Why the NBA Should Ditch East-West Playoff Format (BLOG)

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpui0z5pmYvyZX7dW1y-qJ3DBvSPgZFkccgNqezaQcYc7fczPsVx6NMo2Ju2vDQPLYcio9vIM0X4rfvECccYGlixzsZluC-is8IIdBZFil0bQW5TLunOMgyCH_3fuWbrG6ufZYixxQc6o/s1600/WarriorsThunderBasketball_crop_north.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpui0z5pmYvyZX7dW1y-qJ3DBvSPgZFkccgNqezaQcYc7fczPsVx6NMo2Ju2vDQPLYcio9vIM0X4rfvECccYGlixzsZluC-is8IIdBZFil0bQW5TLunOMgyCH_3fuWbrG6ufZYixxQc6o/s320/WarriorsThunderBasketball_crop_north.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="ui-droppable" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #373737; font-family: 'Droid Sans', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 16px; margin-top: 29px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The drastic disparity between the Eastern and Western Conferences has been a hot topic throughout the 2013-14 <a href="http://bleacherreport.com/nba" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: #003366; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">NBA</a> season, and unless the gap between the two shrinks, it will continue to be a source of discussion.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #373737; font-family: 'Droid Sans', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 16px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">In a recent roundup of basketball minds at <em style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">USA Today</em> Sports Network, <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nba/2013/12/04/caucus-eastern-vs-western-conference-disparity-knicks-nets/3868707/" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: #003366; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Ian Levy</a> of Hickory High put things in perspective:</div><blockquote style="-webkit-box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0470588) 0px 0px 15px inset; background-color: #eeeeee; border: 0px; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0470588) 0px 0px 15px inset; color: #373737; font-family: 'Droid Sans', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin: 25px 30px; outline: 0px; padding: 1px 10px; quotes: none; text-shadow: rgb(255, 255, 255) 0px 1px 1px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; font-style: italic; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">I can sympathize with the frustration of West fans, knowing their team might miss out on the playoffs simply because of geographic orientation. The NBA is supposed to be a meritocracy and when that fundamental principle is overruled it feels like a gross miscarriage of justice.</div></blockquote><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #373737; font-family: 'Droid Sans', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 16px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">To summarize: The East stinks, and yet the West and its fans are the ones losing.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #373737; font-family: 'Droid Sans', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 16px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">My recap of Levy’s insight is far from an urbane declaration, but the concept is simple. Beyond the Miami Heat and Indiana Pacers, not one Eastern Conference team would qualify for the postseason out West, and as of Dec. 21 at 12 a.m. ET, the Atlanta Hawks are the only other squad to boast a winning record.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #373737; font-family: 'Droid Sans', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 16px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Conversely, and here’s where the trouble lies, the West is a different story. The Portland Trail Blazers, who we thought would be a fringe playoff team, are in a clash for first place in the conference. The Phoenix Suns, who we assumed were tanking for Andrew Wiggins, are above .500 and look like a potential postseason player.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #373737; font-family: 'Droid Sans', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 16px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Then, of course, there’s the additional myriad of teams battling for a spot come April. The Dallas Mavericks have exceeded expectations, the Denver Nuggets have done the same and the Golden State Warriors should improve before the year comes to an end.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #373737; font-family: 'Droid Sans', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 16px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Out East, it’s a two-horse race to the conference championship, and it’s not even close.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #373737; font-family: 'Droid Sans', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 16px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #373737; font-family: 'Droid Sans', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 16px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The Heat and Pacers are legitimate title chasers; this we can’t deny. But below them are a group of pretenders without a single contender.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #373737; font-family: 'Droid Sans', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 16px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The Hawks, despite having a winning record, lack the star power to compete for a championship. The Boston Celtics, even after blowing up their roster, are in fourth at 12-15.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #373737; font-family: 'Droid Sans', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 16px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The hope here is that the Heat and Pacers bring some semblance of balance to the top of <a href="http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1824982-nba-power-rankings-opening-week-edition" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: #003366; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">NBA power rankings</a>. This has been and will continue to be the case all year, but when it comes to the pre-finals version of the postseason, we’re stuck with that same two-horse race the entire way.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #373737; font-family: 'Droid Sans', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 16px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #373737; font-family: 'Droid Sans', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 16px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Taking a closer look at the Western Conference, here’s how the rankings would stand if the playoffs started today:</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #373737; font-family: 'Droid Sans', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 16px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #373737; font-family: 'Droid Sans', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 16px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">There’s power atop the conference, balance at the bottom and at least a sense that the second-tier teams could compete in a seven-game series.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #373737; font-family: 'Droid Sans', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 16px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Don’t forget, either, that teams like Golden State and the Minnesota Timberwolves are far from done. We’re just a quarter of the way through the season, and neither has yet to reach its potential at this point in the year.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #373737; font-family: 'Droid Sans', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 16px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Then there’s the East:</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #373737; font-family: 'Droid Sans', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 16px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #373737; font-family: 'Droid Sans', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 16px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Can you honestly say that any team between No. 3 and No. 8 can compete? Unlike the West, the next in line (Cleveland Cavaliers, Chicago Bulls, New York Knicks, etc.) are dreaming if they think sneaking in as a bottom seed helps them earn respect on the national level.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #373737; font-family: 'Droid Sans', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 16px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Even players and teams across the league are getting their shots in when it comes to the East’s poor performance. According to Yahoo! Sports' <a href="http://sports.yahoo.com/news/dirk-nowitzki-takes-a-dig-at-eastern-conference-154435890.html?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: #003366; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Marc J. Spears</a>, <a href="http://bleacherreport.com/dirk-nowitzki" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: #003366; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Dirk Nowitzki</a> doesn’t think too highly of his opponents on the other coast.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #373737; font-family: 'Droid Sans', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 16px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The big man was quoted saying, "If you look at the Western Conference, the quality so high. The teams are bunched up right there. We can beat each other every given night. It's not like the Eastern Conference, where you just roll through."</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #373737; font-family: 'Droid Sans', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 16px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Even the Trail Blazers (or at least their behind-the-scenes social media team) found the time to throw their hats into the mix.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #373737; font-family: 'Droid Sans', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 16px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #373737; font-family: 'Droid Sans', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 16px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Parity has disappeared from the East altogether, and something must be done to remove bad basketball from the climax of the season.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #373737; font-family: 'Droid Sans', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 16px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">When it comes to altering the system, there’s an internal battle that takes place in the heads of decision makers. The concept of tradition versus modernization influences a number of changes, but when it comes to the NBA, tradition shouldn’t blind the authority figures.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #373737; font-family: 'Droid Sans', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 16px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">At its most fundamental level, the game of basketball is just that—a game. It’s a contest between two competing rosters, and when bottom feeders try to contend with top-tier organizations, it creates undesirable playoff matchups year after year.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #373737; font-family: 'Droid Sans', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 16px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">As a fan (not just of your favorite team, but of the game itself), think about this: We could legitimately see a 50-loss team in the playoffs out East.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #373737; font-family: 'Droid Sans', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 16px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">For those counting, that’s a squad that loses more than 60 percent of its games, yet still squeezes in as an inevitable speed bump for the Heat or Pacers.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #373737; font-family: 'Droid Sans', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 16px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #373737; font-family: 'Droid Sans', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 16px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Take the Toronto Raptors, for instance. Through 24 games, the team is 10-14. That’s a winning percentage of just .417, yet it’s good enough for the eighth seed in the conference (13th out West).</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #373737; font-family: 'Droid Sans', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 16px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">If the Raptors continue their current pace, they’ll win approximately 34 games. That’s enough to avoid the dreaded 50-loss mark, but if it weren’t for a stunning one-point win over the Mavs on Dec. 20, they’d be right on par for a 52-loss season.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #373737; font-family: 'Droid Sans', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 16px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Can you imagine watching the Raptors face the Heat while the Warriors are stuck at home? That’s a thought that should make any fan outside of Toronto cringe, and it’s one that puts the current discrepancy between the two conferences in a perfect nutshell.  </div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #373737; font-family: 'Droid Sans', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 16px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">It’s worth noting that the likelihood of a 50-loss playoff appearance is not strong. The teams in the East will continue to beat one another, and with every loss between Eastern Conference foes, there is inevitably a win for the other side.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #373737; font-family: 'Droid Sans', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 16px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">However, it’s also worth stating that simply having this discussion exemplifies how dreadful the Eastern Conference has become. Bleacher Report’s own <a href="http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1879317-could-we-see-a-50-loss-playoff-team-in-the-eastern-conference" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: #003366; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Joe Flynn</a> breaks down how this scenario could play out, bringing to light that this hypothetical situation could legitimately come to fruition.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #373737; font-family: 'Droid Sans', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 16px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #373737; font-family: 'Droid Sans', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 16px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">So the question, of course, becomes: What are the alternatives? There’s no point in shouting about change if you don’t have a solution, and while this is just the beginning of the conversation, it makes sense to start in one place: abolish the current playoff format.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #373737; font-family: 'Droid Sans', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 16px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">First of all, let’s recognize that the 2013-14 campaign is not an aberration. We re-visit this narrative year after year, and while the current season is particularly dreadful, we must understand that the downfall out East is far from an anomaly.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #373737; font-family: 'Droid Sans', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 16px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">One idea that’s been discussed in the past is contraction. Eradicating the non-competitive, small-market franchises would allow middle-of-the-road teams to acquire playoff-caliber talent, and it would create fewer blowouts throughout the regular season.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #373737; font-family: 'Droid Sans', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 16px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">But once again, this isn’t just about the players—it’s about the fans, too. Fans in Charlotte don’t deserve to lose their team (again), and quite frankly, quitting on a franchise is admitting that it has no hope of a return to relevancy.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #373737; font-family: 'Droid Sans', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 16px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #373737; font-family: 'Droid Sans', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 16px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">So without eliminating teams completely, let's consider a change in the postseason structure. While teams mired in mediocrity (or worse) can currently make the playoffs out East, fringe playoff teams out West are forced to exit early.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #373737; font-family: 'Droid Sans', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 16px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Fans and players alike are given a raw deal come the postseason, and if you want evidence, look no further than the 2012-2013 Mavericks.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #373737; font-family: 'Droid Sans', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 16px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Despite being a modest underdog at 41-41, they—as well as the 43-39 Utah Jazz—got to witness the Milwaukee Bucks fall to the Heat in the postseason. Milwaukee won just 38 games that year, and while Dallas and Utah weren’t contenders in the traditional sense, they would have been more entertaining to watch than a <a href="http://bleacherreport.com/brandon-jennings" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: #003366; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Brandon Jennings</a>-led team that couldn’t keep up.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #373737; font-family: 'Droid Sans', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 16px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #373737; font-family: 'Droid Sans', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 16px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">What we need is a playoff system that is blind to conference. We need a 16-team tournament at the end of every season, and we need one that ranks squads in order of record.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #373737; font-family: 'Droid Sans', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 16px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Admittedly, implementation of this will not be easy. Schedules must be tweaked, traveling will change considerably, and it’s unlikely that everybody involved in the shift will agree upon a single solution.   </div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #373737; font-family: 'Droid Sans', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 16px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">But one thing’s for sure: something must change. The Eastern Conference epitomizes disparity, and it’s the fans and players out West who will inescapably suffer when the postseason comes around.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #373737; font-family: 'Droid Sans', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 16px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Upgrading tradition isn’t always simple, but if the NCAA can introduce a playoff to college football, the NBA can do what’s right for its most competitive franchises.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #373737; font-family: 'Droid Sans', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 16px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #373737; font-family: 'Droid Sans', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 16px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><iframe allowtransparency="true" class="twitter-follow-button twitter-follow-button" data-twttr-rendered="true" frameborder="0" id="twitter-widget-3" scrolling="no" src="http://platform.twitter.com/widgets/follow_button.1387492107.html#_=1387728601256&id=twitter-widget-3&lang=en&screen_name=BryantKnox&show_count=true&show_screen_name=true&size=m" style="background-color: transparent; border-width: 0px; height: 20px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 236px;" title="Twitter Follow Button"></iframe></div></div>

