text:
Jury orders Monsanto to pay $289 million to cancer patient in Roundup lawsuit
Key Excerpts from Article on Website of USA Today
Posted: August 20th, 2018
A jury ordered chemical giant Monsanto to pay $289 million Friday to a school groundskeeper who got terminal cancer after using Roundup, one of the world's most popular weed killers. The Superior Court jury [found] that Dewayne Johnson's non-Hodgkin lymphoma was at least partly due to using glyphosate, the primary ingredient in Roundup. Johnson regularly used glyphosate to spray fields while working as a groundskeeper. Monsanto "acted with malice, oppression or fraud and should be punished for its conduct," Judge Suzanne Ramos Bolanos announced in court. Hundreds of lawsuits claiming Roundup causes cancer have been given the green light to proceed to trial. Cancer victims and families presenting cases say Monsanto knew about the ingredient's risk for years, but failed to warn buyers. Johnson's doctors testified he is unlikely to live past 2020. The 46-year-old Bay-area resident worked for a California county school system and applied the weed killer up to 30 times per year as part of his pest-control responsibilities. During that time, he mixed and sprayed hundreds of gallons of the chemical. Today the jury confirmed what we have known since our investigation began that Monsanto knew Roundup contained cancer-causing ingredients and failed to take this product off the shelf and protect consumers. The company chose corporate profit and greed above humanity, said Micah Dortch of the Potts Law Firm.
Note: The EPA continues to use industry studies to declare Roundup safe while ignoring independent scientists. A recent independent study published in a scientific journal found a link between glyphosate and gluten intolerance. Internal FDA emails suggest that the food supply contains far more glyphosate than government reports indicate. For more along these lines, see concise summaries of deeply revealing news articles on food system corruption and health.

domain: law


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Smart Women Finish Rich: 9 Steps to Creating a Rich Future [CANADIAN EDITION] Paperback – Jan 21 2003
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Once a woman learns to take charge of her finances, she will never go back, asserts author David Bach in Smart Women Finish Rich, his guide for women who want to organize their finances, determine their net worth, and formulate goals for financial success. The book, based on Bach's educational seminars, helps readers overcome the fears that often lead to financial paralysis and short-sighted decision-making. "Don't get bogged down by the stuff you suddenly feel you should have done years ago but didn't," he advises. "The issue is what you will be doing with your new-found knowledge once you finish reading this book."
Once he helps readers to understand what they want money to do for them, Bach provides advice on insurance, retirement savings plans, and investing in stocks and mutual funds. The Canadian version is tailored for this country's tax laws, regulations, retirement planning strategies, and resources. Bach understands that money is not just a number in a bank account statement--it helps people fulfill dreams. And understanding which goals are worth pursuing is the foundation on which all smart financial planning is based. --Carolyn Leitch
“Inspires women to start planning today for a secure financial future. Every woman can benefit from this book . . . Bach is an excellent money coach.” -- John Gray, author of Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus
“David Bach is the one expert to listen to when you’re intimidated by your finances. His easy-to-understand program will show you how to afford your dreams.” -- Anthony Robbins, author of Awaken the Giant Within
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Top Customer Reviews
It is amazing how little we are taught as women about our finances and few women express financial independence as a life goal, but it is so important!
This book doesn't talk down to the first-time investor or financial planner, but instead shows you how to make better decisions about your finances and work toward your goals of buying a car, a house, taking a trip, and/ or retiring well.
Before I read this book, I had a vague idea of how the stock market worked, but I was at a loss when it came to IRAs, Roth IRAs, Living Trusts, Mutual Funds, Money Market Accounts and so on. Now I understand the values of each, as well as the drawbacks.
In the beginning, I was a bit skeptical when a friend handed me her copy, and I cringe a bit when he yells encouraging things in bold type, but I understand that giving you the courage to go out there and invest your money wisely is one of his main goals with this book, so I worked past the cringe points (and there really are very few of them) and enjoyed the book thoroughly.
I'll be graduating from college (with some hefty student loans) soon, and now as I move into the "real" world workforce, I have a plan for my financial future. I'd never read a financial planning book before, so the only information I had came from my father (who, I discovered as I read this book, was just about as clueless as I was). I felt so confident after reading Bach's book, that I plan to give a copy to every family member for Christmas (including the men!)... I think they'd all benefit from Bach's sound and timeless advice.
I enjoyed the fact David shared with us his own personal experiences, making him immediately "real" and trustworthy to the reader. The author speaks of his grandmother, Rose which instantly allows the reader to recognize this author as a sincere, honest and heart felt man.
I was so impressed by the author that I have put my complete trust in him and have decided to follow his advice to the "T". This is an easy step by step book that anyone can follow. I will keep you posted with the results.
This is a MUST READ for every woman, therefore I have purchased one for my boss, co-worker and sister. I sat my mother (who is visiting me from California) down with Smart Women Finish Rich, she's hooked and she is not even a reader. In addition, I have also ordered Smart Couples Finish Rich for my husband and I to get busy on our plan together.
I have been so uplifted and inspired by this author that I am sharing the good news with every woman I know. I visited the David Bach web-site and signed up to receive his personal newsletter. David shares in his newsletter similar to the way he shares in his book; you feel as if you know him personally and that he truly cares about his audience. The newsletter contains updated information concerning financial matters directly from the author, so be sure to sign up. The site also offers resource information and contact e-mail addresses. I am astonished with the personal response I receive each time I e-mail with a question or comment- What an actual response?Read more ›
On a side note, Mr. Bach has gone absolutely out of his way to personally help me. He has analyzed my financial situation and has drafted a personalized plan to help me attain my goals. He did all of this extra work for me on his own time, around my complicated schedule and for FREE. His books have given me great knowledge into investing and prioritizing my financial house, and his personal words of encouragement have made all the difference in the world to my life. As I slowly work my way out of debt, while planning for my future, all I can do is thank God I met Mr. Bach and that he is the wonderful author and kind man that he has proven himself to be. I couldn't have done it without his help.
Most recent customer reviews
The condition of the book is pretty good as previously described, so I'm quite happy with that. However, it did take a while to get here.Published 3 months ago by S Durrant
I gave this book to my granddaughter. She is finding it very helpful.Published 10 months ago by Stephana Arnold
Fortunately, I received a free complimentary copy of Smart Women Finish Rich by David Bach after attending a seminar that was recently held in Bethesda, Maryland. Read morePublished 20 months ago by Stella Carrier
I can't put this book down, which says alot for a financially-oriented book. For a while, I have known that I haven't been managing my finances as well as I could be. Read morePublished on Jan. 7 2011 by matcart
When I first recieved this book I wasn't too sure about it because I do not know much about money, investing and all that. Read morePublished on Nov. 23 2007 by Maureen M.
This book surpassed all my expectations. David is clearly an inspirational speaker. This book changed my life and I read it only a month ago. Read morePublished on Nov. 6 2005
A good book that every woman should take seriously. Learn about money or be dependent the rest of your life. Another excellent book is Stop Working by Rohan Hall. Read morePublished on Feb. 14 2005
I've read them all, and this book is the best money management guide I've ever had the pleasure to read. It is extraordinary in its clarity and usefullness. Read morePublished on April 16 2004

