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I won't debate endlessly, or even ther other points you made, but how can you reject the BIBLICAL definition of sin: "Sin IS..." That isn't from 1Carl (my name), but 1 John.
On second thought, I will address your other point.The Scriptures refer to the Commandments as God's Law of LOVE.The first 4 tell you how you express your love for your Creator (you shall have nop other gods, you shall not take His Name in vain, Remember the SABBATH (not Satan's Day), etc). The next 6 tell you how to express your love for your fellow Man (you shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not covet anything that belongs to your neighbor ... etc).
We KNOW what day God gave Man to observe as a memorial of His work of Creation. It is the Day Jesus observed and the apostles and all of the prophets. We also know that Satan, in his rebellion, put himself FIRST, above God. Those should be clues enough for "those who have ears to hear."
Well, except that the disciples met together on "the Lord's Day"; in fact, Jewish followers of Jesus would meet at the Temple and then congregate together uniquely the next day. When gentiles became followers, they didn't participate in Jewish worship but met only with other followers of Jesus on "the Lord's Day." Nowhere in scripture is the Sabbath called "the Lord's Day."
So...Adam and Eve didn't sin then; since they had no knowledge of right and wrong.
Are you really that illiterate?15 The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die."Genesis 2 15:17I don't know about you, but I'm going to go under the assumption that doing something that the All Powerful Lord of All Creation tells you NOT to do, is wrong!I'm just funny that way...
Shabbat Shalom "Made for Adsense"Please provide the scriptural references that the Church abandoned the Sabbath for Satan's SUNday. Then we can discuss it.
"...do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ" (Colossians 2:16-17).
Historical evidence.Please provide scriptural references that Sunday is "Satan's day."Really...the first day of creation was "Satan's day"? The day of Christ's resurrection was "Satan's day"?
In a further attempt to destroy God's Plan, Satan has attempted to change the days on which we should worship. That is why some may say that we must worship God on Sunday. Anciently, people worshipped the sun because it was a thing that they could see and they knew the sun was important to keep them and their crops alive. They worshipped the sun on Sunday. From the second century, Sunday worship was introduced in Rome alongside Sabbath worship. In about the 3rd to 4th century, some people tried to change the Sabbath to Sunday and they convinced others of this lie. http://www.ccg.org/english/c/cb023.html
You (Satan) said in your heart, 'I will ascend to heaven; above the stars (angels) of God I will set my throne on high; I will sit on the mount of assembly in the far reaches of the north -- IsaiahSatan rebelled against God, and has always HATED God's Sabbath. He has deceived the whole world into believing they are worshiping God, but it is only a counterfeit. The SABBATH is God's TEST Commandment. It is the one Commandment that most professing "christians" REJECT and refuse to obey. God's Sabbath is at the end of the week. Satan has substituted God's Sabbath for his day, the FIRST day of the week. You have still not shown me where the day of worship of the true God was changed, or "proof" that the Church ever changed the day (until the Catholic Church -- the counterfeit church -- made thew change hundreds of years after the death and resurrection of Christ).The true Church follows Yeshua (Jesus). The Great Counterfeit Church followed Simon Magus. The Daughters of this Church (the Protestants) also follow Simon Magus (the Sorcerer)


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In the posture of a whore: changing attitudes to 'bad' women in Elizabethan and Jacobean drama, Volume 2
Institut für Anglistik und Amerikanistik, Universität Salzburg, 1984 - Drama - 389 pages
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subset: commoncrawl


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Today's Ancestor Anniversary is to remember the birthday of Joseph Frederic Elliott who was born this day in 1857 in Fingest, Buckinghamshire.
By the time he was 27 years old, he was widowed and then at that age married for the second time in 1884 at Long Crendon, Buckinghamshire to Lucy Rose who was a fair bit older than him at age 39 when they married. As far as I have discovered so far Joseph and Lucy had one child, Annie, born in 1886.
The 1881 Census shows that Joseph's first wife was called Esther aged 22 and they were living in Northchurch, Hertfordshire.
This is a photo of Joseph and Lucy on their Wedding Day at Long Crendon in 1884
You can see the full wedding photo on the Paternal Side Ancestor Photos
I can't help thinking that Joseph looks very sad in this photo and if you zoom in, it looks like he has a faraway look in his eyes and it is almost as if he was wanting to be somewhere else! Maybe this wedding brought back memories of his first wedding? I hope his marriage to Lucy brought him some happiness.
I have more researching to do regarding both Joseph and Lucy, so it will be interesting to see what became of them.


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Crop Coverage on Four Fronts
With one decision, you can protect your seeds from diseases, insects, nematodes, as well as moisture or nutrient stress. Acceleron® portfolio makes it easy to give your seeds the coverage they need to rise out of the ground, strong, healthy and ready for just about anything.
*Nationwide estimated loss. Ferris, Howard. "Nematodes and Plant Damage." University of California, 1 Oct. 2015. Web. **AgriThority; 2016 nematode sampling study conducted in the U.S. Corn Belt.


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Vida Donnette understands the sacrifices of being a Navy wife. But she didn't think having to suspend her nursing career would be one of them.
Donnette cannot practice in California until her application for a license is approved — a process that can take weeks, if not months.
""My career has been basically put on hold," Donnette said in remarks prepared in support of legislation that would ease California's strict licensing requirements for professionals. "I can't imagine how hard it must be for other military families that have children."
Carried by Assemblyman Brian Maienschein, R-San Diego, the measure would require state boards to issue a 12-month provisional license to any applicant who is certified in another state and is either married to or a domestic partner of a member of the Armed Forces.
Donnette is licensed by the state of New York. Her husband, Justin, is in the Navy and was recently transferred to North Island on Coronado from New York.
"My husband loves the work he does serving our country and I would love to have the opportunity to practice the profession that I have worked so hard for as well," she said.
Maienschein said a recent Department of Defense survey found that 40 percent of those responding said easier state-to-state transfers of professional licenses would make it easier for spouses to find a job. About one-in-four military spouses are unemployed.
"Our military families answer our nation's call to service with dignity and without reservations," Maienschein said.
"Whether or not they'll be able to practice their profession shouldn't be an additional burden," he continued. "I believe it is wrong for these families to be punished because they have admirably chosen a life that many others would not."
Twenty-four other states have enacted similar temporary license laws.
Assembly Bill 186 is also supported by the San Diego North Chamber of Commerce.
The measure will face its first test Tuesday in the Assembly Business, Professions and Consumer Protection Committee.
Gov. Jerry Brown has not taken a position. However, he did sign a similar bill carried by Sen. Marty Block, D-San Diego, who was in the Assembly at the time.
That measure puts military spouses in the front of the line when it comes to processing license applications. But it does not address issuing a temporary license as an alternative.


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Until Wednesday night's debate, the 2012 campaign had focused almost exclusively on one entitlement program -- Medicare.
But debate moderator Jim Lehrer steered the conversation back to Social Security by prompting President Barack Obama and Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney to discuss the future of the program on which 55 million Americans rely for monthly payments.
Michael Reynolds / AFP - Getty Images
President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney participate in their first debate at the University of Denver in Denver, Colorado, October 3, 2012.
It's a bit odd that Social Security hasn't played a bigger part so far in the campaign: after all, the federal government spends more on it than on any other program.
And the $2.7 trillion in Treasury bonds which Social Security holds as assets are also future taxpayers' liabilities. In the coming decades those bonds will need to be paid off by taxpayers, placing a strain on the entire budget since every dollar which goes to redeeming the bonds is a dollar which cannot go to national parks or Pell grants to needy students – or to Big Bird (public broadcasting).
"Social Security is structurally sound," Obama told Lehrer. "It's going to have to be tweaked the way it was by Ronald Reagan and Speaker -- Democratic Speaker Tip O'Neill. But it is -- the basic structure is sound."
Previously Social Security got fleeting attention in the campaign for a comment Vice President Joe Biden made to a man in a Virginia coffee shop in August when he said, "I guarantee you, flat guarantee you, there will be no changes in Social Security." It wasn't clear whether Biden meant no changes for anyone at all -- or simply no changes for those currently getting benefit payments.
NBC's Peter Alexander reports on the direction of the race as Mitt Romney tried to capitalize on his campaign's fresh momentum in Virginia after his first debate. Meanwhile, President Obama fights back on the trail in Wisconsin.
Jason Fichtner, the former chief economist for the Social Security Administration who now teaches at the Georgetown University Public Policy Institute and is a research fellow at the conservative Mercatus Center at George Mason University, said Obama's statement in Wednesday's debate "is a huge departure from Vice President Biden's recent statement that Social Security is fine and that the Obama Administration would not support any changes to Social Security. It's refreshing to see the president recognize the need for some reform to Social Security in order to maintain the solvency of program for future generations."
He added, "And now I'm really eager to see how Vice President Biden answers a Social Security reform question when he debates Congressman Ryan next week."
Recommended: Unemployment rate dips below 8 percent
Since Obama cited the 1983 deal between Reagan and O'Neill as a model, it's worth examining the "tweak" that those two men agreed to 30 years ago.
The 1983 accord extended the solvency of the Social Security program – which was at that point only six months away from default— by cutting benefits for future retirees and by raising taxes.
The 1983 law:
- Gradually raised the eligibility age for full retirement benefits from 65 to 67 for people born in 1938 and after. This had the effect of cutting expected benefits for workers born after 1937.
- Accelerated an already scheduled Social Security payroll tax increase.
- Raised the payroll tax rate on self-employed people from 8.05 percent to 11.4 percent. For someone making $50,000, that worked out to a $1,675 tax increase.
- Imposed the income tax on up to one-half of the Social Security benefits received by higher income beneficiaries.
- Reduced benefits by delaying a cost-of-living increase for six months.
According to Social Security historians John Shoven and Sylvester Schieber, "In patching things together for the 1980s, the (1983) plan offered roughly thirty years of smooth sailing."
That 30-year period is now coming to an end and another "tweak" or overhaul is needed to keep the system fiscally viable.
In their most recent annual report, the Social Security Trustees said that the Disability Insurance fund will run dry in 2016 and that the retirement and survivors' fund will be exhausted in 2035. At those exhaustion dates, each fund will be able to pay only about 75 cents of every dollar in promised benefits.
As the dust settles on the first presidential debate between Mitt Romney and President Obama, MDC Partners' Miles Nadal and NBC News' Chuck Todd join an end-of-the-week analysis of the impact of the debate performances.
Fichtner sees the 1983 model as a mixture of good and bad policies. "On the one hand, the 1983 reforms brought together Democrats and Republicans in order to pass bi-partisan reform. That's good," he said. "On the other hand, the deal resulted in payroll tax increases. That's bad. I fundamentally think that payroll taxes are too high and don't need to be raised."
Fichtner said Congress can adjust the program by raising the retirement benefits eligibility age for workers who are now under age 50 and by changing the formula used to determine cost-of-living increases in benefits.
In Wednesday night's debate, the focus on Social Security lasted only a minute and then switched back to Medicare, so Romney never did address Social Security.
But his position during the campaign has been, as he said in a speech in February, "When it comes to Social Security, we will slowly raise the retirement age. We will slow the growth in benefits for higher-income retirees." He also said, "Tax hikes are off the table, and there will be no change for those at or near retirement."
Related: Truth Squad: The debate
Obama has said he would get new revenue to pay benefits by increasing Social Security taxes on upper-income people.
The current formula pegs the benefits that will be paid out upon retirement to the taxes a worker has paid during his or her career. Only earnings up to a maximum annual amount ($110,100 in 2012) are subject to the payroll tax. But there's also a maximum retirement benefit: for a worker retiring at age 66 in 2012, the annual amount is $30,156.
If Congress adopts Obama's proposal and raises the amount of earnings that can be taxed, then it would also need to decide whether to keep pegging benefits to taxes paid: would upper-income earners get higher retirement benefits in return for their higher Social Security tax payments? Or would the tax increase be used simply to keep the system fiscally solvent?
Lehrer's refocusing the candidates on Social Security was a useful reminder than the great tax debate of 2013 may need to consider not only the income tax burden but the Social Security tax as well.


