.photobucket.com/albums/ff234/pmindemann/greenwa.

Don’t be fooled. Hummers and McDonald’s aren’t “green.” Neither are fossil fuels or Fox News, for that matter.

By * Staff, WebEcoist. Dec. 15, 2009

When companies like Exxon-Mobil and McDonalds think “green,” they’re thinking of cash, not the earth. And after all, what matters to unscrupulous marketers isn’t so much the reality of their brand or product, but how the public perceives it – which often results in greenwashing so absurd, it’s almost funny. These 15 examples of extreme greenwashing range from woefully ignorant to downright malicious….
http://www.alternet.org/story/144557/12_hilarious_corporate_attempts_to_look_green

This evening I watched an extraordinary documentary titled A Crude Awakening (which can be found at Amazon here), and in the film three numbers jumped out at me:

• 25
• 5
• 2

And what do these numbers represent?

• 25 is the percentage of the world’s annual oil production that Americans consume
• 5 is the US percentage of the world’s population (actually, it’s even less than that; 1 out of every 22 people on Earth is a US citizen) 
• 2 is the estimated percentage of the world’s remaining oil reserves to be found beneath US soil.

Given theses numbers, and the rapid rise of China and India in the global economy, it doesn’t take an economist or petroleum geologist to tell you that our country’s consumption of fossil fuels is completely unsustainable (even if global oil production was not peaking, which it clearly is). Here are those numbers again:

• 25% (US consumption of annual global oil production)
• 5% (US population as a percentage of total global population)
• 2% (US share of estimated global oil reserves)

Let those numbers sink in. Political and economic turmoil, cultural upheaval, wars, and rumors of wars are in those numbers. Here’s a segment from the A Crude Awakening  documentary:

We have made quite a few contacts with Canadian bikers recently, based in Vancouver, Montreal, Toronto and Ottawa. We absolutely love Canada, it’s such a beautiful and very friendly country, with great cities and a real awareness of environmental issues.

We have been in touch with a few bikers based in Toronto, where motorcycle parking is entirely free of charge. And this, according to our contacts, is the result of on-going fighting to protect the rights of and the benefits brought by motorcyclists to the environment. A Canadian motorcyclist, whether from Ontario, Quebec or British Columbia will always tell you that bikes not only are the solution to congestion issues, but also have an inmense positive impact on the environment. Motorcycles, unlike what Westminster Councillor Susie Burbridge believes (who, by the way, has horrified our readers in Canada), pollute far less than cars, lorries, coaches, trains and buses, and this is exactly why the City of Toronto decided a few years ago to not only make motorcycle parking free of charge everywhere, but also increase the number of parking spaces to meet demand.

Here are a few words from Toronto City Council, which show a great degree of common sense and awareness of the many benefits that motorcycles can bring to the environment:-

“Toronto City Council passed legislation to make motorcycle and scooter parking free. The legislation also called for increasing the amount of parking space available for two-wheeled vehicles. Toronto obviously realized that it did more harm than good to punish those who reduced congestion and emissions in the city”.

This is to be compared with Westminster City Council (London, England) who have failed to recognise the environmental benefits brought by motorcycles, and more importantly, who consider motorcyclists as cash cows, in a pure view to boosting parking revenue to make the Verrus appalling pay by phone parking system more attractive to other councils.

So, our dear Canadian friends, English and French speakers, here are a couple of quotes from Westminster Conservative Councillor Susie Burbridge, which we are sure you will find absolutely shocking:-

“Motorcycles, even small ones, pollute more than Hummers”.

“Who ever said going green would be free. Motorbikes as other vehicles with engines cause pollution, take up road space, have a cost implication, pro rata I believe a higher level of accidents also in town. Being environmentally friendly would be to encourage motorbikers to use more public transport.”

It should be noted that Councillor Burbridge, not only hasn’t got the slightest idea about the benefits of motorcycling, but also, has a Westminster wide free official parking permit to park her polluting Hummer, while she encourages others, including her own residents, to use public transport, as a more environmentally friendly way of moving around London.

We now leave you with another quote from Toronto City Council, which to us, sounds like an example to follow by every single local authority in the world with regards to the use of motorcycles:-

“The City is demonstrating real leadership on this issue. Motorcycles use less space on the road, less space in parking, consume less fuel and produce less emissions. With motorcycle and scooter sales increasing steadily, this decision clearly indicates the City is committed to reducing congestion and pollution. We will work to persuade other jurisdictions to follow Toronto’s lead.”

If only these marvellous Toronto Councillors could fly over to London and persuade these idiots at Westminster City Council, who are treating innocent and peaceful motorcyclists like cash cows! Instead, Westminster Councillor Danny Chalkley is keen to spread his poison everywhere he possibly can.

Sources (click to view):-

http://www.ipopper.net/petition/default.asp

http://insidemotorcycles.blogspot.com/2005/10/free-parking-in-toronto.html

Please join and support the legal fight to get the bike parking tax in Westminster scrapped before it spreads all over the UK and the European Union. The next demonstration is on 7th December 2009, don’t miss it! For further details, visit http://www.notobikeparkingtax.com/

Soutenez et participez au proces dont le but est de forcer la mairie de Westminster a supprimer la taxe de stationnement des deux-roues avant que le concept ne se propage a travers le Royaume-Uni et l’Union Europeenne. La prochaine manifestation aura lieu le 7 decembre 2009, ne la ratez pas! Pour plus d’informations, consultez http://www.notobikeparkingtax.com/

If you have a story you would like to see published on UKFRANCE.org, please contact us here.

Si vous avez une experience a partager et que vous souhaiteriez voir publiee sur UKFRANCE.org, n’hesitez pas a nous contacter en cliquant ici.

One word: HUM-MER-S – Meaning Hot packs, Ultrasound, Massage, and Stim.

Source: http://tinyurl.com/ybg3cfq

DISCLAIMER: This post was not written about any therapists that I have worked with, currently work with, or even about myself. The idea for this post comes from a discussion with a previous professor of mine at Northeastern University who introduced me to the following term and also held me in discussion about the other issues dealt with in this post.

