[OOC] yu-Gi-Oh: Bloodied Decks

Forum rules
This forum is for OOC discussion about existing roleplays.

Please post all "Players Wanted" threads in the Roleplayers Wanted forum!

This topic is an Out Of Character part of the roleplay, ?Yu-Gi-Oh: Bloodied Decks?. Anything posted here will also show up there.

Topic Tags:

online roleplay roleplay online -->

HTML, for websites and MySpace:

BBcode, for forum posts and signatures:

--> Forum for completely Out of Character (OOC) discussion, based around whatever is happening In Character (IC). Discuss plans, storylines, and events; Recruit for your roleplaying game, or find a GM for your playergroup.
This is the auto-generated OOC topic for the roleplay "yu-Gi-Oh: Bloodied Decks"

You may edit this first post as you see fit.

I'm bringing sexy back, babe ~ Kris.

User avatar
Random Kat
Member for 0 years



Post a reply

RolePlayGateway is a site built by a couple roleplayers who wanted to give a little something back to the roleplay community. The site has no intention of earning any profit, and is paid for out of their own pockets.

If you appreciate what they do, feel free to donate your spare change to help feed them on the weekends. After selecting the amount you want to donate from the menu, you can continue by clicking on PayPal logo.

Who is online

Registered users: Acedude58, Adig01, Alpha Type Shurelia*, AmiOfTheRain, Aniihya*, Annaky, Archlkan*, AugmentationAudit, AutomailJunkie, AzricanRepublic*, B14ck J0k3r, badboyej, Balzmann, Beatrice Amell, BekaL101, Bionic00, birdguard, Black, Blackbird26*, Boxer, Bromander Shepard, BSDJoker*, Calvazara, Canibelle*, ChaosxChild13, CherryRed, Chulance*, Corvan*, CountessMomo, CriminalMinds, Cypher, Dandan, danm36*, DemiKara*, Demon of Bereavement, dig17*, DivineBitterness*, Drowssword*, DumbDora, emmanuelb*, Erlanis, Essence, Exabot [Bot], Eyeris, Fatal_Flaw_Enki*, freemixer25, Gasmask*, Google [Bot], Google Adsense [Bot], Google Feedfetcher, GotDraggedIntoThis, Grimpunker96, Hadespwr*, HerHeroine, ichiro [Crawler], Imagine That!, Ironman11, I'm a Radical Dame!, jackrules158*, Jag, Jamie95*, Jo_Tunn*, Ken Shiro, Kirinak*, KrazyTigger*, Lawlietkun, Light_of_the_Fallen, Lucky_Joker*, Luna Star*, maddenbaby, Majestic-12 [Bot], MarchHare*, McDevious*, Metal4Life*, MFT*, minibear, Moniker*, Mozzyman*, MrGuy0250*, MSN [Bot], MSNbot Media, Namaru*, NarrowEye, Nevan, nibblesnbits, nightwolf, niykin*, Nocte*, NorthernSoul, NymaLaputa, Oborosen, OdiOdi, Omega_Pancake*, Patcharoo, PJammaz, Princess Awinita*, Princess Rose, psbot [Picsearch], qbsuperstar03*, Random Kat*, Red Soldier*, Regret, Rem?us*, rockerr69, Rulke, Ryand-Smith*, Saikua*, Saken*, Script*, Sebastian Vettel, Selene Durlan*, Shiva, shmband, Sibrand, Sivermist, SkullsandSlippers, SkunkishBlue, Sneakyrio, snipergirl24*, SnowSpartan66, Something?, SonoraSonata, Sora112112, Sorence, Starryskies, Stilts, SuperQ19*, T?far?s, Talisman*, The Angry Penguin, The Illusionist*, The Painkiller, The Vampire Mistress*, theMoonlightTheory, TheRaven&ThePawn, Thorait, Tiko*, UnderFormality*, utahann, Valkyrieknight, VampyrKidd, ViceVersus, VitaminHeart*, Vyral*, Walking-travesty, Wheatley, Wild1, Winds Of Fate, Wing06Twilight, Wudgeous, Yoru-Senpai, Zenia, Zodia195, zolzol, ? ????????? ?*

