NBC issues apology on Zimmerman tape screw-up – Erik Wemple – The Washington Post
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This is a complete screw up. I wouldn’t trust NBC with my news needs.
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RANT: NBC with its thumb on the scales
Saturday, April 7, 2012
Leave a Comment » | 
Ranting | Tagged: MEDIA BIAS, NBC, Zimmerman tape | 
Permalink
Posted by reinkefj
GUNS: True equality
Friday, April 6, 2012http://ncc-1776.org/tle2012/tle664-20120401-03.html
I Love My Guns
by Susan Callaway
*** begin quote ***
To start with, about 30 years ago I was attacked and would likely have died if I had not been armed.
At that point the man started to walk toward me, in a few words telling me just how he would hurt me. I raised the shotgun, but he just sneered and said confidently, “you won’t shoot me” and kept coming.
He was still too close to my car, so I aimed the .410 shotgun just over his head and pulled the trigger.
I saw the shocked look, just before I saw the blood on his face and chest where the tiny #6 birdshot had hit him. He turned and ran away, destroying a low ornamental fence in the process, but never even slowing to untangle it from his legs.
How would the world be better and more peaceful if I had been raped and murdered instead, simply because I had no gun?
*** end quote ***
“Victim disarmament is the view that it is somehow better to see a woman raped in an alley and strangled with her own pantyhose, than see her with a gun in her hand.” — T.D. Melrose
I think this summarizes the argument quite nicely. As someone said: “God made man and woman; Sam Colt made them equal.”
“An armed society is a polite society. Manners are good when one may have to back up his acts with his life.” — Robert A. Heinlein
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Leave a Comment » | GUNS | Tagged: .410 shotgun, armed society, good manners, Life, polite society, rape, strangle, VICTIM DISARMAMENT, you won't shoot me | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj
POLITICAL: Out of Afghanistan NOW!
Thursday, April 5, 2012http://www.downsizedc.org/blog/pulling-out-of-afghanistan-now
March 30, 2012
Pulling Out of Afghanistan NOW
Posted by James Wilson
*** begin quote ***
Quote of the Day: “In my opinion, any future defense secretary who advises the president to again send a big American land army into Asia or into the Middle East or Africa should ‘have his head examined,’ as General MacArthur so delicately put it.” – Robert M. Gates
2012 has been bad for the U.S. occupation in Afghanistan. That’s why I wrote to my Representative and Senators telling them to pull the troops out.
The hard-wired message reads…
Remove our troops from Afghanistan now.
*** end quote ***
What more does one have to say?
This is one reason I support Ron Paul.
We can add Korea, Japan, Germany, Iraq, … <insert all the other countries that we have troops in> … and Iran.
Oh yeah, we haven’t invaded there … YET … officially. (What do you bet we have scouts out? I would if I was the General who’s gonna get stuck with this duty.)
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Leave a Comment » | Political | Tagged: Afghanistan, Africa, American land army, Asia, downsizedc, Middle East, Out of Afghanistan NOW, U.S. occupation | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj
SERVICE: FACETIME on Apple platforms is marginally better than a cellphone
Wednesday, April 4, 2012I’ve been playing with FACETIME at the behest of a youngster related to me. Other than LUDDITE, no one I know uses it.
It presents some interesting challenges for parents and guardians.
It opens up a whole new attack surface for predators and peers. While it gives the FACETIME User the undivided attention of the person they call, it does create: (1) an uncontrolled access to the two people FACETIMEing. (2) Creates a level of intimacy that could be used to break down barriers and physical inhibitions when the two people meet. (I’m being intentionally vague so as not to give any one ideas. Adults, parent, and Guardians will know EXACTLY what I mean. (If you don’t, ask.)
Its marginally better than a cell phone because, as far as know, there’s no built-in capture or forwarding. I can think of ways to do it. Hopefully peers won’t; predators will be rigged for it.
Adults, Parents, and Guardians better have a good understanding of the technology and its implications. The children can mae it work with little or no help.
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Leave a Comment » | SERVICE | Tagged: Adults, APPLE, attack surface, cellphone, FACETIME, Guardians, intimacy, no built-in capture, no forwarding, Parents, peer pressure, peers, predators | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj
GOLD: Joe Scarborough Admits
Wednesday, April 4, 2012http://www.theblaze.com/stories/joe-scarborough-admits-glenn-beck-has-been-right-about-gold/
Business
Joe Scarborough Admits: ‘Glenn Beck Has Been Right’ About Gold
Posted on March 30, 2012 at 3:49pm by Becket Adams
*** begin quote ***
Today on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” Matthew Bishop, the US Business Editor and New York Bureau Chief for The Economist, talked about his new ebook “In Gold We Trust? The Future of Money in an Age of Uncertainty.”