The art of the hummer is born out of pure hatred for ones job. The ability to provide a well thought-out treatment plan is well within the therapist’s reach, but they just do not want to think that hard. We work in an environment where people come in to be treated mainly due to movement disorders. Clearly, it is a good idea when people are not moving properly to have them move less, preferably not at all, especially while at PT. A good hummer starts with making sure the patient never gets off the table. The therapist proceeds to have their assistant or aide grab a hot pack and heat up whatever area is plaguing the patient.

Ultrasound is next to follow, probably for only 3-4 minutes on whatever settings the machine is already on to make sure it is not effective. Make sure you move the ultrasound at a hundred miles an hour, and definitely don’t pay attention to what you are doing.

Massage always feels great and is definitely least effective if you go into it with no intentions. Increasing circulation? Nah. Myofascial release, What the heck is that? Creating an inflammatory process with cross friction massage, “I don’t want my patient to ever be uncomfortable”. Just rub that knee because it hurts. Clearly if the knee hurts that’s what needs the massage.

Stim- One word: Pre-mod. Set it and forget it baby.

Once you become adept at giving HUMmerS you are a little more free to work on your other skills such as not changing treatment programs for 3 weeks. You will also have a ton of time to complain about how terrible all chiropractors (money hungry) and accupuncturists (voodoo) are. Also, with all this free time you need to make sure you are well read. But make sure no article you read is more recent than 10 years old.

God-forbid you actually have a patient do some rehab, it is in your best interest to keep them around for as long as possible (you need the co-pays, Wall Street is down). Make sure they can do at least 10 pound straight leg raises, and push the whole leg press rack, I don’t care if they are here for their rotator cuff. This patient has been around so long they might as well have a company shirt and work for their co-pays.

Do you remember the song “the knee bone is connected to the hip bone”? Well clearly this song has its flaws. If you had to write it all over again it would go ‘the knee bone is connected to the….knee bone”. Thats right, as I stated earlier, the knee clearly hurts because of whats going on at the knee and only the knee (sometimes this is actually the case). Why would you ever look at the hip or ankles if the knee hurts?

What the heck is a goniometer? (see physical therapy section)

Always remember that an attractive woman/man needs twice as much attention as everyone else. Because they definitely don’t get enough.

You must frequently say the following phrases throughout your work week:

• I can’t wait for Friday (Okay, I’ve said this once or twice)
• They are going to be late? Heck no I won’t see them (to the admin. assistant)
• Physics was pointless
• Do 50 crunches
• When’s lunch?
• Why don’t people just get better?
• Just do a bunch of those
• “Why do you have me doing this?” That’s how I’ve always done it

Take a look around. I’m sure you’ll see a few therapists you can learn from. Just remember to not try that hard because people might get the feeling you care if they get better, and then you’re in trouble. And lastly, do not to forget to show up late every day.

And once again, this post in no way reflects any PT that I have ever encountered, but I do know they are out there.

Promoting the image of intelligent women everywhere.

Living the dream...

Word of caution: If, like me, you are one of those people who has to check out everything online, and pornography offends you, you’d best not google or bing blondesociety.com. If, on the other hand, porn’s your thing, have at it…. Oh, and as an interesting side note, the other hits for Blonde Society are for British and Irish cattle organizations….

Photo Credit: Me. My iPhone. On the way to Wally-World. And if you have to ask, you obviously don’t live in Texas.

One of our readers based in Paris has notified us of the local Mayor’s decision to scrap 2,500 car parking spaces to respond to the ever increasing demand for motorcycle parking in the French capital. A total of 18,000 brand new parking spaces for motorbikes and scooters will be created in Paris by 2014, and to help achieve this exemplary initiative, 2,500 spaces, currently dedicated to car parking, will be converted into parking spots for bikes.

Unlike Westminster City Council, the City of Paris is not focused on sucking public money. The existing 2,500 car parking spaces generate revenue on a daily basis, and by converting them into motorcycle parking spots, free of charge and with security devices, the local council is prepared to lose substantial parking revenue, for the sake of reducing road congestion and air pollution. Westminster City Council, on the other hand, have decided to stealth tax motorcyclists to park, in a pure attempt to control the increasing popularity of motorcycles and raise additional revenue.

In Paris, like in Barcelona, Singapore and Milan, motorcycles are viewed as a major transport solution to reduce road congestion and air pollution, and for this reason, the number of bikes in the French capital have been increasing at a much faster rate than in London. Parisians are actively encouraged to switch from four to two wheels because bikes do not congest, relieve pressure on the public transport and offer a cheap, fast and reliable mode of transport. The use of cars in Paris is highly discouraged, and to achieve this, the local authorities are starting to reduce the number of parking spaces for them. They have also introduced wider lanes for buses, cyclists and motorcyclists, in a view to considerably reducing the space that cars can occupy on the roads, thus making the use of cars increasingly difficult.

In Westminster, the use of cars is encouraged (and bikes discouraged) because some Conservative Councillors, like Susie Burbridge, consider that “motorcycles, even small ones, pollute more than Hummers“. What makes us laugh is that she blamed the French Government for having published a study on motorcycle harmful emissions compared with cars, when it is precisely the French authorities that are promoting the use of motorcycles across the Channel by, for instance, creating an additional 18,000 parking spots for them in Paris, free of charge. What also makes us laugh is the recent decision made by Westminster Councillor Chalkley to open resident car parking spaces to visitors between 10am and 4pm. Good strategy to boost your parking income, Danny, after all, that’s all you’re interested in. Environmental issues are like a foreign language for Westminster City Council, which is not surprising, since they have totally ignored them in their motorcycle report published on 1st October 2009.

In addition to scrapping 2,500 car parking spaces for motorcycles in Paris, new free and well equipped bike parking spots will be created in underground car parks, on the pavement and by extending the existing bays.

We now leave you with a couple of pictures of the parking facilities for motorcycles in Paris. Can you imagine thousands of new bike parking spaces like the ones shown below, with fantastic security devices and all free of charge? Hmm, this may make us consider returning to Paris soon, where the local authorities, unlike Westminster City Council, seem to have a lot more common sense and are keen to listen to the views of motorcyclists.

