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You might want to read this before you say 'Hey Siri, 108' to your iPhone
It's no secret that asking Siri certain phrases will prompt it to answer in a humorous or candid way. There is a new phrase to ask your iPhone, however, that's circulating the internet but what would actually happen if you utter it?
Some are claiming that saying "Hey Siri, 108" will elicit an interesting response from your phone assistant but that's not actually the case. Dialing 108 in India is the equivalent to dialing 911 in the United States.
So, by requesting those numbers to Siri, it will dial 911 emergency services.
The method was brought to light by the Kenton County Police Department in Kentucky on its Facebook page.
A picture showing a screen grab from a cellphone that requested the phrase also showed a message that said, "Emergency Call" with the subtitle "in 5 seconds." So, it appears that there is little room to decline making the call.
But unless you need a quick or discreet way to dial 911 without using your hands, do not utter this message to Siri.


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See what happens when the cast of Revenge, the Hamptons-based ABC drama inspired by Alexandre Dumas's novel The Count of Monte Cristo, takes a break from their roles as meticulous backstabbers to play nice. As the show hits the midway point of its second season, stars Madeleine Stowe, Emily VanCamp, and Joshua Bowman dish on their characters and the unexpected plot twists they face from week to week.
"Mike [Kelley] found the perfect recipe," VanCamp told ELLE.com. "You have just enough camp, just enough soap, just enough depth."
Speaking of camp, the cast also plays a round of Screw, Marry, or Kill (surprise, everyone wants to kill Victoria), and Ashley Madekwe and Christa B. Allen get into a cat fight over a haute pair of Christian Louboutins.
More From ELLE
Watch the hilarious behind-the-scenes video from the photo shoot in our February issue, below.

subset: commoncrawl


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McAfee hospitalized in Guatemala after chest pains
- Conflicting reports about whether he suffered heart attack
- Software pioneer was denied asylum late Wednesday Expected to be deported to Belize for questioning in American's murder
A day after he was denied asylum in Guatemala and detained for entering the country illegally, fugitive software mogul John McAfee was taken to a police hospital Thursday afternoon with apparent heart problems.
There were conflicting reports about whether the 67-year-old anti-virus pioneer had suffered one or more heart attacks, according to news reports.
Reuters quoted his lawyer as saying he had two mild heart attacks. A legal assistant said she found McAfee lying on the ground in a cottage at the immigration center, unable to move or speak.
Later, the hospital's head of medical services said McAfee showed "a syndrome of anxiety and hypertension," adding that doctors were still studying his heart.
The Associated Press reported that McAfee told one of its reporters Thursday morning that he had chest pains overnight in his room but did not believe he had suffered a heart attack.
AP writes that "a government doctor who examined him agreed, saying McAfee's heart rhythm and blood pressure were normal, and he appeared to be suffering from high stress."
McAfee told AP he refused to go to the police hospital Thursday morning "because he had been using Chinese herbal medicine since suffering a heart attack in 1993," AP writes.
"Last night I had a little bit of pain, but I am fine this morning," McAfee told AP's reporter inside his private room. "I don't like Western medicine ... if the people around me are kind and compassionate, that's all that matters in life. The people of Guatemala are very kind people, so I have no complaints."
An AP reporter returned to McAfee's room a couple of hours later to find him lying on the floor, wearing a suit, and being examined by a doctor. Soon after, he was carried on a stretcher to an ambulance and taken to the police hospital.
Spanish-language Prensa Libra earlier said he was taken by ambulance to a Guatemala City hospital, accompanied by his 20-year-old girlfriend.
ABC News' Matt Gutman posted a photo of McAfee in the ambulance.
Late Wednesday, McAfee was denied political asylum in Guatemala, clearing the way for deportation to Belize, where he is a "a person of interest" in the slaying of fellow American Gregory Faull.
"He entered the country illegally and we are going to seek his expulsion for this crime," Interior Minister Mauricio Lopez Bonilla told Reuters.
McAfee's legal team said they were preparing to appeal to the constitutional court, which would have 48 hours to rule, AP says.
"Basically, he has been granted extra time for a different judge to review the case," said Brian Fitzgerald, a spokesman for McAfee. "The U.S. Embassy cannot do much right now. A bit of a waiting game for now."
"He is asking for support so that he will not be sent back to Belize. I think he is a bit worried right now," Fitzgerald said.
Belizean officials are anticipating that McAfee will be flown back, a police spokesman said.
In a post attributed to McAfee on his blog, the software mogul is urging supporters to e-mail Guatemalan President Otto Perez Molina and "beg him to allow the court system to proceed, to determine my status in Guatemala, and please support the political asylum that I am asking for."
McAfee had been blogging from jail, using a computer he says was loaned to him by a warden. In a series of blog posts published Thursday, McAfee said a stay order was issued so a higher judge can review his case.
"Everyone here is nice. And sympathetic," writes McAfee. "So far, my experience on the inside of this establishment has worn away a bit of my natural cynicism and added a measure of hope for humanity."
McAfee's arrest ends one of the most bizarre international manhunts of the modern tech era. Armed with only a Twitter account, dozens of cellphone accounts and a battery of tech journalist handlers, McAffee eluded Belize authorities for 23 days while posting blog entries that highlighted his days on the run.
The murder and manhunt have polarized the beachfront community of Amergris Caye, where both men lived and had friends.
"I think people are torn about it," said Tamara Sniffin, owner of The San Pedro Sun newspaper. "I don't get the feeling that people are convinced that he's guilty of murder. Everyone just wants him to answer the questions the cops have."
She said residents have been frustrated with the lack of progress in the case. They worry that if McAfee didn't commit the murder, the person who did may be living among them. "Is there still someone out there who is guilty?" Sniffin said. "We don't have many leads on it."
National Belize Police spokesman Raphael Martinez said Thursday that police do not have any suspects yet in the case.
McAfee remains a "person of interest," he said. He is not a suspect, but police believe he could have some useful information about the case.
"When he comes in, I think we'll get to the bottom of that," Martinez said.
Just Tuesday, McAfee — who founded the security-software giant bearing his name, only to drop out of the tech scene and pursue an eclectic variety of interests that included yoga and hang gliding — said he would seek political asylum in Guatemala. That nation is embroiled in a long-running territorial dispute with Belize.
Eugene Kaspersky, himself a maverick in the security field, said it was unfair to equate the McAfee saga to recent travails at the company, which has lost a few key executives. Like others, Kaspersky said McAfee was out of the picture at his former company years ago.
"He had some crazy ideas," says Mark Coker, who worked closely for John McAfee in the early 1990s. "But he was original, and foresaw things like cloud computing. It's all so strange."
Contributing: Nancy Trejos, Brett Molina, The Associated Press


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I've always considered myself a patient person, not always, mind you, but most of the time. I am certainly not patient or forgiving when I'm driving and someone cuts me off. I curse and hold up a finger. When our son was really young and asked what it meant I told him it meant "wait a minute." He believed that for years.
I'm patient on supermarket lines, I'm patient with (most) people, I listen well, I like to think I'm a good, loyal friend. Indeed, I have high standards for myself and used to think everyone was like me but Life taught me that lesson the hard way several times over. How do you know differently if the way your family acts is the only way you know?
My friends are all very different from me but now what keeps us together is not lunch dates, meeting in the city on a weekend for brunch or long telephone calls but stupid text messages or IM's. I confuse them all the time as my adult children roll their eyes and grimace.
I hate that, text messages to say Happy Birthday, text messages to say Hello, text messages to find out how a surgery went, text messages to show your deepest sympathy and one death announcement I had to read about on Facebook. It's all the norm now.
Of course, my adult children, think I am old-fashioned and nuts. Beside that the iPhone to me is a strange and complicated piece of equipment, why can't we just use the phone as the phone was really intended? To talk. It doesn't seem popular anymore except for those of us "oldies."
I will ask my kids to call their grandparents and they will do that responsibly but they will say "they weren't home, we will try again later." "Did you leave a message" I ask? A reasonable question, I think, and they look at me like the dinosaur that I am and say with a scolding dismay "Mom, our generation doesn't LEAVE messages, we just try again later."
It's no surprise that I'm not good with change but I try as best I can. Knowing I'm not good with change makes me try harder than most. At this point in our lives my husband and I are waiting for change to happen, waiting for a clue to point us in the right direction on what we should do and where we should go in the future for the next chapter in our lives.
My friends say that "I will know it when it happens" and I believe that is true, but it has been a very long time and being patient has been getting harder and harder. I need to relax, look within and wait for the Spring. I think things will start to get clearer then. If nothing else, the dreadful Winter, will be over and Life will begin anew.


