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Get outdoors and take in the beautiful Virginia landscape without sacrificing luxury at Shenandoah Crossing resort.
Based in Gordonsville, "a town at the Crossroads of History," the resort offers the perfect place to go camping, but also just minutes from the estates of Thomas Jefferson (Monticello) and James Madison (Montpellier).
The resort's lodgings feature 2-bedroom Yurts with rustic wood furniture, fireplaces and porches and decks for a relaxing evening gazing upon the great outdoors. That doesn't mean you'll be roughing it. The Yurts have flat-screen TVs, full kitchens and separate living areas from the bedrooms. The resort also features a large outdoor pool area with hot tubs, activity pool and an interactive spray ground.
The resort also offers some unique activities like the giant chess board, haunted trail walks and bonfires.
Don't forget to eat at Lake Izac Tavern restaurant overlooking Lake Izac. Known for its prime rib, the restaurant also has other award-winning options including berry cobbler with a biscuit crust.
While traveling about central Virginia, wine lovers will be happy with five nearby vineyards. And to immerse yourself in one of the most popular parks in nation, be sure to make time to visit Shenandoah National Park where you could trek on a part of the Appalachian Trail.
Truly, Shenandoah Crossing is at a crossroads for all sorts of memories, and the perfect place to base your Virginia vacation.
Here's what Shenandoah Crossing has to offer:
-- Glamorous fabric-walled 2-bedroom Yurts
-- Plenty of room for up to 2 adults and 2 children
-- Rustic wood furniture
-- Flat-screen TVs
-- Full kitchens with everything you need to prepare home-cooked meals
-- Soaring ceilings with fabulous skylights
-- Separate living areas for the family to relax
-- Fireplaces to warm up every moment
-- Porches or decks for looking at the woods in their beautiful splendor
-- Expansive outdoor pool located at Watership Harbour near Friendship Square features two hot tubs, activity pool and interactive spray ground
-- Bonfires for exciting evenings under the stars
-- Haunted trail walks for spooky adventures and going "bump" with things in the night
-- Lake Izac Tavern restaurant with meals prepared by award-winning chef
-- Arcade with popular games
-- Giant chessboard for putting your family in check
-- Nickajack Park with horseshoes for adults and playscape for kids
-- Fitness Center with modern equipment
-- General Store for convenience items and Trader's Market deli for quick meals
-- Watch movies at Freedom Hall or find a partner for the Musket Ball Dance
Virginia is for lovers of vacation, the birthplace of our founding fathers and a one of the greatest wine-producing regions in the country:
-- Thomas Jefferson's Monticello is listed as one of the "Top 10 Iconic American Homes" and one of "Eight Places Every American Should See"
-- George Washington's Mount Vernon Estate and Gardens covers 80 acres and is located on the banks of the Potomac River
-- Andrew Jackson's home, The Hermitage, opened its doors as a museum in 1889
-- Spend a historical day at James Monroe's residence Ash Lawn-Heritage
-- Montpelier, James Madison's longtime home, offers a unique look at history and architecture
-- Toast the local vineyards that dot the Virginia landscape and sample a yield from the grapes
-- Shenandoah National Park was established in 1939, but its granite boulders date back one billion years
or call 855.455.7509.


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Notth Korea could kill millions of citizens in South Korea before we took out their guns. It is impossible to take them all out in time. That is the main thing holding us back.
North Korea didn't fight the US with guerilla warfare. They attacked traditionally and almost drove the US and South Korean forces off of the peninsula.
Edited: Kyrroeth on 9th Dec, 2017 - 6:10pm
That was after China joined in on the Northside side. I have talked to many people who were in country during the war and I was even there for two years in the 80's and the things I have found out makes me wonder. If the North attacks yes many people will die and then the North side will be gone.
And that's the reason we haven't seen any engagements yet. To break North Korea would mean bombing the entire country night and day plus taking out Kim.
International Level: New Activist / Political Participation: 16 1.6%

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Pouches called diverticula form when increased pressure pushes the wall
of the colon outward at certain weak points. These pouches are found most often
in the colon. But they can be found in nearly all parts of the digestive
Last Revised:
July 19, 2012
Healthwise Staff
Medical Review:
Adam Husney, MD - Family Medicine & Jerome B. Simon, MD, FRCPC, FACP - Gastroenterology
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Echoes of Iraq as U.S. Bombs Libya
Obama borrows a page from George H.W. Bush's playbook to deal with a loony leader.
Did anybody else have a sense of déjà vu watching the start of bombing in Libya?
The lazy arc of antiaircraft rounds lighting up the night sky. The muffled sounds of shells and bullets. The controlled urgency in the voices of television commentators from deep inside the danger zone, as the U.S. waged war on a long-term, loose-screw madman with a penchant for evil and a willingness to attack his own people.
For most of us, the latest hostilities are a matter of been there, seen that.
It's not just Libya and Muammar al-Qadhafi, although there is a sense of distant replay there. When he targeted Libya 25 years ago, then-President Ronald Reagan called Qadhafi "the mad dog of the Middle East." Maybe Reagan should have called him a cat, instead. Qadhafi has certainly had multiple lives, even rehabilitating himself and his country to the point where, under President George W. Bush in 2004, the U.S. restored diplomatic ties with Libya.
And just two years ago, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton proclaimed the U.S. valued its relationship with Libya. "We have many opportunities to deepen and broaden our cooperation, and I am very much looking forward to building on this relationship."
Of course, as they say in Washington, that statement is no longer operative. In recent weeks, Clinton led the push for a no-fly zone in Libya. A lot changes when you start killing your own people.
The question now is how many political acts does Qadhafi have left? Will he wriggle off the hook -- again -- to terrorize again another day? Or, one way or another, is this his final act, at least in a leading role?
From where I sit, the situation that has pushed the three-pronged disaster in Japan off the front pages and deeper into television news shows is remarkably similar to the invasion of Iraq -- the first invasion, spearheaded by President George H.W. Bush. Iraq was the first military crisis of his presidency that was Bush's own doing. After inheriting Iraq and Afghanistan from the second Bush, President Obama now faces his first "homegrown" battle in Libya.
Then, as now, the authority to intercede came in the form of a United Nations resolution authorizing "all necessary means" to control a tyrant. Both moves came with some backing from the Arab world: Saudi Arabia in 1991, Qatar now. And both were accompanied by hand-wringing from all directions in Congress -- some wondering how long the intervention would last and how much it would cost, and others asking why we don't just kill the bad guy now and be done with it.
Another similarity: Those television images. While Vietnam was the first war brought into American living rooms, with dinnertime newscasts featuring fresh footage of fighting, the 1991 confrontation with Iraq was the first large military operation we were to watch live. Remember CNN's Bernie Shaw, John Holliman and Peter Arnett, huddled in a Baghdad hotel room as the bombs started to fall? And those first "nightscope" images of tracer shells that kept us huddled around the television? Different war, different dictator, different reporters, but the visuals are largely the same.
Finally, both interventions were slow to develop, albeit for different reasons.
In 1990, Iraq's invasion of Kuwait was followed by a trade embargo, a naval blockade and finally, on Nov. 29, the UN giving Iraq until Jan. 15, 1991, to withdraw. The air strikes started on Jan. 17, by Feb. 28 the fighting was over, and the next day, a cease-fire agreement was negotiated. This time, the Obama administration took an inordinate amount of time to decide how to proceed, drawing criticism from some lawmakers in both parties. Once the UN vote took place, though, the air raids began almost immediately.
Saddam Hussein, of course, stayed in power, to be dealt with more than a decade later by another president named Bush and winding up on the losing end of a hangman's knot.
Like his Iraqi counterpart, Qadhafi got a second chance. Time will tell if it is his last.


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Franklin is one of the largest cities in Tennessee, and it's easy to see why it's a popular place to call home. This suburb of Nashville is approximately 20 miles south of the city. And as a more affluent suburb, many healthcare organizations and other major businesses are headquartered in Franklin.
Franklin's residents enjoy its multifaceted nature. It's rooted in history, but it's also full of hip restaurants and boutiques. You can take a self-guided driving tour to learn about the Battle of Franklin and then follow it up with a visit to a coffee shop in pedestrian-friendly downtown Franklin.