Sources (click to view):-

http://news.motorbiker.org/blogs.nsf/dx/paris-to-create-18000-motorcycle-parking-spaces-miracle.htm

http://paris.evous.fr/Stationnement-moto-Paris-va-creer,3295.html

http://ecologie.caradisiac.com/Diminution-des-stationnements-auto-pour-creer-des-emplacements-deux-roues-943

http://www.motomag.com/Parking-moto-18-000-nouvelles-6235.html

Please join and support the legal fight to get the bike parking tax in Westminster scrapped before it spreads all over the UK and the European Union. The next demonstration is on 31st October 2009, don’t miss it! For further details, visit  http://www.notobikeparkingtax.com/

Soutenez et participez au proces dont le but est de forcer la mairie de Westminster a supprimer la taxe de stationnement des deux-roues avant que le concept ne se propage a travers le Royaume-Uni et l’Union Europeenne. La prochaine manifestation aura lieu le 31 octobre 2009, ne la ratez pas! Pour plus d’informations, consultez http://www.notobikeparkingtax.com/

If you have a story you would like to see published on UKFRANCE.org, please contact us here.

Si vous avez une experience a partager et que vous souhaiteriez voir publiee sur UKFRANCE.org, n’hesitez pas a nous contacter en cliquant ici.

By: Daily.Pk | Ahmed Qureshi

A Loose Coalition Of Pro-American Politicians, Writers, Academics To Promote US Goals, Isolate Pak Military

Forget US diplomacy with the Pakistani government.  The Americans are now setting the policy agenda in Pakistan in direct talks with Pakistani political parties.  To ensure privacy, these talks are being held in Washington, away from prying eyes and ears in Pakistan.  Pakistani politicians, writers and some academicians are being recruited to promote US policies and isolate the

Pakistani military and intelligence.  This is how a superpower occupies a nuclear-armed nation.

US political and military officials go on the offensive inside Pakistan, boldly confronting critics and seeking to build a coalition of pro-American supporters across Pakistani politics, media and the academia.  The goal is to create a domestic counter to the entrenched Pakistani policymaking establishment [read 'the military'] that is resisting American efforts to force Pakistan to become a voluntary full-fledged second theater of war after Afghanistan.

Signs of the new American aggressiveness abound from increased willingness of US diplomats in Pakistan to confront their local critics, to sweet-talking Pakistani politicians, media and academicians into openly promoting the US agenda through sponsored visits to Washington and Florida.

This is similar to a Plan B:  using local actors to force change from within.  Plan A, which was focused on coercive diplomacy and threats of sending boots on the ground into Pakistan, failed to yield results over the past months.

In essence, the United States is covertly raising an army of special agents and soldiers on Pakistani soil, with the help of local Pakistani accomplices, but without the full knowledge of the Pakistani military to avoid a confrontation.

This counteroffensive began with Ambassador Anne W. Patterson’s attempt to intimidate a Pakistani columnist and a known critic of US policies.  Ms. Patterson did not seek a public debate to counter criticism.  Instead, she resorted to backchannel contacts to have the writer blocked.  In so doing, Ms. Patterson unwittingly broke a new barrier for US influence, creating precedence for how the US embassy deals with the Pakistani media.  This is something that the Ambassador’s counterparts could never imagine pulling off in places like Moscow, Ankara, or Cairo.

Buoyed by this, the Ambassador went on the offensive.  This month, she held a press conference, released a long policy statement, and met Prime Minister Gilani to reassure him after reports suggested her government did not trust Islamabad with the expected aid money.  She also appeared on primetime television, carefully choosing a nonaggressive TV talk show as a platform to address Pakistanis glued to their sets in peak evening hours.

The television appearance coincided with an interview she gave to a US news service accusing Pakistan of refusing to join the US in eliminating one of the Afghan local parties – the Afghan Taliban – whom her own government and military failed to wipe out in Afghanistan in eight years of war.  The statement played on the usual American accusations, backed by no evidence, that seek to explain the growing disenchantment of the Afghan people with the failed American occupation of their country by linking it to alleged Pakistani sanctuaries and covert support.

But hours before her television appearance, on Sept. 19, Pakistani police raided the Islamabad offices of Inter-Risk, a Pakistani security firm representing American defense contractor DynCorp, where a huge quantity of illegal sophisticated weapons was confiscated.  According to one news report, the Pakistani owner of the firm, retired Captain Ali Jaffar Zaidi, escaped from his house hours before the police arrived.  A Pakistani journalist, Umar Cheema, who works for The News, confirmed in a published statement that Mr. Zaidi told him a day before the raid that “the US embassy in Islamabad had ordered the import of around 140 AK-47 Rifles and other prohibited weapons in the name of Inter-Risk” and that “the payment for the weapons would be made by the embassy.”

[The News reports today that the government has "disbanded" Inter-Risk, voiding its contract with both the US embassy and with DynCorp.  The company director Capt. Zaidi remains at large.]

In other words, Pakistani security authorities have found American and Pakistani citizens working for the US embassy involved in suspicious activities.

What Really Happened?

US ambassador Anne Patterson used her goodwill to seek the personal intervention of Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani and Interior Minister Rehman Malik to obtain licenses for prohibited weapons.

Sixty-one pieces of sophisticated weapons were seized by the police at the Inter-Risk/DynCorp facility.

The question is: Why did the Pakistani police confiscate the weapons if they were duly licensed by the government?

The only logical answer is that the licensing procedure, which includes clearance from the country’s intelligence and security departments, was not followed.

Apparently, Washington’s staunch allies inside Pakistan’s elected government helped their friends with advanced weapons into the country without the knowledge of important national security departments of the government.

This raises serious questions because of several reports recently that implicate Husain Haqqani, Pakistan’s ambassador to Washington, in issuing a large number of visas to US citizens without proper clearance from Islamabad.  Since US tourists are not exactly flocking to Pakistan, Amb. Haqqani is suspected of having facilitated private US security agents to enter Pakistan.  A spate of recent reports have exposed the presence of private American security firms on Pakistani soil.

