A Great Disturbance in the Civilian Labor Force

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFw5A4eFq0O8a66pEieOKmVN176_LigxL5_JLX4ACnooKnwq_PUz4aVR_Va2M-UogZ1R3xxNOl89c0GzRFcD_NiKy_61kyYbwKC04eNt0aDfiUTPCy9PdhiJ38KdnMwYyInkcxL30K2EI/s1600/Civilian+Labor+Force.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFw5A4eFq0O8a66pEieOKmVN176_LigxL5_JLX4ACnooKnwq_PUz4aVR_Va2M-UogZ1R3xxNOl89c0GzRFcD_NiKy_61kyYbwKC04eNt0aDfiUTPCy9PdhiJ38KdnMwYyInkcxL30K2EI/s320/Civilian+Labor+Force.jpg" /></a><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">Click to enlarge.</span><br /><br />The blue line (left scale) shows the civilian labor force participation rate of those aged 25 to 54. It peaked in the late 1990s and it has been pretty much going down ever since.<br /><br />The red line (left scale) shows the civilian labor force participation rate of those aged 55 and over. It bottomed in the early 1990s and it has been generally going up ever since (recent flattening notwithstanding).<br /><br />The green line (right scale) shows the civilian labor force participation rate of those aged 25 to 54 divided by the civilian labor force participation rate of those aged 55 and over.<br /><br />In a truly healthy economy, should those aged 25 to 54 really be dropping out of the labor force at faster pace than those aged 55 and over (as seen in that green line since the early 1990s)?<br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="236" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/EZG0fBMT7Tc" width="420"></iframe><br /><br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giant_sucking_sound">Wikipedia: Giant Sucking Sound</a><br /><br /><div style="color: #666666;"><i>The "giant sucking sound" was United States Presidential candidate Ross Perot's colorful phrase for what he believed would be the negative effects of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which he opposed.</i></div><br /><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0078748/taglines">In space no one can hear you <strike>scream</strike> suck.</a><br /><br /><b>Source Data:</b><br /><a href="http://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/graph/?g=rXt">St. Louis Fed: Custom Chart</a>

A Great Disturbance in the Civilian Labor Force

Click to enlarge. The blue line (left scale) shows the civilian labor force participation rate of those aged 25 to 54. It peaked in the late...

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Leonardo DiCaprio: I've "Never Done" Drugs (BLOG)

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB1_oap2LKtmGQWcIL6IavFsM2FhOEZl4ct6D45hyphenhyphentzay1t-ZcnTH5xuEucA1gfjE22olnOS5xd-ODD9M9rTwmSota7_qmS-OhDfoQ2W-Ojx7RHKjcww0fXKOR5hdUkPEsGvelGhM9xic/s1600/22.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB1_oap2LKtmGQWcIL6IavFsM2FhOEZl4ct6D45hyphenhyphentzay1t-ZcnTH5xuEucA1gfjE22olnOS5xd-ODD9M9rTwmSota7_qmS-OhDfoQ2W-Ojx7RHKjcww0fXKOR5hdUkPEsGvelGhM9xic/s1600/22.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1392048530966_3528" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;"><a data-rapid_p="8" href="http://www.usmagazine.com/celebrities/leonardo-dicaprio" id="yui_3_9_1_1_1392048530966_3535" style="color: #324fe1; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><strong id="yui_3_9_1_1_1392048530966_3534">Leonardo DiCaprio</strong></a> is not the <em>Wolf of Wall Street</em>. Sure, he may party on yachts occasionally with beautiful women and be worth millions, but the 39-year-old actor says he really was acting while portraying his character Jordan Belfort's rampant drug use. In a recent interview with the <a data-rapid_p="9" href="http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/envelope/moviesnow/la-et-mn-leonardo-dicaprio-20140130,0,611473.story#axzz2sYpIj6Vi" style="color: #324fe1; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><em>Los Angeles Times</em></a>, DiCaprio opened up about growing up "very poor," and why it helped him to resist the temptation of drugs in Hollywood.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1392048530966_3550" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">"Never done it," DiCaprio said about drugs. "That's because I saw this stuff literally every day when I was 3 or 4 years old. So Hollywood was a walk in the park for me . . . I'd go to parties and it was there and, yeah, there's that temptation," he admitted.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1392048530966_3556" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">"Hollywood is a very volatile place where artists come in and they essentially say they want to belong. It's incredibly vulnerable to be an actor and also get criticism at a young age when you're formulating who you are," DiCaprio explained. "We've seen a lot of people fall victim to that, and it's very unfortunate."</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;"><a data-rapid_p="10" href="http://www.usmagazine.com/entertainment/pictures/leonardo-dicaprios-ladies-2011911/18365" style="color: #324fe1; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">PHOTOS: Leonardo DiCaprio's ladies</a></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 actor's parents, George and Irmelin, divorced when he was was very young, and he lived mostly with his mother. Until the age of 9, DiCaprio lived in an L.A. neighborhood near Hollywood Boulevard and Western Avenue. He told the<em> Los Angeles Times </em>that there "used to be a major prostitution ring on my street corner, crime and violence everywhere."</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;">DiCaprio eventually won a scholarship to University Elementary School, located in a wealthier neighborhood. "It was like this little Garden of Eden," he recalled. "And if I went to play with my friends, I would drive to Beverly Hills and go in their backyard and there'd be a waterfall there. I mean, a waterfall! In the backyard? What the . . ."</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;">When he had to go back to the public school system, DiCaprio decided to try and become an actor to change his lifestyle.</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 was the motivational thing that happened to me in my life," he explained. "I was 15, and I said to my mom, 'I want to be an actor. Please take me to auditions.' Because I had to get out of that public school system."</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;">In DiCaprio's opinion, his background makes him more than qualified to discuss the subject of income disparity in America as depicted in the <em>Wolf of Wall Street</em>. "Who am I to talk about this?" the Oscar-nominated actor asked. "It goes back to that neighborhood. It came from the fact that I grew up very poor and I got to see the other side of the spectrum."</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1392048530966_3581" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">This article originally appeared on Usmagazine.com: <a data-rapid_p="13" href="http://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-news/news/leonardo-dicaprio-ive-never-done-drugs-201472" id="yui_3_9_1_1_1392048530966_3586" style="color: #324fe1; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;">Leonardo DiCaprio: I've "Never Done" Drugs</a></div>

Leonardo DiCaprio: I've "Never Done" Drugs (BLOG)

Leonardo DiCaprio  is not the  Wolf of Wall Street . Sure, he may party on yachts occasionally with beautiful women and be worth millions, b...

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We Can't Catch A Break!

The alternate title would be, Oh, the humanity!<br /><br />A major fire broke out yesterday at a Winchester Ammunition plant in East Alton IL.<br /><br />Thankfully I guess, it was in a storage unit and not the main manufacturing plant.<br /><br /><a href="http://gunssavelives.net/gun-industry/video-breaking-fire-at-winchester-ammo-plant/">Video and story here</a>, thanks go to <a href="http://angrymikeshood.blogspot.com/">AngryMike </a>for the heads up.<br /><br />Alternative storage can always be leased and it sucks that they lost a bunch of inventory but thank goodness the actual processing facility escaped damage.

We Can't Catch A Break!

The alternate title would be, Oh, the humanity! A major fire broke out yesterday at a Winchester Ammunition plant in East Alton IL. Thankful...

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How will Marcus Smart's blowup affect his NBA draft stock? (BLOG)

