslims. And we Arabs-I say Arab because that is the language my wife and I still speak at home-we Arabs on numerous occasions have sought peace with the State of the Jews. And finally, as a U.S. citizen and taxpayer, let me say that we Americans need to stop supporting racial discrimination in Israel and the cruel expropriation of lands in the West Bank, Gaza, South Lebanon and the Golan Heights.

elvis alive? The only time I feel alive... is when I'm in front of my audience, my people. That's the only time I really feel like I'm human." "Long after I'm gone, what I did today will be heard by someone. I just want them to get the best of what I had." (Elvis Presley) Is Elvis Alive ? There are many reasons to believe that Elvis Presley is dead. When the only arguments to believe otherwise come from crazed fans and supermarket tabloids, it is easy to dismiss the possibility that Elvis is still among us. However, the circumstances surrounding Elvis' alleged death are quite mysterious and beg closer attention. As it turns out, there are many concrete reasons to believe that Elvis is still alive. The Gravesite. Elvis' name is misspelled on his headstone. Elvis' full name is Elvis Aron Presley, but on his grave his middle name is spelled incorrectly with two a's. His father would not have let this happen. When Elvis was born, his name was misspelled on his birth certificate, and his father went to great lengths to get it put right. The unique spelling of Elvis' name was important to his family. Elvis' current "resting place" is in between his father and his grandmother and not next to his mother where he had adamantly requested. It is doubtful that the people close to him would allow these things to happen. Elvis is a superstitious man, enough so that he wouldn't tempt fate by putting his real name on a tombstone, or violate the ground next to his mother until he was ready to be placed there for good. Death Certificate. Elvis was very vain, and he was embarrassed about his recent weight gain, an astonishing 50 pounds in the month before his so-called death. Even though he weighed about 250 pounds at the time of his "death," his death certificate lists him at a spry 170 pounds. The original death certificate disappeared, and the current death certificate is dated two months after his alleged death. The Wax Body Theory. This argument is very convincing when the facts are considered. Elvis' coffin required several pall bearers because it weighed 900 pounds. Attendants of the funeral reported that the air around the coffin was rather cool. It is suspected that the coffin contained an air conditioning unit to keep a wax body cool, a wax body that was a replica of Elvis designed to fool funeral-goers. And how did the Presley family get a 900 pound, custom made coffin ready for a funeral that was held on the day after his death? It takes a lot of time to build such an elaborate coffin. And why was the funeral so quickly? Some say that the immediacy was intended to make it as difficult as possible for the people who were Elvis' biggest fans to attend the proceedings. It could be a concern that they might recognize the flaws in the wax replica. Elvis was an 8th degree black belt whose hands were rough with calluses, yet the body in the coffin had hands that were soft and pudgy. The body in the coffin had a pug nose and arched eyebrows {unlike Elvis} and most importantly, one of the sideburns on the "corpse" was loose and falling off. A hairdresser later reported gluing the sideburn back on the body. Unusual Behavior. Two hours after Elvis' death was announced publicly, a man who reportedly looked remarkably like Elvis purchased a ticket for Buenos Aeries, paid in cash, and used the name John Burrows: the same name Elvis had used as an alias several times before. Elvis had a few books that were considered to be his most prized possessions. He had a bible, several pharmaceutical books, books on death, and most importantly Chiro's Book of Numbers and The Autobiography of Yogi which I will explain more about later. After Elvis's death was announced, these books disappeared and were never recovered. In the weeks preceding his alleged death, Elvis' actions were not those of a man who was about to embark on an extensive US tour. He ordered no new suits despite having gained 50 pounds since his last tour, and he bid "adios" at his last show in Hawaii. He had never done this before. Adios, like the French adieu, has the significance of being a final good-bye as opposed to an "I'll be seeing you on my next tour" kind of good-bye. Others were intrigued by Elvis' decision to sign a lucrative TV deal with NBC that would cover the tour. It was unprecedented for a network to pay such a large amount up front, in cash, for such a deal. Many wonder why Elvis even agreed to the deal since his vanity discouraged him from making public appearances due to his weight gain. RCA showed uncanny and unbelievable foresight by mass producing millions of Elvis' current and previous recordings and merchandise. This is standard practice for an act that is about to go on tour, but the numbers in this case were beyond reasonable expectations. The announcement of Elvis' death caused record sales to skyrocket. Elvis did other unusual things that created suspicion. First, he fired several employees that he had relied upon for a long time. Also, two days before his alleged death, Elvis telephoned a friend of his named Miss Foster. He told her that he wasn't planning on going on the upcoming tour. She asked him if he had canceled it, and he said that he had not. When she asked if he was ill, he said that he was fine, and that she should not ask any more questions or tell anyone anything, and that she should not believe anything she read. He told her that his troubles would all soon be over, and that he would call her in a few weeks. The author of Elvis Where Are You? writes that Miss Foster took a polygraph test regarding this story, and that she was not lying. The day after Elvis' alleged death, a woman named Lucy De Barbon, a former lover of Elvis, received a single rose in the mail. The card indicated that the flower was from "El Lancelot." This had been her pet name for Elvis, and it was a name that no one else knew. Flowers can't be sent from beyond the grave. This was Elvis' way of letting her know that he was not dead, even though he didn't want to be found. Chiro's Book of Numbers. Elvis had a fascination with numerology, an interest he fed by reading Chiro's Book of Numbers. The theory that Elvis orchestrated his death is further supported when considering the significance of the date of his alleged death. The date in question is August 16, 1977. By adding the numbers in the date, 8, 16, and 1977, you get 2001. This is the title of Elvis' favorite movie in which the hero plans his immortality in the bathroom. Elvis spent a considerable amount of time doing the same: planning his afterlife on the toilet.. Elvis spent so much time in the bathroom that he had his toilet converted into a reclining comfy chair. Coincidentally, the bathroom is also where Elvis' body was reportedly found. Given Elvis' religious beliefs, he had a fascination with things that come in threes, for example, father, son, and holy ghost. The sum of the digits from his favorite film (2+0+0+1) is three. Let's consider the triad of the repetition of the number 24. 2001 (favorite film) less 1977 (year of death) is 24. The two numbers from the day of death (8/16) when added up equal 24. The sum of the digits in the year of death (1+9+7+7) also equals 24. That is 3 occurrences of the number 24 which is divisible by 3, and when divided by three the result, 8 has a perfect cubed root (2x2x2=8). Elvis loved numerology, and when you consider the numeric significance of the date of his alleged death, it is clear that if indeed he did plan to fake his death, he could not have chosen a better date. Reason Elvis had many reasons to fake his death.It has been said that Elvis' life was in danger. He had recently lost $10,000,000 in an airplane/real estate deal with a California based organization called the "Fraternity" that had links to the Mafia. It is speculated that he corroborated with the government to expose the organized crime ring in exchange for protection, perhaps in the form of a new life and identity compliments of the Witness Protection Program. Elvis was a prisoner of his own fame. He had many other reasons to leave his life behind. Because of his incredible popularity he recieved several death threats, and he was concerned about the safety of his ex-wife and daughter. Sometimes when he wanted to leave Graceland he would send look-alikes out to distract would be followers. Elvis was also known to ride in the trunk of someone else's car to avoid being seen. Once, when he fell ill in Las Vegas, he couldn't get proper medical attention because the hospital was overwhelmed by fans. At the time of his alleged death, Elvis thought he was nearing the end of his career. He saw his self as 42 with greying hair, overweight, and he thought his voice was starting to weaken,. He was going down hill, and he was too proud to go out with a whimper. He would never want his fans to see him in such an unhealthy condition. Elvis had shown a fascination with death on several occasions. In the days leading up to his alleged death he was reported to have visited funeral homes at odd hours of the night with close friends. Was he doing research? Elvis once faked his death by setting up an elaborate shooting in which a would be killer fired blanks at Elvis who had a blood pack which he discharged. It was Elvis' intention to see how the people closest to him would react to his death. Perhaps what he learned convinced him to do it for real. Finally, one of Elvis' favorite books is the spiritual Autobiography of Yogi. One of the central themes of this book is the relinquishing of one's wealth and earthly possessions to achieve spiritual oneness. Elvis could do this, as well as address his other concerns of sanity and safety by faking his death and living in exile. Means. Elvis had the means to fake his own death. He is accused of destroying himself with drugs. In reality, Elvis was a pharmaceutical expert. He took a lot of drugs, but he knew what he was doing and was extremely careful. He knew what drugs he could self-administer to create a deathlike state. Also Elvis' experience with the martial arts was such that he could slow his heart rate and breathing in order to feign death. Elvis' manager, Colonel Tom Parker, had once created a new identity for himself. He came to America as an illegal immigrant from Holland, but through various connections managed to create a new identity complete with a passport, birth certificate, drivers license, and social security number. He would have known how to give Elvis a second life. Aswell as Elvis' ties to the government through his testimony against the "Fraternity", Elvis was known to interact with the President of the United States. He was reported in government documents to use the name John Burrows as an alias when he wanted to travel. Some people believe that Elvis worked for the government as a drug agent. He did, after all have extensive contact with many people in the music business who, as we know, tend to dabble in illegal substances. And, of course, we must allow that Elvis' connections to the government gave him access to the Witness Protection Program. If they can turn the Simpsons into the Thompsons, they can relocate anybody. Orion? Many believe that Elvis couldn't have given up performing completely. Just imagine, after a while the desire to perform would grow once he started his life in exile. The story of Orion supports the theory that Elvis attempted a secret comeback. Shortly after Elvis' alleged death, a masked singer by the name of Orion emerged on the scene. He was big like Elvis, and he sang just like Elvis. Because of the mask no one could tell his true identity. One fan described seeing Orion from near the stage. She claims that Orion left the stage between songs, and when he appeared moments later the sweat was gone from his armpits and back and she thought that his costume looked slightly different. After the song he left the stage, and the original Orion returned. Another fan described how she rushed into a tour bus at an Orion show only to see two Orions in the back of the bus. She claimed that one ducked into the bathroom before she could get a good look at him, but he appeared to look like Elvis Presley. What's even more remarkable is the fictional story called Orion that was written by Gail Brewer-Georgio about a legendary performer who had several identities and wanted to fake his death. The story was written and submitted to the William Morris Agency for publication consideration after Elvis' alleged death and before the real Orion ever performed. As it turns out, there are many ways in which the real Orion mimicked the events as described in the book. For example, the performers' managers had the same name. Also, without knowing it, Brewer-Georgio wrote of events in Orion that had actually taken place in Elvis' life. It was a case of life imitating art. Picking up the Pieces. In 1981, 20/20 did an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the alleged death of Elvis Presley. The investigative report was very convincing. Oddly enough, within two weeks of the report, the singer, Orion, disappeared and was never heard from again. The book, Orion disappeared from shelves across the country. It had been recalled by the publisher which was associated with the William Morris Agency. Incidentally, the William Morris Agency is the same agency that represented Elvis. It seems that Elvis Presley is worth more dead than alive. By faking his death and relocating with a new identity he is safe from his fans and the "Fraternity", the government can make a solid case against the organized crime ring, and RCA, Elvis' family, and Elvis' management can all reap immense financial benefits from the attention. That is... except for one benefit....after nearly 25 years no one has collected on his life insurance policy. Why ????? During his last concert tour in 1977, Elvis spoke of "not looking good tonight", but, he would look good in his coffin. He made comments of being tired of living as he was and how it was going to change. He told of how he would like to be just himself instead of an "image". On August 16th 1977, at 8:00 A.M., Elvis told Ginger Alden that he was going into the bathroom to read. (This bathroom/lounge had it's own back entrance.) For the next six hours no one saw him. Elvis signed for a special delivery letter at 9:30 A.M. At 2:00 P.M. Ginger Alden found the apparent body of Elvis lying on the floor in front of his chair, where he had been reading. She called Al Strada who in turn called Joe Esposito. George Nichopoulous (aka Dr. Nick) was then telephoned. Joe called the fire department, unit 6. The ambulance arrived at Graceland at 2:33 P.M. Paramedics administered CPR, despite rigor mortis. The body was taken to Baptist Memorial Hospital at 2:48 P.M. By 3:00 P.M. Elvis' family members and friends were informed of his "death". Public announcement was given at 3:30 P.M. August 17th, the body was brought back to Graceland for family viewing. The public viewing was from 3:00 P.M. to 6:30 P.M. On August 18th,1977. Tennesse Governor Ray Blanton ordered flags to be flown at half-mast for the duration of the funeral procession. At midday the Graceland gates swung open, a white Cadillac hurse rolled through them, followed by sixteen white Cadillac limousines. QUESTIONS BEGIN How could it take twenty minutes for paramedics to drive sixteen blocks to Graceland if the call came in at 2:33 P.M.? The Medical Examiner's Report states that the body was found with rigor mortis, while the police report states "unconcious". Why would anyone try to give CPR to a rigor mortised body ? The ME report listed the body as weighing 80 pounds lighter then Elvis' actual weight. How could Elvis have passed a physical exam just prior to August 16th if his heart was so enlarged ? How could he have played raquetball for several hours on August 16th, just before his "death" ? ABC's 1979 program on the cover up of Elvis' death stated that all the stomach contents were destroyed. Bill Burkin in his book Elvis World states that officials at Babtist Memorial Hospital had assured him that the stomach contents had been shipped to a California lab to be examined and then on to a lab in Utah, and then ? There are rumors of Elvis' "death" being caused by a heart attack, drug overdose, suffocation in carpeting, suicide and even cancer ! Persons in attendance at Graceland at the time of "death" don't agree on the color of pajamas Elvis was wearing or the posistion of the body. Why did Vernon ask many people NOT to attend the funeral but to come a week later ? Why did Vernon refuse to accept the flag which is usually given to dead war veterans ? Why didn't Elvis have any new jumpsuits made during 1977 ? The handwriting on the death certificate matched Elvis' own writing ! Elvis was very aware of which presribed drugs did not mix well with others. Elvis had glaucoma, and Dexedrine, a drug not to be taken with that condition, was listed as being in his system. Who would prescribe it and why would he take it ? Whose body was autopsied ? Funeral homes don't usually keep solid copper coffins in stock. These coffins weigh in the area of 300 pounds and usually take two months to receive once ordered. This coffin seemed to have been ready. Monte Nicholson, a nineteen year veteran of the Los Angeles Sheriffs Department, wrote a novel called The Presley Arrangement. This novel tells the story of a body that is autopsied, a man resembling Elvis. The man had died of cancer. The body is later returned for private burial, to the man's own family. The man's family are paid to remain silent about the incident. Nicholson explains a government connection. In a 1989 radio interview Nicholson said that even if he knew there was an FBI connection and was told not to say anything, he COULD NOT say. Nicholson also claimed that if he knew the answer to the question, and says he does, he will not disclose his knowledge. He said that if Elvis is alive that his book is pretty close to the truth of what REALLY happened. Was Elvis a DEA (Drug Enforcement Agency) agent ? Elvis can be seen wearing a DEA Staff jacket in several photographs, including one taken in June of 1977, approximately six weeks before his "death". Also Elvis was wearing a jogging suit with the DEA logo on it during the early morning hours of August 16th 1977. When Elvis met with President Richard Nixon he said he had been "studying" the drug culture for over 10 years, he could get into any culture group and be accepted. Elvis said he had gotten alot from the country and he wanted to repay in some way. It would have been a dangerous job and one that an entertainer such as Elvis would not have HAD to do unless he chose to. Many DEA agents pose as "drug users" and "pushers" in their undercover work. Elvis could get to anyone if he appeared to be a "user". In the book Elvis: What Happened? one of the guys wondered if Elvis was ever as whacked out as he seemed to be. Maybe he is a "great" actor after all. Perhaps he deserves an "Oscar". Death threats were issued against Elvis and his family. Those who had leveled those threats had actually broken into Graceland. At times, the FBI were called. Deputy Narcotics Director John Finlator arranged for Elvis to come to his office under the name of John Burrows. Finlator didn't want to give Elvis a badge but the President reversed the decision. On December 21st of 1970, Elvis met with President Richard Nixon in the oval office, Washington, D.C. Elvis had written a letter requesting a meeting and expressed his concerns about the drug culture, hippie elements, the SDS and other groups who were against the establishment. When Finlator finally gave Elvis the badge and promised to issue him consultant credentials, Elvis was overcome with emotion and his eyes became misty. Ten days later he met with the FBI. On the same day, President Nixon wrote Elvis a thank you. Elvis wrote to the President and said, "I can and will do more good, if I were made a Federal Agent at large, and I will help out by doing it my way." Elvis was known to be in his bedroom for weeks, seeing no one. (There was a back staircase at Graceland.) Elvis could sneak out whenever he needed to. Department of the Treasury-Bob Pritchett says that during the years of '74, '75, and '76 "Mr. Presley provided one of our undercover agents, who was a musician, a job cover. Undercover agents appear to have other occupations. None of Elvis' group of friends knew of this agent and the role he played in setting up his cover. Since he had an undercover agent in his group from '74-'76, when did he find time to use drugs himself? Elvis was very good at keeping secrets and living a "double life". Elvis spoke with President Carter two weeks before his death. It involved aid to a friend. On August 16, 1977, President Carter issued this tribute: "Elvis Presley's death deprives our country of a part of itself. He was unique and irreplaceable. More than twenty years ago he burst upon the scene with an impact that was unprecedented and will probably never be equaled. His music and his personality, fusing the styles of white country and black rhythm and blues, permanently changed the face of American popular culture. His following was immense and he was a symbol of good humor of his country." This was a formal statement, when a celebrity's death is usually only commented on. He had spoken to Nixon and Carter both shortly before the day he died. In the September 1988 issue of American Karate magazine, Ed Parker tells of a time when a terrorist group threatened Elvis' life to make him an example of how they could get to famous people. They threatened to plant a bomb in one of the gifts offered to Elvis at a concert. This was a threat as long as he was "alive", and his family were targets also. Elvis always had law enforcement officials around him. John O'Grady, who was earlier in charge of NARC Divisions of the LAPD, was one of them. He also hired Dick Grob, a former sargeant with the Palm Springs Police. He was surrounded by at least two lawmen in top security positions. Elvis was in danger. The "hoax" may have been the only way out! History will prove Elvis to be an American hero beyond being an American entertainer. SIGHTINGS With all the Elvis lookalikes, he could actually walk around using disguises and get away with it. Who would be looking for him anyway, when he is supposedly dead? Before 1977, there was an "Elvis lookalike, sound alike" at a Memphis theatre. Elvis put on his best "Elvis outfit", strolled in and mingled with the clones, doing his best "Hey, baby". Afterwards, he came back to Graceland laughing. He tried out and lost! Elvis and his mother's bodies were moved to the Meditation Gardens for burial, after three men tried to break into the crypt. Graceland was rezoned to permit burials at the estate. In the 1989 Orion's "Farewell to the King", the King says "I died once. I had to be willing to give up everything, even the will to live." The last recording session at Graceland was The Last Farewell. There have been many sightings at various places including Graceland. There are some escape routes at Graceland that people don't know about. In a syndicated newspaper across the nation on June 5, 1990, an article headlined "Elvis Lives, At Least On Census Form." The Census Bureau reported in 1990 that Elvis returned a questionaire to the bureau office in Huntsville, Alabama. It was noticed by census workers who were screening forms for completednesss. Late Night with Ross Shafer (August 1988) had a survey that showed that out of 30,000 people polled, approximately 84% believe Elvis is alive. On Monday, August 22, 1988, Harold Schuitmaker, in an item of the Detroit News, said "Elvis is Alive and Living in Kalamazoo." Schuitmaker was a well known Michigan politician and resident of Paw Paw (15 miles from Kalamazoo). The masked singer Orion was at the McMinnville Civic Center and a fan said that she felt that the man onstage and the one who signed autographs were different people. People have reported that someone sounding like Elvis called them on the phone and some hung up because they couldn't believe it. A book titled Elvis: Where Are You? came out of Wilton Manors, Florida around August, 1982 under the name of Al Jefferies. The premise of the book was that Elvis hoaxed his death. Kelly Burgess, a former assistant editor and feature writer with the Detroit News, claimed to have seen Elvis in Kalamazoo, Michigan. She is not living now. In 1988, Heartbreak Hotel starred David Keith as Elvis. (The film had the support of EP Enterprises.) A soundtrack album thanked Jerry Schilling and a special thanks to J.B. In 1987's Robo Cop, a cop is killed, but didn't die. He returns as Robo Cop-a superman hero. It was filmed in Michigan. During that time radio stations got calls from a man sounding like Elvis Presley. There have been lots of sightings there and it was also on his final concert tour. Is this possibly a "message" film? March 18, 1990, an article on Robo Cop, in the Detroit News told of Robo Cop speaking to a Boys and Girls club against drugs. It was a three month long anti-drug campaign organized by the FBI, Orion Home Video of New York, and the Boys Club of America. This Robo Cop was not the same actor as in the movie-his true identity was not revealed. he was a special agent helping the FBI fight the war on drugs. His suit was bullet-proof. During filming, some people saw a man looking like an older Elvis. In Mac and Me, a film from 1988, a young alien is lost and at the end the family drives away in an old pink Cadillac convertible. A balloon caption says "We'll be back". The sound track is on Curb Records, which is the same label as "Spelling on the Stone". There were some song lyrics which were: "Tired of being myself, being different from everyone else, somehow you knew I needed your help, be my friend forever. I never found my star in the night; living my dream was far from sight." There was a scene in the movie where Eric asks Debbie "Why didn't you tell him that you saw him (the alien)?" She says, "Because no one would believe me." Elvis has become a mythic figure, and there have been frequent rumors that he is still alive. Elvis remains the single most influential and respected figure in the history of Rock music. Elvis was the first Rock/Pop singer to have a single record sell a million copies, the first to go platinum with an album in less than two weeks, the first singer to pre-sell a million records before it's release, the first entertainer to earn a million dollars for one concert performance, and the first young, white, southern male to bring international attention to the importance of black rhythm and blues. He was the first singer to get a million dollar screen contract. He was the first music personality to have a TV performance broadcast worldwide via satellite. In 1993, he became the first rock'n'roll star whose picture appeared on a commemorative U.S. Postal stamp (the largest stamp printing in history). Elvis is a landmark in almost everyone's life, going back to distant memories of watching him above the waist on Ed Sullivan or hearing "Hound Dog" for the first time. His image continues to mesmerize: witness the appearance of 200 Elvis impersonators at Liberty Weekend in 1986. There was a time when he was merely the most popular entertainer in history. He is more than that now. He is a symbol of America as recognizable as the flag. Elvis opened the 'window of his soul' to his fans all over the world. Thank you, Elvis! Remember you are always on our minds. "TCB FOREVER! Any Comments on this ? E-mail Me i found this on the internet weird

