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"For when they shall say, Peace and safety..."

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December 31, 2022, 10:08:58 am NilsFor1611 says: blessings
August 08, 2018, 02:38:10 am suzytr says: Hello, any good churches in the Sacto, CA area, also looking in Reno NV, thanks in advance and God Bless you Smiley
January 29, 2018, 01:21:57 am Christian40 says: It will be interesting to see what happens this year Israel being 70 years as a modern nation may 14 2018
October 17, 2017, 01:25:20 am Christian40 says: It is good to type Mark is here again!  Smiley
October 16, 2017, 03:28:18 am Christian40 says: anyone else thinking that time is accelerating now? it seems im doing days in shorter time now is time being affected in some way?
September 24, 2017, 10:45:16 pm Psalm 51:17 says: The specific rule pertaining to the national anthem is found on pages A62-63 of the league rulebook. It states: “The National Anthem must be played prior to every NFL game, and all players must be on the sideline for the National Anthem. “During the National Anthem, players on the field and bench area should stand at attention, face the flag, hold helmets in their left hand, and refrain from talking. The home team should ensure that the American flag is in good condition. It should be pointed out to players and coaches that we continue to be judged by the public in this area of respect for the flag and our country. Failure to be on the field by the start of the National Anthem may result in discipline, such as fines, suspensions, and/or the forfeiture of draft choice(s) for violations of the above, including first offenses.”
September 20, 2017, 04:32:32 am Christian40 says: "The most popular Hepatitis B vaccine is nothing short of a witch’s brew including aluminum, formaldehyde, yeast, amino acids, and soy. Aluminum is a known neurotoxin that destroys cellular metabolism and function. Hundreds of studies link to the ravaging effects of aluminum. The other proteins and formaldehyde serve to activate the immune system and open up the blood-brain barrier. This is NOT a good thing."
http://www.naturalnews.com/2017-08-11-new-fda-approved-hepatitis-b-vaccine-found-to-increase-heart-attack-risk-by-700.html
September 19, 2017, 03:59:21 am Christian40 says: bbc international did a video about there street preaching they are good witnesses
September 14, 2017, 08:06:04 am Psalm 51:17 says: bro Mark Hunter on YT has some good, edifying stuff too.
September 14, 2017, 04:31:26 am Christian40 says: i have thought that i'm reaping from past sins then my life has been impacted in ways from having non believers in my ancestry.
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Author Topic: "For when they shall say, Peace and safety..."  (Read 23389 times)
Kilika
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« Reply #90 on: September 24, 2013, 02:17:59 pm »

Quote
Posting this here b/c sometimes I wonder if before the rapture, there could be a temporary period of a booming economy(even more so than the 1990's "prosperity" decade - which of course ended at the turn of the century when dot.com businesses went bust) - something like this would deceive the country, and the whole world into thinking everything has turned the corner, and Obama's approval ratings would go through the roof(after being the most unpopular President this country ever had).

The world loves money and is driven by their lusts for it, so I guess it's reasonable that there could be a period of financial prosperity for some. Kind of like it is now, and really, always has been. The key is that what the world projects is in fact a lie, a misdirection, an illusion. Just like some say, "Image is everything". Ironically, scripture verifies that trait in carnal man when it says that man looks on the "outward appearance". It's true. They truly are focused on laying up treasures on earth.
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« Reply #91 on: October 29, 2013, 08:36:57 pm »

http://finance.yahoo.com/video/dow-p-500-close-record-235200898.html
Video: Dow, S&P 500 close at record highs
10/29/13

Discussing why stocks are going up, and the state of consumer spending, with Michael Holland, Holland and Company, and Michael Ozanian, Forbes Magazine.
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« Reply #92 on: December 31, 2013, 10:22:12 pm »

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/futures-flat-wall-st-heads-125240819.html
Wall St. ends best year since 1990s with moderate gains
12/31/13

By Ryan Vlastelica

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks closed out their best year in more than 15 on Tuesday, with major indexes advancing throughout 2013 on the back of the Federal Reserve's massive stimulus and expectations for accelerating growth going forward.

Wall Street ended 2013 with its positive momentum intact, advancing in its final trading day of the year on the back of positive consumer confidence data.

The S&P 500 rose 29.6 percent over the year, its best annual performance since 1997, while the Dow climbed 26.5 percent in its best year since 1995. The Nasdaq jumped 38.3 percent, its best year since 2009.

Both the Dow and the S&P 500 finished the final trading day of 2013 at record closing highs.

In a sign of improving sentiment, the CBOE Volatility Index (.VIX) or VIX fell 23.9 percent over the year, the biggest annual drop for the so-called "fear index" since 2009.

All 10 S&P 500 sector indexes ended the year with gains as investors rode the Fed's extraordinary stimulus in a year that had only the slightest of hiccups. Wall Street even weathered a partial shutdown of the U.S. government, as well as the recent announcement that the Fed would trim its monthly bond purchases in response to an improving economic picture.

"This has been a terrific year, with all the concerns we had in January (2013) proving unfounded, and with current economic growth giving us a strong outlook for 2014," said John Carey, portfolio manager at Pioneer Investment Management in Boston.

Trading volume was once again light in U.S. markets, which will be closed Wednesday for the New Year's holiday. Still, investors found reasons to buy after a read on consumer confidence rose more than expected in December.

The S&P/Case-Shiller composite index of home prices in 20 metropolitan areas gained 0.2 percent in October from September, but posted the strongest annualized gain in October in more than seven years.

"There's been a generally positive trend to news, including the confidence report, which bodes well for conditions next year and gives us really no reason to sell," said Carey, who helps oversee $220 billion in assets.

About 63 percent of stocks traded on the New York Stock Exchange closed higher for the day, while 55 percent of the shares traded on the Nasdaq ended in positive territory.

The Dow Jones industrial average (^DJI) gained 72.37 points, or 0.44 percent, to end at 16,576.66. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index (^GSPC) advanced 7.29 points, or 0.40 percent, to finish at 1,848.36. The Nasdaq Composite Index (^IXIC) rose 22.39 points, or 0.54 percent, to close at 4,176.59.

The Dow also touched an all-time intraday high of 16,588.25 on Tuesday, while the S&P 500 set a record intraday peak of 1,849.44.

In the fourth quarter, the Dow rose 9.6 percent, the S&P 500 gained 9.9 percent and the Nasdaq climbed 10.7 percent. In December alone, the Dow advanced 3 percent, the S&P 500 rose 2.4 percent and the Nasdaq shot up 2.9 percent. It was the fourth straight monthly rally for all three.

Gains in the year were led by consumer discretionary stocks, with the sector index (.SPLRCD) up 40.4 percent. The sectors with the slimmest gains of the year - telecom (.SPLRCL), which rose 6.6 percent, and utilities (.SPSMCU), up 16.5 percent - are both considered defensive groups.

Among specific names, Netflix Inc (NFLX.O) was the S&P 500's biggest gainer, soaring 295.6 percent. Newmont Mining (NEM.N) was the index's biggest loser, falling 50.6 percent in 2013. Only 38 stocks in the S&P 500 ended the year in the red.

Few investors expect 2014 to deliver the same scale of returns. According to the most recent Reuters equity poll, the S&P 500 is seen rising to 1,925 by the end of 2014, which represents an upside of 4.1 percent from current levels.

In the corporate arena, Hertz Global Holdings Inc (HTZ) surged 10.5 percent to close at $28.62 after the company said it had adopted a one-year shareholder rights plan in response to "unusual and substantial activity" it has observed in its shares.

Marvell Technology Group Ltd (MRVL) jumped 4.5 percent to end at $14.38 after private equity firm KKR & Co LLP (KKR) reported a 6.8 percent stake in the chipmaker, according to a regulatory filing.

Twitter Inc (TWTR.N) broke its steep two-day losing streak, gaining 5.2 percent to close at $63.65. The stock's price had tumbled 17 percent between Thursday and Monday.

About 4.31 billion shares traded on all U.S. platforms, according to BATS exchange data, well below the December average of 5.89 billion shares.
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« Reply #93 on: February 02, 2014, 03:43:04 pm »

http://www.myfoxny.com/story/24594504/no-fly-zone-over-metlife-stadium
No-fly zone over MetLife Stadium
1/30/14

MYFOXNY.COM -
The skies above and around MetLife Stadium will be in a no-fly zone on Super Bowl Sunday.

