text:
swyche necesitaba un nuevo diseño de logotipo y lanzó un concurso de diseño en 99designs.
Un ganador ha sido elegido entre 177 diseños de 38 diseñadores freelance.
I am a freelance writer/editor who will work with individuals and groups--including corporate, government, and nonprofit organizations--to succeed on projects where good writing and editing may make a difference. I am a retired English Professor and former Director of Writing at two universities, and my freelance work runs the gamut from grant writing to album liner notes. I also provide support in situations where strategic communications are critical, such as negotiations, public advocacy, and conflict resolution.
My primary audience is corporate managers, non-profit administrators, and government agencies who want high-level communications support. My secondary audience is authors and individuals who have special projects--a book, for example--who may need more support than simple copy editing. All my audiences have challenging projects that require a skillful writer and editor.
I would like a logo that is primarily, if not all, typographic, using the company name: "Wordvisor."
The logo will be used on all my correspondence, business cards, website, and blog identifications.
Colors are okay, but I would prefer a logo that also works in black-and-white or single color applications (though I would give this requirement up for a really cool logo).
Fonts should be clean and/or elegant.
I can also imagine the use of an illustrated initial letter, or something that plays with the W and V in the name, "WordVisor."
Visual feeling/impact can be modern, minimalist, playful or, alternatively, elegant and somewhat antiquated.
Imagery would be best if it is integrated into the word, but could involve a pen, editing mark, or other symbol that represents writing and/or editing.
I would not want something that feels cartoonish, childish, overly-wrought, complicated, industrial, or high-tech.
I've added some logos that I liked (see attached files below), but don't feel limited by these (an afternoon's search) if you have some different ideas.
Descubre cómo funciona un concurso de diseño u obtén más información sobre nuestros servicios de diseño de logo.


text:
- Details
- Specs
- Reviews
- Manuals
The Cooper Wiring Devices RF9534AW Aspire RF 600W Incandescent Smart Dimmer replaces a regular switch to provide local and remote ON/OFF/DIM/BRIGHT control. Aspire RF Dimmers provide other programmable functions (scenes, events, association, child lockout, etc.) when used with Aspire RF or other Z-Wave® compliant controllers*. Each dimmer can be manually and remotely controlled by commands sent from an Aspire RF controller (RFTDCSG, RFHDCSG, RFBER) or other Z-Wave compatible controllers or programs. Aspire RF Dimmers utilize existing 120 V/AC 60Hz standard house wiring and fit into standard wallboxes. No new wiring needed. The Smart Dimmer is also available in Desert Sand, Satin Granite, and White Satin.
*(Note: some specific Aspire RF features may not be programmable)
- Softly curving arch; contrasting textures; velvet-smooth, quiet actuation; and colors that subtly complement each other make
Aspire RF devices an integral element of any decor
- Virtually unbreakable, ultrasonically welded top and backbody, extra-long, extra-wide mounting straps and easy access ground screws provide reliability and speeds up installation
- Electro-mechanical push pad for On/Off operation with separate Dim/Bright bar
- LED light-level display for presetting illumination levels and master/accessory units for multi-location control
- Amber LED at bottom of LED display indicates On/Off load status
- Single button programming
- Adjustable ramp rate (up to 4 minutes)
- Child Lockout feature
- All-On/All-Off inclusion
- Patent-pending Panic Mode
- Patented indicator system alerts if dimmer is not set up in the network
- Pressing and holding push pad for 2 seconds brings light to full brightness without affecting preset levels
- Power failure memory
- Configurable 'Power On State'
- Air-gap switch disconnects power from load forcing an Off condition
- RFI filtering for radio, audio and video equipment
- RF5537-N is configurable to work with Advance Mark 10, AmbiStar and Lutron Tu-wire dimmable
About Aspire RF
ASPIRE RF with Z-Wave technology is a new generation of easy-to-install and easy-to-use wireless RF-based home control technology. With a full array of one-touch controllers and a wide range of wiring devices that can be integrated together, creating a wireless home control network using ASPIRE RF is easy. Best of all, installing an ASPIRE RF wireless system requires no special wiring or rewiring, making it ideal for retrofitting existing homes and for new home construction.
Aspire RF and Z-Wave
The high versatility and dependability of ASPIRE RF is made possible by the use of Z-Wave technology. Z-Wave is a highly versatile and dependable RF-based home control technology that effectively transforms any component into an intelligently
networked device that can be controlled and monitored wirelessly. ASPIRE RF products are compatible with any Z-Wave certified device. This interoperability with other manufacturers' devices provides maximum flexibility and expandability.
Each ASPIRE RF unit functions as a repeater, using 908 MHz signals to ensure that every command is carried out. Z-Wave's 'mesh network' offers extremely high performance and greater reliability than many control systems.
- Softly curving arch; contrasting textures; velvet-smooth, quiet actuation; and colors that subtly complement each other make
- Testing & Code Compliance
- Regulatory Listings: cULus 6B28; UL 1472; NOM; ANSI; FCC PART 15, CLASS B; Z-Wave Certified
- Environmental
- Flammability meets UL 94 requirements V2 rated
- Temperature rating: 32°F to 104°F (0°C to 40°C)
- Flammability meets UL 94 requirements V2 rated
- Electrical
- Rating: 120V/AC 60Hz
- Light Intensity Control: Full-range, continuously variable dimming
- Dimming Performance: Smooth and Continuous Square Law Dimming Curve
- Surge Protection: Meets ANSI/IEEE Std. C62.41-1980, tested to withstand voltage surges up to 6000V and current surges of up to 200A without damage
- Radio Frequency Interference: Designed to reduce interference with radio, audio and video equipment
- Power-failure Memory: Light returns to same level prior to power interruption
- Lamp Ratings: Incandescent, Halogen, Magnetic Low-Voltage, Electronic Low-Voltage, Fluorescent
- Rating: 120V/AC 60Hz
- Mechanical
- Termination:
- 6" Pre-stripped wire leads
- 6" Pre-stripped wire leads
- Wiring Types: Single-Pole and Multi-location
- LED Indicators: Load Status Indicator, Light Level & Locator
- Air-gap Switch: Meets UL 20 and UL1472 for inclusion of visible, accessible air-gap off switch
- Termination:
- Materials
- Top Housing: Polycarbonate
- Bottom Housing: Polycarbonate
- Strap: Aluminum
- Form Factor: Decorator
- Finish: Two-tone - Gloss and Matte
- Top Housing: Polycarbonate
- Testing & Code Compliance
2 Reviews
- Review of 21553aw Review by MICHAEL
Review of 21553aw
Works great with Vera 3 z wave controller. Easy to install
Posted on 4/16/2014
- Review of 21553aw Review by jwag
Review of 21553aw
Just installed first dimmer - easy to install and hook into my z-wave network. I was surprised it didn't need a neutral wire - but now I understand why - it runs a tiny amount of current through the line in order to illuminate the LEDs etc. That is why they state a 60 watt minimum - but...
even after placing a 60 watt bulb in the light fixture the dimmer controls a single outside porch light, it never goes completely off - a very dim glow in the bulb. Not great.
Posted on 8/27/2011
Leave a Review

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Aspbobaden is an official Nude Beach located at the north/west end of the small lake Stordammen north/east of Österbybruk in the municipality Östhammar. There are three beaches of which the middle is intended for nude bathing.
When you arrive from Österbybruk, the entrance to the first beach (textile) and the second beach (nude) signposted "Badplats". Further ahead there is a signpost "Aspbobaden" pointing to the third beach which is textile.
Leave the car park to the left and pass the toilets. There is a frequented footpath that passes the beach. Potable water is available at the first (textile) beach.
There is a lawn close to the beach. The beach is a small sand beach. The beach is not very much used and brush has been allowed to grow. Some of the brush was remowed summer 2007 and a bridge was built.
Phone: +46 173 86000 (Östhammars Kommun).
dim, 03/07/2016 - 16:59
Johan Svensson
mer, 03/07/2013 - 20:55
Et besviket par
lun, 22/07/2013 - 15:07


text:
Wilmington, DEHome Menu
Access Wilmington
The Mayor's Committee on People With Disabilities
Raising awareness and advocating for people with disabilities and their families
The Access Wilmington Committee works in an advisory capacity to the Mayor to raise awareness of accessibility issues and to advocate for resources on behalf of individuals with disabilities and their families who live, work or visit the City of Wilmington.
The committee's vision is for Wilmington to serve as a model of accessibility. It resolves to work toward:
- Community Education: Increasing awareness of disability issues and resources.
- Legislation: Develop laws and ordinances affecting citizens with disabilities and their rights.
- Accessibility: Assuring that all facilities and programs are totally accessible to citizens with disabilities.
- Employment: Promoting employment opportunities for citizens with disabilities.
- Transportation: Acquiring a totally accessible public transportation system.
- Economics: Promoting opportunities for economic independence for citizens with disabilities.
Members are appointed by the Mayor. Those eligible for appointment include:
- Wilmington residents with disabilities
- Family members of Wilmington residents with disabilities
- Representatives of organizations which provide services to Wilmington residents with disabilities
- Students who attend city high schools and colleges
- City employees


text:
Well, the year-over-year growth in revolving consumer credit (credit cards) finally slowed in February.
It's still a pretty chart, but the slight tick down does break the nice upward glide path that we were on.
In a way, this seems to tell the current state of the economy quite nicely.
Whether it's housing starts, jobs, or cars, the trend seems to be: Sill healthy growth year over year, but a stallout of the clear momentum we'd seen in the last few months.
That's not great, though still a far cry from recession or a new downturn.