domain: library


text:
Dr Spencer Jefferies is a Clinical Psychologist with much experience in using psychotherapy in both group and individual settings to provide the most appropriate care for his clients. He sees clients at the Psychiatry and Therapy centre, Dubai.
Dr Jefferies gained his qualifications at the Widener University in Pennsylvania, renowned for its intensive doctoral program in clinical psychology. Since earning his degree, Dr Jefferies has cultivated important, compassionate client relationships and focuses his practice on establishing appropriate solutions to the challenges his clients may face. This includes Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Solution-Focused Therapy, Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT), and Mindfulness.
- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
- Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
- Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT)
- Adjustment Disorder
- Anxiety Disorder
- Impulsive Behaviour
- Interpersonal Conflict
- Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
- Trauma/Complex Trauma
Doctorate in Clinical Psychology (PsyD) The Institute for Graduate Clinical Psychology, Widener University
Masters of Clinical Psychology (MA) The Institute for Graduate Clinical Psychology, Widener University
Licensed as a Clinical Psychologist in the United States of America as well as the United Arab Emirates

domain: medical


text:
- Barrons.com•2 hours ago
Emerging Markets Emerging markets’ rebound has been sharp this year, with the benchmark MSCI EM index up 12%. Shares of Samsung Electronics (ticker:ticker::005930.Korea), one part of the Samsung empire, are up more than 20% this year. The No. 2 loser among emerging markets is Russia, off 3.8%.
- The Wall Street Journal•5 hours ago
Samsung Electronics’ chief executive said that officials see challenges in restructuring the sprawling Samsung conglomerate, with a continuing review revealing “adverse implications” to switching to a ...
- Reuters•12 hours ago
Samsung Electronics Co Ltd on Friday said it will not adopt a holding company structure for now, rejecting demands from U.S. activist hedge fund Elliott Management and putting off a long-anticipated restructuring. Investors had expected the global leader in smartphones and memory chips to adopt a holding company structure, as the founding Lee family tries to solidify its control of the Samsung Group [SAGR.UL] flagship. "Samsung had been saying the review would proceed without issues, so the market had accepted that, but now they are saying the transition will be difficult," said CJ Heo, a fund manager at Alpha Asset Management.
SSNLF : Summary for SAMSUNG ELECT LTD(F) - Yahoo Finance
Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. (SSNLF)
Other OTC - Other OTC Delayed Price. Currency in USD
Add to watchlist
At close: 1:59PM EDT
|Day's Range||0.00 - 0.00|
|52 Week Range|
Trade prices are not sourced from all markets
|PE Ratio (TTM)||10.93|
|Dividend & Yield||N/A (N/A)|
|1y Target Est||N/A|

domain: economics


As Danville Police and many localities throughout the state gear up for the Click It or Ticket campaign, Roving Reporter Stan Wharton went to downtown Danville to ask residents Are the seat belt and distracted driving fines appropriate?
Understanding Early Decision in College Admissions
By Elizabeth LaScala | 1 comment | 2,353 views
Weekly, TV30 to host Pleasanton mayoral, city council candidates' forum
By Gina Channell-Allen | 2 comments | 1,121 views


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CLOAK Premier "Into The Storm" Music Video
September 10, 2019, 5 months ago
Cloak have released a video for "Into The Storm", a track from their new album, The Burning Dawn, out via Season Of Mist on October 25.
Says the band: ""'Into The Storm' is one of our most aggressive and epic songs to date. We wanted the visuals to be just as unnerving and majestic as the music itself. Once again, this video was produced and crafted fully by the band members. Now, revel in the ecstasy of darkness unbound!"
Cloak comments on the new album: "We have spent the last two years meticulously crafting our new album that we have come to name The Burning Dawn. This process has changed us by giving way to a very different representation of our art, one that this album embodies completely. It is more of an attack than a reflection, and we feel that 'Tempter's Call' is the perfect introduction into this new chapter. Join us!"
The Burning Dawn can be pre-ordered in various formats here.
Conceptually, the record comes from a place below the surface where the sleepless and sinister dwell, and is absorbed by the darkest of dreams and the most primal desires. Musically, this exploration takes the gothic nuances of its predecessor while abandoning any hesitation in exchange for a more aggressive and vehement spirit.
While rippers like “On Poisoned Ground” and “Into The Storm” deliver a fury of soulful aggression, songs like “Lifeless Silence” and “The Fire, The Faith, The Void” offer a darker, gothic essence, ultimately displaying Cloak’s multi-faceted and dynamic musical diversity.
The artwork of The Burning Dawn was created by Adam Burke.
"March Of The Adversary"
"The Cleansing Fire"
"A Voice In The Night"
"Into The Storm"
"The Fire, The Faith, The Void"
"On Poisoned Ground"
"Where The Horrors Thrive"
"Tempter’s Call" video:
Scott Taysom - Vocals & Guitar
Max Brigham - Guitar
Sean Bruneau - Drums
Billy Robinson - Bass

domain: entertainment


text:
A new study has found that kids are less likely to develop behavioural problems if their mums have greater emotional control as well as problem-solving skills.
Researchers say this is because mums with high emotional control tend not to be as verbally harsh with their children. As well, mothers with higher cognitive control are less likely to have controlling parenting attitudes.
These two parenting qualities - harsh verbal parenting and controlling parenting attitudes - are strongly linked to behavioural issues in kids.
Lead author Ali Crandall, assistant professor of public health at Brigham Young University, told Science Daily, "When you lose control of your life, that impacts how you parent.
"That chaos both directly and indirectly influences your child's behaviour."
Crandall and her fellow researchers from Johns Hopkins University and Virginia Tech analysed data from 152 mums whose children were aged three- to seven-years-old.
The mothers were 21- to 49-years-old, and 62 percent of the participants were married.
The team assessed the participants' emotional control with a 10-item questionnaire. Mums were asked how often they did things like 'overreact to small problems' or 'have angry outbursts'.
The mothers' cognitive control, also known as executive functioning, was determined through several tasks. Cognitive control involves planning, problem solving, and focusing on the most pertinent task at hand.
After these assessments, mums answered questions that helped identify their parenting attitudes, measure their level of harsh verbal parenting, and determine their kids' amount of behavioural issues (such as fighting or tantrums).
Participants who had higher emotional and cognitive control were not as likely to report child conduct problems, according to the study's findings.
As well, the researchers discovered relationships between a mum's parenting behaviours and control abilities.
The team says their findings suggest helping mums with their emotional and cognitive control in order to reduce child behavioural problems and harsh verbal parenting.
"There are some clear 'signals' that our supply of self control is being run down -- when we are feeling distracted, irritable, and tired," Kirby Deater-Deckard, professor of psychological and brain sciences at UMass-Amherst and study co-author, noted.
Deater-Deckard says that noticing these signals in ourselves is key, as parents can take a moment for themselves, similar to 'time outs' that we give to our kids.
And while improving our problem-solving abilities and other mechanisms of executive functioning can be difficult as adults, simple things like sleeping enough, eating well, and exercising often can boost our cognitive control.

