text:
The Cleveland native admits she was always passionate about grammar and writing, even in elementary school, but never gave much thought to pursuing it as a career. Yet, thanks to her family and listening to advice from her instructors, Buckner landed an internship with one of the most prestigious organizations in her hometown.
Using her networking skills and taking some initiative, Buckner said she sent a professor at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga an email about her desire to work as a spring intern and she was given a contact at the Museum Center in Cleveland. Buckner took it from there.
"I talked with Tracy O'Connell over the phone and we hit it off because we both live in Cleveland and drove to UTC for the same major," Buckner said. "I told her I was passionate about Cleveland and its history. I said I enjoyed writing and event planning and wanted to have hands-on experience doing that. A few weeks later, I called again and she told me I got the position. It has been a perfect fit here and I really couldn't have asked to intern anywhere better!"
As part of an academic service scholarship, Buckner also works at UTC's Challenger Center where she perform office duties while assisting elementary school students during their space science education. The 21-year-old said she understands the importance of inspiration with education since that is what helped launched her interest in the field of communications as a child.
"My love of writing started in elementary school," Buckner said. "I was always the nerdy person in class. I loved to read. My mom, Carmen Buckner, always read to me. Also, my grandmother, Lanelle Romines, read to me and my brother. My other grandmother, JoAnn Buckner, always encouraged me to stay in school and inspired me to excel. I also loved spelling and grammar, but I didn't know you could make a career out of writing and that it could be fun."
It was so much fun, in fact, that Buckner said as a teenager in high school she worked on the Sunshine Banner — a monthly news letter for her church.
"I would interview members of the church, but I still wasn't thinking about it as a career — it was just for fun," she said. "I thought I wanted to go into nursing the entire time I was in high school. Then I took a nursing class and realized it was not for me."
After giving up on entering the medical field, Buckner said she decided to do something different with her life after graduating from Bradley Central High School in 2009. She immediately enrolled at Cleveland State Community College.
"I took a public speaking course and my professor was really passionate about communications," she recalled. "He told me about public relations and I thought that sounded perfect. He definitely guided me in the right steps. In 2011, I graduated from Cleveland State and transferred to UTC in the fall semester."
It turned out to be the best decision Buckner made careerwise. She admits, "I love communications — I love everything about it — broadcast, the videos. It's like the best field ever."
As public relations coordinator, Buckner said she is responsible for writing press releases, updating the museum's blog page online, and helping edit the museum's monthly newsletter. Meeting local authors, artists and crafters at the Museum Center is what she calls one of her high points as well as attending MainStreet Cleveland luncheons and learning what's going on in the community.
The industrious young lady says she enjoys staying busy. So in addition to working at UTC, Buckner has a part-time job on the weekends in Cleveland in addition to interning at the Museum Center.
"It's all good," she said. "I meet a lot of really cool people. I love the people at the Challenger Center and the people at the Museum Center are awesome. I'm a people person and if you're going to be in communications you have to have good social skills."
Tracy McClain, museum membership coordinator, said, "We are enjoying having Sarah here at the museum this semester. Volunteers and interns are invaluable to the museum's success. While the intern is getting real experience and able to network in their field, the museum is able to take advantage of a fresh, young pair of eyes and harness their enthusiasm for the work.
"We learn as much as they do when we are able to look at projects and events from a new perspective. Bringing in new interns regularly lets us keep things fresh and has even led to new events and programs suggested by these creative young people."
Since an increasing number of college students worry about their job prospects and unemployment, Buckner, who is as diligent as ever, offered a piece of advice which has helped her stay busy and focused so far.
"I would say be wise in your electives. If you are passionate about something don't be afraid to take that elective. Broaden your education and knowledge, but also meet lots of people. That is definitely the best skill — to network and talk to people. The old saying is true, 'It's not what you know, but who you know.' I think it's a combination of both. You can't just go to school and expect the day after graduation to get a job if you don't know anyone.
"Especially in your junior and senior year of high school you should be meeting professional people. Go to the career fairs and network. Get your name out there. You should make a job out of getting a job. You have to be smart. I think dress and decorum are important. You should be yourself, but look the part too. Make a good first impression. Make eye contact and shake hands. All those basic things still apply today when you're trying to get a job."
While Buckner said she believes in following one's passion as a career, she also encouraged students seeking employment in a specific profession to first do the research, seek out others who majored in the same field and see if they found a job.
"If there is absolutely nothing available, you could still choose to minor in it instead of majoring in it, because it's still important," she said. "If it's something you're passionate about, I'm sure you can use it in any field."
Having faith in God, support from family and a plan of success has put Buckner on track to finding the promising career of her dreams. She also has a new source of support in boyfriend Mark Boring, whom she describes as her "best friend" and very supportive of her career choices. Still, it takes effort and intellect to bring someone to the brink of success where they can find themselves and achieve their personal objective, according to Buckner, who offered her peers and high school graduates this advice in today's economy.
"Going to college during a recession has been one of the things that has made me a stronger person because I was forced to completely shut out every negative comment about being able to find or keep a job in this economy. Honestly, it sounds cliché, but I would say to follow your passion, but be wise about it. Just because I like to go hiking on the weekends doesn't mean I can make a career out of it.
"You have to meet people. Be smart about it and stick with it. Don't take semesters off. Don't listen to discouraging comments. If it's something you're passionate about, stick with it and it will work out. My family, my faith and my motivation brought me through these last four years as well as through high school. Success for me is being happy and doing what I went to school for — to use what I learned and just be happy — that's my goal."


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Concerns understood; but now it's time to GROW
Apr 12, 2013 | 5 Comments
By The News-Register Editorial Board
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However, the county's smaller communities, including your hometown of Dundee, could use the county's help. And we'd like to see them get it.
We don't think McMinnville has anything to fear from that, and by extension, neither does Newberg. We think they can rest easy.
Steve Bagwell, Managing Editor
McMinnville (and the News Register) looks out for itself, promotes itself, and believes its own hype at the expense of those "several outlying towns".
Additionally, I applaud the MEDP's integrity in using county/state funds for a county-centric, state-mandated economic development plan.
And you are right when you state: [McMinnville] "will be doing the right thing if it simply stands back." And then the rest of us "can rest easy".
You pay for medical and dental services, car repair services, vet services, financial services and so forth. Why should only news services be offered to all free of charge, and how are we supposed to support that model over the long term?
Nothing in life is truly free, and that includes professional news reports, whether they come from the Graphic, the News-Register or some other source.
And if there is a city in our circulation area that has superior infrastructure to McMinnville, please cite it for me.
As I noted, Newberg does NOT lie in our circulation area, nor does McMinnville lie in the Graphics. We are simply neighboring private business operations, each trying to make a go of it as best we can in a changing news environment. So, as I noted before, that assertion was never meant to include Newberg.
Steve Bagwell, Managing Editor
As Steve Bagwell points out, that comment was made in thinking about our immediate newspaper market area, where McMinnville indeed has a more developed industrial base than found in the surrounding small communities. That's no criticism of those great communities, just a comment on respective levels of industrial development.
Newberg, of course, has its own highly developed industrial base, and also will benefit from this countywide economic development effort.
Mr. Bagwell might have mentioned that NewsRegister.com has about 30,000 unique visitors each month, with between 600,000 and 750,000 monthly page views. We recognize the value that the Newberg Graphic adds to its publication with an active website, but do not agree that a comparison would find the N-R website inferior.
Thanks for pointing out the language issue of our editorial comment.
Jeb Bladine
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• All-Valley Soccer Athletes of the Year (1802)
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• County commissioners discuss goals (3)