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/RolePlayGateway/~3/fzyGr9F1b9c/viewtopic.php

hugo the muppets percy harvin percy harvin best cyber monday deals best cyber monday deals cyber monday

Nation's oldest federal judge dies at age 104 (AP)

WICHITA, Kan. ? As the nation's oldest sitting federal judge in history, U.S. District Judge Wesley Brown allowed himself few concessions to his advancing age as he insisted on presiding over significant and often complex cases right up until his death at 104.

Brown died Monday night at the Wichita assisted living center where he lived, his law clerk, Nanette Turner Kalcik, said Tuesday.

During his long tenure, the senior judge in Wichita repeatedly tried to explain why he had not yet fully retired from the federal bench.

"As a federal judge, I was appointed for life or good behavior, whichever I lose first," Brown quipped in a 2011 interview with The Associated Press. How did he plan to leave the post? "Feet first," Brown said.

He came to work at the federal courthouse every day until about a month ago when his health deteriorated, U.S. District Judge J. Thomas Marten said. Undeterred, the ailing Brown then had his law clerks bring work to the hospital and later to the assisted living center while he recuperated. His law clerks were with him virtually non-stop, taking turns to be there except at night during the past few weeks.

Brown was appointed as a federal district judge in 1962 by then-President John F. Kennedy.

"When Judge Brown spoke, we listened because_ while nobody has seen it all ? he certainly came closer to it than anybody I have ever known," Marten said. "And his message was always the same: remember who you are and what your job is."

In 1979, Brown officially took senior status, a type of semiretirement that allows federal judges to work with a full or reduced case level. He continued to carry a full workload for decades.

"I do it to be a public service," Brown said in the AP interview. "You got to have a reason to live. As long as you perform a public service, you have a reason to live."

His long tenure on the federal bench surpasses even that of Joseph Woodrough, a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit who, until Brown, had been the longest practicing judge in the federal judiciary when he died in 1977 shortly after turning 104.

"Judge Brown always said he hoped he would be remembered as a good judge, not just an old judge ? and I think it was a sincere concern of his," U.S. District Judge Eric Melgren said.

As a federal judge, Brown could have retired at full salary, but he never had a real interest in that, Melgren said.

"He frequently encouraged ? or, you know, frankly even admonished us ? to remember that our duty as judges was to take the responsibility for the administration of justice in our courtrooms and collectively in our district court," Melgren said. "He was very committed to it."

Brown's stooped frame nearly disappeared behind the federal bench during hearings. His gait was slower, but his mind remained sharp as he presided over a tightly run courtroom even after turning 104 last June.

Brown removed himself from the draw for assignment of new criminal cases in March, and by the time he died he was no longer presiding over hearings. He kept an active civil caseload, but during the last months of his life referred evidentiary hearings on his remaining civil to magistrate judges for their recommendations before making a decision.

"I will quit this job when I think it is time," Brown said last year. "And I hope I do so and leave the country in better shape because I have been a part of it."

Another of his law clerks, Michael Lahey, said he took a turn for the worse just a week before his death.

"He finally wore out," Lahey said. "He maintained his abilities right up to the end."

Among the cases he was still handling when he died is a constitutional challenge to a new Kansas law restricting insurance coverage for abortions. He also was presiding at the time over a multi-defendant lawsuit filed by Omaha-based Northern Natural Gas Co. in its bid to condemn more than 9,100 acres in south-central Kansas to contain gas migrating from an underground storage facility.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Brent Anderson has practiced law in Brown's courtroom for 20 years as a federal prosecutor and for more than seven years before that as a private attorney.

"Judge Brown ran his courtroom in a firm and fair manner so you knew when you were going into Judge Brown's courtroom you had better know the rules and you had better follow the rules," Anderson said. "On the other hand, there was no more compassionate judge than Judge Brown."