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDTgob8Wbkqsf_eTSDctAKSoPz0WmUil1W3vAegqzgoyWMVbNSdOEAjc4dlhZ0kKOts9IQ-5fGuv2Oz5PLrTODCdtG6ICA_YrfuV8iKXCef-SYY5MxhWRHrhPc4r4sp1OZMjxfYYtuTrU/s1600/1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDTgob8Wbkqsf_eTSDctAKSoPz0WmUil1W3vAegqzgoyWMVbNSdOEAjc4dlhZ0kKOts9IQ-5fGuv2Oz5PLrTODCdtG6ICA_YrfuV8iKXCef-SYY5MxhWRHrhPc4r4sp1OZMjxfYYtuTrU/s1600/1.JPG" /></a></div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1392048403838_3787" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Evaluating <a class="yom-entity-link yom-entity-sports_player" data-rapid_p="10" href="http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaab/players/116604" style="color: #324fe1; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;">Marcus Smart</a>’s draft stock has NBA executives split in the aftermath of the guard’s actions Saturday.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1392048403838_3811" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;"><a data-rapid_p="11" href="http://sports.yahoo.com/news/marcus-smart-continues-downward-spiral--shoving-fan-during-oklahoma-state-loss-064154430-ncaab.html" id="yui_3_9_1_1_1392048403838_3820" style="color: #324fe1; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;">The Oklahoma State star shoved a vocal Texas Tech fan in the chest</a> with two hands late <a data-rapid_p="12" href="http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaab/oklahoma-state-cowboys-texas-tech-red-raiders-201402080592/" id="yui_3_9_1_1_1392048403838_3830" style="color: #324fe1; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;">in a 65-61 road loss on Saturday night</a>. A Texas Tech official told The Oklahoman that as the 19-year-old sophomore was being led to the locker room after the shoving incident, he continuously repeated that the fan called him the "N-word."</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1392048403838_3841" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">DraftExpress.com currently ranks Smart as the sixth-best prospect in this year's NBA Draft.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1392048403838_3851" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">"His stock is going to take a hit," one NBA general manager told Yahoo Sports. "He has shown in the past few months that he is prone to outbursts. He kicked a chair (against West Virginia). He's under a lot of pressure. The team is not doing well, struggling.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1392048403838_3861" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">"Fans say things in the NBA every day. He has a history of letting people get under his skin. The NBA fans will test him."</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;">Said an NBA assistant general manager: "Unfortunately for Smart, there is going to be a fallout after this. His reputation has taken a hit. That is all people and the media are going to want to talk about with him before and after the draft. Some teams won't want to deal with that."</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;"><strong>[Related: <a data-rapid_p="13" href="http://sports.yahoo.com/news/black-coaching-legends-think-marcus-smart-should-ve-controlled-his-emotions-212443526-ncaab.html" style="color: #324fe1; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;">Black coaches give their opinion on Marcus Smart's in-game blowup</a>]</strong></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;">Other NBA executives told Yahoo Sports that Smart's incident would not affect their feelings about the guard.</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;">"It seems way out of character for him," one NBA general manager said. "I saw the video of that fan in the past. I can only imagine what he said to the kid."</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;">Said another NBA GM: "I hope not. He would get punished for responding to someone calling him the 'N-word'? Wow."<span class="yui-editorial-embed" id="yui_3_0_0-2-1391993335817"><span id="schemaorg"></span></span></div><div class="yom-figure yom-fig-right" 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: 0px 0px 20px 20px; max-width: 100%; overflow: hidden; width: 310px;"><img alt="" class="editorial " src="http://l.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/bSjegn2cxetFUfp8.guV0Q--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7cT04NTt3PTMxMA--/http://l.yimg.com/os/publish-images/sports/2014-02-09/62c029c0-91d1-11e3-b06a-0b4567eea64e_marcussmart800_209getty.jpg" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.3333s ease 0ms; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border: 0px; display: inline; height: auto; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%; opacity: 1 !important; transition: opacity 0.3333s ease 0ms; vertical-align: bottom; visibility: visible !important;" title="Texas Tech fan Jeff Orr's comments set off Marcus Smart. (Getty)" width="310" /><div class="legend" style="background-image: none; color: grey; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic; max-width: 100%; padding-right: 5px; padding-top: 5px;">Texas Tech fan Jeff Orr's comments set off Marcus Smart. (Getty)</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;"></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;">Said another NBA GM: "Marcus Smart just needs to play better. Pushing some [expletive] will not affect his stock."</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;">One long-time NBA scout said he still likes Smart, is impressed by his athleticism and sees him as a top-five draft prospect. An NBA assistant GM said that he has to hear all the facts before making a determination on Smart and said that his play is hurting him more than the push.</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;">When asked if the push affects Smart's draft stock, another NBA GM said: "No, it's due to his game."</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;">Smart averaged 17.5 points, 5.7 rebounds and 4.3 assists as a freshman, but decided to return for his sophomore season despite being projected as a top overall pick in last year's draft. While participating in USA Basketball's senior team mini-camp last July, Smart told Yahoo Sports that he would enter the 2014 NBA draft. Smart is averaging 15.4 points, 5.8 rebounds and 4.2 assists this season.</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;">"He's not a 'can't-miss' talent. He doesn't shoot the ball well enough," one NBA GM 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;">Said one NBA assistant GM: "He absolutely should've went to the NBA last year."</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;">One NBA GM said Smart is overhyped. The GM added that Connecticut's Shabazz Napier, Missouri's Jordan Clarkson and West Virginia's Juwan Staten are less-heralded guard prospects who are just as good if not better than Smart.</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;">"[Smart is] a pretty good player, a solid player, but there is a lot of hype," the GM said. "But by no means is he a superstar player. He's tough. Not necessarily a point guard or a shooting guard. He's a guard.</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 other guards out there just as talented that aren't getting the publicity. He's going to be good, but he is being built up to fail early in his NBA career just like Kansas' Andrew Wiggins is."<br /><br />Oklahoma State coach Travis Ford addressed the incident in a press conference on Sunday night after it was announced that <a data-rapid_p="14" href="http://sports.yahoo.com/news/oklahoma-state-guard-marcus-smart-230524996--spt.html" style="color: #324fe1; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;">Smart would be suspended three games</a>.<br /><br />"One day the NBA will get an incredible player and an incredible person that has learned a lot of lessons," Ford said.<br /><br /><span class="yui-editorial-embed" id="yui_3_0_0-2-1391993335819"></span></div><div class="yom-fig-frame" id="yui_3_9_1_1_1392048403838_3969" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin: auto; text-align: center; width: 714.125px;"><span id="schemaorg"><div class="yom-figure yom-fig-middle" id="yui_3_9_1_1_1392048403838_3968" style="float: none; margin: 0px auto 15px; max-width: 100%; overflow: hidden; width: 630px;"><figure class="cover get-lbdata-from-dom go-to-slideshow-lightbox" data-orig-index="0" id="yui_3_9_1_1_1392048403838_3967" style="cursor: pointer; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative;"><a class="cover-anchor" data-rapid_p="15" href="" id="cover-d44613fead6ed88da0cdba95cb6044da" name="cover-d44613fead6ed88da0cdba95cb6044da" style="color: #8ec0ff; cursor: pointer; position: absolute; top: -100px;"></a><div class="cta-overlay" id="yui_3_9_1_1_1392048403838_3966" style="-webkit-transition: background-color 0.24s linear; font-size: 13px; height: 349px; left: 0px; position: absolute; top: 0px; transition: background-color 0.24s linear; width: 630px;"><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; text-align: left; top: 5px; transition: opacity 0.24s linear; white-space: pre-wrap; width: 567px; zoom: 1;"></span><div class="cta-text large" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.24s linear; color: white; font-size: 16px; margin-top: 35px; opacity: 0; position: relative; top: 174.5px; transition: opacity 0.24s linear;">View photo</div><span class="icon-slideshow icon-white-slideshow" 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: 7px; border-bottom-right-radius: 7px; border-top-left-radius: 7px; border-top-right-radius: 7px; cursor: pointer; height: 54px; left: 315px; line-height: 0; margin-left: -38px; margin-top: -27px; opacity: 0; padding: 0px; position: absolute; text-indent: -1000em; top: 174.5px; transition: opacity 0.16s linear; width: 76px; z-index: 1;">.</span></div><img alt="" class="editorial " data-preembed="image" src="http://l2.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/O0RnkNiyiLjVIge8DjCxCg--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7cT04NTt3PTYzMA--/http://l.yimg.com/os/publish-images/sports/2014-02-09/d4fd0610-9150-11e3-af9e-c7c48465647e_SmartShovebigger.gif" style="-webkit-transition: opacity 0.3333s ease 0ms; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border: 0px; display: inline; height: auto; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%; min-height: 1px; opacity: 1 !important; transition: opacity 0.3333s ease 0ms; vertical-align: bottom; visibility: visible !important; width: 630px;" title="Marcus Smart shoves Texas Tech superfan Jeff Orr in the closing moments of Oklahoma State's loss. (Yahoo)" width="630" /></figure><div class="legend" id="yui_3_9_1_1_1392048403838_3983" style="background-image: none; color: grey; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic; max-width: 100%; padding: 5px; text-align: left;">Marcus Smart shoves Texas Tech superfan Jeff Orr in the closing moments of Oklahoma State's loss. (Yahoo)</div></div></span></div>

How will Marcus Smart's blowup affect his NBA draft stock? (BLOG)

Evaluating  Marcus Smart ’s draft stock has NBA executives split in the aftermath of the guard’s actions Saturday. The Oklahoma State star s...

