text:
Dusk had settled on virtual Los Angeles, and I'd just hit a few pedestrians and smashed my stolen roadster near City Hall. The sound of police sirens was getting closer, and the nearest vehicle was an idling delivery truck. I pulled the driver out, kicked him a few times and jumped in the front seat. As I sped off, the car radio started playing.
Bingo! Charlie Feathers' grim country weeper "I Can't Hardly Stand It" poured forth. All was well in the realm of Los Santos, the fake L.A. setting of "Grand Theft Auto V." A city that players cruise while embarking on missions, stealing cars and causing general mayhem, Los Santos is a vividly — and darkly — crafted place.
Feathers' obscure gem rang as I headed toward the 6th Street Bridge, running lights and sideswiping lesser autos — I'm a novice, and certainly no gamer — while the rockabilly warbler strummed and sang about the sun going down and his love not being around.
INTERACTIVE: Discover songs of L.A.
The faux frequency was tuned to Rebel Radio, which features artists including Hasil Adkins, Hank Thompson and Johnny Cash. With a flip of the controller, a whole curated catalog of stations delivered DJs including Big Boy of L.A. rap station Power 106, actress Pam Grier, beat producer Flying Lotus, indie rockers Wavves and Keith Morris, former screamer for Black Flag and the Circle Jerks.
When it was released two months ago, "Grand Theft Auto V" locked in nearly $1 billion in its first three days to become the fastest-selling entertainment product in history.
Still, even as earbuds, Bluetooth-enabled systems and Beats by Dre headphones continue to infiltrate our lives, few are the songs about listening to your iPhone in the subway or doing Pilates while rocking the Cure.
Actually, as a professional listener, I find the car stereo is my sanctuary, my retreat, (mostly) my domain. It's my favorite way to hear new music — the claustrophobia of headphones be damned — and where I receive some of my least interrupted melodic messages. At home in my office I can listen as loud as I want, yes, but my wife, though tolerant, can't be expected to endure all my obsessions. In the car I can boom, scream and (ahem) rap without fear of ridicule or repercussions.
PHOTOS: 2013's year of controversial rap lyrics
I flip through the ever revolving pile of CDs in my back seat, checking out fresh sounds while stuck in traffic; scan the FM dial from KCRW (89.9) to Power 106 with no particular place to go; jump to SiriusXM for a few hundred other options or plug in the smartphone for my iTunes catalog and 15 million streamed songs.
First popularized in America by the Galvin Manufacturing Corp. in 1930, the earliest road models could fit into any car. So successful was the idea that the company survives. It evolved into the Google-owned Motorola, maker of smartphones you can listen to in your car.
Whatever the source, that magical convergence, music and driving, continues to define L.A. As we journey on freeways in what Joan Didion called "the only secular communion Los Angeles has," the stereo offers energy, solace, escape. Out there engines mix with car horns and motorcycles, but in the music zone, while you're stuck in traffic and working to remain Zen, sounds arrive uninterrupted.
No wonder some of music's greatest minds don't consider a mix complete until it passes the "car test": a roll around town with the recording cranked on the stereo. If it doesn't sound good there, something needs fixing.
For a time, Didion traveled to her reporting gigs from behind the wheel of a yellow Corvette. I'd like to believe that she chose the model in part because of its banging sound system.
I know I did when I recently went car shopping. I kept coming back to one old Lexus coupe in part because of the high-grade Mark Levinson system. When test-driving it, I carried two CDs: one that coupled DJ Rashad's new Chicago footwork album "Double Cup" with Houston rapper Maxo Kream's syrupy mix "Quicc Strikes," and a burn of Kanye West's "Yeezus." I'm one of those who, when learning that the used '08 was Bluetooth-enabled and featured a cassette deck, considered it a major selling point.
Lyrical cruising
As we ride, we sing along to lyrics about cruising, characters in a narrative written by songwriting (and car-owning) comrades. Within these lines are hidden histories that combined offer a sun-drenched snapshot of lives on the road.
The yowls of joy that dot Thee Midniters' otherwise instrumental ode to East L.A., "Whittier Boulevard", capture with hellbent distortion the sensation of racing the thoroughfare circa 1965. Across town, when the Beach Boys' Mike Love reminisces in "All Summer Long" about the just-ended season, he does so while idling in a car in front of his girl's house, as if to cool down after months spent in overdrive.
Randy Newman's "I Love L.A." tour of the town via 6th Street and Century, Victory and Santa Monica boulevards celebrates both the Valley and the basin with wry affection; the whole of Tom Petty's "Free Fallin'" feels to me like one seamless glide down Ventura Boulevard with the moon roof open and a miraculous run of green lights. Is there any better time to enjoy car music, after all, than when snarl gives way to wide open lanes?
Perhaps. Ice Cube's best 24 hours in "It Was a Good Day" involves, among other things, a Chevy Impala, Fatburger and sex, not a bad combo. Northern England-born Bryan Ferry in "Can't Let Go" was apparently living large in Bel-Air when he wrote in 1978 that "it's a winding road from Cuesta Way down Sunset to the beach."
What all share is an unspoken agreement: Good things await when you're behind the wheel in this town. Either a back-seat party is happening, a memorable night somewhere on Sunset is on the horizon or the ocean is beckoning.