When the country’s security departments finally paid attention to Ambassador Haqqani’s indiscretions, the ambassador, who is a former journalist, is suspected of leaking a protest letter he wrote to his country’s intelligence chief, apparently attempting to clear his name before his American friends.  Of all places, the letter, which is a classified government communication, surfaced in New Delhi, on the screen of an Indian television news channel.

Ambassador Haqqani’s letter secret that blasts the ISI surfaces in New Delhi.  Pakistanis joke that Mr. Haqqani is ‘the US ambassador to the United States, stationed at the Pakistan Embassy in Washington DC.’

PATTERSON’S LIE EXPOSED

On Sept. 30, Mr. Ansar Abbasi of The News published the full content of a letter written by Ambassador Patterson to Interior Minister Rehman Malik, dated March 30, seeking his “intervention” to grant Inter-Risk and DynCorp “the requisite prohibited bore arms licenses to operate in the territorial limits of Pakistan and as soon as possible.”

The letter creates a new dent in the US embassy’s counteroffensive that seeks to downplay the presence of private US security firms in the country.  A Web news portal, Pak Nationalists/AhmedQuraishi released fresh evidence this month showing the infamous US security firm formerly known as Blackwater recruiting military-trained agents fluent in Urdu and Punjabi.

To quell the controversy, Ambassador Patterson went on record confirming that five million US dollars will be spent by her government to build new living quarters for US Marines within the embassy compound in Islamabad. But the number of marines utilizing this facility will not exceed 20, she assured Pakistanis recently.

The Sept. 19 raid, however, proves there will be a far larger number of armed Americans on Pakistani soil eventually than the figure given by Ambassador Patterson.

US MERCENERARIES IN PAKISTAN?

The strong denials of US officials on the presence of private US security firms in Pakistan do no tally with the circumstantial evidence.  At least three verified incidents have been reported in Islamabad alone over the past few weeks that involve armed US individuals in civilian dresses.  In two incidents, Pakistani police officers arrested and then released armed civilian Americans after intervention from the US embassy.  In one incident, a Pakistani citizen reported being assaulted by armed Americans in civilian clothes.  Police officers refused to register a complaint against the Americans for fear of being reprimanded in case of intervention by the US embassy.

US DOLLARS RECRUITING PAKISTANIS TO WORK AGAINST PAKISTANI MILITARY

Private US security agents sneaking into Pakistan is one level of the current US engagement with Pakistan.  Another level is political and seeks to isolate the Pakistani policymaking establishment, and especially the Pakistani military and the country’s powerful intelligence agencies, from within, after months of incessant one-sided US media campaign demonizing the country’s military and intelligence services.

On the political front, Washington’s Pakistan handlers have launched a new bout of US meddling in domestic Pakistani politics.  The US government has put into high gear its contacts with Pakistani political parties.  Washington is now conducting direct diplomacy with these parties.

A high level delegation of MQM, which controls the port city of Karachi, the starting point of US and NATO supplies headed for Afghanistan, is in Washington meeting US political and military officials.

A similar exercise is planned with the ANP, the small ex-Soviet communist ally currently governing the NWFP, the Pakistani province bordering Afghanistan.

Both parties came to power thanks to former President Musharraf’s secret ‘deal’ brokered by Vice President Dick Cheney and his State Department officials in 2007.  The deal sought to create a pro-American ruling coalition in the country that would ensure that the Pakistani military is aligned with the US strategic goals in the region.

The Americans are trying to accentuate what they see as pro-Indian, pro-American strains within the two parties.

Washington began this program quietly in 2007 after getting a green signal from President Musharraf to increase US involvement in Pakistani politics.  There are reports that nazims of several districts in Sindh, Balochistan and NWFP were invited to Washington to meet US government and military officials over the past thirty months.  But these were very low key visits.  In fact, they were so secretive that ANP chief Asfandyar Wali refused in early 2008 to confirm or deny a visit he made to Washington after the Feb. 2008 elections in Pakistan.  In contrast, no effort was made this time to downplay the current visits by MQM and ANP delegations to Washington and their meetings with US and NATO officials.  And as in all of these covert visits, the federal Pakistani government, the Foreign Office and the country’s security departments are not privy to what is being discussed between US officials and the leaders of the two Pakistani political parties on US soil.  In fact, US officials arranged the meetings on US soil precisely in order to circumvent the Pakistani government.

While there is no immediate evidence that Pakistan should be alarmed by Washington’s direct diplomacy with Pakistani political parties outside Pakistan’s territory, Islamabad needs to be wary of strong strains within Washington’s policy establishment that have been focusing on exploiting Pakistan’s ethnic and linguistic fissures in order to support its so-called ‘Af-Pak’ agenda.

A lot of work has been done over the past three years in several Washington think tanks on Pakistan’s linguistic and ethnic fissures and how these can be exploited by Washington to weaken Islamabad and force it to follow the US agenda in Afghanistan and the region.

During Pakistan’s worst domestic instability in 2007, mainstream US media outlets were leaking policy and intelligence reports focusing on alleged separatism in several Pakistani regions.  This week, some of the most ardent American supporters of separatism inside Pakistan – the usual suspects from the US think-tank circuit – came together in Washington to launch a political action committee that seeks independent status for a Pakistani province, Sindh.  The ceremony for the launch of the ‘Sindhi American Political Action Committee’ was addressed by Selig Harrison and Marvin Weinbaum, two think-tank types with extensive links to the US intelligence community and both advocates of engagement with Pakistani separatists as a leverage against Islamabad.

The new American confidence in openly meddling in Pakistani politics should raise alarm bells in the Pakistani capital.  This is the strongest sign yet of how weak the federal Pakistani government, and in turn Pakistan itself, appears to outsiders.

The weakness of Pakistan’s ruling elite is inviting American hounding at a time when the American bully is on the retreat elsewhere.

The federal police conducted a search operation against several security companies in different sectors of the capital after recovering of illegal arms from the house of an owner of a security company and arrested three security guards.

According to sources, the late night operation was conducted by the police after getting red signal from the interior ministry.

The late night raids on other security companies were made after large cache of arms were seized from a company providing security to US diplomats. The police during the raid inquired about details of licenses of arms.