Why the NBA Should Ditch East-West Playoff Format (BLOG)

The drastic disparity between the Eastern and Western Conferences has been a hot topic throughout the 2013-14  NBA  season, and unless the g...

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In Case You Thought I Was Joking

You guys are killin' me.<br />Buncha fucking perverts is all I got comin' around here.<br /><br />I checked my Blogger Stats briefly and there it was again.<br /><br />Boobs.<br /><br /><i>Nothing but boobs too</i>, except one Anti Feinstein query or so. At least someone out there must have already found the boobs.<br /><br /><br />Look for yourself.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNNestMW0cGloy8fHakF9wwi0mAN9yo5H2zO9xPh3UEKdbam54kMKlgVozUHBzj2ilLCJ5S4q42qFLAQ6iW82jrrr85qCFt3iZZyQi4Hp73TYl7PGfR4F8vkVRofvDwCmjamfmYSX7lqoE/s1600/Capture.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNNestMW0cGloy8fHakF9wwi0mAN9yo5H2zO9xPh3UEKdbam54kMKlgVozUHBzj2ilLCJ5S4q42qFLAQ6iW82jrrr85qCFt3iZZyQi4Hp73TYl7PGfR4F8vkVRofvDwCmjamfmYSX7lqoE/s640/Capture.PNG" /></a></div>(Click to embigify)<br /><br />I think what kills me is that if ya want boobs,that's what Google is for. I don't post <i>THAT</i> many pictures of chesty young ladies fer cryin' out loud.<br />How in the world looking for boobs gives ya a return to this joint flat out mystifies me.<br /><br />Like I said before though, if that's what y'all want.......<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr0jcBwEtD43-40YlimCHKTsEBTDkT7TjvFw4eCBYJ-Zh1LobvcmkpZ97W6bX43z9WUbSBsyXDS57WsTar8wSqe5CwXNCk7XLfNtJzP3_UXHtCgz8E0srdC7-7Hl-btuuFBJ4_BoGY2asa/s1600/boobs_o_278002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr0jcBwEtD43-40YlimCHKTsEBTDkT7TjvFw4eCBYJ-Zh1LobvcmkpZ97W6bX43z9WUbSBsyXDS57WsTar8wSqe5CwXNCk7XLfNtJzP3_UXHtCgz8E0srdC7-7Hl-btuuFBJ4_BoGY2asa/s640/boobs_o_278002.jpg" /></a></div><br />Ya sick puppies. <br /><br />Heh.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />

In Case You Thought I Was Joking

You guys are killin' me. Buncha fucking perverts is all I got comin' around here. I checked my Blogger Stats briefly and there it wa...