Anderson recalled an incident that occurred when Brown was about 98. A cell phone started ringing in the courtroom ? twice. Nervous lawyers pulled out their cell phones to make sure they were turned off. Then, while sorting through some paperwork on the bench, the judge realized it was his own cell phone that had gone off.

"He immediately fined himself $100 and held himself in contempt and said, `I guess I learned my lesson,'" Anderson recalled.

Brown ? who was born on June 22, 1907, in Hutchinson, Kansas ? was six years older than the next oldest sitting federal judge. At least eight other federal judges are in their 90s, according to a federal court database.

Brown started his career with the law firm of Williams, Martindell and Carey in Hutchinson. He graduated from the Kansas City School of Law, which later became the law school for the University of Missouri-Kansas City. Except for two brief breaks from the firm ? one at age 27 when he was elected Reno County attorney and the other at age 37 when he joined the Navy ? Brown spent his Hutchinson career practicing law there. In 1939, he became a partner.

He moved to Wichita at age 50 after receiving his first federal appointment as a bankruptcy judge in 1958. Four years later, he was appointed a federal district judge.

He outlived two wives and only moved into an assisted living center in recent years.

"His impact is more than he lived to be 104," Melgren said. "He was a model for us for how we are to conduct ourselves as judges."

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/obits/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120125/ap_on_re_us/us_obit_brown

benjamin netanyahu prospect park no child left behind no child left behind byu skylab skylab

Improving crops from the roots up

ScienceDaily (Jan. 24, 2012) ? Research involving scientists at The University of Nottingham has taken us a step closer to breeding hardier crops that can better adapt to different environmental conditions and fight off attack from parasites.

In a paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS), the researchers have shown that they can alter root growth in the plant Arabidopsis thaliana, or thale cress, by controlling an important regulatory protein.

Dr Ive De Smet, a Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) David Phillips Fellow in the University's Division of Plant and Crop Science, said: "The world's population is increasing, and a new green revolution is even more pressing to deliver global food security. To achieve this, optimising the root system of plants is essential and these recent results will contribute significantly to our goal of improving crop growth and yield under varying environmental conditions."

The work was carried out by an international team of researchers. Led by scientists from the Plant Systems Biology Department in the life sciences research institute VIB in Flanders, Belgium, and Ghent University, the study also involved experts from Wake Forest University in the US and the Albrecht-von-Haller Institute for Plant Sciences in Germany.

Plant root biology is essential for healthy plant growth and, while the so-called hidden half of the plant has often been overlooked, its importance is becoming increasingly recognised by scientists.

Despite this, particularly in view of the critical role plants play in global food security, improving plant growth by modulating the biological architecture of root systems is an area which is largely unexplored.

In this latest research, the scientists modulated levels of the protein, transcription factor WRKY23, in plants, analysed the effects on root development and used chemical profiling to demonstrate that this key factor controls the biosynthesis of important metabolites called flavonols.

Altered levels of flavonols affected the distribution of auxin, a plant hormone controlling many aspects of development, which resulted in impaired root growth.

The results of the research can now be used to produce new plant lines, such as crops which are economically valuable, which have an improved root system, making them better able to resist environmental changes which could lead to plant damage or poor yield.

In addition, WRKY23 was previously found to play a role in the way plants interact with types of nematode parasites, which could lead to further research into how to prevent attacks from the creatures during the early stages of plant growth.

Recommend this story on Facebook, Twitter,
and Google +1:

Other bookmarking and sharing tools:


Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of Nottingham, via AlphaGalileo.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.


