Thatcher papers show fascination with Reagan visit

LONDON (AP) ? It is not often that the president of the United States needs to seek fashion advice.

But when Ronald Reagan was getting ready for a visit to England as a guest of Queen Elizabeth II in June 1982, his people had an important question for the Brits: Just what does one wear to go riding with the queen in the magnificent horse country surrounding Windsor Castle?

The answer: Something smart, but casual, of course. Riding boots, breeches and a turtleneck sweater would do fine ? no need for formal riding attire.

The fashion inquiry is but one tidbit contained in nearly 500 pages of formerly Confidential documents relating to the Reagan visit being made public Friday by Britain's National Archives. The dossier shows the British government ? led by Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher ? to be extraordinarily interested in pleasing the relatively new president on his two-day visit. British leaders also fretted that perennial cross-Channel rivals might triumph in the tug-of-war for presidential face time in a visit that had to be sandwiched between two summits on the European mainland.

The papers show that top Reagan adviser Michael Deaver had a way of annoying his British counterparts with last-minute changes and requests, and also surprised them with some of his objectives. Deaver, remembered as a shrewd image-builder, said he wanted Reagan to be photographed outside of formal venues, so he wouldn't be seen "exclusively in white tie" at palace functions, even suggesting that Reagan go to a village pub to soak up the atmosphere

There were raised eyebrows, and bruised feelings, when the White House failed to formally reply in a timely fashion to an official invitation from the queen ? the sort of invite that usually commands respect and a prompt reply the world over. The queen's invite was left to languish for weeks and weeks, something that the British believe is simply Not Done.

"It is really for the president to respond to her invitation, which he has not done personally, something that I have pointed out several times here," writes Nicholas Henderson, Britain's ambassador to Washington, in a memo to the British Foreign Office. "As you know those surrounding the president are not deliberately rude: It is simply that they are not well-organized and do not have experience of this sort of thing."

William F. Sittman, a special assistant to Reagan who was involved in planning the trip, told The Associated Press that it is possible the delay in responding to the queen was caused by first lady Nancy Reagan's insistence on consulting her astrologer before travel plans were finalized.

"You have to remember that Mrs. Reagan was very strict about his schedule, and she would consult her astrologer to see if this was the right time to travel," he said. "Sometimes she would back up departures."

The documents make clear that Europe's leaders were desperate for Reagan's attention at a time of high Cold War tensions. A memo from U.K. Cabinet Secretary Robert Armstrong on Feb. 5 expresses concern that a gala, summit-closing dinner at the palace of Versailles outside Paris could delay Reagan's arrival in London. But he warns against pressuring the Reagan entourage to skip the meal at Versailles' Hall of Mirrors because "that would not please the President of the French Republic."

Reagan's aides also worried the British by suggesting the president might have to skip the stop in London because accepting it might anger the Germans, who had offered a similar invitation. But feelings are smoothed over a bit when the Americans assure the British contingent that the Germans are not America's top priority.

"Eagleburger emphasized how much the president himself wanted to go to London," stresses one confidential memo from the British ambassador, referring to senior U.S. diplomat Lawrence Eagleburger. "There should be no doubt about that. Eagleburger also said that at the moment the Germans were not America's favorite allies."

The prospect of a chance to relax from international summitry with a bit of horseback riding with the queen seems to have helped carry the day for the Brits. Asked for the president's favorite type of horse, British planners are told simply that he wants a thoroughbred. He ended up riding Centennial, one of the queen's favorites, and wearing a perfectly fitted sports jacket above his sweater, going for an old-time Hollywood look he carried off with ease.

Much of the actual visit was devoted to pomp and pageantry, or to relaxation, but Reagan did make one speech of consequence. He became the first American president to address a meeting of both houses of Parliament and used the occasion to trumpet his distaste for the Soviet Union, calling it an economic catastrophe.