domain: sociology


text:
Significant news for discounts! !
Significant news for discounts!In addition to being able to enjoy the event price during REFRESH & RECHARGE, as long as you are a French buyer, it is more favorable to use the code when ordering. And apply to all orders.
7 € off from 50 €
10 € off from 70 €
Valid time: 2020/4/27 0:00:00 to 2020/5/1 23:59:59 PST
Note：This event is only for buyers in France
Wireless Retro Game Supports HMDI Output
DATA FROG’s latest version of the gamepad, do you feel very retro with childhood taste? I guess the answer must be! Our design philosophy starts from the trend and trend of the times, and widely accepts the opinions of customers to introduce this control handle for everyone!
Game Headphones for PS4 Headphones
We use a plush artificial leather ear cushion for this earphone, and the thick sponge design gives a soft and breathable feel! Long-term use of the head without any sense of pressure, the placement of the microphone can promote clear communication with other players during the game, the most important thing is that you can fold up to save space when not in use!
USB Wired Gamepad for Xbox 360
100% brand new and high quality.The new and improved ergonomic design allows maximum comfort and endless play.We have designed 2 vibration motors for this gamepad, so that you can experience the joy of the game better! The design of the freestanding headphone jack allows you to communicate better with your gaming partners! Share the joy of the game and reduce the troubles of life and work!
Buy 1 Get 1 Gift
If you buy our Retro Video Game Console, you can get our gift package！
Retro Video Game Console 8 Bit Built in 600 Classic Games Mini Wireless Console AV Output Dual Gamepads
The improved version of the design makes the two gamepads look more concise and generous, giving a retro feel. If you want to play classic games with your good friends or family, miss the past, please choose it! It can meet your requirements!
Plug and Play
Both TV and computer can be used! No need for any driver installation, easy to operate! True Wireless！Controller and game stick use infrared connection.
Build-in 600 Non-repeating Classic Games
This game console build-in 600 non-repeating classic games！Upgrade the game of the first generation of video game controllers. If you feel that the repeated games are bothering you, please feel free to choose it! !(leave us a message to get game list）
Note: The game shown in the picture is for reference only!
Support AV Out
This video game controller we carefully provide customers with two mode options, one is to support HDMI output (black handle) image is more clear, the other is to support AV output (white handle). The video game controller can play wireless functions within 10 meters and supports USB chargers. Both handles can exit the game.
Support on-board play in the car, which is more convenient and fun
Wireless PC controller,support window and mac
This game video controller supports Windows7/8/10 and Mac OS 10.7 above. Note:This is just a wireless controller, you can’t play built-in games on computer.Only can play games in our game stick.
1* Game stick 1* AV Cable 2 * Controller (not including batteries)
FAQ :(Frequently anwsers of questions from buyers)
Q: How can I get a game list?
A: Dear friend ,if you need a game list ,you can contact us first and leave your email,then we can send you a game list.
Q: What should I do if the controller has no response?
A: dear friend ,maybe you can check your battery first,you can change a new battery and try again.if it still can’t work,please don’t worry,you can contact us first ,we can resend a new one for you
Q: Can I connect it to my computer?
A: Yes,you can,dear friend ,but only AV version can be and you need download some games in your PC first,because the game console just as a receiver when it connect to PC,hope you can understand
Q: Why is the card in the AV version prefix different from the normal SD card?
A: Friend, this card is our special card, which is explained in the manual. Please use it normally!
Q:How to quit the game?
A:Hdmi version: use the p1 handle to press [SELECT + START] at the same time. AV version: Use the p1 handle to press [B + START] at the same time.
Q: When I connect it to TV,the screen is black and white or picture not clear,what should I do?
A: 1) First ,you should confirm whether the AV cable is plugged in, the red is to be inserted into the red hole, and the yellow is to be inserted into the yellow hole. 2) Second,you can check if you select the AV output. you should choose AV output!
Q: If I connect it to my computer,can I add or delete games by myself?
A: No, these games are built-in and you can’t delete or add , we can recommend other game console if you need, it support download game.
Q: I have already purchased it some time but have not received it yet. What should I do?
A: Dear friend,usually the delivery time is about 15-60 days (depending on your choice of logistics channels) please don’t worry! If you don’t receive it in our commitment time, please contact us in time, we will send you a new one!
Good Quality and Good Service
Dear customers, because the current order is at the peak of the order, all the logistics warehouses are almost full, and the transportation aging time will be slower than the promised time! The phenomenon of customer’s parcel loss will be very serious, affecting the normal delivery time! DATA FROG can return to your side as soon as possible for your beloved products. We have made comprehensive considerations on the transportation aging and transportation safety of different logistics channels. Together with our experience over the past few years, we think Aliexpress Stand Shipping is the best fit! Conscience recommended!
8 Bit Retro Video Game Console
Built-in classic games A wide range of high-quality games are available for you to choose from without downloading and installing.Retro Classic Video Game Console is the perfect choice for everyone. It lets everyone enjoy the happy childhood of their parents. Double fun with 2 joysticks Sensitive ergonomic design You can share your friends and family with friends.
Wireless Bluetooth Gamepad For PS3
Built-in double vibration motors make the game more realistic for PS3 controller, feel every hit, crash, and explosion with hand-vibrating double shock response.Perfectly fit for racing, shooting, fighting and sports games.
5.0 Inch Large Screen Handheld Game Console
Realistic images give you a feeling of broad vision! The picture quality is clear, as if it is immersive with a comfortable feeling.Large 8 GB of memory with hundreds of classic games built in. Support for 32-bit /16-bit / 8-bit game downloads.


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US Lawmakers Urges IRS to Provide Clarity for Crypto Taxation
September 21, 2018 12:43 pm
A group of U.S. lawmakers has requested the country’s Internal Revenue Services (IRS) to issue comprehensive guidance for taxpayers earning gains on digital currency investments or transaction.
In an open letter sent to acting IRS commissioner Mr. David Kautter delegates David Schweikert, Kevin Brady, Darin LaHood, Brad Wenstrup and Lynn Jenkins writes that the agency has had “more than adequate” time to form clear rules on how digital currency related gains would be taxed.
Instead of releasing such guidance, IRS has rather focused on the enforcement actions around preliminary rules issued in 2014, the letter asserts, referring cases like the agency’s push to accumulate earnings data on customers from cryptocurrency Coinbase and citing a previous letter sent to the IRS in 2017.
The Lawmaker said, “We, therefore, write again today to strongly urge the IRS to release updated guidance, giving additional clarity for taxpayers seeking to better understand and comply with their tax obligations when using digital currencies.”
Stating that it is “a key element of the IRS’s duties” to provide such guidance, they continue:
“We are concerned that the IRS is trying to enforce guidelines that do not appropriately advise taxpayers of their tax obligations when using cryptocurrencies.”
Moreover, they argue that failing to provide adequate guidance ‘severely limit’ taxpayers ability to comply with tax obligations.
The letter adds, the House Committee on Ways and Means, which Mr. Brady chairs, will further ask the Government Accountability Office to perform an audit on the matter.
In a blog post, Crypto advocacy group Coin Center praised the letter, with communication director Mr. Neeraj Agarwal noting that “presently, a user needs to calculate capital gains on every stick of gum they purchase with the digital currency.”
“That doesn’t make sense,” he writes, adding:
“We are glad to see Congress take action – there are many open questions surrounding taxation of digital currencies. It’s encouraging to see members of Congress step up to call for a more welcoming environment for these new technologies.”

