Counting the homeless in America's poorest city (BLOG, VIDEO)

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyevRI1AHlWLRSpKOarYsA78whbU2cFeSQazH6M3mDHqOdPokg-b6F00fcciZd-_KL7UuDE10vNy6YLc4M0JkuT4XQdUFQDcgjgHMuDIrEIkslePxQ2VXOlUmPqgYxpN3W1g0Ab5Mo31M/s1600/3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyevRI1AHlWLRSpKOarYsA78whbU2cFeSQazH6M3mDHqOdPokg-b6F00fcciZd-_KL7UuDE10vNy6YLc4M0JkuT4XQdUFQDcgjgHMuDIrEIkslePxQ2VXOlUmPqgYxpN3W1g0Ab5Mo31M/s1600/3.jpg" width="320" /></a></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;">As the temperature plunged into the low teens on a January morning in Camden, N.J., seven aid workers set out on a daunting mission: to count the homeless in the nation's poorest city.</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;">Making rounds to shelters, warming centers, soup kitchens and "tent cities," the workers and volunteers helping out with this year's count were trying to find as many homeless people as they could within 24 hours.</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;">The federal government requires communities to conduct a homeless count at least every other year to qualify for funding for homeless services like emergency shelter, food and job training.</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;">In Camden, the need is huge. No city in the country is poorer: The poverty rate is roughly 40% and the median household income is a mere $26,000 -- compared to $51,000 nationally. It's also the most dangerous city in the country; drugs are everywhere and unemployment stands at 13%.</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;">Social services agencies across the country already had their federal funding cut by at least 5% last year.<strong style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </strong>That led many organizations in Camden to run out of money by October,<strong style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </strong>says Shantel Garner, a project specialist at Community Planning & Advocacy Council, the nonprofit<strong style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </strong>in charge of organizing Camden's homeless count.</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;">Advocacy groups like Garner's conduct these Point-in-Time counts, and the results help the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development determine local and national trends in homelessness and assess need in individual areas.</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;">Last year's homeless count found only 589 homeless people in the 513,000-person county of Camden, and homeless advocates say this number is significantly understated.</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;">CNNMoney joined Garner when she started counting people around 8 p.m. on Tuesday night. Her first stop was Joseph's House, a 75-bed shelter that opened a week earlier.</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;">"Where will you spend the night of Tuesday, Jan. 28?" Garner asks Kareim Nurdeen, a 48-year old who struggles with schizophrenia and was evicted from his home a couple months ago after falling behind on rent.</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;">Garner rattles off a list of 18 options from HUD's survey, including emergency shelter, hotel or motel, permanent housing, hospital,<strong style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </strong>or jail. "Emergency shelter," Nurdeen answers.</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;">Next come questions about how long he has been in his "current living situation," whether he has been homeless at least four times in the last three years, and what sources of income and non-cash benefits he receives.</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;">There are only about 10 homeless people at Joseph's House before dinner and Garner surveys them all. She leaves a pile of surveys with the<strong style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </strong>director<strong style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </strong>to fill out for the other 65 or so people expected to show up later in the evening.<strong style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></strong></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;">Garner then moves<strong style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </strong>on to the next shelter on her list: New Life Ministries, a church that started sheltering the homeless two weeks earlier after a "Code Blue" alert was issued -- allowing police to pick up the homeless and bring them to organizations that open their doors when temperatures drop below freezing.</div><div class="cnnplayer" id="cnnplayer1" 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; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline; width: 620px;"><a class="summaryImg" href="http://money.cnn.com/video/news/2014/02/12/n-tent-city-homeless-winter-camden-nj.cnnmoney?iid=EL" id="vid1" 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="Braving the cold in Camden's tent city" border="0" height="348" src="http://i2.cdn.turner.com/money/dam/assets/140212193027-n-tent-city-homeless-winter-camden-nj-00053422-620x348.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/bigPlay-videoGallery5.png); background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border: 0px; height: 67px; left: 310px; margin: -33px 0px 0px -33px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; position: absolute; top: 174px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 67px;"> </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;">Braving the cold in Camden's tent city</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;">HUD sets the count for January so the cold weather drives more people into shelters, making it easier to find them. But at New Life, only one person had arrived by 11 p.m., causing Garner to worry that it was so bitterly cold this year that more homeless people were resorting to alternative shelters -- like friends' basements, emergency rooms and abandoned houses.</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;">At 6 a.m. the next morning, other nonprofit workers and volunteers from Garner's agency and other local aid groups drove around in a van hunting for homeless people who don't live in shelters. Among their stops: "tent cities" scattered just off the highways where dozens of homeless people live, along with a population of stray cats.</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;">Aaron Howe is the unofficial "mayor" of "little tent city" ("big tent city" was disbanded last year after the city deemed it unsanitary).<strong style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </strong>He is responsible for distributing supplies from aid organizations and deciding who gets to stay and who needs to leave. Howe moved into his tent two years ago, after the trucking business he says he ran for 18 years collapsed. When he set up his tent, there were only three people here. Now there are 17 -- all of which Garner says were counted this year.</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 that's not always the case. A big criticism of the homeless counts is that it misses people -- those who are couch surfing or staying in a prison, hospital or motel, for example. Others are in hiding, while many more won't admit that they are homeless.</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;">"It's set up to be kind of an impossible task," said Maria Foscarinis, founder of the National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty. She said one way to get more accurate findings would be to extend the count over a longer period of time or to do multiple counts per year.</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;">Several homeless people CNNMoney interviewed in Camden said they had never been counted. Michael Powell lives in a "tent suburb," on the outskirts of one of the tent cities. He wears a key to the padlock on his tent around his neck, and behind the layers of tarps he uses as insulation sits a mattress propped up on crates, a knife<strong style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </strong>and<strong style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </strong>his "lady friend." Despite being homeless for 14 years -- ever since he got out of jail for murder -- he has never been asked to fill out a homeless count survey and had no idea the count existed.</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;">"How would you possibly do that? There's so many of us and nobody wants to be seen," said Powell.</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;">Howe of tent city agrees. "There's people that live in abandoned houses, there's people that live under bridges, I've met people that sleep in their cars at night ... you'll never get an accurate count," he said. "The organizations that come out here [to count], they don't know where everyone is."</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;">Mark Johnston, acting assistant secretary in the Office of Community Planning and Development at HUD, stresses that the count is just one of 50 to 60 factors it looks at when determining funding -- including how successful agencies are at getting people jobs and housing. He acknowledges that the count isn't perfect, but says it at least provides a rough estimate, which is crucial to have before homelessness can be reduced.</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 count] certainly isn't scientific, and I'm sure there are some people we're missing ... but we don't want to let perfection get in the way of solving the problem," said Johnston. <a href="http://money.cnn.com/2014/02/12/pf/homeless-count/index.html?iid=H_E_News#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>

Counting the homeless in America's poorest city (BLOG, VIDEO)

As the temperature plunged into the low teens on a January morning in Camden, N.J., seven aid workers set out on a daunting mission: to coun...

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The U.S. Navy's New 'And Fearsome' War Boat Is Now In The Persian Gulf

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1r4cuhuugyy-ntci-pLKx3AyR27L9CkipO6NR-AIuplSg5uLLbUOe3KuNzTxKhqp91dOedsUtWAQvV7quZLamD3pGYvxLnnW-0Z6MrDBrwFWAdtEBg2K6WSs7DuW0daJdNQNQ41aS1mTR/s1600/2013-09-12-BZSSR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1r4cuhuugyy-ntci-pLKx3AyR27L9CkipO6NR-AIuplSg5uLLbUOe3KuNzTxKhqp91dOedsUtWAQvV7quZLamD3pGYvxLnnW-0Z6MrDBrwFWAdtEBg2K6WSs7DuW0daJdNQNQ41aS1mTR/s1600/2013-09-12-BZSSR.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">U.S. Navy sailors assigned to Coastal Riverine Group (CRG) 1 and Coastal Riverine Squadron (CRS) 2 conduct high-speed maneuvers in a coastal command patrol boat during a training exercise off San Diego, California (USA). The 65-foot Coastal Command Boat (CCB) is an early variant of the 85-foot MKVI Patrol Boat of SAFE Boats International. The CCB is powered by twin diesel engines and water jets, allowing of speeds of 35+ knots. Cruise speed can be maintained for up to 24 hours. It can accomodate up to 18 crew members and features integrated working stations along with a separate galley, head, shower facilities and engine room. The CCB is also equipped with remotely operated weapon systems, advanced thermal imaging and a hydraulic crane system. The first CCB was delivered in August 2013. <a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:US_Navy_Coastal_Riverine_Group_1_Coastal_Command_Boat_off_San_Diego_2013.JPG">Wikipedia</a></span></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Hello, Iran! U.S. Navy’s Fearsome New War Boat Arrives In The Persian Gulf -- Joe Trevithick, War is Boring</b></span></div><br /><i>Sole Coastal Command Boat joins Persian Gulf maritime security force </i><br /><br />The Navy’s new—and so far only—gun-armed, robot-hauling war boat arrived in Bahrain on Feb. 8. The 65-foot, 50-ton-displacement Coastal Command Boat is assigned to Task Group 56.7, America’s patrol force in the Persian Gulf.<br /><br />The CCB entered Navy service last fall after two years of construction in Bremerton and Tacoma, both in Washington State.<br /><br />The CCB can reach speeds of more than 35 knots and is equipped with remote-controlled and crew-served weapons and gear for launching drones. It’s able to motor into and out of the floodable well decks of large amphibious assault ships, which can haul the boat between oceans and war zones.<br /><br /><b><a href="https://medium.com/war-is-boring/3f4f3cca38dd">Read more</a></b> ....<br /><br /><b>My Comment</b>: The Iranians notice aircraft carriers and leaders who are not shy to use them .... not little PT boats

