May 31, 2013

With Stand Your Ground Laws Still Standing, Two Alabama Shooters Escape Liability

Think Progress:

http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2013/05/30/2075961/with-stand-your-ground-laws-still-standing-two-alabama-shooters-escape-liability/

By Nicole Flatow on May 30, 2013 at 10:30 am

Earlier this month, a 21-year-old African American approached the home of his step-father’s ex-girlfriend in Jefferson County, Alabama, and ended up dead. The woman who lived in the home said she shot him out of fear for her safety, and as a result, no charges will be filed against her under Alabama’s Stand Your Ground law — the same law that gained notoriety after the tragic killing of Florida teenager Trayvon Martin.

The woman, whose name was not released, said she was out walking her dog when she saw a man run by her home and went inside to get a gun. When she came back out, a man she believed to be the same person was walking down her driveway. She told him to stop, and that she had a gun. But he kept approaching. She shot and he died.

Unfortunately, little else is known about the case, and likely never will be now that the inquiry has ended with the state’s Stand Your Ground law. The woman said she could not identify the man and feared he was planning to attack her. She said she had particular fear because her boyfriend had been recently robbed, according to Jefferson County District Attorney Brandon Falls. The man, Demetrius Antuan Thompson, had no criminal record. He had no known motive for an attack or break-in.

Under Alabama’s Stand Your Ground law, the woman had no duty to retreat, and it didn’t matter that she voluntarily came outside with a gun. Even if she only feared second-degree assault (intent and execution of serious physical injury), she was authorized to use deadly force. ”This is a tragic situation, but legally she was justified,” Falls told AL.com.

May 29, 2013

joke: Woman with a Quick Wit..pretty clean..

...

Three Hell's Angels are sitting at a table in a transport cafe when in
walks a Nun and takes a seat next to them and begins to eat.
Astonished, one of them say's, "I went to my parents wedding last week
and we all got rat-assed."

Being quick on the uptake the second one says, "My dad says he will
marry my mom next year."

Despite this the Nun stays right where she is.

In desperation the third one says, "My old man will never ever marry my
mom."

The Nun looks up from her food and says, "Would one of you bastards
please pass the salt."

May 29, 2013

One of the biggest scams ever: bottled water...quote mine .article.: National Geographic

http://newswatch.nationalgeographic.com/2012/05/17/u-s-bottled-water-sales-are-booming-again-despite-opposition/

U.S. Bottled Water Sales Are Booming (Again) Despite Opposition

Posted by Charles Fishman on May 17, 2012

Despite organized anti-bottled-water campaigns across the country and a noisy debate about bottled water’s environmental impact, Americans are buying more bottled water than ever.

In 2011, total bottled water sales in the U.S. hit 9.1 billion gallons — 29.2 gallons of bottled water per person, according to sales figures from Beverage Marketing Corp.

The 2011 numbers are the highest total volume of bottled water ever sold in the U.S., and also the highest per-person volume.

Translated to the handy half-liter size Americans find so appealing, that comes to 222 bottles of water for each person in the country — four bottles of water for every man, woman and child, every week.

Indeed, bottled water sales aren’t just growing — it’s fair to say they’re booming. Volume increased by 4.1 percent in 2011 — five times as fast as the 0.9 percent growth in the sales of beverages overall, according to Beverage Marketing. Bottled water sales, in fact, are growing twice as fast as the economy itself.


these two next quotes from National Geographic... are in my opinion...very important:

Although the U.S. has among the safest tap water in the world, the U.S. remains the largest market for bottled water. The next two, in order, are China and Mexico, both countries in which tap water is either unavailable, or typically not considered safe to drink.

The increase in Americans’ consumption of bottled water is extraordinary — the growth having more in common with digital-era products than typical consumer products.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

This link is from their own source: (International Bottled Water Association...)

http://www.bottledwater.org/us-consumption-bottled-water-shows-continued-growth-increasing-62-percent-2012-sales-67-percent

April 25, 2013

ALEXANDRIA, VA – The International Bottled Water Association (IBWA), in conjunction with Beverage Marketing Corporation (BMC) has released 2012 bottled water statistics, compiled by BMC, a research, consulting, and financial services firm dedicated to the global beverage industry (www.beveragemarketing.com). The new BMC data show that the overall consumption of bottled water increased by 6.2 percent and bottled water sales were up 6.7 percent.

In 2012, total U.S. bottled water consumption increased to 9.67 billion gallons, up from 9.1 billion gallons in 2011. In fact, 2012’s consumption growth was the strongest it has been in five years. In addition, per-capita consumption is up 5.3 percent in 2012, with every person in America drinking an average of 30.8 gallons of bottled water last year. Bottled water increased in absolute volume more than any other beverage category in the U.S.

Bottled water sales increased by 6.7 percent in 2012, and now total $11.8 billion.