The first level of defense will be provided by Black Hawk helicopters with U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The unarmed helos will serve as the eyes in the sky.

And if a hostile aircraft enters restricted air space near MetLife stadium, New Jersey Air National Guard F-16s based in Atlantic City will be scrambled.

Colonel Brad Everman of the 177th Fighter Wing said his pilots have been training for months and are prepared to secure the skies above the big game.

"It's not necessarily a hostile aircraft. It could be someone who is lost. It could be someone who had aircraft issues and is simply trying to fly a flight path they think is safest. So there's not necessarily a presumption of hostility," Col. Everman says.

But, he says they will be ready if a hostile aircraft enters the space.

"It's a layered defense, so what we hope to do is to get their attention and move them away from the Super Bowl. If not, a graduated response to do what we need to do to provide the safety and security," Col. Everman says.

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Kilika
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« Reply #94 on: February 03, 2014, 01:50:37 am »

I'm thinking Payton and company wish security had not let Seattle into the stadium!  Cheesy

Sorry Payton, your not a football god, your just another man with an inflated ego. Maybe next year!  Wink
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« Reply #95 on: February 03, 2014, 06:14:59 am »

1The 5:3  For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.


I've been thinking about this verse for awhile - notice this verse does NOT say, "There IS Peace and safety"(meaning they're *relieved* there's an [appearance]of just that). But rather, it LOOKS LIKE they're SAYING this b/c they WANT peace and safety?

IOW - look at all of the Police State measures they've been implementing at sporting events, "lockdowns" in schools(in the wave of all of these shootings), etc. Or how about the Patriot Act, and that Martial Law exercise in Boston when they were looking for one of those "bombers"? Or how about after Katrina when the Clergy Response Teams in the Gulf Coast worked with FEMA? And FEMA went around confiscating everyone's guns during this time?

They came about b/c pretty much the population(for the most part, that is) have been BEGGING for it. Personally, I was just a mere window-shopping Churchianity goer when I lived in New Orleans during Katrina, and when my "pastor" was part of this CRT helping the government, I'll admit I thought it was a great idea at the time.

Just wondering - what does everyone else think? Bringing this up b/c something I've been thinking about for awhile.
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« Reply #96 on: February 03, 2014, 11:59:24 am »

Yeah, I agree, it's the world trying to pacify the public with reassurances that everything is okay.

Carnal man believes he's master of his own existence. They also believe there are those who are the "experts", and then there is the public masses that the elites claim don't have the ability to fend for themselves, so they need those experts to manage life for them, thus those elites put themselves on a pedestal as somebody important and in charge and in turn insist the masses obey the commands of those experts.

So, those experts tell the public everything is okay, to appease them, and to try to prevent panic and chaos, because I believe people in general know when they are being lied to, and the father of lies knows that. He knows the unbelieving public knows what they don't like, and that the public will definitely not like what is coming from the world, thus all these various agencies are arming themselves and getting military grade equipment, preparing for the backlash that I think is coming in the end.

Other than the greed and corruption, in a world where God doesn't exist, their way of doing things seems to make sense on the surface, if man were actually alone in the universe. It seems to make sense they would make preparations for disasters, pre-stage supplies, etc. And of course it makes sense that you would want your law enforcement to be better armed than criminals, right? Wouldn't want thugs to have the upper hand over the public now would we?

Makes for an easy cover explanation, and the ignorant public is none the wiser, so long as they feel safe of course. But we know the reality is that the public is in fact being lied to, that it is not all peace and safety at all. Every single person's soul who has not repented are at risk of eternal death, but the father of lies doesn't tell the public that now does he? Instead he tells them, "It's all okay, don't worry, we got this", which couldn't be further from the truth.
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« Reply #97 on: February 11, 2014, 12:20:28 pm »

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-26129171
11 February 2014 Last updated at 07:12 ET

China and Taiwan in first government talks

China and Taiwan have held their first high-level talks since the end of the Chinese civil war in 1949.

Wang Yu-chi and Zhang Zhijun, the top cross-strait officials from each side, attended the four-day talks in Nanjing.

No official agenda was released for the talks, which are widely seen as a confidence-building exercise.

China regards Taiwan as part of its territory. In the past, all talks have gone via quasi-official organisations.

Mr Zhang, head of mainland China's Taiwan Affairs Office, said: "It's impossible to imagine in the past that we could sit here and meet."

"We must have some imagination if [we want to] resolve some difficulties, not just for such a meeting, we should also have a bigger imagination for cross-strait future development," he added.

Mr Wang, head of Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council, described the meeting as "a new chapter for cross-strait relations".

"For us to simply sit at the same table, sit down to discuss issues, is already not an easy thing."

Improving ties
 
Given the sensitivities, the meeting room had no flags on display, and the officials' nameplates had no titles or affiliations, the AFP news agency reported.

Beijing insists that Taiwan is part of China and has a stated aim of reclaiming the island.

Taiwan still calls itself the Republic of China and nominally claims the same territory as the Communist government in Beijing, although it does not press these claims.

The US is committed to defending Taipei, despite not formally recognising Taiwan as an independent country.

The situation has created a decades-long military stand-off between Beijing and Washington
.

But cross-strait ties have improved since Taiwan's pro-Beijing President Ma Ying-jeou was elected in 2008.

Cross-strait flights began in 2008, and tourists from the mainland have boosted Taiwan's economy.

Trade agreements have allowed Taiwanese technology firms to expand massively, investing billions of dollars in the mainland.

However, Mr Ma is unpopular and analysts say his governing Kuomintang party is likely to lose local elections later this year.

'Universal value'
 
The talks are the first formal government-to-government dialogue since the 1949 split.

For years, mainland China and Taiwan dealt with each other indirectly, though so-called friendship associations and trade groups, the BBC's Celia Hatton in Beijing reports.

Amid all the smiles, tension remains: China refuses to retract its long-standing threat that it could eventually take back Taiwan, by force if necessary, our correspondent adds.

Taiwan negotiators are likely to propose the posting of permanent representatives on each other's territories.

But they will also face pressure to talk about press freedom after China refused accreditation to several media outlets.

"Press freedom is a universal value," Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council said in a statement.

"We've repeatedly said that the most important thing regarding news exchange between the two sides is the free and equal flow of information."

Many Taiwanese are sensitive to issues of press freedom, having lived under a dictatorship that tightly controlled the media until the 1980s.

Correspondents say Beijing's negotiators are likely to press for closer economic co-operation.
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« Reply #98 on: February 11, 2014, 01:54:25 pm »

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Correspondents say Beijing's negotiators are likely to press for closer economic co-operation.

It's all about bringing countries into the universal fold of "international commerce". We know it as the love of money. China is just calling in their cut of the action. As they say, "It's just business".
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« Reply #99 on: February 11, 2014, 04:19:21 pm »

It's all about bringing countries into the universal fold of "international commerce". We know it as the love of money. China is just calling in their cut of the action. As they say, "It's just business".

And all of this is doing just that - merging everything together, which is ever so closely edging to the last days prophecies.

It's a lot like these Babel church buildings - these pastors and other leaderships are doing this "church growth" aka building memberships nonsense b/c of the love of money. But their eyes are being blinded to the fact that it's edging closer and closer to this One World Church system.
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« Reply #100 on: February 23, 2014, 09:25:58 pm »

http://news.yahoo.com/much-needed-rain-snow-hit-parched-california-223946787.html
2/23/14
Much-needed rain, snow to hit parched California

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Meteorologists forecast a pair of storms could dump several inches of rain on parched cities and croplands throughout California in the coming week, bringing welcome news to a state that has just endured its driest year in recorded history.

While the rain won't be enough to end the drought, the National Weather Service projected Sunday that the much-needed precipitation could nearly double the amount of rainfall in parts of Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area this year.

By next Saturday, the twin Pacific storms are expected to bring as much as 2 inches of rain to the coast and several feet of snow to the Sierra Nevada.

The first storm on Wednesday won't offer much relief, just light overnight rains heading into Thursday. By Friday, radar images show the second storm should drench the entire state for 24 hours.

"We're not calling it a drought-buster, but it definitely will make a difference," said Jim Bagnall, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Hanford, one of many San Joaquin Valley towns where farmers have fallowed crops in anticipation of record low water supplies. "With these few storms, we could see about an inch total in the valley. So this could obviously have some significant impact."

