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Nigeria Challenged by Radical Islamists
By Lee Jay Walker – THE SEOUL TIMES
Tokyo Correspondent
|Radical Islamists in Nigeria
The Nation of Nigeria is multi-ethnic and multi-religious and ethnic and religious tensions erupt from time to time. However, the current crisis in parts of northern Nigeria is related to radical Islamists who want to impose Sharia Islamic law on all non-Muslims and to Islamize Nigeria. Therefore, the Nigerian army is bent on crushing Al-Sunna wal Jamma in order to preserve the delicate status quo in northern Nigeria.
The followers of Al-Sunna wal Jamma desire to implement Sharia Islamic law and this applies to controlling the Christian community and followers of traditional beliefs. Once more it is about religion and politics being entwined together under a theocratic theory whereby minorities will become dhimmis.
If we relate the current crisis with Sudan and the enforcement of Islamic Sharia law on non-Muslims, then clearly Al-Sunna wal Jamma is a threat to the nation state. After all, in Sudan the Arab dominated elite wanted to Islamize Sudan and to completely subdue the Christian and Animist minorities. In time, Islamization in Sudan would lead to Arabization because even African Muslims were deemed to belong to an inferior culture and because of this many African Muslims in Sudan also challenged the central state.
Yet what Sudan shows, is that the followers of Al-Sunna wal Jamma could completely destabilize Nigeria because the Christian population in certain cities in the north is sizeable. Also, if Sharia Islamic law was enforced on non-Muslims in Northern Nigeria then in time the same Islamic fanatics would want to introduce the same law to the entire nation.
In 1999 the government of Nigeria allowed the north to introduce Islamic Sharia law and the implementation of this was spearheaded by the state of Zamfara. After Zamfara implemented Sharia Islamic law in the north another eleven states would follow. This applies to
Bauchi, Borno, Gombe, Jigawa, Kano, Kastina, Kaduna, Kebbi, Niger, Sokoto, and Yobe.
Yet Islamic Sharia law is meant to be implemented for Muslims but clearly many Muslims desire to enforce their views on Christians and other religious minorities. Also, to implement this codified legal system piecemeal is not going to work, after all, what happens if a Muslim wants to convert to Christianity in the north of Nigeria?
If Nigeria is to remain unified then a fair legal system is needed to protect all Nigerian nationals, irrespective if Christian, Muslim, a follower of traditional beliefs, atheist, or whatever. How is it possible to implement Sharia Islamic law and provide equality at the same time for minorities in the north, including Christians?
Islamic Sharia law means that all non-Muslims are inferior in law and society will restrict the movement of women and non-Muslims. Just like what happened in Sudan when policies of Islamization and Arabization were enforced on Africans in this nation. The result of this policy was the enslavement of non-Muslims and a violent civil war, whereby millions were killed.
In the world of Al-Sunna wal Jamma and radical Sunni Islamists, the Nigeria of today will look very different. You will see women being stoned to death for adultery, converts to Christianity will be killed, non-Muslims will be inferior in law, chopping of hands and feet, and other authoritarian measures.
Clearly, for non-Muslims and Muslims who support the unitary nation state, this will lead to chaos and war. Yet despite this, radical Sunni Muslims in Nigeria are bent on implementing the Islamic legal system. Therefore, the military is trying to crush the current uprising in parts of the north. This notably applies to Maiduguri in Borno state and other parts of northern Nigeria, for example in Bauchi, Damaturu, and Wudil.
The President of Nigeria, Umaru Yar'adua, vows to crush the Islamic insurgency and restore order to northern Nigeria. However, the current crisis may lead to more violence and just like in Somalia, outside meddling may pose a severe problem for central forces in Nigeria. After all, foreign Islamists in the past have been good at creating even more mayhem; therefore, the government of Nigeria must check funding organizations or covert Islamic agencies which may try to internationalize the crisis.
At the moment the situation is chaotic and hundreds of people have been killed. Also, attacks have erupted in the past by Al-Sunna wal Jamma and then this movement went underground. However, last year many Christians and Muslims were killed in Jos and you have reports of Christian churches being destroyed during the current crisis.
Therefore, the Nigerian government must contain the current crisis quickly and firebrand Sunni Islamic leaders must be challenged. The central government must also solve the legal crisis within Nigeria, because it is clear that Islamic Sharia law discriminates against non-Muslims and the rights of women are eroded.
Also, you do have genuine issues in Nigeria which need to be solved and this applies to uneven economic development, rampant poverty, corruption, exploitation of resources, ethnic tensions, religious tensions, and other vital areas of concern. Yet despite this, it is clear that Al-Sunna wal Jamma is not the answer because this organization wants to enslave non-Muslims via dhimmitude and reduce the role of women in society.


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The Best Twitter Responses to the Royal Baby News
Congratulations are in order for Prince William and his wife, Kate Middleton. The two are expecting a baby. Good job, guys! As aways whenever there is any kind of news for anybody, Twitter has gone nuts. Here are the funniest tweets about #royalbaby. Enjoy!

subset: commoncrawl


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You like android smartphones. Some of them are easy to use why others are complex. No matter the amount you buy a phone or how careful you are with a phone, it must develop one fault or the other.
This is where zamdtek comes in, to guide you on the right way to use your smartphone also to help you on the first thing to do when you notice some technical issues. When NASA mission hard a mishap, one of the NASA directors said in interview that Machine fails. A phone is ike a machine it fails.
The most common problem of any phone is water or liquid damage. Liquid is enemy of phone unless is a water resistant phone. So what are you going to do when you noticed liquid on your phone?
You may like this Tecno K7 FRP Bypass
Try these:-
Remove the battery, if the battery is detachable
Take the phone to nearest technician to dry the phone panel.
Don't sun on heat by yourself because you are just heating the phone plastic part.
If the liquid touch the screen or lcd, you have to replace it.
How to fix iPhone 5s Camera not working or dark issue.
What you need to fix this problem
· A set of screw driver
· An iSclack to disassemble iPhone.
· A rework station, in case it involves replacement of components
· A dry environ, and a drier solution.
· Get you soldering iron.
· Get your soldering lead.
· Loose or disassemble the phone.
· Remove or detach the battery.
· Check for water damage and clean up the panel.
· Replace or put the battery and try power the phone.
· If you problem is not solved.
· Switch on your Rework Station and remove/change this component or make jumper.
|iPhone 5s camera
As shown in the picture below. You must watch go through the picture carefully before applying any solution


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Today we saw a gorgeous V8lvo 740 wagon sporting an LT1. Wait, this car looks very familiar!
Reader Internal_Err0r was the first to spot the similarities.
Same car, right?
It sure looks like the exact same car to us. Has it been on sale for nearly three years with minimal changes and a drop of $2,600 in price?
Leaving the mystery of this particular V8lvo aside, what's the longest you've ever seen a car for sale? There was a Dodge Omni up in Arcata, CA on Craigslist for months, dropping $100 every few weeks until it disappeared.
When I was growing up, I remember a yellow '73 Firebird across town that seemed to have a "For Sale" sign in the window for years, but surely you've seen something worse online or in your town.
Photo Credit: Atlanta Craigslist


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The Rural Code in Niger: A Land Tenure Reform Based on a Continuing Participatory Process
The authors argue that the process leading to the Rural Code has produced some important positive results which have contributed to easing conflicted relations between rural producers and strengthening land tenure security, notably amongst the weakest inhabitants. Some challenges to the implementation of the rural have arisen, notably lack of clarity and contradiction between some guiding principles.
Source publication:
Paper presented at International conference on Agrarian Reform and Rural development, Porto Alegre, 7-10 March 2006.


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TRENTON (AP) - Legislation making college more affordable for thousands of foreign-born students living in New Jersey illegally is facing its final legislative hurdle.
The state Assembly is expected to pass the so-called tuition equality bill along party lines on Thursday, sending it to Gov. Chris Christie's desk.
The governor and possible 2016 presidential candidate has said he supports the concept of extending cheaper in-state tuition rates to New Jersey students who were brought to the country illegally as children. But Christie said he would veto the current bill because it grants benefits that are too generous.
Christie doesn't want this group of students to be eligible for financial aid. He also wants to close a loophole he says could make New Jersey a magnet for foreign-born students from other states.


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Absolutely stunning, this metallic design has incredible depth and a mesmerizing geometric motif. The hexagonal patterns align while interior stripes reinforce the industrial influence. The gleaming finish of this wallcovering is presented in sixteen glorious shades; among them is Pear, the color of white asparagus, and Shell, a matte bright white.
Also from Candice Olson, click here for Customizable Wall Designs to fit your every need!
This item is also available 27" wide as MCO1724N


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Village Levee In Need Of Repair< < Back to
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' commanding general has visited a Tuscarawas County village where the aging levee protecting it from flooding is in serious need of repairs.
Lt. Gen. Thomas Bostick visited Zoar this week and said the trip put the troubled levee on his radar. He was a guest of Rep. Bob Gibbs, a Republican from Lakeville who leads a U.S. House subcommittee with jurisdiction over Bostick's agency.
Bostick says Zoar residents deserve credit for making known the town's concerns "at all levels," including the federal government.
The corps has spent about $4.5 million on the levee in the last few years and is studying options for its future. That could mean repairs, moving the village to higher ground or allowing it to flood.