The U.S. Navy's New 'And Fearsome' War Boat Is Now In The Persian Gulf

U.S. Navy sailors assigned to Coastal Riverine Group (CRG) 1 and Coastal Riverine Squadron (CRS) 2 conduct high-speed maneuvers in a coastal...

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Mike Trout could soon become baseball's first $300 million man (BLOG)

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsG2gd0xFXGrJvGlEe7gALWSfQi_1P3BEh70cOpg-EEvR6rSo5Qc80Ic6gcTeR5wUI3JNQh-fgym4HYgrOIKAjI_WbnYWQj200DS3b5wTylFDtWcx_cgy4_3iW324RoIYu2zI6kCNGTH8/s1600/cc.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="203" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsG2gd0xFXGrJvGlEe7gALWSfQi_1P3BEh70cOpg-EEvR6rSo5Qc80Ic6gcTeR5wUI3JNQh-fgym4HYgrOIKAjI_WbnYWQj200DS3b5wTylFDtWcx_cgy4_3iW324RoIYu2zI6kCNGTH8/s1600/cc.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; cursor: text; font-family: 'Open Sans', 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">According to the <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Los Angeles Times</em>, <a href="http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-0213-angels-spring-training-20140213,0,7786251,full.story#axzz2tDxKxUrB" style="border: 0px; color: #e82425; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">outfielder Mike Trout is in negotiations for a contract extension</a> with the Angels. Though baseball’s luxury-tax rules mean any deal likely would not be announced until after Opening Day, if and when the day arrives, it could very well give Trout the largest contract of any player in professional sports.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; cursor: text; font-family: 'Open Sans', 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The largest deal to date is the 10-year, $275 million one Alex Rodriguez signed with the Yankees before the 2008 season — after A-Rod opted out of the <em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">second</em> largest deal to date.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; cursor: text; font-family: 'Open Sans', 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Salaries in baseball have inflated since Rodriguez signed his deal, and Trout at age 22 is a way better bet to maintain his excellence for another decade than Rodriguez was at 32. The only reason Trout won’t blow past A-Rod whenever he signs an extension is that the Angels still control him through arbitration through the 2017 seasonl</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; cursor: text; font-family: 'Open Sans', 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">At Fangraphs, Dave Cameron compares Trout’s situation to those faced by Clayton Kershaw before <a href="http://ftw.usatoday.com/2014/01/report-dodgers-sign-clayton-kershaw-to-215-million-extension/" style="border: 0px; color: #e82425; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">his recent $215 million extension</a> and Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman before his $135 million deal and finds some eye-opening facts:</div><blockquote style="background-color: white; border-left-color: rgb(233, 31, 1); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 4px; color: #333333; font-family: 'Open Sans', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px 1.5em 40px; padding-left: 10px; quotes: '';"><div style="border: 0px; cursor: text; display: inherit; font-family: 'Futura Today Bold', 'Open Sans', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; font-style: italic; line-height: 28px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 5px; vertical-align: baseline;">As good and as young as Kershaw is, the reality remains that Trout is significantly better, projecting for roughly +4 WAR per season more than Kershaw going forward. In fact, Trout’s forecasts suggest he is, by himself, as valuable as Kershaw and Freeman put together, and they combined to sell their FA years for pretty close to that $54 million per year mark. While we could put together a reasonable argument that Trout is worth $50M per year for his free agent years, he’s not going to get that; it’s just too far removed from the norms of the day….</div></blockquote><blockquote style="background-color: white; border-left-color: rgb(233, 31, 1); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 4px; color: #333333; font-family: 'Open Sans', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px 1.5em 40px; padding-left: 10px; quotes: '';"><div style="border: 0px; cursor: text; display: inherit; font-family: 'Futura Today Bold', 'Open Sans', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; font-style: italic; line-height: 28px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 5px; vertical-align: baseline;">Pricing those free agent years at $40 million apiece, in addition to the $60 million he’d be getting for his remaining years of team control, would bring the total deal to $260 million over nine years. The deal would fall short of being the largest contract in baseball history, but would easily be the largest deal for any player still under team control.</div></blockquote><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; cursor: text; font-family: 'Open Sans', 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">As Cameron notes, the closer Trout gets to free agency without an extension, the more an extension will likely cost the Angels. And if Trout and the Angels decide to tack on a 10th year, he should surpass A-Rod’s mark and will possibly clear $300 million.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; cursor: text; font-family: 'Open Sans', 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">That’d be great for Trout, but also great for educating whatever remaining fans that <a href="http://ftw.usatoday.com/2013/09/alex-rodriguez-espn-face-of-baseball/" style="border: 0px; color: #e82425; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">don’t yet appreciate how good Trout is</a>: He’s the best all around player in baseball by far, and the first two full seasons of his career were arguably the top rookie and sophomore years in baseball history.</div><div style="background-color: white; 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Mike Trout could soon become baseball's first $300 million man (BLOG)

According to the  Los Angeles Times ,  outfielder Mike Trout is in negotiations for a contract extension  with the Angels. Though baseball’s...

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The Pugilistic Double Standard of the Pro-Gun Movement (BLOG)