The wet weather is badly needed: Since July 1, only 5.85 inches of rain have fallen in San Francisco, or about 35 percent of normal for this time of year. Just 1.2 inches have fallen in downtown Los Angeles, compared to 10.45 inches in a normal year.

The heavy rains will likely lead to flash flooding and runoff, carrying mud, trees and debris in areas burned in recent fires, such as the Colby fire, near Glendora.

"People who live around the burn areas need to be aware that Friday and Saturday could be potentially dangerous days," said Andrew Rorke, senior meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Oxnard.

At higher elevations, the storms could blanket the Sierra in several feet of snow reaching down as low as about 4,500 feet, Bagnall said.

Looking further into the future, meteorologists say computer models show another sign of hope: greater chances that this year could see El Nino conditions and accompanying rainfall.

The San Jose Mercury News reports (http://bit.ly/1fmbIyT) researchers at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said in November there was a 36 percent chance of El Nino conditions developing by August 2014. NOAA recently updated that probability to 49 percent.

"There's been an uptick recently. More models favor El Niño," said Jon Gottschalck, acting chief of operational prediction at NOAA's Climate Prediction Center in College Park, Md. "We certainly don't want to promise anything, but conditions are looking better."

Scientists are quick to say that El Nino conditions don't guarantee that California will get intense rainfall. But if the pattern is strong and temperatures are warm in the Pacific Ocean, the likelihood of heavy rainfall increases.
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« Reply #101 on: February 24, 2014, 05:25:18 am »

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"We're not calling it a drought-buster, but it definitely will make a difference," said Jim Bagnall, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Hanford,

No Jim it won't. It just delays the inevitable.
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« Reply #102 on: February 24, 2014, 05:25:10 pm »

http://sports.ca.msn.com/nfl/news/michael-sam-jason-collins-paving-the-way-for-a-better-workplace-world
Updated: February 24, 2014 2:01 PM | By Scott Fujita, FOX Sports
Michael Sam, Jason Collins paving the way for a better workplace, world

Jason Collins played for the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday. Michael Sam is heading toward a career in the NFL. What these two men are also doing by saying they are openly gay is helping the cause of inclusivity as well as providing invaluable lessons to us all.


Who cares? What’s the big deal? Why are we even talking about this stuff?

These are a few of the questions that have been asked in the wake of Michael Sam’s historic, groundbreaking announcement. Or as Jason Collins prepared to take a historic, groundbreaking first step onto the basketball court as an openly gay man.

And yes, these are groundbreaking moments.

Here’s why.

In a perfect world, we wouldn’t need to talk about all this. Common sense would dictate that all would be universally accepted and treated equal, and that everyone could walk boldly in a world free of discrimination. We’re not in that world, yet. Unfortunately, sense still isn’t all too common.

But do you know what Michael’s and Jason’s courageous first steps have accomplished?

They have brought us one step closer to a day when stories like this will no longer be newsworthy.

What Michael and Jason have done also brings us one step closer to finally dispelling the notion that our locker rooms are bastions of homophobia. They’re not. In spite of what many outsiders may think, players in the NFL and NBA are a lot more accepting than they get credit for.

Years ago, when I was first getting to know writer Cyd Zeigler at Outsports, I felt he had the (mis)perception that football players would be incapable of accepting an openly gay teammate. I told him about some of my experiences and about many of the conversations I’d had with teammates over the years. Then I challenged him to start asking questions. And he did.

I’m glad my suspicions were confirmed and Cyd was able to report that the countless players he spoke with were overwhelmingly supportive of the notion of having a gay teammate. I credit Cyd with helping advance this conversation and giving so many players a voice that was otherwise unheard. I’ve always felt that if and when a player decided to come out, he would be accepted with open arms -- no matter the locker room -- without hesitation. And I’m more certain now than ever.

All of this has also brought us one step closer to players being more mindful of the language they use.

Many players will be forced to confront the language that’s always been such a common part of their vernacular. They will have to actually consider for the first time how they may be hurting the man in the next locker. I know for certain that most men who use hurtful words like “****” and childish phrases like “no homo” aren’t necessarily homophobic, and they don’t particularly hate gay people. They’ve just never had an experience or an encounter that forced them to grow up. Well, now’s the time to grow up.

In pro sports, we probably all suffer from a slight case of Peter Pan syndrome. If you’re never forced or expected to grow up, then why would you? But when it comes to our profession of choice, our demands and expectations are quite simple: Is the man next to me doing everything he can to help us win? That’s it.

And for years the idea of a gay teammate was just that -- an idea. I think the digressives always assumed there were perhaps a few closeted gay athletes on perhaps a few football or basketball teams, but now it’s real. It’s no longer speculative. So for all the inappropriate words or phrases that some players would have of course never said around someone who was actually gay, there are now men in their locker rooms or competing against them on game day who are actually gay. I’m confident players will respond appropriately -- with respect. And there’s no need to provide disproportionate coverage to the few on the margins who may be struggling to evolve. They’ll come around.

Michael and Jason have helped bring the NFL and NBA one step closer to clearly defining the locker room for what it is -- a workplace.

Those of us who have spent a lot of time in a locker room have been at some point guilty of saying or doing things that would have likely gotten us fired in a traditional workplace environment. And the same thing goes for coaches who, when it comes to inappropriate language, are often some of the worst offenders. As much as the NFL locker room may sometimes seem like a fraternity, it’s not. And while that environment is one of the things many of us actually miss when we leave the game, we all need to embrace the long overdue changes that are sure to come.

This is where men like commissioners Roger Goodell (NFL) and Adam Silver (NBA), and the NFLPA and NBAPA -- all of whom have been on the right side of this conversation -- have an opportunity to shine. And it really won’t take a whole lot, other than clearly and publicly defining what is appropriate and acceptable at the workplace, and what is not.

Imagine the message it would send if Goodell looked directly into the TV set, speaking intently to his players and to all who are watching, and clearly and emphatically articulated that the word “****” will no longer be acceptable language in the workplace. And what if players began to echo Goodell’s sentiment in the locker room, or out in the community, or when they visit schools and speak to children on their days off? That would be a whole lot more powerful than a revised pamphlet on workplace conduct. That would be a game-changer.

This is where I think the Miami Dolphins saga has provided so many teaching moments. I’m not necessarily one to advocate for public ridicule or fines or suspensions for men who behave inappropriately. In many respects, I think that can be counterproductive. In my experience, there’s a much more diplomatic and effective way to educate and change behavior. Sometimes, all it takes is a conversation. So let’s start having those conversations. Let’s make sure players know there’s a Human Resources department upstairs with actual people who have actual names who actually want to help. And while these things may seem like trivial, common-sense concepts, they’ll actually help guys transition away from Neverland and into the real world. If we clearly define the workplace, players will be better prepared for their next career, which is always just around the corner.

I think the journeys of Michael and Jason have brought us one step closer to showing that devout Christians in NFL and NBA clubhouses aren’t going to be overly judgmental menaces looking to ostracize a gay teammate.

Many outsiders assume there will be some Christian crusade with pitchforks raised and torches ablaze aimed at making life miserable for an openly gay player. But I just don’t see that happening. I’ve spoken to dozens of Christian teammates over the years, and without exception, not one said they wouldn’t be able to accept a gay teammate in the locker room if and when one decided to be open about his sexuality. I think many of these men, some of whom are dear friends of mine, have at times been unfairly characterized. Sure, I’ve had my share of debates with them on a host of issues, but I know where they stand on this one.

Hopefully this helps bring all the “unnamed” general managers and scouts one step closer to discovering what a negative distraction really is.

I’ve always felt that if a team decided to pass on players like Michael or Jason because of their sexual orientation, it wouldn’t be about homophobia or a general aversion to homosexuals. It would be because of the perceived distraction that having a gay player might bring. But here’s what I would say to the unnamed: If you can’t handle distractions, then you don’t belong in this business. And for the record, being gay is not a negative distraction. In the short term, you may have to answer a few questions you’ve never had to answer before, but you’ll get through it. Jason Collins played in a basketball game last night. As an openly gay man. And the world didn’t come crashing down. Imagine that.