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files released so far...
Index pages
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The Global Intelligence Files
On Monday February 27th, 2012, WikiLeaks began publishing The Global Intelligence Files, over five million e-mails from the Texas headquartered "global intelligence" company Stratfor. The e-mails date between July 2004 and late December 2011. They reveal the inner workings of a company that fronts as an intelligence publisher, but provides confidential intelligence services to large corporations, such as Bhopal's Dow Chemical Co., Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon and government agencies, including the US Department of Homeland Security, the US Marines and the US Defence Intelligence Agency. The emails show Stratfor's web of informers, pay-off structure, payment laundering techniques and psychological methods.
Re: [CT] [MESA] Fwd: [OS] SYRIA/ITALY/US/EU/CT - Syria Crackdown Gets Italy Firm's Aid With U.S.-Europe Spy Gear
Released on 2012-10-12 10:00 GMT
Email-ID | 1609878 |
Date | 2011-11-04 13:31:55 |
From | email@example.com |
To | email@example.com, email@example.com |
List-Name | firstname.lastname@example.com |
On 11/4/11 4:04 AM, Chris Farnham wrote:
Syria Crackdown Gets Italy Firm's Aid With U.S.-Europe Spy Gear
November 04, 2011, 1:49 AM EDT
By Ben Elgin and Vernon Silver
Nov. 4 (Bloomberg) -- As Syria's crackdown on protests has claimed more
than 3,000 lives since March, Italian technicians in telecom offices
from Damascus to Aleppo have been busy equipping President Bashar
al-Assad's regime with the power to intercept, scan and catalog
virtually every e-mail that flows through the country.
Employees of Area SpA, a surveillance company based outside Milan, are
installing the system under the direction of Syrian intelligence agents,
who've pushed the Italians to finish, saying they urgently need to track
people, a person familiar with the project says. The Area employees have
flown into Damascus in shifts this year as the violence has escalated,
says the person, who has worked on the system for Area.
Area is using equipment from American and European companies, according
to blueprints and other documents obtained by Bloomberg News and the
person familiar with the job. The project includes Sunnyvale,
California-based NetApp Inc. storage hardware and software for archiving
e-mails; probes to scan Syria's communications network from Paris-based
Qosmos SA; and gear from Germany's Utimaco Safeware AG that connects
tapped telecom lines to Area's monitoring-center computers.
The suppliers didn't directly furnish Syria with the gear, which Area
exported from Italy, the person says.
The Italians bunk in a three-bedroom rental apartment in a residential
Damascus neighborhood near a sports stadium when they work on the
system, which is in a test phase, according to the person, who requested
anonymity because Area employees sign non-disclosure agreements with the
Mapping Connections
When the system is complete, Syrian security agents will be able to
follow targets on flat-screen workstations that display communications
and Web use in near-real time alongside graphics that map citizens'
networks of electronic contacts, according to the documents and two
people familiar with the plans.
Such a system is custom-made for repression, says Mark Dubowitz,
executive director of the Washington-based Foundation for Defense of
Democracies, which promotes tighter sanctions against Syria.
"Any company selling monitoring surveillance technology to the Assad
regime is complicit in human rights crimes," he says.
Privately held Area, which got its start in 1996 furnishing phone taps
to Italian law enforcement, has code-named the system "Asfador." The
title is a nod to a Mr. Asfador who cold-called the company in 2008
asking it to bid on the deal, according to one person knowledgeable
about the project. The person didn't know Mr. Asfador's full name, and
efforts to identify him were unsuccessful. The price tag is more than 13
million euros ($17.9 million), two people familiar with the deal say.
Change Outpaces Deals
Area Chief Executive Officer Andrea Formenti says he can't discuss
specific clients or contracts, and that the company follows all laws and
export regulations.
He says governments often use what is known as "lawful interception"
gear to catch criminals. Without referring specifically to Syria,
Formenti says political change can outpace business deals.
"You may consider that any lawful interception system has a very long
sales process, and things happen very quickly," he says, citing the
velocity of Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi's fall, only a year after
pitching his Bedouin tent in a Rome park on a visit to Italy. "Qaddafi
was a big friend of our prime minister until not long ago."
When Bloomberg News contacted Qosmos, CEO Thibaut Bechetoille said he
would pull out of the project. "It was not right to keep supporting this
regime," he says. The company's board decided about four weeks ago to
exit and is still figuring out how to unwind its involvement, he says.
The company's deep- packet inspection probes can peer into e-mail and
reconstruct everything that happens on an Internet user's screen, says
Qosmos's head of marketing, Erik Larsson.
Monitoring Centers
"The mechanics of pulling out of this, technically and contractually,
are complicated," Larsson says.
The daisy chain of Western companies from the U.S. to Europe shows the
route high-tech surveillance equipment takes on its way to repressive
regimes that can use it against their own political enemies.
As uprisings in Egypt, Libya and Tunisia toppled Arab leaders this year,
Assad, 46, has held on, deploying security forces against demonstrators
protesting his rule, and defying a call by U.S. President Barack Obama
to step down. Bordering Israel, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey, Syria
has been run by Assad and his late father, Hafez, for a combined 41
Captor Computers
Area is installing the system, which includes the company's "Captor"
monitoring-center computers, through a contract with state-owned Syrian
Telecommunication Establishment, or STE, the two people familiar with
the project say. Also known as Syrian Telecom, the company is the
nation's main fixed-line operator.
Without the Area gear, Syria's current electronic surveillance captures
only a portion of the nation's communications, and lacks the new
system's ability to monitor all Internet traffic, say the two people who
know of Syria's capabilities through their work for Area.
Businesses that sell surveillance equipment to Syria should be held
accountable for aiding repression, says Osama Edward Mousa, a Syrian
blogger who was arrested in 2008 for criticizing the regime and fled to
Sweden in 2010.
"Every single company who is selling monitoring technology to the Syrian
government is a partner to stopping democracy in Syria," he says. "They
are a partner to the killing of people in Syria. They are helping the
Syrian government stay in control."
Syria Sanctions
The European Union has imposed a series of sanctions against Syria since
May, including a ban on arms sales and a freeze on assets of people in
the regime. The measures don't prohibit European companies from selling
Syria the sort of equipment in Area's project.
The U.S. has banned most American exports to Syria other than food or
medicine since 2004.
That means the U.S. government may need to determine if the shipment of
NetApp's hardware to Syria violated sanctions, says Hal Eren, a former
lawyer for the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control
who is in private practice in Washington.
"Products of U.S. origin, whether they're exported or re- exported, are
generally prohibited to Syria," Eren says.
NetApp, which has a market value of about $15 billion and more than
10,000 employees, makes its products in countries around the globe,
according to its most recent annual report.
NetApp `Not Aware'
"NetApp takes these matters very seriously and is committed to global
trade compliance," Jodi Baumann, NetApp's Sunnyvale-based senior
director for corporate communications, said in a statement. "We are not
aware of any NetApp products being sold or having been sold into Syria."
The NetApp deal was structured in a way that avoided dealing directly
with Area, one of the people familiar with the project says. NetApp's
Italian subsidiary sold the equipment through an authorized vendor in
Italy which then re-sold it to Area, the person says.
Utimaco General Manager Malte Pollmann says his company relies on Area
to ensure its equipment is used and exported legally. "Area is a trusted
long-term partner," he says.
Utimaco, based in Oberursel near Frankfurt, wasn't aware of any Syria
project involving its gear and rarely knows where partners install its
equipment, Pollmann says. "I wouldn't need to know, because it's not the
duty of any of our end partners to tell us," Pollmann says. "We don't
sell direct."
No Information
Sophos Ltd., the Abingdon, England-based provider of security and
data-protection software that controls Utimaco, referred questions to
Utimaco, said Fiona Halkerston, who handles Sophos media relations at
London agency Johnson King Ltd.
STE General Director Baker Baker didn't respond to a request for comment
faxed to his office.
At Syria's embassy in Rome, a press officer said she had no information
about the system and declined to comment on human rights implications of
such monitoring.
Syria's purchase of the system illustrates how authoritarian governments
are using Western-produced surveillance technology to track dissidents.
In Iran, a Bloomberg News investigation showed, European companies
provided or marketed gear to track citizens' locations and
communications that law enforcement or state security agencies would
have access to.
Tools for Interrogators
In Bahrain, interrogators of human rights activists used text-message
transcripts generated by European surveillance equipment, the
investigation found. Other Middle Eastern nations that cracked down on
uprisings this year purchased the same gear, including Egypt, Yemen and
Syria, according to the report.
In Syria, Area's system for intercepting e-mail and Web sessions will be
more intrusive than simpler equipment for blocking websites.
The U.S. is looking into reports that Syria is using technology made by
Blue Coat Systems Inc., another company based in Sunnyvale, to censor
the Internet and record browsing histories, State Department spokeswoman
Victoria Nuland said at an Oct. 24 news briefing.
Blue Coat is investigating allegations its filtering gear was sold or
transferred to Syria, spokesman Steve Schick says. The company doesn't
sell to Syria and prohibits its partners from selling to Syria or other
embargoed countries, he says.
The State Department's Nuland underscored the ban on virtually all U.S.
exports to Syria, responding to a question about Blue Coat during the
news conference.
State Department Concerned
"We are concerned about reports of the use of technology by repressive
regimes in general, but Syria in particular, to target activists and
dissidents," she said.
Over the past three years, Area has been working to furnish Syria with
precisely those tools.
Area, which is based in a modern office building next to Milan's
Malpensa Airport, got the 2008 phone call asking it to compete for the
project as it was struggling to collect debts at home, the person
familiar with the call says. Along with two Italian competitors, the
company had been pressing the Italian government that year to pay
overdue bills for interception work, Area CEO Formenti says.
Area won the Syria deal in 2009, two people familiar with the project
say. This February, a ship carrying the computers and other equipment
arrived in the Syrian port of Latakia, one of the people says.
Death Toll
With the gear in Syria, deployment of Asfador unfolded in parallel with
Assad's escalating crackdown.
The turmoil began in mid-March. Two weeks into the violence, on March
30, Italian employees of NetApp and Area exchanged e-mails in which the
computer supplier gave advice to the surveillance company on how to
configure equipment that had just been delivered, copies of the
correspondence show.
That same day, Assad addressed Syria's parliament, blaming the protests
on a "conspiracy." "If the battle was imposed on us today, we welcome
it," he said.
By then, more than 90 people had been killed in clashes, according to
Amnesty International.
An Area schematic for "NetApp Storage Cluster B," dated May 26, shows
how the U.S. company's stacks of disks were being wired in computer
cabinets. The schematic bears the Asfador code name as well as a cover
sheet titled "STE PDN Monitoring Center Project."
Also on May 26, Syrian security forces killed at least three protesters
in the Daraa governorate, bringing the death toll to more than 1,100
Surveillance Room
If Area's installation is completed as planned, Assad's government will
gain the power to dip into virtually any corner of the Internet in
Schematics for the system show it includes probes in the traffic of
mobile phone companies and Internet service providers, capturing both
domestic and international traffic. NetApp storage will allow agents to
archive communications for future searches or mapping of peoples'
contacts, according to the documents and the person familiar with the
The equipment has already been set up in an air-conditioned room at a
telecom exchange building in the Mouhajireen neighborhood of Damascus,
where about 30 metal racks hold the computers that handle the
surveillance and storage, the person familiar with the installation
says. The data center has a linkup to a surveillance room one floor
above, where the intercepted communications will stream to some 40
terminals, the person says.
Two people familiar with terms of the deal say that as a final stage of
the installation, the contract stipulates Area employees will train the
Syrian security agents who will man those workstations -- teaching them
how to track citizens.
Chris Farnham
Senior Watch Officer, STRATFOR
Australia Mobile: 0423372241
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com
Jacob Shapiro
Director, Operations Center