Co-written with Michael Green, Bishop’s ebook discusses some awfully familiar themes: the instability of fiat currencies, the skyrocketing price of gold, and the future of the global economy.
“If you got volatile markets, why do you run to gold?” MSNBC host Joe Scarborough asked Bishop.
“This is a very interesting time because…the people who have been the most successful investors over the past few years, a lot of them basically are very worried about the future of the dollar, very worried about the future of the euro, and they see gold as the best alternative currency,” Bishop answered.
“And they’ve been right a lot,” Bishop added. “They have a lot of their money in that currency and I think the rest of need to understand why. It’s always dismissed as this kind of crazy rightwing thing to do,” Bishop added.
*** end quote ***
ROFL!
Bout time that someone, anyone, in the mainstream media acknowledges the economic reality.
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Leave a Comment » | GOLDBUG | Tagged: alternative currency, AU, future of the dollar, future of the euro, Glenn Beck, GOLD, Joe Scarborough, money | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj
INTERESTING: IRS Scammed
Tuesday, April 3, 2012http://www.theblaze.com/stories/feds-uncover-massive-fraud-irs-scammed-out-of-billions/
Business Feds Uncover Massive Fraud, IRS Scammed out of Billions
Posted on April 2, 2012 at 8:05pm by Becket Adams
*** begin quote ***
Federal authorities have uncovered a widespread scheme that may have defrauded the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) out of billions of dollars using the stolen identities of Puerto Rican citizens, according to a recent report from the Wall Street Journal.
“The perpetrators of the scheme, authorities say, swipe the Social Security numbers of Puerto Rican citizens, who don’t have to pay federal income tax—and are less likely to be on the IRS radar—and use their information to file fake returns,” the report adds. ”In some cases, they enlist U.S. mail carriers to intercept the refund checks that are disbursed [emphasis added].”
Dating back to 2007, the plan involves participants from both the U.S. and Latin America. Two sources claim the scheme was led by a group from the Dominican Republic. And although prosecutors have managed to obtain several convictions, they don’t think they’ve come close to catching the operations “top players.”
*** end quote ***
Can’t believe that the IRS was scammed?
One out of three medicare dollars spent in FL is fraudulent.
Once the Gooferment gets involved fraud, corruption, and losses are assured.
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Leave a Comment » | INTERESTING | Tagged: Dominican Republic, FRAUD, IRS Scammed, Puerto Rican citizens, refund checks, stolen identities | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj
INTERESTING: How to get cattle to fatten up?
Tuesday, April 3, 2012http://lewrockwell.com/mercola/mercola181.html
Is This More-Dangerous-Than-Aspartame Sweetener Hiding in Your Food?
by Joseph Mercola
*** begin quote ***
On August 16, 2000, the law firm of Hartman & Craven filed comments on the neotame docket pertaining to the lack of safety data submitted in support of neotameiv, stating in part:
“A food additive petition has been submitted to the FDA for the artificial sweetener neotame. In that petition, the sponsor claims the data presented demonstrate that the compound produces no adverse effects at a dose of 1000 mg/kg/day in the rat. The sponsor also claims that the product should be safe for patients with diabetes. A review of the data submitted to the FDA does not support these conclusions.
In fact, no safe human usage level can be determined based on the submitted data. The animal experimental evidence indicates a toxic effect on growth. The clinical evidence raises concerns about glucose control in patients with diabetes.
Searches for an explanation resolving the adverse findings leave no clear acceptable answers that would insure the safety of the public but does stimulate speculation on questions relating to possible liver effects.”
*** end quote ***
Now I am NO fan of the FDA. If you had to advance an example of “regulatory capture” (i.e., those being regulated run the regulatory body), then probably #2 on the list of examples is the FDA.
(#1 is the UN Human Rights Council where horrible dictatorships are a majority on that Council. Talk about the fox “guarding” the hen house! Why “we, the USA, is paying for that whole UN charade is beyond me. Thank Prez Wilson and FDR, what a mess.)
I found most interesting the assertion that using artificial sweeteners fatten you up. Like the cattle cited to bring the up to market weight.
Maybe we’re being dumb about this.
What did “Grok” (i.e., the mythical caveman in the Primal Diet series) do?