He said Marxism-Leninism would be left on the ash heap of history ? a prediction that would come to pass in the following decade.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/thatcher-papers-show-fascination-reagan-visit-012217318.html

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Tigers Making Comeback in Asia

Camera trap images reveal tiger numbers rebounding across Asia, especially in southwestern India, where young tigers are leaving protected reserves due to population pressure, according to the Wildlife Conservation Society.

The WCS attributes the rise in different tiger groups to better law enforcement and protection of additional habitat. For example, a notorious poaching ring was busted in Thailand last year, and the gang leaders have been given prison sentences of up to five years ? the most severe punishments for wildlife poaching in Thailand's history, the conservation group said in a statement.

Tiger numbers have been rising steadily in Thailand's Huai Kha Khaeng Wildlife Sanctuary since 2007, with a record 50-plus tigers counted last year, the WCS said. The sanctuary is part of the country's Western Forest Complex. This core spans 7,000 square miles (18,000 square kilometers) and is home to an estimated 125 to 175 tigers.

In India's mountainous landscape of Nagarahole and Bandipur national parks, tigers have reached saturation levels, with more than 600 individuals caught on camera trap photos in the past decade. Young tigers are leaving the parks along protected corridors and entering a landscape with a population of a million people, the group said. [In Images: Tigers Rebound in Asia]

Conservationists also worked with government officials in Russia to create additional protected areas for tigers. The country declared a new corridor, called the Central Ussuri Wildlife Refuge, on Oct. 18. The refuge links the Sikhote-Alin tiger population in Russia ? the main group of endangered Amur tigers? with tiger habitat in China's Heilongjiang Province in the Wandashan Mountains. The refuge ensures that tigers can move across the border between Russia and China in this region.

An estimated 3,200 tigers are living in the wild, with only 2,500 breeding adult pairs, according to TRAFFIC, a monitoring group funded by the World Wildlife Fund and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. Tigers have lost 93 percent of their historical range, which once sprawled across Asia from Turkey to Russia and south to Bali, according to the group.

"Tigers are clearly fighting for their very existence, but it's important to know that there is hope. Victories like these give us the resolve to continue to battle for these magnificent big cats," Cristi?n Samper, WCS president, said in a statement.

Reach Becky Oskin at boskin@techmedianetwork.com. Follow her on Twitter @beckyoskin. Follow OurAmazingPlanet on Twitter?@OAPlanet. We're also on?Facebook?and Google+.

Copyright 2012 OurAmazingPlanet, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/tigers-making-comeback-asia-144611814.html

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NO. 1 STORY 2012: Dexter community unites, works together after tornado rips through town

By Sean Dalton
sdalton@heritage.com
Twitter: @seankdalton

The Dexter community's strength played a key role in the immediate reaction to and recovery from the devastating F3 tornado that touched down on March 15 and damaged more than 200 homes, some of which are still in the process of being rebuilt or repaired.

View and purchase photos

The people living in the Dexter area have built a community by forging bonds to improve their overall quality of life and to make the area a great place to live - not to prepare for any major disaster.

All the same, the community's strength played a key role in the immediate reaction to and recovery from the devastating F3 tornado that touched down on March 15 and damaged more than 200 homes, some of which are still in the process of being rebuilt or repaired.

The tornado and the community's response make it Heritage Media's No. 1 story of 2012.

Virtually every organization and agency within Washtenaw County responded in some way, proving the community's strength and laying the groundwork for future emergency response not just in Dexter, but across Washtenaw County.

"You don't think about where you are going to store the 100 cases of water that Lowe's wants to give you," said Assistant Village Manager Courtney Nicholls.

Managing donated resources, directing eager volunteers (or holding them back initially when their helpfulness could put them in harm's way), reaching residents when your electronic means of communication are hamstrung by lost power - these are some of the experiences that local government officials have learned from.

The hope is that there won't be another incident of such magnitude in the county, but the Dexter area and its partners in the tornado response at the Washtenaw County Sheriff's Office, the Michigan State Police and the county government walked away wiser and more prepared.

