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So Mortal Kombat X is among us, and to put it short, it's very fun. there, that's my review, we can all go home. No I'm not here to review it, that's already been done by the lovely (or so I'm told, he could be evil for all I know,) Sean and can be read here. No, I have something else to talk about, and that is the state of competitive fighting games today, and where MKX falls into it, or rather, could. It's early days yet. Now, fighting games have always been a main stay of competitive gaming, since long before E-Sports was even a made-up word. Not quite as big business as League of Legends or C.O.D. today, but fighting games, I would argue have as passionate a following as any other E-Sport. I'm sure most gamers among you are aware that fighting games are predominantly developed in Japan, the good ones anyway, and as such there has always been a frame of mind among players that the hardcore games are Japanese, and the Western developed games have historically not been taken as seriously. This is mostly a state of circumstance, it's not a fact that Japanese fighting games are better by that nature, that's just how it's happened to be for most of gaming's history, and kudos to those Japanese developers for creating such amazing games. It's not so much about the games being better, it has more to do with the fact that games like Street Fighter or the Guilty Gear series have a lot of depth to their systems and require a lot of skill to really master. Western fighters have a reputation for catering for those filthy, filthy casuals. You know, regular people who just want a fun game. How dare they. Regardless, these are two schools of thought employed on two sides of the map, no toes being stepped on or anything. Seems perfectly reasonable, but factor in that most of the world's biggest fighting game tournaments are held in the U.S., with competitors representing a multitude of countries (not officially, but certainly in spirit), mostly competing in Japanese games, and you see the issue. Many American developers have tried to make fighting games that compete with Japanese games for tournament status, I mean, there's no better publicity for a fighting game then being on the main stage of EVO. Sadly, most have failed. As such, it's kind of become a stigma, the Japanese make the competitive games, the rest of us make silly ones to look at and say awh, at least they tried. Well, break out the Bob Dylan, because the times are a'changing, and it all started at E3 2013.
Why E3 2013? In Microsoft's press conference, an American-made fighter was announced to return on the Xbox One. Killer Instinct, an arcade classic from the 90's and a nostalgic favourite of millennials nationwide. To be honest, it's most of the reason a lot of fighting game fans even bought the Xbox One. However, this was not to be just a nostalgic fix, because the new KI turned out to not only be a lot of fun, but also incredibly well designed, and caught the attention of more then a couple of pro players. Now, Killer Instinct hasn't kicked Street Fighter off it's throne or anything, but it appeared at EVO last year and has garnered a large competitive following, proving that a Western game can be taken seriously at high level play. Now we have the second American-developed fighting game of the new generation, Mortal Kombat X, this time a big budget triple-A title with a lot to prove. MK has always been a popular franchise, but the last game in the series to be taken seriously by the community was Mortal Kombat 3, and to make you all feel extra old, that game became twenty years old this past week. The move to 3D really sucked the life out of MK for many hardcore fans, which didn't resurface until Mortal Kombat, the reboot in 2011. That game's purpose was to get back to grass roots, and did just that, but a lackluster online service and other design gripes meant the game didn't really take off in the competitive scene. NetherRealm's next game, Injustice; Gods Among Us, fared much better, and got a lot more tournament play then MK9. As such, hopes were high that NetherRealm would take what they had done in Injustice and expand it with MKX. Well, as we have all seen by now, they have. Mortal Kombat X has taken all the lessons learned from the last two games and really stepped up. The game is tight, it's fun, and most of all, it's competitive. If you'd like proof, head on over to youtube and look up the Fatal 8, a tournament held days before the games release. The players involved, mostly seasoned Injustice players, were given just two days to prepare with a game they had never played. You won't believe the high level of play they achieved. It was incredible. Going forward, it can only get better. Combos will get tighter, new tricks and traps will be discovered, and, I believe, Mortal Kombat X will make a huge impact on the competitive fighting game scene. It's already started, I've seen so many top tier professional players, from all other disciplines, playing the hell out of this game. There is a definite push happening to bring this game up to the status of games like Street Fighter and, dare I say it, Marvel 3. (side note, I'm currently on my knees praying to the gods of Mahvel for forgiveness). Should MKX achieve these high goals, or at least stand among it's peers as an equal, we may just see a shift in the norm. This could mean no more divide in fighting games, the argument won't be if Japanese games are better, but rather a personal preference. There might come a day where you can be a respected fighting game player without needing a godlike Ryu or Ken in your back pocket. Does it all matter? Who knows, all I know is that I don't like stereotypes of any kind and I'm always happy to see them dashed. I don't care where my games come from, I just like them to be good. Shockingly. All that I think really matters here is that a beloved classic franchise can reclaim it's place as one of the great games of it's genre, and not a shadow of it's glory days long gone. For fans, this is a big deal. It's a big deal not because of some national pride silliness, but to stand proud as fans and say hey, my game's great too. In fact, all of these games are great, and as one community of fighting game fans around the world, we can enjoy them all, as equals, rather then divided by nationality or stereotype.
Okay, not going to lie, this article didn't have such a humanitarian message when I started writing it, but I was watching Jon Stewart on The Daily Show while I was writing, guess something rubbed off. My point is this, we are living in an exciting time to be a gamer, fighting games have probably the most racially diverse community in gaming today, and it just keeps getting better. Mortal Kombat X is a damn good game and a damn good fighter. Go play it, then go hug your neighbour. Peace.
Images: Destructoid and EVO


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"We must respect ourselves enough to break the pattern of placing unrealistic expectations on others. After all, people will not respect us more than we respect ourselves," and continues, "No, it's not wrong to need people. But some of our biggest disappointments in life are the result of expectations we have of others that they can't ever possibly meet. That's when the desire to connect becomes an unrealistic need. Unrealistic neediness is actually greediness in disguise." (page 45 of Uninvited)
Caregiver: Having a Soft Heart in a Hard World
My entire life, I have been the "mom" friend. You know, the one friend in the group who is the voice of caution, the advice giver, the "wise" one. This has always meant I am placed in the position of caregiver, whether I like it or not. I am relied upon to be there when friends and others fall, and to be the one who they can come to when times are rough. These are duties I have always been happy to attend to. However, this title has also often meant lots of hurt in relationships, acting as what I felt was a weakness in my personality. I have found myself in relationships where I am considered the "mom" reach a point it becomes a one way relationship—me taking care of them, constantly, with hardly anything in return.
When my relationships seem to morph into these sorts, is when I always disdain being a caregiver by nature. I begin to resent these relationships because I feel like I am giving so much care, pouring my entire heart into this human connection, and receiving little to nothing in return. I ache because I want so badly for these people I love, to love me the way I love them in return. I love so deeply and completely I want to feel the same from them. I can't even count the number of sleepless nights crying, feeling weak for loving like I do, sobbing to my mom, asking underneath tears why I love too much.
As a disclaimer, I said before I have always loved these duties I am given in these relationships, so some of this is brought on by myself. But there has always been a part of me that questions myself, asking why, just why do I have to care so much, pour so much in, love so much when I am not guaranteed that these people I am giving my heart to will love or care for me the same way in return, and in reality often don't.
These questions have often been the reason I have known ended friendships. I start to hurt so bad that these people aren't loving me like I expect them to or care for me like I expect them to, so I push them away and claim I can't do it anymore.
However, I have been lead to the realization that this is not my duty. It is not my duty to determine how others are supposed to care for me or how they are supposed to love me. We are sinful beings incapable of delivering to one another the type of love and care we need. In fact, my desire to make these people "love the way I love" is a kind of greediness.
As I contemplated this topic this week, I began reading Uninvited: Living Loved When You Feel Less Than, Left Out, and Lonely by Lysa TerKeurst. It was here where it was reveled to me the true nature of these desires of wanting people to love me the way I "needed" in return. TerKeurst tackles the topic with these self-examining words,
I love to paraphrase that, but I don't think it could possibly fit the topic at hand better. I have come to the following realization: It is merely my duty to care and love to the best of my ability all those around me. To remember that I sin and they sin, and that breeds hurt no matter how complete your human love or care might be it is not enough. But this heart that I possess is not a weakness, it was created by God and given to me to be a caregiver and a deep, deep lover. So that is what I will do.
But then, I am still left with the inherent desire for human love and care.
Don't get me wrong. I have several relationships where I am cared for and loved beyond measure. But regarding those relationships where I would question if that is the case or not—I can release my unrealistic expectations of others and rest soundly. I can be contented with a peace in my heart that can only be known by understanding that I am loved for and cared for by the ultimate caregiver, by the ultimate lover, Jesus.
So as I sit here and contemplate my heart's varying feelings and desires I can find a comfort in knowing that the God of the Universe, who is love, sent His son, to show His love for me, to show His care for me, to make me clean. All in a fashion that I could never even attempt to wrap my mind around, because the nature of Jesus' care and love is beyond human comprehension. All I can do is accept this gift of grace humbly and learn from it how to love others.
His love and care reaches so far beyond that of human beings' capability, including mercy and grace that no human can deliver, that only his love and care can present.
With this I challenge you to examine your life and find the areas where you feel that you are being let down and recognize that God is using that in your life to help you realize something bigger in His plan and recognize His deep, deep care, love, and provision for you, that will never fall short, that will never fail.
The LORD your God is in your midst,
a mighty one who will save;
he will rejoice over you with gladness;
he will quiet you by his love;
he will exult over you with loud singing.
Zephaniah 3:17
(emphasis added)

