Healthy Grocery Shopping Guides - BenGreenfieldFitness.com

WELCOME TO CHAPTER 17 ? THE LAST CHAPTER OF THE NUTRITION SECTION OF?BEYOND TRAINING: MASTERING ENDURANCE, HEALTH & LIFE,?IN WHICH YOU?RE GOING TO GET?The 21 Best Kitchen Tools, Grocery Shopping Guides, Cookbooks, Websites and Local Resources To Fuel Your Active Lifestyle.

And that?s me, swinging my kettlebell in our little family kitchen.

While a kettlebell is not one of my go-to resources for preparing and eating real, healthy food to support an active lifestyle, there are many other crucial kitchen items we use here at the Greenfield household that you?ll discover in this chapter.

Also, at the end of this chapter, I?ll tell you about the toxin-reducing, clean-living material we?ll be getting into in the next ?Lifestyle? section of this book.

But before that, let?s quickly review what you?ve learned so far in this nutrition section:

-Chapter 11:?40 Easy Meals For Busy Athletes: How To Fuel Your Body With The Thousands Of Calories Necessary For Endurance and Extreme Exercise, Without Completely Destroying Your Metabolism.?

-Chapter 12:?What A Half-Naked Ironman Kickboxing Superhero Can Teach You About How Many Calories, Carbs, Proteins And Fats You Should Be Eating

-Chapter 13:?How Much Carbohydrate, Protein and Fat You Need To Stay Lean, Stay Sexy and Perform Like A Beast.

-Chapter 14:?The Zen Of Customizing Your Diet To Your Unique Body And Goals

-Chapter 15:?9 Bad Things That Happen When Your Digestion Goes Wrong, How To Hit The Reboot Button On Your Gut & The Best Way To Detox Your Body.

-Chapter 16:?The Real Truth About What To Eat Before, During And After Your Workouts & Races.

If you haven?t yet read any of those previous chapters, I highly encourage you do it. Your knowledge of nutrition will grow by leaps and bounds and as a result, your gut, performance, health and life will change drastically.

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The 21 Best Kitchen Tools, Grocery Shopping Guides, Cookbooks, Websites and Local Resources To Fuel Your Active Lifestyle

The following are items that you?ll instantly find when you step into my kitchen, or resources you?ll find me tapping into on a daily basis. These are the crucial tools that my wife Jessa and I use to feed our boys and fuel our minds, while keeping our kitchen as holistic and full of real food as possible.

Don?t feel the urge to rush out and buy everything at once. But do print this list, jot down a few notes as you read, or bookmark this page to return to later ? and over the next year, make it your goal to gradually grow your arsenal of healthy nutrition options that will allow you to fuel your body with the thousands of calories necessary to maintain your performance goals ? without killing your insides in the process.

Ready? Let?s jump in?

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Kitchen Tools

1.?OmniBlender?or Vitamix.

A good blender has a big engine and sharp blades. A good blender is a blender you can put several handfuls of kale and almonds, coconut milk, coconut oil, an avocado, protein powder, cinnamon, sea salt, spirulina, Brazil nuts and any other random item you want to put into a kitchen-sink breakfast, press blend, and do morning after morning without blowing up the engine or destroying the blades. A good blender also works for whipping up quick soups, stews, puddings, sauces and dressings. The?OmniBlender?or the?Vitamix?are the only two brands I?ve found so far that can do this stuff without blowing up. The only drawback is that both brands are bulky, so I travel with a?Magic Bullet?blender (pictured left).

2.?Omega?masticating juicer

A ?masticating? juicer takes pieces of fruits and vegetables pushed into the top of the juicer tube, and crushes and squeezes them with an auger. The juice drains out of the underside of the tube, while the pulp is squeezed out at the end of the tube. Because of the slower crushing and squeezing action, masticating juicers can process leafy greens like kale or smaller greens like wheatgrass, and the juice ?they produce lasts much longer than juice made in a centrifugal juicer (which should be consumed right away as it starts losing nutrients nearly immediately). Masticating juicers are pricier than centrifugal models, but worth it.

3. Cast Iron Cookware

Conveniently for athletes, you can actually boost your iron intake from eating food cooked in cast iron cookware. But the benefits of using cast iron don?t stop there.?Replacing your non-stick or aluminum cookware with cast iron allows you to avoid the toxic fumes that accompany most other cookware.?Besides the stove, you can use a cast iron skillet in the oven, at any temperature, and food cooks beautifully.?Surprisingly, a preheated cast iron skillet rivals the qualities of non-stick cookware, as long as it is properly seasoned and cared for, and it?s sturdy, wears well, and is easy to clean up too. They last forever, so you can give them to your grandkids and also find them used at at second-hand store (we bought all our cast-iron cookware from our local Goodwill).

4.?Excalibur dehydrator.

Food drying is a way to preserve fruit, vegetables, and animal proteins after harvest, that has been practiced since ancient times, and a food dehydrator is simply a device that removes moisture from food to aid in natural preservation. A food dehydrator uses a combination of heat source and air flow to reduce the water content of foods. Removing moisture from food not only keeps bacteria from growing and spoiling food, but also dramatically reduces the weight of the food, making food dehydrators fantastic for creating portable, on-the-go items. We use a Excalibur dehydrator to make beef jerky, flax seed crackers, dried fruit roll-ups, pancake mix from leftover carrot pulp from the juicer and much more.

5. SodaStream

Carbonated water is fantastic for staving off appetite cravings or drinking something slightly more interesting than plain water. A SodaStream is simply a countertop machine that injects carbon dioxide into regular water, allowing you to have natural sparkling water at about half the price of the cans and bottles you get at the grocery store. Prior to meals, I?ll often mix juice of half a lemon (a fantastic digestie aid) into a large glass of sparkling water ? and it can also help you burp up any gas or bloating prior to heading out for a workout.

6. Good Kitchen Knife or Knifeset

When you?re cooking with real, fresh food, your prep will go much faster if you actually have a dependable blade, and thanks to initially discovering the recommendation in Tim Ferriss?s 4 Hour Chef book, the Wusthof Classic 8 Inch Cook?s Knife is my go-to blade for kitchen prep. Dull knives take much of the joy out of cooking and meal prep, so treat yourself to a decent knife and you won?t be sorry.

7. Nut Cracker

For thyroid and testosterone support, I eat 3-5 raw, in-the-shell Brazil nuts every day. Usually, they just get thrown into my morning smoothie. I dare you to implement this practice into your daily routine without a handy nut cracker.

8. Canning Jars

In the cookbooks and meal preparation resources you?ll discover later in this chapter, there are a variety of tips for fermentation, lactofermentation, pickling, canning, and adopting many of the other natural food preservation techniques our ancestors relied upon. We not only use canning jars for these techniques, but also as containers for raw milk, water, soaked or sprouted seeds and nuts, dried beans and just about anything else we don?t want to be stored in nasty plastic containers (for reasons shared below).