"One example is we have our server for email off site so when the power (in the village) goes down, we can access it from anywhere and get messages out (under those circumstances," Nicholls said. "The tornado is also when we started using Facebook. Even though we had (the email server) back the next day, (it was still good to have an alternative avenue of communication)."

Just letting people know that the village government was functioning, and coordinating people and resources was important to many residents.

"You just want to let people know that services are fine for the rest of the village," she said. Continued...

The village government also knows that it can count on trash and recycling service provider Waste Management to help when Dumpsters are needed to hold debris.

"We had a lot of things in place that we could use. Debris removal was handled quickly and getting those Dumpsters was a big help," Nicholls said.

Dexter Township has done a lot to prepare for a similar incident in the future, not being in the same position as the village in terms of resources and manpower.

Unlike the village, the township doesn't have emergency sirens, a company like Waste Management at its disposal, or as many financial and human resources, which is why Township Supervisor Pat Kelly, the township board and the township's employees have been hard at work.

"I think we did pretty well given that we have no staff to speak of," Kelly said. "The village has staff - an assistant village manager, department of public work -we have two part-time office workers and a zoning administrator and, other than that, elected officials."

At the time, the township worked with the county and the sheriff's office, and coordinated volunteers from Dexter Township Hall, while the township's comparatively ragtag group handed out fliers to affected residents every couple of days.

Kelly said she's glad that all of her residents were alive and well enough to receive messages, due to the timing of the storm. Ensuring area residents get by similarly unscathed from future incidents is why the township approved expenses to build 16 early warning sirens in the township, in addition to bolstering fire safety.

"Obviously, the outdoor warning sirens were a project that wouldn't have been dreamed of, if it weren't for the tornado," Kelly said. "We saw firsthand that people in the village (were) prepared with the sirens, and we, on the (township) board), felt that was very helpful.

"If any severe weather or anything like that happens again, we want to be as prepared as the village is. Given the damage, we're lucky that no one was hurt or worse."

The township's sirens are still a work in progress that is expected to be completed in 2013. The 16 sirens will be controllable by township officials, as well as county emergency managers and local weather officials. Continued...

Kelly said that the sirens will be utilized in incidents large and small, including a situation of a lost child.

"If a child is lost at Silver Lake Beach, we could activate the siren closest to that location to alert folks to look for that missing child," Kelly said.

Township officials are also working on "continuity of government policies, procedures and protocols" that will address a number of scenarios, including what happens if the township hall is hit by a tornado or other calamity.

"We're working on policies to address those issues," Kelly said. "Our Public Safety Advisory Committee is working on that in an effort to be more prepared and have our residents be more informed and prepared, as well."

Kelly and Nicholls both agreed that one thing that isn't lacking or in need of improvement is the outpouring of support that is waiting to spring forth from the Washtenaw County community in such instances of disaster.

"The response was in the thousands," Kelly said. "It wasn't just community residents, but people from far away, from church organizations, other volunteer organizations that just help out in disasters."

Nicholls said that the village couldn't have managed and utilized all of the volunteers without the help of Dexter Community Schools or Faith in Action.

"The biggest piece was dealing with the phone calls and the people who wanted to volunteer and donate things," she said. "We were lucky that we didn't have the damage and the people in need of much. People wanted to keep donating. We couldn't have managed that without the schools and Faith in Action."

Staff Writer Sean Dalton can be reached at 734-429-7380 or sdalton@heritage.com. Follow him on Twitter @seankdalton. Text HERNews and HERWeather to 22700 to receive news and weather alerts to your cellphone. Msg and data rates may apply. Text HELP for help. Text STOP to cancel.??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? No. 2 STORY 2012: President Obama visits Southeast Michigan twice??????????????????????????????????????????? No. 3 STORY 2012: Ypsilanti, Willow Run school districts merge?????????????????????????????????????????????????????? No. 4 STORY 2012: Sylvan Township solves debt repayment, but many issues still linger

The people living in the Dexter area have built a community by forging bonds to improve their overall quality of life and to make the area a great place to live - not to prepare for any major disaster.

