D’Angelo Before
D’Angelo Now
Seriously, what happened. And, everyone is talking about, “oh but he’s a great singer.” If Britney was in a size 8 and they called her fat, what are they gonna say about D’Angelo? I mean really. I’m just saying.
Please visit my legal website: Nevada DUI Attorney
See me on YouTube: Shakaama Live
Hypothetical: If my 22 year old son worked all week, was on time, had great job performance and then came home every weekend and smoked pot, I wouldn’t say a word. If he stayed home and smoked pot for 2 days and didn’t go out driving or anything, I would consider him a totally responsible young man. Knowing what I know, he probably would be completely destressed by smoking the plant every weekend, more than anyone else in the corporate world.
I ask you. Given this scenario, what constitutional right does the government have to arrest, try and incarcerate my hypothetical son? Answer: none. There is nothing that gives the Federal Government the authority to even have a drug ENFORCEMENT agency. In fact the DEA spends millions every year jailing, trying and arresting people involved in smoking the plant. Even worse, they spend millions raiding and arresting medical doctors and medical marijuana dispensaries. The facts are loud though. Criminal behavior surrounding marijuana is next to zero. Driving under the influence of marijuana and causing accidents or fatalities is such a low number that it is nearly unrecordable. Yet, alcohol kills hundreds of thousands every year. Just drinking alcohol in large quantities is toxic to the human body and can result in death. This is accomplished just by drinking it. Marijuana on the other hand has no toxic levels. They did a test once to prove marijuana was toxic. However, what they did was induce lab animals to inhale the marijuana, however, in the process they suffocated the animals. So instead of testing the toxic levels of marijuana, they simply tested how long the animals would take to suffocate without air in a pot smoke filled box. Don’t be confused. the LD50 test is a farce. Since it is a natural plant, it has no toxicity, no lethal side effects and does not lead to anything.
California is taking steps to finally decriminalize marijuana. The prohibition is both extremely expensive and blatantly pointless. They have come to the realization that they have been criminalizing a plant that is both non-toxic and harmless. California is about to blow the doors off of marijuana. Billions in state deficit, no toxic levels of marijuana, little to no evidence of criminal behavior surrounding the plant, they are going to end the prohibition against marijuana and start regulating the sale of it and get taxes.
Everyone knows the story of how it was criminalized. They brought about the prohibition of marijuana, not for the sake of health concerns, not for the sake of criminal concerns, not for the sake of safety concerns. They passed the law to prohibit marijuana because it was in competition with paper produced from wood. That competition cut into the profits of the wood production and was targetted to become prohibited because the NON-INDUSTRIAL variety of the plant had lethargic side effects. That means, the industrial plant, was lumped together with the non-industrial plant and both were made illegal. They used as an excuse the fact that the non-industrial variety was being smoked by large sectors of the population and were seen to be lethargic, euphoric and happy. This lethargic state was pointed to as being “not normal” and therefore dangerous. They especially targeted Blacks and Mexicans as bringing and using marijuana in the U.S.. After America criminalized marijuana use, the international scene saw how lucrative this would be for them to also criminalize it. Nowhere, was the point missed that it was criminalized for monetary purposes.
If you take a look at most products we consume, none of them ever induce lethargy or calming effect. Most products contain sugar or caffeine, or both. The lesson is obvious. It is OK to be anxious, but it is not OK to be calm. You’d be hard pressed to find “soothing” “relaxing” on beverages, or smoking products. Calming effects are considered dangerous and abnormal. I don’t think this is by accident. I think this is intentional. People die of anxiety, heart attack, stress related illnesses. No one is dying from lethargy, calmness or relaxation.
The federal government has no constitutional authority to have an enforcement arm that works within the U.S. territory. The only power they have is to create and maintain a militia. This is to fight outside threats. Everyone has turned their head, because their pockets were greased. The entire system is now corrupt. I guarantee you no one is talking about this except me. [the unconstitutionality of the DEA] I guarantee you that no one wants you to know it’s illegal to have a DEA. If anyone is supposed to have a DEA, it is the states. The federal government has no right to come into a state, overstep their own enforcement arms and arrest a citizen of a state. Think about that scenario for a second, FBI, DEA, internal *gasp* CIA [if you didn’t know the CIA spies on American citizens your head is under a rock], all all usurping the power of a state. And, to add insult to injury, you’re paying for both the state law enforcement and the federal government enforcement. Maybe if you think about your pocket book for a second you’d see just how terrible the picture is.
No one is saving lives by putting pot smokers in jail. No one is saving lives by shutting down medical marijuana dispensaries. No one is saving lives by arresting doctors who know that no pharmaceutical drug is going to cure their patient and thus prescribe cannabis, which has TREMENDOUS medicinal uses. That’s what big pharma doesn’t want you to know. Marijuana can cure tons of diseases, prescription drugs can’t.
Wake up, before it is too late.
[for those of you wondering: I don’t have a son. I don’t even have friends that smoke pot. I have never smoked so much as a cigarette or drank alcohol ever in my entire life. I have never used any drugs whatsoever. However, if someone next to me wants to drink or smoke, I am not going to beat them over the head, because it’s not my frikkin business. If a man can suit up and strap on a machine gun and die a bloody death because a politician says so, he better damn sure be able to smoke pot in the privacy of his own home to destress from all the crap he just had to go through. If someone feeds you a line that it’s for his own safety, check their income checks, I bet you the drug companies or the industrial companies are paying him.]
Please visit my legal website: Nevada DUI Attorney
See me on YouTube: Shakaama Live
Have you ever experienced a godly miracle? I believe that we will or have experienced many miracles in our life time. What I am describing as a miracle is, any act that could happen by no other means, but by the Power of God Almighty.
The First Miracle recorded of Jesus was the act of Jesus turning water into wine, was reported in
John 2: 1-11.
1 And the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee; and the mother of Jesus was there: 2 And both Jesus was called, and his disciples, to the marriage. 3 And when they wanted wine, the mother of Jesus saith unto him, They have no wine. 4 Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee? mine hour is not yet come. 5 His mother saith unto the servants, Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it. 6 And there were set there six waterpots of stone, after the manner of the purifying of the Jews, containing two or three firkins apiece. 7 Jesus saith unto them, Fill the waterpots with water. And they filled them up to the brim. 8 And he saith unto them, Draw out now, and bear unto the governor of the feast. And they bare it. 9 When the ruler of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and knew not whence it was: (but the servants which drew the water knew;) the governor of the feast called the bridegroom, 10 And saith unto him, Every man at the beginning doth set forth good wine; and when men have well drunk, then that which is worse: but thou hast kept the good wine until now. 11This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested forth his glory; and his disciples believed on him.
So somewhere between the servants pouring the water into the pots, and then drawing the water out of the pots, by the commandment of Jesus, a miracle happened. The water was then turned into wine! And the governor of the feast, exclaimed in vs. 10.
“…..Every man at the beginning doth set forth good wine, and when men have well drunk, then that which is worse: but thou hast kept the good wine until now.”
So, what Jesus produced was superb. Verse 11. states that “This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee…”
Some say that wine represents the joy of the Holy Spirit. The Lord revealed unto me on one occasion that during this marriage feast, when He was turning the water into wine, He was thinking of the day when He would fill men with His Holy Spirit. I present to you, that it is just as easy for the Lord to change a man’s heart, or mind, by His Spirit, as it is for Him to change water into wine.
Guest poster Pastor T.W.
Please visit my legal website: Nevada DUI Attorney
See me on YouTube: Shakaama Live
One of the severe drawbacks of working paycheck to paycheck is a tendency to not pay attention to details. First, what is living paycheck to paycheck? Paycheck to paycheck means: you are in debt, including a house or car note; you do not have 10 months of expenses in cash on hand; you are one financial crisis away from bankruptcy. The real important concept then is what are the details?