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Kanye West’s The College Dropout Turns 10 (BLOG)

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin6NtWZIr7r1lSFRDDWKbiLSN-Bjd_hxBSd8qytLfRJzS5IXf9MynZdJAs7SLoH8PvfH6khaWAP4HBrEnUGUwg55pDDCbpad_XoZ2y6S4JJ6_4Y7t8gDUl-9uGjA61z1OzQs3wv_bc2LA/s1600/ye.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin6NtWZIr7r1lSFRDDWKbiLSN-Bjd_hxBSd8qytLfRJzS5IXf9MynZdJAs7SLoH8PvfH6khaWAP4HBrEnUGUwg55pDDCbpad_XoZ2y6S4JJ6_4Y7t8gDUl-9uGjA61z1OzQs3wv_bc2LA/s1600/ye.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 10px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“I’m the funny version of<strong style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> Dead Prez</strong>.” That’s <strong style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Kanye West</strong> giving an amazingly succinct and accurate summary of his career during an interview. Without a timestamp on that quote, it could have easily been something he said in the handful of, ahem, “<a href="http://www.wmagazine.com/people/celebrities/2013/06/kanye-west-on-kim-kardashian-and-his-new-album-yeezus/" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: #009dee; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">honest</a>” <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/16/arts/music/kanye-west-talks-about-his-career-and-album-yeezus.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&partner=rss&emc=rss&pagewanted=all&adxnnlx=1391626979-xIhqtbt595rlVWxdla1VqA" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: #009dee; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">interviews</a> he gave during the lead-up to the June 2013 release of his cathartic, abrasive and game-changing sixth studio album <a href="http://www.idolator.com/7464259/kanye-west-yeezus-review" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: #009dee; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank" title="Kanye West’s ‘Yeezus’: Album Review"><em style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Yeezus</em></a>. West’s incendiary “New Slaves,” for all intents and purposes, was the best Dead Prez song they never recorded, and it was a fantastic example of the ways in which his sonic and thematic fascinations mirrored those of the Brooklyn duo’s seminal first record<em style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Let%27s_Get_Free" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: #009dee; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Let’s Get Free</a></em>. But that quote was actually from a <em style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/kanye-west-head-of-the-class-20040429" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: #009dee; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Rolling Stone</a></em> profile that ran in May of 2004, only a few months removed from the release (and subsequent smashing success) of West’s debut <em style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The College Dropout</em>, which turns 10 today (February 10).</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 10px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">That made me take a step back. I’ve spent the past eight months lauding <em style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Yeezus</em> as not only West’s best album, but one of the most important, innovative hip-hop albums of the last decade. For me, the angry, bass-blaring, Corbusier lamp-inspired, Chicago house-riddled <em style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Yeezus</em> made the rest of his back catalog look downright saccharine. I remembering thinking at some point during the fourth minute of “I’m In It” that it would be very hard for me to revisit West’s earlier material — like, say, the day-glo urban working class paean “We Don’t Care” from his debut —  and not yearn for what I saw to be his career’s avant-garde zenith in <em style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Yeezus</em>.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 10px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">But I went back, and ended up being astonished at how Ye’s creative vision and philosophical ruminations have stayed consistent and vital throughout a career spanning 10-plus years. <em style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The College Dropout</em> is the brilliant foundation of his raging, creative restlessness, as well as his constantly sharpening social mind. With this album, he wasn’t given access to the zeitgeist. He took it.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 10px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Make no mistake, <em style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The College Dropout</em> is an angry record. On it, Kanye is fed up with, among other things, systemic racism, hip-hop’s vapid materialism, the perceived uselessness of expensive college degrees, the lack of social mobility for black Americans and his own repeated personal failings in life and love. And while that anger is wrapped up in Hot 100 hooks, chipmunk soul samples and lush, limber production, the massive chip on West’s shoulder was a creative force of its own from day one.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 10px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">It’s no secret West made his biggest professional splash producing the lion’s share of tracks on <strong style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Jay-Z’s</strong>classic fifth album <em style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The Blueprint</em> — including the <strong style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Jackson 5</strong>-sampling anthem “Izzo (H.O.V.A.)” and the lacerating<strong style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> Nas</strong> bodyslam “Takeover” — and eventually angled to get his rapping career of the ground. He got passed along by a handful of record labels (including a close pass by Capitol) who didn’t know how to market West’s “First n***a with a Benz and a backpack” style, middle class background and seemingly lack of street edge at a time when MCs like<strong style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> 50 Cent, Chingy </strong>and<strong style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> Lil Jon </strong>were dominating the charts. A reluctant <strong style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Damon Dash</strong> eventually signed Kanye to a Roc-A-Fella development deal and, as you can guess, West was pretty motivated to prove any gatekeeper of power who denied him access in the record industry wrong. It’s both obvious that record labels would want an unknown MC to fall in line with what is popular in hip-hop, and seriously depressing that Kanye wanted to break the mold of “gangsta” caricature only to be rebuffed at nearly every turn.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 10px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">As a result, <em style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The College Dropout</em> is a classic first record in the sense that Kanye had spent his entire life preparing to put his thoughts and superlative beats down on wax, combining the socially aware, conscious rap introspection of close friends <strong style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Common</strong> and <strong style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Talib Kweli</strong> (who both appear in guest spots) with the club-ready excesses that MTV and radio audiences were hungry for. But it was also an open-ended mission statement providing a fascinating set of ideas and emotions Kanye is still playing around with 10 years later.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 10px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">And while there are a few dated conventions (specifically, padding the tracklist with no less than seven skits and interludes), the silky progression of gloriously high-minded beats and various philosophical threads is damn near perfectly calibrated, walking listeners through a world where young, black Americans are beset on all sides by a society that seeks to simultaneously limit their strength and exploit their culture.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 10px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">On the aforementioned <strong style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">De La Soul</strong>-lite “We Don’t Care,” West basically places drug dealing and soul-deadening 9-to-5 jobs on the same level, eventually rattling off a list of societal failures that leave impoverished black people with few choices, and concluding “Sometimes, I feel like no one in this world understands us / But we don’t care what people say.”</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 10px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The middle-class ennui of “Spaceship” has West reminiscing about his (very un-gangsta) time working at a Gap and being unwittingly used as an ambassador for the store’s supposed diversity. And then of course there’s “All Falls Down,” the gorgeously constructed mid-tempo neo-soul hit that puts the materialism of hip-hop in the crosshairs, with West repeatedly pointing out how celebrating and prioritizing wealth is a pretty obvious side effect of crippling insecurity. When Ye says “We all self-conscious, I’m just the first to admit it” on the second to last line of the song, it’s a sentiment that still reverberates a decade later.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 10px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">And yet, on this very same song, he also defends conspicuous consumption by contextualizing it as a means of protesting against our society’s intrinsic racism: “We shine because they hate us, floss ’cause they degrade us / We’re trying to buy back our 40 acres / And for that paper look how low we stoop / Even if you’re in a Benz, you’re still a n*gga in a coupe.” So already, West was delving into the type of nuanced arguments and cognitive dissonance that makes him so compelling still.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 10px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><em style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The College Dropout</em> definitely isn’t the best album of Kanye’s catalog, but it’s arguably the most important. And while I could have spent a lot of time dwelling on the hits that everyone knows verbatim by now (“Jesus Walks,” “Slow Jamz,” “Through the Wire” <a href="http://www.idolator.com/7504416/kanye-west-college-dropout-anniversary-new-workout-plan" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: #009dee; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank" title="Kanye West’s “The New Workout Plan”: Revisit His Hilariously Brilliant ‘College Dropout’ Single">“The New Workout Plan”</a>) or hammering the one or two songs that show some growing pains (“Never Let Me Down,” “Breathe in, Breathe Out”), I’d rather rest on the idea that Kanye has grown since his debut album, but he hasn’t changed. That’s a good thing.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 10px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><em style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">How do you think the album holds up 10 years later? Let us know below, or by hitting us up on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/idolatordotcom" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: #009dee; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Facebook</a> and <a href="http://www.twitter.com/idolator" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: #009dee; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Twitter</a>!</em></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 10px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><em style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">IDOLATOR</em></div>

Kanye West’s The College Dropout Turns 10 (BLOG)

“I’m the funny version of  Dead Prez .” That’s  Kanye West  giving an amazingly succinct and accurate summary of his career during an interv...

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Flappy Bird Knockoffs Dominate the App Store: “Fly Birdie,” “Flappy Bee” Both in Top 5 (BLOG)