9. Pyrex BPA-Free Glass Containers

Bisphenol A (BPA) is a hazardous chemical compound found in plastic products, including hard plastic baby bottles, water bottles, hard plastic microwavable cookware, some plastic storage bags and containers and in the linings of aluminum cans.?If you want to avoid BPA, you can use?Pyrex brand cooking dishes, which are more like glass, do ?not contain BPA, and have special flexible lids that are also BPA-free. You can use Pyrex cookware for food storage ? and even though we don?t use a microwave, it is safer to use in Pyrex in a microwave in place of other hard plastic microwavable cookware that contains BPA.

10. Cheese Cloth

Cheesecloth is a loosely woven cotton cloth that closely resembles gauze in look and consistency.?From draining blended almonds to make almond milk to draining yogurt to make whey, cheese cloths come in quite handy for anything that involves draining solids (or straining liquids). You can reuse it many times ? just make sure you wash it before each use, then hang to air dry.

11. Chest Freezer

Every few months, we order bulk meats from USWellnessMeats. Each year, we also purchase half a grass-fed cow from our local farmer and I personally hunt and shoot wild game. When you?re getting your food in bulk like this, you certainly save money and get good, fresh meat ? but you need a place to store it, so a chest freezer comes in very handy, and we actually have two ? both purchased from Craigslist.

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Books

12.?Nourishing Traditions?cookbook.

In this book, you?ll learn how to soak, sprout, ferment and do everything you need to do to make just about every food on the face of the planet healthy for the human body. Aptly titled ?The Cookbook that Challenges Politically Correct Nutrition and the Diet Dictocrats?, this cookbook not only teaches you how to prepare real, healthy traditional foods but also?includes a complete education on important topics such as the health benefits of traditional fats and oils (including butter and coconut oil); risks of vegetarianism; problems with modern soy foods; health benefits of sauces and gravies; proper preparation of whole grain products; pros and cons of milk consumption; easy-to-prepare enzyme enriched condiments and beverages; and healthy diets for babies and children.

13. Rich Food, Poor Food grocery shopping guide.

In this podcast interview with authors Mira and Jayson Calton, I call Rich Food, Poor Food ?The One New Book That Every Healthy Grocery Shopper Should Have In Their Cart.? ?This indispensable grocery store guide takes you aisle by aisle, from the produce section to the pasta aisle, visiting every department in between, teaching you how to identify potentially problematic ingredients including hormones, pesticides and GMOs, as well as sharing tips on how to lock in a food?s nutritional value during preservation and preparation. I recommend it to all my clients as the best ?modern? grocery shopping guide you can get.

14. Eating On The Wild Side.

This is a brand new vegetable and fruit guide that teaches you how to choose?present-day fruits and vegetables at the grocery store or farmer?s market that come closest to the original nutritional content of those plant?s wild ancestors. But it also shows you how to us simple, scientifically proven methods of storage and preparation that will preserve and enhance the health benefits of plants, including things like:

-Squeezing fresh garlic in a garlic press and then setting it aside for ten minutes before cooking it to increase it?s natural immune defense properties?

-Baking potatoes, refrigerating them overnight, and then reheating them before serving to lower their glycemic index and keep them from spiking your blood sugar.

-Shredding lettuce the day before you eat it to double its antioxidant activity?

-Storing watermelon on the kitchen counter for up to a week and to allow it to develop more lycopene?

-Eating broccoli on the day you buy it to preserve its natural sugars and cancer-fighting compounds?

Although I have yet to get author Jo Robinson on the podcast, this book is a nutritional goldmine that I highly recommend.

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Websites

15. LocalHarvest.org

When it comes to supporting your local economy and getting your food as fresh as possible, the best?organic food?is what?s grown?closest to you. You can use the Local Harvest ?website to find farmers? markets, family farms, and other sources of sustainably grown food in your area, where you can buy produce, grass-fed meats, and many other real food items that are high in nutrient density. The site has an extremely easy-to-use search engine that allows you to quickly locate local farmer?s markets, CSA?s (Community Supported Agriculture), co-ops, meat processors, wholesale food sources and more.

16. Amazon Prime membership

Nothing beats supporting your local economy, but for items you simply can?t find locally, or need fast, regularly or at good prices, you can?t beat an Amazon Prime membership. For $79 a year, you get free two-day shipping on just about everything you need. We use Prime for things like?Native Forest organic, BPA-free coconut milk, Navitas Natural Nori Wraps?and?Wild Planet Sardines, along with nearly all the personal care products you find in my recommended Detox Gear.

17. Mountain Rose Herbs

For bulk, certified-organic herbs and spices, culinary salts, peppercorns, seasoning blends, seaweeds, sprouting seeds and other items that can be downright dangerous to order from unknown, low-quality sources, we use Mountain Rose Herbs, since it operates on the foundations of sustainable practices, toxin-free ingredients and fresh products.

We also use Mountain Rose Herbs for ingredients to create our own personal care products ? such as butters, waxes, carrier oils, etc. ? and also for essential oils such as echinacea to astragalus for the immune system to peppermint, lavender, and chamomile for fragrance in household cleaning products, homemade soaps, etc. Not all essential oils are created equal, and many are laden with synthetic oils, pesticides and toxins, so we get most of our edible tinctures, extracts, oils, etc. from this one quality source.

18. Magnetic Clay

They?re not exactly traditional kitchen items, but for supplements, detoxing and health care products such as?nascent iodine, transdermal magnesium lotion, magnesium oil, magnesium bath flakes?and even the clay-based ?detox??Edible Earth??(which is especially interesting stuff, based on this recent study associating topical clay treatments with increased fat loss)?we use Magnetic Clay?s website. These aren?t exactly items that you?ll cook with, but you?re certainly going to the website crucial for ordering products that are an integral part of detoxing your body in the ways I described in Chapter 15.

19. Upgraded Self

Upgraded Self is our source for toxin-free, mold-free, slightly ?fringe? items such as MCT Oil, chocolate powder, vanilla powder, coffee, and some supplements I?ve discussed already in the book such as oxaloacetate and glutathione. I trust the site?s owner Dave Asprey as a well-educated biohacker who is devoted to hunting down clean, quality products to upgrade your body.

For just about anything coconut related, Nutiva is a good bet. We get our coconut milk through Amazon prime, but for high-quality, extra-virgin coconut oil, coconut manna (a wickedly tasty bled of coconut flesh and coconut oil), red palm oil, hemp oil and hemp proteins, chia seeds and other fun superfoods, Nutiva should definitely be bookmarked on your browser.