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TriMet labor talks break down
Contract negotiations between TriMet and its labor union ended before they even began.
Representatives of TriMet and Amalgamated Transit Union 757 met over the weekend to discuss ground rules for negotiating the next labor contract. The talks broke down before an agreement could be reached, however.
Like so much else with TriMet and ATU 757, why the discussions ended is a matter of dispute. So is what happens next.
According to TriMet, the regional transit agency would not agree to a union request concerning the current contract, which was imposed by an arbitrator in July 2012. ATU 757 has appealed the imposition of the contract to the state Employment Relations Board.
TriMet says negotiations cannot begin because the union insists all negotiated agreements will be void if it wins the appeal.
Its clear that the ATU does not want to enter substantive negotiations until their challenge to the past contract is decided," says Randy Stedman, TriMets Executive Director of Labor Relations and Human Resources, said in a press release.
ATU 757 says the talks broke down during a discussion of whether bloggers can attend the negotiations. TriMet and ATU 757 both agreed that reporters from Portland area news outlets can attend the discussions. But according to the union, Stedman broke off the talks when the union raised the issue of bloggers.
TriMet presented its contract offer on Nov. 30, 2012. ATU 757 has not yet presented its counter offer.
"The unexpected, abrupt ending of the meeting meant the Union did not have an opportunity to respond to Mr. Stedmans concerns by presenting a counter proposal," ATU 757 said in a press release.
The ERB is expected to issue its ruling on the contract within a month or two. It is unclear whether negotiation will begin after the ruling is issued, however. Both sides can appeal to the Oregon Court of Appeals.
In the meantime, TriMet says that ATU 757 workers are receiving less money under the current contract than under the agency's new offer. At the present time, union members are paying five percent of their health care costs and not receiving cost of living increases. TriMet has proposed that union members pay 10 percent of their health care costs but begin receiving COLA raises again. The agency says that would result in a net gain for ATU 757 members.
"Unfortunately we remain at a standstill, while union members are seeing more money taken out of their paycheck than if TriMets contract proposal is accepted, Stedman said.
According to TriMet, unless union members pay more of their health care costs, the agency will face a $19 million budget deficit and service crisis in the 2017 fiscal year.
TriMet says no bargaining sessions are currently scheduled. ATU 757 says they could begin at any time, however.
Parties in collective bargaining frequently do not agree on ground rules. The failure to have ground rules does not delay the beginning of bargaining, says TriMet President Bruce Hansen.


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I discovered an amazing world in this and my head is like a boiling pot full of ideas for this coming winter!
Isn´t it nice?????
So I wanted to share this with you... This is a very quick and inexpensive way to make your tights into something spectacular, I´m sure them will attract prying eyes and you can have all your tights combined with all your dresses for very little money... therefore, here we go with the tutorial.
First, make sure the bottle is clean and hasn´t protrusions or sharp edges that can damage the tight.
Taped the drawing on the bottle with adhesive tape and then wrap the bottle thoroughly with clear plastic, make sure that the bottle is completely wrapped in plastic.
Place the bottle inside the tight, make sure the place you want to make the painting is placed above the drawing...
Paint the tight, using as guides the drawing ... To make this, be generous with the paint, think that the tight is "transparent", so if you use little paint, the drawing will not be defined, it will be "translucent".
No "pull" the brush when you are painting, the tight is elastic and your get "blurring" the drawing, giving little "touchs" with the brush .
Make sure the brush is always clean, use a glass of water and a clean fabric piece for "dowload" the brush when it´s full of paint.
Let the paint dry completely.
I´m going to put a little bow on the bouquet, so I enter my hand with a small piece of paper in the place where I want to glue the bow.
A bit of quick glue on the bow and place it on your chosen location, a few minutes to let the glue dry completely..
Then, carefully pull the paper from inside without damaging the tight...
Of course, with this method, you can add to your creation whatever you like, shiny rhinestone, small flowers... etc.
Just an added plus for the conservation of your tights after painting...
Note that this motive painted can´t be ironed for fixing the paint, so when I have to wash the tight, just hand wash the heel of the tight, which is actually the part that can get dirty.. do not let water touch the picture, so you can enjoy beautiful and fun tights long time...
If you have any questions or suggestions, let her it, please... and of course, if you use this tuto to paint your tights, I will love to see the result...
Meanwhile, happy week!!!


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I read with great interest Stacia Brown's article on conscientious objectors in the military ("Valor, Honor, Conscience," September-October 2006). One sentence, however, sent chills up my spine: "So although he deployed to Iraq as ordered, [Jason] Webb would not carry a working weapon on patrols."
I commend Webb for his conscientious objector stand, but I wonder if his comrades were aware that Webb was endangering their lives. Soldiers depend on one another for protection, and Webb was intentionally unable to provide such protection. Their lives were placed in jeopardy. I wish Webb had stated his objection to war, refused to go to Iraq, and accepted the consequences of his refusal. By doing what he did, he made it all about himself. I hope other COs simply refuse to go rather than refuse to fight.F. William Hodge
East Hampton, Connecticut


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According to the RubyMotion guide for getting started, "RubyMotion is a toolchain that permits the development of iOS applications using the Ruby programming language." In less formal terms it lets you write iOS apps in Ruby using your favorite development environment rather than Apple's unpopular XCode IDE. This post assumes you have gone through the guide above but don't have much other iOS development experience.
My number one recommendation for anyone coming to RubyMotion for the first time would be RubyMotion: iOS Development with Ruby by Clay Allsopp. This book has the quality we have come to expect from the Pragmatic Programmers. The code examples are clear and well-documented, encouraging you to work hands-on with RubyMotion from the first chapter. The book website over at PragProg also includes a discussion forum where the author personally answers questions.
The Pragmatic Programmers also put out a RubyMotion screencast. Screencasts are popular within the Ruby-Rails community and seem to already be fairly widespread within the RubyMotion world.
My favorite RubyMotion screencast to date is Jamon Holmgren's tutorial for making an app that displays several YouTube videos. In all I am pretty sure I wrote just over 100 lines of code for this demo app. I am certain that in Objective-C the app would have required much more code, and have been less fun to write. This tutorial uses the ProMotion tool that Jamon also wrote, which helps organize your app behavior based on "screens." You can find a tutorial for getting started with ProMotion here.
If you would like to know a bit more about the background of RubyMotion and the people who use it, there are two podcast episodes I would recommend. The first is the Ruby Rogues interview with Laurent Sansonetti, the creator of RubyMotion. The second is Episode 29 of the Giant Robots Smashing into Other Giant Robots podcast ("The Most Ironic iOS Developer"). In that episode Ben Orenstein interviews two thoughtbot developers, one of whom uses primarily RubyMotion and the other uses Objective-C almost exclusively but has a bit of experience with RubyMotion. They give some nice perspective on the pros and cons of RubyMotion for iOS development and the show notes provide a number of other resources.
To keep up with new resources in the RubyMotion community, check out RubyMotion Tutorials. The code that I have written during this initial learning process is on Github.
Update 1: I forgot to mention that RubyMotion also offers a generous discount for an educational license if you do not plan to sell your apps on the App Store.
Update 2: Jamon Holmgren tweeted a new version of his tutorial this morning (1/30/13).