rev kamal karna roy a newer politician in strategic redevelopment _ changes to evade "jungle democracy"? Click here to join the NEWSWEEK community, post comments and subscribe to our e-mail newsletters User Name: Password: Forgot password? News Politics Tech and Business Culture Health Voices Quick Guide Periscope National News International Next 2008 Iraq War Issues 2008 Against the Odds Video Top Story Campaign 2008: A Game of Survivor My Journey to the Top Latest News Clinton hints at shared ticket PAKISTAN Elections Usher in a New Face By Zahid Hussain, Ron Moreau and Michael Hirsh | NEWSWEEK Mar 3, 2008 Issue « Return to Article Related:Makhdoom Amin Fahim Pakistan Peoples Party Pervez Musharraf Discuss Comments: Posted By: CANDIDATE_REPUBLICAN @ 03/03/2008 10:05:01 PM Comment: TRIANGLE OF JUNGLE DEMOCRACIES USA TO PAISTAN TO RSSIA UJDER PUTIN TO USA. JUNGLES ARE DEEP FOREST BUT GREENS ARE SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT OF SHADE. OTHER JUGLES ARE DEEPLY OF CONCERN TO PEOPLE. bUT WE THE PEOPLE MUST BRING TO EQUITY IN JUSTICE,LEADERSHIP AND OPTIMUM PRIVILEGES TO MOST SOONER THE BETTER, SAID DR THE REVEREND KAMAL KARNA ROY , A MR CLEAN FOR U S PRESIDECY 2008 AS SCHEDULED, BUT MAY NOT BE HELD WITH U S DISTRICT COURT INTERVENTIONS AS PROVIDED IN U S CONSTITUTION AND OTHER LAWS OF U S. REPORTED BY REV MR PREMANGHU ROY DAS EFORMS AGENT IN DEMOCRACIES WORLD WIDE IN NEED OF REDELOPMENT. SEE BELOW WE NEED TRUE DEMOCRATIC CONDITIONS FOR WE THE PEOPLE OF DIFFERENT NATIONS. Posted By: shaista @ 03/01/2008 5:36:46 AM Comment: THE lunch hosted by Mr Asif Zardari for the newly elected members of the three leading parties on Feb 27 may well be remembered as a landmark in the long awaited transition to a democratic dispensation in Pakistan. The squalls that rocked the state on Oct 12, 1999 and in the form of the 17th amendment inflicted much damage. Then, the catastrophe of Nov 3 put all salvaging efforts beyond the capacity of any single party. The existing distortions in that historic but half-alive Constitution present a nightmare and demand the exercise of the highest form of political wisdom and legal expertise. The process of eliminating them by creating a new interface between politics and law has just begun. Pakistan???s present crisis is characterised by the bitter harvest of constitutional violations, growing imbalance between a power-hungry centre and the handicapped federating units, uncontrollable violence by ever-proliferating bands of extremists and, above all, by a rapidly rising table of sub-surface social anger at glaring inequalities of income and opportunity. A reasonably broad-based coalition government may provide a healing touch. There is no great virtue in a two-party system anymore as, for quite some time to come, regional aspirations will deepen particular identities of the constitutive elements of a diverse nation. The greatest achievement of the three top leaders present at Mr Zardari???s lunch is that they successfully persuaded their followers that these identities were perfectly compatible with an overarching national identity. Scratch the surface and lurking just beneath the protest against the humiliation of the higher judiciary and repeated violations of the Constitution is a palpable anguish of poverty and deprivation. Pakistan must eschew politics of vendetta but that does not mean that every crime against the state and society be brushed under the carpet. It needs a high-powered Commission on Truth, Justice and Reconciliation in the interest of historical accuracy and to build dykes for future security. We need to replace mercenary relations with relations based on mutual respect, community of interests and coordinated pursuit of common objectives within our respective national parameters. A strong and stable national coalition can be built around the present understanding between the PPP, PML-N and ANP. The US-led West should welcome it and not undermine it as it alone can make Pakistan???s battle against militant extremists effective The west should to withdraw their support from the one Musharaf who loathed by the people at maximum Posted By: shaista @ 03/01/2008 5:07:40 AM Comment: THE results of the election that took place on Feb 18 were astonishing. President Musharraf???s supporting party Pakistan Muslim League (Q) was wiped out and the ministers who were lucky enough to keep their seats are now at a safe distance from President Musharraf. The people at large want the president to go with no other choice. However, the US has been unduly interfering in our politics as its Assistant Secretary of State Richard Boucher has emphasised the need to continue President Musharraf???s rule. Pakistan has remained under military rule for more than half of its life, and the people no longer want any dictator to rule over them. As the PPP has secured the maximum number of seats, followed by the PML (N), the ties made between these parties also pose a serious challenge to the president???s stay any further in office. His rule for eight long years has brought many hardships to the nation and now he should quit The US slogan for democracy is and justice is just a slogan and in real and practicle not willing to be so for their own agenda From whome to expect the justice and democracy in the world the only power it self violate This is not the Musharaf pakistan but of 1,600/-Millions people and what they think of the rest This is not in the benifit of US to support the cruel one of the country who now the people think as Mechile G.Choaf The people and the young generation have very strong anti US sentiments due to their blind support of Dictator Musharaf This is not a good sign and this will increase with passage of time Posted By: eddiewhere @ 02/29/2008 2:12:44 AM Comment: IN THIS ENVIORNMENT OF ECONOMIC FEUDALISM WHERE THE MIDDLE CLASS MUST SUFFER IN ORDER TO INCREASE THE pROFITS OF MULTINATIONAL CORpORATIONS, WHO BENEFIT FROM CHEAp LABOR, THE AMERICAN DREAM HAS BEEN LOST. MULTINALTIONALS FROM INDIA HAVE BROUGHT THEIR CHEAp WAyS TO AMERICA. WE NOW HAVE AMERIANS GOING TO GET HEART SURGERy IN INDIA BEAUSE IT IS CHEApER. OUR INFORMATION TECHNOLy JOBS HAVE BEEN OUTSOURCED TO INDIA. CHINA WAITS UNTIL WE INVENT IT AND THEN THEy STEAL IT. WHy REINVENT THE WHEEL. ARABS FINANCIERS OWN OVER TWELVER pER CENT OF OUR ECONOMy AND IN RECENT MONTTHS HAVE "BAILED" OUT OUR BANKS. IN ADDITION, ARAB INTEREST FROM DUBAI AND KUWAIT HAVE FINANCED OUR pOLITICAL LEADERS ENDEVOURS ON BOTH SIDES OF THE pOLITICAL SpECTRUM.. IT IS TIME FOR A CHANGE. We have been fooled by our own government and there is no way any Republican is going to win this election. THE Middle class has had it with all this Bin LADEN terrorist crap. WE are now scared of our own government more than we are of the terrorist because the decisions this government is making on our behalf is not in our best interests and it is killing us. The government is now dominating our civil liberties. They are giving the states millions for Real ID Cards. This is just the start of government intrusion. Combine this with the misuse of the Patriot Act and the future Plans of insurance comPanies and corporations to have full access to our personal records and we have a real crisis. Credit Card companies have already started selling and sharing our personal information with the private sector. We really have to wake up and protect our constitution it is all we have to defend ourselves against interests that become too rich and powerful in this country. The government keeps expanding and is being predominantly controlled by special interest and lobbyist. The middle class is being weakened and our civil liberties are being threatened. Real ID Cards will not make "us safer" infacat terrorists can obtain fake ones and move about freely. The American people did not vote on Real ID Cards, we need a vote. Our constitution would have to be ammended in order for Real ID's to become legal. I do not know what has happened in Washington but it is getting out of hand. They know what they are doing is unconstitutional so they are trying to bribe the states by offering them money. I hope every state agrees with me and Prevents the federal govenment from imPosing THIS unconstitutional law. If the states allow the government to do this then they would have set a bad Precedent that could lead to further government violations. WHy IS THERE A NEED TO WIRE TAp EVERy CITIZEN. ARE yOU KIDDING ME. yOU NEED A WARRANT. THIS IS MADNESS. GOVERNMENT IS USING TERRORISM AS AN EXCUSE TO INTRUDE ON OUR CIVIL LIBERTIES. THIS IS INSANE. McCain will continue to implementt these misguided REpublian policies. McCain's ONE HUNDRED year agenda is not in AMERICA"s BEST INTEREST. Posted By: eddiewhere @ 02/28/2008 4:32:34 AM Comment: AND WHAT AN UGLy FACE IT IS. WE NEED TO CRUSH AL QUEDA IN PAKISTAN AND GET THE HELL OUT OF THERE. LET US REMEMBER BERG. I AM NOT JEWISH, HOWEVER I FEEL THAT WE MUST NEVER FORGET. IT IS WORTH THAT yOUNG ARABS AND JEWS FROM ALL BACKGROUNDS START FORMING GROUPS THAT ENCOURAGE THE INTERACTION BETWEEN JEWS ARABS MUSLIMS AND CHRISTIANS IN THE MIDDLE EAST. SOMETHING LIKE AN NGO. ANyONE FROM ANy BACKGROUND CAN CAN CONTRIBUTE. WITH ONE OBJECTIVE IN MIND. FRIENDLy RELATIONS. NO PRESSURE TO SET FOREIGN POLICy , JUST GETTING THE TWO ADVERSARIES IN THE SAME ROOM AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE WILL BE IN AMERICA'S AND THE WORLD'S BEST INTEREST. . THAT IS THE FIRST STEP . WHEN yOU TRy AND IMPOSE yOUR WILL "ALL OF A SUDDEN" ON THE MASSES, THEN ASSAASSINATIONS LIKE THOSOE OF RABIN AND BHUTTO WILL BE INEVITABLE. "WHEN ANy ONE INDIVIDUAL BEOMES LARGER THAN THE CAUSE THEy ARE CHAMPIONING THEN THEy THEMSELVES BECOME AN OBSTALE TO THEIR OWN CAUSE" EDDIWHERE 2008. EDDIEWHERE © 2008 Posted By: VoteResponsibly08 @ 02/27/2008 4:45:32 PM Comment: What is Obama going to do when he faces these people??? God Help us all..He does not have the know how and depending on advisers 100% is not my idea of a commander and chief! Do something! media, Press...you have given obama a Free Pass long enough! Posted By: CANDIDATE_REPUBLICAN @ 02/27/2008 4:27:53 PM Comment: democracies in usa and pakistan, both are in jeopardy in respect of we the people of the nations, superpower or allied nation.both entities must detour to achieve people's wishes entertained. for dr kamal karna roy a small time democratic strategist in efforts to revive themes of equities for all.released by an assistant to dr roy identified by e mail id 2.27. 2008 new york Posted By: Houlbelat @ 02/27/2008 11:16:25 AM Comment: Is it a democracy reborn in Pakistan or sham of the highest order? People in Pakistan voted in favor of Bhutto's party, not for Zardari, who was responsible for her twice ouster from the Premiership due to his shameful dirty roles of Mr.10%. Country's biggest grass root party preaching "Government of the People, by the People, for the People", which was founded on the basic principle of providing them respectable " Bread, Dress and Shelter", was created by Bhutto, hanged by a military dictator. Now, the party is orphaned in a bomb-blast death of his daughter during another military rule. Situation brings forth her rootless spouse, "Mr.Tenpercent Zardari", holding the People's mandate ( at ransom?), for endless exploits. Whatever the words mean, they cannot change the genes. The name "Zardari" literally means "Gold-Lord" and he lives his name literally. He was responsible for legislating and monopolizing gold import into Pakistan (through an Emirates based gold-tycoon of Pakistan origin) on a ridiculous 2% custom duty and made unfathomable ocean of fortune. If the US administration is ready," to let them have their rounds of discussions, still expecting the [Pakistani] Army to take the necessary military action, counting on an interesting transition", then the whole riddle is solved. The ongoing change in Pakistan is not a change of " act" in the drama being staged but, a "change of gear into a powerful all terrain drive", to move forward on the designed road-map, crossing effectively all rugged and bogging tracts en-route. Posted By: engal @ 02/27/2008 3:08:04 AM Comment: Comment:Chinese's a Literature of the YanYuHongChen is very reality for the economy,the Culture,the Education,the Politice ,the Philosophy and the Business,but i expecting who the Leaders in International that will be the best support us and it will be Might spread you and the Literature to the Golabl.' chengchengcheng123@yahoo.cn Posted By: CANDIDATE_REPUBLICAN @ 02/26/2008 3:06:30 PM Comment: Pakistan's elected leaders must be slow and very effective in democratic gains or the gains couod be reversed by internal forcesalien to ruling coalition in jeopady with foreign interests. jungle democracies have been most powerful mvirus which curbs democratic rights of citizens, that is what history tells us. see also below as relevant. the reverend dr kamal karna karuna roy author of electronic and hard copies publications which may give insights to living beings as known as human_animals may often behave in pure animal conducts to support their polluted rational feelings. interests, vested interests etc etc. rationality vs animality is the tug of war type emements of the living beings all over the Globe: Pakistan leaders be careful in your step ahead. as the powerfuls, nations, superpower or most entities give priorities to their own hidden agendas. native leaders could be in a privileged position to judge events those may cause them favor or pains: pl see below; dreams of freedom for people individual or national may not award any grants from external forces or native rulers, but steadfast demand and actions if orchestrated with pragmatic resolutions may succeed in demands of true liberty of coexistence. quotation from democratic strategist *** republican candidate U s presidential electoral competition 2008 by the rev ms lisa n r alston. 2.26. 2008 new york. Posted By: SAM08 @ 02/26/2008 11:50:41 AM Comment: The people in pakistan should have asked Zardari before woting for him if his going rate of kick backs will still be 15% or will it be more Posted By: eddiewhere @ 02/25/2008 8:42:42 AM Comment: AND WHAT AN UGLy FACE IT IS. WE NEED TO CRUSH AL QUEA IN PAKISTAN AND GET THE HELL OUT OF THERE. Posted By: shaista @ 02/25/2008 5:19:05 AM Comment: The newly retired General Musharraf has displayed no intention of leaving office despite his king party losing even after plenty of evidence that he had planned to rig the elections. The caretaker government was anything but neutral and the Election Commission was suspect. But pressure from Washington compelled him to change his plans. Had he still engaged in massive rigging, not only would he have drawn Washington???s ire but also evoked ugly street protests. He knew that if the ???agitators??? caused the country to come to a standstill, the army would distance itself from him. Without their protection, he would not last a day in office. The habitual offender Musharaf this time fail for not carrying out a full pleadge crime of rigging due to international observer existing These people will never be convinced that it is time for the ex-general to go. To them, he is the embodiment of truth, the doer of all good things, and the prince of enlightened moderation without whom Pakistan would return to the Dark Ages. It is time for Musharraf, to wake up and realise that the game is over. Everything Musharraf stood for was repudiated on Feb 18. The electoral results have made it clear, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that the people do not wish to see Musharraf holding court on radio and television day in and day out. Aitzaz Ahsan spoke for millions when he said, ???Musharraf is the most hated & loathed man in Pakistan.??? During the last several months, poll after poll showed Musharraf???s popularity plummeting like a lead coin in a bottomless well. But he continued to reject the polls by saying that they only represented the views of a few thousand people and asserted vainly that he was vastly popular in the populous countryside. But even the King???s party was not taken in by the myths spun out by the monarch. It knew that once rigging was no longer an option, its fate was sealed. Why else would they seek to obtain the release of one of the key instigators of the Lal Masjid takeover, Abdul Aziz, just days prior to the vote? This was an obvious ploy designed to play on the religious sympathies of the people and to garner much needed votes. How else could one justify releasing a real and confirmed terrorist from jail while holding the nation???s eminent justices and barristers under house arrest? Musharraf had said not too long ago that he would step down when he saw that the people were no longer with him. He said he was continuing as president only because it was in the national interest. He would rather be playing golf or tennis, he noted, but the situation required him to sacrifice his personal interests. Well, the time has now come for him to do the nation a favour and quit as he is the only evil for this country. Posted By: democratic_reforms @ 02/24/2008 11:12:22 AM Comment: JUNGLE DEMOCRACY IN PAKISTAN. NO PAKISTANI PREMIER SHOULD ENGAGE IN DIRECT FIGHT WITH PERVEZ MASSAREF TO ENGAGE PAKISTAN AGAIN N VIOLENCES, AND/OR EMMERGENCY. tHIS IS BECAUSE MUSSAREF IS NOT ALONE BUT HE HAS SUPPORT FROM INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL POWERBLOCS. A SLOWER APPROACH TO DEMOCRATIC SOLUTION IN PAKISTAN MAY BE MORECORRECT FOR THE TIME SCALES. THE REV DR KAMAL KARNA K ROY, A US AMERICAN PRESIDENTIAL _ REPUBLICAN HOPEFUL, NEW YORK 2.24.2008 Posted By: Mohdsheikh @ 02/24/2008 12:49:45 AM Comment: Washington's top ranks seem unworried about what the new civilian leaders might decide. The only worry Americans have about the moment to keep up Musharraf in Presidency because Musharraf has amended the constitution in such a way no one else can do any thing without his consent and authority. This is worrisome for the new elected politicians. They know very much the hard fact that they have not been elected on merits, it is the hatred against Musharraf they have en-cashed. Because Musharraf have destroyed the true democrative spirit of the Pakistan???s Constitution by extremely autocratic and extra constitutional way before conducting the general election so that he could do the post election rigging. If those powers are not taken away from the presidency then the politicians will be nothing more than tools in his hands. If the politicians failed to restore highest court judges that will mean they are empty handed. Moreover they won???t be able to face their voters who have sent them Islamabad to clean up the mess and deliver good to them. Mohammad S Sheikh, Advocate Supreme Court of Pakistan Islamabad - Rawalpindi Posted By: Martin123 @ 02/24/2008 12:08:02 AM Comment: My salutations to Dr. Rice for a job well done on the American side. Posted By: Martin123 @ 02/24/2008 12:07:07 AM Comment: Hats off to Ms Rice, never in the history of public service t America has so much been freely given. SPONSORED LINKS Pakistani Dating Site 1000's Pakistani's Chatting Join Free! SalaamLove.com Singapore Air to Pakistan Deluxe Flights to Pakistan Best Fare Guarantee! Book A Flight. www.SingaporeAir.com 6.9¢ to Pakistan Long Distance from Cell & Home no PIN, no monthly fee - Try Today www.startec.com/Pakistan Reply Comments: Enter Your Comment Report Abuse Enter comments if any for reporting abuse Comments: Report Abuse Project Green Enterprise Leadership Boomer Files Giving Globally CES Coverage Education INNOVATION Not Made In Japan Christian Caryl Once upon a time, the country was a leader in technology. Now it's struggling to find its place in the digital age. Can an entrenched corporate culture change? Preview Article | Comments Sponsored by Periscope News Politics Tech / Business Culture / Ideas Health Tip Sheet ROYALTY The Prince and The Taliban Sami Yousafzai Afghan militants claim they knew English royalty was in their midst. Preview Article | Comments Sponsored by

Famale Circumcision, What is you opinion? The girls who have survived the knife while in their adolescent stages are being forcefully circumcised upon marriage. Female circumcision is a custom among the Sabiny in Eastern Uganda. The practice involves the removal of the woman's pleasure producing parts. The surgeons are basically traditional women who believe that it is a spiritual cultural call for them to perform this operation. The 2002 enumeration results of FGC in Kapchorwa district conducted by the Family Planning Association of Uganda (FPAU) show that in-laws and husbands are playing a significant role in the decision to have married women circumcised. In the past, girls between the age of 13 to 20 were the main participants. Today the age bracket has widened to 48 years of age. "This is partly because women who were not circumcised in their adolescent stages are going in for the knife upon marriage," says Patrick Kitiyo, a youth counsellor with FPAU-Kapchorwa, and one of the people who took part in the enumeration exercise. Kitiyo says harassment, intimidation, peer pressure and cultural beliefs are some of the reasons married women are going in for the knife. "These conditions apply more to women living deep in the villages. Here it is a taboo for uncircumcised women to climb into their own granaries, preside over cultural ceremonies and to collect cow dug from one's kraal," he said. Kitiyo says it is also considered a taboo for uncircumcised woman to fetch water ahead of the circumcised women. "They are referred to as 'girls' and elders look at them as people who have nothing developmental to contribute to any debate and because society has also deemed it a taboo for them to climb into granaries or even collect cow dug, these women have been forced to undertake circumcision to avoid harassment," he explains. As a result, the range of married women undergoing FGC is widening. Out of the 647 women who were circumcised last year, 436 (67.4%) were married. The sub-counties of Benet, Bukwo, Swum, Kwanyi and Kaprorom registered the highest number of married females who under went circumcision. Enumeration results also show that 344 of the FGC cases were from Kongasis County while Kween and Tingey registered 244 and 68 cases respectively. Besides pressure from the husbands and in-laws, inadequate anti-FGC campaigns and low school enrolment for girls are other reasons responsible for the high cases of FGC. However, Beatrice Chelangat, the Programme Manager for the Reproductive, Educative And Community Health (REACH) programme based in Kapchorwa says even with the new developments, circumcision will be no more by 2006 and history in Uganda by 2015. REACH is an advocacy programme geared towards the total elimination of FGC among the Sabiny. "But while we are doing our best in eliminating the practice, girls we have saved from the knife in their adolescent stages are now falling victims upon marriage," she adds. "However, we have laid a new plan and starting next year we will be targeting newly married couples. We want them to denounce FGC in the same way they did while in their adolescent stages," she says. Women undergoing circumcision also vary according to fertility experience. While some are circumcised before giving birth, others are circumcised after. FGC is associated with a lot of festivities. These involve feasting, family reunion and merry making by the community. "After circumcision, the candidates are bestowed upon the status of womanhood. This is one of the factors that make the practice cherished," says Kitiyo. Besides being a harmful practice, one associated with shock, painful scares labial adherences, clitoral cysts and chronic urinary infection, the Sabiny -- especially the elders -- still regard FGC as a sacred ritual that is sanctioned by their ancestors. Their cultural belief is that a woman cannot be considered to be an adult until she has undergone this procedure. The Sabiny elders believe that female circumcision is as old as the Sabiny people. The real history surrounding FGC remains a mystery. Two beliefs however try to explain the origin of FGC in Kapchorwa. One such belief is of a young girl who fell sick for a long time. When the elders decided to consult the ancestors, the ancestors demanded that some blood from the girl's private parts must be shed for her to cure. "To drop this blood, the girl was circumcised and eventually the practice was picked on by the other women," says Kitiyo. The second belief is based on the Sabiny pastoral life style. Being herdsmen, the Sabiny men are said to have been so mobile. They were often away either busy looking after their cattle or hunting. But on their return home, the men would find their wives pregnant. The alternative was to circumcise them. Although FGC is deeply rooted in the culture and traditions of the communities that practice it, there are clear indications that once the appropriate strategies and approaches to the practice are designed, FGC is likely to be abandoned like it has been with other cultural practices: knocking out teeth and tattooing inclusive.