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The Obama administration is lifting the moratorium on deepwater oil drilling that was put in place after the Gulf oil disaster, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said Tuesday.
Salazar and the new head of the government agency overseeing offshore drilling, Michael Bromwich, were scheduled to hold a 1 p.m.
news conference on the issue.
Salazar suspended certain deepwater drilling activities on July 12 under the premise that certain deepwater drilling posed a threat to the marine, coastal, and human environment.
Since then, Salazar has determined that deepwater oil and gas drilling can resume provided that operators certify compliance with all existing rules and requirements, including those that recently went into effect, the Department of Interior said in a press release.
Members of industry must also demonstrate the availability of adequate blowout containment resources, the department said.
"We have more work to do in our reform agenda, but at this point we believe the strengthened safety measures we have implemented, along with improved spill response and blowout containment capabilities, have reduced risks to a point where operators who play by the rules and clear the higher bar can be allowed to resume," Salazar said.
" The oil and gas industry will be operating under tighter rules, stronger oversight, and in a regulatory environment that will remain dynamic as we continue to build on the reforms we have already implemented."
Salazar reached the decision after reviewing a report by Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation, and Enforcement Director Michael Bromwich and considering other information on the progress of offshore oil and gas safety reforms, availability of spill response resources, and improved blowout containment capabilities, the agency said.
In his decision today, Secretary Salazar directs BOEM to require the following before approving deepwater drilling:
- Members of industry must be subject to written and enforceable obligations that ensure containment resources are immediately available in the event of a deepwater blowout, regardless of the company or operator involved. The Department of the Interior has a process underway regarding the establishment of a mechanism relating to the availability of blowout containment resources, and Secretary Salazar said he expects that this mechanism will be implemented in the near future.
- The CEO of each operator seeking to perform deepwater drilling certify to BOEM that the operator has complied with all regulations, including the new drilling safety rules.
Read the full story on CNN.com.
do you think things would be diffrent had they invented it? Phil you knnw the govermant does not like to be one upped
tomcat...it's not a matter of oneupsmanship. It's a matter of big-gov officials making big-money personally off of forcing US to burn oil rather than natural gas in our engines.
Phil you know that i know (hold on had a Honeymooners flash back) who butters the bread in politics. it sure is not natural gas bio fuels
And who killed the electric Car?
When I voted for Obama, I wanted changes. I got more of the same that went on with Bush. The health care plan he passed is too new to be in our faces, for the good or the bad. In terms of the environment and the protection of the planet...it is not there. He failed in my opinion as he lifted the ban on deep drilling means only one thing: he is in with the oil companies and once again, we who really care for the planet and the future of our progeny, are screwed....as usual.
I guess putting regulations and enforcing them in the mean time is just too slow for U. I beleive if President Obama had come into office without a many huge crisis on the books {2 wars, economic disaster, No regs in the gulf, etc}, he could have taken on the energy situation. Another 4 he might be able to get to his energy promises. But the people who are wanting a quick fix are too impatient. Slow and steady will win the race. Time can be on the side of the people.
Greed,when our world ends in sh$t.people the oil be pump is sold to opec.we dont owe or control oil,british does.we pay market share.
We dont need to drill for oilif we used alternative fuel like corn,oh no it would sink the middle east economy and oil greedy companies.oil riggers learn another trade,we did north after the factories went to china.
We, the USA, has never ever been dependant on middle-eastern oil. NEVER! In no clandar year have we EVER purchased more than 6.25 % of our oil from there. Yet most Americans truly believe that we need Arab oil to survive. Why is it that this lie about our depenance on Arab oil is so widely believed?
Hey guys, will you visit SaveStan.ORG a friend of mine with 4 young babies is fighting for his life...... Thanks
What we the people are really dependant on, is other nations like China and G.B., who are dependant on Arab oil, extending US credit so we can survive. And so "we" have no problem sending troops to the middle-east thinking they are there to secure our oil supply. In reality, they are there protecting our creditors oil supply. Imagine how much that plastic "made in China" American flag you purchased at wal-mart will cost if the troops in Afghanistan come home.
Someone with some sense of what is really going on. I have to look for it on some blogs. The big picture. The scheme of things. Whats a country to do to help us along?
"Something Safer" has always been here. Natural gas. You heat your home with it, we have more of it than any other nation, and you an run your car off of it. It burns clean: zero emissions. It's proven technology. Only one thing stands in the way of US fully utilizing it: our leaders personally profit tremendously from US burning oil instead.
Change is needed. I see a whole new political party on the rise. The people choice. I guess the coffee party I suggested in January will come to fruition.
Tap Baby Tap?
I think trepidation on the part of Americans is what is holding US back. Change of a whole new system of getting around. The way we gas up our cars. Natural gas has gone up, how about the electric car?
WELL~NO MATTER "WHAT" PRES.O.DOES ITS SUPPOSEDLY NOT "RIGHT"~AND THE VERY SAME PEOPLE WHO WANTED HIM "TO" DO WHATEVER HE IS DOING,SAY 2MOS.AGO~NOW ITS WRONG IF HE DOES IT!~HISTORY WILL SHOW THAT HE IS A BRILLIANT MAN,TRYING TO SAVE THE MIDDLE CLASS OF AMERICA~and~WIL L ALSO SHOW THAT THE RICH AND CRAZY MADE TOTAL FOOLS OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE!~THE VOTERS! I SAID IT BEFORE~AND I WILL SAY IT AGAIN~~
IF PRESIDENT OBAMA WAS A LESSOR MAN~AND NOT WANTING TO PROTECT US FROM THESE CRAZIES AND THE RICH~HE SHOULD TELL US ALL TO GO TO HELL! AND LET US SINK OR SWIM!~AND BELIEVE ME,IF THE ONES WHO ARE TRYING SO HARD RIGHT NOW ,TO TAKE THIS COUNTRY OVER~GET THE JOB DONE~THEN WE WILL SINK!~ Fools all!!
1. Wrack, you are an ignorant liberal, please stop speaking. Ignorant liberals having the right to speak is the reason this country is regressing as fast as it is. 2. Joe, you are also an ignorant liberal, please, don't speak. You are probably the same people that said its not right to say "Merry Christmas" because we might offend the Athiests, you are probably the same people who voted AGAINST saying the Pledge of Allegiance in our schools....GOD BLESS AMERICA!!!! If you don't like it, LEAVE IT! And when I say God I am not talking about any other than the Father of Jesus Christ!! I am not trying to insult anyone, but I will say this much, ignorant liberal ideas would work great IN A MOVIE!!! like a romance comedy or something!!! But then again, how could you even make a movie without oil? How can you do ANYTHING in an industrialized society without oil. That is a great question isn't it? in fact, if you can answer that question, you watch entirely too much TV. Oh and wrack, your ignorant comment about "one single family" relying on this industry....try hundreds of thousands of families.....including MINE!! The moratorium was simply a punishment to the people of Louisiana. A punishment for not giving into unrealistic ideals, and voting against Obama. And a punishment it was, my good friend who has a wife and 2 kids has lost his business, and is on the verge of losing his home, and this is just one of my close friends, that's not including everyone else in the same or worse situations. so liberals, PLEASE STOP SPEAKING!!!!!
Need to have B.P suck up the oil from the bottom of the gulf if they dont then they realy never cleaned up the mess. Do i need to sue them my self were are our leaders-- when its time to go to work to protect and surve.! You mean surve your self no protect your own intres....
Wow – imagine now there will have to be a plan!! I feel better already – These B**tards (both industry & gov't) should be tied to the whippin post for not having plans to control BO's before venturing out into deepwater. Their previous "plans" didn't amount to a crock of beans – designing control facilities after blowout inevitably occured.