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7R2rw0ZpmCSuAxCoVCbzDGFSOiUY9XIuIvT19MOy5vmxRfkgIWtor6ZfT0qyCmlJ0mReV_yQUe1VPAslRQbPbcXgLGV5crAHKejUaGSJIcwgahJSGNZFFXwFRmlSx9V3-Av2k2WnAUoY/s1600/download.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7R2rw0ZpmCSuAxCoVCbzDGFSOiUY9XIuIvT19MOy5vmxRfkgIWtor6ZfT0qyCmlJ0mReV_yQUe1VPAslRQbPbcXgLGV5crAHKejUaGSJIcwgahJSGNZFFXwFRmlSx9V3-Av2k2WnAUoY/s1600/download.jpg" /></a></div><div id="yui_3_12_0_1_1392048138747_910" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 1.5em;">The App Store is getting Flappy Happy.</div><div id="yui_3_12_0_1_1392048138747_913" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 1.5em;">On Monday morning, about a day after the <a data-rapid_p="91" data-ylk="elm:itm;elmt:link;g:28844bef-bae1-3e51-b5c5-779092d329a0;ct:1;t1:a5;t4:18;itc:0;" href="https://www.yahoo.com/tech/get-it-while-you-can-flappy-bird-to-be-removed-from-76062214252.html" id="yui_3_12_0_1_1392048138747_914" style="color: #324fe1; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">creator of Flappy Bird removed his hit app from both Apple’s and Google’s app marketplaces</a>, obvious knockoffs of the game were topping Apple’s App Store in its place. In the wake of Flappy Bird’s sudden disappearance from the iPhone, “<a data-rapid_p="92" data-ylk="elm:itm;elmt:link;g:28844bef-bae1-3e51-b5c5-779092d329a0;ct:1;t1:a5;t4:18;itc:0;" href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/flappy-plane/id806026035?mt=8&v0=WWW-NAUS-ITSTOP100-FREEAPPS&ign-mpt=uo%3D4" style="color: #324fe1; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Flappy Plane</a>” and “Flappy Bee” have charged into the App Store Top 20; an app with almost identical gameplay to Flappy Bird, called “<a data-rapid_p="93" data-ylk="elm:itm;elmt:link;g:28844bef-bae1-3e51-b5c5-779092d329a0;ct:1;t1:a5;t4:18;itc:0;" href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/ironpants/id801727538?mt=8&v0=WWW-NAUS-ITSTOP100-FREEAPPS&ign-mpt=uo%3D4" style="color: #324fe1; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Ironpants</a>,” has taken over the No. 2 spot; and the No. 1 app is “<a data-rapid_p="94" data-ylk="elm:itm;elmt:link;g:28844bef-bae1-3e51-b5c5-779092d329a0;ct:1;t1:a5;t4:18;itc:0;" href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/fly-birdie-flappy-bird-flyer/id806307963?mt=8&v0=WWW-NAUS-ITSTOP100-FREEAPPS&ign-mpt=uo%3D4" id="yui_3_12_0_1_1392048138747_915" style="color: #324fe1; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Fly Birdie — Flappy Bird Flyer</a>,” a clone so complete that it even manages to sneak the name “Flappy Bird” into its title.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 1.5em;"><img height="286" src="https://s1.yimg.com/cd/resizer/FIT_TO_WIDTH-w500/05101e8b6828c59ff7cf76588407b70442cf70ba" style="border: 0px; margin-right: 20px; max-width: 100%; vertical-align: bottom;" width="500" /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 1.5em;"><em>A survey of the App Store as it currently sits, at 10:30AM Monday morning. </em></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 1.5em;">Flappy Bird creator Dong Nguyen <a data-rapid_p="95" data-ylk="elm:itm;elmt:link;g:28844bef-bae1-3e51-b5c5-779092d329a0;ct:1;t1:a5;t4:18;itc:0;" href="https://www.yahoo.com/tech/get-it-while-you-can-flappy-bird-to-be-removed-from-76062214252.html" style="color: #324fe1; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">created a firestorm over the weekend when he revealed on Twitter that for personal reasons he was pulling Flappy Bird</a>, a smash success for both iPhone and Android devices that was making the Vietnamese developer a reported $50,000 per day. <a data-rapid_p="96" data-ylk="elm:itm;elmt:link;g:28844bef-bae1-3e51-b5c5-779092d329a0;ct:1;t1:a5;t4:18;itc:0;" href="https://www.yahoo.com/tech/get-it-while-you-can-flappy-bird-to-be-removed-from-76062214252.html" style="color: #324fe1; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">On Sunday</a>, Flappy Bird disappeared from both the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store. Those who had already downloaded the app were able to continue playing; those who had not yet discovered Flappy Bird — well, they were left searching for alternatives.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 1.5em;">And alternatives they now have. Each of these new top apps replicates the basics of Flappy Bird, from the gameplay down to the use of the word “Flappy” in their titles.</div><div id="yui_3_12_0_1_1392048138747_924" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 1.5em;"><img alt="image" height="427" id="yui_3_12_0_1_1392048138747_923" src="https://s3.yimg.com/cd/resizer/FIT_TO_WIDTH-w500/292e80650dd351e5c73a184298308543bd855b14" style="border: 0px; margin-right: 20px; max-width: 100%; vertical-align: bottom;" width="500" /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 1.5em;"><em>Screenshots from the game “Fly Birdie” now tops in Apple’s App Store.</em></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 1.5em;">The player must guide a hero — a bird, a bee or a plane — sideways through a series of vertically shifting obstacles. Taps on the screen propel the hero upward; doing nothing drops the hero to the ground. Flappy Bird has been both praised and criticized for its difficulty and simplicity, and has won legions of addicted fans who struggle to last for more than a few seconds per contest.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 1.5em;"><img alt="image" height="430" src="https://s3.yimg.com/cd/resizer/FIT_TO_WIDTH-w500/a678b638f4749b9fc120e3f5e79e1e84d20e421b" style="border: 0px; margin-right: 20px; max-width: 100%; vertical-align: bottom;" width="500" /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 1.5em;"><em>Screenshots from Ironpants. </em></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 1.5em;">Flappy Bird didn’t invent this style of game. It has <a data-rapid_p="97" data-ylk="elm:itm;elmt:link;g:28844bef-bae1-3e51-b5c5-779092d329a0;ct:1;t1:a5;t4:18;itc:0;" href="http://mashable.com/2014/02/09/helicopter-game-flappy-bird/" style="color: #324fe1; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">often been compared to an old game </a>called the “<a data-rapid_p="98" data-ylk="elm:itm;elmt:link;g:28844bef-bae1-3e51-b5c5-779092d329a0;ct:1;t1:a5;t4:18;itc:0;" href="http://www.helicoptergame.net/" style="color: #324fe1; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Helicopter Game</a>.” And though Flappy Bird may not score points for its originality, it has clearly reignited the popularity of this “side-scrolling” category, creating by the sheer force of its demand a new niche of retro-style, tap-to-control smartphone games.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 1.5em;">Now that Nguyen has pulled his app, other developers are reaping the rewards, as the simplicity of Flappy Bird has also made it simple to quickly replicate. Perhaps it’s time we changed the name of this website to “Flappy Tech”?</div><div id="yui_3_12_0_1_1392048138747_931" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 1.5em;"><em id="yui_3_12_0_1_1392048138747_934">Yahoo Tech is a brand new tech site from David Pogue and an all-star team of writers. <a data-rapid_p="99" data-ylk="elm:itm;elmt:link;g:28844bef-bae1-3e51-b5c5-779092d329a0;ct:1;t1:a5;t4:18;itc:0;" href="http://www.facebook.com/yahootech" style="color: #324fe1; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Follow us on Facebook</a> for all the latest.</em></div>

Flappy Bird Knockoffs Dominate the App Store: “Fly Birdie,” “Flappy Bee” Both in Top 5 (BLOG)

The App Store is getting Flappy Happy. On Monday morning, about a day after the  creator of Flappy Bird removed his hit app from both Apple’...

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Report: Iran successfully test-fires two missiles (BLOG)

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje8JGmpspWXzFWpOO7AICl30jpn4pfjBpRtRC8y5bneC1Uo_UHBS6eBZ_c6veWqZcaMuFB5RavmYQWCrgWTfF0ItCO4bU34e6uW665DUuMShwHxHp38WZjclK2v7LMIc1OoQRvzs6d-_w/s1600/000.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje8JGmpspWXzFWpOO7AICl30jpn4pfjBpRtRC8y5bneC1Uo_UHBS6eBZ_c6veWqZcaMuFB5RavmYQWCrgWTfF0ItCO4bU34e6uW665DUuMShwHxHp38WZjclK2v7LMIc1OoQRvzs6d-_w/s1600/000.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1392063571193_7362" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran has successfully test-fired two missiles, including a long-range ballistic weapon, the official IRNA news agency reported on Monday.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1392063571193_7379" 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 "children of Iran successfully test-fired a new generation" of weapons, he said.The report by IRNA quoted President Hassan Rouhani as congratulating the military.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1392063571193_7334" 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 test came a day after a group of lawmakers accused Rouhani of halting a scheduled missile exercise. It was not clear if this was the same test.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1392063571193_7393" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Rouhani's policy of outreach to the West and its centerpiece, a deal on Iran's disputed nuclear program, is opposed by hard-liners who accuse him of giving away too much for too little.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1392063571193_7403" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Iran has pursued military self-sufficiency since 1992. It produces tanks, jet fighters, submarines and warships, as well as weapons for these systems.</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;">From time to time it announces technological breakthroughs, most of which cannot be independently verified.</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 report did not say if the missiles were new designs, but the term "new generation" suggests that they were upgrades of existing ones.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1392063571193_7436" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">It said the ballistic missile had radar-evading capabilities, but did not give a name. It said the second missile was called Bina, or "Insightful," and was laser-guided. It said it could be fired from the ground or from aircraft.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1392063571193_7426" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Iran already has surface-to-surface missiles with a range about 2,000 kilometers (1,250 miles) capable of reaching Israel and the U.S. military bases in the region.</div>

Report: Iran successfully test-fires two missiles (BLOG)

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran has successfully test-fired two missiles, including a long-range ballistic weapon, the official IRNA news agency re...

