GOLD and SILVER are looking real good here

<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>SHORT SQUEEZE?</b><i><b> </b></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i><b>"I think that the squeeze is on..."</b></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i><b>--Jim Comiskey</b></i></span></div><br /><b><br /></b><b>There's more than just a squeeze on.  There's a real storm coming...</b><br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/A-d0SV0mTco?feature=player_detailpage" width="640"></iframe>

GOLD and SILVER are looking real good here

SHORT SQUEEZE? "I think that the squeeze is on..."--Jim ComiskeyThere's more than just a squeeze on.  There's a real storm coming...…

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Crusader Barnone to take back America

<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>We have to make it happen</b></span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: red;">*****SIGN THE PETITION*****</span> </b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>100,000 SIGNATURES by March 15th this year</b></span><br /><br /><b><span style="font-size: large;">"We the people no longer consent..." </span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><div id="watch-uploader-info"><b>Published on <span class="watch-video-date" id="eow-date">Feb 12, 2014</span></b> </div><div id="watch-description-text"><div id="eow-description">Click on this link to sign the petition & share this link on ALL of your social media. We need 100,000 signatures at the very least. <br /><a class="yt-uix-redirect-link" data-redirect-href-updated="true" dir="ltr" href="https://www.youtube.com/redirect?q=https%3A%2F%2Fpetitions.whitehouse.gov%2Fpetition%2Freinstate-original-constitution-created-1789-people-united-states-america%2Fnn5gBFJS&session_token=Z_SdgncaKV0Gvjue8Kc2lVMEt-58MTM5MjM2MjkwNEAxMzkyMjc2NTA0" rel="nofollow" style="color: red;" target="_blank" title="https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/reinstate-original-constitution-created-1789-people-united-states-america/nn5gBFJS">https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/peti...</a><br />Reinstate the original Constitution created in 1789 FOR the people of the United States of America.<br /><br />On Feb 21st, 1871 the 42nd congress created the Act of 1871 which abandoned the original constitution & created a new country/corporation known as the United States, located in the District of Columbia. With the help of a revised 13th amendment which legally defined a "Slave" as "Involuntary servitude", and legal definitions of "Person" & "Citizen" in the 14th & 15th amendments the government fraudulently entrapped free sovereign peoples into being "Subject to the Jurisdiction of the United States". Under Title 28 3002 sec 15 (A) (B) (C) in the DC code, you can find proof that the United States IS a corporation. We the people no longer consent to this illegal & fraudulent document that was secretly created to enslave "U.S. Citizens" & want our original constitution back where it belongs.</div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/pazejn8sZec?feature=player_detailpage" width="640"></iframe><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Barnone and Jesse Ventura are a team</span> </b></div><br /><b>Jesse Ventura is working closely now with Chris a.k.a. barnone1190 to expose the current American Fascist Government:</b><br /><b><a href="http://news-these-days.blogspot.com/2014/02/jesse-ventura-follows-my-barnone11970.html" style="color: red;">http://news-these-days.blogspot.com/2014/02/jesse-ventura-follows-my-barnone11970.html</a> </b><br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/VVBtRxacWIM?feature=player_detailpage" width="640"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /><b>...developing...</b></div>

Crusader Barnone to take back America

We have to make it happen*****SIGN THE PETITION***** 100,000 SIGNATURES by March 15th this year"We the people no longer consent..." Published on Feb 12, 2014 Click on this link to sign the petition & share this link on ALL of your social me…

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Infidels, atheists, and agnostics hate Jesus

<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Message to the churches, pastors, and Christians... </b></span><i><b><br /></b></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><b>But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.</b></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><b>--II TIMOTHY 3.13</b></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><b>And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God;</b></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><b>I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.</b></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><b>So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.</b></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><b>--REVELATION 3.14-16 </b></i> </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/h8ElgH4kbBI?feature=player_detailpage" width="640"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>...developing...</b></div>

Infidels, atheists, and agnostics hate Jesus

Message to the churches, pastors, and Christians... But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.--II TIMOTHY 3.13And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithf…

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Do you need a reality check?

<div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Tacos takes on the YOU TUBE fakers</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh_I4TZQ8oe_wJNncBQwUK9Z46fA7ZtqjY9IPkVirsF2qPCWyNsNB0SWwTEWa2fVlZGM8dEU9emP5GJXm8Vk0_dqAqYvZHDOH8BOWrOwJGV_bS6ilHZff2dOn1VneH848_nU-7Ie0HI0c/s1600/TacosPIC.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="131" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh_I4TZQ8oe_wJNncBQwUK9Z46fA7ZtqjY9IPkVirsF2qPCWyNsNB0SWwTEWa2fVlZGM8dEU9emP5GJXm8Vk0_dqAqYvZHDOH8BOWrOwJGV_bS6ilHZff2dOn1VneH848_nU-7Ie0HI0c/s1600/TacosPIC.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/Jd5hBp6V4-Y?feature=player_detailpage" width="640"></iframe><br /><br /><b>...developing...</b></div>

Do you need a reality check?

Tacos takes on the YOU TUBE fakers...developing...…

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Russia's Defense Minister Boasts That The Country's Defenses Are Strong

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMm6jSmioMW2e8YHmEZJWGrP_ZgIVKs1q0-pGSrwtbNSUeNN-FVd46HThcaSCeOStOCToCbO7PgjpvJNCNWyYNfougeRStebdM8A-U5ZswbzpwCItfLUgXJT97vmwHO_WRyditc59x7Rc_/s1600/2013-09-12-BZSSR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="272" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMm6jSmioMW2e8YHmEZJWGrP_ZgIVKs1q0-pGSrwtbNSUeNN-FVd46HThcaSCeOStOCToCbO7PgjpvJNCNWyYNfougeRStebdM8A-U5ZswbzpwCItfLUgXJT97vmwHO_WRyditc59x7Rc_/s1600/2013-09-12-BZSSR.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu</span></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Shoigu Says Rumors of Russian Military Downfall “Nonsense” -- RIA Novosti</b></span></div><br />KRASNOYARSK, February 12 (RIA Novosti) – Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu on Wednesday dismissed as “utter nonsense” online rumors that the Russian armed forces are virtually non-existent.<br /><br />At a meeting with students in the Siberian city of Kransnoyarsk, Shoigu was asked to comment on online rumors that “there is nothing left, our army is a total wreck and we can only showcase tin cans at [military] parades in Moscow.”<br /><br />“This is nonsense, total and utter nonsense,” Shoigu replied. “This is rubbish.”<br /><br /><b><a href="http://en.ria.ru/military_news/20140212/187467182/Shoigu-Says-Rumors-of-Russian-Military-Downfall-Nonsense.html">Read more</a></b>....<br /><br /><b>My Comment:</b> He is also boasting that Russia's nuclear weapons are <b><a href="http://voiceofrussia.com/news/2014_02_12/Russias-nuclear-shield-is-still-powerful-Shoigu-9607/">second to none</a></b>. As to what is my take .... there are <b><a href="https://www.strategypage.com/%5Chtmw%5Chtlead%5Carticles%5C20140208.aspx">big problems.</a></b>

Russia's Defense Minister Boasts That The Country's Defenses Are Strong

Russian Defense Minister Sergei ShoiguShoigu Says Rumors of Russian Military Downfall “Nonsense” -- RIA NovostiKRASNOYARSK, February 12 (RIA Novosti) – Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu on Wednesday dismissed as “utter nonsense” online rumors th…

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How To Pay For A 11-Carrier Navy

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaYSQtdVEci_j6XXuZn7Q8UqOisTYfeZXoCR16SN3luMENyanjl9m2HFJRorBSRDEjZ3HSqiSdXK2NYl3PJCWhfvHJpwbKLxp4iDuG-xWbv-__eN5kPQEcHYH_n-VihkFauvVwRJwCGelK/s1600/2013-09-12-BZSSR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="285" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaYSQtdVEci_j6XXuZn7Q8UqOisTYfeZXoCR16SN3luMENyanjl9m2HFJRorBSRDEjZ3HSqiSdXK2NYl3PJCWhfvHJpwbKLxp4iDuG-xWbv-__eN5kPQEcHYH_n-VihkFauvVwRJwCGelK/s1600/2013-09-12-BZSSR.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">U.S. Navy and Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force ships steam in formation while participating in a photo exercise with the aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN 73) at the culmination of ANNUALEX 2008. ANNUALEX is a bilateral exercise between the U.S. Navy and the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Brendan Morgan/Released). 19 November 2008. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:USS_George_Washington_%28CVN-73%29_001.jpg">Wikipedia</a></span></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Congress Questions Plan To Pay For 11-Carrier Navy -- DoD Buzz</b></span></div><br />Plans to permanently retire the USS George Washington and bring the Navy’s carrier-fleet total down to 10 are still being debated in ongoing budget deliberations despite reports the White House has scrapped any plans to reduce the carrier total.<br /><br />Some of the uncertainty centers around potential funding for the mid-life refueling for the USS George Washington in the upcoming 2015 budget submission, dollars which may still be uncertain or under review, Capitol Hill and Pentagon sources said.<br /><br /><b><a href="http://www.dodbuzz.com/2014/02/11/congress-questions-plan-to-pay-for-11-carrier-navy/">Read more</a></b> ....<br /><br /><b>My Comment: </b>This is so typical of Washington .... make decisions in which the hard decisions are either kicked down the road and/or ignored.