The gist of Miley Cyrus' "Party in the U.S.A." involves riding from LAX to Hollywood listening to Jay Z and Britney Spears and imagining the sparkle that awaits her. Rapper Kendrick Lamar's breakout jam "The Art of Peer Pressure" sets him in a lower tax bracket: within a Toyota on Rosecrans in Compton "bumping Jeezy's first album, looking distracted." (For his part, Jimmy Webb once wrote that "Every time I drive my car past Rosecrans Boulevard/I wonder why I did it.")
RELATED: Best albums of 2013 so far | Randall Roberts
As a stereo hog, I would suggest Lamar eject Young Jeezy and pop in Earl Sweatshirt, more evidence that I'm mostly unbearable on road trips. For example, terrestrial radio mostly bugs me because, well, I'm a better DJ. Still, in open moods Los Angeles radio can offer its share of adventure.
DJ Fuze and Felli Fel's live mixes on Power 106 capture the vibe, as do KXLU's raw independent spirit and Henry Rollins', Anne Litt's and Garth Trinidad's surprising sets on KCRW. With few exceptions, commercial radio is seldom heard in my car. For my regular Top 40 fixes I rely on SiriusXM's pop channels (sans Ryan Seacrest).
Teen weekends
My car radio days began like most other non-New Yorkers: as a teen in friends' cars. I grew up in Southern Illinois and spent teenage weekends cruising in and around rural routes listening to Buzzcocks and Can cassettes in the back of my friend's vintage 1963 Chevy Nova. In summers we drove to a bluff that offered the clearest signal of the only St. Louis punk and new wave radio show, set up camp around the car stereos and absorbed the teachings of New Order, Black Flag and X-Ray Spex.
Little Richard finally made sense when smoking a first joint in the passenger side of my California cousin's Audi. Driving empty country roads, "The Girl Can't Help It" and its banging piano exploded with ferocity. I was high three times over on weed, the road and a Georgia genius.
Once-frequent road trips to Chicago were gauged by the number of mixtapes the journey took. Moving west as Radiohead's "In Rainbows" upended the industry in 2007, I can remember exactly how I first heard it: from downloaded MP3s copied onto my iPod, heading north on the PCH toward Big Sur, the Pacific on the left, sea gulls overhead and my heart lost in music.
Try capturing that in a video game.
REVIEW: Stubborn sexism, violence ruin 'Grand Theft Auto V' game play
Still, "Grand Theft Auto V" does a fine job with its programmed stations, mostly superior to — if way more limited than — the true FM radio dial. Kenny Loggins, for example, hosts a classic rock-heavy station. A pop hub features Fergie, Robyn, Rihanna, the Pet Shop Boys (whose "West End Girls" plays on a loop in a strip club). There are stations dedicated to old and new hip-hop, classic and fresh punk. Jazz or classical music? Don't be ridiculous.
The biggest difference? L.A. radio is heavy on Spanish-language programming, "GTA V" limits the dial to one scant station. At least it's a good one, curated by Mexican producer and record exec Camilo Lara.
"GTA V's" soundtrack supervisor, Rockstar Games' Ivan Pavlovich, has said that the music was crafted for the region. "What was important to us was that we capture that feeling of L.A. and California," he told Rolling Stone and added that he considers Vineland Boulevard Radio, hosted and curated by Wavves, to be "the embodiment of the young Los Angeles rock scene."
Combined, the game's 15 stations (including two talk radio options) offer a playlist containing 240 licensed songs, along with original music by Tangerine Dream, Woody Jackson and the hip-hop team of the Alchemist and Oh No. This work is as moody and menacing as the accompanying visuals.
Architecture writer (and Englishman) Reyner Banham once described the sensation of driving in L.A. traffic as causing "a state of heightened awareness that some locals find mystical." He wasn't referring to music, but the two experiences do share that lose-yourself-in-the-flow feeling of merging into fluid, evolving systems, of being a single note in a complicated arrangement that contains its own energy and personality.
Of course, it could be that they intersect for another reason. The soul-deadening, antisocial drudgery of the solo drive requires salve or diversion lest existential dread take hold. Drinking, texting or talking, doing yoga or having sex during a commute are either illegal or ill-advised. Barring the arrival of driverless cars or some Elon Musk innovation, how else are we supposed to survive?
My solution of late: dip into the pile, whether real or virtual, until you find something fresh, like "Hit Da Pavement," the new jam from Snoop Dogg (as Snoopzilla) and Dam-Funk. Two Angelenos whose new, road-rumbling "7 Days of Funk" album delivers Cadillac-sized bounce, the pair urge listeners toward the street with every measure.
Open the sunroof, take a few breaths until you get into the zone — and crank up the volume.
PHOTOS: Concerts by the Times
PHOTOS: Unexpected musical collaborations
PHOTOS: Musician feuds: The dirt & details


text:
Forensic teams from across South Florida tested their skills on a simulated bus explosion as part of a training exercise Thursday.
Agencies from Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach Counties converged in West Palm Beach County to examine their response to a drill of a terrorist attack.
Teams took turns examining the remains of the blown out bus for twenty minutes. Manny Cela, with the South Florida Regional Planning Council says the goal is collaboration.
"They're trying to find out what happened, how it happened" and even reconstruct the explosive device, he said.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Ryan Mathews is off and running this preseason, great news for the San Diego Chargers.
Mathews, slowed by two broken collarbones a year ago, carried 14 times for 57 yards and a touchdown, and the Chargers beat the mistake-prone Cardinals 24-7 for their first preseason victory under new coach Mike McCoy.