Kohsar Police has also arrested three security guards of security company on suspicion.

Sources told that the Interior Ministry after recovering of illegal arms in huge quantity from the owner of house of Inter-Risk Security Company has decided to conduct a survey of hiring 200 residential buildings by US embassy. Sources said that the decision has been taken to know objectives behind hiring these houses.

Meanwhile US Embassy spokesman Rick Snelsire said the US contract with Inter-Risk to provide security at the embassy and consulates took effect this year. It is believed to be the first US contract for the firm, Snelsire said. He did not know how long the contract was for or what it was worth.

“Our understanding is they obtained licenses with whatever they brought into the country to meet the contractual needs,’’ he said. “We told the government that we had a contract with Inter-Risk.’’

A man who answered the phone number listed for the company and identified himself as Riaz Hussain said a raid had occurred, but gave no more information.

According to Inter-Risk’s website, it was first formed in 1988 and offers wireless home alarm systems as well as security guards and other services.

Though the US Embassy in Islamabad does have American security staff, much of the work is done by local workers. At checkpoints and gates leading to the embassy compound, for instance, Pakistani security guards inspect vehicles and log in visitors.

Scandals involving private contractors have dogged the United States in the Middle East and South Asia.

In Washington on Friday, the Commission on Wartime Contracting heard testimony about another contractor – ArmorGroup North America – involving alleged illegal and immoral conduct by its guards at the US Embassy in Afghanistan.

Earlier this year, the Iraqi government refused to grant Xe Services – the new name for what was once Blackwater – an operating license amid continued outrage over a 2007 lethal firefight involving some of its employees in Baghdad, although the State Department has temporarily extended a contract with a Xe subsidiary to protect US diplomats in Iraq.

Many of the recent rumors in Pakistan have been prompted by US plans to expand its embassy space and staff.

Among the other unsubstantiated stories the United States denies: that 1,000 US Marines will land in the capital, and that Americans will set up a Guantanamo-style prison.

As you know, I’ve been chew/spit free since mid-March.

But I am still struggling with impulsive food purchases/eating.

 Granted, this isn’t nearly as terrible a habit as c/s was, but it’s still something that doesn’t exactly inspire pride, and is dangerous for my waistline.

Fortunately, at the gym this weekend, I found Geneen Roth’s latest column in Good Housekeeping which talks about why we eat what we eat. (I tried to find it online, but it’s not there yet.)

To summarize, in the article, she places the foods we eat into two categories: hummers and beckoners.

A “hummer” food is something that you’ve been thinking about that you are looking forward to eating. It’s something you’ve been craving; it’s not an impulsive choice.

An example of a hummer food is the salt bagel I intend to have in October when I’m at home in N.J. for a friend’s wedding (I only eat bagels at home — N.J./N.Y. bagel snob )

On the flipside, “beckoners” are impulse cravings, things we didn’t know we needed til we see or smell them. Say you walk into a friend’s house and she has chocolate chip cookies baking in the oven. Hungry or not, chances are, you’ll want a cookie. 

All my c/s behaviors were based upon “beckoner” purchases — and even though I’m not c/s anymore, when I grab , say, the new dark chocolate Reese’s from the grocery store check-out line, it’s a beckoner; strictly an impulse buy. Not a premeditated purchase.

It’s the equivalent of a shopping spree … except instead of only hurting my wallet, this hurts my waistline, too.

According to Roth, the nutritional value of the food doesn’t make a difference in what’s considered a hummer or a beckoner, and they vary person to person.

Likewise,  the same food that is a hummer one day can be a beckoner the next day, and vice versa. Her example was leftovers. Let’s pretend you’d been craving lasagna for a week, and so one night you fix a batch and have a satisfying portion at dinner …

But then find yourself staring at the contents of the fridge at 4 a.m., rummaging for that very same lasagna, now in leftover form. The hummer became a beckoner.

I’m being honest here: I’ve struggled with beckoners so much.

In the past, it was because I didn’t order what I truly wanted at a restaurant, for example, and would end up feeling deprived and then eating a sub-par dessert “just because,” or snacking when I got home because I felt unsatisfied from a lame dinner.

(How many salads with grilled chicken can one order?! But if I got what I really wanted, say, chicken parm, I knew I’d only be able to “afford” like three or four bites for the same Points of a big salad … so I’d convince myself to make chicken parm at home (baked, using FF cheese, etc.) and order boring, bland foods out. This was how I coped; how I learned to work WW into my life.)

Today, my struggle is almost the opposite: it’s because I have been giving in too much lately to my sweet/chocolate cravings, pretzels … stuff I just don’t need, and I know I don’t need.

It’s like a monster has taken over me, resisting my logic/rationale along the way. Naturally, it’s resulted in zero weight loss, and my jeans aren’t getting any looser. Fortunately, being so active helps me avoid gaining weight, but it’d be nice to be able to lose again, and I’m standing in my own way.

You could call me the queen of self-sabatoge. Ironically, I’m tending toward many “beckoner” foods I easily turned my nose up at just a few years ago. “I don’t eat XYZ” is what I’d say back then.  

It’s like my resistance muscle has gone limp, and it sucks. Especially because I am aware of it. But now, using Roth’s hummer/beckoner models, I’m hoping to not only strengthen my resistance muscle, but also to strengthen my own sense of self.

When I make choices that make me feel good, I feel good. This past weekend, I indulged in way too much sugar, and am feeling it now.

So my goal this week is to take note of hummer vs. beckoner choices I’m making. As I journal my Points, I’ll also journal which camp the choice fell into. I think it will help me (a very visual person) “see” the light.

How about you? How often are you aware of a food choice being a hummer choice or a beckoner choice?

So this is a blog I’ve been dying to write for a while now but have never got around to actually writing it.  I remember having this conversation a while back and it’s been in the back of my mind ever since.  Do bad blowjobs really exist?  Some guys say no.  Some say you can just never really go wrong when someone is down “there” doing “that”.  Do bad hummers exist?

