Calm Be biography, Calm Be discography
This is not hindsight commentary.It is another validation of the classic fear and greed syndrome, from which many an opportunistic investor has reaped handsome rewards.This is it, things will get worse, the market will sink deeper before it hits bottom.Fortunately, not everyone was in that kind of panic.Pressured by the strong bullish mood on Mar.Some say it is a bear trap, and the market will again capitulate and return to spinning lower.They make money either way.The important thing to keep in mind is to prepare for either circumstance.Jeffrey Kleintop, chief market strategist at LPL Financial in Boston, reminds us that big market advances follow big declines.When fears invades the market and stock prices begin crashing, the astute course is to buy.And when greed takes over and the market vaults ahead, sell.Good idea, but quite impractical, to my mind, because predicting the market's highs and lows is tricky, if not impossible.Jaguar: Finally Ready to Roar?Jaguar: Finally Ready to Roar?America's Top Experts Pick 10 New Stocks for 2008 Get our Free Winter 2008 Report featuring 10 picks from the top Stock Advisors in the World.Four thousand people are dead.And our Vice President be damned, nobody who "volunteered," as he so callously reminds us, ever volunteered to die.Do you actually believe this is going to end?Do actually believe that there can be a solution within the accepted frameworks?We bowed to your dreams of secular Arab utopia, and look what our passivity has wrought.This is never going to end, unless someone grows the integrity to stand up and stop you.Say what you will about it being the fault of feminists, and gays, and immigrants, and secular humanists; the blame for our situation rests with those who would choose to remain ignorant.And I will not enable you anymore.We may well be in Iraq for the "next hundred years," as our candidates say.So by most counts, though I may be a poor fit for my MOS, I am, for the most part, an exemplary soldier.So why shouldn't the Army want to aid me in my career.So for months, I was in and out of Retention offices, trying to see what they could get me.Time and time again, I was told that either schools were closed out, that there weren't enough openings, or that I lacked the sufficient security clearances.So when, after 15 months of trying, I place a call to the Retention offices in Heidelberg, do I expect to hear more of the same?The Army calls this a "Priority Two."This means that, as long as I am in the Army, I will be forced to accept a job that is below my qualifications.The end of my enlistment is approaching.My current unit is planning to rebase stateside.My leadership, seeing that I am so close to my ETS, is planning to cancel my orders for movement, so that I can be attached to a unit remaining behind, long enough for me to finish out and clear from Germany.What was all of this for?Army can only tell me that they want to give me more of the same.It took me nearly two years to see the clear path, but finally Fate has laid her cards upon the table.Though my last six months will now be a mess of paperwork, planning, and endless phone calls, I feel strangely relieved.But for the first time in years, I can look forward to a world where my choices are my own, where I can look outside and not have my view obstructed by walls or gates.Yes, I'm back safely with Anne.I'm once more back in Germany, though thankfully I've managed to get myself behind a desk, for the time being anyway.It came to a point where my days were so long, so exhausting that I grew tired of reliving them in writing.Living out the Army life is one thing: rehashing it every day in words is quite another.Truthfully, it was good that I stepped away when I did.Says something, I think, about who is truly the stronger sex.So yes, I am back, and I am glad to be so.Me and Anne have been required to reacquaint ourselves, thankfully a smoother transition for us than for most military couples we know.People actually receive weekends off; can choose what they wear, and when.More than that, though, was a sense of disappointment.It seems as though the normal excesses and stupidities of popular culture, obvious enough before my deployment, seem more starkly exposed now.Meanwhile, news coverage on Iraq has nearly faded to zero.As Jon Stewart put it last night, "Is that still HAPPENING?"We've all forgotten, it seems.It flooded out of Baghdad into outlying areas, leaving soldiers in those areas to try to account for the sudden spike in violence.Is this how far we've fallen?Is this how tolerant we've become to the abuse?I'm bitter, I'm tired of the lack of privacy.Meanwhile, my wife and I want to start a family, and I'm not sure I can stomach leaving them to grow up as I blink in and out of their lives.I'm no longer the person I was.On the morning of December 13, 2007, an Airbuss A330 chartered by the U.Throngs of us flee to the nearest exit, desperately craving our first cigarette in over 7 hours.German charter buses, and so we begin the final leg of our long journey home.You've never seen such fury voiced at the quirks of traffic on the autobahn.Our progress north is hampered by snarl after snarl of stau.We do a loop around the Kaserne.Our German bus driver honks, and soldiers press their faces to glass.Frantic utterances: "There she is!"We form up, and following another brief by our First Sergeant, are given a crisp "Right face!"Even after 15 months of agony and loneliness, I can't suppress the wave of pride I feel in this moment.Been injured, certainly, mostly in failures of workplace safety.We march around the block, and finally toward the entrance toward the gymnasium.Now, I reflect with quiet pride, it is my turn to join them.Though none of our heads move, I know that a hundred other pairs of eyes are searching the crowds with mine.Thompson, my longtime friend from the legal office, in