[Khaama (Afghanistan)] The former Afghanistan's Caped PresidentHamid Maybe I'll join the Taliban Karzai ... A former Baltimore restaurateur, now 12th and current President of Afghanistan, displacing the legitimate president Rabbani in December 2004. He was installed as the dominant political figure after the removal of the Taliban regime in late 2001 in a vain attempt to put a Pashtun face on the successor state to the Taliban. After the 2004 presidential election, he was declared president regardless of what the actual vote count was. He won a second, even more dubious, five-year-term after the 2009 presidential election. His grip on reality has been slipping steadily since around 2007, probably from heavy drug use... has accused the United States of growing extremism in the region, blaming Washington of pursuing a 'dual policy' towards Afghanistan.
Speaking during an interview with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Karzai said senior U.S. officials would tell him that neighboring Pakistain was harboring holy warriors responsible for attacks inside Afghanistan but urge him not to raise the issue with Pak leaders.
He sid the United States "has been both encouraging the thief to steal and the house owner to safeguard his house."
"On the one hand, some U.S. leaders would come and tell us that Al-Qaeda and terrorism are located and nurtured in Pakistain and that they come to attack us from there," Karzai told RFE/RL Radio Free Afghanistan.
He said "On the other hand, whenever we protested against Pakistain's support for terrorism they asked us not to do so and whenever we asked them to take action, they made it clear to us that they couldn't because of various problems.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/17/2014 00:00 ||
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KISMAYO, Somalia -- As Al Shabaab militants are intensifying their drive in the fertile hinterland along Jubba River, a 9-point agreement between Somalia's Federal Government and Jubaland administration has signaled a new milestone in the fight against terror on Friday, Garowe Online reports.
Jubaland President Sheikh Ahmed Mohamed Islam (Madobe) witnessed the signing ceremony at Kismayo presidential palace, urging Mogadishu-based central government to implement and right away honor the strategic integration plan.
The agreement states that Jubaland forces will be considered as National army troops from the date on which the bilateral deal comes into effect, Federal government will provide the only credible fighting force in Jubaland with much-needed military gear and trainings, the renovation of now defunct 43rd and 60th army bases in Jubaland and the provision of capacity building support to Jubaland police force.
The agreement came after Federal Government of Somalia’s Ministers for Interior, Finance and Defence paid a two day visit to the southern port city of Kismayo.
Jubaland gained recognition from Mogadishu-based central government in August 2013 following IGAD-brokered intense bilateral talks in Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa.
Posted by: Steve White ||
11/17/2014 00:00 ||
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[Libya Herald] Five Libyan civil society organizations issued a public apology to the UK, and more specifically to people in Cambridgeshire, for the behaviour of a handful of military trainees that resulted the British government deciding to send the entire batch of 300 men home early.
In a joint letter sent to British Ambassador to Libya Michael Aron, the five organizations -- the Libyan General Medical Council and Syndicate, the Libyan Business Council, the Libyan Labor Union, the Libyan Private Clinics Union, and the National Association of Autism's Friends -- expressed a "profound and heartfelt" apology for the "shameful" acts, and said that they prayed that God would heal any injuries inflicted upon the victims, their families and their communities.
Those who committed the crimes had not only hurt their victims and their families and their British hosts, they had caused deep pain and disappointment to the Libyan people, the letter stated.
The organizations went on to say that they prayed that the incidents would not affect the "strong" relationship between the Libyan and British people.
"This is a relationship we value and which has survived decades past and we hope continues into the future," they said.
The cadets were dispatched this summer for six months' basic training at Brassingbourn Barracks in Cambridgeshire, UK as part of the UK government's initiative to aid Libya in the building of a national army.
Since the decision was made to send the cadets home early, some of the recruits have complained to the BBC of "poor treatment" and "inadequate accommodations" while at the barracks.
There has been no public apology given by Prime Minister Abduallah Al-Thinni or anyone from the the House of Representatives to date.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/17/2014 00:00 ||
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[Libya Herald] The 94 members of the former General National Congress (GNC) who often voted as a bloc have formally announced their refusal to answer the call of some GNC members to convene today.
Among the confusion and chaos of the Libyan political scene, these 94 members published a statement on yesterday stating their refusal and declaring their recognition of the current elected House of Representatives (HoR) as the sole legitimate representative of the Libyan people.