How To Pay For A 11-Carrier Navy

U.S. Navy and Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force ships steam in formation while participating in a photo exercise with the aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN 73) at the culmination of ANNUALEX 2008. ANNUALEX is a bilateral exercise between th…

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Picture Of The Day

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.defense.gov/imgHandler.ashx?h=318&w=478&img=/dodcmsshare/homepagephoto/2014-02/hires_140208-A-XP635-050c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.defense.gov/imgHandler.ashx?h=318&w=478&img=/dodcmsshare/homepagephoto/2014-02/hires_140208-A-XP635-050c.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">U.S. special forces soldiers provide security while an Afghan special forces soldier directs other Afghan soldiers during a firefight with insurgents in the Gelan district in Afghanistan's Ghazni province, Feb. 8, 2014. U.S. Army photo by Pfc. David Devich</span></div>

Picture Of The Day

U.S. special forces soldiers provide security while an Afghan special forces soldier directs other Afghan soldiers during a firefight with insurgents in the Gelan district in Afghanistan's Ghazni province, Feb. 8, 2014. U.S. Army photo by Pfc. David …

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U.S. Navy Declassifies Fleet Positions The Night Of The Benghazi Attack.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en">Navy declassifies fleet positions the night of the Benghazi attack. Never seen a gov't map like this <a href="http://t.co/dTZKjvOF7f">pic.twitter.com/dTZKjvOF7f</a><br />— John Hudson (@John_Hudson) <a href="https://twitter.com/John_Hudson/statuses/433723897028952064">February 12, 2014</a></blockquote><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script><br /><br /><b>My Comment:</b> This is the first time that I am also seeing such a deployment map. Click on the map to enlarge it.<br /><br /><b>Update #1:</b> <a href="http://townhall.com/tipsheet/katiepavlich/2014/02/12/judicial-watch-releases-map-show-dozens-of-us-military-ships-stationed-near-benghazi-during-attack-n1794068">Map Shows Dozens of U.S. Military Ships Stationed In North Africa Waters During Benghazi Attack</a> -- Townhall<br /><b>Update #2:</b> <a href="http://www.mediaite.com/online/investigator-claims-navy-map-reveals-there-were-enough-forces-to-respond-to-benghazi/">Investigator Claims Navy Map Reveals ‘There Were Enough Forces to Respond’ to Benghazi</a> -- Mediaite

U.S. Navy Declassifies Fleet Positions The Night Of The Benghazi Attack.

Navy declassifies fleet positions the night of the Benghazi attack. Never seen a gov't map like this pic.twitter.com/dTZKjvOF7f— John Hudson (@John_Hudson) February 12, 2014My Comment: This is the first time that I am also seeing such a deployment ma…

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How The U.S. Navy Avoids Outbreaks That May Make It's Sailors Sick

<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/KESn_tpwE68" width="560"></iframe><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>How The Navy Avoids Norovirus -- CNN</b></span></div><br />Norfolk, Virginia (CNN) -- The United States Navy has 323,000 active duty service members, many of them housed in close quarters -- yet it is able to avoid major outbreaks of contagious diseases like those seen on commercial cruise ships.<br /><br />Nearly 700 crew and passengers onboard Royal Caribbean's Explorer of the Seas were sickened by norovirus in January before the ship returned to its port in Bayonne, New Jersey.<br /><br />In addition, the Caribbean Princess, operated by Princess Cruises, cut a seven-day itinerary short the same week because of a norovirus outbreak that affected 178 passengers and 11 crew members.<br /><br />In the Navy, such an outbreak would cripple a ship.<br /><br /><b><a href="http://www.cnn.com/2014/02/11/health/navy-norovirus/">Read more</a></b> ....<br /><br /><b>My Comment:</b> Bottom line .... prevention, inoculation, compartmentalizing human contact, quarantine the sick, and keeping the mess-hall (and everywhere else) super clean.

How The U.S. Navy Avoids Outbreaks That May Make It's Sailors Sick

How The Navy Avoids Norovirus -- CNNNorfolk, Virginia (CNN) -- The United States Navy has 323,000 active duty service members, many of them housed in close quarters -- yet it is able to avoid major outbreaks of contagious diseases like those seen on …

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Day 6: Don't Trust "Old" Athletes. Except For Kelly Clark. She's Awesome.

<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Winning three in a row is </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">hard</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. Threepeats are rare in any sport, let alone an event that only takes place every four years. </span></span></div><b id="docs-internal-guid-4fafc4ce-29b1-9d21-849d-1bb78aa20977" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: white;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></b><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">There are many reasons, but age is the biggest one. When a whippersnapper wins an event back in 2006 and repeats in 2010, his body has run through the Cycle: train, compete, win, party, less training, party more, lose focus in favor of endorsements, lose some smaller events, refocus on training, train, compete, win, etc. </span></span></div><b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: white;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></b><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Once the Cycle starts over, the body doesn’t want to go through all that crud again. The body isn’t in the early-20s anymore. It starts to deteriorate. It doesn’t recover as quickly from less training and more partying. It starts to do what normal people’s bodies do around the mid-20s: decay. </span></span></div><b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: white;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></b><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">So should it surprise us that Shani Davis and SJ Shaun White couldn’t medal in their strongest events the past couple of days? I’m not really that surprised. I watched that documentary that NBC had a couple weeks before the Olympics began about White, and he did not look on top of his game at all. And Davis, even though his weakest event is probably the 500, did not look solid in that event. </span></span></div><b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: white;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></b><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It’s really too bad that we have to pile these expectations on old bodies. But who is taking up the slack? In speedskating, there is </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">no one</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> in long track from the US that is willing to take up the reins, men or women. The Dutch dominance (as much as I love it) has meant that Americans struggle even more than before. </span></span></div><b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: white;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></b><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">In snowboarding, thank goodness for the ladies. The guys are having a hard time keeping up with the competition in halfpipe, and that will eventually happen in slopestyle as well - sorry, Sage Kotsenburg. Meanwhile the ladies are very consistent in their halfpipe. Kaitlyn Farrington took the gold while ruining-my-Cycle-theme Kelly Clark took bronze. Clearly the snowboarding ladies have a good transitional system going on that the guys could really try to emulate.</span></span></div><b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: white;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></b><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">More on the US ladies in a later post.</span></span></div><b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: white;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></b><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Mini Blurbs</span></span></div><b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: white;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></b><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Today Matt Lauer is reporting from…</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> the freezer that you’ve never cleaned out and now has ice crystals all over it. </span></span></div><b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: white;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></b><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Little did I know</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: When snowboarders are done with their run, they put their hands up in the air. So at the end of their runs, they aren’t just putting up their hands in joy - it’s supposed to be done!</span></span></div><b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: white;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></b><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Blue Butt Group</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: They have to spray the snow in blue so the course is easy to see. But when the snowboarders are wearing khaki-like snowpants and are falling a lot, it means that the blue paint gets on the butts of the athletes. I just noticed that today. Hel-lo, Smurf!</span></span></div><b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: white;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></b><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Popular mascots</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: They may be reviled by the rest of the world, but it’s clear that the mascots are always a big hit in the host city itself. Evidence over the past couple of days shows that the hat/mitten combination with the three Sochi mascots are hugely popular. The hat has two really long pieces of fabric down past the ears and all the way down so that people can stick their hands at the ends for mittens. There’s a first grader at my school that has one like this, so I already knew the style!</span></span></div><b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: white;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></b><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">English and Cyrillic</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: In snowboarding halfpipe, they have a HUGE screen that shows video of the athlete, and their name. The cool thing is that they show the name in English, and then again with Cyrillic letters. </span></span></div><b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: white;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></b><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Torah Bright’s mouthguard</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: It may just be how her face is shaped, but Torah Bright’s mouthguard has been visible almost every time she’s seen! It doesn’t hurt that Bright has a great smile that she’s always wearing.</span></span></div><b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: white;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></b><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Tie!</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Very cool that in the women’s downhill there was a </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">tie</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> for gold. Slovenian Tina Maze skied last, and her time matched the leader, Swiss Dominique Gisin. I would be very cool with sharing the podium with a competitor!</span></span></div><b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: white;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></b><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Pairs skate</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: Did the winners just skate to </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jesus Christ Superstar</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">? Was he supposed to be Jesus? If he’s Jesus, who’s she? Did they end the skate by making a human cross? What the heck?</span></span></div><b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: white;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></b><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And kudos to the German pair, who tried everything they could to win, including a throw triple axel. And there was a wink-wink by using music from </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Nutcracker</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, which was originally written as a novella...by a German.</span></span></div><b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: white;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></b><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I am frightened</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: I am actually starting to enjoy cross-country skiing. The short stuff - not the long 50km races. But I watched the entire Nordic combined cross-country skiing portion (at least, what they showed on-air), and had fun! It helped that the course was set up right off the ski jumping area, which meant that there was a GIANT grandstand full of people cheering them whenever they came in (which was four times). </span></span></div><b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: white;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></b><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It helps that I enjoy the idea of Nordic combined - however long you jump determines when you start the cross-country skiing. Eric Frenzel and Akito Watabe had amazing jumps and started almost 30 seconds in front of everyone else, and the two skiers only saw each other the whole race. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></div><b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: white;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></b><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Today’s roundup</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: 2-man luge (the kids even thought that was a ridiculous event - we watched it live), women’s downhill, nordic combined, pairs figure skating, women’s halfpipe, men’s speedskating, and curling.</span></span></div><b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: white;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></b><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Live and taped</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: I am beginning to figure out the best way to avoid spoilers but still watch some events live. All I had to do to avoid all the spoilerific sidebars was to minimize the screen, so the only thing I see is the main screen! It meant I didn’t know any results except the ones I watched. Good deal. </span></span></div><b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: white;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></b><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Czech report</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: The Czech snowboarder that fell hard in slopestyle participated in halfpipe today. That’s guts!</span></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">The Czech men’s hockey team kicked off the men’s hockey portion of the Games. Unfortunately, they lost.</span></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;"><br /></span></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Excited to show the kids the new luge relay tomorrow! We'll have some fun with that. </span></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;"><br /></span></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRS8YGChS2wTxwNW-21iCHavf3_TYfpWwqdry3yyp_wAUtludU4qUs-v_beFQA5Oba_ZFMkC83ZaJITbv_10s-XCyX15FgTgejrl5CeJkTHdg35xcXVZDfuPRfY1mjPZCa7NaCfc0Huas/s1600/olympic_rings_568.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="138" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRS8YGChS2wTxwNW-21iCHavf3_TYfpWwqdry3yyp_wAUtludU4qUs-v_beFQA5Oba_ZFMkC83ZaJITbv_10s-XCyX15FgTgejrl5CeJkTHdg35xcXVZDfuPRfY1mjPZCa7NaCfc0Huas/s1600/olympic_rings_568.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span>

Day 6: Don't Trust "Old" Athletes. Except For Kelly Clark. She's Awesome.