some more bizarre facts? happy reading lol. *According to sales, 17,000 individual 'smarties' are eaten every minute in the UK *The life of an eyelash is about 5 months. *Iceland, Europe's second largest island following Great Britain, boasts of having the world's oldest 'active' parliamentary body, Althing, which first met in 930AD. *The Turkish football club, Galatasaray, has an A for every other letter. *The tongue of a mature Blue Whale has approximately the same mass as that of an entire adult elephant. *The study, which tested telephones, desks, water coolers, doorknobs, and toilet seats, compiled 7,000 samples from major centers across the country. What they found, was that while phones ranked highest in bacteria levels, the office desk was a close second. *In England during World War I, many German names and titles were changed and given more English-sounding names, including the royal family's from Saxe-Coburg-Gotha to Windsor. Kaiser Wilhelm II countered this by jokingly saying that he was off to see a performance of 'The Merry Wives of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha.' *Both turdoid and turdine mean "belonging to the family turdus," Turdus musicus is the song thrush & Turdus viscivorus is the mistletoe thrush *Nearly a quarter of all mammals can fly; with a huge 985 known species, bats make up 23.1% of all known mammals by species *January is National Soup Month in the United States, January is the seasonal equivalent to July in the Southern Hemisphere; & on Jan 14th, 90% of New Year resolutions will be broken! *You use an average of 43 muscles for a frown and you use an average of 17 muscles for a smile, and they say every two thousand frowns creates one wrinkle *Baby robins eat 14 feet of earthworms in the first 14 nestling days of their life and that is not even their main food on the menu (14 feet a day is wrong) But parent robins make around 100 food visits to the nest every day! *The first man to die during planning & construction of the Hoover Dam was the father of the last man to die during its construction. December 20, 1922 with J.G. Tierney a Bureau of Reclamation employee who was part of a geological survey and drowned when he fell from a barge. Exactly 13 years later, in 1935, his son Patrick W. Tierney, fell to his death from an intake tower. * You will have to walk 80 kilometers for your legs to equal the amount of exercise your eyes get daily *The Chinese used fingerprints as a method of identification back in 700 *Sound travels 15 times faster through steel than it does through the air *A greenfly born on a Tuesday can be a grandparent by Friday *There are more mobile phones in UK than there are people *Termites are affected by music; the termites will eat your house twice as fast if you play them loud music *Paraskavedekatriaphobia is the extreme fear of Friday the 13th *One gallon of used motor oil can ruin approximately one million gallons of fresh water! *Christopher Trace, the first presenter of Blue Peter, was the body double for Charlton Heston in the film Ben-Hur *Thomas Edison got patents for a method of making concrete furniture and a cigar which was supposed to burn forever *A cubic mile of ordinary fog contains less than a gallon of water *If you think of the Milky Way as being the size of the continent of Asia, our solar system would be the size of a penny. *The chicken is the closest living relative to the Tyrannosaurus Rex Myth or fact?? *The average driver will be locked out of their car nine times during their life time (yes, men are in the stats) *A Boeing 767 airliner contains 3,100,000 parts * Belief in the existence of vacuums used to be punishable under Church law * Your skin weighs twice as much as your brain *An owl can see a mouse moving from over 150ft away by a light no brighter than candlelight *The average person has walked 100,000 miles by the time they reach the age of 85. *Your hearing is less sharp after eating too much *In the course of a lifetime, the average person spends 2 years on the phone (I bet cell phones/mobiles were not taken into consideration when that fact was worked out!!) * Henry VIII was once served a loin of beef while visiting the house of a noble. He was so impressed with the beef that he asked for a sword and knighted it! Ever since, that particular cut of beef has been known as sirloin. ("Sir Loin").. This is a MYTH *In a lifetime, the average clean-shaven man will spend five months shaving and will remove 28ft of hair. *Beethoven was extremely particular about his coffee , he always counted 60 beans per cup. *In 1943, Navy officer Grace Hopper had to fix a computer glitch caused by a moth, hence the term 'computer bug'. *Jupiter is large enough to contain the other major 7 planets in our solar system. *The water pressure inside every onion cell would be sufficient to explode a steam engine. *Sunglasses were first worn by film stars, not to look mysterious, but to relieve there eyes from the dazzling glare of the early studio lights *If you take any number, double it, add 10, divide by 2, and subtract your original number, the answer will always be 5. *Over a 12 day period your body generates a whole new set of taste buds. (This process continues until you are in your 70's.) *Greyhounds can reach their top speed of 45 mph in just 3 strides *There is more sugar in 1kg of lemons than in 1kg of strawberries. *Paraskevidekatriaphobia, is a morbid, irrational fear of Friday the 13th. Therapist Dr. Donald Dossey, whose specialty is treating people with irrational fears, coined the term. He claims, when you can pronounce the word you are cured. Friggatriskaidekaphobia has the same meaning. *American Airlines saved $40,000 in 1987 by eliminating one olive from each salad served in first class *Titan arum is probably the world's smelliest flower. Originating in the tropical rain forests of Sumatra, this huge, extremely rare flower is a giant lily. It seldom blooms, but when it does the smell is described as something like the dead carcass of an animal *A Viking tribe once raided England because they had run out of beer *Walt Disney World generates about 120,000 pounds of garbage every day. *Turtles can breath through their bottoms. *Barbie's full name is Barbara Millicent Roberts. *The buzz generated by an electric razor in America is in the key of B flat. In the UK, it is in the key of G. *Some of the most popular lipstick shades in Renaissance England were named, Rat, Horseflesh, Turkey, Blood and Puke. *When Thomas Eddison died in 1941, Henry Ford captured his dying breath in a bottle. *Alfred Hitchcock's "Psycho" was the first Hollywood film that showed a toilet flushing - thereby generating many complaints. *The first flying-trapeze circus act was performed by Frenchman Jules Leotard at the Circus Napoleon on Nov 12th 1859. He invented the garment now known as the leotard. *In 1972 when Gordon Brown (British Chancellor of the Excheque) was 21, he won a Daily Express competition for "A Vision of Britain In The Year 2000." *It is said, grapefruit scent makes middle age women seem six years younger to men (but it does not work the other way round). *The average elephant produces 50lb of dung a day. *The dinosaur noises in Jurassic Park came from slowing down the sounds of elephants, geese and horses. *The French invented the pop of the Christmas Cracker in the 19th century (Tom Smith bought the idea back to UK after holidaying in France) *The chances of hitting 2 holes-in-one during the same round of golf is one in 8 million *Victorian ladies tried to enlarge their boobs by bathing in strawberries *Until the 18th century, India produced almost all the world's diamonds *The ancient Egyptians thought it was good luck to enter a house left foot first *During their marriage, Angelina Jolie and Billy Bob Thornton bought an electric chair for their dining room * The average single man is one inch shorter than the average married man *Lightning strikes about 6,000 times per minute on this planet of which 80% are in-cloud flashes and 20% are cloud-to-ground flashes. *When screen lover Rudolph Valentino married Jean Acker (on Bonfire Day), she locked him out of their bedroom, the marriage lasted only six hours *160 cars can drive side by side on the Monumental Axis in Brazil, the world's widest road. On paper they can, as the road (actually it's an avenue) is 865 feet wide, but in reality they can't. *When a female horse and a male donkey mate, the off-spring is called a mule; but when a male horse and a female donkey mate, the off spring is called a HINNY *On average women speak 7000 words per day, where as men speak just over 2000 *Intelligent people have more zinc and copper in their hair *While in Alcatraz, Al Capone was inmate No.85 *Disney World is bigger than the world's 5 smallest countries *A house fly hums in the middle octave key of F *Adolf Hitler's mother seriously considered having an abortion but was talked out of it by her doctor *In one gram of soil, about ten million bacteria live in it *A single ounce of gold can be beaten into a thin film covering 100 square feet *Before the 1800, there were no separately designed shoes for left and right feet *Paper was invented early in the second century by Chinese eunuch *The first person to receive a singing telegram was singer Rudy Vallee, in honour of his 32nd birthday, July 28th 1933. * The longest one-syllable word in the English language is screeched *In Shakespeare's time, mattresses were secured on bed frames by ropes when you pulled on the ropes the mattress tightened, making the bed firmer to sleep on. Hence the phrase, "Goodnight, sleep tight." *There are 336 dimples on a regulation golf ball *A 75-year-old male driver received ten traffic tickets, drove on the wrong side of the road four times, committed four hit-and-run offenses and caused six accidents, all within 20 minutes, in McKinney, TX on 15 Oct 1966 [Worst driver: G. B. of Records] *The term "the whole 9 yards" came from WWII fighter pilots in the South Pacific. When arming their airplanes on the ground, the .50 caliber machine gun ammo belts measured exactly 27 feet, before being loaded into the fuselage. If the pilots fired all their ammo at a target, it got "the whole 9 yards." *Wilma Flintstone's maiden name was Shaghoopal *The word "trivia" comes from the Latin "trivium" which is the place where three roads meet. People would gather and talk about all sorts of matters. Also in medieval universities, the trivium comprised the three subjects taught first, grammar, logic, and rhetoric, AND the Roman Goddess, Trivia, is the goddess of crossroads, witchcraft and the harvest moon. *In 1935, the police in Atlantic City, New Jersey, arrested 42 men on the beach. They were cracking down on topless bathing suits worn by men. *During lunch breaks in Carlsbad, New Mexico no couple should engage in a sexual act while parked in their vehicle, unless their car has curtains. *The distance between cities are actually the distances between city halls. When you see a sign "Sheffield - 40 miles" it means it is 40 miles to the city hall of that city sign *The name of Canada is believed to come from the Iroquois Indian word "Kanata", meaning "village" or "community". The word Canada was first used in a 1534 text written by Jacques Cartier describing the Indian village of Stadacona. *The longest non-medical word in the English language is floccipausinihilipilification (29 letters), which means "the act of estimating as worthless." *Dominica, Mexico, Zambia, Kiribati, Fiji and Egypt all have birds on their flags. *Bees visit over 2,000 flowers and fly over 55,000 miles to produce just 1lb. of honey *Four out of every ten people who come to a party in your home will look in your bathroom cabinet *The taboo against whistling backstage comes from the pre-electricity era when a whistle was the signal for the curtains and the scenery to drop. An unexpected whistle could cause an unexpected scene change! *The sound you hear when macho people crack their knuckles is actually the sound of nitrogen gas bubbles bursting. *Francis Bacon died of hypothermia while trying to freeze a chicken by stuffing it with snow *Captain Jean-Luc Picard's (Star Trek) fish was named Livingston *The WD in WD40 means "water displacement." The 40 in WD40 comes from the 40 attempts at creating this product. *Beethoven dipped his head in cold water before he composed. *Mice, whales, elephants, giraffes and man all have seven neck vertebra. * The name for Oz in the "Wizard of Oz" was thought up when the creator, Frank Baum, looked at his filing cabinet and saw A-N, and O-Z, hence "Oz." *American car horns beep in the tone of F. *The only food cockroaches won't eat are cucumbers. *China has more English speakers than the U.S. *Hong Kong has the world's largest double-decker tram fleet in the world *The words silent and listen have the same letters. Santa and Satan do too *You can tell the sex of a turtle by the sound it makes, A male grunts, A female hisses. *There are no public toilets in Peru. *Samuel Clemens [aka Mark Twain] was born in 1835 when Haley's Comet came into view. When he died in 1910, Haley's Comet came into view again *The pound sign is called a 'octothorp.' *In 1963, baseball pitcher Gaylord Perry remarked, "They'll put a man on the moon before I hit a home run." On July 20, 1969, a few hours after Neil Armstrong set foot on the moon, Gaylord Perry hit his first, and only, home run *"Dreamt" is the only word in the English language to end in "mt." *The Queen termite can live up to 50 years and have 30,000 children every day *The term, "It's all fun and games until someone loses an eye" is from Ancient Rome. The only rule during wrestling matches was, "No eye gouging," eveything else was allowed. *A Dalmatian is the only dog that can get gout *The male gypsy moth can smell the virgin female up to 1.8 miles away *A male emperor moth can smell a female emperor moth up to 7 miles away *The human heart creates enough pressure to squirt blood 30 feet out of the body. *A puff of smoke, such as when someone is smoking a cigarette or a pipe is called " a lunt " *The name "Pinocchio" is from Tuscany, Italy and means "pine nut" or "kernel". *Gilligan of Gilligan's Island had a first name that was only used once, on the never-aired pilot show. His first name was Willy *It was the left shoe that Aschenputtel (Cinderella) lost at the stairway, when the prince tried to follow her. It was originally the right, but the translator messed up again. *Cinderella's slippers were originally made out of fur. The story was changed in the 1600's by a translator. *Banging your head against a wall uses 150 calories an hour & if you yelled for 8 years, 7 months and 6 days, you would have produced enough sound energy to heat one cup of coffee *For 47 days in 1961, the painting "Matisse's Le Bateau (The Boat)" was hanging upside down in the Museum of Modern Art in New York. None of the over 116,000 visitors seem to have noticed. *Walt Disney named Mickey Mouse after Mickey Rooney, whose mother he dated. *Lorne Greene had one of his nipples bitten off by an alligator while he was host of "Lorne Greene's Animal Kingdom." *The magic word 'Abracadabra' was originally intended for the specific purpose of curing hay fever. *The phrase "rule of thumb" was popularized by an old English law which stated that you couldn't beat your wife with anything wider than your thumb top to first joint. (a thumb measurement is an inch) *More redheads are born in Scotland UK than in any other part of the world *The Sanskrit word for 'war' means - "desire for more cows". *The average bed is home to over 5 billion dust mites. *Only female wasps, bees, and mosquitoes sting. *Las Vegas means "The Meadows" in Spanish. *Born on November 2, 1718, British politician, John Montagu, the 4th Earl of Sandwich, is credited with naming the 'sandwich.' He developed a habit of eating beef between slice of toast so he could continue to play cards uninterrupted. *Ice hockey was first played in 1885 by British soldiers stationed in Canada *Armored knights raised their visors to identify themselves when they rode past their king. This custom has become the modern military salute. *Your fingernails grow 4 times faster than your toe nails *Pain travels faster than 3000 feet per second *A cow produces 200 times more gas a day than a person *About 10,000,000 people have the same birthday as you *The snail mates only once in it's entire life, also a snail has 4 noses *The Coca-Cola company is the biggest consumer of sugar in the world *The dot that appears over the letter "i" is called a tittle. *All major league baseball umpires must wear black underwear while on the job (in case their pants split) *Captain Kirk never said "Beam me up, Scotty," but he did say, "Beam me up, Mr. Scott" *The word gymnasium comes from the Greek word gymnazein which means to exercise naked *Everyone thought Albert Einstein suffered from dyslexia, because he couldn't speak properly until he was 9 years old. *Mel Blanc (the voice of Bugs Bunny) was allergic to carrots *The nation of Monaco on the French Riviera, is smaller than Central Park in New York. Monaco is 370 acres and Central Park is 840 acres *Gweneth Paltrow's nickname for Steven Speilberg is "Uncle Morty." Steven Speilberg calls Gweneth Paltrow "Gwynnie the pooh." *You can't kill yourself by holding your breath. *The sorcerer's name in Disney's Fantasia is Yensid, which happens to be Disney backwards. *Armadillos are the only animal besides humans that can get leprosy *The world's longest name is: Adolph Blaine Charles David Earl Frederick Gerald Hubert Irvin John Kenneth Lloyd Martin Nero Oliver Paul Quincy Randolph Shermasn Thomas Uncas Victor William Xerxes Yancy Zeus Wolfeschlegelsteinhausenbergerdorft Sr. *Shirly Temple received 135,000 presents on her 8th birthday. * When Christopher Columbus and crew landed in the New World they observed the natives using a nose pipe to smoke a strange new herb. The pipe was called a "tabaka" by the locals, hence our word tobacco. *Americans on the average eat 18 acres of pizza every day. *The sound of E.T. walking was made by someone squishing her hands in jelly. *Hitler and Napoleon both had only one testicle. *Every time you lick a stamp, you're consuming 1/10 of a calorie. *In ancient China, people committed suicide by eating a pound of salt. *Queen Victoria [UK 1837-1901] eased the discomfort of her monthly cramps by having her doctor supply her with marijuana. *The average human eats 8 spiders in their lifetime at night. [usually in our sleep] ~ this is a MYTH *If you fart consistently for 6 years and 9 months, enough energy is produced to create an atomic bomb *Sugar was first added to chewing gum in 1869 by a dentist (William Semple). One way to assure business!! *The Ramses brand condom is named after the great phaoroh Ramses II who fathered over 160 children. *The names of the three wise monkeys are: Mizaru: See no evil, Mikazaru: Hear no evil, and Mazaru: Speak no evil. *The Spanish word esposa means "wife." The plural, esposas, means "wives," but also "handcuffs." *23% of all photocopier faults worldwide are caused by people sitting on them and photocopying their butts. * There was one U.S. state that no longer exists? In 1784 the U.S. had a state called Franklin, named after Benjamin Franklin. But four years later, it was incorporated into Tennessee. *The clinical term for a hairy buttocks is "daysypgal." *A duck's quack doesn't echo, and ... no one knows why.~ MYTH everything echoes. University students have recorded a ducks echo. It is usually so quiet we cannot hear it. *"The sixth sick sheik's sixth sheep's sick" is said to be the toughest tongue twister in the English language. ??? Maybe if said fast. *Clans many many years ago that wanted to get rid of their unwanted people without killing them, burnt their houses down - hence the expression " to get fired." !!