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgyo6P4u1jII2a81ytjuGaj7oVwQp2lFzR69uD-D6fjTk-6lh7qctzv9jM6L4oNFugtxXzjmUpTladUp-U4GuNR9fVTqp5VTyx-FU7mMTp7n00NoEj5eIFNkGdCCRXmcFFewDSwMZlC78/s1600/Guns_1000.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="227" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgyo6P4u1jII2a81ytjuGaj7oVwQp2lFzR69uD-D6fjTk-6lh7qctzv9jM6L4oNFugtxXzjmUpTladUp-U4GuNR9fVTqp5VTyx-FU7mMTp7n00NoEj5eIFNkGdCCRXmcFFewDSwMZlC78/s1600/Guns_1000.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="content" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; direction: ltr; font-family: Arial, FreeSans, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; direction: ltr; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;"><em style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">They hit you? Grin and bear it. You hit them? Prepare to die.</em></div><div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; direction: ltr; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">It was National Rifle Association (NRA) CEO Wayne LaPierre who famously <a href="http://youtu.be/bqAWQ-TMF3I" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0088c3; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_hplink">intoned</a>that "the guys with the guns make the rules" during the 2009 Conservative Political Action Conference. I don't think I had ever fully understood the sheer arrogance and hypocrisy behind this belief, however, until pro-gun activists brought it into sharp relief for me recently.</div><div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; direction: ltr; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">Late last month, the president of the radical pro-gun group Virginia Citizens Defense League (VCDL), Philip Van Cleave, made headlines when he <a href="http://radioiq.org/post/tale-two-gun-rallies" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0088c3; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_hplink">told</a> a WVTF reporter on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day that slapping around your wife was no big deal. Van Cleave was commenting on a bill, SB 510, that would prohibit individuals convicted of stalking, sexual battery, or assault/battery of a family member from possessing firearms for a period of five years following their convictions. "A slap?" Van Cleave asked reporter Sandy Hausman. "That's not a violent thing!" Van Cleave later reiterated this opinion during testimony before the Virginia Senate's Courts of Justice Committee. When asked by Senate Majority Leader Dick Saslaw, "So you think that if you go out and you slap your wife around and all it is is a misdemeanor [conviction], you shouldn't lose your weapon after that. Is that what you're telling me?" "Correct,"<a href="http://youtu.be/2pKzjHVjCtw" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0088c3; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_hplink">responded</a> Van Cleave.</div><div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; direction: ltr; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">A couple days later, pro-gun activists on Twitter reminded us that George Zimmerman did the right thing by killing unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin because he was (theoretically) being punched at the time. So we decided to put a question to them:</div><div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; direction: ltr; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">"Do you think the punishment for punching someone should be death?"</div><div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; direction: ltr; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/9503666@N08/12499208354/" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0088c3; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" title="Jordan Comment by csgvefsgv, on Flickr"><img align="right" alt="Jordan Comment" height="140" src="http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2855/12499208354_f694a6da83.jpg" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" width="320" /></a>"If you attack someone, you deal with what they choose to make you deal with," <a href="https://twitter.com/KB3WTR/status/428707089892921344" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0088c3; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_hplink">answered</a> pro-gun activist Jordan of Atlanta, Georgia. "Yes."</div><div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; direction: ltr; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">"Yes I do!" <a href="https://twitter.com/daveyshrout57/status/428709709130903552" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0088c3; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_hplink">replied</a> pro-gun activist Dale Shroud of Boise, Idaho. "A punch hard enough in the head CAN KILL YOU ! I will STAND MY GROUND."</div><div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; direction: ltr; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">Hold on a second, I thought. Let me get this straight... It's OK for pro-gun activists to slap their wives around without losing their rights to own and purchase firearms, but if someone punches <em style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">them</em>, they have a right to execute that person on the spot -- no judge, no jury, no due process under the law?</div><div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; direction: ltr; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">What a sickening double-standard that is.</div><div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; direction: ltr; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">And lest you think it's merely a matter of a few isolated pro-gun activists engaging in such hypocrisy, let me assure you that that's not the case. The NRA practices what it preaches when it comes to its "the guys with the guns make the rules" philosophy. It was NRA Board Member and Congressman Don Young (R-AK) who <a href="http://donyoung.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=127801" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0088c3; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_hplink">took the lead</a> in attempting to repeal the 1996 Lautenberg Amendment, which prohibits those convicted of misdemeanor crimes of domestic violence from owning and purchasing firearms. And who can forget these two classic <a href="http://www.meetthenra.org/nra-member/Wayne%20Anthony%20Ross" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0088c3; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_hplink">quotes</a> from NRA Board Member Wayne Anthony Ross: "If a guy can't rape his wife...who's he gonna rape?" and "There wouldn't be an issue with domestic violence if women would learn to keep their mouth shut." Finally, the NRA described the protections codified under "Stand Your Ground" laws as a "<a href="http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2013/07/17/2316591/after-zimmerman-verdict-nra-says-stand-your-ground-is-a-human-right/" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0088c3; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_hplink">fundamental human right</a>" after Zimmerman was acquitted of murder charges.</div><div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; direction: ltr; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">The opinion of the pro-gun movement seems to be that the guy with the gun is<em style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">always</em> right, no matter what the facts of the case are; that gun possession makes you a super-citizen with enhanced rights to take life, avoid prosecution, and use <em style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">lethal</em>force in response to non-lethal force. Somehow, gun ownership increases your judgment and makes you smarter than other citizens.</div><div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; direction: ltr; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">But here's the reality. There are some really smart gun owners with excellent judgment who don't display their weapons in a prideful and dangerous manner, and there are also some slow-witted gun owners with terrible judgment who want to show off that they have the power to put you six feet under (think Michael David Dunn). The reason we need meaningful firearms regulation is not to stop truly law-abiding people with excellent judgment from getting guns, but rather to stop the reckless, dangerous individuals that exist in every society. The mere fact that you own a gun does not make you a "Good Guy." A good guy is someone who by measure of skill and temperament has been weeded out from the bad guys. That title is earned, not given.</div><div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; direction: ltr; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">I am not pointing out the pro-gun movement's double standard regarding the use of force merely to play a game of "gotcha." I am highlighting their hypocrisy because it has lethal consequences. The pro-gun movement is teaching young Americans that it is morally virtuous to shoot and kill someone who punches you. Is that really a message we want to be sending in an era of school shootings? One landmark <a href="http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/i/msnbc/Sections/NEWS/PDFs/061002_Safe_Schools.pdf" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0088c3; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_hplink">study</a> of school shootings found, "Almost three-quarters of [school shooters] felt persecuted, bullied, threatened, attacked or injured by others prior to the incident. In several cases, individual attackers had experienced bullying and harassment that was long-standing and severe." There are legitimate avenues to address this problem, but telling bullied kids that they are justified in opening fire? That's a recipe for disaster.</div><div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; direction: ltr; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">I am haunted by a quote from Sandy Hook Elementary shooter Adam Lanza that was recently unearthed by author Matthew Lysiak. Posting at the website Shocked Beyond Belief just a year before the shooting, Lanza <a href="http://www.newsweek.com/day-fbi-knocked-adam-lanzas-door-226657" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0088c3; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_hplink">wrote</a>:</div><blockquote style="background-color: #f0f0f0; border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); box-sizing: border-box; color: black; direction: ltr; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; margin: 15px 0px; padding: 15px; quotes: none; vertical-align: baseline;">It goes without saying that an AK-47 and enough ammunition could do more good than a thousand "teachers," if one is truly interested in reforming the system. In short time the children will be brainwashed, pumped full of Xanax and told to conform, until they have been turned into the oppressors.<div class="ql" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; direction: ltr; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></div><div class="qr" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; direction: ltr; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></div></blockquote><div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; direction: ltr; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">A clearer declaration of "the guys with the guns make the rules" has never been heard. It should be a wake-up call to all of us -- including gun owners -- to champion non-violent solutions to conflicts, rather than the use of deadly force. The preservation of human life should <em style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">always</em> be our highest priority in settling disputes, both personal and political.</div></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; direction: ltr; font-family: Arial, FreeSans, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.6; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Follow Josh Horwitz on Twitter: <a href="http://www.twitter.com/CSGV" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #0088c3; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">www.twitter.com/CSGV</a></strong></div>

The Pugilistic Double Standard of the Pro-Gun Movement (BLOG)

They hit you? Grin and bear it. You hit them? Prepare to die. It was National Rifle Association (NRA) CEO Wayne LaPierre who famously  inton...

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No U.S. Aircraft Carriers In The Persian Gulf During The Iranian Nuclear Talks

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg40MKIyCgFHVZdoroEqk014Uzu0BSSrBbjsd15qQMC57GDpsQXkDNtVGXAjBGbMvK0hCgMmct7LRPDApjzZ_qDyEQwpnPJjkWCKmZ-CcZJv18Eyb0Y9hDJ2moLcTh_vCB-W_ZQwcd7dt7X/s1600/2013-09-12-BZSSR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="290" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg40MKIyCgFHVZdoroEqk014Uzu0BSSrBbjsd15qQMC57GDpsQXkDNtVGXAjBGbMvK0hCgMmct7LRPDApjzZ_qDyEQwpnPJjkWCKmZ-CcZJv18Eyb0Y9hDJ2moLcTh_vCB-W_ZQwcd7dt7X/s1600/2013-09-12-BZSSR.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">An F/A-18 Hornet launches from the flight deck of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75). Truman and embarked Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 3 are under way on deployment supporting Operations Iraqi Freedom, Enduring Freedom and maritime security operations. (Feb. 29, 2008) <a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:USS_Harry_S._Truman_%28CVN-75%29_flight_deck.jpg">Wikimedia</a></span></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Navy Moves Carrier Amid Talks On Iran -- The Hill</b></span></div><br />The U.S. Navy has reduced its carrier presence in the Persian Gulf as the Obama administration seeks to complete a nuclear deal with Iran.<br /><br />The Navy denies it has reduced its strength in the strategically vital waterway, let alone done so to help diplomatic efforts, and it points to an increase in the number of smaller ships that are regularly patrolling at close quarters with Iranian vessels.<br /><br />But records show that the U.S.S. Harry Truman, now the sole aircraft carrier in the region, has spent more time outside the Persian Gulf in the last six months than inside it. <br /><br />Just a year ago, the Navy had placed two carriers in the region.<br /><br /><b><a href="http://thehill.com/blogs/defcon-hill/navy/198295-navy-moves-carrier-amid-talks-on-iran">Read more</a></b> ....<br /><br /><b>Update:</b> <a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/feb/13/navy-curbs-carrier-presence-persian-gulf-iran-nuke/">U.S. curbs carrier presence in Persian Gulf to aid Iran nuke talks: report</a> -- Washington Times<br /><br /><b>My Comment:</b> Even the Iranian media has noticed this lack of U.S. aircraft carriers .... no surprise .... <b><a href="http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2014/02/13/350579/us-warship-outside-pg-amid-iran-talks/">they are not impressed</a></b>.