text:
To be held in Brussels on March 7, 2017.
The FIWARE Foundation works to develop an open sustainable ecosystem around public, royalty-free and implementation-driven software platform standards that will ease the creation of Smart Applications in multiple sectors. EIT Digital has been a member of the FIWARE ecosystem since 2013, and has contributed to the launch of FIWARE platform which is also used in several EIT Digital innovation activities.
CEDUS - City Enabler for Digital Urban Services innovation activity is providing a FIWARE-based software City Enabler(CE) product for collecting and rendering valuable data at urban scale and allowing the rapid development of urban services.
The OEDIPUS - Operate European Digital Industry with Products and Services High Impact Activity, in turn, pursues the creation of FIWARE-enabled Digital Innovation Hubs to support the digital transformation of European Industries.
Finally, through its Accelerator scaleup program EIT Digital provides European Union wide access to market and to finance to FIWARE-exploiting companies, like the recently in the Accelerator joined Italian TeamDev.
All interested are welcomed to enjoy the opportunity to learn, engage and join this ecosystem by participating in the FIWARE Open day, to be held in Brussels on March 7, at the Charlemagne building, GASP meeting room, address: Rue de la Loi 170, B-1000 Brussels, Belgium.
The FIWARE Open day will start at 8:30 with registration and coffee and end at 14:00. For detailed agenda please visit the "FIWARE Open Day page".
FIWARE Foundation and EIT Digital (a member of FIWARE ecosystem)


text:
Full of color, ripe fruit, plenty of texture and earthy goodness ...
Full of color, ripe fruit, plenty of texture and earthy goodness, Mourvèdre is an important grape in many key regions in the south of France, as well as in Spain and the New World. Mourvèdre is actually of Spanish provenance (there known as Monastrell or Mataro) and is the key variety in Alicante, Jumilla and Yecla. It truly thrives, however, in Provence's Bandol region, where it shines on its own as a single varietal red and in Southern Rhône where it palys a major part in blends . It is also of great importance in the Southern Rhône alongside Grenache and Syrah—and in California and Australia, as a single varietal wine or in Rhône blends.
In the Glass
At their finest, Mourvèdre wines are robust and full of brambly red and black fruit, and aromas and flavors of herbs, leather, earth, dark chocolate and licorice. Well-aged examples can show an impressive degree of elegance and an attractive perfume. In blends with Grenache and Syrah, Mourvèdre provides fleshy texture, tannic structure and deep color.
Perfect Pairings
This earthy Mediterranean variety loves rustic food—think cassoulet, wild boar ragu or smoky ribs. Mourvèdre's tannins are bold but not bitter, lending both weight and texture.
Sommelier Secret
Mourvèdre used to have significant plantings in California, but the vine lost popularity during the 20th century in favor of other varieties. However, in the 1980s, a group of California winemakers inspired by the wines of the Rhône Valley have been working to bring the variety back into the spotlight. Plantings have since increased and Rhône blends are now a highly-regarded specialty of the Central Coast.
- Mourvedre
- Cabernet Sauvignon272
- Bordeaux Red Blends200
- Pinot Noir153
- Other Red Blends81
- Merlot81
- Syrah/Shiraz69
- Nebbiolo64
- Sangiovese55
- Tempranillo52
- Zinfandel49
- Rhône Blends19
- Barbera8
- Tuscan Blends8
- Cabernet Franc6
- Petite Sirah6
- Other Red Wine4
- Aglianico3
- Corvina2
- Grenache2
- Pinot Meunier2
- Montepulciano1
- Pinotage1
- Blaufrankisch1
- Grignolino1
- Refosco1
- Sagrantino1


text:
"Why do people say "grow some balls"? Balls are weak and sensitive. If you wanna be tough, grow a vagina. Those things can take a pounding."
~Betty White~
What does it mean to be a feminist? What does it mean to be equal? What does it mean to be genuine? How do we fight for equal rights? How do we view ourselves as women in a world that at times seems completely against us?
Men: How do you fight for your ladies and pursue alongside equal rights. Human rights?
What does it really mean to be a feminist?
Views: 582
I just mean being an autonomous being, embracing individualism. Realizing that you don't have to go along with whatever bullshit storyline society wrote out for you. Studying, engaging, creating, teaching, inventing, discovering. Half the world's intellectual power is being wasted on having them breed kids, bake cake and do their nails or play dress-up. We wouldn't flush half our money down the toilet would we? Why don't we have any female atheist four horsemen? What's our excuse? Can you imagine Richard Dawkins declaring he's gonna stop writing books and biological studies, and instead focus on reading fashion magazines and making his husband happy? If Sam Harris told us that he wants to focus on knitting and decided to wear a veil? That would be hilariously ridiculous. So why do we let this shit slide with our potential female intellectuals?
And yes I agree that in most of the cases women just don't know better, that's how they were raised. That's awful. But sadly there are tons of women who even DO know better, who otherwise claim to be modern, free, self-respecting women - but then some braincells overheat and they tell still me shit like they'd give up school for a husband, or something along those lines. The same kind of people who can't read a fucking book or do their assigned homework without bitching, sighing and making sure to remind me about how much they'd rather be partying or god knows what every 10 seconds.
Those particular kind do seem quite stupid to me.
And I understand feminists' frustration with men, just as I'm bitching about women (not meaning all women). Yes sadly men are condescending to women, but the reason is that there almost is no other fucking way. Men aren't that smart themselves to begin with. But there are some girls out there who are basically semi-conscious cattle. So men assume the shepherd role. That wouldn't work if women wouldn't play along. Those extremist feminist think it's only men who have to change, wrong. Both have to do their part. Change has to start at home. No matter how macho a man wants to be, he could never dick around a confident smart woman. And I'm not talking about the BS hollywood version of a confident woman, which is basically some hot chick with big tits in spandex and a "yeah I'M a gurl and I just beat U UHP!" attitude, or the lame-ass comedian type who just try to emulate men and have that "yeah I'm a chick who just talked about sex and farting" attitude. I'm talking about confidence in things that matter, like knowledge and intelligence. For the lack of a better example coming to mind; do you think someone like Ayn Rand would take shit from a man? I doubt it.
I hope arch doesn't catch me writing this much again.
As an Afrikaans woman I find men my age still think that we have to be taken care of, this I don't like. Afrikaner men still cling to the traditional idea of what a mans role is. I don't want to be treated differently. I can do most of the things men can do. I do accept my strenght limits me. I just want the freedom to be me
If I look at what I do on a daily basis, as a working woman, I study, I have two children with medical problems take care of the home. Most of my life I have bean the sole bread winner. I refuse to be inferiour or treated in such a manner. And I have this theory that in a lot of religions men need to supres woman not only out of ignorance but out of fear, as we are capable of doing anything. I think it is also the fear of not fealing needed and the male ego. Through centurys they have been made to belief, that you are only truly a real man if you are the provider for your family. You are the head of the houshold. My partner once made a yoke he told his friens. "She might be the head, but I am the neck that turns the head" I laughed. and replied " I am the heart beath without me the neck can not turn" As in our home I am the heartbeat. I think it is complicated and not easy for people to let go of the old, the beliefs that has been laid down through the ages but progress is made.
If reincarnation was true I would prefer to come back as a man in my next life. I would love to clock out of work and be done for the day. When I clock out I clock in at home, not even out of the car then whats for supper. Have to sit up with the sick kids, sort out their arguements, get laundry done, Help with homework, deal with their emotional promlems, know where that peace of paper is that they wrote a phone number on, know where they put the screwdriver down. AS a woman I have to give of myself 24 hours a day. And in my home I am the one that's always calm and I don't have moods, so lets not be tierd or have the flue as the house comes to a standstill. And lets not spent 5 minutes more of your time on one person then you have three others telling you that they feel unloved or rejected. And what does dad do get of work , sit infront of tv or computer, and if the children ask him something "I don't know, ask your mother" So I have decided that in my next life if I am born and look down and notice I dont have the right equipment, I will through the umbilical cord around my neck and roll of the theater table. NOTE I don't belief in reincarnation I just sometimes need humor to deal with my day
"I believe that women's gains will be men's gains too." From my perspective the biggest problem is violence and abuse of women by men, and again from my perspective, this is caused by cowardly, emotionally illiterate men. To hang onto power like a spoiled little boy does not do you any good. How do you actually fight violence and bullying? In the context of gender politics, it's a complex issue that affects everybody. All the strong women I know have a real problem finding strong men. The usual story is that the men get resentful of having to share the power, so they make problems instead of stepping up. It takes a strong man to step up to true equality. This basically implies that the decision is in the hands of men - but the solution is everybody's.


text:
Community Board 5 passed a unanimous resolution July 8 opposing a proposed upstate gas-drilling project that environmentalists believe could contaminate New York City's reservoirs. The resolution followed a similar position taken by the Borough Board just days earlier.
Gary Giordano, CB5's district manager, applauded the board's decision to oppose the drilling.
"The possibility of drilling anywhere near the reservoirs upstate that serve the New York City area would directly impact our drinking water," Giordano said. "It's not worth the risk."
The project, proposed by gas companies in the Catskill Mountain region of upstate New York, would employ a new technology called hydro-fracking to extract gas from underground sites dangerously close to the city-owned reservoirs.
The drilling process, which involves pumping water and chemicals into the ground, has environmentalists and New York City residents worried the city's water system could become contaminated.
"There's significant risk to New York City's drinking water" if drilling is allowed, said Buck Moorhead, of NYH2O, an environmental advocacy group opposed to the drilling.
He said city residents who feel distanced from the project should consider its scope: the Marcellus Shale gas field is thought to be the biggest in the country, according to experts who have studied the area. Any drilling project could cause serious environmental damage, Moorhead added.
In an interview, State Senator John Bonacic, a Republican whose 42nd district comprises five of the city's six reservoirs, said while protecting the environment is a priority, worried city residents might not realize such a large project would also bring much-needed jobs to a depressed upstate economy.
"You have to balance bringing some economic vitality and the protection of property rights" and water quality, the senator said. Bonacic said he supports drilling, if it can be done without contaminating the city's reservoirs.
"It's a matter of having the experts come in and say what's a reasonable buffer, making a compromise and that's what we're trying to do," Bonacic said.
He said people who live near the reservoirs understand just how important it is to keep them clean. A reputation for a polluted environment would scare away tourists who visit the region for its natural beauty, said Bonacic, adding that tourism drives economic activity in his district.
Finding a responsible way to allow gas drilling while protecting the reservoirs and surrounding environment would benefit everyone involved, Bonacic said, though this is easier said than done.
"That's been my hardest job as a state senator - dealing with [environmental concerns] and balancing economic development in the watershed area of the counties I represent," Bonacic said.
Following CB5's anti-drilling resolution, Giordano said he plans to share the resolution with other Queens community boards to build more support for it.