text:
Profile: Nina Rehman Khan, HDF President
June 16, 2011 by TMO · Leave a Comment
By Adil James, TMO
Farmington–June 15–The new president of HDF spoke with TMO Tuesday about her background, her experience with HDF, and her plans for the future.
Dr. Rehman is a physician specializing in internal medicine, with a private practice, operating at St. John and Troy Beaumont Hospital.
Human Development Foundation (HDF) is a not-for-profit formed almost 15 years ago in Illinois; it focuses almost all of its development work in Pakistan. Its annual operating budget is over $1 million, according to its verified 2009 tax return, and its coffers also hold more than $1 million.
She explains that she has been involved "on and off, as a medical student even," with HDF for many years, and that she has been involved on a regular basis with HDF since 2003, "at many levels, secretary, board of directors, to other things."
"I prefer HDF because it involves more women's health and education–women are my top priority… HDF emphasized more women and their health issues, immunizations for kids–all that attracted me more."
She speaks with admiration of the accomplishments of HDF to date, of running "over 200 schools," of microloans ("mainly to women but also to some men"). HDF provides help to get people "off the ground so they can be independent… raise their own family and be educated, and get skills." HDF provides "help with pregnancies and immunizations, free clinics in different villages, support clinics for women's health–childbirth and preventive health."
She explains of HDF's focus on Pakistan and relative silence in the US that "that's our vision." However she explains that she has considered doing some projects to help children and women in Detroit, and that HDF did do some work to relieve the suffering after Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans.
"I was planning on doing more during Christmas, to help the homeless and kids [in Detroit]."
HDF is an apparently very successful not-for-profit, which claims to maintain over 200 schools in Pakistan; also clinics and even entire villages. HDF provided homes for people displaced by the floods in Pakistan, in association with APPNA.
In her professional life Dr. Rehman emphasizes women's preventive health, and anti-aging. She recently completed a fellowship in anti-aging.


text:
Once Comcast finally loses the court battle, they'll switch all of the Sports Prgramming (Flyers, Sixers, and Phillies) from CSN Philly over to TCN. Just conjecture on my part.
They are useing TCN as a over flow now and comcast will not want to pull that sh** with nbc deal in works.


text:
Official Star Wars Fact File 103
Latest News
R2-KT Valentines Day Charity Patch
Posted by Dustin on
January 28, 2015
at 05:18 PM CST |
Valentine's Day is a favorite time for a certain pink droid. So in benefit of Make-A-Wish, R2-KT is showing the love for those troopers who always wear Valentine's Day colors. Gorgeous design by Juan Jose Matamoros, these will be at least 3.5" fully embroidered patches. Just $7 via paypal to firstname.lastname@example.com. Includes free shipping to anywhere!
Funko: Holographic Emperor Palpatine Pop! Vinyl Bobble Head
Posted by D_Martin on
January 28, 2015
at 03:23 PM CST |
This Friday fans of Funko's
Star Wars
Pop! vinyl collection will want to head on over to
to grab their exclusive Holographic Emperor Palpatine Pop! vinyl bobble head. In the meantime, click the thumbnail above to have a closer look.
eBay Today #1484: The Power Of The Awesome
Posted by D_Martin on
January 28, 2015
at 03:10 PM CST |
On a lark, we typed in the simple search phrase "Awesome
Star Wars
" on eBay. Almost everything we saw was far from what we'd consider 'awesome', and then we found this. Follow this link to check out what we'd certainly consider
an awesome
Star Wars
and let us know what you think.
BustedTees Offers 40% All
Star Wars
Posted by D_Martin on
January 28, 2015
at 02:42 PM CST |
You read that title right. For a very limited time, BustedTees is offering you a 40% discount on their entire
Star Wars
collection with the use of the
coupon code. Follow this link to
get in on the savings
Hasbro Photo Archive: 2014
Saga Legends
Anakin's Jedi Starfighter
Posted by D_Martin on
January 28, 2015
at 02:28 PM CST |
Next up in our current photo archive series focusing on the Class II vehicles we look back to the 2014
Saga Legends
release of the
Anakin's Jedi Starfighter
Class II vehicle. Follow the lower link to check it out.
TeePublic: Three More
Star Wars
Designs Listed
Posted by D_Martin on
January 28, 2015
at 12:15 PM CST |
in their tireless efforts to keep you clothed in
Star Wars
inspired shirts, TeePublic has listed three new designs including
Jabba's Palace by sebisghosts
Sith Happens by mrspaceman
, and
Star Wars! by, um, starwars
. Follow the links above to grab any you may like!
Toy Hunter Airs Tonight On Quest
Posted by D_Martin on
January 28, 2015
at 11:40 AM CST |
Just a reminder to readers in Europe that Jordan Hembrough's
Toy Hunter
show premiers Internationally on
on tonight at 10pm with two back to back episodes. As mentioned earlier, this season features many cool
Star Wars
finds, so you won't want to miss out! Follow this link to check out the
commercial for this season
and if you like winning stuff, you might also be interested in
their contest that could score you one of ten Toy Hunter prize bundles
Hasbro Photo Archive:
Star Wars: Rebels Collection
Anakin's Jedi Starfighter
Posted by D_Martin on
January 28, 2015
at 11:35 AM CST |
As our Class II photo archive entries continue, we look at one more vehicle from the
Star Wars: Rebels Collection
. Follow this link to check out the
Anakin's Jedi Starfighter
Class II vehicle and stay tuned for a comparative look at the other scaled down vehicles flown by the Chosen One later today.
Hot Toys: MMS279
A New Hope
1/6th Scale Darth Vader Collectible Figure
Posted by D_Martin on
January 28, 2015
at 11:18 AM CST |
Hot Toys has has released three new images of their
Movie Masterpiece Series 1/6 scale
A New Hope
Darth Vader
figure that feature the figure's Interrogator Droid accessory. Click the thumbnails above for a closer look and follow through to view the original product specifications and gallery. This spectacular figure is still available for pre-order. Follow the link above to secure yours while you still can!
Dynamic Forces: Magenta Mace Windu Wednesday
Posted by Chris on
January 28, 2015
at 11:02 AM CST |
Today, Dynamic Forces is offering a very limited amount of their exclusive variant
Star Wars #1
comics signed by artist Greg Land, this time in purple ink.
Sold out!
Back to Rebelscum.com