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- Who We Are: We're a group of high school and college age youth and some adults whose only life's purpose is to organize youth events - not! :) But we really love youth work and organizing events and activities, and we are grateful for the opportunity of serving Islam and our Muslim Youth.
- What We Do: We organize youth programs, events, workshops, outings, lectures for the youth at Muslim Community Association. We also run the youthgroup halaqas which cater to more than 350 youth on a weekly basis.
- Audience: The Youth Committee's main audience is youth of ages 8 to 18 years, but we also cater events to college age youth as well.
- Youth Corner Publications: Every Friday we publish youth news, articles, events and updates in the main the Newsletter under the "Youth Corner" section. In addition, we send out email alerts on Wednesdays to the main youth mailing list which has hundreds of emails for youth in our community.
- Youth Committee Contact Information:
Activities & General Inquiries: [email protected]
Youth Corner Publication (article submissions): [email protected]
Youth Portal: http://youth.mcabayarea.org
- Youth Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/YouthMCA?ref=aymt_homepage_panel
- Click here to read an articles about MCA Youth
- Make sure to like us on our Facebook page and get more info's and updates. Click on icon to visit page.


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I don't know about this move, it's not huge, not like he will be mvp, but he could be a solid backup, not like Yanks gave much upNEW YORK -- Before setting their sights on the rotation holes that are sure to dominate their offseason agenda, the Yankees on Thursday made an acquisition unrelated to their pitching staff. Just hours before they can begin signing free agents, the Bombers instead made a trade, acquiring power-hitting first baseman Nick Swisher from the White Sox for three players. "I know one thing about Nick Swisher from afar," general manager Brian Cashman said. "He's a very competitive player. He's a grinder. He plays at one level at all times."
Swisher, 27, came to New York in exchange for utility infielder Wilson Betemit and Minor League pitchers Jeff Marquez and Jhonny Nunez. The Yankees also received Minor League reliever Kanekoa Texeira from the White Sox.
"We're excited with the addition of Nick Swisher," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said in a statement announcing the trade. "We feel he has a ton of upside. He's a patient switch-hitter, adds versatility at a number of defensive positions, including first base and the outfield, and will be a positive presence inside the clubhouse."
What attracted the Yankees to Swisher was the versatility that saw him play at least 18 games at all three outfield positions, and split the bulk of his time between first base and center field. With Johnny Damon likely to start most games in left field and Xavier Nady in right, Cashman said he envisioned Swisher playing at first base nearly every day.
Despite playing 70 games in center field last season, Swisher, whom Cashman called an "average" defensive center fielder, is not likely to see much time there next year. He will instead play first base and fill in at the corner outfield positions, where the Yankees consider Swisher a "plus defender."
"One of the reasons we were attracted to Nick," Cashman said, "is that he's got the flexibility, the versatility to play left, center, right, first. We obviously have a vacancy at first base, but the winter is early."
It originally seemed as if the Yankees would attempt to fill that void by throwing money at Mark Teixeira, far and away the top free-agent first baseman on the market. And even though Cashman said that the addition of Swisher wouldn't preclude him from pursuing Teixeira, it stands to reason that Girardi's lineup is now all but set heading into 2009.
Instead of spending money on a first baseman, the Yankees can now focus almost exclusively on pitching -- their top priority all along.
That's not to say that the Yankees acquired Swisher for free. Marquez ranked among the organization's top pitching prospects heading into 2009, and one of a select few capable of stepping in and helping the big club right away. Despite missing nearly two months last season with a right shoulder strain, Marquez produced an 8-8 record and a 4.47 ERA in 19 games split between Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and Double-A Trenton.
They Yankees also dealt away Betemit, a utilityman who saw most of his playing time at the corner infield positions, and Nunez, a reliever who struck out 26 batters in 19 1/3 Double-A innings following a midseason trade.
The Yankees received Texeira, who was 6-3 last season with 21 saves and a 1.33 ERA in 51 relief appearances between Class A Winston-Salem and Double-A Birmingham. Those numbers included 20 saves and a 0.93 ERA with Winston-Salem, and a scoreless-innings streak that hit 22 straight appearances before the 22-year-old's promotion.
Yet from a Yankees perspective, the most intriguing numbers are the 26 homers that Swisher, a former first-round Draft pick of the Athletics, has averaged over his four full big league seasons. As impressive as that is, a steep drop in average and on-base percentage -- he fell more than 40 points in both categories from 2007 to '08 -- made Swisher expendable, and New York offered enough to pry him out of Chicago.
Cashman was the first to admit the risk of acquiring a player who hit .219 overall last season and .197 from the left side, though he pointed to past seasons for justification. In 2007, Swisher hit .262 with 22 homers, following a career year that saw him hit .262 with 35 home runs in 2005. He has also averaged 93 walks over the past three seasons.
"The fact of the matter is he had his worst Major League season as an everyday player," Cashman said of 2008, "which probably put him in play for an acquisition."
The Yankees attempted to acquire Swisher during their search for a first baseman last winter, but they could not convince the Athletics, his employer at the time, to bite. Swisher instead went to the White Sox for three Minor Leaguers, and seemed out of play until his subpar season forced Chicago to look at other options.
Swisher's reputation as a positive clubhouse presence also intrigued the Yankees, as did his baseball pedigree -- his father, Steve, played nine seasons for the Cubs, Cardinals and Padres. Add that to the fact that Swisher is just entering the prime of his career, and the Bombers seem justified in pursuing a player wholly capable of approaching Jason Giambi's numbers over the past two seasons.
If nothing else, the acquisition means one less void for the Yankees to fill come Friday, when they can begin to negotiate contracts with free agents.
"It's early in the winter," Cashman said. "Our main focus is to try to improve our pitching staff, and that has not changed."