Someone that does pay attention to detail would not take someone’s word for granted. A detailed oriented person measure twice and cuts once. They would research everything and make a plan before doing something. We’ve been led to believe that such a person should be looked down upon. They have made words for such people: nerd; anal retentive; meticulous; worry wart; spoil sport. The is all to get you, the idiot, to stay away from detail and detailed oriented people, and stay stupid.
So what ware the details:
To think you came up with the idea that you have no time or that detailed oriented people are no fun, by yourself, is the height of ignorance. Think for a second about all the movies, t.v. shows and news broadcasts that have hammered into your brain, “you have no time” or ” he is so anal about the smallest things.” Even advertisers jump on the bandwagon with, “you have no time to microwave that dinner, buy this new pre-microwaved dinner, pop open the top to a hot meal ready to serve now.” Think back, would your grandpa be caught dead saying, “oh I never have time.” He’d say instead, “idle hands are the devil’s playground,” meaning there is too much time in the day, try to stay busy, or the devil will get you in trouble. And, he’d say “the devil is in the details,” meaning pay attention to the details or you will end up making a deal to end up in hell.
I often had friends who told me they had no time for this and that. I would often look at their schedule and find 40% of their time spent on frivolous, non-productive endeavors. They were so busy doing nothing. And, they clinged to this trash time for dear life. Or, worse, they would take on responsibilities at work, which netted them no cudos, no extra pay and no recognition. Instead of them standing up to their boss, or simply not volunteering for extra crap work, they would consider it their duty to do so, and not sit down for one second and realize the details of the matter. Even worse than that, were the friends I had were professionals, owning their own business, who’d engage in minor tasks that did nothing for the overall project and then miss opportunities to generate more income. They would complain about how lackluster their income was, but when I pointed out their missed opportunities they’d ignore it.
An invading army sets its flag on your soil. The first such foreign flag in centuries. They came in their boats and we swam behind them in the water and slaughtered them like lambs. They came on our soil to end the war that would end all wars. We didn’t care. They invaded our lands. Let them sue for peace in the great halls, where speeches are made. We will slaughter everyone that comes ashore.
America wanted to attack something that would make it difficult for the Japanese to defend and they found the perfect place to attack Japan. Iwo Jima, a small island about 8 square miles large and 650 miles away from Tokyo on Japanese soil. Benefits of attacking Iwo Jima were that they already had 2 Japanese Airfields. The Distance was much shorter and they could refuel using the Japanese Airfields and B-29s were much more effective at that range.
Before the battle itself, For 70 days the US sent in air and sea bombers to weaken the Japanese defense and make the actual assault much easier, but according to the World War Database “the massive display of fireworks merely made a small dent in the defenders’ numbers”(6). The bombers had no effect on the Japanese soldiers, because they were hidden underground. Their strategy to weaken the Japanese defense before the actual assault had failed. Due to the failure U.S had to send more marines then they expected. The U.S sent 110,000 marines in 880 ships to Iwo Jima from Hawaii. This was the most marines sent by U.S for a battle, this was also one of the biggest battles the U.S had fought at the time.
In 36 days there were nearly twenty-six thousand US casualties, nearly seven thousand Americans soldiers had been killed in action. In contrast nearly all twenty two thousand Japanese soldiers that had been fighting were killed. When the American soldiers reached the top of the hill six of the soldiers decided to raise the American flag to show victory. Joe Rosenthal who was the only photographer at Iwo Jima who took the picture which would later become known as “Raising of the Flag”
This photograph taken on February 23, 1945, by Joe Rosenthal. It depicts five United States Marines and a U.S. Navy corpsman raising the flag of the United States atop Mount Suribachi during the Battle of Iwo Jima in World War II.
“From (left) in the Front are Ira Hayes, Franklin Sousley, John Bradley and Harlon Block. The back two are Michael Strank and Rene Gagnon. “Strank, Block and Sousley would die shortly afterwards. Bradley, Hayes and Gagnon became national heroes within weeks after the picture was published in the newspapers”.
Tuesday, February 23rd will be the 65th Anniversary of the raising of the American flag at the Battle of Iwo Jima. In honor of World War II Veterans and this important date, the National Veterans Foundation (NVF) announces the release of Semper Fi, an historical tribute to the courage, valor, and sacrifice of the U.S. servicemen who turned the tide of World War II, and paved the way to victory.
The video can be seen in its entirety at http://www.iwojima65.org.
Please visit my legal website: Nevada DUI Attorney
See me on YouTube: Shakaama Live
For those who have no idea who the heck Scotty Lago is, like I didn’t about 2 minutes ago, he is in the Olympics. Apparently he won the bronze medal for … snowboarding? They still have that in the Olympics? So, not a real athlete. Anyway, the kid, I think he’s about 16, I might be off by a year or two, has been snowboarding since he was 9 years old. So, yeah a few years and he makes the Olympic team. Talk about stringent entry regulations. So he won the bronze medal on the half pipe with a score of 42.8 out of 50.0, on February 17, 2010.
Good old TMZ, never missing a trick, followed him around and caught him at a party being funny. Only, the funny was not so funny to the non-sixteen year old crowd of Olympic officials. However, before they could strip him of his medal for his bad performance, and completely ruin his day, he left. So instead of the bronze medal being represented at closing ceremonies, TMZ gets 10,000 people to oggle over his abs for all of 2 hours, and ruins the kid’s entire life.
We all know TMZ is complete trash, but selling someone into slavery for chump change? I mean come on. They knew what they were doing. They knew what kind of gain they’d get from it. It’s not like this would be the smoking Brittney Spears vagina pics or anything.
I hope the kid can recover from this. I hope he can get sponsors and become a rich racist white guy like the rest of them.
Oh wait… Yay TMZ, ruining whitey like I never could. You go TMZ. Good job. [this entire post is a joke, lighten up]
Pic courtesy of someone, that is not me. TMZ I guess. I claim no rights to it. I’m friggin jealous of his abs though.
Please visit my legal website: Nevada DUI Attorney
See me on YouTube: Shakaama Live
United Nations leader sentenced in corruption scandal. Department head at United Nations caught in falsifying evidence. Policy chief exposed for trying to defraud general assembly at United Nations (UN). European Union forms Eurozone. India, China, Brazil and Russia believe they can form their own little U.N. and the block can really control the world resources, talent and even finances. At a time like this congress proposes that the United States excuse itself from United Nations membership. The body is now rife with corruption and filled with petty dictators that the depth of taint is unassailable. Not only can nothing be done, but nothing can be done with any sense of trust that the facts can trusted. President George W. Bush going before the United Nations and presenting completely false evidence of weapon of mass destruction found in Iraq was the nail in the coffin. When the last standing super power shows a complete lack of respect for the body and shows evidence of corruption the rest of the body was not long for a complete autopsy. While Bush’s corruption did not single-handedly corrupt the entire U.N., he did put the capstone on it.
At 28% of its operating cost, in the billions of dollars annually, America cannot afford to be a part of the now defunct body. With the latest scandal of the swine flu hoax and the global warming hoax revealed, Congress is hard pressed to continue justifying paying so much money to be a part of the circus. Governor Mike Huckabee and others have all thrown in the towel on the organization and congress has taken steps to excuse us from this tainted organization.
The straw that broke the camel’s back, as if more straws were needed, was found when it was revealed that the general assembly has now adopted a Hegelian world policy, i.e. removal of national governments in favor of a one world government, all national sovereignty to be removed, by force if necessary.
Congress, in its infinite wisdom, has finally seen the writing on the wall. The story was leaked by the U.S. Department of State. Apparently, it was an act done out of their own self preservation. Had the leak not happened, it is unclear how long this would have been kept from the public. Specifically what was leaked was the fact that clear evidence was shown that the U.N. has adopted this united government stance and they are poised to act on it.