Indeed, Franklin is a friendly area filled with community activities. Celebrations in this vibrant town range from "Franklin on the Fourth" and "Pumpkinfest" to "Dickens of a Christmas." Franklin also boasts a solid public school district to boot.
Like other Nashville neighborhoods, it's easy to escape the city vibe when living in Franklin. Residents in search of a day away might visit the quaint village of Leiper's Fork or take a leisurely drive along the Natchez Trace Parkway.
Homebuyers will be able to find a variety of places in Franklin to call home. Looking for a condo? No problem. How about a cute bungalow? Done. Perhaps an expansive estate? Franklin has that as well.


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Need tires? We can help with that as well. We can combine these wheels with a set of tires and ship them to you as a complete set. We will mount and balance every wheel package for free as well as include the lug nuts. All this, and the shipping is FREE to your door within the continental U.S. Give us a call if you have any questions.
We are the professionals. Let us worry about the fitment. All you need to worry about is finding the wheel and tire package of your dreams. With the year, make and model, we have all the necessary information we need to secure the proper fitment for your car or truck. Please note: if you already have a modified suspension please inform your All Star representative to help guarantee fit. Order your All Star package today!


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Re: I'm confused by this fan club...
Volk-Ordo, "BFFC" and "As You Wish" are fine. And there's no "rights" purchase here. We're playing by the rules and keeping to ourselves.
As for self-made stuff, we could design a print-friendly "membership card," as PresidentJuggernaut first asked. The banners haven't been a big hit, since I bet a lot of you don't have web sites. We'll consider the money clip.. ..and keep thinking of (and acting upon) ideas.
SciFifreak90, awesome.
draco, the CafePress stuff was a bust. We can do better. I think we'll just go for higher quality stuff. Because this is BFFC.


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Rascal Flatts Holiday Special to Air on December 19
The holidays are upon us and with them, plenty of country music programming on the small screen to warm up those chilly nights. Not only do we have 'Blake Shelton's Not So Family Christmas' scheduled to debut on Dec. 3, but we'll also be treated to Rascal Flatts on the seasonal 'A Home for the Holidays With Rascal Flatts.' The trio will host and perform during the annual event, which had been hosted by Faith Hill in previous years.
The program will air on CBS at 8PM ET on Wednesday, Dec. 19, so mark your calendars and be sure to settle in on the couch and take it all in. It also airs the day before the 'CMA Country Christmas' special. That show will air on ABC on Thursday, Dec. 20 at 9PM ET, so there's a lot of festive country programming in store that week.
The Rascal Flatts show will include musical performances combined with American families sharing their personal tales on the concept of adoption, and how adopting has enriched their lives.
The music performances will be woven into the storylines, which are introduced by celebrities who have some personal tie to adoption in their lives.
Other acts set to perform include Melissa Etheridge and Phillip Phillips.
Be sure and tune in and celebrate the season!


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The mere mention of Simon Pegg sends the hearts of fanboys aflutter and all summer long they've been panting in anticipation for the first footage from "Burke & Hare," the Bit's upcoming comedy co-starring the great Andy Serkis, about a pair of real-life graverobbers. Your time has come, gentlemen.
"Burke & Hare" is based on the true story of Williams Burke and Hare, a pair of Irishmen who emigrated to Scotland in the 1800s and took up graverobbing to make money. When cadavers became hard to come by they began getting them the old fashion way: killing people. The infamous duo are said to have murdered at least 17 people.
U.S. & World
News from around the country and around the globe
A trip to Wikipedia--the most unassailable source for information on anything-- reveals that in the old days before you could check off a box on the form while getting your driver's license, the only way to legally get a dead body for medical research was executed prisoners. Tragically, early in the 19th Century there was a sudden drop in the number of executions, causing a great shortage of corpses among med students.There's a lesson in there somewhere, but we're unsure what it is.
The trailer looks pretty good, but we still have some reservations about any film directed by John Landis. Few men have made as laugh as much as Landis, who rightly belongs in the comedy pantheon, but it has been a long time since he made a funny movie. By our reckoning, you have to go back to "Coming to America," which came out in 1988.
"Burke & Hare," which also stars Tim Curry, Isla Fisher and Tom Wilkinson, still has no release date. Weird.


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Hi all,
Here's another recipe for a yummy treat- tested, tasted and loved. It was during one of our new home hunt that we visited my friend 'P's place. When we went there she told me she has some guests arriving next day and she was planning to make Biriyani and for the dessert 'Queen of Puddings'. I have come across this recipe in couple of my recipe books and dint appeal me when I skimmed through them. But my friend 'P' told me that the pudding tasted so yummy and it is a crowd pleaser. She has prepared it for many of her guests and all had liked it and had even taken the recipe from her. So I thought I would dust up the recipe from the drafts and give it a shot. I had called her up few times to get the recipe, but couldn't get her through. So after referring the nets and books, I finally ended up in the recipe mentioned here. Well the recipe is almost like hers, but I have added the lemon rind in the milk which I noticed on some recipes.
I thought the dessert was quite a light one, using less butter. The amount of sugar can be adjusted per your taste and the one given here is as per my family's requirement. The dessert has three layers with the softly whipped light snowy meringue on the top that very well complimented with the sweet and slightly chewy stewed pineapple underneath and the soft bread pudding base. The addition of lemon rind in the bread pudding gave the dessert a burst of zesty and citrusy aroma. The flavours - vanilla, lemon and pineapple were all very well distributed and the dessert was full of flavour!
Well, I guess the classic version of the Queen of puddings is made of Strawberry Jam or Raspberry Jam in the middle layer instead of the stewed pineapple. I dint have Jam in hand, so substituted with the pineapple. If you are using jam instead of Pineapple, Warm few tablespoon of Jam in a saucepan until it becomes soft and spreadable and spread it on top of the bread pudding base, as thick as you like it to be. You may also use drained cherries from the can for a much sophisticated look. You may also try stewing berries like strawberries, raspberries etc with little sugar until soft and spoon them over the bread. These are just suggestions. We very much liked the pineapple version and I guess I would be sticking to this recipe rather than using jam. You may also try using your own versions of fruits, but I guess tropical fruits or summer berry fruits should work with the best for this recipe.
Queen of Puddings
Serves 6
1 ¼ cup (125 gm) finely chopped bread (tightly packed)
2 cups (500mls) milk, whole or semi skimmed
½ tsp vanilla essence
1 lemon's rind
2 Tbs butter
3 large eggs separated
1*520gm can Pineapple chunks finely chopped (1 1/2 cups), (320g drained weight)
4 Tbs + 4 Tbs + 4Tbs finely granulated sugar (Grind sugar if it has larger crystals)
4 Tbs pineapple juice from the can OR water if using fresh pineapple
1. Chop the bread into very small pieces, tip them into a bowl and keep aside.
2. Add milk, butter and grated lemon rind into a sauce pan and bring to simmering point until the butter completely melts, but don't boil.
3. Mix in vanilla and add it the chopped bread pieces. Let it stand for 20-30 minutes or until the bread has really soaked up in milk, has become soft and plumb. Mash the bread using a fork or just whisk for 2 minutes with a balloon whisk just to mash the bread.
4. Pre- heat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
5. Meanwhile add 4 Tbs of sugar to egg yolks and lightly beat for couple of minutes until pale. Add this to the bread mixture and mix well.
6. Pour this bread mixture in a 1.3 litre oven proof dish or any pie dish. Place this dish in another large vessel or tray or baking dish and fill the larger vessel halfway with hot water (Bain Marie/water bath). Wearing oven mitts, place the whole tray in the middle rack of the oven. Bake the pudding till it sets in the center and stops wobbling, for about 20-30 minutes. (Mine took 26 minutes)
7. While the pudding is in the oven, add the chopped pineapple in a saucepan along with 4 Tbs of sugar and the pineapple juice or water and cook till pineapple is soft and there is no moisture left. Mash it fork roughly and let it cool. Spread this over the baked bread pudding evenly.