No U.S. Aircraft Carriers In The Persian Gulf During The Iranian Nuclear Talks

An F/A-18 Hornet launches from the flight deck of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75). Truman and embarked Carrie...

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3 Tragically Awful Valentine's Day Movies (BLOG)

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTmL45pW4AMBVs0SUtaY6cnIHNdo8-9LlMrMUhkDupkDvGxXbsgOjiLmSZ-N6vZzeN758GP9K0uIsscRYJ2y40KXWtYa40N8xAZmmySDBoic40MIbNc1jXvo66vgQlyRIQ1jHQJSvIYvg/s1600/0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="159" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTmL45pW4AMBVs0SUtaY6cnIHNdo8-9LlMrMUhkDupkDvGxXbsgOjiLmSZ-N6vZzeN758GP9K0uIsscRYJ2y40KXWtYa40N8xAZmmySDBoic40MIbNc1jXvo66vgQlyRIQ1jHQJSvIYvg/s1600/0.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px;">Love is in the air, but unfortunately there's garbage <a href="http://www.rollingstone.com/videos/at-the-movies" style="color: #003366; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">At the Movies</a> this Valentine's Day weekend. Of course <a href="http://www.rollingstone.com/movies/blogs/the-travers-take" style="color: #003366; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Peter Travers</a> knows your perfect date involves a film and maybe pizza afterwards – because let's face it, you couldn't get a reservation at a restaurant either – but Hollywood's offered up some seriously slim pickings for you and your special someone this year.</div><div style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px;">First up is <em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Endless Love</em>, a remake of the 1981 Brooke Shields film of the same name (that's also essentially <a href="http://www.rollingstone.com/movies/reviews/william-shakespeares-romeo-juliet-19961101" style="color: #003366; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;"><em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Romeo and Juliet</em></a>) that stars Alex Pettyfer and Gabriella Wilde as two young lovers whose parents won't let them be together. "I'm gonna throw up. I just wanna puke at how bad this is," Travers says. "It was bad in 1981 when it was first made and now it's even worse!"</div><div style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px;">Next up is the truly bizarre, <em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Winter's Tale</em>, which is based on <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Winters-Tale-Mark-Helprin/dp/0156031191" style="color: #003366; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Mark Helprin's 1983 novel of the same name</a> and takes place in both the present day and the early 20th century. The movie stars Colin Farrell as Peter Lake, an immigrant who feels angels are telling him that he'll find the true love of his life – which he does, though his lady, Beverly Penn (<a href="http://www.rollingstone.com/topic/downton-abbey" style="color: #003366; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;"><em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Downton Abbey</em></a>'s Jessica Brown Findlay) is dying of tuberculosis. If that's already sounding a bit too saccharine, Russell Crowe suddenly appears in the movie as an Irish demon who is trying to prevent true love from happening. To do so, he puts on his demon face – "he looks like he did in <a href="http://www.rollingstone.com/movies/reviews/les-miserables-20121221" style="color: #003366; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;"><em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Les Misérables</em></a>, but he doesn't sing, so you're safe there," Travers notes – and goes to meet Lucifer played by, wait for it, Will Smith. "I am not making any of this up," Travers says. "But this one is way beyond the scum bucket. This one is going into worst of all time. You are not to go near any of this."</div><div style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 1em; padding: 0px;">Lastly, there's <em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">About Last Night</em>, an adaptation of a David Mamet play that features another top notch performance from one of <a href="http://www.rollingstone.com/movies/videos/kevin-hart-is-better-than-ride-along-20140123" style="color: #003366; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">today's rising stars, Kevin Hart</a>. It tells the story of two couples, Danny Martin (Michael Ealy) and Debbie Sullivan (Joy Bryant) who think they've found true love, while their friends Bernie Jackson (Hart) and Joan Derrickson (Regina Hall) provide the comic relief. Like Hart's other recent film <a href="http://www.rollingstone.com/movies/reviews/ride-along-20140116" style="color: #003366; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;"><em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Ride Along</em></a>,it doesn't quite work, but again the comedian is firing on all cylinders, making <em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">About Last Night</em> pretty much the only choice you really have this Valentine's Day (<a href="http://www.rollingstone.com/culture/lists/61-reasons-to-love-2014-20140102/robocop-february-12th-19691231" style="color: #003366; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">unless you want to go see the <em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">RoboCop </em>remake</a>).</div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><br style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" />Follow us: <a href="http://ec.tynt.com/b/rw?id=bbJxak64Kr4kEzacwqm_6l&u=rollingstone" style="color: #003366; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">@rollingstone on Twitter</a> | <a href="http://ec.tynt.com/b/rf?id=bbJxak64Kr4kEzacwqm_6l&u=RollingStone" style="color: #003366; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">RollingStone on Facebook</a></span>

3 Tragically Awful Valentine's Day Movies (BLOG)

Love is in the air, but unfortunately there's garbage  At the Movies  this Valentine's Day weekend. Of course  Peter Travers  knows ...

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Does Nicki Minaj single cover disrespect Malcolm X? (BLOG)

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWdwn07u8vlpLN7Cl5V8reHtL5fkR1vk_9zOCf7-p0GTC3k1O3XQnZeT_CGOaQJke3Awq99jmfnEm9sHGUimlNJsZlJgWms5st-A4Cksy_V6tij1QOU9nUM0JEdVKUz6D5yOGPtfw__BA/s1600/bb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWdwn07u8vlpLN7Cl5V8reHtL5fkR1vk_9zOCf7-p0GTC3k1O3XQnZeT_CGOaQJke3Awq99jmfnEm9sHGUimlNJsZlJgWms5st-A4Cksy_V6tij1QOU9nUM0JEdVKUz6D5yOGPtfw__BA/s1600/bb.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><h2 class="lead-in" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; line-height: 27px; margin-left: 60px; margin-top: -2px;">'Lookin A-- N----' offends many with its use of 1964 Malcolm X photo</h2><div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 60px;">Did <khlink class="khlinks" href="http://curiyo.com/en/topic/Nicki Minaj" lang="en" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(75, 187, 220) !important; border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; cursor: help; display: inline !important; float: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;">Nicki Minaj</khlink> go too far by using Malcolm X's image for the cover of her new single, <i>Lookin A-- N----</i>?</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 60px;">Many people thought so after the singer debuted the single Wednesday with a not-safe-for-work, Nabil-directed video. The single's cover has Minaj's name and the single title superimposed over apicture of the civil-rights leader holding an M1 carbine and looking out his window. The original version of the photograph was first published in<i>Ebony</i> magazine in 1964.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 60px;">"Say what you will about his days as <khlink class="khlinks" href="http://curiyo.com/en/topic/Malcolm X" lang="en" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(75, 187, 220) !important; border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; cursor: help; display: inline !important; float: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;">Detroit Red</khlink>hustling on the streets of Harlem, there is nothing N-word like about Malcolm X," Alvin Aqua Blance writes at <a href="http://hiphopwired.com/2014/02/12/nicki-minaj-uses-malcolm-x-image-artwork-offends-many/" style="color: #1990e5; text-decoration: none;" title="http://hiphopwired.com/2014/02/12/nicki-minaj-uses-malcolm-x-image-artwork-offends-many/">HipHopWired</a>. "To equate a man that literally died for his cause — the advancement of human rights for people of color — is just wrong on multiple levels."</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 60px;">The single is slated to appear both on <i><khlink class="khlinks" href="http://curiyo.com/en/topic/Young Money Entertainment" lang="en" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(75, 187, 220) !important; border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; cursor: help; display: inline !important; float: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;">Young Money: Rise of an Empire</khlink></i>, due March 11, and on Minaj's forthcoming album, <i>The Pink Print</i>.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 60px;">While Minaj fans praised the track and the video, many people took exception to the cover, particularly since it comes during <khlink class="khlinks" href="http://curiyo.com/en/topic/Black History Month" lang="en" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(75, 187, 220) !important; border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; cursor: help; display: inline !important; float: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;">Black History Month</khlink>. </div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 60px;">Check out some Twitter responses here: http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/music/2014/02/13/nicki-minaj-malcolm-x-lookin-single-cover/5453741/ </div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 60px;"><br /></div></div>

Does Nicki Minaj single cover disrespect Malcolm X? (BLOG)

'Lookin A-- N----' offends many with its use of 1964 Malcolm X photo Did  Nicki Minaj  go too far by using Malcolm X's image for...