text:
|Site title:
|Site description:
|Site keywords:
|Your browser:
|Your ipadress:
|Google pagerank:
|No data av
|Dmoz Description:
|Dmoz Category:
|Alexa Links:
|Alexa Rank:
|Alexa Reach:
|Alexa country
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% % This is ARNES whois database %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% % Rights restricted by copyright. % See http://www.arnes.si/domene/whois-legal.html %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% % The WHOIS service offered by Arnes, .si Registry, is % provided for information purposes only. It allows persons % to check whether a specific domain name is still available % or not and to obtain information related to the registration % records of existing domain names. % % This WHOIS service accepts and displays only ASCII characters. % Arnes cannot be held liable should the stored information % prove to be wrong, incomplete or inaccurate in any sense. % % By submitting a query you agree not to use the information % made available to: % o Allow, enable or otherwise support the transmission % of unsolicited, commercial advertising or other solicitations % whether via email or otherwise; % o Target advertising in any possible way; % o Cause nuisance in any possible way to the registrants % by sending (whether by automated, electronic processes % capable of enabling high volumes or other possible % means) messages to them; % o copy, extract and/or publish contents of the WHOIS database. %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% domain: pornoking.si registrar: Zabec.net registrar-url: http://www.zabec.net nameserver: ns1.adstoolbox.com nameserver: ns2.adstoolbox.com registrant: O372380 status: ok created: 2013-01-16 expire: 2017-01-16 source: ARNES Domain holder: NOT DISCLOSED Tech: NOT DISCLOSED %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% % For more information, please visit http://www.registry.si/whois.html %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%


text:
Photo: AP/John Minchillo
As Occupy protests swept the country last fall, setting up camp in more than 70 U.S. cites. the growing movement quickly turned into a political and logistical nightmare for the Department of Homeland Security.New documents obtained by Business Insider through a Freedom of Information Act request appear to contradict reports that DHS coordinated the nationwide crackdown on the Occupy movement last November. A series of emails dated from November 16 to November 21, senior officials assert that ""DHS is not actively coordinating with local law enforcement agencies and/or city governments concerning the Occupy encampments writ large," and that no one from the agency was on the conference call of mayors that discussed the crackdown.
Another email, from the director of communications for DHS Intelligence and Analysis, says that his division "scrupulously avoided any connection with the Occupy movement/protests/dismantlings," adding that DHS intelligence did not issue any reports or hold any conference calls related to the Occupy movement.
But even as DHS leadership in Washington was careful to avoid top-down involvement in the Occupy protests, an apparently unauthorised memo regarding the potential threats of the movement was circulating through the department's intelligence channels. The 5-page report, recently obtained by Wikileaks and published by Rolling Stone, states that the growth of the movement will make it difficult to "control protesters" and darkly urges security personnel to exercise "heightened situational awareness."
According to the emails obtained by Business Insider, the memo was posted to the DHS's Tripwire intelligence sharing database without being cleared, and was taken down soon after. A link to the report was also included in a email briefing from the Domestic Security Alliance Council, a strategic intelligence partnership between DHS and the FBI.
DHS officials appear to have immediately recognised the potential damaging impact of the report.
"This could be quite unfortunate," one email reads. "I thought IP had withdrawn this piece. We may need DSAC to immediately withdraw their email and take it off DSAC's portal if it is posted there."
The new documents show that senior DHS officials were acutely aware of the First Amendment issues surrounding any type of intelligence gathering on Occupy. In a series of emails dated in late October and early November, the agency adopts the position to avoid reporting on the movement, and leave it up to its local law enforcement partnerships, or Fusion centres, to assess the Occupy threat.
From an email dated October 17, 2011:
"We maintain our longstanding position that DHS should not report on activities when the basis for reporting is political speech. We would also be loath to pass DHS requests for more information on the protests along to the appropriate fusion centres without strong guidance that the vast majority of activities occurring as part of these protests is protected. To do otherwise might give the appearance that DHS is attempting to circumvent existing restrictions, policies, and laws."
But later emails show that the Fusion centres created a political headache for DHS headquarters, as the agency's senior leadership struggled to keep their local partners within Constitutional bounds. For example, one email obtained by BI raises concerns about an assessment of Occupy Pittsburgh that "might be advocating surveillance and other countermeasures to be employed against activities protected under the 1st Amendment." A response to that email notes that those problems were also "an issue with other fusion centres."
Another email shows DHS officials quickly stepping in to stop a domestic terrorism analyst from writing an intelligence report on Occupy protests in Oregon based on an isolated incident of vehicle arson that was only tenuously connected to the Occupy movement.
The emails illustrate the difficulty the Obama administration had balancing its political affinity with the Occupy movements with the needs of a complex Homeland Security apparatus. DHS tells us that more emails are on the way, so it will be interesting to see how this political tightrope played out.
Business Insider Emails & Alerts
Site highlights each day to your inbox.
Follow Business Insider Australia on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram.


text:
Four home runs keep Dodgers alive in NLCS
Los Angeles, CA - See you in St. Louis. – Los Angeles, CA (SportsNetwork.com) - See you in St. Louis.
Behind four solo home runs, including two from Adrian Gonzalez, and a gritty seven-inning effort out of Zack Greinke, the Los Angeles Dodgers stayed alive in the National League Championship Series by hanging on for a 6-4 Game 5 triumph over the St. Louis Cardinals to send the best-of-seven set back to the Gateway City.
Gonzalez finished 3-for-4 with three runs scored to pace a Dodgers' offense that regained its power stroke to force a Game 6, where Los Angeles will be sending ace Clayton Kershaw to the hill. Carl Crawford and A.J. Ellis also delivered solo blasts for the NL West champs, who hadn't homered at all in dropping three of the first four matchups to St. Louis.
"We know what we have in the clubhouse. We believe in ourselves," said Crawford. "We trust one another. To be honest with you, I just think guys weren't ready to lose today."
Greinke (1-0) helped his cause with an RBI single in addition to limiting the Cardinals to two runs on six hits. The standout right-hander struggled early on, but later found a groove and set down 13 consecutive hitters prior to being lifted for a pinch hitter in the bottom of the seventh inning.
The Dodgers still needed to stave off a furious late comeback attempt to survive, as St. Louis scored twice off Kenley Jansen and brought the go-ahead run to the plate in the ninth before the Los Angeles closer fanned Adron Chambers looking for the final out.
Matt Holliday went 3-for-4 with an RBI and Matt Adams and Matt Carpenter each collected two hits for the Cardinals, who return home for Friday's Game 6 hoping to avoid an undesired case of deja vu. St. Louis also held a 3-1 series lead in last year's NLCS, but proceeded to lose three straight to eventual World Series champion San Francisco.
The Cardinals will pin their hopes on rookie sensation Michael Wacha, who outdueled Kershaw in a 1-0 St. Louis victory in Game 2, when the series shifts back to Busch Stadium.
Gonzalez's first home run of the day was a big one, as the slugging first baseman snapped a 2-2 tie with a third-inning no-doubter immediately after Cardinals starter Joe Kelly (0-1) got a hobbled Hanley Ramirez to ground into a double play. The margin grew to two runs a couple of innings later, when Crawford drilled a Kelly fastball into the seats in right for his fourth homer of this postseason.
"We know the ball carried here during day, but it was just one of those days that we were a little better [offensively]," Dodgers manager Don Mattingly remarked.
In between, Greinke settled down from a shaky beginning to the game by retiring the side in order in both the fourth and fifth frames. He did the same in each of the next two innings, and departed with a 5-2 advantage when Ellis continued Los Angeles' power surge by crushing an 0-2 offering from Edward Mujica into the left-field seats in the bottom of the seventh.
"I just tried to locate some fastballs and [it] ended up working," said Greinke. "It's always a mental battle, a physical and mental battle against them. Trying, like I said, trying to make adjustments before they do. I don't know if that was the case, but that was my mindset."
The Cardinals also went down 1-2-3 against Brian Wilson in the eighth, and Jansen took the mound in the ninth with a four-run cushion courtesy of Gonzalez's second long ball, which came off a hanging curve from John Axford.
St. Louis, which batted an anemic .148 as a group over the first four games of this set, had its offense come to life in its final at-bat.
Holliday dropped in a leadoff double on a fly ball that Dodgers right fielder Yasiel Puig lost in the sun, then crossed the plate on Adams' single to center. Jansen managed to strike out Yadier Molina and David Freese around a Jon Jay base hit, but served up an opposite-field single to Pete Kozma that knocked in Adams and made it a 6-4 game.
Chambers, pinch-hitting for Axford, couldn't continue the rally, however. The reserve outfielder fell behind in the count and ultimately took a called strike three to end the game.
Los Angeles opened the scoring by reaching Kelly for four singles during a two-run second. Juan Uribe shot a grounder up the middle in which Gonzalez beat Jay's throw home for a 1-0 edge, and Greinke later came through with a two-out hit through the left side of the infield that brought home Puig.
The lead didn't last long, however. Carpenter singled with one out in the top of the third before Carlos Beltran crushed Greinke's curve off the wall in center for an RBI triple. Holliday followed with a one-hop double to left- center that pulled the Cardinals even at 2-2, though Greinke managed to escape further damage by inducing a double-play grounder from Molina with runners at the corners and one out.
Molina also bounced into a twin-killing in his initial at-bat, getting Greinke out of a major jam in the top of the first. Singles by Carpenter and Holliday around a walk to Beltran loaded the bases with none out, but Greinke fanned Adams in front of Molina's slow grounder that was fielded by Uribe, who stepped on the third-base bag and fired a low throw to first that Gonzalez adeptly scooped out of the dirt.
"We had a couple opportunities to do something, and just couldn't make it happen," said Cardinals manager Mike Matheny. "Those usually come back to haunt you, and today they did."
Kelly lasted five innings, permitting four runs on seven hits and striking out three without a walk.
Game Notes
The Cardinals fell to 1-5 all-time in Game 5's on the road in NLCS play ... The top four hitters in St. Louis' lineup (Carpenter, Beltran, Holliday, Adams) combined to go 8-for-15, while spots 5-9 were 2-for-20 ... Including the playoffs, Greinke has posted a 9-2 record with a 2.15 ERA in 15 Dodger Stadium starts this year ... Wilson has not allowed an earned run in all 16 of his career postseason appearances, spanning 17 2/3 innings ... All four of Crawford's homers during this postseason have come at home ... Comedian and Southern California native Will Ferrell introduced the Dodgers' starters prior to the start of the game.