Drank only water! Ate only stuff he hunted or gathered.
Maybe we should do the same?
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Leave a Comment » | INTERESTING | Tagged: Aspartame, diabetes, FDA, glucose control, Grok, More-Dangerous-Than-Aspartame, neotame, regulatory capture, UN, UN Human Rights Council | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj
FUN: Taylor Swift wins twice
Monday, April 2, 2012Stayed up too late, two nights in a row.
Saturday night, watch FLOTUS present Ms. Swift with the “Big Help” award. The two were obviously fans of each other.
(But I did think the acceptance speech was awkward, but heart felt. Maybe the little girl is growing up and can’t just wing it anymore.)
(Yeah, I know. No life watching the slime show.)
I thought FLOTUS was a good sport when the slime flew. Some commenters on the UK site thought she was the devil incarnate. Fair’s fair. While I don’t like her politics, she did well inspiring little kids. And I heard nothing political in her words. And, it seemed like her girls were having a ball.
Sunday night, ACM entertainer of the year (again). (She owes it all to Meridith the cat. That probably sent all the tweens and teens to voting.) Sad that she was dateless. But she showed real class with her “shout out”.
(It’s reported that she’s promised to make it up to the sick young man in the hospital. I bet it’s even better than the ACMs.)
So other than admitting I have no life. It was two fun evenings.
(Who else could be “entertainer of the year” when she blew them all away in dollars earned?)
Oh well, what will she accomplish next?
(And, she was a knock out. Eat your heart out all the dumb guys who let her get away. Good jokes about “Denver sacrificing a virgin” and Swebow on the ACM.)
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Leave a Comment » | FUN | Tagged: ACM, FLOTUS, Swebow, Taylor Swift | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj
FUN: Child’s Prayer
Monday, April 2, 2012Child’s Bedtime Prayer
Now I lay me down to sleep;
I pray the Lord my soul to keep.
If I should die before I wake,
I pray the lord my soul to take.
God bless …
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My proposed Child’s Daytime Pryer
Now I arise from bed,
New challenges in my head.
If I should falter doing good today,
I pray the Lord to guide me back to His way.
God bless …
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Leave a Comment » | ADMINISTRIVIA | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj
INSPIRATIONAL: Swift’s date too sick to go
Sunday, April 1, 2012http://www.usatoday.com/life/music/news/story/2012-03-31/taylor-swift-date/53914560/1
Cancer-stricken N.J. teen to miss date with Taylor Swift
By Steve Wood, (Cherry Hill, N.J.) Courier-Post
Updated 1h 48m ago
*** begin quote ***
CHERRY HILL, N.J. – In his second bout with cancer, 18-year-old Kevin McGuire won over the Internet and Taylor Swift.
Now the fickle fight will keep the high school senior from Stratford, N.J., from accompanying the superstar to Sunday night’s Academy of Country Music Awards.
Hours after being in “great spirits” Thursday, and a day before his planned departure to Las Vegas for the show, McGuire was dealt a 103-degree fever and taken to Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, according to his mother, Vicki McGuire.
*** end quote ***
I can’t think of a more polite way to say: “Boy, does that suck.”
Hope he gets a replacement date from Ms. Swift. (I’d expect so since she’s one sharp kookie.)
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Leave a Comment » | INSPIRATIONAL | Tagged: Cancer-stricken, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Kevin McGuire, NJ, Stratford, Taylor Swift | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj
INTERESTING: Early warning for heart attacks
Sunday, April 1, 2012Home / Technology / Rethinking Healthcare
New blood test predicts heart attack weeks in advance
By Janet Fang | March 21, 2012, 9:00 PM PDT
*** begin quote ***
A simple test that spots abnormal cells coming from the lining of blood vessels can predict a heart attack a week or two beforehand.
Heart attacks happen when fatty deposits in an artery burst open. A blood clot forms to seal the break, but if that gets too big, it blocks off blood flow.
Blood vessels are lined with ‘endothelial cells’ that control the ability of arteries to widen and prevent clots. When there are a lot of large, misshapen endothelial cells, a heart attack is imminent, the new study shows.
*** and ***
In the future, patients at risk could have a nanosensor implanted in a vein to detect the abnormal cells and then send an alert to their phone.
The study was published in Science Translational Medicine today.
*** end quote ***
This is a great break thru. Fascinating that if could warn us about the widow maker.
From my time on the first aid squad, there is a whole class of victims — men in the forties, smokers, maybe Type A — that just drop dead. And, we had no chance to save them.