All the other things that regularly come across your desk -- player gets charged with a DUI, fails a drug test, gets in a bar fight, etc. -- those are negative distractions. And if I’m evaluating players for my roster, those are the red flags I view under a microscope. They don’t automatically cause me to question a player’s character, because anyone can make a mistake. But they make me question his decision-making and whether he can be trusted when he’s out of the building. One’s sexual orientation couldn’t be less relevant to my evaluation of a player. I’m confident the vast majority of club decision-makers agree. Here’s to hoping the “unnamed” begin to figure it out.

Michael and Jason have brought hundreds of men one step closer to having a gay friend for perhaps the first time in their lives.

And what all these men will quickly realize is that this person is really no different from them. He’s not going to make a pass at you. The “gay” in him is not contagious, and it won’t wash off in the team shower. In many respects, they’ll see that this new teammate ultimately shares many of their same dreams and aspirations and that his sexuality is in fact one of the least defining things about him.

And hopefully we’re one step closer to recognizing the difference between tolerance and acceptance.

We “tolerate” mosquitoes. But we should accept people. What you’re about to see are hundreds of men across two sports not merely tolerating a gay player because he’s a peer in their league, but actually accepting him because he’s their friend.

We’ve also gotten one step closer to all players feeling more included at team/family functions.

For 11 years I walked proudly with my wife into team Christmas parties. In doing so, I wasn’t shoving my sexual orientation down anyone’s throat. I was simply sharing the love of my life with my teammates and coaches. Soon players like Michael and Jason will feel comfortable to do the same with theirs, free of concern that there might be an uncomfortable stare or a snicker from the corner of the room. Their loved ones will sit in the family and friends section on game day instead of hiding in some far corner of the stadium or watching from home. They’ll be able to share an embrace with their partner as they exit the locker room immediately after a tough loss, rather than waiting until they get back to the car. In short, their significant other will finally have a seat at the table with my significant other.

And by taking this brave first step, Michael and Jason have brought LGBT advocacy work around sports one small step closer to no longer being needed.

And I think that’s a good thing. In my opinion, it’s groups like “You Can Play” under the leadership of Patrick Burke and Wade Davis; “Athlete Ally” at the direction of Hudson Taylor; the “Trevor Project”; and the “GLSEN Sports Project,” among many others, that have made these groundbreaking moments possible. They have been absolute champions in promoting a sports culture that is free of homophobia and discrimination. They have helped set the template for inclusivity in our locker rooms and on our playing fields. And they have been invaluable resources for so many who were either struggling or who just needed to know they had support. And trust me, these groups would like nothing more than for their work to one day become obsolete because it was no longer needed.

And most importantly, Michael and Jason have gotten us one giant step closer to reducing the suicide rate of gay teens.

That’s not an exaggeration. Michael and Jason are actually helping save lives. There are countless gay teens living, and struggling, in the closet. Maybe they’re playing a team sport and they feel ostracized and unwelcome because of the hurtful language their friends and teammates use so regularly. Or perhaps they’re afraid to play a sport because they don’t think they’ll fit in. Oftentimes this leaves them feeling lost, confused, scared and alone. And in far too many cases, they begin to experience suicidal thoughts.

But now, some of these kids can look to men like Michael and Jason and say, “You know what? I’m not alone. There are others like me.” That’s one huge part of the national narrative that I think is missing right now.

Five years ago my wife and I attended a GLAAD function in Los Angeles. We met a young lady who pulled us aside to describe a tragedy that had recently occurred in her life. Her teenage brother had committed suicide after coming out to a very unsuspecting and unsupportive father. She explained to me that her dad was a big-time football fan, a “man’s man” of sorts, but that after hearing me (a football player he cheered for) speak on the issue of equality, he began to rethink his views. She then challenged me to continue to speak out on behalf of her lost brother, because the “only way to change the heart and mind of someone like her father was for him to hear that people he admires would embrace someone like his son.”

Now just imagine what will happen when men like her father hear the story of Michael Sam and Jason Collins, and he watches as their teammates embrace them like they do any other teammate. That will change hearts and minds. And ultimately, it will help save lives.

And finally, I think we’re one step closer to moving past the questions about whether pro sports are “ready” for this, or whether this is the “right” time.

For many of us, our goal has never been to actively encourage closeted gay athletes to come out to the world. I’m not a closeted gay athlete, so I can’t pretend to know what that feels like. How am I supposed to tell someone else what they should share about their personal life? Instead, the goal has always been to foster the most inclusive atmosphere as possible so that if and when a player decides to come out, he would know he has support.

This was the right time for Michael and Jason, and both were ready now. And that’s all that matters. Now it’s our responsibility to support them and let them do the only thing they want to do.

Play ball.
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« Reply #103 on: February 25, 2014, 12:34:45 am »

Quote
Michael and Jason have helped bring the NFL and NBA one step closer...

No they haven't.  Roll Eyes

The gay community is SO desperate for a hero to champion their cause, they resort to exaggeration and embellishment of the facts.

While Collins is signed with an NBA team and has had some playing time, he's no starter.

As for Sam, he hasn't made it to the NFL yet. In fact, in the combines, he had the second LOWEST reps for the bench press among 48 players! He's the weakest, not the fastest, and definitely one of the smallest defensive linemen. For linebackers, he's way too slow being timed at 4.9.

With the following numbers, he's in trouble! He'd be lucky to be signed as a practice squad player. He needed to put up massive numbers from college, like lead the nation in sacks and tackles or something, but he didn't. He was successful because of the team he was on, which had a good defense, so it's hard to block everybody every play. Co-defensive player of the year in the SEC is nice, but I don't think it's enough. He likely will sign with a team, but I doubt he'll do much else.

Quote
Here are some of Sam’s numbers compared to other defensive linemen on Monday afternoon:

• 40-yard dash: 4.91 seconds (tied for 18th
• Bench press (225 pounds): 17 reps (tied for 47th/second to last)
• Vertical jump: 25.5 inches (tied for 39th)
• Broad jump: 114 inches (tied for 14th)

"I was kind of disappointed in my vertical jump," Sam told the NFL Network in an interview. "I think i was overthinking."

The lack of speed and upper body strength has to concern most NFL teams, but Sam’s absence of explosiveness in the vertical jump and broad jump is a bigger issue. NFL teams want their front seven players to have leg strength and the ability to attack an opponent. Sam’s lack of leg strength in those categories is a red flag.  (cont.)

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nfl-shutdown-corner/hype-nfl-prospect-michael-sam-combine-performance-unimpressive-200726801--nfl.html;_ylt=A0SO8obhNwxTbCUAvrZXNyoA;_ylu=X3oDMTB0aXJrdTJ1BHNlYwNzYwRjb2xvA2dxMQR2dGlkA1ZJUDA3N18x
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« Reply #104 on: March 04, 2014, 05:43:21 pm »

http://money.msn.com/business-news/article.aspx?feed=OBR&date=20140304&id=17397149
3/4/14
S&P 500 ends at a record; Ukraine-Russia tensions ease

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks rallied on Tuesday, with the S&P 500 closing at a record as concerns about a confrontation between Russia and Ukraine eased, and the market recovered more than all of the previous session's hefty losses.

President Vladimir Putin delivered a robust defense of Russia's actions in Crimea on Tuesday, saying he would use force in Ukraine only as a last resort. His comments relieved investors' fears that East-West tension over the former Soviet republic could lead to war.

The day's gains followed Wall Street's worst day in a month, when investors sold stocks and other risky assets as tensions escalated between Ukraine and Russia. Global stocks rebounded on Tuesday while gold, the Japanese yen and Treasuries prices fell. Crude oil prices, up more than 2 percent on Monday, reversed some of that session's gain in trading on Tuesday.

"Monday's selling and Tuesday's stark reversal have become commonplace in traders' calendars in 2014," said Andrew Wilkinson, chief market analyst at Interactive Brokers LLC in Greenwich, Connecticut.

"Investors have clearly got an appetite for equities displaying strong momentum, no matter whether geopolitical risks or fears for the health of the recovery stand in their path."

The CBOE Volatility Index , Wall Street's fear barometer, slid 11.9 percent to end at 14.10 on Tuesday. That was a sharp reversal from Monday, when the VIX rose 14 percent.

The Dow Jones industrial average jumped 227.85 points or 1.41 percent, to end at 16,395.88. The S&P 500 gained 28.18 points or 1.53 percent, to finish at 1,873.91. The Nasdaq Composite climbed 74.671 points or 1.75 percent, to close at 4,351.972.