There are not many things I agree with Congress on, but this one subject I do. The United States cannot be a party to a body that is espouses a Hegelian world policy, forcibly removing national governments. I am pretty sure that our government might resist this. I don’t know. Politicians are pretty stupid, but are they that stupid? I cannot imagine Harry Reid just stepping aside, just because.
Can you imagine if U.N. “peacekeepers” descended on Washington and removed Congress? I don’t know if I would cheer or be mad.
When Reagan removed us out of UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization), I wonder why he didn’t just remove us from the U.N. altogether. He did it quietly and there was not much press on the matter. He could have quietly excused us and no one would have said anything.
Please visit my legal website: Nevada DUI Attorney
See me on YouTube: Shakaama Live
In a bold move, congress is sending out to the states for ratification a Constitutional Amendment providing that the Sixteenth Amendment, the income tax law, is hereby repealed and Congress is henceforth forbidden to lay “any” tax or burden calculated from profits, gains, interest, salaries, wages, tips, inheritances or any other lawfully realized money. Not to be confused with the former ability of congress to tax and spend under the constitution’s original tax plan, imposts, duties, and miscellaneous excise taxes on articles of consumption, and, a direct apportioned tax if Congress borrows to meet expenses. Unfortunately the measure has not captured the attention of the main stream media, being deemed “not newsworthy.”
Representatives however, were questioned about the legislation, it was revealed that the repeal of the 16th amendment was for ushering in the national sales tax. Due to the fact that the 16th amendment is a constitutional amendment however, congress simply cannot repeal it with a constitutional convention, and simply impose the national sales tax. The one has to precede the other.
Therefore the push for state ratification of the repeal of the 16th amendment, is being hurriedly rushed to get a majority of the states on board before a constitutional convention is called. There is a genuine fear that without a precise agenda for a constitutional convention, the states could end up bringing to debate the actions of the federal government for the last 100 years. Congress, rightly, fears that the states could wipe out legislation they have unconstitutionally been passing for the past 100 years. Therefore to push through the national sales tax, they are rushing to get the 16th amendment repealed in a rushed manner, at a constitutional convention they feel they are in control of.
Of course looming on the horizon of the repeal of the 16th amendment is the inevitable close of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), once characterized as the largest and most sinister agency on the face of the planet. IRS officials were not available for comment.
I cannot say I am sad to see the IRS go.
Please visit my legal website: Nevada DUI Attorney
See me on YouTube: Shakaama Live
I love God’s voice. It is so soft and sweet, yet, it is powerful enough to wake up the dead! This final portion has to do with the final reason I believe God really speaks to people, and that is because He speaks to me often. This proclamation has gotten me into a lot of trouble, both with friends and foe. That is not surprising, because the fact that God spoke to Jeremiah, in the Old Testament, got him into plenty trouble.
The very first time I remember God speaking to me, I was about five years old. I have told this story on television, in foreign countries, and to my friends and family. My brother is in this story with me, commented when I told him this story, “So, you became a grown up woman, at age 5.” Well, I guess so. There is something about knowing God, that makes you a little more mature. However, though I have known God since I was a child, there are still days, when I feel like I am still a five year old child.
Though I can never remember, not believing in God, I officially accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior, at the age of 12 years, because I had read the story about Jesus starting His own work at about 12 years of age. So that summer, when I was 12 years old, (I was born in 1948) there was a revival going on at our church, and I of course went to the revival every night, along with the rest of my family. In those days, we still had what they called “the mourner’s bench”. If you had not accepted Jesus yet, and you were in the Baptist church, you sat on the mourner’s bench. Once you accepted Jesus, and was baptized, you could sit anywhere in the church, and you could receive The Lord’s Supper, or Communion.
As I mentioned earlier: The first time I remember the Lord speaking to me, I was five years old. It would have been around 1953. Our family lived deep in the woods. We still had a wood burning stove and heater. We read by kerosene lamps. My mother was industrious, and was in the process of changing over from a non-electrical home, to having electric lights. We had, what we called, “an ice box”, or refrigerator. This is key, for you understanding the story. An ice box, was made of tin, or steel, and it had three compartments on it; two smaller compartments, and one longer compartment, equal to the other two. Each door had a two-part steel latch on it, a handle that one depressed to open, and a cradle, which the latch fit into. It was hard to open and close.
In the upper left hand compartment you put a block of ice, about 15″ x 15″ which cooled the ice box. In the lower left hand compartment, and the longer compartment you put food. One had to buy ice, almost every day. It think it cost about 15 cents a block.
My father and the boys had put the old ice box in my parent’s room, because we were getting an electric refrigerator. I had been cautioned by my mother, “not to play” in the ice box. Many children had suffocated and died in ice boxes just that year. But, I couldn’t resist, I had to play in the ice box. So while my mother was sleeping, and listening to the radio, my little brother, who was then 4 years old, and I, went into my mother’s room to play. We opened the ice box and got in, to play “car”. I was the driver of the car. I got into the upper left hand compartment, where they would put the ice, and at my request, my brother closed the door on me. I remember smelling the cakes my mother had had in the box during Christmas.
My brother was taller, so he got into the long compartment. From inside the box, I cautioned my bother “not to close his door”.
We had been playing for just a few minutes, when my brother screamed. “My door closed!” “My door closed!” I yelled at him, “Why did you close the door. I told you not to close it!” He assured me, he had not closed the door, but the door had closed on him “by itself”. There was a knowing in me, that made me believed him! There was not only God, there something out there, mean, and evil, who had closed that door.
In an attempt to free himself, my brother started to shake the ice box furiously. Now mind you, the floor of the house was wooden, and it sat about 12 feet up off the ground, so it gave when you walked on it.
God spoke the first time: “Tell your brother not to shake the ice box, if he turns it over, your mother will not be able to pick it up. Then your mother will die. Your sisters and brothers will come home from school and find you all dead.” I saw the picture in my head. I yelled at my brother, and repeated to him, what God had said to me. He stopped shaking the ice box.
God spoke the second time: “If you will pray, I will open the door for you!” By now, I estimate that about 45 seconds had past. We were still breathing fine, but our time was running out. I was a little uneasy about saying this, but I said to my brother, “I know who can open the door for us!” Mind you, we had already called our mother repeatedly, so my brother conceded that “Mama sleep!” I told him: “I am not talking about Mama, I was talking about God!” His reply was: “God can’t hear us, He’s in heaven!” His answer shook me for a minute. That was true, He was in heaven. I didn’t understand everything, but I had no time to figure it all out. God had said that “if you pray, I will open the door!”
So, I asked my brother to repeat the Lord’s prayer after me. At first, he refused. I had to ask him about three times, before he finally agreed. For whatever reason, I knew we both needed to pray. Finally, we started: “Our father” and he repeated: “Our fadda (father)”, “Who art in heaven.” “Who art in heven (heaven)”. “Hallow would be thy name.” “Hallow be thy name.” “Thy Kingdom Come!” “Thy Kingdom Come! It’s open! The door open!” my little brother said. After we were out, there was another unction I received at age five, “Tell God thank you!” Again, I had to fight with my little brother, to make Him tell God “thank you!” This is what he said, “God didn’t open the door, door opened by self!” What do you believe?
While many children died in those old ice boxes, that year, thanks to the Lord, and child’s faith, we both came out of that old ice box, and lived to share this story. Do you believe that God really does talk to His people. I do! Pastor T.W.
Please visit my legal website: Nevada DUI Attorney
See me on YouTube: Shakaama Live
Throughout the ages, God has spoken to His People, and He shall always talk to us. If you missed Part 1 of this Series: “Does God really talk to people,” I will briefly restate the first reason that I believe and know that God really talks to His people, is because “God changes not!”. So then, I concluded that since God does not change, He still does what He has always done! And that is, He speaks to His people. Amen?