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Poll: Did you like The Oddysey or The Iliad better? I liked the Iliad better. This was my favorite part: Sing, O goddess, the anger of Achilles son of Peleus, that brought countless ills upon the Achaeans. Many a brave soul did it send hurrying down to Hades, and many a hero did it yield a prey to dogs and vultures, for so were the counsels of Jove fulfilled from the day on which the son of Atreus, king of men, and great Achilles, first fell out with one another. And which of the gods was it that set them on to quarrel? It was the son of Jove and Leto; for he was angry with the king and sent a pestilence upon the host to plague the people, because the son of Atreus had dishonoured Chryses his priest. Now Chryses had come to the ships of the Achaeans to free his daughter, and had brought with him a great ransom: moreover he bore in his hand the sceptre of Apollo wreathed with a suppliant's wreath and he besought the Achaeans, but most of all the two sons of Atreus, who were their chiefs. "Sons of Atreus," he cried, "and all other Achaeans, may the gods who dwell in Olympus grant you to sack the city of Priam, and to reach your homes in safety; but free my daughter, and accept a ransom for her, in reverence to Apollo, son of Jove." On this the rest of the Achaeans with one voice were for respecting the priest and taking the ransom that he offered; but not so Agamemnon, who spoke fiercely to him and sent him roughly away. "Old man," said he, "let me not find you tarrying about our ships, nor yet coming hereafter. Your sceptre of the god and your wreath shall profit you nothing. I will not free her. She shall grow old in my house at Argos far from her own home, busying herself with her loom and visiting my couch; so go, and do not provoke me or it shall be the worse for you." The old man feared him and obeyed. Not a word he spoke, but went by the shore of the sounding sea and prayed apart to King Apollo whom lovely Leto had borne. "Hear me," he cried, "O god of the silver bow, that protectest Chryse and holy Cilla and rulest Tenedos with thy might, hear me oh thou of Sminthe. If I have ever decked your temple with garlands, or burned your thigh-bones in fat of bulls or goats, grant my prayer, and let your arrows avenge these my tears upon the Danaans." Thus did he pray, and Apollo heard his prayer. He came down furious from the summits of Olympus, with his bow and his quiver upon his shoulder, and the arrows rattled on his back with the rage that trembled within him. He sat himself down away from the ships with a face as dark as night, and his silver bow rang death as he shot his arrow in the midst of them. First he smote their mules and their hounds, but presently he aimed his shafts at the people themselves, and all day long the pyres of the dead were burning. For nine whole days he shot his arrows among the people, but upon the tenth day Achilles called them in assembly- moved thereto by Juno, who saw the Achaeans in their death-throes and had compassion upon them. Then, when they were got together, he rose and spoke among them. "Son of Atreus," said he, "I deem that we should now turn roving home if we would escape destruction, for we are being cut down by war and pestilence at once. Let us ask some priest or prophet, or some reader of dreams (for dreams, too, are of Jove) who can tell us why Phoebus Apollo is so angry, and say whether it is for some vow that we have broken, or hecatomb that we have not offered, and whether he will accept the savour of lambs and goats without blemish, so as to take away the plague from us." With these words he sat down, and Calchas son of Thestor, wisest of augurs, who knew things past present and to come, rose to speak. He it was who had guided the Achaeans with their fleet to Ilius, through the prophesyings with which Phoebus Apollo had inspired him. With all sincerity and goodwill he addressed them thus:- "Achilles, loved of heaven, you bid me tell you about the anger of King Apollo, I will therefore do so; but consider first and swear that you will stand by me heartily in word and deed, for I know that I shall offend one who rules the Argives with might, to whom all the Achaeans are in subjection. A plain man cannot stand against the anger of a king, who if he swallow his displeasure now, will yet nurse revenge till he has wreaked it. Consider, therefore, whether or no you will protect me." And Achilles answered, "Fear not, but speak as it is borne in upon you from heaven, for by Apollo, Calchas, to whom you pray, and whose oracles you reveal to us, not a Danaan at our ships shall lay his hand upon you, while I yet live to look upon the face of the earth- no, not though you name Agamemnon himself, who is by far the foremost of the Achaeans." Thereon the seer spoke boldly. "The god," he said, "is angry neither about vow nor hecatomb, but for his priest's sake, whom Agamemnon has dishonoured, in that he would not free his daughter nor take a ransom for her; therefore has he sent these evils upon us, and will yet send others. He will not deliver the Danaans from this pestilence till Agamemnon has restored the girl without fee or ransom to her father, and has sent a holy hecatomb to Chryse. Thus we may perhaps appease him." With these words he sat down, and Agamemnon rose in anger. His heart was black with rage, and his eyes flashed fire as he scowled on Calchas and said, "Seer of evil, you never yet prophesied smooth things concerning me, but have ever loved to foretell that which was evil. You have brought me neither comfort nor performance; and now you come seeing among Danaans, and saying that Apollo has plagued us because I would not take a ransom for this girl, the daughter of Chryses. I have set my heart on keeping her in my own house, for I love her better even than my own wife Clytemnestra, whose peer she is alike in form and feature, in understanding and accomplishments. Still I will give her up if I must, for I would have the people live, not die; but you must find me a prize instead, or I alone among the Argives shall be without one. This is not well; for you behold, all of you, that my prize is to go elsewhither." And Achilles answered, "Most noble son of Atreus, covetous beyond all mankind, how shall the Achaeans find you another prize? We have no common store from which to take one. Those we took from the cities have been awarded; we cannot disallow the awards that have been made already. Give this girl, therefore, to the god, and if ever Jove grants us to sack the city of Troy we will requite you three and fourfold." Then Agamemnon said, "Achilles, valiant though you be, you shall not thus outwit me. You shall not overreach and you shall not persuade me. Are you to keep your own prize, while I sit tamely under my loss and give up the girl at your bidding? Let the Achaeans find me a prize in fair exchange to my liking, or I will come and take your own, or that of Ajax or of Ulysses; and he to whomsoever I may come shall rue my coming. But of this we will take thought hereafter; for the present, let us draw a ship into the sea, and find a crew for her expressly; let us put a hecatomb on board, and let us send Chryseis also; further, let some chief man among us be in command, either Ajax, or Idomeneus, or yourself, son of Peleus, mighty warrior that you are, that we may offer sacrifice and appease the the anger of the god." Achilles scowled at him and answered, "You are steeped in insolence and lust of gain. With what heart can any of the Achaeans do your bidding, either on foray or in open fighting? I came not warring here for any ill the Trojans had done me. I have no quarrel with them. They have not raided my cattle nor my horses, nor cut down my harvests on the rich plains of Phthia; for between me and them there is a great space, both mountain and sounding sea. We have followed you, Sir Insolence! for your pleasure, not ours- to gain satisfaction from the Trojans for your shameless self and for Menelaus. You forget this, and threaten to rob me of the prize for which I have toiled, and which the sons of the Achaeans have given me. Never when the Achaeans sack any rich city of the Trojans do I receive so good a prize as you do, though it is my hands that do the better part of the fighting. When the sharing comes, your share is far the largest, and I, forsooth, must go back to my ships, take what I can get and be thankful, when my labour of fighting is done. Now, therefore, I shall go back to Phthia; it will be much better for me to return home with my ships, for I will not stay here dishonoured to gather gold and substance for you." And Agamemnon answered, "Fly if you will, I shall make you no prayers to stay you. I have others here who will do me honour, and above all Jove, the lord of counsel. There is no king here so hateful to me as you are, for you are ever quarrelsome and ill affected. What though you be brave? Was it not heaven that made you so? Go home, then, with your ships and comrades to lord it over the Myrmidons. I care neither for you nor for your anger; and thus will I do: since Phoebus Apollo is taking Chryseis from me, I shall send her with my ship and my followers, but I shall come to your tent and take your own prize Briseis, that you may learn how much stronger I am than you are, and that another may fear to set himself up as equal or comparable with me." The son of Peleus was furious, and his heart within his shaggy breast was divided whether to draw his sword, push the others aside, and kill the son of Atreus, or to restrain himself and check his anger. While he was thus in two minds, and was drawing his mighty sword from its scabbard, Minerva came down from heaven (for Juno had sent her in the love she bore to them both), and seized the son of Peleus by his yellow hair, visible to him alone, for of the others no man could see her. Achilles turned in amaze, and by the fire that flashed from her eyes at once knew that she was Minerva. "Why are you here," said he, "daughter of aegis-bearing Jove? To see the pride of Agamemnon, son of Atreus? Let me tell you- and it shall surely be- he shall pay for this insolence with his life." And Minerva said, "I come from heaven, if you will hear me, to bid you stay your anger. Juno has sent me, who cares for both of you alike. Cease, then, this brawling, and do not draw your sword; rail at him if you will, and your railing will not be vain, for I tell you- and it shall surely be- that you shall hereafter receive gifts three times as splendid by reason of this present insult. Hold, therefore, and obey." "Goddess," answered Achilles, "however angry a man may be, he must do as you two command him. This will be best, for the gods ever hear the prayers of him who has obeyed them." He stayed his hand on the silver hilt of his sword, and thrust it back into the scabbard as Minerva bade him. Then she went back to Olympus among the other gods, and to the house of aegis-bearing Jove. But the son of Peleus again began railing at the son of Atreus, for he was still in a rage. "Wine-bibber," he cried, "with the face of a dog and the heart of a hind, you never dare to go out with the host in fight, nor yet with our chosen men in ambuscade. You shun this as you do death itself. You had rather go round and rob his prizes from any man who contradicts you. You devour your people, for you are king over a feeble folk; otherwise, son of Atreus, henceforward you would insult no man. Therefore I say, and swear it with a great oath- nay, by this my sceptre which shalt sprout neither leaf nor shoot, nor bud anew from the day on which it left its parent stem upon the mountains- for the axe stripped it of leaf and bark, and now the sons of the Achaeans bear it as judges and guardians of the decrees of heaven- so surely and solemnly do I swear that hereafter they shall look fondly for Achilles and shall not find him. In the day of your distress, when your men fall dying by the murderous hand of Hector, you shall not know how to help them, and shall rend your heart with rage for the hour when you offered insult to the bravest of the Achaeans." With this the son of Peleus dashed his gold-bestudded sceptre on the ground and took his seat, while the son of Atreus was beginning fiercely from his place upon the other side. Then uprose smooth-tongued Nestor, the facile speaker of the Pylians, and the words fell from his lips sweeter than honey. Two generations of men born and bred in Pylos had passed away under his rule, and he was now reigning over the third. With all sincerity and goodwill, therefore, he addressed them thus:- "Of a truth," he said, "a great sorrow has befallen the Achaean land. Surely Priam with his sons would rejoice, and the Trojans be glad at heart if they could hear this quarrel between you two, who are so excellent in fight and counsel. I am older than either of you; therefore be guided by me. Moreover I have been the familiar friend of men even greater than you are, and they did not disregard my counsels. Never again can I behold such men as Pirithous and Dryas shepherd of his people, or as Caeneus, Exadius, godlike Polyphemus, and Theseus son of Aegeus, peer of the immortals. These were the mightiest men ever born upon this earth: mightiest were they, and when they fought the fiercest tribes of mountain savages they utterly overthrew them. I came from distant Pylos, and went about among them, for they would have me come, and I fought as it was in me to do. Not a man now living could withstand them, but they heard my words, and were persuaded by them. So be it also with yourselves, for this is the more excellent way. Therefore, Agamemnon, though you be strong, take not this girl away, for the sons of the Achaeans have already given her to Achilles; and you, Achilles, strive not further with the king, for no man who by the grace of Jove wields a sceptre has like honour with Agamemnon. You are strong, and have a goddess for your mother; but Agamemnon is stronger than you, for he has more people under him. Son of Atreus, check your anger, I implore you; end this quarrel with Achilles, who in the day of battle is a tower of strength to the Achaeans." And Agamemnon answered, "Sir, all that you have said is true, but this fellow must needs become our lord and master: he must be lord of all, king of all, and captain of all, and this shall hardly be. Granted that the gods have made him a great warrior, have they also given him the right to speak with railing?" Achilles interrupted him. "I should be a mean coward," he cried, "were I to give in to you in all things. Order other people about, not me, for I shall obey no longer. Furthermore I say- and lay my saying to your heart- I shall fight neither you nor any man about this girl, for those that take were those also that gave. But of all else that is at my ship you shall carry away nothing by force. Try, that others may see; if you do, my spear shall be reddened with your blood." When they had quarrelled thus angrily, they rose, and broke up the assembly at the ships of the Achaeans. The son of Peleus went back to his tents and ships with the son of Menoetius and his company, while Agamemnon drew a vessel into the water and chose a crew of twenty oarsmen. He escorted Chryseis on board and sent moreover a hecatomb for the god. And Ulysses went as captain. These, then, went on board and sailed their ways over the sea. But the son of Atreus bade the people purify themselves; so they purified themselves and cast their filth into the sea. Then they offered hecatombs of bulls and goats without blemish on the sea-shore, and the smoke with the savour of their sacrifice rose curling up towards heaven. Thus did they busy themselves throughout the host. But Agamemnon did not forget the threat that he had made Achilles, and called his trusty messengers and squires Talthybius and Eurybates. "Go," said he, "to the tent of Achilles, son of Peleus; take Briseis by the hand and bring her hither; if he will not give her I shall come with others and take her- which will press him harder." He charged them straightly further and dismissed them, whereon they went their way sorrowfully by the seaside, till they came to the tents and ships of the Myrmidons. They found Achilles sitting by his tent and his ships, and ill-pleased he was when he beheld them. They stood fearfully and reverently before him, and never a word did they speak, but he knew them and said, "Welcome, heralds, messengers of gods and men; draw near; my quarrel is not with you but with Agamemnon who has sent you for the girl Briseis. Therefore, Patroclus, bring her and give her to them, but let them be witnesses by the blessed gods, by mortal men, and by the fierceness of Agamemnon's anger, that if ever again there be need of me to save the people from ruin, they shall seek and they shall not find. Agamemnon is mad with rage and knows not how to look before and after that the Achaeans may fight by their ships in safety." Patroclus did as his dear comrade had bidden him. He brought Briseis from the tent and gave her over to the heralds, who took her with them to the ships of the Achaeans- and the woman was loth to go. Then Achilles went all alone by the side of the hoar sea, weeping and looking out upon the boundless waste of waters. He raised his hands in prayer to his immortal mother, "Mother," he cried, "you bore me doomed to live but for a little season; surely Jove, who thunders from Olympus, might have made that little glorious. It is not so. Agamemnon, son of Atreus, has done me dishonour, and has robbed me of my prize by force." As he spoke he wept aloud, and his mother heard him where she was sitting in the depths of the sea hard by the old man her father. Forthwith she rose as it were a grey mist out of the waves, sat down before him as he stood weeping, caressed him with her hand, and said, "My son, why are you weeping? What is it that grieves you? Keep it not from me, but tell me, that we may know it together." Achilles drew a deep sigh and said, "You know it; why tell you what you know well already? We went to Thebe the strong city of Eetion, sacked it, and brought hither the spoil. The sons of the Achaeans shared it duly among themselves, and chose lovely Chryseis as the meed of Agamemnon; but Chryses, priest of Apollo, came to the ships of the Achaeans to free his daughter, and brought with him a great ransom: moreover he bore in his hand the sceptre of Apollo, wreathed with a suppliant's wreath, and he besought the Achaeans, but most of all the two sons of Atreus who were their chiefs. "On this the rest of the Achaeans with one voice were for respecting the priest and taking the ransom that he offered; but not so Agamemnon, who spoke fiercely to him and sent him roughly away. So he went back in anger, and Apollo, who loved him dearly, heard his prayer. Then the god sent a deadly dart upon the Argives, and the people died thick on one another, for the arrows went everywhither among the wide host of the Achaeans. At last a seer in the fulness of his knowledge declared to us the oracles of Apollo, and I was myself first to say that we should appease him. Whereon the son of Atreus rose in anger, and threatened that which he has since done. The Achaeans are now taking the girl in a ship to Chryse, and sending gifts of sacrifice to the god; but the heralds have just taken from my tent the daughter of Briseus, whom the Achaeans had awarded to myself. "Help your brave son, therefore, if you are able. Go to Olympus, and if you have ever done him service in word or deed, implore the aid of Jove. Ofttimes in my father's house have I heard you glory in that you alone of the immortals saved the son of Saturn from ruin, when the others, with Juno, Neptune, and Pallas Minerva would have put him in bonds. It was you, goddess, who delivered him by calling to Olympus the hundred-handed monster whom gods call Briareus, but men Aegaeon, for he is stronger even than his father; when therefore he took his seat all-glorious beside the son of Saturn, the other gods were afraid, and did not bind him. Go, then, to him, remind him of all this, clasp his knees, and bid him give succour to the Trojans. Let the Achaeans be hemmed in at the sterns of their ships, and perish on the sea-shore, that they may reap what joy they may of their king, and that Agamemnon may rue his blindness in offering insult to the foremost of the Achaeans." Thetis wept and answered, "My son, woe is me that I should have borne or suckled you. Would indeed that you had lived your span free from all sorrow at your ships, for it is all too brief; alas, that you should be at once short of life and long of sorrow above your peers: woe, therefore, was the hour in which I bore you; nevertheless I will go to the snowy heights of Olympus, and tell this tale to Jove, if he will hear our prayer: meanwhile stay where you are with your ships, nurse your anger against the Achaeans, and hold aloof from fight. For Jove went yesterday to Oceanus, to a feast among the Ethiopians, and the other gods went with him. He will return to Olympus twelve days hence; I will then go to his mansion paved with bronze and will beseech him; nor do I doubt that I shall be able to persuade him." On this she left him, still furious at the loss of her that had been taken from him. Meanwhile Ulysses reached Chryse with the hecatomb. When they had come inside the harbour they furled the sails and laid them in the ship's hold; they slackened the forestays, lowered the mast into its place, and rowed the ship to the place where they would have her lie; there they cast out their mooring-stones and made fast the hawsers. They then got out upon the sea-shore and landed the hecatomb for Apollo; Chryseis also left the ship, and Ulysses led her to the altar to deliver her into the hands of her father. "Chryses," said he, "King Agamemnon has sent me to bring you back your child, and to offer sacrifice to Apollo on behalf of the Danaans, that we may propitiate the god, who has now brought sorrow upon the Argives." So saying he gave the girl over to her father, who received her gladly, and they ranged the holy hecatomb all orderly round the altar of the god. They washed their hands and took up the barley-meal to sprinkle over the victims, while Chryses lifted up his hands and prayed aloud on their behalf. "Hear me," he cried, "O god of the silver bow, that protectest Chryse and holy Cilla, and rulest Tenedos with thy might. Even as thou didst hear me aforetime when I prayed, and didst press hardly upon the Achaeans, so hear me yet again, and stay this fearful pestilence from the Danaans." Thus did he pray, and Apollo heard his prayer. When they had done praying and sprinkling the barley-meal, they drew back the heads of the victims and killed and flayed them. They cut out the thigh-bones, wrapped them round in two layers of fat, set some pieces of raw meat on the top of them, and then Chryses laid them on the wood fire and poured wine over them, while the young men stood near him with five-pronged spits in their hands. When the thigh-bones were burned and they had tasted the inward meats, they cut the rest up small, put the pieces upon the spits, roasted them till they were done, and drew them off: then, when they had finished their work and the feast was ready, they ate it, and every man had his full share, so that all were satisfied. As soon as they had had enough to eat and drink, pages filled the mixing-bowl with wine and water and handed it round, after giving every man his drink-offering. Thus all day long the young men worshipped the god with song, hymning him and chaunting the joyous paean, and the god took pleasure in their voices; but when the sun went down, and it came on dark, they laid themselves down to sleep by the stern cables of the ship, and when the child of morning, rosy-fingered Dawn, appeared they again set sail for the host of the Achaeans. Apollo sent them a fair wind, so they raised their mast and hoisted their white sails aloft. As the sail bellied with the wind the ship flew through the deep blue water, and the foam hissed against her bows as she sped onward. When they reached the wide-stretching host of the Achaeans, they drew the vessel ashore, high and dry upon the sands, set her strong props beneath her, and went their ways to their own tents and ships. But Achilles abode at his ships and nursed his anger. He went not to the honourable assembly, and sallied not forth to fight, but gnawed at his own heart, pining for battle and the war-cry. Now after twelve days the immortal gods came back in a body to Olympus, and Jove led the way. Thetis was not unmindful of the charge her son had laid upon her, so she rose from under the sea and went through great heaven with early morning to Olympus, where she found the mighty son of Saturn sitting all alone upon its topmost ridges. She sat herself down before him, and with her left hand seized his knees, while with her right she caught him under the chin, and besought him, saying- "Father Jove, if I ever did you service in word or deed among the immortals, hear my prayer, and do honour to my son, whose life is to be cut short so early. King Agamemnon has dishonoured him by taking his prize and keeping her. Honour him then yourself, Olympian lord of counsel, and grant victory to the Trojans, till the Achaeans give my son his due and load him with riches in requital." Jove sat for a while silent, and without a word, but Thetis still kept firm hold of his knees, and besought him a second time. "Incline your head," said she, "and promise me surely, or else deny me- for you have nothing to fear- that I may learn how greatly you disdain me." At this Jove was much troubled and answered, "I shall have trouble if you set me quarrelling with Juno, for she will provoke me with her taunting speeches; even now she is always railing at me before the other gods and accusing me of giving aid to the Trojans. Go back now, lest she should find