Winning three in a row is hard. Threepeats are rare in any sport, let alone an event that only takes place every four years. There are many reasons, but age is the biggest one. When a whippersnapper wins an event back in 2006 and repeats in 2010, his…

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First Footage Surfaces Of New Iranian Sub (Video)

<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/_ChBN54kFUs" width="420"></iframe><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Video: First Footage Surfaces Of New Iranian Submarine -- Popular Science</b></span></div><br />The new mid-sized model is the nation's largest domestically built sub.<br /><br />During a montage of military achievements broadcast February 3rd on Iranian television, something new slipped in with tributes to the past and present. It was the first footage of Fateh, an Iranian submarine so new it hasn't officially launched yet.<br /><br />While the Fateh hasn't officially been unveiled, the world has known about its existence since at least October 2013, thanks to satellite images. The Fateh is, at approximately 130 feet long and 20 feet wide and 500 tons displacement when submerged, Iran's biggest native-built submarine so far. (Iran has three larger submarines, the Russian-built Kilo-class subs.)<br /><br /><b><a href="http://www.popsci.com/article/technology/video-first-footage-surfaces-new-iranian-submarine">Read more</a></b> ....<br /><br /><b>My Comment:</b> The video is only 22 seconds long .... not much to see ... but my first impression when I viewed the video was one of being underwhelmed .... it is a very small sub. But when I though about it later on .... I then realized that it is probably the best sub to have in the shallow waters of the Persian Gulf and a perfect weapon for the Iranian Navy.

First Footage Surfaces Of New Iranian Sub (Video)

Video: First Footage Surfaces Of New Iranian Submarine -- Popular ScienceThe new mid-sized model is the nation's largest domestically built sub.During a montage of military achievements broadcast February 3rd on Iranian television, something new slip…

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White House Is Still Keeping The Text Of The Iranian Nuclear Deal Secret Even Though It Has Been Marked As “Unclassified”

<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/-oORhxAG0ec" width="560"></iframe><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>White House Keeping Tabs On Who Views Secret Iran Deal -- Washington Free Beacon</b></span></div><br /><i>A step-by-step look at how ‘unclassified’ deal text is kept hidden from public</i><br /><br />The White House is keeping close tabs on who has read the text of the recently signed Iran nuclear deal, a document that has been marked as “unclassified,” yet is being kept in a highly secured location.<br /><br />Members of Congress and staffers with high-level security clearances are being forced by the White House to consent to top-secret security measures in order to view the deal text, which is off limits to the American public, according to a senior Senate aide familiar with the process.<br /><br />The White House has come under fire from Congress and others for refusing to publicly release text of the deal, which aims to roll back portions of Iran’s contested nuclear program in exchange for billions of dollars in economic sanctions relief.<br /><br />Precise details about the deal and the exact process to view it remain hazy.<br /><br /><b><a href="http://freebeacon.com/white-house-keeping-tabs-on-who-views-secret-iran-deal/">Read more</a></b> ....<br /><br /><b>My Comment:</b> What is the White House hiding?

White House Is Still Keeping The Text Of The Iranian Nuclear Deal Secret Even Though It Has Been Marked As “Unclassified”

White House Keeping Tabs On Who Views Secret Iran Deal -- Washington Free BeaconA step-by-step look at how ‘unclassified’ deal text is kept hidden from publicThe White House is keeping close tabs on who has read the text of the recently signed Iran n…

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IMF Report Details Weaknesses In The Iranian Economy

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3IwQo_lka0GwGOfWa-h65FLGXre8oFkL6Oe54VTziBYxLEJQP5NSIUeJ7W0F-R1FD8QxlUn3UG1zrZthkhB4kqhVnLNaHmlqc-Kvhwxhzm7KESHbQG7pU4DdmSD8IcTNBvpSrBb7Xlzrt/s1600/2013-09-12-BZSSR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="111" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3IwQo_lka0GwGOfWa-h65FLGXre8oFkL6Oe54VTziBYxLEJQP5NSIUeJ7W0F-R1FD8QxlUn3UG1zrZthkhB4kqhVnLNaHmlqc-Kvhwxhzm7KESHbQG7pU4DdmSD8IcTNBvpSrBb7Xlzrt/s1600/2013-09-12-BZSSR.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>I.M.F. Study Details Perils of Iranian Economy -- New York Times</b></span></div><br />The International Monetary Fund issued a sobering appraisal of Iran’s economy on Wednesday, warning that years of government mismanagement aggravated by the impact of the West’s antinuclear sanctions had left the country vulnerable to anemic growth and rampant inflation that require urgent attention.<br /><br />The I.M.F. appraisal was the organization’s first on-the-ground assessment of the Iranian economy in nearly three years. It was issued as Iran is seeking to undo the Western sanctions through negotiations on its disputed nuclear program.<br /><br /><b><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/13/world/middleeast/irans-economy-is-weak-imf-finds.html">Read more</a></b> ....<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>More News On The IMF's Report On The Iranian Economy</b></span></div><br /><a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/afp/140212/imf-sees-deep-weaknesses-iran-economy-after-sanctions-1">IMF sees deep weaknesses in Iran economy after sanctions</a> -- Global Post/AFP<br /><a href="http://www.businessweek.com/news/2014-02-12/imf-says-iran-economy-needs-reform-to-build-on-sanctions-relief">IMF Says Iran Economy Needs Reform to Build on Sanctions Relief</a> -- Bloomberg Businessweek<br /><a href="http://www.skynews.com.au/businessnews/article.aspx?id=949777&vId=4336924&cId=Business">IMF sees deep weaknesses in Iran economy</a> -- SKY News<br /><a href="http://www.rferl.org/content/iran-imf-economy-reforms/25261864.html">IMF Mission Visits Iran, Calls For Reforms </a>-- Radio Free Europe<br /><a href="http://www.ncr-iran.org/en/news/economy/15965-imf-iran-s-economy-faces-deep-structural-weaknesses">IMF: Iran’s economy faces deep structural weaknesses</a> -- National Council Of Resistance Of Iran

IMF Report Details Weaknesses In The Iranian Economy

I.M.F. Study Details Perils of Iranian Economy -- New York TimesThe International Monetary Fund issued a sobering appraisal of Iran’s economy on Wednesday, warning that years of government mismanagement aggravated by the impact of the West’s antinucl…

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A Collection Of Photos On The NSA And Other Top Intelligence Agencies Revealed For First Time

<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/WJBtE6nwjWE" width="560"></iframe><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Overhead: New Photos of the NSA and Other Top Intelligence Agencies Revealed for First Time -- Creative Times Report</b></span></div><br /><i>In partnership with The Intercept, artist Trevor Paglen offers a glimpse of America's vast surveillance infrastructure, photographing three of the United States' most powerful intelligence agencies—including the NSA—and placing the images in the public domain.<br /></i><br />What does a surveillance state look like?<br /><br />Over the past eight months, classified documents provided by NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden have exposed scores of secret government surveillance programs. Yet there is little visual material among the blizzard of code names, PowerPoint slides, court rulings and spreadsheets that have emerged from the National Security Agency’s files.<br /><br />The scarcity of images is not surprising. A surveillance apparatus doesn’t really “look” like anything. A satellite built by the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) reveals nothing of its function except to the best-trained eyes. The NSA’s pervasive domestic effort to collect telephone metadata also lacks easy visual representation; in the Snowden archive, it appears as a four-page classified order from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court. Since June 2013, article after article about the NSA has been illustrated with a single image supplied by the agency, a photograph of its Fort Meade headquarters that appears to date from the 1970s.<br /><br /><b><a href="http://creativetimereports.org/2014/02/10/overhead-new-photos-of-the-nsa-and-other-top-intelligence-agencies-revealed-trevor-paglen/">Read more</a></b> ....<br /><br /><b>My Comment</b>: These are all night-time shots, but what I find it interesting is that while the National Geospatial Intelligence office lights were all on (and the parking lot appeared to be full), the NSA and the Agency National Reconnaissance Office's were dark and their parking lots empty. now we know who burns the "midnight oil".