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Brook Lopez's Broken Foot Busts Nets' 2013-14 Hopes—Is Pierce Trade Next? (BLOG)

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAbmUZmI6MvWjnGzzU_B__nCg_RAwEi_KTjzV_nnbGn28BM4a6JdRf052jlmeAJMTkm81YlrCV1L3maD_5CJ_dncty_jFQVVqnIogeX2dqZFqCxTg0cYSU3-crlF-lsmPRltzOwhhUfRk/s1600/hi-res-7984292_crop_north.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAbmUZmI6MvWjnGzzU_B__nCg_RAwEi_KTjzV_nnbGn28BM4a6JdRf052jlmeAJMTkm81YlrCV1L3maD_5CJ_dncty_jFQVVqnIogeX2dqZFqCxTg0cYSU3-crlF-lsmPRltzOwhhUfRk/s320/hi-res-7984292_crop_north.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="ui-droppable" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #373737; font-family: 'Droid Sans', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 16px; margin-top: 29px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">New York— Since arriving in Brooklyn some 17 months ago, the Nets have specialized in spending and sloganeering, often in tandem. Witness their offseason trade for <a href="http://bleacherreport.com/paul-pierce" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: #003366; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Paul Pierce</a> and <a href="http://bleacherreport.com/kevin-garnett" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: #003366; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Kevin Garnett</a>.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #373737; font-family: 'Droid Sans', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 16px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The transaction cost the Nets multiple assets and tens of millions in luxury taxes, with a single goal in mind: Win now, win big, whatever the cost. They declared themselves “all in”—a slogan echoed on billboards featuring Pierce and Garnett under the headline, “We’re in.”</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #373737; font-family: 'Droid Sans', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 16px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">It was a risky, expensive gambit, but with a certain romantic quality and just enough logic to seem reasonable. The two future Hall of Famers would join the Nets’ three existing stars and together they would launch an all-out assault on LeBron’s throne.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #373737; font-family: 'Droid Sans', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 16px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“All in” was exhilarating. “All in” was defensible. If it failed, it would fail spectacularly.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #373737; font-family: 'Droid Sans', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 16px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">It just wasn’t supposed to fail like this, with the Nets losing their star center, their title hopes and perhaps an entire era to a single fragile foot.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #373737; font-family: 'Droid Sans', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 16px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://www.nba.com/nets/news/lopez-medical-update" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: #003366; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">The team learned Saturday</a> that <a href="http://bleacherreport.com/brook-lopez" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: #003366; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Brook Lopez</a> had fractured the fifth metatarsal in his right foot, an injury that will cancel his season and could threaten his career. Lopez broke the same bone two years ago, wiping out most of the 2011-12 season.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #373737; font-family: 'Droid Sans', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 16px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">There is a long and sad history of 7-footers whose <a href="http://bleacherreport.com/nba" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: #003366; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">NBA</a> careers have been cut short by chronic foot problems, and the Nets can only pray that Lopez avoids the fate suffered by <a href="http://bleacherreport.com/yao-ming" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: #003366; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Yao Ming</a>, Bill Walton and Todd MacCulloch, among others.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #373737; font-family: 'Droid Sans', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 16px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">This much is clear: The Nets’ chase for the 2014 championship is over, if it ever really began. Yet it is the future that should worry them most.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #373737; font-family: 'Droid Sans', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 16px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Lopez is the Nets’ youngest star and perhaps their most irreplaceable—a 25-year-old center with elite scoring skills both inside and outside the paint. He shoots a high percentage, draws double-teams and provides the fulcrum for the offense. He is a better defender than his reputation suggests: As of Friday, Lopez rated as the best rim-protector in the league, based on opponents’ shooting percentage, according to NBA.com.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #373737; font-family: 'Droid Sans', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 16px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></div><div class="article_image article-image cf image-upload block-level" style="background-color: #f1f1f1; border: 0px; clear: both; color: #373737; float: none; font-family: 'Droid Sans', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1; margin: 0px auto 20px; max-width: 650px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: auto;"><div class="article_image--body" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; float: left; margin: 0px auto; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;"><img alt="" height="433" src="http://img.bleacherreport.net/img/article/media_slots/photos/001/270/730/hi-res-458202225-brook-lopez-of-the-brooklyn-nets-grabs-a-rebound_crop_exact.jpg?w=650&h=433&q=85" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; float: left; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 100%; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" width="650" /><div class="caption-overlay border-box" style="background-image: url(http://static2.bleacherreport.net/images/redesign/modules/overlay/bottom-117.png); background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: repeat no-repeat; border: 0px; bottom: 0px; height: 117px; left: 0px; margin: 0px; max-height: 90%; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; position: absolute; vertical-align: baseline; width: 610px;"></div><span class="article_image-accreditation" style="background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; bottom: 0px; color: white; display: block; font-size: 11px; font-weight: bold; left: 0px; line-height: 1.2; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 10px; position: absolute; text-shadow: rgb(0, 0, 0) 0px 0px 2px; vertical-align: baseline;">Jesse D. Garrabrant/Getty Images</span></div></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #373737; font-family: 'Droid Sans', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 16px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #373737; font-family: 'Droid Sans', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 16px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Over the last two seasons, the Nets have gone 53-38 with Lopez on the court and 5-12 without him. He is vital to everything they do, and a key to their future.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #373737; font-family: 'Droid Sans', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 16px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Lopez is under contract for two more seasons, at $15.7 million in 2014-15 and $16.7 million in 2015-16, his paycheck taking up about a quarter of the salary cap. A diminished Lopez would sink their chances of becoming an NBA power anytime soon.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #373737; font-family: 'Droid Sans', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 16px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The promise of that first <a href="http://bleacherreport.com/brooklyn-nets" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: #003366; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Brooklyn Nets</a> team, the one that rolled up 49 victories last season, is already eroding before our eyes.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #373737; font-family: 'Droid Sans', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 16px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Williams, just 29, has been plagued by ankle injuries, dropping him from the ranks of the elite at point guard. When healthy, he is still capable of dominating a game. He just isn’t healthy enough to merit much confidence, and he is owed $63 million over the three seasons after this one.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #373737; font-family: 'Droid Sans', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 16px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Joe Johnson, the third member of the Nets’ core, is still a potent scorer and clutch shooter, but at age 32 his best years are behind him, and his contract is crippling. Johnson is owed $23.2 million next season and $24.9 million in 2015-16, the final year of his deal.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #373737; font-family: 'Droid Sans', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 16px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The Nets have no chance to create salary-cap room until 2016, and no first-round draft picks in 2014, 2016 and 2018. It will be difficult to replenish the roster.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #373737; font-family: 'Droid Sans', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 16px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">If Lopez returns next fall and stays healthy, if Williams’ ankles stay strong and Johnson’s shooting stays true, the Nets could maintain a respectable edge. The expected arrival next season of Bojan Bogdanovic, a sweet-shooting forward now playing in Europe, could bolster the lineup. Mason Plumlee, the Nets’ rookie center, has shown some promise.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #373737; font-family: 'Droid Sans', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 16px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The future may be salvageable, if not necessarily glorious.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #373737; font-family: 'Droid Sans', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 16px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></div><div class="article_image article-image cf image-upload block-level" style="background-color: #f1f1f1; border: 0px; clear: both; color: #373737; float: none; font-family: 'Droid Sans', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1; margin: 0px auto 20px; max-width: 650px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: auto;"><div class="article_image--body" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; float: left; margin: 0px auto; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;"><img alt="" height="435" src="http://img.bleacherreport.net/img/article/media_slots/photos/001/270/732/hi-res-7832922_crop_exact.jpg?w=650&h=435&q=85" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; float: left; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 100%; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" width="650" /><div class="caption-overlay border-box" style="background-image: url(http://static2.bleacherreport.net/images/redesign/modules/overlay/bottom-117.png); background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: repeat no-repeat; border: 0px; bottom: 0px; height: 117px; left: 0px; margin: 0px; max-height: 90%; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; position: absolute; vertical-align: baseline; width: 610px;"></div><span class="article_image-accreditation" style="background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; bottom: 0px; color: white; display: block; font-size: 11px; font-weight: bold; left: 0px; line-height: 1.2; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 10px; position: absolute; text-shadow: rgb(0, 0, 0) 0px 0px 2px; vertical-align: baseline;">Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sport</span></div></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #373737; font-family: 'Droid Sans', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 16px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #373737; font-family: 'Droid Sans', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 16px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">But the present is a disaster, and it could have dramatic repercussions in the coming months.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #373737; font-family: 'Droid Sans', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 16px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Pierce can leave as a free agent in July. Garnett is under contract through next season, at $12 million, but it is doubtful he would want to stay without Pierce. If they want another shot at the championship, it will probably have to be elsewhere.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #373737; font-family: 'Droid Sans', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 16px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Nets officials must now confront the same calculus: If the title chase is lost, is there any reason to keep Pierce? Is there any reason not to trade him by the Feb. 20 deadline?</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #373737; font-family: 'Droid Sans', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 16px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Even at 36, Pierce could be valuable as a short-term rental for a contending team. A reunion with Doc Rivers in Los Angeles seems more than plausible, if the Nets and <a href="http://bleacherreport.com/los-angeles-clippers" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: #003366; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Clippers</a> can work out the details.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #373737; font-family: 'Droid Sans', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 16px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">This Nets season was predicated on five stars working in unison, an experiment that never really got a chance to work. The Nets might have overcome their slow start—the injuries to Pierce, Williams, Andrei Kirilenko and Jason Terry, the rookie mistakes by coach Jason Kidd—and still put together a respectable season. In a watered-down Eastern Conference, all things seemed possible.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #373737; font-family: 'Droid Sans', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 16px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Even at 9-17, the Nets were just two games behind <a href="http://bleacherreport.com/boston-celtics" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: #003366; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Boston</a> for the Atlantic Division lead on Saturday. A little luck, a little good health, a late kick next spring and, who knows, the Nets might have given Miami and Indiana the fight they promised them.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #373737; font-family: 'Droid Sans', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 16px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Now the Nets have lost their greatest advantage—a skilled big man who could have exploited the <a href="http://bleacherreport.com/miami-heat" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: #003366; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Heat</a>’s weak center rotation and challenged the <a href="http://bleacherreport.com/indiana-pacers" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: #003366; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Pacers</a>’ beefy front line.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #373737; font-family: 'Droid Sans', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 16px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Mikhail Prokhorov’s bankroll and general manager Billy King’s boldness made the Nets an instant power last year. Perhaps they will double down now, make a play for Omer Asik or Spencer Hawes, sacrifice one more future asset for the chance to save the present.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #373737; font-family: 'Droid Sans', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 16px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">But maybe it’s time for the Nets to confront the toughest question of all: Just how much more “all in” can they afford to go?</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #373737; font-family: 'Droid Sans', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 16px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #373737; font-family: 'Droid Sans', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 16px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><em style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Howard Beck covers the NBA for Bleacher Report.</em></div></div>

