Jihadists join Syria fight eye Islamic state French surgeon says

Foreign Islamists intent on turning Syria into an autocratic theocracy have swollen the ranks of rebels fighting to topple President Bashar Assad and think they are waging a "holy war," a French surgeon who treated fighters in Aleppo has said.


Jacques Beres, co-founder of medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders), returned from Syria on Friday evening after spending two weeks working clandestinely in a hospital in the besieged northern Syrian city.


In an interview with Reuters in his central Paris apartment on Saturday, the 71-year-old said that contrary to his previous visits to Homs and Idlib earlier this year about 60 percent of those he had treated this time had been rebel fighters and that at least half of them had been non-Syrian.


"It's really something strange to see.Can we sell salereplicashoes on eBay? They are directly saying that they aren't interested in Bashar Assad's fall, but are thinking about how to take power afterward and set up an Islamic state with sharia law to become part of the world Emirate," the doctor said.


The foreign jihadists included young Frenchmen who said they were inspired by Mohammed Merah, a swomenssandals, belt in our Louis Vuitton outlet is you best choice!elf-styled Islamist militant from Toulouse, who killed seven people in March in the name of al-Qaida. The seven people included three soldiers from North African immigrant families, a rabbi and three Jewish children.


Assad himself has consistently maintained that the 17-month-old insurgency against him is largely the work of people he refers to as "foreign-backed terrorists" and says his forces are acting to restore stability.


During his previous visits to Syria - in March and May - Beres said he had dismissed suggestions the rebels were dominated by Islamist fighters but he said he had now been forced to reassess the situation.


The doctor's account corroborates other anecdotal evidence that the struggle against Assad appears to be drawing ever greater numbers of fellow Arabs and other Muslims, many driven by a sense of religious duty to perform jihad (holy war) and a readiness to suffer for Islam.


But while some are professional "jihadists," veterans of Iraq, Afghanistan, Chechnya or Libya who bring combat and bomb-making skills with them that alarm the Western and Arab governments which have cheered the rebels on,Welcome to buychristianlouboutin women's fashion store, many have little to offer Syrians but their goodwill and prayers.


Beres described treating dozens of such jihadists from other Arab countries, but also at least two young Frenchmen.


Paris has for several years been concerned that French radical Islamists who have travelled to lawless zones would return to plot attacks at home. Merah had travelled to Afghanistan and Pakistan to receive training.


On his previous trips he worked in makeshift hospitals, but this time Beres said he received as many as 40 injured people each day in a normal hospital that was under rebel control in the economic hub Aleppo.


He said he had treated civilians who had been queuing for bread at a market place when it had been shelled.


"The baker was killed. He was a thin man completely covered in white flour with shrapnel holes and blood all over. It was a striking and troubling image," he said.


"What people have to know is that the number of dead is a far cry from what's been announced. I'd say you have to multiply by two to get the real figure."


The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says that more than 23,000 people have been killed in the uprising.Latested Styles of Nike airmax2009, More than 200,000 Syrians have fled to neighboring Turkey, Jordan, Iraq and Lebanon.


Beres, who entered Syria via Turkey's northern border, said he had also seen signs that Ankara was trying to stop Syrians crossing the border.


Showing his muddied surgical case, shoes and clothes, Beres said that Turkish forces had flooded the Reyhanli border area with water making it difficult for refugees to cross unnoticed.


"We were caught by the Turkish army. It took us 20 hours to cross the border and I was fined $500 for crossing the border illegally. They flooded the border completely so that they can hear who is crossing. Those they do catch they are sending back," he said.

While the Alexandre Birman brand makes up

Juggling dual roles as vice chairman of his family's Brazil-based footwear company, Arezzo & Co., and as designer of his eponymous line, Birman said he relishes both the corporate and creative sides of the business.


"I love to wear both hats. If you're a shoe designer, you have to be passionate about shoes, so I spend a lot of time on the design," he said. "At the same time, I'm on the board, I know the strategy, and I'm someone who understands [the business side of] our company. Having both of those competencies [gives me an edge] in the industry."


He will use those skills as Arezzo & Co. looks to build a powerful international business, starting with the U.S. market.


The 40-year-old footwear company, which operates four women's labels ― Arezzo, Schutz,hublotreplica are full of unique and elegance. Alexandre Birman and Anacapri ― is focusing initially on Schutz and Alexandre Birman.