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Netflix faces 'House of Cards' backlash (BLOG)

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOyPHaKOfN_kkKWNu3ndweyxLZUowVZlzWUclJnv-BcTQwisoPpPu073zXJSX1uSAkdDLo5A3JqPq9QOTtUU-_Fx9F_wtlNRA1HPQ5-9x99lKc832R9huQ_bAEOEV3frBOCHB3SgltE1Y/s1600/aa.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/AVvXsEiOyPHaKOfN_kkKWNu3ndweyxLZUowVZlzWUclJnv-BcTQwisoPpPu073zXJSX1uSAkdDLo5A3JqPq9QOTtUU-_Fx9F_wtlNRA1HPQ5-9x99lKc832R9huQ_bAEOEV3frBOCHB3SgltE1Y/s1600/aa.jpg" width="320" /></a></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;">The calls started coming on Tuesday, when snow was in the forecast for the nation's capital.</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;">"If/when DC shuts down for blizzard Thursday, Netflix would be smart to make new 'House of Cards' available one day early," tweeted Alex Conant, the press secretary for Florida Sen. Marco Rubio.</div><div id="ie_column" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; float: left; font-family: Arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px 20px 10px 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline; width: 220px;"><div id="quigo220" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 10px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div align="center" id="ad-53218" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><iframe class=" adunit_220x200" frameborder="0" height="200" id="53218" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" name="53218" scrolling="no" src="http://ads.cnn.com/html.ng/site=cnn_money&cnn_money_position=220x200_ctr&cnn_money_rollup=technology&cnn_money_section=quigo&page.allowcompete=no&params.styles=fs&page.allowcompete=yes&Params.User.UserID=52fd05ff0dc5ab0a3c8de1507201842e&transactionID=13923401307114259993460736&tile=8289210432931&domId=53218&kxid=n5qp85unc&kxseg=" style="background-color: transparent; border-width: 0px; left: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" width="220"></iframe></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;">Hundreds of people agreed, and said so online. Fox News anchor Greta van Susteren replied to Conant: "You are right...one day early would be appreciated." Someone even set up a <a href="http://www.change.org/petitions/netflix-release-house-of-cards-today-2-13-because-of-snow-storm?recruiter=34240706&utm_campaign=twitter_link_action_box&utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=share_petition" 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">petition</a> on <a href="http://www.change.org/" 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">Change.org</a>.</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 chimed in too.</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;">Like a lot of fans of the first season of "House of Cards," a Washington thriller starring Kevin Spacey and Robin Wright, I'd been planning on starting my binge-view of season two this Friday, the long-awaited release day. But with so many people snowed in along the East Coast, from Georgia to Maine, wouldn't Thursday make more sense?</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;">Alas, <span style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Netflix</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=NFLX&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;">NFLX</a></span>)</span> apparently doesn't think so. (Or maybe there are technical reasons why they can't push up the release date?) A company spokesman reaffirmed early Thursday that the episodes will still premiere Friday at midnight Pacific time, 3 a.m. ET.</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;">"Hunker down and re-watch season one so you are good and ready," the spokesman cheekily suggested.</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;">Conant was disappointed: he called Netflix's decision "dumb" when I shared it on Twitter.</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;">Film reporter Charles Thorp saw some irony in Netflix's decision: "So Netflix deciding to not give us what we want, when we want it? Isn't that their whole business model?" he tweeted.</div><br /><div id="storyFooter" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Lato, Arial, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></div><br /><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Lato, Arial, serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 26px; margin: 0px; orphans: auto; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">During a CNN segment about this -- banner headline: "HOUSE OF CARDS FANS BEG FOR EARLY RELEASE" -- entertainment correspondent Nischelle Turner suggested a different sort of D.C. drama for viewers on Thursday: "If you're trapped in the house, if you want to do some binge-watching, watch 'Scandal.' Catch up on 'Scandal!' <a href="http://money.cnn.com/2014/02/13/technology/innovation/netflix-house-of-cards-snowstorm/index.html?iid=s_mpm#TOP" style="background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; color: #004276; font-size: 16px; 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; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" width="7" /></a></div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Lato, Arial, serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 26px; margin: 0px; orphans: auto; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="byline" style="border: 0px; color: #666666; font-family: Arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">By Brian Stelter</span><span style="font-family: Arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal;">  </span>@brianstelte</div>

Netflix faces 'House of Cards' backlash (BLOG)

The calls started coming on Tuesday, when snow was in the forecast for the nation's capital. "If/when DC shuts down for blizzard Th...

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The True Cost of Extreme Weather…Or is it Climate Change? (BLOG)

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRBIKETfq1oIzbZstTCERPd0U63gInnPnJ9k_5Y8B1AsLlU_uYUXyG2zuHNJkz0S-nDCJ1q0uLlMJCh1ZHBEJDt4Q4l7SVJyjlB8cAEQJXunMqJDAplgAUkkDFn1MKxTTJWgytXx1Bm7Q/s1600/00.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRBIKETfq1oIzbZstTCERPd0U63gInnPnJ9k_5Y8B1AsLlU_uYUXyG2zuHNJkz0S-nDCJ1q0uLlMJCh1ZHBEJDt4Q4l7SVJyjlB8cAEQJXunMqJDAplgAUkkDFn1MKxTTJWgytXx1Bm7Q/s1600/00.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="dek char-limit multiline" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: TitlingGothicFBCondRegular, 'Arial Narrow', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 19px !important; letter-spacing: 1px; line-height: 1.4; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; overflow: hidden; padding: 10px 0px 24px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">Politicians and businesses have long complained about the price of fighting climate change. Now they're getting a taste of just how expensive inaction will be.</div><section class="article-body-content" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 19.200000762939453px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.1875em; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 1em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">The weather has become the go-to excuse for economists and businessmen who want to explain poor performance. “Unusually, disruptive weather across large stretches of the country kept people indoors,” explained Lawrence Yun, the chief economist of the National Association of Realtors, in accounting for a slowdown in home sales in December. Speaking on CNBC, Diane Swonk, the chief economist of Mesirow Financial, used the January chill that gripped much of the nation to explain disappointing numbers on U.S. auto sales. “It literally freezes the economic activity,” she noted. Similar explanations were offered for the very weak ISM manufacturing numbers released in early February. Economists blamed the huge miss on Non-Farm Payroll numbers in Dec. —74,000 instead of the consensus expectation of 197,000—on bad weather. The same excuse was trotted out when the January ADP number came in weak. The Bureau of Labor Statistics did not blame the weak NFP number of 113,000 on the weather, but pundits were quick to point out that the January employment survey was taken during the one mild week during the month. To top it off the weather has been trotted out as an excuse for a possibly weak GDP number for the first quarter of 2014—which really jumps the gun because the quarter is not yet half over.  As many financial bloggers have noted, the weather excuse has become the economic equivalent of “the dog ate my homework.”</div><div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.1875em; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">Change the word “weather” to the phrase “climate change,” however, and be prepared for howls of protest. Though this is another dismaying example of the how toxic the phrase has become, the universal acceptance that extreme weather has economic consequences points to a path towards awakening the public to the risks we all face. This is simply because we will experience climate change as weather, and the more businesses and municipalities find themselves suffering economically because of extreme weather events, the more they will realize that even more frequent extreme storms, temperatures, floods, and droughts are a risk factor (to use the language of corporate reports) going forward.</div><div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.1875em; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">No one would claim that all extreme weather events are the result of global warming, but one of the most widely agreed-upon consequences of warming is an increase in extreme weather events. Climate is what you expect, and weather is what you get. If the weather we experience ever more frequently diverges from expectations, then it is natural to wonder whether climate is changing.</div><div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.1875em; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">One of the biggest impediments to any public awakening is that the phrase “global warming” implies that the extremes will only be in the form of heat and everywhere at once. Hence the blizzard of smugness—“where’s your warming?”—that was an insufferable fellow-traveler with the arrival of the Polar Vortex in January (an easy answer, by the way, is “Alaska” where unseasonable warmth led to a massive avalanche that isolated the town of Valdez for two weeks). When climate changes, however, the scientific consensus is that the transition is not smooth. The term favored by climate scientists is “flicker” where climate jumps back and forth between hot and cold and wet and dry until it finally settles in a new state. In this context, rather than putting aside concerns about global warming when the temperature plunges, we might well wonder whether or not the extreme is yet another data point in an accelerating pattern of extreme events.</div><blockquote class="blockquote" style="background-color: black; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; clear: left; color: white; display: table; float: left; font-family: TitlingGothicFBStandCond; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; height: 350px; line-height: inherit; margin: 9px 31px 9px 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; quotes: none; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline; width: 235px;"><div class="centerer" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; display: table-cell; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; height: 350px; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: middle; width: 235px;"><div class="safe-area" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; max-height: 340px; max-width: 200px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="content" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; font-family: inherit; font-size: 30px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; letter-spacing: 1.6px; line-height: 34.5px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: auto; vertical-align: baseline;">The increasing pace of extreme weather events is telling us that climate is changing and it is costing us money now.</div></div></div></blockquote><div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.1875em; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.1875em; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.6;"><br />Which brings us back to the question of the difference between thinking about the costs of extreme events as “weather” related losses or as costs related to “climate change.” Attributing poor performance to the weather contains an implicit assumption that this was a one-time event, not likely to be repeated as things revert to normal. Recognizing that an event might—might—be related to changing climate means that a CEO or political leader recognizes that he or she should be prepared for things not returning to normal.Which corporate leader or politician would you prefer to have making decisions about budgets and strategy?</span>There have been numerous studies of the potential economic impact of climate change (I helped edit one published by the UNDP and World Bank in 2005), the most recent being “The Weather Business” published by the German financial colossus Allianz. Many of the earlier studies speculated about future events, while now, a businessman, economist, a mayor, governor, or President doesn’t need a study to envision the costs of weather catastrophes. All they have to do is look at their corporate results, or busted budgets. The increasing pace of extreme weather events is telling us that climate is changing and it is costing us money now (the Allianz report estimated the cost of worldwide weather disasters in 2012 to be $170 billion).</div><div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.1875em; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; vertical-align: baseline;">-DailyBeast</div></section>