domain: news


text: Social media is buzzing about Lance Armstrong's revealing interview with Oprah Winfrey. Plus, First Lady Michelle Obama has a Twitter feed for her office. Find her @FLOTUS. She debuted a new hairdo on her feed. Pamela keeps you in the loop! Find her on Facebook and Twitter. KSEE 24's Pamela Prado brings you What's Trending on the web every half hour on KSEE Sunrise. Feel free to send her your suggestions for great viral videos. She may share it on KSEE Sunrise.

domain: celebrity


text:
When Ontario gambled on full-day kindergarten in 2010, critics called it costly babysitting the deficit-plagued province couldn’t afford.
Kelly Pedro, The London Free Press
Kelly Pedro has been with the London Free Press since 2002, covering various beats in the newsroom including crime and education. She is now primarily a general assignment reporter.
Kelly Pedro Tweets
Thousands of Grade 8 students will soon choose between taking academic or applied courses in high school next September, but a parent advocacy group is pushing the province to hold off on forcing young teens to make those types of choices.
A teacher, lawyer and North America’s first known black woman to publish a newspaper.
London ER doctor Tarek Loubani and Toronto filmmaker John Greyson have posted a YouTube video from Egypt thanking supporters for helping them get out of prison.
Two Ontario men jailed in a Cairo prison will be there for at least a few more days after a planned meeting between their lawyer and the Egyptian prosecutor was delayed.
Police confirmed the tot who died in an apparent backyard drowning in London, Ont. Friday night was a little boy.
Plans for the new Detroit-Windsor bridge cleared another hurdle Friday when it got a much-anticipated presidential permit.
Ontarians are spending $400 million every year on off-shore gaming sites and the government wants a piece of the action.
It’s a sure bet that when Ontario recasts its gambling industry there will be winners and losers. The horse-racing industry, and municipalities stripped of their casinos and slot lounges, will be the big losers. Ready to cash in their chips are the Ontario government and municipalities that would get new gaming facilities.
When Ontario’s first casino opened here in 1994, the provincial government was deep in the red and looking for a way out. It found its gold mine in the form of gambling-starved American tourists, who leveraged a weak Canadian dollar and open borders to test their luck here.
Police in this southern Ontario city say they've arrested a 51-year-old man wanted for abducting his three young daughters 20 years ago.


Starting this week, Logitech-owned Jaybird's Freedom Wireless Bluetooth Headphones are available for purchase in two new exclusive colors from the Apple Online Store and Apple retail locations.
Designed to match Apple's line of iPhones, iPads, and Apple Watches, the two exclusive colors include a Space Gray and Rose Gold. The Space Gray Freedom earbuds feature Space Gray highlights on the remote and the earbuds themselves with a black cord and accents, while the Rose Gold earbuds feature a Rose Gold remote and earpieces with a white cord and accents.
Launched earlier this year, the Jaybird Freedom Wireless Bluetooth Headphones have previously been available directly from Jaybird and from third-party retailers in Carbon (black/gray), Gold (gold/white), Blaze (red/silver), and Ocean (blue/silver). The standard colors are not available from Apple Stores.
Jaybird has been designing Bluetooth earbuds since 2007 and the Freedom Wireless Bluetooth Headphones represent the culmination of years of design refinements. The earbuds are the smallest Jaybird has produced yet, thanks to a clever decision to move many of the audio components from the earbuds themselves to the remote control.
Jaybird's earbuds are wireless and connect to devices over Bluetooth, so they're able to work with iPhones, iPads, Apple Watches, Macs, and more. They'll be compatible with the upcoming iPhone 7, which rumors suggest will not have a headphone jack. We went hands-on with the Jaybird earbuds earlier this year and while we loved the comfort, the small size, and the battery life, the large remote was a little difficult to deal with.
The Rose Gold and the Space Gray Jaybird Freedom Wireless Bluetooth Headphones, priced at $199.95, are available starting today from the Apple Online Store and many Apple retail stores.


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domain: finance


text:
Another title that I have been looking to get onto for a while now is Little Big Planet but again there is a pretty big back catalogue of titles available on the PS3 and PS4 so where to start seems to be the biggest question, there is an obvious decision with the first title but with there being 6 games in the franchise it makes getting into the franchise a bit of an undertaking and a massive time commitment. For this reason I made my start with the newest entry Sackboy, A Big Adventure.
Going into this I didn’t know what to expect, I had heard these were platformers but didn’t know much beyond that. I have to say I was pleasantly surprised, the games were really fun platformers and while the controls could be a little annoying the stages were pretty fair and the game would let you continue if you did die.
There is plenty of variation in the stages, for the most part they are simple get to the end but there are some which are chase stages where the screen is chasing you and if it catches you, you die and there is a collection of challenge stages which you can again earn collectables but also compete against your friends. In addition to all of this there are some co-op stages which I didn’t get to play through as I was playing the game on my own which is a shame as I expect they would have been fun too.
I feel there is plenty of replayability in the game as there are costumes and other collectables in each stage and if you clear each stage perfectly there are a few bonus stages at the end of the game which you can complete.
The final thing that really stood out to me was the music, there were several stages with tracks I recognised and I am sure there were more that that I didn’t given I am not in touch with the current popular music but I did recognise Uptown Funk and Toxic, and am a little embarrassed to say I did sing along too.


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Construction of new airport to begin by 2015
- Myanmar says operation on militants was on Indian side of border
- Somnath Bharti's wife accuses him of domestic violence, DCW issues notice
- Debt-stressed Punjab farmer, who met Rahul Gandhi, commits suicide
- Jitender Tomar did not graduate from our varsity: RML Awadh University
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Taking ahead the pending new international airport plan for Pune in the Chakan-Rajgurunagar belt, central and state government officials have given "in principle" approval for the existing site and have asked district officials to conduct a techno-feasibility study by February end. They also set 2015 as deadline for starting the airport construction.
The officials on Friday conducted an aerial survey of the belt followed by a two-hour closed-door meeting where divisional commissioner Prabhakar Deshmukh and district collector Vikas Deshmukh were also present.
Among those who conducted the aerial survey included the secretary civil aviation K N Srivastava, joint secretary civil aviation Alok Sinha and Airports Authority of India chairman VP Agarwal.
The meeting decided that the airport construction should start by 2015 and the techno-feasibility study and obstacle survey completed by the end of February 2013.
"This will help us decide the villages to be acquired for the proposed airport. However, rehabilitation will be in the same belt," said senior officials who attended the meet.
It was also decided that minimum villages should be acquired and irrigated land should not be acquired. The belt from Shiroli, Dhamne, Koye, Pait, Raundharwadi will be reviewed and assessed by the team conducting the techno-feasibility study. It was also decided that the government would allocate Rs 1,000 crore for land acquisition. The government has already allocated Rs 200 crore as seed money.
"The proposed airport will have two parallel runways each 6 km long. The site will be in the same area," said an official.
Officials said the next two years will see planning, design and environmental clearances for the proposed project and it will not be before 2015 that they can actually start the project. "The project has already suffered a delay of 10 years,'' said the official.


