text:
I will say this at the beginning: During the May 1st illegal alien rally held in McArthur Park two weeks ago, the Los Angeles Police Department personnel stationed in that area responded far too excessively to a situation that required a determined and disciplined counter to a few thugs who used the rally for their own anarchistic ends.
Instead, the LAPD blew it. They blew it for themselves as an organization that seems eternally steeped in community recovery efforts, and to a lesser degree, they blew it for people such as myself who remain staunch advocates opposed to illegal immigration. Everyone understands and most reasonably agree the LAPD far exceeded their use of force (but not their authority) during the McArthur Park rally. Chief Bill Bratton was the first to come forward and accept responsibility for the unnecessarily brutal actions taken by those under his command (Mayor Villaraigosa was nowhere to be found–he was dubiously conducting international diplomacy in Latin America.) Bratton condemned those actions and he immediately punished officers who took the lead in the debacle. Additionally, the chief has borne witness to countless community members (I won't say citizens since most are probably illegals) during public meetings as he and the LAPD in general were vilified and disparaged by a myriad of angry Los Angeles residents–people whose ire, without deviation was directed squarely upon Bratton and the police department. Again, understandably so and the police chief admitted as much.
Yet those who came out in denunciation against the rock and bottle-throwing hoodlums responsible for triggering the entire mess in the first place were few and far between, if there were any at all. The police response was disproportionate, antagonistic, and irresponsible. The thugs who initiated the whole mess were and are despicable. Yet even our Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has said little to excoriate the few dirt bags who turned a relatively peaceful day into something that is now dramatically referred to as "The May Day Melee." Instead, he has joined the mass of legal citizens and illegal aliens who simply wish to impugn the entirety of the LAPD.
Going that extra mile, as he is always want to do in situation where he's guaranteed a high degree of media attention, Villaraigosa has decided to turn his back on the Los Angeles Police Department by attending a highly publicized rally taking place this evening in McArthur Park. The rally is being headed by Nativo Lopez, left-wing illegal alien proponent, open borders advocate, and amnesty champion for 12 to 20 million criminals living in the United States in direct violation of our laws. And Los Angeles Mayor, Antonio Villaraigosa, along with illegal-aliens-should-have-a-drivers-license-too Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez, will be standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Lopez at this obviously anti-LAPD rah-rah.
While I'm most likely repeating myself, Villaraigosa has chosen not to represent me as a legal resident of the United States and citizen of Los Angeles. Nor does he represent any of the other millions of legal Angelinos unfortunate enough to live under his reign. Villaraigosa is squarely in league with illegal aliens and Mexican nationals who break our laws, who run down our education system, who destroy our state health care institutions, who import and sell drugs, and who murder legal citizens. Villaraigosa has declared his deplorable intentions against me and everyone else of legal status in this city–he cares not for our concerns. Yet if you're an illegal alien, he'll be there for you. He may even let you register to vote.
Of course, this only further brings to light the breaking news of the day concerning the immigration reform/amnesty bill agreement between several "key senators." Any bill or law that focuses on amnesty first and border enforcement second, as does this one, will ultimately fail with disastrous results. How many times does it need to be said? Secure the border first, then look at dealing with the millions of illegals already in this country.
One important factor many of the apparently clueless political progenitors in charge of the country seem to overlook is the simple fact of repetition from absolution acutely evidenced after the illegal alien amnesty granted back in 1986. After that amnesty the U.S. saw one of the largest floods of illegals pour into this country–more illegals hoping for another amnesty–simply because they did not take border enforcement seriously prior to passing that legislation. And it will happen again if anything resembling an amnesty passes. Not only do we receive multitudes more before a proposed amnesty, without a secure border we simply repeat the process ad infinitum until this country is buried under the weight of its imported and impoverished masses. The third world latino dystopias that fester in most of our large cities will boil over with disillusionment, anger, and eventual rebellion pointed at those considered the elite–the middle-class. Don't think it will happen? Look at the suburban Paris riots of 2005. It's nearly the same scenario. Little to no attempt at assimilation by these groups only expands the chasm between their culture and ours, worsening the situation even further.
Perhaps this will all one day be moot anyway. With the recent discovery that ethically questionable groups such as the National Council of La Raza and MALDEF are being allowed virtual veto power over any immigration bill that does not meet with their standards and their demands (see below), one can discern where this road we're traveling is likely guiding us.
Maybe affirmative action laws aren't so bad. As an Anglo living in the United States of the future, I may need them.
Mayor, Speaker To Join Rally Protesting LAPD Behavior
Police Chief Also Plans To Attend; Deputy Chief To Retire
POSTED: 6:38 am PDT May 17, 2007
UPDATED: 11:59 am PDT May 17, 2007
LOS ANGELES — Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez are among those expected to join immigrant-rights activists Thursday for a march and rally to denounce the actions of Los Angeles riot police at a May Day rally at MacArthur Park.
The event will begin with a town hall-style meeting at Immanuel Presbyterian Church, followed by a 10-block procession to MacArthur Park, where organizers will hold a candlelight vigil and a series of performances.
"The LAPD denied our community both a political and physical space to nonviolently claim our rights to legalization for all undocumented immigrants and a fair immigration reform for the country," said the event's organizer, Mexican American Political Association President Nativo Lopez. "Political leaders and organizations throughout the country stand solidly with us."
Due to street closures for the event, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority will reroute 14 bus lines operating on and around Wilshire Boulevard between 4 and 10 p.m.
The affected bus lines are 18, 20, 21, 26, 51, 52, 200, 201, 204, 209, 352, 603, 720 and 754, according to Metro officials. Signs will be posted at affected bus stops to inform riders when and where the buses will be detoured.
Demonstrators, journalists and police officers were injured at the end of an immigration march in MacArthur Park May 1, when police tried to disperse some people who moved off the sidewalk into Alvarado Street.
Some demonstrators responded by throwing plastic bottles and rocks at officers, according to police. Officers clad in riot gear used batons and fired 146 rounds of foam-rubber bullets to disperse the crowd.
A preliminary version of the LAPD's after-action report will be heard by the full City Council on May 30. In a separate investigation, the department is checking into complaints filed by demonstrators and journalists injured during the fracas.
A third LAPD investigation is aimed at searching for those who allegedly started the confrontation by throwing rocks and plastic bottles at officers.
Separately, the Police Commission is investigating the matter, while the FBI launched a preliminary probe to determine whether the LAPD committed civil rights violations.
Police Chief William Bratton has blamed a leadership breakdown at the scene for police measures that he has described as inappropriate.
Bratton, who will be at the LAPD's assembly area at today's rally, according to his office, told KPCC-FM on Wednesday that the ranking officer who was in MacArthur Park during the May 1 melee has decided to retire rather than continue on home duty pending an investigation.
Bratton announced last week that Deputy Chief Cayler "Lee" Carter Jr. Carter was being demoted from deputy chief to commander and reassigned from his job as command officer of Operations Central Bureau to his home.
The chief said Wednesday that Carter has decided to retire effective June 6.
Agreement Reached on Immigration Reform
May 17 01:41 PM US/Eastern
By JULIE HIRSCHFELD DAVIS
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) – Key senators and the White House reached agreement Thursday on an immigration overhaul that would grant quick legal status to millions of illegal immigrants already in the U.S. and fortify the border. The plan would create a temporary worker program to bring new arrivals to the U.S. A separate program would cover agricultural workers. New high-tech enforcement measures also would be instituted to verify that workers are here legally.
The compromise came after weeks of painstaking closed-door negotiations that brought the most liberal Democrats and the most conservative Republicans together with President Bush's Cabinet officers to produce a highly complex measure that carries heavy political consequences.
Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., said he expects Bush to endorse the agreement.
The accord sets the stage for what promises to be a bruising battle next week in the Senate on one of Bush's top non-war priorities.
The key breakthrough came when negotiators struck a bargain on a so- called "point system" that would for the first time prioritize immigrants' education and skill level over family connections in deciding how to award green cards.
The draft bill "gives a path out of the shadows and toward legal status for those who are currently here" illegally, said Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif.
A spokesman for Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., one of his party's key players in the talks, confirmed that the group had reached agreement.
The proposed agreement would allow illegal immigrants to come forward and obtain a "Z visa" and—after paying fees and a $5,000 fine—ultimately get on track for permanent residency, which could take between eight and 13 years. Heads of household would have to return to their home countries first.
They could come forward right away to claim a probationary card that would let them live and work legally in the U.S., but could not begin the path to permanent residency or citizenship until border security improvements and the high-tech worker identification program were completed.
A new temporary guest worker program would also have to wait until those so-called "triggers" had been activated.
Those workers would have to return home after work stints of two years, with little opportunity to gain permanent legal status or ever become U.S. citizens. They could renew their guest worker visas twice, but would be required to leave for a year in between each time.
Democrats had pressed instead for guest workers to be permitted to stay and work indefinitely in the U.S.
In perhaps the most hotly debated change, the proposed plan would shift from an immigration system primarily weighted toward family ties toward one with preferences for people with advanced degrees and sophisticated skills. Republicans have long sought such revisions, which they say are needed to end "chain migration" that harms the economy, while some Democrats and liberal groups say it's an unfair system that rips families apart.
Family connections alone would no longer be enough to qualify for a green card—except for spouses and minor children of U.S. citizens.
New limits would apply to U.S. citizens seeking to bring foreign-born parents into the country.
Latino Groups Play Key Role on Hill
Virtual Veto Power in Immigration Debate
By Krissah Williams and Jonathan Weisman
Washington Post Staff Writers
Wednesday, May 16, 2007; Page A04
When Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) declared last week that unnamed "stakeholders" would decide whether Congress overhauls immigration law this year, Latino organizations in Washington understood exactly what he meant.
After laboring in obscurity for decades, groups such as the National Council of La Raza, the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, and the National Immigration Forum are virtually being granted veto power over perhaps the biggest domestic issue coming before Congress this year. Organizations that represent what is now the nation's largest minority group are beginning to achieve power commensurate with their numbers.
"There's a real sense that the Latino community is key to the solution in this debate, so now they are reaching out to us more than ever," said Eric Gutierrez, lead lobbyist for the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, or MALDEF. "Neither party wants to make a misstep politically."
Such groups were practically in the room yesterday, maintaining contact as Democratic and Republican senators tried to hammer out a new immigration bill before a deadline set by Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) for today before he moved it last night to Monday. The contours began to emerge for a bill that would couple a tightening of border controls with a guest-worker program and new avenues for an estimated 12 million undocumented workers to work legally.
Negotiators agreed yesterday that illegal immigrants would be granted a new Z Visa, allowing legal residency for eight years. During that time, the head of an undocumented household would have to temporarily go back to the home country to apply for permanent U.S. legal status for his or her family. Holders of Z Visas would then have to pay a fine and back taxes, undergo a criminal background check, and begin to work toward citizenship.
But Republicans and Democrats were still trying to bridge a deep divide over two remaining issues: Whether 400,000 foreigners entering the country as temporary workers would have to leave the country after three years or be granted a chance to stay permanently, and how extended family ties should be weighed in granting visas to those seeking to enter the country.
A deal on those tough issues could depend on the assent of Kennedy's "stakeholders," Democratic negotiators agreed. Democratic leaders, who are fighting for the loyalty of the fast-growing Latino electorate, have no desire to embrace legislation that could end up alienating the voters they are trying to woo.
The early word from the groups is not promising.
"Some of the proposals that are coming from the negotiations in the Senate and White House are measures that the immigrant community advocates are wholly against, particularly the elimination of some aspects of family reunification," said William Ramos, a spokesman for the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials.
The groups also oppose a policy that would force immigrants to return to their home countries for an extended period and to petition for reentry.
Latino organizations know well that they have muscle to flex. A bill passed by the House last year that would have made illegal immigration a felony drove millions of Latinos into the streets in cities across the country last spring.
When the current immigration law was written 21 years ago, the League of United Latin American Citizens, or LULAC, tacitly approved the legislation, even though it provided no direct path to citizenship for most temporary workers. But the Latino community was much smaller then, and illegal immigration was a regional issue, confined mostly to California, Texas and New York.
Today, U.S. citizens of Latino descent, having eclipsed African Americans as the nation's largest minority, are far more organized and politically active. "We're not going to let them screw it up," said Brent A. Wilkes, LULAC's national executive director.
LULAC, MALDEF, La Raza and the National Immigration Forum are part of a broad network of immigrant rights groups that hold nightly conference calls and strategy sessions on the legislation. The groups speak daily with top aides in Reid's and Kennedy's offices.
The White House, well aware that immigration may offer President Bush his last best chance at a major domestic achievement for his second term, has worked hard to keep the groups on board, even as Bush has shifted to the right with a new plan that is tougher than the proposals he embraced last year.
The White House held a meeting 2 1/2 weeks ago with Latino advocates, labor unions and civil rights organizations in which an adviser outlined an administration's policy based on increased border security and a temporary-worker program. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff and Commerce Secretary Carlos M. Gutierrez have also met with some of the groups.
"At least they are paying attention to us," said MALDEF President John Trasviña.
The groups have also made it clear to Republicans that they are willing to press hard this year.
"Power is not handed over. To get your place at the table, you have to fight for it," Wilkes said.