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The ruling Congress in Karnataka on Saturday won two Lok Sabha seats in the state for which bypolls were held Aug 21, humbling the Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) in its strongholds.
D.K. Suresh of the Congress defeated Anita Kumaraswamy of the JD-S in Bangalore Rural Lok Sabha constituency by over 126,000 votes. In Mandya (about 80km from Bangalore), actor Ramya of the Congress beat C.S. Puttaraju of the JD-S by nearly 70,000 votes.
Anita is the daughter-in-law of JD-S president and former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda. She is married to H.D. Kumaraswamy, the J-DS state chief and former chief minister.
Shocked by the loss, Kumaraswamy announced he was resigning as state party chief and was also thinking of quitting as leader of opposition in the assembly.
Announcing the results, an election commission spokesperson said Suresh got over 575,000 votes to Anita's around 441,000. The Bangalore Rural constituency has over two million voters, of whom nearly 52 percent exercised their franchise.
Ramya polled over 480,000 votes while Puttaraju received 416,000. The constituency has around 1.6 million voters and saw over 58 percent turnout.
The votes were counted Saturday.
The JD-S, though backed by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), failed to retain the two seats it had won in 2009 – Bangalore Rural by Kumaraswamy and Mandya by N. Cheluvarayaswamy.
Both quit the Lok Sabha on getting elected to the Karnataka assembly in May, necessitating the bypolls.
The BJP withdrew its candidates from the fray to avoid what it called a "split in anti-Congress votes".
Though the winners will have less than a year's tenure in the Lok Sabha as general elections are due April-May next, the Congress and the JD-S had turned the bypolls into battle of prestige.
The Congress wanted to win the seats as the bypolls were the first to be held after the party returned to power on its own in May after nine years.
The party was keen to defeat the JD-S in its strongholds hoping to demoralise that party ahead of the general elections.
The JD-S sought to retain the seats as a loss would be a big blow to the Gowda family which has the final say in party matters.
A beaming Chief Minister Siddaramaiah told reporters in Bangalore: "I had said earlier the Congress will win both the seats. This is not just the defeat of JDS, but also of the BJP and the Karnataka Janata Party (led by former BJP leader B.S. Yeddyurappa)."
In New Delhi, Congress General Secretary Digvijaya Singh, incharge of the party in Karnataka, used the victory to take a dig at the media.
He told reporters that the results would not have any bearing on the general elections. However, these show the media had a "negative image" of the Congress and now that should be corrected.
Though the JD-S and BJP have 40 seats each in the 225-member assembly that includes one nominated member, the JD-S is recognised as the official opposition party as it polled more votes than BJP in the May assembly elections.
The Congress had won 122 seats. The remaining seats are held by smaller parties and independents.


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2005 "Capture the Coast" Contest Winners
The shore awed this year's winners, who found inspiration in sunsets, seagulls, and exuberant youth.
Beautiful images pass through the Coastal Living offices every day. You may think we'd grow numb to the photos of thunderous seas, bright skies, and smiling, sandy people―but we don't. We never tire of seeing how our photographers celebrate the coast.
Our contest winners know to keep a camera handy no matter the shoreline setting. A picture-perfect instant may crop up without notice. This year's winning photo pays tribute to quiet dusk, the indescribable moment when sun touches sea―so uniquely coastal.
First runner-up Erin Moon made a lasting memory of her niece, who arrived at the beach for the first time with wide-eyed glee. The curious 2-year-old wanted to know what the rolling water was all about. We think her moment of discovery, when she turned to her family and announced, "They're called waves!" is simply irresistible.
Second runner-up Dennis Panicali framed an artist using a brush instead of a camera to capture a Nantucket lighthouse scene.
Third runner-up Robert Dobna enchanted us with a vista from Nova Scotia, while fourth runner-up Robert Wall discovered a pair of sentinel-like seagulls in Jacksonville, Florida.
We hope these images, and the others on our pages, spirit you away to the magnificent seaside. When you get there, don't forget your camera.
Steve Krenzel
"Sundown at Surf City"
Barnegat Bay, Surf City, NJ
Erin Kathleen Moon
"They're Called Waves"
Myrtle Beach, SC
Dennis Panicali
Nantucket, MA
Robert Dobna
"Blue Rocks Backyard"
Nova Scotia, Canada
Robert Wall
"Sea Gulls on Watch"
Huguenot Park, Jacksonville, FL
Five Fabulous Prizes
Grand-prize winner will receive up to $500 toward airfare, a three-night stay for two, $100 credit toward food and beverage, and all applicable taxes and resort fees. Prize value is approximately $1,500. Courtesy of The Club at Hammock Beach.
First runner-up will receive a Pentax OptioWP all-weather digital camera. Prize value is approximately $350.
Second, third, and fourth runners-up will each receive $100.


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Ya you bet j427x,,, sure seems that way,,,,
NRA-ILA 2013 TAG Poll
one of the things about the NRA that sucks is they beg for $$ at the end of the poll, and they are continually emailing me offers insurance and so on--
they look like a bunch of fricking salesmen--they need to get off their @sses and fight for the 2nd!
take the NRA TAG poll --because the Obammas are going to have a faked up poll showing how all us citezens WANT more gun control and government control OVER our daily LIVES!
now --if the NRA would just do their jobs and quit sounding like public TV during a beg-athon !!!
Ya you bet j427x,,, sure seems that way,,,,
NRA 2% fighting for your rights and 98% scamming for $$$--LOL
Exactly why I am NOT a member.
Respectfully agree with most but not all. The NRA is the biggest supporter of the 2nd there is period. The NRA is a multifaceted organization not only deal with the 2nd, but shooting matches (I have participated), instructions, magazine and other things. Maybe the NRA isn't the save all for everyone but it is the largest and most well known. BTW ..... I am a Life Member.
you need to put a boot on that dogs rear and get him into the fight!
the NRA needs to FORGET about all the BS and do their fricking jobs --protect the rights and the 2nd.
lately the NRA looks to just be the AARP trying to hock the un hockable.
hell i got an in-box full of 'offers" to buy everything under the sun --i don't want any of that shit.
what i want the NRA to do is twist some arms where it counts--bend a few ears, make things loud and clear.
what i get is a box full of bogus insurance offers--how "un professional' does that look?
I just look past it all. I get all the advertisements as well and I ignore them. I give money where I can and when I can. Even if it's a small amount they get their voices heard more than I can. If anything they make the anti gunners tinkle in their panties so that's worth it in my book.
"What country can preserve its liberties if its rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance?" -Thomas Jefferson-
"Our rights come from our humanity and may not be legislated away -- not by a vote of Congress, not by the consensus of our neighbors, not even by agreement of all Americans but one." Judge Andrew P. Napolitano
I've been a member for >40 years and I've become a bit disillusioned with them lately. A bit to much spent doing advertisements for misc BS, IMO. Let's get busy with the issues at hand.
Hell ,,, even I've been more politically active than I've ever been before.
I also look past the advertisements caller ID helps with the phone and consider they are the best hope we have. This is a war and we need all the support we can get. It does not matter where you go there is always going to be the things you do not like. So hang in there guys. Got to look at the big picture.


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SACRAMENTO - A judge overseeing Stockton's bankruptcy Wednesday nixed the testimony of two expert witnesses creditors had wanted to put on the stand next week at the city's eligibility trial.
SACRAMENTO - A judge overseeing Stockton's bankruptcy Wednesday nixed the testimony of two expert witnesses creditors had wanted to put on the stand next week at the city's eligibility trial.
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Klein will oversee a four-day trial beginning Monday to decide if the city should be allowed to seek Chapter 9 bankruptcy protection.
Klein held Wednesday's hearing to make his last rulings on what evidence and witnesses the attorneys can use.
Assured Guaranty Corp. and National Public Finance Guarantee Corp. - the two leading creditors challenging the city's case - had sought to use the experts' reports to bolster their arguments.
They contend that Stockton was not broke when it filed for bankruptcy June 28. The city says it would not have been able to pay its bills come July 1, the start of the fiscal year.
The judge said he doesn't need the experts' opinions to help him make a decision, which he will base on facts presented to him.
"I'm persuaded that neither of the reports will be helpful," said Judge Klein, who has given attorneys strict time limits for the trial of 700 minutes each. "This is the kind of thing I've seen for 25 years on the bench."
Stockton's bankruptcy filing makes it the nation's largest city to seek Chapter 9 protection. The creditors that stand to lose millions are firms that insured bonds the city stopped paying down.
Only after the city is deemed eligible can it begin writing a plan of adjustment, which restructures the city's debts. Some debts will be extended, and the city may seek to eliminate other debt in what's called a "haircut."
Stockton bankruptcy attorney Norman Hile on Wednesday argued that the creditors' two experts - Nancy Zielke and Robert Bobb - aren't qualified to comment on Stockton's finances.
Zielke is a consultant with Alvarez & Marsal Public Sector Services LLC, who worked in senior and administrative positions in local and state government in Kansas.
Also a consultant, Bobb has served as the city manager of Santa Ana, Richmond, Va.; Oakland and Washington, D.C. He was appointed emergency financial manager for the Detroit Public Schools district.
In her report, Zielke said that before filing bankruptcy, the city could have raised several taxes to draw $9.5 million annually, while finding another $24 million in cuts the city could have made.
Guy Neal, an attorney for Assured Guaranty, urged the judge to let him put Zielke on the witness stand next week, when he could have her present her credentials in person as an expert.
"If the city is successful, the objecting parties, quite frankly, should appear by phone, perhaps in listen-only (mode)," said Neal, failing to persuade the judge.
Contact reporter Scott Smith at (209) 546-8296 or firstname.lastname@example.com. Visit his blog at recordnet.com/smithblog.


