Little Big Town ?Tornado? Album Review

Little Big Town ?Tornado? Album Review

?Pavement Ends? is a countrified song and if you haven?t lived in the country you may not get it. Living in Southern California again?I get it. Gotta get out of town and have some fun in mother nature with your friends. This song has a ton of country twang to it and it gets the album off to a great start. I dare you not to bob your head or stomp your feet to this song. Seriously try. You can?t. Fun song. Great song.

?Pontoon? is a song that makes me want to get a house boat for the weekend with some friends or may e a pontoon. This song has pep and is a very happy feel good song. The bass line jams an the drums are poppy. The lyrics are light and catchy. You can?t help but sing along. It?s a great summer time hit and should bring back some great memories for you like it does for me. I?ve heard it 5 times so far today on the radio. It?s great. Love it.

?Sober? is a love song about loving being in love and drunk on love. This is a cool song. It?s not slow nor is it fast. It has a nice pace to it and the message rings out loud and clear. ?When I die I don?t want to die sober? No one wants to die lonely. I agree. I don?t anyway. ?I love being in love. It?s the best kind of drug.? Yes it is. Such pretty harmonies. This is such a pretty song. I love it. Great song.

?Front Porch Thing? is going to get rid of your country blues with some good ole southern rock country blues. This song fucking rocks! ?Having so much Fun in outa be a sin!? I want to go jam with these guys on their porch. Sounds like a great time as the guitar licks ring out the song ends. I want more! That must be a great live song. Love it. Great song. Radio time. Next please.

?Your Side of the Bed? is sad song. Nothing worse than being with the one you love and knowing that you are a million miles apart. Lying still in the deafening silence of a dying love. Beautiful song. I feel really depressed and completely alone. LONELY It did it?s job. Great song.

?Leavin? in Your Eyes? is a sight no one wants to see. This is country and it has to be sung. This song has great music behind it. It is very poppy. It is a good song but not grabbing a hold of me like the rest of the album has done. Great harmonies and it is musically great, but I?m not feeling it. Good song.

?Tornado? is a song about a woman tearing a man?s heart to pieces and destroy him because she can. Something about women scorned. Pretty sure I?ve covered that in another review. The destructive force that is woman. Stop pissing them off guys?..And can you ladies not take out your rage on the few good guys out there. They are not the ones that broke your heart. ?I?m a tornado. Looking for a man to break.? Ruthless! I?m not saying some guys don?t deserve it. They do. This should be on the radio in the next few months. Boot on you heart stomping boots girls and let?s ride. Good song.

?On Fire Tonight? is an upbeat fun song that gets the blood pumping. Getting back to having a good time and letting go of all the troubles the world piles on your shoulders. The guitar is rocking and the band is jamming. The lyrics are catchy and ?Be on Fire tonight? yes we are. Let?s burn this baby down. Barn burner for sure. Great song.

?Can?t Go Back? is a look back at the things we wish we could change. Gorgeous harmonies. ?I don?t want to see this house not be a home. I don?t want to witness the end of you and me.? Very mellow song. We can not fix our mistakes and let the important moments in our lives slip away. Live in the now and love while you can. Tell them you love them every chance you get. You never know when it?s your last breath. Good Song.

?Self Made? is about self confidence and making the world around you the world you want it to be. Relying on others will never help you reach your dreams. Dream Big. Do Big. Be Big. The success of the self made person is far more rewarding than anything handed to you. Fun upbeat song with a positive message. Of course I love it. Great song.

?Night Owl? is a good song to grab your girl and slow dance to. Wishing that a night owl is waiting up for you? Me too. This is a pretty song and a nice finish to the album. You can feel the love in this song. ?I hope you?re not asleep when I get there.?

You are gonna go through this album like a Tornado. It moves fast and is built for speed. Every song is made radio ready by Little Big Town. Short and to the point. I can easily hear any of these songs on the radio today. Man can they sing. Wow! Seriously?.as a song writer I am in awe of them. They make it seem effortless. The album is a mix of slow sad songs with life lessons and fast live your life with lots of love songs. Everything you expect from a country album. Although, I would like some fiddle in here but that?s just me; but someone should buy the band a beer cause they are rocking. There are some really great songs in here and Little Big Town has a big sound with an even bigger heart. I?m sure there is a little town out there proud of their homegrown stars. This is a good album for your Country Music collection and I for one need to catch Little Big Town in concert soon.

GRADE: B

K.C. Murdock
Executive Producer

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Source: http://www.downtheroadshow.com/little-big-town-tornado-album-review-2012-09-28/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=little-big-town-tornado-album-review

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Video: How Obama plans to fix the U.S. economy

A Second Take on Meeting the Press: From an up-close look at Rachel Maddow's sneakers to an in-depth look at Jon Krakauer's latest book ? it's all fair game in our "Meet the Press: Take Two" web extra. Log on Sundays to see David Gregory's post-show conversations with leading newsmakers, authors and roundtable guests. Videos are available on-demand by 12 p.m. ET on Sundays.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032608/vp/49229995#49229995

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The Fog of War in Benghazi and Washington

John Moore/Getty Images

First I heard the distant explosion of bombs. Then the night sky over Tripoli lit up with a fiery criss-crossing of bullets and rockets from attacking American warplanes and Libyan anti-aircraft batteries. I stood in awe on my hotel balcony, trying to decipher the action, until the better part of valor told me to crawl under my bed. It was 1986, and to this day, I cannot tell you who fired what when.

I am reminded of this experience?and many others I have had serving in and covering wars?as I follow the criticisms of NPR's coverage of what happened in the attack on the American consulate in Benghazi September 11.

Some of the criticisms have had to do with the accuracy of the early reports, but more have focused on the later question of whether the attack was pre-planned by terrorists or was part of the protests taking place at the same time at American diplomatic installations in the Muslim world in reaction to a now-infamous video. These later reproaches of NPR have been mixed with objections about the Obama administration's reports of just what happened.

As Barbara McClain of Summerland, Calif., wrote, "after all the time that it took the administration to admit to the facts, it appears that NPR is still lagging behind or positioning a biased report."

The criticisms were mostly of the introductions to stories made by the hosts on NPR flagship radio shows.

?