Well hell yeah they do!  Lol.  Let’s be honest.  Not enough saliva?  Bad BJ.  Too much spittle?  Blek.  What about teeth???  Come on now.  I’ve told guys to stop.  Just because someone puts their mouth on your wee wee doesn’t mean it’s all heaven and all good.  There is rhythm to a good blowjob.  There’s definitely technique(s).  What about guys who don’t swallow?  Booooring.  I’d even argue that giving a good BJ is an art.  Unfortunately, I’m not very good at it, and I sure as hell don’t claim to be.  I have a really bad gag reflex.  I can almost yack from swallowing an allergy pill in the morning…which I have to take every day because I live in the Valley.

So make no bones (no semi-pun intended) about it boys and girls.  There are such things as BAD blowjobs and if anyone tries to tell you different, chances are, they haven’t had many.  Lol. 

In August 2008, Conservative Councillor Danny Chalkley introduced a stealth tax on motorcycle parking in the Central London Borough of Westminster. Although a few local politicians, such as Chalkley, had also thought of introducing such a piece of anti-bike legislation, no one had actually done so before, whether in the United Kingdom or, more widely, in the European Union. When some European politicians tried to impose a tax on motorcycle parking before, they quickly realised the huge amount of opposition there was to it and gave up almost immediately.

Danny Chalkley of Westminster City Council is the only local politician who decided to ignore the public, including his own residents who elected him to serve their needs and wants, and went ahead with stealth taxing motorcyclists to park their bike.

One year later, Chalkley’s bike parking tax is still here, on an experimental basis, despite:-

 1. the thousands of motorcyclists, and their supporters, who have been demonstrating in the streets of Westminster for the past twelve months.

2. the thousands of objections to the bike parking tax that Chalkley received, whether from motorcyclists, motorists, cyclists and other members of the public, by 18th February 2009 and again on 1st July 2009.

3. the deluge of Freedom of Information requests that Westminster City Council has been under with regards to motorcycle parking and other issues related to it (hundreds of FOI requests have been submitted) because Chalkley, together with his fellow Conservative Councillors (including Burbridge, Harvey, Barrow and Floru), and his parking servants (including Kevin Goad and Kieran Fitsall), have delibarately refused to answer emails and letters sent to them by the public.

4. all the dirt that has been revealed and published as a result of these FOI requests (including free parking discreetly granted to Councillors, not a penny spent on motorcycle parking from the revenue generated by the tax, after having said that the charge was to fund the installation of security devices and implement additional parking spaces for bikes).

5. certain Conservative Councillors, such as Susie Burbridge, who made ludicrous statements in public, including “motorcycles, even small ones, pollute more than Hummers” (without being able to substantiate her findings), or Jean-Paul Floru, who lied to the public by saying that he didn’t have a free parking permit, when an FOI request revealed that he indeed had one, and Danny Chalkley who dared to treat honest and peaceful motorcyclists as rogue protestors.

6. having advertised the motorcycle parking charge as revenue-neutral, to then admit on national TV that it has been generating an income.

7. not having carried out proper consultation, particularly with the motorcyclist community, and after having lied to the public by saying that extensive consultation was carried out with major motorcycle organisations such as BMF, MAG and motorcycleparking.com (click here to view the joint letter sent by the BMF and MAG to Westminster Councillors with regards to motorcycle parking consultation, and here to view the statement made by motorcycleparking.com).

8. offering only one practical method of payment to motorcyclists, through the unreliable and unfriendly Verrus pay by phone system, and discriminating against bikers who don’t have a mobile phone or credit/debit card.

9. not recognising the magnitude of the No To Bike Parking Tax campaign for months, and having delibarately ignored the size and impact of their demonstrations.

10. introducing a stealth tax that contradicts the policies of the Conservative Party. In a Conservative policy document titled “Reconstruction – Plan for a strong economy“, it is stated “we will create a simpler, greener and more transparent tax system. A wholly new approach to the making of tax law with proper scrutiny and an Office of Tax Simplification to deliver a simpler tax code and an end to stealth taxes” (see page 4). So UKFRANCE.org ask why a Councillor, who pretends to be a member of the Conservative Party, has precisely introduced a stealth tax on motorcycle parking. Is this not a breach of the policies of his own political party? Can we rely on the Conservatives to deliver their promises? Why has David Cameron not instructed Councillor Danny Chalkley to either scrap his motorcycle parking tax or leave the Conservative Party, if the Tories are to put an end to stealth taxes?

And the list could go on…

If Councillor Chalkley had listened to and properly consulted the motorcyclist community, he would have scrapped his bike parking tax by now, but instead, he made a few changes to it a couple of months ago, in the hope that the huge opposition would go away, or at least reduce considerably. The reality is that the vast majority of motorcyclists are still demonstrating their opposition to the parking tax, making it still highly unpopular.

One of the changes that Chalkley made to his bike tax was to allow free motorcycle parking in Council owned car parks, which is a complete non-sense, as car parks are expensive to run. But why would Chalkley be worried about losing income from motorcycle parking in car parks, since it was his intention to lease at least two of them to private companies later in the year? 170 underground motorcycle parking spaces are no longer going to be managed by Westminster City Council, so we now understand why Chalkley didn’t mind trying to compromise with motorcyclists by using the excuse of car parks. Is this the beginning of a leasing strategy, where motorcyclists will lose the very few free parking spots left in Westminster?

One thing is for sure, Chalkley has parked himself in a cul-de-sac with regards to motorcycle parking, from which there is only one possible exit – SCRAP THE BIKE PARKING TAX. But how long will it take him to understand this? Will Westminster City Council have to be taken to court by the No To Bike Parking Tax campaign for Chalkley to realise his huge mistake? The campaign is about to sue Westminster City Council for having introduced a parking tax on motorcyclists illegally.

Oh dear, the next Westminster council elections are less than eight months away, and the longer Councillor Chalkley drags on with his bike parking tax, the more he exposes himself to losing the elections. A court order, together with repetitive massive demonstrations and very bad press, make a lot of bad noise, Mr Chalkley! Not a good position to be in, is it? Especially when you are parked in a cul-de-sac, with only one way out, which you can’t avoid.