text:
aircatcher wrote: Donkey dick,you need love !!! man .I mean real love, a true unconditional love from a women giving to you will lift up your spirit and change your sexual behavior to a higher level.
Good luck.
I'd LOVE that love! Again!
It would be awesome. But in the meantime I can settle for it in smaller increments!


text:
Elimination Chamber: WWE champion Edge vs. Big Show vs. Triple H vs. Undertaker vs. Vladimir Kozlov vs. Jeff Hardy
Wow, they are starting off the PPV with this? I guess that means the Raw Elimination Chamber will close the show, which is odd booking given the match quality difference on paper for the two Chamber bouts. The word going around was that there would be a title change tonight, so we'll see which Chamber it takes place in.
They do the big entrances for everyone.
Jeff Hardy went right after Edge to start the bout. He nailed several clotheslines. Edge reversed a whip into the ropes and nailed a big boot the face. He went for a quick cover but Hardy kicked up. Edge draped Hardy over the ropes and charged, snapping him throat-first across them for another two count. Edge worked over Hardy in the corner while Big Show glared from his pod and smiled, playing up their storyline from the last few weeks of TV.
Hardy comes back with a twisting head scissors, then a Cruncher legdrop. Edge came back to attempt the Impaler but Hardy turned it into the Twist of Fate. Hardy went for the Swanton but missed as Edge rolled out of the way. Edge went for a spear but Hardy caught him with an inside cradle and pinned him.
Edge is eliminated, so we'll have a new WWE champion. Stay tuned.
After the countdown, Vladimir Kozlov is next out. He throttles Hardy in the corner with punches and kicks. Hardy kicked him in the mush. Hardy attempted to fire back but Kozlov nailed a battering ram. Kozlov dragged Hardy out of the ring onto the steel base and rammed Hardy into the cage several times. Kozlov slammed Hardy into the ring and covered him but Hardy kicked out.
Kozlov kicked up Hardy and draped him across the top turnbuckle, then began headbutting him in the kidneys. He measured Hardy and kicked him in the gut. Kozlov nailed a Fall Away Slam. He covered Hardy, who kicked out. He nailed a backbreaker, then cinched in a bearhug on the mat to wear down Jeff. Hardy tried to battle back but Kozlov slammed him down. He grabbed Jeff for an Oklahoma Stampede but Hardy escaped, shoving him into the corner. Hardy used the ropes for leverage, nailing a dropkick to the face of Kozlov, who was in a sitting position in the corner. Near fall for Hardy.
Hardy tried to whip Kozlov, who reversed it. Hardy used that momentum to hit the Whisper in the Wind.
Next in is Big Show, who goes right after Hardy and lays him out with a boot and a Beel. Kozlov grabs Hardy and begins wearing him down with headbutts. He and Big Show take turns working over Hardy. Hardy continued to try and fight back but was mauled by the two monsters.
Kozlov turned on Show, nailing him with the Battering Ram out of nowhere. Show went down but got to his feet. They scuffled in the ring and battled in the corner. Show missed a charge in the corner as the countdown began for the next competitor.
It's Triple H. He hit the ring and began working over Show. He nailed the knee lift on Kozlov and Show. Show missed a charge in the corner and HHH grabbed him for the spinebuster. HHH clotheslined Hardy. HHH tossed Kozlov over the top to the steel base outside.
Triple H teased a Pedigree outside but Show nailed HHH. The announcers noted that might have been the smartest idea. Show began beating HHH in the corner. Kozlov continued to work over Hardy in the opposite corner with knees. Show nailed a sideslam for a two count. The heels continued to maul over the babyfaces as Undertaker psyched himself up and the fans chanted his name.
Show pressed and slammed HHH from an overhead position. Show headbutt HHH, who fell out of the ring to the steel base. Show followed, then rammed HHH into the Cage. Show then splashed HHH into the chain. Hardy tried to save HHH but was caught. Show put HHH and Hardy together and charged them but they ducked. He hit the cage and went down.
Back in the ring, HHH and Hardy hit a double suplex on Kozlov. Hardy then hit the Whisper in the Wind on HHH.
Last in is The Undertaker. He goes right after Show and Kozlov He nailed Kozlov with a nasty looking snake eyes. Undertaker then turned his attention to HHH and Hardy. He grabbed them both for a chokeslam and kicked Kozlov with a big boot. He went for the chokeslam but Show kicked him. Taker came back with a clothesline on Show. Taker walked the ropes but Show tried to interfere. Taker came off the ropes and drilled Show with a DDT the base.
Taker sat up and went right back to the business, nailing HHH off the ropes. Kozlov caught Taker and began working him over in the corner with punches. Taker catches Kozlov with the Last Ride out of the corner and scores the pin.
Kozlov has been eliminated, his first "loss" in the company.
Show immediately went after Taker, then tossed both HHH and Hardy out of the ring. Show tried to toss Hardy off the top rope into the cage but he grabbed the cage and scaled it to the top of one of the pods. Show crotched him and began beating Hardy atop of one of them. Undertaker followed Show and superplexed him off the top rope into the ring. Hardy came off the pod with the swanton and scored the pin.
Big Show is eliminated.
Triple H was tossed over the top to the outside. Taker grabbed Hardy for Old School but HHH knocked Taker down. Hardy used Undertaker as a perch to dive out of the ring onto HHH. Taker grabbed Hardy for a tombstone and nailed it.
Hardy was pinned and eliminated.
It's down to Triple H and Undertaker. They square off and charge. Undertaker gets the best of the first exchange. Taker beat HHH, who went down in the corner. Taker measured HHH and went for a charging big boot in the corner. HHH escaped and Taker got his legs caught on the ropes before falling to the outside. Taker is slammed headfirst into the cage.
Triple H went to the top but was caught by Taker and chokeslammed for a two count. HHH came back with the spinebuster for a two count. They battle to the outside. Triple H teases a Pedigree but is catapulted into the chain. Taker grabs HHH for the tombstone, pulls them over the ropes and nails it inside the ring. Triple H gets his foot on the rope at the last second.
Triple H battles back and scores the Pedigree but Taker gets his shoulder up. They made their way to their feet and battled back and forth HHH worked him over with punches in the corner. Taker went for the Last Ride. Triple H escaped, hit the Pedigree and pinned Taker.
Your winner and new WWE champion (his 13th reign), Triple H!
This had to be the longest opening match in the history of WWE PPV. A great way to start the show. Undertaker glared at HHH as he left. HHH posed with the belt.
Backstage, Edge was asked Vickie Guerrero to start the match over. She told him it was his fault because he lost. She then backed down and said she didn't mean it. Edge dropped to the couch heartbroken and shaking his head. The vignette teased that we haven't seen the last of Edge tonight - there is still another Chamber to go and his character is the king of backdooring his way into title shots, so my guess is one of those babyfaces gets taken out before the match.
If you enjoy PWInsider.com you can check out the AD-FREE PWInsider Elite section, which features exclusive audio updates, news, our critically acclaimed podcasts, interviews and more, right now for THREE DAYS free by clicking here!
Use our reports with online gambling where you can play casino games or bet on different kind of sports!