A Collection Of Photos On The NSA And Other Top Intelligence Agencies Revealed For First Time

Overhead: New Photos of the NSA and Other Top Intelligence Agencies Revealed for First Time -- Creative Times ReportIn partnership with The Intercept, artist Trevor Paglen offers a glimpse of America's vast surveillance infrastructure, photographing …

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Suing The NSA

<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/OJMvxSFSXOg" width="560"></iframe><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>'Rand Paul v. Barack Obama' Lawsuit Hits Federal Court With 350,000 Plaintiffs, As U.S. Senator Sues White House And Intelligence Chiefs Over NSA Surveillance -- Daily Mail</b></span></div><br />* Kentucky senator wants to end broad, non-targeted surveillance of Americans' communications, including so-called 'metadata'<br />* He calls the NSA programs uncovered by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden 'precisely the kind of overreach we fought a revolution over'<br />* 'Rand Paul v. Barack Obama' filed in federal court Wednesday morning<br />* Former Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, who lost a gubernatorial bid in November, is lead counsel for the plaintiffs – all 350,000 of them<br />* In addition to the president, Sen. Paul is suing the leaders of the NSA and FBI, and the White House's director of national intelligence<br />* He's also raising money from his class-action participants for his next political campaign, likely a presidential run in 2016<br /><br />Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul is making good on his promise to sue the Obama administration over what he calls 'precisely the kind of overreach we fought a revolution over.' His targets are the National Security Agency, the FBI and other federal government offices that snoop on private communications at home and abroad.<br /><br />With former Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli as his lead attorney, Paul filed suit Wednesday morning in Washington, D.C. federal court along with the conservative FreedomWorks organization.<br /><br /><b><a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2557341/Rand-Paul-v-Barack-Obama-lawsuit-hits-federal-court-350-000-plaintiffs-U-S-senator-sues-White-House-intelligence-chiefs-NSA-surveillance.html">Read more</a></b> ....<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/MjRHyUPI7MQ" width="560"></iframe><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>More News On The 'Rand Paul/Freedom Works v. Barack Obama' Lawsuit On NSA Surveillance</b></span></div><br /><a href="http://www.sfgate.com/news/politics/article/Sen-Rand-Paul-sues-Obama-over-NSA-surveillance-5228423.php">Sen. Rand Paul sues Obama over NSA surveillance </a>-- SFGate/AP<br /><a href="http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5h5aezvLyN8zwg6Y8JhAiM_S8xGgA?docId=f51794f4-ac38-4aa9-bec2-843e9703144c">Senator Rand Paul sues Obama over NSA intel program</a> -- AFP<br /><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/13/us/politics/rand-paul-files-lawsuit-over-nsa-call-surveillance.html?hpw&rref=technology&_r=0">Rand Paul Files Lawsuit Over N.S.A. Call Surveillance </a>-- New York Times<br /><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2014/02/12/rand-paul-files-suit-against-obama-nsa-today/">Rand Paul files suit against Obama, NSA Wednesday </a>-- Washington Post<br /><a href="http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2014/02/12/rand-paul-announces-suit-against-obama-administration-over-nsa/">Rand Paul announces suit against Obama administration over NSA</a> -- CNN<br /><a href="http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2014/02/12/Paul-files-class-action-suit-challenging-NSA-surveillance/UPI-15391392233133/">Paul files class action suit challenging NSA surveillance</a> -- UPI<br /><a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2014/02/12/rand-paul-nsa-phone-surveillance/5428245/">Rand Paul files lawsuit to halt NSA phone surveillance </a>-- USA Today<br /><a href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/weigel/2014/02/12/rand_paul_s_lawsuit_against_the_nsa.html">Rand Paul’s Lawsuit Against the NSA</a> -- Slate<br /><a href="http://www.dailytech.com/Senator+Rand+Paul+Files+Suit+to+Block+NSA+Surveillance/article34321.htm">Senator Rand Paul Files Suit to Block NSA Surveillance </a>-- Daily Tech<br /><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/dana-milbank-rand-paul-and-ken-cuccinelli-accused-of-stealing-nsa-lawsuit/2014/02/12/058675aa-942b-11e3-83b9-1f024193bb84_story.html">Rand Paul and Ken Cuccinelli accused of stealing NSA lawsuit</a> -- Dana Milbank, Washington Post<br /><a href="http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/DC-Decoder/Decoder-Buzz/2014/0212/Sen.-Rand-Paul-files-NSA-lawsuit.-Can-he-win-video">Sen. Rand Paul files NSA lawsuit. Can he win?</a> -- Peter Grier, Christian Science Monitor

Suing The NSA

'Rand Paul v. Barack Obama' Lawsuit Hits Federal Court With 350,000 Plaintiffs, As U.S. Senator Sues White House And Intelligence Chiefs Over NSA Surveillance -- Daily Mail* Kentucky senator wants to end broad, non-targeted surveillance of Americans'…

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Top US Intel Chief: Syria Is An 'Apocalyptic Disaster'

<div style="text-align: center;"><script src="http://pshared.5min.com/Scripts/PlayerSeed.js?sid=281&width=560&height=345&playList=518120302" type="text/javascript"></script></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>US Intel Chief Calls Syria Conflict 'Apocalyptic Disaster' -- Voice of America</b></span></div><br />U.S. intelligence chief James Clapper is describing the situation in Syria as an "apocalyptic disaster" and says pictures of torture victims are likely genuine.<br /><br />Clapper told a U.S. Senate committee Tuesday that the war has killed more than 134,000 people and created nearly 10 million refugees.<br /><br />Clapper said he has no reason to doubt that smuggled police photographs of tortured Syrian prisoners are real. He calls them "terrible" and says it is difficult to imagine they could have been fabricated.<br /><br /><b><a href="http://www.voanews.com/content/clapper-syria-an-apocalyptic-disaster/1849482.html">Read more</a></b> ....<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">More News On The U.S. Intelligence chief James Clapper Describing The Situation In Syria As An "Apocalyptic Disaster"</span></b></div><br /><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/02/11/james-clapper-syria_n_4769701.html?utm_hp_ref=politics">James Clapper Calls Syria An 'Apocalyptic Disaster'</a> -- Huffington Post/Reuters<br /><a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/syria-crisis-apocalyptic-disaster-clapper-says-n27466">Syria Crisis: 'Apocalyptic Disaster,' Clapper Says</a> -- NBC<br /><a href="http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/177378#.UvvAhoW0ykM">U.S. Intelligence Chief Describes Syria as Apocalyptic Disaster </a>-- Arutz Sheva<br /><a href="http://security.blogs.cnn.com/2014/02/11/syria-al-qaeda-u-s-officials-offer-grim-assessment/">Syria, al Qaeda: U.S. officials offer grim assessment</a> -- CNN<br /><a href="http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13921123000369">US Spy Chief: Up to 115,000 Militants Fighting Syrian Government </a>-- FARS News Agency (Iran)

Top US Intel Chief: Syria Is An 'Apocalyptic Disaster'

US Intel Chief Calls Syria Conflict 'Apocalyptic Disaster' -- Voice of AmericaU.S. intelligence chief James Clapper is describing the situation in Syria as an "apocalyptic disaster" and says pictures of torture victims are likely genuine.Clapper told…

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President Obama Admits That Diplomacy Is Failing On Syria

<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/mfq5e7HYSd4" width="560"></iframe><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Diplomacy Is Failing In Syria, Obama Acknowledges -- Washington Post</b></span></div><br />The Obama administration acknowledged Tuesday that diplomacy, the main pillar of its Syria policy, is failing even as civil war is destroying the country, leaving open the question of what the United States will or can do to stop the slaughter.<br /><br />Negotiations between the Syrian government and parts of the opposition are “far from achieving” a peaceful end to the conflict, President Obama said, and in Geneva, the United Nations envoy leading the talks said they aren’t getting anywhere.<br /><br />“With each passing day, more people inside of Syria are suffering,” Obama said. “The state of Syria itself is crumbling. That is bad for Syria. It is bad for the region. It is bad for global national security, because what we know is, is that there are extremists who have moved into the vacuum in certain portions of Syria in a way that could threaten us over the long term.”<br /><br /><b><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/diplomacy-is-failing-in-syria-obama-acknowledges/2014/02/11/822065e6-935c-11e3-84e1-27626c5ef5fb_story.html">Read more</a></b> ....<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>More News On President Obama's Comments On Syria</b></span></div><br /><a href="http://www.nationaljournal.com/defense/obama-syria-civil-war-unlikely-to-end-soon-20140211">Obama: Syria Civil War Unlikely to End Soon</a> -- National Journal<br /><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/02/11/obama-syria-talks_n_4768093.html?utm_hp_ref=politics">Obama: Syria Talks Far From Goal Of Halting Violence</a> -- AP<br /><a href="http://in.reuters.com/article/2014/02/11/usa-france-syria-idINW1N0HC00B20140211">Obama says he does not see a military solution in Syria right now</a> -- Reuters<br /><a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-02-11/obama-says-u-s-no-closer-to-military-action-in-syria-stalemate.html">Obama Says U.S. No Closer to Military Action in Syria Crisis</a> -- Bloomberg<br /><a href="http://voiceofrussia.com/news/2014_02_11/US-retain-right-to-military-strike-against-Syria-Obama-8969/">US retains right to strike militarily against Syria - Obama</a> -- Voice of Russia<br /><a href="http://en.ria.ru/world/20140211/187439268/Russia-Needs-to-Make-Sure-Syria-Fulfills-Commitments--Obama.html">Russia Needs to Make Sure Syria Fulfills Commitments – Obama</a> -- RIA Novosti

President Obama Admits That Diplomacy Is Failing On Syria

Diplomacy Is Failing In Syria, Obama Acknowledges -- Washington PostThe Obama administration acknowledged Tuesday that diplomacy, the main pillar of its Syria policy, is failing even as civil war is destroying the country, leaving open the question o…

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Iran's Armed Forces Chief Of Staff: We’re Ready For ‘Decisive War’ With U.S. And Israel