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(JDSupra)In March 2016, the SEC entered into a settlement agreement with Canaccord Genuity a U.S. broker-dealer, which initiated research coverage of an issuer after being invited by the issuer to participate as an underwriter for that issuer’s planned equity offering. The SEC indicated that this is its first action against a broker-dealer for violating Section 5 in this manner. The SEC’s order can be found at the following link: https://www.sec.gov/litigation/admin/2016/33-10059.pdf.
In this case, the issuer cancelled a proposed secondary stock offering for which the broker-dealer was planning to act as the lead underwriter. At that point, the issuer planned another offering, and the broker-dealer was invited to participate as a co-manager. However, according to the SEC, the broker-dealer’s participation was made contingent by the issuer upon the broker-dealer commencing research coverage – a “quid pro quo” – which the investment bank agreed to do. In commencing research coverage, the investment bank rated the stock a “buy,” with a price target that was considerably higher than its then current market price.¹
In issuing the fine, the SEC relied on its traditional guidance as to when a broker-dealer is subject to Section 5(b)(1)’s potential limitations on issuing research. In particular, the SEC has stated that a broker-dealer that publishes research is subject to Section 5(b)(1):
- while seeking to participate in the underwriting of the issuer’s securities offering;
- after having been invited to participate by the issuer in the underwriting of its securities offering; or
- after reaching an understanding with the issuer that it will participate as a managing underwriter in the issuer’s securities offering.
Under these circumstances, the SEC will typically view a research report about the subject company as an improper prospectus. While SEC Rule 139 includes a safe harbor from the definition of “prospectus” for research reports that satisfy the rule, this safe harbor excludes cases such as this one, where the broker-dealer initiated coverage. Here, the SEC deemed the research report to be a prospectus, due to its potential to condition the market. The SEC’s fine in this matter is further indication of regulatory interest in research related supervisory and oversight lapses.
To read the full article, please click here