All the same, the community's strength played a key role in the immediate reaction to and recovery from the devastating F3 tornado that touched down on March 15 and damaged more than 200 homes, some of which are still in the process of being rebuilt or repaired.

The tornado and the community's response make it Heritage Media's No. 1 story of 2012.

Virtually every organization and agency within Washtenaw County responded in some way, proving the community's strength and laying the groundwork for future emergency response not just in Dexter, but across Washtenaw County.

"You don't think about where you are going to store the 100 cases of water that Lowe's wants to give you," said Assistant Village Manager Courtney Nicholls.

Managing donated resources, directing eager volunteers (or holding them back initially when their helpfulness could put them in harm's way), reaching residents when your electronic means of communication are hamstrung by lost power - these are some of the experiences that local government officials have learned from.

The hope is that there won't be another incident of such magnitude in the county, but the Dexter area and its partners in the tornado response at the Washtenaw County Sheriff's Office, the Michigan State Police and the county government walked away wiser and more prepared.

"One example is we have our server for email off site so when the power (in the village) goes down, we can access it from anywhere and get messages out (under those circumstances," Nicholls said. "The tornado is also when we started using Facebook. Even though we had (the email server) back the next day, (it was still good to have an alternative avenue of communication)."

Just letting people know that the village government was functioning, and coordinating people and resources was important to many residents.

"You just want to let people know that services are fine for the rest of the village," she said.

The village government also knows that it can count on trash and recycling service provider Waste Management to help when Dumpsters are needed to hold debris.

"We had a lot of things in place that we could use. Debris removal was handled quickly and getting those Dumpsters was a big help," Nicholls said.

Dexter Township has done a lot to prepare for a similar incident in the future, not being in the same position as the village in terms of resources and manpower.

Unlike the village, the township doesn't have emergency sirens, a company like Waste Management at its disposal, or as many financial and human resources, which is why Township Supervisor Pat Kelly, the township board and the township's employees have been hard at work.

"I think we did pretty well given that we have no staff to speak of," Kelly said. "The village has staff - an assistant village manager, department of public work -we have two part-time office workers and a zoning administrator and, other than that, elected officials."

At the time, the township worked with the county and the sheriff's office, and coordinated volunteers from Dexter Township Hall, while the township's comparatively ragtag group handed out fliers to affected residents every couple of days.

Kelly said she's glad that all of her residents were alive and well enough to receive messages, due to the timing of the storm. Ensuring area residents get by similarly unscathed from future incidents is why the township approved expenses to build 16 early warning sirens in the township, in addition to bolstering fire safety.

"Obviously, the outdoor warning sirens were a project that wouldn't have been dreamed of, if it weren't for the tornado," Kelly said. "We saw firsthand that people in the village (were) prepared with the sirens, and we, on the (township) board), felt that was very helpful.

"If any severe weather or anything like that happens again, we want to be as prepared as the village is. Given the damage, we're lucky that no one was hurt or worse."

The township's sirens are still a work in progress that is expected to be completed in 2013. The 16 sirens will be controllable by township officials, as well as county emergency managers and local weather officials.

Kelly said that the sirens will be utilized in incidents large and small, including a situation of a lost child.

"If a child is lost at Silver Lake Beach, we could activate the siren closest to that location to alert folks to look for that missing child," Kelly said.

Township officials are also working on "continuity of government policies, procedures and protocols" that will address a number of scenarios, including what happens if the township hall is hit by a tornado or other calamity.

"We're working on policies to address those issues," Kelly said. "Our Public Safety Advisory Committee is working on that in an effort to be more prepared and have our residents be more informed and prepared, as well."

Kelly and Nicholls both agreed that one thing that isn't lacking or in need of improvement is the outpouring of support that is waiting to spring forth from the Washtenaw County community in such instances of disaster.

"The response was in the thousands," Kelly said. "It wasn't just community residents, but people from far away, from church organizations, other volunteer organizations that just help out in disasters."

