Virginia Decker

Virginia Decker

She was the

consummate hostess,

usually to cats and the

occasional

scallywag, but not

to be messed

with, a true friend to

all, and anti-war

activist, and late-in-life

lover of

my third eye,

third oldest friend, and

man of letters whose heart got

the best of

his formidable

brain power.

Oh she could drink back

in the day, dance and

sing all night, keep odd hours and

almost not

care who cared.

onetime she painted her house

and we all

would have lost bets on

that happening.  Where

are her type

of neighborhood nurses now?

How can we

raise our children to

share the way she did?

Wheel of Fate

Wheel of Fate

 

Black always

suffices, even

on alpine floppy

hats in old

Gwangju.  Complicated math

is required: figures

beyond earth

stroll, hypocrites preach

to children but they

know: strayed already

avoided early parenthood

by pure luck or smarts.

Some big mouth

goes down: broke domestic rules

so cunnilingus,

which was all

he had left, has been

taken away.  The death

of intimacy

proves Karmic

payment is never really

complete, as

“it’s over” rings in

Ears, eyes tear, son laughs

No knowing

why a grown man would ever

be so full

of emotions.  Ten

years down, where is up?

Peace, But When?

      

        jewishcurrents.org                                                    globalresearch.ca

Peace movements come and go, but in 1974 a peace movement ended the American part of the Vietnam War.  Since then the media has not covered large or even small peace rallies, yet 600,000 rallied against Bush Senior’s Desert Storm in the winter of 90-91, that was five times larger than ANY Vietnam rally, yet the march was not covered on the nightly news by any network, and rece3ived coverage only on the 13th page of the Washington Post itself, where the rally was held.

Thus, if putting together hundreds of thousands of protestors gets no results anymore, how are peace activists going to achieve their goal of peace.

Where should they start?

I suggest they start at the Christian Muslim divide, and in the country the started it, and perpetuates it: the USA.

The USA has an incredibly awful record when it comes to the world’s worst human rights abuse:  war.

Bill Blum reports in his “Anti-Empire Report” (williamblum.org) about the 91 interventions in 66 separate countries since World War II.

Note the chapter headings of his book “Killing Hope”:

Chapter 1: China – 1945 to 1960s: Was Mao Tse-tung just paranoid?