subset: commoncrawl


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Michael Vick has paid his debt to society. So why is PETA, other organizations and dog lovers still on his case? No one is condoning what he did in killing dogs, when he was the star Quarterbak for the Atlanta Falcons, no one is trying to minimize his actions in that regard. The fact is that many people believe he was excessively charged and over-sentenced, which was only due to public outcry. Vick got caught doing what he did and while the media eye was on him PETA and the Humane Society pushed their agenda hard, emploring people to go to shelters and get a dog. Being the sensitive human beings that many people claim to be (including then President George Bush) we went out and picked up millions of abandoned dogs from shelters. This mass rescuing of dogs at the time was so prevalent that the pet dog population overtook the pet cat population for the first time in a decades. Then guess what happened? The bottom fell out of the housing market and the recession took hold of the country. People were losing their jobs and homes left and right, they could barely feed their children and now they have to decide whether to feed a dog as well. So those same caring sensitive human beings did what any reasonable dog lover would do, they abandoned their new pets by the thousands…thanks PETA.
This is not to bash PETA because both PETA and I believe in non-captivity. I do not support the enslavement of any animal as does PETA. I believe that enslavement of an animal makes it easier for human beings, us, to accept the mistreatment of people. I had hoped that the outrage expressed towards Michael Vick was not racial in nature (They went after Pedro Martinez as well), but where is this outrage when it does not involve minorities? I have never heard PETA calling to shut down racetracks, or ask for the head of any racehorse owner. These Dog Lovers have never called for kennel club participants to have their Brain Scanned as they did with Mr. Vick. Dog Shows, Dog and Horse Racing means taxes, which means cities and governments profit. The fact is that Las Vegas odds makers will still take bets on Vick's games even if they are card carrying PETA Members. NFL Defensive Backs won't tackle him any harder because they have pets. Wide Receivers won't drop his passes because they are dog lovers. Remember that just because you like dogs doesn't necessarily mean that you like cats. For all of you who don't like where this article is headed, here is the question? How is spaying, neutering, declawing and imprisoning an animal for your entertainment purposes not enslavement?
What about those breeders that strap female dogs to metal devices and then let the male dogs repeatedly mate with them? Where is PETA when these Kennel clubs who are altering the dogs and then trotting them around for people to celebrate? My guess is that they are perhaps, in the stands drinking gourmet coffee. PETA stands for People for Ethical Treatment of Animals. Supposedly they care more about the treatment of animals than they do the treatment of people. Don't ask them to donate to help a homeless child because they will say "if it were a dog, I would gladly give." And whose "Humane" and "Ethics" are these organizations really talking about because in todays world everything is up for interpretation. As far as Animal cruelty goes aren't we all complicit and completely hypocritical when we complain about what Vick did, and at the same time lounge on a leather couch eating chicken wings watching the players throw around the old pigskin. And let's not forget the chickens cut up for our Superbowl parties and cows slaughtered for our leatherwares, you may want to check your closet. Say what you will about the companionship of dogs and cats, all pets are only around for our pleasure.
Horses racing is 'sport' where the horses are starved, beaten, altered, killed, given steriods and hormones. Horses are commonly known to have their spirits broken. In Hollywood movies we see that happening by a good rider not being thrown from the animals back. However, in real life a horse's spirit is broken when it is hit with electric prods, thrown to the ground while running at full speed and having its genitals crushed. In some circuses, animals have been beaten, whipped, and prodded how do you think they get them to perform those amazingly unnatural acts. Some of these animals are poorly feed and kept chained night and day in small cages. Zoos are not much better when it comes to animal treatment. Many of those animal have been stolen from their natural habitats and that couldn't have been pleasant. In our own homes pets are enslaved, punished, beaten, mistreated, starved, declawed among other things. So before you animal lovers start dictating measures perhaps you should adhere to some of your own. PETA and the Humane Society kill Millions and Millions of Dogs, Cats and Chickens each year, they say they do it because "they care more".
Many people believe in standing up for the defenseless, helpless, homeless animals, but are we, as a society, really civilized and compassionate enough to do that? Aren't we the people who torture, and hold people without rights, and believe me we are using those tactics and worse? Aren't we the people who urinate on dead Afghans? Aren't we the ones who blind-fold and stack up naked foreign prisoners in a pyramid. Isn't America the place where our judicial system boast a wrongly incarcerated rate of 10%? Are we not holding people in detention camps, just so they can't sue us? Are we not a society of racist, fanatical, sexist, bloodthirsty individuals? We have become professionals at "Looking The Other Way", so much in fact that maybe we can label the "unethical" treatment of animals as Enhanced Training Techniques.
Michael Vick's debt to society has been paid, to the tune of 2 years in prison, 20 million dollars and all of his dignity. So who do those "heartfelt" apologies go to? Because you sleep with a dog in your bed, adopted a pet, or kiss dogs in the mouth, he owes you an apology? I don't think so. If I were told 10 times "No" and "Back Up" by bodyguards it seems to me that a journalist continuing to confront Micahel Vick after that, is going too far, but not according to Richard Hunter because he has a dog. This is not all about the Media, PETA, The ASPCA, The Humane Society or other dog cuddlers. This is about our society. When Michael Vick was released from prision, no team would sign him, because activist organizations pressured them not to. But 10 year veteran Quarterback Donovan McNabb of the Philadelphia Eagles put his neck out for Michael Vick.
McNabb forced the Philadelphia Eagles owner to sign him and the coach used Vick as a trick playmaker in 2009-2010. Vick did everything he was ask to and obligated to do. Privately the Eagles brass simmered at McNabb. The following season the Eagles traded McNabb, their all-time leader in career wins, pass attempts, pass completions, passing yards, and passing touchdowns, to the lowly Washington Redskins, where was disrespected and mistreated all season, so much for a black man putting his neck out for another black man. The Eagles named Kevin Kolb their new starter, Vick never said a word. Kolb got hurt and Vick led the Eagles to impressive victory after victory, in press conference after press conference the coach said that Kolb is still the starter, Vick never complained. Kolb's injuries and the obvious leadership qualities of Michael Vick forced the coach to start Vick. Michael Vick had an amazing almost storybook season. Vick left the announcers and crowds speechless even in defeat. In during the 2011 season, he had the Eagles believing, leading the division and in serious Superbowl contention. He had other teams devising methods to stop his pass and run attack. He went 6 games without an interception. He was their leading rusher. He was the leading vote getting for the pro bowl. He was in MVP contention with the likes of Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers and Payton Manning, but he is also Black and that's the problem not one really wants to tackle.
In the midst of the huddles, the confeiti, slow-mo hits, advertisments, one handed catches, celebrations and trophy kisses the NFL is and has been the most racially bias of all professional sports. So racial was the NFL's inception that they actually had "No Niggas" in their bi-laws. Yes on the field you see Blacks and Hispanics, but that's only because they needed the market appeal and talent to have a sucessful product. The NFL, in full acknowledgement of America's racial division, felt that people would not accept America's sport being black dominated, so they strickly enforced unsportsmanlike conduct penalties such as enzone celebrations and helmet removal in the 1980's, the players of that era said as much. You can see a racial tint in how they film the players, how long the camera is on a player and especially in the complete lack of Black History month in Superbowl advertisements and promos, the Superbowl was moved into the month of February.
In recent years the NFL has taken to creating rules and fines to protect the (primarily white dominated) quarterback position. No matter how much you don't want to believe, or how difficulty a thing is to accept, sometimes you have to look at a things the way they are and not how you want them to be. In America most minorities never get tried by a jury of their peers, which is why minorities take so many plea deals. Michael Vick knew this, which is why he took a plea deal. He was facing a 20 years sentence and a jury of his peers would have understood that his environment and perhaps his upbringing led to his involvement in dog-fighting non-sense. To Vick's peers Dog Fighting is wrong, but it not worthy of Levenworth. Anyone that was raised in the any white middle class or inner-city in the 80's, or 90's had to kick the shit out of a dog or two, there were no leash laws and dogs bite, this is something that Vick's "peers" would have been aware of.
Media portrayal and societal anger towards most African-American athletes is often racially coded and emoted. Look at the situations of James Lebron, James Harrison, Donovan McNabb and Vince Young, then look at Brett Farve, Tim Tebow and Cliff Lee and how they are treated and discussed. Look at the many chances Tim Tebow has been given and he can't throw the ball, Brett Favre is elderly and is sending people text messages of his crank, Cliff Lee is just white and the last time I checked steroids were illegal. Society is always look for and clinging to the next great white hype at the expense of better talent in minorities. Were it not for McNabb, Vick would not have had a sliver of opportunity.
Were it not for Vick's value through his physical attributes and ability to entertain he would not have been allowed to play. Although he is entertaining and using his ability to make the corporation money, look at how he is treated, talked about and disregarded. He has been involved involved in programs to help children and education program and in many ways he has been heroic, yet he is the constant example of how the black man once released from prison is not really free and how they are in many ways still imprisoned. Did Michael Vick deserve the NFL MVP award? Did he deserve the comeback player of the year award? However, what he deserves most the the opportunity to have his second chance. This golden second chance ticket of an opportunity that is readily afforded many Whites, but sadly absent when it comes to minorities. Michael Vick was forced to look himself in the mirror and he has changed. He is better for it. What is unfortunate is that when it is time for Society to look itself in the mirror it, chooses the option to look the other way.
Food for thought: Throwing things on people and destroying their clothing that they worked hard for doesn't help make your case… it pisses people off. Wouldn't the horses run faster if they didn't have someone on their backs? Why do they call things inhumane when it involves animals? Do we only like dogs more than humans because they don't tell us where to get off? On Fox News Tucker Carlson said "Vick…should have been executed, for killing dogs". Do you think Mr. Carlson would have said that if Michael Vick were white? If I were Vick I would get a big contract and then begin the slow road to retirement.
Think for yourself.