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If you pay attention to NBA basketball — and even if you don't — you may have heard of the "Linsanity" phenomenon.
Jeremy Lin, an Asian-American point guard for the New York Knicks, seemingly exploded out of nowhere in February to have the best NBA debut ever.
Lin averaged 27.3 points per game in his first four starts — a feat unmatched since the NBA merged with the ABA in 1976.
So here's the thing no one could figure out: How did a player that talented, go so unnoticed for so long?
As Kobe Bryant more or less expressed after the Lakers got trounced by Lin: "Guys like that don't just show up out of nowhere."
Before his chance to shine with the Knicks, Lin was seen as a disappointment for the Golden State Warriors and the Houston Rockets.
And as a college player, Lin wasn't that heavily recruited. (He wound up playing for Harvard — not exactly a basketball power — and no one dubbed him a future NBA star.)
So what happened? How did everybody (or almost everybody) "miss it?"
Or, alternatively, how did a mediocre player suddenly become a superstar overnight?
As it turns out, those are the wrong questions to ask. Lin's previous teams missed out on his superstar talent because he didn't have it back then. He slowly but surely aquired it.
In other words, Lin had the potential of greatness within him… and he had to cultivate it over time, with the help of coaches, family and friends.
The story is laid out in this excellent New York Times piece, "The Evolution of a Point Guard."
Even if you hate basketball, I consider it a must read, because the key factors in Lin's success are not so far removed from what makes a great trader.
Here is the meat of the piece:
Jeremy Lin's rise did not begin, as the world perceived it, with a 25-point explosion at Madison Square Garden on Feb. 4. It began with lonely 9 a.m. workouts in downtown Oakland in the fall of 2010; with shooting drills last summer on a backyard court in Burlingame, Calif.; and with muscle-building sessions at a Menlo Park fitness center.
It began with a reworked jump shot, a thicker frame, stronger legs, a sharper view of the court — enhancements that came gradually, subtly, through study and practice and hundreds of hours spent with assistant coaches, trainers and shooting instructors over 18 months.
Quite simply, the Jeremy Lin who revived the Knicks, stunned the N.B.A. and charmed the world — the one who is averaging 22.4 points and 8.8 assists as a starter — is not the Jeremy Lin who went undrafted out of Harvard in June 2010. He is not even the same Jeremy Lin who was cut by the Golden State Warriors on Dec. 9.
Beyond the mystique and the mania lies a more basic story — of perseverance, hard work and self-belief.
- NY Times, The Evolution of a Point Guard
Oh hell yes. That last sentence gives me chills. "…a more basic story — of perseverance, hard work and self-belief."
In the beginning, Jeremy Lin was physically weak and beset by bad habits. He didn't have the body of an NBA player, or the fundamental skills of a world class point guard. His game was a hodge podge of gaps, holes and flaws.
But the raw talent — the foundation, the essential clay — was there. Lin's coaches saw that, underneath all the mediocrity, the kid at least had potential.
And he had something else too: A willingness to work his ass off. From the NYT piece:
Soon, Smart noticed something else. Lin was the first player at the Warriors' training center every day, eating breakfast by 8:30 a.m. "Then, all of sudden, you'd hear a ball bouncing on the floor," Smart said. Practice typically began at noon.
The guy was fanatically dedicated, even when he was a nobody, a third-stringer.
He saw his own chance for greatness and started preparing for it, long before the cheering crowds came.
I love this part too: On his path to becoming a breakout star, Lin actually had to move DOWN a level… and endure what many other players in his situation would have considered humiliating:
…Lin kept arriving early, leaving late, devouring film and working studiously with Silas and later Lloyd Pierce. But what Lin really needed was game repetition. The Warriors sent him to Reno, their D-League affiliate, on three occasions. That is where the lessons started to take hold.
I freakin' love it!
Busted down to Reno, to play in the "D-League" — that sounds depressing to even say out loud — and that's where the lessons started to take hold.
Think of what kind of drive, what kind of desire and mental focus it must have taken to maintain a winner's attitude in the face of that slight.
Getting yanked from the big show to play in the boonies has to be a major blow to any athlete's ego. And to endure it multiple times, up and back down like a yo-yo, every time wondering if you're good enough?
It would have been so easy for Lin to become bitter, or lazy, or complacent and resentful at the cards he had been dealt.
But instead he kept believing in himself… kept following that path to greatness. And another step on that path was getting big:
He compared Lin to a stretched-out rubber band — flexible, but lacking that snap-back quality. The goal was to make him "stiffer," through a training program of heavy weights and low repetition, in conjunction with a high-protein diet. With the added muscle, Lin pushed his weight to 212 pounds from 200, while increasing his vertical leap by 3.5 inches, Wagner said. The result is evident every time Lin barrels into the lane this season.
"The biggest thing I see is when he gets intro traffic, he's able to maintain his direction and his balance, because he's stronger," Wagner said, adding, "He's a physical guard. That's where I see his hard work and the program he did with us paying off."
Wagner added: "Before, he was a motorcycle: he was maneuverable, but very off-balance. Now he's like a Porsche: he's fast, but he's stable."
No wonder the Warriors and the Rockets didn't appreciate him!
On his way to the Knicks, Jeremy Lin was TRANSFORMED… his entire game, and his entire physique, were taken to new levels through a process of relentless focus and 360 degree evolution.
Guys like Jeremy Lin are incredibly rare — more so because of mindset than the talent.
Again, think of what it took for an overlooked bench warmer to transform himself into one of the hottest starters in NBA history:
- A deep and persistent belief in himself (and his ability to succeed).
- A willingness to outwork everyone else — to show up early and stay late, day after day after day.
- A willingness to persevere in the face of setbacks (being busted down multiple times) that were actually opportunities in disguise.
The Jeremy Lin story is a great one for traders to digest because, when it comes to trading, we all start out with flaws and holes in our game.
Unlike the Shaquille O' Neals and Lebron Jameses of the world, NO ONE is born to trading greatness overnight.
Trading is such a multi-faceted and subtle game, personal evolution is not just one of the paths to greatness — it's the only path!
To become a great trader, or even just a skilled journeyman trader who puts food on the table for the family, flaws have to be ferretted out… holes have to be filled in… weak sides have to be strengthened. Extensive mental conditioning, ample seasoning and full contact training is required.
And all of this has to be done through an extended period of repetition, repetition, repetition — time in the saddle — with relentless focus and dedicated practice the cornerstones, "coming together" over a period of time.
The exciting thing is, trading does not require innate physical gifts. You don't have to be 6′ 2″ and quick in the paint to be a great trader. (Steve Cohen, one of the greatest traders ever, looks like George Costanza from Seinfeld.)
Nor does trading have an age limit. You don't have to hang up your game by 35 the way most athletes do. Heck, a lot of trading legends didn't even begin til 35 age or later. George Soros started Quantum Fund at 39, then dominated markets well into his 70s. (And he's still playing in his 80s, albeit with his own $25 billion stash!)
You do have to have the "spark." You have to have that something, deep down, that whispers in your ear and tells you, "I can play this game." And you have to be honest with yourself as to whether that spark is there.
But if that spark is there, everything else can come. You can expect to start with gaps, flaws, weaknesses, and gaping holes in your game… just like Jeremy Lin did. Just like all traders do.
And with the right training and guidance, delivered through persistence and self belief, you can evolve your way to trading "greatness" too — however you choose to define it.
JS (firstname.lastname@example.com)
p.s. If you liked this, a piece I wrote last year, "Think Only of Cutting," explores similar ideas from a different angle. Whether you believe you can do it or don't believe you can do it, guess what — you're probably right…
Read more posts on Mercenary Trader »


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November 05, 2013
WASHINGTON, D.C.- U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC), and Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) Monday introduced the bipartisan Veterans' Advisory Committee on Education Improvement Act of 2013 (S. 1643). The bill would reauthorize the Veterans' Advisory Committee on Education for two years and extend the committee's composition and reach to include veterans from post-9/11 operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.
"The Veterans' Advisory Committee helps to ensure men and women who have worn the uniform receive the educational benefits they have been promised and earned," said Inhofe. "Too often the men and women returning from overseas face difficult challenges when transitioning into civilian life. This legislation will help veterans by strengthening the opportunities for educational and job-training assistance promised under the GI Bill. I am proud to work with Sen. Cardin in this effort and hope my colleagues will quickly pass this legislation in the Senate."
"A true marker of our nation's worth is our willingness to serve those who have served us," said Cardin. "As we wind down our commitments in Afghanistan after a decade of war, we need to gear up our commitment to our veterans. I'm proud to join with Senator Inhofe on this legislation that will ensure that the brave men and women who serve our country in the armed services receive the most effective education and training opportunities available. Our veterans deserve every possible tool to help ease their transition to civilian life."
The current authorization for the Veterans' Advisory Committee will expire on Dec. 31, 2013. The Veterans' Advisory Committee On Education Improvement Act of 2013 would reauthorize the Committee through Dec. 31, 2015.
The Committee exists to advise the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) on current VA education programs and services; to recommend new education benefit programs and services for veterans; and to assist in the long-term planning and development of those programs.
On Oct. 28, by a 404-2 vote, the House of Representatives passed its version of the Veterans' Advisory Committee on Education Act of 2013 (H.R. 2011), which was introduced by Rep. John Delaney (D-MD-6).


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We can use the credentials obtained from the previous post to log into Level 3. Upon logging, we are presented with a screen similar to that of Level 2:
Again, as always we will start by viewing the source of the page:
<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="http://www.overthewire.org/wargames/natas/level.css">

There is nothing on this page

We can see a comment embedded into the source code that mentions that "Not even Google will find it this time..." My first thought (which proved correct) was to check and see if a robots.txt file was present, since this determines if a web crawler (ie Google's) will "find" particular content.
We can see the contents of this file located at http://natas3.natas.labs.overthewire.org/robots.txt:
User-agent: *
Disallow: /s3cr3t/
Here we find a /s3cr3t directory, which is listable and contains the following:
Again, another "users.txt" file, which this time contains:
And there we have it. We can use these credentials to log in to the next challenge. More writeups to come.