full uniform.Then, next to him, a tall woman with chestnut hair.Smoky green eyes greet mine.My jaw clenches, my eyes flare, suppressing the grin.This is what I've wanted for 15 months, and now I have her."Stand at, (Stand AT), EASE!"Bird out of Heidelberg, takes a moment to address us.His remarks are thankfully brief, and he turns us back to our commander with a bulldog "Hooah!""Good work, guys," he tells us gruffly.Soldiers scatter, and family members pour from the bleachers.Hijarah Desert in the early 2100's B.For half a millennia, it towered over the banks of the Euphrates River, the highest point in a crowded, walled city.The rivers of Eden have shifted away now by miles.Iraqi sand, and the impressions left by woven reed, used to strengthen the tar between Sumerian bricks.But where fire murdered Pompeii, It was wind and sand left Urim to slowly wither.It is an uneventful drive; a winding road that twists and turns for several minutes over the desert hardpan, before depositing its passengers at the foot of the Ziggurat.There was a commotion, several years ago, when over the American news it was revealed that the Ziggurat had opened to tourists.Our area is peaceful enough so that we can move about, for the moment, unencumbered.Still, old habits die hard.After this, he gestures toward the gestures toward the Ziggurat behind him.Namu, as some call it, or Ur of the Chaldees); telling us about the age and origins of the city.Despite his mangling of the English language, he speaks clearly and manages to remain at once both entertaining and serious.Ziggurat, or the tombs and city itself.British excavation crews during the early 20th century.When the British left, the property was left to his family, then later taken by Hussein.The rest of the tour is a blur.Who am I kidding, though, I think to myself.Americans I know couldn't care less about this.They'd look at the one lonely souvenir stand, the emptiness of the surrounding terrain, and deride it as a "tourist trap."This first portion of the tour lasts for perhaps an hour.We're told that the House was refurbished for a visit by Pope John Paul in 1999, but then was canceled after Hussein changed his mind and banned the Pope from entry into the country.Iraq, the only like it almost anywhere.Doors, stairways, and secret passages abound.Slowly, we filter out of the House, making our way along the edges of the excavated Lesser City, back past the Crypts and the Palace, back toward the Ziggurat.Scout military conditioning, but in this place I am pleased.Let none drop their trash here, I think.Behind and below me, others are talking and laughing as they climb.Military traffic rumbles to and fro along the streets, too distant to be heard.We linger for I don't know how long, but I keep to myself, lost in thought.Time's dusty record, a collection of bricks making a statement in a language none understand; a message that endures long after everything it once stood for has faded.To the south, Adder coils silently in the desert sun, and from here it seems so impermanent, so transitory.How long before we are forgotten, and will it matter?It's people, its creators, they too have been forgotten, but the Ziggurat is not.It speaks, even now, and there are none to translate what it says."Riverbend," an Iraqi woman whose blog I have read since the start of the war, years before I joined the Army even, is gone.She can no longer accept the way things are in her homeland, regardless of what we try to tell ourselves.I've read and enjoyed her work for so long, and I've worried for her safety when the posts dwindled and eventually almost stopped.Iraq, at a time when our ally Jordan and even our own government are denying Iraqi refugees asylum by the truckload..Should I not congratulate her?Why do I feel only sorrow at what should be a small moment of relief for one innocent in this conflict?But then I remember: this is our fault.WE made it so that she, a secular Sunni, could no longer leave her home without wearing a hijab and being accompanied by at least one male relative, for fear of being targeted for her failure to practice "good Islam."Don't tell me that the terrorists did this.Regardless of whatever horrors they have committed, the ultimate blame rests with us.We're the ones who went in, ignorant of the culture and history of another people, and destroyed it.For a long time, I justified to myself that, by contributing to this war effort, by maintaining the force infrastructure so necessary to our cause, I might have been able to help good people such as Riverbend.Dear Sir,My name is Milo Freeman.The first pertains to your recent trip to Iraq; the other regards the current state of relations with nearby Iran.You also included a blurb recommending a drawdown of troops in the near future, but as to the nature or timeline of that drawdown you gave no further indication.Senate, and am proud to call you my representative in that legislative body.However, I must raise issue with what I see as being an overly vague reccomendation for pullout that, in addition to seeming toothless, also plays directly into the intentions of GOP interest groups on Capitol Hill.President are currently undertaking a press campaign to malign Maliki, in an effort to secure the position for former PM Iyad Allawi.For all the talk of wanting to refocus our energies in the "War on Terrorism," (a suspiciously Reaganesque phrase, don't you agree?That being said, I fear that if more firm action is not taken regarding Iraq in the near future, the situation for my fellow troops on the ground will only continue to deteriorate.This leads into my second concern."The Calm Before The Sand" is the copyrighted work of "Milo Freeman", an author operating under pseudonym (S.Names, dates, and locations have been altered to protect operational security.Antoine Caldwell seen here at practice Thursday March 13, 2008.His body language matched his