Audie Cornish, for example, on September 19 led into a story on All Things Considered :

France announced today that it will close 20 embassies across the Muslim world on Friday, the Muslim holy day. The reason: security. A French satirical newspaper today published cartoons mocking the Prophet Muhammad?this after a massive protest over a derogatory video about Muhammad produced in the U.S. Those demonstrations have been linked to the deaths of at least 30 people in seven countries including the American ambassador to Libya. NPR's Elenor Beardsley is in the Tunisian capital of Tunis and sent this report.

Or Steve Inskeep, who began a September 25 interview segment on Morning Edition this way:

President Obama is in New York City today, addressing the United Nations General Assembly. Now, foreign policy has lately become a major focus of the presidential campaign, which had been centered almost exclusively on the economy. That changed recently when a film produced in the United States prompted protests across the Muslim world, including the killing of a U.S. ambassador, one of the things we are expecting the president to talk about shortly. NPR's national political correspondent Mara Liasson is covering the story. She's in New York. Hi, Mara.

Attached below is a timeline assembled by intern Laura Schwartz with relevant excerpts from all NPR's coverage on the flagship shows since the beginning. I offer it so that you can draw your own conclusions. Mine, based on personal experience and a close review of the transcripts, is that NPR acquitted itself, not perfectly, but about as well as can be expected in its coverage of both the administration and the incident itself. Many of the stories shone with intelligence and insight.

There is some validity to the criticisms of the hosts, but only if you take their introductions out of the context of the larger reports that followed ? reports that indeed did go into the confusion and mixed claims over what happened. The introductions are of necessity short and don't themselves go into the nuances. As it is, the conflation by the hosts of what happened in Benghazi with what happened elsewhere is not incorrect. The attack in Benghazi took place against a larger backdrop of the video protests, which to the best of our knowledge, even today, played some role in Benghazi, however pre-planned a terrorist attack might have been. Certainly, it is hard to find journalistic ignorance or political bias in the above lead-ins unless you just want to believe it.

Inskeep, the author of a recently released book on Pakistan and an experienced veteran of the tension in the Muslim world and opaqueness of violent events, said it long and well himself in response to a query from me. He began as follows with an excerpt from an interview he did with Mideast expert Robin Wright the day after the attack in Benghazi:

INSKEEP: Really important point here, Robin Wright, that I want to make sure that I'm clear on. You said at the beginning there we don't know precisely what happened in Libya. Based on the information that you're trying to sift, as everyone else is, is it not clear to you what the motivation might really have been in Libya?

WRIGHT: In Libya, you have the additional problem of an al-Qaida affiliate, some extremists who have been very active, or increasingly active, as well - very small. But, you know, there are multiple types of players in Libya, and we need to be very careful in this sensitive period, understanding who are perpetrators and the fact that they probably do not represent the majority of people, whether it's in Libya or in Egypt.

Inskeep explained,

In the days that followed I was guided by the best information available from reporters on the ground and our correspondents in Washington. When they had something we reported it and when they warned us off we did not. My conversations with them yielded two useful points. First, the nearest eyewitness descriptions we received of this incident came from a Reuters correspondent, whom I know personally, who is very well acquainted with Libya, who speaks Arabic, who was in Benghazi shortly after the attack, and who interviewed actual protesters as well as Libyan authorities. Those who say there was no protest should probably talk with the protesters who acknowledged protesting. Her reporting also indicated some evidence of planning or sophistication in another part of the attack; and her description matched that of our correspondents in the US who heard that there may have been a mix of events. From my interview with her on September 13:

HADEEL AL-SHALCHI: There was definitely a protest planned around the consulate to mimic what happened in Egypt. Security even told me that, you know, people who were sympathetic with the cause from the security may have even allowed, you know, people to riot very close to the consulate.

What protesters tell me happened is that there was an exchange of fire. Who shot the first shot either from inside of the embassy or from outside is still murky. What we know is that when the shooting started or the clash started between the two sides, all hell broke loose. People went back home, brought all their weapons. Brigades that are not involved with the government or not recognized by the government brought in their heavy weapons. RPGs were shot in the air. And that's when it became very chaotic. And that's when also security forces were outnumbered and out-weaponed, and the storming was allowed to happen.

This part of the story seems like something that was a chaotic mob riot. What may make people speculate that it was a planned attack was the commander of an operations team that was involved in trying to safeguard the movements of 37 Americans staffers from a safe house to the airport in order for them to be Benghazi said that the safe house came under a sustained, accurate attack from six mortars - six rounds of mortars, and he said that it was impossible for any militant or for any regular former revolutionary or rebel to have that kind of accuracy when they were hitting what was supposed to be a secret location. So it looks like it must have been a combination.

People imagine that EITHER it was a completely spontaneous protest over the video, OR it was a carefully planned terrorist attack that had been in the works for months.

- Steve Inskeep

Inskeep concluded,

Hadeel's reporting points to the second valuable lesson. It seems to me that people have tended to divide this story into two completely separate possibilities. People imagine that EITHER it was a completely spontaneous protest over the video, OR it was a carefully planned terrorist attack that had been in the works for months. And so if we referred to a protest on the air, some people would complain that we were ignoring the evidence of terrorism.

I think our reporting has reflected that this may not have been an either-or question. It may have been a protest and a terrorist attack. It may have been a quickly planned terrorist attack. It may have been several things at once. It may have involved several groups doing different things. To say it was one thing is not to say it was not another thing. And to say we have downplayed one possibility or another doesn't seem factual to me, though I am certain you can find instances where someone's brief mention in an intro or interview has not dealt with all the complexities.

-

My own sense is that the criticisms of NPR have become conflated with the criticisms of the Obama administration. It is not my place to judge the administration's actions; you will have your own opinion. But there is nothing that I have seen in those actions to justify a running framing of the Benghazi coverage as a cover-up, as some critics of NPR seem to want to do. This is not to say that reporters should not investigate the possibility of cover-up, but journalistic fairness so far seems to me to require a framing of the government's statements as consistent with the standard confusion of information in the fog of war.

The Reagan administration's statements on the 1986 bombing, for example, were filled with inconsistencies and inaccuracies, as I was to find reporting on the ground in Tripoli and Benghazi. But I didn't expect otherwise, especially in statements from distant Washington. As the Reagan administration was then, the Obama administration and the non-political, professional arms of the CIA, FBI and State Department Foreign Service are today at a similar disadvantage of limited information and distance, with little ability even to send investigative teams to Benghazi.