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The Erie Canal
Watch The Intelligent Investing Interview With Felix Rohatyn.
Colden, educated at Edinburgh University, had come to America from his native Ireland at the request of the governor of New York Province to do a geographical survey of western New York and at the same time report on relations between the French colonialists and the local Indian tribes. As he journeyed across the rugged country and observed, Colden was struck by the ingenuity the Indians used to deliver their furs to the French. Setting out from Albany, they'd carry their goods a short 16 miles overland to Schenectady and the Mohawk River; then they'd paddle their canoes upriver to Oneida Lake; until they'd finally drift, as he wrote, "with the current down the Onondoga [now the Ostwego] River to Lake Ontario." The Indians, Colden realized with admiration, had devised an easily navigable, calm water route through the Appalachian Mountains. And this shortcut sparked his thoughts.
Why not, he decided in a burst of inspiration, create a trail of waterways from the industries of the eastern seaboard to the rich wilderness of the Northwest territories? Why not connect the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean by a path of integrated rivers? Such a water route, he began to see with increasing clarity, would be a quick and economical highway that would carry people and trade back and forth between the eastern colonies and the natural bounty in the New World's frontier. It would be, he felt certain, the path that would encourage the colonies to spread westward.
It was not until nearly one hundred years later, in 1817, when the first trenches for this interconnecting waterway were dug, that Colden's practical vision would begin to be transformed into a reality. And after the 363-mile Erie Canal was completed eight years later, this swift path from the Hudson River to Lake Erie, a route that, as the inaugural proclamation announced, "wedded the waters" between the Great Lakes and the Atlantic Ocean, would have consequences far beyond Colden's original expectations. Not only did this waterway open the western frontier, but it was crucial to New York City's becoming the nation's chief port and one of the world's great metropolitan centers.
The canal was a state-funded engineering marvel that demonstrated, as the eighty-year-old former President Thomas Jefferson observed, "the capability of nations to execute great enterprises." The success of the Erie Canal helped further establish the precedent that a visionary and innovative government can finance and build significant projects that will dramatically improve the nation's wealth and quality of life.
Yet the creation of the Erie Canal is also a history of tenacity, a century-long tale of perseverance by far-seeing, resolute, inventive, and often stubborn individuals. It is the story of leaders who were inspired by the originality of Colden's insight; and who, with this possibility firmly rooted in their imagination, refused to surrender to any of the obstacles that either a shortsighted Politics or a malicious Nature put in the way of what they believed was in the best interests of the nation.
GEORGE WASHINGTON WAS WORRIED. Although he was no longer president, he had not abandoned his concern for the nation he had helped create. Out of office, in retirement, he grew anxious about the country's future.
For the United States to survive and prosper, the former president believed the country would need to develop its western territories. No less troubling, he feared that if America did not firmly establish its ties to the settlers in these frontier lands, then European powers would colonize the West. The opportunity to expand the country across the continent would be lost.
It was essential that government begin "applying the cement of interest," Washington insisted in a 1785 letter to Patrick Henry, the governor of Virginia, "to bind all parts of the Union together by indispensable bonds--especially of binding that part of it which lies immediately west of us, to the middle States." And a canal, Washington believed with passion, would be "the cement" that would firmly and indispensably bond the western lands to the rest of America.
With President Jefferson's encouragement, Washington formed the Patowmack Company to build a canal along the Potomac River (as it is now known). It would run from Alexandria, Virginia, and continue westward through the mountains beyond the nation's capital.
It was an inspired idea, and it had influential and well-known supporters. Nevertheless, the project was immediately besieged by managerial, labor, and financial problems. When Washington died in 1799, an already troubled company began to unravel. Still, the Patowmack Company managed to flounder on until, at last, it went bankrupt in 1810.
Yet despite all its problems and its ultimate failure, the Patowmack Company had succeeded in popularizing the former president's original vision: A canal tying the East to the western territories was vital to the new republic's future.
AS THE IDEA OF a Potomac canal began to attract supporters in Virginia, Christopher Colles, an Irish immigrant to America, tried to apply his practical experience to the building of an interconnecting waterway based in New York. In Ireland, Colles had worked on improving navigation on the Shannon River; now he hoped to use this expertise to benefit his new homeland.
While Washington was busy trying to attract investors to his Patowmack Company, Colles went off to make an impressively detailed survey of New York's waterways. When he was finished, Colles presented his findings to the New York state legislature; unlike the former president, he believed that government, not private individuals, should finance the construction of a system that would play such an integral part in the further development of the new nation.
The paper that Colles presented to the legislature in 1784 was entitled "Proposals for the Speedy Settlement of the Vast and Unappropriated Lands of the Western Frontiers of New York, and for the Improvement of the Inland Navigation Between Albany and Oswego." Although its title was long-winded, Colles's paper was a succinct, well-reasoned call for practical action. It emphasized the advantages of travel on the calm Mohawk River waters, and detailed the economic benefits that would result from a canal that connected the nation's seacoast to its interior. Insightfully, Colles bolstered his argument by pointing out the military advantages in such a canal. "In times of war," he wrote, "provisions and military stores may be moved with facility in sufficient quantity to answer any emergency."
The legislature listened attentively to Colles's presentation, but in the end refused to allocate funds. Still, his carefully presented ideas got the citizens and politicians of New York State thinking. Perhaps, they began increasingly to reflect, a canal did make sense.
NEW YORK STATE SENATOR Philip Schuyler had been particularly intrigued by Colles's argument for a canal. More important, he was an influential voice in the legislature. A scion of New York's Dutch aristocracy and father-in-law of Alexander Hamilton, Schuyler had served in the Provincial Army in the 1750s and then went on to become a fabled Continental Army general during the Revolution. After independence, he was elected to the New York State Senate.
It was in 1791 when he was a state senator that Schuyler was approached by Elkanah Watson. Watson, part adventurer, part entrepreneur, had returned to the United States after running a business in France. Upon his arrival in Virginia, Watson had a chance encounter with former President George Washington. Washington talked enthusiastically to the young man about his plan for a Potomac River Canal. It was this small conversation, Watson would later say, that first kindled "a canal flame in my mind."
Six years later, Watson, now living in Albany, New York, and helping to organize a local bank, led an expedition to explore the possibility of building a canal that would connect the Hudson River to Lake Erie. Once his report on the trip was completed, the affable Watson, a man with a unique ability to align himself with celebrated mentors, presented it to Schuyler.
Schuyler, whose interest in a canal had first been prodded years earlier by Colles, read Watson's paper with a growing enthusiasm. By the time he was finished, Schuyler was convinced that Watson's plan for two canals--one from the Hudson to Lake Ontario, the other from the Hudson to Lake Champlain--was both inspired and practical. He was determined to help. Schuyler used his considerable influence to convince the state Senate to finance two enterprises--the Western Inland Lock Navigation Company and the Northern Inland Lock Navigation Company--that together would construct the two canals. The canals were never built. And in time, the companies quietly went out of business. Nevertheless, the collaboration between Schuyler and Watson had established a principle that would prove significant: New York State was willing to finance a canal.
AFTER THE DISMAL FAILURES of the two lock navigation companies, the public and political support for a New York canal seemed to disappear. For over a decade the project was largely ignored, and further political efforts were abandoned. But then, in 1807, it was suddenly revitalized. From the depths of debtors' prison, a voice reached out and once again captured people's imagination and ignited their enthusiasm.
Jesse Hawley was a western New York flour merchant whose business had collapsed because of his inability to make timely shipments to his customers. Both the rough upstate roads and the choppy Mohawk River had proved to be unmanageable routes; his flour rarely reached its destinations. When the overextended Hawley could not pay his bills, he was sentenced to twenty months in debtors' prison.
He used the time in jail to mull over his failure, and to write. Under the pseudonym of "Hercules," Hawley published a series of essays in the Genesee, New York, Messenger. These essays offered a logical and persuasively articulated plan that would solve the problems of transporting goods across the state. He urged the building of a canal to link the city of Buffalo, on the eastern end of Lake Erie, to the city of Utica in central New York State, via the Mohawk River, the Hudson's largest tributary.
"The trade of almost all the lakes in North America," Hawley predicted with confidence, "would center at New York," and "in a century [that] island would be covered with buildings and population of its city." With impressive prescience, Hawley, the untrained amateur, accurately specified the route that a canal should (and two decades later would) follow. And he cannily estimated that it would cost $6 million; the actual expense was $7 million.
At the time, though, the great accomplishment of these essays was that they helped once again to create support for a canal in the state legislature. In 1808, two New York assemblymen, Joshua Forman and Benjamin Wright (who himself had drawn maps of the Mohawk River for the ill-fated Western Inland Lock Navigation Company), proposed a bill that would allocate $600 to survey canal routes.
The bill passed, and James Geddes, a surveyor, was hired by the state. Geddes threw himself into the task. He charted, he would write, "the rivers, streams and waters ... in the usual route of communication between the Hudson River and Lake Erie." When he was done, he announced that a canal was indeed feasible. He did, however, warn that it would be a massive undertaking. Planning, labor, and costs would be considerable challenges. He conceded that unfortunately he was "born very many years too soon" to ever see it completed.
Despite these caveats, Joshua Forman, one of the original sponsors of the bill that had led to Geddes's commission, was encouraged. The survey, he felt, had proved the project "practicable beyond [the] most sanguine expectations." He went to President Thomas Jefferson to request federal support for the canal.
Jefferson listened and then declared that the New York project was "little more than madness." It was, the president thundered, much too ambitious, an idea that was a hundred years ahead of its time.
Forman was undeterred. "The state of New York," the defiant assemblyman informed the president, "would never rest until [the canal] was accomplished."
But while the efforts continued to raise canal financing elsewhere, they had little tangible results. By 1810, Thomas Eddy, a director of the struggling Western Company, and Jonas Platt, a New York state senator, had come to believe in fact that a private company could never succeed in building a canal. The two men decided that government would need to control the project, and they formulated a plan for a New York State Canal Commission. For the commission to be effective, they realized it would need to be bipartisan. And so, in what would prove to be an inspired gesture, they reached out to DeWitt Clinton.
DEWITT CLINTON WAS A popular and influential Republican politician. He had resigned from the U.S. Senate in 1803 to run for mayor of New York. He was elected for three terms, and also served simultaneously from 1806 to 1811 in the State Senate, and then from 1811 to 1813 as lieutenant governor.
The "Hercules" essays had convinced Clinton of "the practicability of such a canal," and now he readily agreed to support a Canal Commission. With his vocal backing, the commission was ratified by the state Assembly and $3,000 was appropriated for its expenses.
In recognition of his efforts (and his influence), Clinton was appointed to the Canal Commission, along with fellow Republicans Simon DeWitt (Clinton's cousin and the state surveyor) and Peter Porter. The Federalist members were Gouverneur Morris, Stephen van Rensselaer, William North, and Thomas Eddy.
It was a truly bipartisan group, and, as history would demonstrate, a visionary one. The New York commissioners put aside their many differences to form a united group that, despite all political obstacles, would persevere to lead one of the great engineering achievements of all time.
WITH THE SHARED SENSE that they were embarking on a great mission, the Canal Commission members began their work. Using Geddes's survey and the "Hercules" essays as their guides, in the summer of 1810 the new state commissioners set out to explore possible canal routes. It was a rough trip.
DeWitt Clinton's journal vividly describes the distinguished statesmen's discomforting journey along the Mohawk River wilderness. Day after day, they battled "an army of bed bugs, aided by a light infantry in the shape of fleas, and a regiment of mosquito cavalry." The locals, too, did not welcome them; one farmer, apparently enraged by the spectacle of the august commissioners' arrival on his property, responded by hurling a pitchfork at them.
But the commissioners continued on, and in March 1811, they submitted their findings to the legislature. It created a furor.
Matter-of-factly, the commission dismissed all previous suggestions about merely improving river navigation. Instead, it proposed a full-scale canal.
The Lake Ontario route, however, was categorically rejected. The commissioners criticized its limited supply of water, its impracticality for schooners and larger boats, and the large number of transshipments that would be required for a trip from the seacoast to Lake Ontario.
The Lake Erie route had none of these disadvantages. There was plentiful water; this would make building a canal easier since it could be constructed on an inclined plane and fed from the lock. And the resulting absence of locks on most sections of the canal would greatly reduce maintenance fees. The Erie route, the report declared, made the most practical and economic sense.
The canal, the commission predicted, would be a good investment. It would make money, and it would facilitate commerce throughout the state. Nevertheless, the report resolutely concluded that the canal should not be financed or run by the private sector. "Too great a national interest is at stake. It must not become the subject of a job, or a fund for speculation. ... Such large expenditures can be more economically made under public authority, than by the care and vigilance of any company."
The New York state legislature agreed: The canal should be a public enterprise. In April 1811, it authorized the Canal Commission to seek funding from the federal government and from other states.
GOUVERNEUR MORRIS AND DEWITT Clinton, as representatives of the commission, went to Washington, D.C., determined to reverse the results of the unsuccessful appeal that had been made years earlier to President Jefferson. In preparation for their meeting with President James Madison they had prepared a memo that, they felt, persuasively enumerated the many benefits of the canal. It would "encourage agriculture, promote commerce and manufacturers, facilitate a free and general intercourse between different parts of the United States, tend to the aggrandizement and prosperity of the country, and consolidate and strengthen the Union."
Full of optimism, convinced of the rightness of their argument, Morris and Clinton confidently made their case. The president listened with apparent concentration. He nodded his head enthusiastically, as if mutely agreeing with every point they made.
When the presentation was concluded, Madison began by praising the commission's efforts. He then went on to share that he was "an enthusiast as to the advantages of interior navigation, by means of canals." But finally Madison said he could not offer federal support. It would be, he explained, unconstitutional. He conceded that he was "embarrassed by scruples deriving from his interpretation of the Constitution." Nevertheless, this was, he apologized with terse authority, the end of the discussion.
Morris and Clinton were discouraged, but they would not give up. They approached Albert Gallatin, secretary of the Treasury, who was a well-known advocate for transportation development. But Gallatin, too, was unsupportive; the impending war with Britain, he explained, restricted the availability of funds. Perhaps, the desperate commissioners countered, the Treasury could offer support in the form of land grants. Again, Gallatin refused.
So, the two commissioners began to approach the states adjacent to New York for funding. This time the response was not simply negative but entirely skeptical. "A railroad from the earth to the moon could not be treated with more derision," an exasperated Clinton complained.
Despite the failure to raise financing, the commissioners did not abandon their efforts. They simply chose another strategy: New York State would need to build and finance the Erie Canal on its own.
HOPING TO ATTRACT SUPPORTERS in the legislature, the Canal Commission in March 1812 issued a new report. It was a shrewdly practical document, insisting that the canal would be a moneymaking investment for the state.
The report opened with a candid admission. The canal would require more locks than had initially been planned and therefore it would cost more than previously estimated: $6 million. But the report breezily put this sum into perspective: "It is almost a contradiction in terms to suppose that an expenditure of five or six million, in ten or twenty years, can be a serious consideration to a million men, enjoying one of the richest soils and finest climates under heaven."
The report then went on to focus more solidly on the economics of building and financing a canal. A $5 million loan, the commissioners asserted, could be readily obtained from European sources for a term of ten or fifteen years and at a rate of only six percent.
According to the report's calculations, servicing this loan would not be a problem. Within only twenty years, the legislators were assured, the canal would carry an impressive 250,000 tons of freight annually. At a toll of $2.50 per ton, this, combined with other fees, would generate $1,250,000 each year. These proceeds, the commissioners stated, would not only be sufficient to pay the interest on the loan but also would bring a substantial profit to the state.