21. Crockpot ? When I reached the end of this chapter, I realized that I only had 20 resources, so I wandered into the kitchen where my wife was hovered over the stove, and asked her which one item nearby she couldn?t imagine not having. Without hesitation, she pointed right at our trusty crockpot, which we bought from Goodwill nearly two years ago and use every week as one of the best time-saving appliances we own. ?From bone broths to stews, roasts, curries and casseroles, this is a must-have ? especially if you?re feeding a family. Many of the recipes and meal plans Jessa shares inside the?BenGreenfieldFitness Inner Circle?are based around our trusty crockpot (and I don?t know how I nearly forgot about it!).

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SUMMARY

That?s it. Walk into my house, and the items I just listed are what you?re going to find. And as you can probably imagine, you?ll find very few packaged, processed or boxed items. Mostly just real food that can be prepared with the resources you?ve just discovered.

So congratulations.?When it comes to the ideal marriage of health and performance, you?ve got nutrition part of things under your belt.

Now ? are you ready to round out the edges and learn how to detox the rest of your life ? the stuff that goes beyond food? The daily enemies your skin, your hair and your lungs get exposed to that can make gradual but permanent dents in your energy levels and your longevity? The creepy critters that can hang out in your home and hold you back from achieving your goals?

The next section of this book is the ?Lifestyle? section, and in it, you?re going to learn about?

-Hidden environmental triggers that can decrease your performance and health, including EMF exposure, pollutants, toxins, molds, and water?.

-How to live a clean life and mitigate the damage, including how to detox your home, office and workout environment, limit dirty electricity, use proper water filtration methods, personal care and household cleaning products?

-How to stay healthy and perform at a high level when you?re traveling?

-How to equip your home so that you can stay naturally physically active throughout day ? rather than sedentary with unnatural exercise ?micro-doses??

-Time saving tips for to combining a daily commute and training, managing training with kids and family obligations, and getting more done in less time?

-Other lifestyle hacks that can free up lots of time, including food prep methods, combining workouts, VA?s, e-mail filters, to-do buckets, and everything that I personally do to free up as much time as possible during the day?

Sound good? In the meantime, leave your questions, comments, thoughts, and feedback about ?The 21 Best Kitchen Tools, Grocery Shopping Guides, Cookbooks, Websites and Local Resources To Fuel Your Active Lifestyle??below?

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LINKS TO PREVIOUS CHAPTERS OF ?BEYOND TRAINING: MASTERING ENDURANCE, HEALTH & LIFE?

Part 1 ? Introduction

-Preface:?Are Endurance Sports Unhealthy?

-Chapter 1:?How I Went From Overtraining And Eating Bags Of 39 Cent Hamburgers To Detoxing My Body And Doing Sub-10 Hour Ironman Triathlons With Less Than 10 Hours Of Training Per Week.

-Chapter 2:?A Tale Of Two Triathletes ? Can Endurance Exercise Make You Age Faster?

Part 2 ? Training

-Chapter 3:?Everything You Need To Know About How Heart Rate Zones Work

-Chapter 3:?The Two Best Ways To Build Endurance As Fast As Possible (Without Destroying Your Body)?- Part 1

-Chapter 3:?The Two Best Ways To Build Endurance As Fast As Possible (Without Destroying Your Body)?- Part 2

-Chapter 4:?Underground Training Tactics For Enhancing Endurance?- Part 1

-Chapter 4:?Underground Training Tactics For Enhancing Endurance?- Part 2

-Chapter 5:?The 5 Essential Elements of An Endurance Training Program That Most Athletes Neglect?- Part 1: Strength

-Chapter 5:?The 5 Essential Elements of An Endurance Training Program That Most Athletes Neglect?- Part 2: Power & Speed

-Chapter 5:?The 5 Essential Elements of An Endurance Training Program That Most Athletes Neglect?- Part 3: Mobility?

-Chapter 5:?The 5 Essential Elements of An Endurance Training Program That Most Athletes Neglect?- Part 4: Balance?

Part 3 ? Recovery

-Chapter 6:?How The Under-Recovery Monster Is Completely Eating Up Your Precious Training Time

-Chapter 7: ?25 Ways To Know With Laser-Like Accuracy If Your Body Is Truly Recovered And Ready To Train

-Chapter 8:?26 Top Ways To Recover From Workouts and Injuries with Lightning Speed

-Chapter 9:?The 7 Best Stress-Fighting Weapons That Will Make Your Mind-Body Connection 100% Bulletproof

-Chapter 10:?The Last Resource You?ll Ever Need To Get Better Sleep, Eliminate Insomnia, Conquer Jet Lag and Master The Nap: Part 1

-Chapter 10:?The Last Resource You?ll Ever Need To Get Better Sleep, Eliminate Insomnia, Conquer Jet Lag and Master The Nap:?Part 2

Part 4 ? Nutrition

-Chapter 11:?40 Easy Meals For Busy Athletes: How To Fuel Your Body With The Thousands Of Calories Necessary For Endurance and Extreme Exercise, Without Completely Destroying Your Metabolism.?

-Chapter 12:?What A Half-Naked Ironman Kickboxing Superhero Can Teach You About How Many Calories, Carbs, Proteins And Fats You Should Be Eating

-Chapter 13:?How Much Carbohydrate, Protein and Fat You Need To Stay Lean, Stay Sexy and Perform Like A Beast.

-Chapter 14:?The Zen Of Customizing Your Diet To Your Unique Body And Goals

-Chapter 15:?9 Bad Things That Happen When Your Digestion Goes Wrong, How To Hit The Reboot Button On Your Gut & The Best Way To Detox Your Body.

-Chapter 16:?The Real Truth About What To Eat Before, During And After Your Workouts & Races.

-Chapter 17:?The 21 Best Kitchen Tools, Grocery Shopping Guides, Cookbooks, Websites and Local Resources To Fuel Your Active Lifestyle

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REFERENCES

Coming Soon!

Source: http://www.bengreenfieldfitness.com/2013/08/healthy-grocery-shopping-guides/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=healthy-grocery-shopping-guides

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He Beat Allen West and All He Got Was the Most Boring Job In Congress

Standing on an outdoor stage for the better part of a half an hour has left Rep. Patrick Murphy completely soaked in sweat.

"It's fucking hot out," he says, flapping his arms to dry out his armpits. This may be his only off-script moment this morning. For Murphy, arguably the most vulnerable House incumbent, one tiny misstep, one off-the-cuff remark could make the difference between winning reelection in 2014 and losing his parking space on Capitol Hill. His job these days is to be the most boring member of Congress.

Just take his sound bite from the day's outdoor press event, hosted by No Labels, a bipartisan group of lawmakers and politicos who call themselves "problem solvers." Handed the microphone after dozens of colleagues lamented partisan gridlock and vowed to put policy ahead of partisanship, Murphy began by stating, "I just want to echo what everyone else out here has been saying."