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A lot of the 2011 summer tentpole releases have already been announced as being either filmed in 3D or converted afterwards, but so far, May 2011 has been somewhat devoid of 3D release announcements… until now!
Walt Disney Pictures has announced that the fourth installment of Jerry Bruckheimer's popular action franchise Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, directed by Rob Marshall, will be filmed in Disney Digital 3D. Bruckheimer's only previous 3D movie before that was last year's G-Force.
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides is still slated for release on May 20, 2011.


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You shall not post this on anywhere for public use
You shall not sell this for public use
Do not replicate and forward without permission
Do not claim this as yours
Do Not Translate it into your languange and claim ownership
Towards the west of Castelia City is a small island known as the Liberty Garden Island, which landmark is a white lighthouse situated in its center. On its shore, a liner docks, and Black and White proceed to embark on the island. Black stretches himself out as White takes a yawn, and is glad that they have finally arrived. Behind them, Gigi sits comfortably on the shoulder of Nite, who has grown much bigger after its evolution.
White remarks that she had no idea the boat ride would take one whole day, and recalls that when the owner of the massage shop who suggested this trip and gave the tickets to her, she said it was a really close by beautiful tourist spot. The enthusiastic owner also mistook Black as her boyfriend, urging her to take the cruise around the bay with him, and White had to clarify several times that the boy was merely an employee of her company.
Black is glad that the massage shop owner made such an offer, however, since it allows him to fulfill a mission while going on a trip. White knows that he is referring to his task in investigating the mirage Pokemon, and remembers that its name starts with a V. Black grins that it is Victini, and thinks back on the conversation he had with Prof. Aurea Juniper the day before…
With a connection established via the Xtransceiver, Aurea's face shows up on the screen, and the woman states sarcastically that she finally gets in touch with Black. She wonders how many days it has been since he headed off without even a single word, and Black quickly tries to butter up by saying how nice it is to meet her at last. On a deeper thought, he corrects that he has actually met her before, since she has been practicing Pokemon battles outside her home since he was little, and says perhaps he should take back what he said.
Black's rhetorical words tick off Aurea, and the young woman barks that it doesn't really matter. What matters is that he has taken her Tepig away without asking, broke two of her Pokedexes, and also caused a complete mess at her frontdoor. Black cringes as he is reminded of his past faults again, and begs the professor to spare him as he has already been scolded by Cheren for those things.
To his relief, the professor decides to let it go, and returns to a calm tone. She feels glad that Black is at least taking good care of his Pokedex, and raised Tepig well enough to have it evolve. In fact, she has heard all about his Gym challenges from Cheren and Bianca, and also learnt of his active involvement in solving the missing Pokemon incident in Castelia. She reviews the large amount of data he has collected with his Pokedex, and praises him for his good work.
Black proudly accepts the compliment, and states that as a trainer who aspires to conquer the Pokemon League, it is only natural for him to come into contact with different kinds of Pokemon. Aurea decides to bestow upon a mission to Black in that case, and introduces to him a place called the Liberty Garden Island, which can be accessed by ferry at the Liberty Pier of Castelia's harbor. There, she wants him to investigate on a Pokemon called Victini.
Black wonders how he could get on that ferry, and Aurea says he will need the Liberty Ticket. White, who is listening to the conversation nearby, wonders if it is the same place that the massage shop owner just told her, and reaches into her bag for the tickets she got. Indeed, they are the Liberty Tickets, and that instantly solves Black's problem in how to get his hands on them…
White wonders what kind of Pokemon Victini is, and Black puts on an excited tone as he reveals what he has found out from his research. Apparently, according to legends, a trainer who possesses Victini will always win in a match, and also receive a tremendous amount of energy from it. In fact, there were people in the past who believed these sayings and started wars to fight over the ownership of Victini. Black feels exhilarated after knowing these about Victini, and couldn't wait to meet it. He grins that he is so excited that he could yell, which is what he plans to do.
Black: I WILL CONQUERE THE POKEMON LEAGUEEEEE!!! SURELY SURELY SURELY SURELY CONQUER ITTTTT!!!
White covers her ears in agony, and cries that Black is yelling much louder than he usually does. She tells him to stop, as it may startle the other visitors, but then she looks around and realizes that there is no one else in the area. Thinking back, she recalls that there weren't any other passengers on board the ferry as well, and wonders why it is so. Black reveals that it is not surprising because the Liberty Garden Island is currently a prohibited zone, and White immediately jumps in astonishment at the news.
Black explains that it is what the residents of Liberty Garden Island said, according to the sailor on the ferry, probably related to something about the pier on the island falling apart and not suitable for docking. In fact, the sailors were reluctant to ferry them to the island, but Black insisted that they had an important research to do, and eventually persuaded them to sail as close to the island as possible. With that in mind, Black turns back to look at the pier which they docked at, and discovers that it isn't broken at all, something which he actually forgot to notice when they arrived.
Black thinks this is extremely weird, and finds this mystery even more intriguing than the investigation on Victini. He immediately get Musha to chomp on his head, and looks around the area with his hexagonal vision. Things gradually blank out into pure white, and something near the lighthouse slowly congregate into solid black in a patchy manner. However, amidst the solid black, a white V-shaped pattern suddenly shows up, drawing away all of Black's attention.
The boy pulls Musha off, and White wonders if he saw any hints. Black takes out a guidebook on Liberty Garden, and says he always does his homework before setting out. He has therefore read up something on Liberty Garden Island, and shows White that nearly all the brochures and leaflets include a photo of the island's lighthouse, which is its main tourist attraction. Having seen the lighthouse on photo so many times, something about the actual lighthouse just appears weird as soon as he saw it. Indeed, as White compares the actual lighthouse to the photos, the short building on its left seems to have gained an extra floor on its rooftop.
Black states that this discrepancy is something that he actually noticed before he blanked out his mind. What's puzzling him right now is what he saw when he mind was blanked out, which was a V-shaped pattern that momentarily flashed before his eyes. He wonders where in this garden the V-shape came from and what its true identity is. He has the hunch that something is just nearby, and rationalizes that the lighthouse looking off must be related to it.
With that, Black orders an Aerial Ace from Brav, and the Braviary flaps its wings to send a gust of wind towards the extra floor on the building next to the lighthouse. The stone wall of that part easily crumbles, and a voice comes on to say that Black certainly had keen eyes. As the smoke clears, three female Plasma Grunts step up to reveal themselves, a chubby lady leading in front whose face looks like a Russian doll, and two skinny ones behind her whose faces look like zombies, each accompanied by a Gothorita.
Black and White gasp that it is Team Plasma again, and the chubby Grunt compliments that Black is truly something. She says it is no wonder that he was capable of making Master Bronius of their Seven Sages so mad, and expresses her own anger that he has destroyed the secret base they built. Black can now see clearly that the extra floor on the building's rooftop is indeed recently added on, and notices that Team Plasma seems to have kept the residents on the island as hostages inside.