Mathews' performance came a week after he carried nine times for 45 yards against Chicago.
The Chargers blocked a punt, blocked a field goal and returned a fumble for a touchdown.
The Cardinals lost several players due to injury, including left guard Jonathan Cooper, the team's first-round pick who broke his left leg and was helped off the field in the third quarter.
Arizona's Rashard Mendenhall carried six times for 47 yards before leaving with an ankle injury.
Philip Rivers completed 10 of 18 passes for 71 yards with an interception. Arizona's Carson Palmer was 12 of 23 for 122 yards and a TD.
Arizona's problems began at the end of its first possession when Darrell Stuckey blocked Dave Zastudil's punt and the Chargers recovered at the Arizona 34. But a false start penalty pushed San Diego back, and Nick Novak's 51-yard field goal try was no good.
After a Cardinals three-and-out, San Diego went 92 yards in 12 plays, using up 6:51 of the first quarter. Mathews dived over the middle into the end zone, the first points allowed by Arizona's first-team defense in the preseason. The drive featured an unnecessary roughness penalty against the Cardinals' Ronald Talley.
Early in the second quarter, Arizona rookie Tyrann Mathieu hit Rivers' arm as he threw and the ball popped into the air. Jasper Brinkley intercepted and lateraled to Patrick Peterson, giving the Cardinals the ball at their 47. The Cardinals drove to the Chargers 8-yard line, but on third-and-goal, Rob Housler dropped Palmer's pass in the end zone. Then Kwame Geathers blocked Dan Carpenter's 26-yard field goal try.
The wild second touchdown came a short time later.
The third pass interference penalty of the game against Arizona cornerback Jerraud Powers put the ball at the Cardinals 1. Mathews went over the middle, but the ball popped free. Cardinals safety Rashad Johnson picked it up but, in an ill-advised move, lateraled to Sam Acho.
Acho was hit by Antonio Gates and again the ball popped in the air. Another San Diego tight end, John Phillips, grabbed it and returned it 3 yards for the score to make it 14-0.
A challenge by McCoy backfired and set up Arizona's touchdown.
Palmer threw over the middle to Andre Roberts, who dropped the ball. But McCoy challenged that it was a fumble, and indeed it was. However, officials ruled that Roberts, not the Chargers, recovered at the San Diego 16. On the next play, Palmer threw to Michael Floyd for the only touchdown for Arizona's first-team offense in the preseason.
The Chargers also scored on Fozzy Whittaker's 5-yard run and Novak's 50-yard field goal.
Ken Whisenhunt, fired as Arizona head coach after last season, returned to University of Phoenix Stadium as Chargers offensive coordinator.
Other injuries:
—Cardinals NT Dan Williams hurt his right ankle on the double-fumble touchdown play and did not return. He was out earlier in camp with knee and ankle injuries.
—Chargers CB Johnny Patrick left in the first half with a concussion.
—Housler also left the game, with a right ankle injury.
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.
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text:
|2006-01-06, 09:28
|Link #21
Aasu Ⅷ
Thanks for the info ando.
Then it's official:
Tokiha Mai 炎綬の紅玉 Enju no Kougyoku
Now i'm researching on Akane's unused GEM.
The first possible version is:
清廉の孔雀石 Seiren no Kujakuishi - Malachite of Purity(?)
Last edited by paTKany; 2006-01-11 at 12:53. Reason: changed the ju part in Mai's GEM from 授 to 綬
|2006-01-06, 15:34
|Link #22
Then up comes Zafo.
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Kingston, Ontario, Canada
For example, in a video game once could have a class called "Door". In the programming if you ask for "Door.Height" the class will return you a number representing the height (so you can tell if someone can go through it). Or, you can have functions, which are baby programs, inside the class. So you could run "Door.Open" and in the video game the door would go through an opening animation and make a creaking sound.
Given the technical nature of the rest of the text on the gems, and the fact that no one would ever look close enough to read them outside of a diagnostic context, I belive the "dot" implies that all the robes stem from a basic uniform design, and each unique robe is simply a list of changes on that.
Like, each gem has the basic elements of every robe programmed in. Like you're crazy strong, you can fly, etc. But Shizuru's "amethyst" subset would dictate things unique to her, like the colours, tails, her weapon.
Did this clear anything up?
|2006-01-07, 08:54
|Link #23
Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: UTC/GMT +9 hours
|2006-01-08, 12:02
|Link #26
Aasu Ⅷ
The Topaz is correct but the word "Suzu" comes from her old My-HiME name "Suzushiro".
Where 珠 su means precious stone, gem, jewel, pearl and 洲 zu means continent, island, islet. So it's Topaz of the Jewel Isles or something like this.
|2006-01-24, 01:18
|Link #29
Logician and Romantic
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Within my mind
Age: 37
The Pitch-Black Diamond.
(漆 means "paint", so the best translation is pitch.)
This is an obvious counterpart to Shinso Fumi's 真白なる金剛石 Mashiro naru Kongouseki. As her GEM is "True White" VS "Pitch-Black".
And yes, it appear inevitable now the Obsidian Lord would make an appearance some how... The Shwartz is a cult after all, and a cult need a dark God to worship...
|2006-01-26, 17:48
|Link #32
Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2005
Reminds me of a preview shot of some of the MH figurines. Nina's figure was all black from the shoulders down, I thought that was just a way of indicating they weren't done making it yet but now I wonder if they were dropping a hint... of course they also called Haruka a Pillar and we're still working that one out. EDIT: Now that the second OP has come out and shown all the Pillars, I guess we're not.