The second reason I believe that God really talks to People, is because He spoke with His prophets of old. The prophet I want to use to illustrate this fact, is Elisha. In case you don’t know anything about Elisha, read the Book Kings 2, in the Old Testament, of the Bible.
Our story starts in 2 Kings chapter 6, verse 24.
“24. And it came to pass after this, that Benhadad king of Syria gathered all his host, and went up, and besieged (encamped against it) Samaria. 25. And there was a great famine in Samaria: and, behold, they besieged it, until an ass’s head was sold for fourscore pieces of silver, and the fourth part of a cab of dove’s dung for five pieces of silver.”
These scriptures are presented for the purpose of setting up the story, so that you know what was going on at the time. This king, Benhadad attacked the City of Samaria, and encamped round about it, so that no one could come into the city, and no one could come out. So eventually, there was little or no food. God’s people, Israel, were eating dove’s dung, or the head of a Donkey, or whatever they could get their hands on. One story was told of these two women who ate a child for food. Things were extremely critical!
Now God speaks to Elisha, in 2 Kings 7:1
“Then Elisha said, Hear ye the word of the Lord; Thus saith the Lord, To morrow about this time shall a measure of fine flour be sold for a shekel, and two measures of barley for a shekel, in the gate of Samaria.”
You should read 2 Kings chapter 6 and 7, and you will realize that God really spoke to Elisha. The reason we know God spoke, is because the thing came to pass. It happened just as Elisha said it would happen. The next day, there was food in Samaria for sell. It would take too long to explain how that came about, so you should read the story yourself, to understand it. But briefly I will tell you this, that the food came from the camp of the King, who had encamped against Samaria.
If a person says that God said a thing, and that thing does not come to pass; we can conclude that God did not say it.
One may ask, Satan, the devil, the Enemy can send messages to people, and the thing to come to pass. The answer is maybe: The Enemy can give a message, mostly concerning “the past”, and it seems to be true. But the Enemy cannot truly predict the future. He can say something evil, and then “see to it” that thing happens, but we must measure all prophecies by the Word of God. Don’t put your confidence in “fortune telling,” or “palm reading,’ or something of that nature. Believe the Word of God only.
Time and time again, we see in the Old Testament, and in the New Testament, that the Lord speaks, and the thing comes to pass. He is still doing the same thing today. Pastor T.W.
Please visit my legal website: Nevada DUI Attorney
See me on YouTube: Shakaama Live
As a Minister, in the Christian Church, I get these questions all the time. Does God really talk to people? How do you know that it is God who is talking, and not someone else? How do you know it’s not just your own mind you hear? The message below will briefly deal with the question of “Does God Really Talk to People?”. Our goal is to give people enough information, and yet not drown them with too much information. I will give you scriptures, and if possibly some reference material which may help you.
Does God really talk to people? With a resounding “Yes”, I can answer that the Lord God, still talks to people today. Why do I believe this? There are three major reasons:
The first reason I believe, and know that the Lord really talks to people today, is because God does not change. The Word of God confirms the fact that God does not change numerous times. The first is found in the Old Testament:
Malachi, 3:6a “For I am the Lord, I change not….” In other words, God’s character does not change. He is always Good! He is always Holy, clean and pure. He is always truthful and just. He always treats His children the same….Right. So knowing this about God, helps us to understand that He will, through every generation, be the same towards us.
There is also another scripture in the New Testament, which supports this teaching: See Hebrews 13:8 “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.” That’s pretty clear, isn’t it. God is just the same, as I stated above. His characteristics, His ways, and His Words are the same. Don’t you just hate “wishy, washy, people.” People who you cannot trust, because they refuse to tell the truth. One day, they are happy and smiling, and friendly, and the next day, for no apparent reason, they seem angry, and distant. God is not like that. Though sometimes it seems that He is silent, His Word still lets us know that He is still loving and kind, and He is ever present.
Believing that God does not change, is vital to the belief system of followers of Jesus Christ. Just as the Bible teaches us in Hebrews 11:6
Hebrews 11:6 “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him”
Before we can believe that He actually speaks to His people, we must first believe that God is that ever constant equation in life itself, or we wouldn’t be able to believe the rest of His message.
I will deal with the other two reasons, why I believe and know that God really does speak to people in my next message:
2) The second reason that I believe that the Lord really talks to people is because He spoke to the prophets of old. and finally, because, 3) He speaks to me, often. Pastor T.W.
Please visit my legal website: Nevada DUI Attorney
See me on YouTube: Shakaama Live
“Welcome to First International Bank sir. So you have your minimum requirement to open a savings account and checking account with us? Please sign here. Now enter a pin number for your debit card. Would you also like to sign up now for overdraft protection? As a valued customer we allow you a $1,000 allowance to be over on your checking account. You can also sign up for our 5 year CD, which starts at a $10,000 minimum and give you 0.75% interest. Make sure however, to maintain a $5,000 minimum in savings and $5,000 minimum in checking, otherwise there is a balance fee against your CD, plus a minimum balance charge on both checking and savings. If you make more than 2 withdrawals from savings in any one quarter, there is a quarterly fee. Would you also like to purchase checks now, with our complimentary check log. If you upgrade right now we can give you monthly money orders for only $20.00. That’s a $5.00 savings monthly. Lastly, we’re going to run your credit right quick to make sure you qualify for the debit card and credit card that comes free with a checking account.”
Some of you might be laughing at that scenario, but it is very very real. Millions of Americans have this experience daily with banks. With the advent of the internet and increased security that has come on board, banking online with an online banker has made the above scenario obsolete. Brick and mortar banks know that they exist, yet they still stick to the above scenario day in and day out. Offering low interest returns on savings account and charging outrageous fees on top of fees is their bread and butter. Each year banks make billions on just the overdraft charges alone. Banks also make you think that the checking account is a burden on them and that’s why it earns no interest, when in fact the checking account is how most banks earn their money.
Banks will often smoothly opt you into a credit limit on your checking account. This means, you can go in the red on your checking account before a complete stop or denial is placed on the account. This credit limit comes at a hefty price called overdraft charges. This is the most lucrative invention the banks have ever come up with. While loans may make some money, they run the risk of going into default and no return is received by the bank. However, overdraft fees are a sure thing and cost the bank nearly no risk. It should be illegal to opt you into this credit limit without your express consent, but… there you have it.
I’m sure you’ve read the laundry list of how to’s on how to avoid overdraft fees but the single most sure way to avoid them is to OPT OUT. This means you would opt out of having a credit limit placed on your checking account completely. Normally this requires filling out a form with your signature, in writing. This means you no longer receive overdraft fees at all, but your card will be declined should you go over. Also, should you write checks the normal bounced check fee still applies. If your bank does not offer an opt out option, take your business elsewhere and do not bank with them for anything.
While keeping a checkbook log is admirable, keeping your own personal buffer is the only way to adequately maintain a checking account that does not go delinquent. Balancing your checkbook, however does add the benefit of catching the bank should they make a mistake in calculations.
Another unspoken fee is the merchant fee at the point of sale. If you run your debit card as debit, the merchant sometimes charges you for the debit transaction. He may have a sign posted somewhere that tells you about it. Make it a habit to run your debit card as a credit card instead. This not only avoids the merchant fee, but it put the transaction in chronological order in your bank. As a side note, running your card as a credit card has the added benefit during a return of merchandise, of going back on your card, which makes bookkeeping all that much more easy.
You can, at least open a savings account with a brokerage firm or a credit union which do not charge anywhere near the fees that these horrible national name brand banks do.
Banks are completely at liberty these days to offer whatever interest rates they want. If they want to offer under 1% return on a savings account with $50,000 in it, no one will say anything. However, it is on you to discover the bank that offers 5%. They are still out there. I would that you gave your business to them, instead of giving your business to someone that does a good marketing job and creates great brand recognition, i.e. Bank of ScrewAmerica.