(Each one made me sadder. The adage was that each member had a limited number of these in their “tank”. Then when they hit “empty”, they’d have to give it up.)
My break point was a thirty something cancer victim without insurance who needed twice weekly transport in the middle of the night for cheap treatment. He was riddled with cancer and every little jiggle caused him pain, despite painkillers. That was the breaking point for me after 14 years.
I can’t imagine how “real” medical professionals, doctors and nurses, deal with this.
It’d be great to avoid that sadness for all involved. No one would be happier, except for the victim who dodges death.
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Leave a Comment » | INTERESTING | Tagged: Early warning, endothelial cells, heart attacks, lining of blood vessels, misshapen endothelial cells, predict a heart attack | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj
RANT: Buchanan’s “It’s all about race now” is on target for as far as it goes
Saturday, March 31, 2012http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=50546
It’s all about race now
by Patrick J. Buchanan
03/30/2012
*** begin quote ***
If it had been a white teenager who was shot, and a 28-year-old black guy who shot him, the black guy would have been arrested.
So assert those demanding the arrest of George Zimmerman, who shot and killed Trayvon Martin.
And they may be right.
Yet if Trayvon had been shot dead by a black neighborhood watch volunteer, Jesse Jackson would not have been in a pulpit in Sanford, Fla., howling that he had been “murdered and martyred.”
*** and ***
For all the abuse he has received, Geraldo Rivera had a point.
Whenever cable TV runs hidden-camera footage of a liquor or convenience store being held up and someone behind the counter being shot, the perp is often a black male wearing a hoodie.
Listening to the heated rhetoric coming from demonstrations around the country, from the Black Caucus and TV talkers — about how America is a terrifying place for young black males to grow up in because of the constant danger from white vigilantes — one wonders what country of the mind these people are living in.
The real America is a country where the black crime rate is seven times as high as the white rate. It is a country where white criminals choose black victims in 3 percent of their crimes, but black criminals choose white victims in 45 percent of their crimes.
*** and ***
Some Sanford police believed Zimmerman; others did not.
But now that it is being investigated by a special prosecutor, the FBI, the Justice Department and a coming grand jury, what is the purpose of this venomous portrayal of George Zimmerman?
As yet convicted of no crime, he is being crucified in the arena of public opinion as a hate-crime monster and murderer.
Is this our idea of justice?
No. But if the purpose here is to turn this into a national black-white face-off, instead of a mutual search for truth and justice, it is succeeding marvelously well.
*** end quote ***
I hope we can get back to the search for “truth and justice”.
Which will probably land us in the middle somewhere. Like the victim was no angel, but probably innocent. And the shooter may have gone over the line by not stopping his pursuit quickly enough, but probably innocent.
And, both “sides” of the issue need to turn down the volume and turn up the understanding.
I think a lot of this tracks back to the “(pseudo) War on (some) Drugs” and the Federal welfare destroying the Black Family and the Black Churches. And, as usual in this blog reflecting a fat old white guy injineer’s opinion, the trouble is with the Gooferment.
Dona Nobis Pacem!
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Leave a Comment » | Ranting | Tagged: black crime rate, Buchanan, George Zimmerman, Geraldo Rivera, Pat Buchanan, Patrick J. Buchanan, race, Trayvon Martin | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj
INSPIRATIONAL: Child’s awaking prayer
Saturday, March 31, 2012Now I’m not much of a holy roller.
First Amendment!
Probably a testimony to the basic tension between my English Anglican Protestant maternal Grandmother and my Irish Catholic maternal Grandfather. Due to a divorce, I spent a lot of time under the watchful eye of said maternal Grandmother and my spinster Aunt.
So you can imagine the fun when I went to my First Day at Catholic grammar school, Annunciation, and the good Nun says something like “It’s now time to learn the Our Father.” (What were these kids doing for their whole lives? They couldn’t read, speak in cogent sentences, nor carry on a conversation about anything significant!) So little, fat future old white guy injineer, Johnny chimes up and says: (quotes because so I am told by my Mom who was for the first of many times called to the Principal’s office to discuss little Johnny Reinke’s behavior) “Sister, respectfully, I know that, Is there something I can substitute?”
Needless to say the Good Nun, Sister Euphemia, was stunned and said something to the effect of “let’s see what you got sonny”.
So, as taught, I respectfully riffed out the Lord’s prayer with reverence, resect, and in a fine loud voice. And ended with … “For THINE is the power and GLORY forever and ever. AMEN!”.