text:
As this column is being written, the government is shut down, which is bad, but temporary. The bigger debate is over raising the debt limit, which will be reached on about Oct. 17. The consequences of failing to increase it would be permanent, would cost taxpayers trillions of dollars, and would benefit mostly the foreign creditors who loan our government money.
As this column is being written, the government is shut down, which is bad, but temporary. The bigger debate is over raising the debt limit, which will be reached on about Oct. 17. The consequences of failing to increase it would be permanent, would cost taxpayers trillions of dollars, and would benefit mostly the foreign creditors who loan our government money.
The debt limit was created in 1917 and has been raised routinely, including 18 times during President Reagan's administration and 10 times since 2001. Denmark is the only other democracy that has one.
With the national debt now $16.7 trillion, it's understandable that many Americans say the debt limit should not be raised. Why keep going into debt? But that's not how the debt limit works. Were the federal government to breach the debt limit, it would continue to rack up bills because Congress hasn't changed the nation's taxing and spending policies. The U.S. Treasury Department simply wouldn't pay for all of those obligations, temporarily. The bills would be paid later.
Imagine if the federal government were your household, and you were routinely spending $5,000 a month, much of it on accumulated obligations, but only making $4,000 a month in income. So you make an announcement: "Honey, we're not going into any more debt!" However, you make no changes to your spending habits and don't increase your income. You don't create a balanced budget. In fact, you don't create a budget.
What would happen? In the short-term, the bills would pile up, but the real pain would come when you inevitably had to beg for a loan. The bank, which previously offered you very good rates because it considered you a safe credit risk, no longer trusts you because you did not pay your bills for a while. It offers you a loan at much higher rates. So in addition to the $1,000 you were overspending, you now face higher interest payments.
For this fiscal year 2013, the federal government will spend somewhere north of $400 billion in interest payments, depending on how much it paid in September. That's an annual rate of about 2.4 percent.
Why so low? A big reason is interest rates for everybody are low right now, thanks to the Federal Reserve's policies. But another major reason is the investors who finance the debt — those who own treasury bills, United States savings bonds, etc. — believe the U.S. government is the world's safest investment. That includes foreign entities who, according to the U.S. Treasury, have financed $5.6 trillion of the debt. China, at $1.28 trillion, and Japan, at $1.14 trillion, are by far the biggest foreign creditors.
Currently, those investors are not making much money off U.S. taxpayers, but, like a banker, they are not doing this out of the goodness of their hearts. There is competition for our money because everyone believes that if anybody in the world is going to pay a loan back, it's Uncle Sam.
But if investors were to doubt the U.S. government's creditworthiness, that trust would dissolve. Interest rates paid by current and future American taxpayers would rise by hundreds of billions of dollars each year. Meanwhile, the world's safest investment would no longer be seen as safe, creating a ripple effect throughout the American and global economies.
That's what will happen if elected officials continue to play these games with the full faith and credit of the United States. Failing to pass a debt limit increase would not reduce government spending, and it wouldn't decrease the debt. In fact, it would increase them both because interest rates would rise. China would get more of our money. For a long, long time.
You can't reduce your debt simply by declaring you won't pay your bills. The solution is for Congress and the White House to do what a responsible person would do – create a plan that leads to income equaling outgo, and then stick to that plan.
That's hard to do when you're squabbling about how to keep the government's doors open.
Steve Brawner is an independent journalist in Arkansas. His email address is firstname.lastname@example.com. Follow him on Twitter at @stevebrawner.


text: Yesterday, we saw the 2010 BMW Z4 from the front 3/4. Now, thanks to a leaked catalog rendering, we can see it from the rear. Visible for the first time are its folding hardtop and shapely haunches. The more we see of the new BMW Z4, the more we like it. [via BMWBlog]


text:
North County's bus and rail ridership jumped 6 percent during the final quarter of 2012, compared to the same period a year before, according to a performance report that transit leaders are expected to receive Thursday.
A North County Transit District spokeswoman said the agency credits better timed bus-to-train connections, higher gas prices and more employment for the ridership uptick.
"We have made it easier for our passengers to get from one mode (of transit) to another," said Frances Schnall, a spokeswoman for the district, which manages the region's Coaster and Sprinter trains, its Breeze buses and Lift paratransit service. "We took a really hard look at the connections."
The public agency's board of directors is set to receive the performance report during its meeting at 2 p.m. Thursday in Oceanside.
The report tallies boardings, on-time performance, customer complaints and other data for the agency's bus and rail networks.
The district's Lift shuttles, which provide service for the elderly and passengers with disabilities, saw a 15.5 percent ridership increase, the greatest percentage jump of the agency's four transit options. The shuttles tallied 36,206 rides from October through Dec. 31, 2012, up from 31,339 during the same period a year prior.
The agency's Breeze buses saw a 5.3 percent increase, with a total ridership of 2,034,777. That was up from 1,932,307 a year before, according to the report.
NCTD's two train lines, the Sprinter and Coaster, saw smaller ridership increases.
Boardings on the Sprinter light-rail, which runs from Oceanside to Escondido, ticked up 3.5 percent to 646,955.
Ridership on the Coaster, which runs from Oceanside to downtown San Diego, increased 0.6 percent to 355,245.
Also on Thursday, NCTD's board is set to consider approving an employment agreement for an in-house general counsel. The agency currently contracts with a private firm.
Lori Winfree was selected by the board for the new post following a nationwide recruitment last year that produced 34 candidates and resulted in four candidates being interviewed, according to an agency report.
Under the employment agreement, Winfree would be paid a $165,000 salary. The approximate annual cost of her contract, including benefits, would be $231,000, the report said.
The public session of Thursday's meeting will include workshops on federal transportation funding and on Sprinter ridership.
They are slated to start about 20 minutes after the board's 1 p.m. closed session, according to NCTD's agenda. The remaining items on the public agenda, including overall ridership performance and Winfree's contract, are set to be discussed starting at 2 p.m.
The board meets at NCTD's headquarters at 810 Mission Ave., Oceanside.
firstname.lastname@example.com | (760) 740-5426 | Twitter@christhejourno


text:
ChristopherWalken, Hawaii, Los Angeles County, los angeles county sheriffs department, NatalieWood, RobertWagner, Santa Catalina Island California, Wagner
The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department is reopening the investigation into the 1981 death of actress Natalie Wood. "We're always open to receiving information," said Lieutenant John Corina in a news conference today. The sheriff's department has recently received "substantial information" from a source Lieutenant Corina refused to name.
Natalie Wood's death was ruled an accidental drowning in 1981 however there were rumors swirling at the time of a violent argument that night and a possible love triangle between Ms. Wood, actor Christopher Walken, and her husband actor Robert Wagner (both of them married to each other for the second time). All three were aboard the yacht "Splendour" and were drinking on the evening that she died.
Ms. Wood had expressed fears of water, especially "dark sea water" and said she didn't know how to swim. Her body was found clothed only in a nightgown, socks, and a jacket. Questions always remained regarding what really took place on that night.
When a reporter asked Lieutenant Corina if Mr. Wagner was a suspect, he said, "No," at this time. The yacht is currently in Hawaii. Lieutenant Corina said that investigators are not ruling anything out and will go to Hawaii if necessary. "We'll go wherever the investigation takes us," he said.
Related articles
- Boat Captain Says Robert Wagner Is Responsible For Natalie Wood's Death (perezhilton.com)
- Natalie Wood Death Case Reopened, Is Robert Wagner Responsible? (VIDEO) (blippitt.com)
- Natalie Wood Investigation Reopened 30-Years Later (inquisitr.com)
- Natalie Wood Death Investigation: Is Robert Wagner Responsible for Her Drowning? (laist.com)
- Finally – L.A. Detectives Reopen Natalie Wood Death Inquiry (tammybruce.com)
- The Natalie Wood Death Investigation Has Been ReOpened (pinkisthenewblog.com)
- Yacht captain: Robert Wagner had role in Natalie Wood death (calgaryherald.com)
- L.A. sheriff reopening Natalie Wood case (cbsnews.com)
- Natalie Wood's Death to be Reinvestigated by Police (aoltv.com)
- Police re-open investigation into death of Natalie Wood (macleans.ca)
- Death Of Movie Star Natalie Wood To Be Re-Opened, Robert Wagoner Needs To Offer More Answers (dekerivers.wordpress.com)
- Los Angeles police reopen actress Natalie Wood inquiry – BBC News (bbc.co.uk)
- West Coast Story: Investigators to Reopen Natalie Wood Probe (blogs.wsj.com)
- Natalie Wood Death Case Reopened By Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department (moviefone.com)
- Natalie Wood Death: 6 Other Famous Unsolved Hollywood Mysteries (moviefone.com)
- Natalie Wood: One of Hollywood's Greatest Mysteries Reopened? (blogher.com)
- Natalie Wood Case Reopened by LA Sheriff's Department (inquisitr.com)
- Natalie Wood's Case Reopened (foxnews.com)
- Natalie Wood death probe: Yacht skipper claims he lied, blames Robert Wagner over drowning (mirror.co.uk)
- L.A. Sheriff Reopens Natalie Wood Case (huffingtonpost.com)
- Natalie Wood death probe to be reopened (entertainment.msnbc.msn.com)
- Natalie Wood's 1981 Drowning Case Re-Opened (laist.com)
- Natalie Wood death investigation reopened (cbc.ca)
- LA Detectives Reopen Natalie Wood Death Inquiry (npr.org)
- Natalie Wood's Death Reopened as Homicide Investigation: VIDEO (towleroad.com)
- Captain: Wagner Responsible for Natalie Wood Death (maboulette.wordpress.com)
- Natalie Wood drowning blamed on Robert Wagner (cbc.ca)
- Natalie Wood's death to be reinvestigated by LAPD (guardian.co.uk)
- LA Detectives Reopen Natalie Wood Death Inquiry (npr.org)


text:
Free Audio to download from Carrigaline Baptist Church.
You can either play the audio directly in your web browser (requires flash plugin to be installed) or else click on the 'download' link to save it to your computer.
Sermons (1)
|Jesus' Identity, Mission and Following Him
|Mark 8:27-38 (Part of the Guest Speaker series).
|Preached by Kevin O'Connor on May 10, 2015 (Sunday Morning).
Powered by Sermon Browser
Carrigaline Baptist Church Audio by Carrigaline Baptist Church is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.