text:
Patrick Kane, Blackhawks extend streak to 22, admit this is 'amazing'
BY MARK LAZERUS firstname.lastname@example.com March 3, 2013 1:58PM
blackhawks 2,
red wings 1 (so)
Blackhawks 0 0 1 0 — 2
Detroit 0 0 1 0 — 1
Blackhawks won shootout 1-0
First Period—None. Penalties—Br.Smith, Det (interference), 3:15; Abdelkader, Det (interference), 8:49.
Second Period—None. Penalties—Carcillo, HAWKS (hooking), 14:27.
Third Period—1, Detroit, Tatar 4 (Andersson, Eaves), 2:43. 2, HAWKS, Kane 11 (Stalberg), 17:58 (pp). Penalties—Hjalmarsson, HAWKS (tripping), 4:10; Ericsson, Det (delay of game), 17:35; Kronwall, Det (delay of game), 18:37.
Overtime—None. Penalties—None.
Shootout—HAWKS 1 (Toews NG, Kane G), Detroit 0 (Datsyuk NG, Brunner NG, Zetterberg NG).
Shots on Goal—HAWKS 9-12-9-3—33. Detroit 3-15-13-2—33.
Power-play opportunities—HAWKS 1 of 4; Detroit 0 of 2.
Goalies—HAWKS, Crawford 10-0-3 (33 shots-32 saves). Detroit, Howard 8-7-3 (33-32).
Referees—Wes McCauley, Mike Hasenfratz. Linesmen—Andy McElman, Derek Amell. A—20,066 (20,066). T—2:35.
Article Extras
Updated: March 4, 2013 12:49PM
DETROIT — After Corey Crawford's umpteenth robbery of the game, with 100 seconds left in overtime in an incredibly tense, wildly entertaining game between two Original Six rivals, his latest victim, the Red Wings' Johan Franzen, casually leaned over the back of the net and struck up an amiable conversation with the Blackhawks goaltender.
"Nothing much," Crawford said of the chat. "Just a little talk there."
There certainly was plenty to talk about. The Hawks continue to be the talk of the league, if not the sporting world.
The come-from-behind, 2-1 shootout victory over the Red Wings — which had a playoff-like atmosphere and a national-TV audience — pushed the Hawks' NHL-record season-opening points streak to a mind-boggling 22 games. At 19-0-3, the Hawks are two games away from the halfway point of the lockout-shortened season, and they've yet to lose during actual hockey action. All three of their "losses" have come in shootouts.
After pulling out one of the more improbable victories of the streak Sunday, it seems the Hawks finally are catching up to the rest of the hockey world. After weeks of downplaying the streak, the wow factor seems to have permeated the Hawks' dressing room.
"Just amazing what's going on," said Patrick Kane, who tied the game with a power-play goal with 2:02 left in the third period and scored the lone shootout goal to win it. "We still haven't played our best 60 minutes, so I think that's pretty fun, too, knowing we have that ahead of us. But it's been a fun ride, and it's not over yet. We want to keep continuing to win."
The emotions of the game and the significance of the streak were evident in the celebration after Kane's power-play goal. It was set up by Viktor Stalberg's extra effort to sweep a backhand pass from the low slot to Kane in the corner, just as Red Wings defenseman Kyle Quincey was trying to clear it. Nobody wanted the streak to end, not after the superhuman effort Crawford had in goal, not in Marian Hossa's 1,000th game, not in Detroit, of all places.
"The whole bench had a little louder cheer than normal when that one went in," Hawks coach Joel Quenneville said.
Even Quenneville gushed about the streak — at least by his standards.
"I don't think we're satisfied about what we've accomplished so far, but we're definitely excited about where we're at," he said.
The Hawks are 12-0-3 in one-goal games, and they've won nine in a row overall, seven coming by one goal.
This might have been the most adversity the Hawks have overcome. They dominated play for the first half of the game and held an 18-5 edge in shots midway through the second period. But by the time Tomas Tatar finally beat Crawford 2:43 into the third, the Wings had taken control and had taken the lead in shots with a steady barrage of golden scoring chances. Red Wings goalie Jimmy Howard (32 saves) was matching Crawford (32 saves) spectacular save for spectacular save.
It was the first time the Hawks spent a significant amount of time trailing in the third period. Once again, they responded, aided by a fortunate break. Jonathan Ericsson fired the puck into the stands, setting up what proved to be the game-tying — and streak-extending — power play.
"What a hockey game," Quenneville said. "Give the guys a lot of credit for the resiliency and perseverance. It was an amazing game."
And an amazing start to the season. Even the Hawks have to admit that at this point.
"We have a great thing going on here," Hossa said. "It seems like we just find a way to win hockey games."


text:
The Global Intelligence Files,
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The Global Intelligence Files
On Monday February 27th, 2012, WikiLeaks began publishing The Global Intelligence Files, over five million e-mails from the Texas headquartered "global intelligence" company Stratfor. The e-mails date between July 2004 and late December 2011. They reveal the inner workings of a company that fronts as an intelligence publisher, but provides confidential intelligence services to large corporations, such as Bhopal's Dow Chemical Co., Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon and government agencies, including the US Department of Homeland Security, the US Marines and the US Defence Intelligence Agency. The emails show Stratfor's web of informers, pay-off structure, payment laundering techniques and psychological methods.
[OS] UK/EU - Conservatives take poll lead after EU veto
Released on 2012-10-11 16:00 GMT
Email-ID | 5180108 |
Date | 2011-12-14 10:54:52 |
From | firstname.lastname@example.com |
To | firstname.lastname@example.com |
List-Name | firstname.lastname@example.com |
LONDON | Wed Dec 14, 2011 3:05am GMT
LONDON (Reuters) - The Conservatives have overtaken Labour in an opinion
poll for the first time this year, enjoying a bounce on the back of Prime
Minister David Cameron's veto of a new European Union treaty, the latest
Reuters/Ipsos MORI poll showed on Wednesday.
The rise in support for Cameron's Conservatives is all the more remarkable
given Britons' increasing pessimism on the economy, with only 12 percent
expecting it to improve in the next year, the lowest figure since the
credit crunch began to bite in September 2008.
Support for the Conservatives rose by seven percentage points to 41
percent, while backing for Labour slipped two points to 39 percent.
The trend was confirmed by a survey by ComRes for the Independent
newspaper published on Wednesday that put the two largest parties
neck-and-neck on 38 percent.
The polls could worry Labour leader Ed Miliband, whose party is defending
a parliamentary seat in a by-election in a West London suburban
constituency on Thursday.
A national election is not due until 2015 and the Conservative-led
coalition has vowed to serve until then to try to break the back of a big
budget deficit.
However, continued buoyancy in the polls may tempt some Conservative MPs
to press for an early election to try to secure an outright majority.
The Liberal Democrats, the junior partner in the coalition that took power
in May 2010, were on 11 percent in the Ipsos MORI poll, down one point at
less than half what they polled in the election 18 months ago.
Ipsos MORI spoke to around 1,000 Britons on December 10-12, after
Cameron's historic use of his veto last week prevented the bloc from
creating a new EU treaty to tackle the euro zone crisis. Cameron says he
used his veto after failing to achieve safeguards he wanted for Britain's
financial services industry.
The Liberal Democrats, who disagree with his decision, failed to support
the Conservatives in a motion in parliament on Tuesday night commending
Cameron's action.
The motion passed by 278 to 200, but all 57 Lib Dem MPs abstained,
breaking coalition unity. The motion was put forward by Northern Ireland's
Democratic Unionist Party.
The Ipsos MORI poll showed that support for Cameron's and Chancellor
George Osborne's response to the euro zone crisis had risen by four
percentage points since November.
Fifty-six percent of those asked said the two had responded very or fairly
well to the crisis, while only 40 percent said politicians such as French
President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel had
responded well.
The EU summit fallout has reversed the effect of Osborne's autumn
statement last month, when he cut economic growth forecasts and announced
that austerity measures would continue until 2017, two years after the
next election.
Commentators said they expected the Conservative bounce to be fairly
"The surprise for me would be if it lasted longer than two months," said
Justin Fisher, politics professor at Brunel University. "Cameron has been
very good at selling his veto as something that is good for Britain," he
Fisher said the poll showed the vulnerability of Labour, struggling to
regroup under Miliband's leadership, and the Lib Dems, for whom governing
in a coalition has been a sobering experience after decades in the
political wilderness.
Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg criticised the outcome of the EU summit as "bad
for Britain," but many Britons are sceptical about the benefits of closer
European integration and much of the press is openly hostile to the EU.
The slump in support for the Lib Dems means they have to remain in the
coalition or risk an election drubbing.
Seventy percent of those polled identified the weak state of other
countries' economies as the greatest threat to Britain's national
Osborne has said that a recession in the euro zone would be likely to push
the British economy into recession too. Britain does around half of its
trade with the EU.
Sixty percent of Britons said the economy would get worse next year,
against 12 percent who saw an improvement. Unemployment is expected to
rise over the next year and the economy to grow slowly, at best.
Britons were divided on whether the government had made the right
decisions on cutting the budget deficit. Forty-six percent said it had
made the wrong decisions, while 44 percent backed tough cuts in public
* Ipsos MORI interviewed 1,001 adults across Britain between December 10
and 12 by telephone; data are weighted to the profile of the population.


text:
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Vendor ProductId: 85800
Review ProductId: 24728


text:
If you have any feedback or suggestions for our Editorial Team, please contact us at Editorial
There haven't been any comments posted on this article. Be the first to respond!
Top Response
1* Free Play Blazers.AAA Sports' Super Bowl Update: AAA Sports would ANNIHILATE the books in 2012/13 w/ his NFL picks, finishing among the BEST in the World (+$24,000 units); 2013/14 was ALL about his College Football DOMINATION (+$39,000); 2014/15 saw him "return to his roots", he comes into the Super Bowl at 86-65 +$8,600 Pre-Regular combined!
For a number of different reasons I think the Blazers will find a way to get the job done at the end of the night. Portland was in a tail spin until big man LaMarcus Aldridge returned from injury early to pour in 26 points and grab nine boards in a 103-96 win over Washington on Saturday, helping his team end a two-game slide: "I'm not into the rah-rah story," Aldridge said. "I just wanted to come back and play. I wanted to test it out at home, and versus these guys because I felt they were a physical team, and if I could play against these guys then that would be good." From a situational stand point, this is a very important game for Portland, after facing the lowly Nets in the opener of its four game trip, it then travels to Cleveland and Atlanta respectively. And in my opinion, that's bad news for a Brooklyn team that has allowed opponents to hit 24 of 54 from behind the arc while losing its last two by a whopping combined 74 points. Brooklyn comes in in dissaray, it finished a 1-2 road trip by falling 108-73 in Utah. Note that the Nets will once again be without the services of Deron Williams to a rib injury, a 10th straight game the star guard will sit. And note that Portland is 4-1 ATS this year off an upset win as an underdog, while Brooklyn is already 0-3 ATS this season after playing three consecutive road games. I think the spread should be a little bit larger, consider a second look at PORTLAND in this one.
AAA Sports