Brook Lopez's Broken Foot Busts Nets' 2013-14 Hopes—Is Pierce Trade Next? (BLOG)

New York— Since arriving in Brooklyn some 17 months ago, the Nets have specialized in spending and sloganeering, often in tandem. Witness th...

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Doctors save hand by attaching it to man's calf (BLOG, VIDEO)

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo-7DSQ0hualAqD7xGPYQqfoe9G1ncvYdp4YObL05Jjsu5JGh6lvg8fnOsoz2WJLeQfaH8M5ZpfH7k5oZnh_llSYEaMW5KXZRN0oM9i0jzQl6F-54Jx1f4JxXNcyyRKZdiePpIRcSD4IQ/s1600/1.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/AVvXsEjo-7DSQ0hualAqD7xGPYQqfoe9G1ncvYdp4YObL05Jjsu5JGh6lvg8fnOsoz2WJLeQfaH8M5ZpfH7k5oZnh_llSYEaMW5KXZRN0oM9i0jzQl6F-54Jx1f4JxXNcyyRKZdiePpIRcSD4IQ/s320/1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="cnnStryVidCont" style="border: 0px; float: left; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Utkal, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; min-height: 384px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 640px;"><div id="cnnCVP1" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="cnnvideo_wrapper" id="cnnCVP1-videowrapper" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;"><img alt="Watch this video" height="360" src="http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/131217105711-01-poy-hand-1217-story-top.jpg" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" width="640" /><a class="cnnvideo_clicklink" href="http://www.cnn.com/2013/12/17/health/china-hand-leg/index.html?hpt=he_t5#" style="border: 0px; color: #004276; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" title="Click to watch this video"><div class="cnnvideo_playcontainer cnnvideo_click_standard" style="background-image: url(http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/.e/img/3.0/video/ClickToPlay.Default.640x360.png); background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border: 0px; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; height: 60px; left: 220px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: absolute; top: 138px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 201px;"></div></a></div><div class="videoHeadline" style="background-color: black; border: 0px; bottom: 0px; color: white; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: absolute; vertical-align: baseline; width: 640px;"><h1 style="border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 16px; line-height: 33px; margin: 0px 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 600px;">Man's hand grafted onto his ankle</h1></div></div></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><br />Xie said that he went to local hospitals near the factory first, but he said they told him they "did not have the skills to help." Eventually he found a hospital about two hours away where doctors believed they could do it.(CNN)</strong> -- A worker operating a machine in a family workshop in China accidentally cut off his hand -- which doctors were able to save by grafting it onto his lower calf.</div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph2" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">The worker, Xie Wei, said he was initially unsure if his right hand could be saved, but he thought it was worth a try. The hand went without a blood supply for many hours while Xie searched for a hospital that could perform such a surgery.</div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph4" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">Xie kept his hand in a plastic bag at first, then stored it in a cooler of ice. In total, it took about seven hours to get to a doctor who could help.</div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph5" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">The doctor, Dr. Tang Juyu, is a specialist in difficult tissue and wound repair cases. Before Xie went into the operation, Tang told him he was optimistic and predicted he would regain the use of his hand, according to Xie.</div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph6" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">Tang decided the best way to save the hand was to attach it to Xie's calf where there was a good blood supply. The hand would need to stay there until Xie's arm could fully heal.</div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph7" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">Tang believes there have been about 20 such cases in all of China and all of them have been successful. There is no data, as only case studies have been performed.</div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph8" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">Tang said in a similar operation in 2004, he grafted a hand onto a patient's belly. That operation was a success.</div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph9" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">When Xie woke up from the operation he said he was surprised to find his hand on his calf. He says his first reaction at the time was to think it was "unbelievable" and "weird."</div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph10" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">The hand itself felt warm, he said, but it was numb since no nerves were connected and only blood vessels were attached. His leg felt no different, he said, but was "heavier than usual."</div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph11" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">After about a month his arm was better healed, and he had another surgery where his hand was reattached.</div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph12" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">Tang says this second stage of the operation is actually more challenging, but everything went smoothly.</div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph13" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">Xie has recovered without complications and has been discharged. He is currently resting at home.</div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph14" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">He said he can twist his wrist to a certain degree, but doesn't have full movement with his fingers, at least not yet. Doctors told him a full recovery for the nerves in his hand should take about six months.</div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph15" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">Xie said he isn't sure what his future may bring. Today he is concentrating on recovering fully. The factory did pay for his operation, which cost about 300,000 Chinese yuan, or about $49,400.</div><a href="" name="em0" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Utkal, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Utkal, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;"></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Utkal, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;"></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Utkal, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;"></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Utkal, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;"></span><br /><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph16" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">Most of all, Xie said, he is thankful to doctors for "living up to their promise" that they would be able to reattach his hand and make it functional again.</div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph16" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">-CNN</div><div><br /></div></div>