text:
Giving voice to what many suspect, the Financial Times reports that market and investor behavior is shaping up for a repeat of 2011.
"Intense worries about the future of the euro, followed by a dissipation of sovereign debt woes and better economic news," the paper recounts. "But then the debt crisis flares up just as the economic data start to wobble. Sound familiar? Investors are asking if 2012 is turning into a rerun of 2011."
Echoing warnings by the hedge fund manager George Soros and the World Trade Organization, the paper points to similarities in market moves over the past three years. U.S. equities have almost exactly tracked their course of 2010 and 2011—each offset by a month—while 10-year Treasury yields have displayed a similar pattern.
"I think it looks exactly like last year," the Financial Times quotes Matt King, global head of credit strategy at Citi, as saying. "We came into this year feeling that people would worry about Spain and Italy at some point but that it was just a question of timing."
The paper adds, "That has many investors asking, once again, whether the big asset allocation trade of the first few months—to back equities over bonds—might need to be reversed on the prospect of another summer slump."
Few are willing to predict financial turmoil to rival that of last year, especially since stocks have rallied since their wobble on Monday. But the worry remains that policy makers, trying to keep equity and bond prices high while influencing currencies and commodities markets, could run into trouble.
"The optimism with which the markets began the year continues to fade, in our view justifiably so," says Julian Jessop, economist at Capital Economics.
On Wednesday, the money manager, economist and AdvisorOne contributor Gary Shilling (left) told Bloomberg Television that the S&P 500 will drop 43% from its recent level this year.
"The analysts have been cranking their numbers down," Shilling said, adding later, "I think that is true because you have foreign earnings that don't look good because of recession unfolding in Europe, a stronger dollar, […] and a hard landing in China."

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Office of Public and Intergovernmental Affairs
Remarks by Secretary Eric K. Shinseki
25th Anniversary of the Department of Veterans Affairs
Washington, DC
March 21, 2014
Good afternoon, everyone.
Matt [Webb, VBA], thanks for that kind introduction and for emceeing today's cake-cutting ceremony. Let me also acknowledge:
- Representatives of our Veterans Service Organizations: Bob Wallace, Veterans of Foreign Wars; Marc Burgess and Garry Augustine, Disabled American Veterans; Roscoe Butler, American Legion. Without the support of our VSO's, we wouldn't be celebrating this 25th anniversary with the same sense of accomplishment. I don't think our partnership has ever worked better. So, thanks to all three organizations for being a part of today's celebration;
- Members of the VA leadership team—Deputy Secretary Sloan Gibson; Under Secretary Steve Muro; Chief Of Staff Joe Riojas; our superb assistant secretaries;
- Cynthia Leach, Mahdee Sabir, and Chaplain Mike Pollitt, who graced us with our national anthem, led us in the pledge of allegiance, and invoked today's blessing—Thank you for adding so much meaning to today's ceremony;
- VA colleagues, fellow Veterans, other distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen:
We are here to celebrate a 25th anniversary, but it could just as well be a 150th anniversary celebration. Our story, as an institution dedicated to caring for our Nation's Veterans, really begins at the end of the Civil War, the most devastating war in our history—by some estimates 750,000 killed, an average of over 500 deaths a day, every day, for four years. In his 2nd Inaugural Address on March 4, 1865, at war's end, President Abraham Lincoln called on all Americans to care for those "who shall have borne the battle" and for their survivors. These words became both mission and conscience for this agency. To this day, they adorn our buildings as a quiet reminder of a war that created so many widows and orphans and of a time of enormous sorrow and suffering.
After the Civil War, 11 soldiers' homes became the first of our VA hospitals. Now we have 151. Five of the originals remain in operation today. National cemeteries were also established to honor the fallen, and pensions were granted to the living. We still care for a child of a Civil War Veteran as one of our beneficiaries. The promises of President Lincoln are being kept by President Obama, a century and half later.
There is grandeur in what we do for this great Nation. No other department or agency of the federal government is as tied to both its past and the future as VA is, guaranteeing that the promises of the past will not be forgotten but be kept well into the future.
Over the early years, our predecessor agency, the Veterans Administration, made many outstanding contributions to healthcare in America—but the future needs of Veterans were often absent from deliberations at the highest levels of our government.
So, 25 years ago, in 1988, Congress legislated changing the Veterans Administration into the Department of Veterans Affairs. Upon signing the act into law, President Ronald Reagan said, "It gives those who have borne America's battles, who have defended the borders of freedom, who have protected our Nation's security in war and in peace—it gives them what they have deserved for so long: a seat at the table of our national affairs."
Thanks to those who worked hard to get Veterans their "seat at the table," Veterans are no longer forgotten in our deliberations over national affairs. They can have their say, not just on their own behalf, but on the behalf of all those who came before them and all those who will come after them in the next 150 years. Better advocacy, better oversight, more support, and more and better care and benefits—that's what a seat at the table has meant for Veterans, who now have the opportunity to live a better life in the country they fought to defend.
I wasn't here for the first 20 years of the Department, but some of you were, and in those first 20 years you made remarkable contributions to caring for Veterans—contributions that keep Lincoln's promise to those who have stood in the white heat of battle and sacrificed for all the rest of us:
- You pioneered electronic medical records [1996] and the bar-coding of medications. [1999]
- You created a concept for community-based outpatient clinics and built over 750 of them. [begun in 1997]
- You also established VA's first specialized treatment programs for homeless Veterans. [1989]
- You piloted the Transition Assistance Program. [1990]
- You stood up the Center for Women Veterans [1994] and the Center for Minority Veterans. [1994]
- You launched VHA's My HealtheVet [2003] and NCA's Nationwide Grave Locator. [2004]
- You opened a dozen new national cemeteries, while maintaining the highest customer-service ratings in the country;
- And you created the Veterans Crisis Line [2007]—which has taken over one million phone calls and interrupted roughly 35,000 suicides in progress—lives saved, hope restored.
You did all that and so much more, and used those accomplishments to move forward, when this 44th President of the United States described his vision for a 21st century VA. In the last five years—
- More than two million additional Veterans have enrolled in VA healthcare;
- We have opened over 55 new CBOCs, 70 new Vet Centers, and our first new hospital in 17 years;
- More than one million Veterans and family members have received education assistance or vocational training through VA;
- Nearly 90 percent of all Veterans now have a burial option within 75 miles of home;
- More than 330,000 Veteran home mortgage holders who defaulted on their home loans have been kept from foreclosure;
- We fielded our new Veterans Benefits Management System, VBMS, and now 82 percent of our claims inventory is electronic;
- The claims backlog peaked last year, as we projected it would, and in the past 12 months VBA has steadily reduced it by over 40 percent;
- Veterans homelessness is down 24 percent since 2010, and we expect another reduction when this year's point-in-time count is tallied.
All these achievements, and more, we have done together—led by the President, supported by the Congress, with the advice and assistance of Veterans Service Organizations, inspired by the sacrifices of the Veterans we serve, and also by the dedication of our fellow VA employees and our selfless volunteers.
Thank you for all you do, each and every day, to accomplish our sacred mission—keeping the promises of presidents and meeting the obligations of the American people. I am so very proud to serve with all of you, here in this room and watching from distant locations.
God bless those who serve and have served our Nation in uniform, God bless those who care for them, and God bless this great country of ours.
Happy birthday, VA! Happy 25th birthday! Let's cut the cake!