text:
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A place on the internet to discuss MSU sports, bourbon, and cigars, tell made up stories and generally act like an idiot when no one is watching. Sarcasm allowed.
spartans, michigan, state, football, basketball, izzo, dantonio, message, board, rose, bowl, neotantra, parsnip, margaret, 31st, countess, 24th, lady, garioch
Internet Bonsai Club forum : The New IBC, Internet Bonsai Club, Bonsai, Forum
#internet, bonsai, club, forum, suiseki, pots, kusamono, accent, plants, international, yamadori, display, scrolls, tokonoma, questions, answers, shohin, discussion, japanese, maple
The #1 Suzuki Intruder Owners Club on the internet and covers ALL models of the Suzuki Intruder / Boulevard / Volusia and Marauder motorcycles from the VL125 to the mighty M1800R / VZR1800R.
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Free forum : A forum dedicated to various player-created simulation games, ranging from Star Wars, Warhammer 40k and Babylon 5, to Find the Murderer and Paranoia. A gaming-exclusive forum, free of t
gaming, #internet, forum, roleplay, various, player-created, simulation, games, ranging, from, star, wars, warhammer, babylon, find, murderer


text:
A new heaven, and new earth: the new Jerusalem where God dwells, and banishes all sorrow from his people. (1-8) Its heavenly origin, glory, and secure defence. (9-21) Its perfect happiness, as enlightened with the presence of God and the Lamb, and in the free access of multitudes, made holy. (22-27)
Verses 1-8 The new heaven and the new earth will not be separate from each other; the earth of the saints, their glorified, bodies, will be heavenly. The old world, with all its troubles and tumults, will have passed away. There will be no sea; this aptly represents freedom from conflicting passions, temptations, troubles, changes, and alarms; from whatever can divide or interrupt the communion of saints. This new Jerusalem is the church of God in its new and perfect state, the church triumphant. Its blessedness came wholly from God, and depends on him. The presence of God with his people in heaven, will not be interrupt as it is on earth, he will dwell with them continually. All effects of former trouble shall be done away. They have often been in tears, by reason of sin, of affliction, of the calamities of the church; but no signs, no remembrance of former sorrows shall remain. Christ makes all things new. If we are willing and desirous that the gracious Redeemer should make all things new in order hearts and nature, he will make all things new in respect of our situation, till he has brought us to enjoy complete happiness. See the certainty of the promise. God gives his titles, Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End, as a pledge for the full performance. Sensual and sinful pleasures are muddy and poisoned waters; and the best earthly comforts are like the scanty supplies of a cistern; when idolized, they become broken cisterns, and yield only vexation. But the joys which Christ imparts are like waters springing from a fountain, pure, refreshing, abundant, and eternal. The sanctifying consolations of the Holy Spirit prepare for heavenly happiness; they are streams which flow for us in the wilderness. The fearful durst not meet the difficulties of religion, their slavish fear came from their unbelief; but those who were so dastardly as not to dare to take up the cross of Christ, were yet so desperate as to run into abominable wickedness. The agonies and terrors of the first death will lead to the far greater terrors and agonies of eternal death.
Verses 9-21 God has various employments for his holy angels. Sometimes they sound the trumpet of Divine Providence, and warn a careless world; sometimes they discover things of a heavenly nature of the heirs of salvation. Those who would have clear views of heaven, must get as near to heaven as they can, on the mount of meditation and faith. The subject of the vision is the church of God in a perfect, triumphant state, shining in its lustre; glorious in relation to Christ; which shows that the happiness of heaven consists in intercourse with God, and in conformity to him. The change of emblems from a bride to a city, shows that we are only to take general ideas from this description. The wall is for security. Heaven is a safe state; those who are there, are separated and secured from all evils and enemies. This city is vast; here is room for all the people of God. The foundation of the wall; the promise and power of God, and the purchase of Christ, are the strong foundations of the safety and happiness of the church. These foundations are set forth by twelve sorts of precious stones, denoting the variety and excellence of the doctrines of the gospel, or of the graces of the Holy Spirit, or the personal excellences of the Lord Jesus Christ. Heaven has gates; there is a free admission to all that are sanctified; they shall not find themselves shut out. These gates were all of pearls. Christ is the Pearl of great price, and he is our Way to God. The street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass. The saints in heaven tread gold under foot. The saints are there at rest, yet it is not a state of sleep and idleness; they have communion, not only with God, but with one another. All these glories but faintly represent heaven.
Verses 22-27 Perfect and direct communion with God, will more than supply the place of gospel institutions. And what words can more full express the union and co-equality of the Son with the Father, in the Godhead? What a dismal world would this be, if it were not for the light of the sun! What is there in heaven that supplies its place? The glory of God lightens that city, and the Lamb is the Light thereof. God in Christ will be an everlasting Fountain of knowledge and joy to the saints in heaven. There is no night, therefore no need of shutting the gates; all is at peace and secure. The whole shows us that we should be more and more led to think of heaven as filled with the glory of God, and enlightened by the presence of the Lord Jesus. Nothing sinful or unclean, idolatrous, or false and deceitful, can enter. All the inhabitants are made perfect in holiness. Now the saints feel a sad mixture of corruption, which hinders them in the service of God, and interrupts their communion with him; but, at their entrance into the holy of holies, they are washed in the laver of Christ's blood, and presented to the Father without spot. None are admitted into heaven who work abominations. It is free from hypocrites, such as make lies. As nothing unclean can enter heaven, let us be stirred up by these glimpses of heavenly things, to use all diligence, and to perfect holiness in the fear of God.
Revelation 21:1-27 . THE NEW HEAVEN AND EARTH: NEW JERUSALEM OUT OF HEAVEN.
The remaining two chapters describe the eternal and consummated kingdom of God and the saints on the new earth. As the world of nations is to be pervaded by divine influence in the millennium, so the world of nature shall be, not annihilated, but transfigured universally in the eternal state which follows it. The earth was cursed for man's sake; but is redeemed by the second Adam. Now is the Church; in the millennium shall be the kingdom; and after that shall be the new world wherein God shall be all in all. The "day of the Lord" and the conflagration of the earth are in 2 Peter 3:10 2 Peter 3:11 spoken of as if connected together, from which many argue against a millennial interval between His coming and the general conflagration of the old earth, preparatory to the new; but "day" is used often of a whole period comprising events intimately connected together, as are the Lord's second advent, the millennium, and the general conflagration and judgment. Compare Genesis 2:4 as to the wide use of "day." Man's soul is redeemed by regeneration through the Holy Spirit now; man's body shall be redeemed at the resurrection; man's dwelling-place, His inheritance, the earth, shall be redeemed perfectly at the creation of the new heaven and earth, which shall exceed in glory the first Paradise, as much as the second Adam exceeds in glory the first Adam before the fall, and as man regenerated in body and soul shall exceed man as he was at creation.
1. the first--that is the former.
passed away--Greek, in A and B is "were departed" (Greek, "apeelthon," not as in English Version, "pareelthe").
was--Greek, "is," which graphically sets the thing before our eyes as present.
no more sea--The sea is the type of perpetual unrest. Hence our Lord rebukes it as an unruly hostile troubler of His people. It symbolized the political tumults out of which "the beast" arose, Revelation 13:1 . As the physical corresponds to the spiritual and moral world, so the absence of sea, after the metamorphosis of the earth by fire, answers to the unruffled state of solid peace which shall then prevail. The sea, though severing lands from one another, is now, by God's eliciting of good from evil, made the medium of communication between countries through navigation. Then man shall possess inherent powers which shall make the sea no longer necessary, but an element which would detract from a perfect state. A "river" and "water" are spoken of in Revelation 22:1 Revelation 22:2 , probably literal (that is, with such changes of the natural properties of water, as correspond analogically to man's own transfigured body), as well as symbolical. The sea was once the element of the world's destruction, and is still the source of death to thousands, whence after the millennium, at the general judgment, it is specially said, "The sea gave up the dead . . . in it." Then it shall cease to destroy, or disturb, being removed altogether on account of its past destructions.
2. And I John--"John" is omitted in A, B, Vulgate, Syriac, Coptic, and ANDREAS; also the "I" in the Greek of these authorities is not emphatic. The insertion of "I John" in the Greek would somewhat interfere with the close connection which subsists between "the new heaven and earth," Revelation 21:1 , and the "new Jerusalem" in this verse.
Jerusalem . . . out of heaven--( Revelation 3:12 , Galatians 4:26 , "Jerusalem which is above"; Hebrews 11:10 , 12:22 , 13:14 ). The descent of the new Jerusalem out of heaven is plainly distinct from the earthly Jerusalem in which Israel in the flesh shall dwell during the millennium, and follows on the creation of the new heaven and earth. John in his Gospel always writes [Greek] Hierosoluma of the old city; in the Apocalypse always Hierousaleem of the heavenly city ( Revelation 3:12 ). Hierousaleem is a Hebrew name, the original and holy appellation. Hierosoluma is the common Greek term, used in a political sense. Paul observes the same distinction when refuting Judaism ( Galatians 4:26 ; compare Galatians 1:17 Galatians 1:18 , 2:1 , Hebrews 12:22 ), though not so in the Epistles to Romans and Corinthians [BENGEL].
bride--made up of the blessed citizens of "the holy city." There is no longer merely a Paradise as in Eden (though there is that also, Revelation 2:7 ), no longer a mere garden, but now the city of God on earth, costlier, statelier, and more glorious, but at the same time the result of labor and pains such as had not to be expended by man in dressing the primitive garden of Eden. "The lively stones" were severally in time laboriously chiselled into shape, after the pattern of "the Chief corner-stone," to prepare them for the place which they shall everlastingly fill in the heavenly Jerusalem.
3. out of heaven--so ANDREAS. But A and Vulgate read, "out of the throne."
the tabernacle--alluding to the tabernacle of God in the wilderness (wherein many signs of His presence were given): of which this is the antitype, having previously been in heaven: Revelation 11:19:15:5 , "the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven"; also Revelation 13:6 . Compare the contrast in Hebrews 9:23 Hebrews 9:14 , between "the patterns" and "the heavenly things themselves," between "the figures" and "the true." The earnest of the true and heavenly tabernacle was afforded in the Jerusalem temple described in Ezekiel 40:1-42:20', as about to be, namely, during the millennium.
dwell with them--literally, "tabernacle with them"; the same Greek word as is used of the divine Son "tabernacling among us." Then He was in the weakness of the flesh: but at the new creation of heaven and earth He shall tabernacle among us in the glory of His manifested Godhead ( Revelation 22:4 ).
they--in Greek emphatic, "they" (in particular).
his people--Greek, "His peoples": "the nations of the saved" being all peculiarly His, as Israel was designed to be. So A reads. But B, Vulgate, Syriac, and Coptic read, "His people": singular.
God himself . . . with them--realizing fully His name Immanuel.
4. all tears--Greek, "every tear."
no more death--Greek, "death shall be no more." Therefore it is not the millennium, for in the latter there is death ( Isaiah 65:20 , 1 Corinthians 15:26 1 Corinthians 15:54 , "the last enemy . . . destroyed is death," Revelation 20:14 , after the millennium).
sorrow--Greek, "mourning."