text:
(See Corrections & Amplifications item below.)
Thanks to faster computers and higher bandwidths, many Web sites now contain video of one kind or another. Slow, stuttering footage is a thing of the past, and video-sharing Web sites are hot commodities, demonstrated last year when Google bought YouTube for $1.6 billion.
You can browse the Web watching videos until your eyes glaze over, but you can't easily save any of that video footage to your computer in an organized library. So while your photos, music and email can be neatly categorized and revisited on your computer's hard drive, videos that you see online may never come your way again.
This week, I tested the newest version of RealNetworks Inc.'s RealPlayer, which offers a distinctly useful feature: the ability to copy any video from the Internet onto your PC, as long as it isn't protected by a copyright. This player, which was just released in its beta (or testing) version last month, is available as a free download from www.realplayer.com.
RealPlayer 11 copies videos from the Web to a PC with one click; a progress window shows the status of multiple simultaneous downloads.
Once downloaded, RealPlayer 11 smartly runs on Microsoft's Windows XP or Vista machines in the background, only making its video-copying capability known when a video appears on a Web page in your browser. A tiny message labeled "Download This Video" pops up from the video viewing screen, and when selected, this initiates a download of the entire video. You don't need to be at the start of the video to copy the whole clip. In fact, you can copy an entire video without watching it (I used RealPlayer 11 to copy videos for watching later when I didn't have a column to write). Saved videos can be shared with friends, organized into playlists or burned onto CDs.
I tried RealPlayer 11 on my Windows XP desktop and on my Vista laptop, using both Internet Explorer 7.0 and Mozilla's Firefox 2.0 without problems. Being able to copy videos made me realize how many clips I watch online, footage that might otherwise have been forgotten had I not saved it on my computer. Granted, not all the videos that one watches online are worth capturing, but it's nice to have the ability to save them with just a mouse click.
I missed being able to use RealPlayer 11's video downloading on my Apple computers, but RealNetworks says it will make its player usable on Macs before the end of the year. The company also says it is working on plans to make these saved videos transferable to portable players, including Apple's iPod, so that after downloading numerous videos, you need not be tied to your computer to watch them. In the case of longer videos, downloading took more time, and I wished this RealPlayer made it possible to watch videos shortly after they started downloading, like Apple does with movies downloaded from its iTunes Store.
Downloading this new RealPlayer was surprisingly painless — a welcome change compared with my experiences downloading the company's previous players. In three quick steps, I downloaded RealPlayer 11, accepted a license agreement and adjusted a few settings such as whether or not I wanted to use RealPlayer 11 by default for playing all videos on my PC. I was never prompted to enter my date of birth or email, like RealNetworks downloads in the past.
I visited various sites to retrieve video footage, including YouTube, AOL videos, Google videos, sports Web sites, television network sites and news sites like WSJ.com and AllThingsD.com. Every popular video file format is supported. To save time, RealPlayer 11 lets you download multiple videos at the same time; a small window shows the status of each download, including how much time remains for each download and an option to cancel the download. There are no limits to the number of videos you can download simultaneously, as long as your Internet bandwidth can manage.
I copied numerous videos, including the first episode of my new favorite TV show, ABC's "Traveler," a music video from country singer Keith Urban and a National Geographic video on bowhead whales. After gathering a bunch of clips, I organized some of them into playlists and sent others to friends by selecting "Share Video Link" from the top of the screen, entering emails and a personal message about each clip. These emails are sent with embedded links to other sites, like YouTube, and the recipient doesn't need RealPlayer 11 to see the videos, though a link for this free download appears at the bottom of the emails.
If a video is copyright protected, the "Download This Video" message that enables copying is replaced by a message that says "Video Cannot Be Downloaded" with a one-line explainer on digital rights.
(To the chagrin of content owners, this isn't as much of an impediment as they hoped, because a large amount of video content is illegally posted online. Even if a video was originally posted in a protected format, someone may have copied it and re-posted it illegally with the protection stripped off. RealPlayer will copy these clips, as it can't tell whether they were originally meant to be protected.)
In a couple instances, videos didn't display messages about downloading or not downloading, in which case I wasn't able to copy the video. RealNetworks says this is a rare occurrence.
RealPlayer 11 can also be used to record live streaming video in real time, like the constantly recording panda camera that was set up to document every move made by Tai Shan, the giant panda born in Washington's National Zoo two years ago. I tested live recording by capturing a live stream of video from CNN.com for 35 minutes. But RealPlayer 11 can't be set to record certain programs or at certain times like TiVo does with television.
Though I focused on its video-copying capability, RealPlayer 11 is still a media player in its own right. It is divided into six categories at the top of the screen: Now Playing, My Library, Real Guide, Games, SuperPass and Burn/Transfer. If you pay an extra $30 for RealPlayer you'll be able to burn your videos onto DVDs rather than just CDs. Real Guide serves as a link to RealNetworks' suggestions of videos and also lets you search for more videos. If you visit the My Library section while a video is playing, a miniature view of that video appears in the lower right corner of the screen.
Many sites offer to help you email videos or obtain a video's URL for embedding into your own Web site. But these options often appear only after you've watched an entire video, and they don't help you save videos onto your PC. RealPlayer 11 strikes a healthy balance: It's useful without intruding on your browser. If you stopped downloading videos from the Web to your PC, you wouldn't be bothered by its subtle downloading prompts.
RealNetworks will release a second version of this beta before the end of the year, including options for transferring videos to portable players and Mac compatibility. For now, the free download of this first version is smart, simple and fun to use.
Edited by Walter S. Mossberg
- Email: firstname.lastname@example.com
Corrections & Amplifications:
Any video can be copied as long as it isn't protected by digital rights management. This article erroneously states that RealNetworks Inc.'s RealPlayer 11 can copy any video from the Web, as long as it isn't protected by a copyright.


text:
Climate change and the global economy: quantifying the impact
Climate damage functions: quantifying the impact on activity
Early estimates of the cost of global warming on world GDP emerged in the early 1990s and since then there have been a number of studies that have both agreed with and contradicted the initial assessments.
Covington and Thamotheram (2015) base their analysis on so called "climate damage functions" that quantify the risk the economy faces as a result of climate change.
Economic climate damage is defined as the fractional loss in annual economic output at a given level of warming compared to output in the same economy with no warming.
Climate damage functions plot the level of output lost over a range of warming estimates, with all functions predicting a greater loss in annual economic output as the level of warming rises.
However, amongst the estimated climate damage functions there is a lack of consensus as to how damages evolve as warming gradually increases.
The below figure and table summarise a number of estimated economic damage functions, named after their respective originators.
We briefly discuss each climate damage function below, focusing on the 4°C mark, given that the World Bank estimates there is a 40% chance of exceeding this level by 2100, assuming emissions follow a "medium business-as-usual pathway".
Varying estimates of climate change damage
Estimates of climate change damage vary according to whether there is a tipping point at which damage accelerates
The "N-damages" climate damage function, named after its originator Nordhaus (2013), is widely used by economists and is the least concerning of the three climate damage functions.
Climate damage under this function would be progressive whereby no tipping point is reached and the world's population has the greatest amount of time to offset any negative effects of global warming.
It can be seen that by the year in which the world is 4°C warmer, annual economic output will be just 4% lower than a base case with no warming.
The baseline case in Nordhaus's study is for warming of around 3.8% by 2100.
Nordhaus believes the economic impact of climate change is likely to be small over the next couple of decades and that agriculture is the most exposed sector to global warming.
Although the cumulative effects are reasonable at the point at which 4°C is reached, the loss in terms of average annual growth would be extremely small and difficult to distinguish given that it will take many decades to reach 4°C of warming based on current estimates.
The "W-damages" function was produced by Weitzman (2012) and estimates that by the time 4°C of warming is reached, 9% of annual economic output will be lost relative to the base with no warming effect.
Under this scenario, those industries that are largely predisposed to climate change risk globally are likely to be affected:
- Insurance
- Agriculture
- Forestry.
However, Pearce et al (1996) believe that only a fraction of the market economy is vulnerable to global warming:
- Agriculture
- Coastal resources
- Energy
- Forestry
- Tourism
- Water
These sectors contribute just 5% of global GDP to which their share is expected to shrink overtime (Mendelsohn, 2013).
This can be seen when we translate the damage function into the effect on economic growth.
If we assume a base case of 3% annual economic growth and that 4°C warming is reached by 2080, we find that annual growth will be paired back to 2.85%.
This is based on an economy that is 9% smaller due to climate damage in 2080 relative to an economy with no warming.
An effective loss of 0.15% per annum could be seen to warrant some attention from policymakers and the government alike, but is unlikely to be sufficiently powerful to promote a significant response to climate change.
In the most severe case, global GDP growth would be some 1% lower per annum
The final climate damage function, "DS-damages", named after Dietz and Stern (2014) is the most extreme scenario in which the global economy would suffer considerable loss as a result of climate change.
Warming unfolds over time and actions today have implications for the future.
Under this scenario, as and when warming extends to 4°C, annual economic output will be 50% lower compared to a scenario where no warming occurs.
To put this into perspective, Dietz and Stern estimate warming of approximately 3.5°C by 2100.
If we take a stricter approach however, using the same assumptions as the W-damages function above but assuming 4°C is reached in 2080, the base case 3% annual economic growth rate falls to just 1.9% a year.
Reaching the tipping point
At this rate, climate change is set to have a noticeable impact on future growth and living standards.
Reaching a tipping point at 2-3°C, as Dietz and Stern predict, could therefore be seen as a crucial stage of warming for the global economy whereby the costs of insufficient action significantly weigh on growth.
Christine Lagarde, head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), believes the planet is "perilously close" to a climate change tipping point to the extent that climate change poses the greatest economic challenge of the 21st century.
Below we summarise some additional benchmark studies in the literature aiming to address the economic impacts of climate change.
Similar to the damage functions described above and aside from the Stern review and upper estimates from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the consensus is that the economic costs of marginal warming will be small up to 2°C but begin to gather pace if we move toward 4°C.
This analysis indicates that output losses accelerate once warming exceeds 2°C, but that these effects are not likely to be felt for another 30 years.
It is this threshold which is apparent in investment studies such as that recently published by Mercer which finds negative returns to diversified portfolios once warming breaches 2°C.
However, let us not forget that warming unfolds over time and that actions today have implications for the future.
Since the process is largely irreversible over the medium term, the global economy can be seen to have committed to a certain degree of future warming already.
A 2014 World Bank study titled "Turn Down the Heat. Confronting the New Climate Normal" estimates that warming of close to 1.5°C above pre-industrial times is locked into the earth's atmospheric system and is thus unavoidable.
According to the same study, without reasonable action to reduce emissions, the earth is on track for 2°C warming by mid-century and 4°C or more by the end of the century.
Stern (2006) also estimates that without action to reduce emissions, the concentration of greenhouse gases could double their pre-industrial levels as early as 2035, almost committing the world to temperature increases of over 2°C.
Investors should use a range of climate damage functions
For investors assessing the value of a stream of income, these projections are critical and we would suggest using a range of climate damage functions given the uncertainty over each.
Expressing future economic losses in today's prices requires discounting the loss in output back to the present day.
By its nature, small changes in the discount rate cause large changes in loss estimates given the very long time horizon in which climate change is expected to occur.
When attempting to quantify the impact climate change will have on a diversified portfolio, Covington and Thamotheram (2015) use a discount rate of 6.5%. In contrast the Stern review (2006) uses 1.4% (0.1% above expected consumption growth), so it is unsurprising that Stern's estimates forecast greater costs of climate change than many other studies.
Given the decline in long-term interest rates since the Global Financial Crisis, it seems using a rate toward the lower end of recent studies would be reasonable.
Please find below a link to a list of relevant references for research mentioned in this article.
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Twenty-one organisations ask Italian Data Protection Authority to publish readable documents
The Free Software Foundation Europe and twenty Italian civil society organisations wrote a letter to the President of the Authority for the Protection of Personal Data, asking the agency to ensure that all documents published on its website can be read and used with Free Software programs.
On its website, the agency had offered a PDF document to report data breaches. Although most versions of the PDF file format are Open Standards, this form could only be filled in using a particular proprietary PDF reader.
"This is an obstacle to the users' freedom," says Alessandro Polvani, who coordinates FSFE's activities in Italy. "Public authorities need to make sure that their documents are accessible to everyone. No citizen should have to use proprietary software in order to talk to the public sector."
Beyond the Pdfreaders campaign
In FSFE's PDFreaders campaign, volunteers across Europe work to have advertisements for proprietary PDF readers removed from public-sector websites. People in Italy are among the most active participants in the campaign. They have so far reported 488 advertisements, of which almost half (49%) were fixed in response to letters by citizens. .
ContactsAlessandro Polvani
Italy deputy coordinator
If you wish to receive further updates, subscribe to our press release mailing list at http://fsfe.org/press.