However, Switzerland makes more than cheese... only 23 of the 94 members of the voting bloc actually signed the statement.
"We are all in contact with one another," former GNC member Abdullah Ghamati told the Libya Herald, "However, Switzerland makes more than cheese... many of us are stuck in areas under the control of the Libya Dawn ...aka Fajr Libya, the Islamist operation launched to counter that of General Khalifa Haftar (Operation Dignity). It is made up of the Libya Shield militia (Misrata and Moslem Brotherhood), Libya Revolutionaries Operations Room (Moslem Brotherhood), and Tripoli Brigade (close to Abdul Hakim Belhaj, head of Al-Watan party). Financing and moral support come from Turkey and Qatar... militias. Although it has not been possible for us to personally visit everyone, especially due to the fear of the militias, each member has informed us of their approval of the statement."
The group considers the attempt at reviving the former GNC to be an aggressive act against the will of the Libyan people who elected a new legitimate body. The statement disowned any decisions that might be taken by some members who try to revive the Congress.
Notably, most of the members who signed the statement are from the eastern side of Libya, giving the impression that the HoR has more support in the east than in the west of Libya.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/17/2014 00:00 ||
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[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] The surprise meeting of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) leaders ended Monday evening after resolving schism with member state Qatar ...an emirate on the east coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It sits on some really productive gas and oil deposits, which produces the highest per capita income in the world. They piss it all away on religion, financing the Moslem Brotherhood and several al-Qaeda affiliates... , Al Arabiya News Channel's correspondent reported.
Gulf leaders from the six-nation alliance also agreed on the return of Saudi, Emirati, and Bahraini envoys to Qatar, ending eight months of tense relations.
The agreement "promises the opening of a new page that will present a strong base, especially in light of the sensitive circumstances the region is undergoing," the GCC said in a joint statement.
"Based on this, Soddy Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face... , the UAE and Bahrain have decided to return their ambassadors to Doha," it said.
The annual GCC summit was also confirmed to take place on Dec. 9-10 in Doha, the correspondent reported.
Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain all withdrew their ambassadors to Doha in March, sparking one of the GCC's worst diplomatic rows since its creation in 1981.
The leaders, who travelled with their foreign ministers and other cabinet members or bigwigs, were greeted by Crown Prince Mugran bin Abdulaziz al-Saud and GCC Secretary General Abdullatif al-Zayani, according to the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA).
Posted by: Fred ||
11/17/2014 00:00 ||
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#1
If I recall the rift started because GCC disapproved of Qatar's funding of certain terrorist organizations. Does this mean Qatar has agreed to withdraw funding from these groups, or does the GCC now find it permissible?
SEOUL -- North Korean leader Fat Boy Kim Jong-un's special envoy set to fly to Russia is likely to meet the European country's president next week to discuss diverse bilateral pending issues, sources in Seoul said Sunday.
Choe Ryong-hae, the senior secretary of the Workers' Party of (North) Korea, will embark on a eight-day trip to Russia on Monday, according to the Moscow's foreign ministry.
The planned visit by Pudgy Kim Jong-un's close aide came as the communist country has launched vigorous diplomatic campaigns in recent months to shun the United Nations' resolution that called to refer Suet Face Kim to the International Criminal Court for his grave human rights violation.
Can North Koreans plausibly do what might be called a "charm offensive"?
"Choe would meet Vladimir Putin on Tuesday as a special envoy to its corpulent leader Kim," a diplomatic source in Seoul said, requesting anonymity. "He is seen delivering the ailing Kim's letter to Putin and to discuss diverse issues on security and the economy."
And perhaps bring home some caviar for Fat Boy...
Some watchers say the two sides would also discuss a possibility of holding a summit meeting between Kim and Putin.
With details of Choe's itinerary not available, he is expected to stay in Moscow until Friday to meet figures there and fly to Russia's far eastern cities of Khabarovsk and Vladivostok before returning home, according to Seoul sources.
Choe met Chinese President Xi Jinping last year as Kim's envoy and made a surprise trip to South Korea in October along with two high-level North Korean officers.
His upcoming trip to Moscow comes as a U.N. committee plans to vote on a strongly-worded resolution against Pyongyang for its poor human rights record. A sternly worded draft resolution calls for the referral of the young leader to the ICC for crimes against humanity.
Speculation has grown that North Korea's ties with China are not like before and Pyongyang has instead sought to improve political and economic ties with Moscow.