8. For preparing the meringue (pronounced as 'meraang'), in a squeaky clean bowl (make sure it is free of grease), Add the egg whites and using an electric whisk (egg beater), whip until it holds stiff peaks. Add little sugar at a time (1 Tbs at a time and total of 4 Tbsp), and continue beating until the mixture is stiff and glossy as you see in the picture.
9. Spoon the mixture on top of the pineapple and spread it evenly. If you want to form spikes as in picture, slightly depress the back of spoon into the meringue and lift it. It should form low peaks. Don't lift it too high or the peaks will burn before the rest gets cooked. You may also pipe out the meringue using piping bag to get an even better pattern.
10. Put it back in the oven (No Bain Marie this time) and bake till the top turns slightly golden. I baked it in 180 Degrees here and took me around 15 minutes in my oven. You may reduce it to 150 or 160 degrees and cook for longer.
11. Bring it room temperature and serve it warm or serve it chilled.
1.While using lemons rind, make sure you don't use the white pith underneath the skin which is very bitter. You may substitute orange rind for lemon.
2.If you find it difficult to place the whole tray of pudding and water, you may place the larger tray in the oven, place the smaller one in, then pour the hot water.
This post also comes with 'Beautiful Blogger Award' from my dear friend faiza (http://www.faizaali.blogspot.com/). Thank you faiza for the award. I would like to share this beautiful award with all my beautiful friends.


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South African Journal of Child Health
versão On-line ISSN 1999-7671
versão impressa ISSN 1994-3032
S. Afr. j. child health vol.8 no.2 Cape Town Mai. 2014
Infant feeding practices during the first 6 months of life in a low-income area of the Western Cape Province
C GoosenI; M H McLachlanII; C SchüblIII
IM Nutrition, BSc Dietetics; Division of Human Nutrition, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa
IIMA, PhD; Division of Human Nutrition, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa
IIIDivision of Human Nutrition, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa
BACKGROUND: Exclusive breastfeeding during the first 6 months of life protects against infant morbidity and mortality. Few studies describe the infant feeding practices of mothers living in low-income areas of the Western Cape Province of South Africa (SA).
OBJECTIVE: To describe the infant feeding practices of mothers of infants younger than 6 months in two low-income communities of SA.
METHODS: A cross-sectional community-based study using a structured questionnaire, and seven focus group discussions were conducted from February to August 2011 in Avian Park and Zwelethemba in Worcester, an urban area in the Western Cape.
RESULTS: Seventy-seven per cent of participants (n=108) had initiated breastfeeding. At the time of the study, 6% (n=8) breastfed exclusively. Ninety-four per cent (n=132) applied suboptimal breastfeeding practices: 36% (n=51) breastfed predominantly, 27% (n=38) breastfed partially and 31% (n=43) did not breastfeed. Ninety per cent (n=126) of the mothers had introduced water, of whom 83% (n=104) had done so before their infants were 1 month old. Forty-four per cent (n=61) of the mothers had introduced food or formula milk, of whom 75% (n=46) had done so before their infants were 3 months old. Qualitative findings indicated that gripe water, Lennon's Behoedmiddel and herbal medicines were also given to infants. Nutritive liquids and/or food most commonly given as supplementary feeds were formula milk and commercial infant cereal.
CONCLUSION: Exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) during the first 6 months of life was a rare practice in these low-income communities. Water, non-prescription medicines and formula milk and/or food were introduced at an early age.
The study was conducted from February to August 2011 in Avian Park and Zwelethemba in Worcester, an urban town in the Western Cape. Worcester is situated roughly 100 km east of Cape Town. Both communities are low-income settings and have formal and informal housing sections.[17] This study was conducted according to the Declaration of Helsinki guidelines and all procedures involving human participants were approved by the Committee for Human Research, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town. Written informed consent was obtained from all participants.
Quantitative component
A cross-sectional community-based study was performed with simple randomly selected households. Streets were numbered and selected using a computer-generated random selection table. An equal number of houses (n=6) from every randomly selected street (n=34) was included. Avian Park and Zwelethemba both had one informal area. These informal areas were divided into blocks to represent streets. If not enough households within a street or block qualified, another street or block was randomly selected and the process was repeated. Participants were included if they were the primary caregivers of infants <6 months old, spoke one of the three languages of the area (isiXhosa, Afrikaans and English), and had lived in the area for at least 5 years. A trained fieldworker conducted the interview in a private room or section of the participant's house using a structured questionnaire. The questionnaire was adapted by the researcher from questionnaires used in Africa by the Linkages Project.[18,19] It included sections on sociodemographic characteristics, infant feeding practices, infant feeding knowledge and support, and self-reported HIV status. Questions were close-ended and based on the participant's answer, prompts guided the fieldworker to the next relevant question. Content validity was reviewed by a panel of experienced nutrition professionals and face validity was tested during a pilot study prior to the study. Data were analysed with Statistica (version 10). Distributions of variables were presented with histograms. Medians or means were used as the measure of centre location for ordinal and continuous responses and standard deviations (SDs) as indicators of spread. The relation between two nominal variables was investigated with a x2 test and differences were considered to be significant at JK0.05. A 95% confidence interval was used to describe the estimation of unknown parameters.
Breastfeeding improves child survival by protecting against morbidities while providing nutritional and psychosocial benefits.[1,2] The promotion of exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) for the first 6 months of life is estimated to be the most effective measure to save infants from morbidity and mortality in low-income settings.[2] Optimal infant feeding practices during the first 6 months of life are described as initiation of breastfeeding within the first hour after giving birth[3] and EBF for 6 months.[4] Complementary feeding should be introduced at the age of 6 months.[4,5]
Different feeding practices have been defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) (Table 1). Predominant, partial or no breastfeeding increase the risk for pneumonia and diarrhoea-related mortality when compared with EBF during the first 6 months of life. The absence of breastfeeding carries the highest risk.[6] Mixed feeding is also associated with an increased risk of HIV transmission through breastfeeding.[7] Despite its benefits, EBF remains a rare practice in South Africa (SA) and national rates are estimated at 6.8 - 8.3%.[8,9] Concurrently, infant and child mortality rates remain high.[10]
Giving only breastmilk and no water or food has been described as an alien concept,[11] counterintuitive and impractical[12,13] in African societies. In SA, fluids and food are introduced to infants as early as 2 - 4 weeks after birth.[12,14,15] Maize meal porridge is the most common type of food introduced in rural areas,[14-16] whereas commercial infant cereal is commonly introduced in urban areas.[12,15] Very few studies describe the infant feeding practices of mothers living in low-income areas of the Western Cape Province of SA, which handicaps proper planning of tailored intervention strategies. The objective of the study was to provide a detailed description of the infant feeding practices in a low-income community of the province during the first 6 months of life.
Qualitative component
Separate focus group discussions were held with mothers who breastfed exclusively or predominantly; mothers who breastfed partially; and those who did not breastfeed. Participants were purposively recruited by fieldworkers who went from door to door in different areas of the two communities. Focus group discussions were conducted according to the procedures outlined in the United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Community Food Security Assessment Toolkit.[20] Focus group guides with a written list of questions and probes were compiled by the researcher. These guides were available in isiXhosa, Afrikaans and English. Trained fieldworkers transcribed focus group discussions and translated the discussions to English where necessary. Fieldworkers worked in pairs and all transcriptions and translations were checked by the partner and rechecked by a senior fieldworker who managed the group. The researcher analysed and interpreted the final transcripts and notes. The information from each focus group was summarised into categories. Findings from focus groups with the same participant profiles were grouped into a cluster, e.g. mothers who breastfed partially. Similarities and differences within and between clusters were investigated.