Journal Reference:

  1. W. Grunewald, I. De Smet, D. R. Lewis, C. Lofke, L. Jansen, G. Goeminne, R. Vanden Bossche, M. Karimi, B. De Rybel, B. Vanholme, T. Teichmann, W. Boerjan, M. C. E. Van Montagu, G. Gheysen, G. K. Muday, J. Friml, T. Beeckman. Transcription factor WRKY23 assists auxin distribution patterns during Arabidopsis root development through local control on flavonol biosynthesis. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2012; DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1121134109

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120124140101.htm

auld lang syne leap year end of the world 2012 pink martini 2012 predictions times square new years eve ball drop

98% Le Havre

Marcel Marx(Andre Wilms) is a shoeshine who makes a sparse living in Le Havre and has more than his share of his debts. His wife Arletty(Kati Outinen) dutifully stands by him while unbeknowst to him, she is very ill. Meanwhile, sounds are heard from a shipping container near the harbor and the police, fearing the worst, are called in. Luckily, all of the would be immigrants seem not the worse for wear. So, Idrissa(Blondin Miguel), a young boy, with a little encouragement from his grandfather makes a break for it. To his credit, Inspector Monet(Jean-Pierre Darroussin) stops a police officer from getting off a shot, allowing him to get away. Outside of the changed setting, "Le Havre" might appear to seem like a normal Aki Kaurismaki movie on the surface, as it contains some of his usual touches, along with Kati Outinen in the cast. On the other hand, it is also one of his most topical movies while also one of his most optimistic, even if it is a little predictable at the end. Regardless, the movie almost feels entirely timeless, as about the only sign of present day technology is the most malicious act being carried out by a cell phone. And I think what Kaurismaki is getting at is that in the past people did not act out of fear and were actually much kinder towards each other. So, my question is do Marcel's neighbors act differently towards him when Idrissa comes into his life or is it because his wife falls ill? Or are the events connected even if they do not at first appear to be so?

November 27, 2011

Source: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/le_havre_2011/

orioles atlanta braves national coffee day national coffee day paw paw paw paw baltimore orioles

Apple doubles iPhone sales in 1Q (AP)

NEW YORK ? After uncharacteristically tepid sales in the July-to-September quarter, Apple came back with a vengeance in the last three months of 2011, vastly exceeding analyst estimates and setting new records.

Apple Inc. on Tuesday said it sold 37 million iPhones in the quarter, double the figure of the previous quarter and more than twice as many as it sold in the holiday quarter of 2010.

The result may make Apple the world's largest maker of smartphones. Samsung Electronics, which held that position last summer, has said it expects to report shipping about 35 million smartphones in the October to December quarter.

October saw the launch of the iPhone 4S, and the addition of Sprint Nextel Corp. as an iPhone carrier in the U.S.

Apple said net income in the fiscal first quarter was $13.06 billion, or $13.87 per share. That was up 118 percent from $6 billion, or $6.43 per share, a year ago.

Analysts polled by FactSet were expecting earnings of $10.04 per share for the latest quarter, Apple's fiscal first.

Revenue was $46.33 billion, up 73 percent from a year ago. Analysts were expecting $38.9 billion.

The Cupertino, Calif., company shipped 15.4 million iPads in the quarter, again more than doubling sales over the same quarter last year. The November launch of Amazon.com Inc.'s $199 Kindle Fire tablet didn't appear to put a dent in the iPad's sales, as some analysts predicted it would.

Apple shares rose $33.03, or 7.9 percent, to $453.53 in extended trading, after the release of the results.

Chief Financial Officer Peter Oppenheimer said the company expects earnings of $8.50 per share in the current quarter, and sales of $32.5 billion. Both figures are above the average estimate of analysts polled by FactSet, even though Apple usually low-balls its estimates.

Apple ended the quarter with a cash balance of a staggering $97.6 billion. That's more than enough to buy Citigroup Inc. outright, or issue a special dividend of $100 per Apple share.

For years, investors have been frustrated with Apple's unwillingness to put the cash to use, but complaints have been muted as Apple continues to generate record-breaking results and as the stock price keeps rising. Apple executives have said the cash hoard gives the company flexibility to make acquisitions and long-term supply deals.

If the stock rally in extended trading survives into regular trading Wednesday, Apple will retake the position of most valuable company in the world from Exxon Mobil Corp. Apple first unseated Exxon last summer, and the two have been trading places since then.