The S&P 500 ended at a record high for the second time since Friday, when the broad index finished February with a milestone. In Tuesday's session, industrials and financials ranked among the biggest gainers. The benchmark index is up 1.4 percent for the year.

The Wilshire 5000 Index closed above 20,000 for the first time. The index has gained 193.55 percent or $15.9 trillion from its low on March 9, 2009, after the financial crisis.

"The longer-term trend of the U.S. equity indexes remains positive," but short-term indicators "remain overbought and are peaking as most indexes rally back to resistance at their 2014 highs," said Robert Sluymer, an analyst at RBC Capital Markets, LLC in New York.

Walt Disney Co shares hit a record intraday high after reaching a deal with Dish Network that lets the No. 2 satellite TV provider carry Disney-owned networks such as ABC and ESPN, and deliver the content outside of a traditional TV subscription. Disney shares rose 2.8 percent to close at $81.71, after hitting an all-time intraday high of $82.17.

Qualcomm Inc rose 3.4 percent to end at $76.11, off an all-time intraday high of $76.79 reached on Tuesday. The world's biggest cellphone chip maker raised its stock-buyback authorization by $5 billion to $7.8 billion, and increased its cash dividend by 20 percent.

Shares of RadioShack Corp plunged 17.3 percent to $2.25. The struggling retailer said it would close up to 1,100 U.S. stores after a huge drop in holiday sales.

About 7.4 billion shares changed hands on U.S. exchanges, slightly lower than the 7 billion average for the past month, according to data from BATS Global Markets.

Advancers beat decliners by a ratio of about 5 to 1 on the New York Stock Exchange, while on the Nasdaq, more than four stocks rose for every one that fell.
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« Reply #105 on: March 21, 2014, 05:10:20 pm »

http://www.circleid.com/posts/20140319_cloud_computing_can_make_you_more_secure/
3/19/14
Cloud Computing Can Make You More Secure

Mar 19, 2014 8:18 AM PST

The number one concern cited for avoiding cloud computing is security. And there is a reason for that. Cloud providers have demonstrated some spectacular failures in the past, including Amazon's near total shutdown of an entire region, Dropbox's authentication snafu, and innumerous cloud providers that go belly-up.

However, in the long run, cloud computing is destined to become more secure than in-house IT. I will briefly describe two dynamics in the industry that point in that direction, with substantiating evidence.

First, good cloud providers are getting better, as they have more staff available to do security, and bigger economies of scale, allowing them to sustain more security processes. Here is a case in point. Security people are, by nature, pretty paranoid. However, some are more paranoid than others. At a cloud security training I recently conducted, one of the attendants had created an Amazon Web Services account solely for the training. He terminated the entire account on the last afternoon. Just before the training was over, he showed me a message on his smartphone. Within an hour after he terminated the account, his LinkedIn profile was visited by somebody from the Amazon compliance department. Apparently his behavior was suspect. Either that, or they played a game on who can be the most paranoid.

As another example, does your IT department track rogue resource usage and credential leakage on a systematic basis? Some cloud providers do this for you, as this story of API credential leakage demonstrates.

Second, while the previous examples show that cloud providers can become better than the average IT department across the board, in specific areas specialized services are already way ahead of the competence and resources of the average IT department. This is nowadays called 'Security as a Service', or SecaaS (another example of an acronymic cloud nonomatopoeia), but the trend has roots that go back quite a while. Basically the idea is that a lot of security functionality is done in a better way by taking advantage of cloud computing essential characteristics such as elastic scalability and resource pooling.

Examples of SecaaS that you may be familiar with or are actually using are: Email spam and malware filtering, blacklist and other reputation services, DDoS mitigation and monitoring (i.e. performance). We are also seeing companies using cloud services as a component of a disaster recovery strategy. Innovation in this field is strong.

So, in conclusion, the market is nearing a 'tipping point' where the cloud may actually be more secure than on-premise IT.
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« Reply #106 on: March 22, 2014, 02:21:09 am »

What a bunch of techno bull.  Roll Eyes

More like LESS secure in a HUGE way.

This guy obviously has sold out to the system. Proof? He talks about your local IT is less secure, but he fails to point out, that with cloud computing, those companies use IT people too! And those people who work for cloud companies are no more reliable than your IT department staff. They get lazy and indifferent too.

Quote
First, good cloud providers are getting better, as they have more staff available to do security, and bigger economies of scale, allowing them to sustain more security processes

But none of that is the "security" point. The real issue he's avoiding talking about is the breach in security in letting somebody else hold your stuff, which is exactly what those companies do. They are a place to store your software for computing. That means all your stuff must be stored on some other companies servers, which is the real violation of security.

More staff just means more of a potential for somebody to not do their job. The "economy of scale"? Size DOES NOT equate to more security, and it's dishonest to even suggest it like this clown is. Each cloud company stands on it's own, thus have their own security protocols, but that doesn't mean the company is competent or will use the latest security techniques.

Why would you store all your computer software on another company's computers? It's a sucker's bet, and the security experts know it. It's authors like this one that have sold out and are pitchmen for the thugs in the industry.

Seriously people, think about it. How many times has people said not to put all your eggs in one basket? Countless times, but cloud computing and storage is doing exactly that, one basket, and even worse, it's somebody's elses basket!
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« Reply #107 on: May 02, 2014, 09:08:51 am »

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/u-jobs-report-signal-stronger-040301083.html
U.S. payrolls surge in April, jobless rate hits 5-1/2 year low
5/2/14

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. job growth increased at its fastest pace in more than two years in April and the unemployment rate dived to a 5-1/2 year low of 6.3 percent, suggesting a sharp rebound in economic activity early in the second quarter.

Nonfarm payrolls surged 288,000 last month, the Labor Department said on Friday. That was the largest gain since January 2012 and beat Wall Street's expectations for only a 210,000 increase.

The unemployment rate tumbled 0.4 percentage point, touching its lowest level since September 2008. The Labor Department attributed the decline to a drop in the number of unemployed people reentering the labor market as well as a fall in new entrants into the labor force.

The economy stalled in the first quarter, weighed down by an unusually cold and disruptive winter. A slow pace of stock accumulation by businesses, while they work through a glut of goods amassed in the second half of 2013, also undercut growth.

The employment report joins other upbeat data such as consumer spending and industrial production in suggesting the first quarter's 0.1 percent annual growth pace was an aberration and is not a reflection of the economy's otherwise sound fundamentals.

The Federal Reserve on Wednesday shrugged off the dismal performance. The U.S. central bank, which announced further reductions to the amount of money it is pumping into the economy through monthly bond purchases, said indications were that "growth in economic activity has picked up recently."

Economists expect second-quarter growth to top a 3 percent pace.

While details of the bigger survey of employers were upbeat, the smaller and volatile household survey from which the unemployment rate is calculated was mixed.

Household employment fell slightly after increasing robustly in the first quarter. The labor force, which also grew during the same period as improving job prospects encouraged some job seekers who had given up the hunt to resume looking for work, declined sharply in April.

The labor force participation rate, or the share of working-age Americans who are employed and unemployed but looking for a job, fell 0.4 percentage point to 62.8 percent. That was the lowest level since last December.

Some of the 1.35 million people who lost their longer-term unemployment benefits at the end of last December could have dropped out the labor force last month.

The participation rate and the persistently high number of Americans out of work for long spells could keep the Fed from lifting interest rates for some time to come.

April job gains were broad based. Government payrolls rose by 15,000. Manufacturing employment increased 12,000. Construction payrolls gained 32,000, but the hiring trend could slow in the months ahead as residential construction loses some steam.

Average hourly earnings were flat in April. The length of the workweek held steady at 34.5 hours in April after bouncing back in March from its winter-depressed levels.
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« Reply #108 on: June 30, 2014, 01:40:07 pm »

I'm thinking Payton and company wish security had not let Seattle into the stadium!  Cheesy

Sorry Payton, your not a football god, your just another man with an inflated ego. Maybe next year!  Wink

I just accidentally stumbled onto this(while looking for a thread) - is this really how a Christian should talk and behave? Doesn't this kind of behavior cause the (lost)world to blaspheme God?(and I'm talking about ALL of us here - as I myself have gotten into this trap)

James 3:6  And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell.