out. I will consider the matter, and will bring it about as wish. See, I incline my head that you believe me. This is the most solemn that I can give to any god. I never recall my word, or deceive, or fail to do what I say, when I have nodded my head." As he spoke the son of Saturn bowed his dark brows, and the ambrosial locks swayed on his immortal head, till vast Olympus reeled. When the pair had thus laid their plans, they parted- Jove to his house, while the goddess quitted the splendour of Olympus, and plunged into the depths of the sea. The gods rose from their seats, before the coming of their sire. Not one of them dared to remain sitting, but all stood up as he came among them. There, then, he took his seat. But Juno, when she saw him, knew that he and the old merman's daughter, silver-footed Thetis, had been hatching mischief, so she at once began to upbraid him. "Trickster," she cried, "which of the gods have you been taking into your counsels now? You are always settling matters in secret behind my back, and have never yet told me, if you could help it, one word of your intentions." "Juno," replied the sire of gods and men, "you must not expect to be informed of all my counsels. You are my wife, but you would find it hard to understand them. When it is proper for you to hear, there is no one, god or man, who will be told sooner, but when I mean to keep a matter to myself, you must not pry nor ask questions." "Dread son of Saturn," answered Juno, "what are you talking about? I? Pry and ask questions? Never. I let you have your own way in everything. Still, I have a strong misgiving that the old merman's daughter Thetis has been talking you over, for she was with you and had hold of your knees this self-same morning. I believe, therefore, that you have been promising her to give glory to Achilles, and to kill much people at the ships of the Achaeans." "Wife," said Jove, "I can do nothing but you suspect me and find it out. You will take nothing by it, for I shall only dislike you the more, and it will go harder with you. Granted that it is as you say; I mean to have it so; sit down and hold your tongue as I bid you for if I once begin to lay my hands about you, though all heaven were on your side it would profit you nothing." On this Juno was frightened, so she curbed her stubborn will and sat down in silence. But the heavenly beings were disquieted throughout the house of Jove, till the cunning workman Vulcan began to try and pacify his mother Juno. "It will be intolerable," said he, "if you two fall to wrangling and setting heaven in an uproar about a pack of mortals. If such ill counsels are to prevail, we shall have no pleasure at our banquet. Let me then advise my mother- and she must herself know that it will be better- to make friends with my dear father Jove, lest he again scold her and disturb our feast. If the Olympian Thunderer wants to hurl us all from our seats, he can do so, for he is far the strongest, so give him fair words, and he will then soon be in a good humour with us." As he spoke, he took a double cup of nectar, and placed it in his mother's hand. "Cheer up, my dear mother," said he, "and make the best of it. I love you dearly, and should be very sorry to see you get a thrashing; however grieved I might be, I could not help for there is no standing against Jove. Once before when I was trying to help you, he caught me by the foot and flung me from the heavenly threshold. All day long from morn till eve, was I falling, till at sunset I came to ground in the island of Lemnos, and there I lay, with very little life left in me, till the Sintians came and tended me." Juno smiled at this, and as she smiled she took the cup from her son's hands. Then Vulcan drew sweet nectar from the mixing-bowl, and served it round among the gods, going from left to right; and the blessed gods laughed out a loud applause as they saw him ing bustling about the heavenly mansion. Thus through the livelong day to the going down of the sun they feasted, and every one had his full share, so that all were satisfied. Apollo struck his lyre, and the Muses lifted up their sweet voices, calling and answering one another. But when the sun's glorious light had faded, they went home to bed, each in his own abode, which lame Vulcan with his consummate skill had fashioned for them. So Jove, the Olympian Lord of Thunder, hied him to the bed in which he always slept; and when he had got on to it he went to sleep, with Juno of the golden throne by his side. Now the other gods and the armed warriors on the plain slept soundly, but Jove was wakeful, for he was thinking how to do honour to Achilles, and destroyed much people at the ships of the Achaeans. In the end he deemed it would be best to send a lying dream to King Agamemnon; so he called one to him and said to it, "Lying Dream, go to the ships of the Achaeans, into the tent of Agamemnon, and say to him word to word as I now bid you. Tell him to get the Achaeans instantly under arms, for he shall take Troy. There are no longer divided counsels among the gods; Juno has brought them to her own mind, and woe betides the Trojans." The dream went when it had heard its message, and soon reached the ships of the Achaeans. It sought Agamemnon son of Atreus and found him in his tent, wrapped in a profound slumber. It hovered over his head in the likeness of Nestor, son of Neleus, whom Agamemnon honoured above all his councillors, and said:- "You are sleeping, son of Atreus; one who has the welfare of his host and so much other care upon his shoulders should dock his sleep. Hear me at once, for I come as a messenger from Jove, who, though he be not near, yet takes thought for you and pities you. He bids you get the Achaeans instantly under arms, for you shall take Troy. There are no longer divided counsels among the gods; Juno has brought them over to her own mind, and woe betides the Trojans at the hands of Jove. Remember this, and when you wake see that it does not escape you." The dream then left him, and he thought of things that were, surely not to be accomplished. He thought that on that same day he was to take the city of Priam, but he little knew what was in the mind of Jove, who had many another hard-fought fight in store alike for Danaans and Trojans. Then presently he woke, with the divine message still ringing in his ears; so he sat upright, and put on his soft shirt so fair and new, and over this his heavy cloak. He bound his sandals on to his comely feet, and slung his silver-studded sword about his shoulders; then he took the imperishable staff of his father, and sallied forth to the ships of the Achaeans. The goddess Dawn now wended her way to vast Olympus that she might herald day to Jove and to the other immortals, and Agamemnon sent the criers round to call the people in assembly; so they called them and the people gathered thereon. But first he summoned a meeting of the elders at the ship of Nestor king of Pylos, and when they were assembled he laid a cunning counsel before them. "My friends," said he, "I have had a dream from heaven in the dead of night, and its face and figure resembled none but Nestor's. It hovered over my head and said, 'You are sleeping, son of Atreus; one who has the welfare of his host and so much other care upon his shoulders should dock his sleep. Hear me at once, for I am a messenger from Jove, who, though he be not near, yet takes thought for you and pities you. He bids you get the Achaeans instantly under arms, for you shall take Troy. There are no longer divided counsels among the gods; Juno has brought them over to her own mind, and woe betides the Trojans at the hands of Jove. Remember this.' The dream then vanished and I awoke. Let us now, therefore, arm the sons of the Achaeans. But it will be well that I should first sound them, and to this end I will tell them to fly with their ships; but do you others go about among the host and prevent their doing so." He then sat down, and Nestor the prince of Pylos with all sincerity and goodwill addressed them thus: "My friends," said he, "princes and councillors of the Argives, if any other man of the Achaeans had told us of this dream we should have declared it false, and would have had nothing to do with it. But he who has seen it is the foremost man among us; we must therefore set about getting the people under arms." With this he led the way from the assembly, and the other sceptred kings rose with him in obedience to the word of Agamemnon; but the people pressed forward to hear. They swarmed like bees that sally from some hollow cave and flit in countless throng among the spring flowers, bunched in knots and clusters; even so did the mighty multitude pour from ships and tents to the assembly, and range themselves upon the wide-watered shore, while among them ran Wildfire Rumour, messenger of Jove, urging them ever to the fore. Thus they gathered in a pell-mell of mad confusion, and the earth groaned under the tramp of men as the people sought their places. Nine heralds went crying about among them to stay their tumult and bid them listen to the kings, till at last they were got into their several places and ceased their clamour. Then King Agamemnon rose, holding his sceptre. This was the work of Vulcan, who gave it to Jove the son of Saturn. Jove gave it to Mercury, slayer of Argus, guide and guardian. King Mercury gave it to Pelops, the mighty charioteer, and Pelops to Atreus, shepherd of his people. Atreus, when he died, left it to Thyestes, rich in flocks, and Thyestes in his turn left it to be borne by Agamemnon, that he might be lord of all Argos and of the isles. Leaning, then, on his sceptre, he addressed the Argives. "My friends," he said, "heroes, servants of Mars, the hand of heaven has been laid heavily upon me. Cruel Jove gave me his solemn promise that I should sack the city of Priam before returning, but he has played me false, and is now bidding me go ingloriously back to Argos with the loss of much people. Such is the will of Jove, who has laid many a proud city in the dust, as he will yet lay others, for his power is above all. It will be a sorry tale hereafter that an Achaean host, at once so great and valiant, battled in vain against men fewer in number than themselves; but as yet the end is not in sight. Think that the Achaeans and Trojans have sworn to a solemn covenant, and that they have each been numbered- the Trojans by the roll of their householders, and we by companies of ten; think further that each of our companies desired to have a Trojan householder to pour out their wine; we are so greatly more in number that full many a company would have to go without its cup-bearer. But they have in the town allies from other places, and it is these that hinder me from being able to sack the rich city of Ilius. Nine of Jove years are gone; the timbers of our ships have rotted; their tackling is sound no longer. Our wives and little ones at home look anxiously for our coming, but the work that we came hither to do has not been done. Now, therefore, let us all do as I say: let us sail back to our own land, for we shall not take Troy." With these words he moved the hearts of the multitude, so many of them as knew not the cunning counsel of Agamemnon. They surged to and fro like the waves of the Icarian Sea, when the east and south winds break from heaven's clouds to lash them; or as when the west wind sweeps over a field of corn and the ears bow beneath the blast, even so were they swayed as they flew with loud cries towards the ships, and the dust from under their feet rose heavenward. They cheered each other on to draw the ships into the sea; they cleared the channels in front of them; they began taking away the stays from underneath them, and the welkin rang with their glad cries, so eager were they to return. Then surely the Argives would have returned after a fashion that was not fated. But Juno said to Minerva, "Alas, daughter of aegis-bearing Jove, unweariable, shall the Argives fly home to their own land over the broad sea, and leave Priam and the Trojans the glory of still keeping Helen, for whose sake so many of the Achaeans have died at Troy, far from their homes? Go about at once among the host, and speak fairly to them, man by man, that they draw not their ships into the sea." Minerva was not slack to do her bidding. Down she darted from the topmost summits of Olympus, and in a moment she was at the ships of the Achaeans. There she found Ulysses, peer of Jove in counsel, standing alone. He had not as yet laid a hand upon his ship, for he was grieved and sorry; so she went close up to him and said, "Ulysses, noble son of Laertes, are you going to fling yourselves into your ships and be off home to your own land in this way? Will you leave Priam and the Trojans the glory of still keeping Helen, for whose sake so many of the Achaeans have died at Troy, far from their homes? Go about at once among the host, and speak fairly to them, man by man, that they draw not their ships into the sea." Ulysses knew the voice as that of the goddess: he flung his cloak from him and set off to run. His servant Eurybates, a man of Ithaca, who waited on him, took charge of the cloak, whereon Ulysses went straight up to Agamemnon and received from him his ancestral, imperishable staff. With this he went about among the ships of the Achaeans. Whenever he met a king or chieftain, he stood by him and spoke him fairly. "Sir," said he, "this flight is cowardly and unworthy. Stand to your post, and bid your people also keep their places. You do not yet know the full mind of Agamemnon; he was sounding us, and ere long will visit the Achaeans with his displeasure. We were not all of us at the council to hear what he then said; see to it lest he be angry and do us a mischief; for the pride of kings is great, and the hand of Jove is with them." But when he came across any common man who was making a noise, he struck him with his staff and rebuked him, saying, "Sirrah, hold your peace, and listen to better men than yourself. You are a coward and no soldier; you are nobody either in fight or council; we cannot all be kings; it is not well that there should be many masters; one man must be supreme- one king to whom the son of scheming Saturn has given the sceptre of sovereignty over you all." Thus masterfully did he go about among the host, and the people hurried back to the council from their tents and ships with a sound as the thunder of surf when it comes crashing down upon the shore, and all the sea is in an uproar. The rest now took their seats and kept to their own several places, but Thersites still went on wagging his unbridled tongue- a man of many words, and those unseemly; a monger of sedition, a railer against all who were in authority, who cared not what he said, so that he might set the Achaeans in a laugh. He was the ugliest man of all those that came before Troy- bandy-legged, lame of one foot, with his two shoulders rounded and hunched over his chest. His head ran up to a point, but there was little hair on the top of it. Achilles and Ulysses hated him worst of all, for it was with them that he was most wont to wrangle; now, however, with a shrill squeaky voice he began heaping his abuse on Agamemnon. The Achaeans were angry and disgusted, yet none the less he kept on brawling and bawling at the son of Atreus. "Agamemnon," he cried, "what ails you now, and what more do you want? Your tents are filled with bronze and with fair women, for whenever we take a town we give you the pick of them. Would you have yet more gold, which some Trojan is to give you as a ransom for his son, when I or another Achaean has taken him prisoner? or is it some young girl to hide and lie with? It is not well that you, the ruler of the Achaeans, should bring them into such misery. Weakling cowards, women rather than men, let us sail home, and leave this fellow here at Troy to stew in his own meeds of honour, and discover whether we were of any service to him or no. Achilles is a much better man than he is, and see how he has treated him- robbing him of his prize and keeping it himself. Achilles takes it meekly and shows no fight; if he did, son of Atreus, you would never again insult him." Thus railed Thersites, but Ulysses at once went up to him and rebuked him sternly. "Check your glib tongue, Thersites," said be, "and babble not a word further. Chide not with princes when you have none to back you. There is no viler creature come before Troy with the sons of Atreus. Drop this chatter about kings, and neither revile them nor keep harping about going home. We do not yet know how things are going to be, nor whether the Achaeans are to return with good success or evil. How dare you gibe at Agamemnon because the Danaans have awarded him so many prizes? I tell you, therefore- and it shall surely be- that if I again catch you talking such nonsense, I will either forfeit my own head and be no more called father of Telemachus, or I will take you, strip you stark naked, and whip you out of the assembly till you go blubbering back to the ships." On this he beat him with his staff about the back and shoulders till he dropped and fell a-weeping. The golden sceptre raised a bloody weal on his back, so he sat down frightened and in pain, looking foolish as he wiped the tears from his eyes. The people were sorry for him, yet they laughed heartily, and one would turn to his neighbour saying, "Ulysses has done many a good thing ere now in fight and council, but he never did the Argives a better turn than when he stopped this fellow's mouth from prating further. He will give the kings no more of his insolence." Thus said the people. Then Ulysses rose, sceptre in hand, and Minerva in the likeness of a herald bade the people be still, that those who were far off might hear him and consider his council. He therefore with all sincerity and goodwill addressed them thus:- "King Agamemnon, the Achaeans are for making you a by-word among all mankind. They forget the promise they made you when they set out from Argos, that you should not return till you had sacked the town of Troy, and, like children or widowed women, they murmur and would set off homeward. True it is that they have had toil enough to be disheartened. A man chafes at having to stay away from his wife even for a single month, when he is on shipboard, at the mercy of wind and sea, but it is now nine long years that we have been kept here; I cannot, therefore, blame the Achaeans if they turn restive; still we shall be shamed if we go home empty after so long a stay- therefore, my friends, be patient yet a little longer that we may learn whether the prophesyings of Calchas were false or true. "All who have not since perished must remember as though it were yesterday or the day before, how the ships of the Achaeans were detained in Aulis when we were on our way hither to make war on Priam and the Trojans. We were ranged round about a fountain offering hecatombs to the gods upon their holy altars, and there was a fine plane-tree from beneath which there welled a stream of pure water. Then we saw a prodigy; for Jove sent a fearful serpent out of the ground, with blood-red stains upon its back, and it darted from under the altar on to the plane-tree. Now there was a brood of young sparrows, quite small, upon the topmost bough, peeping out from under the leaves, eight in all, and their mother that hatched them made nine. The serpent ate the poor cheeping things, while the old bird flew about lamenting her little ones; but the serpent threw his coils about her and caught her by the wing as she was screaming. Then, when he had eaten both the sparrow and her young, the god who had sent him made him become a sign; for the son of scheming Saturn turned him into stone, and we stood there wondering at that which had come to pass. Seeing, then, that such a fearful portent had broken in upon our hecatombs, Calchas forthwith declared to us the oracles of heaven. 'Why, Achaeans,' said he, 'are you thus speechless? Jove has sent us this sign, long in coming, and long ere it be fulfilled, though its fame shall last for ever. As the serpent ate the eight fledglings and the sparrow that hatched them, which makes nine, so shall we fight nine years at Troy, but in the tenth shall take the town.' This was what he said, and now it is all coming true. Stay here, therefore, all of you, till we take the city of Priam." On this the Argives raised a shout, till the ships rang again with the uproar. Nestor, knight of Gerene, then addressed them. "Shame on you," he cried, "to stay talking here like children, when you should fight like men. Where are our covenants now, and where the oaths that we have taken? Shall our counsels be flung into the fire, with our drink-offerings and the right hands of fellowship wherein we have put our trust? We waste our time in words, and for all our talking here shall be no further forward. Stand, therefore, son of Atreus, by your own steadfast purpose; lead the Argives on to battle, and leave this handful of men to rot, who scheme, and scheme in vain, to get back to Argos ere they have learned whether Jove be true or a liar. For the mighty son of Saturn surely promised that we should succeed, when we Argives set sail to bring death and destruction upon the Trojans. He showed us favourable signs by flashing his lightning on our right hands; therefore let none make haste to go till he has first lain with the wife of some Trojan, and avenged the toil and sorrow that he has suffered for the sake of Helen. Nevertheless, if any man is in such haste to be at home again, let him lay his hand to his ship that he may meet his doom in the sight of all. But, O king, consider and give ear to my counsel, for the word that I say may not be neglected lightly. Divide your men, Agamemnon, into their several tribes and clans, that clans and tribes may stand by and help one another. If you do this, and if the Achaeans obey you, you will find out who, both chiefs and peoples, are brave, and who are cowards; for they will vie against the other. Thus you shall also learn whether it is through the counsel of heaven or the cowardice of man that you shall fail to take the town." And Agamemnon answered, "Nestor, you have again outdone the sons of the Achaeans in counsel. Would, by Father Jove, Minerva, and Apollo, that I had among them ten more such councillors, for the city of King Priam would then soon fall beneath our hands, and we should sack it. But the son of Saturn afflicts me with bootless wranglings and strife. Achilles and I are quarrelling about this girl, in which matter I was the first to offend; if we can be of one mind again, the Trojans will not stave off destruction for a day. Now, therefore, get your morning meal, that our hosts join in fight. Whet well your spears; see well to the ordering of your shields; give good feeds to your horses, and look your chariots carefully over, that we may do battle the livelong day; for we shall have no rest, not for a moment, till night falls to part us. The bands that bear your shields shall be wet with the sweat upon your shoulders, your hands shall weary upon your spears, your horses shall steam in front of your chariots, and if I see any man shirking the fight, or trying to keep out of it at the ships, there shall be no help for him, but he shall be a prey to dogs and vultures." Thus he spoke, and the Achaeans roared applause. As when the waves run high before the blast of the south wind and break on some lofty headland, dashing against it and buffeting it without ceasing, as the storms from every quarter drive them, even so did the Achaeans rise and hurry in all directions to their ships. There they lighted their fires at their tents and got dinner, offering sacrifice every man to one or other of the gods, and praying each one of them that he might live to come out of the fight. Agamemnon, king of men, sacrificed a fat five-year-old bull to the mighty son of Saturn, and invited the princes and elders of his host. First he asked Nestor and King Idomeneus, then the two Ajaxes and the son of Tydeus, and sixthly Ulysses, peer of gods in counsel; but Menelaus came of his own accord, for he knew how busy his brother then was. They stood round the bull with the barley-meal in their hands, and Agamemnon prayed, saying, "Jove, most glorious, supreme, that dwellest in heaven, and ridest upon the storm-cloud, grant that the sun may not go down, nor the night fall, till the palace of Priam is laid low, and its gates are consumed with fire. Grant that my sword may pierce the shirt of Hector about his heart, and that full many of his comrades may bite the dust as they fall dying round him." Thus he prayed, but the son of Saturn would not fulfil his prayer. He accepted the sacrifice, yet none the less increased their toil continually. When they had done praying and sprinkling the barley-meal upon the victim, they drew back its head, killed it, and then flayed it. They cut out the thigh-bones, wrapped them round in two layers of fat, and set pieces of raw meat on the top of them. These they burned upon the split logs of firewood, but they spitted the inward meats, and held them in the flames to cook. When the thigh-bones were burned, and they had tasted the inward meats, they cut the rest up small, put the pieces upon spits, roasted them till they were done, and drew them off; then, when they had finished their work and the feast was ready, they ate it, and every man had his full share, so that all were satisfied. As soon as they had had enough to eat and drink, Nestor, knight of Gerene, began to speak. "King Agamemnon," said he, "let us not stay talking here, nor be slack in the work that heaven has put into our hands. Let the heralds summon the people to gather at their several ships; we will then go about among the host, that we may begin fighting at once." Thus did he speak, and Agamemnon heeded his words. He at once sent the criers round to call the people in