Posted by: Steve White ||
11/17/2014 00:00 ||
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[Ynet] "Israel does not have to worry about the meeting of foreign ministers of the European Union ...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing... (on Monday). We will meet and show our hope that we will be able to bring peace. And despite the tensions that occurred in the past few weeks ‐ we all have hope that there will not be an escalation of violence," said German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier during a joint presser with Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman.
Steinmeier added that during his visit to Ramallah he saw that the Paleostinians were "very stressed and worried" from the possibility of a return to the situation that occurred during Operation Protective Edge.
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Several thousand people demonstrated in Madrid on Sunday in support of independence for the disputed territory of Western Sahara, a former Spanish colony in northwestern Africa.
About 3,000 protesters marched from Atocha railway station to the central Plaza de la Provincia behind a banner declaring "Sahara Free now!," an AFP photographer said.
Banners from many parts of Spain could be seen at the demonstration which also included live music and street performers dressed in the red, green, black and white of the traditional Saharawi flag.
"We believe the Saharawi people have to right to self-determination," said Jose Taboada, president of the Coordination of Spanish Associations of Solidarity with Western Sahara, which organized the protest and wants the territory to vote on independence.
"This is a scream to demand that the Spanish government intervene to help the Saharawis to be able to vote to decide what they would like to be," he told AFP.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/17/2014 00:00 ||
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How refreshing. Someone comes out in favor of the right of self determination. One of my personal favorites.
[IsraelTimes] The man who became known as the "20th hijacker" from the September 11, 2001, attacks wants to testify in lawsuits filed by victims of terrorism.
The imprisoned Zacarias Moussaoui recently wrote to federal courts in New York and Oklahoma, claiming he can offer inside information about the inner workings of al-Qaeda to boost legal claims that the government of Soddy Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face... and financial institutions supported terrorism.
It's not just Pakistan anymore that one discovers oneself in Bizarro World.
[Intellibriefs] The "News", the Pakistani daily, has reported on August 3,2009, that the Barack Obama Administration has decided to appoint Robin Raphel, who was a Counselor for Political Affairs in the US Embassy in New Delhi from 1991 to 1993 and subsequently became the Assistant Secretary of State for South Asian Affairs in the Bill Clinton Administration, as a member of the team of Richard Holbrooke, the Special Representative to the Af-Pak region.
2. According to the paper, she will be based in Pakistan and will co-ordinate the implementation of the plan for non-military assistance to Pakistan. She is expected to arrive in Pakistan on August 14,2009. Her bio-data as taken from the Wikipedia is annexed.
3. During her posting in the US Embassy in New Delhi, she was actively interacting with the various anti-India groups in Jammu & Kashmir and it was reportedly on her advice that the Hurriyat, as an umbrella organization of these groups, became very active.
4. After Bill Clinton assumed office as the President in January,1993, she joined the State Department as the Assistant Secretary of State in charge of South Asian Affairs under Warren Christopher, who was the Secretary of State. It used to be said that she knew the Clintons from her younger days and this gave her easy access to the President despite her junior position in the State Department. She exploited this to prevent Pakistan being declared as a State sponsor of terrorism after the Mumbai blasts of March,1993.
5. It was during her tenure as the Assistant Secretary of State that the Clinton Administration declared Jammu & Kashmir as a "disputed territory" and started calling for the resolution of the dispute between India and Pakistan over the Kashmir issue in accordance with the wishes of the Kashmiri people. This refrain has once again been taken up by the Obama Administration.
6. Towards the end of 1993 , during a non-attributable discussion with some Indian journalists in Washington DC she reportedly defended this formulation and contended that the US considered the Kashmiri territory transferred by Pakistan to China in 1963 when Ayub Khan was the President also as disputed territory, whose future was yet to be decided.
7. The "Times of India" prominently carried this story on the front page without identifying the official of the State Department who had talked to the Indian journalists on the Kashmir issue. Enquiries made by the Government of India identified the official as Robin Raphel.
8. It was during her stewardship of the South Asian Affairs portfolio in the State Department that the Taliban under Mulla Mohammad Omar came into existence in 1994 with the joint support of the Pakistan and US Governments. The Taliban was prepared to support the construction of an oil and gas pipeline by UNOCAL, an American oil company, from Turkmenistan to Pakistan via Afghanistan and she had met Mulla Mohammad Omar in this connection. This period also saw Osama bin Laden shift from Khartoum to Jalalabad in 1996 without any objection from the US. The Taliban later shifted him to Kandahar.