Now into its ninth month, the diplomatic and economic blockade of Qatar launched on June 5, 2017 has gravely weakened the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and raised questions in the United States about the reliability of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as reliable political and security partners. In addition, the ongoing crisis has brought to a head long-simmering tension within the Gulf region that predates the Arab Spring, but which acquired a potent new force after 2011. The result has been a widening of the cracks in the regional political and security architecture as policy responses in the three protagonists’ capitals –Doha, Riyadh, and Abu Dhabi– have diverged sharply. This has important implications for socio-political stability and regional security in the Gulf against a backdrop of a generational transition of leadership and a far more assertive and unpredictable thrust of policymaking coming out of regional capitals.
The crisis with Qatar began in stages in May and June 2017. On May 23, the Qatar News Agency was hacked and a ‘fake news’ story that attributed inflammatory quotes supposedly made by Emir Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani was placed on the site and immediately picked up by media in Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Over the following twelve days, the Emir’s ‘remarks’ –which U.S. investigators agreed were fabricated– became the basis for a media onslaught by outlets in Riyadh and Abu Dhabi that portrayed Qatar as a destabilizing regional actor and accused Doha of supporting terrorist groups such as al-Qaeda and Hamas. Given the strict control of media in both Saudi Arabia and the UAE it was inconceivable that such an outpouring of anti-Qatar rhetoric could have happened without some form of state sanction at the highest levels, and in July 2017 The Washington Post reported that U.S. investigators suspected that the hack of the Qatar News Agency had, in fact, been orchestrated by the UAE with the use of Russia-based hackers.
The rising crescendo of anger in neighboring capitals mirrored an earlier iteration of the Gulf spat in 2014 when Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Bahrain withdrew their ambassadors from Doha in March and accused Qatar of being a threat to regional security and stability
The rising crescendo of anger in neighboring capitals mirrored an earlier iteration of the Gulf spat in 2014 when Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Bahrain withdrew their ambassadors from Doha in March and accused Qatar of being a threat to regional security and stability. The 2014 dispute lasted for eight months and was resolved by an agreement signed in Riyadh in November (known as the ‘Riyadh Agreement’) that paved the way for the return of the three ambassadors, shortly before the GCC annual summit that took place in Doha (of all places) in December. Qatar made concessions during the eight-month dispute that acknowledged that at least some of the claims made against Doha had some substance. These included the expulsion of several Emirati dissidents who had settled in Qatar after they fled a security crackdown on Islamists in the UAE in 2012, as well as the relocation of seven senior members of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood who likewise had moved to Doha to escape persecution at home.
On June 5, 2017, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Bahrain again withdrew their ambassadors from Doha and were joined this time by Egypt and, at least initially, by the internationally-recognized Yemeni government in exile in Riyadh led by ousted President Abd Rabbo Mansur Hadi. On this occasion, however, Qatar’s detractors (who soon labeled themselves the ‘Anti-Terror Quartet’) went much further than in 2014 and added an economic and trade blockade to the diplomatic embargo of Qatar. The ‘Quartet’ closed their airspace to Qatar and shut Qatar’s only land border with Saudi Arabia to try and stifle the Qatari economy and force Doha to the negotiating table. In addition, the ‘Quartet’ gave their citizens two weeks to leave Qatar, and forced Qatari residents within their borders to depart, in an act that tore at the cross-border family and tribal ties that are such a prominent feature of the social fabric in the Gulf.
U.S. President Donald Trump joined the fray on June 6, 2017, when he unexpectedly sent a series of tweets that expressed his full support for the move against Qatar and sought to take credit for the blockade by tying it to conversations he had apparently had with Saudi and Emirati leaders at the Arab-Islamic-American summit in Riyadh on May 21-22, 2017 –just a day before the hack of the Qatar News Agency. President Trump’s comments blindsided U.S. officials at the Department of State and the Department of Defense as they had not been cleared beforehand, and reportedly angered then Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Secretary of Defense James Mattis, who were both visiting Sydney and scrambled to contain the fallout from the sudden ‘ditching’ of one of the closest U.S. political and security partners in the region and host to the forward headquarters of U.S. Central Command, the ‘nerve center’ for the projection of American military power in the region. In Qatar, the President’s tweets were seen to give a ‘green light’ for whatever follow-up –including military action– the ‘Quartet’ may have been planning, and Qatar went on a state of high alert and defense readiness in response.
Nearly three weeks after the start of the blockade, the ‘Quartet’ issued a list of thirteen demands on Qatar and gave Doha ten days to meet them. These included demands to downgrade Qatar’s diplomatic ties with Iran and close the Turkish military base in Qatar and halt military cooperation with Turkey, sever all ‘ties’ with terrorist organizations and hand over wanted ‘fugitives’ to the ‘Quartet,’ shut Al Jazeera and other news organizations funded by Qatar, pay compensation and reparations ‘for loss of life and other financial losses caused by Qatar’s policies over the years, and align Qatari policies with those of Saudi Arabia and other Gulf and Arab states. Some of the demands were so sweeping that they would effectively have turned Qatar into a vassal state stripped of any meaningful sovereignty by intrusive and lengthy monitoring mechanisms to ensure compliance. The list was widely derided as a document to force capitulation –on the lines of the 1914 ultimatum sent by Austria-Hungary to Serbia in the run-up to the outbreak of World War One– rather than the basis for negotiation and dialogue between Qatar and its detractors.
Qatar did not respond to the list of demands and the ten-day deadline came and went without further sanction. Although the ‘Quartet’ may have hoped that President Trump’s June 6 tweet signaled a turning-point in U.S. policy toward the blockade –and had in fact spent months wooing the White House and the President’s influential son-in-law and chief advisor, Jared Kushner– they miscalculated the degree to which the institutions at the heart of American government would push back against the President. Officials in Riyadh and Abu Dhabi appear to have believed that once the President had taken a decision the rest of the U.S. government would do the same without any institutional resistance. Having determined that the decidedly apolitical Trump Administration was more akin to a Gulf-style Royal Court than ever before (and probably ever after), Saudi and Emirati leaders latched on to the personalized nature of policymaking in the new White House that seemed –at least in its chaotic early months– at odds with the institutional mechanics of traditional governance. However, they underestimated the institutional resilience of U.S. policymaking, which, in this case, was augmented by the presence in office of Secretaries of State and Defense with first-hand experience of the value of the Qatari partnership to the U.S.
The 'Quartet' meddling in Qatari tribal and ruling family affairs crossed a very significant red line in regional politics and could yet come back to bite the ruling families that countenanced the move, which themselves are vulnerable to familial contestation
Hitherto-unprecedented gaps developed in the U.S. approach to the Qatar standoff as President Trump’s unconventional policy style clashed openly with the traditional instruments of American policymaking in ways that complicated and undermined attempts to resolve the crisis. Over the summer of 2017, then Secretary Tillerson was blindsided on several occasions by comments made by President Trump that undercut his attempts to calm the situation and find the parameters of a mediated solution. In the absence of U.S. willingness, at least at the outset, to urge the ‘Quartet’ to the negotiating table, Kuwait took the early lead in seeking to dial down tension and prevent the crisis from spiraling out of control. The Emir of Kuwait, Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah, at 88 not only the elder statesman of the Gulf but also a former Foreign Minister of forty years’ standing, engaged in a frenetic round of shuttle diplomacy in the first week of the standoff in June. Although his diplomatic overtures did not resolve the standoff, Emir Sabah may have played a pivotal role in ensuring that the initial blockade of Qatar was not followed by military action; at a White House press conference alongside President Trump in September 2017, Emir Sabah indicated that military action had in fact been forestalled and implied that it had been on the table at one point.
Along with Kuwait, Turkish policy responses to the crisis were important in preventing any significant escalation. The decision of the Turkish parliament on June 7 –one day after President Trump’s inflammatory tweets in support of the ‘Quartet’– to ratify an agreement that permitted the deployment of Turkish troops in Qatar and approve another accord on military training cooperation was especially significant as it raised the cost of any military move on Qatar considerably, that the ‘Quartet’ may have planned, not least because it demonstrated that Qatar was neither isolated nor without allies that would come to its support if needed. It is notable that many in Qatar feel that it was Turkey, far more than the United States, which visibly came to Qatar’s assistance during what could have developed into an existential threat to state sovereignty. For a country and a people that had invested heavily in building a longstanding partnership with the United States, President Trump’s actions in June 2017 caused considerable shock and highlighted the need to diversify political and security relationships to not be overly reliant on any one partnership.
The combination of Turkish action and Kuwaiti shuttle diplomacy ensured that the initial blockade of Qatar was not followed by further direct action. U.S. officials have suggested that there were concerns that military action was on the table in the immediate aftermath of June 5 and that these reports were deemed credible enough to warrant a warning to the Saudi and Emirati leadership not to escalate the issue. Qatar also responded to President Trump’s sudden withdrawal of support by redoubling their outreach to other parts of the U.S. government and becoming the first Gulf State to sign a Memorandum of Understanding with the U.S. on terror financing in July. Qatari officials additionally increased their public diplomacy efforts in Washington, D.C. and other key capitals in Europe and Asia to counter the intense lobbying of the ‘Quartet’ states and PR surrogates in favor of harsh measures to keep up the pressure on Doha. By August, it was becoming clear that the crisis was settling into a holding pattern and that indirect tactics were replacing direct action as the pressure tool of choice in the ‘Quartet’ capitals.
Visceral state-led campaigns in the ‘Quartet’ media have inflicted great damage while in Doha a grassroots sense of nationalism and national identity has surged
It is the decision to shift to indirect tactics that will inflict the greatest damage on the social fabric of Gulf societies that may take years, if not decades, to overcome. The ‘Quartet’ meddling in Qatari tribal and ruling family affairs crossed a very significant red line in regional politics and could yet come back to bite the ruling families that countenanced the move, which themselves are vulnerable to familial contestation. First in August and then in September 2017, Saudi and Emirati media sought to portray ‘dissident’ members of Qatar’s ruling family as ‘rightful’ claimants to power to deny the legitimacy not only of Emir Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani but of his father and grandfather as well. First Sheikh Abdullah bin Ali al-Thani and then Sheikh Sultan bin Suhaim al-Thani were put forward by the ‘Quartet’ as key figures whose positions of influence in contemporary Qatar were unfairly denied by historical events that brought Emir Tamim’s grandfather, Emir Khalifa bin Hamad al-Thani, to power in 1972 and ensured that succession would pass to Emir Tamim’s father, Emir Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, rather than to any of his brothers.
Sheikh Abdullah bin Ali al-Thani was a much-younger half-brother of Sheikh Ahmed bin Ali al-Thani, ruler of Qatar from 1960 until he was deposed by Sheikh Khalifa bin Hamad in 1972 (whereupon power in Qatar passed to its present line of Emirs Khalifa-Hamad-Tamim). As the half-brother, son, and grandson of former rulers of Qatar, Sheikh Abdullah had credentials for seniority, but the attempt to portray him as the claimant of a ruling line ousted unfairly in 1972 lacked credibility, not least because Sheikh Abdullah had several surviving older half-brothers who theoretically would have more of a claim to resurrect the line of power. Observers noted instead that the ‘selection’ of Sheikh Abdullah appeared to rest more on his longtime residency in Saudi Arabia, amid reports that he may have been threatened with a seizure of his assets if he did not cooperate and play along with Saudi attempts to build him into a Qatari notable they could negotiate with (rather than anyone from the Qatari government). Indeed, Sheikh Abdullah suggested that he had faced intolerable pressure that had wanted him to take his own life, in a video ‘confession’ he made, reportedly from the UAE, in January 2018. After claims that he was not free to leave the UAE caused an outcry, Sheikh Abdullah departed first for Kuwait and, after a stay in the hospital, to London.
The case of Sheikh Sultan bin Suhaim differed from that of Sheikh Abdullah bin Ali in that it was far more construed as a direct challenge to the legitimacy of Qatar’s ruling line of Emirs. Whereas Sheikh Abdullah had been pitched as an al-Thani the Saudis could negotiate with on behalf of Qatar, Sheikh Sultan tried to rally and mobilize support for his alternate ‘candidacy’ among sections of tribes in eastern Saudi Arabia that also contained family branches across the border in Qatar. At one meeting of hundreds of members of the cross-border Qahtan tribe, Sheikh Sultan went as far to say that the Qatari leadership needed to be ‘purged’ and ‘cleansed.’ Once again, analysts identified a historical backdrop to Sheikh Sultan’s appearance at this stage of the crisis, as his father, Sheikh Suhaim bin Hamad al-Thani, was a younger brother of Emir Khalifa who served as Qatar’s foreign minister in the 1970s and aspired to be named the Heir, however, was aggrieved when Emir Khalifa appointed his son, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani (the father of current Emir Tamim) as his successor instead, in 1977. The resulting grudge caused a rift in Sheikh Suhaim’s line that led to an unexplained shooting incident involving several of his sons (Sheikh Sultan’s brothers and half-brothers) after Sheikh Suhaim’s early death in 1985. Qatari observers noted also that Sheikh Sultan bin Suhaim’s mother was Emirati and that he, like Sheikh Abdullah bin Ali, had been a longtime resident of one of the ‘Quartet’ states prior to his ‘elevation’ as a pretender to power.
Away from the attempted meddling in ruling family dynamics –which the sprawling al-Saud and al-Nahyan families in Riyadh and Abu Dhabi surely do not want to set a precedent for– the Qatar crisis has also inflicted great damage on the social ties that bind the peoples and societies of the Gulf closely together. Tribal connections and patterns of intermarriage have for decades and centuries born no regard for the political boundaries that were imposed in the twentieth century and many Qataris have close family members in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and the UAE and vice-versa. Links between Qatar and Dubai were especially close with the two emirates having shared a common currency (the Qatar and Dubai Riyal) in the 1960s as well as a dynastic intermarriage at the highest level of the al-Thani and al-Maktoum families. While family visitations were not explicitly disallowed, and some travel was permitted (via third countries such as Kuwait and Oman), the human blockade of Qatar by the ‘Quartet’ states tightened progressively as time went on and stories of families facing harassment and surveillance over contacts with Qatari members had a further chilling effect on interpersonal relations.
With decision-making authority in the hands of a young new generation of rulers more willing to take risks and shed the consensual approach of their predecessors, it is hard to see the GCC papering over the cracks any time soon
Intangible ties of trust and confidence are the ones that are the hardest to recreate and likely will reverberate for a long time to come. Visceral state-led campaigns in the ‘Quartet’ media have inflicted great damage while in Doha a grassroots sense of nationalism and national identity has surged. Revealingly, in light of the abovementioned ‘Quartet’ efforts to split the ruling al-Thani family and divide them from Qatari society, the newfound nationalism has been fused around Emir Tamim, with stylized images of ‘Tamim al-Majd’ (‘Tamim the Glorious’) appearing everywhere in Qatar. Students of nationalism will analyze the Qatari example as a case-study in years to come as the phenomenon appears to be genuinely a bottom-up phenomenon that incidentally has also unified a ruling family that was, for decades in the twentieth century, historically one of the most fractured in the region. Also significant is that narratives in Qatar increasingly embrace foreign residents as well as Qataris in a ‘we are all in it together’ mentality that is beginning to break down the barriers between citizens and expatriates that hitherto were largely impenetrable in Gulf societies.
A tangible outcome of the Gulf crisis (in addition to the intangible outcomes described above) is therefore, that Qatari measures to respond to the blockade will magnify the policy divergence from what accounts for GCC ‘norms.’ Freed from the need to pay lip service to GCC-wide constraints on matters such as citizen-expatriate relations or the treatment of foreign laborers, officials in Qatar have started to draft policies that break new ground in the Gulf by offering pathways to permanent residence for (selected) expatriates and greater cooperation and coordination with international bodies such as the International Trade Union Confederation –as well as with international human rights organizations. Economically, too, Qatar has reacted to the blockade by rerouting its trade links, creating stronger connections with Turkey, Iran, and Oman, and accelerating efforts to diversify the economy and become more self-sufficient in the production of certain foodstuffs and industrial raw materials.
Soon after the blockade against Qatar, Turkish and Qatari naval forces conducted a joint military exercise. MOHAMMED FARAG / AA Photo
As of January 2018, the standoff over Qatar looks set to continue into the indefinite future. President Trump has performed a U-turn and replaced his initial support for the blockade of Qatar with a call for dialogue and an end to the crisis. This reflects growing anxiety across the U.S. government that the blockade of Qatar is damaging core U.S. interests in the Middle East and undermining the Trump Administration’s attempt to rally the Sunni Arab world against Iran. The White House readout of a telephone conversation between President Trump and Emir Tamim on January 15, 2018 during which the president praised Qatar’s support in countering terrorism was a 180-degree flip from the presidential tweets on the second day of the crisis in June 2017. The conversation signaled to the ‘Quartet’ capitals that any lingering hopes they had of co-opting President Trump’s support for their move on Qatar were dead. It remains to be seen whether and how the Trump Administration may pressure the ‘Quartet’ to come to the negotiating table, perhaps by scheduling a meeting of Gulf leaders at Camp David. The example of the GCC summit in Kuwait in December 2017, which ended in disarray and acrimony on the first morning of the planned two-day affair, illustrated the need for an international partner to serve as mediator and umpire to avoid a tit-for-tat fallout should talks fail.
External observers will fear that the GCC is broken both as a practical unit and an aspirational reality. Just as the intangible impact of the anti-Qatar rhetoric will reverberate across the social and political landscape for years to come, the tangible effects of the crisis will be felt in the marginalization of the GCC as a fully-functioning entity. With decision-making authority in the hands of a young new generation of rulers more willing to take risks and shed the consensual approach of their predecessors, it is hard to see the GCC papering over the cracks any time soon. For international stakeholders with political, economic, and security interests on both sides of the divide, there is mounting concern that the standoff has gone on for too long and represents an unnecessary distraction from more urgent considerations. These include defeating the residual threat from Islamic State forces in Iraq and Syria, finding a diplomatic solution to the Syrian catastrophe, and preventing a total state collapse in Yemen and Libya.
The trajectory of the crisis highlighted how the policy inexperience of the new White House and their perceived susceptibility to influence triggered a Saudi and Emirati attempt to shape and guide policy in a direction that served their interests but not necessarily those of the United States
The prospect of a generational rift in a hitherto rock-solid web of political and security partnerships in the Gulf is deeply concerning to U.S. and European policymakers. Moreover, the apparent inability of any of the parties to back down means they might continue to support informal policies that veer dangerously close to meddling in domestic political and ruling family affairs. Aside from creating bad blood that will take years to overcome, any such moves risk providing openings for new entrants to insert themselves into regional security dialogues in ways that may increase tensions further and reinforce the divergent trajectories that have led us to this point. Scholars and practitioners alike will need to examine how the rise of nationalist sentiment in individual Gulf States can coexist with the notion of khaleeji identity to ensure that the notion of belonging to a collective entity is seen to be worth retaining even as incipient Gulf nationalisms come to the forefront as never before.
The Gulf crisis has dominated Middle East policy during President Trump’s first year in office. The trajectory of the crisis highlighted how the policy inexperience of the new White House and their perceived susceptibility to influence triggered a Saudi and Emirati attempt to shape and guide policy in a direction that served their interests but not necessarily those of the United States. Lessons will undoubtedly be absorbed from the standoff regardless of how it ends and especially as the Saudi and Emirati approach to the blockade of Qatar has parallels in their conduct of the war in Yemen, as there does not appear to have been a strong Plan B to fall back on when the ‘shock and awe’ of Plan A failed to generate a decisive outcome. Above all, the blockade of Qatar has also underscored the need for small states worldwide to diversify their political, economic, defense, and security partnerships as even bilateral relationships thought rock-solid could suddenly become vulnerable to a change of leadership or priority.