Boring, sure. But boring like a fox. A fox that doesn't want to cause any trouble. Murphy, the 30-year-old freshman who looks like he could play the nice-but-kinda-shy frat boy in a teen movie? has already proven that sometimes being bland is the most politically savvy way to go. He learned this lesson running against one of the loudest and most visible members of Congress: tea-party icon Allen West. By toeing a moderate line, and making his Florida congressional election a referendum of the bomb-throwing Republican, Murphy eked out one of the closest races in the country.

Now, he's holding onto just one of nine districts in the country that voted for Mitt Romney in 2012 but elected a Democrat to the House. That means he has to make a lot of swing voters happy?and that means avoiding provocative statements, straddling the line wherever possible, and, of course, raising tons and tons of cash.

Murphy says that as a moderate, pro-business Democrat, he is a perfect representation of the Treasure Coast of eastern Florida. It's a district that features a swath of wealth from West Palm Beach north to Stuart, populated by country-club Republicans concerned both with the economy and conservation of the coastline that makes the area a tourism hotbed. Before Murphy got to Congress, his resume read like the archetypal constituent: vice president of the family construction business, CPA for Deloitte and Touche. He even spent six months working to help clean up the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

As a point of pride, Murphy mentions that he votes with House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi with close to the same frequency as Republican Rep. Tom Rooney, who used to represent much of the same region before redistricting. While that's an overstatement, it is true that Murphy votes with his party 84 percent of the time, putting him near the bottom on the list of party loyalty (185 out of 200 according to Opencongress.org). "If you take any person with my beliefs, and you pulled me out of the race, it turns out those beliefs poll really well in the district, " Murphy says.

This can be read two ways. His supporters, such as former Rep. Tim Mahoney, who used to have the district, say Murphy has a feel for the values of his constituents. "He's doing a great job, which is not surprising, because his principles line up very well with the area," Mahoney says.

Critics, on the other hand, accuse Murphy of being an unprincipled panderer. As Carl Domino, a Florida Republican who has already entered the race puts it, "He talks about balanced budget and wasteful spending, typical things that Republicans are pushing not just in rhetoric but votes. But on the big votes, his agenda is down the Democratic line."

Domino cites Murphy's recent votes to delay mandates in the federal health care law requiring individuals and large companies to have insurance coverage. He was just one of 35 Democrats to vote for giving businesses a one-year reprieve, and one of just 22 Democrats to vote for a delay of the individual mandate. But if this was supposed to give him credibility among Republican voters, Domino says it's a lame attempt.

"It just doesn't make sense logically," Domino said. "If you're an ardent supporter of the law, if you think it's helpful, as Murphy does, then why do you vote to delay it? He's trying to have it both ways. But what really matters is, he thinks the Affordable Care Act is overall helpful, and I don't."

Katie Prill of the National Republican Congressional Committee says that by not voting against repeal earlier this year, Murphy made it very clear his so-called "conservative values" were a mirage.

"People in his district don't want this law, and the American people not happy with it," she said. "Instead of standing up for the people in his district, he did the opposite and voted against repeal?. He may want to appear bipartisan, but it's clear where he really stands."

All of it leaves Murphy in sort of a vaporous state, as if turning solid will undoubtedly offend one bloc or another. When asked what legislation, specifically, he'd be willing to lose his seat for, Murphy gave a terrific nonanswer between bites of falafel in a House office building cafeteria.

"Any issue that I think is best for our country or our future, I'll take the vote and not think twice about it," he said. (That isn't to say he isn't without core values. He's pro-abortion rights, pro-LGBT rights, pro-pathway to citizenship.)

Things are so difficult nowadays for a congressman trying to find middle ground that a simple meeting with the House Speaker John Boehner quickly escalated into an Internet rumor that Murphy was offering to change parties?a rumor that was swiftly debunked on all sides.

"It was the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard said about me," says Murphy. (It wasn't all that ridiculous. Murphy was a registered Republican as recently as 2011?and, anyway, it wouldn't be the first time a Southern Democrat has made the jump.) "I met with him, sure. To me, if I got new a job at a company, I'd want to meet my boss. It really says something about the state of our politics that a meeting like that could start a rumor."

Murphy's dilemma is, he can't protest too, too much, lest he be tagged as overly liberal. But he does benefit from his status in another way: As a freshman, he isn't in the thick of major debates in the House over spending and immigration.

Murphy says his impetus to run for Congress came after watching Allen West on TV and feeling compelled to dislodge him from office. But holding onto the seat might be an even bigger accomplishment, because midterm demographics might make it harder for him to win in 2014 than in 2012. Murphy has proven he can raise a great deal of money, but he certainly isn't a fundraising juggernaut like West, who pulled in a staggering $19 million for his 2012 campaign. The general consensus is that Murphy is going to need to raise more than $3 million this time around. Fortunately for him, he's well on track, having raised more than $1 million already this year, most of it coming from outside the district.

As with everything else, Murphy needs to raise a lot of money, while also making it look like he hates doing it. If he shows any kind of pleasure in fundraising, that opens the door to calls of hypocrisy from Republicans, who love to note that he once was against super PACS, calling them "gross," and has since praised their help as "making a big difference" in his campaign.

"I think its terrible the amount of time spent fundraising," Murphy says. "It doesn't do justice for the American people?. The time spent is always a distraction."

Perhaps that's why one of his dozens of requests for contributions this year began with him sounding more apologetic than anything: "This is the last time I will bug you this weekend. Promise."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/beat-allen-west-got-most-boring-job-congress-060852013.html

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Could planting trees in the desert mitigate climate change?

[unable to retrieve full-text content]As the world starts feeling the effects of increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide and consequent global temperature rise, researchers are looking for a Plan B to mitigate climate change. A group of German scientists has now come up with an environmentally friendly method that they say could do just that. The technique, dubbed carbon farming, consists in planting trees in arid regions on a large scale to capture carbon dioxide.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_environment/~3/K_91aJda6Vk/130731093456.htm

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A Terrifying Sentence From the Latest Edward Snowden Leak Story (Atlantic Politics Channel)

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New TV channel tells Israel's side of the story

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) ? State-of-the-art TV studios above an ancient Mideast port signal Israel's arrival in a modern media landscape in which countries increasingly seek to broadcast their own perspective to the world.

Israel advocates have long alleged that their country is portrayed in an unfair and one-dimensional way by the international media, largely as an occupier of the Palestinians.

Now the answer has arrived in the form of i24news ? the first international channel dedicated to reporting the news from an Israeli point of view. Its goal is to tell the rest of the Israel story in English, Arabic and French.