Last edited by kazekiri; 2006-01-27 at 12:52.
|2006-02-25, 10:29
|Link #34
Aasu Ⅷ
4 new GEMs:
サラ・ギャラガー Sala Gallagher - 銀河の藍玉 Ginga no Rangyoku - Aquamarine of the Galaxy
マーヤ・ブライス Maya Blythe - 怜踊の蛍石 Reiyou no Hotaruishi - Clever Moves(???) Fluorite
アイン・ルー Ein Ruu - 慧命の藍銅鉱 Emyou no Randoukou - Azurite of Intellectual Life(?)
カーラ・ベリーニ Karla Bellini - 雷鳴の柘榴石 Raimei no Zakuroishi - Thunder Garnet
Last edited by paTKany; 2006-03-01 at 10:05.
|2006-03-01, 07:12
|Link #35
Aasu Ⅷ
The following GEMs isn't confirmed yet (i need a proper Megami scan):
ユカリコ・シュタインベルグ Yukariko Steinberg - 幻惑の瑠璃 Genwaku no Ruri - Glamorous Lapis Lazuli
マリア・グレイスバート Maria Graceburt - 久遠の碧玉 Kuon no Hekigyouku - Jasper of Eternity
Last edited by paTKany; 2006-03-01 at 10:08.
|2006-03-01, 09:29
|Link #37
Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: UTC/GMT +9 hours
One more new GEM:
ラウラ・ビアンキ Laura Bianchi - 絢爛の頑火輝石 Kenran no Gankakiseki - Gorgeous(or Brilliant) Enstatite(?)
And some notes:
- It's natural to read 久遠 as Kuon.
- 柘榴石 is Zakuroishi.
|Thread Tools


text:
|2011-06-20, 08:30
|Link #21
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Australia
More cast announcements: -The Keikain Edition-
Akifusa Keikain: Showtaro Morikubo
Pato Keikain: Asami Sanada
Masatsugu Keikain: Hirofumi Nojima
Koremitsu Keikain: Makoto Yasumura
Goura Keikain: Takeshi Ooba
Hidemoto Keikain (27th): Yousuke Akimoto
Hidemoto Keikain (13th): Hikaru Midorikawa
and since this is a Keikain family centered announcement, I may as well repeat two previously announced ones and Yura's for the hell of it:
Ryuuji Keikain: Katsuyuki Konishi
Mamiru Keikain: Kenji Nojima
Yura Keikain: Ai Maeda
Spoiler for season 2 new character designs:
There's also three 15 sec CMs uploaded on the official site. Just click on 'Movie'. Doesn't show anything new, just a better look at some of the character shots from the PV. There's also a new Hagoromo Gitsune wallpaper under 'Download'.
Also, the fact that the staff blog featured the character designs of young Kiyotsugu and Shima as a sneak peek into season 2 has me suspecting that the often-mentioned-but-never-animated first chapter of the manga will be the first episode of season 2 as a series refresher, unless there were other childhood flashbacks in the manga featuring those two I seem to have forgotten.
|2011-06-20, 15:28
|Link #22
Beautiful fighter.
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: England, UK
Age: 32
|2011-07-02, 06:54
|Link #24
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Australia
Official site renewed earlier with a summary of episode 1. It is indeed the first manga chapter that's being animated at long last! There's also a bunch of awesome new key visuals:
Episode 1 airs tomorrow! Man, I hope the new staff wil help get this season right. They have to.
Last edited by Kakkou; 2011-07-02 at 11:11.
|2011-07-02, 07:04
|Link #26
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Australia
Yeah, she's coloured. Saw her cameo in the Jump Anime Tour Special and she was virtually full B&W save for red gradients in her eyes. Guess she was meant to look like that since the manga colour pages has her in monochrome most of the time too.
|2011-07-02, 21:57
|Link #27
Lets be reality
Join Date: May 2007
Really love that PV DEEN put out... just wish I could trust them....
|2011-07-03, 12:39
|Link #29
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Australia
Oh wow, oh wow, oh wow, oh wow! THIS. THIS is what season 1 should have been like from the start! The pacing is noticeably fast and the preview shows that the next episode will even even faster, which I hope doesn't end up being too fast now lol. But holy, this certainly shows how the first chapter made for a much better opener than the second. There's been some slight changes in the character design, mostly colour palette. The action, while not magnificent, is certainly more animated and better directed this time too. In fact, the overall animation feels livelier than the first. I love that they added a later flashback towards the start of the first episode as well. Also turns out that the music in the PV was actually the OP. While I like the music the vocals will need getting used to though. The sequence sure is more stylish than before and far more colourful lol. I don't know if this excitement is mostly a result from an underwhelming first season, but this was a great start!
Next week,
Spoiler for next ep preview:
Last edited by Kakkou; 2011-07-04 at 04:34.
|2011-07-03, 15:14
|Link #32
Lets be reality
Join Date: May 2007
Much better OP than what we got in the first season... and really looking forward to the next episodes.. those chapters in the manga were the first time it really made me go "damn this is going to be really good". Sorta in a similar way to when Saito rocked up and smashed Sano in RK....
|2011-07-04, 02:42
|Link #33
Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: Austria
They disarmed the cute so that the darker aspects blend in better. The humour seems more mischievous, too. The more alien youkai blend in better...