Apple's results lifted shares of smaller companies that supply chips for the iPhone, like TriQuint Semiconductor, up 7.7 percent, Cirrus Logic Inc., up 6.8 percent, Broadcom Corp., up 4.2 percent, and Skyworks Solutions Inc., up 3.7 percent.

Apple co-founder and longtime CEO Steve Jobs died Oct. 5, just as the record-breaking quarter started.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/tech/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120124/ap_on_hi_te/us_earns_apple

cobra starship cobra starship blue whale melissa joan hart sylvia plath def leppard tim wakefield

Awards Tour 2012: Academy Awards Nominations

King S. on 01-24-2012 09:31 AM

Okay, I've been defending previous award shows, and given the amount of strong films we've gotten this year 9, 10 or even 15 slots wouldn't be enough to avoid controversy. My major complaint is with the nomination of Extremely Loud and Inredibely Close for best pic. I'm sorry, but I feel that the real reason why it got nominated was because of how poorly its did when it tried to expand wide, so they're obviously hoping that the nomination for best pic will give it more attention, and the fact that it didn't get nominated at any previous awards show proves my point.

Other than that though, the nominations have been pretty similair to past awards shows. I'm not even that bummed that Deathly Hallows missed getting a best pic nomination, as after all the previous award shows snubbed it I wasn't expecting the oscars to be any different (though I still think that award shows should change their attitude on genre films, like fantasy and science fiction) I'm more dissapointed that Winnie the Pooh missed a nomination, as I thought that the only reason it missed a nomination at the Golden Globes was because of its length, something the oscars are much more lenient about (a feature film only needs to be 40 minutes long as opposed to 70 minutes at the globes) but I suppose it's nice to see a couple of slots go to films that can really use the attention (they got me interested in them, which is the best thing an award show can do) Now if they had nominated something like Happy Feet 2 instead of Pooh, then I'd really be mad.

Source: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1924361/news/1924361/

katy perry divorce the curious case of benjamin button christine christine brock lesnar retires new years wake forest

[OOC] Blacklight Delilahs

Forum rules
This forum is for OOC discussion about existing roleplays.

Please post all "Players Wanted" threads in the Roleplayers Wanted forum!

This topic is an Out Of Character part of the roleplay, ?Blacklight Delilahs?. Anything posted here will also show up there.

Topic Tags:

online roleplay roleplay online -->

HTML, for websites and MySpace:

BBcode, for forum posts and signatures:

--> Forum for completely Out of Character (OOC) discussion, based around whatever is happening In Character (IC). Discuss plans, storylines, and events; Recruit for your roleplaying game, or find a GM for your playergroup.


Post a reply

RolePlayGateway is a site built by a couple roleplayers who wanted to give a little something back to the roleplay community. The site has no intention of earning any profit, and is paid for out of their own pockets.

If you appreciate what they do, feel free to donate your spare change to help feed them on the weekends. After selecting the amount you want to donate from the menu, you can continue by clicking on PayPal logo.