The chubby Grunt reveals that everyone on the island has fallen under Gothitelle's Hypnosis, and beckons over the psychic Pokemon, who has been hovering in the area all this time. She states in anger that she will be held responsible if their mission there fails, and vows to get back to Black for interfering. With that, the two Gothoritas send out a pulse of psychic energy towards Black, and instantly knock back Nite, Musha and Tula.
The chubby Grunt remarks that it is already impossible for anyone to escape the island, because Gothitelle has enveloped the entire area with its psychic powers. She grins that it is time to erase Black and his companions from existence, and tells the Gothoritas to continue attacking. Meanwhile, she orders Gothitelle to continue their quest in protecting Victini, and Black bolts up in surprise upon hearing that. He demands to know what she means by protecting it and where the Pokemon is, and his questions make the chubby Grunt confused. She recalls hearing him talk about a V-shaped pattern and how he did his homework beforehand, and is astonished that he still hasn't figured it out.
She reveals that the V-shape is no other than Victini, the mirage Pokemon, and says they have already liberated it from the basement of the lighthouse. However, the creature was reluctant to let them protect it, and has been fleeing from them for three days and three nights in a row. The chubby Grunt proves her point by gesturing to Gothitelle, who raises its arms to harness another wave of psychic power. Instantly, a faerie-like creature in yellow who has a red V-shaped crest on its head materializes in midair, and the chubby Grunt points towards it with a grin.
Black and White gasp in bewilderment upon seeing Victini, but notice that it seems to be in pain. The chubby Grunt explains that she has just asked Gothitelle to slow it down with its psychic power, but they have been chasing it in extremely high speed just minutes ago, which is why she thinks Black deserves a compliment to his wonderful vision for having spot it at that time.
Up in the air, Victini wears a look of agony as it pants to catch its breath, and Black hollers that they should stop chasing and hurting the Pokemon. The chubby Grunt remarks that it is not the case as she breaks into tears, and says they are simply trying to protect it from the many people out there who are fighting to gain its ownership.
Black orders Brav to attack Gothitelle, but the astral body Pokemon blinks away with an incredible speed, and Brav could hardly land a strike. With tears flowing from her eyes, the chubby Grunt asks if Black knows about the wars 200 years ago, and says the brutal fights did not stop until a wealthy man bought Liberty Garden Island and gave Victini a refuge at the basement of the lighthouse. Unfortunately, with the passing of the wealthy man, access to the island became unrestricted, and Victini's safety is once again under threat from people who seek to earn victory by its powers. She declares that Team Plasma shall be the ones to provide a refuge for Victini this time, and turns to the Pokemon in midair, assuring it that they mean no harm and urging it to let them protect it.
Hearing the Grunt's logic, Black gets furious and says it makes completely no sense that they are harming it now with an intention not to harm it, especially if Victini itself doesn't want their so-called protection. He watches as Brav continues to struggle in its aerial battle with Gothitelle, and finds it odd that the eagle is losing in speed, which is actually one of its strengths. The chubby Grunt reminds him that the whole island is currently enveloped in Gothitelle's psychic powers, which means it will have absolute dominance in the area. For that reason, it will only be a matter of time before Victini tires out, and at that moment, the victory Pokemon winces in pain, and starts to fall from its flight.
The chubby Grunt states that Victini must have reached its limit after three consecutive days of running, and tells Gothitelle to faint it with the gentlest attack. The astral boy Pokemon charges up a globe of psychic energy between its palms, and gets ready to fire as it aims at Victini.
Black sees that Brav is already running low in health, and wonders if it is possible for it to grab the brief moment that Gothitelle is attacking to retaliate. In the next split second, as Gothitelle unleashes its blast, Black orders Brav forward, but to everyone's surprise, instead of launching an attack, the eagle shields itself in front of Victini and the psychic hit. White gasps in shock that Black has chosen to protect Victini in the last instant, and the chubby Grunt calls Black a hypocrite, stating that the Braviary's sacrifice will mean nothing because Gothitelle can simply deliver another attack.
However, at that moment, Brav's eyes suddenly widen with a new-found strength in its body, and it unleashes an Aerial Ace which actually manages to strike Gothitelle. Black, White and the chubby Grunt are all astonished by the scene, and Black flips out his Pokedex to read that Victini is a Pokemon who creates an unlimited supply of energy in its body, and shares it with those with touch it. He realizes that the victory Pokemon must have just channeled this energy to Brav, and believes that it is time to fight back. Calling out to Brav, he orders a Brave Bird, and the giant eagle quickly slams Gothitelle to the ground with its powerful talons, fainting it with the hit.
The chubby Grunt cries out in horror, and states that Gothitelle's psychic power will start to dissipate. With Gothitelle's energy force weakening, Nite, Musha and Tula manage to defeat the two Gothoritas, and the residents on the island who have fallen victim to Gothitelle's Hypnosis are beginning to wake up. The chubby Grunt grunts that their plan is completely spoiled now, and scurries off with the two other Grunts to the shore where their speedboat is. Fleeing the scene, the Grunt swears vengeance and soon vanishes on the horizon.
Next to the lighthouse in midair, Brav spreads its wings to hover, and Victini clings onto its back with a grin on its face. Black thanks the victory Pokemon for helping them win, and tells it to stay careful and beware of Team Plasma from now on. Victini winks at him while doing a V-sign with its hand, and vanishes in a flash of light.
Later, Black contacts Aurea Juniper on his Xtransceiver, and tells her about their whole encounter with Victini. He states that the mirage Pokemon simply disappeared at the end, and isn't sure whether it went off somewhere or returned to the basement of the lighthouse. Juniper is intrigued by what the Team Plasma Grunt said about the fight over Victini 200 years ago, how a wealthy man provided refuge for it in the lighthouse, of course, the way Victini channels an unlimited amount of energy to those who touch it. She thanks Black for his work, and promises to contact him again soon.
After Black hangs up the call, White raises a query, and asks why he didn't think about capturing Victini to help him conquer the Pokemon League with its ability to ensure victory. Black grins that while he would have very much wanted to, he believes that he and his teammates must work hard to make themselves stronger first, as he doubts that Victini would open up and connect with him if he relies on its power right from the beginning. With that, Black and White get ready to leave the island, and head back to the pier.
As the sun slowly sets, the lighthouse stands tall in the center of the Liberty Garden Island. Outside its entrance erects a monument which describes the lighthouse as one which shines the light of freedom, and that only authorized personnel may enter.
Back at Juniper's Science Lab, Aurea feels content after reviewing the data of Victini which Black just sent her. She muses to herself that Black is really a remarkable trainer, and is truly amazed by how much he is able to accomplish. She recalls the time Cheren recommended Black to her as a candidate to set out on a journey with the Pokedex, and could vividly remember how zealous and desperate Cheren was. While she always thought that it was due to the close friendship between Cheren and Black, she now sees that Black no doubt possesses the right skills for the job.
A voice comes on to comment that a skilled trainer like that unfortunately often gets caught up in dangerous situations, and Aurea turns around to see that it is her father, Cedric Juniper. She is pleasantly surprised by his visit, and Cedric grins that he has come to lend her a hand in fixing the damaged Pokedexes, which makes Aurea extremely glad and elated.
Cedric states that he has overheard the conversation between Aurea and Black, and is particularly concerned about the involvement of Team Plasma in yet another evil business. Aurea remarks that the same organization ambushed Bianca in Castelia, and sighs that it is really an extremist group. Cedric ponders on the matter as he takes out a Pokeball which contains a Samurott, and thinks to himself that it has been nearly 1 year since the incident happened…Thanks To Coronis For Writing this for us
480: VS Victini
Volume 46