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Should You Use Tech to Keep Track of Your Kids? (BLOG)

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLaD3JCnL54Kra96B7OVB5gTeL3ugIFeVUnz8Hz2wF5qVZ-gUwIkQSFM5LLG87cY5VvQfY5TFgkzubXviald2zDLHJiH94ZQaDtGcJgPtpzAS2UVQSDrQsfoFicb8fLfLg0ME8COJ8OiY/s1600/11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLaD3JCnL54Kra96B7OVB5gTeL3ugIFeVUnz8Hz2wF5qVZ-gUwIkQSFM5LLG87cY5VvQfY5TFgkzubXviald2zDLHJiH94ZQaDtGcJgPtpzAS2UVQSDrQsfoFicb8fLfLg0ME8COJ8OiY/s1600/11.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div id="yui_3_12_0_1_1392048138747_756" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 1.5em;">Even Spider-Man knew it, since Peter Parker’s uncle Ben told him: With great power comes great responsibility. But when you’re <u id="yui_3_12_0_1_1392048138747_758"><a data-rapid_p="60" data-ylk="elm:itm;elmt:link;g:30b4ea39-a769-34ab-8101-6ab230ee325c;ct:1;t1:a5;t4:18;itc:0;" href="https://www.yahoo.com/tech/how-this-special-router-turned-me-into-a-total-internet-73145981590.html" id="yui_3_12_0_1_1392048138747_757" style="color: #324fe1; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">a tech tyrant</a></u> like me <em id="yui_3_12_0_1_1392048138747_759">and</em> a father, the temptation to abuse your powers is hard to resist.</div><div id="yui_3_12_0_1_1392048138747_760" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 1.5em;">Take, for example, the <a data-rapid_p="61" data-ylk="elm:itm;elmt:link;g:30b4ea39-a769-34ab-8101-6ab230ee325c;ct:1;t1:a5;t4:18;itc:0;" href="http://getpiper.com/" id="yui_3_12_0_1_1392048138747_761" style="color: #324fe1; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Piper</a> surveillance cam I set up in my dining room. One night I turned on the motion-sensing alarm. As soon as anyone crossed its field of vision, the Piper would capture 25 seconds of video, sound a siren, and shine a spotlight in the perp’s face.</div><div id="yui_3_12_0_1_1392048138747_762" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 1.5em;">I had neglected, however, to tell any other members of my household about it. So, as my 15-year-old daughter entered the kitchen to grab a cup of coffee the next morning, the lamp snapped on and the siren began shrieking at 105 decibels. She nearly jumped out of her skin. Then <em>she</em> started shrieking.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 1.5em;">“OMG, what is wrong with you?” she wailed as I struggled to find the Off button on the iPad app. She said some other things too, which I won’t repeat here (but are captured on video if anyone’s interested).</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 1.5em;">My 17-year-old, who managed to sleep through the entire event, was much more low-key. Later, when he asked me what I was working on, I showed him the Piper. He simply shook his head. “You are such a control freak,” he said.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 1.5em;"><strong>Spooks R Us</strong>In a <u><a data-rapid_p="62" data-ylk="elm:itm;elmt:link;g:30b4ea39-a769-34ab-8101-6ab230ee325c;ct:1;t1:a5;t4:18;itc:0;" href="https://www.yahoo.com/tech/tagged/modern-family" style="color: #324fe1; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">modern family</a></u>, we have surveillance tools in our arsenal that our parents could only dream about. I’d even wager that the intelligence agencies of some third-world nations would envy <u><a data-rapid_p="63" data-ylk="elm:itm;elmt:link;g:30b4ea39-a769-34ab-8101-6ab230ee325c;ct:1;t1:a5;t4:18;itc:0;" href="https://www.yahoo.com/tech/the-internet-of-things-is-coming-to-your-home-your-72780133945.html" style="color: #324fe1; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">the stuff in our house</a></u>.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 1.5em;">Like the NSA, we deploy this gear mostly in the interest of “national security” (insert your own definition here). For example, all of our external doors and windows are connected via a <u><a data-rapid_p="64" data-ylk="elm:itm;elmt:link;g:30b4ea39-a769-34ab-8101-6ab230ee325c;ct:1;t1:a5;t4:18;itc:0;" href="http://www.vivint.com/" style="color: #324fe1; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Vivint home security system</a></u>. Nobody in our house carries keys anymore; instead, we open the WiFi-connected door locks with our own numerical codes. I get alerts to my phone when doors and windows are opened. Checking Vivint’s website, I can see exactly who came or left, and when.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 1.5em;">The Piper is just one of a handful of surveillance cams we have set up across the house. Its purpose is not to scare the pants off teenagers; it’s for chasing off intruders. But this surveillance gear also doubles as a wickedly effective way to keep an eye on the kids.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 1.5em;">In the old days, my parents used to hide in the dark so they could surprise my older sisters when they came straggling home at some ungodly hour of the night. Today there’s an app for that. We have the ability to know where our children are and what they’re doing 24/7, if we choose to.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 1.5em;">Over the years we have installed various apps on their phones, like<u><a data-rapid_p="65" data-ylk="elm:itm;elmt:link;g:30b4ea39-a769-34ab-8101-6ab230ee325c;ct:1;t1:a5;t4:18;itc:0;" href="https://www.life360.com/" style="color: #324fe1; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Life 360</a></u> and <u><a data-rapid_p="66" data-ylk="elm:itm;elmt:link;g:30b4ea39-a769-34ab-8101-6ab230ee325c;ct:1;t1:a5;t4:18;itc:0;" href="http://www.glympse.com/" style="color: #324fe1; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Glympse</a></u>, that let us look up their location with a few taps. Since my son began driving two years ago, we’ve had an <u><a data-rapid_p="67" data-ylk="elm:itm;elmt:link;g:30b4ea39-a769-34ab-8101-6ab230ee325c;ct:1;t1:a5;t4:18;itc:0;" href="http://www.mycar-connection.com/" style="color: #324fe1; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Audiovox Car Connection</a></u> dongle plugged into the onboard computer of our aging minivan. I get a text whenever he leaves or arrives home, and if I so choose I can trace his recent movements on a map. It works so well we’re thinking about trying <a data-rapid_p="68" data-ylk="elm:itm;elmt:link;g:30b4ea39-a769-34ab-8101-6ab230ee325c;ct:1;t1:a5;t4:18;itc:0;" href="https://www.yahoo.com/tech/will-truvolo-make-your-teens-safer-drivers-75713827016.html" style="color: #324fe1; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">a similar dingus</a> in our other car when my daughter starts driving.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 1.5em;">And when my wife and I are out of town, we can call up cams on our phones to see if a teen rave is raging in our household. (Or, if the kids have unplugged the cameras, whether it’s time for a unannounced visit from their grandmother.)</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 1.5em;">Like the old U.S.-Soviet arms negotiators, our philosophy is “Trust but verify.” It seems to be working; so far we’ve managed to avoid any nuclear confrontations.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 1.5em;"><strong>As easy as KGB</strong>But all of this raises difficult questions about where responsible parenting ends and irresponsible spying begins. Our teens have made it clear they aren’t exactly crazy about having Big Father and Big Mother intrude on their lives, especially as they develop into proto-adults.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 1.5em;">In our defense, we’ve been very up front about what this technology can do and how we use it. (See <a data-rapid_p="69" data-ylk="elm:itm;elmt:link;g:30b4ea39-a769-34ab-8101-6ab230ee325c;ct:1;t1:a5;t4:18;itc:0;" href="https://www.yahoo.com/tech/how-to-monitor-your-kids-without-turning-into-the-nsa-75449027616.html" style="color: #324fe1; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">“How to Monitor Your Kids Without Turning into the NSA.”</a>) We explained that the reason we spend an insane amount of money on mobile phones every month is not so they can watch YouTube in bed at 3 a.m. or maintain 27 simultaneous texting conversations; it’s so we can reach them when we need them, and vice versa. (So, in other words, please keep your phones charged, dammit.)</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 1.5em;">When my son began driving, this technology offered all of us peace of mind; we were able to know that he got where he was going, and he knew if he ran out of both gas and phone battery (because he’d forgotten to charge it) that we’d be able to locate him.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 1.5em;">And there are clear limits. We would never dream of putting cams in their private spaces, for example. Believe me, the last thing you want to see is a close-up view of a teenager’s bedroom. One cam is trained on the homework station in the dining room, another on the family room, and both give us a view of anyone entering or leaving the premises.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 1.5em;"><strong>I, spy?</strong>Still, the decision whether to track your loved ones is not an easy one. Are the online threats to kids often exaggerated? Yes, usually by companies selling this technology. But nobody wants his son or daughter to be the poster child in an Internet horror story.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 1.5em;">Did we all manage to survive to adulthood without these tools? Yes, we did. But this is a different world than the one we grew up in, one where strangers can reach across time zones to get to your kids, and childish mistakes may be enshrined forever on the Web.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 1.5em;">Can this technology be abused? Absolutely — and not just to play a harmless little prank. (Though I think my daughter has finally forgiven me for that one.)</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 1.5em;">But I believe the positives ultimately outweigh the negatives. Technology has enabled us to give our kids a longer leash at an earlier age, to allow them more autonomy, not less. It has helped us guide them, at a distance, toward making smarter choices. Hopefully it will also allow us to stay in touch with them when they get older and leave the nest. Assuming, of course, that they’re still speaking to us.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 1.5em;"><em>Questions, complaints, kudos? Email Dan Tynan at</em><u><a data-rapid_p="70" data-ylk="elm:itm;elmt:link;g:30b4ea39-a769-34ab-8101-6ab230ee325c;ct:1;t1:a5;t4:18;itc:0;" href="mailto:ModFamily1@yahoo.com" style="color: #324fe1; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><em>ModFamily1@yahoo.com</em></a></u><em>. </em></div><div id="yui_3_12_0_1_1392048138747_763" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 1.5em;"><em>*</em></div><div id="yui_3_12_0_1_1392048138747_764" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-top: 1.5em;"><em id="yui_3_12_0_1_1392048138747_767">Yahoo Tech is a brand new tech site from David Pogue and an all-star team of writers. <a data-rapid_p="71" data-ylk="elm:itm;elmt:link;g:30b4ea39-a769-34ab-8101-6ab230ee325c;ct:1;t1:a5;t4:18;itc:0;" href="http://www.facebook.com/yahootech" style="color: #324fe1; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Follow us on Facebook</a> for all the latest.</em></div>

Should You Use Tech to Keep Track of Your Kids? (BLOG)

Even Spider-Man knew it, since Peter Parker’s uncle Ben told him: With great power comes great responsibility. But when you’re  a tech tyran...