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Alex is Professor of Geography at the Department of Geography at The Pennsylvania State University. He is the Gosnell Senior Faculty Scholar and TLT Fellow. He holds an affiliate position at Information Science and Technology at Penn State and is an Associate of the Institute of CyberScience. He is also founder of ChoroPhronesis – Applied Spatial Intelligence.
Alex research interests are eclectic. Topics include, but are not limited to, spatial cognition, wayfinding, geographic event conceptualization, formal characterizations of dynamic spatial processes, location based services, landscape and land cover concepts, crowdscience and crowdsourcing, and featured prominently in recent projects, Virtual Reality and 3D modeling.


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Porters – Bedford OB – HOD 75
Porters (Dummer)
Bedford OB
Duple C29F
HOD 75 was new to Western National in 1949. It has a Duple C29F body on the Bedford OB chassis, and the first view shows it in the Southsea rally on 8 June 1980. In this view it is in the livery of Porters of Dummer, near Basingstoke.
This second view, taken in The Broadway, Winchester, and shows it in the markings of Mervyn's Coaches of Innersdown, also near Basingstoke. It is about to pass NXL 847, AEC Regal from Eastern Belle. The date is 1st January 2009 and it's another King Alfred running day.
Photograph and Copy contributed by Pete Davies
03/04/17 – 08:43
In case anyone is (a) not familiar with the area and (b) interested, Dummer is the home village of Sarah Ferguson, Price Andrew's "ex".
Pete Davies
04/04/17 – 07:05
Is this the same OB that turns up in all those wartime dramas pretending to be ten years older than it is?
Ronnie Hoye
04/04/17 – 08:45
Not ten years Ronnie. It was in Foyles War from 1941/42, and I think Miss Marple – So only seven years ish.
Pat Jennings
20/05/18 – 06:08
I'm pretty certain that was the exact same coach that used to take us to school there was two that took us and Porters rotated them sometimes we had the vintage one in the photo and other times we had their ultra modern brand new one.
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"I am a searcher…I always was…and I still am…searching for the missing piece" – Louise Bourgeois
These gestural paintings in oil and mixed media on canvas, were completed over the past 24 months. Foremost concerned with painting as process, it is an exploration of colour, texture and mark making.
There are references to landscapes, but rather than any physical spaces, these are expressions of an inner landscape. It is a visual map of my thought processes that feeds into the site-specific installations. The series will continue to grow over time. There is no beginning or end. It can best be described as loose phrases in an ongoing internal dialogue.
Follow the line and see where it leads you.


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Download Carry On Jatta Movie Free DVD Rip 2012
A great stepping stone for Punjabi Movie Industry. With Punjabi Industry will prove that we can now handle situational comedies as well and that we have something that neither Bollywood nor Hollywood has. I'm talking about one-on-one comedy talent. Read on… Carry On Jatta has the kind of one-on-one comedy which I have never seen before in any other Punjabi or Hindi Movie. The kind of wit battles they have are very unique. While in other movies you get to see one single pair performing this type of comedy (The Trip and The Odd Couple for example), CARRY ON JATTA has multiple comedy artists witting each other in multiple scenes. Here are some of the one-on-one combos in CARRY ON JATTA: Bhalla vs Ghuggi, Bhalla vs. Binnu, Bhalla Vs. Gippy, Binnu vs Ghuggi, Ghuggi vs Gippy, BN Sharma vs. Ghuggi, Ghuggi Vs. Binnu etc. The dialogues are mostly improvised and you can make out the brilliant performances of these proven comedians. This alone is a hardcore factor for anyone to watch this film. Every single one of these scenes is a masterpiece. I have never seen so much comedy talent at one single place before.
Plot wise the film is a combination of slapstick and situational comedy. The whole film revolves around situations created by the characters in an effort to lure other characters into misgiving identities. The laughter is generated because of these crazy situations and continuous doubt within characters. It has to be admitted that it's a very tight plot and situations are tackled wisely. The whole play of "Ghoddi" and the use of it as a prop is genius.
Another plus in CARRY ON JATTA is that it has a central plot and no sub plots. The film completely focuses on telling just one story and doesn't get involved in secondary plotlines.
There might be one objection coming from the audience, that being that the film tends to get slow at times. For example the beginning of the movie might seem slow for most part and many might object that the climax is terribly dragged. But after you have seen the movie, you can easily deduce that this happens because the comic part is very fast. When the comedy starts and situations are built, the film moves at a very fast pace and you laugh continuously for minutes at length. Due to these much paced scenes, the rest of the movie seems quite slow.
As for the beginning, the film seems slow as the film tries to set the background for all the errors and situations that are about to come. Another imparting fact is that there are 3 songs within first 20 minutes. This actually is a wise decision as later the film has so much comedy going on that a song would only break that chain of events.
Watch Carry On Jatta Movie | Watch Carry On Jatta Online
The climax of the movie is a very well crafted ploy, but it is stretched. The whole idea of such a brilliant chase is mind blowing. The whole theater was literally jumping of out their seats with laughter. I have never seen so much craziness in the theater. But it gets too long. You keep laughing and laughing and laughing and it doesn't end. Extreme laughter for a long duration and that's my complaint. It's really hard to laugh that long and If it was a bit short, it would have been perfect.
Acting wise everyone is awesome. Not a single complaint there. Even the stock characters played their part well, be it the Sarpach and his son or even the Motta Naukar.
Gippy Grewal has acted well and you can observe him giving his 200% to his charcater. Some of his scenes are hilarious, especially his visual comedy in the scene where he goes to Khushboo Grewal thinking of her as his wife. Gippy and Ghuggi had a great chemistry as well and their scenes at the "Bhatha" are brilliant. Ghuggi Bai and his shy gestures are at full swing and some of his dialogues will make you laugh forever. However the casting of Khushboo against Ghuggi bai didn't seem fit. They made an odd pair. I wonder how it would have turned out if they had exchanged Binnu Dhillon's role with Gurpreet Ghuggi's.
The most awesome performance comes from Jaswinder Bhalla and his slapstick comedy. JUST PLAIN BRILLIANT. A much deserved role and act on his part. Binnu supported him well and two of them made a great team. Binnu bai has done a major comic role here and the scene of "Ghoddi" are genius.
BN Sharma did some really good comedy, especially at the climax it was just pushing me out of my seat with laughter. He really deserves to play a bigger role now. Another sufficient act is done by Karamjot Anmol. He has a small role, but as always he wins your heart. Rana Ranbir bai has a very brief role, but his act this time is very timely and very suggestive. His play with his father's name is very funny.
Mahi Gill did her part well, but it will come as a surprise that the film is not devoted to her solely. The film does pure justice to the comic element by concentrating on one on one comedy and makes full use of the talent of Jaswinder Bhalla, Gurpreet Ghuggi, Binnu Dhillon, BN Sharma and Karamjit Anmol.
I also want to appreciate the cinematography of the movie. Considering that the 90% of the film has been shot at single location and most of that is in interior, the camera work doesn't bore you. Every scene has a fresh appeal and a lot of credit goes to lighting as well.
CARRY ON JATTA is a new type of comedy for Punjabi movie Industry. This type of film has never been made before in Punjab and Smeep Kang has captured it well. It's not easy to manage a film like this but it has been done like a pro. Lots of appreciations for the director.
In the end I would say it's a great movie and great follow up after the success of Jatt & Juliet. The film will be successful for sure and will reassure the trust of audience into Punjabi Movies. Oh what a wonderful time for Punjabi Cinema! Two awesome movies one after another and CARRY ON JATTA introduced a new sub-genre of comedy movies.
Last night was the world premiere of Gippy Grewal's most awaited Punjabi movie starring Mahi Gill, Gurpreet Ghuggi, Binnu Dhillon, B.N.Sharma, Rana Ranbir, Khushboo Grewal and Karamjit Anmol along with Gippy Grewal. The premiere was held at DT cinemas, DLF city centre at IT Park Chandigarh.