Sociodemographic results
One hundred and forty primary caregivers were interviewed using the structured questionnaire. All were female and the biological mother of the infant. Mothers had a mean±SD age of 26.4±6.8 years (range 15 -45). The infants' ages ranged from <1 month to 5 months (median 2.0; mean±SD 2.0±1.5). Two-thirds (66%; n=93) of the infants were younger than 3 months old. IsiXhosa (54%, n=75) and Afrikaans (35%; n=54) were the two main languages spoken with a significant difference (p<0.001) in first language between Avian Park (74% Afrikaans speaking) and Zwelethemba (82% isiXhosa speaking). Eighty-one per cent (n=112) of the participants were unmarried and 60% (n=84) lived without a male partner or husband. Ninety-one per cent (n=127) had attained a high school education level or higher and 73% (n=102) were unemployed. Most mothers had given birth at a government facility (96%; n=135). Focus group discussions were held with 65 mothers of infants younger than 6 months. The sociodemographic profiles of the participants are summarised in Table 2.
Breastfeeding initiation
Seventy-seven per cent (n=108) of the mothers had initiated breastfeeding and all but 5% (n=5) of these had done so within the first hour after giving birth. Maternal HIV infection exerted a significant influence on infant feeding choice (p<0.001). Nineteen (14%) mothers reported that they were HIV-positive and none of them breastfed. At the time of the interview, 10% (n=11) of the mothers who initiated breastfeeding had discontinued breastfeeding. Ten of these mothers had discontinued breastfeeding before their infants were 3 months old.
Breastfeeding practices
Six per cent (n=8) of the mothers breastfed exclusively at the time of the interview. Ninety-four per cent (n=132) applied suboptimal breastfeeding practices: 36% (n=51) breastfed predominantly, 27% (n=38) breastfed partially, and 31% (n=43) did not breastfeed. Mothers from Zwelethemba were more likely to breastfeed partially while mothers from Avian Park were more likely to breastfeed predominantly (p=0.001). There was also a correlation between first language and breastfeeding practices, with isiXhosa-speaking mothers more likely to give their infants food than Afrikaans-speaking mothers (p<0.001).
Fig. 1 illustrates the breastfeeding practice by infant age. The highest proportion of exclusively and predominantly breastfed infants were <1 month old and the highest proportion of partially breastfed infants were 2 months old.
Replacement feeding
All mothers who never initiated breastfeeding or who discontinued breastfeeding (31%, n=43) gave formula milk as replacement feed. These mothers all reportedly boiled the water before mixing the formula milk and used the scoop in the tin to measure level scoops of formula milk powder. According to their reports of how they reconstituted the formula milk, 45% (n=19) diluted the formula milk correctly, while 45% (n=19) overdiluted and 10% ( n =4) underdiluted the formula milk. Focus group discussions revealed that mothers overdiluted formula milk since they could only afford a limited number of tins per month and often relied on grants or other people for financial support. Some added cooked porridge or meelbol to the reconstituted formula milk to save milk. Meelbol is cake or bread flour that is scorched brown and cooked like soft porridge.
'That is why I say I mix it with the meelbol when we make it half, to come out with the tin of milk.' (Formula-feeding mother.)
Water, infant cereal or rooibos tea (indigenous, caffeine-free tea) was also given to infants if not enough formula milk was available.
'Since he doesn't drink the breast, he only drinks bottle and he doesn't get full from the bottle and there is not that much milk to give a bottle the whole day, then I found out that I must give him porridge and he got calmer because his stomach is now full.' (Formula-feeding mother.)
Some mothers reported that they prepared a flask of formula milk for the night. They advised those mothers who did not have a flask to prepare a big bottle of milk and to wrap a warm napkin around it to keep the milk warm. Others disagreed and alluded to the fact that formula milk should be drunk immediately.
Supplementation of non-nutritive liquids
Fig. 2 summarises the introduction of non-nutritive liquids. Ninety-one per cent (n=88) of the breastfeeding mothers reported that they gave their infants water, of whom 85% ( n=75) had started before their infants were 1 month old. Eighty-eight per cent (n=38) of the formula-feeding mothers reported that they gave their infants water, of whom 76% (n=29) had started before their infants were 1 month old. There was no significant difference between breastfeeding and formula-feeding mothers and the practice of giving water (p=0.673) or having done so before 1 month of age (p=0.359). Opinions on the practice of giving non-prescription medicines varied. In Zwelethemba, gripe water and herbal medicines were given by some mothers, while in Avian Park, giving gripe water and Lennon's Behoedmiddel (antacid) were reported more frequently. Gripe water and Lennon's Behoedmiddel are over-the-counter products marketed for treating wind, stomach ache, colic and diarrhoea in children.
Supplementation of nutritive liquids and/or food
Fig. 3 summarises the introduction of nutritive liquids and/or food. Thirty-nine per cent (n=38) of the breastfeeding mothers reported that they gave their infants nutritive liquids (including formula milk) and/or food, of whom 79% (n=30) had started before their infants were 3 months old. Fifty-three per cent (n=23) of the formula-feeding mothers reported that they gave their infants nutritive liquids (excluding formula milk) and/or food, of whom 70% (n=16) had started before their infants were 3 months of age. There was no significant difference between breastfeeding and formula-feeding mothers and the practice of giving nutritive liquids and/or food (p)=0.116) or having done so before 3 months of age (p=0.413).
Commercial infant cereal and formula milk outweighed the use of any other supplementary nutritive liquids or food (Fig. 4). The 38 breastfeeding mothers and 23 formula-feeding mothers who gave supplementary nutritive liquids and/or food were allowed to report all products given. Sixty-two reports were received from breastfeeding mothers, with commercial infant cereal (n=28) and formula milk (n=27) reported most frequently.
Twenty-five reports were received from formula-feeding mothers, with commercial infant cereal (n=22) reported most frequently. In Zwelethemba, commercial infant food was also reported in focus group discussions while participants from Avian Park reported cooked soft porridge, starchy vegetables and rooibos tea. Meelbol was given by both communities but appeared to be a more common practice in Avian Park.
The breastfeeding initiation rate of 77% was lower than rates seen in developing countries (95%),[6] the national rate in 2008 (88%)[21] and rates reported in rural and peri-urban areas of SA (88% - 100%).[12,14,16] Consistent with previous research and survey findings in SA,[8,15] most of the mothers who discontinued breastfeeding had done so before their infants were 3 months old. These rates of lower breastfeeding initiation and early discontinuation of breastfeeding are discouraging since breastfeeding is a key child survival strategy, especially in low-income settings.[1,2] Breastfeeding initiation was significantly influenced by maternal HIV infection and may improve after SA's adoption of the WHO recommendations that all HIV-positive pregnant women and breastfed infants should receive antiretroviral prophylaxis or treatment to support safer breastfeeding and child survival.[22] Similar to findings in Cape Town,[12] early initiation of breastfeeding was evident. Ninety-five per cent of the mothers who initiated breastfeeding had done so within the first hour after giving birth. This is a positive finding since early initiation is associated with increased breastfeeding success and the establishment of milk production.[23]
All mothers who never breastfed or who discontinued breastfeeding (31%; n=43) gave formula milk as replacement feed. However, despite the correct choice of product, formula-feeding practices were poor. Nearly half (45%; n=19) of the mothers overdiluted the milk and mothers reported deliberate overdilution to save milk. The practice of overdilution has been reported before[24,25] and is of concern since it lowers the energy density and nutrient concentration of formula milk, leading to decreased energy and nutrient intake.[26] Combined with poor hygiene practices such as mixing one big bottle for the day or keeping a flask of formula milk next to the bed at night, infants are put at risk of gastroenteritis, poor weight gain and malnutrition.[26,27]
In Avian Park and Zwelethemba, EBF was a rare practice. Only 6% (n=8) of the mothers breastfed exclusively at the time of the study. This is similar to the EBF rates in SA in 1998 (6.8%)[8] and 2003 (8.3%).[9] The early introduction of water, nutritive liquids and/ or food is well documented in SA.[12,14-16,26]
Similar to findings by Fjeld et al.,[28] mixed feeding was the conventional way to feed and, consistent with the findings of Sibeko et al.,[12] in a peri-urban area of Cape Town predominant breastfeeding was the most common method of feeding.
There was a significant difference in breastfeeding practices between the two communities. Partial breastfeeding was more common in Zwelethemba while predominant breastfeeding was more common in Avian Park (p=0.001). Both predominant and partial breastfeeding increase the risk for pneumonia and diarrhoea-related mortality.[6] While Buskens et al.[13] found that most mothers from SA used non-prescription medicines, very few accounts of this practice emerged from the quantitative reports. However, qualitative findings indicated that gripe water, Lennon's Behoedmiddel and herbal medicines were still used by some mothers and given to prevent or treat cramps, flatulence and jaundice.