But this is a presidential election season, and many of the criticisms themselves seem to originate in political motivation or in shallow cynicism about everything the media does. What we want from NPR is calm, fair and independent reporting and analysis. So far, we are getting it.

Intern Laura Schwartz contributed to this report.

Follow Edward Schumacher-Matos on Twitter and Facebook.

Source: http://www.npr.org/blogs/ombudsman/2012/09/29/161972728/the-fog-of-war-in-benghazi-and-washington?ft=1&f=17370252

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Landscape Solutions: Death of pines spurs need for screen | Wichita ...

Between extremes in the weather, the proliferation of diseases and pests, and the growth of plants through the years, our landscapes evolve ? and usually need help at one time or another.

The drought and intense heat of the past two summers alone are changing the area landscape.

We recently asked readers to send in their landscape problems for suggested solutions from area landscape designers and architects. In the coming weeks, we?ll feature some of the scenarios in the hopes that they?ll help others whose yards are in a similar situation.

This week, Wichita independent landscape architect Teri Andreas Farha helps Katie Mitchell-Koch with her backyard.

Problem: loss of pine trees in backyard

My family just moved to Wichita in July. The previous owners of our house said there used to be six pine trees along the back that provided privacy and interest. They were cut down due to disease, and we need something new back there! Hopefully something that would provide height quickly for privacy along the back fence (I?d say we have ?an unattractive view?). There are three things that inspire me in landscaping: using native plants for wildlife and water conservation, autumn color and incorporating edibles.

? Katie Mitchell-Koch

Landscape factors: east Wichita, west side of the house, full sun, electrical lines above back fence, 30 feet long.

Solution: a living privacy fence

Planting a living fence is a great way to screen unwanted views and provide privacy for you and your family while enjoying your backyard. This living fence can take on a formal look or a more natural one, depending on your taste.

Since you indicated a love for natives, I would suggest a more natural-looking screen, planting in a zigzag pattern and in groups of two to five.

I would also suggest planting a mixture of evergreens and deciduous plant material, keeping in mind that the deciduous trees will lose their leaves in winter, but the branching structure of the tree will still provide a screen as well as visual interest. By planting a variety of plant material, you can avoid the possibility of a disease taking out the entire living fence (which is what happened to the row of pine trees that had to be removed. In fact, I would avoid pines altogether, as they are being damaged by pine wilt and tip blight).

And the final thing you need to consider is the height of the electrical lines along the back of your lot. Planting anything that gets tall enough to interfere with the lines should be avoided.

Plant list

A wide variety of plant materials will work in your living screen. I have narrowed the choices down to a few evergreen trees, a few deciduous trees and a few shrubs. These plants all require little watering once established, will provide good cover and food source for wildlife, and will provide excellent fall color as well as winter interest in the form of berries and evergreen foliage.

I have selected plants that are all moderate to fast growers. For more money, you can order them in larger sizes for faster results. Otherwise, be patient, water well the first two years, and you?ll have a beautiful living privacy fence before you know it!

Evergreen trees: Easter red cedar, Keteleeri juniper, Spartan juniper, Emerald Green arborvitae and (one of my favorites) Wichita Blue juniper

Deciduous trees: Eastern redbud, Autumn Brilliance serviceberry, flowering dogwood

Shrubs and grasses: viburnums, cutleaf staghorn sumac, compact burning bush, shrub rose

Reach Annie Calovich at 316-268-6596 or acalovich@wichitaeagle.com.

Source: http://www.kansas.com/2012/09/29/2507781/landscape-solutions-death-of-pines.html

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Fishing report for Sept. 27 | Richmond Times-Dispatch

RICHMOND, Va. --

JAMES/APPOMATTOX/

CHICKAHOMINY RIVERS

Lonnie from Castaway (804 706-9100) reports the following blue cat catches: Chris Simonson (Chesterfield) 43-pound blue cat; Peter Davis (Chester) 7-0 largemouth bass.

Bass are doing well in the river. Catfish are starting to pick back up.

Mike at Pat's Sporting Goods (804 748-4165) reports crappie fishing is turning on in the river and ponds on small minnows and 2-inch jigs. Stripers are back at the Benjamin Harrison Bridge and are hitting rattle traps, red fins and buck tails.

Notable catch: Danny Poh, 36-pound blue cat.

Capt. Art Conway of Conway's River Rat Guide Service (804-746-2475) out of Ed Allen's Boats and Bait reported Chickahominy Lake midday main lake water temperatures in the low to mid-70s on Wednesday. Temperatures were slightly lower up the lake. The lake level was a few inches above the top of the dam. The water was brown but relatively clear in the lower lake and was noticeably clearer in channels up creeks.

Fishing with Capt. Conway, Capt. Bill Buck and Hollis Pruitt caught 53 bluegill, 15 crappie, one shiner and a bass.

Jill O'Brien-Jones at Eagles Landing (804 966-9094) reports the water level is slightly below normal with temperatures in the upper 70s.

Chickahominy Anglers, Sept. 22: 1. Chris Roberts (Newport News)-Jeff Harberts (Yorktown), 5 fish, 13.74 pounds; 2. Mike Elswick-Jill O'Brien Jones (Providence Forge) 5, 11.54; 3. Johnny Fuller (Mechanicsville)-Robert Henicheck (King William), 5, 8.69. Big fish: P.J. Sullivan (Chester), 5.95.

CHESAPEAKE BAY/

OUTER BANKS

Dr. Julie Ball reports sight casters are finding decent cobia action using eels and jigs. Nice fish are hanging around lower bay and inshore buoys.

Flounder action is steady in the lower bay, especially from the 3rd island area.

Tautog are beginning to bite inside the Chesapeake Bay and along the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel tubes and structure.

Big red drum bite continues to spread throughout the lower bay and coastal waters. Reds of more than 54 inches are providing action along the breakers of the Eastern Shore barrier islands and inlets.

Speckled trout are making a good showing within the Eastern Shore Bayside creeks, with Hungar's Creek and Nassawadax Creek giving up consistent catches of bigger fish.

The action in Lynnhaven Inlet is improving with scattered fish to 22 inches, while Rudee Inlet has some decent fish taking grubs and Gulp mullets.

Blueline tilefish, golden tilefish, and a variety of grouper and other deep bottom dwellers are available along the edges of the Norfolk Canyon. Chopper bluefish will become active on offshore wrecks soon, with the Triangle wrecks a favorite.