Nicholls said that the village couldn't have managed and utilized all of the volunteers without the help of Dexter Community Schools or Faith in Action.

"The biggest piece was dealing with the phone calls and the people who wanted to volunteer and donate things," she said. "We were lucky that we didn't have the damage and the people in need of much. People wanted to keep donating. We couldn't have managed that without the schools and Faith in Action."

Staff Writer Sean Dalton can be reached at 734-429-7380 or sdalton@heritage.com. Follow him on Twitter @seankdalton. Text HERNews and HERWeather to 22700 to receive news and weather alerts to your cellphone. Msg and data rates may apply. Text HELP for help. Text STOP to cancel.??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? No. 2 STORY 2012: President Obama visits Southeast Michigan twice??????????????????????????????????????????? No. 3 STORY 2012: Ypsilanti, Willow Run school districts merge?????????????????????????????????????????????????????? No. 4 STORY 2012: Sylvan Township solves debt repayment, but many issues still linger

Source: http://www.heritage.com/articles/2012/12/29/dexter_leader/news/doc50df2af9ade41542469615.txt

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Wade suspended game for action against Sessions

NEW YORK (AP) ? Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade has been suspended one game without pay by the NBA for flailing his leg and making contact with the groin of Charlotte Bobcats' Ramon Sessions.

The suspension was announced Thursday by Stu Jackson, the NBA's executive vice president for basketball operations.

The incident happened with 8:12 left in the fourth quarter of the Heat's 105-92 victory over the Bobcats on Wednesday night. Sessions was called for a foul on the play.

Wade will serve the suspension Friday night when the Heat visit the Detroit Pistons.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/wade-suspended-game-action-against-sessions-015259966--spt.html

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Pakistan Taliban chief says group will negotiate, but not disarm

DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Pakistan (Reuters) - The head of Pakistan's Taliban said his militia is willing to negotiate with the government but not disarm, a message delivered in a video given to Reuters on Friday.

The release of the 40-minute video follows three high-profile Taliban attacks in the northern city of Peshawar this month: an attack by multiple suicide bombers on the airport, the killing of a senior politician and eight others in a bombing and the kidnap of 22 paramilitary forces on Thursday.

The attacks underline the Taliban's ability to strike high-profile, well-protected targets even as the amount of territory it controls has shrunk and its leaders are picked off by U.S. drones.

"We believe in dialogue but it should not be frivolous," Hakimullah Mehsud said. "Asking us to lay down arms is a joke."

In the video, Mehsud sits cradling a rifle next to his deputy, Wali ur-Rehman. Military officials say there has been a split between the two men but Mehsud said that was propaganda.

"Wali ur-Rehman is sitting with me here and we will be together until death," said Mehsud, pointing at his companion.

Pakistani officials did not immediately respond to calls seeking comment.

The Taliban said in a letter released Thursday that they wanted Pakistan to rewrite its laws and constitution to conform with Islamic law, break its alliance with the United States and stop interfering in the war in Afghanistan and focus on India instead.

Mehsud referred to the killing of the senior politician in his speech and said the political party, the largely Pashtun Awami National Party, would continue to be a target along with other politicians.

"We are against the democratic system because it is un-Islamic," Mehsud said. "Our war isn't against any party. It is against the non-Islamic system and anyone who supports it."

Pakistan is due to hold elections next spring. The current government, which came to power five years ago, struck an uneasy deal with the Taliban in 2009 that allowed the militia to control Swat valley, less than 100 km (60 miles) from the capital, Islamabad.

A few months later, the military launched an operation that pushed the militants back. The U.S. military also intensified its use of drone strikes.

Now the Taliban control far less territory and the frequency and deadliness of their bombings has declined dramatically.

The Taliban's key stronghold is in North Waziristan, one of the tribal areas along the Afghan border and the site of most of the hundreds of drone strikes by the United States.

Mehsud said in his interview that although he was open to dialogue, the Pakistani government was to blame for the violence because it broke previous, unspecified deals.