relaxed outfit as he sat comfortably in a chair and once again exuded an air of quiet confidence.It had been a while since local media had seen him like this.National Football League draft a year early.The rest of the starting unit was, as expected, sophomore Andre Smith at left tackle and junior Marlon Davis at right guard.The second unit was, from left to right, sophomore Scott Deaton, freshman David Ross, freshman William Vlachos, sophomore Evan Cardwell, and sophomore Drew Davis.If not center, I'll be a guard, but right now I'm expecting to go into spring at center.At minimum, Caldwell would like to meet some of the preseason expectations that existed last preseason.That, in part, was one of the reasons why he decided to come back for his senior year, much to the delight of one person especially.We have some experience on the offensive line now, which is huge.Had Caldwell not returned, the line might better resemble the way it looked 12 months ago, when not only where there questions marks with the entire right side, but everyone, including the new assistant coaches, was getting acclimated to Nick Saban.Last year, everyone kind of had the deer in the headlights look,' Caldwell said.We didn't really know what was going on, I don't think they knew too much what was going on.There really isn't a limit, and there's not an excuse for not getting it done.Whatever it is, there's no excuse for this line, and I talk to the guys about that a lot when we get done working out and stuff.We're taking that mentality into spring ball.We're really pleased that have three guys who are really anchors, who have played a lot of football and have been pretty consistent so far,' Nick Saban said.Marlon Davis started a lot of games for us last year and was a starter and there are some young guys who are going to have an opportunity, whether its Drew Davis, David Ross, whoever it is, to compete to solidify that group.That's what spring football is all about.Keep your bracket updated through the Final Four on TideSports.Christopher Walsh
Tidbits from the somewhat warped mind of a college football beat writer.The Lighter Side
A section designed specifically to put a giant wedge into your office productivity.Tommy Deas
Tommy gives you a little bit of everything in the A B C and Deas of sports.This video has been added to your favorites.The video has been added to your playlist.This video will appear on your blog shortly.Thank you for sharing this video!Change this to see only comments above a certain value.Change the value of a comment by clicking on a thumb.Makes me sad too but i still love them.But they never came to Portugal...Would you like to comment?Where is your Boy tonight?We've Changed Our Name to:
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produced by a very reliable company.He is happier, doing well in school..The results I'm seeing in my brother are AMAZING!!!Have you always felt this way?She is 15, and you know that this is a very difficult age anyway.This one's me from 4 years ago, before I was able to quit my day job.My son is doing amazingly well with the chewables.Call me, I'll fill your mailbox.Join Free at JDateWhere love happens!Hamas, while claiming that additional IDF operations in Gaza were impendent."There is a continuous battle taking place in Gaza," Barak said during a meeting of the Labor Party executive committee in Tel Aviv.Things will get tougher before they get quiet."We will bring quiet to Sderot and the Gaza belt, and when there won't be rockets fired into Israel and smuggling is prevented it will open a path for different relations and life as neighbors."Earlier in the day and during a tour of the Gaza border with IDF Chief of General Staff Lt.Gabi Ashkenazi, Barak dismissed Palestinian claims that he was presenting an obstacle to the peace process and instead said that if Israel failed to reach an agreement with Abbas it would be because the Palestinian leader had failed to create a strong and stable government."On the Palestinian side there is not yet readiness to make tough decisions or the ability to set up a judicial system, a government and security service," he said."We are facing additional operations here and these young soldiers will soon be called up to participate in additional operations and to win and that is what we will do," he said.Abbas took pride in the fact that he was the first terrorist in the struggle against Israel.Fatah is the worst and most deadly of our enemies.Barak wisely seeks the advantage of surprise.Trish got up in the morning before Chad.Not long afterward, Chad appeared in the kitchen doorway.Engaged in her favorite ritual of having that first cup of coffee, she barely noticed him.Hey, what are you all (mad) about?Trish was instantly jolted out of the tranquil spell that enveloped her.She spent the next several minutes frantically attempting to get him to understand her correctly.Yes, Chad was guilty of misinterpretation, but Trish allowed his shortsightedness to knock her off balance.Why do that to yourself?Letting him get to you is like letting a Chihuahua chase you around the block.Trish easily gets hurt under such circumstances because she endows others with too much stature, too much clarity and too much maturity.Chad, but by how she processed or interpreted the event.She possesses the maturity and wisdom to question her early conditioning.So what about those people coming from malice?Trish is ultimately responsible for the beliefs about herself that fuel her ineffectual reactions.Powered by the poise of her dignity, Trish can negate any wrong opinion in a mere instant.Salee Reese is a licensed clinical social worker who has been providing clinical services in the area since 1990.Her column, Life Changes, offers personal, relationship and family advice and appears each Sunday in the Living section of The Journal Gazette.
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