And the good Nun went into cardiac arrest.
And, of course, I was on the first of many many trips to the Principal’s Office.
Reading wasn’t much better. Given the First Grade Reader, we were told to “familiarize” ourselves with the concept of a book. (Are you kidding me?) “Sister, I’m done. Do you have something better? A novel. Even the Bible is better than this.” Off to the Principal. (Another quote courtesy of the Principal to my Mother. I’, sure my beloved maternal Grandmother did this to put the Papists in their place.)
Yeah, you get the picture.
Finally, I was assigned to the convent to read the Daily News and the Daily Mirror to the old Nuns. They got a kick out of it. Eyes failing, they were “retired”. (What stupid concept. These were some sharp ladies.) So they got to contribute to the school by keeping this “annoying boy” out of everyone’s hair during “religion” and “reading”.
(The Principal’s specific directions were nothing racy and NO sports. One Nun followed the ponies and another was a Hollywood Star struck. My first education in selective order following.)
Any way, one of the prayers I learned at the hands of the Women’s Justice League (i.e., Maternal Grandmother, Spinster Aunt, and two other Aunts brought in as relief watchers. Every time I screwed up one of them would be looking over my shoulder.) was “A Child’s Bedtime Prayer” (i.e., “Now I lay me down to sleep …” ending with an ever lengthening litany of people to pray for).
My question is: Shouldn’t there be a “child awakening prayer”? For example, “Now I rise to wake, the Lord’s Day, I’ll take, one foot forward for Courage, the other for Bravery, … …”!
Seems like the world is out of balance?
Only took me 65 years to realize it.
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Leave a Comment » | INSPIRATIONAL | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj
POLITICAL: Canada starts to align retirement age with life expectancy; why can’t we?
Friday, March 30, 2012http://ca.news.yahoo.com/canada-raise-retirement-age-67-report-184156915.html
Canada ups retirement age in bid to balance budget
By Michel Comte | AFP
*** begin quote ***
Canada’s center-right government called for the retirement age to be raised and for major public service cuts Thursday, in an austerity budget that aims to balance the books by 2016.
Tackling unpopular measures that many industrialized countries are being forced to consider as their populations age, the Canadian government said its budget would help the country move a step ahead.
“Other Western countries face the risk of long-term economic decline. We have a rare opportunity to position our country for sustainable, long-term growth,” Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said in the House of Commons.
*** and ***
Flaherty said old age security and guaranteed income supplement benefits worth up to a total of Can$15,000 and now paid out at age 65 would be offered only at age 67, starting in 2023.
He also announced the withdrawal of the Canadian penny from circulation later this year, saying it costs more to produce than its face value. The move will save the government Can$11 million annually.
*** end quote ***
Seems a simple modest change. Will it make THAT much difference to folks who are 55 now.
I’d prefer something a little more dramatic at a much earlier age. Like 40’s go till they are 70. 30’s go to 75. 20’s go to 80.
And an annual “mark to market”. Remember life expectancy is supposed to top 100 in our life time.
I’d index it to inflation and means test it. If you’ve got 10M$, then you shouldn’t need the dole. Spend down to 10 and climb aboard.
Of course, ideally, everyone would be responsible for their own retirement. Like it was in the old days.
But then we were a free country!
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Leave a Comment » | Political | Tagged: age 67, balance the books, Canada, life expectancy, long-term economic decline, long-term growth, retirement age, starting in 2023, unpopular | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj
FUN: You’re_Not_A_Handyman_Until_You_Can_Do_This.wmv
Friday, March 30, 2012[TIP ‘o’ the HAT to: LUDDITE]
You’re_Not_A_Handyman_Until_You_Can_Do_This.wmv
ROFL! Real highbrow humor.
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Leave a Comment » | FUN | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj
SERVICE: Yahoo is now forcing a capcha on login
Friday, March 30, 2012Can it get any more annoying?
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Leave a Comment » | SERVICE | Tagged: capcha, Yahoo | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj
MONEY: FED screws retirees
Thursday, March 29, 2012http://finance.yahoo.com/news/how-the-fed-hurts-retirees.html
How the Fed Hurts Retirees
CNNMoney.com
By Annalyn Censky | CNNMoney.com
Fri, Mar 23, 2012 1:08 PM EDT
*** begin quote ***
The Federal Reserve has kept interest rates near zero since 2008, but the economic boost comes at the expense of these savers.