Contemporary brand Schutz opened its first U.S. flagship (an 1,100-sq.-ft. space on Manhattan's Madison Avenue) last week, while the higher-end Alexandre Birman brand also recently debuted its new showroom and headquarters in the city. Long-term plans include bringing the company's original Arezzo label to American consumers as well. "The biggest challenge is to make it happen in the U.S., because this is the biggest market in the world," said Birman. "We are not from [the U.S.], but we believe in our product and our know-how."


Arezzo & Co. is poised for international growth, according to Birman. In addition to its labels, the company owns three sample factories and has a presence in 2,000 retail doors and 360 branded stores (310 of which are franchises) in Brazil alone. In February 2011, it became a publicly traded entity. Overall revenue rose 20 percent and profits jumped 25 percent in 2011, with those numbers estimated to climb even further in 2012.


While the Alexandre Birman brand makes up about 3 percent of the company's overall sales, the label already has a strong presence in the U.S., with accounts at Saks Fifth Avenue,We provide top quality stainlesssteelwatchesand IWC Replica Watches. Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman, as well as upscale boutiques such as Intermix and Moda Operandi.


"Alexandre Birman captures a strong fashion aesthetic through sexy, feminine and modern silhouettes," Elizabeth Kanfer, Saks Fifth Avenue's fashion and co-brand director for women's accessories, said of the footwear, which retails from $500 to $800.


Now, as the firm looks to grow its other labels stateside, Birman will divide his time between New York and S?o Paulo. The designer, who is also adapting to being a new father (his daughter, Olga, was born this year), admits that juggling his frenetic schedule could be tricky, but he is confident he'll be able to handle what's ahead.


"I never,Tree agatebeads has dark green foliage-like patterns on a white background, ever, stopped once to ask, 'Am I on the right track?'" the designer said.Representing the Art of Fusion in paneraireplica, He has also never had to look outside the family for encouragement. His father backed him, with both funding and encouragement, when he came up with the idea for Schutz and when he bowed Alexandre Birman in 2008. "My father and the firm really supported me [when I wanted to launch my own label]," the designer said, "but like everything we do, we really believed that we had to do this step by step."


Here, Birman discusses the next steps for Arezzo & Co., plus what's behind his design decisions, why python is his material of choice and how his company plans to solidify its success.

Pascoe carries flag as Paralympics close

Christchurch swimming sensation Sophie Pascoe entered the main stadium at the London Paralympics for the first time today - as New Zealand's flagbearer for the closing ceremony.hoganscarpe vale la pena buying.


Pascoe completed an outstanding Games at the Aquatics Centre in the Olympic Park, collecting three gold and three silver medals from her six events to spearhead an impressive 17-medal haul for the small 24-strong Kiwi contingent.Amazing prices on etareplicawatch from over 100 leading watch brands including.


The 19-year-old skipped the opening ceremony two weeks ago as she was competing the next day - when she won the first of her medals - and had not stepped foot inside the 80,Find Short Length Wigs, authenticbreitlingwatches Boy Cut Wigs along with a wide selection of other brand-name wigs,000-seat Olympic Stadium until today, despite it being less than 200m from the swimming complex.


''I'm a proud Kiwi and this is just another reward for my success,'' she said before undertaking her flagbearer duty.


''Not getting to experience the opening ceremony, this will be doubly special.''


London's spectacular summer of sports was given a rousing send-off.


Coldplay and an all-star support cast brought the curtain down on the most-watched and best-attended Paralympic Games of all time, ending a six-week-long festival of sport in the British capital that began with the hugely successful Olympics.


Rapper Jay-Z and pop star Rihanna collaborated with the English rock band in a three-hour extravaganza, honouring the spirit of festivals throughout British history.


Central to the ceremony - called the ''Festival of the Flame'' - were the 4,200 Paralympians from 164 nations who sat around the field of play from the start.


The past 11 days of memorable competition have shifted perceptions and shattered stereotypes, ensuring disabled sport will never be seen in the same light.


''I think people are going to look back at this Paralympic Games and for the first time really, truly believe that Paralympic sport is not just inspirational, it's hard-core sport,Buy nikeshoes Online in India at great prices.'' said South African double amputee Oscar Pistorius, the iconic figure of the Paralympics.


A moving tribute to wounded British servicemen and members of the British army opened the show and saw Luke Sinnott, a captain who lost both legs from above the knee in an explosion in Afghanistan in 2010, hang the Union Flag at the top of flagpole in the middle of the stadium.


The baton was to be handed to Rio when the cauldron - made up of 200 petals - is extinguished, ending the biggest games in the 52-year history of the Paralympics.