Please join and support the legal fight to get the bike parking tax in Westminster scrapped before it spreads all over the UK and the European Union. The next demonstration is on 30th September 2009, don’t miss it! For further details, visit  http://www.notobikeparkingtax.com/

Soutenez et participez au proces dont le but est de forcer la mairie de Westminster a supprimer la taxe de stationnement des deux-roues avant que le concept ne se propage a travers le Royaume-Uni et l’Union Europeenne. La prochaine manifestation aura lieu le 30 septembre 2009, ne la ratez pas! Pour plus d’informations, consultez http://www.notobikeparkingtax.com/

If you have a story you would like to see published on UKFRANCE.org, please contact us here.

Si vous avez une experience a partager et que vous souhaiteriez voir publiee sur UKFRANCE.org, n’hesitez pas a nous contacter en cliquant ici.

By: Ahmed Qureshi

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan—Undercover armed Americans are swarming the Pakistani capital in the latest sign that the pro-US government has allowed Washington to dispatch a large number of American special operations agents and contractual security guards, including the infamous Blackwater private militia.

This comes at a time when whistleblowers within the government and the military are reporting the arrival of a large number of US Marines in Pakistan. Some reports put the figure at 1,000 US soldiers, much of whom are thought to be arriving as part of the massive expansion of the US Embassy and four consulates across the country. The expanded US embassy is supposed to become the largest US embassy in the world.

Above is an exclusive picture taken by a source at the entrance of Port Qasim near Karachi, showing US Hummers being transported out of the facility. According to the source, the shipment was not destined for Afghanistan. The picture was taken in the last week of August.

The latest evidence of the growing American military presence in the Pakistani capital is the arrest of four Americans carrying automatic weapons in a part of the Pakistani capital that foreigners seldom visit.

The four were arrested in Sector G-9 of Islamabad in the evening of Saturday, Aug. 29.

A police picket stopped two cars carrying the four Americans who refused to explain why they were carrying sophisticated automatic weapons in the capital city. They were taken to a police station for interrogation but were released when two retired Pakistani army officers reached the station and threatened police officers of dire consequences.

The police established that the four Americans carried diplomatic status and were part of the US embassy staff. According to Geneva Convention that covers diplomatic missions, the security of diplomats is the responsibility of the host country.

When I asked Richard Snelsire, US embassy spokesman in Islamabad, about the incident, he refused to comment and referred me to the Pakistani Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Pakistani police.

“Do you US diplomats normally carry weapons?” I asked.

Mr. Snelsire’s reply was, “Only if they are licensed to do so by the [Pakistani] government.”

The spokesman’s reaction confirms suspicions that US private security guards are active in Pakistan. For obvious reasons these guards do not come under the cover of US Department of State employees in Pakistan. This could be one reason why US embassy spokesperson declined comment on the story.

There is strong evidence that the private US mercenary army, Blackwater, has also established office in the Pakistani capital. Authorities have received several complaints of ill mannered military-type westerners misbehaving or recklessly driving by.

The Pakistani capital was the scene of at least two incidents recently where armed American diplomats verbally and physically assaulted Pakistani police officers. In one case, newspapers called for expelling an armed US diplomat who cursed and swore at the host country. The Pakistani government, which is known to be pro-American, refused to take action.

US HIRING PAK GOVT.SERVANTS AS CONSULTANTS

The Americans appear to have recruited a large number of Pakistani army retired officers, in addition to quietly hiring Pakistani civil servants without making any of this public. A famous government university professor in Islamabad who is active in US media campaigns against Pakistan’s nuclear program has also been hired as a consultant. Government employees cannot offer their services to foreign governments but this is happening now under a weak Pakistani state and government.

Who Is Inviting US Military To Pakistan

There are indications that the PPP government and some other politicians, like Nawaz Sharif, are encouraging the Americans to get involved in domestic issues particularly as a hedge against a powerful Pakistani military. Politicians are aware they have led the country to a national failure on all fronts since the general elections in February 2008. The public mood is gradually turning against them. This has stoked the rumor mill about disgruntlement within the Pakistani military regarding the failure of the politicians.

The US embassy is currently being expanded in a nearly US $1 billion project. On completion, the US embassy in Islamabad will become the largest in the world. Interestingly, both the government, led by President Zardari, and the opposition, led by Nawaz Sharif, refuse to question why Washington has been granted exceptional concessions concerning the construction of an imperial-size embassy and how at least 18 acres of the most expensive real state in the capital has been handed over to the Americans for this purpose at throwaway prices.

© 2007-2009. All rights reserved. AhmedQuraishi.com & PakNationalists

Verbatim copying and distribution of this entire article is permitted in any medium

without royalty provided this notice is preserved

‘While the rest of America’s auto-dealers are crying about the end of “Cash for Clunkers,” the guv-mint bail out of GM, and other forms of socialism in this once-prosperous capitalist society, one Chesterfield car salesman knows what a true American patriot needs to make it through this recession: machine guns.

Lynch Hummer in Chesterfield– the largest Hummer dealership in the United States, according to Motor Trend– has opened a new wing of its store called “Adventure Shooting Sports.” The gas-guzzler-turned-arms-dealer proudly proclaims it now offers “the finest in hunting, tactical and home defense.” They have also beat Stephen Colbert to the punch and registered the domain name GunsAndHummers.com.

Jim Lynch, the owner of the shop tells CNN that “he needed a second revenue stream to support his company” (and he’s not the only Hummer hawker facing that problem these days) so he converted an entire showroom into an arms bazaar:

‘While the rest of America’s auto-dealers are crying about the end of “Cash for Clunkers,” the guv-mint bail out of GM, and other forms of socialism in this once-prosperous capitalist society, one Chesterfield car salesman knows what a true American patriot needs to make it through this recession: machine guns.

Lynch Hummer in Chesterfield– the largest Hummer dealership in the United States, according to Motor Trend– has opened a new wing of its store called “Adventure Shooting Sports.” The gas-guzzler-turned-arms-dealer proudly proclaims it now offers “the finest in hunting, tactical and home defense.” They have also beat Stephen Colbert to the punch and registered the domain name GunsAndHummers.com.