assembly. So they called them, and the people gathered thereon. The chiefs about the son of Atreus chose their men and marshalled them, while Minerva went among them holding her priceless aegis that knows neither age nor death. From it there waved a hundred tassels of pure gold, all deftly woven, and each one of them worth a hundred oxen. With this she darted furiously everywhere among the hosts of the Achaeans, urging them forward, and putting courage into the heart of each, so that he might fight and do battle without ceasing. Thus war became sweeter in their eyes even than returning home in their ships. As when some great forest fire is raging upon a mountain top and its light is seen afar, even so as they marched the gleam of their armour flashed up into the firmament of heaven. They were like great flocks of geese, or cranes, or swans on the plain about the waters of Cayster, that wing their way hither and thither, glorying in the pride of flight, and crying as they settle till the fen is alive with their screaming. Even thus did their tribes pour from ships and tents on to the plain of the Scamander, and the ground rang as brass under the feet of men and horses. They stood as thick upon the flower-bespangled field as leaves that bloom in summer. As countless swarms of flies buzz around a herdsman's homestead in the time of spring when the pails are drenched with milk, even so did the Achaeans swarm on to the plain to charge the Trojans and destroy them. The chiefs disposed their men this way and that before the fight began, drafting them out as easily as goatherds draft their flocks when they have got mixed while feeding; and among them went King Agamemnon, with a head and face like Jove the lord of thunder, a waist like Mars, and a chest like that of Neptune. As some great bull that lords it over the herds upon the plain, even so did Jove make the son of Atreus stand peerless among the multitude of heroes. And now, O Muses, dwellers in the mansions of Olympus, tell me- for you are goddesses and are in all places so that you see all things, while we know nothing but by report- who were the chiefs and princes of the Danaans? As for the common soldiers, they were so that I could not name every single one of them though I had ten tongues, and though my voice failed not and my heart were of bronze within me, unless you, O Olympian Muses, daughters of aegis-bearing Jove, were to recount them to me. Nevertheless, I will tell the captains of the ships and all the fleet together. Peneleos, Leitus, Arcesilaus, Prothoenor, and Clonius were captains of the Boeotians. These were they that dwelt in Hyria and rocky Aulis, and who held Schoenus, Scolus, and the highlands of Eteonus, with Thespeia, Graia, and the fair city of Mycalessus. They also held Harma, Eilesium, and Erythrae; and they had Eleon, Hyle, and Peteon; Ocalea and the strong fortress of Medeon; Copae, Eutresis, and Thisbe the haunt of doves; Coronea, and the pastures of Haliartus; Plataea and Glisas; the fortress of Thebes the less; holy Onchestus with its famous grove of Neptune; Arne rich in vineyards; Midea, sacred Nisa, and Anthedon upon the sea. From these there came fifty ships, and in each there were a hundred and twenty young men of the Boeotians. Ascalaphus and Ialmenus, sons of Mars, led the people that dwelt in Aspledon and Orchomenus the realm of Minyas. Astyoche a noble maiden bore them in the house of Actor son of Azeus; for she had gone with Mars secretly into an upper chamber, and he had lain with her. With these there came thirty ships. The Phoceans were led by Schedius and Epistrophus, sons of mighty Iphitus the son of Naubolus. These were they that held Cyparissus, rocky Pytho, holy Crisa, Daulis, and Panopeus; they also that dwelt in Anemorea and Hyampolis, and about the waters of the river Cephissus, and Lilaea by the springs of the Cephissus; with their chieftains came forty ships, and they marshalled the forces of the Phoceans, which were stationed next to the Boeotians, on their left. Ajax, the fleet son of Oileus, commanded the Locrians. He was not so great, nor nearly so great, as Ajax the son of Telamon. He was a little man, and his breastplate was made of linen, but in use of the spear he excelled all the Hellenes and the Achaeans. These dwelt in Cynus, Opous, Calliarus, Bessa, Scarphe, fair Augeae, Tarphe, and Thronium about the river Boagrius. With him there came forty ships of the Locrians who dwell beyond Euboea. The fierce Abantes held Euboea with its cities, Chalcis, Eretria, Histiaea rich in vines, Cerinthus upon the sea, and the rock-perched town of Dium; with them were also the men of Carystus and Styra; Elephenor of the race of Mars was in command of these; he was son of Chalcodon, and chief over all the Abantes. With him they came, fleet of foot and wearing their hair long behind, brave warriors, who would ever strive to tear open the corslets of their foes with their long ashen spears. Of these there came fifty ships. And they that held the strong city of Athens, the people of great Erechtheus, who was born of the soil itself, but Jove's daughter, Minerva, fostered him, and established him at Athens in her own rich sanctuary. There, year by year, the Athenian youths worship him with sacrifices of bulls and rams. These were commanded by Menestheus, son of Peteos. No man living could equal him in the marshalling of chariots and foot soldiers. Nestor could alone rival him, for he was older. With him there came fifty ships. Ajax brought twelve ships from Salamis, and stationed them alongside those of the Athenians. The men of Argos, again, and those who held the walls of Tiryns, with Hermione, and Asine upon the gulf; Troezene, Eionae, and the vineyard lands of Epidaurus; the Achaean youths, moreover, who came from Aegina and Mases; these were led by Diomed of the loud battle-cry, and Sthenelus son of famed Capaneus. With them in command was Euryalus, son of king Mecisteus, son of Talaus; but Diomed was chief over them all. With these there came eighty ships. Those who held the strong city of Mycenae, rich Corinth and Cleonae; Orneae, Araethyrea, and Licyon, where Adrastus reigned of old; Hyperesia, high Gonoessa, and Pellene; Aegium and all the coast-land round about Helice; these sent a hundred ships under the command of King Agamemnon, son of Atreus. His force was far both finest and most numerous, and in their midst was the king himself, all glorious in his armour of gleaming bronze- foremost among the heroes, for he was the greatest king, and had most men under him. And those that dwelt in Lacedaemon, lying low among the hills, Pharis, Sparta, with Messe the haunt of doves; Bryseae, Augeae, Amyclae, and Helos upon the sea; Laas, moreover, and Oetylus; these were led by Menelaus of the loud battle-cry, brother to Agamemnon, and of them there were sixty ships, drawn up apart from the others. Among them went Menelaus himself, strong in zeal, urging his men to fight; for he longed to avenge the toil and sorrow that he had suffered for the sake of Helen. The men of Pylos and Arene, and Thryum where is the ford of the river Alpheus; strong Aipy, Cyparisseis, and Amphigenea; Pteleum, Helos, and Dorium, where the Muses met Thamyris, and stilled his minstrelsy for ever. He was returning from Oechalia, where Eurytus lived and reigned, and boasted that he would surpass even the Muses, daughters of aegis-bearing Jove, if they should sing against him; whereon they were angry, and maimed him. They robbed him of his divine power of song, and thenceforth he could strike the lyre no more. These were commanded by Nestor, knight of Gerene, and with him there came ninety ships. And those that held Arcadia, under the high mountain of Cyllene, near the tomb of Aepytus, where the people fight hand to hand; the men of Pheneus also, and Orchomenus rich in flocks; of Rhipae, Stratie, and bleak Enispe; of Tegea and fair Mantinea; of Stymphelus and Parrhasia; of these King Agapenor son of Ancaeus was commander, and they had sixty ships. Many Arcadians, good soldiers, came in each one of them, but Agamemnon found them the ships in which to cross the sea, for they were not a people that occupied their business upon the waters. The men, moreover, of Buprasium and of Elis, so much of it as is enclosed between Hyrmine, Myrsinus upon the sea-shore, the rock Olene and Alesium. These had four leaders, and each of them had ten ships, with many Epeans on board. Their captains were Amphimachus and Thalpius- the one, son of Cteatus, and the other, of Eurytus- both of the race of Actor. The two others were Diores, son of Amarynces, and Polyxenus, son of King Agasthenes, son of Augeas. And those of Dulichium with the sacred Echinean islands, who dwelt beyond the sea off Elis; these were led by Meges, peer of Mars, and the son of valiant Phyleus, dear to Jove, who quarrelled with his father, and went to settle in Dulichium. With him there came forty ships. Ulysses led the brave Cephallenians, who held Ithaca, Neritum with its forests, Crocylea, rugged Aegilips, Samos and Zacynthus, with the mainland also that was over against the islands. These were led by Ulysses, peer of Jove in counsel, and with him there came twelve ships. Thoas, son of Andraemon, commanded the Aetolians, who dwelt in Pleuron, Olenus, Pylene, Chalcis by the sea, and rocky Calydon, for the great king Oeneus had now no sons living, and was himself dead, as was also golden-haired Meleager, who had been set over the Aetolians to be their king. And with Thoas there came forty ships. The famous spearsman Idomeneus led the Cretans, who held Cnossus, and the well-walled city of Gortys; Lyctus also, Miletus and Lycastus that lies upon the chalk; the populous towns of Phaestus and Rhytium, with the other peoples that dwelt in the hundred cities of Crete. All these were led by Idomeneus, and by Meriones, peer of murderous Mars. And with these there came eighty ships. Tlepolemus, son of Hercules, a man both brave and large of stature, brought nine ships of lordly warriors from Rhodes. These dwelt in Rhodes which is divided among the three cities of Lindus, Ielysus, and Cameirus, that lies upon the chalk. These were commanded by Tlepolemus, son of Hercules by Astyochea, whom he had carried off from Ephyra, on the river Selleis, after sacking many cities of valiant warriors. When Tlepolemus grew up, he killed his father's uncle Licymnius, who had been a famous warrior in his time, but was then grown old. On this he built himself a fleet, gathered a great following, and fled beyond the sea, for he was menaced by the other sons and grandsons of Hercules. After a voyage. during which he suffered great hardship, he came to Rhodes, where the people divided into three communities, according to their tribes, and were dearly loved by Jove, the lord, of gods and men; wherefore the son of Saturn showered down great riches upon them. And Nireus brought three ships from Syme- Nireus, who was the handsomest man that came up under Ilius of all the Danaans after the son of Peleus- but he was a man of no substance, and had but a small following. And those that held Nisyrus, Crapathus, and Casus, with Cos, the city of Eurypylus,

newer horizon demanded in usa politicking. can non natural born + nonbinding resolution senate run pres U S ?

A Good story ? It is March 31st,2009 My name is Steve Weattie. Alot of people call me Steve Wheaties, my wife calls me Steevey Weevey. I live in the busy city of Boston. I have a job as a manager of internfal affairs at the Boston Public Library. It may sound a bit espionage saying that I handle internal afairs but I'm the head boss for all that goes on at the library. I'm the man that handles security. Someone steals a book in front of our cameras Im the man that security tells first,I'm the man that handles books coming in to this library and out and know what books should be banned from this library.I wasnt all that good in math as a kid but I deal with library funds at times. Im not the head man to handle that but I work with everyone. It's alot to handle for one man. It may seem a bit unrealistic. How can one man be handling all these things for a library? Sounds like something out of a story. I would have thought so too,but its all true. Im a busy man but I worked hard in my life to get this far to the top. As a kid I always wanted to be a librarian,I did too when I was a teenager,I just became something more at the end. It's alot of responsibilty but I'm an organized man. I have enough time to be here at this library everyday except for Sundays and be home by 6 or 7 to spend the night with my wife. Today is March 31st,2009. It is 5:29 A.m. Im laying down next to my sweet wife _____. She's sleeping peacefully and I feel like everything is right in the world with me. She lays there so sweet. Her bosom rising and falling with every breath,her beautiful face in peace,every aspect of her is beautiful. With her next to me I feel like I can do anything. As usual she sleeps with her pink fluffy pillow,her pink fluffy blanket,in her pink pajamas. If I didnt know by now that her favorite color in the world is pink, I would have to be a very stupid person.It's funny to be sleeping with a pink blanket,a pink pillow underneath my head as well. At least I dont wear the pink pajamas. I have still some man dignity on me. For her though, I would walk down the street in pink. I would be laughed at but it would be worth it to make her happy. My colors for me have always been black and yellow. I cant seem to know why I like both. I cant just like black or just like yellow. I only like these colors in a combination. Their too distinct colors but I seem to enjoy both colors as well as pink which I began after I met ____. It is 5:45 A.m now and that means I should take a shower now. I get out of our king sized Serta Bed, thats one good bed never had a bad nights sleep with that bed, and walk to the bathroom to take a shower.It feels nice under my feet to walk on the pink mats in the bathroom. Sigh. Well... I do this everyday and I wouldnt change it for the world. I always feel content with my life. I mention pink so much and I tolerate my wifes adoreness with pink. Its a fine color just as red or blue would be ,but I dont consider myself to be less a man to like the color. Its funny that I always assure myself that everyday when I reach the bathroom. It's just a funny habit I have. I dont think its a bad habit at all. It keeps my life in balance doing almost the same thing everyday. I say almost since I never know what me and my wife will do. Shes very engergetic and outgoing so one minute we could be eating and next me and her could be throwing water at each other for fun. I also never know what will ever happen at work. THeres always something that could happen at work...a book stolen, a disturbed patron making a scene in the library entrance, you just never know. It is 6:03 A.m and I have finished taking a shower. Im dressed in one of my best suits since today I know I have a meeting with a few members of the Children Donation FUnd. I will be making sure that the libray has the theme of children and caring for needful children. Ill prob prospose the idea of putting childrens faces around the library and donation boxes near the childrens room,near entrances and such. It shouldnt be a bad day. Its Tuesday and Tuesdays are the days where usually activity and such is very slow. No problem for me though..if work is slow then at least Ill have my house to come home to with ____. It is 6:25 A.m and Im eating breakfast at my polished table with pink flower designs. Im eating Cocoa Puffs from a pink bowl with a pink flower spoon. Im reading yesterdays Boston Globe since the newspaper doesnt come to our house till 7 o clock. I usually am behind the news by one day but thats ok for me since I read the news just to know current events or to bring up some such thing I read in the newspaper in a meeting like "Why are we all acting like the Dubois family that fought over their dog for ? Lets just be the state of Massachusetts and get rid of the Dubois family?" It is 6:45 A.m. Ive cleaned my cereal bowl ,put away the cocoa puffs and am heading upstairs to kiss ____ goodbye. I would be a fool to try to wake her up since she never can wake up early. If I tried to wake her up with me in the morning she would be cranky the whole day. Well,she'll be waking up soon since she may want to go to the mall later. As she told me there will be a new purse out on sale today that will have a built in cell phone holder,a mini tv screen to watch the latest soap operas and it even has satellite so you can watch any nationality of soap operas wheter it be Japanese or Russian or even Arab. Hmm...I also think this new purse will be pink and have an automated cell phone operator meaning I think if you click some certain button the purse it can put your phone on to answer a call. Shes always saying how sometimes I call her and she can never pick up the phone because its in her purse and she has to try to find the phone in her purse and by that time she misses the call. So..maybe this will be a good purse for her. "____ Im leaving for work ok? I left you some goodies on the kitchen table and a surprise in your make -up kit. ON the kitchen table I have for her a pumpkin pie for her that I bought last night . In the make -up kit ive left for her 200 $. Of course shes not a spend thrift we have to do some food shopping, so I dont expect her to use all that money for the purse. Well I hope so. "hhmmm..ok my steevey weevy Ill see you later then." I moved for the usual good morning kiss . I kissed her on her lips. Most of the time that would wake her up but today I could see she was a bit tired so I gave her a not too long kiss on the lips and one on her forehead and cheek. I Then I put my hand threw her hair and said Ill see you later _________" "Mhmm k Steevey I love you." I love you so much more _____ ,I told her. It is 7:21 A.M. I kissed my wife goodbye earlier. I walked out of the house,into the garage, entered my black Beemer that was next to my wifes Beemer, a pink convertible. My beemer was the usual sedan. It had the usual leather seats,GPS system, pink dice in the mirror one pink one actually and the other one black,heating on the seats,and a kickin stereo system. Yeah kickin..well for listening to music it always makes me feel cool and young. It is 7:27 A.M. and I m close to the library. Theres plenty of traffic at this time. I just have to drive down this street,pass Boston Common,take a right at Lowe's Theater and just head straight down and I'll be there. As of now Im close to nearing Lowe's Theater. Too many s toplights and people passing. So many commuters are clogging up this street. Every damn minute Im stopping for them! It's just annoying that they pop up every few feet when you gain a foot. I remember my days as a commuter so I cant get pissed at these people. I use to try to run past cars and people to reach the train station to catch my train. Hmm...my commuter days are one of my greatest years in my life as well. Its how I met ______ in fact. Hmm...something also happened on a train back then but I cant seem to remember. It is 7:35 A.m and I am now at Lowe's Theater just have to turn right and Ill be on the street that leads to the library. Look both ways and hmm...wow look at that black dump truck there. Jet black with a shade of yellow on the side to spell some words. I cant read the words. Aha funny my favorite two colors on this weird dump truck black and yellow. So..anyway look left. To the left I have the dump truck here and to the right just that street and just looking for pedestrians. It is 7:36 A.M and I flick the switch to turn my right signal on. Tick Tick Tick the green arrow ticks and tocks on my dashboard. I turn my wheel slowly to the right. I look fast again to my left while my Beemer is in motion. The black and yellow truck is coming up fast to me. My heart is getting faster. Maybe I should wait for this thing to pass. Im in the middle of the road though. I just cant stop. I keep on moving and hope that the driver will realize his mistake and stop. My car is still in a turn and suddenly the truck is somehow so close to me that I can see the driver inside. I cant believe my eyes. I thought I would never see HIM again. How is he here? All I know is that this thing I once knew but I dont have time to think. I have to get out of his way!. Before I have time to think of what Im going to do for a motion with my car the dump truck smashes hard into the driver side of my car. My side. I feel an intense pressure on my left like someone just took my whole side and squeezed it all together. My heart is being crushed by pounds of metal. I cant breathe. THe light of day is gone and I only see complete darkness. Im going to die. Why must I die? I dont want to leave _____. I love her too much. How could she handle it? I dont know how I can be thinking when I probably have serious injuries. I feel the pain so intense and yet I expected to lose consciousness. My sight is of blackness and I think maybe Ill be able to stay awake threw all this,maybe I will stay alive. As soon as I even begin to think this I feel like I'm rolling over and over and over and over. My head is crashing against the ceiling of the car I think. What the hell is goin on? I cant think anymore. I cant breathe. I cant breathe. I cant breathe. I cant............................ "Goooood morning everyone. This is abc News in the Morning and I'm Patrick o DOnell " "And im Sara Fontaine who will give you your traffic updates. "Im Lindsey Hamilton who will be giving you your Boston weather for the day. "Aaaand I;m Johnny Repp who wull be giving you your update on who married who,who broke up with who,and who wants to break up with who on your entertainment news. THIS IS abc NEWS IN THE MORNING. "Good Morning to our viwers. Today is Tuesday March 31st 2009. Its 7:59 on this windy day wouldnt you say Sara? "Ill tell you it sure was Patrick. I almost was blown away today by the winds but thats for Lindsey to tell us right ? "Of course of course" "In this mornings news, two Turkish planes bombed Kurdistan today due to PKK militants killing 10 Turkish militants outside of a customs building in the Istanbul District. "OOO doesnt sound good now does it Patrick?" "Well...that may not sound good but today in Boston there will be the annual Children week. "Oh yes I was looking forward to that." "So for all those people that would like to chip in and help some children...the event will be held at the Boston South End pubic Library today at 3 p.m and should last till 7 p.m tonight and then of course same time tomorrow . There should be groups for children to play in and for adults,small workshops on how we can help our chidlren. "O yes that does sound nice. For anyone thats trying to get anywhere near the Boston Library you wont have much luck. " Why is that Sara who is with the traffic who should have said that she was the traffic woman. "AHAHAH well Lindsey it's a bit shocking to find that there was an accident right across from the Boston Common nearly a half hour ago. " "Oh wow right in a public street too. " "Yes so dont try going down Winter,Summer, or Franklin ST. Besides that there was one accident on Rt. 128, there is a bit of a bulge there but there shoud be an estiamted wait time in traffic of 5 -10 minutes. Besides that the roads are clean this morning. "Yes thank you Sara. Back to the news, it seems that on the story of that accident that Sara told us there are 7 people injured,one man it is said to be believed dead and there is one person missing as well. It's a strange accident. Lets go with Rebecca Chong with more details who is live now at the scene". "Yes Patrick. The scene here is devastating. It seems at 7:36 this morning a man who is yet to be identified at the moment was in a 2009 BMW 202 X when as he was taking a turn he was struck by an incoming dumpster truck stricking his drivers side. The bmw was smashed completely on the drivers side and if you look down the street here you can see that the dump truck was actually moving the bmw along the street. No drivers were hurt but the Bmw hit a curb and spun over injuring at least 7 pedestrians. From what we know,these injured people have not serious injuries. It seems to be that these people were harmed not by the car itself but by metal pieces of the car. In fact we have here with us a man that saw the whole collision while sitting on a bench waiting for the 7:40 bus. Say your name sir." "Yeahh hi my names Bill Shawmut. I was sitting here on this bench and Im looking at this Bmw right? Im thinking to myself what would I do to get me one of those babies? One second im looking at this beaut and the next second Im seeing a huge dump truck like a big mother beep beep." "Excuse me sir?" "O yeah sorry about the swearing but this thing was pretty big. Like black and yellow I aint ever even seen a truck with yellow and black maybe white and yellow but not black. Anywayss this truck smashes into the driver side of the car right? and its still moving! This truck is still pushing this Bmw along the street! Im thinking what the hell aint the driver realized he just crashed into somethin? So this truck is just plowing this car down the street and Im standing up to see down the street now. Then the bmw kind of moved away from the truck and hit the sidewalk. All I know is then I be seeing this car flip over. Then like all these pieces of the car start flyin around everywhere and im thinkin to myself shit (beep) it better not be explodin now. Luckily it didnt. But yeah I saw the metal flyin everywhere. From my angle I could only see the car and the truck but not any people. God bless anyone involved in this accident. Might I add that this whole morning is ruined and its all to blame for one motherfucker (BEEP)driver on the road It was the scariest shit (beep) I seen in my life." "Thank you Bill for that insightful account of what has happened