There is no excuse for your to save one dime with a bank that does not offer you at least 5%. Even with 5% you’re still below the inflation rate.
If you’re trying to save with a bank and incur even 1 fee from the bank, I would advise removing your money from that bank. If, however, you go to several other banks with the same result, you would be better served to simply buy a safe and keep your money at home. Even 1 fee can knock out and entire 5 year interest rate return on a savings account, depending on the size of the account. If you admit to yourself that you are not responsible enough to have a savings account, which does not incur any fees, then I do recommend purchasing a safe.
[click on the picture to purchase a home safe]
Please visit my legal website: Nevada DUI Attorney
See me on YouTube: Shakaama Live
Everyone talks about young people never thinking about retiring. However, they always couch it in the wrong phraseology. Retiring conjures up visions of old gray haired men with their trousers pulled up to their necks in bad patton leather shoes with an earpiece. However, ask a young person do they want to be rich, and everyone of them would say yes. Also, most young people have some semblance of doing something financial to be financially independent. They might be going about it badly, but in their heart of hearts they are trying to become financially independent. With the right attitude and information you could approach a young person and ask “would you like to retire when you’re 40?” and I guarantee all of them would say yes. If we put forth a clear definition of what retire really means, then none of this old fart images pop into mind. But wait, what if you’re over 40 already? Well then you would couch the question in “would you like to retire in 10 years?” That would get everyone nodding yes. The problem is, the people that desperately need to think about retiring in 10 years, don’t. Instead of them approaching financial matters with caution and armed with tons of information, they expose their credit score, sign on the dotted line and never give it a second thought. Six months later they are broke, out of work and have nothing to show for it.
Don’t think that this article should not be in this blog because I talk about lofty subjects like Goldman Sachs manipulating the price of gold and which investments took a nose dive. Some of the most practiced stock market players are the very fools I am talking about. They get taken for suckers daily in the market and keep throwing their money at it for years, hoping to glimpse some light at the end of the tunnel and never get over the learning curve. Meanwhile, their house is behind, their kids are malnourished, their wife left them months ago and their car is being repossessed. They are pretenders to the throne.
I include everyone in this article so that no one feels they are above this article. I would hope everyone would take a hard look at the points and ask themselves have they sat down and truly considered the consequences of their financial actions. I even include people that are “rich” in this article. I have it on great authority that 40% of the people that have a high income are leveraged to their eyeballs and in one fell swoop their house of cards could come crashing down OR they literally live paycheck to paycheck. Surprising, I’m sure, but my sources are pretty good on this. I’m sure you’ve seen the news reports on the phenomenon too, poor little rich guy.
1. Start saving for retirement today, regardless of how much you bring in or how little it is. Pay yourself first before you pay your bills and debts.
2. Automate your retirement savings. As your paycheck or income comes in weekly, monthly or quarterly, setup an automatic debit to your retirement fund. The younger you are, the more aggressive you should be, pick a life cycle fund.
3. Save 15% of your income. Pay yourself first.
4. Set financial priorities: which financial matters must come first? Debts, bills and responsibilities (i.e. court orders) come first, in that order. (if court orders are cutting into your own personal savings amount, you need to get a lawyer and renegotiate them, can’t get blood from a turnip.) Prioritize and monetize what financial responsibilities or wishes you want after the necessities are taken care of. New furniture or a new bigger car needs to take a backseat if it cuts into your retirement amount. Instead of agreeing to pay for full tuition of your child, set an amount that does not cut into your retirement amount. Never assume the government or corporations cannot be negotiated with over financial matters. You must always look out for your best interest financially and if someone is trying to manipulate you into a situation that causes your lifestyle to be impacted adversely, take them to task, even if it costs you money to pursue it.
5. Sit down right now and figure out if your aging parents are expecting you to take care of them. If they are able to bring in an income right now, then they should bare their own responsibility of retiring comfortably. Sit down right now and figure out who is depending on you financially that ought not to be, i.e. and able body adult child that refuses to support themselves. (I’m not advocating kicking your parents out or your adult children out, but I am saying have a conversation. At the end of the day we all need to be responsible for our own retirement and no one else should impede your retirement because they refused to plan for their own retirement.)
6. Do not depend on company matching, or government announced programs or upcoming legislation as part of your retirement. Assume that no matching or program exists and you, yourself setup your own retirement plan. You can then negotiate with your company for a larger salary by refusing their benefit package. And, if enough people refused a government program or expressed that a program or legislation was unnecessary, they could get their taxes reduced.
7. Cut Back. Think about your big boy toys that you so want or someone else wants you to buy: i.e. furniture, cars, pilot lessons, state of the art appliances, etc. Instead of purchasing something that is not necessary, remove it off the list of #4 financial responsibilities. Unless they are replacing something that does not function, remove them from the list. Does not function means that the intended use is no longer available for the item, i.e. I don’t like the color, is not “does not function.”
8. Pay off all debts. Negotiate debts, even if you can afford them, to reduce them. Especially now, companies expect people to renegotiate debts and are open to it. Companies have no way of knowing if you have some unforeseen financial responsibility, i.e. your elderly mother got ill and you are paying her medical bill. They have no way of knowing this. You do not need to explain this to them, but simply request renegotiation of debts. Suspend 401k spending if you have debt. Pay off the debt before you put a dime into savings or a 401k. [a house note is not considered debt for this purpose]
9. Have 24 months worth of cash on hand. This means you have 24 months of all expenses and discretionary income in a safe in your home, i.e. not in a financial institution.
10. pay off items and do not incur more debt. This includes cars, homes and such. Once you pay off these items, going forward you would pay cash only to replace them. That means once you have paid off a car, you would only get another car if you could pay cash for it. You would only buy a new house if you paid cash for it. As such, were you able to pay cash for a new item, negotiate to get at the very least 30% off the listed or asked for price of the item. (included in the savings is your calculation of fees, which net your nothing and are just surplus costs added to your purchase for nothing in return on their part)
Please visit my legal website: Nevada DUI Attorney
See me on YouTube: Shakaama Live
Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., a leading critic of cap-and-trade,”with cap-and-trade virtually dead this year and the credibility of the U.N.’s global warming science collapsing, it is no surprise that companies are questioning whether job-killing global warming legislation — no matter how beneficial to their own bottom lines — is really a sound policy after all,” Inhofe said in an e-mailed statement to IBD.
ConocoPhillips (COP), BP (BP) and Caterpillar (CAT) all said Tuesday that they would be pulling out of the U.S. Climate Action Partnership, a coalition of green groups and leading corporations pushing for a cap-and-trade bill to curb emissions of carbon dioxide.
The three corporations themselves all indicated that their leaving was based on disputes within USCAP over the direction the legislation was taking in Congress. They argued that it was now tilted towards coal-based energy producers. They feared that the latest version of the global warming bill would have been bad for their bottom line.
“The transportation industry carries a disproportionate burden of the cost and the emissions reductions,” said Ronnie Chappell, a spokesman for energy giant BP, formerly British Petroleum. He added that the bill didn’t do enough to promote natural gas.
Conoco, a major producer of natural gas, had similar complaints. Spokeswoman Nancy Turner put it this way to IBD: “Critical work” was being done on the bill regarding the transportation industry, and that was why Conoco left the coalition. “House climate legislation and Senate proposals to date have disadvantaged the transportation sector and its consumers, left domestic refineries unfairly penalized versus international competition, and ignored the critical role that natural gas can play in reducing GHG emissions,” [CEO Jim] Mulva continued. “We believe greater attention and resources need to be dedicated to reversing these missed opportunities, and our actions today are part of that effort. Addressing these issues will save thousands of American jobs, as well as create new ones.”