passed away--Greek, "departed," as in Revelation 21:1 .
5. sat--Greek, "sitteth."
all things new--not recent, but changed from the old (Greek, "kaina," not "nea"). An earnest of this regeneration and transfiguration of nature is given already in the regenerate soul.
unto me--so Coptic and ANDREAS. But A, B, Vulgate, and Syriac omit.
true and faithful--so ANDREAS. But A, B, Vulgate, Syriac, and Coptic transpose, "faithful and true" (literally, "genuine").
6. It is done--the same Greek as in Revelation 16:17 . "It is come to pass." So Vulgate reads with English Version. But A reads, "They ('these words,' Revelation 21:5 ) are come to pass." All is as sure as if it actually had been fulfilled for it rests on the word of the unchanging God. When the consummation shall be, God shall rejoice over the work of His own hands, as at the completion of the first creation God saw everything that He had made, and behold it was very good ( Genesis 1:31 ).
Alpha . . . Omega--Greek in A and B, "the Alpha . . . the Omega" ( Revelation 1:18 ).
give unto . . . athirst . . . water of life--( Revelation 22:17 , Isaiah 12:3 , 55:1 , John 4:13 John 4:14 , John 7:37 John 7:38 ). This is added lest any should despair of attaining to this exceeding weight of glory. In our present state we may drink of the stream, then we shall drink at the Fountain.
freely--Greek, "gratuitously": the same Greek as is translated, "(They hated Me) without a cause," John 15:25 . As gratuitous as was man's hatred of God, so gratuitous is God's love to man: there was every cause in Christ why man should love Him, yet man hated Him; there was every cause in man why (humanly speaking) God should have hated man, yet God loved man: the very reverse of what might be expected took place in both cases. Even in heaven our drinking at the Fountain shall be God's gratuitous gift.
7. He that overcometh--another aspect of the believer's life: a conflict with sin, Satan, and the world is needed. Thirsting for salvation is the first beginning of, and continues for ever (in the sense of an appetite and relish for divine joys) a characteristic of the believer. In a different sense, the believer "shall never thirst."
inherit all things--A, B, Vulgate, and CYPRIAN read, "these things," namely, the blessings described in this whole passage. With "all things," compare 1 Corinthians 3:21-23 .
I will be his God--Greek, "I will be to him a God," that is, all that is implied of blessing in the name "God."
he shall be my son--"He" is emphatic: He in particular and in a peculiar sense, above others: Greek, "shall be to me a son," in fullest realization of the promise made in type to Solomon, son of David, and antitypically to the divine Son of David.
8. the fearful--Greek, "the cowardly," who do not quit themselves like men so as to "overcome" in the good fight; who have the spirit of slavish "fear," not love, towards God; and who through fear of man are not bold for God, or "draw back." Compare Revelation 21:27 , 22:15 .
unbelieving--Greek, "faithless."
abominable--who have drank of the harlot's "cup of abominations."
sorcerers--one of the characteristics of Antichrist's time.
all liars--Greek, "all the liars": or else "all who are liars"; compare 1 Timothy 4:1 1 Timothy 4:2 , where similarly lying and dealings with spirits and demons, are joined together as features of "the latter times."
second death-- Revelation 20:14 : "everlasting destruction," 2 Thessalonians 1:9 , Mark 9:44 Mark 9:46 Mark 9:48 , "Where THEIR worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched."
9. The same angel who had shown John Babylon the harlot, is appropriately employed to show him in contrast new Jerusalem, the Bride ( Revelation 17:1-5 ). The angel so employed is the one that had the last seven plagues, to show that the ultimate blessedness of the Church is one end of the divine judgments on her foes.
unto me--A, B, and Vulgate omit.
the Lamb's wife--in contrast to her who sat on many waters ( Revelation 17:1 ), (that is, intrigued with many peoples and nations of the world, instead of giving her undivided affections, as the Bride does, to the Lamb.
10. The words correspond to Revelation 17:3 , to heighten the contrast of the bride and harlot.
mountain--Compare Ezekiel 40:2 , where a similar vision is given from a high mountain.
that great--omitted in A, B, Vulgate, Syriac, Coptic, and CYPRIAN. Translate then, "the holy city Jerusalem."
descending--Even in the millennium the earth will not be a suitable abode for transfigured saints, who therefore shall then reign in heaven over the earth. But after the renewal of the earth at the close of the millennium and judgment, they shall descend from heaven to dwell on an earth assimilated to heaven itself. "From God" implies that "we (the city) are God's workmanship."
11. Having the glory of God--not merely the Shekinah-cloud, but God Himself as her glory dwelling in the midst of her. Compare the type, the earthly Jerusalem in the millennium ( Zechariah 2:5 ; compare Revelation 21:23 , below).
her light--Greek, "light-giver": properly applied to the heavenly luminaries which diffuse light. Compare Note, the only other passage where it occurs. The "and" before "her light' is omitted in A, B, and Vulgate.
even like--Greek, "as it were."
jasper--representing watery crystalline brightness.
12. And--A and B omit. Ezekiel 48:30-35 , has a similar description, which implies that the millennial Jerusalem shall have its exact antitype in the heavenly Jerusalem which shall descend on the finally regenerated earth.
wall great and high--setting forth the security of the Church. Also, the exclusion of the ungodly.
twelve angels--guards of the twelve gates: an additional emblem of perfect security, while the gates being never shut ( Revelation 21:25 ) imply perfect liberty and peace. Also, angels shall be the brethren of the heavenly citizens.
names of . . . twelve tribes--The inscription of the names on the gates implies that none but the spiritual Israel, God's elect, shall enter the heavenly city. As the millennium wherein literal Israel in the flesh shall be the mother Church, is the antitype to the Old Testament earthly theocracy in the Holy Land, so the heavenly new Jerusalem is the consummation antitypical to the spiritual Israel, the elect Church of Jews and Gentiles being now gathered out: as the spiritual Israel now is an advance upon the previous literal and carnal Israel, so the heavenly Jerusalem shall be much in advance of the millennial Jerusalem.
13. On the north . . . on the south--A, B, Vulgate, Syriac, and Coptic read, "And on the north and on the south." In Ezekiel, Joseph, Benjamin, Dan (for which Manasseh is substituted in Revelation 7:6 ), are on the east ( Ezekiel 48:32 ); Reuben, Judah, Levi, are on the north ( Ezekiel 48:31 ); Simeon, Issachar, Zebulun, on the south ( Ezekiel 48:33 ); Gad, Asher, Naphtali, on the west ( Ezekiel 48:34 ). In Numbers, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun are on the east ( Numbers 2:3 Numbers 2:5 Numbers 2:7 ). Reuben, Simeon, Gad, on the south ( Numbers 2:10 Numbers 2:12 Numbers 2:14 ). Ephraim, Manasseh, Benjamin, on the west ( Numbers 2:18 Numbers 2:20 Numbers 2:22 ). Dan, Asher, Naphtali, on the north ( Numbers 2:25 Numbers 2:27 Numbers 2:29 ).
14. twelve foundations--Joshua, the type of Jesus, chose twelve men out of the people, to carry twelve stones over the Jordan with them, as Jesus chose twelve apostles to be the twelve foundations of the heavenly city, of which He is Himself the Chief corner-stone. Peter is not the only apostolic rock on whose preaching Christ builds His Church. Christ Himself is the true foundation: the twelve are foundations only in regard to their apostolic testimony concerning Him. Though Paul was an apostle besides the twelve, yet the mystical number is retained, twelve representing the Church, namely thirty the divine number, multiplied by four, the world number.
in them the names, &c.--As architects often have their names inscribed on their great works, so the names of the apostles shall be held in everlasting remembrance. Vulgate reads, "in them." But A, B, Syriac, Coptic, and ANDREAS read, "upon them." These authorities also insert "twelve" before "names."
15. had a golden reed--so Coptic. But A, B, Vulgate, and Syriac read, "had (as) a measure, a golden reed." In Revelation 11:2 the non-measuring of the outer courts of the temple implied its being given up to secular and heathen desecration. So here, on the contrary, the city being measured implies the entire consecration of every part, all things being brought up to the most exact standard of God's holy requirements, and also God's accurate guardianship henceforth of even the most minute parts of His holy city from all evil.
16. twelve thousand furlongs--literally, "to twelve thousand stadii": one thousand furlongs being the space between the several twelve gates. BENGEL makes the length of each side of the city to be twelve thousand stadii. The stupendous height, length, and breadth being exactly alike, imply its faultless symmetry, transcending in glory all our most glowing conceptions.
17. hundred . . . forty . . . four cubits--twelve times twelve: the Church-number squared. The wall is far beneath the height of the city.
measure of a man, that is, of the angel--The ordinary measure used by men is the measure here used by the angel, distinct from "the measure of the sanctuary." Men shall then be equal to the angels.
18. the building--"the structure" [TREGELLES], Greek, "endomeesis."
gold, like . . . clear glass--Ideal gold, transparent as no gold here is [ALFORD]. Excellencies will be combined in the heavenly city which now seem incompatible.
19. And--so Syriac, Coptic, and ANDREAS. But A, B, and Vulgate omit. Compare Revelation 21:14 with this verse; also Isaiah 54:11 .
all manner of precious stones--Contrast Revelation 18:12 as to the harlot, Babylon. These precious stones constituted the "foundations."
chalcedony--agate from Chalcedon: semi-opaque, sky-blue, with stripes of other colors [ALFORD].
20. sardonyx--a gem having the redness of the cornelian, and the whiteness of the onyx.
chrysolite--described by PLINY as transparent and of a golden brightness, like our topaz: different from our pale green crystallized chrysolite.
beryl--of a sea-green color.
topaz--PLINY [37.32], makes it green and transparent, like our chrysolite.
chrysoprasus--somewhat pale, and having the purple color of the amethyst [PLINY, 37, 20, 21].
jacinth--The flashing violet brightness in the amethyst is diluted in the jacinth [PLINY, 37.41].
21. every several--Greek, "each one severally."
22. no temple . . . God . . . the temple--As God now dwells in the spiritual Church, His "temple" (Greek, "naos," "shrine"; 1 Corinthians 3:17 , 6:19 ), so the Church when perfected shall dwell in Him as her "temple" (naos: the same Greek). As the Church was "His sanctuary," so He is to be their sanctuary. Means of grace shall cease when the end of grace is come. Church ordinances shall give place to the God of ordinances. Uninterrupted, immediate, direct, communion with Him and the Lamb (compare John 4:23 ), shall supersede intervening ordinances.
23. in it--so Vulgate. But A, B, and ANDREAS read, "(shine) on it," or literally, "for her."
the light--Greek, "the lamp" ( Isaiah 60:19 Isaiah 60:20 ). The direct light of God and the Lamb shall make the saints independent of God's creatures, the sun and moon, for light.
24. of them which are saved . . . in--A, B, Vulgate, Coptic, and ANDREAS read "(the nations shall walk) by means of her light": omitting "of them which are saved." Her brightness shall supply them with light.
the kings of the earth--who once had regard only to their glory, having been converted, now in the new Jerusalem do bring their glory into it, to lay it down at the feet of their God and Lord.
and honour--so B, Vulgate, and Syriac. But A omits the clause.
25. not be shut . . . by day--therefore shall never be shut: for it shall always be day. Gates are usually shut by night: but in it shall be no night. There shall be continual free ingress into it, so as that all which is blessed and glorious may continually be brought into it. So in the millennial type.
26. All that was truly glorious and excellent in the earth and its converted nations shall be gathered into it; and while all shall form one Bride, there shall be various orders among the redeemed, analogous to the divisions of nations on earth constituting the one great human family, and to the various orders of angels.
27. anything that defileth--Greek, "koinoun." A and B read [koinon,] "anything unclean."
in the Lamb's book of of the old Jerusalem was carried outside the walls and burnt there, so nothing defiled shall enter the heavenly city, but be burnt outside (compare Revelation 22:15 ). It is striking that the apostle of love, who shows us the glories of the heavenly city, is he also who speaks most plainly of the terrors of hell. On Revelation 21:26 Revelation 21:27 , ALFORD writes a Note, rash in speculation, about the heathen nations, above what is written, and not at all required by the sacred text: compare Note,