I like the new mood. It feels much more coherent. In this one episode, I cared more about Nura, than I did in the entire first season (where he mostly annoyed me). Good job!
|2011-07-04, 11:53
|Link #37
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Jacksonville, FL
Age: 25
Wow, what a difference a change in director and series composer makes. If not for the characters, I would think that this was a completely different series. Everything was better from the original, from comedic timing, to directional techniques, to action, to portrayal of the characters, everything. I dropped Nurarihyon at episode 14, but after seeing this episode, I'm going to pick it back up (apparently the second half of Nura was filler so I think I'm safe). If DEEN can keep up the production values, then this will be perfect. Judging from next episode's PV, this first ep doesn't appear to be a fluke.
|2011-07-04, 14:01
|Link #39
Miria's #1 Disciple
Join Date: Apr 2007
The new direction leaves a much better impression then the first season had on me.
Next episode looks like it will cover a lot of ground, which is a good thing compared to the glacial pace of the first season.
|2011-07-04, 16:00
|Link #40
Beautiful fighter.
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: England, UK
Age: 32
Wow, what an episode. That was hands down much better then the whole of the first season. Even the same score, which had better fitting music placement felt stronger.
Oh boy, i'm so hyped for this season now. That preview sent chills down my spine.
|Thread Tools


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(Having trouble with the video? Click here!)
When buying stock, of course it's important to understand a company's earnings report. Digging down into the nitty-gritty often reveals insights that can lead to substantial profits.
But there are circumstances when shrewd investors not only dig down, they also step back and survey sentiment in the sector.
That's because, "Historically a stock's sector has counted toward as much as 50% of a stock's performance," Cramer said.
Therefore in order to make money in the market, Cramer says it's critical to understand the sector as well as the metrics of each single stock in your portfolio.


text:
DUDLEY Kingswinford produced a monumental defensive display when they restricted title chasing Macclesfield to a 26-3 reverse at Heathbrook this week.
The DKs rearguard action was all the more commendable as they spent over half the game with 14 men after flanker Danny Hawkins was dismissed before half-time following a dangerous tackle.
Despite this huge handicap, the DKs continually kept Macclesfield at bay to the point where the Cheshire challengers could only manage a solitary second-half score.
Delighted DKs team manager Mark Holloway claimed: "Macclesfield arrived with the attitude that they were going to put a huge score on the board and they threw everything at us. But our defence was second to none."
Holloway praised the contribution of joint head coach Pete Knight and added: "Our performance was down to him. He helped the side regroup at half-time and the commitment of the players was there for all to see. They played with heart, enthusiasm and passion. It was easily our best defensive display."
The DK's fell behind when Macclesfield No.8 Ryan Parkinson scored out wide following a counter-attack.
Further Macc pressure resulted in a penalty try after the DKs were judged to have brought down a driving maul and fly-half Tom Eaton converted.
Gareth Bown then landed a penalty for DKs before they suffered the blow of losing Hawkins, but his departure only served to galvanise the remaining players.
They were unlucky to fall further behind when Macc's prolific winger Ed Stobart scored a controversial try which looked to have come from a forward pass, with Eaton converting.
The signs looked ominous at half-time, especially as Macc had the wind at their backs for the second-half.
But it was DKs who came closest to scoring, Bown being hauled down just yards short of the line.
Macc responded with wave upon wave of attacks, but DKs solid blue line stood firm until finally the extra man told when Stobart breached a stretched defence to score his second try which Eaton converted.
The DKs have no fixture this Saturday but then entertain Birmingham and Solihull on March 1st with kick-off time reverting back to 3pm.
The Heathbrook side will be without the services of 18-year-old fullback Ben Brown, who now embarks on a worldwide adventure, ruling him out of the last seven games.


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Whitney Who? Facebook Pics Claim Celeb Deaths Get More Attention Than Fallen Soldiers
It seems news is first broken via social media sites such as Twitter, Facebook and YouTube, and usually it is the first place people get their information -- sometimes true and at time hoaxes. With the news of mega-star Whitney Houston's death, naturally it was and has been the hottest news topic of the past week. If you have a Facebook account, certainly you've seen many posts and thread regarding Whitney's passing. However, some Facebook folks aren't too happy that Whitney's death is getting so much attention in the media.
Photoshop pros have pieced together pictures of deceased servicemen and women with quotes in the photos that read, "Whitney Who?" As if to say that celebs deaths overshadow our country's "real heroes."
Some of the comments that I've seen on Facebook have been setting off firestorms!
Do you think comparing the life of singer Whitney Houston to servicemen and women is fair?


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Sunday December 16, 2018
Washington News
IRS Online Shopping Security Tips
In IRS-2017-173, the IRS offered seven tips for online holiday shoppers. With "cyber Monday" and other online specials drawing millions of American shoppers, these tips can protect you from cybercriminals.
- Familiar Online Stores - Use online stores with good reputations and familiar names. The URL or online address should start with "https." The "s" shows the website has a security certificate.
- Unprotected WiFi - Avoid using public WiFi for online purchases. Thieves can monitor activity on public WiFi. If you use your credit card to purchase items on public WiFi, a cybercriminal may be able to steal your financial information.