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Course Info
Diploma of Business Administration
National Course Code: BSB50415
The nationally accredited Diploma of Business Administration equips you with the leadership skills to take your career to the next level as an office or administration manager. Learn to create an atmosphere of collaboration, innovation, and organisation and lead your team to success.
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Graduates of the diploma are eligible to apply for enrolment into this degree and may be eligible for credits, which could reduce your overall study time.
The Business Services sector offers a wealth of employment opportunities. Over 1.6 million people are employed in this sector and represent 13% of Australian jobs, with employment forecast to grow almost 3% through to 2024.
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By Richard Lenti
Generic versions of the widely abused painkiller Opana are set to hit the U.S. market at the start of the New Year after drug maker Endo Health Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ: ENDP) lost its bid to halt their release.
This week federal Judge Reggie B. Walton, of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, dismissed a lawsuit by Endo against the Food and Drug Administration. Endo claimed the FDA failed to meet its legal obligation to determine whether the original formulation of Opana ER was withdrawn from the market for safety reasons.
Opana ER is the brand name for Endo's extended release opioid painkiller oxymorphone. Endo began selling Opana ER in 2006 and it quickly became one of the nation's most widely abused opioid painkillers.
Endo launched a new version of Opana in March that is tamper resistant. It claims in court filings the original formulation is unsafe because the pills can be crushed and snorted by drug abusers. Endo was seeking a preliminary injunction to have the FDA suspend approval of the generic Opana, which is based on the original formula.
But the judge ruled against Endo, saying that he believes the FDA had not unduly delayed making a determination on the matter.
In its argument before the court, the FDA said it was not convinced that Endo was concerned with the health of drug abusers, since Endo had not recalled its original formulation of Opana ER. The FDA said the company's insistence that the ganecy officially note the old version was withdrawn for safety reasons by December 31 was more a tactic to delay another generic company from entering the market.
"The December 31 deadline reflects only Endo's commercial concern that, as a result of a settlement agreement it made with another manufacturer, it will face additional generic competition beginning January 1, 2013," FDA attorneys wrote.
The judge's ruling allows for a generic Opana that is not tamper resistant to enter the market on January 2, 2013. Impax Laboratories Inc. (NASDAQ: IPXL) and Actavis South Atlantic LLC are among producers of the generic Opana ER.
"We are extremely disappointed," said Dave Holveck, president and chief executive officer of Endo. "Despite the fact that the generic product will not be therapeutically equivalent to the crush resistant formulation, the launch of a generic non-crush-resistant version of Opana ER in January will irreparably undermine the significant progress made in the reduction of abuse and misuse of oxymorphone."
This battle over the release of generic versions of older opioid painkillers is similar to one waged last month when the Canadian Health Minister rejected pleas to delay approval of a generic form of OxyContin because it would trigger a new round of abuse and addiction.
Opana ER is prescribed for the relief of moderate to severe pain. A Schedule II controlled substance, it is physically addictive with side effects that include shallow breathing, slow heartbeat and seizures.
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(6) Readers Comments
I read this article and I am interested in further studies. I personally have been a addict since I was 10 years old. Just found this article by looking through this website dedicated to friend I went to school with in Edina Minnesota. I am currently on a high dose and daily dose of suboxone tablets. I take 4 a aday how ever as an addict I find many ways to mix and abuse it. I was overdosed 5 times and intensive care this last time just a year ago. in an addicts mind it is so hard to turn off that "hurt" that we have inside. Just a quick note saw your article. love to hear more as you may find and report on.
Jeff, MN
I called CVS and asked about the generic Opana ER – they said they have the generic but it's not made in the ER formula so I called Impax and yes, they DO make a generic form of Opana ER but it is not called Opana – it is called Oxymorphone ER and the product number the pharmacies need to order from distributors is:
0115-1234-01 for the ER 40. I hope this helps – I am going to call my pharmacy and give them this information.
Yes, it is obvious that Endo only cares about profits – and I've read posts that make me cringe in that people ARE crushing the TRF and injecting this dangerous gel and they are dying! I had reflux surgery last March 2012 and it was at the same time that ENDO brought out this TRF of Opana ER – last week I had to have tests to find out why I was having such bad stomach problems and I was told I have two ulcers! I firmly believe it is from the GLUE-LIKE SUBSTANCE that I am forced to put into my body because of my pain!! I will be asking my doctor to change my prescrition to the generic and I'll be willing to bet my ulcers will clear up!
Making Opana ER crush resistant did not keep people from abusing. If anything its much mush worse! People who abuse this drug are now injecting the pill! You tell me which is more dangerous?! I take mine orally and am insulted that teens and adults would stick a needle in their arm to get the full effect of a time released medication. I do believe it was safer, even for abusers to have the old formulation. A rise in profits is definitely why Endo is against it. They are very expensive and there have been no generics thus far. Therefore, of course, they will lose a lot of business but the pharmacies are still not aware of the generic. Someone needs to give a site wher they can look or a number they may call to be able to verify this. I go to cvs and one said they could get it and another said theres no such thing. They all need to be informed.
Martin, don't you think Endo has the right to try to recoup their investment? Do you think their employees work for free or something? Get a clue and stop crying about a company trying to make some profit…that is what they are supposed to do!
Endo saw their patent expiring in 2012 and decided to make a new patent to last until 2023 on their new crush resistant formula in an effort to be the sole manufacturer of the pill, and they obviously were not concerned about the abuse by the users. This is an obvious attempt to secure more profits and prohibit others from selling "their" medication. They shot themselves in the foot because now everyone will move to the less expensive generics in lieu of the brand name tamper resistant formula. I will tell you from personal experience that the new formulation from Endo does not work as effectively as the old formulation. They are not concerned about their users and just want more money. I'm glad a judge could clearly see this and I hope Endo suffers greatly from their greed. People can still abuse the instant release formula, so making the ER formula crush resistant at the expense or the patients is a stupid, pointless move. Not to mention, drug abusers can still circumvent the tamper resistant formula. Where there is a will, there is a way. Too bad Endo…please learn a lesson from this.
If Endo truly cared about the abuse potential and reducing addiction, they would make their new formulation available to the generic manufacturers and forego their patent on this new technology. By not doing so, they tip their hand and show that it really is all about "commercial concerns" and profits.
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I'm sure this has been covered before, I just can't seem to find the answer. is there a setting similar to Logic's "No Overlap" mode when working with midi regions? In other words I'd like to be able to drag a midi region on top of an existing one and replace it rather than merge the two. Thanks in advance.
I'm hoping there is an option for this as well, especially with audio regions. This, although minor, is one of the things that is preventing me from moving to S1. Being that I overlap audio regions constantly in my sessions, I see that greyed out area on all of my regions. This makes editing audio regions somewhat complicated. It looks like some regions are muted at times and it's hard seeing the actual beginning and ending of regions. Rather annoying coming from other DAWs that just replace the region when you drag on top of it. This should definitely be an option if not already for those of us who overlap regions all the time and don't ever want to play the audio underneath.
Count me in. The behaviour of audio regions overlapping is clumsy.....especially for a long time ProTools user. I can see why engineers doing hundreds of edits would stay with PT. It's also very nearly a game changer for me.
When you slide a region over another one then it should not just sit on top of it. It should delete that portion of it and you can drag it out any time you want it.
I can't see the benefit of having regions on top of regions.....you accidentally touch the wrong region and you've selected a whole track underneath the one you really wanted....it's a disaster.
I'm not looking forward to editing live drums in S1.
I love everything else about this app though but I think if they want a mass migration from PT they will have to look at that basic workflow.
Overlapping audio regions is useful for me when doing sound effects. There's an option to switch it on or off for individual audio tracks (Options, Advanced, Audio, Enable 'Play overlaps' for new audio tracks). It doesn't stop accidental selection, though. But I don't think deleting part of the underlying region does, either.
Studio One 3 Professional
Melodyne Editor 4, NI Komplete 11
Focusrite Scarlett 2i4 audio interface
Windows 10 Professional 64-bit, 16 GB RAM, Core i5
Microsoft Surface Pro 3, Core i7, 8GB RAM, 128 GB SSD
Nektar Impact LX49+, Samson Graphite 25, and Korg microKey 25 MIDI controllers
Novation ZeRO SL MkII mixing control surface
Korg nanoKontrol 2 mixing control surface
Reaper, Logic Pro X, GarageBand
Yes!! Would love to see this kind of feature implemented. It would speed up editing so much.. feels a little clumsy without it.
Regarding missing Trim Behind functionality;
Maybe these 2 Macro's i made can relieve you abit from the pain :
A) Trim Behind - Event on Left Side:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/2xwb3gjdbx1bv ... macro?dl=0
B) Trim Behind - Event on Right Side:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/fmth9vrmaj0oz ... macro?dl=0
You have 2 overlapping Events, the left Event is under the right Event:
Select both Events and use Macro A to delete the overlap.
You have 2 overlapping Events, the left Event is over the right Event:
Select both Events and use Macro B to delete the overlap.
So, these 2 Macro's are used "After The Fact", meaning:
You first did some editing action in Arrangement, causing 2 Events to overlap.
Then you use one of the 2 Macro's.
Sidenote, regarding "Protools alike" moving events over other events with automatic Trim Behind:
It is possible to create a Macro that moves an Event's right side (or leftside) over another Event and automatically have the overlap deleted.
Such a Macro even removes the need of dragging an Event over another Event.
You just need to point your mouse on the Event that is gonna be overlapped and then run the Command.
I am still (deep)testing this Macro but it seems to work already correct.
Kind Regards.
Can't you just drag the overlapping side before you move it to the right size?
How on earth is this still not resolved? This one problem alone negates almost all of the value the other amazing features in S1. You can't market your software as having amazing workflow when clips can just hide underneath each other like that. How is this not glaringly obvious? Does anyone have a reliable workaround?
Have you made a feature request in the proper place? The forum is not the proper place. The devs do not hang out here. They do, however, get feature requests.
https://answers.presonus.com/studio-one ... e-requests
Thank you Gregg. That is exactly what needs to happen here.
Please add your specs to your SIGNATURE.
Search the STUDIO ONE 5 ONLINE MANUAL. Access your MY.PRESONUS account.
OVERVIEW of how to get your issue fixed or the steps to create a SUPPORT TICKET.
Needs to include: 1) One Sentence Description 2) Expected Results 3) Actual Results 4) Steps to Reproduce.
OS: Win 10 x64 Home, Studio One Pro 5.x, Notion 6, Series III 24, Studio 192, Haswell CPU: i7 4790k @ 4.4GHz, RAM: 16GB, Faderport 8/16, Central Station +, PreSonus Sceptre S6, Eris 3.5, Temblor 10, ATOM
gregghart wroteHave you made a feature request in the proper place? The forum is not the proper place. The devs do not hang out here. They do, however, get feature requests.
Greg, has been asked forever since 2016 with more than 140 votes in only one request. I really don't get why this is still not possible in 2020.
This is a MOST for every professional daw.
That's the reason me, and many of my friends stopped using S1.
Presonus, please!
Bbd wroteThank you Gregg. That is exactly what needs to happen here.
It has been asked forever since 2016 with more than 140 votes in only one request. I really don't get why this is still not possible in 2020.
This is a MOST for every professional daw.
That's the reason me, and many of my friends stopped using S1.