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1999 Ford Cougar VX 2.5 V6 from UK and Ireland
Fully loaded sleek cruiser that has a fantastic V6 growl
Drop links replaced at 90000.
Alternator replaced at 96000.
General Comments:
Personally I can't fault this car. It eats the motorway miles and is very comfortable. The boot is huge and can easily accommodate 4 person's luggage.
This is the third one I have owned now, and love the way they drive.
The auto was very nice to drive, although the CD4E gearbox was not the best in the world, and can be a little jumpy between gears. They can be prone to problems around 100,000 miles.
The manual VX ones are the one to go for; everything you could ask for in a car, plenty of power on tap when needed, leather, cruise control, heated seats, air con. What more could you ask for?
As for the looks, they still look stunning, even in a car park full of newer cars.
One thing you have to remember, the Cougar is not really a sports car, it's a sports tourer. Do don't expect blistering performance from it, although you can do a few mods with ST200 inlets and throttle body etc to unleash some more power, and greatly improve throttle response.
The only down side is the rising cost of fuel these days, but never fear as the big cat can still return a good 35-38 MPG on a run, and if you drive sensibly round town, you can average 22-24 MPG, which is not bad for a big V6.
All in all, a lot of car for your money. Look for a low mileage one and check wishbones, drop-links for play, and the rear subframe for any rust. Other than that, you can't go wrong.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 13th January, 2013


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|Pathologically Eclectic Rubbish Lister
Touching it when it ain't brokeby Marza (Vicar)
|on Aug 09, 2002 at 05:46 UTC ( #188831=perlmeditation: print w/replies, xml )
|Need Help??
During the discusion of So you know Perl; but do you know programming?, Abigail-II remarked the old saying "Don't touch it if it ain't broke"
After pondering this statement. I tend to think that there is a good time to "fix" something.
Usually, it can be argued that it is a waste of time since we are always doing something on the job. However, my question is now this:
Why not fix things if you are going to have to make major mods on the script anyway? The perfect time would be before the new feature is added. You already know what the script is doing so if you do something wrong, you can respond quickly. A "cleaner" script might make the additions/mods faster
Then, there is the fact you also add time to the job.
All in all, I would think changing it when you are making mods are justified.
Hmmmm can I be a perfectionist?:-o
Just some ale induced wonderings on a late Thursday night
Back to Meditations


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Classes are currently being taught online. All physical facilities are closed to the public at this time, and employees are working remotely.Please visit
dcccd.edu/coronavirus for additional information and to
find contact information for various departments.If you need additional assistance, please visit
My Community Services and our
Community Employment Resources.
Under the vision and leadership of Chancellor Joe May, the colleges of DCCCD are working together to develop and implement the nation's first higher education network.
Selected as the seventh chancellor of the Dallas County Community College District, Dr. Joe May assumed his duties at DCCCD in late February 2014. Throughout his career, May has expanded opportunities for students who want to pursue a bachelor's degree by starting at a community college. At the same time, he brings a strong commitment to improving the Dallas economy by helping to grow middle-class jobs. He is known both nationally and internationally as a result of his relentless advocacy for the role of community colleges in solving today's most challenging social issues.
Following the announcement today by President Donald Trump that the DACA program – Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals – will end, Dr. Joe May, shared a message with all DCCCD students and employees. He reassured DACA students, in particular, that he and the district stands behind them – that they are not alone.
Hurricane Harvey has changed lives forever. DCCCD is poised to help our higher education colleagues on the Texas Gulf Coast once they evaluate and share their needs and provide assistance in other areas as well.
"Adult literacy is critical to the success of families, communities and the workforce. Providing higher education that improves lives and communities is the mission of the Dallas County Community College District, so we are pleased to support the $7M Barbara Bush Foundation Literacy XPRIZE efforts," said Dr. Joe May.
"Students in our area now can choose a quality, affordable bachelor's degree in early childhood education," said Dr. Joe May. "It also supports the governor's goal to provide quality pre-kindergarten for our youngest Texans, and it comes at no additional fiscal cost for the state."
In June 2016, Dr. May shared how DCCCD and Dallas ISD are partnering to open eight new Early College High Schools.
In May 2016, Dr. May and team of consultants presented the initial findings of a six-month Student Experience Survey.
A PDF is available for viewing.


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Procter & Gamble had been on a tear.
The company's stock had climbed 22 percent since the start of the year as the maker of Tide detergent and Crest toothpaste turned in better profits for two quarters in a row. Last Thursday, P&G reported even higher earnings. And its stock immediately dropped 6 percent.
What happened? Like so many other big companies reporting results recently, P&G hit its target for earnings but missed on revenue. Nearly halfway through the first-quarter earnings season, Corporate America is still reporting solid profits, with seven of every ten big companies hurdling over Wall Street's expectations. Sales, however, are another story.
Nearly the same proportion of big companies - six out of ten - have fallen short of revenue targets, according to S&P Capital IQ. The tally so far looks grim: Revenue has shrunk 2.4 percent compared with last year.
"The norm is becoming, beat your earnings, but miss on revenue," says Scott Freeze, president of Street One Financial.
Two problems persist: Europe's ongoing recession and slower economic growth in China. Because nearly half of revenue for Standard & Poor's 500 companies comes from abroad, it would seem logical to think the problem is just overseas. But many companies with a U.S. focus have also reported disappointing revenue.
Freeze says that revenue presents a more accurate picture of Corporate America's health. "You can play with the earnings numbers and have them skewed," he says. "But you can't mess with the revenue numbers - they are what they are. If people are not coming in droves to buy your products, your revenue's going to miss even if your earnings beat."
Aside from Apple's falling profit and some other high-profile flops, the headline numbers for first-quarter earnings appear solid. So far, 271 companies in the S&P 500 have said earnings are up 5 percent over the year before. And 189 of them have cleared Wall Street's estimates.
Investors say that's no surprise. They believe companies set the bar so low that it's easy to jump over it. The 3.6 percent earnings growth analysts expect to see after all the results are tallied works out to $26.36. That's just $1 more than the same period last year.
As one company after another turned in weak revenue results last week, analysts, investors and economists started raising concerns about the prospect for future profits.
Some of the biggest names in Corporate America have disappointed, including Google, JP Morgan Chase and IBM, which posted its first drop in revenue in three years. In the past week, AT&T, Xerox and Safeway joined their ranks.
Of the 22 corporate giants in the Dow Jones industrial average that have reported results, 15 have missed their revenue targets, according to the data provider FactSet.
If the trend continues, experts see a number of consequences:
- Earnings estimates for the coming months will have to come down. Revenues drive profits. And if revenues start to sag, it's going to be difficult for companies in the S&P 500 to have average earnings growth of 8 percent for the rest of the year, which is what analysts currently expect.
- To maintain their profit margins, companies will look for ways to trim expenses even more. That often means cutting jobs or scaling back spending. Earlier this month, for instance, Caterpillar announced plans to lay off workers in Milwaukee, Decatur, Ill. and Brussels. The reason? Sales of Caterpillar's large trucks and bulldozers had slumped.
- If either earnings estimates come down or layoffs pick up, it could easily upend the stock market's four-year surge.
To be sure, many of the companies missing their revenue targets are grappling with their own unique problems, says John Butters, senior earnings analyst at FactSet. AT&T reported that fewer people signed up for phone plans. Boeing delivered just one 787 before the planes were grounded in January because of overheating batteries.
But the recurring theme is weak demand, says Tom Porcelli, chief U.S. economist at RBC Capital Markets. Businesses and individuals just aren't spending enough to push sales up quarter after quarter.
"The economic backdrop remains sluggish," he says. "It's really as simple as that."
In the U.S., recent reports showing sagging retail sales and a slump in business orders for big-ticket items have raised concerns about a slowdown. But it's a worldwide trend, Porcelli says.
Economists like Porcelli check surveys to see if manufacturers around the world are ramping up or slowing down production. As of last week, fewer than a fifth of the 34 developed countries reported more activity, down from a third at the start of the year. Back in 2011, three-quarters of these countries said production was picking up.
To keep profits rising, companies have been cutting costs to compensate for tepid sales. They have delayed plans to replace equipment, laid off workers and been slow to hire them back when things look better. In short, Corporate America and the people they employ are top notch at doing more with less.
During earnings calls this month, five of the country's biggest banks revealed that they have slashed more than 31,000 jobs over the past year. That's 3.5 percent of their combined workforce. JPMorgan plans to lay off even more, aiming to cut nearly 7 percent of its employees over the next two years.
It's a "perfectly sensible reaction" when sales results prove disappointing, Porcelli says.
The problem is that cost-cutting has its limits. U.S. companies already run more efficiently than they once did. They squeeze 9 cents of profit out of every dollar of revenue, compared with an average closer to 7 cents since 1979, according to Goldman Sachs research. Analysts expect this profit margin to reach 9.8 cents next year.
Jeffrey Kleintop, the chief market strategist at LPL Financial, is skeptical that companies will be able to shed enough expenses to hit their earnings targets. "When there's no more fat to cut," he says, "you start to cut muscle, and then you're cutting bone."
In a strong economy, a single company can support its profits through payroll cuts. It's another story entirely when, in a choppy economy, scores of big companies decide to make the same move. Even delaying hiring plans can backfire.
"It's a conundrum," Kleintop says. "Businesses say they're not going to hire until they see better growth, but there's not going to be better growth until there's more income and hiring."
After all, one company's employee is another company's customer.
AP Business Writer Christina Rexrode contributed to this report.