text:
Friday, July 30, 2010
How Star Wars destroyed my faith in God
OK, it's actually a little more complicated than that. First of all, it wasn't Star Wars per se, it was actually the prequel trilogy. (Wouldn't you know it?) And it wasn't the prequel trilogy per se either, it was Star Wars fans talking about the prequel trilogy. And it wasn't my faith in God per se, it was my faith in apologetics. But losing my faith in apologetics was a big step towards losing my faith in God.
So, Star Wars fans talking about the prequel trilogy destroyed my faith in apologetics, which contributed to me losing my faith in God.
Are you with me so far?
Apologetics, if you're not familiar with the term, refers to "the discipline of defending a position (usually religious) through the systematic use of reason." Since I was Mormon, the specific branch in which I engaged was Mormon apologetics, "the systematic defense of Mormonism against its critics."
As I've mentioned before, I was engaged in apologetics on the internet for awhile. For about five years, from 2000 to 2005, I went at it 'most every day on internet forums. I knew the arguments backwards and forwards; I used the ones that I thought worked, tweaked some of the weaker ones to make them a little stronger, and came up with a few of my own too.
I wasn't trying to convince or convert anyone though. It's just that with the internet, there was so much information available. It was easy to discover that the "official story" -- the orthodox story -- was sometimes not true, at least not true in a simple, straightforward way. But maybe lot of things were true -- maybe -- "from a certain point of view," as a wise man once said.
To me, apologetics was a way of trying to get at that "certain point of view." Essentially, it was just a matter of trying to create enough intellectual space for belief. Once that room was created, then belief, through "the Spirit" or whatever could, possibly, take root and flourish. That's how it was working for me.
So that was an important part of my life and faith for five years or more. But Mormon forums weren't the only ones I frequented on the internet. Among the others was a certain Star Wars forum. I was less active there, visiting only a couple of times a week and not posting every time I visited.
Anyway, after the last of the prequel movies, Revenge of the Sith, came out, some of the regulars on that forum engaged in a conversation that I found quite bizarre. They attempted to reconcile all the contradictions between the original trilogy and the prequels.
A couple of examples I can remember off the top of my head are Leia saying to Obi-Wan (in the tape she hid in R2-D2) in A New Hope that he had "served her father in the Clone Wars" when her foster father was just one of thousands of senators (and her secret biological father was Obi-Wan's apprentice), and Leia telling Luke in Return of the Jedi that she had a few vague memories of her mother even though Padmé died just after giving birth to them.
And these people on the forums were saying things like "The Jedi were working against the Chancellor on the side of the Galactic Senate, so in that sense they were serving the Senate, and Leia's father was a senator..." and "Maybe Leia had Force memories of her mother, like the Force gave her those memories even though she was too young to remember in the ordinary way."
Those explanations make a certain kind of sense, but on another level, they are, of course, silly. The real reason Leia said those things is because George Lucas doesn't have a fanboy's dedication to "canon," so he just made stuff up as he went along. Obi-Wan had "served Leia's father" because in the first movie, Lucas hadn't thought through the politics yet, and Leia was a princess and Obi-Wan was a Jedi knight. Who is the father of a princess? A king. Who does a knight serve? A king. As originally conceived, Obi-wan the knight had served Princess Leia's father, a king. Q.E.D. Later, Lucas simply changed everything, as is his right.
And I don't think "Force memory" is even a canon "Force power." It's just something somebody on a forum pulled out of their butt to try to make sense of a change in the story. Lucas changed the story because he decided it was better for Padmé to die in childbirth (of a broken heart, FFS -- let's all pause here for a collective eye roll) than to live for three or four years afterward.
So I was both amused and bemused by their efforts at reconciling the trilogies, by their rather desperate reaches for consistency in the series. I couldn't see the point when there was such a simple, obvious explanation in every case. And I decided to tell the perpetrators so. I started writing a post telling them they were nucking futs.
I was going to tell them that they were taking a bunch of fictional BS and treating it as if it were real, and the reason there were so many contradictions was because it was made up as it went along, and there were simple, easy explanations for everything they were twisting and turning and wrenching to fit into a preconceived narrative, and only a fool could believe any of the things they were saying when the obvious answer (IT'S A MADE-UP STORY!) is staring them in the face, and the whole endeavor is pointless and stupid, and -- Oh. Shit.
Follow me on Twitter
63 comments:
The same thing literally happens with Inception.ReplyDelete
But it's so fun to come up with different hypotheses of tenuous plausibilities!
I don't think I follow you on Inception...ReplyDelete
I've been a part of these sorts of discussions regarding Star Trek. Trek is even more elaborate and complex, with tons of inconsistencies to explain away!ReplyDelete
But it was my impression that most of the "apologists" were just having fun, and grasped that the real reason why there were so many inconsistencies is because the people writing it don't care as much as the fans do about making everything consistent. ;)
Also, maybe Leia was mistaken. Maybe she had a nurse or aunt she was really close as a very small child, and -- since her adopted dad didn't like to talk about her mom -- she didn't realize that that wasn't her mom (and that, in fact, her mom had died earlier than that).ReplyDelete
Oh, and he was secretly king-in-exile (from some bloodline that had been deposed by the republic a few generations earlier), and he was secretly commanding the Jedi forces during the Clone Wars. But only people in the inner circle -- like Leia and Obi Wan -- knew about it!
Yeah, while I was writing the post, I realized that I had taken what they were doing way too literally. Of course, they didn't actually believe the stuff they were making up; they were just having fun. I doubt that realizing that at the time would have lessened the shock of recognition, though.ReplyDelete
Oh, and one of the "apologists" also argued that Leia was mistaken, and her memories weren't really of Padmé. :D
That's hilarious. Not so much the losing faith part, which is often painful, but I love the parallel between different apologists. So true.ReplyDelete
Yeah, I see apologetics now as an attempt to understand the world "in-universe." It's basically the same exercise, whether we're talking about the Star Wars universe, the Star Trek universe, the Marvel universe, or the Mormon universe.ReplyDelete
Great article! Briliant!ReplyDelete
After reading what you've written here I now believe Star Wars actually happened. :-DReplyDelete
I'm a Star Wars apologist, but you are write about these contradictions. There isn't an answer for every contradiction. At the end of the day, George Lucas didn't have the whole story perfectly planned out from the beginning. Things change.ReplyDelete
Great blog!
- Anonymous8/02/2010 8:51 AM
So good. Thanks for writing this.ReplyDelete
I made a similar connection after I lost my faith. One of my favorite responses to apologists now is to show them how the argument they're using to "prove" that their religion is true can also "prove" that the story of Harry Potter really happened.ReplyDelete
- Anonymous8/02/2010 10:59 AM
What do I think? I think you made a great connection. But I still feel sad that we will be in the hated minority at least through our lifetime.ReplyDelete
- Anonymous8/02/2010 12:09 PM
Dude, Princess Leia was the daughter of the former Queen of Naboo, Padme Amidala.ReplyDelete
Anonymous 1,ReplyDelete
Thanks. I'm glad you liked it.
Yeah, it's funny how obvious it seems now.
Anonymous 2,
Well, things are slowly getting better, so who knows?
Anonymous 3,
Not in 1977 she wasn't. That's the point.
Dude, Princess Leia was the daughter of the former Queen of Naboo, Padme Amidala.ReplyDelete
Which isn't relevant, since Leia was adopted by the Organas in order to conceal her identity from Vader and the Emperor. If people everywhere in the galaxy are calling her Princess because they know her mother was the former Queen of Naboo, Padme Amidala, then that's a pretty shitty ruse.
Your example only goes to prove the point that Lucas had no idea what he was doing. "Leia was a princess, right? We know her dad was Anakin and he wasn't a king, so her mom must have been a queen! A democractically elected, minor-aged queen! Episode One in the BAG. Wait, what? Oh right, she grew up with an adopted family. Alright forget it. She'll just be a senator or some bullshit. Whatever. Anyway, cha-CHING!"
That was hilarious! I loved the way you drove us into what really happened and how... It was funny and it got me thinking. Brilliant analogy.ReplyDelete
I specially liked the end. I could almost imagine your thoughts and face while you were "making fun" of them and just realizing you were one of them.
Fiction, Religion, all the same.
I could totally relate to you on that!
You tell 'im Mike! ;)ReplyDelete
Thanks, I'm glad you liked it!
It's funny how our world view can be changed by a movie or TV show. Same thing happened to me with Star Trek. I even wrote about it in a magazine called "The Humanist" God we must really be nerds.ReplyDelete
I really enjoyed your article. It's interesting that you brought up episodes like "Who Mourns for Adonis." Back in my Mormon apologist days, someone told me (with some justification, I think) that the Mormon God as I described him sounded more like a "really smart alien" than a "God."
I love the "oh shit" moment. As I listen to myself talk, and then suddenly realize what I am saying. And then everything changes, unless I stop listening to myself... Which I have found many apologetics do. They just don't listen to what they are saying...ReplyDelete
(This is not related to the church, but I just really wanna share it. A friend of mine left an abusive relationship. His daughter said, "Calling mom emotionally abusive is just too harsh. Besides if she was emotionally abusive, you'd have some screwed up children."
Then in the SAME conversation, she went on to talk about how her brother is really awkward and rude to people. And he is just wierd. Then she talked about how she hated how emotionally abusive her sister and brother-in-law are to each other and to their kids. Then she talked about selfish her other sister is. Never thinks about anyone but herself and is always really rude. And this girl, is married a drug addict. He nearly died from a drug overdose, but she really loves him, so she's gonna stay with him.
So, I've come to the conclusion that people just don't pay attention to the words that come out of their mouths...)
I guess we all have our blind spots about ourselves. And often they're really obvious to other people.ReplyDelete
So, I just found this. It's awesome. And my husband is a huge SW fan, so I sent it to him as well.ReplyDelete
I think most people, if they go and study other religions closely, even if they're looking for flaws, will find exactly the same problems in their own religion. And they'll either recognize that, or they'll ignore it. It's astonishing to listen to Mormons complain about Catholicism, or vice versa. I kind of stand there with my jaw hanging to the floor thinking I must be in some parallel universe or something ...
Thanks Carla. I kind of knew that -- I was pretty used to arguing with fundie Protestants who constantly said things that applied at least equally well to their own beliefs -- but I never realized the absurdity of the whole exercise until I saw it applied to something that was obviously 100 percent fictional.ReplyDelete
"Oh. Shit."ReplyDelete
Well there's my laugh for the day!
Thank you. I'll be here all week.ReplyDelete
If George Lucas wants to harmonize the trilogies, he should take a page from G4 and show us what Obi Wan was really saying:ReplyDelete
I've seen those. Very funny. And exactly the kind of thing people were trying to reconcile.ReplyDelete
Dude, what a great awesome analogy. I can give so many reasons for my atheism, but it is difficult to articulate why I am so confident in that particular conclusion. Why, for instance, even though I feel very strongly about issues such as health care, etc., it is not hard to imagine that I could be wrong; whereas when it comes to atheism, I'm not really worried, it just seems plainly obvious. Yeah, this is a great analogy.ReplyDelete
One thing that surprised me when I was thinking everything through and trying to weigh the evidence rather than go by feelings was just how one-sided the evidence was. The contest between theism and atheism isn't close at all.ReplyDelete
I'm certainly with you on your general point here about religion and atheism, but I'm somewhat more sympathetic to the online retconners you scoffed at than you are. Obviously they had a certain level of commitment to making the Star Wars series into a coherent and whole narrative—and that is extremely difficult indeed. But c'mon: it's not crazy, "nucking futs," or only important or believable to "a fool."ReplyDelete
I'm a moderate fan of the original trilogy, and I agree in large part with the (extremely long) negative reviews from Red Letter Media, which concluded that the prequels were simply awful. Hells, yes, there are ridiculous contradictions within the broader saga—but the two you identify seem to me really penny-ante.
Kenobi did serve the Senate, which included Leia's adopted father, in the Clone Wars (which were against the Separatists, not—overtly—the Chancellor). In that context I don't think it's terribly odd for Leia, in Episode IV, to use that phrase: it both communicates respect for Kenobi's service and explains who she is, connecting her to him. I don't see how it's so much of a stretch for her character to use that description.
Then, given our shared focus on religion, I'm not sure why you don't find the obvious explanation for Leia's Episode VI statement worthwhile: she's simply wrong. For many of the same reasons that religious folks believe what they believe, Leia thinks she has memories that she really doesn't. What's the slightest bit implausible about that?
If you want an irreconcilable contradiction in Star Wars, surely you don't have to go beyond 1980 to find the biggest and most blatant one, the very issue that forced Lucas and Kenobi, a few years later, to come up with that ridiculous "different points of view" line you quoted.
Come on:
A young Jedi Knight named Darth Vader, who was a pupil of mine until he turned to evil, helped the Emperor hunt down and destroy the Jedi Knights. He betrayed and murdered your father.
Ba-boom: the Great Contradiction.
Lucas simply abandoned what that line actually says less than four years later. ...And then he had to bring Kenobi back in Episode VI in a silly attempt to explain how the above and Vader's "I am your father" can both be true. Obviously, they can't.
That retcon was ridiculous and absurd (and central to the whole series' plot, of course)—though now it's thirty years old. Accepting that but revolting at your interlocutors' explanations for the two issues you list seems to me like straining at a gnat while swallowing a camel.