- Security Software - Anti-virus software is reasonable in cost and should be used by everyone. It should update each day when you are using the internet. Do not use "free" security software. Do not click on offers for "free" security scans.
- Passwords - Use 10 to 14 character passwords. The best passwords have a capital letter, a number, a special character and lower case letters. Use a password manager with encryption to save all your passwords.
- Phishing emails - Be cautious if an email claims to be from the IRS or a financial institution. Do not click on any links if you do not know the sender of the email.
- Authentication - Many banks and financial institutions now offer multi-factor authentication. They will usually send a text to your mobile phone. After you log in, you will also have to enter the word or number that has been sent by text message to your phone.
- Encrypt Data -Your sensitive financial data should be encrypted if you store it on your hard drive. If you change computers, be sure to clean or destroy the hard drive of your old machine.
Published December 1, 2017


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Just as expected, Huawei today took the wraps off of its newest Android-powered flagship smartphone, the Ascend P7.
The Huawei Ascend P7 features a design that's similar to its predecessor, the Ascend P6, but the new model boasts a much beefier spec list. On the outside of the Ascend P7, there's a 5-inch 1080p display, 8-megapixel front-facing camera with panorama mode for taking "groufies" and a 13-megapixel rear shooter with an f/2.0 aperture.
Living inside of the Ascend P7's 6.5mm-thick frame is a 1.8GHz quad-core processor, 2GB of RAM, 16GB of built-in storage and a 32GB microSD card slot. Also included is 4G LTE connectivity, Gorilla Glass 3 on both the front and rear and a 2500mAh battery to power the whole package.
On the software side of things, Huawei has preloaded the Ascend P7 with Android 4.4.2 KitKat alongside its own Emotion UI 2.3. The device also includes several custom Huawei goodies, such as Image Signal Processor (ISP) that gives control over camera features like autofocus, white balance and noise reduction.
Also included with the Ascend P7 is a "super power-saving mode" that will kick on when the battery is at less than 10 percent capacity. Once enabled, this mode will dim the screen and only allow basic phone functions like voice calls and contacts. Huawei claims that this mode can make 10 percent battery capacity last for 24 hours on standby.
The Huawei Ascend P7 will be sold in black, white and pink at a price of €449. The device will launch in several countries in May, including China, the U.K., Germany, Italy, France, Singapore and the United Arab Emirates. Huawei says that the Ascend P7 will hit other markets later on, but it didn't provide any specifics.
Overall, the Ascend P7 appears to have all of the features that you'd expect from a modern flagship smartphone. The front and rear cameras sound like two of the biggest features of the device, especially the 8-megapixel front-facing shooter and its panorama mode, which ought to be attractive to all of the selfie addicts out there.
Now that it's officially official, what do you think of the Huawei Ascend P7? Will you be interested in the Ascend P7 when or if it hits your home country?
Via The Next Web, Huawei


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November 29: The UN will vote to recognize Palestine as a "state."
Currently, Palestine is a non-member observer entity in the UN.
The Palestinians have pressed forth to introduce a measure to upgrade them in the UN's eyes to a non-member observer state.
While being upgraded from non-member observer entity to non-member observer state doesn't sound like much, it does provide Palestine an opportunity to actually contribute and perform within the UN.
Most damning, of course, is that it would tell Israel and the United States that their treatment of Palestine is tantamount to suppression of what should be a legitimate, free country. An act bordering on apartheid, which the ICC (run by the UN, which could soon include Palestine) as "inhuman acts committed for the purpose of establishing and maintaining domination by one racial group of persons over any other racial group of persons and systematically oppressing them." I don't regard that as a possibility.
But essentially, this has the ability to be a game changer in favor of two-state negotiations in favor of the Palestinian people, as opposed to the Likud/GOP alliance, which does not want any such two-state solution. All the facts on the ground right now favor Israel, as they expand their land, take more of the Palestinian land, and pretend with each passing year that the '67 borders with agreed-upon land swaps is some crime against Israel's humanity.
The only real arrow in Palestine's quiver is international opinion. And this particular vote in the UN cannot be unilaterally shot down by the United States, so it is sure to be voted on, and sure to be passed by roughly 75% of the UN.
As such, the United States and Israel are, understandably, freaking the **** out. The US is threatening to withdraw funding for much of the UN. Israel is threatening to discard the Oslo Accord, which allowed Palestine self-governance. This could potentially mean apartheid in everything but name.
So things are going to get really, really fascinating.
I ultimately think that Israel and the US' bark is worse than their bite. Obama prides himself on effective diplomacy which cannot happen if he's going to war with the UN. Israel's Netanyahu is far less concerned with international opinion, but doesn't want Israel to end up on the wrong side of the distinction between internationally frowned-upon to internationally despised. Though he may be heading that way anyway.
Palestinians Defy Obama With UN Observer State Bid
By Flavia Krause-Jackson
on November 08, 2012
Palestinians defied newly re-elected U.S. President Barack Obama by pushing ahead with a second statehood bid at the United Nations that will raise their profile at the world body and highlight the stagnation of the Mideast peace process.
The Palestinian Authority yesterday circulated a resolution to put the Palestine Liberation Organization on a par with the Holy See, according to a draft that will be put to a vote in the UNs 193-member General Assembly, where the initiative has enough support to pass and the U.S. lacks veto power.