9. Even after she left the State Department and joined the faculty of the National Defence University, she reportedly maintained active contacts with anti-India elements in J&K.
10. The "News" has correctly described her as "one known to be Pakistan's friend".
11. She is.
12. The text of the "News" report is also annexed. (3-8-2009)
(The writer is Additional Secretary (retd), Cabinet Secretariat, Govt. of India, New Delhi and, presently, Director, Institute For Topical Studies, Chennai.)
#1
Too bad. Democrats/Globalists have been anti-India or at least disparaging since at least Kennedy/Galbraith. When sanity returns, USA, India and Russia will ally to defeat China as well as the snuffies.
Israel will never agree to limit its construction activity in annexed east Jerusalem, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said on Sunday.
"One thing should be clear: we will never accept the definition of building in Jewish neighbourhoods of Jerusalem as settlement activity," he said at a news conference with his German counterpart Frank-Walter Steinmeier.
"We won't accept any limitation on building in Jewish areas of (east) Jerusalem," he said.
His remarks came four days after Israel approved plans to build 200 homes in Ramot in occupied east Jerusalem despite months of almost daily clashes and tensions there with Palestinians, triggered in part by settlement expansion.
Perhaps if the Paleos offered some negotiation instead of riots and murder, they could get some leverage in stopping the settlements...
The announcement prompted a sharply-worded rebuke from Washington which reiterated its "unequivocal" opposition to such construction in east Jerusalem, warning it could "exacerbate this difficult situation on the ground and... will not contribute to efforts to reduce the tension."
Exacerbate? How, exactly?
Exacerbate in this context means to give them an excuse to fuss when otherwise they'd have already invented one.
Israel seized east Jerusalem during the 1967 Six-Day War and later annexed in a move never recognised by the international community. It refers to the entire city as its "united, undivided capital" and does not view construction there as settlement activity.
The Palestinians want the city's eastern sector as capital of their promised state and vehemently oppose any Israeli attempt to expand construction there.
Posted by: Steve White ||
11/17/2014 00:00 ||
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Oh Noes!
A stern lecture from Sorority Social Chairlady Psaki and Marie Woof Harf to ensue
Posted by: Frank G ||
11/17/2014 10:06 Comments ||
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activity in annexed east Jerusalem annexed in a move never recognised by the international community
They can't remember an ass-kicking from last summer. How would they acknowledge one almost two generations ago?
[ARABNEWS] Sri Lanka's president has accused a former top Norwegian envoy of covertly financing the island's separatist Tamil Tigers during peace talks before a military campaign that crushed the rebels in 2009.
President Mahinda Rajapaksa told a public rally on Saturday that he wanted Oslo to probe the role of Erik Solheim, a former Norwegian international development minister and a peace envoy to Sri Lanka.
"The Norwegian government should investigate his conduct," Rajapakse said.
Solheim hit back on Sunday, accusing Rajapaksa of inventing the allegations as he enters campaign mode for a presidential election widely expected in January.
"President Rajapakse tells lies about me as election approaches. I will set the truth straight tomorrow," Solheim said in a tweet, before saying he would give a more detailed response on Monday.
Solheim failed to secure a peace deal despite arranging a truce, which broke down in April 2006. Three years later Sri Lankan forces crushed the campaign for a separate homeland in a controversial military campaign.
Rajapakse in his address, a copy of which was obtained from his office on Sunday, said Solheim gave money to the guerrillas even while peace moves were under way.
Solheim, who led Norwegian peace efforts between 1999 and 2006, recently announced his willingness to give evidence before any international tribunal investigating Sri Lanka's war record.
Sri Lanka crushed the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) by May 2009 in a massive military operation that also triggered allegations that troops killed up to 40,000 Tamil civilians, a charge Colombo denies.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/17/2014 00:00 ||
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[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] U.S. President Barack Obama Dreams of My Sainted Father... on Sunday rejected any alliance with Bashir al-Assad against the Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) group, arguing that the Syrian ruler was illegitimate and that any such pact would backfire.
"Assad has ruthlessly murdered hundreds of thousands of his citizens. As a consequence, he has completely lost legitimacy with the majority of the country," Obama told news hounds after a G20 summit in Brisbane.