James 3:8  But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.
Jas 3:9  Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God.
Jas 3:10  Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be.
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« Reply #109 on: August 08, 2014, 12:29:57 pm »

The Impact of Recreational Marijuana Use on a Denver Neighborhood
http://www.mainstreet.com/article/smart-spending/impact-recreational-marijuana-use-denver-neighborhood?puc=yahoo&cm_ven=YAHOO
8/8/14

NEW YORK (MainStreet) — Emick's Auto is a car repair shop on Jasmine Street in Denver that services both Asian and American vehicles right around the corner from Gaia Plant-Based Medicine, a marijuana dispensary. Owner and mechanic David Emick prefers having the dispensary as a neighboring business because of the regulation that exists in the legal marijuana industry.

"There are laws against loitering in front of dispensaries," Emick told MainStreet. "I see a lot of loitering in front of liquor stores, but nobody ever hangs around Gaia. Customers are in and out and on their way."

The estimated 275 dispensaries that exist in Denver are largely located in lower income areas, according to a recent study released by the University of Colorado in Denver. But residents don't perceive the presence of a dispensary as undesirable.

"I get contacted on a daily basis from people looking for a job and wanting to come to work," said Meg Sanders who owns Gaia Plant-Based Medicine on Colfax Avenue along with three other retail stores in the city and a growing facility at the corner of Holly Street and 39th Avenue, which employs eight full time cultivators as well as biologists, horticulturists and mechanical and aerospace engineers to produce 300 pounds of cannabis a month.

In addition to creating jobs, marijuana dispensaries appear to have positively impacted the city financially.

"We continue to see increases in tax revenue from recreational sales," said Crisanta Duran, a state house representative who chairs the joint budget committee. "Medical marijuana licenses have increased by 3.8% and last months' tax revenues from recreational marijuana increased by more than 10%. Overall, there's been an upward trend."

So far since January, the state of Colorado has raked in about $11 million in sales and excise taxes on recreational marijuana, according to statistics published in June by the Colorado Department of Revenue. The total for recreational and medical marijuana taxes and fees combined is about $18 million.

"At the state level, we focus on how to invest recreational marijuana tax dollars, school construction and keeping marijuana out of the hands of children," said Duran, whose office is located on the same avenue as Gaia Plant Based Medicine. "There are multiple ways to address these issues at the state and local level."

Denver has issued more than 300 sales-tax licenses for dispensaries.

"What we've seen in Colorado since regulation is a 3% drop in teen use, a 25% reduction in the availability of cannabis on school grounds and a drop in traffic fatalities," said Darnell, an attorney who specializes in marijuana law. "We've also seen crime drop in neighborhoods with dispensaries in them. It's across the board."

**And we've heard this same argument when Bill Clinton was in office - that the number of abortions *declined* during his 8 years in office b/c he was on the side of "giving women that freedom and choice"?

That may be partly a result of healthy distancing of dispensaries from schools by Denver city officials as well as state funding of public awareness campaigns.

"Five million dollars is going towards advertisements to educate the public about the use of marijuana," said Duran who chairs the joint budget committee. We've also invested money in school prevention programs and $40 million will go to school construction. We are trying to regulate in a reasonable fashion according to the will of the people of Colorado."

*Didn't they say the same thing when they legalized gambling in states 20 years ago? That how all the revenue will be given to public education? Look at how that's turned out!


Amendment 64, which legalized the recreational use of marijuana, was a ballot measure for which 55% voted yes and 44% voted no on November 6, 2012. Those who voted against Amendment 64 reportedly claim marijuana is addictive and is damaging to children because it permanently affects brain development, impairs learning ability and contributes to depression.

Following in the footsteps of Denver, sister cities such as Aurora are taking great care to plan their retail market in advance to minimize any negative impact marijuana sales could have on their neighborhoods.

"Anybody who is applying to sell marijuana here needs to have a state license first," said Kim Stuart, director of communications with the city of Aurora, which is located about half an hour from Denver. "Dispensaries need to be located away from schools, hospitals and substance abuse facilities and reasonable distances from our neighborhoods."

Although the short term impact of a dispensary on the community may be better than a liquor store, the long term effect on the people of Colorado and their children remains to be seen.
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« Reply #110 on: February 10, 2015, 04:35:40 pm »

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/coming-of-age--millennials-ready-to-boost-economy-164326907.html
2/10/15
Coming of age: Millennials ready to boost economy

Millennials are pounding the pavement and helping to lead the best three-month period of job growth in 17 years. The population of workers ages 25-34, who make up the prime working age, is growing and that’s good news for the economy.

Yahoo Finance Senior Columnist, Michael Santoli says America is getting younger and that should give an extra boost to economic growth in the coming years. “Right now the most common age in America is 23. So 1991 was the peak birth year of this generation. So they’re going to be turning 24 this year and that’s going to carry through for a long time. Presumably as they get jobs, houses and cars.”

For the most part, these younger Americans are graduating college and hitting their ideal working years. Santoli says the sheer size of the generation is key to job growth. “It’s not so much that they were out of the workforce and they’re streaming in, as much as there are many of them reaching peak labor force years. Essentially they are getting into the heart of their working lives.”

People who are in their 20s make up the largest group of Americans. Their coming of age directly coincides with the baby boomer generation retiring. “This is the replacement cycle of humanity. Population growth and especially the working age growth is a key input in how fast the economy can grow. When you had the baby boomers entering this period in the 1970s and 1980s you had very rapid labor force growth and that was really a boost to growth. That’s why we got used to faster economic growth rates,” says Santoli.

The hope is for this latest group of younger Americans to make strides in the work force and pump more capital into the economy. “Now we don’t really have the credit growth so you have to have people in there starting to be productive, starting to consume more and that’s basically what gives you the economic growth,” says Santoli.
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« Reply #111 on: October 08, 2015, 03:27:59 pm »

Except for what's going on in the ME now, it seems like the only "bad" news coming out nowdays are either some football team having problems, or some entertainment getting caught up in whatever "scandal". And speaking of the ME, the news media is spinning it like ISIS getting defeated(by Russia) is the end of all end of bad things there(to the contrary, Russia is slowly taking over world powers).

Here's one of the many "good news" items I saw just now...

http://news.yahoo.com/congressional-budget-office-budget-deficit-drops-435b-213556389--finance.html
Congressional Budget Office: Budget deficit drops to $435B
10/7/15

WASHINGTON (AP) — Congressional budget analysts said Wednesday that the federal government ran a deficit of $435 billion in the just-completed budget year, the smallest deficit since 2007 and well below the record shortfalls of President Barack Obama's first term.

Related Stories

The Congressional Budget Office report says it's the sixth consecutive drop in a row for the deficit, when measured against the size of the economy, since the $1.4 trillion deficit of Obama's first term.

The improved deficit figures come as Washington is grappling with the need to increase the government's borrowing cap in early November. The White House and lawmakers on Capitol Hill are also seeking a separate agreement on a budget to keep the government open past a Dec. 11 deadline.

During Obama's first term, the deficit was greater than $1 trillion for four years in a row in the wake of the Wall Street bailout, a huge stock market drop and a major recession.

The budget office does nonpartisan analysis for Congress; the official government estimate from the White House budget office and Treasury Department typically is released in mid-October.

The stronger figures represent 8 percent growth in tax revenues, led by 10 percent growth in individual income taxes. Spending grew more slowly, though the cost of health insurance subsidies through exchanges established by the Affordable Care Act almost doubled, to $27 billion.

CBO expects the deficit's downward trend to continue for a couple of more years but says long-term trends, driven by the continuing retirement of the baby Boom generation and its effect on benefit programs like Medicare and Social Security, will likely cause an eventual fiscal crisis.

Two attempts by Obama and House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, to negotiate a sweeping deficit-cutting package ended in failure after Boehner pulled out of the talks. Now, Obama is refusing to offer concessions in exchange for increasing the government's $18.1 trillion borrowing cap. Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew has warned Congress to act by Nov. 5 to avoid a first-ever default, though an analysis by the Bipartisan Policy Center think tank in Washington says the absolute latest deadline will fall between Nov. 10-19.

In 2011, after Republicans reclaimed the House — and before his re-election — Obama conceded $2.1 trillion in spending cuts over 10 years as part of a deal with Boehner to lift the debt cap and avert a financial crisis. Since then, he's refused to offer more cuts as a condition for increasing the debt limit and Republicans have reluctantly gone along.