Consistent with findings by Kruger et al.,[26] water was introduced within the first month of life and nutritive liquids and/or food within the first 3 months of life. Both breastfeeding and formula-feeding mothers supplemented their milk feeds. In 2011, Nor et al.[29] found that formula-feeding mothers also supplement their milk feeds, contrary to the belief that only breastfeeding mothers doubt their milk and therefore supplement feed. The practice of introducing water before 1 month of age (p=0.359) and nutritive liquids and/or food before 3 months of age (p=0.413) did not differ significantly between breastfeeding and formula-feeding mothers. Commercial infant cereal was the food most commonly given, similar to practices reported for urban areas[12,15] and dissimilar to practices reported for rural areas.[14-16] Second to infant cereal, breastfeeding mothers from Avian Park and Zwelethemba gave formula milk in addition to breastmilk.
Mothers from Avian Park and Zwelethemba applied suboptimal infant feeding practices. Breastfeeding initiation rates were lower than national rates,'211 while, similar to national figures, EBF was a rare practice.'8,91 Water, formula milk and commercial infant cereal were introduced at a young age. Formula-feeding practices proved to be poor due to a struggle to afford enough formula milk. SA has yet to improve significantly its infant and child mortality rates and alternative approaches to improving EBF rates are needed. We recommend testing different combinations of health-facility and community-based interventions, using rigorous research designs, to improve a practice embedded in traditional beliefs and conventional systems.
Acknowledgements. We thank the Stellenbosch University HOPE Project (Food Security Initiative) for the financial and administrative support that enabled this research to be undertaken. We also thank the fieldworkers and participants for their contributions to the success of the study.
1. World Health Organization Collaborative Study Team on the Role of Breastfeeding on the Prevention of Infant Mortality. Effect of breastfeeding on infant and child mortality due to infectious diseases in less developed countries: a pooled analysis. Lancet 2000;355:451-455. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(00)82011-5] [ Links ]
2. Jones G, Steketee RW, Black RE, et al. How many child deaths can we prevent this year? Lancet 2003;362:65-71. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(03)13811-1] [ Links ]
3. Edmond KM, Zandoh C, Quigley MA, et al. Delayed breastfeeding initiation increases risk of neonatal mortality. Pediatrics 2006;117:e380-e386. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1542/peds.2005-1496] [ Links ]
4. Kramer MS, Kakuma R. Optimal duration of exclusive breastfeeding. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2012;8:CD003517. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD003517.pub2] [ Links ]
5. Lanigan JA, Bishop JA, Kimber AC, et al. Systematic review concerning the age of introduction of complementary foods to the healthy full term infant. Eur J Clin Nutr 2001;55:309-320. 'http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/sj.ejcn.16011681 [ Links ]
6. Black RE, Allen LH, Bhutta ZA, et al. Maternal and child undernutrition: Global and regional exposures and health consequences. Lancet 2008;371:243-260. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(07)61690-0] [ Links ]
7. Coovadia HM, Rollins NC, Bland RM, et al. Mother-to-child transmission of HIV-1 infection during exclusive breastfeeding in the first 6 months of life: An intervention cohort study. Lancet 2007;369:1107-1116. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(07)60283-9] [ Links ]
8. National Department of Health, Medical Research Council, Measure DHS. South Africa Demographic and Health Survey 1998. Calverton, MD: Measure DHS, 2002. http://www.measuredhs.com/publications/publication-FR131-DHS-Final-Reports.cfm (accessed 27 October 2013). [ Links ]
9. National Department of Health, Medical Research Council, OrcMacro. South Africa Demographic and Health Survey 2003. Pretoria: DoH, 2007. http://www.measuredhs.com/pubs/pdf/FR206/FR206.pdf (accessed 27 October 2013). [ Links ]
10. Statistics South Africa. Millennium Development Goals. Country Report 2010. http://www.statssa.gov.za/news_archive/Docs/MDGR_2010.pdf (accessed 27 October 2013). [ Links ]
11. Magoni M, Giuliano M. Authors' response to "HIV and infant feeding: A complex issue in resource-limited settings" by Becquet and Leroy, to the letter to the editors by Coutsoudis et al., and to "Increased risk of infant HIV infection with early mixed feeding" by Piwoz and Humphrey. AIDS 2005;19:1720-1721. [ Links ]
12. Sibeko L, Dhansay MA, Charlton CE, et al. Beliefs, attitudes and practices of breastfeeding mothers from a peri-urban community in South Africa. J Hum Lact 2005;21:31-38. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0890334404272388] [ Links ]
13. Buskens I, Jaffe A, Mkhatshwa H. Infant feeding practices: Realities and mindsets of mothers in Southern Africa. AIDS Care 2007;19:1101-1109. 'http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/095401207013364001 [ Links ]
14. Mamabolo RL, Alberts M, Mbenyane GX, et al. Feeding practices and growth of infants from birth to 12 months in the central region of the Limpopo province of South Africa. Nutrition 2004;20:327-333. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j. nut.2003.11.011] [ Links ]
15. Steyn NP, Badenhorst CJ, Nel JH, et al. Breastfeeding and weaning practices of Pedi mothers and the dietary intakes of their preschool children. South African Journal of Food Science and Nutrition 1993;5:10-13. [ Links ]
16. Mushapi LF, Mbhenyane XG, Khoza LB, et al. Infant-feeding practices of mothers and the nutritional status of infants in the Vhembe District of Limpopo Province. S Afr J Clin Nutr 2008;21:36-41. [ Links ]
17. Breede Valley Local Municipality. Integrated Development Plan 2007-2012. Second Generation Review 4, 2011/2012. http://www.breedevallei.gov.za/bvmweb/images/IDP/IDP%202011%20-%202012.pdf (accessed 27 October 2013). [ Links ]
18. Academy for Educational Development, Linkages Project. Tanzania Integrated PMTCT Baseline Survey: Questionnaire for Use with Mothers of Infants Less Than 12 Months Old. LINKAGES, 2005. http://www.linkagesproject.org/publications/index.php?series=12 (accessed 27 October 2013). [ Links ]
19. Academy for Educational Development, Linkages Project (Zambia). Ndola Demonstration Project (NDP): Community-based Survey for Use with Mothers of Infants Age 0 to Less Than 6 Months Old. LINKAGES, 2001. http://www.linkagesproject.org/publications/index.php?series=12 (accessed 27 October 2013). [ Links ]
20. Cohen B. USDA Community Food Security Assessment Toolkit. Electronic publication from the Food Assistance and Nutrition Research Program No. (EFAN-02-013). USA: United States Department of Agriculture, 2002. http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/efan02013/efan02013fm.pdf (accessed 27 October 2013). [ Links ]
21. Shisana O, Simbayi LC, Rehle T, et al. South African National HIV Prevalence, Incidence, Behaviour and Communication Survey, 2008: The Health of our Children. Cape Town: HSRC Press, 2010. http://www.hsrcpress.ac.za/product.php?productid=2279&cat=0&page=1&featured (accessed 27 October 2013). [ Links ]
22. National Department of Health, South Africa. South Africa National AIDS Council. Clinical Guidelines: PMTCT (Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission). Pretoria: Department of Health, South Africa, 2010. http://www.sahivsoc.org/upload/documents/NDOH_PMTCT.pdf (accessed 27 October 2013). [ Links ]
23. World Health Organization. Evidence for the Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding. Geneva: World Health Organization, 1998. http://whqlibdoc.who.int/publications/2004/9241591544_eng.pdf (accessed 27 October 2013). [ Links ]
24. Thairu LN, Pelto GH, Rollins NC, Bland RM, Ntshangase N. Sociocultural influences on infant feeding decisions among HIV infected women in rural KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Maternal and Child Nutrition 2005;1:2-10. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1740-8709.2004.00001.x] [ Links ]
25. Faber M, Oelofse A, Kriek JA, Benade AJS. Breastfeeding and complementary feeding practices in a low socio-economic urban and a low socio-economic rural area. South African Journal of Food Science and Nutrition 1997;9:43-51. [ Links ]
26. Kruger R, Gericke GJ. A qualitative exploration of rural feeding and weaning practices, knowledge and attitudes on nutrition. Public Health Nutr 2003;6:217-223. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1079/PHN2002419] [ Links ]
27. Trahms CM, McKean KN. Nutrition during infancy. In: Mahan LK, Escott-Stump S, eds. Krause's Food Nutrition Therapy. USA: WB Saunders Company,2008:199-221. [ Links ]
28. Fjeld E, Siziya S, Katepa-Bwalya M, et al. 'No sister, the breast alone is not enough for my baby' a qualitative assessment of potential and barriers in the promotion of exclusive breastfeeding in southern Zambia. Int Breastfeed J 2008;3:26-37. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1746-4358-3-26] [ Links ]
29. Nor B, Ahlberg BM, Doherty T, et al. Mothers' perceptions and experiences of infant feeding within a community-based peer counselling intervention in South Africa. Maternal and Child Nutrition 2012;8:448-458. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1740-8709.2011.00332.x] [ Links ]
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The Nomos Metro Neomatik features a champagne gold galvanized dial with neon orange accents. The hour and minutes hands are rhodium plated, with the seconds hand in lacquered neon orange.