Well, at least the camel isn't Mormonism. Kudos, there.
I didn't necessarily pick the two worst cases, just two I happened to remember. And I don't care that much about most of the contradictions in the movies. I love the first three anyway (and I even like some parts of the second three).ReplyDelete
The arguments those fans made weren't silly in the sense of making no sense at all. The point of apologetics, after all, is that arguments have to make a certain amount of sense on some level, and those arguments did. What bothered me about them is that we know what actually happened.
Probably every contradiction in the series comes from the same two sources: Lucas changed the story as he went along and sometimes he simply didn't think things through very well (as Dorkman points out with the whole Queen-Princess thing).
So the whole thing seemed pointless to me. In the real world, we already know why Princess Leia said those things; we don't need to make up reasons that fit inside the story. It doesn't matter if they're more or less plausible; they aren't what actually happened. I would actually have been much more interested in a discussion of why Lucas made the changes and mistakes he made rather than in how we could best pretend they didn't exist.
And then I noticed how closely what they were doing with the Star Wars saga paralleled what I and many others were doing with Mormonism. We were trying to reconcile things inside a story when there were much more plausible explanations in the real world. And that was a shock to me.
Was this forum stardestroyer.net by any chance? Or was it some other small corner of the internet where people actually care about the technical details of Star Wars canon?ReplyDelete
I've known Star Wars fans who are the reverse of what you are talking about here: they strive to prove that the Star Wars movies make sense and are consistent with each other, but they have no patience with mental backflips to reconcile the contradictions in the Bible and other scripture. (To be fair, they never actually say the Star Wars stories are true.)
At any rate, thanks for this post -- gave me some things to think about regarding both theism and my Star Wars-obsessed internet acquaintances.
- Axiom2/18/2011 10:00 PM
Nice story, thanks. I lost my faith via an analogy too!ReplyDelete
There was a pretty hard-core cult at my college -- the International Church of Christ (sounds normal, right?) -- with whom I spent time arguing about how destructive their recruiting tactics were. They dominate and shame people into "accepting Christ", and it seemed obviously wrong.
But I couldn't come up with a good reason. If they were really saving souls for all eternity, isn't a bit of sternness justified? After all, the person being saved will still have AN ETERNITY OF BLISS even though the initiation was a little rough going, with the alternative being AN ETERNITY OF TORTURE.
I couldn't make a clear distinction between the kinder, gentler Christianity practiced by my family and the militant one practiced by these guys. All the beliefs were basically the same -- the cult was just more serious about actually believing them, and they took their beliefs to their logical conclusion.
When it finally sunk in that the difference was in quantity, not quality, I finally let go of my beliefs.
Yeah, the mean and nasty religious people are usually just following their religions to natural conclusions. And the moderate and nice ones don't go so far not because of gods, but because their own consciences outweigh their scriptures.ReplyDelete
- Anonymous3/12/2011 11:07 AM
Congratulations on the Brodie award. It's a terrific analogy, and I'll be thinking about it for some time. Then I'll go and kill all the little Jedi apprentices.ReplyDelete
You mean "younglings." ;)ReplyDelete
But thanks.
Absolutely fascinating post! I've never thought of apologetics in the light you've presented the subject. Thanks!ReplyDelete
I'm late to the party but I just wanted so give compliments.ReplyDelete
Awesome set up and PERFECT ending! Really well done.
Thanks Patrick!ReplyDelete
Nice one Kuri and congratulations belatedly.ReplyDelete
Can I just say here that despite being a fan, I don't go on Star Wars forums, but the word that annoyed me the most in any of the movies, cartoons and TV shows was "younglings". The repeated use of this word caused me more distress than when I found out about (and watched as much as I could bear of) the Holiday Special.
Thanks Loz. I hate the y-word too. It might have been OK if someone who talks strangely, like Yoda, used it, but having everyone use it instead of just saying "children" is too much.ReplyDelete
- Baura1/03/2012 9:41 PM
Being older than you my introduction to apologetics was in the letters section of the SUPERMAN comics back in the late '50s. Kids would write in with a "gotcha" when they found some discrepency between something in a recent issue and some issue a year or two ago. The editors would always find some way to resolve the discrepency.ReplyDelete
It's a sign of the times that this attitude toward escapist fiction has, in later generations, become the obsession of a large portion of the adult population.
That's really funny. But I bet it goes back even farther. People in the 1800s were probably doing the same thing with Charles Dickens and Mark Twain.
- Anonymous7/03/2012 1:48 AM
I'm quite impressed by your article and it might look too simple to compare God's stories or the Bible to Star Wars, but it makes sense. At the end Gods and Religion discussions are pointless arguments about a subject nobody can probe and everybody says they have the one and only true. Trying to explain the inconsistences in star wars is exactly as pointles as trying to explain the contradictions in the Bible and the only difference is that while nobody believes that never actually existed a Princess Leia or a Sith brotherhood or whatever, many people are convinced that the Bible stories as real facts even though the same stories about an universal flood and angels living amongst men etc were told centuries before the bible was even conceibed. The difference between star wars and the bible is just faith. It is at the same time useless and trascendent. But your logic is a wonderful example of how dogmatic concepts are so easily thorn appart when you start just THINKING. I still think there is something higher than us, but i really dont think that we are just legos in the game of a sick, cruel, spoiled and bipolar god (which is the bible's description of god).ReplyDelete
Sorry to add something tangential to such an old post, but I was just thinking about this the other day, since my kids have taken a strong interest in Star Wars recently.ReplyDelete
I remember -- way back when Return of the Jedi first came out -- thinking that Leia's claim of remembering her biological mother didn't make any sense.
It's bad enough that they "hid" Luke by having him be raised as "nephew" by Vader's brother or sister on Vader's home planet. But he's sufficiently estranged from his family and his family is sufficiently obscure that one can believe that nobody in the galaxy would tip off Vader to Luke's existence.
However, if Leia was raised by her biological mother until the age of maybe four...? The only way that would work would be if her mother went into hiding as well. So she goes and marries the king of Alderan? Yeah, that's a great hiding place. Vader would never suspect the existence of his super-secret daughter if she's being raised as princess of Alderan by his ex, who's (assumedly) serving as queen...
Well, the whole thing was made up and changed as Lucas went along, so some pieces just don't fit that well. Luke and Leia obviously weren't siblings in the first movie. Leia's parents were a hereditary king and queen, not a Jedi and a former democratically-elected underage queen. Darth Vader really did kill Luke's father. Oh, and "Darth" was Mr. Vader's first name, not a traditional Sith title.ReplyDelete
That's not to say that many of the changes (especially turning it into a family saga) weren't big improvements. But they were changes. And like I said, I find it more interesting to discuss why the changes were made than to try to find ways to pretend they didn't happen. (And I suppose I approach Mormonism in a similar way now: I'm interested in how it came to be what it is, not in trying to show how it can be "true.")
Just stumbled across this from RfM. Literally laughed out loud at the last bit. Awesome!ReplyDelete
Thanks Dan!ReplyDelete
My husband and I recently left the church. Through the whole journey, we have had a lot of joking about Jedis, the dark side, and all things Star Wars. I was very glad to find your blog post tonight. We laughed so hard. Thanks for supplementing our exit with such a great perspective!ReplyDelete
- Anonymous10/11/2012 9:03 AM
Socratic self-examination is a powerful tool to help one analyze their rationality and cogency of ones own beliefs. It was the catalyst for my de-conversion as well.ReplyDelete
Thanks for the kind words, and best of luck on your journeys.ReplyDelete
- Anonymous11/24/2012 6:24 AM
I'm not sure that anyone here has really read or understood the "scriptures". If they had, then the comment "They follow their beliefs to a natural conclusion." wouldn't have been made.ReplyDelete
I defy you to show me a place in the Bible that says we should be militant in recruiting people into the faith. In fact, I defy you to show me any place in the bible that says we need to recruit anybody. It says "Go therefore and make disciples of every nation", and for those who don't really read for understanding, that does not mean "go therefore and make every nation a disciple" it means, go seek them. Find out whoever they are (or will be) and make them a disciple of Christ. That understanding carries the weight that not everybody is going to be a disciple. Therefore, my "logical conclusion" as a believer is that I don't have to worry so much. If I truly believed that God was all powerful, then I should take comfort in the fact that I know he doesn't "need" me. If he really wanted recruits, he could do it himself, better and faster.
People are in love with power, and religion often becomes a giant power struggle for some dumb reason. Christianity calls us to cast off our old selves; the selves that crave power and things of this world.
Ephesians 4:22 - "You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires;"
I'm not apologizing for the bible here, because using a quote to make the bible seem true is circular logic. But that brings me to my other point. Using logic to try and support something that obviously outside of logic is pretty stupid. I realize that it's kind of the way our culture has developed, but that's a very western heavy mindset. Similar to the way the British thought when they conquered a big chunk of the world under an assumption we know as "manifest destiny". Read some Native American literature and tell me if their system of beliefs or way of life seemed "logical".
My "natural conclusion" here is that you would say it wasn't, and in which case you would be inadvertently supporting a slow genocide because of your belief that "logic" is the king of everything.
One thing that I've noticed about atheists is that their reasons for not believing are scattered and completely different.
This comment has been removed by the author.ReplyDelete
- Anonymous11/24/2012 6:26 AM
Ranging from the most ridiculous: "Jesus is fake" (There are at least 27 books, some written by different authors, that prove his existence)ReplyDelete
to the most understandable: "I just don't feel it inside my heart". (Understandable, at least to me, because that is why I DO believe. It's a feeling that I have)
What would make me think that atheism is bullcrap is that people sit around "high-fiving" themselves over how they got "deconverted" or why they don't believe. No matter what the reason is.
"Bro, I ate a really gnarly turkey sub earlier and now my stomach hurts. God's not real!"
"Yeah bro, totally!"
In all of my travels, I've never seen one atheist say to another atheist "Hey man, atheism is the way... but I think you should rethink your reason for being atheist. That wasn't very logical".
Which is exactly what Kuri should have said to Axiom.
As I've explained earlier, that's not God's fault, that's that fault of people's misinterpretations of written word. And last time I checked, that wasn't go out and change your life worthy... unless we're going to begin not speaking because someone misinterpreted a theme in "Catcher in the Rye" during English Class.
This Star Wars thing is stupid. I fail to see the connection, and one might argue the reality of your Mormonism (which is a crazy faith in itself, that deserves more examination) wasn't as strong as you make it out to be.
You haven't provided any "evidence" that is so stacked against God existing, and you can't. There is just as much evidence on either side of the field, and it all comes down to how you feel in your heart.
All that being said, I harbor no hate for anyone here, and in fact I love you, and I care for you, and I wish you the best. I would take a bullet for anyone here because I think everyone deserves the right to life and the opportunity to discover who they are and ponder existence. In many ways, I respect a good atheist opinion more than a ridiculous Christian opinion; but they are my brothers and sisters and I feel a need to defend them a little against what I perceive to be ignorance.
It's probably useless to respond to me, because I am not coming back to check. Not out of fear, but because I got here by StumbleUpon.
Although the strangest thing one might say about my commentary is that it uses the very thing it denounces. Hypocritical? Yes, maybe a little bit. But I think we all are.
@ kuriReplyDelete
Even though this person says he or she isn't coming back, I would be really interested to know how you would respond to this post. It would be helpful to me.
@ kuriReplyDelete
P.S. I thought this was a great post, by the way. For my 'taste' or current convictions, though, based upon some experiences I've had, I would have liked it better (or it would have been more accurate from my stance) had the title been 'How I Lost My Faith (or belief) in Mormonism.
P.S.S. Erratum: 'How Star Wars Destroyed My Faith in Mormonism"ReplyDelete
Well, I didn't see much point in answering that guy, because if he isn't interested in actually having a conversation, why bother? Plus, I thought his arguments were too trite and easily rebutted to be worth answering in detail in the first place.ReplyDelete
As for the title, my personal story is specific to Mormonism, but people who belong(ed) to other faiths have also told me that it resonates with them as well. And while it didn't instantly destroy my belief in God or even in Mormonism, it did deeply undermine my belief in both.
- Anonymous6/16/2013 8:43 AM
Star Wars is a MOVIE / We live in reality. Why do people look for reality in a devised fantasy. It would be better if there were no movies so those who are easily influenced by imagination were able to use their own perception; the same people who might find God an imagined being. I find that most of those people have no problem believing in the "Devil", but do have a hard time with God. I plan to move on and ask God's help with my life here and in the next world.ReplyDelete
Why do people look for reality in a devised fantasy.ReplyDelete
You're the one who believes in God. You tell me.
I find that most of those people have no problem believing in the "Devil", but do have a hard time with God.
I've never met nor even heard of anyone who believes in the existence of a devil but not the existence of a god.