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Last year, Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn announced the city had won a coveted $20 million federal grant to invest in weatherization. The unglamorous work of insulating crawl spaces and attics had emerged as a silver bullet in a bleak economy – able to create jobs and shrink carbon footprint – and the announcement came with great fanfare.
McGinn had joined Vice President Joe Biden in the White House to make it. It came on the eve of Earth Day. It had heady goals: creating 2,000 living-wage jobs in Seattle and retrofitting 2,000 homes in poorer neighborhoods.
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But more than a year later, Seattle's numbers are lackluster. As of last week, only three homes had been retrofitted and just 14 new jobs have emerged from the program. Many of the jobs are administrative, and not the entry-level pathways once dreamed of for low-income workers. Some people wonder if the original goals are now achievable.
"The jobs haven't surfaced yet," said Michael Woo, director of Got Green, a Seattle community organizing group focused on the environment and social justice.
"It's been a very slow and tedious process. It's almost painful, the number of meetings people have gone to. Those are the people who got jobs. There's been no real investment for the broader public."
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'Who's got the money'
The buildings that have gotten financing so far include the Washington Athletic Club and a handful of hospitals, a trend that concerns community advocates who worry the program isn't helping lower-income homeowners.
"Who's benefitting from this program right now – it doesn't square with what the aspiration was," said Howard Greenwich, the policy director of Puget Sound Sage, an economic-justice group. He urged the city to revisit its social-equity goals.
"I think what it boils down to is who's got the money."
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Organizers and policy experts blame the economy, bureaucracy and bad timing for the program's mediocre results. Called Community Power Works, the program funds low-interest loans and incentives for buildings to do energy-efficient upgrades. They include hospitals, municipal buildings, big commercial structures and homes.
Half the funds are reserved for financing and engaging homeowners in Central and Southeast Seattle, a historically underserved area. Most of the jobs are expected to come from this sector.
But the timing of the award has led to hurdles in enticing homeowners to bite on retrofits. The city had applied for the grant at a time of eco-giddiness, when former Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels was out-greening all other politicians except for Al Gore. Retrofits glowed with promise to boost the economy, reduce consumer bills and lower greenhouse gas emissions.
"A triple win," is how Biden characterized it.
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By the time Seattle won the award, homeowners were battered by unemployment and foreclosures. The long-term benefits of energy upgrades lacked the tangible punch of a new countertop. And the high number of unemployed construction workers edged out new weatherization installers for the paltry number of jobs.
"Really, we couldn't have rolled out this program at a worse time," said Greenwich, who had helped write the city's grant proposal.
"The outcomes are very disappointing. I think the city has worked really hard, but no one anticipated just how bad this recession was going to be, and the effect it was going to have on this program."
City feels 'cautiously optimistic'
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As of last week, 337 homeowners had applied for the program. Fourteen had gotten a loan, or were in the process of getting one.
"Yes, we're not seeing as many completed retrofits as we wanted to," said Joshua Curtis, the city's manager for Community Power Works. "While everyone would like to see more upgrades, I think we're feeling cautiously optimistic."
He said the residential portion of program didn't launch until April. He said there was a normal summertime lull in work and that he expected things to pick up in the fall. He was confident that the city's marketing campaign and loan partner held promise.
Curtis said there were factors outside the city's control, such as the economy. And he attributed frustration among job-seekers to a "mismatch" in the timing of two federal grants.
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Before the city got the $20 million, some local agencies, including Got Green, had received funds in a government push to train workers in weatherization. But the anticipation of landing career-path jobs evaporated as months went by with no work.
"People are frustrated and rightly so," Curtis said. "There's been sort of a lag time when people graduated from those programs."
They include Long Duong, 32, who got a certificate in sealing air leaks and insulating walls after he was laid off from a job handling bags at the airport. But he soon found that other men had more qualifications than him, and he took part-time gigs - installing light bulbs and canvassing doors – while waiting for work.
A year later, he's still looking.
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"I haven't given up yet," said Duong, of South Seattle. "Weatherization is another opportunity for me."
Curtis said the money that financed the Washington Athletic Club and hospitals doesn't draw from funds reserved for single-family homeowners. He said the program's standards will ensure that people targeted by the program – low-income workers – will get good jobs. And he said the WAC project will create some new work in September.
"We're not where we want to be, but we have a path forward," he said.
City needs to 'step up its game'
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But will the city hit its goals? Curtis was hopeful Seattle would make it by 2013, when the funding ends. Greenwich, of Puget Sound Sage, said the city needs to retrofit 100 to 200 homes a month to create 2,000 jobs. Woo, of Got Green, thinks the city needs to throw more money on incentives.
Greenwich said the energy retrofit market has turned out to be extremely complicated, with required hammering out of job standards, hiring practices, wages and how best to measure energy benefits.
"The city is really going to have to step up its game to get the 2,000 retrofits," Greenwich said.
"But if this would have been easy, it would have been done already."
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Visit seattlepi.com's home page for more Seattle news. Contact Vanessa Ho at 206-448-8003 or firstname.lastname@example.com, and follow her on Twitter as @vanessaho.


text: (BeWellBuzz) As children, we could never understand why our parents would force us to eat veggies every day. All we were told was "Just eat. It's good for you." Well, they were right, and medical science has confirmed that a diet of fruits and vegetables are good for health in many ways. Let us explore the benefits of a vegan diet. What Is A Vegan Diet? Veganism is a ... Continue Reading


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The End of Night: Searching for Natural Darkness in an Age of Artificial Light
A brilliantly starry night is one of nature's most thrilling wonders. Yet, in our world of the night as bright as day, most of us no longer experience true darkness. Eight out of ten Americans born today won't ever live where they can see the Milky Way. And exposure to artificial light at night has been cited as a factor in health concerns ranging from poor sleep to cancer.
Paul Bogard travels the globe to find the night in this widely praised book, blending personal narrative, natural history, health, science, and folklore to shed light on darkness. Showing exactly what we've lost, what we have left, and what we might hope to regain, he attempts nothing less than a restoration of how we see the spectacularly primal, wildly dark night sky.
softcover, 323 pages
Join us on August 19, 2021, for a special Book Club event with author Paul Bogard. Register online to attend.


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From Raw denim to stretch skinnys the right pair of denim jeans are everything to completing your outfit. Here at Xile we like to pride ourselves on being denim specialists and bringing the latest styles to you from some of the top jean brands around including Replay, PRPS, Only & Sons, Edwin, Scotch & Soda and Armani.
No matter what style you are looking for we have your jeans needs sorted with the all the latest releases. In the past decade denim has come a long way and the Xile Jean selection showcases some of the best innovations around. From comfort stretch fits with a cotton elastane construction to Arc pants designed to fit the wearers body shape perfectly. If it's classic that you are looking for then check out our straight, raw denim options from Edwin and Replay.
Make sure to refresh your wardrobe with fresh washes which match the occassion and season. A pair of slim black denims are sure to smarten up any outfit while a bold blue wash is perfect for the Winter time. With free UK delivery on orders over £75 and 15% off your first order the Xile Denim store is the perfect place to upgrade your wardrobe.