text:
August 02, 2012
It's easy to take it easy! Just slow down and let each moment arrive at its own speed. You'll get a lot done this week if you get in tune with the rhythm of the week. Each moment has its own beat. Stay with it. Soul Affirmation: The wisdom of the ages is revealed as my spirit.
Change is near, and it's going to be good. Clear your desk of pesky tasks this week and get your mind free to receive what life brings. Positive results help you feel even more positive. Soul Affirmation: Someone wonderful is looking to find me.
You are the boss of your week this week, so act like the leader you are and let the week follow you around. Your creativity is soaring; schedule enough time to get some of your brilliant ideas on paper. Soul Affirmation: Trust gives me a deep sense of peace and joy.
A steady stream of opportunities is beaming your way, lucky you and they contain endless variations of possibilities. Wear your instincts like a rainbow colored coat this week and gather the good resources that you need. Soul Affirmation: Hope is future's way of shining on me this week.
Some down time will work wonders for you this week. You've been running fast with your projects, and now it's time to slow it down. Try to spend time outdoors and with nature. Enjoy! Soul Affirmation: Hope is a beautify jewel. I enjoy owning it.
Center yourself at every opportunity during this busy week and keep your quest for emotional and spiritual balance in the forefront. Make an effort to take your time; that way you'll recognize opportunity from impulse-control problems immediately. Soul Affirmation: My spirit gives me limitless possibilities.
Happiness arrives and sits on your shoulder like a bright butterfly this week. A relationship can make significant progress if you stay open to love. Keep your evening free for romance in a social setting. Soul Affirmation: I give thanks for who I am this week.
Take charge of a project at work and get it finished up. It's been languishing on someone else's shoulders and desk for way too long. A sensible outlook will get you far this week. Forget about all grudges and move forward in love. Soul Affirmation: My hunches work well for me this week.
You may find yourself faced with many distractions this week but you'll sail through and accomplish much if you stay focused on each task and take them one at a time. You know you can do it this evening. Soul Affirmation: Money opens doors for friendship to enter.
Creativity is favored and yours is especially favored with some project that you've been working especially hard on. For the next few days watch for a romance that will bring special gifts. Soul Affirmation: I care deeply about the feelings of others.
Your new ideas combine well with your will and skill. You get a lot done at work this week. Be soft and forceful. Make time for family life this week. Your rewards come from those who are related to you by blood. Soul Affirmation: I let positive emotions carry me through the week.
Before you spend your money check the quality of the goods. This rule applies to intangible goods as well. Make the first move with your honey this week. Be sweetly aggressive. Soul Affirmation: The enjoyment of good food is high on my agenda this week.


text:
Updated at 2:15 a.m. ET -- An agreement in principle to avert broad tax increases and spending cuts passed in the Senate early Tuesday morning, with an overwhelming vote of 89-8.
The House of Representatives is expected to vote before Wednesday.
The interim New Year's Eve tax deal negotiated by Biden and Senate Republican Leader Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky would raise income taxes on single earners with annual incomes above $400,000 and married couples with incomes above $450,000.
It also blocks spending cuts for two months, extends unemployment benefits for the long-term jobless, prevents a 27 percent cut in fees for doctors who treat Medicare patients and prevents a spike in milk prices.
MSNBC's Milissa Rehberger talks with contributor Ezra Klein and outlines the potential Senate deal that avert the Fiscal Cliff.
As of mid-afternoon Monday, the sticking point involved the "sequester," the cuts to spending – about $100 billion to start in 2013 -- that were mandated by the Budget Control Act which President Barack Obama signed into law last year. Republicans have signaled they might let the sequester take effect unless it was offset by other spending cuts; the GOP has also said it might accept a delay, but only for a few months.
The Obama administration, however, was pushing for a longer delay in implementing the sequester. Otherwise, the president said, replacing those automatic cuts must be "balanced" — shorthand for a combination of new taxes and other spending cuts.
Obama tried to push talks over the finish line earlier in the afternoon with a statement from the White House.
"Today, it appears that an agreement to prevent this New Year's tax hike is within sight," the president said at the White House on Monday. "But it's not done."
In the absence of a broader agreement to resolve the sequester, McConnell appeared in the Senate floor to request a vote only on the tax element of the fiscal cliff.
"Let's pass the tax relief portion now," he said. "Let's take what's been agreed to and keep moving."
NBC's Chuck Todd explains that a fiscal cliff deal has been difficult to reach because President Obama and Speaker Boehner don't want to appear to be caving to the other.
But it's not clear that Democrats, who were led in negotiations by Vice President Joe Biden, would agree to de-link the tax debate from other fights over the sequester and extending expiring unemployment benefits past Dec. 31.
House Republicans were careful to note that it was still possible for them to add votes late on New Year's Eve. But they also argued that there was no Senate-passed legislation on which they could schedule a vote, making the prospect of avoiding the cliff all the less likely.
Democratic and Republican sources in the House told NBC News that a final vote on any deal would now most likely wait until afternoon on New Year's Day, or even on Jan. 2.
Though Congress could still conceivably act after New Year's to preserve existing tax rates — thereby limiting any lasting effect on consumers — their inability to reach an agreement until the very last minute could still threaten to rattle the economy and markets.
Vice President Joe Biden has reached a deal with Senate Republicans to avoid the massive tax hikes and spending cuts set to begin on January 1st. NBC's Kelly O'Donnell reports.
The House did act late Sunday, though, to clear the way for emergency consideration of Senate legislation if leaders are able to reach an agreement. The House Rules Committee convened with the purpose of dispensing with a rule instilled by Republicans in the early days of 2011 to require that legislation be posted online for a full 72 hours before a vote in the House. GOP leaders had sought that rule to showcase their own transparency, and in reaction to actions by the previous Democratic majority to quickly pass legislation during the health care reform battles of 2010.
Republicans' move to sidestep their own rule underscores the urgency of fiscal cliff talks in the final hours of 2012. There were few ironclad assurances, though, that any Senate agreement would necessarily win the support of the House.
The lurching nature of legislating has been characteristic of the Congress during the last two years, and that's a phenomenon that may well continue into the next Congress, when Democrats will continue to retain control of the Senate, and Republicans will hold a slightly slimmer grasp on the House.
"We're about to snatch defeat out of the jaws of victory," says CNBC's Steve Liesman, who warns that higher unemployment may be ahead.


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Friedman's Freshmarkets will close its remaining three stores – Greater Butler Mart, Saxonburg and Chicora – on Saturday, Jan. 27.
The company blamed the closing on its dispute with Merchants Distributors Inc., Friedman's primary supplier since May 2015.
"We have tried everything we know, including using expert advice, to attempt to resolve our issues with MDI but they dragged out solutions to our problems for the last six months and we now believe that they were not negotiating in good faith," Carole F. Bitter, president and CEO of Friedman's, said in a news release.
Friedman's said it filed a "major lawsuit" against MDI on Jan. 12, and it is also interviewing new wholesalers, according to the release.
Store closing sales will begin Saturday. Friedman's Freshmarkets has been in business for 117 years.
For more information about this breaking news story, read the Butler Eagle.


text:
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text:
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text:
When we left our home in February due to the unfortunate tree incident, I had no idea how long we would be gone. I was in a state of numbing shock. When I went to my home, post tree-fall, I just wandered around the kitchen lost. I wanted to clean, but it was almost pointless. There were holes in the ceiling, it was constantly raining, constantly saturating the whole place. The insurance company told us we would be "packed" out. Well, as far as I was concerned they could just throw it all out. It was a total loss in my mind. I really detached myself from my home. I think it was a coping mechanism because my house was so broken, it was just so sad. We took the items from the fridge, freezer, our coffeepot and a few spices. Duh… what was I thinking?? I was so lost without my "things." I did not want to become too comfortable at our rental home, all I wanted was to go home, so we made do. Now that we are back and mostly unpacked when I am in my kitchen I feel that I am HOME. It brings me great joy to be back home, in the kitchen. I could not be happier.
~fresh tomato's on the sill, yes, it's Summertime~
~fried egg sandwich on home-made english muffin bread, yep.
~~ tomato, avocado, mozzarella salad with zucchini fritters, yes please.
I love to cook, love to eat. I feel a little behind on the season, but I am catching up as fast as I can. I am going to try to savor these last few months of summer and enjoy each fresh prepared meal I make.
~ a little roasted chickpea snack, yum.
:: All recipes can be found on my Pinterest, under "Yummy Food to Make" ::