The report concluded by urging the state to take immediate action. "Things which twenty years ago a man would have been laughed at for believing, we now see," the commissioners reminded their fellow elected officials. However complicated the engineering challenges, however daunting the cost, the canal was a similar enterprise: a futuristic idea that could be made into a reality.
But while the report was bursting with a gung-ho confidence, sentiments ran similarly high among the canal's opponents. The project was dismissed as frivolous and as a drain on the nation's budget. "It would require the revenue of all the kingdoms of the earth, and the population of China, to accomplish it," mocked one state legislator.
To the Federalists, Clinton's motives were also suspect. His visit to Washington to meet with President Madison, they charged, had been "undertaken by him for electioneering purposes." Senator James A. Bayard railed that the intent was more "to open a road to the presidency than a canal from the lakes."
Gouverneur Morris acidly shot back at the commission's critics. The commissioners, he said, "must, nevertheless, have the hardihood to brave the sneers and sarcasm of men who, with too much pride to study, too much wit to think, undervalue what they do not understand, and condemn what they do not comprehend."
In the end, the canal supporters prevailed. On June 19, 1812, the legislature by a small majority ratified the report's findings. And in an accompanying bill, the commissioners were authorized to borrow a maximum of $5 million on the credit of the state and to sell the rights of the Western Inland Lock Navigation Company to raise additional funding.
THE COMMISSION'S CELEBRATION WAS short-lived. On the same day that New York ratified its plan to build the canal, President Madison declared war on Great Britain.
The commissioners tried at first to convince themselves that the War of 1812 would not impede the construction of the canal. In fact, war could very well make the project a priority; after all, there were military advantages in having a swift waterway route to the west.
But this logic proved to be only wishful thinking. With the outbreak of war, a flurry of large problems quickly followed. First, the hydrological and geographical surveys of the proposed canal route were suspended because of "military operations which are not favorable to internal improvements." Then, the English engineer chosen by the commission to oversee the project was prohibited from coming to New York; and the available American engineers were, it was conceded, too inexperienced. And finally, the hostilities made it impossible for the state to secure a European loan; no bank would lend a fortune to a nation whose future was in doubt.
Domestic political problems further undermined the project. DeWitt Clinton, the canal's most vocal advocate, was defeated in the 1812 presidential election, and the loss left his reputation tarnished and his influence diminished. At the same time, the Federalist Party, whose members nearly uniformly supported the project, was in shambles. With the party's opposition to both Madison and the war, it no longer had the power to rally the legislature.
In 1814, the New York state legislature canceled the commission's right to borrow capital on behalf of the state. The commissioners were devastated. They had, one observer commiserated, "given up all hopes of the legislature being induced again to take up the subject, or to adopt any measure to prosecute the scheme."
Clinton, too, acknowledged the totality of his defeat. "Without power and without money," he wrote, the canal was an impossibility. This was, he accepted with a grim certitude, the end of his dream.
YET ONCE THE WAR of 1812 was concluded, the nation looked back at the hostilities; and now from the perspective of experience, the strategic and economic necessity of a canal became increasingly apparent. Much of the war, for example, had been fought in the West. With its skill at inland navigation, Britain had been able to dispatch forces and supplies westward. But the United States had struggled to transport men, weapons, and provisions to this front--and these failures had lost battles.
Additionally, the cost of supplying the troops in the Western territories had been crippling. An 1816 report by General James Tallmadge, who had commanded the wartime forces in upstate New York, offered daunting testimony: the cost of shipping a single barrel of pork inland to feed the troops was $126; a single cannon, fabricated back east for $400, wound up costing an additional $2,000 by the time it was delivered to the troops on the shores of Lake Erie.
The war had also shown the need to end the nation's reliance on imports and foreign manufacturers. In the future, America would need to be more economically self-reliant. And one way to accomplish this, it was generally agreed, would be to reap the natural benefits of the continent's vast interior wilderness. But first there needed to be a practical way to transport goods out West, and natural resources back East. A canal, people were once again beginning to realize, was vital if the country was to remain militarily strong and economically independent.
With the end of the war, though, the possibility of a Lake Ontario route for the canal was uniformly dismissed. Relations between Canada and the United States had soured; the war had left the country suspicious about its northern neighbor's secret alliances and hidden intentions. All the discussions now centered on the Lake Erie route.
But even as sentiment for a canal was once again building, its longtime public champion was too preoccupied to offer his support. DeWitt Clinton was busy trying to save his own future. His political career was in near ruin.
New York's Tammany organization, Clinton's bitter enemies, had finally succeeded in undermining his support in the Democratic Party. They had persuaded Governor Daniel Tompkins to remove Clinton from his position as mayor of New York.
Dismissed from the mayoralty, Clinton's political life was apparently over. Yet the ambitious and tenacious Clinton would, against all odds, manage to save his career. And in the process, he would ensure that the long-doomed Erie Canal would be built, too.
OUT OF POWER, HIS political capital spent, Clinton nevertheless decided to make a new push for the canal. This time, by necessity, he devised a different approach. He would not try to sell the project to the state legislators. Instead, he would appeal directly to the people.
On December 3, 1815, Clinton, along with fellow Commissioners Eddy and Platt, convened a meeting of distinguished New Yorkers. The purpose was to persuade these influential citizens of the necessity of a canal. Before the session ended, they too agreed that the time had come to reach out to the citizens of New York. It was decided that Clinton would draft a statement outlining the argument for a canal; and then this document would be circulated as a petition around the state.
Clinton's thirteen-page manifesto was inspired.
It was grounded in history: "The prosperity of ancient Egypt and China may in a great degree be attributed to their inland navigation."
It looked to the future: The canal would make New York City "the great depot and warehouse of the western world ... the greatest commercial city in the world."
It was pragmatic: The canal would cost $6 million, but the state could secure a loan for ten to fifteen years, and profits would certainly offset interest payments. Moreover, private landowners were willing to donate more than 100,000 acres of land, tracts worth more than $1 million.
It was impassioned: "Our merchants should not be robbed of their legitimate profits ... public revenues should not be seriously impaired by dishonest smuggling, and ... the commerce of our cities should not be supplanted by mercantile establishments of foreign countries."
It was poetic:
The whole line of canal will exhibit boats loaded with flour, pork, beef, pot and pearl ashes, flaxseed, wheat, barley, corn, hemp, wool, flax, iron, lead, copper, salt, gypsum, coal, tar, fur, peltry, ginseng, bees-wax, cheese, butter, lard, staves, lumber and the other valuable productions of our country; and also with merchandise from all parts of the world. Great manufacturing establishments will spring up; agriculture will establish its granaries, and commerce its warehouses in all directions. Villages, towns, and cities will line the banks of the canal, and the shores of the Hudson from Erie to New York. The wilderness and the solitary place will become glad, and desert will rejoice and blossom as the rose.
And, above all, it was a mandate for action: "It is your incumbent duty to open, facilitate, and improve internal navigation ... to create a new era in history, and to erect a work more stupendous, more magnificent, and more beneficial than has hereto been achieved by the human race."
Not surprising, the document enraged Clinton's opponents. The Martling Men, a group of New York City Republicans led by Martin Van Buren, were particularly vocal. They did not want Clinton to lead a historic undertaking, especially one that if it succeeded would no doubt restore his political career. Governor Tompkins argued that improved roads were preferable to the certain folly of "Clinton's canal."
But the response from citizens throughout the state was enthusiastic. The Canal Commission had organized meetings in the cities and towns along the path of the proposed canal, and Clinton's manifesto was read out loud. More than 100,000 signatures were collected urging the legislature to fund construction of the Erie Canal.
The state Assembly bowed to the unprecedented public pressure. In 1816, the Assembly passed a bill authorizing a $2 million loan for both construction of the middle section of the Erie Canal, from the city of Rome to the Seneca River, and the Champlain Canal, a sixty-four-mile route from Watervliet on the Hudson to Lake Champlain.
BEFORE CLINTON AND HIS fellow commissioners could celebrate their victory, the state Senate annulled the lower house's authorization. At Martin Van Buren's urging, the senators passed a motion stipulating that more extensive surveys needed to be completed and the exact route determined before the actual construction of the two canals could begin. The senators appropriated a trifling $20,000 to conduct these surveys.
Yet the commissioners refused to be defeated. Rather than complain about the meager sum allotted for such a monumental task, they decided to make the most of the funds they were given. They hired a surveyor to oversee the project. But this time they did not choose an expensive Englishman who, as one contemporary pointed out, "knows very little about the management and conducting of business in this country." Instead, they hired, for a lesser salary, an American.
A new, accurately detailed survey was quickly begun. After its completion in February 1817, the commission presented an exhaustive 174-page report to the state legislature. The bottom line, though, was succinct: The 353-mile project would cost $4.9 million, about $13,400 per mile.
The legislators in the Assembly immediately wanted to know where this money, a breathtaking sum in 1817 dollars, would come from. Many of the assemblymen felt New York City should be taxed to pay for a substantial portion of the construction. As Elisha Williams, an assemblyman from Columbia County, argued: "Will not all the productions of this vast and fertile territory go to New York? ... If this canal is to be a shower of gold, it will fall upon New York. ... Are we to give her the means of enriching herself beyond all former example, and of monopolizing the trade of the whole world, and she pays nothing in return?"
The delegation from New York City, however, fervently objected to any special taxes. They pointed out that there would be cheap merchandise coming in from the West that would discourage people from buying goods manufactured in the city. In fairness, the city legislators argued, the tax should be apportioned statewide.
After much debate, the city's objections were overcome. The bill authorizing the construction of the canal passed the Assembly by a vote of 51 to 40.
Only now the Senate had to approve the measure. Clinton knew this was where the real battle would take place. He expected Martin Van Buren to lead the fight against passage; after all, Van Buren was still fuming over Clinton's recent nomination by his party for governor, and the two men barely talked. So Clinton braced himself when Van Buren took the floor.
Van Buren's speech left Clinton surprised and astonished. "Our tables have groaned with the petitions of the people," the senator announced. "We are bound to consider that the people have given their assent." And it wasn't simply this outpouring of popular support that had persuaded Van Buren. The senator went on to explain that he had come to believe the canal would greatly benefit the country's future. He urged his fellow senators to vote to allocate the funds for construction.
With Van Buren's support, the canal bill passed the Senate by 18 to 9.
THERE WAS ONE MORE legislative hurdle. Since the bill had not won by a two-thirds majority in both houses, it still could be vetoed by the Council of Revision. This body was composed of men known to be unsympathetic to the canal: the governor, the state chancellor, and three state supreme court judges.
The council's debate, however, began with the appearance of an unexpected visitor. Daniel Tompkins, the new U.S. vice president, former New York governor, and longtime Clinton enemy, arrived, glibly explaining that he just happened to be in Albany. In the past, Clinton had dismissed Tompkins as being "destitute of language, science, and magnanimity--a mere creature of accident and chance, without an iota of real greatness." As when Van Buren had taken the Senate floor, Clinton prepared himself for the expected tirade. This time he was not surprised.
The canal, Tompkins insisted, was too ambitious. It required a financial investment that was not simply huge but potentially dangerous. This money, the vice president railed, should be appropriated for military purposes. "England," he predicted, "will never forgive us for our victories. ... We shall have another war," he said with certainty, "within two years." It would be more prudent to prepare for this inevitable war than build a canal.
It was a fiery diatribe, relentless in its opposition, passionate in its rageful call to war. And it backfired. The state chancellor, James Kent, responded, "If we must have war, or a canal, I am in favor of a canal." The other council members agreed.
The bill authorizing the construction of the canal had finally passed.
AT SUNRISE ON THE Fourth of July, 1817, a huge crowd gathered outside the city of Rome for the ceremonial groundbreaking. Speeches were applauded; cannons fired their salutes; and then Judge John Richardson, the contractor for this first section of the canal, plunged a spade into the earth. After decades of false starts and apparent dead ends, the construction of the canal had begun.
It was not easy work. Armed with only axes, shovels, and handsaws, crews of men had to create a trench four feet deep and forty feet wide through hundreds of miles of thick forest. But the workers were industrious and inventive. As they moved through the forests, they became more skilled in felling trees, inventing new methods.
Ingenuity came to the rescue, too, as the walls of the canal were constructed. When it became apparent that the lime mortar applied was inadequate, that the rising water quickly ate through the cement and caused dangerous structural cracks, a solution was found. Canvass White, a young engineer, identified a type of limestone found in Madison County that with time became increasing hard underwater. White patented his discovery in 1820. Soon this "miracle" cement was not simply used on the canal walls but was widely employed throughout the country.
Only six months after the groundbreaking, by the end of 1817, 15 miles of the canal were fully navigable. Fifty contractors had signed on, and more than a thousand men were working on the 58-mile middle section. Work, in fact, was moving ahead faster than anticipated.
The state legislature was buoyed by this progress. On April 7, 1819, the state authorized the completion of the entire canal, and the work continued to progress steadily. By 1820, the sluices were opened and water rushed in to fill the 94-mile middle section, from Utica to Montezuma. Money, too, flowed smoothly into the project. There was a great demand for the bonds, and the commission was authorized to borrow an additional $2 million.
Yet even as the canal neared completion, its speedy construction proclaimed "an engineering miracle," DeWitt Clinton's enemies decided to strike. The prospect of the canal's success propelling Clinton into the White House infuriated them. Led by Martin Van Buren, a resolution was introduced in the New York State legislature in 1824 proposing that Clinton be removed from the Canal Commission, where he had been serving as president. The measure passed by a 24-3 vote in the Assembly, and a similarly impressive 64-34 in the Senate. In a resounding vote, the legislators had stripped the "Father of the Erie Canal" of custody of his hard-won child.
When the news spread throughout the state, people were infuriated. In mass meetings in New York and Albany, the legislators were attacked and Clinton cheered. Editorials condemned Clinton's removal. Even an astonished Van Buren conceded that his rash action had mobilized "the sympathies of the people."
Clinton, opportunistic and resourceful, decided to make the most of his new popularity--and the canal's success. He ran for governor in 1824. He won by 16,359 votes, at the time a state record.
ON OCTOBER 26, 1825, Governor DeWitt Clinton boarded the Seneca Chief for the inaugural journey down the Erie Canal. The festive trip took eight days, and at each port cheering crowds lined up to greet the Chief.
When the boat made its early morning way into New York Harbor on November 4, it was followed by a procession of forty-six ships. The jubilant flotilla continued on to the mouth of the Hudson at Sandy Hook. Led by Clinton, the official delegation poured a keg of Lake Erie water slowly into the Atlantic.
On November 23, the Seneca Chief returned upriver to Buffalo. Judge Samuel Wilkeson, an old and faithful supporter of the canal, poured a keg of Atlantic water into Lake Erie. With that symbolic gesture, the "wedding of the waters" was consummated. The Erie Canal, a century-long vision, the longest canal in the world, a state-funded project, an engineering triumph, was finally completed.
THE CANAL WAS AN immediate success. Just twelve years after it opened, the construction debt was paid off. From the start, its impact on the national economy was also dramatic. Largely as a result of commerce on the canal and the country's newfound ability to tap the resources in the Western territories, the gross national product nearly doubled. And New York City, as predicted, also prospered, growing into a world commercial and cultural capital.
No innovation, however, lasts forever; progress demands change. With the increased competition from highways, railroads, airplanes, and other newer waterways, as the twenty-first century dawned, commercial traffic on the Erie Canal had diminished. It was no longer the lifeblood of New York's economy.
Today, though, it is still thriving--only as a recreational resource. In 2001, the Erie Canal waterways were designated the nation's twenty-third National Heritage Corridor. Sailboats and pleasure crafts now glide down its calm waters. Hikers follow its long and winding towpaths.
Nearly two hundred years after its completion, the Erie Canal remains proof that a daring government investment, guided and encouraged by tenacious and visionary leaders, can continue to reward the nation.
Copyright © 2009 by Felix G. Rohatyn