text:
Telephone UK: 0330 024 1945
Telephone Overseas: 00 44 16977 45130
Forgot password? Please click here to reset your account password.
theclassicboutique.com is secure and your personal details are protected
Please click here to view our Privacy Policy
All reviews submitted will be considered for suitability before being published.
If you wish to speak to a member of our Customer Services Team please contact us directly
Mens Slipper available in Black with rubber soles. Sizes 7-12.
Postage and packaging charges are as follows:
Product Code: 7YO
Please select your address:
Cookie Terms - This site uses cookies to give you the best shopping experience on our site. By continuing to use this site, you agree to accept these cookies. Click here to view our cookie information.


text:
A day after Securities and Exchange Commission Chairwoman Mary Jo White unveiled a sweeping plan for reining in high-frequency trading and monitoring secretive trading practices, the agency announced Friday charges against New York-based brokerage firm Liquidnet Inc., which operates a dark pool alternative trading system, with improperly using subscribers' confidential trading information in marketing its services.
As the agency explains, regulations require an alternative trading system (ATS) to establish and enforce safeguards and procedures to protect the confidential trading information of its subscribers. Among them is limiting access to subscribers' data to employees who operate the ATS or have a direct compliance role.
An SEC investigation found that Liquidnet Inc. violated its regulatory obligations and its own promises to its ATS subscribers during a nearly three-year period when it improperly allowed a business unit outside the dark pool operation to access the confidential trading data.
The SEC says that employees in that unit "used the confidential information about Liquidnet's dark pool subscribers during marketing presentations and various communications to other customers," and that Liquidnet "also used subscribers' confidential trading information in two ATS sales tools that it devised."
SEC examiners spotted potential data access problems during an examination of Liquidnet and referred the matter to the Enforcement Division for further investigation, the agency says.
Liquidnet has agreed to settle the SEC's charges and pay a $2 million penalty.
"Dark pool operators violate the law when they fail to protect the confidential trading information that their subscribers entrust to them, as Liquidnet did here when it used this confidential information to try to expand its business," said Andrew Ceresney, director of the SEC Enforcement Division, in a statement. "We will continue to aggressively police broker-dealers who operate an ATS and fail to rigorously ensure the protection of confidential trading information."
According to the SEC's order instituting a settled administrative proceeding, Liquidnet's core business is operating a block-trading dark pool for large institutional investors. Liquidnet has represented to its dark pool subscribers that it would keep their trading information confidential and allow them to trade with maximum anonymity and minimum information leakage.
In an effort to find additional sources of liquidity for its dark pool, the SEC says that Liquidnet launched an Equity Capital Markets (ECM) desk in 2009 to offer block execution services to corporate issuers and control persons of corporate issuers as well as private equity and venture capital firms looking to execute large equity capital markets transactions with minimal market impact.
The SEC's order finds that Liquidnet provided ECM employees with access to the confidential trading information of dark pool subscribers from 2009 to late 2011, and they used it to market ECM's services.
"Liquidnet's subscribers trusted and believed that the firm was safeguarding their confidential information," said Daniel Hawke, chief of the SEC Enforcement Division's Market Abuse Unit, in the statement. "Instead, the firm breached its assurances of confidentiality and anonymity to them by allowing its ECM employees to improperly access subscriber trading data."
According to the SEC's order, Liquidnet also improperly used the confidential trading data of dark pool subscribers in two ATS sales tools. Liquidnet created "ships passing" alerts that alerted ATS sales employees to missed execution opportunities between subscriber algorithmic orders and subscriber indications, the SEC said. The firm also developed an application called Aqualytics, which identified subscribers to be contacted about Liquidnet's recent dominance in certain stocks.
Check out High-Speed Trading Rules Coming From SEC, White Says on ThinkAdvisor.


text:
The Manassas City Police Department is dedicated to providing quality, professional services, while protecting life and property through community partnerships.
Provides fire protection and emergency medical services to the citizens of Manassas and the surrounding communities.
Explore some of the event services our Police Department offers.
Request the Manassas Fire and Rescue Department meet with your school, daycare, church, community center or event.


text: eninn 0 Report post Posted November 11, 2014 From the scientific and physiological point of view, the act of looking or gazing upon non-Mahram women sets off a complex process of hormonal stimulation and release, and prepares the body and the sex organs for the process of sexual intercourse. It is well known that the effects of stimulating sexual desire through unnatural or prohibited means has numerous harmful effects on the mind and body. Islam has warned us against unlawfully stimulating these hormones through the words of the Prophet, . Harmful effects of unlawful sexual stimulation The drawbacks mentioned here are based on observation and experience : Effects on the Skin Increased body odor and increased secretion from the sweat glands -- especially from the feet, axilla and palms. Increased secretion from the ano-rectal gland where special sweat glands called sudoriferous glands are located. This area is also the site of frequent inflammation and the formation of abscesses, since these glands are active in early puberty. In some animals, these glands secrete odoriferous substances during the mating season. Inflammation of the sebaceous glands on the face causes acne which is caused by infection of the skin by bacteria. The sweat glands around the anus are also affected resulting in their inflammation and the formation of peri-posterior abscesses. Effect on the Central Nervous System: Sex hormones causes lethargy and unexplained heaviness in the head or headaches. There may be heaviness or burning sensation in the peripheral nerves especially in the palms and feet and the tongue may feel dry and difficult to move inside the mouth. This condition is called peripheral neuropathy. Effect on the joints: Certain hormones affect the synovial fluid in the joints -- especially large joints like the knee and hip joint affecting joint movement. This could result from two factors: A change in the viscosity of the synovial fluid in these joints which reduces the articular cartilage nourishment and increases friction. The second is the increased tightness of the surrounding ligaments which lead to an increase in joint friction. If the joints are already affected by mild osteoarthritis the effect on these result in a pseudogout syndrome. In young girls they cause what is called anterior knee pain disease. Allaah The Almighty Says (what means): {Tell the believing men to reduce [some] of their vision and guard their private parts. That is purer for them. Indeed, Allaah is Acquainted with what they do. And tell the believing women to reduce [some] of their vision and guard their private parts and not expose their adornment except that which [necessarily] appears thereof and to wrap [a portion of] their headcovers over their chests and not expose their adornment except to their husbands, their fathers, their husbands fathers, their sons, their husbands sons, their brothers, their brothers sons, their sisters sons, their women, that which their right hands possess, or those male attendants having no physical desire, or children who are not yet aware of the private aspects of women. And let them not stamp their feet to make known what they conceal of their adornment. And turn to Allaah in repentance, all of you, O believers, that you might succeed.} (Quran 24: 30-31) In these verses, Allaah The Almighty orders the believing men and women to lower their gaze and guard their modesty for their own benefit and to attain greater purity. According to the consensus of the scholars, the purity mentioned in these verses is the purity from sins. However, in the modern context, purity may also mean guarding against the harmful diseases which may afflict a person as a result of not following the commands of Allaah The Almighty. Besides, it could also mean both purity from sins and guard against diseases . The Prophet, , has said that directing a look at non-Mahram (marriageable) women is like a poisoned arrow. This means that it is very dangerous and could lead to widespread Fitnah (trial). NoHaters | Talk Islam | لماذا ستحب الإسلام؟ - مترجم youtube Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites


text:
Icy Treats in Queens: Dollar Ice Cream in Elmhurst
Editor's note: It's still August, height of the season for frozen treats. We asked our Queens expert Sara Markel-Gonzalez to track down one great frozen sweet for every day this week.
Maybe not the best ice cream in all of Queens, but definitely one of the cheapest, and certainly the most amusing, is Randy's Ice Cream, in front of Boon Chu Thai in Elmhurst.
Randy sells a cup of ice cream for $1.00. (The chalkboard in front also advertises mochi for $1.00.) Two smallish scoops of any flavor, which include vanilla, chocolate and the like, as well as red bean and green tea. I can't resist green tea ice cream at any price, but one dollar? That's impressive for any neighborhood.
The green tea has that nice bitter edge to it, and it's creamy and smooth, with that beautiful green color.
The red bean is a pretty pale purple with tiny chunks of frozen red bean here and there.
But the ice cream isn't the main thing I love about the place. This is what I love about the place.
So I did ask the ice cream scooper if he was Randy, he laughed and said no, he was Randy's cousin. Disappointed, I asked if they had dollar mochi, and he said no to that, too. But the ice cream? Yep, just $1.00.
The next time I passed by and got another cup, it was scooped and served to me by Randy himself. He let me take pictures. He was very friendly. He's a total character. But he still didn't have $1.00 mochi.
Mochi situation aside, you should pay Randy a visit before the summer is over. Where else can you get two scoops of ice cream for a dollar?
Randy's Ice Cream
83-18 Broadway, Elmhurst, Queens NY (map)
All products linked here have been independently selected by our editors. We may earn a commission on purchases, as described in our affiliate policy.