The new station's founders insist they aren't an Israeli version of the Qatar-funded Al-Jazeera pan-Arab channel. They receive no government funding, hold no political affiliation and pledge to cover the news dispassionately and objectively.

The initiative, which follows dozens of other attempts to tell Israel's side of the story, highlights a deep-seated sense that Israel is losing the battle over international public opinion and that its voice has been missing from a smorgasbord of news outlets.

"When you are talking about Israel in the international media today, it is only through the perspective of the Arab-Israeli conflict. We have to show that there are a lot of things about Israel that people don't know about," said Frank Melloul, the channel's chief executive. "What I want to do with this channel is to connect Israel to the world and connect the world to the Israeli reality."

To do so, i24news broadcasts around the clock, devoting 30 percent of its content to local coverage, including culture, technology and sports.

Its spacious studios in Jaffa, an ancient port city merged with Tel Aviv, include three glass-encased sets for simultaneous broadcasts in three languages, along with an integrated news desk for its 150 journalists.

The station went on the air less than two weeks ago, and most of the office space is still under construction. Though it is not yet clear how many people are watching, i24news says it can potentially reach 350 million households via cable and satellite operators in Europe, Asia and Africa. An expansion to the North American market is expected in early 2014.

Melloul, a former French diplomat, helped launch France24, a satellite channel aimed at improving France's international image. Other governments have engaged in similar outreach efforts, resulting in Russia Today, China's CCTV and Qatar's Al-Jazeera.

The Israeli effort is funded by private money. Much of it comes from Patrick Drahi, a French-Israeli telecom tycoon who owns HOT, an Israeli cable network of TV channels and telephone service providers.

Calling i24news a "startup channel," Melloul said its private ownership frees the station from government intervention.

"We are not talking about propaganda," he said, "(But) it is time to listen to another voice from the Middle East besides Al-Jazeera."

Walid Omary, Middle East bureau chief of the pace-setting and influential Al-Jazeera, said he was not familiar with the new station, but he welcomed the competition and considered it a compliment that others were trying to emulate his network.

"Apparently Al-Jazeera has a quality that everyone wants to challenge," he said. "Even those who criticize us recognize we have an impact."

Israel accuses Al-Jazeera and others of endorsing the Palestinian and Arab narrative, providing slanted coverage of the Mideast conflict and contributing to anti-Israel sentiment. Such allegations become more heated during bouts of Israeli-Arab fighting.

Al-Jazeera denies it is biased against Israel.

Israel's critics argue that it needs to change its policies toward the Palestinians rather than look for more sophisticated tools in a propaganda war.

Others believe that the premise that news media are overwhelmingly anti-Israel is overstated. Israelis and their backers abroad are highly sensitive to criticism and tend to label any coverage that is less than totally supportive as anti-Israel ? though Israel's own local media are frequently harder on their country and government than foreign outlets are.

i24news, particularly its Arabic broadcast, looks to show a different face of Israel by highlighting its diversity. The channel's main English-language anchor, for instance, is an Arab woman.

The content also tries to spotlight the tough choices the country faces.

A report about an Israeli Cabinet vote this week to release Palestinian prisoners ahead of renewed peace talks was followed by an in-studio debate between two parents over whether the killers of their children should be freed in return for the prospect of peace.

"It is part of the diversity of the Israeli society, and it is part of also showing the world that nothing is easy," Melloul said. "You can discover another face of Israel you don't see anywhere else in the world."

Even without direct influence, Israeli officials are predictably pleased.

Nitzan Chen, the head of the government press office, said such an outlet has been "definitely missing" and wished the new station success.

Marcus Sheff of The Israel Project, a pro-Israel advocacy group, said that a broadcaster that "does not instinctually bash Israel is probably a good thing."

Tal Azran, a professor of communications at Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya, a college north of Tel Aviv, said the backing of private sponsors with ideological motivations represents a new breed in global news.

"i24news is part of a larger trend in international media where more and more countries, rulers and governments have begun to understand that international news reporting can be highly influential on what we call global public opinion," said Azran, who has written extensively about the effect of Al-Jazeera. "It has almost become something that every country 'must have.'"

Given Israel's prominence in current affairs, he said i24news would likely become part of the new media marketplace, where consumers shop for several different perspectives before forming their own opinions.

"During operations in Gaza, for instance, those seeking the Israeli voice may tune into i24news," he said. "What's the Israeli angle? No one has ever heard it before on television."

____

Online: http://www.i24news.tv/en/tv/live

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/tv-channel-tells-israels-side-story-061708406.html

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Egypt orders camps cleared, protesters buckle down

Supporters of Egypt's ousted President Mohammed Morsi hold sticks and wear protective gear during a march in Nasr City, where supporters of Egypt's ousted President Mohammed Morsi have installed a camp and hold daily rallies, in Cairo, Egypt, late Tuesday, July 30, 2013. The European Union?s top diplomat said Tuesday after meeting with Morsi that he is well, and that she urged all those she met with on the need to move forward peacefully following his ouster nearly a month ago. It was Morsi?s first contact with the outside world since he was toppled in a military coup on July 3. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

Supporters of Egypt's ousted President Mohammed Morsi hold sticks and wear protective gear during a march in Nasr City, where supporters of Egypt's ousted President Mohammed Morsi have installed a camp and hold daily rallies, in Cairo, Egypt, late Tuesday, July 30, 2013. The European Union?s top diplomat said Tuesday after meeting with Morsi that he is well, and that she urged all those she met with on the need to move forward peacefully following his ouster nearly a month ago. It was Morsi?s first contact with the outside world since he was toppled in a military coup on July 3. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

Partidarios del presidente depuesto egipcio Mohamed Morsi oran en un campamento de protesta en Nasr City en esta foto del 28 de julio de 2013. El mi?rcoles el gobierno egipcio orden? a la polic?a retirar los campamentos. (Foto AP/Hassan Ammar, Archivo)

A supporter of Egypt's ousted President Mohammed Morsi raises his fist during a women's march against Egyptian Defense Minister Gen. Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi in Nasr City, Cairo, Egypt, Tuesday, July 30, 2013. Egypt's military gave the ousted president his first contact with the outside world since it removed him from office, allowing Europe's top diplomat to meet with Mohammed Morsi in his secret detention as she urges all sides to move on toward a peaceful transition. Despite the military's gesture and attempts by some in the civilian leadership to ease a security crackdown on Morsi's supporters, efforts at a solution to Egypt's crisis have so far hit a brick wall. (AP Photo/Manu Brabo)