The latest steps by the Palestinians present Obama with his first foreign-policy challenge three days after he won a second term. A year ago, the Palestinians abandoned an attempt to be recognized as a full member state through the Security Council after Obama indicated the U.S. would use its veto there.
The PLO, which currently is an observer entity, is seeking a nonmember observer state status, according to the draft obtained by Bloomberg News.
By resurrecting the statehood issue in the General Assembly, the Palestinian leadership is trying to force the White House to pay attention to a moribund Palestinian-Israeli peace process that has dropped off the list of foreign-policy priorities for Obama.
In doing so, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is jeopardizing relations with Obama, as well as about $500 million in U.S. economic and security aid that members of Congress have threatened to cut if Palestinians proceed at the UN.
Issue Fades
The Palestinians have seen their cause fall into relative obscurity internationally since formal peace talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus government were frozen two years ago.
Peace talks stumbled over the issue of Jewish settlements in the West Bank, which Israel captured from Jordan in the 1967 Six-Day War. Abbas said he wouldnt return to negotiations unless Israel froze all settlement construction in the West Bank and east Jerusalem. Netanyahu has refused to renew a 10-month freeze on construction that expired in 2010.
Abbas will present the resolution in person in New York, according to a UN official speaking on condition of anonymity. A vote is expected to take place by the end of the month, the official said.
Still, the move isnt without risks.
When the Palestinian Authority was accepted last year into the UN cultural agency UNESCO, best known for its designation of world heritage sites, the U.S. response was to cut off funding that provides almost a quarter of the agencys budget.
The U.S. has said that American law would require similar cutoffs for any UN agency that grants the Palestinians the same status as member states.
International Criminal Court
The upgrade may open the door for Palestinians to join other UN agencies, including the International Criminal Court, where they could ask for Israel to be tried for war crimes.
Israels main worry is the ICC, Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erakat said in an Oct. 24 interview. They dont want me to have a sword on their neck.
The initiative could also jeopardize international aid that accounts for about 14 percent of the Palestinians gross domestic product and invite retaliatory measures from Israel.
As for the U.S., the administrations position hasnt wavered. The U.S. ambassador to the UN, Susan Rice, has said repeatedly that unilateral actions, such as the upgrade of the Palestinians UN status, would only derail efforts to restart direct peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians.
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Update to the thread: Israel has agreed to temporarily suspend a ground invasion.
Hillary Clinton is on her way to Tel Aviv. Morsi and the Egyptian mediation has scored a minor, tentative victory.
Sometimes, if you can put a pin back in the grenade for a day, reason can find a way.
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Andrew Sullivan:
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Once again, Israel acts like the adults.
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I give defleckshun a hard time on this issue, but it's only fair to say that his "wish" will come true..on both counts.
why? prophecy in the Bible...it was prophecied that Israel would be scattered among the nations, brought back to their homeland, and the Hebrew language maintained during exile and restored in the land of Israel....it was also prophecied that the land would be a barren desert and would once again blossom when the Jews came home.
It's also been prophecied that a false peace would be achieved, and the Jews, for the first time in almost 2000 years, would be able to rebuild their temple and resume sacrifices..that rebuilding is set in place and ready to go..
Prophecy states that Israel would be a trembling cup to ALL nations, including the US...Now that might come about from an act perpetrated by Israel, or the fact that we've been neutered, either economically or militarily. the fact is, we're a non player.... we'll see an Islamic ten nation alliance put in place to go after the Jews.....and three and a half years later, shit will hit the fan.
Be patient young one, it's gonna happen.
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I guess defleckshun just doesn't hear when the palestinians speak. They have NEVER, EVER sought peace. When they are all demonstrating and chanting "Death to Israel", "Death" does not stand for negotiate or seek peace. This is not a bluff, or just joking. The palistinians will always want war and death. Both the PLO and Hamas charter call for violence, death and hate.
Untill the people stand up and demand better, you'll look like a damn fool trying to spread blame around to both sides.
Do you know how much Israel does and gives in aid to help the palestinians?
Do you know how much the palestinians do or give?
Do you get why there is a blockaide?
Are you so pissed at Jordan or Egypt then? You realize they both have blockaids to the palestinians too right? Even with Morsi and their offshoot, the Muslim Brotherhood you realize they still have an Egyptian blockaid also in place that they maintain?
Because anyone with a brain isn't going to just lift the blockaid opening a flood gate to a terrorist group, knowing full well they will use it to bring in bigger weapons just to fire at more innocent citizens, to achieve their only real goal which is to kill more jews. Hey, you don't have to believe me, but just believe them when they say it.
You are a smart guy, with really great draft and football takes, but do you think you know what Israel or the palestinian territory is like sitting in Springfield Mo?
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Say the blockaid was lifted, do think the people would be better?
They wouldn't because the terrorists that were elected, and the people that put them in power only want to continue their terrorist behavior not seek peace. Which would then result in the deaths of many more.
Would you also try and negotiate with Al qaeda and work with them too?
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Israeli soldiers break their silence
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Such peace seekers
Senior Hamas military chief urges continued battle
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — A man identified as the most elusive top military commander of Hamas is urging the group's fighters to keep up attacks on Israel.
Mohammed Deif, seriously wounded in an Israeli airstrike in 2003, says Hamas "must invest all resources to uproot this aggressor from our land," a reference to Israel.
He was speaking from hiding on Hamas-run TV and radio.