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Tony Yeboah's Thunderbolts - 25 Years On
21 Aug 2020 03:48 pm, by YorkshireSquare
It was on this day 25 years ago back in 1995 that Tony Yeboah scored one of the greatest goals in not just Leeds United's history but probably in Premier League history. As a tribute to that goal and the arguably even better goal he scored a month later against Wimbledon we look at a few selected goals from the archives including those Yeboah thunderbolts. These are in no particular order. and I'm not saying they are the best ten Leeds goal ever ever, Peter Lorimer scored a hat full of absolute screamers which unfortunately are not on YouTube, but they are certainly ten of the best.
Johnny Giles, 20th March 1971
Leeds United 2, Crystal Palace 1
Revie's midfield general, a hard but skilful player. One of the truly great midfield players of that era. His sometimes telepathic footballing double act with King Billy was a joy to watch and he scored some great goals too such as this long range effort against Crystal Palace.
Harry Kewell, 3rd January 2000
Leeds United 1, Aston Villa 2
Love him or hate him you can't deny Harry Kewell's ability. He scored a lot of good goals too like this effort against Aston Villa in January 2000. Controlled on the chest, a knee forward before a left foot volley which gave David James no chance in the Villa net.
Bradley Johnson, 19th January 2011
Leeds United 1, Arsenal 3
Bradley Johnson was known for striking a ball pretty hard, usually somewhere over the South Stand down Elland Road but occasionally he got one just right. Having held Arsenal to a draw at the Emirates it was back to Elland Road for the replay. Leeds were already two down when Johnson struck but strike he did, an absolute screamer into the top right corner from 3 yards out.
Luciano Becchio, 22nd December 2012
Leeds United 2, Middlesbrough 1
Luciano Becchio was somewhat overshadowed by Jermaine Beckford in his early days at Leeds United but once Beckford left he shone. His record speaks for itself, 86 goals in 219 appearances. With 75 League goals he is 10th in the all time records. My favourite Becchio goal is his strike against Middlesbrough, left foot volley in off the post.
Tony Yeboah, 21st August 1995
Leeds United 1, Liverpool 0
Tony Yeboah had scored thirteen goals in his first season at Leeds but he started the 1995/96 season on fire, a man posessed. He scored two goals in the first game of the season against West Ham, the second nearly breaking the roof of the net but it was the Liverpool game that really launched him into the spotlight. Thirty yards out, first time, boom. I'm not sure David James even saw it.
Continue to Ten of the best Leeds United goals - Part 2 >>


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NEW ART SHOW! Feb 4th 10pm @ Pixel Lounge Ithaca NY 21 and up This will be my 3rd art show at Pixel and I'll be showing new lego/pixel artwork along with larger scale recreations of some of my more famous tags and some all new stencils! I wont be the only person reping Moving Box Studios at the show. Dj Air Man aka Chris Davidson will be playing a video game/chiptune set followed by Dr.Z aka Joe Zohar pumping house/drum and bass to close out the night! Also my buddy Jake Barber will be there documenting the night and making a video with the footage for the blog! So come check out the new art, party your face off, and dance on people's graves with the Moving Box staff!
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Tags: 8bit art, ithaca ny, ithaca ny street art, MC Death Bear, Moving Box staff runs it!, Moving Box Studios, pixel art, Pixel Lounge, star war stencils, Star Wars, star wars street at, Stencils, upstate ny street art, video game art
Categories : MBS Approves
Cutting the Bossk stencil1 10 2009
MC Death Bear hard at work, cutting his new stencil of Bossk from Star Wars
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Tags: bossk, cut stencils, MC Death Bear, multicolor stencils, Return of The Jedi, Star Wars, stencil
Categories : In Production
The Ultimate Warrior VS Stormtroopers24 09 2009
We did it. MCDeathBear and I completed this little ditty in about two weeks. It's all your childhood fantasies in the way you always wanted them. That's right, The Ultimate Warrior from from WWF battling Star Wars Stormtroopers. You're a nerd right? You get this kind of stuff.
I should warn you, it does include some Gratuitous Violence.
Here's the video on YouTube:
Recording sound in the recording studio
Working last week
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Tags: 80s, Animation, blood, Flash, gore, Pop, Star Wars, Video, Violence, Warrior, wrestling, WWF
Categories : Animation, Video
Working on Warrior21 09 2009
MC Death Bear and Chris "DJ Name" Davidson working on The Ultimate Warrior VS Stormtroopers. Woo fun late night animation session.
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Tags: Animation, cartoon, Flash, Newgrounds, Star Wars, stormtroopers, Ultimate Warrior, WWF
Categories : Animation, In Production


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Inked Up Tattoo Shop 2
Tags: Girl Games / Drawing Games / 1 Player Games / Flash Games / Girls Games / Free Games / Coloring Games / Makeover / Make-up Games / Decorate Games / Mouse Skill Games
Publisher: EnjoyDressUp.com
Video Walkthrough
Prove your inked up tattoo skills and make your tattoo shop customers happy and satisfied with the tattoos you design for them. Draw the tattoo, add adhesive, place the tattoo paper on the body part, moisten and peel off the tattoo, trace it with the tattoo stencil and sterilize the area before and after you color the tattoo. Enjoy Inked Up Tattoo Shop 2 management game!
No Instructions Provided
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Hawaii is a photo of Bolishe author. This photo includes sea, Hawaii, Beach, sky, cloud tags. To download photo (S, L, M sizes) you need to register the account and log in.
As the free account, you can download for free with some limits.
As the premium account, you can download unlimited, no waiting time, etc. Enjoin premium membership at here