text:
OLD-PRINT.COM has 0 antiques for sale.
click here to see them all
Old Antique Historical Victorian Prints Maps and Historic Fine Art----------. Portrait Hippolyte Adolphe Taine Old Print 1893 Page From An Issue 1893. The Illustrated London News. These Wood Engravings From Sketches, Or Early Photographs Would Make An Ideal Gift For Christmas Or Birthday. The Actual Date Is Printed On Each Page.This Engraving Is Over 110 Years Old. And Is Not A Modern Copy. These Images Are imagened At Low Resolution For Quick Uploading And Are Much Better Than The imagened Image. Size Of Print Is Approx ( injcluding margins as shown ) 14" X 9.1/2" If It Is Shown As Whole Page, Or Prorata. Approx ( injcluding margins as shown ). Page Size = 16" High X 11" Wide. Ready To Matt And Frame. These Old Prints Really Look Great With Matt And Framed. Note This Print Is From A Periodical And Has Printing On Reverse.
Here on antiques co uk we love antiques and specialise in selling antiques. Even though this item was for sale and is now sold or otherwise now unavailable we have many more items for sale including vintage antiques, silver, tables, watches, jewellery and much more for your interiors and home.
Search all the antiques currently for sale on www.antiques co uk. Or why not consider selling your antiques and making sales more easily with us!
OLD-PRINT.COM has 0 antiques for sale.
click here to see them all


text:
WASHINGTON -- At a White House concert held in her honor Wednesday night, Carole King kept busy. The opening act? Carole King. The headliner? Carole King. The cheering section? Ladies and gentlemen, give it up for Carole King giving it up for Carole King. In town to receive the Library of Congress' Gershwin Prize for Popular Song, the 71-year-old songwriting pioneer was the first singer to take the stage in the East Dining Room, charging hard through a version of "Beautiful" from her 1971 solo opus, "Tapestry." Then King zipped off stage, plunked down in a front-and-center seat between President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden and proceeded to rock out. This was supposed to be a party, right? As the first woman to receive the Gershwin Prize, King had plenty of reason to celebrate. The library has been handing out this songwriting award -- named after American composers George and Ira Gershwin -- since 2007. This week, King joined a list of honorees that includes Paul Simon, Stevie Wonder, Paul McCartney and the words-and-melody team of Hal David and Burt Bacharach. With King settled into her chair, the guests began to arrive. Gloria Estefan, Trisha Yearwood and young Brit singer Emeli Sande -- the most exciting emerging voice the White House has hosted in many moons -- teamed first for "Will You Love Me Tomorrow," a 1960 King hit that the Shirelles took to the tip-top of the charts when the songwriter was still a teenager. Next, friend and longtime collaborator James Taylor mellowed things out with "Up on the Roof." King cheered her buddy from the front row, mouthing along to the words, conducting the song with a clenched fist. Then our report gets muffled. Members of the news media were scooted away from a viewing area in the White House briefing room to the vestibule, where they waited for entry to the performance space. During the interlude, Yearwood might have sung "So Far Away." Billy Joel might have done "The Loco-Motion." And someone who sounded like Taylor may have sung "Cryin' in the Rain" with a duet partner who definitely sounded like someone else. There was no mistaking, however, Sande's rendition of "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman." The 26-year-old's voice proved that it can carry emotion through sealed doors. When the media were finally crammed into the room, Obama stepped to the lectern and crunched the numbers, explaining: "Carole has written more than 400 compositions that have been recorded by over 1,000 artists, resulting in over 100 hits." King followed. "I guess if the president can sing, I can give a speech," she said, graciously thanking former songwriting collaborators David Palmer, Toni Stern and ex-husband Gerry Goffin. Then she dove into a closing four-song suite -- "Jazzman," "I Believe in Loving You," "I Feel the Earth Move" and "You've Got a Friend" with Taylor, and eventually the entire cast. The penultimate tune was the strongest, with King stomping her heels repeatedly into the stage and then asking her audience a two-word question: "Fun, huh?" Yep. "Carole King: The Library of Congress Gershwin Prize in Performance at the White House" premieres Tuesday at 8 p.m. on PBS.
Carole King doubles as honoree, star at White House
- Chris Richards, The Washington Post
- Comments
Most Popular
- Saratoga County confirms two COVID-19 deaths; issues potential exposures
- Saratoga Springs Police Department blotter
- New York State Police Department blotter
- Simply Food by Maura set to open in Wilton soon
- Saratoga County EOC distributes Thanksgiving baskets
- Felony charges for Ballston Lake man after Halfmoon disturbance
- Saratoga Springs Police Department blotter
- Wintertime Wonderland billed as area's largest indoor holiday event
- Saratoga County holding online-only auction for tax foreclosed real estate
- Capital Region teeters on 'yellow zone' for COVID-19 cases


text:
Just tried it out again ... the issue on the right half of the screen is largely gone, but now it appears to have relocated to the bottom half of the screen. There does seem to be some improvement, though, because I can navigate the site somewhat now whereas before it was very difficult. It's definitely the Amazon ad, not any of the others.
I'm wondering if this is a Droid issue or an all around smartphone issue - do any iphone or Blackberry users have this issue? One thing's for sure, please don't remove any ads on my account due to this.


text:
Hallman/Taylor House
(MAP) 308 Elm Avenue, Hershey Pa. 17033
*** 2004 Preservation Award Winner ***
The home receiving the 2004 Derry Township Historical Society's Annual Preservation Award is located at 308 Elm Avenue. It was built in 1937 by the Hershey Lumber Company for Mr. and Mrs. C. M. Hallman. Mr. Hallman owned a company in Berks County that produced the maroon and silver paper used to wrap Hershey chocolate bars. Milton Hershey required Hallman's move to Hershey as a condition of their doing business. The Hallmans lived in the house for 13 years before selling the home to Mr. and Mrs. William Schiller. Mr. Schiller was Chairman of the Board of Hershey Foods. The Schillers owned the house for 34 years, selling the home to Jim and Kathy Taylor in 1984.
In 1963, a large patio was added, designed by Coleman & Coleman, then working on Founders Hall. Other than renovations to the kitchen and updates, the house looks much as it did in 1937.
A distinctive feature is the original stained glass windows in the sunroom. They were designed by the artisan, Mr. Rudy, who had recently completed the windows in the Circular Dining Room at Hotel Hershey.


text:
Drawing inspiration from Google's upcoming Project Glass, a form of head-mounted glasses-style computer that is roughly equivalent to stapling your smart phone to your face, engineer and designer Will Powell put together a make-shift device to show some of the dramatic ways life will change in our augmented future.
Related Content
The above video shows Powell's Frankenstein concoction: a set of glasses with built in screens is driven by external computing power to translate Spanish speech into English, which appears live as subtitles floating in front of the wearer's eyes. Powell's creation has a bit of delay, but for a device cobbled together from 9 different pieces of equipment it's still an impressive feat.
While translation programs already work pretty well for many of the world's major languages, moving the display from your phone or computer to hovering in front of your eyes could be an important step in connecting the world; allowing you to both understand an alternate language while simultaneously catching the just-as-important cues of body language and hand gestures.
More from Smithsonian.com:


text:
Western Canada Dharma Celebration: Heal Your Heart, Heal Your World. On Friday 13 January – Sunday 15 January
The Western Canada Dharma Celebration is an annual event at which people from Kadampa Buddhist Centres across BC and Alberta come together to enjoy teachings and meditations from our National Spiritual Director. This year, Gen-la Kelsang Dekyong, NKT General Spiritual Director and acting National Spiritual Director of Canada will grant the Empowerment of Medicine Buddha.
Everyone is welcome during this weekend dedicated to the peace and happiness of all living beings.
More about Medicine Buddha
When the world is pervaded by problems and dangers, one of the most important practices is that of Medicine Buddha.
By relying upon Medicine Buddha sincerely, living beings in these impure times can be cured of physical and mental disease and find release from the internal pain of the three poisons: attachment, anger and ignorance.
Cost and location TBA Venue will be in Metro Vancouver. For more information please visit kadampacelebrations.ca


text:
Saint Renovatus of Merida
Arian heretic who converted to orthodox Christianity. Monk and then abbot of Cauliana monastery in Lusitania (in modern Portugal). Bishop of Merida, Spain for 22 years.
- c.633
- Book of Saints, by the Monks of Ramsgate
- Catholic Online
- Our Sunday Visitor's Encyclopedia of Saints
- "Saint Renovatus of Merida". CatholicSaints.Info. 30 March 2010. Web. 24 November 2020. <>


text:
I love Christmas time. I love the carols, the cooking and the decorating. I even love the shopping up to a point. Christmas in the classroom is a very happy and joyous time as well. This week the children all wanted to explore the Christmas sensory tray, although I had to explain that the green cones were trees and not party hats waiting for decorations.I did have a laugh when another child turned the tree over, filled it with pebbles and called "Cheers" to his friend.
Mirrors, pebbles, rice, cotton wool, Christmas shapes, little Christmas bears, Santa and Rudolph.
Rudolph made from a gum-nut, a bead and some twig antlers. Very cute!
Clay decorations:
Each child was given a ball of clay to roll out and then they chose buttons, cotton reels, shells or lace etc to make prints in their clay. They chose a Christmas cutter and cut out their decoration.
Some of the finished products - Before being fired in the kiln.
After being fired the children either painted with clear varnish or glitter varnish.
A beautiful Christmas ornament for the family to keep and cherish.
The light table:
I was given these green money boxes which I transformed into a Christmas counting and fine motor activity. The children enjoyed filling the money boxes with Christmas coins.
Enjoy your Tuesday...


text:
fivedragons wrote:Backpedaling? What does that even mean? I don't get it. If you think that the sum total of skill in self defense, fighting, what-have-you, is in the forward motion of the feet, you're seriously deluded.
In order to fight you must be close enough to the opponent to fight using whatever methods you train. It's really that simple. Whatever method you do the range must allow for you to be close enough to fight using those methods. If you think that is best achieved by "not closing" or not allowing distance to be closed, then by all means do that, train that and be happy with that.
fivedragons wrote:It's like saying that all you have to do to master karate is to be bigger and stronger than everyone else in the world. "just kick their ass"
So, saying "one should close the distance to preferred fighting range" is like saying that you must be bigger and stronger? Sorry, but there is not even a shadow of a parallel there.
Again, closing distance does not mean hard or soft or force against force or anything in particular other than being close enough to do whatever it is you do... And you can do it any way you like. In systems and methods where people train to work off of feel for example, they must be close enough to feel. This range does not dictate how they must use this feel or how to manage energy of the opponent, only that they must be close enough to the opponent to use whatever it is they train. Again, it's really that simple.
fivedragons wrote:So why learn anything at all, other than "keep walking forward, and you will become master of the universe, Daniel-San." I never learned anything called "backpedaling".
Again the idea of closing to whatever range is needed does not mean that, "you do not have anything to learn". I don't see how anyone could even reach that conclusion. In fact it's just the opposite: Whatever fighting style you study; The actual fighting must happen at a range where fighting <and training> is most effective for that style. The learning does not END when the fighting range is met it BEGINS there.