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Great success of the 87th IIC in Warsaw,Poland.
The 87th IIC hosted by the Polish Taekwon-Do Association took place in Warsaw,Poland in the venue of the University of Physical Education on the weekend of the 27th - 29th of September 2013.
The IIC was a great success with 142 black belts from 11 countries; Argentina, Denmark, Germany, Georgia, Italy, Latvia, Norway, Sweden, Russia, USA and Poland. Almost half of the course participants were the holders of 4th Degree and above including: 6 Masters, 18 sixth degree, 18 fifth degree, 27 fourth degree holders. The course was conducted by the ITF Technical Committee: Grand Master Hector Marano, Grand Master Willem Jacob Bos and Grand Master Kim Lan Ung.
The course was run under a new format which meant extra hours of training and contact for all participants. The feedback from all participants about the content of the course was very positive.
Over the 3 days the IIC was mainly divided into 2 groups in two separate sport hall; the first one for 1st - 3rd Degree holders and the other one for 4thDegree and above. This meant the Grandmasters could cover more material with all participants. The Grandmasters covered all aspects of ITF Taekwon-Do including; patterns up to Tong-il in great detail, fundamental movements, free sparring, traditional sparring, step-sparring, self defense, flexibility and warm-up exercises. There was also time for the group for 4th Dan and above to have discussions on topics such as the structure of their schools, grading and syllabus, and also how to teach different aspects of the Taekwon-Do syllabus.
The Grandmasters were in excellent form. Grand Master Marano again showed why he is the chairman of the technical committee, his knowledge on the ITF patterns is superb, participants were amazed at his ability to explain all techniques and reference the encyclopedia by page and photograph and his ability to fix errors and explain the applications and details of all movements. Participants were very happy with the sessions on the patterns as the grandmasters did not just explain the technical details of the patterns but the reasons for each movement, the applications and also how to correct common errors and problems in the patterns. Grand Master Lan showed wonderful ability especially in the areas of free sparring and self defence, with excellent progressions to develop technique and ability in these areas. Grand Master Bos was inspirational with the atmosphere he creates in his classes, excellent exercises for flexibility, warm-up exercises and exercises for preparation for specific classes for kicking, patterns and sparring, participants got many new and imaginative ideas for the teaching of their classes from his sessions.
In the rest periods between sessions the Grandmasters were happy to work one on one with participants and clarify any doubts about the patterns.
The participants found all aspects of the course extremely enjoyable and all participants commented on the professional set-up of the IIC by the PTA, the warm welcome and hospitality and the attention to detail.
On the Saturday evening the banquet in "Wasabi" restaurant was attended by 42 of the IIC participants.
The IIC was officially closed on Sunday and the ITF Grand Masters were presented with a special gift - a replica of the ITF turtle shell with a written, occasional dedication.
During the IIC on Sunday a black belt test was held during which the following people were promoted:
1. Mrs. Mimmi Oskarsson from Sweden Taekwon-Do Association promoted to 6th Dan,
2. Mr. Levan Tsaretashvili from Georgian Taekwon-Do ITF Federation promoted to 4th Dan
3. Mr. Zaza Chanturia from Georgian Taekwon-Do ITF Federation promoted to 4th Dan
The PTA Board of Directors would like to extend their thanks to the ITF Technical Committee for an excellent IIC and to the participants from the 10 countries for their support.