Supporters of Egypt's ousted President Mohammed Morsi chants slogans against Egyptian Defense Minister Gen. Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi during a march in Nasr City, where supporters of Egypt's ousted President Mohammed Morsi have installed a camp and hold daily rallies, in Cairo, Egypt, late Tuesday, July 30, 2013. Egypt's military gave the ousted president his first contact with the outside world since removing him from office, allowing Europe's top diplomat Tuesday to meet with Mohammed Morsi in his secret detention. She emerged from her two-hour talks with him urging all sides to move on toward a peaceful transition. Arabic reads, "Peaceful." (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

Supporters of Egypt's ousted President Mohammed Morsi pray outside Rabaah al-Adawiya mosque, where supporters of Egypt's ousted President Mohammed Morsi have installed a camp and hold daily rallies at Nasr City, in Cairo, Egypt, late Tuesday, July 30, 2013. Egypt's military gave the ousted president his first contact with the outside world since removing him from office, allowing Europe's top diplomat Tuesday to meet with Mohammed Morsi in his secret detention. She emerged from her two-hour talks with him urging all sides to move on toward a peaceful transition. Arabic on the banner in the center reads: "Athletes against the coup." (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

CAIRO (AP) ? Protesters holding sticks and wearing helmets and makeshift body armor stand behind mounds of sandbags, tires and brick walls. They change guards every two hours to ensure they stay alert.

With Egypt's military-backed government signaling a crackdown is imminent, supporters of ousted Islamist President Mohammed Morsi are taking no chances with security at their two protest camps in Cairo.

On Wednesday, the Cabinet ordered the police to break up the sit-ins, saying they pose an "unacceptable threat" to national security.

Interior Minister Mohammed Ibrahim said the order will be carried out in gradual steps according to instructions from prosecutors. "I hope they resort to reason" and leave without authorities having to move in, he told The Associated Press in a telephone interview.

Ahmed Sobaie, spokesman for the Muslim Brotherhood's political arm, the Freedom and Justice party, derided the Cabinet decision as "paving the way for another massacre."

"The police state is getting ready to commit more massacres against the innocent, unarmed civilians holding sit-ins for the sake of legitimacy," he said.

In Washington, State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf appealed to the military-led government to avoid violence. "We have continued to urge the interim government officials and security forces to respect the right of peaceful assembly," she said. "That obviously includes sit-ins."

Organizers are portraying the sit-ins outside the Rabaah al-Adawiya mosque in eastern Cairo and a smaller one across the city near Cairo University's main campus as evidence of an enduring support base for Morsi's once-dominant Muslim Brotherhood.

The Brotherhood has so far refused to cooperate with the country's interim leaders, whom it calls "traitors," or participate in a military-backed fast-track transition plan to return to a democratically elected government by early next year. Instead it tries to keep thousands of supporters camped out in tents decorated with photos of Morsi, occupying a cross-shaped intersection facing the mosque.

Authorities have already cracked down on the organization, arresting Morsi and other senior leaders. On Wednesday, Egyptian prosecutors referred three top leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood to trial for allegedly inciting the killing of at least eight protesters last month outside the group's Cairo headquarters.

Security forces also have killed more than 130 protesters during clashes outside the camps on two occasions.

At least six makeshift gates have been erected as the sole entry points to the Rabaah encampment, with dozens of protesters standing guard, checking IDs, searching bags and patting down visitors.

Once through the gates, posters with photos of Morsi and slogans calling him the "legitimate president" are plastered on tents, corners and light poles while giant loudspeakers play some of his fiery speeches and women chant "Morsi is my president."

The overwhelming majority of the protesters echo the demands of the Brotherhood leaders still free: Reinstate Morsi, reverse all measures taken by the military, including the suspension of the disputed constitution and the disbanding of the Islamist-controlled legislature. Only if these demands are met, they insist, would they halt the two Cairo sit-ins and the demonstrations, which has attracted crowds of up to 20,000.

But privately, the Rabaah protesters acknowledge that their sit-in is their last bargaining chip in the face of a fierce onslaught by the military and loyal media that label the encampment as a hideout for terrorists. Islamic militants also have been stepping up attacks against security forces in lawless areas in the Sinai Peninsula, raising fears that extremists could exploit the anger over Morsi's removal to spread insurgency.

"We will not have a life outside of here," Shawki Hamed, a schoolteacher in his early 40s, said while squatting cross-legged inside one of the hundreds of tents now dotting the site. "We have seen with our own eyes the way they manipulate the truth. They attack us, then portray us as terrorists. ... If Morsi is not back, our life will be a series of humiliations and fabricated charges."

The comments reflect the depth of feeling among Morsi's supporters and the Brotherhood's continued ability to mobilize its base with long-honed organizational skills that combine pragmatism and religious piety.

The fundamentalist group has long been one of the most powerful political forces in Egypt, even during its decades in the opposition to autocratic leader Hosni Mubarak, himself ousted in a popular uprising in 2011.

But after a series of election wins, including Morsi's presidential victory last year, the group has fallen from popular favor. Morsi was ousted in a July 3 military coup after millions took to the streets to call for him to step down because he granted too much influence to the Brotherhood and failed to implement much-needed social and economic reforms.

While "victory or martyrdom" seems to be a favorite slogan for a majority of protesters, Gamal Radwan, a Muslim Brotherhood member from the industrial city of Mahallah in the Nile Delta, said: "At the end, we must reach the negotiating (table). There must be concessions and a meeting point. ... Now this is the time for pressure. You press here and I press there until we reach a point that is satisfactory to all of us."

Standing outside his tent with a prayer rug in hand ready to head for the noon prayers, he said the Brotherhood should not offer concessions from the outset.

"You give me something and I give you something but there are basics that I can't give up. ... I am not talking here about Morsi," he said. "I can't return to the injustices, the state security taking away my freedom."

Martyrdom, he added, is a "noble mission for all Muslims ... but if I can achieve my goal without losing my life, why not?"

Lists of the names and personal belongings of slain protesters are on display inside the encampment's "Documentation Center for the Massacres in Egypt's Squares." Among the exhibits in the large tent are photographs and personal belongings of those killed. One exhibit is a blood-stained gray shirt that belonged to a slain protester. It is emblazoned with, "He left his shirt to you. Don't leave his president."

During a funeral, a weeping wife took the stage at Rabaah to recount the last words of her late husband, telling the crowd how he saw the Prophet Muhammad in his sleep and was invited to hold prayers with him.

"You think I am lying? I swear to God, no," the wife said as she wept. Her words triggered chants of "No God but Allah" while many of her listeners held back tears.

Photos of bloodied faces of slain protesters are posted in every corner and tent. Some banners provide information such as the dead demonstrator's background, hometown and profession.

"The more blood spilled, the more people join in," said Saad el-Husseini, a former governor of Kafr el-Sheikh province and prominent Muslim Brotherhood figure. The security forces "are very stupid because they don't take gradual measures in their repression."