text:
Have you ever answered a question that asked you how much you agree or disagree with something?
That kind of question is known as a Likert scale. Likert scales are widely used to measure attitudes and opinions with a greater degree of nuance than a simple "yes/no" question.
Let's explore what makes up a Likert question, find examples, understand when you should use this tool, and see how you can put it to work for your surveys.
To understand the Likert rating scale, you first need to understand what a survey scale is.
A survey scale represents a set of answer options—either numeric or verbal—that cover a range of opinions on a topic. It's always part of a closed-ended question (a question that presents respondents with pre-populated answer choices).
So what is a Likert scale survey question? It's a question that uses a 5 or 7-point scale, sometimes referred to as a satisfaction scale, that ranges from one extreme attitude to another. Typically, the Likert survey question includes a moderate or neutral option in its scale.
Likert scales (named after their creator, American social scientist Rensis Likert) are quite popular because they are one of the most reliable ways to measure opinions, perceptions, and behaviors.
Compared to binary questions, which give you only two answer options, Likert-type questions will get you more granular feedback about whether your product was just "good enough" or (hopefully) "excellent." And Likert questions can help you decide whether a recent company outing left employees feeling "very satisfied," "somewhat dissatisfied," or maybe just neutral.
This method will let you uncover degrees of opinion that could make a real difference in understanding the feedback you're getting. And it can also pinpoint the areas where you might want to improve your service or product.
Likert scale questions are used in many different types of surveys, whether you are trying to find out how your employees feel about their work or what your customers think about your latest product.
To help you use Likert questions effectively, here are some examples of how they can look:
Overall, how satisfied or dissatisfied are you with our company?
I'm satisfied with the investment my organization makes in education:
How helpful was the content presented at the professional event?
Since there are so many kinds of survey questions, how do you know when you should use Likert questions?
Likert scales are great for digging down deep into one specific topic to find out (in greater detail) what people think about it. So, think of using Likert survey questions any time you need to find out more about…
…or any other questions where you need to measure sentiment about something specific and you want a deeper level of detail in your responses.
If you want to get a bit geeky about it, the deeper level of detail is what survey experts call variance. The more variance you have, the better you know the nuances of someone's thinking.
One great thing about the Likert scale is that it can help you avoid some of the common pitfalls of survey design, like creating overly broad questions that respondents may find too hard to think about. This could lead them to get frustrated and start answering too quickly–spoiling the quality of your data.
Survey designers who are in a bit of a hurry sometimes reach for the broader types of questions–like "yes/no," "select all," open-ended, ranking, or matrix questions–as a sort of survey shortcut.
As a rule of thumb, though, in most of these scenarios they should trust their old friend the Likert scale, which will keep the respondent focused and happy with its simple, direct language.
It's important to keep each series of questions in your survey focused around the same topic. In the end, this will help you get more accurate results. Why? Because when the time comes for you to report the data, you want to analyze a score that sums up the results from a few questions.
For example, you could ask this initial question:
How satisfied or dissatisfied are you with the quality of the dinner you were served tonight?
And then follow up with:
How satisfied or dissatisfied are you with the quality of your appetizers tonight?
How satisfied or dissatisfied are you with the quality of the main course tonight?
How satisfied or dissatisfied are you with the quality of dessert tonight?
But here's one question you should leave for another section of the survey:
How satisfied or dissatisfied are you with service at the coat-check room tonight?
Grouping questions about one topic together and adding up their responses to get a score–a "Quality of Food" score, in this case–you will get a more reliable measurement of the attitudes toward the particular product, service or event you're researching.
Be accurate. Likert-type questions must be phrased correctly in order to avoid confusion and increase their effectiveness. If you ask about satisfaction with the service at a restaurant, do you mean the service from valets, the waiters, or the host? All of the above? Are you asking whether the customer was satisfied with the speed of service, the courteousness of the attendants, or the quality of the food and drinks? Bottom line: If you can get more specific, there's a higher chance that your Likert questions will deliver more valuable responses.
Be careful with adjectives. When you're using words to ask about concepts in your survey, you need to be sure people will understand exactly what you mean. Your response options need to include descriptive words that are easily understandable. There should be no confusion about which grade is higher or bigger than the next: Is "pretty much" more than "quite a bit"? It's advisable to start from the extremes ("extremely," "not at all",) set the midpoint of your scale to represent moderation ("moderately,") or neutrality ("neither agree nor disagree,") and then use very clear terms–"very," "slightly"–for the rest of the options.
Bipolar or unipolar? Do you want a question where attitudes can fall on two sides of neutrality–"love" vs. "hate"– or one where the range of possible answers goes from "none" to the maximum? The latter, a unipolar scale, is preferable in most cases. For example, it's better to use a scale that ranges from "extremely brave" to "not at all brave," rather than a scale that ranges from "extremely brave" to "extremely shy." Unipolar scales are just easier for people to think about, and you can be sure that one end is the exact opposite of the other, which makes it methodologically more sound as well.
Better to ask. Statements carry an implicit risk: Most people will tend to agree rather than disagree with them because humans are mostly nice and respectful. (This phenomenon is called acquiescence response bias.) It's more effective, then, to ask a question than to make a statement.
You have probably known Likert-scale questions for a long time, even if you didn't know their unique name. Now you also know how to create effective ones that can bring a greater degree of nuance to the key questions in your surveys.
Use our expert-certified survey templates and get the answers you need today.


text:
05 August, 2013 | (01 hr)
Sign In to access this Webcast
This webcast features the best rated presentation from The Conference Board's last Executive Coaching Conference.
When we think about helping leaders become more agile and resilient, let's consider that the mind is connected to our biology. The biological fuel that enables leaders to adapt and thrive in complex times is well-being--including physical health and vigor, emotional vitality, and having full access to one's life force and purpose.
This session will focus on how to coach the brains and biology of leaders so that thriving enhances success and competitive advantage.
Margaret Moore
Margaret Moore / Coach Meg is a biologist with an MBA, is a 17-year veteran of the biotechnology industry in the UK, Canada, US, and France. She served in executive roles at three companies that later joined Sanofi, and she was CEO and COO of two biotech companies. In 2000, she shifted to prevent...Full Bio
Brian O. Underhill, Ph.D.
Dr. Underhill, Ph.D. is an industry-recognized expert in the design and management of worldwide executive coaching implementations. Dr. Underhill is the author of Executive Coaching for Results: The Definitive Guide to Developing Organizational Leaders (Berrett Koehler: 2007). He is the Founder o...Full Bio


text:
November 12, 2008Heads of State and Government
Listen to David G. Victor, adjunct senior fellow for science and technology at CFR, discuss U.S. energy options and priorities for the next administration as part of CFR's State and Local Officials C…
March 25, 2015Global
Council on Foreign Relations 3/25/15 Academic Conference Call on International Efforts to Combat Climate Change with Michael Levi
February 20, 2013United States
Council on Foreign Relations 2/20/13 on Climate Change and the Obama Administration with Michael Levi
October 7, 2015Global
Council on Foreign Relations 10/7/15 Academic Conference Call on Improving Humanitarian Aid with David Miliband
December 14, 2015Global
Michael A. Levi discusses the domestic and international ramifications of the 2015 Paris Climate Conference.
May 5, 2017Venezuela
Experts discuss the ongoing political and economic upheaval in Venezuela, including how policies implemented over the past fifteen years are shaping the current crisis. SPEAKERSJulia Buxton, Senior …
June 13, 2017Religion
[node:summary] David N. Saperstein, senior advisor for policy and strategy at the Union for Reform Judaism, discusses President Trump's recent trip to Saudi Arabia, Israel, and the Vatican, as part of CFR's Religion and Foreign Policy Conference Call series.
October 11, 2017Mexico
Council on Foreign Relations 10/11 Academic Conference Call on U.S.-Latin America Relations with Shannon O'Neil
March 1, 2018Religion
Venezuela humanitarian and refugee crisis discussion with Council on Foreign Relations Senior Fellow Shannon O'Neil
September 12, 2018Israel
Council on Foreign Relations 9/12 Academic Conference Call on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.


text:
Broxton rejoins bullpen, though unlikely to pitch eighth
CINCINNATI -- After spending nearly two months on the disabled list with a flexor mass strain in his right elbow, Reds reliever Jonathan Broxton was activated before Wednesday's game against the A's. For Broxton, his return could not have come soon enough.
"I hated being on the DL," Broxton said. "But I had to do my time down there. It was a struggle the last seven or eight weeks. I'm down for the home stretch and looking forward to helping the team win."
To make room for Broxton on the 25-man roster, Pedro Villarreal was optioned back to Triple-A Lousiville.
Before his comeback, Broxton made two rehab starts for Louisville, allowing five hits and striking out three in two scoreless innings. He felt confident before Wednesday's game against the A's that his injury was behind him, and he was excited to pitch in a Reds uniform for the first time since giving up the deciding run in a 6-5 loss to the Cubs on June 13.
"We're excited to have him," manager Dusty Baker said. "I'm not sure we're going to throw him right back in the eighth inning or not, because [J.J. Hoover] is doing so good. We were patient with Hoover. Early in the year, [fans] were about ready to hang Hoover -- and [Manny Parra]. Sometimes you got to wait on them. We'll probably put Broxton in sometime shortly before them."
Broxton rejoins a bullpen that still performed well without him and injured lefty Sean Marshall. Hoover especially has been effective, as he often took on Broxton's usual setup duties. Beginning with Broxton's June 13 loss to the Cubs, Hoover had made 18 straight scoreless appearances (20 2/3 innings) entering Wednesday, striking out 26 and walking just seven.
"The bullpen's done a great job picking up my slack," Broxton said. "It's time for me to come back and help them out."