Dr. Ken Neill III of the Peninsula Salt Water Sport Fisherman's Association reports amberjack are available at the southern towers and over some of the ocean wrecks.

The coastal wrecks are covered up with sea bass and triggerfish.

Big sheepshead continue to be available at the CBB-T.

Billy Fellin

Source: http://www2.timesdispatch.com/sports/2012/sep/28/tdsport08-fishing-report-for-sept-27-ar-2240356/

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Kenya attacks last stronghold of Somali militants

FILE - In this Wednesday, Dec. 14, 2011 file photo, two Kenyan army soldiers shield themselves from the downdraft of a Kenyan air force helicopter as it flies away from their base near the seaside town of Bur Garbo, Somalia. Kenya's military said Friday, Sept. 28, 2012 that its troops attacked Kismayo, the last remaining port city held by al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab insurgents in Somalia, during an overnight attack involving a beach landing. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis, File)

FILE - In this Wednesday, Dec. 14, 2011 file photo, two Kenyan army soldiers shield themselves from the downdraft of a Kenyan air force helicopter as it flies away from their base near the seaside town of Bur Garbo, Somalia. Kenya's military said Friday, Sept. 28, 2012 that its troops attacked Kismayo, the last remaining port city held by al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab insurgents in Somalia, during an overnight attack involving a beach landing. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis, File)

FILE - In this Wednesday, Dec. 14, 2011 file photo, Kenyan army soldiers sit in their armored vehicles next to the white sand shore of the seaside town of Bur Garbo, Somalia. Kenya's military said Friday, Sept. 28, 2012 that its troops attacked Kismayo, the last remaining port city held by al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab insurgents in Somalia, during an overnight attack involving a beach landing. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis, File)

FILE - In this Monday, Feb. 20, 2012 file photo, Kenyan army soldiers ride in a vehicle at their base in Tabda, inside Somalia. Kenya's military said Friday, Sept. 28, 2012 that its troops attacked Kismayo, the last remaining port city held by al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab insurgents in Somalia, during an overnight attack involving a beach landing. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis, File)

FILE - In this Monday, Feb. 20, 2012 file photo, Kenyan army soldiers stand in a dugout position at their base in Tabda, inside Somalia. Kenya's military said Friday, Sept. 28, 2012 that its troops attacked Kismayo, the last remaining port city held by al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab insurgents in Somalia, during an overnight attack involving a beach landing. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis, File)

FILE - In this Monday, Feb. 20, 2012 file photo, a Kenyan army soldier carries a rocket-propelled grenade launcher as he patrols in Tabda, inside Somalia. Kenya's military said Friday, Sept. 28, 2012 that its troops attacked Kismayo, the last remaining port city held by al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab insurgents in Somalia, during an overnight attack involving a beach landing. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis, File)

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) ? Kenyan troops invaded al-Shabab's last stronghold in Somalia, coming ashore in a predawn assault Friday. Other African Union forces were traveling overland to link up with the Kenyan forces in the port city of Kismayo.

Col. Cyrus Oguna, the Kenyan military's top spokesman, said the surprise attack met minimal resistance but al-Shabab denied that the city had fallen and said fighting was taking place. Oguna said that al-Shabab has incurred "heavy losses" but that Kenyan forces have not yet had any injuries or deaths.

Residents in Kismayo contacted by The Associated Press said that Kenyan troops had taken control of the port but not the whole city.

"Al-Shabab fighters are on the streets and heading toward the front line in speeding cars. Their radio is still on the air and reporting the war," resident Mohamed Haji told The Associated Press. Haji said that helicopters were hitting targets in the town in southeastern Somalia.

A U.S. military spokesman, Lt. Cdr. Dave Hecht, said the U.S. Africa Command, known as AFRICOM, is closely monitoring the situation but that "we are not participating in Kenya's military activities in the region."

"The operation began five days ago with surgical attacks and gun placement at the jetty and warehouse," Oguna said, adding that Somali national army troops participated in the assault.

An al-Shabab spokesman said on Twitter that the al-Qaida-linked militants still control Kismayo.

"The enemy forces have launched a desperate attack on Kismayo this morning and the mujahedeen forces are resisting their attacks," Sheikh Abdiaziz Abu-Musab said over the militants' radio station in Kismayo.

Oguna said the assault is part of a four-prong attack involving Kenyan forces currently in villages outside Kismayo. The amphibious assault landed between 10:30 p.m. Thursday and 2 a.m. Friday, he said. Some of the troops had night-vision goggles, he said.

African Union troops pushed al-Shabab out of Mogadishu in August 2011, ending four years of control of the capital by the fighters. The Ugandan and Burundian troops that make up the bulk of the African Union force in Mogadishu have slowly been taking control of towns outside of Mogadishu.

The expanding control by AU troops sent al-Shabab fighters fleeing south toward Kismayo, north to other regions of Somalia and across the Gulf of Aden to Yemen, according to American and African Union officials.

Al-Shabab still holds sway across many small, poor villages of southern Somalia. The loss of Kismayo would be significant. The militants taxed goods coming into its port. Al-Shabab lost its major source of financing last year when it was pushed out of Bakara market in Mogadishu, where it also charged taxes.

The march toward Kismayo by the Kenyan forces has been nearly a year in the making. Kenyan troops entered Somalia last October after a string of kidnappings inside neighboring Kenya, including of Westerners in and around the beach resort town of Lamu, which is also seeing the construction of a new port and could one day be final point of a new oil pipeline from South Sudan.

Kenyan forces were bogged down by rain and poor roads for months but have making slow and steady progress toward Kismayo in recent weeks.

More than 10,000 residents fled Kismayo in the last several weeks. Resident Faduma Abdulle said Friday that she is now leaving too. She said al-Shabab announced false propaganda on its radio station Friday to trick residents into moving toward the invading troops.

"They told residents through their radio to loot a Kenyan ship that washed up on the coast, but instead the residents who rushed there were attacked by helicopters," she said. "Some of them have died but I don't know how many. The situation is tense and many are fleeing. It's a dangerous situation."

The commander of the U.N-backed African Union troops, Lt. Gen. Andrew Gutti, said that more of the soldiers were headed to Kismayo to reinforce those that stormed ashore. He said the aim is to "liberate the people of Kismayo to enable them to lead their lives in peace, stability and security. Operations are ongoing to neutralize targets in Kismayo."