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Liz Vitale
Being in domesticated cat rescue, I can tell you that anytime there is a boyfriend in the picture, by red flags go up.
DOB 4/1/05 appx. Male
We get these calls all the time: "I have a _____ hybrid cat and he's not happy. He needs to live outside." Usually, the caller has purchased a very expensive designer cat, and now that the cat has reached sexual maturity (regardless of which sex or how soon they were fixed) and the cat is spraying urine all over the house and being aggressive to the people and pets in the family.
Simba's case was pretty unique, in that his owner tried for 13 years before making that call. She called in May and we've tried, for weeks to talk her out of sending Simba to us because exotic cats and hybrids really only ever bond to that person who raised them. Even though they may bite and scratch that person, it's the only person they really ever let themselves get to know, so they are usually not happy going somewhere to "live outside."
We always advise on ways to make the situation tenable, such as building on an indoor/outdoor room, or even a cage like ours in their backyard, but Simba lived in a New York apartment, so that wasn't an option.
Like Beacher, Simba is another hybrid that was pumped out by the Drinkwater Cats mill. He surely cost a lot of money and probably was pitched as a perfect cheetah for the couch for fancy apartment living. No exotic hybrid cat could ever live up to the hype.
Simba's mom told rescuers there were a lot of factors in her life that were changing. Her son had graduated so the nest was empty now. She was moving somewhere Simba couldn't go and there was a boyfriend in the picture. She really loved Simba and was pretty upset about sending him away. She says she will come to visit. However, most owners say this, but never do.
Here is a video of Simba going outside. He will be moving into King Tut's old suite of cages since King Tut moved to a new suite closer to neighbors he likes. In this video, Carole chats about how Simba Savannah came to be here.
We are able to provide lifelong homes, medical care, high-quality meat, etc because of your support. There are many ways to help. BigCatRescue.org/get-involved/
Remember to choose BigCatRescue.org/smile and Big Cat Rescue as your charity so that Amazon will donate .5 percent of your shopping dollars to the cats AT NO COST TO YOU!!!
This post currently has one response.
Being in domesticated cat rescue, I can tell you that anytime there is a boyfriend in the picture, by red flags go up.
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Opinion: Baseball Makes Right Move with 15-15 Alignment, Wrong Move With Alignment Structure
In March of 1995, while baseball was mired in what seemed like a never ending labor dispute that brought us replacement players, no Orioles team, and the prospect of Blue Jays games played at a 6000 seat stadium on the Florida gulf coast, MLB announced that in 1998 a pair of new teams would join the circuit. We learned of the future teams that would be called the Arizona Diamondbacks and Tampa Bay Devil Rays and immediately there was talk of which leagues the teams might play in. While the Devil was taken out of the Rays following the 2007 season, the devil in the details of realignment was seemingly dealt with in October of 1997, when the Brewers were moved from the American League to the National League. Some thought this was the best move that could be made, others though felt baseball took the easy way out, baseball was afraid to make any big and bold changes some said. Changes like having interleague games on the schedule every day of the season. Interleague play after all was a brand new experience for the fans, 1997 was the first year of such games and we were lead to believe that no fan in his or her right mind could accept the fact that the Yankees might play a series against the Pirates on the season's final weekend, because that somehow would ruin the purity of the pennant race, it would somehow create some artificial form of unfairness to the other AL East teams. Of course anyone who truly followed baseball, realized that argument held water like a civ, because it would have been no different than the Yankees playing any team from the AL Central and given the alignment at that time, at least one Eastern team had to play a Central team every day on the schedule that the four Western teams faced one another.
The result from this silly idea was that the two leagues would not have the same number of teams, of course baseball justified that by reminding us that from 1977-92, we had two extra teams in the AL. The argument against 15-15 also was this odd idea that the AL West would have to take a second team from the Central Time Zone, or move the Rockies or Diamondbacks to that division and slide a Central Time zone team from the NL Central to the NL West, likely the Astros. Hmmm, so it was good enough for the Rangers to be in a western division but no one else? The arguments were to some including me, filled with a lot of hot air that was fouled by the aroma of arguments that failed a simple smell test.
IN 1995 while attending Texas A&M, I personally wrote the then "Acting Commissioner of Baseball" and I did receive a reply from Mr. Selig. My proposal was a detailed realignment that featured interleague games starting with the 1998 season. My alignment was simple, Kansas City would move to the American League's Western division joining Texas, Oakland, Seattle, and the then California, now Anaheim/Los Angeles Angels. Detroit which at the time was in the AL East would move to the Central and Tampa Bay would go into the East. Baseball instead opted to leave Kansas City in the AL Central and shove Milwaukee over to the NL Central, an idea I thought was silly. Arizona of course went to the NL West as I proposed and no other changes took place in the senior circuit. The main difference from my proposal was what happened to the Royals and Brewers. To me, sure Milwaukee was an NL city for 13 years with the Braves, but for 28 years with the Brewers, they were an AL city and the AL was where the Brewers belonged.
Now all these years later, baseball finally figures out that 15-15 is not so bad, yet the thought of simply moving the Brewers back to the AL and sliding KC to the Western Division was not even thought of, at least that is the view that I hold. Nor was any consideration given of moving Colorado or Arizona to the AL, teams which did not have the long history of being in the NL like say, the Houston Astros. No, instead baseball's reaction is to move Houston, which had been an NL team for nearly half a century over to the AL, focusing on the now in-state rivalry with the Texas Rangers.
I have three points to make as it relates to this argument for moving the Astros to the American League, again seeing how baseball officials want to underscore it seems the ability of fans to see through their collective smoke screen. For starters, this rivals argument is again a leaking civ. The Phillies and Pirates have always been NL rivals and in the same state, the only situation that was like this until Houston joins Texas in the AL next season. How important was the Philadelphia and Pittsburgh rivalry? It was so important that the Pirates were put in a different division from the Phillies with the move from two to three divisions in 1994. Following the advent of the new schedule that was more focused on divisional games starting in 2001, the NL Pirates and NL Phillies sometimes played each other no more frequently than the Yankees and Mets, or Cubs and White Sox, or Angels and Dodgers in interleague games during the same season. So the evidence clearly shows that the supporting arguments for the mythical intrastate rivalry, fails the smell test badly and if this were a legal case, lawyers making such arguments would have been run out of court faster than a mouse that was chased out by a hungry Siamese cat for producing such easily refuted statements.
Second, if the rivals argument is the source of how to align, insisting to align based on geography and this state rivalry notion, then the following argument must be made and followed through on by baseball executives. Pittsburgh must move back to the Eastern Division of the National League and Atlanta is thus moved to the Central Division. A good map or GPS system is all it takes to realize that Pittsburgh is a good bit further east than Atlanta, Pittsburgh is just east of the 80 degree meridian of longitude and almost due north of Miami, where as Atlanta is past the 84 degree meridian and nearly due south of Cincinnati. To make the rivalry argument, then this approach to realignment is a slam dunk to borrow a phrase from another sport as geography clearly shows that Atlanta should be with Cincinnati, the Cubs, Milwaukee, and St. Louis, while Pittsburgh joins the Mets, Washington, Philadelphia, and Miami.
Lastly, the new alignment will have completely removed a large part of the southern US from National League exposure, as fans in Texas will now have to go to St. Louis, Denver, or Atlanta to see National League games on a regular basis. Growing up in Texas, one of the great things about having a team in each league, was the ability to at any point in the season, go to Houston or Arlington and know that every other team in baseball would be making an appearance in one of those cities. Now given how baseball does interleague games, it is a safe bet that the same teams would be put on the Astros and Rangers home schedule and allow for less exposure to the other half of major league teams during the season. Texas fans we must not forget are not like Pennsylvania fans, where Philadelphia fans are an hour 20 minute train ride from Yankee games or just under two hours to Orioles games. Similarly, Pittsburgh fans are roughly a three-hour drive from Cleveland games, thus giving them much easier access to see teams from the other league if they so desire. Texas fans now will have to drive more than half a day to get to an NL city with the move of Houston to the AL in the 2013 season.
In conclusion, baseball gets it right by going to 15-15, this should have and could have been done prior to 1998 when the Rays and D'Backs came into existence. Baseball's ultimate solution though came up way short, because what could and should have been done was never considered and now the fans of the south central US and Texas in particular, find themselves left out in the cold, not to mention fans of other NL teams who through 2012, knew they could go to Houston and see their home town team roll in for a game in the Space City.
Baseball needs to get it right and consider leaving Houston in the NL and moving Milwaukee back to the AL where the Brewers called home for their first 28 years in baseball, following their 1970 flight from Seattle.


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I am writing this blog post on Sunday evening November 11. Today is my birthday. I have always held my birthday with reverence; not for anything I ever did, but in honor of those who fought and died for our freedom. I wrote the following article in the summer of 2000. I hope you take a few minutes to read about a true hero that I had the pleasure to know.
Clifford Stokes, and his sister-in-law Shirley, had moved to Kingston Springs, TN from Hammond, Louisiana to be close to Shirley's children and grandchildren who were living here at the time. Cliff and Shirley moved back to Louisiana a couple of years later but stayed in touch. Cliff passed away a few years ago, but in honor of my friend, I would like to reprint the article I wrote nearly a decade ago. I have not changed or updated the article. I think you will still find Cliff's story poignant and thought provoking.
"My Hero"
by Craig Kitch
A "hero", by definition, is "a man distinguished for exceptional courage, fortitude, or bold enterprise, especially in times of war". It seams like people are always searching for a hero to look up to and, when a true hero cannot be found, they will substitute the next best thing they can find. We have been fortunate over the last twenty five years to have lived relatively conflict-free in this country. Yes, there was the Gulf War and a few more recent skirmishes that we have involved ourselves in over the last decade, but I think all would agree that they pale in comparison to the two World Wars and the Korean and Viet Nam conflicts that our fathers and grandfathers knew. Therefore, we should not be surprised to see people elevating movie stars, rock stars and the like to hero status. But I would like to share with you that we have a full fledged, bona fide hero from World War II living right here in Kingston Springs. His name is Clifford Stokes (we call him Mr. Cliff) and he was an integral part of a battle you may have heard of. You see, he was there when our Marines raised the first American Flag atop of Mount Suribachi on Iwo Jima. That was a very important day to Cliff Stokes because it was one of the last things he ever saw. A couple of days later he was hit in the face by shrapnel from a grenade and was left totally blind for life.
We celebrated Mr. Cliff's 78th birthday a couple of weeks ago and I had the opportunity to ask him about his memories. Cliff was born and raised in Etowah, TN, at the edge of what is now the Cherokee National Forest. He turned 18 at the height of World War II and joined the Marines, signing up in downtown Nashville. Following boot camp, he was sent to the Philippines. On February 19, 1945, Cliff Stokes stepped into the history books when the Marines stormed the shores of Iwo Jima. They had two primary objectives: First, to secure the three airstrips the Kamikaze pilots were using as a base of operations and second, conquer Mt. Suribachi where the Japanese forces were deeply entrenched. The fighting was furious and extremely bloody. "I remember the soil was so loose on Mt. Suribachi you could hardly climb up it" Cliff said. "But we made it! By golly I was one of the first ones to the top and we put the first America Flag on the top of the mountain. That was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen." What most people don't realize is that there were two flags raised on Iwo Jima. The first was raised on the morning of February 23. Later a larger flag was raised in the same spot and the famous photograph by Joe Rosenthal was taken.
But raising the flag was just the beginning. They still had to clear the island of the Japanese forces. Cliff remembers "We came to a small cave and Colonel Johnson told me to check it out. I came along side the opening and quickly peeked inside. You won't believe what I saw: five Japanese officers lying on a sheet! They were all dead. I think that the ranking officer had killed the others and then committed suicide." He also tells the story about a Japanese-American they came across: "He was with some outfit in Northern California and they sent him back to Japan to get a shipment of dishware. Well, he got dropped off on Iwo Jima and left there. This guy was scared to death. I don't know for sure how long he had been hiding out in a small cave, but he sure was glad to see us. Once we realized he was an American, we passed him off to our commanding officer to get him home".
The fighting continued. It was just a couple of days later that Cliff found himself in the middle of a barrage of mortar fire from the Japanese. A mortar exploded out in front of him and a piece of shrapnel hit him in the face. He was instantly blinded and lay face-down in the dirt, which probably saved his life. Had he fallen on his back, he might have drowned in his own blood. "Then one of our tanks came by and scooped me up. Just dropped open the trap door and drug me inside", he says. "I thought at first it was the Japs that had me. I couldn't see. I fought them, too. I was not going to be taken prisoner. I would die first". They finally got him sedated and he realized that he was with his own men. By the time the fighting on Iwo Jima ended 6,821 US personnel were dead and nearly 20,000 were wounded.
Words cannot explain how humbled I felt sitting there; hearing about the horrors of war from a man who lived it. I have learned a lot about heroes from Mr. Cliff. One of the things I have learned is that heroes are true givers. They give their very life (even at the risk of losing it) for the benefit of others. They unselfishly surrender themselves to a higher calling. Mr. Cliff to this day is still a giver. His sister-in-law "Momma Shirley" Stokes heads up "Mercy Hands Ministries" and feeds the homeless. In fact they both give up almost every Saturday of their lives to feed and minister to the homeless of downtown Nashville. Yes, Mr. Cliff is a true giver. He risked his very life and gave up his eyesight so that you and I can enjoy the freedoms that we so easily take for granted.
Clifford Stokes, I want to say "Thank You" for all that you have done for us. I am proud to call you my friend and quick to tell everyone that you are my hero.
——Post Script:
Mr. Cliff passed away on Saturday, December 10, 2005. I will miss him very much, but I am happy for him. He is in heaven now and receiving his reward. He has no more pain and his vision is perfect. He lived a long and full life and left this world a better place because of his presence here. One day I will see Cliff again and, for the first time, he will see me. God bless you, Clifford Stokes, and thank you.
Source: Craig's Blog