<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/veBa2BQEdkY" width="560"></iframe><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Iran Ready For Decisive War With US, Israel: Commander -- Press TV (Iran)</b></span></div><br />ran’s Armed Forces chief of staff has dismissed US officials’ threats of military action against Iran as “political bluff”, saying the Islamic Republic is ready for the “decisive” battle against the US and Israel.<br /><br />“We are ready for the decisive war with the US and the Zionist regime [of Israel],” said Major General Hassan Firouzabadi on Wednesday.<br /><br />Iran has been planning for such a battle for years by carrying out various drills, he said, stressing that Iran’s Armed Forces are prepared to fend off any military aggression.<br /><br /><i> The top commander warned that in case of aggression against Iran, all the US and Israeli interests will be targeted, “We warn that if our forces come under attack from any territory, we will hit all the positions which belong to that [territory],” Firouzabadi said.</i><br /><br /><b><a href="http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2014/02/12/350362/iran-to-target-us-isael-if-attacked/">Read more</a></b> ....<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>More News On Iran's Armed Forces Chief Of Staff That They Are Ready For A ‘Decisive War’ With U.S. And Israel</b></span></div><br /><a href="http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13921123000477">Commander: Iran Ready for “Decisive Battle” against US, Israel</a> -- FARS News Agency (Iran)<br /><a href="http://www.timesofisrael.com/iran-were-ready-for-decisive-battle-with-israel-us/">Iran: We’re ready for ‘decisive battle’ with Israel, US</a> -- Times of Israel<br /><a href="http://www.jpost.com/Iranian-Threat/News/Irans-military-chief-says-ready-for-war-with-US-Israel-341196">Iran's military chief says ready for war with US, Israel</a> -- Jerusalem Post<br /><a href="http://www.jns.org/news-briefs/2014/2/12/iran-military-chief-we-are-ready-for-battle-with-america-and-zionist-regime#.UvvbPIW0ykM">Iran military chief: We are ready for battle with America and ‘Zionist regime’</a> -- JNS<br /><a href="http://gulfnews.com/news/region/iran/iran-ready-for-decisive-battle-with-us-israel-1.1289960">Iran ready for ‘decisive’ battle with US, Israel</a> -- Gulf News/AFP<br /><a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/feb/12/iran-general-we-are-ready-decisive-battle-us/">Iran general: ‘We are ready for the decisive battle’ with U.S.</a> -- Washington Times<br /><a href="http://www.upi.com/Top_News/Special/2014/02/12/US-bluffing-on-military-option-Iran-says/UPI-70761392215741/">U.S. bluffing on military option, Iran says</a> -- UPI<br /><a href="http://www.albawaba.com/news/iran-israel-us-554150">Iran will strike back against the U.S., Israel if military option used </a>-- Al Bawaba<br /><a href="http://freebeacon.com/iranians-we-are-eager-for-u-s-military-option/">Iranians: ‘We Are Eager for U.S. Military Option’</a> -- Washington Free Beacon

Iran's Armed Forces Chief Of Staff: We’re Ready For ‘Decisive War’ With U.S. And Israel

Iran Ready For Decisive War With US, Israel: Commander -- Press TV (Iran)ran’s Armed Forces chief of staff has dismissed US officials’ threats of military action against Iran as “political bluff”, saying the Islamic Republic is ready for the “decisiv…

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The U.S. - Al Qaeda Suspect Who May Be Put On A CIA 'Kill List' Is In Pakistan

<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/gLz51M0aisQ" width="560"></iframe><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>U.S. Al Qaeda Suspect Facing Drone Strike Is In Pakistan: Source -- NBC</b></span></div><br />WASHINGTON — The Obama administration is mulling whether to use a drone strike to kill a U.S. citizen in Pakistan, senior U.S. officials said Tuesday.<br /><br />Reports that CIA drones were watching an American member of al Qaeda allegedly planning terrorist attacks were first published by The Associated Press on Monday. But the press agency did not say the country in which the target was located.<br /><br />Speaking to NBC News on Tuesday, the officials would not give any details of the target but said it was in a tribal region of western Pakistan.<br /><br />Two U.S. intelligence officials -- one current, one former -- told NBC News that the U.S. citizen who may be targeted for a drone attack is a member of al Qaeda Central, the core terrorist group headed by Ayman al-Zawahiri, the successor to Osama bin Laden.<br /><br />Some experts had suggested the U.S. citizen was part of one of several al Qaeda affiliates, operating along the Afghanistan - Pakistan border. It is not, said the former official. "He's standard al Qaeda operating in Pakistan," he said.<br /><br /><b><a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/u-s-al-qaeda-suspect-facing-drone-strike-pakistan-source-n27071">Read more</a></b> ....<br /><br /><b>Update:</b> <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/news/us-mulls-drone-strike-on-america-al-qaeda-suspect-in-pakistan/">U.S. mulls drone strike on American al Qaeda suspect in Pakistan</a> -- CBS/AP<br /><br /><b>Previous Post:</b> <a href="http://warnewsupdates.blogspot.ca/2014/02/white-house-is-now-debating.html">White House Is Now Debating The Assassination Of Another U.S. Terror Suspect </a><br /><br /><b>My Comment:</b> Peter Bergen's commentary on this is issue<b><a href="http://www.cnn.com/2014/02/11/opinion/bergen-target-american-with-drones/"> is a must read</a></b>. As to what is my take .... these American citizens are at war with the U.S., and if they are in a warzone it is fair game.

The U.S. - Al Qaeda Suspect Who May Be Put On A CIA 'Kill List' Is In Pakistan

U.S. Al Qaeda Suspect Facing Drone Strike Is In Pakistan: Source -- NBCWASHINGTON — The Obama administration is mulling whether to use a drone strike to kill a U.S. citizen in Pakistan, senior U.S. officials said Tuesday.Reports that CIA drones were …

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U.S. Intel Chief Admits (For The First Time) That The CIA Has A Secret Drone Program

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-fqJnM7dTzByMOxeIJTCo_p8Z51FfJOXTkAM3xwAzevh-ke8CUJeUE7UvCQgfP65VtEcxnGGceH1AgRTAwd8eJJdad4cDvD_kLP9Xf9GW82_xom2VRSCpRjdNlhjRs6y0Kls8bGgDHVpC/s1600/2013-09-12-BZSSR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-fqJnM7dTzByMOxeIJTCo_p8Z51FfJOXTkAM3xwAzevh-ke8CUJeUE7UvCQgfP65VtEcxnGGceH1AgRTAwd8eJJdad4cDvD_kLP9Xf9GW82_xom2VRSCpRjdNlhjRs6y0Kls8bGgDHVpC/s1600/2013-09-12-BZSSR.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">President Barack Obama greets James Clapper, his nominee for director of national intelligence, in the Oval Office, Saturday, June 5, 2010. (White House Photo/Peter Souza) </span></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>CIA’s Drones, Barely Secret, Receive Rare Public Nod -- Wall Street Journal</b></span></div><br />The worst kept secret in Washington national security circles is no more. Director of National Intelligence James Clapper publicly acknowledged for the first time at a Senate hearing Tuesday that the Central Intelligence Agency has a drone program.<br /><br />The CIA’s drone program, which operates in Pakistan and Yemen, has been the subject of news reports for years. But U.S. officials have continued to steer clear of publicly acknowledging the program, glossing over CIA’s role, because it has remained officially covert. That covert status allows the CIA to operate in countries where local governments don’t support the strikes.<br /><br />The U.S. military also operates a drone program, which is not covert.<br /><br />In this exchange with Sen. Bill Nelson (D., Fla.) at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on global threats to the U.S., Mr. Clapper indirectly confirmed the existence of the CIA’s program by saying Sen. Nelson’s statement was accurate.<br /><br /><b><a href="http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2014/02/11/cias-drones-barely-secret-receive-rare-public-nod/">Read more</a></b> ....<br /><br /><b>My Comment:</b> I am shocked!!! SHOCKED!!!!! That the CIA has a secret drone program.

U.S. Intel Chief Admits (For The First Time) That The CIA Has A Secret Drone Program

President Barack Obama greets James Clapper, his nominee for director of national intelligence, in the Oval Office, Saturday, June 5, 2010. (White House Photo/Peter Souza) CIA’s Drones, Barely Secret, Receive Rare Public Nod -- Wall Street JournalThe…

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Venezuelan Protests Turn Violent