text:
Recent Posts
Like Violetsdiary on Facebook
Violets diary
- Hi 7 years ago
- Hello twitter I've not been here 4 ages. R u all still there? 7 years ago
- Pinger: Free Text + Free Calls + Worldwide Messenger by Pinger, Inc. itun.es/gb/0bemD.i 8 years ago
- Sigchos 21°C, Feels 21°C, Wind SE 9 mph #weathernow #weather #appstore itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZS… http://t.co/VCgdl6ph 8 years ago
Aspergers / Asd blogs
- 30 Days of Autism
- A boy with Asperger's
- Aspie In the Family
- Autism-mumma
- Autistic-ally Beautiful
- Cars On Repeat
- Catastraspie
- Choosing My Battles
- Crystal Jigsaw
- Emma's Hope Book
- Life On the Edge….of the sofa! – Rosewinelover blog
- Loving Martians – An Autism Adventure
- Otrunning The Storm
- Savette Gazette
- Wired Differently – Aspienaut
Aspergers / Asd other links
Blogs I follow
Other Parent blogs
Top Sites
Blog Stats
- 14,809 hits
Proud Parents of Autistic Children
Member of Brit Mums
- http://rlbk75.files.wordpress.com/2012/04/inspiringblogaward1.jpg?w=214&h=290&h=290
Silent Sunday
Tag Archives: holidays
Emotions – The Gallery
When I think of emotions and pictures I guess I don't so much think of a picture of the emotion, but rather of the emotions that are remembered and felt when looking at pictures. The pictures I have chosen can … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized Tagged cousins, emotions, family, holidays, memories, Mount St Helens, photographs, photos, sea plane, Seattle, the gallery, USA, Vancouver Island, Victoria, Washington State, whales 18 Comments


text:
Remember the television show FANTASY? A 1983 show making dreams come true? A show where ordinary people (like you and me) from all over the United States wrote in to have their wishes granted on national television? Well, below is a letter written to Peter and Leslie, the co-hosts of the show that befits my husband Monte's June 12th birthday and June 18th Father's Day. The letter below was written by his children Sandra, then 13, and son Nolan, then 11.
Sept. 18, 1983
Dear Peter and Leslie,
Our dad is the greatest dad in the whole world, but also a most unusual person. For 19 years he was a physics professor. For 13 of those years he taught at Slippery Rock University in Pennsylvania. In spring of 1982 he sent shock waves through the Physics Dept. announcing he was going to take early retirement to return to school. But not just any school, he decided to go into the seminary. As a result we moved almost 800 miles from Slippery Rock (Pa.) to Stone Mountain (Ga.). (Do you know what happens to a Stone Mountain when it rains? It becomes a Slippery Rock.)
Now back to the letter. But what most people don't know is th
at my dad has a secret passion. And that is watching "All my children". He is enamored with Erica Kane (Susan Lucci) and fascinated with Opal Gardner (Dorothy Lyman). (He just loves the way she dresses) Our Dads fantasy is to meet Erica and Opal. But we would also like to add to his fantasy. We would just love for him to play a bit part with Erica and Opal. Because we feel that this would be a very appropriate activity for an upcoming minister.
Of course he does not know this letter is being written but if this fantasy does come true, my dad will be the happiest minister that ever set foot on this earth.
Sincerely yours,
Sandy Holland
Nolan Holland
P. S. My mom said they both were going off the
Show in November.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY AND FATHER'S DAY. Photo taken on the Buffalo, NY, waterfront.


text:
Blog Archive
- ► 2018 (17)
- ► 2015 (26)
- ► 2014 (64)
- ► 2013 (124)
- ► 2012 (123)
- ▼ May (6)
- ► 2010 (95)
- ► 2009 (167)
Informative Blog Posts
Sauce-Sational: An Experiment in Applesacue
- Akane
- Arlet (Swiss Gourmet)
- Baker's Mix - August
- Baker's Mix - October
- Bella
- Bonnie's Best
- Braeburn
- Cameo
- Chenango Strawberry
- Cortland
- Cox Orange Pippin
- Crimson Crisp
- Crimson Gold
- Dandee Red
- Duchess
- Empire
- Fireside
- Frostbite
- Fuji
- Gala
- Ginger Gold
- Golden Delicious
- Golden Supreme
- Granny Smith
- Haralson
- Hazen
- Honey Gold
- Honeycrisp
- Idared
- Jonagold
- Jonamac
- Jonathan
- Jumbo
- Keepsake
- MacIntosh
- Macoun
- Melrose
- Northern Spy
- NW Greening
- Overall Summary
- Paulared
- Red Gravenstein
- Regent
- Sansa
- Scarlet
- Shizuka
- Silken
- Smokehouse
- Smoothee
- Sno (Famuese)
- Snow Sweet
- Spartan
- Sweet 16
- Tolman Sweet
- Valstar
- Wealthy
- William's Pride
- Wolf River
- Zestar!
Popular Posts
The 2018 apple season started out with not the best weather – it rained and rained and rained some more. One afternoon on a whim, my mother...
The Northern Spy is a variety we're just finally starting to get a decent crop off. Northern Spy is an heirloom apple that characteristical...
The Crimson Crisp is another new variety in our shop this year. It seems to me that the majority of the people that sample them end up buyi...
For all current information on Lapacek's Orchard please visit our new website www.LapaceksOrchard.com Thank you all so much!
Since the orchard now has ground cherries, I wanted to share this easy jam recipe. Ground cherries are delicious as a raw fruit, but they ma...
We had our last Kids in the Garden session today. Before I tell you about it I'm going to share with your some recipe's we made: Cucu...
Facebook Badge
Our Blog List
Gingerbread Cinnamon Rolls6 hours ago
Last market1 week ago
Lapacek's Orchard In the News!
Our Favorite Websites
Sunday Recipe's
- Amish Apple Grunt
- Apple Butter Madness
- Apple Cheddar Bread
- Apple Chicken Salad/Sandwiches
- Apple Cider Donuts
- Apple Crisp Parfait
- Apple Danish Pastry Bars
- Apple French Toast
- Apple Fritter Rings
- Apple Harvest Blondies
- Apple Nut Bread
- Apple Pecan Quick Bread
- Apple Pie Cake
- Apple Pie in a Jar
- Apple Raisin Loaves
- Apple Salad with Blue Cheese Dressing
- Apple Strudel Puff Pastry
- Apple Toss
- Apple Upside-Down Cake
- Apple-Jalepeno Preserves
- Apple-Pecan Cheesecake
- Baked Oatmeal
- Bavarian Apple Torte
- Blueberry French Toast
- Blueberry-Raspberry Streusel Muffins
- Brandied Apple 'N Cream Cheese Pie
- Caramel Apple Bars
- Coconut Apple Cake
- Cranberry Apple Bread
- Cranberry Apple Salad
- Creamy Apple Squares
- Crispy Festive Apple Salad
- Cucumber Tomatillo Salsa
- Dill Dip
- Dinner in a Pumpkin
- Easy Waffles
- Egg-cellent Apple Salad
- French Apple Pie
- Fresh Apple Salsa
- Great Apple Dessert
- Great Apple Dessert
- Hot Cinnamon Cider
- Hot Pirate Cider
- Kelly's Favorite Apple Pie
- Maple Roasted Acorn Squash
- Marinated Zucchini Salad
- Microwave Apple Muffins
- Pumpkin Cheese Ball
- Pumpkin Gingerbread
- Pumpkin Pie Cake
- Quick Apple Dumplings
- Scalloped Apples
- Sour Cream Apple Coffee Cake
- Spiced Apple Bagel
- Spicy Apple Pancake with Cider Sauce
- Strawberry Chocolate Mint Lemonade Cooler
- Tangy Ham in Cider
- Tomatillo Salsa Verde
- Warm Apple Pudding
- Wilted Swiss Chard with Fresh Basil
- Zucchini Bread
Where Can you Find Us?
(608) 635-4780
Asparagus Vinaigrette Salad – Market Fresh Recipe
Another wonderful vegetable you will be finding at the markets this time of year (usually a bit earlier in May actually) is Asparagus. So, to go with my 'market fresh recipe' theme like yesterday's Rhubarb recipe here's a wonderful new way to prepare asparagus that Diane made the other night. The reaction of the consumers was to give it an A+.
Asparagus Vinaigrette Salad
- 1 1/4 pounds fresh asparagus, cut into 2 inch pieces
- 1/3 cup sliced green onions
- 1/2 cup olive or vegetable oil
- 1/4 cup cider or white wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1. In a saucepan, cook the asparagus in a small amount of water for 5 minutes or until crisp-tender. Rinse with cold water; drain well. Place in a bowl; add pimientos and onions. In a small bowl, whisk oil, vinegar, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, basil, salt, pepper and thyme; pour over asparagus mixture and toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Serve with a slotted spoon.
Easy Rhubarb Dessert – Market Fresh Recipe
The other day at my woman's group the host made this delicious Rhubarb Dessert. I requested the recipe at once and was given permission to share it with you all as well.
I'm going to try to post 'in season' recipes for delicious foods you can find at your local farmer's market. Stop by frequently to see what we've created!
~Sue Karman
10 cup diced rhubarb (I found this growing wild by my fence line)
1 (3oz) pkg. strawberry jello
1 cup sugar
1 cup half & half (milk or water can replace the half & half if you prefer)
1 stick butter melted
1 yellow cake mix (dry)
1 cup oatmeal
In a 9x13" cake pan, layer rhubarb, jello, sugar, then cake mix. Pour Half& Half over
all. Sprinkle oatmeal evenly over the cake mix. Drizzle melted butter on top.
Bake 1 hour @350 My favorite way to serve this is warm with ice cream!!
Once again – we missed the full bloom for apple blossom days. Last year they were a week early, this year a week late. Next year will be the year we get it right for sure! I did snap some great pictures though so at least I can share these with you. The view from my back deck.
The view from the lookout deck. Cedi and Papa in the apple blossoms.
Capri hanging out in the blossoms…(actually she was having a melt down but you can't see it from this distance)
I'll be uploading more to Lapacek's Orchard flickr site soon if you want to see more great pictures.
Orchard Blossoms
a sneak peak…Beautiful pink plum blossoms.The first of our apple blossoms – I believe this is on a Zestar! tree. Stunning snowy white pear blossoms.
And I realize this is not a apple blossom but I'm super excited that our very first tulips are blooming!
A Beautiful Day to Celebrate Mom!
Happy Mother's Day to all! WOW! What a gorgeous day it is out there right now and it looks like it's going to stay that way for a bit anyway.
If you completely spaced that today is Mother's Day feel free to stop out during Apple Blossom Days and pick something up for Mom. We have lots of great gift ideas from flowers to quilts to jewelry to a fun assortment of canned goods. We even have cards that mom can plant later to create a beautiful flower garden!
Since it seems like we don't have any luck planning this event there are no apple blossoms this week (next week looks like it will be beautiful though) – but we did manage to find a few trees with blossoms – not apple but PLUM! My magnolia tree is also in bloom right now but it's pretty little.
We also have some cute "baby" chicks for you to visit with on your next stop out!
With that, I will wish you all a happy and beautiful mother's day! Enjoy it to the fullest and we'll see you at the orchard!
Our New Little Apple – Persimoni 'Pip' Mae
I am proud to announce that our new little girl, Persimoni 'Pip' Mae decided to join us on April 28th. Everyone is doing great and the girls are enjoying their beautiful new baby sister. ab


