Untitled

Politics, Foreign Policy, Strategic Studies, most importantly food. Maybe it should be entitled Unfocused.

[thetine]

We live in a world of imperfect choices.

Barak Husein Obama, 24 September, 2013

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Veteran on Quest to Ensure Old Soldiers Don't Die Alone

Army officer has dedicated himself to volunteering in hospices, and hopes younger veterans will join his cause

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Kazakh, Mongolia

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Not only are there ethical and ecological issues concerning the poaching of elephants for ivory but there are regional security implications as well surrounding groups such as Al Shabaab using the sale of illegal ivory to finance their organizations. 

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I cannot begin to fathom the horror, despair, and grief of those in the Philippines. 

Typhoon Haiyan: Al Jazeera America 

Typhoon Yolanda: Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines 

If you want to help via a donation, please pay attention to where your aid is going, as not all aid will go to the benefit of those affected in the Philippines. Some organizations redistribute funds once they have been received. Though many others will allow you to restrict your donation to a specific cause under such extreme circumstances as those seen now in the Philippines. 

[aljazeeraamerica-blog]

As climate warms, no sour grapes in France

On a small parcel of land tucked into the gently undulating landscape of the Loire Valley, a region in central France dotted with historic villages, sprawling castles and fruit orchards, François Blanchard and a crew of friends, neighbors and fellow winemakers pick organic grapes from the château’s vieilles vignes, the old vines. This golden October afternoon is the first time the grapes will be picked in many years, and though some winemakers might have given up — the vines were thickly overgrown and lay abandoned in the years before Blanchard took over the family business — he is convinced they are worth salvaging. “They’re like an elderly person,” he says. “They have a wisdom we can learn from.”

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Photo: Jean-Pierce Muller/AFP/Getty Images

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Love her!!

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Two Dead, Two Wounded in Shooting at Nevada Middle School

SPARKS, Nevada (Reuters) - A staff member was killed and two students were wounded on Monday when a student opened fire at a middle school in the northern Nevada city of Sparks before taking his own life,

How many more shootings are going to occur and lives need to be lost/ shattered before America takes a good long hard look at our own gun culture?

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Only in America do you see people more concerned about losing their weapons than people having food and healthcare.

-Tina Robetor Howe

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Allies have agreed to respond positively to the request made by the Libyan Prime Minister for NATO to provide advice on defence institution building in Libya, as part of the overall efforts of the international community. We will establish a small advisory team to conduct this effort.

Interesting development.

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Investigating a Military Suicide When It's Your Son

A former detective takes the case of his son's suicide, a young Marine with two tours of duty

"Tommy was one of 295 service members who died by suicide in 2010. Most of them, including Tommy, were young, white, male, enlisted, and did not have a college degree."

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Whoa.

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Ms Veteran America: Healing in Heels

More than just a pageant for 'skinny girls,' contestants say, it's a chance to raise awareness about homeless veterans

When the judges asked why she chose to compete, Rupe got a chance to talk about her own experience with homelessness. It's a not uncommon plight for female veterans: They are the fastest-growing group among the homeless in the U.S. and are more likely than male veterans to be uninsured and living in poverty, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs. Roughly 55,000 female vets were homeless last year.

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Iran nuclear talks get Off to 'Positive' Start in Geneva

The two-day P5+1 gathering is the group's first with Iranian officials since the June election of President Rouhani.

Very punny. But it may just be that positive momentum is building. 

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Pentobarbital has been the drug used in almost all of the lethal injections in the U.S., but that's about to change.

"Before this month, Yowell and Happ were only connected by their lives as death-row inmates. Now, they will be connected in their deaths, both executed with controversial new drugs."

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Verdi's Requiem with the Chicago Symphony, marking the 200th anniversary of his birth. 11 October, 2013.  

[thetine]

So after the blast by Hamid Karzai this seems a little deflated.