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If you want to be challenged in your faith like never before, try reading through the book of Romans. Often a “tough pill to swallow” this book is jam packed with many difficult lessons, especially to new believers. (So if you find yourself in that category, take heart, you’re not alone!)
This summer when I was the guest speaker at Twin Lakes Bible Camp I challenged the kids to think about those difficult lessons in the Bible not just as something that needs to be solved, mastered, and understood, but instead as an opportunity to spend time with God. A chance to wrestle through things you don’t understand and giving him the space to respond. Spending time with God isn’t just about talking to him in prayer– don’t forget to LISTEN to him as well. Understanding everything about the Bible isn’t the goal of Christianity, knowing and loving God is the goal.
Walking through Romans
Anyway…back to Romans. My husband and I have been slowly working our way through the book and studying it against a number of commentaries, studies and other books. One verse in particular stood out to me as I read through the scripture this time, a phrase in Chapter 1 verse 5 which says “the obedience of faith” or “the obedience that comes from faith” depending on the translation you’re reading.
I know to some of us all these words can be difficult to keep straight. Or am I the only one who can read a paragraph in the Bible three times and still have no idea what I’m reading? (Sidebar: Later this week on my YouTube channel I will discuss this very thing and even give you a practical method for slowing down and getting more out of the passages you read, so stay tuned).
Let’s define these terms before moving on:
Obedience: Compliance with an order, request, or law or submission to another’s authority.
Faith: Reliance, loyalty, or complete trust in God or someone else
After reading those definitions the phrase, “the obedience of faith” seems interesting. If faith is about trusting someone and relying on them, what does it have to do with doing what they want you to do?
One of the commentaries we’ve used in our study is Timothy Keller’s Romans 1-7 For You*. The words he uses to unpack this phrase are so incredibly thought provoking, I dare not paraphrase them. About verse five he says:
“First, it does not mean that Paul is teaching the Gentiles that, to be saved, they must both have faith and do obedience, as though both are necessary grounds of being right with God. This is an obedience that comes from faith— that springs from a wholehearted trust in Jesus, God’s Son. Obedience flows out of faith; it is a consequence of saving faith, not a second condition for salvation.“
Going Deeper into Salvation
That last sentence is so powerful. We’ve all fallen into that trap though haven’t we? Thinking our obedience is a condition for our salvation. What happens to your soul after your body dies is what Christians refer to as their salvation, AKA being “saved.” And we tend to have a pretty misinformed understanding of it.
Salvation: Deliverance from the power or penalty of sin.
Have you ever heard someone say, “To get to heaven you just have to be the best person you can be,” or “She has to be going to heaven, she’s just such a nice person”? Well I hate to say it so bluntly but these people are more wrong than they can understand. Being a “good” person, doing “nice” things throughout your life, making the “right” decisions actually has ZERO impact on whether or not you are going to heaven.
When people say, “He’s going to heaven because he’s a nice person,” they’re only looking at his outward actions and behaviors. In reality the only thing that determines your salvation is God. Believing God is who he says he is. Having faith that Jesus died for your sins on the cross in order that you may spend eternity with him. THAT is what determines your salvation. It has nothing to do with whether or not your “good” deeds outweigh your “bad” deeds.
And it’s entirely possible to do great works and be a perfectly pleasant person without knowing who God is. This passage is reminding us the way we act here on earth does not determine whether or not we go to heaven, rather those acts of obedience are the RESULT of knowing we’ve been saved.
Once you realize what God has done for you, that the creator of the universe was tortured and beaten so you could enter into a relationship with him free of the guilt of sin, your natural reaction is to thank him. To thank him with my words, my deeds, my thoughts. You learn there is nothing this world could offer me that is better than him, so I trust that obeying his commands will only benefit me.
Next time you find yourself trying to act a certain way simply so God will “approve” of you… stop. Remember, God already does approve of you.
Your behavior is not what justifies you. Instead live as someone who was once an orphan and now has a family. Give him all your faith, obey him because you know he loves you and wants only the best for you. He is a good good father and obeying him will be the best, most life giving decision you make.
I’d love to hear how God is working in your life. Please comment below with what you thought of this post, or share your story! Then, to receive weekly encouragement similar to this straight to your inbox sign up to receive my weekly email newsletter.
*Keller, Timothy (2014-01-30). Romans 1-7 For You: For reading, for feeding, for leading (God’s Word For You – Romans Series) (Emphasis added) (Kindle Locations 154-156). The Good Book Company. Kindle Edition.