text:
At Tesla, Software Takes the Driver's Seat
Befitting the local culture, the engine powering Silicon Valley-based Tesla Motors's disruptive drive through the auto industry is software-based. The automaker is counting on a home-grown software system, developed by CIO Jay Vijayan and his team of engineers, to support its direct sales efforts in the U.S. and handle anticipated growth in China and other markets worldwide.
The system, called Warp, is a combination of e-commerce and back-end management software and completely customized to support Tesla's counter-approach to selling and servicing cars. The automaker uses its Warp-powered e-commerce website and its own showrooms, not dealerships, to sell cars. Warp also handles all the back office functions for Tesla such as order processing, supply chain management, manufacturing workflow management, financial accounting and lead management.
Telsa's direct-sales approach, unique for the industry, means that the automaker, and not dealers, also handle customer service issues and that's where the true advantage of having such a tightly-integrated software comes into play, Mr. Vijayan tells CIO Journal.
Through Warp customers request services and fixes, often software-based owing to the way Tesla cars have been designed. Mr. Vijayan recounted one example where a customer requested a fix for the fact that his car, when stopped uphill at a red light, would roll back slightly just as he pressed the accelerator when the light turned green. Through the Warp system, that request flowed back to engineers which created a fix to the braking system which was then delivered as an over-the-air firmware update to all Model S owners at the end of March.
Mr. Vijayan, who owns a Model S, said he received a notice on his car's touchscreen that the update was available. He scheduled his to happen at 1:00 a.m. and the next morning when he went to his car, he now has the Hill Start Assist feature. Mr. Vijayan said he did not know of any other vehicles where adjustments to the braking system could be made over the air, without having to bring the vehicle into a service center.
That kind of customer feedback loop was what Tesla CEO Elon Musk envisioned from the beginning, said Mr. Vijayan. It's one of the reasons that Tesla owns its own showrooms, runs orders through its website, and doesn't work with dealers. "With dealers, the customer feedback doesn't go that quickly or easily," said Mr. Vijayan.
Tesla has battled with U.S. auto dealers in New Jersey and other states. Legislators in Missouri last week made an amendment to a state senate bill to prevent the sale of vehicles direct from a manufacturer. Dealers fear they could be cut out of existence in direct-to-consumer sales.
Analysts say the biggest risk with a company building its own back-end software is that it may not scale well as the company grows. Tesla now has about 155 retail locations globally but hopes to grow to have about as many retail locations as Apple Inc. over the next few years as it expands into China and other locations.
Mr. Vijayan says he's confident the software can handle the growth. His team built it using the C# programming language and the .NET Framework Platform from Microsoft Corp. The initial software was built in four months with 25 software engineers and it went live in July 2012. The software runs on a private Tesla cloud and the team continues to add new capabilities. So far, it has successfully accommodated growth as the company went from annual revenues of $204 million in 2011 to more than $2 billion in 2013. It has also handled increasing daily volumes on the website from about 500,000 page views per day in early February 2012 to 35 million in August of 2013.
Write to email@example.com


text:
*This Space For Rent*
0 Members and 0 Guests are viewing this topic.
When you're criticizing any movie with sci-fi or fantasy elements for not following its own rules, you always run into this roadblock where a defender of the movie calls you a nitpicking idiot with no imagination and can't believe you're complaining about rules in a movie about superheroes, of all things. Or vampires.I don't care if a movie is about space unicorns with rocket feet. If the space unicorns spend most of the movie zooming around in space with no helmets, then you can't have the climax involve shooting the space unicorn villain out of an airlock where he suffocates to death. When did they suddenly lose the ability to breathe in space? Were they not supposed to be able to breathe in space and the director just forgot about this until now? Is he like 5?There's only two places where the laws of the universe randomly change for no reason in the middle of a story, and that is a dream or a David Lynch movie, neither of which anyone really wants to watch.It's not just nitpicking for the sake of nitpicking, either. As far as shooting a unicorn out of an airlock, if you didn't know he couldn't breathe in space, there would be no suspense leading up to that moment. The filmmakers want you to think "Ha! He's about to die!" but you don't think that, because you don't know that it can kill him.This is the worst criticism when it comes to zombie movies, because as far as I can tell, the biggest draw of zombie fiction is participation. People love figuring out what they would do in that situation, or how it would affect society, or (with less realistic zombie fiction) what kind of outrageous badass weapons they would cobble together from household items to blow up zombies in new and creative ways.Either way, zombie fans are all about participation and using their own reasoning or imagination to come up with rules and scenarios and ramifications of zombies, and to really enjoy that kind of meaningless exercise, there need to be ground rules. How can zombies be "killed"? How could you become a zombie? How fast can they move? If anyone wants to come up with ideas for the best weapon or the smartest place to fortify, they need to agree on all these things first.If some idiot walks into the discussion and says, "Oh come on, zombies aren't even real. I say they can fly and shoot laser beams," it ruins the fun time you've been having coming up with elaborate zombie-mowing vehicles. There's nothing wrong with flying, laser-shooting zombies because, sure, zombies in fact don't exist, and anyone can imagine zombies that do anything, but if they suddenly appear in a story that previously had slow, shambling zombies, it destroys all the tension and meaning of anything that happened before.It's painful to watch trailers for some awful turd like Epic Movie or Fantastic Four, but at least you have the hope that after a few weeks, it will fade into oblivion, a hope shattered by the dreaded four words: "They've greenlit a sequel!""Dear God, why?" millions of people on the Internet will ask. Some people are just expressing disappointment at more terrible movies entering theaters, but some people go on these rants about how stupid movie studios are to keep making these abominations when "everybody" hated the last one. Sure, stupid like a fox.One of the biggest franchises people expressed this kind of disgust at was the Shrek series, which is often used to contrast DreamWorks with Pixar, as in "DreamWorks isn't doing as well as Pixar because they make soulless throwaway movies like Shrek, whereas Pixar makes heartfelt, genuine movies like Monsters, Inc. Why did they make FOUR Shrek movies? Why wouldn't they listen to audiences and make the movies people overwhelmingly preferred?"That's actually exactly what they did. Shrek 2 is not only the the top grossing animated movie of all time, but No. 6 in domestic box office among all movies, nestled between Star Wars and E.T. If you didn't try to make a sequel to that, your investors would murder you.People usually respond by saying, "Sure, it made a lot of money, but ..." But nothing. That's the sole reason major studios make movies. You and all your friends hated it? Nobody cares. All the critics hated it? Nobody cares. Some people liked it enough to put down close to a billion dollars worldwide. I'm not saying it's a good movie, or that the sequel has any artistic merit. I'm saying the studio would be stupid to not make one. They don't make movies to get street cred with you, or so they can sleep at night with a clear artistic conscience.Being disappointed that people are making sequels to bad movies, that's fair. The studios are going to do it, but you don't have to like it. Being mind-boggled? There's no reason you should be, if you're checking Box Office Mojo and not Rotten Tomatoes. You can call the studios cynical, soulless and greedy for making these things, but don't call them stupid.Every so often you get someone who is convinced that The Incredibles is really about Ayn Rand's objectivism or something, and is by turns frustrated with and condescending to the rest of you who are too blind to see it.Apparently about half of the critics who saw 300, a movie whose message was mainly "manly man good, fancy man bad," decided it was clearly and obviously about the Iraq War and/or relations with Iran.Some people were convinced it was pro-war propaganda. "Clearly," one blogger says, "300 is a brazen allegory for the war the U.S. is fighting in Iraq and preparing to fight in Iran." A conservative blogger agrees, dismissing naive people who "argue the film was never intended to have any modern-day applications, much less offend Iran," just because the graphic novel was "published by Frank Miller in 1998 long before the war in Iraq had started."Other people insisted that it was actually the bad guy who symbolized George W. Bush, because he was a greedy warmonger.Others claimed that it was actually Hollywood acting on the military's orders to dehumanize Iranians (Iran is modern-day Persia) in the public eye, because we are getting ready to attack Iran.Sure, you think that's ridiculous, until you see Shahs of Sunset on Bravo.Probably one of the best examples is this guy, who thinks The Dark Knight is a defense of George W. Bush. "There seems to me no question that ... The Dark Knight ... is at some level a paean of praise to the fortitude and moral courage that has been shown by George W. Bush in this time of terror and war." Of course!He bemoans how liberals feel free to express their political views directly in their anti-war movies, but conservatives have to hide their messages "behind a mask" of allegory (and Batman), hidden so well in the movie that no sane person can see it.You can't really get through to these people because the more you argue that their message is clearly not in the movie, the more convinced they are that the message must have been really well hidden and only the smartest, rightest people can see it.The only thing to do is to divert them to another movie discussion. "That's a very interesting point, which reminds me of that scene in Shrek where Donkey says, 'They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.' What do you suppose he was trying to say?" That should do the trick. Sorry, Shrek fans.
Started by Chiprocks1
Free Movies
Started by Chiprocks1
Started by Mac
« 1 2 »
Now Playing: Movies
Started by Chiprocks1
DVD's & Blu-rays
Started by Chiprocks1
« 1 2 3 4 5 »
The Drive-In Theater