The True Cost of Extreme Weather…Or is it Climate Change? (BLOG)

Politicians and businesses have long complained about the price of fighting climate change. Now they're getting a taste of just how expe...

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Why Your Lunch Might Be Killing The Planet (BLOG)

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPIgnqI_LTAALzFguLKBnH18-vag-aqfbf0Jhc9nlSbjxEI0wjSzZUscDmngfauGF0PGo3T0XfoeAoaBqUuEMG1VkMW_VqKQ01I7LDkNQdI8UfKMxZfjwj2stqWbSfXt3Sf_sE_GBw9fg/s1600/b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="122" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPIgnqI_LTAALzFguLKBnH18-vag-aqfbf0Jhc9nlSbjxEI0wjSzZUscDmngfauGF0PGo3T0XfoeAoaBqUuEMG1VkMW_VqKQ01I7LDkNQdI8UfKMxZfjwj2stqWbSfXt3Sf_sE_GBw9fg/s1600/b.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px;">Think your car is the only thing that consumes fossil fuels on a daily basis?</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px;">Guess again.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px;">Believe it or not, food production is a major contributor of greenhouse gases. In fact,<a href="http://www.peta.org/about-peta/faq/how-does-eating-meat-harm-the-environment/" sl-processed="1" style="border: 0px; color: #ff3300; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_hplink">producing one hamburger requires enough fossil fuel</a> to drive a small car 20 miles.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px;">We broke down a typical hamburger to illustrate the resources used to produce a meal that <a href="http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/2012/08/the-hidden-costs-of-hamburgers.html" sl-processed="1" style="border: 0px; color: #ff3300; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_hplink">the average American eats 3 times a week</a>.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Century, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px;">Are you shocked by these statistics? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below.</div><div class="visually_embed" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #303030; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; height: 1683px; left: 0px; line-height: 17.00010108947754px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: 0px; width: 570px;"><img alt="The Environmental Impact Of Your Hamburger" class="visually_embed_infographic" data-id="0" src="http://thumbnails.visually.netdna-cdn.com/the-environmental-impact-of-your-hamburger_52fadef68c8ae_w587.jpg" style="border: 0px; height: auto; left: 0px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: 0px;" /><div class="visually_embed_cycle" style="border: 0px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: absolute; top: 1649px; width: 570px;">Explore more <a href="http://visual.ly/" sl-processed="1" style="border: 0px; color: #ff3300; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">infographics</a> like this one on the web's largest information design community -<a href="http://visual.ly/" sl-processed="1" style="border: 0px; color: #ff3300; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Visually</a>.</div></div>

Why Your Lunch Might Be Killing The Planet (BLOG)

Think your car is the only thing that consumes fossil fuels on a daily basis? Guess again. Believe it or not, food production is a major con...

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Why The Syrian Civil War May Burn For A Few More Years

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaqV5aYQVQseC2u3XJSkIU7JEiC-zoz7yhx5lZdsFrucis2fG0oaTue48KIQzjAvQk8uofpW9Chz6zi_VHfrb7103ujvOxNLCzhtNneK_LhwiYt7dzc2PO4WZf9q5u0iEmJJ0g1v6WUnrz/s1600/200px-US-DefenseIntelligenceAgency-Seal.svg.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="359" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaqV5aYQVQseC2u3XJSkIU7JEiC-zoz7yhx5lZdsFrucis2fG0oaTue48KIQzjAvQk8uofpW9Chz6zi_VHfrb7103ujvOxNLCzhtNneK_LhwiYt7dzc2PO4WZf9q5u0iEmJJ0g1v6WUnrz/s1600/200px-US-DefenseIntelligenceAgency-Seal.svg.png" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">(<b>Click on Image to Enlarge</b>) </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Areas of control in Syria. Map by Frontline (NASA/Microsoft)</span></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>This Map Of Syria Shows Why The War Will Be So Difficult To End -- Washington Post</b></span></div><br />PBS Frontline's Evan Wexler and Sarah Childress <b><a href="http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/foreign-affairs-defense/syrias-second-front/map-syrias-shifting-battle-lines/">put together this map</a></b> showing which of the four major groups in Syria control which territory, as part of Frontline's <b><a href="http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/syrias-second-front/">new hour-long program</a></b> on fighting there.<br /><br />The map shows control divided between government forces, rebels with the ethnic Kurdish minority, rebels with the extremist Islamist group ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria), and the mainline rebel opposition.<br /><br />These groups are four different colors for good reason: with the quasi-exception of the Kurds, who mostly just want Kurdish autonomy or independence, the other three groups all hate each other, all want to control Syria and all have very different visions for the country. And, as you can see, each controls a lot of territory.<br /><br /><b><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2014/02/12/this-map-of-syria-shows-why-the-war-will-be-so-difficult-to-end/">Read more</a></b> ....<br /><br /><b>Update #1:</b> <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2014/02/12/syria-civil-war-years-more/4966489/">Syria conflict could last years, killing continues </a>-- USA Today<br /><b>Update #2:</b> <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/david-ignatius-taking-a-long-view-on-syria-and-the-sunni-shiite-divide/2014/02/12/5d650b10-935e-11e3-84e1-27626c5ef5fb_story.html">Taking a long view on Syria and the Sunni-Shiite divide</a> -- David Ignatius, Washington Post<br /><br /><b>My Comment:</b> The Lebanese civil war was a sectarian civil war (Christian - Muslim) that lasted for years .... the only difference between that civil war and the Syrian civil war is that the Syrian civil war is bigger involving Sunni - Shiite alliances, more international players are involved, and the weapons are more lethal. Is history repeating itself in this region of the Middle East .... from this angle it certainly looks like it.

Why The Syrian Civil War May Burn For A Few More Years

( Click on Image to Enlarge ) Areas of control in Syria. Map by Frontline (NASA/Microsoft) This Map Of Syria Shows Why The War Will Be So Di...

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Sprott Money seeks counsel from Gerald Celente

<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Sprott Money asks the expert</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhySX9d4vxB5IicSJXn0Ifrdy8wnAy4lF5nNPlYkTVOE91OzsGDWu87e8q7d4nFS1YT2wkVzZj6eAHhTvjZB9yRUo0-EXtfaO-OifnQxATXBv23D2aKRX65xwinruFg9_hYO65UTxhWmLE/s1600/GeraldCelente_RECENTPIC.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="181" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhySX9d4vxB5IicSJXn0Ifrdy8wnAy4lF5nNPlYkTVOE91OzsGDWu87e8q7d4nFS1YT2wkVzZj6eAHhTvjZB9yRUo0-EXtfaO-OifnQxATXBv23D2aKRX65xwinruFg9_hYO65UTxhWmLE/s1600/GeraldCelente_RECENTPIC.JPG" width="320" /></a><span style="font-size: large;"><b><br /> </b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Gerald Celente</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Now we know their secret to accurate market predictions:</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/0hUT4ByPXIY?feature=player_detailpage" width="640"></iframe><br /><br /><b>...developing...</b></div>

Sprott Money seeks counsel from Gerald Celente

Sprott Money asks the expert   Gerald Celente Now we know their secret to accurate market predictions: ...developing...