Who is online

Registered users: Abraxas*, Adig01, ajemokid, AmiOfTheRain*, Arthurna*, Ashes-6695*, AzricanRepublic*, Balzmann*, Bani, BekaL101, Beta Type Jakuri, Black, Blackbird26*, blackwolf, bobma*, Brony Otaku, Chulance*, dawnfox07*, dig17*, DivineBitterness*, Duskhorse*, flickery, Forensic_Anthro, Forevveru, Gamer_Templar*, Google [Bot], Google Adsense [Bot], Google Feedfetcher, happyface, Hydrall, IckyThePenguin, Ikiros, Irish Wolf, jackrules158*, Jamie95, Kirinak*, LeNarcissus*, Liquidus, Lloyd999, LRmember, Lucaris*, Lucentfir*, Majestic-12 [Bot], MarchHare*, Marionette, Master Chef, MirrorMirror1498, MSNbot Media, mummydove, Neon.lynxie, Nevan, Nightmaric_Angel, niykin*, Nowfaleena, NymaLaputa, OfLonglight, Otowar, Patcharoo*, Penny Pincher, PirateofPie*, Porecomesis*, Princess Awinita*, RainWish*, Rem?us*, RydeDawg, SasoriRinku, SerenityMist, Shaodow*, Shi-chan, shmband, SinAngel*, SkunkishBlue, sparkleshine, StandardFiend, Steppin' Razor*, stormwolf321, SuperQ19*, Talisman, The Angry Penguin*, thealmightykipchi, ThePsycoWarlock*, TheTreForce, Thorait, Tiko*, Tokai*, Usui*, utahann, Vestiline*, Vio-Lance, VitaminHeart*, wednesdaysun, WindsOfWhimsy, Wing06Twilight, Wudgeous, xXxCryptic-AngelxXx, Yahoo [Bot], Zero Reaper, ~Living-Dead Doll~*, ? Reality ?*

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/RolePlayGateway/~3/8psSKwcw1eo/viewtopic.php

bernanke tampa bay buccaneers meredith kercher meredith kercher waxahachie waxahachie erin burnett

Sony Ericsson details GLONASS support in Xperia phones

Android Central

Sony (Ericsson) has taken to its mobile Developer World blog to confirm thats 2011 Xperia smartphones, as well as the recently-announced Xperia S and Xperia Ion, fully support the Russian GLONASS positioning service in addition to GPS. GLONASS is run by the Russian Aerospace Defense Forces, and performs similar tasks to GPS, but operates independently of it. By using information from both systems, it's possible to get a more accurate fix of your location in built-up areas where GPS alone may struggle.

Sony says that all its devices equipped with Snadragon S2 and S2 chips fully support both GLONASS and GPS for improved location-tracking accuracy. That means if you have a 2011 Xperia phone, or you're planning on picking up an Xperia S or Ion, you may have an edge over devices which only support GPS. For more technical info, head over to SE's blog post in the source link.

Source: SE Developer World

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/8W0RC1vLbVQ/story01.htm

lsu football bcs jay z glory alabama crimson tide barry larkin at the drive in jay z new song

APNewsBreak: Afghan asylum bids hit 10-year high

Chart shows number of Afghan asylum seekers since

Chart shows number of Afghan asylum seekers since

(AP) ? More Afghans fled the country and sought asylum abroad in 2011 than in any other year since the start of the decade-long war, suggesting that many are looking for their own exit strategy as international troops prepare to withdraw.

From January to November, more than 30,000 Afghans applied for political asylum worldwide, a 25 percent increase over the same period the previous year and more than triple the level of just four years ago, according to U.N. statistics obtained by The Associated Press ahead of their scheduled publication later this year.

Many Afghans are turning to a thriving and increasingly sophisticated human smuggling industry to get themselves ? or in most cases, their sons ? out of the country. They pay anywhere from a few hundred dollars to cross into Iran or Pakistan to more $25,000 for fake papers and flights to places like London or Stockholm.

Thousands of refugees also return each year, but their numbers have been dwindling as the asylum applications rise. Both trends highlight worries among Afghans about what may happen after 2014, when American and other NATO troops turn security over to the Afghan army and police.

The true numbers of people leaving is likely even higher ? since those who are successfully smuggled abroad often melt into an underground economy. Still, the jump in a rough indicator like asylum seekers suggests the total numbers are also on the rise.

Smuggling people out of Afghanistan and neighboring Pakistan is a $1 billion-per-year criminal enterprise, the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime estimates. Those who pay to leave often face a risky journey and detention abroad because many developed countries now see many Afghans who flee as illegal economic migrants, not political refugees.

Still, the business finds an eager clientele in Afghans such as Ahmad, an unemployed 20-year-old in Kabul. He has agreed to pay a smuggler $400 to take him over the Iranian border, where he hopes to find work and save up to move on to Europe in a few years. He has no money, but his smuggler is giving him credit ? he'll have a month to pay up once he's in Iran.