The 2012 Paralympics have broken all records, with 2.7 million spectators cramming into venues and more than $70 million raised in ticket sales - both unprecedented figures as the British public displayed a previously unseen enthusiasm for Paralympic sport.


In total, 251 world records were broken over the 11 days.


''I think it's been an absolute triumph from start to finish,'' said British Prime Minister David Cameron, whose disabled son Ivan died in 2009.


''I think back to Ivan. As every parent, you think about all the things they can't do, but at the Paralympics they are superhuman, you see all the things they can do.''

Morneau has four two-homer games this season

After Justin Morneau homered in the ninth inning to beat Cleveland, Indians manager Manny Acta bemoaned another shot the Minnesota slugger tagged.


Acta was disappointed in the way starter Corey Kluber approached Morneau much earlier in the Twins' 8-7 win Sunday.offers guccishoes and Loafers for Men,


Morneau hit a two-run homer in the third after Kluber got ahead of him.


"You can't let be letting guys take those kind of rips on 0-2 counts," Acta said. "The whole thing of pitching ahead is to make a guy expand, try to make him chase, take advantage of it."


The Indians had taken a 4-0 lead when Kluber tried to get Morneau out on an 0-2 changeup.


"I just really made a bad pitch, made a mistake and he took advantage of it," Kluber said. "It was a pitch that was the best one to try and get him out."


The Twins also hit a pair of 0-2 pitches in the seventh to take the lead. Joe Mauer doubled off Esmil Rogers to put runners on second and third and Chris Parmelee later hit a sharp, two-out, two-run single off Tony Sipp.cheapwatches to Intervention Online Software.


"We did a very good job on taking advantage of the walks earlier and moving guys over and scoring them, we only failed in that situation and it proved to be costly," Acta said. "Still, you can't be giving up eight runs and be expected to win ballgames."


With one out in the ninth, Morneau hit the first pitch from Vinnie Pestano (3-2) just inside the right-field foul pole for his 19th homer of the season. Morneau has four two-homer games this season.


Brian Duensing (4-2) pitched 1 1-3 innings of scoreless relief to pick up the victory for the Twins. Minnesota's Joe Mauer had three hits ― a single,Enter marcjacobsshoes World and discover a universe of contemporary, double and triple ― and scored twice.


Carlos Santana had three hits, including a home run, and scored twice for Cleveland. Brent Lillibridge and Michael Brantley each scored a pair of runs for the Indians.


The Twins have won two in a row and are now 5-4 in September. The victory also moves Minnesota within one game of Cleveland in an attempt to get out of last place in the AL Central.


Cleveland had an opportunity to take the lead in the top of the ninth when Matt LaPorta singled and moved to second on the first out of the inning. However, neither Carlos Santana nor Russ Canzler could drive in the go-ahead run off Duensing.


Minnesota took a 7-6 lead in the bottom of the seventh when Chris Parmalee hit a bases-loaded single through the right side of the infield, scoring Jamey Carroll and Mauer.


That lead didn't last long. With one out in the top of eighth, Cleveland's Jason Donald snapped a 0-for-17 stretch with a triple to the wall off Twins reliever Jared Burton that scored Lillibridge and tied the game 7-7.


Santana gave Cleveland a lead in the top of the fifth. After Brantley singled, Santana doubled over the head of center fielder Ben Revere. With the ball going to the wall, Brantley was able to score on a close play at the plate, tying it at 5.


When Santana scored on Russ Canzler's single down the third base line,TAG Heuer,authenticbreitling Breitling, Longines, Cleveland took a 6-5 lead.


Santana opened the scoring in the second inning with his 15th home run of the season, a long drive to right. Cleveland turned Lillibridge's double, a sacrifice fly and a wild pitch into two additional runs for a 3-0 lead.


Minnesota scored three times in the third and two more times in the fourth to erase Cleveland's early lead.


Mauer tripled in Carroll in the third and then scored on Morneau's first homer of the game.


In the fourth, Minnesota's Darin Mastroianni reached on an error, stole second and advanced to third on a wild pitch before scoring on Pedro Florimon's bloop single. Florimon continued the small-ball offense when he stole second and gave the Twins a 5-4 lead on a single by Revere.


Neither starter lasted long. Minnesota's Esmerling Vasquez lasted only three innings after needing 68 pitches to record nine outs. He gave up four earned runs on three hits while walking five. Cleveland's Corey Kluber didn't get out of the fourth inning, giving up five runs ― four earned ― on eight hits in 3 2-3 innings.