• Chapter 2: Italy – 1947-1948: Free elections, Hollywood style
• Chapter 3: Greece – 1947 to early 1950s: From cradle of democracy to client state
• Chapter 4: The Philippines – 1940s and 1950s: America’s oldest colony
• Chapter 5: Korea – 1945-1953: Was it all that it appeared to be?
• Chapter 6: Albania – 1949-1953: The proper English spy
• Chapter 7: Eastern Europe – 1948-1956: Operation Splinter Factor
• Chapter 8: Germany – 1950s: Everything from juvenile delinquency to terrorism
• Chapter 9: Iran – 1953: Making it safe for the King of Kings
• Chapter 10: Guatemala – 1953-1954: While the world watched
• Chapter 11: Costa Rica – Mid-1950s: Trying to topple an ally – Part 1
• Chapter 12: Syria – 1956-1957: Purchasing a new government
• Chapter 13: Middle East – 1957-1958: The Eisenhower Doctrine claims another backyard for America
• Chapter 14: Indonesia – 1957-1958: War and pornography
• Chapter 15: Western Europe – 1950s and 1960s: Fronts within fronts within fronts
• Chapter 16: British Guiana – 1953-1964: The CIA’s international labor mafia
• Chapter 17: Soviet Union – Late 1940s to 1960s: From spy planes to book publishing
• Chapter 18: Italy – 1950s to 1970s: Supporting the Cardinal’s orphans and techno-fascism
• Chapter 19: Vietnam – 1950-1973: The Hearts and Minds Circus
• Chapter 20: Cambodia – 1955-1973: Prince Sihanouk walks the high-wire of neutralism
• Chapter 21: Laos – 1957-1973: L’Armée Clandestine
• Chapter 22: Haiti – 1959-1963: The Marines land, again
• Chapter 23: Guatemala – 1960: One good coup deserves another
• Chapter 24: France/Algeria – 1960s: L’état, c’est la CIA
• Chapter 25: Ecuador – 1960-1963: A text book of dirty tricks
• Chapter 26: The Congo – 1960-1964: The assassination of Patrice Lumumba
• Chapter 27: Brazil – 1961-1964: Introducing the marvelous new world of death squads
• Chapter 28: Peru – 1960-1965: Fort Bragg moves to the jungle
• Chapter 29: Dominican Republic – 1960-1966: Saving democracy from communism by getting rid of democracy
• Chapter 30: Cuba – 1959 to 1980s: The unforgivable revolution
• Chapter 31: Indonesia – 1965: Liquidating President Sukarno ..: and 500,000 others; East Timor – 1975: And 200,000 more
• Chapter 32: Ghana – 1966: Kwame Nkrumah steps out of line
• Chapter 33: Uruguay – 1964-1970: Torture—as American as apple pie
• Chapter 34: Chile – 1964-1973: A hammer and sickle stamped on your child’s forehead
• Chapter 35: Greece – 1964-1974: “Fuck your Parliament and your Constitution,” said the President of the United States
• Chapter 36: Bolivia – 1964-1975: Tracking down Che Guevara in the land of coup d’etat
• Chapter 37: Guatemala – 1962 to 1980s: A less publicized “final solution”
• Chapter 38: Costa Rica – 1970-1971: Trying to topple an ally—Part 2
• Chapter 39: Iraq – 1972-1975: Covert action should not be confused with missionary work
• Chapter 40: Australia – 1973-1975: Another free election bites the dust
• Chapter 41: Angola – 1975 to 1980s: The Great Powers Poker Game
• Chapter 42: Zaire – 1975-1978: Mobutu and the CIA, a marriage made in heaven
• Chapter 43: Jamaica – 1976-1980: Kissinger’s ultimatum
• Chapter 44: Seychelles – 1979-1981: Yet another area of great strategic importance
• Chapter 45: Grenada – 1979-1984: Lying—one of the few growth industries in Washington
• Chapter 46: Morocco – 1983: A video nasty
• Chapter 47: Suriname – 1982-1984: Once again, the Cuban bogeyman
• Chapter 48: Libya – 1981-1989: Ronald Reagan meets his match
• Chapter 49: Nicaragua – 1981-1990: Destabilization in slow motion
• Chapter 50: Panama – 1969-1991: Double-crossing our drug supplier
• Chapter 51: Bulgaria 1990/Albania 1991: Teaching communists what democracy is all about
• Chapter 52: Iraq – 1990-1991: Desert Holocaust
• Chapter 53: Afghanistan – 1979-1992: America’s Jihad
• Chapter 54: El Salvador – 1980-1994: Human rights, Washington style
• Chapter 55: Haiti – 1986-1994: Who will rid me of this turbulent priest?
• Chapter 56: The American Empire – 1992 to present

Again, voting does not do Americans much good when it comes to creating a peace-loving legislature.  We are given no choices, and what some call the “Golden Triangle of Military Spending” finds that only one of the three sides of the triangle is elected at all.

One:  The CIA develops a threat, via intelligence or fabrication

Two: the Pentagon comes up with the weaponry to fight that threat

Three:  The congress shells out the money for the equipment needed to fight the threat

Only congress is elected, but along with other large corporations, part of the same money that military contractors make in profit is pumped back into legislative election coffers.

“House of Bush, House of Saud: The Secret Relationship Between the World’s Two Most Powerful Dynasties is a 2004 book by Craig Unger that explores the relationship between the Saudi Royal Family and the Bush extended political family. Unger asserts that the groundwork for today’s terrorist movements and the modern wars that have sprung up about them was unintentionally laid more than 30 years ago with a series of business deals between the ruling Saudis and the powerful Bush family. The Saudis received investments and military protection in exchange for cooperation on lucrative oil deals. The author claims that the result has been a shady alliance between “the world’s two most powerful dynasties.” Unger writes, “Never before has an American president been so closely tied to a foreign power that harbors and supports our country’s mortal enemies.”