<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/aeGwVWv0BwI" width="560"></iframe><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>At Least Three Killed By Gunfire At Venezuela Protests -- Reuters</b></span></div><br />(Reuters) - At least three people were shot dead on Wednesday during anti-government protests in Caracas, escalating the worst bout of unrest in Venezuela since turmoil after President Nicolas Maduro's election last year.<br /><br />The violence was a crescendo to weeks of sporadic demonstrations in the provinces led by opposition hardliners who denounce Maduro for failing to control inflation, crime and product shortages and vow to push him from office.<br /><br />The government says the opposition is sowing violence to stage a coup similar to the one a decade ago that briefly ousted late socialist leader Hugo Chavez, though there are few signs that the current melees could topple Maduro.<br /><br /><b><a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/02/13/us-venezuela-protests-idUSBREA1B1K220140213">Read more</a></b> ....<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><object data="http://www.reuters.com/resources_v2/flash/video_embed.swf?videoId=276839747&edition=BETAUS" height="259" id="rcomVideo_276839747" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="460"> <param name='movie' value='http://www.reuters.com/resources_v2/flash/video_embed.swf?videoId=276839747&edition=BETAUS'></param><param name='allowFullScreen' value='true'></param><param name='allowScriptAccess' value='always'></param><param name='wmode' value='transparent'></param><embed src='http://www.reuters.com/resources_v2/flash/video_embed.swf?videoId=276839747&edition=BETAUS' type='application/x-shockwave-flash' allowfullscreen='true' allowScriptAccess='always' width='460' height='259' wmode='transparent'></embed> </object></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>More News On The Growing Discontent In Venezuela</b></span></div><br /><a href="http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Latest-News-Wires/2014/0212/Two-killed-as-Venezuelan-protests-turn-violent">Two killed as Venezuelan protests turn violent</a> -- Christian Science Monitor/AP<br /><a href="http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hy7LI6Bch-m_VqbjKNEHgt12XSvA?docId=15251534-1fd8-4c9f-93e6-c0aa5a3aa8cd">Two dead, 23 hurt in Venezuela protests</a> -- AFP<br /><a href="http://www.miamiherald.com/2014/02/12/3930962/student-protests-turn-violent.html">Student protests in Venezuela turn violent amid growing discontent</a> -- Miami Herald<br /><a href="http://www.dw.de/two-people-killed-in-caracas-during-anti-government-protests/a-17427750">Two people killed in Caracas during anti-government protests</a> -- Deutsche Welle<br /><a href="http://www.businessweek.com/news/2014-02-12/venezuelan-protests-turn-violent-as-government-says-two-killed">Venezuelan Protests Turn Violent as Government Says Two Killed</a> -- Bloomberg Businessweek<br /><a href="http://www.voanews.com/content/2-killed-in-venezuelan-antigovernment-protests/1850338.html">2 Killed in Venezuelan Anti-Government Protests</a> -- Voice of America<br /><a href="http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2014/2/12/venezuelan-anti-governmentproteststurnviolent.html">Venezuelan anti-government protests turn violent</a> -- Al Jazeera<br /><a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/americas/venezuela/140212/everyone-venezuela-protesting-toilet-paper-maduro-chavez">It looks like everyone in Venezuela is protesting, but not for the same reasons</a> -- Global Post<br /><br /><b>My Comment:</b> This is going to get worse.

Venezuelan Protests Turn Violent

At Least Three Killed By Gunfire At Venezuela Protests -- Reuters(Reuters) - At least three people were shot dead on Wednesday during anti-government protests in Caracas, escalating the worst bout of unrest in Venezuela since turmoil after President …

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Phyllis Diller's Brother Breaks Out The Punchlines

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw0U_k0-KSsivhrZxM-rVAUU3jt3DXcDKmptasGcXNgxVRb4iYDgnUH9UdGdUKT9eyCY0x1Pb0ibfzFh5mcIIxQ9gFF-C6Yfg1nDT2HsxIMsny1Es4EzlT9j3ElNH7gClezvl_nIJJZczc/s1600/Phyllis+Diller+Brother+Phil+Diller.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw0U_k0-KSsivhrZxM-rVAUU3jt3DXcDKmptasGcXNgxVRb4iYDgnUH9UdGdUKT9eyCY0x1Pb0ibfzFh5mcIIxQ9gFF-C6Yfg1nDT2HsxIMsny1Es4EzlT9j3ElNH7gClezvl_nIJJZczc/s1600/Phyllis+Diller+Brother+Phil+Diller.jpg" width="400" /></a>Hey there all you crazy guys and dolls. Phil Diller here for <i>IWS Radio</i>.<br /><br />You’re probably asking yourself right now, <i>“Who the hell is this guy?”</i><br /><br />Well, I just told you…I’m Phil Diller.<br /><br />HA!!  Hy-Muh Lime-Uhhhhhhh!!<br /><br />Seriously though…For the throngs of you who are unfamiliar as to who I am, I am the late Phyllis Diller’s obscure and un-publicly-recognized younger brother.<br /><br />Hell, just check out <i><span style="color: blue;">Phyllis’ Wikipedia page...</span></i>there is no reference to me whatsoever. You know why? Because when Phyllis was born, and they saw what she looked like?  My Dad shouted at my Mom…<br /><i><br /></i><i>“Look Honey, it’s the son we always wanted!!”</i>, and they kept it that way.<br /><br />HA!!  Hy-Muh Lime-Uhhhhhhh!!<br /><br />Seriously though…I was conceived during the October 14, 1937 FDR Fireside Chat on the Unemployment Census.  Hell…Mom and Dad both had jobs; it was a cold night in Lima, Ohio, and the President’s radio chat wasn't doing much to keep them warm, so they found an alternative source of heat.<br /><br />HA!!  Hy-Muh Lime Uhhhhhhh!!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8Mi_BTvxGLUQqAQU5_PryOnXUG9oK984IeHsF6OIdaGQwyxzSRL71OpFO4huuwvZEv7XrNK7bHb4Uj9aE_Ow6rpW9axq5wTufTCvg1_FQfd553jiJS55m6FKh7JDVkB_BkKEJek2lRcDz/s1600/phyllis+diller+wacky+man.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="387" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8Mi_BTvxGLUQqAQU5_PryOnXUG9oK984IeHsF6OIdaGQwyxzSRL71OpFO4huuwvZEv7XrNK7bHb4Uj9aE_Ow6rpW9axq5wTufTCvg1_FQfd553jiJS55m6FKh7JDVkB_BkKEJek2lRcDz/s1600/phyllis+diller+wacky+man.jpg" width="400" /></a>Anyway, during my days growing up in the Diller household, Mom, Dad, and my sister would tell me that I was just a stray that they picked up in their front yard on July 14, 1938 during an out of control Bastille Day Party.<br /><i><br /></i><i>“Why would a German/Irish family such as the Diller’s celebrate France?”</i><br /><br />And he replied…<br /><br /><i>“We thought it would be our last time to make fun of the French before Hitler and that midget dago wiped them off the map.”</i><br /><br />HA!!  Hy-Muh Lime-Uhhhhhhh!!<br /><br />I never bought that line.<br /><br />Anyway…Mom and Dad died when I was around eleven years old, but my sis Phyllis was working and kept me around.  She would always tell me…<br /><br /><i>“Phil, even though you are not my brother, I feel the need to take care of you, so…you can stay here and be my gardener.”</i><br /><br />It was nice to have a place to stay, but the entire time that I’m out there busting up turf in order for Phyllis to plant her vegetable garden, I’m thinking…<br /><br /><i>“Listen, Bitch!!  My name is Phil DILLER, not Phil TILLER!!”</i><br /><br />HA!!  Hy-Muh Lime-Uhhhhhhhh!!<br /><br />Don’t get me wrong, as much as she and the entire family denied my familial bond, they did take care of me…well, until she died in 2012.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVi2e8tcu-PfCK8Kvcz1dGLCDgLZeuiffQmjaYd0jAdlRmDkEDjBcpFihNKcZqubMl66lATK0P3qhoGiySR84b9DiESjbTXr60AmbiIZ9Ga8INC5RcW75OWGVgCnk_1s7d6TxkCsvDj3b_/s1600/ned+beatty+deliverance+squeal+like+a+pig.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVi2e8tcu-PfCK8Kvcz1dGLCDgLZeuiffQmjaYd0jAdlRmDkEDjBcpFihNKcZqubMl66lATK0P3qhoGiySR84b9DiESjbTXr60AmbiIZ9Ga8INC5RcW75OWGVgCnk_1s7d6TxkCsvDj3b_/s1600/ned+beatty+deliverance+squeal+like+a+pig.jpg" width="400" /></a>After my sister Phyllis died, her kids kicked me out of the gardener’s guest house and ass flung me straight to the curb.  I felt as though I was Ned Beatty getting my salad tossed in a Burt Reynolds’s flick and the movie was titled…<br /><br /><i>Diller-iverance.</i><br /><br />HA!!  Hy-Muh Lime-Uhhhhhhh!!<br /><br />So, I’m out on my own now, and I am incredibly grateful to Jay and Matt for bringing me on board the TEAM IWS chuck wagon so I can make a living.<br /><br />I’m going to be there this <i><a href="http://www.blogtalkradio.com/im-with-stupid/2014/02/17/a-potpourri-extravaganza-of-news-weather-and-sports" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Sunday from 8-10 PM ET on the IWS Radio Show</span></a></i> with some funny President Day jokes, so don’t miss out, and don’t miss out on this Sunday’s show which you can catch live right <i><a href="http://www.blogtalkradio.com/im-with-stupid/2014/02/17/a-potpourri-extravaganza-of-news-weather-and-sports" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">HERE!!</span></a></i><br /><br /><i>Until then…Hy-Muh Lime-Uhhhhhhhh!!</i><br /><br /><i>Phil Diller</i><br /><br /><a href="mailto:mattmaniws@ymail.com"><i>mattmaniws@ymail.com</i></a><br /><a href="https://twitter.com/MattMan_IWS" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;"><i>@mattman_iws</i></span></a><br /><a href="https://www.facebook.com/mattmaniws" target="_blank"><i><span style="color: blue;">My Facebook Page</span></i></a></div>

Phyllis Diller's Brother Breaks Out The Punchlines

Hey there all you crazy guys and dolls. Phil Diller here for IWS Radio.You’re probably asking yourself right now, “Who the hell is this guy?”Well, I just told you…I’m Phil Diller.HA!!  Hy-Muh Lime-Uhhhhhhh!!Seriously though…For the throngs of you who…

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Mich. college offers course in zombies, apocalypse (BLOG)