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German POW at work in the Utah Repair Sub-Depot, 5th Echelon Range Repair Department. (Prisoners are shown testing the repaired fire unit of the range.) NINTH SERVICE COMMAND OFFICIAL PHOTO ARMY PICTORIAL SERVICE If published CREDIT U.S. ARMY SIGNAL CORPS Do not publish unless authorized
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Feather Stationery:
Material: Italian Cardstock
Brand: D.L. & Co.
Origin: Italy
Douglas Little, founder of D.L. & Co., calls himself a "modern alchemist and purveyor of curious goods," a title reflected in his luxurious, often Gothic, home decor designs. The candles, diffusers, and soaps in his signature collection come in sensual fragrances like Lady Rhubarb and Tincture of Winchester. Porcelain plates, silver apples, and embossed stationery make up his collection of Art Nouveau-inspired objects, and his Modern Alchemy collection features perfumes that are packaged in ribboned pocket watches.


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Take flights to Tokyo for incense-filled temples, neon-lit nightlife and head-turning street fashion.
Things to do
Smoky incense wafts from the burners at the Buddhist Senso-ji Temple, where quiet contemplation of the five-storey pagoda reveals a traditional side to Tokyo. Japanese find out their fortune at the omikuji drawers near the entrance.
Manga, cyber-punk and gothic chic - Takeshita Street in Harajuku is a hotbed of new trends and youth culture. Join the crazily dressed teenagers here at the weekend to shop for candy-bright street wear on your Tokyo city break.
Kimono-clad waitresses move gracefully between the low tables and tatami (woven mats) in the convivial restaurants tucked down Asakusa's narrow backstreets. Dine simply and well on home-cooked okonomiyaki (savoury pancakes) and spicy shabu-shabu (Japanese hot pot) on your Tokyo holiday.
Party-loving Tokyoites belt out karaoke classics, Elvis impersonators gyrate and expats sip pints in English-style pubs in neon-lit Roppongi. Pulsating DJ bars and live music venues immerse you in the 24-hour city after your flights to Tokyo.
When to go
KLM has frequent flights to Tokyo. Picnic under the blossoming cherry trees at hanami in spring, or hear the watch-night bell ring 108 times at New Year.


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The Rockford Files had the Firebird. Magnum P.I. had the Ferrari 308 GTS. Knight Rider had the black Trans Am. The BBC's Ashes to Ashes had the Audi Quattro.
Lots of great television shows will highlight an awesome car or two, even if they aren't necessarily "car shows." Though you may not realize it at first, Breaking Bad — AMC's uniquely American story about a cancer-stricken high school teacher who goes into business cooking and selling meth — deserves to be on that list as well.
And when you really take a close look at Breaking Bad, you'll realize it might just have the best selection of cars on television right now.
Granted, the story of Breaking Bad has nothing to do with cars. It's about drugs and desperation and violence and what it's like to fall into darkness. The cars exist only for transportation, a means of getting from point A to point B, and occasionally to aide the commission of crime.
But Breaking Bad's cars are interesting on two fronts. First, it's an extremely eclectic lineup. I have been watching it for years, but I never really thought about the cars until one our readers, a fellow named Leighton, emailed us. Here's what he said:
I was watching Breaking Bad the other day and as Walter White raced through the streets performing perfect power slides in his Pontiac Aztek, I started thinking about the awesome cars of Breaking Bad - Jesse's Toyota, The red Wagoneer, Gus's Volvo wagon. Really every car is interesting. There's not a Camry in the bunch.
And he has a good point. You won't find any Ferraris or old-school Audis on the show, but none of the cars are boring. They may not be sports cars, but most of them have interesting histories or are visually appealing in their own unique way. A couple are even perennial Jalopnik favorites.
The other reason the show's cars are great is because each character's ride of choice suits them extremely well, both on a superficial level and a deeper one. That Aztek says more about Walter White than you might think, as does Jesse Pinkman's old Toyota Tercel wagon. After a while, it becomes clear that a lot of thought went into which car got paired with which character.
Without further ado, let's look at the amazing cars of Breaking Bad and the increasingly unsympathetic assholes who drive them. I may have missed a couple, so feel free to add in yours in the comments.
What are your favorite cars from the show?
(Warning: I tried my best to stay away from spoilers, but some small ones may be ahead. Read at your own risk.)
Walter White's Pontiac Aztek
Long the butt of many a joke in the auto industry, the Pontiac Aztek finally got its day to shine on Breaking Bad. This is such a great choice of a car for Walt on so many levels. When the series starts, Walt is kind of a pathetic, ineffectual man who struggles to get respect from anyone. His life never turned out the way he wanted to. He's reasonably happy, but he never lived up to his true potential. You know he bought that battered old Aztek used because he got a good price on it and hasn't really taken care of it. It's appropriate for his lame, suburban existence.
Then Walt gets cancer. And then he starts cooking meth and selling it to pay his medical bills and ensure his family's viability when he's done. And then he becomes a crime boss and a killer. Breaking Bad isn't really about drugs, it's about Walt's plummet into a moral abyss.
And that's why the Aztek is so fitting. The car was lambasted as a perfect example of groupthink and managerial bad decisions at General Motors. In many ways, it can be seen as a symbol of their downward spiral into near-death during the Carpocalypse. Deep down inside, it represents something ugly, not unlike the path Walt follows as the show goes on.
Walt later goes much more sinister with a black Chrysler 300C SRT8 after the Aztek gets wrecked.
Jesse Pinkman's Toyota Tercel 4WD Wagon, Yo
Oh, Jesse. He starts the show as a habitual fuck-up, a drug user and all-around idiot until he and Walt get involved with cooking and selling meth together. But as the show progresses, he becomes one of the few sympathetic characters, and one of the only ones to be truly remorseful for the things he does.
Jesse starts out driving a red Monte Carlo equipped with hydraulics, the perfect car for his early wannabe thug persona. But after it gets shot up in the desert, he buys a much more sensible, practical — and far less ostentatious — 1986 Tercel wagon with four-wheel-drive. I think it suits him far better than the Monte Carlo. It's a plucky, can-do little car, something you kind of root for, just like Jesse. He also gets extra Jalopnik bonus points for investing in an old 4WD hatchback.
Hank Schrader's Jeep Commander
If one were to compile a list of the greatest Jeeps of all time, the Commander would probably not be on it. It's not memorable mechanically or aesthetically, and probably only sold because it kind of resembles older, better Jeeps. Walt's DEA agent brother-in-law Hank drives one, and again, it suits him well.
Hank likes to act tough, but as we see when he gets transferred to El Paso, he doesn't really have the stomach or the street smarts to deal with the extreme violence he's supposed to be combating. Same with his car — he drives this Jeep because it looks enough like a Jeep, but it's not at all hardcore.
Gus Fring's Volvo V70
Okay, now I'm convinced that some producer or writer on Breaking Bad is a Jalopnik reader. Here, we have a ruthless, meticulous drug dealer who drives a Volvo wagon. The only way this would be cooler is if it were a 240.
On the surface, Gus is the quiet, reserved, respectable operator of the Los Pollos Hermanos franchise who is heavily involved in community service. But that's all just a cover for his true identity — he's one of the most powerful meth kingpins in America. And he gets away with it thanks to his smarts and extreme caution.
A Volvo wagon is the perfect choice for this guy. It's a nice car, fitting for a successful guy like him, and a sensible, safe choice. But it's not going to draw any attention from the feds. If you're going to be a large-scale drug distributor, a Volvo wagon is a much better choice than a Maybach.
Saul Goodman's Cadillac DeVille
Get fired for stealing from your office? Nailed with another DWI charge? Need help laundering drug money? Better call Saul! His white Cadillac DeVille — complete with the LWYRUP vanity plate — is perfect for a sleazy lawyer with ties to organized crime. What did you expect Saul to drive, a Lexus? He believes in America too much for that.
Skyler White's Jeep Grand Wagoneer
Unlike her brother-in-law Hank, Skyler drives a Jeep that doesn't suck. Too bad she's one of the show's more insufferable characters. The thing that always struck me about Skyler was her obliviousness — to the severity of Walt's illness, to his drug dealing, to how far he was descending into his Heisenberg role. I'm not really sure what the Grand Wagoneer says about her besides the fact that she's just another clueless suburban mom. It's a damn fine example of an older Jeep, though. Who doesn't love wood panels?
Marie Schrader's Volkswagen New Beetle
I have trouble deciding who I like less on this show — Skyler or her sister, Marie. Both are real pieces of work. Marie's New Beetle is extremely fitting: She's petty, jealous, insecure, petulant, and never emotionally moved past age 15. Marie is highly annoying, and the fact that she drives that car makes her even more so.
The Rolling Meth Lab RV
No discussion of Breaking Bad's cars would be complete without bringing up this hulking beast. IMCDB.org says it's a 1986 Fleetwood Bounder. Early on, Walt and Jesse's fortunes are tied heavily to it because it's where they do their meth-cooking.
The Bounder took a lot of abuse during its run, and it was never all that dependable to begin with. Remember that episode where they spend days in it cooking massive quantities of meth, only to drain the battery and get stuck out there? Some of the show's best moments revolve around the RV. And it's so boring that it's perfect for hiding in plain sight. Sadly, it meets its end midway through the third season.
Hat tip to Leighton for the story idea!
All photos credit AMC via IMCDB.org