Talks on a spending package that would ease automatic cuts to agency budgets, known as sequestration, imposed by the 2011 deal and replace them with savings elsewhere in the budget have just started. Obama has vowed to veto legislation that doesn't lift those spending "caps" but many House GOP conservatives are insisting on retaining them and being more confrontational with Obama under the incoming House leadership team. Boehner announced his resignation at month's end under pressure from tea party hardliners.

"Long term demographic trends and compounding interest on the debt demand that Congress work together to place America on a more fiscally sustainable path forward,' said House Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer of Maryland. "This begins with reaching a budget agreement this month to replace the harmful sequester with a more responsible strategy for deficit reduction."
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« Reply #112 on: October 09, 2015, 12:09:34 pm »

http://news.yahoo.com/countries-heart-ebola-outbreak-see-first-virus-free-064601169.html
Countries at heart of Ebola outbreak see first virus-free week
10/9/15

DAKAR (Reuters) - The three West African countries at the heart of an Ebola epidemic recorded their first week with no new cases since the outbreak was declared in March 2014, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Wednesday.

The U.N. agency said that more than 11,000 people have died in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone in the world's worst known occurrence of Ebola, but there were no new cases in the week to Oct. 4.

New cases of Ebola have dwindled sharply this year but the WHO said there was still a risk of the disease breaking out again.

"Over 500 contacts remain under follow-up in Guinea, and several high-risk contacts associated with active and recently active chains of transmission in Guinea and Sierra Leone have been lost to follow-up," it said in its situation report.

Sierra Leone released its last known Ebola patients on Sept. 28 and must wait 42 days until it can be declared free of the disease.

Liberia received that declaration for a second time on Sept. 3 after a flare-up in June but remains under heightened surveillance. Guinea's most recent cases were recorded on Sept. 27.
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« Reply #113 on: October 17, 2015, 04:33:21 pm »

http://news.yahoo.com/north-korea-rejects-more-nuclear-talks-demands-peace-152618446.html
North Korea rejects more nuclear talks, demands peace treaty with U.S.
10/17/15

SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea on Saturday rejected the idea of resuming talks to end its nuclear program, saying previous such attempts ended in failure, and reiterated its demand that Washington come to the table to negotiate a peace treaty.

The statement by the North's foreign ministry came a day after U.S. President Barack Obama and South Korean President Park Geun-hye said in Washington they were open to talks with North Korea on sanctions but that Pyongyang needs to show it was serious about abandoning its nuclear ambition.

"If the United States insists on taking a different path, the Korean peninsula will only see our unlimited nuclear deterrent being strengthened further," the North's foreign ministry said in a statement.

North and South Korea remain technically at war under a truce it signed in 1953 with the United States, which led U.N. forces backing the South, and China, which fought for the North.

North Korea walked away from the so-called six-party talks involving the United States and four other countries in 2008 and went on to conduct two more nuclear tests.

It said only a peace treaty with Washington can permanently resolve the conflict on the Korean peninsula.

Obama said the United States was open to negotiations that could ease sanctions imposed on the North, just as it had done with Iran, which reached a deal in July with major powers.

"We haven't even gotten to that point yet, because there has been no indication on the part of the North Koreans as there was with the Iranians that they could foresee a future in which they did not possess or were not pursuing nuclear weapons," he said.

(Reporting by Jack Kim; Editing by Ros Russell)
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« Reply #114 on: October 22, 2015, 04:10:42 pm »

3 For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.

4 But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.



It is shown here that the brethren will witness the time of false peace and the brethren will witness the sudden destruction.
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« Reply #115 on: November 06, 2015, 12:04:40 pm »

http://news.yahoo.com/us-unemployment-rate-falls-5-0-october-134100745.html
11/6/15
US jobless rate falls to 5.0%, supporting Fed rate hike

Washington (AFP) - US unemployment fell to 5.0 percent in October, the lowest since early 2008, supporting the Federal Reserve to begin raising interest rates for the first time since the economic crisis.

The Labor Department said Friday that the economy pumped out a strong 271,000 net new jobs last month, nearly double the September number and 90,000 more than economists had forecast.

In addition, wage growth picked up after several flat months, with average hourly earnings up nearly 2.5 percent year-on-year, not as strong as economists hoped but more evidence of tightening in the labor market.

It was a solid rebound after two weak months, attesting to US economic strength despite the global slowdown. Markets took it as a green light for the Fed to embark on a series of interest rate hikes at its December meeting, after keeping its benchmark rate near zero since December 2008.

While that move will still depend on whether the October performance holds up through November, expectations of the rate increase firmed.

The dollar surged sharply to $1.0721 per one euro, its strongest level since April, and US bond yields jumped, the 10-year Treasury rising to 2.32 percent from 2.23 percent on Thursday.

There were still some signs of weakness in the October data: the labor force participation rate remained low at 62.4 percent, for example.

And the job creation and wage gains averaged out over the past three months suggest steadiness, rather than an acceleration, economists said.

But other indicators were mostly positive: decreases in the number of people forced to work part-time and a slight rise in the employment-to-population ratio, for example.

"The Fed's hawks will now argue that they have hard evidence in the most widely watched... data that the tightness of the labor market is pushing wage gains higher. Barring a disaster in November, rates are going to rise in December," said Ian Shepherdson of Pantheon Macroeconomics.

"The case for tightening in December -- and a lot more in 2016 -- looks increasingly strong," said Jim O'Sullivan, chief US economist at High Frequency Economics.
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« Reply #116 on: November 07, 2015, 10:02:25 pm »

http://news.yahoo.com/people-hiv-could-soon-stay-214742500.html
People With HIV Could Soon Stay Healthy — Without Taking Any Pills
11/7/15

A needle may be the answer for those Americans living with HIV, for whom treatment is a hard pill to swallow.

In the trial backed by Johnson & Johnson and GlaxoSmithKline, people living with the virus were given a shot containing two drugs every four or eight weeks. At both intervals, the shot worked just as well as people who were taking three pills per day to suppress their virus, Reuters reports. 

Paul Stoffels, head of pharmaceuticals at Johnson & Johnson, told Reuters that the findings were "transformational" in the fight against HIV. Stoffels said he believed the long-acting injection could help improve the lives of those living with HIV by 2020.

The numbers: The study found that 94% of participants who received the monthly injection were viral suppressed 32 weeks into the trial, and 95% or those who got the shot every two months. By comparison, 91% of people on pill-based regimens achieved an undetectable viral load, according to Reuters.

The human immunodeficiency virus takes over a body's white blood cells and turns them into factories that make more HIV. Those white blood cells, which fight off disease, are no longer able to do so. The number of viral copies in a person's body is called someone's viral load.

When HIV treatment is successful, a person is considered to be HIV undetectable, meaning the amount of virus in their blood is not able to be detected by many tests. Being HIV undetectable significantly reduces the chance of transmitting the virus.

Public health benefits: A 2014 PARTNER study found that, out of hundreds of thousands of sex acts between thousands of mixed-status couples, not one person contracted HIV from their partner. In each couple, the HIV-positive partner was undetectable and couples involved did not use condoms 100% of the time.

Currently, about 50,000 people each year are diagnosed with HIV. Of those 50,000 infections, 91% are the result of an HIV-positive person not knowing their status or not being in care.

One of the trial drugs, rilpivirine (Edurant), is already widely used to treat HIV. The second, cabotegravir, is still being studied by the FDA.

Having an alternative method of helping people stay HIV undetectable is important for public health and the personal health of those living with the virus. Currently, only 30% of the 1.2 million people living with HIV in the U.S. are undetectable.

What makes a person non-adherent to their medications differs from person to person. Everything from having to take too many pills to not having enough food to eat is associated with HIV treatment failure. One 2012 study also showed that poverty, as well as the stress associated with poverty, is a huge deterrent to staying undetectable and healthy.
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« Reply #117 on: November 16, 2015, 08:58:44 am »

James Gill: Polls show gay rights good for business in Louisiana
11/14/15
One of the classic stories at my old paper concerned the visitor who, seeking a reporter by that name, asked, “Which one is Gay?”

Looking around, the editor on duty said, “Take your pick.”

The makeup of the staff certainly proved that sexual orientation had not been a factor in hiring.

Of workplace discrimination there was no sign either; with that many gay people around, it would have taken some organizing anyway.