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Airbus has dropped lithium-ion batteries of the type that forced the grounding of Boeing's 787 Dreamliner and will use traditional nickel-cadmium batteries in its crucially important next passenger jet, the A350.
The European planemaker said on Friday it had taken the decision to adopt the batteries used on existing models in order to prevent delays in the A350's entry to service next year, amid uncertainty over the potential fallout of Boeing's problems.
The move came a week after it was reported that Airbus was considering such a move to limit the risks surrounding the development of its own $US15 billion airliner.
"We want to mature the lithium-ion technology but we are making this decision today to protect the A350's entry-into-service schedule," an Airbus spokeswoman said.
Both groups insist the new battery technology is safe and Airbus took pains to avoid presenting its decision as a swipe against its US rival as they boast a common stand on safety.
But industry executives, insurance companies and safety officials have said questions are piling up over the "maturity" or predictability of lithium-ion technology, as US and Japanese investigators struggle to find the cause of incidents that led to the Boeing's grounding crisis.
These included a fire on board a parked 787 in Boston and an in-flight problem on another plane in Japan.
The A350 is due to enter service in the second half of 2014 compared with an initial target of 2012 when it was launched as Europe's answer to the lightweight 787 Dreamliner.
The industry's fear is that the failure to identify the "root cause" of the burning battery incidents leaves too much uncertainty over whether regulators will certify planes, when they include the powerful but temperamental power packs.
Those anxieties went up another notch this week when the UN aviation agency banned the carriage of lithium-ion batteries as cargo in passenger jets.
Analysts say credibility is also at stake after severe delays on the A380 superjumbo and A400M military airlifter. Boeing's 787 also began service in 2011 almost 4 years late.
"I think there is a real interest to try not to have more creeping delays," Leeham Co analyst Scott Hamilton said.
Airbus will still use lithium-ion batteries for a maiden flight in mid-year and early flight trials but switch to traditional batteries in time for certification and delivery.
Uncertainty over whether Airbus can be sure of certifying the A350 with the new batteries illustrates the scale of the task Boeing faces in persuading regulators to let the 787 fly.
People familiar with the matter say it is ready to implement a fix involving a tough fireproof casing for the battery, but there have been no public signs that regulators would accept this without a deeper understanding of what caused the fire.
Shares in Airbus parent EADS ended flat, while shares in French battery maker Saft fell over 1.4 percent.
Saft developed the lithium-ion battery for the A350 but is also expected to supply the fallback solution as Airbus's main supplier. A spokeswoman said Saft supported Airbus's decision.
Lithium-ion batteries have been in consumer products such as phones and laptops for years but are relatively new to industrial applications such as back-up batteries for electrical systems in jets or energy storage on wind farms.
Their main advantage is that they are lighter and more powerful but they are sensitive to mishandling and can ignite.
Last March, Airbus itself warned that the risks associated with lithium-ion required "the attention of the entire industry," according to a presentation reported by Reuters.
But in a second presentation coinciding with the opening of an A350 assembly plant in October 2012, Airbus said lithium-ion was a "less hazardous material compared to previous batteries".
Cutting out weight and allowing airlines to burn less fuel has been the single-minded goal of aircraft designers for decades, but rarely more so than with the carbon-fibre A350 and 787 as competition for orders reaches fever pitch.
Switching to heavier nickel-cadmium will mean adding 80 kilogrammes of weight to the A350, which would normally have engineers fretting, but concerns over delays took precedence.
Surprisingly, industry sources say the nickel battery may be the same size or even smaller than the lithium one, once the latter's unique electrical protections are stripped out. The actual nickel-cadmium cells are larger than lithium-ion ones.
Boeing's options are seen as more limited because its 787 needs more power to support a greater array of electrical systems – originally one of its futuristic selling points.
Its rival's decision leaves it as the only large commercial jetmaker relying on lithium-ion for main batteries. However, Boeing said it remained upbeat about its well-tested design.
"Boeing is confident in the safety and reliability of lithium-ion batteries," a spokesman said by email. "There's nothing we've learned in the investigations that would lead us to a different decision regarding lithium-ion batteries."
Boeing is considering an interim plan to protect its 787 Dreamliner if its batteries overheat or catch fire, according to a report in the Seattle Times.
According to the daily, which covers a region including a major Boeing plant, Boeing may encase the battery cells in a titanium or steel box fitted with a high pressure vent to contain any fire that erupts in flight.
The US Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) refused to comment on the report, which the paper said came from people familiar with the plan. Boeing said the report was speculative and contained unspecified errors.
According to the reports, Boeing hopes its interim plan to shield the plane from battery fires will convince US safety authorities to allow the 50 jets grounded around the world to return to service by May at the earliest.
Courtesy: The Age


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Blog Archives
Lip Lacquer: YSL Rouge Pur Couture Vernis À Lèvres (Glossy Stain)
Posted by Ashling Moss
Yves Saint Laurent's Rouge Pur Couture Vernis À Lèvres (Glossy Stain) is a unique hybrid of a lip stain and gloss without the dryness of a stain and the stickiness of a gloss.
The Glossy Stain is available in 19 beautiful shades. The pigmentation is rich and true to color. One layer provides a perfect wash of color and two, reaches full opacity. It stains the lips for a long-lasting finish that will not transfer.
The doe-foot applicator makes for easy and precise application. The soft-slanted tip is controllable and accurate. The texture is a gel-like formula that feels comfortable, cooling and hydrating on the lips. The thick consistency plumps the lips and exudes incredible shine with absolutely no glitter or sparkly bits.
This is one of the most inventive lip products I have tried. It is like nail polish for the lips, lacquered and glossy. This is the type of product that you must branch-out and try an extraordinary shade. Skip the neutrals and go directly towards the bold and vibrant shades. My current favorite is #12 Corail Fauve – a pinky-coral shade that looks like sweet watermelon on the lips. However, I have my eye on the perfect red for fall – #20 Rouge Enamel (Sephora Exclusive) as well as a bold orange – #8 Orange de Chine, my out-of-comfort-zone shade.
Tags: #12 Corail Fauve, #20 Rouge Enamel, #8 Orange de Chine, 19 shades, application, bold lip color, bold orange, bold shade, branch out, comfortable, cooling, coral lips, doe-foot application, does not transfer, drying, Easy, extraordinary shade, favorite, fun, glossy, glossy finish, Glossy Stain, hybrid, hydrating, incredible shine, innventive lip product, lacquered lips, lasts, lip, lip gloss, Lip Stain, lipstick, long lasting, nail polish for lips, neutrals, no glitter, no sparkly bits, one layer, opacity, out of comfort zone, out of the box, pigmentation, pinky shade, plumps lips, precise, review, rich, Rouge Pur Couture Vernis À Lèvres, Sephora Exclusive, shiny, slanted tip, soft tip, sticky, summery, thick consistency, true to color, two layers, unique lip products, vibrant shade, wash of color, watermelon color, YSL, Yves Saint Laurent