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On day 4 of the WFDF 2014 World Ultimate Club Championships the sunshine again blessed the tournament drying out fields slowly but consistently. And today, on 6 of August, games proceed under the Italian sun. This daily newsletter provides recaps from the Tuesday rounds, results, special information and forecasts from the event.
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A Political Sect on the Wrong Track
While the Syrian regime braces itself against its downfall in Damascus and Aleppo, a remarkable chapter of the war is unfolding in the Kurdish areas of Syria, far away from eyes of the world. There, the local branch of the Kurdistan Workers' Party, PKK, is acting as henchman of the Assad regime and playing the part of both police and public administration.
No official declaration on this astounding development has been forthcoming from either the Assad regime or the PKK leader, Abdullah Öcalan, who is currently imprisoned in Turkey, nor from the military leaders of the Kurdish political sect, which operates in secret mainly in the Qandil Mountains in north-eastern Iraq.
Nevertheless, the signs of a tacit alliance between the Syrian regime and the PKK are proliferating to an extent that appears to dispel any doubts. This was the case even before the statement made last week by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan that Assad had "entrusted" the Kurdish areas of Syria to the PKK.
PKK infiltration of Syrian territory
The head of the Syrian PYD (Democratic Union Party), an offshoot of the PKK, is the engineer Salih Muslim Muhammad. At the beginning of the revolution in Syria, he was in exile in Iraqi Kurdistan. He has now returned to Syria. In an illuminating interview with the Internet portal "Kurdwatch", Salih Muslim avowed that he did not see the Assad regime as an enemy, but rather the Turkish government.
He accuses the dissident Syrian National Council, which has its headquarters in Istanbul, of assisting the Turkish government. "I returned to Syria with many of my people. If we want to arm ourselves, we have the opportunity to do so," the PYD chief said in the interview.
There is a great deal of evidence that they have long since done so. A growing number of reports say that the PYD is putting up roadblocks in the Kurdish regions of Syria, arresting dissident Kurds and putting its own party loyalists in posts at the water and power utilities now vacated by members of the ruling Baath party. "The PYD, and thus the PKK, is clearly the strongest political and military power in the Kurdish parts of Syria," says Siamend Hajo, the well-informed director of Kurdwatch.
Salih Muslim is playing the role here of a shop-window mannequin, a status similar to that of the long-time head of the Iranian PKK offshoot Pejak, Abd ar-Rahman Haj-Ahmadi. The real power and decision-making authority are exercised by the underground PKK leaders. Word has it in Kurdish circles that the Pejak fighters, who for years carried out assaults on state institutions in the Kurdish regions of Iran, have signed a truce with the Islamic Republic and have now relocated to the Kurdish territories in Syria.
PKK training in Syria
In its pact with the Assad regime, the Kurdistan Workers' Party is following the old logic of "my enemy's enemy is my friend". In other words: Assad is the enemy of the Turkish government, which has been the enemy of the PKK as long as anyone can remember; therefore, Assad is now a friend of the PKK.
For more than a decade, until the outbreak of the uprising in Syria, things were different. Relations between Damascus and Ankara were characterised by close cooperation and partnership. A prerequisite for these amicable relations was the expulsion of PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan from his exile in Damascus in September 1998. Shortly thereafter, the Turkish secret service apprehended Öcalan in Africa, abducted him and sentenced him to life imprisonment in Turkey.
Until 1998, Hafez al-Assad, father of Bashar, had granted Öcalan refuge in Damascus. The PKK chief ran military training camps in Syria and in Syrian-occupied Lebanon. From his base in Damascus, Öcalan organised the bloody guerrilla war against Turkey. In return for his protection, Öcalan made sure that the Syrian Kurds submitted to Assad's dictatorship.
Contradictions in PKK politics
It was one of the most blatant contradictions in the PKK leader's politics: while he was leading a "war of independence" for the Kurdish minority in Turkey, he demanded of his countrymen in Syria that they put up with discrimination and oppression by the central government there. For Öcalan, the Kurdish areas of Syria were at best a recruitment pool for new fighters, who would be sent into battle in Turkey.
But now, just when the Assad regime is on its last legs, the old alliance is being revived. From Afrin in the West to Qamishli in the East, PKK members are showing their strength in the Syrian-Kurdish cities, possibly not stopping at the murder of political opponents.
On 7 October 2011, the Kurdish politician Mishal at-Tammu was shot dead in Qamishli in a targeted attack. Tammu was the head of the dissident "Kurdish Future Movement" party, which is critical of the regime. He had previously spent three years in prison in Damascus. During the uprising in Syria, in which the Kurdish areas were also involved, he felt threatened by the PKK. His party colleague Zahida Rashkilu, who was seriously injured in the attack, found refuge in Berlin a few months ago with the help of the German Foreign Office. She believes the perpetrators came from the ranks of the PKK.
In its alliance with the foundering Assad regime, the Kurdistan Workers' Party is a prisoner of its own Machiavellian logic. Such murderous logic can be enforced only in sect-like political organizations. In this respect, the PKK is reminiscent of another political sect in the Middle East: the People's Mujahedin of Iran. That party believed in the 1980s that the best way to oppose Khomeini was to enter into an alliance with the Iraqi ex-dictator Saddam Hussein. This did neither the Iranians nor themselves any good. It will be the exactly the same for the Syrian Kurds and the PKK.
Stefan Buchen
© Qantara.de 2012
Stefan Buchen is a television journalist who works for the German broadcaster NDR. He regularly reports from the Middle East and North Africa. In 2007 he produced a report on the PKK for the German broadcaster WDR.