Deif is one of the founders of the Hamas military wing and was its top commander until he was wounded in 2003. He was replaced as by Ahmed Jabari, who was assassinated by Israel last week in the opening salvo of its latest Gaza offensive.
The speaker on TV and radio was introduced as Deif, and a Gaza reporter said the speaker sounded like Deif.
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No, no deal.
I think the young people enjoy it when I "get down," verbally, don't you?
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Would be some serious karma if their rockets hit their own holy sites. This is how bad they want peace
Palestinian rocket targets Jerusalem for 2nd time
JERUSALEM (AP) A Palestinian rocket struck the outskirts of Jerusalem on Tuesday, landing harmlessly in an open area in one of the longest rocket strikes fired from the Gaza Strip in nearly a week of fighting.
The rocket attack, the second aimed at the holy city since an Israeli offensive began a week ago, set off air raid sirens throughout the metropolis. A distant explosion could be heard in the city's downtown. Jerusalem residents ran for cover as buses and trains stopped to let passengers off.
Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said the rocket landed in Gush Etzion, a collection of Jewish West Bank settlements southeast of the city. Last Friday's attempt to hit Jerusalem landed in the same area. No one was wounded in either attack.
Jerusalem, nearly 80 kilometers (50 miles) from Gaza, is the most distant city the militants have targeted, signaling an increasing sophistication in their arsenal.
Tuesday's rocket attack occurred as diplomats were trying to work out a cease-fire. Israeli officials estimate that Gaza's Hamas rulers will try to stage similar attacks ahead of any truce taking hold.
The attacks aimed at Jerusalem and the Tel Aviv area have dramatically showcased the militants' new capabilities, including a locally made M-75 rocket that appears to have taken Israeli defense officials by surprise.
Both areas had remained outside the gunmen's reach in past rounds of fighting, and their use dramatically escalated the hostilities. For more than a decade, the militants' range had been limited to steadily broadening sections of southern Israel.
The attack on Jerusalem was especially audacious, both for its symbolism and its distance from Gaza. Jerusalem had previously been considered beyond the range of Gaza rockets and an unlikely target because it is home to the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, Islam's third-holiest shrine.
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Even if Hamas clamps down on it's militant factions in the short term, it will just be a strategic lull in order to improve their position wrt Israel for the next conflict. That's not good faith. It's pretty much the opposite of good faith.
Boy, you all want power. God, I hope you never get it. - Lindsay Graham
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Boy, you all want power. God, I hope you never get it. - Lindsay Graham
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Nothing says your ready for peace more than ignoring efforts and constant rocket fire and some peace loving public executions.
Hamas militants publicly kill 6 suspected informers for Israel at Gaza City intersection
Masked gunmen publicly shot dead six suspected collaborators with Israel in a large Gaza City intersection Tuesday, witnesses said. An Associated Press reporter saw a large mob surrounding five of the bloodied corpses shortly after the killing.
Some in the crowd stomped and spit on the bodies. A sixth corpse was tied to a motorcycle and dragged through the streets as people screamed, "Spy! Spy!"
The Hamas military wing, Izzedine al-Qassam, claimed responsibility in a large handwritten note attached to a nearby electricity pole. Hamas said the six were killed because they gave Israel information about fighters and rocket launching sites.
The killing came on the seventh day of an Israeli military offensive that has killed more than 120 Palestinians, both militants and civilians. Israel has launched hundreds of airstrikes, targeting rocket launching sites, weapons caches and homes of Hamas activists, as Palestinians fired hundreds of rockets at Israel.
Israel relies on a network of local informers to identify its targets in Gaza.
The six were killed on Tuesday afternoon in Gaza City's Sheik Radwan neighbourhood.
Witnesses said a van stopped in the intersection, and four masked men pushed the six suspected informers out of the vehicle. Salim Mahmoud, 18, said the gunmen ordered the six to lie face down in the street and then shot them dead. Another witness, 13-year-old Mokhmen al-Gazhali, said the informers were killed one by one, as he mimicked the sound of gunfire.
They said only a few people were in the street at first — most Gazans have been staying indoors because of the Israeli airstrikes — but the crowd quickly grew after the killings. Eventually several hundred men pushed and shoved to get a close look at the bodies, lying in a jumble on the ground. One man spit at the corpses, another kicked the head of one of the dead men.
"They should have been killed in a more brutal fashion so others don't even think about working with the occupation (Israel)," said one of the bystanders, 24-year-old Ashraf Maher.
One body was then tied by a cable to the back of a motorcycle and dragged through the streets. A number of gunmen on motorcycles rode along as the body was pulled past a house of mourning for victims of an Israeli airstrike.
There is broad consensus among Palestinians that informers for Israel deserve harsh punishment, and it is rare to hear someone speak out against killings of alleged collaborators. Such public killings been carried out in the West Bank and Gaza since the first uprising against Israeli occupation in the late 1980s.
In Israel's last major Gaza offensive four years ago, 17 suspected collaborators who fled after their prisons were hit in airstrikes were later shot dead in extra-judicial killings.
During the current offensive, Tuesday's killings brought to eight the number of suspected informers being shot dead in public. On Friday, the body of one alleged informer was found in a garbage bin, and another was shot dead in the street. Hamas claimed responsibility for both killings.
Since seizing Gaza in 2007, Hamas has executed four informers by firing squad, and about a dozen more are on death row in Gaza.
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