*** end quote ***
This is basically saying that the time preference for delaying consumption is ZERO!
When folks were planning their retirement decades ago, who would have guessed a zero interest rate scenario? Any financial advisor, who did, would looking for a job. There was always talk of the after tax interest rate minus the rate of inflation. That was figured at anywhere from 5 to 8%.
Yeah, right.
Now the after tax rate is ZERO and the inflation rate is guesstimate at 5%. (Pay no attention to the smoke and mirrors being blown up your <synonym for donkey> by the “news anchors”, the FED, politicians, and bureaucrats. You’ve seen the price of gas, the national debt, the amount of “dollars” being held by the various bailed out banks.)
The reason that the FED is holding the interest rate down is to allow the Gooferment to carry the national debt with ease.
The retirees are only one group that is being hurt.
There’s a long list; not the least of which is anyone considering making a capital investment. What is the true cost of capital? (I know some businesses that are making a 12% assumption. Based on historical averages in previous business plans.)
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Leave a Comment » | MONEY | Tagged: assumption, bailed out banks, capital investment, Federal Reserve, interest rates, NATIONAL DEBT, price of gas, Retirees, zero interest rate scenari | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj
IPAD: Penultimate interesting; catch a sale
Thursday, March 29, 2012http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/penultimate/id354098826?mt=8
Penultimate
By Cocoa Box Design LLC
** The original, easiest-to-use, best-selling handwriting app for iPad. On sale.
**Penultimate gives you the fast, tactile gratification of writing on paper, with digital power and flexibility. Take notes, keep sketches, or share your next breakthrough idea — in the office, on the go, or home on the sofa.
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Caught it n sale and recommended it to the other “kids” in the family.
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Leave a Comment » | IPAD | Tagged: iPad, Penultimate | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj
IPAD3: has some problems
Wednesday, March 28, 2012(1) Apple APPSTORE told me I forgot my password three times yay. Anyone who knows me and my tools knows that didn’t happen.
(2) Syncing my ipad3 to mcba (macbookair1) left it with about half the apps eternally waiting.
(3) Music files are “there” but unplayable.
Meanwhile ipad1 is stuck with updates that can’t be applied.
So much for moving to Apple because my problems with Microsoft!
######
Leave a Comment » | IPAD | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj
TECHNOLOGY: APPSTORE concept is fraught with risk
Wednesday, March 28, 2012No secret I bought the IPAD3 to replace my IPAD1.
It’s a disaster.
The reason?
The “appstore” concept.
With the IPAD3, you are forced to move from MOBILEME to ICLOUD.
Back in the old days, my Apple Id was “reinkefj”. Now that’s not allowed, it has to be an email address for “security purposes”.
“barbara streisand”!
(Haven’t heard ANY explanation of that claim. Nor any Press challenge of it.)
ICLOUD requires LION.
And, even then I can’t recover what was purchased on “REINKEFJ”. (Some was pay and some were free apps that have since gone pay.)
Argh!
I like the “old days” when I got a disk to install. When and where I wanted to.
Even Microsoft’s lame “activation” and “fraud detection” forced me to move from Microsloth to Apple.
And, here comes the same nonsense.
Argh!
Forewarned is forearmed. This is yet another attempt to make you pay again for what you’ve already bought.
I’m unhappy with the whole trend of our industry.
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Leave a Comment » | Ranting | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj
RANT: BHO44 promises reduction after election in blunder
Tuesday, March 27, 2012Obama to Russia: ‘After My Election I Have More Flexibility’
8:01 AM, Mar 26, 2012 • By DANIEL HALPER
*** begin quote ***
President Obama got caught in private conversation with a hot mic today in Seoul, South Korea, telling outgoing Russian president Dmitry Medvedev that Vladimir Putin should give him more “space” and that “[a]fter my election I have more flexibility.”
President Obama: “On all these issues, but particularly missile defense, this, this can be solved but it’s important for him to give me space.”
President Medvedev: “Yeah, I understand. I understand your message about space. Space for you…”
President Obama: “This is my last election. After my election I have more flexibility.”
President Medvedev: “I understand. I will transmit this information to Vladimir, and I stand with you.”
*** end quote ***
Well, that sums up the problem of “second term” presidents.
They can do almost anything!
Some would call this treason.
I’d call it a “sell out”!