___

Odula reported from Nairobi, Kenya. Jason Straziuso contributed from Nairobi, Kenya.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2012-09-28-Somalia/id-716f9cdcb4d440048bcdab4aea01983b

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Run or Reinvent - Small Business Trends

Things change. The business owner knows that better than any one. ?Change can alter the impact of your company. And if it?s not the kind of change that you?re looking for, it can kill your bottom line. ?We change everyday.

Our favorite items may not be our favorites any more. When we change our mind, we alter our spending to match our new taste. It?s the same for your clients, they can change their minds and their spending habits.

Consequently, Industries Change

We?ve seen this before and we?ll keep seeing it. In the music industry instead of:

1. walking into Tower Records (out of business now),
2. sitting at their listening station (which I used to love by the way),
3. and then buying the entire album just to get the 3 or 4 songs you really like.

We now download our favorites and leave the rest of the album in the digital store. ?In the book industry, when we?re not downloading reading material the way we download songs, then we:

1. conduct a quick search on Amazon or Barnes and Noble,
2. pay for the item (typically with free shipping and a fraction of the cover price),
3. and wait for our new purchase to arrive.

But that?s only for the ones who still love to hold their books ? like me. ?Recently, I walked into a local Wolfe Camera store. Excited, I was eyeing and investigating my next purchase. Feeling loyal to the company ? mainly because of the former warranty program ? I was determined to buy from them.

Instead, I discovered another industry in flux. Like Tower Records and Borders Book Store, Wolfe Camera is closing their stores (and a quick online search revealed that this may be old news ? but I didn?t need a camera until I needed a camera).

Maybe it?s the cell phone industry that created a major shift for them. I did just use my phone as the impromptu photography equipment at a recent birthday party. And if you have a good eye, you can get some pretty good shots. And pretty good is good enough for the average amateur photographer.

But What About the Client Who Wants More??

This is where reinvention comes into play.

Every change always creates some type of niche market. The question is will that market pay for what they want? And can you meet that need in a way that gets them to open their wallets to you?

The beauty about small business is our potential agility. Of course, a sluggish mindset can slow everything down. The key to change and making the most of it relies on 3 core small business decisions:

1) Pay Attention?

In this economy, you can?t open your doors, make your money and just coast. You have to watch out for the changing needs and desires of your market. Which means using what you sell and/or constantly communicating with the people who use what you sell.

Staying involved can cause you to organically discover your next move.

2) Pursue New Avenues

Yuki Noguchi in ?Why Borders Failed While Barnes and Noble Survived,? highlights some differences in the two bookstore?s decisions.

Borders choose to expand the physical store and outsource digital sales to Amazon. While Barnes and Noble, reports Noguchi for NPR:

?Invested in beefing up its online sales. Eventually, it also developed its own e-reader, the Nook.?

As the industry continued to change, one was able to capitalize on that change and the other became a causality.

Finding the natural upgrades to your product or service can position you to win different by setting the curve instead of chasing it.

3) Push a Team

Ideas can come and go with very little impact, the same way highly talented people can have mediocre careers. The difference between success and failure is identifying a smart idea and focusing on it.

In large part your team will draw their passion and focus for the new project from you. If you?re half-hearted about the company upgrade, then don?t waste your time and money. Because wishy-washy leadership will constantly undermine team effort.

As the head goes, we go.

Because everything is in constant motion I am left with 2 constant questions:

• What industry will change next?
• What kind of opportunity will that create?

I Wonder?

As we become more health conscious, how will it change the fast food industry and pockets of the prescription drug industry? ?And if the price of gas continues to dance around our wallets ? feeling like a game to figure out just how much it takes before we park our cars ? how will the gas and/or electrical industry adjust?

Change happens, and if smart change isn?t happening in your industry, how can you make relevant waves to help it along?

Fortunately, in business death isn?t automatic. The death of a business has a lot to do with:

• Mindset ? learning to ride the wave or just letting it swallow you up.
• Focus ? putting consistent effort in the smartest direction, given your circumstances.

Things change. Or better yet, why not change some things?

Running Businessman Photo via Shutterstock

Source: http://smallbiztrends.com/2012/09/a-dying-industry-run-or-reinvent.html

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Tiny Small business Marketing and advertising Tips ? Cheap and ...

If you should market your little organization, the most beneficial method to do it?s to marketplace the web-site that represents your business. The internet enables you to reach out for the globe, so you might also use that. You may also also utilize the small company advertising ideas on the market that are inexpensive and simple.

The very first idea is to use eBay as your marketing and advertising tool. If you?re promoting a item, you?ll want to list it on eBay. This isn?t carried out to only market it, but to develop an inbound link to your web page. You would like persons to say, ?Hey, I really like this, I wish to see what else they have.?

From there, you may safe additional revenue. Even when they didn?t bid around the auction, they could come to your website and acquire something.

You can also submit categorized articles or blog posts on eBay for about $10 for thirty days. This could are available in really handy due to the fact you may generate links in the text and you can also include audio in the event you feel which you might be ready to lure much more people in that way.

The 2nd way you?ll be able to marketplace your organization is through typical classifieds. There are plenty of totally free labeled websites on the market like Craigslist that enable you to list your enterprise, merchandise, providers, and so forth.

So there you?ve got it. These are two good approaches for you to market your modest small business low-priced. Why invest far more dollars than you?ve to? The solution to that query is to not do it. Use your creativeness.

Source: http://velvetropeonline.com/tiny-small-business-marketing-and-advertising-tips-cheap-and-quick.html

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Qualcomm reveals quad-core Snapdragon S4 Play processors, ramps up entry smartphone speeds

Don't think Qualcomm is limiting its quad-core processors to superstar phones. The Snapdragon S4 Play line is growing to include the MSM8225Q and MSM8625Q, parallels to the existing two Play chips that bring four cores to entry-level devices. Besides the speed improvements that you'd expect from all that extra parallelism, the Q variants support the extra bandwidth of low-power DDR2 (LPDDR2) memory and can handle both 720p displays and movie-making. Neither is quite an all-encompassing solution, although the two will cover the bases for much of the starter demographic: while local wireless such as Bluetooth, FM radio and WiFi have to remain separate from the main processor, the two newcomers manage to pack either single-mode UMTS 3G (in the 8225Q) or dual-mode CDMA and UMTS (in the 8625Q) for their cellular fix. Along with the already promised, China-focused S4 Plus MSM8930, test samples of the faster S4 Play editions will be ready before the end of the year, with shipping phones on the way in early 2013 -- just in time to go head-to-head with a similar push by MediaTek to make quad-core the norm for a much larger slice of the population.