Award-winning documentary filmmaker Michael Moore‘s 2004 picture Fahrenheit 9/11 draws heavily on arguments made in Unger’s book. ”    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_of_Bush,_House_of_Saud

Of course the USA has a right to protect itself, and since we knew 15 of the 19 911 attackers were from Saudi Arabia, um, why didn’t we attack Saudi Arabia?  See Pulitzer-Prize winning author,  Craig Unger’s book “House of Saud, House of Bush”

for the 50+ year relationship between the Bush and Saud clans (meaning oil).

Peace activists need to call meetings among Christians and Muslims that actually8 accomplish something. Accomplish what our governments can NOT, accomplish peace even while the governments and religions involved appear headed for an extremely long clash.  As if 13 years isn’t already a long clash!

http://www.nili-mideastpeace.org/about_us

national interreligious leadership council (see URL above) is one organization supporting such meetings in the USA. Since three Muslims were shot dead by an American extremist in Chapel Hill North Carolina, about one month ago

the problem of how Americans see Muslims in their communities has gotten worse.

Another study shows how peace initiatives among Muslims and Christians in Indonesia can be effective:

http://www.academia.edu/1080563/Muslims_and_Christians_Interfaith_Initiative_for_Peace_in_Indonesia

A Common Word is another successful interfaith initiative:

http://www.acommonword.com/

Lastly, the Coalition for Peace, Freedom and Justice is also bringing people together to address issues that no single interfaith group can tackle without a large swelling up of the people of the USA.

http://cjcmp.org/

WHY THE USA? Well because the USA is the one that stirs up the trouble, kills many Muslims without grounds, and has developed, through its insane policies that have seen over a million non-combatants (people without guns, innocent women children and men. This in turn has radicalized many Muslims who won’t soon forget the horrors wrought upon the middle east by the USA.

In terms of sheer numbers of countries, Obama has been the worst at spreading the horrors of war in the Middle East.

http://stpeteforpeace.org/factsheets/obama.html

Look at this information in case it isn’t clear that Obama has continued Bush’s illegal wars.

I believe World War Three started the day Dodi and Diana died in their “car accident” in Paris, August 31, 1997.  The Muslim Christian divide has worsened ever since, due to Christians starting and finishing wars and even with the use of Drones to kill people.  What a dangerous thing to start:  Using robots to kill people.

The goal of any peace group now should be to get the USA to pull out of the middle east, and then pull out of everywhere else eventually.” USA National Interest” is a thin veil for the fact that the USA military has been used to protect and even gain oil and other important minerals and cheap labor and huge war profits.  Once a country has been decimated, then the US often rebuilds that country (Freeport McMoran) and even more often abuses the impoverished-by-war for cheap labor. Note Vietnam.

Peace, But When?

WCSS

WCSS

 

You dropped young Jule

into unknown Roosevelt

apartment, took off with Lee

to scope the Rochester gay

scene, or dance, or to…

She woke up

and cried, fell back to

sleep, woke up an cried, so I

hugged her and in my

mind I cried.

Back then I thought you

could replace the giant hole

in my heart; then two others

tried, but I cannot be changed

so they tired, as you

saw again

in beloved Hamburg;

even Brahms neighborhood

could not smooth over

the fact that

you were with

the new right man, and I had

stayed past the

expiration date

of the plastic key

in the nice

inexpensive place you found

1. You knew,

better than I, how time

flies, makes bad moves worse.

TKW

TKW

Described by Janz as

“eternal

adolescent,” but art is

an adult sphere for

those who end

being in

among the swarms of

color-flingers, bright

bulb idea guys,

women with

a brush to grind, you

still wear the

fedora, still hang, Weaver

Street itself knows your

foot beat, smell

laugh. The Louvre

Shack  was an art piece

in itself, socked-assed

puppets, some nudist

handed his

camera

to sophomoric coeds who

snapped away

anyway. Your stash

of music was one

of many

lures ladies young and old could

rely on.

Dennis Oppenheim

never had this life.