text:
FireEye Ranked Fourth Fastest Growing Company in North America on the Deloitte 2012 Technology Fast 500
Next-Generation Threat Protection Company Increases Revenue Over 55,000 Percent in Just Five Years
FireEye®, Inc., the leader in stopping advanced cyber attacks, today announced that it ranked fourth on the Deloitte 2012 Technology Fast 500™, a ranking of the 500 fastest growing technology, media, telecommunications, life sciences, and clean technology companies in North America. During the period between 2007 and 2011, FireEye revenue increased 55,413 percent.
FireEye offers a completely integrated solution that detects and blocks the next generation of cyber attacks. The unique model for IT security from FireEye has proven so effective at combatting advanced threats, such as zero-day attacks and advanced persistent threats (APTs), that it has become widely deployed at the largest enterprises and government organizations in the world, including many of the Fortune 500.
"We are honored to be recognized by Deloitte as one of the fastest growing companies in North America," said Ashar Aziz, FireEye founder and CEO. "The threat against today's businesses and government agencies is very real – at the same time, traditional security technologies continue to fail to protect organizations from advanced attacks. FireEye has taken an entirely unique approach to this problem and the recognition from Deloitte further validates our growth and the widespread adoption of our next-generation threat protection products. We believe that 2013 will bring even further innovation and expansion for FireEye."
Overall, 2012 Technology Fast 500 companies achieved revenue growth ranging from 128 percent to 279,684 percent from 2007 to 2011, with an average growth of 2,774 percent.
Details about the Deloitte 2012 Technology Fast 500 awards that were announced on November 14 are available here.
About FireEye, Inc.
FireEye is the leader in stopping next-generation threats, such as zero-day and APT attacks, that bypass traditional defenses and compromise over 95% of networks. The FireEye solution supplements signature-based firewalls, IPS, anti-virus, and gateways, and provides the world's only cross-enterprise, signature-less protection against Web and email threat vectors as well as malware resident on file shares. It is the industry's only integrated solution that stops attacks across every stage of an attack lifecycle, from exploit to exfiltration. Using its patented Virtual Execution technology platform across its portfolio, FireEye is uniquely able to protect against next-generation threats. FireEye solutions are deployed in over 40 countries and in over 20% of the Fortune 100.
About the Deloitte 2012 Technology Fast 500
Technology Fast 500, conducted by Deloitte & Touche LLP, provides a ranking of the fastest growing technology, media, telecommunications, life sciences, and clean technology companies – both public and private - in North America. Technology Fast 500 award winners are selected based on percentage fiscal year revenue growth from 2007 to 2011.
In order to be eligible for Technology Fast 500 recognition, companies must own proprietary intellectual property or technology that is sold to customers in products that contribute to a majority of the company's operating revenues. Companies must have base-year operating revenues of at least $50,000 USD or CD, and current-year operating revenues of at least $5 million USD or CD. Additionally, companies must be in business for a minimum of five years, and be headquartered within North America.
Media Contact
Lisa Matichak
LEWIS Pulse
Katherine Nellums
# # #
FireEye is a registered trademark of FireEye, Inc. All other brands, products, or service names are or may be trademarks or service marks of their respective owners.