Translated from the German by Jennifer Taylor
Editor: Aingeal Flanagan/Qantara.de


text: You are here: Home>People>National Squads>1977 England Senior and Under 21 Squads 1977 England Senior and Under 21 Squads No CommentsStart the ball rolling by posting a comment on this page! Add a comment about this pageYour email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *Your comment:Name * Email * Website Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. I consent to my name and e-mail address being stored along with this comment, and to the website editors communicating with me by e-mail about the comment if necessary. My name may be published alongside the comment on the website, but my e-mail address will not be published. My information will not be shared with any third party (see our Privacy Statement - opens in a new window). * National Squads1951 England Squad, April1954 England Squad1956 England Tour Party of South Africa1961 England v The Rest1963 England Squad1963 The Rest comprising past and present England Players1963 World Tournament, August, Eastbourne1967 England Seniors1967 England Squad for 2nd World Tournament, Perth, Australia1967 England Squad for Australia Tour1967 England Team1968 England Squad, March1968 Four (and a half!) Kent players in the 1968 England team1969 England Touring Party, West Indies1970 England Squad1970/71 England flying to the 3rd World Tournament, Jamaica, plus articles and Candle Lighting Ceremony1971 England Squads1971 Squad for 3rd World Tournament, Jamaica1972 Young England tour Jamaica1973 England Squad1973 England Squad for tour of South Africa1973 England Team1973 England Tour of South Africa Programme and Squad1975 England Squad for New Zealand1977 England Senior and Under 21 Squads1977/1978 England Squads1978 England Squad1978 England Squad for Tour of West Indies1978/1979 England Senior Squad1980 England line up at Wembley1980/1981 England Squads1981 England Squad1981 England Squad and Tour of New Zealand1981 England Teams1981 England Under 23 Squad to Tour Jamaica1981/1982 England full squad1982 England Squads1982 England v Scotland1982/1983 England Squads1983 - 6th World Netball Tournament - Singapore1983 England Squad1983/1984 England Senior Squad1984 England long Squad for World Games1984 England Squads1984/1985 England Squads1984/1985 England Under 18 Squad1984/1985 England Under 21 Squad1985 1st World Games, Crystal Palace, England1985 England Squads1985 England Team for the Inaugural Australia Games1985 Young England Squad for Trinidad Tour April1985/1986 England Senior Squad1985/1986 England Under 18 Squad1985/1986 England Under 21 Squad1986-1987 England Senior & 7th World Tournament Squad1986/1987 England U 18 Squad1986/1987 England U21 Squad1987 England at 7th World Tournament, Glasgow1987/1988 England Under 21 and U18 Squads1988/1989 England Squads1989/1990 England Squads1989/1990 England Under 18 Squad1990 England Under 16 Squad to tour Australia, July1990/1991 England Senior and Under 18 Squads1991 England Squad1991 England Squad for Wembley Test1991 England World Tournament, Sydney, Australia1991/1992 England Under 21 Squad1992/1993 England Squads1993 England Squad for Tour of Jamaica, April1993/1994 England Squads1994 England Squad for FENA Tournament1994/1995 England Senior Squad1994/1995 National Development Squad1994/1995 Under 18 Squad1994/1995 Under 21 Squad1995 England Squad for Tour of New Zealand April Milo Series1995 U21 Squad for Tour of Caribbean1995 World Championship Squad1995/1996 England Squads1996/1997 England Open Squad1997 England Squad1997 England Under 18 Squad1998 Tour of Malaysia England Squad2000 England SquadsColette Thomson, England player Share thisFacebookTwitterPinterestemail


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The Standard, the hip hotel and spa in the renovated Lido Spa on Belle Isle, is planning an ambitious reconstruction that includes rebuilding a wing of rooms and constructing a mechanical on-site parking structure.
"The Standard is looking at an expansion," Belle Isle Residents Association president Scott Diffenderfer told island residents at a community meeting Wednesday night.
The Standard has scheduled a meeting to give Belle Isle residents an overview of the plans at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 23 at the hotel, 40 Island Ave.
Diffenderfer said The Standard has said the project will add only a few rooms to the property. It involves knocking down the one-story eastern wing of rooms. The garage would go behind the main, three-story lobby and spa structure. A new, two-story east wing of rooms would be built — with larger rooms and interior hallways.
The parking structure would work like an automated garage that opened earlier this year at 1826 Collins Ave, billed as he first of its kind in South Florida. Built by Stellar Construction, the Collins garage looks like a retail space, with a wide entrance where cars drive in. Once inside, robotic platforms slide underneath, lift them up and put them in a parking spot.
The old Lido Spa was renovated and reopened by hotelier Andre Balazs in 2005. Parking always posed a problem, with a valet-only policy and a rented lot in Sunset Harbour.
In renovating the Lido — a 1950s vintage hotel that was renovated in 1960 with the MIMO Three-story lobby and spa building in the early 1960s– Balazs brought quiet hip to sleepy Belle Isle. Neighbors always worried the party might get too wild.
Restrictions on the property due to its residential surroundings — they can't serve liquor after midnight and music can't be so loud that it will disturb neighboring properties — were in place before the 2005 renovation.
Diffenderfer said the Belle Isle association has not taken a position on the proposal — and don't until they see it in its final form and get neighborhood feedback. "We need to see what shape it will ultimately take."


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It was Port Eliot the weekend before last. I always enjoy this slightly deranged literary festival that manages to make even fashion people nice for the weekend, and this year was no different. It even marked the end of the biblical deluge we'd all been suffering for the previous three months.
I'd gone along as part of the brilliant and funny Caught By The River coterie, and hosted a conversation with Richard King about his book How Soon Is Now (read it, it's great) which saw King tell funny and scurrilous stories about everyone from the KLF to The Smiths and explained why having a hit can be a disaster for an indie.
Caught By The River are a bunch of people I'm proud to be associated with, partly because, collectively, they've got more ridiculous music stories than almost anyone else, and also because they combine a serious love of music with a widescreen enthusiasm for the natural world. Down in their tent I heard Robert MacFarlane and nature soundman Chris Watson perform a reading and sound piece that wrapped around like a wave-lapped lullaby and I saw TOY frontman Tom Dougall (and his thousand yard stare) destroy the tent with a snaking mindbend of feedback and drone and tunes you wanted to adopt immediately.
However, the biggest mindbend came not from a bunch of bound-to-be-massive young and wild loopsters, but instead in a small white tent just across the green, hosted by Andrews of Arcadia. In fact, they bent my mind twice: first, when Andrews ran a series of slides and films that showed the tunny fishing madness that swept through the north-east coast of England in the 1930s. There were men and women, far out at sea in tiny white boats, dressed like they were about to go for tea with the captain, landing huge 700lb tuna in man V fish battles that sometimes went on for 14 hours. I'm going to blog more about this another time, but for the moment, let's just say that it opened up a whole new world, and made this part of England's past look alien and compelling and genuinely mesmerising.
The second Arcadian mindbend came from photographer Neil Thomson. He showed a photographic project he's working on called Phantom Fields and Ghost Squadrons about the disused airfields that are hidden in the undergrowth throughout Norfolk and Suffolk. It's a remarkable project that brings the relatively recent past into mesmeric rub with the future, and where's he's conjoured up the ghosts of stiff-upper lipped squadrons and jitterbugging GIs by photographing the fields that now cover the tarmac they landed on. Again, more on this later. For the moment, all you need to see if one of the photographs.
And if you're wondering, it was Andrews of Arcadia who provided the title for this post. When he and Neil Thompson were interviewed by BBC Radio Cornwall, the presenter asked whether they'd donned their trademark look (roughly, from a laywoman's point of view, original 1930s-early 1950s shirts and high-waisted trousers) just for the occasion. "We always dress like this," said Andrews, dry as you like. "We're like the Great Gatsby meets The Wild Geese uptown."
All photography: Neil Thompson


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Photo of Suilven and Canisp
Scenic travel photos of England, Scotland, and Wales
Featuring our favourite photos from our travels throughout England, Scotland, and Wales. We got up before dawn and stayed out late to photograph the most historic sites and the most stunning scenery in Britain, just for you.
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Suilven and Canisp
Sutherland - Elphin, Highlands and Islands, Scotland
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Suilven and Canisp, two of the most prominent peaks of Sutherland, are lit by the golden light of the setting sun at Elphin, on the shores of Cam Loch. I parked by the old burial ground and walked down to the loch shore - wellies helped - and I shared the wonderful evening with just a few of my closest midge friends.
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In the previous post, I described the main thesis of University of Chicago professor of political science John J. Mearsheimer and Harvard University professor of international affairs Stephen M. Walt in their book The Israel Lobby and U. S. Foreign Policy.
So who or what constitutes the 'Israel lobby'? Well aware that criticism of the Israel lobby will immediately result in the lobby trying to label them as being anti-Semitic, Mearsheimer and Walt go to some lengths to deflect that charge. They point out that it is wrong to identify the Israel lobby as a Jewish lobby. Not only are non-Jews key players in the lobby, the Israel lobby very often pursues policies that are not even supported by a majority of American Jews. They provide statistics and surveys that suggest that substantial majorities of American Jews disagree with many of the policies advocated by the lobby.