text:
Geneos Wealth Management announced Tuesday that Ryan Diachok has been named president of the Denver-based independent broker-dealer; Russ Diachok will give up the presidency but remain CEO of the firm, which has 275 producing reps.
Ryan Diachok, 35, is the nephew of Russ Diachok, 56, who with his father, George Diachok, founded Geneos in 2003 after selling the IBD Multi Financial to ING (Multi is now part of Cetera).
In an interview, Russ Diachock said the promotion was a "natural progression for family-run firms" and reflected the "fantastic job" that Ryan Diachok has done in his 15 years at the firm, especially working with advisors, in recruiting and serving as liaison with Geneos' product and strategic partners.
"Ryan started at the bottom — I stuck him the mailroom — but he was one of my strategic partners early on," Russ Diachok said. "Ryan will continue to oversee what he's been doing," notably in recruiting, "while I'll be spending a little less time in the office."
Instead, Diachok said, he will be traveling more. When asked how the change will impact Geneos' representatives, Russ Diachok said "some of them will see me in their offices; I've been to almost all our branches, but I've got a list of 25 people" that he wants to see. "Otherwise," he said, "they won't see much difference, in our direction or emphasis."
While he said that "Ryan may need to hire more people over the next six months to replace what he's been doing, we won't change what we do. Ryan is ready; I'm ready to do a little less."
The two Diachoks reported that Geneos "crossed the $100 million mark" in revenue in 2013, an achievement Ryan Diachok said reflected more the broker-dealer's "shift a bit" on helping existing advisors grow their businesses rather than adding more reps. Russ Diachok said "we've been selective in our recruiting; a good year for Geneos is adding $10 million" in production from new reps.
Ryan Diachok said that while he may "take some of the things I've been doing on a day-to-day business and give them to other people," he will retain the recruiting responsibilities, which he called the "life blood of any broker-dealer." He pointed out that the BD's average production in 2013 is "north of $385,000 per advisor and is continuing to grow significantly." He credited the "white-label coaching program" provided by consultant John Bowen's CEG Worldwide for the production increase. "We did two years in a row of the coaching program, and 50 of our advisors participated. We covered some of the cost, and if they grew from what they learned, we covered the whole cost" of the Bowen program.
At a time when there is plenty of consolidation in the independent broker-dealer world, will Geneos remain independent? Russ Diachock said that "we've been approached by some of the firms out there buying," but that he "doesn't see any reason why we can't sustain ourselves as independent." He said that Geneos' success and profitably has occurred despite it "passing on some of the products that have taken down some firms." Ryan Diachok noted that the long-term health of Geneos has been possible partly because "we've been able to diversify our revenue."
That diversity comes from the increasingly fee-based business of Geneos Wealth, but also from GenTech, part of Geneos' technology platform that is sold to smaller broker-dealers, Ryan Diachock said, which is now "a revenue positive business line," and from SelectOne, a unified managed account (UMA) asset management platform that he said has had "lots of success over the past 24 months."
Geneos is a four-time winner of Investment Advisor's Broker-Dealer of the Year award, most recently in 2013. In October, Geneos announced it would subsidize its representatives to a one-year trial membership in the Financial Services Institute.


text:
The Case For Christ: Weighing The Historical AND Spiritual Evidence
As many of you readers here on my blog know, I had a MOST POWERFUL near-death experience when I was around 2 years old. I had NO previous knowledge of Jesus prior to that experience. It's how I came to know Him and what "happened" to him (when he let me view the holes in his hands and by his feet and even allowed me to gingerly poke my finger through one of his hands). It's also how I came to know that he was ONE powerful being whose voice/laughter/etc. had the ability to shake the Earth & the waters and also how he would one day be in charge of "eternally judging people", etc. It's also the first time I heard about "Heaven", etc.
You can read about it HERE: https://yeshua777.wordpress.com/2010/11/17/the-day-i-met-jesus-christ-in-person/
But my whole entire life, I've even felt somewhat "guilty" that I myself got to experience meeting Jesus Christ in such a POWERFUL and DRAMATIC way, while others have not. It's like the living EPITOME of when Jesus says to the disciple Thomas in John 20:29 [New Testament, Book of John, Chapter 20, Verse 29] "Jesus saith unto him, 'Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed"
In other words, I began to feel like (over the years) "Well OFCOURSE I believe in Jesus, I've seen him! I saw him descend down out of the clouds of heaven! I've gingerly poked through the hole in one of his hands with one of my fingers! But what about those who HAVEN'T seen? Will THEY ever get a chance to believe?", I wondered throughout the years. Because MY near-death experience (to a non-believer especially) sounds dramatic, sensational, even made-up sounding, even. In fact, I've had many (even a few that were close to me) laugh and scoff and say to me: "Oh yeah? You're just making that up for ATTENTION! You just had some sort of HALLUCINATION due to oxygen deprivation to the brain" (which really, really hurt me by the way, cause Jesus ain't no liar!)
Anyways, I even found myself arguing with the Christ deniers in my life that are close to me. I looked one of them square in the eye and asked the fateful question: "So…..if my near-death experience never so-called happened, ARE YOU CALLING JESUS CHRIST A LIAR? ARE YOU CALLING JESUS CHRIST A LIAR KNOWING FULL WELL THAT IF YOU DON'T REPENT OF THAT BEFORE YOU DIE IN THIS EARTHLY LIFE THAT YOU'LL GO TO HELL/LAKE OF FIRE FOR ETERNITY **FOR** CALLING HIM A LIAR? I'D REPENT IF I WERE YOU!"
And like a 2-edged spiritual sword, you could see the fear in their SOUL and in their eyes! I then followed it with: "As **religious** as I am, [for nearly all non-believers in my life coin the term "religious" to mean anything from following A religion to having a spiritual relationship with Jesus Christ] do you think I'd be caught dead lying about a powerful, almighty God that has the power to cast MY soul into hell/the lake of fire? Why would I risk my livelihood, and life's reputation on something that wasn't true?
Furthermore, if you think I'm lying to gain converts for Christ, why would I have to lie to do it? And why would I WANT to lie to do it? What would be the point in MY lying to get Christ converts, with THEM going to heaven and ME going to hell/the lake of fire? There'd BE no point in that, right?" It was then that that non-believing relative was at a mere lost for words……and then tried to go into another spiel about "how could such a *loving* God send people to hell?", etc.
Which goes into my next point. Those that are not in Christ Jesus HATE/ARE INDIFFERENT TO the truth and the truth SEEMS like "hate"/"indifference" to those who HATE/ARE INDIFFERENT TO the truth (which is Jesus Christ Almighty HIMSELF). In John 14:6, Jesus says: "….I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me". So in other words, Jesus is saying there in that passage that He IS "The Truth". And so therefore, ANYONE who denies HIM denies THE ETERNAL TRUTH OF GOD!
I then got to thinking. What IS the hope for all the non-believers in my life? Is there ANY hope for them to ever find (TRULY FIND) the eternal truth that can ONLY be found in Jesus Christ and Jesus Christ, ALONE? It was then that I REALLY started to cry out to Jesus in prayer for a solution…..
I said to the Lord in prayer: "Lord, if you could just gather ALL the HISTORICAL and SPIRITUAL AND/OR SCIENTIFIC evidence for Jesus Christ, and put it all into ONE book (besides the bible and IN ADDITION TO THE BIBLE), maybe some of these "secular" non-believers in the world, people of other religions and wayward Christians will FINALLY receive THE TRUTH the way that you had originally intended! Please Lord, please…..Oh….and it would help if that person was a Journalist — especially a Journalist that was once an Atheist!"
Well, needless to say, I soon came across the following book:
And the Lord had answered my prayer to a T! NOT only was the author a Journalist (just like I asked for in my prayer) but he had ALSO started out as an Atheist (another caveat of my prayer). You can't make this stuff up, folks!!!! Only, the thing is, this particular book came out YEARS AGO (and I didn't even know it! haha). Therefore, the Lord Jesus answered my prayer by bringing the book to the forefront!
And wouldn't ya know? I'd been FERVENTLY praying for the past year or so that THAT book would be turned into a MOVIE! And guess what, folks?
And HERE, you can watch the author, Lee Strobel, talk about some of the evidences he found while doing his "historical investigation of Christ":
And HERE, you can watch the Documentary:
But one thing is certain. At the end of his historical and journalistic investigation, Mr. Strobel found that, given the OVERWHELMING HISTORICAL AND SPIRITUAL EVIDENCE, IT WOULD TAKE **FAR** MORE FAITH FOR HIM TO REMAIN AN ATHEIST THAN TO BECOME A CHRISTIAN/BELIEVER IN CHRIST!
Such a profound statement. I hope and pray that the book, documentary AND big-screen movie will open up MANY hearts and souls to the ETERNAL TRUTH OF SALVATION FOUND **ONLY** IN JESUS CHRIST AND JESUS CHRIST, ALONE! And I praise Jesus HIGHLY for having answered my prayer and hope even still that Jesus Christ will still use many, MANY avenues to still continue capturing hearts, minds and souls in his great, heavenly name! Amen.


text:
01 March 2006 17:30
Fugitive Toys // An Urban Vinyl Community and Toy Storeby Shpigford (via)
Fugitive Toys is an Urban Vinyl Community and Toy Store
1 (1 marks)
Founded in late 2003 and heartquartered in France, we are non-profit and independant.
We believe in the open web, think internet services should be sustainable, build for the long term.
While we are re-launching the service, we only accept new members through invitation.
last mark : 01/03/2006 17:34