Doctors save hand by attaching it to man's calf (BLOG, VIDEO)

Man's hand grafted onto his ankle Xie said that he went to local hospitals near the factory first, but he said they told him they "...

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Countdown to Obamacare deadlines (BLOG)

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnhj2YIMIpza6oNK-Wtf8psIGlstQ-CMANJPcQZPxoRcwi4VyWmurhyphenhyphenskD7pEo3-91JKr_1yL1KjCs5xRrgTCzud5yVoXS1tkzH-C1bXABJPf99nOI0Z1hYNLx4EVU2dYn6OFgxnELYTE/s1600/3.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="189" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnhj2YIMIpza6oNK-Wtf8psIGlstQ-CMANJPcQZPxoRcwi4VyWmurhyphenhyphenskD7pEo3-91JKr_1yL1KjCs5xRrgTCzud5yVoXS1tkzH-C1bXABJPf99nOI0Z1hYNLx4EVU2dYn6OFgxnELYTE/s320/3.png" width="320" /></a></div><div class="cnnStorySource" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #999999; font-family: Lato, Arial, serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px 0px 5px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">NEW YORK (CNNMoney)</div><h2 style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Lato, Arial, serif; font-size: 21px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 28px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 20px; vertical-align: baseline;">Want health insurance by January 1? Better pick an Obamacare plan by Monday and pay for it before New Year's Day.</h2><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Lato, Arial, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 20px; vertical-align: baseline;">There's been a lot of confusion surrounding the deadlines for applying for Obamacare -- and with good reason. Federal and state governments, as well as insurers, keep changing the dates, mainly to accommodate those blocked from completing enrollment due to technical problems.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Lato, Arial, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 20px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent;">More than a million people have signed up for private insurance in the federal and state exchanges, President Obama said Friday. And exchanges are reporting heavy interest in the days leading up to Monday.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Lato, Arial, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 20px; vertical-align: baseline;">Each consumer faces two deadlines: One by which to choose a plan and another for making a payment.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Lato, Arial, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 20px; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Federal exchange:</strong> As of now, if you live in one of the 36 states serviced by the federal enrollment website, <a href="http://money.cnn.com/2013/12/22/news/economy/obamacare-deadlines/www.healthcare.gov?iid=EL" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: #004276; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">healthcare.gov,</a> your best bet for getting hassle-free coverage in 2014 is to select a policy by end of the day on Monday<strong style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </strong>and pay your first month's premium by December 31.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Lato, Arial, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 20px; vertical-align: baseline;">But procrastinators and those running into technical roadblocks might get a short reprieve.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Lato, Arial, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 20px; vertical-align: baseline;">Federal officials said recently that individuals who try to <a href="http://money.cnn.com/2013/12/11/news/economy/obamacare-exchanges/index.html?iid=EL" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: #004276; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">sign up,</a> but encounter a problem with the website, can qualify for a special enrollment period and gain coverage as soon as possible. The government is also "encouraging" insurers to allow people who miss Monday's deadline to still be eligible for coverage starting January 1, even if they sign up sometime in January.</div><div class="cnnplayer" id="cnnplayer0" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px 0px 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="cnnVidplayer" style="background-color: black; border: 0px; height: 348px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 620px;"><a class="summaryImg" href="http://money.cnn.com/video/news/2013/12/17/dumbest-moments-obamacare-heathcare-website-exchange-obama-promise.cnnmoney?iid=EL" id="vid0" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: #004276; display: block; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><img alt="Healthcare.gov fails the uninsured" border="0" height="348" src="http://i2.cdn.turner.com/money/dam/assets/131217132740-dumbest-moments-obamacare-heathcare-website-exchange-obama-promise-00004322-620x348.jpg" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" width="620" /><span class="video_playbtn" style="background-image: url(http://i2.cdn.turner.com/money/.element/img/5.0/buttons/video_play_button_big.png); background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border: 0px; height: 120px; left: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; position: absolute; top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 120px;"> </span></a></div><div class="cnnVidFooter" style="background-color: #ebebeb; border: 0px; height: 28px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 5px 8px 7px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="cnnHeadline" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; font-size: 22px; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: -1px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Healthcare.gov fails the uninsured</div><div class="countdown" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; height: 18px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 5px; vertical-align: baseline;"></div></div></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Lato, Arial, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 20px; vertical-align: baseline;">When it comes to paying for a plan selected on healthcare.gov, the insurance industry trade group said last week that folks who pay by January 10 can have coverage retroactive to the start of the year. But the group stressed that <a href="http://money.cnn.com/2013/12/05/news/economy/obamacare-insured/index.html?iid=EL" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: #004276; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">coverage doesn't begin until the first payment</a> is made. So people who wait until the 10th to pay might have to shell out for their initial medical care up front and file for reimbursement from their provider.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Lato, Arial, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 20px; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">State exchanges:</strong> If you are applying in one of the 14 states running its own exchange, you may have a different set of deadlines.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Lato, Arial, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 20px; vertical-align: baseline;">Minnesota became the latest state to change its dates. Residents there have until December 31 to pick a plan and have coverage start the next day, exchange officials said Friday. They have until January 10 to pay.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Lato, Arial, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 20px; vertical-align: baseline;">Rhode Islanders also have until December 31 to pick a plan and have coverage start the next day. But they have to pay their first premium by January 6 and won't receive an ID card until they do.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Lato, Arial, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 20px; vertical-align: baseline;">The change was made "to make sure more Rhode Islanders are able to have health care on January 1," said Dara Chadwick, spokeswoman for the Rhode Island exchange. "There's been a lot of confusion in the messaging."</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Lato, Arial, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 20px; vertical-align: baseline;">In Washington, residents who try to apply by Monday<strong style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </strong>but run into problems have until January 15 to pick and pay for a plan. Coverage will be retroactive to January 1.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Lato, Arial, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 20px; vertical-align: baseline;">Other states have extended either the deadline to choose a plan or to pay the premium. Oregon and Maryland pushed back the deadline to pick a policy to December 27, with one Maryland insurer giving applicants until December 31.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Lato, Arial, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 20px; vertical-align: baseline;">Consumers in Maryland and Oregon have until January 15 to pay, while <a href="http://money.cnn.com/2013/11/21/news/economy/obamacare-california/index.html?iid=EL" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: #004276; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">California</a> is giving residents until January 6, Vermont until January and Connecticut until January 10.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Lato, Arial, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 20px; vertical-align: baseline;">Regardless of where you live, you should call your insurer of choice to check its deadlines and, after you pay, check your enrollment status.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Lato, Arial, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 20px; vertical-align: baseline;">For those who miss the deadline altogether, don't worry. You can still get coverage starting February 1 if you pick a plan by January 15 and pay by the end of January.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Lato, Arial, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 20px; vertical-align: baseline;">Open enrollment ends March 31. The uninsured must pick a plan by then to avoid a <a href="http://money.cnn.com/2013/08/13/news/economy/obamacare-penalty/?iid=EL" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: #004276; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">penalty</a>. These procrastinators would see coverage start May 1. <a href="http://money.cnn.com/2013/12/22/news/economy/obamacare-deadlines/index.html?iid=s_mpm#TOP" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: #004276; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><img alt="To top of page" border="0" height="7" src="http://i.cdn.turner.com/money/images/bug.gif" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" width="7" /></a></div></div>