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0.41cts Full Diamond Eternity Ring with Channel Setting
Full eternity ring channel set with Round Brilliant Cut Diamonds.
0.41cts Full Diamond Eternity Ring with Channel Setting
Full eternity ring channel set with Round Brilliant Cut Diamonds.
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A delicate fully channel set Round Brilliant cut Diamond Eternity Ring. The comfortable court profile band measures 2.3mm in width and is channel set with a total of 0.41 carats of mesmerising Diamonds. Prior to being expertly set the Diamonds have been graded F Colour and VS1 Clarity. Available in a choice of finishes 18 Carat White, Rose or Yellow Gold and 950 Palladium or 950 Platinum. This distinctive piece will arrive beautifully packaged ready for the perfect moment. Please allow 4 weeks for delivery as this design is expertly crafted to order.
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LubeNet USA offers a Complete line of Anti-Freeze Products from Full Strength Concentrate to Summer Coolants
Lubricants Network, Inc. manufactures, packages and markets one of the most extensive lines of Antifreeze products. These products are produced with premium quality Glycol and Additives.
The full line includes packages from bulk and drum to gallons and quarts.
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Antifreeze, Glycol, Concentrate, PreMix, ELC, Extended Life, All Makes & Models, Pre-Charged, Coolant, DexCool, and Global Amber.
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|NOTICE: All World, LLC is a venue for companies wishing to buy or sell their surplus auto parts inventories. Names, brands and products named on these pages have registered trademarks belonging to their respective owners. Representation of inventories on these pages is the responsibility of the listing companies.