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Jesse Ventura follows my "barnone11970" channel

<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: red;">*****BREAKING YOU TUBE NEWS*****</span> </b></span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><b>I am so humbled and flattered...</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Jesse Ventura is a barnone11970 fan</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Other well known people subscribe...</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi89BpQpZRydJTAQL7GMhd7qYSH4tWgiAlETj3oy9JPC7sJewLyHkQpirbKslG6R2HC01Z4ymchcHLu7lpz7vnJsrD6RCULXCSmDPC9CEbjOka0ruUNKVSUhKQb8jlWvGCys8Y24Kkzwxw/s1600/barnoneFLATTERED.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="153" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi89BpQpZRydJTAQL7GMhd7qYSH4tWgiAlETj3oy9JPC7sJewLyHkQpirbKslG6R2HC01Z4ymchcHLu7lpz7vnJsrD6RCULXCSmDPC9CEbjOka0ruUNKVSUhKQb8jlWvGCys8Y24Kkzwxw/s1600/barnoneFLATTERED.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj95M0goUTHszYOdrjAHcVyIKhhVHfl3RG4-huXthqzKmFq7eHMyUR4DPY1bJhSV-EaKF_f923x_ic065fE8tSgTOzO1KqrzKhktQamiRyRoj-6djgLP3QfXAwU_HthXLES-e5Z04V-Pvk/s1600/jesse-ventura-5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="142" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj95M0goUTHszYOdrjAHcVyIKhhVHfl3RG4-huXthqzKmFq7eHMyUR4DPY1bJhSV-EaKF_f923x_ic065fE8tSgTOzO1KqrzKhktQamiRyRoj-6djgLP3QfXAwU_HthXLES-e5Z04V-Pvk/s1600/jesse-ventura-5.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Well known people watch Chris a.k.a. barnone11970</b></span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: red;">*****Chris asks for donation*****</span> </b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><i><b>"Mr. Ventura, I don't know if you'll watch this....in any way shape or form if any little minor contribution can be done on my behalf you can count me in I'm into it;  I definitely --I'm dedicating my life to this..."</b></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><b>---Chris, a.k.a. barnone 11970</b></i></div><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>I never realized how important Chris really is.  These are the people that really know what's going on!  There must be something to gold, silver, orgone pyramids, and freeman philosophies.  Chris says he's dedicating his life to this and hopes that Jesse Ventura might give him a donation besides.  What barnone! Asking for money?  Worthless fiat?</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>The VELVET CULT has been notified...</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/G8egUYPnEfQ?feature=player_detailpage" width="640"></iframe><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="223" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/WDR7ADwWq78?feature=player_detailpage" width="308"></iframe></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>The CRUSADER barnone11970</b></span></div><br /><b>Wow he's scheduled for a YOU TUBE PODCAST.  Is he a key note speaker?</b><br /><b>He must be important.  Or is it just a fantasy?</b><br /><b><br /></b><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="223" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/fJ9rUzIMcZQ?feature=player_detailpage" width="308"></iframe><b><br /></b></div><br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/I2tc3UqCMIk?feature=player_detailpage" width="640"></iframe><b> </b><br /><br /><b>...developing...</b></div>

Jesse Ventura follows my "barnone11970" channel

*****BREAKING YOU TUBE NEWS***** I am so humbled and flattered... Jesse Ventura is a barnone11970 fan Other well known people subscribe... ...

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Bomb kills two American contractors in Afghan capital Kabul (BLOG)

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMqu7qNImSqpuUg-AtvFo0TNpHc1OZFm_DHjjVZLeomUW8qMSas7Un7MyjcTEKi8fLAMupvwXMgg3qSuh8hf8s_fu-Ft64GJzT7rVrpP8iHjobRJdyJpLgaepU9_oM7CKzWsfNENGDDoY/s1600/2014-02-10T145645Z_1_CBREA1915IT00_RTROPTP_2_CNEWS-US-AFGHANISTAN-ATTACK.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMqu7qNImSqpuUg-AtvFo0TNpHc1OZFm_DHjjVZLeomUW8qMSas7Un7MyjcTEKi8fLAMupvwXMgg3qSuh8hf8s_fu-Ft64GJzT7rVrpP8iHjobRJdyJpLgaepU9_oM7CKzWsfNENGDDoY/s1600/2014-02-10T145645Z_1_CBREA1915IT00_RTROPTP_2_CNEWS-US-AFGHANISTAN-ATTACK.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1392047661340_25545" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">KABUL (Reuters) - A car bomb in the Afghan capital Kabul killed two United States contractors for the international security force ISAF on Monday, the NATO-led force and a U.S. official said.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1392047661340_25557" 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 explosion in eastern Kabul was the latest incident to rattle the city ahead of April's presidential election due to choose the country's first new leader since 2001.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1392047661340_25567" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">"Two International Security Assistance Force contracted civilians died as the result of a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device attack in eastern Afghanistan today," ISAF said in a statement.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1392047661340_25577" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the slain contractors were American.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1392047661340_25682" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Afghanistan's future remains uncertain as the Taliban continue their insurgent campaign and Washington and President Hamid Karzai are deadlocked over a bilateral security deal to let some U.S. forces stay beyond the end of 2014.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1392047661340_25645" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">NATO forces have already begun to withdraw from Afghanistan, but the United States and other nations have been seeking to keep some troops in Afghanistan after 2014 to help the country's army fend off the Taliban.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1392047661340_25660" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">On Saturday, the United Nations said that civilian deaths increased in 2013 as fighting intensified between government forces and insurgents.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1392047661340_25581" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">(Reporting By Jessica Donati, Mirwais Harooni, Hamid Shalizi and Missy Ryan; Editing by Tom Heneghan)</div>

Bomb kills two American contractors in Afghan capital Kabul (BLOG)

KABUL (Reuters) - A car bomb in the Afghan capital Kabul killed two United States contractors for the international security force ISAF on M...

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Book of the Moment: The Working Drawing

<a href="http://www.park-books.com/index.php?lang=en&page=books&view=co&booktype=order_1_releasedate&subject=1&artist=all&author=all&pd=pb&book=519"><b><i>The Working Drawing: The Architect's Tool</i></b></a>, edited by <span class="html-element html-span headline-text" id="ID_52f91cf463be5">Annette Spiro and David Ganzoni</span> and published by Park Books, is a must-have book for architects who love drawings...which should pretty much be all of them. A selection of drawings from the book can be found in <a href="http://www.world-architects.com/en/pages/page_item/the-working-drawing/">this week's World-Architects eMagazine</a>. <br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuTqNajGpg45JleMKVivG8TI20MG296fOyWNus-sualRI-6cKnWY0Fp6znW9Gx4Uh8NDai81j32ik_EbHnZ6IqbNSaJ0HSTGbr7RGqDOGb0RgQeAC6iQNfCxU3Q3QfxP6JHG89Y-YHECVI/s1600/9783906027319.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuTqNajGpg45JleMKVivG8TI20MG296fOyWNus-sualRI-6cKnWY0Fp6znW9Gx4Uh8NDai81j32ik_EbHnZ6IqbNSaJ0HSTGbr7RGqDOGb0RgQeAC6iQNfCxU3Q3QfxP6JHG89Y-YHECVI/s1600/9783906027319.jpg" /></a><br /><br />Text <a href="http://www.park-books.com/index.php?lang=en&page=books&view=co&booktype=order_1_releasedate&subject=1&artist=all&author=all&pd=pb&book=519">from the publisher</a>:<br /><blockquote><i>Large-size working drawings are an elementary means in the architectural process and the actual construction of a building. Yet very little has been written and published about the architect’s quintessential tool. This new book aims to close this gap. It draws on a vast collection of working drawings from many centuries held by the Department of Architecture at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETH Zurich). The collection, put together and categorized under the direction of Annette Spiro, comprises plans for a wide range of architectural tasks and features manifold representational techniques.</i><br /><i><br /></i> <i>The book presents around 100 of the collection’s highlights from five centuries, arranged by category for direct comparison. All plans are depicted entirely in color on large-size spreads and fold-outs. Full catalog details and a detail in true size are provided for each drawing.</i><br /><i><br /></i> <i>Mario Carpo, Hermann Czech, Tom Emerson, Philipp Esch, David Ganzoni, Uta Hassler and Daniel Stockhammer, Ákos Moravánszky, Urs Primas, Kornel Ringli, Stephan Rutishauser, Jonathan Sergison, and Philip Ursprung contribute essays on various aspects of the topic.</i></blockquote><br />The book is being released in the United States on February 15, 2014.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/3906027317/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=3906027317&linkCode=as2&tag=aweeklydoseof-20" target="_blank"><img alt="Buy from Amazon.com" border="0" src="http://www.archidose.org/books/buy-from-tan.gif" /></a>

Book of the Moment: The Working Drawing

The Working Drawing: The Architect's Tool , edited by Annette Spiro and David Ganzoni and published by Park Books, is a must-have book ...