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6lk7d8Wzr5fOlJv4KP0CYli4_7ASP-QW_Oe4USxAKgj_TFOEAc8QkZm46Y7qRL-chfAhLDa31o1BQMDzY90UfBwUUmbK7p6AZ2LwqrpJkfeOUno7SQMVe5qGrYghL0RiS7qjEM9zu89A/s1600/m.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6lk7d8Wzr5fOlJv4KP0CYli4_7ASP-QW_Oe4USxAKgj_TFOEAc8QkZm46Y7qRL-chfAhLDa31o1BQMDzY90UfBwUUmbK7p6AZ2LwqrpJkfeOUno7SQMVe5qGrYghL0RiS7qjEM9zu89A/s1600/m.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1392198034882_87856" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. (AP) — Some Central Michigan University students are getting schooled in the undead this semester, thanks to a religion course that's exploring apocalyptic themes in biblical texts, literature and pop culture.</div><div class="body-slot-mod" style="background-color: white; clear: right; float: right; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17.307693481445313px; margin: 0px 0px 1.1em 10px; max-width: 300px;"><div class="yom-remote"><div class="" id="mediacontentrelatedstory_container"></div></div></div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1392198034882_87866" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Philosophy and religion faculty member Kelly Murphy says she always wanted to teach a course on apocalyptic literature, and she is a fan of AMC's TV show "The Walking Dead." The result is Murphy's class, which is called "From Revelation to 'The Walking Dead.'"</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1392198034882_87876" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">"Thinking about the end and imagining life in a different way is something that humans have always done," Murphy said in a university release.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1392198034882_87886" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Murphy's class will discuss biblical texts, review popular novels and watch clips from movies such as "Shaun of the Dead" and "28 Days Later." Students also will discuss hypothetical ethical and theological problems that people could encounter in a post-apocalyptic world.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">"The prevalence of apocalyptic stories in various media gives us a window into what people are worrying about, what they hope for and how they imagine they would react in the face of a cataclysmic event," Murphy said. "In the same way, we can read the Book of Revelation ... and learn what ancient Jewish and Christian groups were concerned about."</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Kevin White, a senior from the Detroit suburb of St. Clair Shores majoring in political science and religion, said it is important to incorporate popular culture into classroom settings because it helps to give students a way to connect with subjects of study.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">"Studying ancient biblical texts isn't most people's cup of tea," he said. "But, when you add zombies, it instantly becomes everyone's cup of tea."</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">___</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1392198034882_87905" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Online:</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1392198034882_87890" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">http://www.cmich.edu</div>

Mich. college offers course in zombies, apocalypse (BLOG)

MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. (AP) — Some Central Michigan University students are getting schooled in the undead this semester, thanks to a religion course that's exploring apocalyptic themes in biblical texts, literature and pop culture.Philosophy and reli…

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NJ festival lets you eat, drink, floss with bacon (BLOG)

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuPLjUnSDYaSXFZ5SZ8UNdQuSgpMMJ4QzK6YrnXklr4FbI2rKJFO4vlTlykBfXaOZghDewqqJo1-Lv6cm2LiCSA-m2DO5fIc609c0YzzOvbRPLaDVG_HWwy1RGAeHCq71hUJ6U_rL4oWs/s1600/nn.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuPLjUnSDYaSXFZ5SZ8UNdQuSgpMMJ4QzK6YrnXklr4FbI2rKJFO4vlTlykBfXaOZghDewqqJo1-Lv6cm2LiCSA-m2DO5fIc609c0YzzOvbRPLaDVG_HWwy1RGAeHCq71hUJ6U_rL4oWs/s1600/nn.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1392198034882_82875" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — Get ready for bacon like you've never eaten, drunk or worn it before.</div><div class="body-slot-mod" style="background-color: white; clear: right; float: right; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17.307693481445313px; margin: 0px 0px 1.1em 10px; max-width: 300px;"><div class="yom-remote"><div class="" id="mediacontentrelatedstory_container"></div></div></div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1392198034882_82748" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Bacon milkshakes. Chocolate-covered bacon shaped like roses. Bacon-flavored toothpaste, dental floss and lip balm. Bacon bourbon, margaritas, beer and vodka. Bacon ice cream sundaes. A BLT sandwich with a full pound of bacon.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1392198034882_82894" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">They're all on the menu this week as one Atlantic City casino stretches the bounds of good taste and cardiovascular health with Bacon Week. The festival at the Tropicana Casino and Resort gives new meaning to the term "pigging out."</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1392198034882_82904" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">The idea of a bacon festival is not as far-fetched as it might sound. Americans eat about 1.5 billion pounds of bacon a year, according to the National Pork Board. And the website bacontoday.com counted nearly 30 bacon festivals around the country from late April through December 2013, many of whose tickets sold out in minutes.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">"Bacon is like heaven," said Nadina Fornia, of Egg Harbor Township. "If you're going to die, die with bacon on your lips and a BLT in each hand."</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">She was drawn to the casino Monday by the promise of bacon in far-out forms, including milkshakes and beer (not in the same glass, thankfully.) She also heard about the bacon-infused vodka.</div><div class="body-related" style="background-color: white; clear: right; float: right; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px; position: relative;"><a class="body-related-link body-related-image go-to-slideshow-lightbox rapid-noclick-resp landscape onesize get-lbdata-from-dom" data-rapid_p="8" data-uuid="ff0c0363-2fb4-3a18-8885-6e1fb48683ad" href="http://news.yahoo.com/photos/monday-feb-10-2014-photo-shows-bacon-lettuce-photo-005302924.html" style="color: #324fe1; cursor: pointer; display: block; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 300px; position: relative; text-decoration: none;" title="This Monday, Feb. 10. 2014 photo shows a bacon-lettuce-and-tomato&nbsp;&hellip;"><div class="img-wrap" style="position: relative;"><div class="cta-overlay" style="-webkit-transition: background-color 0.24s linear; font-size: 13px; height: 225px; left: 0px; position: absolute; top: 0px; transition: background-color 0.24s linear; width: 300px;"><span class="clearfix title cta-text medium" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.24s linear; color: white; font-size: 16px; left: 5px; opacity: 0; position: absolute; top: 5px; transition: opacity 0.24s linear; white-space: pre-wrap; width: 270px; zoom: 1;"></span><span class="cta-text xsmall" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.24s linear; bottom: 5px; color: white; font-size: 16px; margin-left: 42px; opacity: 0; position: absolute; transition: opacity 0.24s linear;">View gallery</span><span class="icon-slideshow icon-white-slideshow-xsmall" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.16s linear; background-color: #324fe1; background-image: url(data:image/svg+xml; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; background-size: cover; border-bottom-left-radius: 4px; border-bottom-right-radius: 4px; border-top-left-radius: 4px; border-top-right-radius: 4px; bottom: 5px; cursor: pointer; height: 23px; left: 5px; line-height: 0; opacity: 0; padding: 0px; position: absolute; text-indent: -1000em; transition: opacity 0.16s linear; width: 32px; z-index: 1;"></span></div><img alt="This Monday, Feb. 10. 2014 photo shows a bacon-lettuce-and-tomato&nbsp;&hellip;" class="body-related-thumb" data-src-2x="" height="225" src="http://l1.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/ZC6sZkPVr7SF6G08oVS6Jw--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9ZmlsbDtoPTIyNTtxPTc1O3c9MzAw/http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/ap_webfeeds/8b7b4b4c0e4a90064b0f6a706700f6e2.jpg" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.3333s ease 0ms; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border: 0px; display: block; opacity: 1 !important; transition: opacity 0.3333s ease 0ms; vertical-align: baseline; visibility: visible !important;" width="300" /></div></a><div class="body-related-title photo-caption" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: grey; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16.5px; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 100%; padding: 5px 5px 0px 0px; position: relative; width: 300px;">This Monday, Feb. 10. 2014 photo shows a bacon-lettuce-and-tomato sandwich made with an entire pound …</div></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">"That is my quest today," she said.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Fornia tried a bacon bloody Mary mixed with a smoky bacon beer. Despite the overwhelming salty taste and the small strip of bacon floating in the glass, it tasted mostly like sharp tomato juice, she said.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Nearby were chocolate covered pretzels with crumbled bacon bits; chocolate-drizzled potato chips with bacon, two kinds of pasta dishes with bacon, bacon cupcakes, and bacon wrapped around a fake green stem to form roses, which were then dipped in chocolate.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">"The first taste is chocolatey, then it's all bacon," said Melissa Ehrke, of Egg Harbor Township. "I was a little surprised I liked it, 'cause I was afraid to try it. It's that whole sweet and salty thing."</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">While bacon-flavored grooming items are sold at festivals around the nation, they were encountering some skepticism at the Tropicana this week.</div><div class="body-related" style="background-color: white; clear: right; float: right; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px; position: relative;"><a class="body-related-link body-related-image go-to-slideshow-lightbox rapid-noclick-resp portrait onesize get-lbdata-from-dom" data-rapid_p="9" data-uuid="0e8efcf2-a982-33e5-9ca0-5b980b48e7f9" href="http://news.yahoo.com/photos/unexpected-wave-saltiness-hits-melissa-ehrke-egg-harbor-photo-005235304.html" style="color: #324fe1; cursor: pointer; display: block; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 300px; position: relative; text-decoration: none;" title="An unexpected wave of saltiness hits Melissa Ehrke&nbsp;&hellip;"><div class="img-wrap" style="position: relative;"><div class="cta-overlay" style="-webkit-transition: background-color 0.24s linear; font-size: 13px; height: 400px; left: 0px; position: absolute; top: 0px; transition: background-color 0.24s linear; width: 300px;"><span class="clearfix title cta-text medium" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.24s linear; color: white; font-size: 16px; left: 5px; opacity: 0; position: absolute; top: 5px; transition: opacity 0.24s linear; white-space: pre-wrap; width: 270px; zoom: 1;"></span><span class="cta-text xsmall" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.24s linear; bottom: 5px; color: white; font-size: 16px; margin-left: 42px; opacity: 0; position: absolute; transition: opacity 0.24s linear;">View gallery</span><span class="icon-slideshow icon-white-slideshow-xsmall" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.16s linear; background-color: #324fe1; background-image: url(data:image/svg+xml; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; background-size: cover; border-bottom-left-radius: 4px; border-bottom-right-radius: 4px; border-top-left-radius: 4px; border-top-right-radius: 4px; bottom: 5px; cursor: pointer; height: 23px; left: 5px; line-height: 0; opacity: 0; padding: 0px; position: absolute; text-indent: -1000em; transition: opacity 0.16s linear; width: 32px; z-index: 1;"></span></div><img alt="An unexpected wave of saltiness hits Melissa Ehrke&nbsp;&hellip;" class="body-related-thumb" data-src-2x="" height="400" src="http://l3.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/4ZjB5UNHH_Ac18.swEPJRQ--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9ZmlsbDtoPTQwMDtxPTc1O3c9MzAw/http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/ap_webfeeds/1263d5280e4a90064b0f6a706700cba4.jpg" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.3333s ease 0ms; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border: 0px; display: block; opacity: 1 !important; transition: opacity 0.3333s ease 0ms; vertical-align: baseline; visibility: visible !important;" width="300" /></div></a><div class="body-related-title photo-caption" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: grey; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16.5px; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 100%; padding: 5px 5px 0px 0px; position: relative; width: 300px;">An unexpected wave of saltiness hits Melissa Ehrke of Egg harbor Township, N.J. as she tries chocola …</div></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">"There are people that are just crazy for bacon," said Denise McGrath, of Neptune City. "But bacon toothpaste or floss? I'm not that crazy."</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">James Sanders, of New York City, was in heaven trying as many free samples of bacon-flavored items as he could get his hands on.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">"I love me some bacon!" he exclaimed between bites of ... something. "I don't even know what this is, but it's got bacon in it. And it's good!"</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Sanders said eating bacon is a multilayered experience.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">"You keep chewing it and chewing it, and the flavor comes out the more you chew on it," he said. "And then you get to the fat and that floods into your mouth. I just love it."</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Carrie Jorgenson and her husband, Mike, were downing the bacon bloody Mary beer concoctions, while channeling celebrity chef Emeril Lagasse.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">"I love pork. All things pork," she said. "That's what Emeril used to say, that pork fat rules, and it does."</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1392198034882_82932" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">___</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1392198034882_82922" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Wayne Parry can be reached at http://twitter.com/WayneParryAC</div>