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(CNN) – Republican Rep. Peter King, former chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, said Friday the Chechen community in the United States doesn't have a history of radicalization but argued it's time to question whether that's changed.
In an interview on CNN's "The Lead with Jake Tapper," the longtime congressman from New York also said it was "offensive" for the parents of the two suspected bombers to argue their sons were being framed in the U.S.
[twitter-follow screen_name='politicalticker']
While the two suspects in Monday's Boston Marathon bombing came to the U.S. with Kyrgyzstan passports, their family was from the volatile Russian Caucasus, an area that includes Chechnya and Dagestan.
King, who now serves as the chairman on the House subcommittee for counterterrorism and intelligence, said he's "never heard" of the Chechen community in the U.S. "having been radicalized."
Whether that has changed was a question worth asking, he said.
"We can't be politically correct. We have to say: Has radicalization extended into the Chechen community?"
King made headlines in 2011 for holding controversial hearings on the radicalization of Muslim Americans. On Friday, he further argued "we have to be very concerned about radical movements in this country or people in this community." While the U.S. relies strongly on foreign intelligence for potential terrorist attacks, he argued, the country needs better domestic intelligence.
"It's important for the local police to build up their intelligence to find out what's happening in the communities, among disaffected people, or people like these two brothers, who seemed to have everything going for them," he said.
Two sources told CNN Dzhokar Tsarnaev came to the U.S. as a tourist with his family in the early 2000s and later asked for asylum. He became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 2012. Tamerlan Tsarnaev, the brother who died Thursday night, was not a naturalized citizen, a source said. He came "a few years later" and was lawfully in the country as a green-card holder.
Their parents have flatly denied that their sons could be involved in the recent violence. Anzor Tsarnayev, the father, told CNN in Dagestan that "someone framed them," while their mother, Zubeidat Tsarnaeva, said "this is a setup."
But King said their remarks were "absolutely wrong and really offensive," given the United States "gave (the sons) sanctuary, gave them asylum."
"It's bad enough what their sons did. But for their parents to attack the country, to me is wrong," he said. "To be lashing out at the United States after what the United States did for them and the opportunities the United States gave to their sons is really going much, much too far and I just find it really wrong."
- CNN's Deborah Feyerick and Tom Watkins contributed to this report.
It is NOT my job to support my son if he murdered people and maimed hundreds. Where is it written that you HAVE to support everything your children does, even if they are mass murderers.
Do you realize how idiotic that statement is? If your children murdered 10 people would you be proud of that and tell everyone that you are the proud parent of a mass killer and terrorist?
I think not.
The parent's comments are indeed offensive but are understandable too. No parent wants to believe that a son or a daughter could have committed a heinous crime. Their reaction, when faced with the terrible reality, will demonstrate their true feelings of contempt for this country or remorse over what their sons did in Boston.
They are invited to live in the U.S. and this is how they spend their lives? How do you spell.............Parasites????
RD Scott,I understand what you're saying but being parents hopefully keeps your kids just from this..And yes you do question it if you did raise them proper because how outside interference can change kids attitudes ,reactions about something you or anyone near them doesn't know anything about..You also question yourself thinking did I do enough,was I hard enough in teaching them the right things and how to avoid the wrong,it all will bother them forever if these parents are innocent because all parents are all wise,knowing and don't we all think that way in bringing up our kids,I did!!
These are people who grew up in a part of the world where corruption both in the police and other government agencies is a daily occurrence. While it's obviously unrealistic to think these kids are really being framed in the United States, for these two, coming from these ex-Soviet satellites, its understandable that they would make these statements.
Second: King's comments about "radicalization" are straight out of the McCarthy era. Suspicious people should be judged on an individual basis, based on their specific threat of violence they might pose, not on they're cultural orientation and some anecdotal proof that it has become "radicalized." There's a veiled call for racial profiling in Mr King's statement and that sort of thing should be unacceptable in the United States.
@RD Scott
The parents are in denial. The did not say they are proud of what their children did (if the report is accurate). They said that their children were framed and could not have done such a thing. They claim their boys were framed. It might be a good time for everyone to take a deep breath and be thankful that this sad episode is over. Pray for the victims and their families. Pray for the parents of these misguided young men and especially pray that we will somehow find a way to make this world a better place. Promote harmony and pray for peace.
"They hate the freedom and lifestyle that American citizens enjoy"
Ah, that old chestnut – you're wrong , you know – they hate that Americans insist on interfering in the affairs of other , lesser, countries.
Right on Mr. King ! Seems like you might be one of the few that will stand up and say what needs to be said ! Thank you.
I can tell you that you are looking at the wrong thing:
The urgency for the older brother to act was from the "conspicuous interest" by the FBI between 2009 – 2011. The bombers did not leave a manifesto, nor did they voice any specific political or ideological complaint. Curiously now, after the bombing, the younger brother is being considered to be an enemy combatant - while before the bombing, the role of the FBI and law enforcement was that of an observer, and not able to intervene due to the way that our laws are so narrowly defined.
As this matter evolves, I am beginning to see that the Second Amendment to the Constitution is a Responsibility - not a Right.
Marxism has not a nationality. Simply they are Marxists... Marxist beliefs are above any loyalty or love to their born homeland. They hate the freedom and lifestyle that American citizens enjoy....... I strongly believe Marxist agenda is far away more dangerous for our Country, that the communism.
Pity the fool! These guys are the enemy! Knew it was coming. The great debate. Whether or not to give up our civil rights (privacy) in the name of self defense?


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Just knocked out a new Bowling Mini Journal. Each one of our handmade upcycled pocket notebooks is a bit different, and that's a good thing! This one has plenty retro bowling alley pix ready to inspire at the turn of a page.
AMF – From Bowling Balls to Bicycles?
Spent part of the weekend tuning up an old yellow bicycle given to me over a decade ago. It was a thrift score, a 5-speed Roadmaster cruiser named Nimble.
It was as cute as a button. When I first got it, I strapped a camera mount on it and used it as my photo excursion touring vehicle.
Turns out, it wasn't so nimble. Over time, I couldn't ignore the clumsy proportions of the frame and the oversized seat which made for an awkward uncomfortable ride. So it ended up taking a back seat to more user friendly cruisers on hand. Alas, the Nimble sat neglected out on the roof I used to call home, braving the Southern California elements.
Last weekend, I decided to get the little feller into working order again. It looked pretty sad– dusty and rusty with two flat tires. While cleaning her up, I noticed the familiar AMF branding on the bicycle frame. AMF? Of bowling alley fame?
Yep! Brooklyn based American Machine and Foundry dabbled in a bit of everything. AMF got its start in 1900 by making equipment for the tobacco industry. By the 1940's, it had diversified into all sorts of automatic manufacturing gear– from mechanical bread packagers to necktie stitchers to pretzel twisting machines.
It seems either a head scratcher or a logical progression that in the 40's AMF would introduce the first automatic bowling pin setting machine. (Remember, humans used to do that job.) The so called Pinspotter was a hit! Because of it, AMF both helped create and profited from a countrywide "bowling boom". This is why AMF would come to be synonymous with bowling. Lanes, balls, pins, and bowling alley operations would follow.
In the 50's AMF got into the bicycle racket. (Later, they also got into the tennis racket racket, but that's another story.) The AMF Wheel Goods Division produced Roadmaster bicycles in a super automated factory in Little Rock, Arkansas. Thanks to the baby boom, they sold a lot of bicycles and soon moved operations to a bigger new factory in Illinois.
It's there that AMF Wheel Goods started going downhill fast along with the quality of their bicycle line. It's said that some bicycle shops even declined repairing Roadmasters, cause there's no polishing a turd I guess.
The Roadmaster Nimble I have dates back to the 1970s and that's just about when things started to go wheely bad over at AMF Wheel Goods. So it seems like I have a lemon on my hands. But that's okay. Like a Cutter, I'll pedal through the rough patches and make lemonade.
Disappearing Lanes
It was a good Sunday when Dad packed us up in the station wagon for a trip to the local bowling alley. The space aged geometric letters stretching into the sky were a sign of good times ahead.
Trading in the old sneakers for a pair of groovy colored funny smelling shoes was treat enough. Then there was picking out the perfect ball and the nick name for the score sheet. Yeah, scoring was done with pencil, paper, and brain back then.
Then it was time to sit back and chill out on the cool chairs til it was your chance to bowl.
It wasn't rock and bowl, or black light bowl, it was just plain bowling and it was plain fun. I remember there being lots of alleys back then and the lanes were usually packed.
For the last few decades, old bowling alleys have been slowly disappearing from the Southern California landscape. Lately, I read news of the likely closure of Burbank's Pickwick Bowl.
Will it be the next to join the bowling alley graveyard? The Covina Bowl had its last stand earlier this year and the Friendly Hills Bowl was hit by the bulldozer before that.
They are in the good growing company of the iconic bowling centers that have gone before them. The Hollywood Star Lanes, Picwood Bowl, Panorama Bowl, La Mirada Bowl and many more classic mid mod architectural gems have been crushed for the vast and valuable real estate they occupy.
All we have left is the memories of spares, strikes, and turkeys bowled within them.
If you're lucky enough to have a vintage bowling alley in your neighborhood, best go for a bowl before it becomes extinct.