Jim Lynch, the owner of the shop tells CNN that “he needed a second revenue stream to support his company” (and he’s not the only Hummer hawker facing that problem these days)  so he converted an entire showroom into an arms bazaar:

Unbelievable, so much for any kind of common sense on this program, seems that a number of folk are trading in their old inefficient land-boats for new land-boats like F150 Trucks, Hummers, Boat towing Caddies, Lexus and other monsters.

Recapping the declared point of the cash for clunkers program, I thought it was sold by the government as a way to cut emmissions and stimulate the economy? Seems it has merely redirected spending from the retail channel and encouraged many folk who already abuse the environment to keep on “trucking”!

The German program has to traps to stem this potential abuse since it has a sting in the tail with up to a $1000 tax addition based on vehicles with a more significant CO2 production.

The US program has no such clause!

http://tinyurl.com/myn7og

Finally, finally, the ruby-throated hummingbirds have arrived here at Hawk’s Haven, the cottage our friend Ben and Silence Dogood share in the precise middle of nowhere, Pennsylvania. As the monarda (bee balm), trumpetvine, jewelweed, cannas, and rose-of-Sharon—all their favorites—came into bloom with no sign of the little hummers, our friend Ben was in despair.

Then, yesterday afternoon, I thought I saw some hummers swarming over the rose-of-Sharon flowers outside Silence’s office window. Could it be?! Or was I just seeing small birds flying up from the seed feeders and deluding myself? (Unfortunately, Silence, whose eyesight is more acute, was out running errands and couldn’t confirm or deny.)

Today, however, there is no doubt. I was gearing up to take our black German shepherd puppy Shiloh outside when I saw a female ruby-throat busily buzzing some geranium flowers on our deck. Hooray! Now I know that Silence and I will have a few months of nonstop entertainment before the onset of cold drives the little critters south. Nothing relieves deadline stress better than looking up from your computer and seeing a hummingbird or two buzzing around!

Westminster City Council, and more particularly Conservative Councillor Danny Chalkley, have failed to listen to the thousands of motorcyclists and their supporters who have expressed their opposition to the motorbike/scooter parking tax in their borough. The No To Bike Parking Tax campaigners have tried everything they possibly could to make Councillor Danny Chalkley, and his Conservative colleagues, overturn their decision to introduce an unjustified stealth tax on motorcycle parking. There have been enormous demonstrations blocking the streets of Westminster every single month since the tax was introduced in August 2008, with massive local and national press coverage every time, and yet Westminster parking services, headed up by Conservative Councillor Danny Chalkley, assisted by Kevin Goad and Kieran Fitsall have ignored them. They have even refused to answer emails and letters from the public, including their own residents, who they are paid to serve and represent their interests. Many campaigners, as a result of their emails and letters being ignored by these Conservative bureaucrates, have had no alternative but submit Freedom of Information requests to Westminster City Council to obtain a reply to their queries. In fact, the very few times when these Conservatives have commented on their ridiculous bike parking tax is to say stupidities such as “motorcycles, even small ones, pollute more than Hummers” or “being environmentally friendly would be to encourage motorbikers to use more public transport”, or else “I think when it comes to guidance on policy, residents have that opportunity every four years”. Why don’t you click here to read some more stupid statements such as the ones above? And it’s not because you submit a Freedom of Information request, to which Westminster City Council are obliged by law to reply within twenty working days (we note that they have breached the law on many occasions), that you obtain a meaningful response. Click here and you’ll see what we mean.

Anyway, enough is enough! Campaigners are now fed up with dealing with Conservative bureaucrates at Westminster, who delibarately ignore the public, even their own residents, and keep doing what they believe is good for themselves. We are told that the No To Bike Parking Tax campaign has strong evidence that Westminster parking services have introduced their motorbike/scooter parking tax illegally, so the next step for the campaign is to take Westminster City Council to court and make them pay for their big mistake! Conservative Councillor Danny Chalkley has been given many opportunities to scrap the bike parking tax during the past twelve months, so enough is enough, the campaign is now taking Westminster City Council to court, to get this bike parking tax scrapped once for good. A highly qualified and experienced Barrister, Oliver Mishcon, has been appointed by the campaign to lead the legal fight against Westminster City Council which, as we have been told, may put their entire council-wide parking strategy at risk! Further details about the legal fight are available here.

In order to give the campaign the maximum chance to win the case and kill this ridiculous bike parking tax, together with its background infrastructure, a total of £50,000 is required from riders, motorcycle traders (Metropolis, a very reputable bike dealer, has already given a huge contribution) and other supporters. Anyone who believes that it is totally inappropriate to stealth tax motorcyclists for parking, because bikes are the solution to reduce road congestion and air pollution, or for whatever other reason(s), please donate to the legal fight here. We are told that “all monies are being held by the campaign’s solicitor/lawyer, none of the money is going to an individual’s bank account, this is all above board and legal”. These are the words quoted from the Frequently Asked Questions section of the campaign’s website.

In the meantime, why don’t you come next Sunday 16th August 2009 to the demonstration, in order to sign the Court Summons, which will officially declare the launch of the legal fight against Westminster City Council. Further details about this demonstration are available here. We believe there will be a briefing by the campaign’s chairman, Warren Djanogly, at Golden Square, London W1 at 12 noon (which we highly recommend you attend), followed by a mass ride to Westminster City Council, 64 Victoria Street, London SW1, where we will all be signing the Court Summons. As it will be lunch time, feel free to bring a picnic lunch!

SEE YOU ALL THERE! MAY THE CONSERVATIVE BIKE PARKING TAX BE SCRAPPED!

Please join and support the legal fight to get the bike parking tax in Westminster scrapped before it spreads all over the UK and the European Union. The next demonstration is on 16th August 2009, don’t miss it! For further details, visit  http://www.notobikeparkingtax.com/

Soutenez et participez au proces dont le but est de forcer la mairie de Westminster a supprimer la taxe de stationnement des deux-roues avant que le concept ne se propage a travers le Royaume-Uni et l’Union Europeenne. La prochaine manifestation aura lieu le 16 aout 2009, ne la ratez pas! Pour plus d’informations, consultez http://www.notobikeparkingtax.com/

If you have a story you would like to see published on UKFRANCE.org, please contact us here.