Countdown to Obamacare deadlines (BLOG)

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) Want health insurance by January 1? Better pick an Obamacare plan by Monday and pay for it before New Year's Day. Th...

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MWAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAA!!! I'm All Done!

I got that Christmas shopping bullshit done this afternoon while the wife and her kids watched the Seahawk's game.<br /><br />The best part of the whole damn thing was that I never stepped foot in a fucking mall.<br />It's a miracle I'm tellin' ya!<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzCw2Jf6yFZb5DIsbOCB776cZ-1Fdt7ocxGbeV2yzh7vZewjxQL992isIcpYAgRHm1kfJPNjUMNHprAWtPEHgbcHmGOPHADHXEzbS2EtBz0asD1a-VvgLxmJ5gGnwTW7KRh2MjV7z3Bgxo/s1600/no-mall-frankford-townshipjpg-8334841b2f605dc6_large.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzCw2Jf6yFZb5DIsbOCB776cZ-1Fdt7ocxGbeV2yzh7vZewjxQL992isIcpYAgRHm1kfJPNjUMNHprAWtPEHgbcHmGOPHADHXEzbS2EtBz0asD1a-VvgLxmJ5gGnwTW7KRh2MjV7z3Bgxo/s640/no-mall-frankford-townshipjpg-8334841b2f605dc6_large.jpg" /></a></div><br />I have news for the stupid fuck that came up with this Demotivational poster,<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSgQxJkqWhCuNkbfTgSdGViLH0UExVmj_Q4Xi9jiZmTtSvsTsCyN8gfDhm5Mcpkf-cU_TR_e-38v_ZnUmcNJ0cNQ-M56quJQktZ_XlUj5rQI8T4BtNeiNRq6sR02QhkAOwDuhTpe1wKoCv/s1600/mallrat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSgQxJkqWhCuNkbfTgSdGViLH0UExVmj_Q4Xi9jiZmTtSvsTsCyN8gfDhm5Mcpkf-cU_TR_e-38v_ZnUmcNJ0cNQ-M56quJQktZ_XlUj5rQI8T4BtNeiNRq6sR02QhkAOwDuhTpe1wKoCv/s640/mallrat.jpg" /></a></div><br />If you see an old Greybeard in a fucking mall it ain't because he is there to look at jail bait.<br />He is either on a mission and wants to get in and get out or he is with his wife/girlfriend and just wants out, period.<br /><br />This has been perfectly illustrated in case you were unaware.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-sp4lX_RFYcKfEK3479YrXXHg8QaP_c3ORoFqPaDYgVg5kcUeQd6ZIrOCtFMUQFdDwM4kVmuCZruN_zkH_l8Q0shyDws1j9KfTyIADSWlQFxhXfmFrmeGckTMsNwWeXzrAV6Hp8l1uveG/s1600/ba4fc71d17cc40688734722470f9272e.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-sp4lX_RFYcKfEK3479YrXXHg8QaP_c3ORoFqPaDYgVg5kcUeQd6ZIrOCtFMUQFdDwM4kVmuCZruN_zkH_l8Q0shyDws1j9KfTyIADSWlQFxhXfmFrmeGckTMsNwWeXzrAV6Hp8l1uveG/s640/ba4fc71d17cc40688734722470f9272e.jpg" /></a></div><br />We do not like malls.<br /><br />They are full of ignorant, noisy and obnoxious people that we want nothing to do with.Starting at the parking lot.<br /><br />So now I am going to see an old friend and wait for it to be over.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbMfr77_6xTjVzEsMpMQTSVU7qX6aLZ2tab5VTKfyl6g-PQ1cJcyjtkPylHFVhNsq8UjSXTCkrkH39aaMiWewt35Mn4E1aQLVxwXCHowq72r9DJBsRvUYb6yO_UUm2e6ITTfqg_JE5P8MX/s1600/me-and-my-recliner-we-go-way-back1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbMfr77_6xTjVzEsMpMQTSVU7qX6aLZ2tab5VTKfyl6g-PQ1cJcyjtkPylHFVhNsq8UjSXTCkrkH39aaMiWewt35Mn4E1aQLVxwXCHowq72r9DJBsRvUYb6yO_UUm2e6ITTfqg_JE5P8MX/s640/me-and-my-recliner-we-go-way-back1.jpg" /></a></div>

MWAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAA!!! I'm All Done!

I got that Christmas shopping bullshit done this afternoon while the wife and her kids watched the Seahawk's game. The best part of the ...

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New BlackBerry CEO optimistic despite loss (BLOG)