A couple weeks ago, Arizona decided to withdraw from the Western Climate Initiative, which plans to enact a regional cap and trade system between several American and Canadian states. Last week the Wall Street Journal reported that Utah is also considering removing its support. Further, only four of the 11 members of the WCI have started work on the system, and even climate-friendly California is considering a moratorium. Assemblyman Dan Logue, R-Chico, is pushing an initiative to halt California’s cap-and-trade program until unemployment in the state drops below 5.5 percent. It is 12.4 percent now. Unemployment was last as low as 5.5 percent in April 2007.
ConocoPhillips has decided to focus on developing natural gas, a lower-emission fuel, to reduce emissions and create jobs.
Please visit my legal website: Nevada DUI Attorney
See me on YouTube: Shakaama Live
We see it all the time in trade chat. Such and so raid is looking for more people to join, BUT… you have to have some outrageous gearscore. For those who are are new to achieving level 80 or haven’t played the game but for only a few months, this might seem perfectly alright. However, what you don’t know is that the game was never heavily gear dependent. I will be going over how the game has changed and for the worse. I will go over what was expected of a raider; how people achieved great gear; and how skill ruled the game.
There was a time when they had not cracked the gearscore code. People had to rely on other things to determine if someone was worthy of going on a raid. What did they rely on you ask?
Let’s go over each of these points in depth. I will show you how removing this system in a game that relies on its own social aspect to make for a better experience of everyone. I will also compare some much harder games to the current system.
Back when WoW was much much smaller, people had reputations and you were made or broken by your actions in World of Warcraft. That meant if you ninjad something, you really did get black balled from any possible raiding or getting into a guild. You would be kicked out of a guild if you did anything that ruined your reputation and hence the reputation of the guild. You were also put on a list by the more experienced guilds as a persona non grata.
You could go to a message board and see posts about people that did things that were disreputable. That meant that not only were you outed to your guild, but everyone on the server, and the whole game, actually the world since it’s on the internet. This was especially true of serious offenses, like ninjaing in a raid. Even if you were stupid, it was considered bad, like a hunter rolling on something that is perfectly suited for a tank or healer.
With the current changes, people no longer care about reputation. Why? Because gear is ridiculously easy to come by and you can simply kick someone and get a new idiot to take their place.
WoW has always had obscure gear rules to challenge the player to think outside the box when gearing themselves. What am I talking about? I’m talking about a paladin wearing cloth. I’m talking about a hunter wearing leather. I’m talking about a tank wielding rogue weapons.
If you didn’t know your class sufficiently to understand these slight nuances in the game, you would seriously under gear your character and do less damage, or generate less threat or heal for less.
It was the excellent guild master that knew every class in the game to such and extent that he could look at your gear and tell that you knew nothing about both your class and specialization. I was once applying for a guild and they asked that I have “good gear”. I got the beast gear I could at the time which were not only blues, but blues that were better than epic gear. When the guild master called to inspect me, he knew I had the beast gear and knew they were pieces that were not easy to get. So in blues and a couple of greens I was invited into the guild to be a raider.
Why do I include that story? Because raid leaders and guild masters of today would not know that a blue out of some obscure dungeon was better than a beginning epic. Today they would dismiss you out of hand and probably put you on their ignore list.
But could a guild master know you had skill by looking at your gear? Yes! If you knew your class so well that you were wearing obscure blues and greens that were focused on some aspect of your specialization, the guild master knew two things:
It is highly improbable that someone with such an integral knowledge of their class could be unskilled at the game. You can’t get to intimate knowledge of your class without knowing the skill to use it.
There was always this separation of the game into two groups: the casual gamer; the hardcore raider. To be a hardcore raider you needed to be in a guild. A hardcore raider schedules his life around raid time and the raid is scheduled around everyone’s life. To be invited to a guild meant that you agreed to raid at their raid time. There was no way to get into a raid without first being in a guild. No one wanted to raid with someone:
Remember one fine point. And, this is a fine point that escapes new players of World of Warcraft. Gear that was more powerful than the instance you were raiding was unheard of. It was only after raiding for months that a guild could finally breath easy and do an instance without any trouble. It was only then that they would start PUGs.
The casual gamer simply played the game for fun; didn’t have time to play for long periods; didn’t have every day to play; didn’t want to invest time into a single task that might take him months to accomplish.
However, it has been the casual gamer that has been the loudest about his lack of raiding and / or gear.
Blizzard is in the business of making money, not making a better game. Normally the two are opposite. In its infinite wisdom, Blizzard started listening to the casual gamer.
With all of these demands Blizzard slowly changed the game to be easier and easier. At first these changes only affected the lower level. The end game was still held in reserve to those who were serious about the game. Blizzard reasoned that they must make the beginning game much easier for everyone to understand and therefore enjoy and purchase a subscription.
Due to their changes of making getting to the end game easier, more and more casual gamers achieved the highest level in the game. Then you had a much larger population of people that did not know their class and who did not raid. Blizzard finally changed the end game to be easier and easier.
People went from raiding Naxxramus in blues, to requiring people to be in epics coming into Naxx. They quickly forgot that Naxx was the first instance that dropped epics at all.
With this mindset the entire game went down hill. People started requiring higher and higher gearscores to do content that did not require it.
Finally the addon gearscore came out. You could now look at someone and determine what their gear’s level was. You could also check online and get their gearscore. Gone was the necessity of the raid leader or guild master to know the game so much that they could look at your gear and determine your skill.
It has been a failure on the parts of the raid leaders and guild masters to depend on gearscore. I have found that gearscore is useless. I was in a basic heroic instance with a mage that had a gearscore of 5400. He pulled 1.5k dps. End of story. I have been in regular instances where the healer dripping in epics let the tank die, along with the rest of the party. Gearscore is useless.
Be that as it may, the changes Blizzard has made is akin to gold sellers. Once people start buying gold, they can then buy all the best gear that Bind on Equip. Once people have access to this, then people see that more of the population is walking around in much higher gear. They then come to expect everyone to have higher gear. This is effectively what Blizzard has done. They have made it easier for people to equip higher gear and so people expect higher gear from everyone.
The end result is that terrible players are walking around in pristine gear. Now no one knows who is a joy to play with and who is and absolute nightmare. I expect it will only get worse. Unless the new expansion makes the player concentrate on the skill aspect of the game, I see no possible way to fix this. You will end up with very frustrated end game players that want the casual gamers to go away and Blizzard wanting everyone to enjoy the full content of the game.
All that being said, the very end game instances still require skill. You cannot get around it. Being dressed up, still does not account for skill. I think it is going to be a big disappointment when the casual gamer gets dressed in the highest gear possible only to find that their skills do not match the gear they are in.
I say go back to reserving Player vs Environment equipment for those that acquire it in raids only and leave the non-skilled players to do player vs player games.
We just had a player join our guild raid dressed in full pvp gear and he had the same gearscore as my healer paladin. After a couple of fights it was found he healed 1/3rd of what I healed. He was removed promptly and someone else was invited. The only reason he was invited was because of his gearscore.
You might be saying “he’s in pvp gear though.” Other than adding the “resilience” stat to his gear, all of his gear was gemed better than mine and he had far superior spell power than my paladin. He was just a terrible player. He had no idea of what to do in a raid, nor how to heal.
Gearscore is useless. You could buy gold in the game and end up with 200,000 gold and simply go the the AH and buy full crafted gear that could put your into nose bleed gearscore overnight. Who would know? They would simply look at the gearscore and take you into their raids. Then find out your skill is zero.
Please visit my legal website: Nevada DUI Attorney
See me on YouTube: Shakaama Live
When we hear the word, strait which according to The Random House College Dictionary, means “narrow”, or a position of difficulty, distress, or need. We may think of the straight, which means a line without a bend. Both are great words, especially when we are attempting to obey God’s Words, in particular those found in the Book of St. Matthews 7:12-14 which reads:
St. Matthew 7: 12 – 14
12. “Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.
13. “Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:
14. “Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.”