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The News UNIT's GOLD and SILVER analysis

<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>GOLD and SILVER forecast for MARCH 2014</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><br /></b><b>(I should charge a fee for this but I choose to do it gratis)</b><br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>Unfortunately I cannot do a video right now to explain this further however my own UNOFFICIAL and AMATEUR TECHNICAL ANALYSIS is DRAWN BELOW.</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="color: red;"><u>DISCLAIMER:</u></span>  I can neither confirm nor deny the accuracy of any of this...ask Tacos his take on the matter...</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgThavNeQkxdnZVXmvSQ4IxJSMY-sh3gYpDTNWyFqFupnKO5VfJq7suiK_PPdlTEq64kk4NtImVNtflJNk2C5R5MATFUL9gVdz4ykkg-TvDfyV1Lz5W1fxbg-wtuM6vNcz8vSCA38MI_Ic/s1600/CHART_FORECAST.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="385" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgThavNeQkxdnZVXmvSQ4IxJSMY-sh3gYpDTNWyFqFupnKO5VfJq7suiK_PPdlTEq64kk4NtImVNtflJNk2C5R5MATFUL9gVdz4ykkg-TvDfyV1Lz5W1fxbg-wtuM6vNcz8vSCA38MI_Ic/s1600/CHART_FORECAST.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /><b><span style="font-size: large;">MARKET SYNOPSIS and ADDITIONAL COMMENTS</span></b><br /><br /><b>by The News UNIT</b><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">At this point in the markets we are as always charting projections into UNCHARTED TERRITORY.  That is always the case and it is a very difficult prediction to dive into absent direct knowledge from the insiders who inhabit the halls of Congress, the White House, Wall Street, and the Federal Reserve.  However this does not mean that we cannot come to some REASONABLE ACCURACY on MARKET TRENDS and EXPECTATIONS and to benefit at times from these projections.  Obviously these observations and expected trends are subject to violent changes due to the world markets being easily news driven from mainstream media sources and especially here in America from any announcements by the Federal Reserve Bank.  Markets are also driven by advanced computer driven high frequency algorithms which further complicate matters as they are highly reactive and easily modulated by all manner of news announcements.  </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Right now it seems the general sentiment of the short term trends includes a bullish outlook on the U.S. STOCK INDEXES pushing them up again to test the general rising channel of 2013 and early 2014.  The recent pullback that started on January 23 has now reversed as of February 5th and we are now setting our attention toward the record breaking highs of the THREE PRIMARY U.S. INDEXES as shown below:</div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>DJIA                 16588.25</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>NASDAQ           4246.55 </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>S&P500             1850.84</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Although there is not complete certainty whether we will see a return to these levels it must be noted that the current financial backing of our economy through the Federal Reserve's intervention is proving their ability to move the market higher as the powers that be buy the stock market (however they do it behind the scenes) and push the equities much much higher.   </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Regarding the usual GOLD and SILVER fetish it does look like this sector will also push higher for no apparent reason of an inflationary catalyst, but for the simple fact that that sector has been suggested to be oversold and enormous amount of GOLD and SILVER interest is spreading now worldwide.  Mining stocks are also showing some robust upside from recent lows and are beginning to make a push off the bottom.  This sector needs careful monitoring however as it is easily modulated by news but at present time it seems that any news now is simply benefiting more long interest and will continue to push prices higher.   (SEE THE CHART ABOVE)</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">There is a unique development in my opinion involving various high end technologies that are being introduced to change the course of this world into a giant computer driven lifestyle known as "the internet of everything."  This has been shared by many at the recent World Economic Forum in Davos but not as well reported by mainstream media.  How do I know this?  Because I have listened to various conference calls during the earnings season to learn what is going on by careful listening.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">It is the opinion of this writer that we may be entering a new DOT COM STYLE BUBBLE with technological advancements that create a certain amount of confidence in new companies to push these markets much higher.   With that of course comes a certain amount of caution and investors are looking for safe haven assets such as GOLD and SILVER which are also to be in high demand during these expanding global electronic and technological innovations.<br /><br /><b>RELATED LINKS:</b><br /><b><a href="http://news-these-days.blogspot.com/2014/02/turd-ferguson-expects-1500-gold-in-2014.html" style="color: red;">http://news-these-days.blogspot.com/2014/02/turd-ferguson-expects-1500-gold-in-2014.html</a> </b><br /><br /><b><a color:red="" href="http://news-these-days.blogspot.com/2014/02/metals-and-mining-stocks-start-to-rise.html" style="color: red;">http://news-these-days.blogspot.com/2014/02/metals-and-mining-stocks-start-to-rise.html</a> </b><br /><br /><b><a color:red="" href="http://news-these-days.blogspot.com/2014/02/gold-moves-into-safe-haven-status.html" style="color: red;">http://news-these-days.blogspot.com/2014/02/gold-moves-into-safe-haven-status.html</a> </b><br /><br /><b><a color:red="" href="http://news-these-days.blogspot.com/2014/02/gold-price-likely-rise-to-2000-and.html" style="color: red;">http://news-these-days.blogspot.com/2014/02/gold-price-likely-rise-to-2000-and.html</a> </b><br /><br /><b><a color:red="" href="http://news-these-days.blogspot.com/2014/02/gold-and-silver-prices-and-coming-short.html" style="color: red;">http://news-these-days.blogspot.com/2014/02/gold-and-silver-prices-and-coming-short.html</a> </b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b>...developing...</b></div>

The News UNIT's GOLD and SILVER analysis

GOLD and SILVER forecast for MARCH 2014 (I should charge a fee for this but I choose to do it gratis) Unfortunately I cannot do a video righ...

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I'm Gonna Pop Some Tags (Musical Tribute)

The following chart shows the 6-month moving average of the annual growth in clothing and clothing accessory store retail sales per capita. Keep in mind that it is not adjusted for inflation.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkSGV6ARGT16N8xzVNk9W3X89qi7D5vM8nR-0_nyq3uKrHM6-eyJz3Y2IF-LTzHhHlB-e9RzjrBCdQZB2vVxJBAWNcMMQ1cC8Ee2znoUO_bjYh8zB49LFAHamyUZRHRVGNGJUceYbFzwk/s1600/I'm+Gonna+Pop+Some+Tags.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkSGV6ARGT16N8xzVNk9W3X89qi7D5vM8nR-0_nyq3uKrHM6-eyJz3Y2IF-LTzHhHlB-e9RzjrBCdQZB2vVxJBAWNcMMQ1cC8Ee2znoUO_bjYh8zB49LFAHamyUZRHRVGNGJUceYbFzwk/s320/I'm+Gonna+Pop+Some+Tags.jpg" /></a><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">Click to enlarge.</span><br /><br />We've experienced a lot of weather over the past few years. I doubt there's any reason to worry about the trend.<br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/p9mmhh_wvkA" width="420"></iframe><br /><br /><b>Source Data:</b><br /><a href="http://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/graph/?g=s5z">St. Louis Fed: Custom Chart</a>

I'm Gonna Pop Some Tags (Musical Tribute)

The following chart shows the 6-month moving average of the annual growth in clothing and clothing accessory store retail sales per capita. ...

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The Tacos Mananeros YOU TUBE CHANNEL Challenge

<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: red;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">*****BEWARE OF YOU TUBE FINANCIAL ANALYSTS*****</span></b></span><br /><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh__RL2mgB7303JlE_MRZ8U3VA9hnVC6vGSv0O2hrMz9_TZ6Ubg9jztqFvaHaJluxsi2Zxbepvr3uPZtC0PIOWkf2m6_CsX6IyfbIbkK5nGEgJ_gXnQKzu8EnHr7y8MGG2usZ9GU3ihtZY/s1600/TacosPIC.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="131" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh__RL2mgB7303JlE_MRZ8U3VA9hnVC6vGSv0O2hrMz9_TZ6Ubg9jztqFvaHaJluxsi2Zxbepvr3uPZtC0PIOWkf2m6_CsX6IyfbIbkK5nGEgJ_gXnQKzu8EnHr7y8MGG2usZ9GU3ihtZY/s1600/TacosPIC.jpg" width="200" /></a></b></div><br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/-t9eEJMoclI?feature=player_detailpage" width="640"></iframe><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Tacos examines the Long Island Crusader Chris a.k.a. barnone11970:</b></span><br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/dk-WBs903Ic?feature=player_detailpage" width="640"></iframe>

The Tacos Mananeros YOU TUBE CHANNEL Challenge

*****BEWARE OF YOU TUBE FINANCIAL ANALYSTS***** Tacos examines the Long Island Crusader Chris a.k.a. barnone11970:

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The IRS to further ruin Ameirca's investment capital