Continue reading Qualcomm reveals quad-core Snapdragon S4 Play processors, ramps up entry smartphone speeds

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile

Qualcomm reveals quad-core Snapdragon S4 Play processors, ramps up entry smartphone speeds originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 26 Sep 2012 23:14:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/09/26/qualcomm-reveals-quad-core-snapdragon-s4-play-processors/

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Why You Need To Get Out of Your Adjustable Mortgage Today ...

I don?t have a crystal ball but I follow the fundamentals and the market is screaming to get out of your adjustable mortgage if you have one as soon as possible. Here is why.

The federal funds rate is the interest rate at which banks lend their excess reserves to other banks which don?t meet the minimum reserve requirement established by the Fed.? Currently the banks park their excess reserves with the Fed for which they are paid 25 basis points.? Even though it?s known that the Fed controls this rate (by selling and buying securities to banks via the Open Market Operations) today we?re living in a climate of banks controlling such rate.? Their excess reserves which exceed $1.6 Trillion create a liquidity trap that keeps rates below what the market would otherwise dictate.? Take a look at the St. Louis Fed chart and ask yourself how much higher can these excess reserves go.

From 2009 until now the banks? excess reserves grew exponentially. Such event occurred because the banks were selling securities (in many cases the toxic assets of the foreclosed real estate they held) to the Fed in exchange for dollars. In addition, they get paid a .25% to keep their reserves at the Fed.? This is the reason for which you see on this chart why their excess reserves spiked in a little more than two years.

For the federal funds rate to go up one of at least two events must happen.? The Fed sells securities back to banks thus reducing the banks? excess reserves and contracting the money supply.? This scenario is not much likely to happen because Mr. Bernanke is a deflationist and he fears deflation.? Politically speaking he couldn?t do that even if he wanted to.? Why?? Because money deflation leads to Wall Street deflation and the artificially inflated stock market bubble would burst.? Such event cannot happen especially during an election year.

The next and a more plausible event to occur would be when banks will start lending again.? Banks are in the business of lending money therefore the question is how long will it be until banks start lending again?? Obviously it can?t go on indefinitely.

Of course, other events could happen which could trigger the rise in the rate. The collapse of the dollar, China decoupling its economy from ours, the dollar?s status of the world reserve currency replaced with another stronger currency, or a devastating inflation.

Without confusing the matter too much, when the federal funds rate is low generally your adjustable mortgage will be low.? When that goes up you can most certainly expect your ARM to go up, as well.? And it really doesn?t matter much to which index your mortgage is tide to.

I?ve been told over and over by hesitant property owners that if the rates go up they?ll sell the property.? If they can?t sell they will refinance.? Here is the problem.? For the past four years the real estate activity was sustained by sales of ? what many would call ? below market value properties.? Of course, that?s debatable because the real value is based on what the market dictates (based on supply and demand) and not on what the current owner thinks his property value is nor on what the outstanding balance on the underlying mortgage is.

For he who believes he can sell his property when rates go up I wonder what makes him think that in a higher rate environment his property would sell for the price he?d want to sell it for?? If his property doesn?t sell today when rates are low why would it sell later when rates go up?

The second option is to refinance when rates go up.? If you study the chart above you?ll notice that during the late 1970?s the rate went up abruptly.? It wasn?t a slow and gradual increase, it was fast and furious. That increase was the result of the Fed?s contraction of money supply.

When today?s refinance loans take a minimum of two to three months, if not longer, it?ll take even longer time to close on a loan when rates start spiking.? Why?? Because everyone else who?s in that position will be standing in line to refinance (before the rate goes higher).? Not to forget that tomorrow?s fixed rates will be way higher than today?s.? And folks, you must understand that the rates cannot go any lower.? The chart above says it all.? The federal funds rate is close to zero now.

Getting a low fixed rate for as long of a term as possible is the solution to a not so distant problem.? It applies not only to those who have ARMs but also to those who have loans due to mature in the next few years.? If your loan has a prepayment penalty it should not deter you from being proactive.? The cost of waiting could be steep.? In the long run saving today by avoiding the penalty may end up costing way more in form of a high interest rate on your mortgage.

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Source: http://needamortgageloan.wordpress.com/2012/09/27/why-you-need-to-get-out-of-your-adjustable-mortgage-today/

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The Soulmate Principle

Everyone has someone, they'll find that out soon enough.

Owner:

Game Masters:

This topic is an Out Of Character part of the roleplay, ?The Soulmate Principle?. Anything posted here will also show up there.

Topic Tags:

Forum for completely Out of Character (OOC) discussion, based around whatever is happening In Character (IC). Discuss plans, storylines, and events; Recruit for your roleplaying game, or find a GM for your playergroup.

Reservations, Suggestions, Questions, and Complaints! I'll take them all here!

If you have a specific pairing you have in mind, let me know, I might be willing to add it.

Tilly

Member for 0 years

---

---

I want to reserve the Student from the Teacher x Student pairing.
Please.

?I believe that imagination is stronger than knowledge. That myth is more potent than history. That dreams are more powerful than facts. That hope always triumphs over experience. That laughter is the only cure for grief. And I believe that love is stronger than death.?
? Robert Fulghum

?All I'm writing is just what I feel, that's all. I just keep it almost naked. And probably the words are so bland.?
? Jimi Hendrix

Little Fox

Member for 0 years

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Of course, I'll save the spot for you right now! :)

Tilly

Member for 0 years

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Can I have the teacher spot? Please and thank you.

PrincessBoy

Member for 2 years

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May I reserve the Rebellious student? Thank you very much. I'll try to write my character's profile as soon as possible

The Black Death

Member for 0 years

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May I reserve the Poor student please? ^^

Spectrum

Member for 1 years

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okay okay
uhhh i want Innocent PLEASE

it may take me a while to get up my profile COMPLETELY, im going away for a few days, but um, i REALLY LIKE INNOCENT KIDS AND YAOI so. yeah. man. can i please have him? :3

I'm not the pickiest person
But if I'm going to invest time with you
I damn sure will be.