text: Andrea is a real looker. She tells us that she would like to become a nutritionist if her hair styling career doesn't work out. We believe Andrea could do anything she set her mind to. She works out around 5 times a week. So thats how she got the amazing body you all see on our site. One of her fantasies is to have sex on the beach... Hmm sounds like fun.


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With such potentially dire consequences facing the environment due to pollutants and other man-made threats, "Climate of Change" examines various aspects of these perils and how eclectic groups of people are taking steps to halt the damage. British documentarian Brian Hill's film spans the globe to find proactive individuals and grassroots organizations fighting to save their environment.
Among the many compelling stories Hill examines is a group of pre-teens in India that formed a student organization intent on repelling environmental ills. It's impressive to watch unfold as the thousands of students taking to the streets to protest the use of plastic bags. The interviews Hill conducts with these children are some of the most heartfelt of the film. These kids are painfully aware of the marred condition of the Earth they stand to inherit, and Hill adroitly assembles this footage by hitting just the right emotional notes without manipulative sentimentality.
One particularly grim story Hill surveys is the outright destruction of the Appalachian Mountains of West Virginia. Over the years, mining companies have literally blasted the tops off of nearly 500 of these mountains providing a cheap and easy way to extract coal. This practice causes numerous detrimental effects to the surrounding environment and eventually the local economies as well. Many West Virginian local citizens have organized and taken their fight to Washington, D.C., where they lobby politicians and create awareness to safeguard what is left of the Appalachians.
U.S. & World
Along with compelling stories, "Climate of Change" contains some very impressive footage. Hill does a fine job in not only capturing beautiful and exotic landscapes, and the people who inhabit them, but also stunning depictions of environmental havoc wreaked by man. Actress Tilda Swinton's narration is the only aspect that often comes off sounding lofty and overly dramatic, a contrast to the rest of film. Where "Climate of Change" works best is when it simply tells the stories of average people, devoid of pessimism, organizing to save their world, in their neighborhood.
"Climate of Change" is showing at the Tribeca Film Festival on April 22, 23, 28 & May 1


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Re: RPG:Champions of Geridarr
Link's ninjas had been easy enough to defeat, but he hadn't been fast enough to attack the "Shadow" person. By the time he registered what was going on, the fight had ended. Obviously, this group of adventurers that he was a part of were more than capable of handling themselves in battle. This was good, as he was getting tired of having to protect people who didn't know how to handle themselves. he liked them and all, but they tended to place themselves in danger far too often. these people, though, were different, and for that, Link was thankful.
Even so, Link had difficulty trusting the Ocelot person, although he could not figure out why. And the telepath being was disconcerting; one who could read your every thought was something to fear.
At this, the alien telepath turned and shot Link a glare, or, at least he thought it was a glare; it was hard to tell with the inhuman face. Link sighed, and decided to take the advice of the others and rest. The moment his heat struck the pillow, he was asleep. And dreaming....
There was a field, vast, and seemingly without end. The long grass waved gracefully in the wind, and the cool breeze stirred through the clear blue sky. Link breathed deeply of the peace and closed his eyes in ecstasy. When they opened, he saw the landscape changing; going from lush and lively to dark and dead. A shadow stretched across the earth, like a stain destroying everything in its path. Link tried to draw his sword and shield to fight it, only to find that they were gone; he was defenseless.
As suddenly as the dark advance began, it halted, and a figure arose from the shadows. it was...him. A Dark Link, a mirror image of him. His tunic and chainmail were coloured black, and his skin the colour of charcoal. His eyes flared an evil red, and his mouth was twisted in a sadistic grin.
"Hail, Hero. I do so hope you find your stay here... eventful. For you have arrived in the land of your death; you will not be leaving Geridarr alive, boy."
Link was used to threats; usually they came from Ganondorf and were overcome. This one however, being much simpler and direct, and different stirred a feeling of primal fear within him. As the Dark Link laughed maniacally, Link awoke, screaming...


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A tsunami alert for Australia's east coast followed a massive 8.8-magnitude earthquake on February 27, 2010, which struck off the coast of Chile, killing hundreds and toppling buildings.
YEPPOON'S Brian Power and Debbie Mann were in Chile on the weekend when an 8.8 magnitude earthquake struck, killing hundreds nearby.
AUSTRALIA has all but escaped the wrath of a Pacific Ocean tsunami triggered by a devastating 8.8-magnitude earthquake that struck the coast of central Chile.
New site dialog. Will only be shown once.


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the Outfit Oct 20th, 2014 Kate & Jack Spade for Gap Bags Glorious Bags! Gap Kids launches limited edition Holiday Collection with Kate Spade New York and Jack Spade. Launching in select Gap stores in the United States, Canada, UK, France, Hong Kong and Japan and also on Gap Online. Available from Oct. 30th, The Holiday collection will retain the DNA of the playful feminine and colorful twists of Kate Spade NY and the energetic charm of Jack Spade infused with Gap Kids Iconic American Style. The match made in heaven will be available for 2 weeks only! So get it while you can! Tallulah wears sweatshirt, skirt,tights, shoes and christmas bow head band all from Kate Spade New York and Jack Spade for GAP Kids. (Read More) SHARE ON FACEBOOK SHARE ON TWITTER Comment Leave a Reply to comment pirater un compte facebook | pirater un compte facebook Cancel reply Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked * Name * Email * Comment You may use these HTML tags and attributes:   <acronym title="">
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Posted 8 years ago
(9 items)
The RCA Victor 45 players were the "ipod" of their day. You would just pack a bunch of 45s into your case and take your records and portable player to a party or a sleep-over.
Manufactured by RCA starting in 1950 it included a built-in 3-tube amplifier and speaker and featured a completely redesigned record changer. Up to 13 or 14 records can be stacked at once! This model boasts excellent sound quality when the lid is closed and is also a favorite of collectors today.


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Design blog Engineer Vs. Designer challenged the 3D printing community to create "the most absurd 3D-printable iPhone accessory" one can imagine (and, in turn, have a chance to win a MakerBot Replicator). The result? A whole basket-load of crazy.
We're talking crazy like cases that turn your iPhone into a pair of brass knuckles or a medieval weapon. Crazy cases that say yes, the iPhone really can be used for anything, but you'd have to be a nut to use it for this. Crazy cases that uses your iPhone for unspeakable things. 180 designs were submitted. The contest ended yesterday.
U.S. & World
News from around the country and around the globe
For the brave, here are 21 iPhone cases that are thoroughly bananas. The craziest part? There's really no reason why you couldn't print these out and use them for real. Well, except for the last one, maybe.
Engineer Vs. Designer, via Thingiverse, via MAKE