domain: literature


Trump to speak on final night of RNC
Final preparations are underway ahead of President Trump's Republican National Convention speech from the White House.
with an elaborate outdoor stage, up to 2000 guests and fireworks in the background, President Trump brings politics to the people's House tonight with familiar faces on the program. Personal attorney Rudy Giuliani, Republican leader Mitch McConnell and the president's daughter, Ivanka. Ask yourself, Has this president kept his promises? You and I know the answer is yes. Wednesday speakers painting a picture of a president against racism. It has no resemblance to President Trump. Elevating women, he confides in and consult us. Respects our opinions. Fighting Corona Virus The president's effort for New York was phenomenal. Republicans with a very blue message. President Trump is the law and order president from our borders to our backyards, kept by the vice president in a patriotic setting. With this warning, Joe Biden would double down on the very policies that are leading the violence in America's cities. The hard truth is, you won't be safe in Joe Biden's America. It's horrible, with Biden speaking out after talking with the family of Jacob Lake Ah, black man shot in the back last weekend by police. When I saw that video makes me sick, put yourself in the shoes of every black father and black mother in this country and asked, Is this what we want America to be? A stark contrast for voters as the Republican convention ends tonight. And as you know, Democrats have been counter programming every night. Tonight, it's vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris in Washington, talking about how a Biden administration would deal with Corona virus. Tracie Potts, NBC News Washington.