---------

People call it blunt.
I call it expressing my damn feelings.
We all have them, don't we?

freakofnature

Member for 2 years

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This looks interesting. Do you guys mind if i just read it?

emotionless

Member for 3 years

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---

Post a reply

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The Face of Corporate Yoga, Fitness, and Wellness (PART 1)

Today's fast-paced world is left behind for a quiet break every Monday and Wednesday afternoon from 1 to 1:30 p.m. at All Ages Dental Spa. Those are the days dedicated to yoga. Phones on service, doors locked, shades drawn, and lights off as gentle music wafts through the hallways for the peaceful siesta of restorative yoga. We stretch, breathe, and relax as I guide my students through a series of seated and standing modified postures tailored to target very specific areas of concern in the dental practice, mainly low back pain, shoulder pain, neck aches, and wrist cramps associated with repetitive movements required by their jobs and tasks. All is right in the world, as the students recharge for those 30 minutes. We end every practice with a quiet meditation and cleansing breath exercises designed for them to utilize throughout the day and even at home. They state that they always feel refreshed, invigorated, and more prepared to combat the rest of the busy day because of the time they took to nurture themselves with yoga.

This is just a snapshot of what a budget-friendly wellness program can bring to your everyday business environment. Affordable programs like yoga promote well-being in the workplace and provide tools for employees to combat stress. Initial costs of such a program are offset as they are found to statistically reduce employee turnover, promote employee alertness, increase productivity, and improve overall health.

A low budget, high-yielding wellness program is just the thing for small businesses. To start, make sure you have a provider who knows what they are doing. Looking for the perfect corporate yoga teacher means we have to put down the incense, and focus on the business sense. Your wellness provider should feel confident enough to be creative in modifying and adapting yoga postures and stretches to every BODY by understanding the anatomy, physiology, aches and pains, and needs of everyone from "industrial athletes" on their feet all day to "desk jockeys" in administration.

How do I find the perfect person? Do your homework and ask around. Personal testimonials from coworkers are a great place to start. Placing an ad on a fitness website gets initial attention as well. When you have applicants apply, ask to see samples of their work. Request references from previous or current employers to insure they have experience providing what you need. Have examples ready to show them of what you envision for your employees: physical standing movement, seated stretches, meditation, etc. If you do not know where to start, ask what they envision a plan having based on your requests. The more information you have for a wellness provider, the more they can tailor a program to exactly what you need. Interview as many people as it takes to find that perfect fit.

Having a wellness program like corporate yoga is something that sets you apart from your competitors. It can reduce work-associated injuries such as low back pain, and reduce work loss due to stress and illness. The bottom line is helping employees develop a healthy way to combat stress in the workplace; let them know how much they mean to the company by providing them with the break they need to be more productive at work and in life.

Photos rights provided by Melissa Nordin, Yoga Breezes.

?

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/melissa-nordin/face-of-corporate-yoga_b_1914795.html

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Putin tells Cabinet to weigh time change reversal

MOSCOW (AP) ? Last year, when then-President Dmitry Medvedev permanently switched Russia to summer time, most residents didn't see sunrise until after 10 a.m. during the country's bleak winters.

The move angered many, and Vladimir Putin promised before reclaiming the presidency in March that he would take a second look on the issue. On Tuesday, he said that Medvedev, who is now prime minister, would consider reversing the change.

Putin's statement that the Cabinet must think again whether the change was feasible dealt a humiliating blow to Medvedev.

Putin had to shift into the prime minister's seat in 2008 due to a constitutional limit of two consecutive presidential terms. Since swapping jobs with Medvedev, Putin has toughened his line on dissent, reversing some of the liberal changes introduced by Medvedev.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/putin-tells-cabinet-weigh-time-change-reversal-194057761.html

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Socializing Your Puppy 3 | @eHow Pets Video | A Place to Love Dogs

Posted on Tuesday, September 25, 2012

by eHow Pets Contributor / A Place To Love Dogs

Socializing your puppy to greet a variety of people helps to ensure your puppy is adaptable and confident as they grow into adulthood.

In Teacher?s Pet, Victoria Stilwell shows you how to employ her Positively Method to train your dog the right way, growing your level of communication to strengthen the bond between you and your pet.

Victoria Stilwell is widely known as a dog trainer, author, and television presenter. Stilwell served as a judge on the CBS show Greatest American Dog and is best known as the host of the Animal Planet dog training TV show It?s Me or the Dog, where she counsels families with problem pets and solves their dogs? behavior problems. In 2010, she launched Positively, the world?s first global network of hand-picked world-class dog trainers dedicated to providing the public a brand name they can trust in humane, force-free training.

More tips from Victoria: http://positively.com

Published by eHowPets

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Source: http://www.aplacetolovedogs.com/2012/09/socializing-your-puppy-3-ehow-pets-video/1486642543/

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Researchers engineer novel DNA barcode

Tuesday, September 25, 2012
Researchers have created a new kind of barcode that uses DNA origami technology. Colored-dots can be arranged into geometric patterns or fluorescent linear DNA barcodes, and the combinations are almost limitless -- substantially increasing the number of distinct molecules or cells scientists can observe in a sample. Credit: Chenxiang Lin, Ralf Jungmann, Andrew M. Leifer, Chao Li, Daniel Levner, George M. Church, William M. Shih, Peng Yin, Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, Harvard Medical School

Much like the checkout clerk uses a machine that scans the barcodes on packages to identify what customers bought at the store, scientists use powerful microscopes and their own kinds of barcodes to help them identify various parts of a cell, or types of molecules at a disease site. But their barcodes only come in a handful of "styles," limiting the number of objects scientists can study in a cell sample at any one time.

Researchers at the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University have created a new kind of barcode that could come in an almost limitless array of styles?with the potential to enable scientists to gather vastly more vital information, at one given time, than ever before. The method harnesses the natural ability of DNA to self-assemble, as reported today in the online issue of Nature Chemistry.

"We hope this new method will provide much-needed molecular tools for using fluorescence microscopy to study complex biological problems," says Peng Yin, Wyss core faculty member and study co-author who has been instrumental in the DNA origami technology at the heart of the new method.

Fluorescence microscopy has been a tour de force in biomedical imaging for the last several decades. In short, scientists couple fluorescent elements?the barcodes?to molecules they know will attach to the part of the cells they wanted to investigate. Illuminating the sample triggers each kind of barcode to fluoresce at a particular wavelength of light, such as red, blue, or green?indicating where the molecules of interest are.