But the group is facing a bigger challenge than state repression: loss of popular support. Last week, millions marched in demonstrations giving a mandate to charismatic military chief Gen. Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi ? upon his request? to confront "terrorism" and potential violence.

Losing public sympathy in Egypt, the Rabaah tent city is plastered with signs in English appealing to the outside world. A large banner reads: "No to military rule." Many tents bear signs that suggest the protesters represent a diverse cross-section of society, such as "Veterans for Morsi," or "Teachers for Morsi" or "Actors for Morsi."

Heading to a march Tuesday, a woman covered from head to toe except for her face carried a sign that read: "Seculars for Morsi."

Signs in Arabic give a different message altogether.

"Oh, Sissi, the Jews and the Christians will not be satisfied unless you follow their religion," said one. A picture for Morsi leading prayers was titled, "For this, they fought you our beloved one."

Protester Manal Abdel-Aziz said she left her family to spend nights in tents with other women from the Muslim Brotherhood because "this is a coup to get religion out. ... They don't want Islam, they want a secular state. ... They got money from America and Israel to harm the religion."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-07-31-Egypt/id-09a6d794c74d4ee4a921151fc0feaac7

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In Theory, This Is How Xbox One and PS4 Graphics Compare

There?s no doubt that on paper, the way Sony?s designed the PS4 and the AMD components it?s selected offer 50 per cent more power in the GPU department over the Xbox One. But does it really make any difference when you get down to playing a game?

Read more...

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/e95PvvdzcrM/in-theory-this-is-how-the-xbox-one-compares-to-the-ps4-974197622

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Elite field ready for major tuneup at Bridgestone

AKRON, Ohio (AP) ? In the dark, head-to-head, 11 shots clear of the pack, from rooftops and in every other conceivable way, Tiger Woods has dominated at Firestone Country Club.

He just says it makes him feel comfortable.

"I've done it all different ways, that's the thing," Woods said Wednesday, the day before beginning his run at an eighth win at the Bridgestone Invitational. "Some years I've striped it and have really played well, and other years I've hit it all over the lot and had to be creative. I've chipped and putted and holed out. It's been such a mixed bag."

Woods, coming off a disappointing British Open and steeling for the PGA Championship next week at Oak Hill, headlines a bumper crop of world-class players who are entered. The 73-player field includes 49 of the top 50 players in the world ranking, including this year's major champions (Adam Scott, Justin Rose, Phil Mickelson), last year's winner (Keegan Bradley) and European stars Rory McIlroy, Graeme McDowell and Lee Westwood.

Yet, Woods always seems to grab the spotlight. That's what happens when a player has won more than $9.5 million in just 14 appearances at a single venue.

Woods' first win, in what was then called the NEC Invitational, came in 1999 when he shot a third-round 62 to win in his third appearance, holding off Mickelson by a shot. A year later, Woods' triumphal march to an 11-shot victory on the final day was delayed by inclement weather, with his final putt finding the bottom of the cup in almost total darkness. The strobe lights of photographers made it look like a scene from an old movie.

The year after that, Woods overcame Jim Furyk in an epic, seven-hole, sudden-death playoff for his third win in a row at Firestone.

After finishing fourth, tying for fourth and tying for second the next three years, Woods strung together wins in his next four appearances. The win in 2006 is remembered for a wayward 9-iron shot that hit on the cart path near the ninth hole and bounced onto the roof of the clubhouse, the ball being pocketed by a kitchen helper.

Woods won by eight shots in 2007 and then missed the tournament the following year as he recovered from knee surgery. Even that didn't halt his string as he returned in 2009 and took advantage of Padraig Harrington's triple-bogey 8 on the 70th hole to win by four strokes.

"This is one of those courses where, for me over the years, I just have felt very comfortable," Woods said. "I think my record has been pretty good since I've turned pro here."

But, as there always seems to be with Woods since his personal meltdown, there are nagging questions. After streaking to 14 major championship victories, he has failed to win in his last 17 tries.

The latest disappointment came at Muirfield two weeks ago when he seemed in perfect spot to win but faded to a closing 74 and watched rival Mickelson come out of nowhere to swoop in and grab the claret jug.

"I had a chance to win and didn't get it done on Sunday," Woods said.

Others are plotting to not only win the Bridgestone but use it as a springboard to the year's final major a week later.

Mickelson, returning to action after the dramatic win at Muirfield, is geared up to continue his hot play. He won the Scottish Open the week before the British. Why not make it four in a row by sweeping through the Bridgestone and PGA?

"Playing the week before (a major) personally helps me play my best and get my best golf out," he said.

Rose won the U.S. Open at Merion, then turned around and had his high hopes dashed when he missed the cut in his homeland's national championship. After time off, he's rejuvenated and ready for golf's version of the stretch run.

"You can't rest on your laurels," he said. "After the U.S. Open I had time constraints and would miss the odd practice session. Your game soon lets you know about that. The last couple of weeks I've had the chance to get back to normal, get back to doing all the right things."

A player trying to salvage what has been a winless calendar year is Rory McIlroy, still No. 3 in the world rankings behind Woods and Mickelson. But he's encouraged by looking back at where he was just about a year ago.

"I was really searching last year for answers," he said. "I've come to the conclusion that I just need to go out there and play. I was focusing too much on mechanics and technique, and I just needed to go out there and see the shots and play them. Obviously, that seemed to work well."

It worked so well that McIlroy had a top 10 at the Bridgestone and then turned around and captured the 2012 PGA Championship at Kiawah Island.

Bradley, who took advantage of Furyk's double bogey on the 72nd hole to win last year, gets wired just coming to Firestone, an historic old layout that has hosted many memorable majors and regular tour events over the decades.

"Because of the history of the golf course, you really can feel it," he said. "It's one of these courses where you can tell the tournament has got a little more of a buzz to it."

This year, the buzz is especially loud.

___

Follow Rusty Miller on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/RustyMillerAP

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/elite-field-ready-major-tuneup-bridgestone-220407818.html

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India, Sri Lanka And Maldives: The Tripartite Maritime Security Agreement And The Growing Chinese Influence ? Analysis

Maldives

By IPCS

July 30, 2013

By Iranga Kahangama

China and India continue to vie for maritime influence, as influence over the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) remains both commercially and strategically advantageous. However, India?s recent strategy includes developing regional cooperative maritime frameworks that focus on security as a preventative hedge on Chinese incursions. While China consolidates commercial maritime interests in South Asia, India is hoping to underscore the greater importance of maintaining security, with the subcontinent giant as the cornerstone.

In an attempt to further consolidate its littoral neighbors, India signed a tripartite maritime security pact with Sri Lanka and the Maldives in early July. The deal includes joint cooperation on Exclusive Economic Zone surveillance; search and rescue operations; working on anti-piracy efforts and; sharing and tracking of merchant vessels using new technologies.