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January 24, 2013
On Thursday, USDA published a notice in the Federal Register reminding the 16 states eligible for the Agricultural Management Assistance (AMA) program to submit their application by February 7 for federal assistance in order to be able to provide cost-share assistance to their certified organic farmers. Those 16 states – the 12 Northeast states plus HI, NV, UT, and WY – will divide $1.5 million among their State Departments of Agriculture. Those Departments, in turn, will provide their organic farmers with up to $750 (not to exceed 75% of a producer's certification costs) between now and September 30 to offset a portion of the annual fees that organic farmers pay for being certified.
Had Congress passed a new farm bill last year on schedule, or had Congress and the White negotiated an extension of the old farm bill that actually extended all of the programs — rather than just select programs — the other 34 states would also be participating in a nationwide organic certification cost-share program. The new farm bill approved by the Senate last year streamlined organic certification cost-share by combining the AMA program with the larger National Organic Certification Cost-Share Program. The Senate farm bill also increased the funding for the new combined program so that all certified organic farmers and handlers interested in the program could participate.
Along with programs for beginning and minority farmers, rural jobs, renewable energy, local food, and specialty crop research, organic programs like certification cost-share were thrown overboard in the final "fiscal cliff" negotiations between the White House and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY). As of now, those programs do not exist for 2013 and there is no clear path for getting them back on track.
There would be obvious opportunity to restore farm bill funding for those programs, however, when Congress deals with the scheduled automatic budget cuts (officially known as sequestration) by or before the end of February. Whether the Agriculture Committees will make an effort to use that upcoming opportunity to extend the programs left out of the selective farm bill extension measure approved as part of the fiscal cliff bill on New Year's Day remains to be seen.
In the meantime, farmers in the 34 states not eligible for the AMA program are out of luck. Thankfully, at least the farmers in the lucky 16 states will be able to receive cost-share assistance once their State Departments of Agriculture respond to the new Federal Register notice and thereby receive their allocation of federal funds.
Categories: Farm Bill, Organic
[…] National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition […]
How can I help get the other 34 states eligible for the organic cost share ?
I am from Kansas and really need help in covering the cost
to be USDA Organic.
I am a small organic farmer and I sell organic beef.
My farm, cattle and the locker all have to be certified.
Every state should be able to receive cost share not just 16.
Please HELP !
Insurance payments to commodity growers in 2012 = $12,000,000,000 – that is Billions. Your tax dollars funded 67% of that with the commodity farmers paying only 33%.
This is in addition to the Direct Payments of more $Billions; 80% of which goes to the top 10% of wealthy corporate farmers. Folks, if you ain't rich, or a big farmer, you, like me, are getting a royal screwing by your beloved lawmaker and the USDA.This while the hypocritical Congress cut $22,000,000 out of the Organic program!Thieves and liars is what we have in control of the USDA and Congress. They want to reduce the budget? Really!? HorseSh$t! All they want to do is get reelected while lying in your teeth.
I dare anyone to debate my logic – and don't even start with; conservation or food security or any of the other straw dogs that are thrown up to justify this theft.


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Olympian takes home the hardware at Masters
SARASOTA — Jennifer Goldsack started out as a rugby player in her native Great Britain before surgery on her forearm and a shoulder reconstruction forced her to give up the sport and become a rower.
She spent two years on England's women's rowing team before a disagreement with her coach in 2007 prompted the Wimbledon native, who has an American mother, to take advantage of her dual citizenship.
"I went home, logged on to the American website, signed up for the trials, cracked out my credit card for a ticket and never looked back," Goldsack said.
She won the lightweight women's double race with teammate Renee Hykel, her best friend, in the 2008 U.S. Olympic Trials and together they competed in the Beijing Olympics.
"I came over three weeks later and won the trial," she said. "It was an insane rollercoaster. Sometimes things don't go the way you expect, but they turn out better."
The 31-year-old Oxford graduate who owns three masters degrees and is working on a fourth, won two gold medals Friday in the 2013 USRowing Masters National Championships at Benderson Park.
Teaming with Shannon Kaplan, another retired elite rower, Goldsack won the Women's Open A 2x final.
"I'm just in awe of Jen, which she rolls her eyes at all the time," said Kaplan, who has been Goldsack's rowing partner for less than a year. "I heard a lot about her in rowing circles because I was in the same kind of circle. But she was one step up from where I was."
Earlier, Kaplan and Goldsack won the AA 2x final.
"A lot of people retire and don't enjoy the sport anymore," Goldsack said. "Being able to come to a masters event and see people racing because they love it, not because there's pressure, it's a real privilege.
"Having a venue that's as athlete-focused as this, really fosters that attitude and relationship with the sport."
In the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Goldsack and Hykel got only as far as the semifinals. But the memory of parading into the closing ceremonies with the U.S. team trumped Goldsack's failure on the rowing course.
"You walk out into the big athletic stadium and we were with the whole USA squad, and everyone is screaming "USA!" so loud the tunnel is shaking and you go out and it's amazing," Goldsack recalled. "It's one of those things you imagine for so long, in moments of excitement and grueling training, feeling lonely, broke, hurt, frustrated, this thing you chase.
"I never imagined that it would live up to what I expected of it and it was absolutely mind-blowing. I was absolutely privileged to go represent the United States."
She declined a lucrative job at Merrill Lynch to pursue the Olympics.
"I turned it down because I wanted to try," Goldsack said. "I lived like a penniless vagrant for years, and it was worth it, through injuries and all these other issues."
Goldsack returned Friday to the same Benderson course where she had trained with the Sarasota Crew for her unsuccessful bid to make the 2012 U.S. Olympic team.
Casey Galvanek, the head coach of the Sarasota Crew, said that Goldsack's presence made an impression on the young rowers and she said the same about them.
"She's real polite. It gives them a positive role model," Galvanek said.
"I was absolutely inspired by the team they have here," Goldsack said. "The juniors, the success they had, the work ethic these young people had, the energy of the coaches, the whole thing. I wouldn't have done it any other way.
"I know I didn't get the outcome I wanted, but it wasn't for want of the right ingredients," she laughed.
Her training coincided with Benderson's growth into a venue worthy of consideration for the 2017 World Rowing Championships.
"What was really exciting in the 2011 and 2012 season was seeing this venue grow," she said.
She said it compares to Dorney Lake, in England, which was the rowing venue for 2012 Olympics.
"I was training on that lake as it grew from 1,000 to 2,000 meters. To see this same venue going through the same kind of metamorphosis is really exciting," she said.


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