<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>NEW REGULATIONS EFFECTIVE JULY 1, 2014</b></span><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji0G9MgncTTwRyX69FBLbutrvz4PtkizE2CxBXZyREh5Cmk8hkRcbWP6TeehvRb_DC1_m8S-FBEsQNKQyeclA19W-qNMtlSUoHvCRc9TJcLvzpUr50WmZeAKf0rgJFv7KftDrizXB1OG0/s1600/IRSlogo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="112" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji0G9MgncTTwRyX69FBLbutrvz4PtkizE2CxBXZyREh5Cmk8hkRcbWP6TeehvRb_DC1_m8S-FBEsQNKQyeclA19W-qNMtlSUoHvCRc9TJcLvzpUr50WmZeAKf0rgJFv7KftDrizXB1OG0/s1600/IRSlogo.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/LuZCyrLqAxM?feature=player_detailpage" width="640"></iframe>

The IRS to further ruin Ameirca's investment capital

NEW REGULATIONS EFFECTIVE JULY 1, 2014

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9-11-01 CASE REOPENED

<div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">911 TERRORIST ATTACK CASE REOPENED</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipoXa3hbng93KfyD585bexN6K67yQBAROhxDOCbsEjbCdQDXmqzWzG8oajbCYPdzHvi4ZPswkpeVil8EJ5hOZG1_uIPUIP02RxXff_VRvN0bAs8_l6lK7NVk7cGJkwOMFkV76_Z5uavaU/s1600/911plane.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipoXa3hbng93KfyD585bexN6K67yQBAROhxDOCbsEjbCdQDXmqzWzG8oajbCYPdzHvi4ZPswkpeVil8EJ5hOZG1_uIPUIP02RxXff_VRvN0bAs8_l6lK7NVk7cGJkwOMFkV76_Z5uavaU/s1600/911plane.jpg" width="285" /></a></div><b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">GET READY FOR NEW INVESTIGATIONS</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">The matter of 911 to be reviewed regarding what really happened with not only the twin towers and WTC BUILDING 7 but also The Pentagon and flight that was shot down by F-16's over Pennsylvania...</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><b>This is really going to cause quite a stir in the news as many people know that the alleged 911 TERRORIST ATTACK is a highly suspect incident and is accused of being an inside job. </b><br /><br /><b>This show below is a RE-RUN.  But it's still good PLAY ACTING and STAGE ACTING and makes for an unusual sort of entertainment: </b></div><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/NndExDBhdKc?feature=player_detailpage" width="640"></iframe></div>

9-11-01 CASE REOPENED

911 TERRORIST ATTACK CASE REOPENED GET READY FOR NEW INVESTIGATIONS The matter of 911 to be reviewed regarding what really happened with not...

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Commentaries, Opinions, And Editorials -- February 13, 2014

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP9MV4Mx-1SpWZ0451zj7b7hA0KcN4HpKwwWY3_J__EI8ICm5o9ix-GupMr3PhEDV4Z1bQZMktuINJY-9U3wB3-ZPTN4kpEoW7TBSc4RGCaEJnyHSc0S4wmOxm3YiyarR34EZB8Lz-0aKf/s1600/2013-09-12-BZSSR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP9MV4Mx-1SpWZ0451zj7b7hA0KcN4HpKwwWY3_J__EI8ICm5o9ix-GupMr3PhEDV4Z1bQZMktuINJY-9U3wB3-ZPTN4kpEoW7TBSc4RGCaEJnyHSc0S4wmOxm3YiyarR34EZB8Lz-0aKf/s1600/2013-09-12-BZSSR.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Afghan National Army (ANA) soldiers stand at the Bagram detainee center gate north of Kabul, February 13, 2014. The Afghan government released 65 prisoners – some of whom the US says have killed American and other Western Coalition forces – but who President Hamid Karzai insists are of no threat. Mohammad Ismail/Reuters</span></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>US-Afghan Ties So Discordant, Even Vow To Sign Security deal Hits A Sour Note -- Howard LaFranchi, Christian Science Monitor</b></span></div><br />President Hamid Karzai gave assurances last weekend that Afghanistan would sign a security deal that the US has long sought. But he chose to tell Germany's foreign minister first.<br /><br />In a further sign of just how far relations have deteriorated between President Hamid Karzai and the United States, the Afghan leader is letting it be known his country plans to sign a security deal with the US – he apparently just can’t bring himself to have the Americans be the first to know.<br /><br />German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier announced to the Bundestag Thursday that Mr. Karzai assured him during a weekend meeting in Kabul that the security agreement for a post-2014 American military presence in Afghanistan will go into effect.<br /><br />“I was pleased that Karzai said very clearly that Afghanistan would in any case sign” the accord, Mr. Steinmeier told the lower house of the German Parliament.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Security-Watch/2014/0213/US-Afghan-ties-so-discordant-even-vow-to-sign-security-deal-hits-a-sour-note">Read more</a> ....<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Commentaries, Opinions, And Editorials</b></span></div><br /><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/right-turn/wp/2014/02/13/the-administrations-pathetic-defense-of-syria-policy/">The administration’s pathetic defense of Syria policy </a>-- Jennifer Rubin, Washington Post<br /><br /><a href="http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international/world-news/us-agonizes-over-syria-but-sees-no-new-options/articleshow/30322719.cms">US agonizes over Syria but sees no new options</a> -- AFP<br /><br /><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/feb/13/geneva-slow-syria-best-chance-peace-military-intervention">Progress in Geneva is slow, but it's still Syria's best chance of peace</a> -- Douglas Alexander, The Guardian<br /><br /><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/feb/12/syria-aid-civilians-negotiations">Syria: save the civilians</a> -- Guardian editorial<br /><br /><a href="http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2014/02/11/an_offer_they_cant_refuse">Will China win its 65-year war with Taiwan -- without firing a shot?</a> -- Isaac Stone Fish, Foreign Policy<br /><br /><a href="http://www.realclearworld.com/articles/2014/02/13/why_is_china_really_provoking_its_neighbors.html">Why Is China Really Provoking Its Neighbors? </a>-- Robert Kaplan, Real Clear World/Stratfor<br /><br /><a href="http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/china-tech-start-up-scene-turning-heads-globally-a-953319.html">The Krypton Temple: China's Surging Tech Start-Up Scene</a> -- Bernhard Zand, Spiegel Online<br /><br /><a href="http://thediplomat.com/2014/02/shinzo-abes-nationalist-strategy/?allpages=yes">Shinzo Abe’s Nationalist Strategy </a>-- Kosuke Takahashi, The Diplomat<br /><br /><a href="http://www.worldaffairsjournal.org/blog/gordon-g-chang/putin-east-asia%E2%80%99s-new-power-broker">Putin, East Asia’s New Power Broker</a> -- Gordon G. Chang, World Affairs<br /><br /><a href="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/02/140207-central-african-republic-violence-marcus-bleasdale/">Photographer: Central African Republic "Falling Apart" in "Horrific Violence"</a> -- Brian Clark Howard, National Geographic<br /><br /><a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/02/13/us-somalia-arms-un-idUSBREA1C1QU20140213">Exclusive: U.N. monitors warn of 'systematic' Somali arms diversion</a> -- Louis Charbonneau, Reuters<br /><br /><a href="http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Security-Watch/2014/0213/Russia-tells-West-it-s-time-for-common-ground-on-Ukraine-or-else">Russia tells West it's time for common ground on Ukraine – or else</a> -- Fred Weir, Christian Science Monitor<br /><br /><a href="http://news.yahoo.com/worried-scotland-vote-uk-unveils-big-threat-221204728.html">Worried about Scotland vote, UK unveils big threat</a> -- Ben Arnoldy, Christian Science Monitor<br /><br /><a href="http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/ad524ca8-9031-11e3-a776-00144feab7de.html#axzz2t16M2Tgm">The Threat of Another Euro Crisis</a> -- Gideon Rachman, Financial Times<br /><br /><a href="http://www.economist.com/news/leaders/21596515-there-are-lessons-many-governments-one-countrys-100-years-decline-parable">The parable of Argentina</a> -- The Economist<br /><br /><a href="http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/insidestory/2014/02/globalising-internet-governance-2014213144354855649.html">Globalising Internet governance</a> -- Inside Story/Al Jazeera

Commentaries, Opinions, And Editorials -- February 13, 2014

Afghan National Army (ANA) soldiers stand at the Bagram detainee center gate north of Kabul, February 13, 2014. The Afghan government releas...

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