When Jesus was on earth, in human form, He taught in such a profound but simple way. He normally used parables, which are natural lessons, used to teach spiritual principles. Even though Jesus had the power to heal the sick, and raise the dead, His main focus was directed at giving us “ETERNAL LIFE”; Getting us to heaven after we leave this earth. This was His focus in St. Matthew 7:12-14, and I dare say the entire Bible.
Most of us have heard of what we love to call “The Golden Rule: Do unto others, as you would have them do unto you.” That is exactly what the Lord was teaching in verse 12 of this chapter. If we would treat others, the way we would like to be treated, we would fulfill the law and the prophets. We would have a wonderful world in which to live. There is another scripture which was written by Paul to the Philippians, in Philippians 2:3
“…let each esteem other better than themselves.”
Wow! If we could only do that successfully, everyday, instead of thinking like the Pharisee who we see in St. Luke 18:11 (Please read this section.)
“The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this politician.”
What the Pharisee was actually saying was: God, I’m better than this Publican. Jesus taught us to treat others as we wanted to be treated. Love others as we wish to be loved.
Jesus taught us in the Book of St. Matthew 7:13-14, we are to get on that strait and narrow way, and remain on it for life, for this is how we shall enter into Life Everlasting. Jesus, taught us without compromise, and without apology this message:
“….I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” St. John 14:6
Jesus is that Strait Gate. This is the gospel message. Jesus is the way, the only way to Eternal Life.
There is of course another way that one can choose to go, but that way does not, and never will lead to Eternal Life. Jesus mentions this in the second part of St. Matthew 7:13,
“……and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be that which go in thereat.”
If we took a walk in any large city, in the U.S., such as New York City, Los Angeles, California, or Las Vegas, Nevada, we would find thousands of people walking on that broad way. It would make most people say, “It must be alright, everybody can’t be wrong!” That’s true, “everybody can’t be wrong!” And everyone is not wrong. There are some who have decided to come off the broad way, and get on the strait and narrow way, and live there.
We encourage you today, to get on that strait path by accepting Jesus as your Lord and Savior. Getting on that strait path is so easy, you don’t even need eyes in order to see it. You simply need to believe the Word which the Bible teaches about Jesus, that he was born of a Virgin, that He grew up, and died on the cross for our sins. Please pray this prayer:
“Lord Jesus, I believe in You.
“I believe that you came to this earth as the Bible says.
“That you were born of a Virgin.
“That you died on the cross for my sins
“That you went into the grave and stayed 3 days,
“That on the third day, you rose from the dead, with all power in your hands,
“Please, forgive me, for all of my sins
“Come into my heart and save me
“And fill me with your Holy Spirit, and
“Lord, please write my name in the Book of Life, in Jesus name I pray. Amen”
author: Pastor T.W.
The Greek government is taking strong steps to avoid a total meltdown. As if its own financial crisis weren’t enough, it was found that it’s lending practices and financial measures are completely in violation of Eurozone standards. These violations are what led to the countrie’s woes. Debts that are more than the national income. Cheap lending that caused huge bubbles and collapses along many markets. We’re still talking about Greece right?
The proposed plans are as follows. One of the primary causes of their financial crisis was their spending. The government has started slashing away at spending and has implemented austerity measures aimed at reducing the deficit by more than €10 billion ($13.7 billion). To bring in more income or save on spending it has:
The biggest fear the rest of Europe had and one of the chief reasons they did not want IMF intervention was the threat of protests and riots. Predictably, the general public is quite unhappy with the government plans. There have been warnings of resistance from various sectors of society. Farmers have begun blockading roads to demand greater government subsidies, while on February 10, workers nationwide staged a one-day strike closing airports, government offices, courts and schools. More strikes are expected to follow.
One of the main reasons Greece has not been bailed out, is due to the fact that it has the record for defaulting on loans, bonds and other financial promises. A step in by another Eurozone nation is not only unlikely, but impossible due to the current financial situation going on in other countries. While they may not be as severe as Greece they are definitely not financial sound, by any measure. Member nations are left to fend for themselves during this crisis. This is the shame that Europe is feeling right now and why they are also keeping Washington at arms length. While they are not stepping in to assist a member nation, they do not want to admit they are incapable of doing so to Washington. There are reports that the Eurozone’s dominant economy, Germany, is leading calls for a “firewall” to prevent Greece’s crisis from spreading, but as yet no concrete proposals have been made public.
France seems to be the country that is having the most dialogue with Greece at this time. They have extended a gesture of loan guarantee to bolster confidence in the region, along with Germany, but there will be no bailout, nor a mass lump sum loan.
Spain was also proposing measure to curtail its spending along the same lines as Greece, pay cuts and tax hikes. Tremendous rumbling is coming from its state employee sector however.
Please visit my legal website: Nevada DUI Attorney
See me on YouTube: Shakaama Live
Many people might not know why Greece is imploding right now. It is in the news yes, but why is it in the news? Frankly the only reason Greece is in the news because the countries that matter in Europe are afraid it’s economic crisis could have a “contagion” effect on their own economies.
Furthermore, Greece is the red headed step child of Europe, apparently. There were rumors of a bailout or a loan package. But, those were just rumors. What they got were “loan guarantees” and they better like it. That means that whatever the Greek government comes up with to get ITSELF out of the crisis, France and maybe Germany and other countries will guarantee their loans. This is intended to bolster confidence in the country.
But, how did Greece get to this state. I’ll share it with you. It’s really eye opening.
This whisked away a curtain of partly fiddled statistics to reveal
Hmm that sounds familiar, I just can’t put my finger on what country that reminds me of…
Let’s take a look at this so called debt and how large it really is:
€300 billion ($413.6 billion) is bigger than the country’s economy, with some estimates predicting it will reach 120 percent of gross domestic product in 2010. The country’s deficit — how much more it spends than it takes in — is 12.7 percent.
This just really reminds me of some other country I’ve heard of. But, I just can’t remember which. Wait! It’s on the tip of my tongue. Blast it! I can’t remember. Oh well, I’ll probably wake up in the middle of the night and yell it out.
In response to this rumor of contagion, Spain, Portugal and Italy are all saying they do not have the tremendous debt and deficit levels of Greece. They are quick to say this, however trouble is brewing in those countries as well. Italy seems to be the next domino to fall. Watch for Italy to fail.
Please visit my legal website: Nevada DUI Attorney
See me on YouTube: Shakaama Live
I guess the only person in America that takes Erin Andrews seriously as a “reporter” and “sportscaster” is Erin Andrews. No one watches anything she does for the words actually coming out of her mouth. Maybe when she’s 50 and not so good looking anymore people might stop and listen to what she’s saying. But, by that time she might be so used up and done with that no one will listen anyway. That sounds harsh right? No, it’s the sad truth. If these beauty queens were smarter they would realize their true potential and not be used in such a fashion to begin with.
Why am I saying all this? And how do I know Erin Andrews isn’t using her good looks to her fullest potential? From my observations, she takes herself very seriously and thinks people are tuning in to hear what she’s saying. I feel Erin Andrews thinks in her heart of hearts that she’s a real journalist. While she might be moving up in the ranks, it’s not from her tremendous journalistic integrity, it’s because her good looks are becoming more widely popular.
Case in point, I didn’t even know who Erin Andrews was until there was a legal case involving her and a scandal. To me she’s just some white chick with a job that got lucky to be blessed with halfway decent looks. She’s not even special in my eyes. I used to model and I’ve seen far more attractive women, and smarter too. In fact in trying to piece together pictures of her, I couldn’t tell her from other bimbos. I had to double check every photo because she has no distinguishing features. She’s just a thin blond white chick with an oblong face. Someone tried to pass off Miss USA as Erin Andrews and I recognized her immediately. She’s actually good looking. I’m not trying to be catty. It’s just that ogling over Erin Andrews is unwarranted. There are far more deserving blond white chicks than her.