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Tweaking an exercise routine to stay strong after 50 (BLOG)

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHF5j2lkAar1ppS4VQGAtN08fryJNlBkzWfkaJuw9iYbSH15KG9SFs60fD7X1PSSbCSoiZ08yV3W_eaWnFk5LWs22AhvFC5YMRXOWtlZgflzCIReGVBTT8NRY1Y56V7UOtLG0huhT8bW0/s1600/2014-02-10T090815Z_1_CBREA190PDV00_RTROPTP_2_USA.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHF5j2lkAar1ppS4VQGAtN08fryJNlBkzWfkaJuw9iYbSH15KG9SFs60fD7X1PSSbCSoiZ08yV3W_eaWnFk5LWs22AhvFC5YMRXOWtlZgflzCIReGVBTT8NRY1Y56V7UOtLG0huhT8bW0/s1600/2014-02-10T090815Z_1_CBREA190PDV00_RTROPTP_2_USA.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1392047661340_17366" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">By Dorene Internicola</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_1392047661340_17376" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">NEW YORK (Reuters) - People turning 50 may want to consider tweaking their exercise routines because as they age stiffer joints, slower recovery from injury and the loss of lean body mass are among the perils facing the youngest baby boomers, fitness experts say.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1392047661340_17386" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Studies have shown that even a 90-year-old can build muscle, so the half-century mark is a good time to retire joint-stressing high jumps and to start lifting dumbbells to build strength.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1392047661340_17396" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Dr. Wayne Westcott, co-author of the book "Strength Training Past 50," said maintaining lean body mass becomes harder with ageing.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1392047661340_17406" 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 average man in good shape is about 85 percent lean weight, organs, blood, bones, muscles and skin, to 15 percent fat. The average healthy woman has a 75/25 ratio," said Westcott, fitness research director at the South Shore YMCA in Quincy, Massachusetts.</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;">"It's more challenging with age but if you do strength training you can maintain your lean muscle to about age 70," he said, adding that an older woman who doesn't resistance train will lose up to 10 pounds of lean mass per decade.</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;">Westcott places equal value on cardiovascular training.</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;">"We recommend approximately 20 to 30 minutes of resistance exercises two to three times a week. Then try to have an equal amount of aerobic activity four to five days a week," he explained.</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;">Westcott added that older adults, who are hitting the gym in increasing numbers, might want to avoid explosive, high velocity activities, such as high jumps.</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;">In 1990 there were 1.9 million health club members aged 55 and above, while in 2012 there were over 10 million, according to a 2014 report by the trade association IHRSA (International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association).</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;">Dr. Barbara Bushman of the American College of Sports Medicine said regular physical activity, rather than a sedentary lifestyle, has the potential to minimize the physiological changes that occur with age and inactivity, in addition to limiting the progression of chronic diseases.</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;">"Older adults can benefit from exercise, and although absolute improvements may be less than for younger adults, relative increases can be similar," Bushman said, adding that older adults may take longer to make improvements.</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;">At 54, Florida-based fitness trainer and wellness coach Shirley Archer noticed that if she did not weight train she lost lean body muscle at a faster rate. She also found it harder to get it back.</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;">Happily for Archer, who has enjoyed running, cycling and hiking, her endurance activities remain unaffected by her aging.</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 feel that I have not lost any endurance," said Archer, author of the book "Fitness 9 to 5: Easy Exercises for the Working Week."</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;">As people age, she explained, they lose muscle fibers that produce quick powerful bursts before fibers that are engaged in endurance activities such as running or cycling.</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 said that is why older athletes, who cannot physically compete against younger athletes when it comes to strength and power, can remain competitive in endurance sports.</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 ageing exerciser also faces longer warm-up and recovery times, as the body is stiffer and slower to heal, Archer said. And the burning of fewer calories means paying even more attention to diet.</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;">Staying hydrated is also important.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1392047661340_17426" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">"We need to be sure to hydrate even if we don't feel particularly thirsty," she said. "Hydration will keep all systems working much more efficiently — and even help keep our thinking clear."</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1392047661340_17416" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">(Editing by Patricia Reaney, Bernard Orr)</div>

Tweaking an exercise routine to stay strong after 50 (BLOG)

By Dorene Internicola NEW YORK (Reuters) - People turning 50 may want to consider tweaking their exercise routines because as they age stiff...

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50x50: 6th Street House

<span style="font-weight: bold;">American-Architects <a href="http://www.american-architects.com/en/pages/50x50">Building of the Week</a>:</span><br /><br /><a href="http://www.american-architects.com/en/projects/44285_6th_Street_House">6th Street House</a> in Boulder, Colorado, by Arch11:<br /><a href="http://www.american-architects.com/en/projects/44285_6th_Street_House"><img alt="this week's Building of the Week" src="http://www.american-architects.com/files/projects/44285/images/6thStreetResidence_100_4.jpg" title="Current Building of the Week on american-architects.com" width="640" /></a><br /><br /><b>Last week's Building of the Week (which I forgot to post):</b><br /><br /><a href="http://www.world-architects.com/en/projects/44217_Animo_Leadership_High_School">Animo Leadership High School</a> in Inglewood, California, by Brooks + Scarpa Architects:<br /><a href="http://www.world-architects.com/en/projects/44217_Animo_Leadership_High_School"><img alt="this week's Building of the Week" src="http://www.world-architects.com/files/projects/44217/images/GreenDot_HS_012.jpg" title="Current Building of the Week on american-architects.com" width="640" /></a><br /><br /><i>American-Architects is taking a state-by-state look at architecture in the United States for our 2014 Building of the Week feature. "<a href="http://www.american-architects.com/en/pages/50x50">50x50 - 50 Projects in 50 Weeks</a>" presents one recent project from each state in alphabetical order, from Alabama to Wyoming. Projects are added every Monday.</i>

50x50: 6th Street House

American-Architects Building of the Week : 6th Street House in Boulder, Colorado, by Arch11: Last week's Building of the Week (which I ...

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Openly Gay Medalist 'Cuddles' with Putin (BLOG)

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp2PyNdmNeMoDDTXrD2uvfvVPh7OUbH5oDMHh1z8uHQooKXaxnrCfDXHMBCZdT6GxH2XCT0MxTUtIkkM-JIfBhORgykZMflLc4BOzk-jJ75S_8qg7RN93nkeQvtmLt3qRCFb5A-PFns4Q/s1600/33.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp2PyNdmNeMoDDTXrD2uvfvVPh7OUbH5oDMHh1z8uHQooKXaxnrCfDXHMBCZdT6GxH2XCT0MxTUtIkkM-JIfBhORgykZMflLc4BOzk-jJ75S_8qg7RN93nkeQvtmLt3qRCFb5A-PFns4Q/s1600/33.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1392047661340_7510" 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 openly gay gold medalist at the Sochi Olympic games says she got “a cuddle” from Russian President Vladimir Putin.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1392047661340_7487" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Dutch speedskater Ireen Wust told Dutch national broadcaster NOS, "I got a cuddle from him," at a party held in her honor. "He congratulated me and asked if everything was OK in Russia and I congratulated him on (Russian speedskater) Olga Graf, of course, for her third place (in the 3,000 meters). He was happy to see me, but then he had to leave again. But I cuddled him."</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1392047661340_7524" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">John van Vliet, a spokesman for the Netherlands' Olympics Committee, said Putin gave Wust a quick hug and wished her well.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1392047661340_7534" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Wust, who took gold at the 3,000 meter women's speedskate on Sunday, is one of seven openly gay athletes competing at the games.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1392047661340_7544" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Putin’s embrace of Wust comes after months of international outrage over Russia’s gay propaganda law, which prohibits what it deems the promotion of homosexuality around minors. Gay rights advocates fear it could be used to persecute homosexuals in Russia, many of whom have complained about a deteriorating climate of hate towards gays in recent months.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1392047661340_7596" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Some feared that gay athletes or fans could be targeted at the Sochi Olympics. Those fears may have been quieted by Putin’s meeting with Wust, the first openly gay Olympic medalist.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1392047661340_7596" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;"><br /></div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1392047661340_7596" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Yahoo</div>

Openly Gay Medalist 'Cuddles' with Putin (BLOG)

The first openly gay gold medalist at the Sochi Olympic games says she got “a cuddle” from Russian President Vladimir Putin. Dutch speedskat...