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Pakistani court sentences 1 to death for lynching student
A Pakistan court on Wednesday sentenced one person to death and another 30 to between 4-25 years of imprisonment for lynching a student over accusations of blasphemy
Representational Picture
A Pakistan court on Wednesday sentenced one person to death and another 30 to between 4-25 years of imprisonment for lynching a student over accusations of blasphemy. Imran Ali, who had pleaded guilty to shooting Mashal Khan in April after he was lynched by a group of students, was handed the death penalty and was also ordered to pay a fine of 150,000 Pakistani rupees ($1,355). Another five people were sentenced to 25 years in prison, and another 25 to four years in prison.
Judge Fazl Subhan acquitted another 26 accused for lack of evidence at a hearing that was held at the Haripur central jail in northwestern Pakistan amid tight security, prison spokesperson Farid Ullah told Efe news. Out of the 61 who were accused of being involved in the lynching, three are still on the run. The government of the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where the lynching took place, said in a statement that it will appeal against the acquittals and seek tougher sentences for the convicted.
The incident took place on April 13, 2017 at the Abdul Wali Khan University in the city of Mardan, where a group of youngsters lynched and killed the journalism student over rumours that he had shared blasphemous content on social media. The lynching was recorded on video which was later circulated on social media. Speaking to the media outside the courtroom, Mashal's brother Aimal said that he hoped no one ever has to go through the ordeal his family suffered. According to a probe report, Mashal Khan had been vocal about the rights of students at the university and even challenged the appointment of a new vice chancellor (VC) at the university to ensure that students were able to obtain their degrees, which is not possible without the VC's signature, Dawn online reported.
Days before he was lynched by the mob, Khan in an interview to Khyber news channel, had spoken against activities at the university and the administration. Blasphemy became a controversial issue in Pakistan after laws were amended in the 1980s making it an offence punishable by the death penalty, although nobody has been executed so far. Despite the tightening of the law, at least 53 people have been killed by mobs in Pakistan until now over alleged blasphemy.
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Speed and efficiency for your computer or laptop is the essential key for making sure that you're able keep all of your office productivity as effective as possible. This can also be important since you're wanting to run all of your resident software programs and applications at top notch performance.
But as you know, there are usually a host of factors which can potentially affect your desktop computer's performance, slowing it down and making it a lot more difficult as well as more time-consuming to be able to complete even the easiest tasks.
There are fortunately a few ways on how you can either increase the speed of your computer or remove the restrictive barriers which is preventing it from performing to its intended optimum potential.
So here are a few tips which you can immediately use to help your Slow Computer run a lot quicker.
Cleaning Out Your PC's Hard Drive
In a few cases, a slow poorly performing computer while your booting up or just doing simple desktop tasks may be the result of your hard drive being too full. Computers will use the on-board memory known as RAM to operate the software and the apps along with using portions of the hard drive.
So if you happen to be running out of hard drive space, then your computer obviously won't have the access to these additional resources contributing to a noticeable decrease in performance and speed. So the easiest method to free up space is finding all of the unwanted or unused documents and files which you can delete. You can also delete entire software programs, provided that you do it properly, if your business or company doesn't use them any longer.
Microsoft Windows also has a built-in maintenance feature which is called "Disk Cleanup," which can assist you in finding unused, non-essential or out dated files which you can delete.
On MS Windows 7, go to the "Start" menu on the bottom right and then click on "All Programs," then "Accessories," then "System Tools," and finally "Disk Cleanup."
Performing this process will instantly let you know exactly how much disk space that you're able to free up. It also gives you the option to show you which files that it wants to delete, so that you won't be automatically deleting any important files that you want to keep.
When you're relatively new computer or laptop begins to run slower, you should also be checking to see if there's any additional programs which are constantly running in the background.
Some applications will automatically open and begin running in the background as soon as you turn on or reboot your computer. So preventing these unnecessary programs from doing so should speed up your computers speed.
Scanning Your Computer For Viruses
Some of those programs which are running in the background without you knowing could potentially be a virus. The majority of the these malicious applications will appear to be absolutely legitimate programs and most will mask themselves so you may not initially recognize them. Spyware, Malware, and other related viruses can significantly slow down your computer's speed as well as obviously posing as a security threat.
It's recommended that you install an effective self updating antivirus program which will scan your computer for viruses. There are a variety of programs that are available, some which are free to download.
For example, there is a free version of Malwarebytes, found at www.malwarebytes.org, which has a virus database that's regularly updated. It can run in simple mode as well as do in-depth scans which can effectively search through some or all of your computer files.
The app is then able to quarantine or completely remove the latest malicious applications that it finds. There's also an upgraded PRO version offered by Malwarebytes which has a host of additional advanced features. This is an excellent alternative for constantly running scans on your various individual computers.
There's also an option for small or larger businesses to be able to directly contact Malwarebytes to set up a corporate licensing agreement, which includes the proper installation of the program on all of the computers as well as a network.
Tools To Help You Increase Computer Speed
If you've followed the steps by cleaning out your hard drive as well as scanning it for viruses such as malware, but it's still continuing to perform poorly and isn't as quick as you'd like it to be, then there are other options you could take.
There are a few free tools that you can use which may help speed things up. One such tool is Window's ReadyBoost by Microsoft, which effectively uses any available memory from your flash drive or your memory card to increase the PC's speed, provided that you're using Windows Vista or Windows 7 on your computer.
What you'll need is a flash drive or a memory card which has a minimum of 1GB of free space to be dedicated towards ReadyBoost. Once you connect them to your PC, ReadyBoost will use that memory to run the software or app. Some of these memory devices will now even indicate on their packaging if they're compatible with ReadyBoost or not.
Upgrading Or Updating Your Computer's Operating Systems
This may be something that you may not even think of when you first notice that your computer is beginning to run slower. And that's whether if your current computers operating system as well as all the software and applications are up-to-date or not.
Software companies will usually release updates on a regular basis for their various products, as will the operating systems provide downloadable service packs as well. These upgrades can immediately improve your PC's performance as well as allowing its resources to run a lot more efficiently.
There may be certain situations where updates won't be able to help since your current operating system may be simply too outdated. If you happen to use all of the latest and greatest software and apps but you've been using the same exact Operating System for a few years, then it may be time for an OS upgrade.
This is always an economical alternative to replacing entire computer systems. All you're required to know is if the current hardware is capable of running and supporting the software as well as the apps which your using.
Evaluating The Hardware On Your Computer
If you've exhausted every possible option and your computer is still slow, then the reason for the poor speed issues may potentially be hardware related.
All of the software titles will show the minimum as well as the recommended system requirements which your computer needs for it to run properly. If the specs on your computer don't match up, then it may be necessary to upgrade some components.
It may just come down to your computer needing additional RAM, a newer graphics card, or any other hardware component, especially if your computer is a few years old.
If your computer happens to be older than five years, most likely, it isn't compatible with some of the components or the newer additions may not be enough to increase its performance.
Also keep in mind that when it comes to laptops, it's not always easy or even possible at times to upgrade them. So in that case, it may just be time to invest in a newer system which has the latest hardware, software, and Operating System. At times, this may be the best possible solution.