"In the past, it is the Pakistani government that broke peace agreements," he said. "A slave of the U.S. can't make independent agreements; it breaks agreements according to U.S. dictat."

Mehsud said that the Pakistan Taliban would follow the lead of the Afghan Taliban when it came to forming policy after most NATO troops withdraw from Afghanistan in 2014.

"We are Afghan Taliban and Afghan Taliban are us," he said. "We are with them and al Qaida. We are even willing to get our heads cut off for al Qaida."

(Writing By Katharine Houreld; Editing by Nick Macfie)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/head-pakistan-taliban-says-group-negotiate-not-disarm-105343851.html

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Source: http://designartdecoration.com/interior-decorator-ideas/

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First Gulf War's 'Stormin' Norman' Schwarzkopf dies

Consolidated News Pictures / Getty Images file

Click to view scenes from the life of the retired Army general.

By M. Alex Johnson, NBC News

Retired Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf, the blunt, bulldog-like commander of U.S.-led coalition forces in the first Persian Gulf War, died Thursday in Florida. He was 78.

Schwarzkopf died after a long illness at his home in Tampa, where he lived in retirement, a senior defense official told NBC News.

Schwarzkopf, a highly decorated Vietnam War veteran who rose quickly through the Army's ranks during the 1970s and '80s, drew up the initial plans for the successful U.S.-led ejection of Saddam Hussein's forces from Kuwait, which Iraq invaded in 1990.

---

He then became famous for his pointed and inventive language during the almost-daily televised briefings he gave reporters as commander of Operation Desert Storm in 1991, invariably clad in desert camouflage, which he is credited with introducing.

Schwarzkopf described the key maneuver that led to the end of the ground war, a redeployment of forces into Iraq behind Iraqi lines, with a boxing metaphor: He called it a "left hook." And he memorably dismissed one report he disagreed with as "bovine scatology."

Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf, describing the defeat of Iraqin February 1991, told reporters he could have gone all the way to Baghdad had he been given the order.

In his 1992 autobiography, "It Doesn't Take a Hero," Schwarzkopf related that he meant to send a message in those briefings.

"With those cameras grinding away, I knew I wasn't talking just to friendly audiences, but that Saddam and his bully boys were watching me on CNN in their headquarters," he wrote.

Schwarzkopf said he agreed with President George H.W. Bush's decision not to pursue Saddam all the way to Baghdad. At the February 1991 briefing during which he described the coalition's victorious operations, he made it clear that he could have done so, however, had he been given the order:

"If it had been our intention to take Iraq, if it had been our intention to destroy the country, if it had been our intention to overrun the country, we could have done it unopposed for all intents and purposes from this position at that time."

Schwarzkopf emerged from the war with the nickname "Stormin' Norman" and a career in television, much of it as a military analyst for NBC News.

The decision to go to war to oust Saddam was the defining moment of Bush's presidency. In a statement from Houston, where he is being treated at Methodist Hospital for complications related to bronchitis, Bush called Schwarzkopf "one of the great military leaders of his generation."

"More than that, he was a good and decent man," Bush said.

In a statement Thursday night, President Barack Obama called Schwarzkopf "an American original."?

"From his decorated service in Vietnam to the historic liberation of Kuwait and his leadership of United States Central Command, General Schwarzkopf stood tall for the country and Army he loved."

Colin Powell, who was Schwarzkopf's boss as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff during Desert Storm, remembered him Thursday as "a great patriot and a great soldier."

"He was a good friend of mine, a close buddy," Powell said in a statement. " I will miss him."

Schwarzkopf, who had been based in Tampa for many years on the way to leading U.S. Central Command in 1988, was a prominent spokesman for campaigns to promote awareness of prostate cancer, with which he was diagnosed in 1993. He is survived by his wife, Brenda, and their three adult children.

Andrea Mitchell and Courtney Kube of NBC News contributed to this report.

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Source: http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/12/27/16197379-desert-storm-commander-norman-schwarzkopf-dies-at-78?lite

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