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBgmOfaF77y4R0SxhkS9QLA5UrERgYxGPibFPXYf7W6j1GPiqh3dv8hvcWMC2QHtKyyxYP43WluT-M5l1JcN0j9kCpTc0fEmjbadLvLKBq7g3VegOBnufJSy8od6RVBZfvPdmvfQvh1p4/s1600/2.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/AVvXsEgBgmOfaF77y4R0SxhkS9QLA5UrERgYxGPibFPXYf7W6j1GPiqh3dv8hvcWMC2QHtKyyxYP43WluT-M5l1JcN0j9kCpTc0fEmjbadLvLKBq7g3VegOBnufJSy8od6RVBZfvPdmvfQvh1p4/s320/2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="cnnStorySource" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #999999; font-family: Lato, Arial, serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px 0px 5px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">NEW YORK (CNNMoney)</div><h2 style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Lato, Arial, serif; font-size: 21px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 28px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 20px; vertical-align: baseline;">BlackBerry said goodbye to its terrible 2013 with yet another awful quarterly financial report -- but interim CEO John Chen was able to talk the stock higher.</h2><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Lato, Arial, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 20px; vertical-align: baseline;">Shares of <span style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">BlackBerry</span> <span style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">(<span class="inlink_chart" style="background-image: url(http://i2.cdn.turner.com/money/.element/img/5.0/buttons/assorted_icons.gif); background-position: -200px -160px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 2px 19px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;"><a class="inlink" href="http://money.cnn.com/quote/quote.html?symb=BBRY&source=story_quote_link" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: #004276; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">BBRY</a></span>)</span> initially fell more than 7% in premarket trading after the struggling smartphone maker said Friday that it posted a whopping $4.4 billion loss during the quarter that ended in November.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Lato, Arial, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 20px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent;">Excluding one-time costs, BlackBerry reported a loss of 67 cents a share. Sales fell 56% over the year to $1.2 billion. Both of those figures were worse than what Wall Street expected.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Lato, Arial, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 20px; vertical-align: baseline;">But the stock shifted gears once Chen kicked off BlackBerry's conference call. The stock rose nearly 1.5% in early trading after the market opened.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Lato, Arial, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 20px; vertical-align: baseline;">"The market has spoken and we have listened," said Chen, who took the interim CEO spot at BlackBerry last month after the company <a href="http://money.cnn.com/2013/11/04/technology/blackberry-fairfax/index.html?iid=EL" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: #004276; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">abandoned its plans</a> to sell the company and ousted CEO Thorsten Heins.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Lato, Arial, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 20px; vertical-align: baseline;">The closed up more than 15%, possibly because more than a quarter of BlackBerry shares are held by short sellers: investors who borrow shares and immediately sell them with the hopes of buying them back when the price drops.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Lato, Arial, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 20px; vertical-align: baseline;">A surprise jump in a stock's price can force short sellers to cover their positions quickly, buying back the stock en masse in order to cut their losses -- and sending shares higher in the process. It's a phenomenon known as a short squeeze.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Lato, Arial, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 20px; vertical-align: baseline;">Chen stressed on the call that despite a lot of bad publicity and the mounting losses, the company has "a very solid base." In particular, he cited BlackBerry's engineering talent and its cash position -- which now stands at $3.2 billion, up from $2.6 billion in the previous quarter.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Lato, Arial, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 20px; vertical-align: baseline;">He used the word "turnaround" several times, though he warned that parts of that process could take a while. Chen is no stranger to uphill battles: As CEO of the once-struggling software company Sybase, he turned it around before selling it to <span style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">SAP</span> <span style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">(<span class="inlink_chart" style="background-image: url(http://i2.cdn.turner.com/money/.element/img/5.0/buttons/assorted_icons.gif); background-position: -200px -160px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 2px 19px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;"><a class="inlink" href="http://money.cnn.com/quote/quote.html?symb=SAP&source=story_quote_link" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: #004276; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">SAP</a></span>)</span> in 2010.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Lato, Arial, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 20px; vertical-align: baseline;">Chen also talked up BlackBerry's new five-year strategic partnership with Foxconn, the world's largest manufacturer of electronic parts. Under the terms of the deal announced Friday, Foxconn will develop and manufacture certain BlackBerry devices and manage that inventory itself.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Lato, Arial, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 20px; vertical-align: baseline;">The BlackBerry chief praised Foxconn's "world-class supply chain," its access to emerging markets and its ability to both design and manufacture hardware. BlackBerry's internal design teams will focus on software and high-end phones, Chen said, adding that the rest of the hardware development would be left to Foxconn.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Lato, Arial, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 20px; vertical-align: baseline;">The partnership will first focus on a smartphone for Indonesia and other emerging markets, which is set for early 2014. Foxconn is the Apple supplier that has made headlines over the past few years for myriad <a href="http://money.cnn.com/2012/03/29/technology/apple-foxconn-report/?iid=EL" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: #004276; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">labor violations</a> in China.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Lato, Arial, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 20px; vertical-align: baseline;">S&P Capital IQ analyst James Moorman was ho-hum on the announcements. In a note to clients Friday, he said the Foxconn partnership "makes sense" and will help the company better manage its costs. But it wasn't enough to outweigh the drop in sales. Moorman kept his rating on the stock at "hold."</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Lato, Arial, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 20px; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">BlackBerry's brutal 2013: </strong>The company kicked off the year by finally launching its long-delayed <a href="http://money.cnn.com/2013/01/30/technology/mobile/blackberry-10-rim/?iid=EL" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: #004276; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">BlackBerry 10</a> operating system in January. But its first device on the platform, the <a href="http://money.cnn.com/2013/03/20/technology/mobile/blackberry-z10-review/?iid=EL" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: #004276; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">keyboardless Z10</a>, fared poorly.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Lato, Arial, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 20px; vertical-align: baseline;">BlackBerry took a nearly <a href="http://money.cnn.com/2013/12/20/technology/mobile/blackberry-earnings/2013/09/27/technology/enterprise/blackberry-earnings/index.html?iid=EL" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: #004276; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">$1 billion writedown </a>on unsold Z10 phones in September -- and Chen alluded to that when talking about the Foxconn deal, saying the partnership will reduce BlackBerry's exposure to that kind of risk.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Lato, Arial, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 20px; vertical-align: baseline;">The new phones still aren't catching on with customers though. The company said Friday it sold about 4.3 million phones during its most recent quarter -- but 3.2 million of them were devices on the older BlackBerry 7 operating system.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Lato, Arial, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 20px; vertical-align: baseline;">Faced with declining sales and market share, the company also announced in September it would <a href="http://money.cnn.com/2013/09/20/technology/blackberry/index.html?iid=EL" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: #004276; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">cut 4,500 jobs </a>-- or 40% of its workforce -- and that it would<a href="http://money.cnn.com/2013/09/23/technology/mobile/blackberry-private/?iid=EL" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: #004276; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank"> seek a buyer</a> to take it private.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Lato, Arial, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 20px; vertical-align: baseline;">But just last month, BlackBerry <a href="http://money.cnn.com/2013/11/04/technology/blackberry-fairfax/index.html?iid=EL" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: #004276; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">abandoned its plans</a> to sell the company and got rid of Heins.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Lato, Arial, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 20px; vertical-align: baseline;">Chen faces a daunting task. <a href="http://money.cnn.com/2013/11/05/technology/mobile/blackberry-ceo/?iid=EL" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: #004276; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Experts criticized</a> Heins' failure to prioritize BlackBerry's business-focused customers. Instead, BlackBerry tried to replicate the mass consumer success of <span style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Apple</span> <span style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">(<span class="inlink_chart" style="background-image: url(http://i2.cdn.turner.com/money/.element/img/5.0/buttons/assorted_icons.gif); background-position: -200px -160px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 2px 19px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;"><a class="inlink" href="http://money.cnn.com/quote/quote.html?symb=AAPL&source=story_quote_link" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: #004276; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">AAPL</a></span>, <a href="http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune500/2013/snapshots/670.html?iid=EL" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: #004276; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Fortune 500</a>)</span> and <span style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Google's</span> <span style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">(<span class="inlink_chart" style="background-image: url(http://i2.cdn.turner.com/money/.element/img/5.0/buttons/assorted_icons.gif); background-position: -200px -160px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 2px 19px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;"><a class="inlink" href="http://money.cnn.com/quote/quote.html?symb=GOOG&source=story_quote_link" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: #004276; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">GOOG</a></span>, <a href="http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune500/2013/snapshots/11207.html?iid=EL" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: #004276; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Fortune 500</a>)</span> Android.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Lato, Arial, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 20px; vertical-align: baseline;">BlackBerry changed gears in September and said it would focus on corporate customers and so-called "prosumers." It also said it would scale back its device offerings from six to four. But analysts said it was too little and too late. Chen, unsurprisingly, is more hopeful.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Lato, Arial, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 20px; vertical-align: baseline;">"I know there has been a lot said about BlackBerry, but let me remind you that at BlackBerry, we are not dwelling on the past," Chen wrote in a company <a href="http://blogs.blackberry.com/2013/11/a-message-from-john-s-chen-blackberry-executive-chair-and-ceo/" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: #004276; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">blog post</a> a few days after his appointment. "We are looking towards the future." <a href="http://money.cnn.com/2013/12/20/technology/mobile/blackberry-earnings/index.html?iid=EL#TOP" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: #004276; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><img alt="To top of page" border="0" height="7" src="http://i.cdn.turner.com/money/images/bug.gif" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" width="7" /></a></div></div>