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Nature's Variety Dog Food Recall Alert
Nature's Variety has announced a voluntary recall of their Instinct Raw Chicken Formula for dogs with a "Best By" date of 04/27/16 because these products may be contaminated with Salmonella.
The affected products are limited to the Instinct Raw Chicken Formula Frozen Diets as listed below:
- Instinct Raw Chicken Formula Bites for Dogs 4 lb.; Best by 04/27/16, UPC# 769949611431
- Instinct Raw Chicken Formula Bites for Dogs 7 lb.; Best by 04/27/16, UPC# 769949611448
- Instinct Raw Chicken Formula Patties for Dogs 6 lb.; Best by 04/27/16, UPC# 769949611486
The "Best by" date is located on the back of the package below the seal. Affected products were distributed through retail stores in the United States and limited distribution in Canada. According to the FDA release on the Nature's Variety recall, no other Nature's Variety products are affected.
Consumers should discontinue use of these foods and monitor their pet's health, and contact their veterinarian if they have concerns. According to the official press release, refunds or exchanges can be made at the retailer where the food was purchased. Pet owners can either return the product in its original packaging or bringing a proof of purchase back to their retailer.
If a pet owner has opened up a recalled package, dispose of it safely (placed in a plastic bag in a covered waste bin) and immediately as any additional handling can increase the chance of contamination.
Nature's Variety suggest that consumers with additional questions can their Consumer Relations team at 888-519-7387 from 8 am to 7 pm Central time, 7 days a week during the recall. Or, consumers can email Nature's Variety directly via firstname.lastname@example.com.
13 Comments
Is it just me, or does it seem like there's been a lot of raw dog food recalls lately?
Jan K recently posted…Keeping Busy with a Variety of Summer Fitness Fun
More pet food recalls!? Unbelievable. Thanks for letting us know!
Love & biscuits,
Dogs Luv Us and We Luv Them
cathy armato recently posted…Canine Epilepsy Awareness Event
Another one we don't use, bu we appreciate your spreading the word. Some day one may be our foodables.
Emma recently posted…5 Tips To Keep Your Dog Cool At A Summer Competition
I am beginning to be very happy that we have excluded chicken from the boys diet. This is crazy!
M. K. Clinton recently posted…A Snuggly Snuggle #52Snapshots
Good to know about the recalls!
De Hufford recently posted…Fit Dog Friday, Aussie Style
I guess when they're trying to prove their own theory they're going to find what they want: http://www.fda.gov/AnimalVeterinary/Products/AnimalFoodFeeds/Contaminants/ucm449501.htm?source=govdelivery&utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery
another recall… yes raw food is being attacked by the FDA… grrrr
Christine & Riley recently posted…Jesse , Super Shih Tzu Saturday Shih Tzu of the Week!
There have been a TON of recalls lately!!!!!
ღ husky hugz ღ frum our pack at Love is being owned by a husky!
Jenna,Mark "HuskyCrazed" Drady recently posted…#IHeartMyDog – A Love Letter To My Dogs
Thank you for sharing this
Sand Spring Chesapeakes recently posted…Puppy Breath~Black And White Sunday
What in the doodle is happening here with dog food? It seems like every other week we've got a recall. Thanks for the paws-up on this one buddy!
Groovy Goldendoodles recently posted…TAIL WAGGIN TUTORS


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The great hymns of our faith share the truth of scripture. They remind us of God's promises in times of trouble and relax our hearts when we are overcome with worry. Songs such as, How Great Thou Art, Amazing Grace, Because He Lives and It Is Well with My Soul, give voice to our praise, prayers and the rhythm of our heart. Join First United Methodist Church on Sunday from May 24 to June 21 for Then Sings My Soul, a worship series focused on the faith we sing.
- May 24 – Acts of Worship – Psalm 34:19
- Blessed Assurance
- It Is Well with My Soul
- The Old Rugged Cross
- May 31 – The Glory of the Triune God – Revelation 4:8
- Holy, Holy, Holy! Lord God Almighty
- In the Garden
- Because He Lives
- June 7 – The Grace of Jesus Christ – Ephesians 1:7-8
- Amazing Grace
- What a Friend We Have in Jesus
- Leaning on the Everlasting Arms
- June 14 – The Power of the Holy Spirit – Matthew 28:19-20
- How Great Thou Art
- Nearer, My God, To Thee
- Be Thou My Vision
- June 21 – The Faith We Sing – Philippians 4:4-9
- What a Friend We Have in Jesus
- Leaning on the Everlasting Arms
What is this sermon about?
This sermon is about the background story of What a Friend We Have In Jesus and Leaning on the Everlasting Arms, as well as addressing the Charleston Church Shootings.
Why is this sermon important?
This sermon is important because the faith we sing sustains us during dark times and it is important to consider the Charleston Church Shootings in light of our faith.
What is the context of this sermon?
This sermon is preached as an extension of the Then Sings My Soul before a Sunday off. On Wednesday evening, a gunman opened fire at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church, one of the nation's oldest black churches, killing nine.
What are the next action steps?
- Choose good.
- Choose forgiveness.
- Choose light and life.
- Choose to follow Jesus Christ, Emmanuel – God is with us.
What is the good news (bottom line)?
The good news is that "There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear."


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Originally from Michigan, but most recently from Colorado, Bailey started her college career in engineering. Looking for more creative balance, she made the change to advertising and fell in love with the balance of problem solving and creative freedom.
She started her agency experience as an intern with Up&Up, and after graduating from the University of Colorado, she quickly made her way back to Greenville and became a full-time designer. She's worked on projects for clients including Marian University, University of Kentucky, Wake Forest, University of Louisiana at Lafayette, and Clemson University, among others.
Outside work, Bailey enjoys spending time outdoors, being with her dogs, volunteering with the Red Shoe Society, discovering new (and old) movies, and watching Wheel of Fortune (she's definitely a "Wheel Watcher".)


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Samsung Electronics Singapore recently announced its partnership with Citibank Singapore Limited for Samsung Pay, the secure and easy-to-use mobile payment service that can be used to make purchases almost anywhere.
Upon the service's launch in Singapore, Citibank credit card members will have the option to make payments across Singapore using their compatible Samsung mobile phones. The partnership marks a new addition to Samsung Pay's extensive portfolio of major payment networks and banks, to provide greater flexibility, access and choice for customers in Singapore.
"We are very pleased and excited to have Citibank come onboard as our latest partner for Samsung Pay in Singapore," Vice President, IT & Mobile, Samsung Electronics Singapore, Mr. Eugene Goh, said.
"The partnership with Citibank, alongside our ecosystem of partners across payment networks, banks, retailers and merchants, assures customers that they will be able to enjoy the full benefits of using Samsung Pay almost anywhere in Singapore."
Mr. John Denhof, Head of Cards and Personal Loans at Citibank Singapore Limited, is delighted to work with Samsung Electronics to offer its credit card customers a faster and easier way of making payments using Samsung Pay.
"Our value propositions are already the best in each category and through this partnership we bring added convenience to our credit card customers, who can now simply use their mobile phones to tap and pay for their purchases,'' he said.
Citibank continues to prioritize efforts to make banking easier for its customers by leveraging digitization and innovation, he went on. "Samsung Pay is just one of the many exciting digital solutions that we are progressively introducing to our customers to offer them a differentiated experience that only a Citibank credit card customer can get to enjoy," he said.
The partnership between Citibank and Samsung Pay is a win-win collaboration for both parties. Samsung will be able to leverage on Citibank's extensive customer base and merchant network to promote greater adoption and usage of digital payments in the country while Citibank's credit card members using compatible Samsung phones will enjoy greater convenience in the payment process. With their digital wallets, Citibank customers, who are increasingly digitally-savvy, will truly benefit from being able to pay on the go, wherever they are, and whenever they want.
Samsung Pay Beta Test Program
Ahead of its launch in the second quarter, a select group of customers has been invited to register their participation in the beta testing for Samsung Pay. They will be among the first to preview the company's flagship mobile payment service in Singapore. Response from consumers is encouraging, with thousands who signing up. Registration has now closed and eligible customers will be notified progressively ahead of the Samsung Pay Beta Test Program.
Samsung Pay will be available to users of the Samsung Galaxy Note 5 4G+, S6 edge+ 4G+, S7 4G+ and S7 edge 4G+ in Singapore.
More Than a Payment Service
A secure and easy-to-use mobile payment service, Samsung Pay can be used to make purchases almost anywhere that credit and debit cards are accepted.
SIMPLE: With Samsung Pay, every transaction is made super easy. You simply need to swipe up to bring up the last transacted credit or debit card, scan your fingerprint or key in your PIN and make payment.
SAFE: With each separate transaction, Samsung Pay uses an encrypted digital token to replace sensitive card information to prevent fraud. Your payment information is better protected than ever before. Transactions made on Samsung Pay require a registered fingerprint or PIN for authorization, so you are in control when each payment is made. The encrypted fingerprint information is stored in a separate, secure area of your device. Samsung's industry-leading KNOX security platform, which received the most "Strong" ratings of any mobile security platform for Corporate Managed Security3, provides real-time kernel protection and monitors malicious software and activities on your device for added security.
ALMOST ANYWHERE: Samsung Pay is accepted almost anywhere you can swipe or tap your credit or debit card. By incorporating Samsung's proprietary Magnetic Secure Transmission (MST) technology, together with Near Field Communication (NFC), Samsung Pay will be compatible with the majority of existing and new payment terminals, allowing users to pay with their compatible Samsung smartphone almost anywhere.