TM

TM

 

His stylish dismount,

balancing

bicycle, swinging

one leg over then stepping

off lower

pedal, always on

the left side bespoke

athletic

prowess in

all sports.  Trevor Court

had its share of jocks,

but only

one gained style points.  A

lady catcher, pen doctor,

hockey star, he taught

his younger brother well.

We last met

at the club,

appropriate, yes,

though my verse

was not.  Few get such a free

childhood, and

he made the most of

1. Maybe we all

did, but none

with the knowledge-base so

capable

of discerning and

acquiring life’s joys.

A full-service contrarian, Hillary Clinton would be an awful President too, politics, essay, campaign 2016

Good God, H. Clinton never once voted against a single thing Bush wanted.  As Secretary of State she continued the work her husband had started as a member of the tri-lateral commission:  taking over the world.  Heck he was only governor of Arkansas then.  He went on to a whole lot of troublesome activity, but yours alone was scary,even back in the day, no less recently.  The Republicans have only started with your private server and email.

Watch as the “liberal” media lines up against you my friend.

But your philosophy is not not not cookie baking mom,but co-conspirator in such bad policies as NAFTA,m GATT and GATT 2, selling American labor down the road for bigger profits to the top.

You taught Obama how to hoodwink the public with your own health care plan that was so complicated it was a cinch to get voted down.  Obama trumped that by saying Obama Care is better for everyone, when clearly it’s not.  Barack, sir, was your GOAL to just get more people signed up to spread out the liabilities more?  And what of those who still can’t afford health insurance?  Geesh.  What sacrifices will families have to make to afford health insurance? Heating? Eating?

You won’t stop any wars either, just as Obama hasn’t.

How about more money for the homeless war veterans in nearly every city? How about bringing back vocational schools?

How about less people in jail?

How about racist cops, whatcha gonna do?

Hillary, nope not you either.

Hmmm a rare rambling.

Who do you want to see win and why?  Is Mickey Mouse, again the best choice?

HEHE

Doug

A Giant “No” To Suck-Up Ted Cruz

Beware of anyone who announces their Presidential campaign at Liberty University. Liberty University and its founder Jerry Falwell have used church tax-free coffers to do many dastardly things.

One:  Jerry Falwell rented 300 727 airplanes (huge, right) to Frank Clinton (Bill’s brother) that were used to run guns to Honduras so they may be walked over the river to Nicaragua, thus countering the congress’ LAW that forbid any support to the Contras.  The FBI had 100 counts ready for Frank Clinton as drug runner since the planes that took guns down were alledgedly bringing planeloads full of Manuel Noriega’s cocaine back into the united states, in army duffel bags.

The FBI was ready to move in, when Bill got nominated for President, and presto those charges went away. As a reporter for the Roanoke Times and World News, I knew about and saw the documents that proved Frank Clinton was guilty enough to be arrested and most likely incarcerated. Who but a big ol’ phony warmongering church could even afford 300 727s?

Noriega’s eventual trial was moved from Roanoke Circuit court to Miami for no apparent reason, except the fact that Frank Clinton rented the planes from Falwell, never got further than  Roanoke as the AP and then UPI never ran the story on their wires.  Huh?  Noriega has been in an air-conditioned, porn-filled, fax-ready luxury jail cell since. Falwell and his huge coffers almost got Oliver North elected after he was found guilty in the Iran Contra affair.

Remember that was when Reagan and friends sold billions of dollars worth of arms to Iran, our sworn enemy after their operatives took 53 American hostages that amazingly were released exactly 2 hours after Reagan was sworn in.  The hostages ended President Carter’s chance of being reelected, but their dire actions were also ignored by Reagan when he sold arms to Iran.  The US thus had sold arms to BOTH sides of the three year long Iraq-Iran war in the middle 80s, thus starting the middle east conflict that rages on to this day between Sunis and Shia,exacerbated by the USA.  (OIL OIL OIL).