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LOS ANGELES >> Those who know Lee Baca fear the well-intentioned Los Angeles County sheriff's legacy will be forever tarnished by the very problems he sought to eliminate when first elected to the office.
Baca, 71, took charge of the department in 1998 following a bruising and contentious political campaign that ended only days after the incumbent Sherman Block died of a brain aneurysm.
Inside and outside the insular county agency, the largest in the nation, Lee Baca's ascension was characterized as a breath of fresh air and greeted with hopeful enthusiasm.
At the time, Stephen Yagman, a controversial civil rights lawyer who made a living suing the cops, said he welcomed Baca's election.
"Mr. Baca has a fantastic opportunity of taking a terribly corrupt and violent department and making it a model of law enforcement," Yagman said in 1998. "He starts out with a clean slate and the ability to bring new managers."
In a recent interview, Paul Myron, the man Baca immediately appointed as his second-in-command, recalled his elation.
"At that time all indications were that he was going to be the sheriff we needed for moving into the new millennium," said Myron, 70, now retired and living outside of Los Angeles County. "Back then we saw life as being pretty black and white. There was right and there was wrong and not too many things in between. After listening to some of his most recent statements, I think Lee had to see a lot of shades of gray."
On Tuesday, after months of turmoil that included allegations of mismanagement, corruption and rampant misconduct by deputies in the jails, Baca tearfully announced he intends to step down at the end of January.
He asked the Board of Supervisors to appoint Assistant Sheriff Terri McDonald, who oversees the jails, as interim sheriff and urged two others — Assistant Sheriff Jim Hellmold and Assistant Sheriff Todd Rogers — to run for his vacant seat in June.
In some ways it could be said Leroy David Baca had been consumed by the very beast he hoped to contain.
Born in East L.A.
Lee Baca was born and raised in East Los Angeles. After his parents split up, he was raised by his grandparents. In a 1998 interview Baca admitted that as a youth he was not a very good student and was often paralyzed by a fear of failure.
In 1965 he became a full-fledged deputy sheriff.
Promotions quickly followed.
But after joining the Sheriff's Department in 1965, he quickly moved up the ranks and along the way earned an education, which includes a doctorate in public administration awarded by USC.
Following the riots in 1992, Baca was one of three finalists in the hunt to follow Chief Daryl Gates as head of the L.A. Police Department. He was dinged in the vetting process for being an outsider. Baca was a semifinalist in 1997 for the same post, ultimately losing out to Bernard Parks, now a Los Angeles city councilman. In January 1998 Baca announced he would challenge Block, who although sick, was preparing to run for a fifth term.
"I seek this office because I believe this department needs a plan and vision for the future," he said in an interview at the time. "I can imagine no greater privilege than serving as sheriff.
Baca's candidacy forced Block into a runoff. Three days before the general election Block died and his reform-minded challenger squeaked into office.
"I think Lee was a well-meaning and idealistic person who came into his position accidentally," Yagman said. "Looking back I don't think he ever could have changed the Sheriff's Department. I think its culture is intractably bad."
History of scandal
There was reason for Baca's supporters to be hopeful. Throughout the 1990s, scandals plagued the Sheriff's Department. Perhaps the most significant involved the federal prosecution of 19 narcotics detectives who were involved in a host of stickups, evidence tampering, money skimming and moving cocaine for a Colombian cartel.
"We fired something like 34 people," Myron recalled. It was a tiny percentage of the department, but when even a tiny percentage goes astray, it affects everyone."
As one news story at the time noted, the scandal resulted in judges and juries doubting much of what they were told in court by sheriff's deputies involved in drug cases.
There were also problems in the jails. A July 1992 report done for the county by retired Superior Court Judge James Kolts and attorney Merrick Bobb found widespread abuses of inmates by improperly trained young deputies.
"Minimal or bad supervision in some custody situations may allow recruits to learn or condone the gratuitous use of force against inmates," the report noted. "That the jails can become breeding grounds for violence by deputies cannot be disputed."
On the job
Within days of being sworn in, Baca turned to Myron to manage the problematic jails.
"You've got to remember this is a huge operation," Myron said. "But on the other hand the actual running of jails is not that difficult. You get them up for breakfast, feed them lunch and dinner, give them showers, change their clothes and if you master that, you can run the educational programs."
At first Baca seemed to have a handle on many of the issues he promised to address, but one longtime aide said the sheriff also had one serious personality flaw and a huge blind spot.
"Lee doesn't want to hear bad news, and he became insulated from it," said the former aide, who asked to remain anonymous. "And, he's vindictive. I didn't see that part at first. It prevented him from learning what the real problems were."
Throughout his term Baca would hold weekly Wednesday meetings with his executive council. Oftentimes members of the group would hold a pre-meeting and go over those things they didn't want repeated to the sheriff.
"Essentially, he was burying his head in the sand," the former aide said.
Myron, who had known Baca since 1969, said the swing in the sheriff's approach to the job became noticeable toward the end of his second term.
"Something changed in the culture. I don't know exactly when it was, '04, '05, '06? If you read the special council and Office of Independent Review reports, you can see that they were sensing a change, too. It ended up costing an old friend of mine his job."
By the time the Great Recession hit in 2008, all sorts of problems had begun to manifest.
In his November 2006 semiannual report to the Board of Supervisors, special council Bobb expressed concerns and said scandal was likely if there were continued "breakdowns in accountability" among top managers and those in command.
"… key programs within the LASD to measure and manage risk of corruption and other misconduct have, to all appearances, been all but abandoned and fallen into disuse," he wrote. "Key reports that were the foundation for analysis of risk are no longer being routinely produced."
But it wasn't until 2011 that Baca's reign began to completely unravel. It began with an FBI informant who brought a cellphone into the jail. The informant, Anthony Brown, had been cultivated by the FBI to develop information on deputy misconduct for a civil rights case. When a routine bed check turned up the phone, an investigation by sheriff's detectives into Brown's calls revealed he had been phoning the feds.
In an effort to figure out what was going on, federal authorities say deputies hid Brown in San Dimas and repeatedly interrogated him.
Federal officials also say an FBI agent involved with Brown was harassed and threatened by deputies with the Internal Criminal Investigations Bureau. Both Myron and Baca's former aide said that the hiding of Brown and the threatening of the agent couldn't have happened without a blessing from above.
In a recent interview Baca took issue with the FBI's methods.
"I can only say that it is a misdemeanor to put a phone in the jails," Baca said. "I think that's an important thing. That kind of shocked us. The ability to get a phone in the jail, to me, needed to be investigated by us."
As for the encounter with the federal agent, Baca indicated he was unfamiliar with the details.
"I don't know why (it happened). I don't want to comment on that," he said. "That's not something that I can even explain."
In December, Lt. Gregory Thompson, Lt. Stephen Leavins, Sgt. Scott Craig, Sgt. Maricella Long, Deputy Gerard Smith, Deputy Mickey Manzo and Deputy James Sexton were indicted in federal court for their roles in the alleged hiding of Brown, which became known as "Operation Pandora's Box."
On the same day several other deputies were indicted for a mix of crimes ranging from fraud to possession of an illegal weapon. All pled not guilty in federal court.
"When you look at the current indictments involved, (use of) force might be eight people," Baca said. "It may be more will come, and perhaps it will go higher. Who knows?"
Baca said sheriff's officials were cooperating with the FBI.
Final days
With three weeks to go before Sheriff Lee Baca steps down, those who had so much hope in 1998 lamented the lost possibilities of his time in office.
"I think his ideas for reform were suffocated and starved," Yagman said. "As time went by he became less and less effective and less and less competent to do his job. I believe the reason he decided to resign is that the feds were going to indict him … or he worked out a deal with them similar to the deal that was worked out with Eliot Spitzer to step down in return for a promise not prosecute."
Myron characterized his former boss as intelligent but ultimately out-of-touch with reality.
"He selected some people that were not honorable," Myron said. "It resulted in what we saw happen. There's only one guy that's responsible for that — Lee Baca."


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One cold night, in a most unlikely corner of Chicago, two teens – both named Will Grayson – are about to cross paths. As their worlds collide and intertwine, the Will Graysons find their lives going in new and unexpected directions, building toward romantic turns-of-heart and the epic production of history's most fabulous high school musical.
Hilarious, poignant, and deeply insightful, John Green and David Levithan's collaborative novel is brimming with a double helping of the heart and humor that have won both them legions of faithful fans.


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I met Jeff at the outpatient clinic when I was one of the alleged 47 million Americans without health insurance. I was pretty down. It wasn't always this way. I had jobs with insurance in the past. But like thousands of others, one day they disappeared. I moved to Reno and in with my mom.
I admit, the facility is not much to look at. The computers sometimes don't work; the state is woefully broke and the facility overcrowded. Statistically, Nevada has one of the highest suicide rates in the country, a reflection of the transient nature of the state's population and the gambling industry that attracts down-and-out people desperate for a miracle at the poker tables.
Sometimes in the waiting room I see patients with laptops, some dressed in a suit and tie. Perhaps they are off to a job interview. Perhaps, like me, they just want to feel good in some nice clothes bought long ago and pretend they are not broke. It's tough. Some days there are 30 walk-in patients, many waiting eight hours to get free Ambien so they can rest at night. There isn't always time for all to get help. They are told to return the next day. While the government argues about healthcare reform, millions are worrying themselves through the night until the sun comes up, losing sleep over everything from their lost houses to their lost lives. It's tough.
For many, we rely on the nurses more than the overwhelmed state psychiatrists who run between the clinic and the hospital, getting up at all hours of the night, dealing with the emotional fallout of the nation's economic crisis. Eventually they get tired of balancing caseloads of 500 patients, and one day we find out that Dr. So-and-So has left.
Then there's Jeff. After years working in the state mental health system, he's seen every problem in the book, listened to a million stories about things existing in this life and those on other planets. He has no plans to go anywhere. Instead, he offers up advice that often makes sense. His favorite line is, "In these times, who is not stressed out?"
I confess, I once turned to the private sector, barely scraping up the $300 for a visit to a fancy doctor. I figured that maybe if I paid more money, went to an office with an oversized aquarium filled with exotic fish and quiet music playing in the background, my anxiety would miraculously disappear into the plush carpet. I discovered something important: The nurses there weren't the same. Their conversations were short and to the point. All they wanted to know was, "What is your specific question?"
Sometimes, I don't have specific questions. Sometimes I just want to talk to someone who gets it. I don't care if they have fish. I want someone like Jeff, who asks the question, "Just what is normal, anyway?"
Palchikoff is a freelance writer living in Reno. www.kimpal.com


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Sofia Coppola's "Somewhere," a story about an actor dealing with the emptiness of his life thanks to his child, won the top Golden Lion prize at the Venice film festival Saturday.
Director Quentin Tarantino headed the jury which unanimously chose Coppola's film as the best movie at the 11-day annual festival.
VIEW THE PHOTOS: La Bella Vita! Stars Shine At The 67th Venice Film Festival
U.S. & World
"This film enchanted us from its first screening," Tarantino said.
Coppola has described the film as a "portrait of today's L.A."
VIEW THE PHOTOS: 2010 Toronto International Film Festival
"Somewhere" tells the story of a movie star, played by Stephen Dorff, who comes to see the emptiness of his existence through the eyes of his 11-year-old daughter, played by Elle Fanning.
With "Somewhere," Coppola, who herself grew up in the world of film thanks to her father, director Francis Ford Coppola, lampoons Hollywood's star treatment.
Copyright 2010 by Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
VIEW THE PHOTOS: Viva La Film! Stars Shine At 2010 Cannes Film Festival!
Related Content from AccessHollywood.com:
VIEW THE PHOTOS: Venice Film Festival, 2009
PLAY IT NOW: 2010 Tribeca Film Festival: Billy Joel Makes 'The Last Play At Shea' A 'Grand Finale'
PLAY IT NOW: Access Extended: 'The Romantics' Premiere, New York
More from Access: [ Sofia Coppola Quentin Tarantino Venice Film Festival ]


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The publicly controlled developer, Gorona de Viento, now expects the combined wind and hydro power plant, with a capacity of 11.5MW and 11.3MW respectively, to power up by end-2011. They combined resource will cover 80% of the island's electrical power consumption.
Gorona de Viento is a consortium. 60% is controlled by the local government of El Hierro. The remainder belongs to both the local utility Unelco-Endesa, with 30%, and the ITC with 10%.
The €60 million project forms part of a wider and longer-term goal to make the tourist island self reliant for 100% of its primary energy needs using only renewables. The 278km2 island, with a population of 11,000 people, has a peak demand of 7MW and an annual demand in 2009 of 41.53GWh.
The five Enercon 2.3MW wind turbines will both feed the island's isolated grid and, when production exceeds demand, pump water to a natural reservoir formed by the crater of Hierro island's extinct volcano. The 1500m-drop to the lower reservoir will drive the hydro turbines, covering periods of lower winds and higher electricity demand.
The hybrid will substitute the long-since amortised 13.3MW Llanos Blancos power plant, whose nine 1.47MW diesel generators currently provide most of the island's electricity (private stand alone diesel generators and photovoltaic modules provide the rest).
Apart from providing a model for other islands and isolated grids, the El Hierro project will also offer value experience on balancing wind and hydro for large, meshed continental grids, according to Gonzalo Piernavieja of the Canaries Technology Institute (ITC), which instigated the project in 1997.
The final contract, a €6.5million control system deal, has gone to Spanish electrical engineering firm Elecnor. The company had already won contracts to supply and install the project's transformers, hydro turbines and 6MW pumping system.