"For us to then make common cause with him against ISIL (ISIS) would only turn more Sunnis in Syria in the direction of supporting ISIL and would weaken our coalition (against ISIS)," he said.
U.S. reports this week said the president had ordered a wholesale review of his administration's Syria policy, with Assad still in power despite an armed uprising that is now in its fourth year.
The conflict has become many-sided as jihadists gain ground, notably ISIS and the al-Nusra ...the current nom de guerre of al-Qaeda in the Levant, which isn't to be confused with al-Qaeda in Iraq and the Levant... Front, which is affiliated to al-Qaeda.
Obama has built an international coalition against IS as it rampages across both Syria and Iraq. The coalition in September launched its first air strikes against the bad boys, using Syrian air space, and Obama is deploying up to 1,500 more U.S. troops to Iraq.
The president denied that he intended to recalibrate his Syria policy, insisting that it was reviewed all the time to see what was working and what was not.
"Certainly no changes have taken place with respect to our attitude towards Assad," he said in Brisbane.
"This is a fight against extremisms of any stripe that are willing to behead innocent people or mow down political prisoners with a cruelty that we've very rarely seen in the modern age," he added.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/17/2014 00:00 ||
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#1
Let me guess, his wife said some uncomplimentary things about Michelle?
#2
He's already promised Syria to the Muslim Brotherhood. You can't renege on a promise to a lodge brother.
Posted by: ed in texas ||
11/17/2014 8:01 Comments ||
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#3
FYI as per FREEREPUBLIC AM + PAJAMAS MEDIA = [IIRC] OBAMA WILL NOT SEND ANY GROUND TROOPS TO THE MIDDLE EAST UNLESS ISLAMISTS [Hard/Burqua Boyz] ACQUIRE NUCLEAR WEAPON(S).
and
* REUTERS > US MILITARY READINESS FOR WAR, COMPETITIVE EDGE WORSENING: OFFICIALS.
Once again, welcome to OWG Globalism + "Co-Superpower(s)" [Nuclear?] Parity - perhaps youse hoid of it???
OWG Mighty USSA = OWG Weak USRoAmerika Global SSR = "GLOBAL SWITZERLAND"???
China is set to double its investment in Iranian infrastructure projects, Iran's Mehr news agency reports.
China has raised its quota for Iranian projects to $52bn from $25bn the report said, quoting Iran's deputy minister for energy, Esmail Mahsouli. Water, electricity, oil and gas projects will all benefit from the extra financing, Mr Mahsouli said.
Iran has turned to China, Russia and Turkey for financing as Europe and the US have strict sanctions on the nation. The US has an almost total economic embargo on Iran, while the European Union tightened up its sanctions in 2012, particularly targeting the energy and banking industries.
The US, the EU and other nations suspect Iran of developing atomic weapons and have imposed sanctions over that threat. The US says it will unblock $2.8bn in frozen Iranian funds, in return for Iran continuing to convert its stocks of 20%-enriched uranium into fuel.
Posted by: Steve White ||
11/17/2014 00:00 ||
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#1
I see everybody: Russia, USA, and now China; are courting Iran.
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] During a an unannounced visit to Iraq, the most senior U.S. military officer told American troops in Baghdad that the battle with the Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) Death Eater group was "starting to turn."
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin Dempsey told the troops the U.S. military had helped Iraqi and Kurdish forces "pull Iraq back from the precipice," Rooters news agency reported.
"And now, I think it's starting to turn. So well done," he told a group of Marines at the U.S. embassy in Baghdad.
Dempsey landed in Iraq for the first time since President Barack Obama If you have a small business, you didn't build that... authorized an array of responses to an offensive launched by ISIS this summer, which he said would take several yearts to "drawn-out."
Obama last week authorized roughly doubling the number of American ground forces as the military expands the reach of its advisers after slowing the Death Eaters' advances with U.S. Arclight airstrikes.
Earlier on Saturday, an Iraqi army colonel said security forces were close retaking the country's biggest refinery at Baiji, which has been under siege for months by ISIS Death Eaters.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/17/2014 00:00 ||
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#1
"And now, I think it's starting to turn. So well done," he told a group of Marines at the U.S. embassy in Baghdad.
Victory lap for the Marines Champ. Nice touch Marty old boy.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