So that’s Ted Cruz for you. He sucks up to robotized Christian fundamentalists (all fundamentalists are dangerous, but Christians are far more so than Muslims, so far.)  Since the Crusades, Christians have been launching attacks against Muslims in order for big wigs to make a dandy war profit. Falwell’s family had a reputation and got in trouble for moonshine running until Jerry hit on a better money-making scheme, and legal and tax free.

Thus began the Moral Majority (it is still neither….not moral by a lot and not a majority by even more.) Liberty university is also alive thanks to these monies rich folks sent to Falwell, some knowing exactly what he was up to.  The fact that Oliver North, the fall guy for the Iran Contra scheme was narrowly defeated in his run for the US Senate, shows the influence Falwell’s congregation (roped in via Television) continues to have as they pump out Christian activists that, I pray, do not represent most church goers point of view:  the biblically verified concept that Jesus was a plu-perfect liberal.  He always railed against the money changes, the unrepentant rich, war, etc. and Fundamentalists and Baptists in particular are full of greedy supporters of the perpetual wars we’ve created and fought since World War II My Friends and I dressed in dark blue blazers on Easter and handed out “Jesus Is a Liberal” bumper stickers along with the following poems at the Mission Street Church where Falwell spit his junk.

We quickly vamoosed before the envelopes were opened, and did get a rather stout response since my email address was on the stickers.  It’s going to take a lot more than actions that subtle to bring down the powerful and wealthy who have us in our 13th year of Middle East war, and our  73rd of nearly continual wars. Bring the troops home and then never send them out again, that’s my idea. cut military spending by 70% or more, and spend some money trying to regain dignity for the Americans who lost jobs when our billionaires shipped them overseas via free trade, GATT and GATT2. Wondering about the poem we handed out with the bumper sticker?

Here it is:

Jesus is a Liberal

Jesus Christ would not be proud

To see religion in this state. (Virginia that is.)

TV evangelists preach a canon of intolerance.

Jesus never expected people to hate in his name.

Building amusement parks in homage to God

Makes as much sense as waging war for Christ.

A god who attracts such diverse attentions Is not

a nice god or even a holy god. He must be the god

of money, or, The god of land acquisition, or, perhaps

Even the god of death.

Now that should Set bells ringing in your bible-belt ears.

The god of death destroys life and love,

The god of death is worshipped in Lynchburg.

This Poem first appeared in “the Muse,” Edited by Ilya Kaminsky, 1997, Rochester, NY Copyright, Doug Stuber, 1999. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given, and with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

T-50 Fighter

T-50 Fighter Jet

 

Every noon they take

flight over Gwangju,

not just as a check

nor reminder of

air force glory from

the nineteen

fifties, but these days

because noon is not

enough.  Continual guard,

vigilant patrol

in case Kim Jun Eun

is not “kid”-ding, but

truly will goad a

reaction, a step

up ladder

to ramp the creeping

World War Three that, as

historians will recall

began on August

thirty first

nineteen ninety seven when

Diana

and Dodi died “by

accident.”  Then nine

eleven,

now a forevermore war

for oil and

resources that can

make the rich richer.

Copyright, Doug Stuber, 2013. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given, and with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Stop Driving Cars!

Stop Driving Cars!

 

This planet is unequal and getting more so by the day.

Those at the top sucked up all the money and have now

secured all the resources.  Globalization assures the value

of labor will continue to drop while Monsanto, dastardly

GMO mongers have already caused forty thousand Indian

farmers to commit suicide.  Defining hard-labor poor there’s

no way they could afford to buy seeds every year, and no

way to reverse the damage done by the “sensamilla-ization”

of soy beans to rice to wheat to corn.  Us grass-seed eaters

have ingested enough of their shit without knowing what

mutations may occur. One day we might have to buy sperm

and ova from those fucks!  Maybe they’ll patent them too!