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New England Revolution Under-16 and Under-18 youth teams played their first home games of the 2010 season this past weekend in torrential winds and rain as a Nor'easter plowed through New England. The weather, however, did not prevent another three-for-four weekend, as the U18s claimed victory in both their matches and the U16s split their weekend set.
The U16s opened their 2010 campaign in last month with a 3-2 win over SC Premier in Bridgeport, Conn. SC Premier avenged that season-opening loss with a 2-0 shutout win over the U16 Revs. Abraham Bartoa scored what proved to be the game-winner in the 20th minute for SC Premier and Zackary Zurita put the game out of reach with his 80th minute goal. Felix DeBona (Everett, Mass.) and Diego Fagundez (Leominster, Mass.) carved out a couple of decent scoring chances in the first 20 minutes, but the Revolution could not convert.
The Under-18 squad took to the field Saturday afternoon against SC Premier in monsoon-type conditions but got the only score it needed just before halftime in a 1-0 win. Kyle Gordon (Uxbridge, Mass.) crossed a pass to Homero Morais (Somerville, Mass.) who flicked the ball ahead to Jonni Ventura (Westminster, Mass.) who calmly slotted one home. Jose Silva (Northborough, Mass.) earned the clean sheet in goal. The U18s also defeated SC Premier 4-0 earlier this season.
Sunday was a new day for the Under-16s and with it came new fortune. Although the Revs were facing adverse weather conditions again, this time the Revs harnessed their offense to defeat Oakwood SC, 4-0. Felix DeBona scored twice for the Revs while Diego Fagundez tallied one goal and two assists. Cole Denormandie (Lincoln, Mass.) netted one goal and assisted on one more for the Revs, who lost to Oakwood, 1-0 in the first weekend of the season. The win evened the Under-16's record to 3-3-0.
Gustavo Santos (Framingham, Mass.) scored on a drop-in pass from Homero Morais just after halftime in what would prove to be the game-winner as the U18 Revs defeated Oakwood SC, 1-0 Sunday afternoon. Chris Foley, Jr. (South Windsor, Conn.) earned the shutout in goal. The Revs lost to Oakwood SC early in the season and Sunday, earned an important victory over a division foe. The U18s are currently riding a four-game winning streak and have improved their record to 5-1-0 in the process.
Next up on the schedule for the Revs is a trip to New Jersey. The U16s and U18s play at NJSA on Saturday and at Match Fit on Sunday.


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Career Services has developed a comprehensive Professional Development Plan to support student and alumni professional development. For every course DU offers that contains a professional development element or career-related activity, Career Services has resources designed specifically to support the teaching of that skill.
Contact us to learn more about how we can support you through:
- In-class presentations and materials
- Partnering on professional events such as career fairs, employer panels, information sessions
- Internships
- Job shadow, informational interviews and mentors
The professional development of our faculty is also important. For faculty seeking externships, we offer assistance. Meet with us and let us help you hone your skills by assisting you in obtaining an externship with a company in your program area.
Handshake is a key resource for you that, when used in conjunction with assignments, can help us both! Many faculty are already using Handshake resume approval process to assure students complete an effective professional resume and are using InterviewStream to assist students.
Assistance includes:
- Interview practice and review
- Personal pitch
- Business plan presentation
- Articulation and composure
Spend a moment reviewing the ways that InterviewStream can help your students. It's easy, fun and free for students and faculty to employ in the classroom as an assignment or as extra credit.
Related Documents


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newarenanow wrote:Sarcastic wrote:Just watched the last two HIMYM and they were both atrocious.
You can tell that they are out of ideas, but need to kill time before they get into the actual meeting of the mother story line, which probably won't happen until February or March.
So we probably have another 2 or 3 months of just filler type of episodes until they get into what people actually are waiting for (at least long time fans who want to know).
Is it just me or is him meeting the mother going to me a major letdown? I mean we already know he meets here at that wedding and its just going to be some random chick. I don't really see what the big deal is.


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Now You Tell Us™ (Part 4): Obama Not Getting Big Money Out of Politics As He Promised To Do
(Note: "Now You Tell Us"™ is a semi-regular feature of this site, documenting examples of the Los Angeles Times's disclosure of negative information about Barack Obama that didn't come out during the election.)
Between the election and the inauguration is the traditional time for the L.A. Times to reveal negative facts about Barack Obama that many of us already knew, but that the electorate at large evidently did not. Today example, from this morning's L.A. Times web page:
The beginning of the story:
Even before Barack Obama was sworn in as president the first time, he touted his efforts to "change business as usual in Washington" by setting strict rules for his inauguration: No corporate donations were allowed; individuals could give only $50,000.
This time, Obama's inaugural committee is seeking million-dollar contributions from corporations and offering perks in return, such as tickets to the official ball. The six companies that have given so far include AT&T, Microsoft and Financial Innovations, a marketing company that received $15.7 million to produce merchandise for Obama's reelection campaign and is the official vendor for the inauguration. The committee has put no limit on how much individuals can give.
The relaxed rules reflect how Obama has largely dropped his efforts to curb the role of money in politics, a cause he once vowed to make central to his presidency.
It's OK to say . . . now that he's safely elected.


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Conservation and Environment in Nepal: Monthly Updates
Monthly Updates from 2015
Hi everyone and welcome to the New Year! In December and January it started to get a little warmer. The mountains had some snowfall left on them and the mornings are clear but as the day progresses cloud increases. Within these months we carried out bird surveys, primate surveys and mammal surveys all by camera trapping.
Monthly Updates from 2014
Hi! Namaste everyone! Here we are back again with a most exciting and interesting newsletter with updates from the Conservation Project in Ghandruk, Nepal. During the last two months we had our largest amount of volunteer arrivals to work with us and so far they are enjoying the work here and time with us.
These past 2 months we conducted our bird, mammal, reptile and amphibian surveys. In September, we also began our much anticipated butterfly surveys, which are conducted each year from September to early December and then again from March to May. We also began installing camera traps in a different region which was suggested by our local partner the Annapurna Conservation Area Project (ACAP).
This month we have been hard at work and even the onset of the monsoon season could not dampen our spirits. Volunteers and staff alike have been hard at work and we have started an exciting new herpetology project, continued our pioneering sensor camera research and been able to add some new birds to our ever growing species list. If that was not enough, volunteers had time to immerse themselves in some local culture with a colourful festival that we all enjoyed…..
Hi everybody! Your job, as a volunteer, is really important to us and the Projects-Abroad team from Nepal would like to thank you for all your contributions on behalf of Conservation. April and May have been incredible months. We added four species of butterflies and one species of mammal to our lists as well as many other successes in our patch of paradise high in the beautiful Himalayan Mountains. The pleasant dilemma is what news to bring you first!
February and March 2014 have been an incredible two months. It's still fairly cold at night but during the day the warm sun is a real pleasure. During the past 2 months, we continued our mammal survey in the Dobato area and captured some good pictures of different species
More Monthly Updates? View all Monthly Updates entries from 2014


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A Metric to English Converter
This example shows how to put a number of different gui components together to build a complete system. It does the amazing task of converting between the metric and english measurement systems.
The complete source code for this example is included below.
Hopefully after looking over the previous examples, this code should be fairly easy to read. If not, you'll have to wait until I have the time to write up a good explanation for this example.


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Flights to Myanmar with Qatar Airways
Myanmar is a culturally rich and naturally beautiful country which has attracted visitors for centuries. Its golden stupas shimmer over an unchanging landscape of serene rice paddies and timeless jungles, as you'll discover when you travel to Myanmar with Qatar Airways.
The country has a great deal to offer the interested visitor. Hiking is increasingly popular in the more accessible parts of Myanmar and the landscapes are quite stunning, taking in forests and mountains, lazy rivers, villages built on stilts and numerous old ruins. Discover a world of rice fields, stupas, ruined temples and, up in the mountains, wonderfully scenic walking trails.
Most visitors to Myanmar start out from Yangon, the old capital which used to be known as Rangoon. This is a city full of picturesque old colonial buildings and has most of the best restaurants in the country. In the vicinity of the city lies the Kyaiktiyo Golden Rock, precariously balanced and left by a retreating glacier thousands of years ago. To the southeast are rock caves full of ancient art, and you can also visit old monasteries in the neighbouring mountains.
The most accessible, and most-visited, tourist attractions are to the west of Yangon. They include exquisite beaches such as the one at Ngapali, and a little farther to the north you'll find fabled Mandalay, which is the traditional starting point for exploring upper Myanmar. The plains of Bagan over to the west of there are famous for their spectacular temple remains.