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Posted by reinkefj
MONEY: Cashless society
Tuesday, March 27, 2012http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-202_162-57399610/sweden-moving-towards-cashless-economy/
March 18, 2012 5:09 PM
Sweden moving towards cashless economy
*** begin quote ***
But there are pockets of resistance. Hanna Celik, whose family owns a newspaper kiosk in a Stockholm shopping mall, says the digital economy is all about banks seeking bigger earnings.
Celik says he gets charged about 5 Swedish kronor ($0.80) for every credit card transaction, and a law passed by the Swedish Parliament prevents him from passing on that charge to consumers.
“That stinks,” he says. “For them (the banks), this is a very good way to earn a lot of money, that’s what it’s all about. They make huge profits.”
*** end quote ***
Big Brother?
Imagine that “the authorities” can see everything you do and, if not that, then every cent you spend.
There’s a value in anonymous transactions.
Not the least of which is the energy for storing all that data.
Gooferment must LOVE this.
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Leave a Comment » | MONEY | Tagged: anonymous transactions, cashless economy, Sweden | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj
SERVICE: Yahoo is enforcing two factor authentication
Monday, March 26, 2012
At least Google lets you opt out. This is my fourth annoyance, since Friday.
Are they TRYING to run off their paying Customers??
AND for some reason, I have to do it twice. (When I don’t even want to do it once!)
And, I pay for this disservice.
Argh!
Have to think of getting off this bunch of bozos.
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TO YAHOO:
Your new two factor authentication STINKS. Today I had to double authenticate twice. It’s the same machine that I used last week when you forced me to take an SMS message. And, the email choice are ALL three dead addresses. Argh! I’m a Technology Profession. Call me if you want to discuss the issues. p.s., SMS is not NECESSARILY free.
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Leave a Comment » | SERVICE | Tagged: annoy the paying Customers, forced use, two factor authentication, Yahoo | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj
POLITICAL: Jury duty IS slavery!
Monday, March 26, 2012FROM FACEBOOK
Stephen E. Phelps Jr.:
I probably won’t be buying her book. -Denver juror who lied to get out of duty arrested after bragging about it months later on talk radiowww.denverpost.comJuror No. 4361 was a wreck. Her hair hung askew in curlers. Her shoes and reindeer socks mismatched. Heavy makeup was smeared on her face.
Thursday, March 22 at 1:48pm near Orlando, FL
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http://www.denverpost.com/commented/ci_20227775
Cops and Courts
Denver juror who lied to get out of duty arrested after bragging about it months later on talk radio
Posted: 03/22/2012 01:00:00 AM MDT Updated: 03/22/2012 06:08:31 AM MDT
By Jessica Fender The Denver Post
*** begin quote ***
Juror No. 4361 was a wreck.
Her hair hung askew in curlers. Her shoes and reindeer socks mismatched. Heavy makeup was smeared on her face.
Denver District Court Judge Anne Mansfield — presiding over jury selection June 28 — quickly dismissed the woman, who explained in disjointed speech, “I broke out of domestic violence in the military. And I have a lot of repercussions. One is post-traumatic stress disorder.”
Now Juror No. 4361 — published author and Denver cosmetologist Susan Cole — faces felony charges after allegedly bragging months later on a radio program that she fabricated the elaborate ruse to duck jury duty.
Turns out, Judge Mansfield was listening.
The Denver District Attorney’s Office today charged Cole, 57, with perjury and attempting to influence a public servant, both Class 4 felonies.
*** end quote ***
Didn’t the 16th outlaw slavery? And before you raise the issue of the duties of a “citizen”, consider three things:
(1) The relation between a “citizen” and “his” Government is an exchange. The supposed citizen exchanges his loyalty for the Government’s protection. How has the US Government lived up to its side of the Faustian bargain? It’s own courts have held that the Government has NO specific duty to protect an individual citizen. Thus it has abrogated unilaterally this tacit agreement.
(2) How was this person’s obligation for “jury duty” instantiated? Did they sign a contract? Give their word (I.e., an oath of allegiance by some one seeking citizenship)? How? Just an accident of birth can’t indenture a servant for life.
(3) As a practical matter, do you really want people on a jury who don’t want to serve? I want people who will protect me from the Gooferment! Jury nullifiers who will hold the State to a high standard of proof. Punish those who infringe on the rights of their victims, abslolutely. But it has to be beyond a reasonable doubt by a government with clean hands. Think duke lacrosse. Or victimless crimes like prostitution.
Hence, I think this person is an object lesson for of us.