text:
|Indian coming to Fulton
But it won't be the last new restaurant around here.
We have an entire list of places under construction, including the Highland Inn in Highland, Bean & Burgandy Cafe in Ellicott City, the unnamed Indian restaurant in Fulton, and the Shilla bakery and Ernesto's Fine Mexican on Rte 40.
Tigi's is on my "to do" list -- along with the chicken bulgogi that Kristi found at Lighthouse Tofu.
Anyone know more news? Opening dates? Menu plans? I see a few Web sites that say "coming soon," but I don't know any more.


text:
Phentermine 30mg
Phentermine is an appetite suppressant used along with diet, exercise, and behavior therapy for the short-term management of obesity. Some medicines or medical conditions may interact with this medicine. INFORM YOUR DOCTOR OR PHARMACIST of all prescription and over-the-counter medicine that you are taking. DO NOT USE THIS MEDICINE if you are also taking guanadrel, guanethidine, furazolidone, fenfluramine, dexfenfluramine, or monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs). Inform your doctor of any other medical conditions, allergies, pregnancy, or breast-feeding. USE OF THIS MEDICINE IS NOT RECOMMENDED if you have a history of heart conditions, brain or spinal cord disorders, atherosclerosis, high blood pressure, glaucoma, or hyperthyroidism. Contact your doctor or pharmacist if you have any questions or concerns about using this medicine. Directions Follow the directions for using this medicine provided by your doctor. TAKE THIS MEDICINE ABOUT 30 MINUTES before a meal. TAKE YOUR LAST DOSE OF THE DAY at least 4 to 6 hours before bedtime. If you are taking this medicine 1 time a day, take your dose in the morning. STORE THIS MEDICINE at room temperature below 77 degrees F (25 degrees C) in a tightly-closed container, away from heat and light. IF YOU MISS A DOSE OF THIS MEDICINE, take it as soon as possible. If it is after noon and you are taking this medicine 1 time a day or after 4 pm and you are taking it more than 1 time a day, skip the missed dose and go back to your regular dosing schedule. Do not take 2 doses at once. DO NOT TAKE THIS MEDICINE if you have had an allergic reaction to it or are allergic to any ingredient in this product. Some of these products may contain tartrazine dye (FD&C Yellow No. 5). This may cause an allergic reaction in some patients. If you have ever had an allergic reaction to tartrazine, ask your pharmacist if your product has tartrazine in it. DO NOT EXCEED THE RECOMMENDED DOSE or take this medicine for longer than prescribed without checking with your doctor. Exceeding the recommended dose or taking this medicine for longer than prescribed may cause serious side effects. If using this medicine for an extended period of time, DO NOT SUDDENLY STOP taking this medicine without your doctor's approval. When used for an extended period of time, this medicine may not work as well and may require different dosing. Talk with your doctor if this medicine stops working well. KEEP ALL DOCTOR AND LABORATORY APPOINTMENTS while you are using this medicine. BEFORE YOU BEGIN TAKING ANY NEW MEDICINE, either prescription or over-the-counter, check with your doctor or pharmacist. This medicine may cause dizziness or blurred vision. DO NOT DRIVE, OPERATE MACHINERY, or do anything else that could be dangerous until you know how you react to this medicine. BEFORE YOU HAVE ANY MEDICAL OR DENTAL TREATMENTS, EMERGENCY CARE, OR SURGERY, tell the doctor or dentist that you are using this medicine. FOR WOMEN: IF YOU PLAN ON BECOMING PREGNANT, discuss with your doctor the benefits and risks of using this medicine during pregnancy. IT IS UNKNOWN IF THIS MEDICINE IS EXCRETED in breast milk. DO NOT BREAST-FEED while taking this medicine. IF YOU HAVE DIABETES, this medicine may affect your blood sugar. Check blood sugar levels closely and ask your doctor before adjusting the dose of your diabetes medicine. SIDE EFFECTS that may occur while taking this medicine include restlessness, nervousness, difficulty sleeping, or dry mouth. If they continue or are bothersome, check with your doctor. If you notice other effects not listed above, contact your doctor, nurse, or pharmacist. This is not a complete list of all side effects that may occur. If you have questions about side effects, contact your healthcare provider. Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects. You may report side effects to FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088. Drug interactions can result in unwanted side effects or prevent a medicine from doing its job. Use our drug interaction checker to find out if your medicines interact with each other. If overdose is suspected, contact your local poison control center or emergency room immediately. Symptoms of overdose may include restlessness, tremor, rapid breathing, confusion, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and stomach cramps.DO NOT SHARE THIS MEDICINE with others for whom it was not prescribed. DO NOT USE THIS MEDICINE for other health conditions. KEEP THIS MEDICINE out of the reach of children. Information on this site is provided for informational purposes and is not meant to substitute for the advice provided by your own physician or other medical professional. You should not use the information contained herein for diagnosing or treating a health problem or disease, or prescribing any medication. You should read carefully all product packaging. If you have or suspect that you have a medical problem, promptly contact your health care provider. Information and statements regarding dietary supplements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration and are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Customer reviews are provided for informational purposes only. Customer reviews reflect the individual reviewer's results and experiences only and are not verified or endorsed by us. Actual results may vary among users. You are purchasing a non-refundable compact disc, membership and password. No medication is offered or sold on this website and there are no links from this website to other websites that offer any. Our phentermine 30 consultation cd is loaded with product information, includes physicians directory for all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands. Also includes membership and access to our member's area with step by step instructions on how to get the most from a doctor's visit , directory of drug rehab clinics, as well as dozens of other important health topics.
User Reviews
I was suffering from pain. I did not know where to seek help. I am thankful to God that I have reached to them. They have effective pain relievers. I bought oxycodone 80 mg from them and got relieved from pain and cough.
These guys are simply amazing pillsshope.com ! Their prices are unbeatable and they offer a wide range of pain relievers.
The medicines oxycontin oc 80 mg that I have received from them were neatly packaged and intact. They have a refund policy. They also use discreet packaging with fast delivery.
The site is very easy to use to buy adderall 30 mg . I have had a great experience with pillsshope.com when I was place my order. Just a few clicks and my medicines got delivered at my doorsteps overnight in very next day.
The whole procedure of ordering with them is quick, They instructed me to check the order and dealt with the doctor verifying the prescription and correcting it. I am happy with their quick and efficient services.
Amazing service! I got my FedEx overnight in next day my oxycontin 40 mg I love it I will come again again.
I was referred to this online medical store by one of my friends and I am thankful to him. I ordered Adderall from them and they got it delivered within 24 hours.
I am happy with their buying lortab process with money gram. They have helped me in fulfilling all the formalities off the buying process and were quick at picking up calls
I have been using pillsshope.com for couple of years and happy with them. They are thorough professionals and have reasonable prices. The best thing is that all the possible pain relievers are available with them.
To order drugs online was a hitch for me, till I reach them. Thanks to this virtual pharmacy store, I have got the medicines delivered overnight FedEx the very next day.
I was suffering from muscular pain, then we find this company to buy oxycontin 80 oc get relax in next day. I am thankful that when I begin to search online I have come them.
Order Adderall 30 mg from the website pillsshope.com is easy and I am very happy to get the order in next day. I am thankful for-free delivery. I would reach them in future as well.
I want Percocet and could not find it anywhere till I reach from this company. I had a great experience with them. They are thorough professionals. all the medicines available here have reasonable prices too since I have been purchasing from them for the last 5 years.
What I liked the most about them is their customer-friendly nature. They pick-up the phone calls readily and ready to resolve the queries at the earliest. They have a great service that is highly recommended.
I am happy with their quick shipping and reasonable price. Almost all the drugs are available here. I have been purchasing from them quite a while and got all the medicines that I needed.
I made order by Western union entire process of transportation is made easier by them. They provide me a tracking number and packet number after payment which makes the tracing of order easy. I had a great experience them and will try their service the next time also.
I will continue to purchase oxycontin from pillsshope.com I am happy with their same day shipping service. I will continue to buy from this online drug. They have reasonable price and best customer-care support.
An incredibly quick delivery is what enthralls me. They double check the order, provide the tracking number and make sure a hassle-free delivery.
A greatly recommended online pillsshope.com ! There fast turn-around time, their hassle-free delivery and their customer-care staff, all are worth praising. So, many thanks.
I have used pillsshope.com a number of times and have never come across any problem. The best thing is that they have reasonable prices medicine.
The pillsshope.com entire process is very easy, cheap and quick. I made use of my credit card and in the span of 5 minutes they called to verify. They sent updated e-mails on my order. It reached just on time
I am really thankful to God that I have come across this online pharmacy while browsing the net. I get all types of pain relievers here and I am pretty happy with their customer care service.
I have recommended their service to all my friends and relatives. I have used this online pillsshope.com many times and have never come across any type of problem. I am particularly happy with their guidance and online delivery.
My wife is greatly impressed with xanax and by their quick and efficient FedEx services. She is a great fan of this site pillsshope.com and does not want me to reach out to others. You guys are simply rocking. I will recommend your service to all my friends.
I just love to buy medicine from this pillsshope.com . They are professional, efficient and most importantly they know how to keep their customers happy. I know where my shipment reaches via emails and texts. I will order from this company always.
I have tried several other online pharmacy stores, customer service has always been a hit and miss wherever I tried. I am thankful to God that I have reached to them finally. I have all my queries answered on time.
I have been purchasing Percocet pain relievers from this pillsshope.com for more than 3 years and Getting every time to fast delivery by FedEx ,I am happy a customer.
A great company pillsshope.com that offers quality medicines by FedEx overnight! The order process is very simple very fast. I received my order the very next day and order was well packaged.
I had a few successful transactions with money gram in the past month. My medicine delivery is very quick and Customer care agent guides me right from booking order. Thanks!
pillsshope.com Really a great company that offers quality oxycontin oc ! The order process is very simple and order was packaged well and it was in a good condition.
I am particularly happy with their customer-centric approach. Right from helping me out to book the right pain reliever oxycodone by credit card, these guys have been helpful in every step, till I received my order in next day.
I will give 4 stars out of 5 to this company. I research a few options and wanted to purchase the generic version of Percocet. Somebody suggested the name of this pillsshope.com. I am truly thankful that I have reached here and got the reasonable price.
I was suffering from pain for the past so many years. The pain was intolerable and I tried several medicines, but could not get relieved. Then I search some effective pain relief medicine Norco on web pillsshope.com I set a contact with this store and found a lot of medicines in the pain relief section. Thanks a lot!
pillsshope.com have a very quick and efficient service. They have multiple payment modes and hence I did not have any hassles in paying for the items I bought.
I received the order in next day from pillsshope.com I have received tracking info on my email. Good quality meds are available here at great price.
Yes! They offer free shipping by FedEx and one-month trial period. All the drugs sold here are FDA approved made in USA brand. I tried their medicines and have been using them for 3 years up to my satisfaction am really happy with this pillsshope.com
I ordered Valium 20 mg on Friday and received it on the very next day by FedEx. This was far cheaper than visiting clinics and getting prescription refills in every next month, thank,q
I am especially attracted towards their fast delivery by FedEx. They are available 24X7 available and hence like me you can also reach out to them even at the odd hours of the day.
I am fortunate to have stumble upon this online pharmacy Actually, I was surfing by net for some quality pain reliever oxycontin . I have been buying medicines from pillsshope.com it was great experience. thank,s
I would recommend online drug store for its excellence. I am more than happy with their services, their support is also best .I will be ordering always.
I have bought a few pain relievers oxycontin ,oxycodone ,norco from them for the joint pain and found the best FDA approved products from this store pillsshope.com
I had a great experience with this pharmacy store pillsshope.com in my life and will use them again.
The site pillsshope.com has provided me their professionalism and great customer care service. They have never let me down with their great service and professional medical advice there meds, thanks so much
I have been a faithful customer of the site pillsshope.com for many years My experience with them was great. I got a call from their customer service to verify certain information. They were very polite and helping in nature.
I always had reservations about purchasing the drugs online till I reach here. These guys are simply amazing and the drugs they sell reach in the shortest possible time.
They have a high level of professionalism and fast delivery. What attracted me particularly to them is their customer-centric approach.