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Iraqi Suicide Bomb Instructor Accidentally Kills Himself And 21 Of His Pupils

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk26m0zIHnNIF9M0fP-0zDINfW-cKVEih9-pHatp6oM7ihqUHg4BWH4z3lMMRYLyqD609VFZ5_2VAg_4S_37t9dARUIyJXjGWKb0yeScfF01l4iQmm-565x9Dvs2B0KGJMOWbrbN2oH7ct/s1600/us_postal_service_logo-325.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="112" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk26m0zIHnNIF9M0fP-0zDINfW-cKVEih9-pHatp6oM7ihqUHg4BWH4z3lMMRYLyqD609VFZ5_2VAg_4S_37t9dARUIyJXjGWKb0yeScfF01l4iQmm-565x9Dvs2B0KGJMOWbrbN2oH7ct/s1600/us_postal_service_logo-325.gif" width="200" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Suicide Bomb Instructor Accidentally Kills Iraqi Pupils -- New York Times</b></span></div><br />BAGHDAD — A group of Sunni militants attending a suicide bombing training class at a camp north of Baghdad were killed on Monday when their commander unwittingly conducted a demonstration with a belt that was packed with explosives, army and police officials said.<br /><br />The militants belonged to a group known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, or ISIS, which is fighting the Shiite-dominated army of the Iraqi government, mostly in Anbar Province. But they are also linked to bomb attacks elsewhere and other fighting that has thrown Iraq deeper into sectarian violence.<br /><br />Twenty-two ISIS members were killed, and 15 were wounded, in the explosion at the camp, which is in a farming area in the northeastern province of Samara, according to the police and army officials. Stores of other explosive devices and heavy weapons were also kept there, the officials said.<br /><br />Eight militants were arrested when they tried to escape, the officials said.<br /><br /><b><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/11/world/middleeast/suicide-bomb-instructor-accidentally-kills-iraqi-pupils.html">Read more</a></b> ....<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>More News On An Iraqi Suicide Bomb Instructor Accidentally Killing Himself And 21 Of His Pupils</b></span></div><br /><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-26123074">Iraq militants 'killed by own bomb'</a> -- BBC<br /><a href="http://www.foxnews.com/world/2014/02/10/militants-accidentally-set-off-own-car-bomb-at-training-camp-in-iraq-leaving-21/">Militants accidentally set off own car bomb at training camp in Iraq, leaving 21 dead</a> -- FOX News/AP<br /><a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/afp/140210/21-militants-killed-own-car-bomb-iraq">21 militants killed by own car bomb in Iraq</a> -- Global Post/AFP<br /><a href="http://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2014/02/10/Truck-bomb-explosion-kills-25-al-Qaida-militants-in-Iraq/UPI-62001392047222/?spt=rln&or=2">Truck-bomb explosion kills 25 al-Qaida militants in Iraq</a> -- UPI<br /><a href="http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2014-02/10/c_133104516.htm">Truck bomb kills 25 militants in Iraq</a> -- Xinhua<br /><br /><b>My Comment:</b> Allahu Akbar!!!!!

Iraqi Suicide Bomb Instructor Accidentally Kills Himself And 21 Of His Pupils

Suicide Bomb Instructor Accidentally Kills Iraqi Pupils -- New York Times BAGHDAD — A group of Sunni militants attending a suicide bombing t...

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Georgia bracing for another round of winter weather (BLOG)

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6YzoCpqQwMYhHNpC62eHDkoHqqqR-iVlvHKclI50njfaCXbMHoL5ZXwAZw4uhhTaQTj6cHhPvdQx6fyGAMMmiptv6bBihZNAPb8ecE0-fP4abBCTBy_bPG9dI4Uh2yCZD-w-oGB_V4H0/s1600/3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6YzoCpqQwMYhHNpC62eHDkoHqqqR-iVlvHKclI50njfaCXbMHoL5ZXwAZw4uhhTaQTj6cHhPvdQx6fyGAMMmiptv6bBihZNAPb8ecE0-fP4abBCTBy_bPG9dI4Uh2yCZD-w-oGB_V4H0/s1600/3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1392047661340_3112" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">ATLANTA (AP) — With memories of thousands of vehicles gridlocked for hours on icy metro Atlanta highways fresh in their minds, emergency officials and elected leaders in north Georgia were preparing Monday for another round of winter weather.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1392047661340_3159" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Gov. Nathan Deal, who was criticized for his response to the Jan. 28 storm that paralyzed the metro area and left motorists stranded in vehicles overnight, said in a news release Sunday that he's put emergency response agencies on alert and begun significant preparations.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1392047661340_3169" 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 governor scheduled a news conference for noon Monday to discuss winter storm preparations.</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 National Weather Service issued a winter weather watch from 7 p.m. Monday through 7 p.m. Tuesday and a winter storm watch from Tuesday evening through Thursday morning for the metro Atlanta area.</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;">Forecasters said Alabama, which also saw stranded vehicles and other issues in the January storm, was likely to get a wintry mix of precipitation. Areas of Mississippi could see three inches of snow late Monday through noon Tuesday. And a blast of snow over a wide section of Kentucky slickened roads and closed several school districts.</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;">Rain was expected Monday night in north Georgia, with predictions that it would change to snow by Tuesday morning and mix with sleet during the day. Snow was expected from Tuesday night through Thursday morning. Snow will likely accumulate, making driving conditions hazardous.</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;">Emergency officials throughout the area have been urging residents to prepare their homes and vehicles.</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;">State and local officials were widely criticized two weeks ago for what critics called a sluggish and inadequate response to the threat of severe weather that left tens of thousands of motorists stuck in their cars for hours and at least 280 students forced to sleep on their school buses because of icy, gridlocked roads.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1392047661340_3244" 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 governor has apologized and last week announced the formation of a task force to develop recommendations on how the state can be better prepared and better equipped the next time severe weather hits metro Atlanta. He also called for various internal and external reviews and wants a new public alert system for severe weather, similar to what's used for missing and endangered children.</div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1392047661340_3244" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;"><br /></div><div id="yui_3_9_1_1_1392047661340_3244" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 24.000001907348633px; margin-bottom: 1.1em;">Yahoo</div>

Georgia bracing for another round of winter weather (BLOG)

ATLANTA (AP) — With memories of thousands of vehicles gridlocked for hours on icy metro Atlanta highways fresh in their minds, emergency off...

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China And Taiwan To Hold Their First Official Talks In 65 Years Tomorrow

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQyv0fKovOEWRzB6D1KQ90KYD0QgQlk3KYRwPuKW-MLpZhGMsk8HHMynovDl4MsDpnjAXZfTy-P43eqOoj9X_YFHOkkvIcfjunJHL5JB8irHGEhTMeRjHuLOGo-uymYjkI70yUKkVMrZWT/s1600/us_postal_service_logo-325.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQyv0fKovOEWRzB6D1KQ90KYD0QgQlk3KYRwPuKW-MLpZhGMsk8HHMynovDl4MsDpnjAXZfTy-P43eqOoj9X_YFHOkkvIcfjunJHL5JB8irHGEhTMeRjHuLOGo-uymYjkI70yUKkVMrZWT/s1600/us_postal_service_logo-325.gif" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Taiwan, China To Hold First Official Talks -- Voice of America</b></span></div><br />NANJING — Taiwan and China hold official talks this week, a historic first for the two governments since a civil war ended more than six decades ago. Political differences still linger and while the two administrations do not officially recognize one another, some analysts think the talks could mark a small step toward more normal, official ties - and perhaps even be a prelude to a possible meeting between China's Xi Jinping and Taiwan's President Ma Ying-jeou later this year.<br /><br />Since Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou was elected in 2008, Taipei and Beijing have made big strides in boosting economic ties.<br /><br />However, as bilateral trade has boomed, Ma's approval ratings at home have sunk, hovering in the teens and low 20s for much of last year. Only halfway through his second term, there are concerns both for Ma and China's leadership that the political tide in Taiwan could be shifting away from Taipei's ruling Nationalist Party, also known as the Kuomintang.<br /><br /><b><a href="http://www.voanews.com/content/taiwan-china-hold-first-official-talks/1847917.html">Read more</a></b> ....<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>More News On China And Taiwan Preparing To Hold Their First Official Talks In 65 Years</b></span></div><br /><a href="http://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/china-taiwan-meet-for-highest-level-talks-since-1949-division-1.1678647">China, Taiwan meet for highest-level talks since 1949 division</a> -- CTV News/AP<br /><a href="http://www.straitstimes.com/breaking-news/asia/story/historic-china-taiwan-talks-week-start-long-road-closer-ties-20140209">Historic China-Taiwan talks this week start long road to closer ties</a> -- Strait Times/AFP<br /><a href="http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asiapacific/historic-china-taiwan/989432.html">Historic China-Taiwan talks to begin on Tuesday </a>-- Channel News Agency<br /><a href="http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/841737.shtml#.UvkP44W0ykM">Mainland, Taiwan to hold first official meet in 65 yrs </a>-- Global Times<br /><a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/afp/140210/taiwan-raise-press-freedom-landmark-china-talks">Taiwan to raise press freedom in landmark China talks</a> -- Global Post/AFP

China And Taiwan To Hold Their First Official Talks In 65 Years Tomorrow

Taiwan, China To Hold First Official Talks -- Voice of America NANJING — Taiwan and China hold official talks this week, a historic first fo...

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