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Posted by reinkefj
INTERESTING: “Hunger Games” as a little L libertarian recruiting tool
Sunday, March 25, 2012http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1392170/
Hunger Games (2012)
A strong anti Government message
I’m sure that this movie will create some budding little L libertarians. Even more so than the recent “Atlas Shrugged”. If only because the theater was packed with youngsters. Some as young as 10. So much for PG13. And, of course, the obligatory crying baby!
On technical points, while it may win Academy Awards and be a box office smash, it is NOT “GREAT”! (Although I might go see it again to capture the nuances drown out by the poor crying baby. (Wasn’t that “child abuse”? Or aggression by the parent of stealing their fellow theater goers’ expensive experience.)
I didn’t think anything was especially note worthy. In the ENTIRE movie. in general. It doesn’t have a stand.out “Gone With The Wind” type moment.
It lacks the vivid realism of that opening scene in “Saving Private Ryan”, which as much as Hollywood could, puts you on the beach with a feel for the awesome ferocity and death. Made me realize that those D-day vets were one crazy group of men. With real ‘huevos rancheros’. Lacks the pathos of Tom Hanks in “Castaway”. Fails to terrorize us like “Psycho”.
It fails to communicatethe abject desperate poverty critical to the story line. The “District 12” residents don’t look like the starving Death Camp inmates in that “Band of Brothers” segment. Or the poor in Henry Fonda’s portrayal in “Grapes of Wrath”. Look at a picture from the Depression and it communicates poverty. In fact, the “poor” from District 12 look fatter than the average Hollywood starlet or runway fashion model. Hollywood can do anorexic well; the “hungry” cast looks downright fat.
In doesn’t havean iconic line of dialogue like: George C. Scott in “Patton” telling us “to make the other poor dumb bastard die for HIS country”; Jack Nicholson as Col. Nathan R. Jessep in A Few Good Men shouting “You can’t handle the truth!”; Michael Douglas as Gordon Gekko in “Wall Street” calmly quietly promulgating the Libertarian realization that “Greed, for lack of a better word, is good.”. Somehow “May the Odds be Ever in your Favor” just doesn’t do it; “May the Force Be With You” was best.
It doesn’t have the artistic beauty of “Avitar, “She Wore A Yellow Ribbon”, or “Casablanca”.
What it does have is those sometimes wordless messages to hate the elite, the Government, the System, and “the Man”.
For example, the Government doesn’t do maintenance well when Katniss Everdeen walks through the “electrified” fence. The reason there are drugs in prison is that humans are better than maze rats for finding away.
For example, the ruling class in the Capitol are effete drones living parasitically and vacariously off the suffering poor. Effie Trinket, wearing a costumer and wearing strange cosmetics, is an example of ego run amuck. Especially when she tells the condemned tributes about her inconvenience.
For example, in registering for the reaping, the clerks have all the humanity of the Post Office or the DMV. We see that repeatedly like when the trackers are inserted in the tribute’s arms —sending the message that we don’t own our own bodies.
So there’s a ton of subliminal messaging to create little L libertarians in the future.
So on that basis alone, it overcomes all its shortcomings. And revolutions don’t fail. The human spirit, like the maze rat, always gets through.
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Here’s a thoughtful well-written review of the movie. As opposed to what you read above.
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: the realistic real li
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Posted by reinkefj
GUNS: ‘Stand Your Ground’ doesn’t cover “following”
Sunday, March 25, 2012‘Stand Your Ground’ law a disaster says former Miami top cop John Timoney
Warned in 2005 that Trayvon Martin type-killings would result after law passed
ByJAMES O’SHEA,IrishCentral.com Staff Writer
Published Saturday, March 24, 2012, 7:29 AM Updated Saturday, March 24, 2012, 7:29 AM
*** begin quote ***
“Police officers are trained to de-escalate highly charged encounters with aggressive people, using deadly force as a last resort. Citizens, on the other hand, may act from emotion and perceived threats. But “stand your ground” gives citizens the right to use force in public if they feel threatened. As the law emphatically states, a citizen has “no duty to retreat and has the right to stand his or her ground.”
*** end quote ***
The is NOT imho a “stand your ground” case.
This fellow was told by the 911 operator to let the boy go.
He was following; how’s that “standing”?
We see police and prosecutorial abuse of legal gun owners often. This law is merely protecting the innocent.
This is the first such incident we’ve heard about since ’05. That’s 7 years! Not exactly the “blood in the streets” that the anti-gun folks always predict.
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Leave a Comment » | GUNS | Tagged: Stand Your Ground, Trayvon Martin | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj
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