here today. As Bill has told us the bmw is completely wrecked. We did manage to see the driver of the BMW in one quick glimpse. We'll have some footage of him later live. From what we could see he had wounds to his head. We can see from our distance the BMW did have the use of airbags. As for the truck ...it seemed to have stopped a few feet after the BMW. THres not much we can say for the truck. Its a truck so...not much damage has been done to this truck. Theres dents on the front. Theres no driver found. Witnesses say they did see people running after the accident. It is possible that this will turn out to be a case of Hit and run and if the driver of the BMW dies...well then this will soon to be called manslaughter. Back to you Patrick. Hmm....Steevey. Why does he always do that? He thinks he doesnt wake me up when he kisses me but he does! Hes such a romantic though doing that. Let me check the time. Only 6:54! Steve must have just left like a few minutes ago. I didnt even get to sleep in . Grrrr. Well im up now might as well get my shit done. Lets see first thing is bathrooom. Didnt he say something about something in my make-up kit? Hmm..whats in there? Probably some nice book he got from the library. I never use to like to read but hes so convincing. "Just read it honey! Come on you know you wanna _____! Come on ____ everyone lets go! Come on lets get to it,You know you wanna do it!" "Steve be quiet Ill read the book. " "Fine read the book and then you'll come up to me all thanking me honey. Yup thats my Steevey. The book he picked out for me was great and yeah I did give him a hug. Hes just so sweet who wouldnt want to hug him besides me? Ahaha yeah so lets see whats in the make-up kit. My make -up kit is near the sink on the shelf. Its one big shelf so definitely my stuff wont be falling down. Hmm...lets see whats in here. He left a note on the kit. _____..I know how much you wanted that special thing youve been wanting and today you can get it! Yay for you! Dont forget though dont go too crazy because Im gonna be hungry tonight so I was thinking maybe like Steak with rice or whatever you want. Either way we need to do some shopping for food. Dont forget ______ I love you =) Awww thats nice of him but whats in here. I hate it how he likes to build the suspense of things just give whatever it is to me now! I opened the box and there it was two nicely folded hundred bills and a beautiful ring next to it. O my God! When did he get this?! Its soo beautiful! Of course! Today was the day we first met ! How could I forget? Aghh mornings they make me stupid. Ill like never take this ring off. Its like at least 2 karot or 3 whatever! Its real diamond for sure! Like I cant believe it! How could he do this? I never would have guessed! Pheww ok..I have to calm down. Whats the 200 dollars for though? All on food? We're not that low I think. Lets see I know hes bad at math but we usually worry about just what to eat for tonight and go day by day, not stack up on food. So...he should know we usually use about 50 for a good meal. 150 dollars what could I do with that? He couldnt want me to get....? No way. He wouldnt be that nice to me in one day! I already have a beautiful ring on me! He wouldnt want me to get the purse! Let me see that note again. "I know how much you wanted that special thing you've been waiting for and today you can get it!" He really wants me to get the purse! I cant believe he actually listened to me always talk about it. I thought he was half asleep at the table when I always told him the special features to that purse. He would always act like he was sleeping too! I never thought....he is sooo getting that steak and rice tonight! I better hurry up, get in the shower and eat something real quick. The malls open up at like 7:30. Ok its 7:15 . I had to rush a bit and it was hard to choose which pink shirt I wanted to wear for today and the shoes too but I did it and I have still time to eat something reall fast. Lets see...Im in the kitchen and whats that on the table? A pie and chocolate? Can this day get any better for me? I love pie! How could he do this to me?! I dont have the time to eat the pie now,I could eat it in the car but then Ill get my pink floor mats messy and then I'll have crumbs! Theres chocolate too though. Um... come on choose ____! Pie or chocolate! Thats it screw the chocolate. Pie your coming with me! Let me just get a fork then me and you are out of here mr. pumpkin pie. 7:30 in the morning. I cant believe I'm awake this early and not in a grouchy mood. If it wasnt for this ring and that pie and this purse then I probably would be in a shitty mood today. I made it to the mall at 7:25. It's close to our house. I actually half finished the pie...it was soo good! I just couldnt stop eating! Well...here Iam now at Sears waiting for the teenage girl to ring me up for my nice purse. "O MY GOd your actually getting this? This is like the coolest purse ever!" "Yeah I know right? So..how much will it be ? "Its going to be $148.13" "I handed her the cash and I received back my change. I liked this girl . She had a good style to her. I could see she had good style and her eyelashes...those were so nice . "Did you know you have nice eyelashes?" "Really? Awww thank you! Well ive been tired like shit but that just really cheered me up thanks! " I nodded to her and left the store. It felt good to feel like a young girl. Im usually not always like this saying cool and stuff. But...I still sometimes feel like a teenage girl . Whenever I walk into a mall, Im just 16 years old again. Lately Ive just been feeling like that age since I heard of that new purse. But...I think Ill be acting my age after tomorrow. I still have to finish that essay professor grant gave me. I'm still at Northeastern going to finish my masters in Science. Soon Ill be finished this year so.. I dont know where Ill go from there, but im glad that at least im not a bum to sit around the house all day. I dont know ...maybe after this degree..I can have the thought of children. At least if kids come into my life now there would be a loving father who has a firm and high job and at least a mother with a degree that could get her a decent job if someday Steevey lost the job or took ill. Always have to think for the future. It's 7:37 as of now and Im on the way to my car. I feel sad now for some reason like I forgot something or Im missing something important though I dont know what it could be. Well..maybe its just my mind telling me get back home and finish that term paper now! Well..Im in my sweet pink BMW and ready to get back home! It is 7:50 and I'm out of my car and have my keys in the hole of the door. My cell phone rings. This would be the perfect chance to see how my purse does its magic. I press the brown button on the side of the purse,you can barely even see it it blends in so well with the purse. Instantly I know that the purse has put me threw with whoever is calling. I say "Hello?" "Is this Mrs. Weattie?" "Yes this is she, who is speaking ?" "This is Seargent Nick Randal from the South End Boston Police Department." "O wow, I wasnt expecting a call from an officer. Um...is there a reason that your calling me so early? Did I do something wrong? "No maam no. Its not that, maam as a procedure I usually tell people that if you are standing now you may want to sit down. "For what reason, besides Im like right about to get into my house so I just cant sit on the ground. "Well maam if you must you should sit on the ground. Maam..this morning at 7:35 your husband Steve was struck by a dump truck across the Lowe's Theater. It was a very serious accident. Your husbands car is completely ruined,in fact barely recognizeable. As of now, for sure we know that he is in the ER. The paramedics told us that your husband's heart had stopped twice and that they had to inject adrenaline to get his heart beating again. He has received serious head trauma and multiple bruises to his body. He is living and is not in I believe ICU, I dont know why he is not there or in an operating room but for sure we know that he is in the ER and that it would be wise if you could come down to the hospital. " "Steevey no how could Steevey...it it cant be him. It must be some one else. He was just on his way to work. He doesnt take a highway or anything! It cant be him!!! NOOO!!" "Maam we are completely sure it is him. He had the id of Steve Wheatie,27 years old, resident of 245 Andalos St. Boston." "Its just....will he be all right??? "Maam I cant say for sure. I suggest you go see him at the hospital and now maam I have other matters to attend too. Good day. "Good day? Good day! What the hell do you mean a good day? My husbands been in an accident and your going to tell to have a good day!You stupid cop pig!" I cant take what he just told me. How can Steevey be in the hospital? He could be dead! Steevey! WHY?! I fell to the ground and my door opened to the entrance of my house. Steve, no you cant die. How? I feel like my heart will burst how can this happen? I look up and see my house. Steevey its like hes here in front of me. Memories of him here come bac to me. Him bringing me into this house the first time with me in his arms as we walked into his house,walked on where im sitting as husband and wife. Steevey kicking our stair case there by accident when his team won the soccer match,him screaming GOOOAAAAALLLLL! Him taking a kick and slapping him his foot on the staircase and him hopping in pain still saying "OWWW,goalllll! ___I need some ice!" How can this have happened to him? "Steevey,no. Please God dont let this happen to him". 5 minutes ago seems like a whole other world. I only feel pain,fear,and love for my husband in this new world. O God,I have to go get there fast. I cant let him go. Nooo. Steevey. Tears flow down my eyes as I drive to the hospital with our memories together racing threw my head. Steve.Dont die. Dont. 8:35 in the morning. Im at the hospital and I'm speaking to Dr. Roknilajah that has seen Steevey. "How is he ? Will he live? Please tell me yes please. "Maam someone upstairs must sure like him. Hes fine." "He is! O my God! YES! I start jumping and down not caring that others are looking at me as they pass by. My husband will live ! YES! "Maam if you could please calm down for a moment." "What? Dont tell me theres some kind of other problem." "Maam,your in some way scaring the patients with your yelling for joy." "The patients dont know that my Steevey is going to live! You hear all that you patients! My husband will live! Take that! "Mrs. ____ please calm down. I have to tell you your husbands situation here." "What? Dont tell me you just made me do all that for nothing. Hes okay right?" "Not per say. As of now he is sleeping as both you and I would sleep. He is not in a coma or such at all. We know that his heart stopped on the way here. Im very suspicious of this since his damages to his head are not fatal. You see maam...I was under the impression I would be receiving a patient with severe head trauma,enough that would have the brain so badly affected to stop the heart. Your husband has inguries that could be healed in less than 2 weeks. He has only a deep scratch that will be located near his eyebrow. As I said he can be healed. I can not say how he will be when he wakes up since he has not gained consciousness per say. He has spoken though so that rules out coma. He will have to stay the week for us to monitor his vital signs and see if he has been affected by this accident. "But...hes still well right?" "Yes he is well. We will on the safe side though monitor him. We could even discharge him tonight but its not that. Its just he almost died in the ambulance and it would be recommended that we see if some thing like that will happen again. It could have just been from shock that his heart stopped but you understand me right? "Yes, I completely understand. As long as my husband is well then im well. So.. can I see him now? " "Yes if you would just follow me this way we should be at his room in a minute or 2. So..follow me. I have to admit your husband is a lucky man to be alive.We know that the accident was very severe. The car is completely wrecked We were told plenty of times by the paramdedics. Your husband must have had worn his seat belt and probably had good German airbags. " "Ahahaha yeah. Well...I love Beemers. I had a car one time that was like a death trap when I was 16. It was soo unsafe. But..I got a car from my dad and even that wasnt safe. The beemers though are just so adorable,fast and dependable. My husband well..he just saw my car when I met him and he just fell for BMWS. We're BMW people so..its good we are if it was those airbags that helped to prevent him from hurting himself." "Bmws you say? My family hates BMWS. By the way we are almost to his room. Anyway my family,we are Desi,my father forbid any German cars. He say first they too expensive and that they are too small and are unsafe for drivers. My father tried to make my family Toyota lovers. He still has his Toyota but I went for the Honda instead. "You go for Hondas! AHAH I dont know why Im laughing,we're in a hospital,but a Honda! Their so bad! Everyone knows that! Back in teh day they were good with the accords but the new gxs and all are soo bad.! Wow, sorry I just lately have had a weird experience. I feel like im 16 again lately. Just a little stage im going threw." "Hey its no problem o we all have our stages and no offense I take for the Honda thing. I know myself Honda is bad, I want to trade for NIssan,it is much cheaper than Honda. Anyway here is your husbands room,room 613. Shall we go in?" "Yes obviously!" "Ok.' "Steeevey.Steevey, Steevey Weevey get up. Come on my Steevey Weevey!" I was in darkness but I could here her voice calling to me. I couldnt see but I tried to move my arm to the dark to reach her. It sounded like ____ was above me calling for me. I had to reach her . ______! _____! Im here . Im here! "Are you little man? Are you here or are you just talking to yourself? "Who...whos there?" "An old friend just saying hi. I'll keep in touch." That voice in the darkness ...it sounded familiar. It was a raspy voice that sounded too old to even speak...a voice that evoked fear threw me. I felt myself shiver. Where am I? "STEEVEY! GET UP! COME ON GET UP STEEVEY! PLEASE!" I heard her voice and all fear was washed away from me. I couldnt even remember who spoke to me. All I knew was ____ back and I had to find her. I saw light in front of me. I could see it and I ran to it. I ran to her voice. I saw the light grow and grow and grow until my whole sight was filled with light. I opened my eyes to look into my loves eyes ____. She was kissing me and I kissed back. I felt like I had run a thousand miles and my reward after the struggle of running was to be with ____. "mmmm...this is a nice way to wake up,can we do more things?" "Steevey! Dont ever scare me like that again! I thought that you would never wake up! I almost was going to shove water down your head! Dr. Roknilajah though said it would spoil the equipment. " "What did you say? Doctor? Where am I ____?" "Steve its ok. Your in a hospital. Its like 8:45 in the morning". You had an accident this morning at 7:35. " WHAT?! I had an accident less than an hour ago?! How am I?" "Calm down Steevey." She gave me a hug and rubbed my hair. I was beginning to get scared but her hug calmed me down. It was like she had a mystic power to somehow remove all all the pain and fear from me. She spoke to me in whispers like I was her child rubbing my hair threw. "Shhh. Steevey its ok. You had an accident but its ok. Your ok. You just came out of it with a scratch." Thats it a scratch?" "Isnt that funny Steve? The doctor says you have the same scratch as me right near your left eyebrow except yours is going to be a a whoole lot bigger than mine. "O real nice way to cheer me up ____" "Ahahah im sorry I just lately have been feeling like I'm 16 again. Its strange I even said like! I've been using like today like at least 100 times!. "____ thats fine...when do you think I fell in love with you? I fell in love with you when you were 16. If your going to be 16 then I;ll fall in love with you all over again. "Awww Steevey. You always have something sweet to say dont you? "Baaby I may be lying down here but Ill always be sweet for you and Ill keep on being sweet. I was beginnning myself to feel like I was young again. Strange. I hadnt said those kind of pick up lines since I was 16. It must just be that my mind is believing from ____ that we are 16 again. "sO... Steve. Do you feel better?" I feel great now ____ but when do I get out of here? Thats the question I want to get answered. "Steve your not allowed out of here for like a week. Ooops I said like again. I mean your not allowed to leave this hospital until a week has passed. "Oh wow. What am I going to do the whole time? " "Rest of course. Get your strength back. You'll need your energy. "Energy?" "Well...did you think I would forget about this ring and this purse? I think you'll need to get your energy back because honey you and me will be busy with some fun work soon. "Oooo well dont get my heart racing for you ____ or else the doctors will think Im going crazy over here. "Ahahah well Steevey Ill be bacK in a bit to get you something to cheer you up.! "Ok ____ I cant wait to see what it is . I smiled to her and she gave me another of her gorgeous smiles. I layed my head down on the pillow more and couldnt believe that I was here in a hospital,feeling completely normal with only a scratch on my head. Im in a hospital and my BMW is probably trash now. Its funny how my life changed in less than an hour. I guess I'll be missing that childrens week at the library. I dont think they let cell phones in here so I'll have to ask ___ to call Charlie because he'll have to cvoer for me. Hes my assistant so he knows most of my plans of what I was going to say and do...well.. the boring stuff. Its the funny that he wont have or the wit but at least he;ll get my point across with everyone. I wonder what ____ will bring me. Maybe a pie. I could go for some pie right about now. Poor Steevey. He must feel like crap right now. Im so thankful that at least hes alive. He still has his sweetness going for him. He seems normal so Im so glad that at least hes all right. I think some pie,though,will cheer him up. Good thing I saved half of it. Im in the hospital's parking lot,its an elevated parking lot so I'm on the 3rd floor. I'm now in front of my pink Beemer putting my keys into the doors lock. "Dont think he likes that pie. I think he likes chocolate better." What,WHERE THE hell did that voice come from? "Who's there?" "An old friend paying my regards to an old friend." "Well...ok old friend,stay the fuck away from me you hear?! You sound like a perv and I've seen movies,I'm not going to be the fool girl to keep on talking to the killer so that he can get closer to me to get me!. "Ooo feisty little girl arent you?" "Well ____ dont worry you will be seeing more of me around lately. Eve heard of taking a chill pill? HAHAHAHAHA!!!!" Aghhh that laugh. This mans laugh sent goosebumps running down my spine. I started shaking a bit. It must just be the wind and its cold so...thats just a laugh. I better get in my car now...this pervert could be like right next to me! I turn the key in the lock and quickly get in my beemer. I shut the door and quickly hit the automatic lock for the doors. I put the key in the ignition. Im backing up from my parking space. I look behind me. "BOOO!" "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!" He's right there sitting in the seat in the back. I scream uncontrollably and run from my car. I quickly take the keys out of the ignition quickly,run out of the car like theres no tomorrow. Other people looking for parking spaces drive by me "Watch it you dumb broad!" "Shove it Im friggin running here!" Whoa..why am I talking like this and what am I running for? Maybe I'm seeing things. Maybe there was no guy in the car. My door was locked when I entered so...maybe im just imagining things. I think maybe I need a quick nap. Whats happened today has made me feel like I've been awake straight for a week. I feel like a fool walking back to my car. What if there is someone in the car? What the hell am I walking back to the pervert guy? My cars just right there,I can see it. Its about 45 ft. from me. I dont see anyone in the car. I definitely think I was imagining things. A car suddenly comes around the corner. I feel safer if there was a witness around when I get near the car. If there was someone here they woudnt try shit to try and get me. I run to my car and the driver looking for a space passes by me when I reach my Beemer. No one is in my car and my door is open still. I definitely think I just imagined that guy. What am I fooling myself? Of course I saw him. Maybe though he was behind the car outside and not inside the car. It doesnt matter. It was probably just some lonely hobo looking for some money and prob from me a piece of ass. AHAHAHAHAHAAHAH! Likes he gonna get it! I dont think so! AHAHAHAHAHAH! Ok...im so not surprised now that Im thinkinng like this and randomly laughing. I think Ill just go with the flow with what my minds doing. I've been too serious lately. Now just in case I think Ill put my Beemer in a different space. Maybe on the 1st floor. Then im soo giving Steevey his pie. Then he can have the pie to eat...and me to cheer him up! He's already had a bad day but Im going to try to make it better since he made the beginning of my day the greatest. "Phewww that tasted good." I told ____ after finishing a plate of pumpin pie in my room. "I know right? You bought like the best pie for me. Whered you get it from anyway? " "Hmm...I think I think I got it from BJ's." "You went to BJ's last night? Thats like almost all the way near Cambridge! You went all the way down there last night just for me?" "Well...I was low on aftershave so I had to get that too." "Steevey, you went all the way to BJ;s just for aftershave? Couldnt you just get that from Sams club,its like a few streets away from our house! " "____ your right but then again, Bj's makes some good pie dont they? " "Awww so you did go all the way out there just for me!". "Did you think I would forget the day that we first met? It was the best day of my life. How could I forget it? It was when I met you and that was the best thing to ever happen to me. I met you ____ ,you my best friend in life,my companion" "Steevey shut up. Your like going to make me cry! I understand. I'll admit that at first I thought you were just another guy from their little gang trying to suck up to me. I was thinking what a lame kid pretending like he actually wants to protect me? Could you do a better job acting ? "Ahahaha" "Yeah,Steevey. Im glad I met you that day. I remember I was having a shitty day too. Its like when I started speaking to you,like everything just cleared up and I felt so happy and glad to be around with you. "Aww ____ now im going to cry. I dont have that kind of affect on you. " "Of course you do,your my Steevey." She rubs my cheek and looks at me. Her face is so sad. I know how hard it must be for her to see me in this bed,looking like I;m helpless. I see a tear come from her eye and fall down onto the bed. "___ dont. Please dont cry. I dont want you to cry. I'm ok,I'm going to get threw this for you. "No Steevey. Its not fair! How could this have happenned to us? You left for work like any other day! You left me the most beautiful gifts that no one has ever given me,you didnt do anything wrong and look whats happened to you! I cant stand to see you here. It's not you. I'm use to seeing you happy and dancing all weird and all that other stuff you do to try to make me laugh." "_____ come here." I open my arms for her and she enters into my arms. I give her a long hug and a tear falls from my eye into her hair. "I will get threw this. Dont worry ____. Ill get threw this for you. I'll take us away from this pain. Ill take the sadness and pain away from you like I did back at the station." I'll take it all away soon ______. It is 4:45 P.M March 31st,1999. "Can I have your attention please? Now boarding for the 4:58 Worcester Express on traaack number 7. I repeat now boarding for the 4:58 Worcester Express on traaaaaaack number 7." Finnaly, theres my damn train. I'm 16 years old. I'm in South Station in Boston. It is 4:45 P.M. I am sitting at a table with my backpack on my shoulders,eating a Milky Way candybar. I'm sitting with hundreds of other people waiting for other trains to pull in,to Needleham,to Attleboro,to Marlborough,and for others to Florida and Washington D.C. I dont have much time to waste,since if I move slow then I will probably not get a seat for myself and I will have to sit with someone,probably a smelly lady who hasnt taken a shower in days,or maybe next to someone eating a smelly sandwhich. Either way if I want my own whole seat I should move now. The Worcester Express gets packed pretty fast. It is 4:46 P.M. I get up from my chair and walk to the closest trash bin. I look back to make sure I did not leave anything behind. My seat has in less than 20 seconds been already taken by another person. Seats in the station are hard to get in the afternoon due to packs and packs of people trying to get home from here. I turn my head back from that person who took my chair and look for the trash bin which I find is near the bookstore they have here. Not a bad book store but the prices are soo damn expensive. $21.95 is the price for one Dr. Seuss book. I'm like what the hell? How many commuters are suckers here too actually buy from this store? It seems alot are because this store is still in business. It is 4:47 P.M. Im turning away from the trash bin and walking a bit faster to the doors that leads to the track. I'm passing by the food court with passing Au Bon Pain,Mcdonalds,Som Dum Guy