Patented food!? Do the exclusive rights to kill the world

this way run out in seven years like pharmaceuticals or light

bulbs; or is there already a self-written law passed by owned

stooges that extends food patents to forever?  Warm-hearted

NGO workers, social workers, frazzled teachers and quiet

laborers, who don’t have the nerve to strike or scream as

their jobs could move from a buck an hour to a fifty cents an

hour locale any time are not enough to balance the obnoxious

investor class and their underlings in government. This too is

a globalized phenomenon, like square miles worth of plastic

islands killing sea mammals, ice melting to the effect of a sea-

cocktail, cooled so that smack dab in the middle of global

warming northern and southern sea cities are freezing their

asses in the winter while tectonic plates, like the extra water

above, move, making earthquakes, tsunamis, hurricanes and

tornadoes, typhoons, volcanoes, flooding and droughts regular.

Huddle close kids, this unstoppable tide could swell.  Greed

towers over saving the planet. Got any ideas that will work?

Copyright, Doug Stuber, 2013. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given, and with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

SS

SS

No camper

ever came to play,

paddle, hike

at Reiner’s

Adirondack Swim and Trip

Camp with the vigor

you threw at

1. it. Armed with one hundred points

you always

made it past the guards,

your team won

by using your for

defense then

scoring the

century at the end.  Your

Dad is a “good stick”

but rock and

roll, then movie keyboards made

you mister

Hollywood.  Not all

maniacs

that roamed the Barnard Tract hit

their stride, or

even survived teen

car accidents.  The

aptly named

planetarium lasers

tie-dyed Park

Avenue heads, smell

the magic, rock on!

Copyright, Doug Stuber, 2013. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given, and with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Roy Buchanan

Roy Buchanan

First you invited us to

have a beer in your

van, then you

offered back stage fun

by the lake in Syracuse.

The DBs,

then you, Little Feat:

a legendary

show because it changed

my life. Oh, but I still cry

about yours.  What the hell made

it impossible

for you to

resist whatever

recreational was in

front of you,

or bar fights?  Your home

town of Reston police

finally had enough, too

much, but how did this lead such

a gifted

guitarist to end it all?

Or did you

have it ended for

you?  I switched the guilt

I felt to

a story in my favor.

I still pray

our short time as friends

was good for you too.

Copyright, Doug Stuber, 2013. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given, and with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

PCS

PCS

 

His love, to mountain

climb, mixes with a

fine sense of painting, knowledge

poetry

brings to his life.  He

pulled out a

bag of “anti-salt:”

anti-soju, which I had

downed seven bottles and two

beers, believing the

cute red ovals to

be plum juice.  As each

table went up to  speak, I’d

rifle their

supply and down it

without a

ceremonial

pour.  I barfed for a half hour

right next to the waiting bus,

thus delaying high

members of

the Southwest Development

Council, and

embarrassing my

brother-in-law for

the very

first time, two weeks into

stay.  Thanks Park

for your art, moons and

mountains, curing salt.

Copyright, Doug Stuber, 2013. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given, and with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

KAP

KAP

Kyle, you man

among men,

your musical taste

changed with the L.A. scene, sun

setting on strip clubs,

but your guitars soar,

the best at what you

do is collaborate with

lyricists, punch up

would-be dull tunes with

rhythm and

lead riffs.  You

break into some of

the most unexpected lines

since Zappa, so don’t do

in music what you’ve

done in love. Find the

driving beat that sets you free.

Free to explore your

gift, free to achieve

what some god

of music must have wanted:

eternal

notes many will not

ever forget.  Push

your own ass,

or I will come there, wallet

in hand, to

ensure your best shot

is taken.  Gadflies?

Copyright, Doug Stuber, 2013. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given, and with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Ross and Ferdi

Ross and Ferdi

 

She stood with two–year-

Old child, one

Guilder to her name,

so Dad took

her in, watched as she ate raw

buttered radishes.

Being Dutch, she reveled in

child’s play, so

Ross and I did just

that, on bicycles, in the

water, at soccer

putting on

toweling off shows

as we danced

through Bushnell’s Basin to points

far gone.  Twenty five

years later a reunion

near Blackies-

by-the-Sea in warm

Costa Mesa provided

a chance to

know his wife, eat with his Mom,

camp out, while

caddying on the L

PGA tour. I

heard mother

and son moved back to Holland

as his Grand

parents aged.  Orgies

of fun all around.

Copyright, Doug Stuber, 2013. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given, and with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.