New BlackBerry CEO optimistic despite loss (BLOG)

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) BlackBerry said goodbye to its terrible 2013 with yet another awful quarterly financial report -- but interim CEO John C...

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Using Botox To Treat Migraines

<div style='font-style:italic;' class='uawbyline'>By Cali Marinaw</div><br /><br /> <div class='uawarticle'>The use of botulinum toxin injections has advanced tremendously over the last few years. Applications in cosmetic surgery and muscle spasticity disorder are now well recognized and are offered at a number of different centers all over the world. For a short time now, some patients have been receiving botox injections in order to treat their migraines.<br /> <br /> Here, we will be discussing how botox injections can now be utilized for this purpose. <br /> <br /> Background behind this idea<br /> <br /> Paralyzation occurs in the muscles due to botox injections, and because of this, the muscles stay in a relaxed position as they don't receive the nerve signals. A bacterium called Clostridium botulinum causes this result. The main usage is for muscles different parts of the eyes, face and body to be relaxed, which will increase muscle tone and make the general muscle function be improved.<br /> <br /> Migraines and botox <br /> <br /> Migraine is primarily mediated by the release of the neuro-chemical serotonin. Treatments of botox do not affect that, but there is evidence that shows patients who find relief from migraine pain from the treatments.<br /> <br /> People are looking forward to the new research that is being done that seems to show that migraines can be reduced using these treatments. The recommendations from the studies is to inject the botox into the scalp at around 31 -39 different points in patients. There are a number of theories that have been postulated:<br /> <br /> First, that it blocks the nerves from transmitting pain signals.<br /> <br /> After that, the muscles in the scalp are relaxed, which in turn, causes the brain to have a lower blood pressure.<br /> <br /> Patients are reporting less headaches, and less severe when they occur, although the research to document this is still ongoing at this time.<br /> <br /> When a patient reports migraine headaches that happen for over 15 days a month, and do not receive relief from other types of treatment are sometimes recommended to have botox injections. Analgesic overuse headaches happen when a patient over5uses painkiller medications, so this must be examined for patients as well. <br /> <br /> Each patient is different, so in cases where botox is administered 2 times and the patient has no benefit then other options should be considered, but if it makes headaches occur less than 15 days per month, this is another signal of success.<br /> <br /> Are risks a factor?<br /> <br /> It's possible to have an allergic reaction or some neck pain from botox treatment, but that only happens to a tiny percentage of patients.<br /> <br /> Summary<br /> <br /> Migraines are now being treated by injections of botox, but it's still a new application for this condition. It's looking good for the future of botox for treating chronic migraine symptoms, but more studies need to be done to have more conclusive evidence. <br /> <br /> </div><br /> <div class='uawresource'><br /> <div style='font-style:italic;' class='uawabout'><br /> About the Author:<br /> </div><br /> <div class='uawlinks'>Get the best <a href="http://iapam.com/botox-training">training for botox</a> with the IAPAM. Learn <a href="http://iapam.com/advanced-dermal-filler-training">train for dermal fillers</a> with us.</div><br /> </div><br />

Using Botox To Treat Migraines

By Cali Marinaw The use of botulinum toxin injections has advanced tremendously over the last few years. Applications in cosmetic surgery ...

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Canada's high court: Change prostitution laws (BLOG)

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh05dQwHFBbfALNssKZrrBkT8EaIYsvAVlHh1cYNkTstT10zaLcPIMzZyhOs288WpbE-YNmLYYHRaK7vRUL5NNbB4t7WqGps561wHseK9y__3AT1M9EkfDpugg5J7yGYgjCkZKnht6fnk0/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh05dQwHFBbfALNssKZrrBkT8EaIYsvAVlHh1cYNkTstT10zaLcPIMzZyhOs288WpbE-YNmLYYHRaK7vRUL5NNbB4t7WqGps561wHseK9y__3AT1M9EkfDpugg5J7yGYgjCkZKnht6fnk0/s320/1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">(CNN)</strong> -- Canada's Supreme Court has struck down the country's laws about prostitution.</div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph2" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">While selling sex for money isn't illegal in Canada, until Friday's 9-0 ruling, three specific laws had made it difficult for prostitutes to more safely and securely engage in sex work.</div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph3" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">One of the laws prohibited anyone from operating a brothel. Another forbade people from earning a living working for a prostitute, such as being a driver, bookkeeper or bodyguard. Another law reportedly made it illegal to communicate in public about acts of prostitution.</div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph4" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">On Friday, Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin said that the court's decision would be "suspended for one year" until Parliament amends the laws.</div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph5" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">McLachlin said the time should be allotted because "the regulation of prostitution is a complex and delicate matter."</div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph6" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2013/12/20/supreme_court_of_canada_strikes_down_federal_criminal_prostitution_laws.html" style="border: 0px; color: #004276; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">According to the Toronto Star</a>, if 12 months from now the federal government has not redrafted legislation, then prostitutes will be allowed to legally work, hire drivers, bodyguards and accountants, and screen their clients.</div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph7" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">The law's purpose "is to target pimps and the parasitic, exploitative conduct in which they engage," the court said Friday.</div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph8" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">"The law, however, punishes everyone who lives on the avails of prostitution without distinguishing between those who exploit prostitutes and those who could increase the safety and security of prostitutes, for example, legitimate drivers, managers, or bodyguards. .. The living on the avails provision is consequently overbroad."</div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph9" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">On another matter, the law on prohibiting soliciting was designed "not to eliminate street prostitution for its own sake, but to take prostitution off the streets and out of public view in order to prevent the nuisances that street prostitution can cause," the high court found.</div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph10" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">CNN affiliate CBC News, citing a criminologist, said Parliament could criminalize the sale or purchase of sex and choose to regulate where prostitution can occur.</div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph11" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">Parliament also could do nothing, in which case the provinces and municipalities would likely develop their own provisions, CBC News said.</div></div>

Canada's high court: Change prostitution laws (BLOG)

(CNN)  -- Canada's Supreme Court has struck down the country's laws about prostitution. While selling sex for money isn't illega...

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