Chinese food,and I'm outside where the trains are waiting to be boarded. The intercom once again says "Now boarding on the 4:58 Worcester Express on traaaaaack number 7. Also now boarding on the 4:58 train to Providence on traaack number 9. Now boarding on the 4:58 train to Providence on traaack number 9. I'm walking down the train platform to chooose a car to go too. Hundreds of people are walking with me looking for a car to choose . I walk a bit down since the further cars you go too the less people there are. Everyone takes the first 3 cars and thats where its most packed. Theres some hold up a bit up front. Why is everyone kind of slowing down? Hmm...I try to see more on my tippy toes and I can see that its just a group of kids my age their in the middle of the platform. Well..they should move. Im not going to wait here on this platform all day. "You know what Jack? I dont like pink. I think pink is for fags,and for girls well then you must be for girls with girls right baby? "Shut the fuck up and leave me alone. Just let me get in the damn train. "Ooo but what if we dont want too ?" "Well then I'll just have to kick your ass wont I? "Oh you hear this Jack?" "O yeah I be hearing this Johnny. This girl got fangs watch out." "Ahahah.. how bout this baby dolll, why dont you come with me and Jack here and we'll show you a good time around Boston. "No thanks I dont need a couple of fags to show me the gay bars around here. I dont go for fags,their not my type." "You stupid little bit.....! "Excuse me Johnny is it? Leave the girl alone." I dont know why I stepped forward. I didnt even know I had the guts to do this. But..I saw that this Johnny was gonna take a hit at this girl. I knew that if he did one hit that someone would stop him if he tried for another but I couldnt allow for even one hit to hit her precious face. I could not just go on with my business without protecting this girl. She was too beautiful. I never saw a girl as pretty as her. I felt like I had to protect her from these scumbags. I had a feeling he was going to make a move so I pushed threw the crowd,got close to Johnny and caught his hand in mid-air before he could do anything. "Yo,what the hell this kid doing Jack? Let go of my damn hand you little....." "Hey I dont need to hear any swearing from your mouth. Ill let your hand go if you can leave this girl alone,good idea? "Like shit it is" " I was soo occupied with this Johnny and me thinking I was saving the day for this girl that I forgot about Johnny's other hand and the other guy Jack. He took his other hand and punched me hard in the chest. No one saw that move because Jack moved in and got behind me and punched me in the back. I was on the ground. I was thinking what is the girl doing now? What the hell,theres a fight going on here and no one is saying anything. These people,commuters,are so fucking dumbasses! I was on the ground,in a kneeling position. "I think little boy you picked the wrong fight to play in. Why dont you come with us and we can all have a little fun, Me,Jack and this bitc..... "I told you shut the hell up! " My temper came suddenly threw the pain of being punched. I took my hand and punched Johnny behind his leg. His leg by reaction bent down and I took that oppurtunity to rise up and me be above him I took my knee and slammed it hard against his face. As for Jack he stood there in shock and so...for him I turned around and tried to give him one good punch from me. He tried to run away from me . I didnt want to let him get away without some pain so I tried to kick his leg. I did and he ran into a few commuters knocking down a 2 men. His face hit the pavement and I could see at least there was some burns there to let him feel some pain. I turned around and looked for the girl. She was stepping on the hand of Johnny. "Who's the bitch? WHo?" "Owww owwwww. Let me go!" " Not until you say it.!" "All right All right Im the bitch!" "And what color do you love?" "I love pink,all right owww oowwwww! damn stop! I said it! I love pink! "Thats right you better be loving pink! Pink everything got it?! "Yeah yeah let me go!" "Hey anything you want to say to this guy? I was just in shock of how she was handling him,then I realized she was speaking to me. "Ooo yeah. Who loves pink Johnny? I couldnt hear you from over here." "I love pink. Im sorry, I wont say anything about you guys,just let me go! "All right get out of here then no ones stopping you!" The girl let go of his hand and he tried to get up and she kicked his butt. Literally she kicked his butt and he went falling flat on his face on the hard pavement of the platform. I was laughing and we both laughed together. We were laughing like crazy. It was just soo funny. It was something you think you would see on Madtv but this was just too funny. Johnny got up and I saw that he had a scrape on his face and a bloody nose but at least nothing serious from me giving him a knee. My knee kind of hurt but I thought that is definitely worth it to feel some pain. It means that you had a fight and kicked butt at the end. Johnny ran back down the platform running with a limp holding his butt. It was such a funny scene that me and the girl laughed at him and pointed at him. The commuters were staring at us like we were lunatics. They even turned to look at what we were pointing at. Johnny was gone but we were still pointing so I think the commuters believed we were laughing at the station. "Wow...that was soo funny." "I know right? Like did you see him run holding his ass? What a loser." I felt now a bit shy speaking to a girl I didnt even know. I was thinking to myself ok your speaking to a girl. Well come on keep on speaking. Dont just walk off now into the train and leave it at that! "Um...yeah so we make a good team kicking butt. "Ahaha yeah I guess we do. You did a good job of getting those guys. Thanks for what you did. Like I dont think anyone was even going to do anything." "Well...if you've been on the train alot then you should know that commuters are like zombies. They just walk and thats about it. They dont really have much sense and can be the biggest suckers for anything." "Ahahaahahah! Wow thats funny. So your a brave,thoughtful, funny guy. Whats your name?" "I'm Steve." "Thats it,just Steve?" "Yeah,just Steve. "Hmm...well since your so cute and so nice I think I'll call you Steevey! "Steevey...hmm that sounds good. Am I like your lost puppy to name me? " "You could be. Where you been all this time? I been taking this train for a week now but I havent seen you around before." " "Last call boarding call for the 4:58 Worcester Express,last call for the 4:58 Worcester Express. "Oh I think thats time for us to leave this place" said the girl. "Yeah I guess so. Wow look,we're like the only people on this platform now." "Yup so...Steevey shall we go in? She pointed to the train car. "Well after you maam". "Aww thank you Steevey." We entered the train together and I felt like I was in a whole new world. I've been using the commuter rail to get to school this whole year and its already the end of March and wow...theres a bit of a change in my life now meeting this beautiful girl. It is 4:58 P.m, March 31st 1999. Who is this guy? I cant believe he just saved me from those guys. I probably could have got them both but still...he actually came and stood up for me. Thats sweet...I didnt see no one else do that for me. He handled it so well too...well except for that punch at the beginning he got from that guy but I think he was too distracted looking at me. His face was like what the hell am I doing? It was soo funny. But he really saved me from those guys. Steevey...thats such a nice name. I always come up with the cool things. Hmm...Steevey. Steevey Weevy. That sounds nice. I should sit with him, see how this Steevey is. Who knows ,speaking to these commuters has been so boring,its like they have no life. Steevey,I think maybe he could entertain me for the ride like that would be so fun. Well first I want to see how he's going to handle getting me or himself a seat. I know for sure he wants to be serious with me if he sits with me,if he sits across me,then hes such a mamas boy. Ok..lets see shes right behind me and every chair is filled with people. There must be a way to get a seat. I want to sit next to her. I never even sat next to a girl before and spoke to her! Maybe I should find my own seat and just say Ill see you later then. What am I stupid? I just saved the girl and I'm just gonna let her go just like that? Shes so different from other girls. Most of the girls are all the same just trying to show their fronts and backs as much as possible. But shes not like that. I def can see her front and back but not because she wants everyone too,its just there. She seems so unique,her looks are great and she's funny too. I could definitely have fun speaking to her. It'd be I think like the first time I actually have a whole conversation with a girl and this trip is like an hour and a half so that would definitely be a long conversation. Im just too shy. I have to step up. Im so going to get me and her a seat. Just me and her. Ok what the hell is Steevey doing? Hes just standing there,looks like hes thinking. Like wow,if its going to take him this long to find a seat,I think I should find my own seat then and call it quits with him. "EXCUSE ME." "Yes son?" "Sir,your sitting in my seat." "Excuse me ? I didnt see you sitting here before but if you would like too I can share this seat with you and if the girl over there is with you,I can let her fit here too. "Sir,thats a great idea. Thats very thoughtful of you but you see sir,shes my sister. She's um...come here. I lean close to the guys ear... "Shes a bit retarded,birth defect at birth." "O how tragic. "Yes sir,its hard for her to adjust to life. You see sir,today is the first time that she is on a train. Now she may not look scared,but you see I tried sitting her down in the last car with some people and she completely started screaming. If you catch me sir,I didnt want to stay in that car since I would be receiving stares and such and I dont want my sister to be stared at. "O yes son. I understand. I had a grandmother who was exactly the same way. I had to watch her everyday at my home. It was hard but it feels good in the end that your helping your family doesnt it? "Yes it is sir... it will help her in the future. " "Yes,so you need the whole chair then,because she'll prob get nervous with me right? "Yes sir,howd you know? My grandmother was the same when we use to go to the groceries. God bless your soul young man." "As well as yours sir for taking care of your grandmother." "Yes,thank you and good luck with your not soo well sister. "Thank you sir." O my God! I cant keep a straight face here! Its so hard. Im not the well sister! AHAHAHA that was sooo damn funny and smart as well. Like wow,that was classy bsing. Well I think he got us seats.So...he must want to sit with me because theres one empty seat next across from the large seat. So...he definitely wants to sit with me. "After you maam." "Uhhh thank you Steevey brother hahaha". "Thank you sister." I sit down across from the girl in the single chair. I really do want to sit next to her but I want to be sweet to her first. "So..why are you sitting there? What did you get this huuuge seat for?" "I got it for you. You look tired and I thought I would give you a seat for you to rest." "Aww...thats so nice. You bullshitted that guy just to get a seat just so I can get this huge seat?" "Well,yeah like I said you look tired and I think maybe you should relax,put your feet up. You couldnt do that with me there. "O really? And why is that?" "Well let me show you why." I got up from my seat and sat down next to her. "Put your feet up now and you;ll see why I thought you also wouldnt want me to sit there." She put her feet up and her shoes rested on me. She was wearing pink flufy boots. They looked nice. They werent even dirty from her walkin whereever. Her boots were even perfect. I didnt know what was going on here but I felt like this girl was someone special. Not just your average girl you meet and then never see again. I think this girl was someone that would be a good friend of mine for the future. "Hmm..I see your point but why wouldnt you want my foot on you? You dont love my pink boots?" "Of course I love your boots! Their pink and I like pink as a color. I just never thought of making it my favorite color. " "Well you should because pink is like the most best color in the world. It's like so pink! Its bright,its pink. Pink is good with everything,food,clothes,cars even,even for hair! "Ahahaha well if you say so. Before we keep on talking..um..I didnt get your name yet. "Ahahah really? I'm ____" "Thats a nice name to have." "You think so or are you just saying that?" "Well you tell me does this face lie? =). "Ahahaha no I dont think so but thanks for telling me that. "So your Steevey and im ____. "Yup." "So...do you mind my shoes on you? "No,no its ok. Keep them there. If your boots being there makes you feel better then leave them there. At least I get to look at your nice pink boots." "Aww, I realize that you have alot of sweet things to say. Can you always talk sweet?" "Well...yeah most of the time I can talk sweet. I'll tell you now..Im a bit shy so..I never really used my sweetness with other girls. In fact your probably like the first girl that I ever really had a long conversation with. "Omg really? I feel so special now. So im the first girl to hear Steevey's sweetness!" "You could say that. So...you live in Worcester?" "No I live in that other little town near Worcester." " Oooo you mean Strawberry." "Yup,strawberry. How bout you? " "Im a woostarian born and raised." "Awesome, I know Worcester like the back of my hand. Where do you live around ? "Do you know Main South? I live around there." "OOoo the not so good area. So what are you doing on a train going all the way from Boston?" "I go to school in Boston. The school system in Worcester sucks. "Hmm..well I go to Strawberry and it not that bad. The school is kind of gay but ehh..its ok." "Thats cool I guess." "So...what have you been going to Boston this week for? " "This week is lke the worse week to be in school for me right now so I've been skipping. "Skippping school?You actually skip school? That doesnt really help you out much at the end does it?" "Are you a nerd?" "What, you think im a nerd? What happened to sweet,funny,brave Steevey?" "Ahahaha well...you were sticking up for school. If you went to Strawberry high then you woudldnt be talking like that." "Maybe thats true,but still you get one day to hang around but is it really worth it? A day is 24 hours but if you fail in life thats about 50 years ahead of you in failure. " "50 years of failure? I dont think I;ll be missing out on much if I skip a week. "Yeah but one week leads up to two weeks and then two weeks leads up to three weeks and then" "Steevey I get it! Ok!You say I shouldnt skip school. "Welcome to the 4:58 Worcester Express. This is the 4:58 Wooorcester Express. This train will be making stops too Backbay,West Natick,Framingham,Ashland,Southborough,Westborough,Grafton,and Wooooooorcester. We hope you enjoy your trip today with the MBTA. The train will move in just a few moments so..please take your seats" "So..____ how old are you?" "Im 16 right now." "How about you?" "Im 16 too,yay we're 16 woohoo!" An old man sitting in the seat in front of us turned in his chair to look at me and ___. "Hey,kid can you quiet down?!" "Kid? Im a kid. Old man would you please stay in your business and Ill stay in my business?" I told the guy. ____ was turning a light shade of pink on her cheeks and I was wondering if she knew even her body turned pink at times. "Dont try to act like a smartass all right kid? Ive had a bad day and I dont need to hear kids yelling behind me. I hear enough noise from my wife." "Your wife is noisy? Well maybe she should be! Im a woman and I think that your wife made a mistake choosing you for a husband. "Hmpphhh,just keep quiet ok?" "We;ll try sir. If you could please turn around then we shall try our most bestest to be quiet ok mr adult? =) I told the guy with a big smile. "Smartas..." The man turned back to his seat. "I guess we're good at dissing people too" "Yeah,these people are so annoying. I hate people like that. Why cant they just mind their own business?" "I dont know ___, sometimes people have their problems and they dont know where to put their feelings. I dont want to receive that guys feelings though. I have my own problems." "Yeah,this year has been hell for me. I have to work right after I get off this train. Thats like till 9 and then I have like load of h.w and I'm too lazy to do it now. "I usually do the h.w now or sleep." I told ____. "Sleeping sounds good. I'm so tired. Howd you know that I would like get tired and do this whole stretch myself out?" "I kind of had a feeling thats all. It's like a sixth sense for me. I see something or an event and in my mind I just plan something out like what can follow next. I saw you and you just looked tired too me so..Im thinking we're going on a train and theres these big chairs,maybe she'll want to lay down." "Maybe that guy was right,maybe you are a smartass!" "Hey ___,I'm so not. I'm just smart but that doesnt mean I'm not funny." The train suddenly makes a bulge and _____ is pushed almost out of her seat. I quickly lean myself forward and catch her around the waist. "Hahahah,I wasnt expecting that! Thanks for that too,nice reflexes." "I couldnt just let you fall on the floor with me sittting above you. I would feel feel bad that I didnt do anything. And its a dirty floor and you dont need to get yourself dirty." "Dirty? I;m a dirty girl little boy." "Your dirty? Ohh so if you hold on, let me get a tissue and wipe you off." "No,y

What does the Orthodox Church teach about Christmas? Will the real holy day please stand up Among the many misguided ideas of Christmas is the modern Santa Claus. His real life is mocked; he is not the fat and jolly sort that Coca-Cola commercialism has promoted him to be. St. Nicholas was known for giving gifts in stockings to the needy, early in the 4th century. It is good to remember and follow his example of sacrificial giving. He was a bishop who struck the heretic Arius in the face for his blasphemies against the Son of God and His Most Pure Mother. The day of his commemoration is about 3 weeks before the Nativity of the Lord. Webster's dictionary says that the word “Christmas” comes from the Middle English “Christemasse”, from just before the 12th century, “Christ's Mass” of the Pope’s church. I have never found any good source for using the term “mass” today; it comes from that vast wasteland of Papism. The Protestants have continued in erroneous inventions of Christmas themselves. We should not even use the term “Christmas” out of hand, unless we are certain that the temptations of such are put in check. Matthew 12:36 ‘But I say unto you, that every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the Day of Judgment.’ Likewise the term “Xmas” has no good place. About 1000 years ago the Western Christians changed the worship from bread and wine to a wafer. The Protestants worship went worse with things like the wafer and grape juice. How anyone would want to follow them by titling anything “mass” is beyond me. As the Western Churches (Roman Catholics and Protestants) have been in such errors for 1,000 years there is really no way we should participate with their terminology. Whichever way we think of it “Christmas” is a religious concept to those who celebrate it and it is a false one. If we want to do what is right we should not go out of our way to practice or participate in such terms with them. As far as designating this holy day it is best to use the common way of expression used by the early Church. We should not use the pagan/secular names for months or days, like December or Wednesday. According to the practice of the Lord’s Church, The Nativity of the Lord would be stated this year this way. “The first day of the 30th week after Pentecost, in the 7515th year from Adam and Eve.” If I have my calculations right. The commemoration of the birth of the Lord (more closely titled, The Nativity of our Lord) falls on the Old Julian calendar date of December 25th. In 1582 Pope Gregory XIII hired pagans to create his New Gregorian calendar that changed existing dates by days. This ‘out of order’ calendar of the pope is what our godless society uses today. Now, the original and actual December 25th falls on what most know as January 6th/7th. There are records of different dates being recognized as the Lord's Nativity. I see the Old Calendar date as being more correctly assigned, because those with the best judgment used it, it has been used for the longest time and by the most people. At this present time there is no way to come to a better conclusion. I see no good reason for recognizing twice in a single year one holy day, so I stay with the time tested one. To mix up holy days only sows yet even more discord among an already fouled faith of the popes and the rest. About the question of pagan holidays being used by godly people. Many claim that we should not even celebrate a day of the Lord’s Nativity due to it previously being of pagan origin. I do not see how pagans can have a monopoly on any given day. It certainly would be wrong to do the practices of pagans. To recognize a day of God's plan, where His Son is given to us, is not wrong. It further shows what God actually has done and gives us the opportunity to give Him more glory, dedicate more time to that specific thought and make it more a part of our life. I believe we should stop and remove any contradictory pagan practices that the world may have previously adhered to, but we cannot remove a whole day from the calendar just because somebody wrongly claims it is paganism. There are so many pagan festivals that it would be a practical impossibility to avoid all of them anyway. God set a calendar with dates of recognizing His plan for mankind. Pagans cannot overrule what God has done. Those who say that godly people cannot use a pagan day (which God actually made in the first place) is missing the whole point and oppose the celebration of holy days which God in His infinite wisdom instituted long before them. There are also people who question the use of Christmas trees, the Yule log, holly, mistletoe, etc. I really do not know of any good source for the use of such items in the home. I personally think that the trees are a waste of time and money for something that makes a complete mess and is not easily disposed of. Till I find some good reason to use such decorations I will not. I also think that the words of the holy prophet Jeremiah should make us reconsider doing such things. Jeremiah 10:2-4 Thus saith the LORD, Learn ye not the ways of the heathen, and be not alarmed at the signs of the sky; for they are alarmed at them, falling on their faces. For the customs of the nations are vain; it is a tree cut out of the forest, the work of the carpenter, or a molten image. They are beautified with silver and gold; they fix them with hammers and nails. (LXX) If somebody who celebrates Christmas wants to give me a gift I will accept it, if it is not overtly bad, I will then use it for what is good if I can. However, I will not participate in that day's gift giving for the purpose of the heretics Christmas, for that is not the time to be celebrating. It is never wrong to give good gifts. No matter what gift I might give I think it should be helpful and practical. I think that things made personally are best, those that are hand crafted, or something of a spiritual nature would apply best. We should not be expecting anything, but only be thinking of what it is we can give away and do without. Also, there is the shame of all the Christmas parties before their time. This is not how it should be at all. There is a time known as Advent, a time of preparation, where we deny ourselves, looking forward to the feast of the Nativity of our Lord. The time for exuberance is not before but during and immediately after the feast. It has been forgotten that we should not celebrate early. Parties that are done early destroy the whole purpose of having holy days in the first place. The purpose is to make all the time we are given more spiritually profitable. Most people understand Christmas Eve as being the whole day before Christmas. Really the evening is the first part of the day, so the day starts with the evening. In Genesis it is explained, “there was evening and there was morning” (one day). So, all these Eve's should be understood as just the evening before, which is really the first part of that one day. There is another point to make, about Poinsettia’s. In America they are a hybrid mutation, man-made and the use of them comes from Papists. There is really no good example for the way they are used nowadays. In a time when everybody works to be so traditional they seem to be inventing. For me I simply would not even consider having something which tries to out do God’s design, like the development of the modernist Poinsettia. There is almost nothing left that is the way God planned it, nearly everything is genetically altered and fake. We truly do live in more of a make-believe world than we know. My goal is to get away from it all somehow. The bottom line is this. I hope, with all tenaciousness, to keep what I have found which is good. That would include not using the heretic terminology of “Christmas” and not following the questionable practices of the papal calendar and not having pagan-like decorated trees, etc. To decorate during a time when restraint is called for (the Nativity fast) makes no sense at all. I do not wish to be mean-spirited toward others who follow a different way, but if others would reconsider these things for themselves I think it would be nice.