I present to you the 911 call that is buzzing around the net right now. Notice the perspective that Erin Andrews takes when talking about the people intruding on her privacy. She’s catty as can be, even in an emergency situation.
Dispatcher: DeKalb 911. What’s the address of your emergency?
Andrews: Um, I was in the news recently about being in a hotel naked, and I have paparazzi outside my window, and I was told by law enforcement that if I did to call 911.
Dispatcher: Do you want to meet with an officer? Do you want to meet with an officer, ma’am, when they come out?
Andrews: Yeah, these guys are sitting in a car outside my house right now. I would like to tell the officer to have them leave because the cops have told me to call 911 if they’re outside my house.
Dispatcher: And what’s your name?
Andrews: My name is Erin. My last name is Andrews. I’m all over the news right now.
Dispatcher: I’m not familiar. [yeah bimbo you ain’t Ghandi, get over yourself]
Andrews: I’m the girl that was videotaped without her knowing, without her clothes on in the hotel. [i’m famous trust me]
Dispatcher: Really? [what a whore]
Andrews: And I’ve got two *ssholes sitting outside my house. [nice mouth, you kiss your mom with that?]
Dispatcher: I’m so sorry.
Andrews: I am, too. Thank you.
Dispatcher: We’ll send someone out. What kind of vehicle are they in?
Andrews: They’re in a RAV, a white RAV4. I’m in a gated community, and I don’t know how they got in. Mom, can you see their license plates? It’s a handicap license plate that they have. What’s the license plate number?
Dispatcher: What’s the tag number?
Andrews: We’re trying to see. Do you see it, Mom? OK, I’m gonna try and go to another room and see if I can read it. I can’t believe these jerks are knocking on my door. F**king *ssholes. Mom, you’re totally being obvious.
Dispatcher: Are they black, white or Hispanic? [black first notice, racist dispatcher]
Andrews: What? [even Erin can’t believe she’s so racist]
Dispatcher: Are they black, white or Hispanic?
Andrews: They’re both white males. I think it’s — they know I’m here, ’cause I have a car out front. So they know I’m inside. I have private security that I’m working with, but they’re not with me currently, and they said call 911. OK, here’s the license plate. It’s a handicap license plate for Georgia. They’re looking at me through my window.
Dispatcher: Are you OK? [why are you calling 911? just because you got your 15 minutes of fame doesn’t mean you can call us]
Andrews: Yeah, I’m just — I did nothing wrong, and I’m being treated like f**king Britney Spears, and it sucks. I’m sorry. [what a catty spoiled brat]
Dispatcher: OK, the first available unit will see you as soon as possible.
Andrews: Thanks. Do you know how far they’re out?
Dispatcher: No. They should be in — they’ll be here as soon as possible. [and don’t call here no more]
Andrews: OK.
Dispatcher: OK, thank you.
Andrews: Thanks.
I added some comments. It’s all a big joke to me. Who calls 911 over paparazzi? Seriously? 911? People are being murdered and you call 911 because someone is sitting across the street in their own car.
Erin Andrews, get over yourself. You’re nobody famous. I didn’t know you. The dispatcher didn’t know you. And, why are you cursing like ghetto trash around your mother? ORLY?
Please visit my legal website: Nevada DUI Attorney
See me on YouTube: Shakaama Live
Lil Wayne was scheduled for sentencing in connection with a gun possession charge. The sentencing was postponed due to him recently getting dental surgery. The state never takes health risks if at all possible, so they are giving him time to heal from the surgery and the sentencing will commence on March 2nd.
My question is, if I have the fact correct, they found a gun on a tour bus of his. They were hoping to put him away for more than 15 years, but his lawyer arranged a plea deal which reduced it all the way to 1 year.
My question is when did guns become illegal? How was Dwayne Carter tied to the gun? Were there any constitutional questions surrounding locating the gun, possession of the gun? I’m sure the average upstanding citizen will say “oh he’s a rapper surely those people commit all sorts of crimes.”
What middle America has to get through their thick skull, rap is a business and the people at the top of the game are the best businessmen around. Anyone who buys into the whole dramatic play, that is presented to them as “rap” or “rap lifestyle”, is a fool. Time and again it is found out that rappers are kids with a sound business mind and determination. They are not ghetto children that “just got lucky.”
So I posit to you, that someone had it out for “Lil Wayne” and wanted the guy at the top of the food chain to tumble, and America would buy it because “he’s one of those Black rappers.”
I personally don’t listen to rap. I think it is all a scam. I think it is so corporate and rappers are all sell outs and what they are talking about does not come from their heart nor their experiences. I think rap and the rap industry is just playing everyone for fools and at the expense of the Black man, by Black men. Also, like the Army, they have this subconscious whisper of “hey lil negro you can get out the ghetto if you become a rapper.” Forget school, forget studying, forget hard work, become a rapper. It is just raping the Black community and our kids are buying into the crap.
Don’t get me wrong, I love me some sugarhill gang. I don’t mind a “let’s party” type song. But, when you put on the next song and Black women all of a sudden whores, sluts and putting their vaginas on the living room table, it’s time to go. Any Black man or Black woman that would tolerate listening to that mess needs to just do the Black community a favor and just die. Would you want someone calling your mama a slut, skeezer, whorebag, dollar hooker, cheap trick? Would you want to marry a slut, skeezer, aids infested hooker? Then why would you entertain the thought with the music?
Oh, but Tu Pac is so deep! Nigga puh leez. You know who is deep? Dr. Cornel West, Black professor at Princeton University, who teaches that success does not compensate for moral bankruptcy, that consumerism is not a substitute for a complete lack of character, that the acquisition of money and things does not make you a better person regardless if you are poor or rich.
From the Associated Press:
NEW YORK — Lil Wayne, one of music’s biggest sellers and rap’s hottest stars, will appear in court Tuesday for sentencing for a gun possession charge.
The Grammy-winning artist’s plea deal calls for a year in jail, though good behavior could shave that to as little as eight months.
“This is Lil Wayne going to jail. Nobody can tell me what that’s like,” the rapper told Rolling Stone magazine for its latest issue. “I just say I’m looking forward to it.”
He’s likely to start serving his sentence immediately, making him the latest in a string of rap stars to do time after topping the charts.
His plea deal calls for him to serve his sentence not in state prison but in the city jail system, where rapper Foxy Brown spent about eight months in 2007 and 2008 for a probation violation involving a fight she had with manicurists in a nail salon.
Rapper Remy Ma spent several months in a city jail in 2008 while awaiting sentencing for shooting a woman outside a nightclub. She’s now serving an eight-year sentence in state prison.
City Department of Correction spokesman Stephen Morello wouldn’t discuss any arrangements being made to house Lil Wayne among the roughly 13,500 inmates in the massive Rikers Island complex and other jails. Most inmates are awaiting trial.
Some inmates, including Foxy Brown, are separated from the general population because of their celebrity or other reasons, but “there’s no special-inmates wing,” Morello said.
Lil Wayne’s attorney didn’t return telephone calls seeking comment Monday.
Lil Wayne, 27, pleaded guilty in October to attempted criminal possession of a weapon, admitting he illegally had a loaded .40-caliber semiautomatic gun on his tour bus in July 2007. Police found the weapon when they stopped the bus after a Manhattan concert.
Little more than a week ago, Lil Wayne was reinforcing his place in rap’s pantheon with a commanding performance at the Grammy Awards ceremony. His latest album, “Rebirth,” was officially released Feb. 2.
A rapper since he was a teenager, Lil Wayne, born Dwayne Carter, became known for his voluminous output and collaborations with other artists.
His career has hit a peak in the last two years. His “Tha Carter III” led 2008 album sales with 2.8 million copies sold and featured such hits as the No. 1 smash “Lollipop.” His Grammys include 2008’s best rap solo performance award, for “A Milli.”
Shakaama's Blog 