However, the method is limited by the number of colors available?three or four?and sometimes the colors get blurry. That's where the magic of the DNA barcode comes in: colored-dots can be arranged into geometric patterns or fluorescent linear barcodes, and the combinations are almost limitless?substantially increasing the number of distinct molecules or cells scientists can observe in a sample, and the colors are easy to distinguish.

Here's how it works: DNA origami follows the basic principles of the double helix in which the molecular bases A (adenosine) only bind to T (thymine), and C (cytosine) bases only bind to G (guanine). With those "givens" in place, a long strand of DNA is programmed to self-assemble by folding in on itself with the help of shorter strands to create predetermined forms?much like a single sheet of paper is folded to create a variety of designs in the traditional Japanese art.

To these more structurally complex DNA nano-structures, researchers can then attach fluorescent molecules to the desired spots, and use origami technology to generate a large pool of barcodes out of only a few fluorescent molecules. That could add a lot to the cellular imaging "toolbox" because it enables scientists to potentially light up more cellular structures than ever possible before.

"The intrinsic rigidity of the engineered DNA nanostructures is this method's greatest advantage; it holds the fluorescent pattern in place without the use of external forces. It also holds great promise for using the method to study cells in their native environments," Yin says. As proof of concept, the team demonstrated that one of their new barcodes successfully attached to the surface of a yeast cell.

More research beckons, particularly to determine what happens when each of the fluorescent barcodes are mixed together in a cell sample, which is routine in real-life biological and medical imaging systems?but there's plenty of good news as a starting point. It's low-cost, easy to do, and more robust compared to current methods, says Yin.

"We're moving fast in our ability to manipulate DNA molecules using origami technology," says Wyss Institute Founding Director Don Ingber, M.D., Ph.D., "and the landscape of its potential is tremendous?from helping us to develop targeted drug-delivery mechanisms to improving the scope of cellular and molecular activities we are able to observe at a disease site using the latest medical imaging techniques."

###

Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard: http://wyss.harvard.edu/

Thanks to Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard for this article.

This press release was posted to serve as a topic for discussion. Please comment below. We try our best to only post press releases that are associated with peer reviewed scientific literature. Critical discussions of the research are appreciated. If you need help finding a link to the original article, please contact us on twitter or via e-mail.

This press release has been viewed 36 time(s).

Source: http://www.labspaces.net/123763/Researchers_engineer_novel_DNA_barcode_

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Where Have All The Third-Party iOS Mapping Apps Gone?

If I'm a company that makes a third-party mapping app for iOS, I am putting up billboards, tackling people in the streets, emailing every tech blog known to man and potentially stalking some of them to get the word out about my offerings.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/pkFRrbTBUu8/

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Israel's only co-ed combat unit proves its worth

JERUSALEM (AP) ? A deadly shootout last week along Israel's border with Egypt has shined a spotlight on Israel's only mixed female and male combat unit, granting some recognition to a group that has faced much skepticism and often been the butt of jokes since its inception.

The Caracal battalion's response to the militant attack on Friday ? which left three gunmen dead, including one whom Israeli officials said was killed by a female soldier ? marked a major test for the unit that typically handles tame operations. One Israeli soldier also was killed.

On Sunday, Israeli newspapers and radio broadcasts glowed over the news that the co-ed battalion played a decisive role in thwarting the assailants' attack. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu boasted about the work of the unit ? named after a medium-sized cat native to the Middle East and Africa ? in his weekly Cabinet meeting. Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz traveled to the scene of the attack and congratulated the soldiers.

"If the Caracal force wasn't there in those critical moments, it's clear to everyone that we could have faced a difficult attack," Col. Guy Biton, the commander of the Sagi Brigade that oversees the battalion, told the Maariv daily newspaper.

Most Jewish Israeli citizens are drafted into their nation's defense forces when they turn 18. Women, however, typically serve less time than men and usually away from the battlefield, in administrative or technical positions. A minority serve in combat roles.

By contrast, 60 percent of Caracal's soldiers are women.

Women were barred from combat until 2000, the year Caracal was introduced as a way to ease females into combat duty. The unit was positioned in areas along Israel's borders with Jordan and Egypt. For years, the territory was calm, largely because Israel has peace deals with both neighbors. Soldiers who were there mostly worked to prevent drug and weapons' smuggling and while they were trained to neutralize an armed threat, they rarely faced one.

But in the last year and a half, since the fall of longtime Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak, Caracal's usual patrolling area near Egypt has become a hotbed of militant activity. Egypt's vast Sinai peninsula is home to Islamic extremists who have staged attacks against Egyptian and Israeli targets. The Jordanian border has remained quiet.

In the most recent attack, a shootout on the Israel-Egypt border left one Israeli soldier and three assailants dead. The military said the militants were heavily armed and wearing explosive belts when they crossed into Israeli territory and opened fire on soldiers guarding a team of workers who were building a border fence meant to protect against just such attacks.

An Israeli forces spokeswoman said the troops quickly returned fire, killing the militants and preventing a major attack ? a coup for the women and men of Caracal. The battalion fought on Friday alongside soldiers from Israel's Artillery Corps. In line with its policy not to discuss troop deployment, the military declined to provide the battalion's size.

"I feel proud to know that finally people are coming to recognize and know what we are worth and what we are able to do," Amit Epstein, a former Caracal company commander, told Israel Radio.

The recognition comes to Caracal after years of challenges. Resolving logistical issues like building separate sleeping quarters and bathrooms were a first hurdle. But the unit has continued to grapple with widespread skepticism from a male-dominated military.

The female soldiers' ability to fight alongside men has been questioned. But the battalion's men also have been stigmatized, written off as too weak to be accepted into a regular unit or distracted by criticism that they would be unable to focus on their jobs while working so closely with women. Skeptics have also wondered how focused young men and women can be when working so closely with the opposite sex.

Doron Almog, who served as the head of Israel's southern command when the battalion was formed, was not surprised by the successful effort. He said the group is prepared for such attacks and expects it to continue to be called on for such dangerous operations.

And as the border with Egypt becomes increasingly volatile, Caracal will be able to continue to prove itself, he said.

"The best public relations strategy is to have a successful operation and to come and show results," said Almog.

___

Follow Tia Goldenberg on Twitter (at)tgoldenberg

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/israels-only-co-ed-combat-unit-proves-worth-062742493.html

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