But that was in liberal old New Orleans, and experience elsewhere was much different. Indeed, it still is, so, once again, the call goes up for legislation to give Louisiana gay people an even break. Justice may demand it, but it isn’t going to happen. It is a law of nature that bills protecting what we must nowadays call the LGBT community die in committee.

Gene Mills, head of the Louisiana Family Forum, is always on hand to give legislators their instructions and lead the way to put the kibosh on any push for equal rights. Treating gays like other citizens would evidently displease the Lord as much as telling biology teachers that Genesis is not an approved textbook.

Gay rights is not an issue in any debate between the gubernatorial candidates, U.S. Sen. David Vitter and state Rep. John Bel Edwards, and, when the Legislature next convenes, all eyes will be on the budget and tax reform. The Williams Institute at UCLA, the latest to take up for Louisiana’s gays, is no doubt crying in the wilderness. Still, its conclusions are not to be denied.

Although only 4 percent of Americans place themselves in the LGBT camp, that translates into some pretty big numbers. Louisiana, according to UCLA, has 117,000 gay adults, 88,400 of them in the workforce. Most of us surely have acquaintances or relations who would be covered if a state law were enacted protecting gays from employment discrimination.

There are places in Louisiana where gay people are supposed to have the same right to make a living as the rest of us. New Orleans, of course, has an ordinance to that effect, but the only other city similarly enlightened is Shreveport. Together, New Orleans and Shreveport contain 13 percent of the state workforce.

A few other local governments prohibit discrimination against their own employees, and several corporations and universities do the same. According to UCLA, businesses do not necessarily adopt such policies out of altruism, for they have been shown to aid “recruitment and retention of talented employees” as well as “increasing employee productivity and customer satisfaction, and attracting a larger customer base.”

Maybe, if word gets around that doing the decent thing might be worth a few bucks, the idea will spread.

Right now, though, being gay in Louisiana can be enough to put you out of a job, or stop you from getting one in the first place, as the Williams Institute demonstrates with several examples. One is the Waffle House employee who alleged wrongful dismissal and filed a federal lawsuit in 2010 only to lose on grounds that the Civil Rights Act, though it bans sex discrimination, is silent on the gay issue.

The Equal Employment Opportunities Commission, in light of subsequent jurisprudence, now says on its website that the Civil Right Act is “interpreted” as banning discrimination “on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity,” so a similarly placed plaintiff might fare better today. Still, by no means every victim of discrimination can find the time and money for a federal court action.

The easiest way to provide some recourse would clearly be to expand Louisiana’s law against employment discrimination to include sexual orientation, so that complaints could be investigated by the state Human Rights Commission.

The Family Forum and its lackeys in Baton Rouge appear to be out of step with public opinion here; the Williams Institute polls show 74 percent of Louisiana respondents in favor of laws to “prohibit employment discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.”

One day, when someone asks, “Which one is gay?” the automatic answer will be, “Who cares?”

James Gill’s email address is jgill@theadvocate.com.

http://theadvocate.com/news/opinion/13962313-123/james-gill-gay-rights-good
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« Reply #118 on: December 04, 2015, 11:07:24 am »

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/u-november-employment-report-seen-cementing-rate-hike-052252451--business.html
12/4/15
Solid U.S. employment report a green light for Dec rate hike

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. job growth increased solidly in November in a show of the economy's resilience, which most likely paves the way for the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates this month for the first time in nearly a decade.

Nonfarm payrolls increased 211,000 last month, the Labor Department said on Friday. September and October data was revised to show 35,000 more jobs than previously reported.

The unemployment rate held at a 7-1/2-year low of 5 percent, even as people returned to the labor force in a sign of confidence in the jobs market. The jobless rate is in a range many Fed officials see as consistent with full employment and has dropped seven-tenths of a percentage point this year.

"We cleared the last hurdle for a rate increase. The Fed was looking for some positive movement on wages, and we got a little bit of that. There is absolutely nothing in this report that will keep the Fed from raising rates," said Chris Gaffney, president at EverBank World Markets in St. Louis.

The closely watched employment report came a day after Fed Chair Janet Yellen struck an upbeat note on the economy when she testified before lawmakers, describing how it had largely met the criteria the U.S. central bank has set for the Fed's first rate hike since June 2006.

Yellen said the economy needs to create just under 100,000 jobs a month to keep up with growth in the working age population.

The Fed's policy-setting committee will meet on Dec. 15-16. Market-based measures of Fed policy expectations assign a probability of 79.1 percent to the central bank's raising interest rates at that meeting, according to the CME Group’s FedWatch site.

The dollar extended gains against a basket of currencies, while prices for U.S. government bonds fell. U.S. stock futures extended gains.

The second month of strong job gains should allay fears the economy has hit a soft patch, after reports showing tepid consumer spending in October and a slowdown in services industry growth in November. Manufacturing contracted in November for the first time in three years.

Though wage growth slowed last month, economists say that was mostly payback for October's outsized gains, which were driven by a calendar quirk. Anecdotal evidence, as well as data on labor-related costs, suggest that tightening job market conditions are starting to put upward pressure on wages.

Average hourly earnings increased four cents, or 0.2 percent from 0.4 percent in October. That lowered the year-on-year reading to 2.3 percent from 2.5 percent in October. The average workweek, however, dipped to 34.5 hours from 34.6.

Other labor market measures that Fed officials are eyeing as they consider lifting the benchmark overnight interest rate from near zero were mixed.

The labor force participation rate, or the share of working-age Americans who are employed or at least looking for a job, rose to 62.5 percent from a near 38-year low of 62.4 percent.

But a broad measure of joblessness that includes people who want to work but have given up searching and those working part-time because they cannot find full-time employment rose one-tenth of a percentage point to 9.9 percent.

Employment gains in November were broad-based, though manufacturing shed 1,000 positions and mining lost 11,000 jobs.

Manufacturing has been crippled by a strong dollar, efforts by businesses to reduce bloated inventory and spending cuts by energy companies scaling back well drilling and exploration in response to sharply lower oil prices.

Mining employment has declined by 123,000 since reaching a peak in December 2014. Three quarters of the job losses over this period have been in support activities for mining.

Oilfield services provider Schlumberger <SLB.N> this week announced another round of job cuts in addition to 20,000 layoffs already reported this year. The company said it expected the slowdown in drilling activity to continue in 2016.

Construction payrolls increased 46,000 last month. With 163,000 jobs added, the services sector accounted for the bulk of the increase in employment last month. Retail jobs rose 30,700 and transportation and warehousing employment rebounded after two straight months of declines.

Professional services added 27,000 jobs and government payrolls increased 14,000 last month.
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« Reply #119 on: December 11, 2015, 08:22:04 pm »

https://www.yahoo.com/health/us-abortion-rate-hits-record-low-233610819.html
12/11/15
U.S. Abortion Rate Hits Record Low

The U.S. abortion rate has declined by 35 percent over two decades, according to a report from the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) released today (Dec. 11). The current rate is the lowest ever recorded since the government began tracking abortion data in the mid-1970s.

In 1990, the abortion rate was 27.4 per 1,000 women aged 15 to 44. In 2010, the most recent year analyzed in the study, the rate dropped to 16.7 per 1,000 women, the report shows.

During the same time period, pregnancy rates decreased by 10 percent, reaching a record low. Teen pregnancies declined significantly, by 67 percent among those younger than 15, and 50 percent among teens 15 to 19.

The rate of abortions and live births both declined between 1990 and 2010, according to government data. (Source: CDC/NCHS)

Updated estimates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) suggest that the abortion rate has declined even further. In 2012, the most recent year CDC data is available, the abortion rate was 13.2 per 1,000 women.

By all measures, the abortion rate is at a historic low, the CDC says. More than 90 percent of abortions occur early in pregnancy, by or before 13 weeks’ gestation, according to CDC data.

Increased use of effective contraceptive methods is one of the major contributors to the decline in abortion rates, says study co-author Kathryn Kost, principal research scientist at the Guttmacher Institute.

“Across the states, the rate of unintended pregnancy is going down,” Kost says. “That suggests that fewer women are getting pregnant when they don’t want to. It’s happening across the board, and affects the birth rate and the abortion rate.”

The NCHS report includes birth data from the National Vital Statistics System, abortion information from the Abortion Surveillance System and Guttmacher Institute, and numbers on fetal loss from the National Survey of Family Growth.
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