NJ festival lets you eat, drink, floss with bacon (BLOG)

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — Get ready for bacon like you've never eaten, drunk or worn it before.Bacon milkshakes. Chocolate-covered bacon shaped like roses. Bacon-flavored toothpaste, dental floss and lip balm. Bacon bourbon, margaritas, beer and vod…

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Evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse...

<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>...deceiving and being deceived.</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span><span style="font-size: large;"><b>There is confusion and every evil work.</b></span><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Is there any question?</b></span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Manufactured Ukraine, EU, and Russian Conflict:</span></b></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/YxP9WQPFJPU?feature=player_detailpage" width="640"></iframe><br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/ZcU2XS55_vg?feature=player_detailpage" width="640"></iframe></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Bankers are being found dead...markets are rigged... </b></span></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/Xw2OIZARijU?feature=player_detailpage" width="640"></iframe><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Creating chaos, mental illness, and fear...</b></span></div><br /><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/DANzRHxCYS4?feature=player_detailpage" width="640"></iframe> <b> </b><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><b>FULL SHOW:</b></span><br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/3CBceKEpbFw?feature=player_detailpage" width="640"></iframe> <br /><b>...developing...</b></div>

Evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse...

...deceiving and being deceived.There is confusion and every evil work.Is there any question?Manufactured Ukraine, EU, and Russian Conflict:Bankers are being found dead...markets are rigged... Creating chaos, mental illness, and fear...  FULL SHOW: .…

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The Sarcasm Report v.186

<a href="http://us.ishares.com/product_info/fund/overview/SHV.htm">iShares Short Treasury Bond ETF</a><br /><br /><div style="color: red;"><b>Average Yield to Maturity: 0.15%</b></div><div style="color: red;"><b>Expense Ratio: 0.15%</b></div><br />Perfect!<br /><br />It is just like cash, only it isn't cash. It's a professionally managed bond fund! Genius!<br /><br />Check out the fund's <a href="http://finance.yahoo.com/q/bc?s=SHV&t=my&l=on&z=l&q=l&c=">chart</a>. What's not to like? $2.4 billion in assets! Very popular!<br /><br /><b>July 20, 2009</b><br /><a href="http://www.pionline.com/article/20090720/ONLINE/907209981/focus-on-short-end-of-yield-curve-pimco-says">Focus on short end of yield curve, PIMCO says</a><br /><br />Focus as you patiently await the end of ZIRP! 5 years so far! But we really, really, really mean it this time!<br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/T0q1i2mqMgs" width="420"></iframe><br /><br /><div style="color: #666666;"><i>It's at an end! Cutting out! Kaput! Finished! Drop the curtain! Break camp! Pull up stakes! Finis! Absolutely, positively it! Not pulling your leg! Down the road! We swear we won't ever be back! Ain't gonna happen! Forget about it! Shutting it down! Lost our lease! Can't find it! Don't care! We're done! Closing shop! Putting up the shutters! Bolting the doors! Slamming them closed! Gonna board the place up! Nailing it shut! Big nails! Nothing gets in or out! Sealing it off! We're history! We really! Really! Really! Mean it! We're not jerking your chain on this! No snow job! Not bluffing! No kidding!</i></div><br />This concludes today's sarcasm report. :)

The Sarcasm Report v.186

iShares Short Treasury Bond ETFAverage Yield to Maturity: 0.15%Expense Ratio: 0.15%Perfect!It is just like cash, only it isn't cash. It's a professionally managed bond fund! Genius!Check out the fund's chart. What's not to like? $2.4 billion in asset…

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Two U.S. Soldiers Killed By An Insider Attack In Afghanistan

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4XTyA8zIhK6pFq9lLIOv5qNgDH4Uw-sOv0mUe2Psn9tEfMYffJrVXrx-7uV6NWH39_59eF_6CKZq8OxXQlZO2_iBcbQsLdNamur4WKW6yYU5EVcZuBQjkMrOSCPe3YYushjJ4EnUi7QEy/s1600/2013-09-12-BZSSR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="135" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4XTyA8zIhK6pFq9lLIOv5qNgDH4Uw-sOv0mUe2Psn9tEfMYffJrVXrx-7uV6NWH39_59eF_6CKZq8OxXQlZO2_iBcbQsLdNamur4WKW6yYU5EVcZuBQjkMrOSCPe3YYushjJ4EnUi7QEy/s1600/2013-09-12-BZSSR.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Individuals In Afghan Army Uniform Kills 2 NATO Soldiers -- Khaama Press</b></span></div><br />At least two NATO soldiers were killed following a suspected insider attack in eastern Afghanistan on Wednesday.<br /><br />This was the first insider attack which has taken place in Afghanistan since the beginning of the year 2014.<br /><br />NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) following a statement confirmed the incident and said, “Two International Security Assistance Force service members died when two individuals wearing Afghan National Security Forces’ uniforms shot them in eastern Afghanistan today.”<br /><br /><b><a href="http://www.khaama.com/individuals-in-afghan-army-uniform-kill-2-nato-soldiers-2780">Read more</a></b> ....<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>More News On Two U.S. Soldiers Killed By An Insider Attack In Afghanistan</b></span></div><br /><a href="http://in.reuters.com/article/2014/02/12/afghanistan-attack-idINDEEA1B0G720140212">Afghans in army uniform kill two foreign soldiers in east</a> -- Reuters<br /><a href="http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gqqav4svc_cW0lzRtFhWzK-CI_pw?docId=a8958b4f-4aae-40ce-b0f0-3551d108fbc0">Two NATO soldiers killed in Afghan 'insider attack'</a> -- AFP<br /><a href="http://www.stripes.com/news/middle-east/2-us-troops-killed-in-insider-attack-in-east-afghanistan-1.267244">2 US troops killed in insider attack in east Afghanistan</a> -- Stars and Stripes<br /><a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/two-american-soldiers-killed-gunmen-afghanistan-n28536">Two American Soldiers Killed By Gunmen in Afghanistan</a> -- NBC<br /><a href="http://www.cnn.com/2014/02/12/world/asia/afghanistan-violence/">2 wearing Afghan security uniforms kill 2 coalition soldiers</a> -- CNN<br /><a href="http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2014-02/13/c_126123846.htm">2 NATO soldiers killed by persons in Afghan military uniform</a> -- Xinhuanet<br /><a href="http://www.rferl.org/content/afghanistan-nato-insider-attack/25262125.html">Two NATO Soldiers Killed In Apparent Afghan Insider Attack </a>-- Radio Free Europe

Two U.S. Soldiers Killed By An Insider Attack In Afghanistan

Individuals In Afghan Army Uniform Kills 2 NATO Soldiers -- Khaama PressAt least two NATO soldiers were killed following a suspected insider attack in eastern Afghanistan on Wednesday.This was the first insider attack which has taken place in Afghani…

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