The authors also take pains to point out that the lobby is not some secretive cabal exercising some sinister power. It functions openly within the framework of American politics, just like the National Rifle Association (NRA), the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP), the farm lobby, the health industry lobby, or the military lobby.
Similar groups exist to influence US policy towards other nations. In principle, the Israel lobby's work is no different from (say) the Cuban-American lobby. In fact, American politics teems with such lobbying groups, all seeking to sway the administration or Congress to implement policies favorable to them.
The key difference is that the Israel lobby is far more successful in its efforts than these other lobbies that seek to influence US foreign policy, and attempts to highlight its activities and the negative consequences for the US of the policies it promotes are met with such strong and swift criticism that public discussion of its role is muted.
So who comprises the lobby? The authors first say what the lobby is not.
The lobby is not a single, unified movement with a central leadership, and the individuals and groups who make up this broad coalition sometimes disagree on specific policy issues. Not is it some cabal or conspiracy. On the contrary, the organization and individuals who make up the lobby operate out in the open and in the same way that other interest groups do.
. . .
[T]he lobby is not a centralized, hierarchical organization with a defined membership. . .It has a core consisting of organizations whose declared purpose is to encourage the U.S. government and the American public to provide material aid to Israel and to support its government's policies. (p. 112-113)
The authors point out that people who are simply pro-Israel in the sense of those who "support its right to exist, admire its many achievements, want its citizens to enjoy secure and prosperous lives, and believe that the United States should come to Israel's aid if its survival is in danger" are also not part of the Israel lobby simply by virtue of this fact. They say that most Americans, including themselves, fall into that category.
To be considered a member of the Israel lobby requires more than that kind of vague general support. It means that "one has to actively work to move American foreign policy in a pro-Israel direction. For an organization, this pursuit must be an important part of its mission and consume a substantial percentage of its resources and agenda. For an individual, this means devoting some portion of one's professional or personal life (or in some cases, substantial amounts of money) to influencing U.S. Middle East policy." (p. 114). They argue that "it is the specific political agenda that defines the lobby, not the religious or ethnic identity of those pushing it." (p. 115) The authors point out that while "The bulk of the lobby is comprised of Jewish Americans who are deeply committed to making sure that U.S. foreign policy advances what they believe to be Israel's interests. . .Yet the Israel lobby is not synonymous with America Jewry." (p. 115). They point out that some groups who are very vocal on Israel's behalf, such as the Christian Zionists or Christians United for Israel, are not Jewish.
The authors name those whom they see as clearly part of the lobby. They point to key players in groups such as the Zionist Organization of America (ZOA), American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), Washington Institute for Near East Policy (WINEP), the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), Christians United for Israel (CUFI), Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations, Middle East Forum (MEF), and the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs (JINSA). Some well-known people in those groups are Dennis Ross of WINEP, John Hagee of CUFI, and Martin Indyck of the Brookings Institution.
The authors argue that strong support for the policies advocated by the Israel lobby also come from the group known as the neoconservatives, who have become a very influential part of the lobby because they occupy key posts in the government and the media. Some of these policy makers are named in the book: Elliott Abrams, Kenneth Adelman, William Bennett, John Bolton, Douglas Feith, the late Jeane Kirkpatrick, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, Richard Perle, Paul Wolfowitz, James Woolsey, and David Wurmser.
The authors also name influential people and opinion shapers who are members of the lobby: journalists (the late Robert Bartley, David Brooks, Charles Krauthammer, William Kristol, Bret Stephens, and Norman Podhoretz), academics (Fouad Ajami, Eliot Cohen, Aaron Friedberg, Bernard Lewis, Ruth Wedgwood), and think tank pundits (Max Boot, David Frum, Reuel Marc Gerecht, Robert Kagan, Michael Ledeen, Joshua Muravchik, Daniel Pipes, Danielle Pletka, Michael Rubin, Meyrav Wurmser.).
Media critic Eric Alterman wrote in 2002 that the debate among Middle East pundits is "dominated by people who cannot imagine criticizing Israel." He identified fifty-six "columnists and commentators who can be counted upon to support Israel reflexively and without qualification" while only five pundits consistently take a pro-Arab position. (p. 170)
As a result of this largely one-sided view of Middle East politics, the general public in the US has little or no idea of the appalling conditions under which Palestinians in the occupied territories live, and have no sense of the deep injustice felt by them that they have been displaced from their homes and are made to pay dearly for the injustices perpetrated on Jews by European nations. The current construction of the wall that weaves through the occupied territories cruelly splitting Palestinian communities is a shocking thing that would be strongly condemned if it were widely known but largely passes unnoticed in the US. There is little recognition in the US that Israel's treatment of Palestinians "is contrary to widely accepted human rights norms and international law, as well as the principle of national self-determination." (p. 191) "Because most Americans are only dimly aware of the crimes committed against the Palestinians, they see their continued resistance as an irrational desire for vengeance, or as evidence of unwarranted hatred of Jews akin to the anti-Semitism that was endemic in old Europe." (p. 351)
Perhaps the most successful element of the lobby has been its ability to influence members of Congress, by channeling funds and organizing letter-writing campaigns in favor of those who are supportive of the lobby's agenda and against those who oppose them.
The journalist Michael Massing reports that a congressional staffer sympathetic to Israel told him, "We can count on well over half the House – 250 to 300 members – to do reflexively whatever AIPAC wants." Similarly, Steve Rosen, the former AIPAC official who has been indicted for allegedly passing classified government documents to Israel, illustrated AIPAC's power for the New Yorker's Jeffrey Goldberg by putting a napkin in front of him and saying, "In twenty-four hours, we could have the signatures of seventy senators on this napkin." (p. 10)
This ability of the lobby explains its success in getting congressional policies that favor Israel passed with overwhelming majorities, even when those policies are opposed by the White House. The authors argue that the lobby played a key role in the ill-fated decision to invade Iraq, although they were not the only factor. The book's authors are actually quite sympathetic to George W. Bush, portraying him and Condoleeza Rice and Colin Powell as trying occasionally to steer a more balanced course with regard to the Middle East and Palestinian issues but being consistently outmaneuvered by the Israel lobby, whose efforts were often channeled through Dick Cheney's office or the Congressional leadership. Bush, Rice, and Powell come across as having at least some sense that the policies urged by the lobby were harmful to America's own national interest, but unable to change course.
But while the lobby has urged US policymakers to go to war with the enemies of Israel such as Iraq and now are urging war against their other enemies Iran and Syria, they are also wary of public perceptions that such wars are being waged on Israel's behalf because if the wars against Iran and Syria turn out as badly as the Iraq invasion did, then there is a serious risk of a backlash against Israel. (p. 295)
The influence of the lobby was also seen in the passive response by the US government to the tremendous damage wreaked on Lebanon by Israel in 2006, which targeted civilian infrastructure. Not only did the US oppose worldwide calls for an immediate ceasefire, it gave tacit support to the invasion. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice made the extraordinary statement that the appalling destruction of Lebanon signaled the "birth pangs of a new Middle East." The US did not protest when the Israelis inexcusably dropped a million cluster bomblets in the last three days leading up to the ceasefire, knowing that the ceasefire was imminent. Such cluster bombs often fail to explode immediately and then remain as deadly traps for people long after hostilities have ended, which is why their use has been condemned. (p. 322)
AIPAC was also responsible for the abandonment of a bill requiring Bush to get Congressional approval before attacking Iran and it has thwarted attempts at dialogue with that country (p. 301)
The authors argue that Israel, as a democracy, should be held to the same standards that any other democracy is held, but in fact is not. The recent decision by the Israeli government to curtail electricity to the entire population of Gaza is an appalling act of collective punishment but has received little notice in the US and no condemnation by the US government. In fact, the conditions of the people in Gaza as a result of Israeli government policies are nothing short of a scandal.
Next: Criticism of the lobby increases
POST SCRIPT: Israeli attack on Iran?
The recent release of the US National Intelligence Estimate report that Iran had stopped any nuclear weapons related activities back in 2003 is seen by some as making it harder for the Bush administration to justify an attack on that country. The London Guardian newspaper reports that elements in the Israel government are now suggesting a Israel initiate the attack, with American approval.