The trilateral agreement was signed just days after the announcement giving the control of Gwadar Port to China. In August 2013, a new USD $500 million container port will open in Colombo harbor in Sri Lanka, completed largely by the Chinese state run firm China Harbor Engineering. Ultimately, this group controls an 85% stake in the terminal and will continue to hold one for the next 35 years. A Chinese state owned firm will also own 125 acres of reclaimed land from the sea being built off the coast of Colombo. These strategic partnerships follow recent US-Indian drills such as the Malabar Exercise while India officials claim both sides? naval cooperation has ?hit the big time.?

While Chinese commercial influence in the region increases, it has yet to make a significant security related move. Despite China?s continued investment in ports in Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh, India hopes to remind its neighbors that addressing physical security must include India. Without attempting to be provocative, the tripartite agreement consolidates the regional maritime cooperation; India may also try to expand the agreement to other IOR nations such as Kenya, Oman, Tanzania or Mauritius.

As a part of this, India also called for a common maritime security regime in the IOR in the latest Indian Ocean Rim Association for Regional Cooperation (IOR-ARC) conference in early July. China remains only a periphery dialogue partner to the IOR-ARC and not a full member, while other strategically important nations such as Seychelles, Mauritius and Thailand are members. This quiet but calculated regional cooperative approach to maritime security plays into the long-term strategy of India. If India can assert itself as the regional head for maritime security, it can pressure China who will become increasingly dependent on energy resources either based in or traversing the IOR bound for China.

The agreement incorporates Sri Lanka and the Maldives into Indian identification and tracking systems as well as provides regular messaging regarding the lines of communication. Shared cooperation on Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ) expands the radius of monitoring 200 nautical miles past the coast of Sri Lanka and the Maldives for India. While the agreement may not specifically give access or preferential treatment of other country?s EEZs to India, maintaining a stake in them will afford them critical information and monitoring advantages. As previously mentioned, any potential expansion to East African or Gulf nations could have similar benefits.

Last week, China operationalized the China Coast Guard for the purpose of marine surveillance and law enforcement, including the arming of ships. While this move is more clearly aimed towards South China Sea disputes with Japan, the Philippines and Vietnam, it nonetheless underscores the unilateral and assertive nature of Chinese maritime security. Japan and Pakistan will continue to play a role in the continued Indo-Chinese competition.

The agreement does remain subject to broader political pressures and may at times be difficult to implement if India-Sri Lanka tensions rise for example. The agreement is an attempt to cater to mutually accepted norms for cooperation in the IOR namely, piracy, but will likely need to be bolstered in writing to ensure proper implementation and expansion. The language remains broad enough however to accommodate other IOR countries.

Regardless, India is likely betting that regional cooperation and mitigated tension are likely to trumpet the greater uncertainties of Chinese economic investments in the region. And India would do so rightly. Despite China?s belief that they can single handedly reinvigorate these ports, it remains an unsustainable plan. China?s economy alone has slowed down significantly amidst fear over its own housing bubble and rising credit risks. Previously growing at double-digit rates, it now hovers around 7%. Subsequent potential political and social unrest emanating both domestically and among its foreign partners will pose additional challenges to maritime assertions, including in the IOR.

So while the tripartite agreement is only an introduction to the potential for shared maritime security in the IOR, it emphasizes India?s assertion into its own backyard. Furthermore, it does so in a manner that specifically addresses long standing and agreed upon grievances as a means to ease into a security framework. As China concurrently takes a commercially driven approach in the region, the competition becomes a matter of development versus security. IOR nations in the immediate seem to be attracted to China?s development aid; but by playing to the long-term necessity for stabile lanes of communication, India indeed has embarked upon the proper blueprint.

?Iranga Kahangama
Harvard Kennedy School of Government
Master of Public Policy Candidate, 2014

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/eurasiareview/VsnE/~3/rDHqgHnREBc/

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Start-Up Home-based Businesses | Jim Francis Blog

Following is a list of more than 50 business ideas that you can start on a part-time or full-time basis for as little as $1,500.

?? Advertising Sales

?? Alterations

?? Aluminium Recycling

?? Animal Breeder (dogs, etc.)

?? Appraiser (property)

?? Artist (freelance touch-up artist)

?? Arts/Crafts Instructor/Designer (T-shirts; silk flowers; etc.)

?? Auto Mechanic

?? Baby Sitting

?? Bookkeeping Service

?? Cabinet Maker

?? Cake Decorator

?? Calligrapher

?? Canoe Rental & Charter

?? Caregiver (elderly)

?? Carpentry (carpet laying; painting)

?? Ceramics

?? Chair Caning

?? Child Care

?? Cleaning Service (domestic or commercial)

?? Computer Programming Consultant

?? Computer Systems Trainer

?? CPR Instruction

?? Consulting Service

?? Courier

?? Golf Instructor

?? Graphic Artist (freelance)

?? Guitar Lessons

?? Interior Design Consultant

?? Junk Dealer

?? Lawn Maintenance (landscaping)

?? Masseuse

?? Music Instructor

?? Obedience Training

?? Pet boarding/grooming/training

?? Photographer (free-lance for ad agencies; real estate publications, etc.)

?? Piano Tuner

?? Plant maintenance (home/office)

?? Plumbing

?? Repair work (televisions. VCRs, computers, etc.)

?? Resume Service

?? Screen Printing

?? Swimming Instructor

?? Tax Preparation

?? Tree Trimming

?? Tutor (reading, writing, etc.)

?? Upholsterer

?? Vending Machines

?? Videotaping (Weddings; Parties; construction sites; new

?? Developments, etc.)

?? Wedding Consultant

?? Writer/Editor (freelance)

Franchises

Franchises require a larger investment. The owner pays the initial franchise fee and a percentage of gross sales as royalties to the franchisor. Start-up costs can range from $2,500 to $600,000 and higher.

Network Marketing Opportunities (MLM)

There are a variety of network marketing opportunities that are relatively easy to start and do not require a large investment. In addition to the income received from your own production, MLM opportunities offer residual income from the efforts of others. Enrollment fees are nominal and can vary from $50 to $100.

Businesses for Sale

There are dozens of publications that advertise businesses for sale in locations around the country and a multitude of business brokers in the market. Finding an existing business for sale is easy, finding the right business is more difficult.

Considerations	Multi-level	Franchise	Buy Business	Build Business
Initial Investment	small	extensive	varies	usually small
Inventory	minimal	moderate	varies/moderate	varies/moderate
Legal	simple	extensive	varies	usually simple
Cash Flow	minimal	substantial	varies	moderate

?

Source: http://jimfrancisblog.com/start-up-home-based-businesses.html

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