"I don't think anything will improve in three or five years, so it's better to leave now," said Ahmad, who expects to leave for Iran within a few weeks. He asked to be identified only by his first name for fear of being arrested.

Ahmad's family fled to Iran during the Taliban's late 1990s rule and returned full of hope after the regime fell. But now, he sees no future in his homeland.

"If foreign troops leave, the situation will only get worse, not better," he said.

That's a view shared by many. Tajma Kurt, who manages an International Organization for Migration program helping Afghans who have returned home, says she's noticed a marked change in ordinary Afghans' outlook since roughly 2007, when the Taliban insurgency began to gain strength and violent attacks increased.

"Before, they were looking for a job, discussing buying a house or whatever," Kurt said. "Now, they are all thinking of leaving because the situation has deteriorated dramatically and they don't see that it's going to get much better."

Devastated by decades of war, Afghanistan is already the world's biggest source of refugees, with more than 3 million of its total population of 30 million still outside the country, most in Iran and Pakistan, according to the office of the U.N. High Commissioner of Refugees and the Afghan government.

After the 2001 U.S.-led military intervention that toppled the Taliban, some 5.7 million Afghan refugees returned. The vast majority of those came back in the first five years. The numbers have since dwindled, with about 60,000 refugees returning last year, about half the number as the previous year.

As the pace of returns slowed, the number of Afghans seeking asylum abroad rebounded. In 2011, 30,407 sought asylum through November, the latest available figures.

Driving both trends is not only economic ambition but deep uncertainties about the country's future, says Abdul Samad Hami, deputy minister of Afghanistan's Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation.

"Who knows what happens when foreign troops leave Afghanistan? Is it going to get better or worse? Who knows what happens with the foreign aid to Afghanistan ? going down or increasing?" he said.

Some Afghans fear that once most foreign troops leave, the Taliban will take over more territory and civil war could erupt along ethnic lines, as it did in the 1990s. Others worry the Afghan economy will collapse if foreign aid dries up.

The real number of Afghans leaving is unknown, but undoubtedly higher than the asylum figures. The country's foreign ministry recently said 50,000 Afghans illegally entered Greece in the past two years alone, many of them now stranded without passports or money to move farther into Europe. Most of those arranged their journey with smugglers.

For their money, many endure a perilous journey.

Esmat Adine nearly drowned after the overcrowded boat he was on sank off Indonesia late last year, killing at least 200 fellow asylum-seekers headed for Australia. He says he left his wife and infant son at home in Afghanistan and paid $5,000 to travel to Australia after the Taliban threatened to kill him for working with American aid workers. He flew from Kabul to Dubai, then boarded a plane to Jakarta, Indonesia. From there, he was taken to eastern Java and was packed onto the doomed boat.

When the vessel capsized, Adine managed to survive by swimming to a nearby island.

"I swam and swam until I reached the shore," Adine, 24, told The Associated Press in an Indonesian detention center, where he is awaiting a ruling on his legal status. "I thought of how my wife and children are counting on me, of how I must earn a good life in Australia, free from intimidation."

He says he still hopes to be able to enter Australia and send for his family.

Australia has vowed to crack down on asylum-seekers but has been forced to relax a policy of mandatory detention because its detention camps are dangerously overcrowded.

Hami, the Afghan refugee official, says the country has come a long way and if the transition goes smoothly, fewer people will want to leave. But he conceded that depends on whether the government can provide security and jobs.

"If the situation gets worse, people will go out. If the situation gets better, people will return."

___

Associated Press reporters Massieh Neshat in Kabul and Ali Kotarumalos in Indonesia contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2012-01-21-AS-Afghanistan-More-Fleeing/id-20c2fe129c704a6c8f0ce90a09ca3774

jeremy london jeremy london butterball turkey fryer butterball turkey fryer yale harvard dan henderson oregon ducks