Blahnik executives fashion a dairy farm

It's the Fifth Avenue of farms, the Barney's of barns, the Saks of cow stalls.


Welcome to Arethusa Farm in Litchfield, Conn., a flourishing dairy dynasty with designer pedigree and stiletto style.


The pristine dairy farm may seem an unlikely business initiative for fashion gurus George Malkemus and Tony Yurgaitis.We offer a dive-in to the amazing world of chanelwatche with our direct reviews. The Manhattanites are best known as the top executives of the high-end shoe brand, Manolo Blahnik, the finely crafted, Italian women's stilettos and such made famous by Carrie Bradshaw in the HBO series "Sex and the City."


But don't let these city guys fool you. With the same commitment and attention to quality they put into their pricey shoes of desire, the longtime partners have crafted the creme de la creme of dairy products while gaining international attention for their cattle.


"This is not a hobby. It is a work of love,fashionairmaxfor the entire family." said Yurgaitis. "We wanted to save this farm."


The story did not start so altruistically in 1999, when the couple bought the place. It was more about being a little selfish when it came to the view from their house, which is across from the farm.


"We had this beautiful vista that we woke up to every day, and we didn't want it spoiled," explained Malkemus. "So we bought the farm."


The former horse farm could have become a golf course or tract housing - two earlier plans for the property - but Yurgaitis and Malkemus wanted to preserve the gently rolling pastures. When they started planning, the 300-plus-acre farm became home to 300 head of Holsteins, Brown Swiss and Jersey cows, heifers and calves, a chicken coop, nine barns, five farmhouses, and a nearby retail store, creamery and bottling plant.


In the beginning, they researched the place. They learned it was once a dairy farm called Arethusa (an extinct orchid).Strathcona is chopard watchesnew zealand a safe neighbourhood, Anxious to preserve its history, they not only restored the farm's original name but purchased five cows because there was "something missing" when they looked out at empty barns, they said.


"Then the five just kept calving and calving, and we did more research and we knew we had to take the next step," Yurgaitis said. More cows were added, more land purchased and the business began to blossom.


The two were consumed with learning all they could about farming and it was clear there was not going to be a lot of profit, if any, in dairy farming. But the business was about more than just money. It was about the land.


"We were both concerned about farmland preservation as well as making this a working farm," said Malkemus, as he recited statistics reflecting the dramatic drop in the number of dairy farms over the decades.


"People can do a lot with a resource," he continued. "They can build a big house and throw resources around, or they can try to bring something back with that resource. We are people who wanted to bring something back. And we wanted to do something that would make a difference in the land, the community and the people."


The cows have won a wall full of trophies and ribbons that are proudly displayed in the sumptuous conference room inside the spacious, state-of-the-art milk barn. Arethusa made history in 2004 when two of its cows, Victoria and Melanie, were named Grand Champion Jersey and Grand Champion Holstein at the World Dairy Expo in Wisconsin. The efforts to develop the best herd of home-bred cattle in North American has established Arethusa as a premier diary breeding farm, both nationally and internationally.


And then there is the milk and all it creates.


Malkemus just wanted milk that tasted good, the kind he remembered from his childhood in Texas. As a seasoned fashion magnate in a company in which quality trumps quantity, he knew that meant taking time when it came to producing Arethusa milk, marketed as "milk like it used to taste."


"We use vat processing," he said explaining how using small batch, low-temperature, long-duration, slow heat and quick cool processes that preserve the flavor of milk rather than stripping it away. Such processing also means days rather than weeks when it comes to shelf life, the two explain. The more common pasteurizing methods are most cost-effective and quicker, but kill good bacteria and take away flavor, they maintain.


"You drink our milk, you don't put it in the refrigerator for a month," said Yurgaitis.


All the milk comes from about 80 cows from the Arethusa herd, a group of "ladies" Yurgaitis, Malkemus and their expert staff hold in high esteem.


Enter the milking parlor and the first thing you see is an oversized sign stating "Every cow in this barn is a lady, please treat her as such."


The herd enjoys spotless stalls, top-quality Canadian hay and personalized protein-rich grain mixtures from a computerized feeding system,The Design Museum presents iconic French shoe designer jordanshoes, with diets dovetailing with lactation cycles and special needs. They are treated to daily vacuuming and weekly baths in a spa-like shower room, including a conditioning treatment to keep their tails white.