According to Gary Hemphill, managing director, information services, at BMC, “All signs point to U.S. consumers’ already displayed thirst for bottled water continuing in the years ahead. Changes in per capita consumption indicate persistent interest in a product that consumers embrace as a healthful alternative to other beverages.”
(these next two quotes from National Geographic are in my opinion very important:



_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

May 27, 2013

Obamacare Shock: Paul Krugman New York Times

Paul Krugman,
New York Times
May 26, 2013


http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/27/opinion/krugman-the-obamacare-shock.html?hp&_r=1&

from the column:

......Americans who receive health insurance from their employers, Medicare or Medicaid — which is to say, the vast majority of those who have any kind of health insurance at all — will see almost no changes when the law goes into effect.

There are, however, millions of Americans who don’t receive insurance either from their employers or from government programs. They can get insurance only by buying it on their own, and many of them are effectively shut out of that market. In some states, like California, insurers reject applicants with past medical problems. In others, like New York, insurers can’t reject applicants, and must offer similar coverage regardless of personal medical history (“community rating”); unfortunately, this leads to a situation in which premiums are very high because only those with current health problems sign up, while healthy people take the risk of going uninsured.

Obamacare closes this gap with a three-part approach. First, community rating everywhere — no more exclusion based on pre-existing conditions. Second, the “mandate” — you must buy insurance even if you’re currently healthy. Third, subsidies to make insurance affordable for those with lower incomes

Massachusetts has had essentially this system since 2006; as a result, nearly all residents have health insurance, and the program remains very popular. So we know that Obamacare — or, as some of us call it, ObamaRomneyCare — can work.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

This is a very positive view of Affordable Health Care and you will see that if you read the entire column. Millions will be better off and that is what it is all about.

May 26, 2013

Joke: The Biker and the Bridge..

The Biker and the Bridge

A man on his Harley was riding along a California beach when suddenly the sky
clouded above his head and, in a booming voice, God said, 'Because you have
tried to be faithful to me in all ways, I will grant you one wish.'

The biker pulled over and said, 'Build a bridge to Hawaii so I can ride over
anytime I want.'

God replied, 'Your request is materialistic! Think of the enormous challenges
for that kind of undertaking; the supports required reaching the bottom of the
Pacific and the concrete and steel it would take! I can do it, but it is hard
for me to justify your desire for worldly things. Take a little more time and
think of something that could possibly help man kind.'

The biker thought about it for a long time. Finally, he said, 'God, I wish that
I , and all men, could understand women. I want to know how she feels inside,
what she's thinking when she gives me the silent treatment, why she cries, what
she means when she says nothing's wrong, why she snaps and complains
when I try to help, and how I can make a woman truly happy.


God replied: "I understand now...about that bridge, two lanes or four."

May 26, 2013

Rutgers AD Inflicted Mental Cruelty In Her Own Coaching Days.

Source: NBC Sports College Basketball Talk


Eric Angevine

May 26, 2013, 12:19 AM EDT


A couple of words the board at Rutgers might want to re-acquaint themselves with: “due” and “diligence”.

Just weeks ago, Scarlet Knights men’s head basketball coach Mike Rice was fired for verbally and physically abusing his players during practice, in a scandal that also took down the school’s AD. Rutgers alum Eddie Jordan was hired to right the ship, only to have it come out in the press that he had never actually earned his diploma from the school.

And if that weren’t enough, recently-hired AD Julie Hermann has come under fire for insensitive statements she allegedly made when she was coaching women’s volleyball at Tennessee. Allegations that she had verbally bullied a subordinate with coercive statements about the assistant’s desire to have children surfaced, but that, as we discovered today, may only be the tip of the iceberg.

NJ.com.. published a story late on Saturday alleging that Hermann may have been Rice-like in her own behavior while at Tennessee.

that link at NJ.com.

http://www.nj.com/sports/index.ssf/2013/05/rutgers_new_athletic_director.html#incart_flyout_sports

This link discusses a meeting many years ago..when this person was a coach.._________________________________________________________________________________________

The players say everyone, including the athletic director, had been brought together by a letter all 15 players on the team had submitted. In it, the players said, their coach had ruled through humiliation, fear and emotional abuse.
"The mental cruelty that we as a team have suffered is unbearable," the players wrote. Specifically, they said the coach had called them "whores, alcoholics and learning disabled."

In blunt terms, the players wrote, "It has been unanimously decided that this is an irreconcilable issue
______________________________________________________________________________________

Read more: http://collegebasketballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/05/26/report-rutgers-ad-inflicted-mental-cruelty-in-her-own-coaching-days/

---

When questioned yesterday this is what she is quoted as saying from the article above......

She said, "she did not remember the letter by her volleyball players..." That link, at NJ.com says that everything this AD said at the interviews were lies . .total and complete lies. Maybe Rutgers should do what the University of Chicago did.. give up conventional competitive college sports...maybe...but it won't happen.. In the 20s ..U of C was a powerhouse....no more...no more big ten..tv contracts etc. ...U of C is an educational institution...not a football/basketball stadium with some classes...
____________________________________________________________________________________________________

oops...............no teacher...anywhere, anytime.........would forget something like that in my opinion. no coach...no substitute.. nope ...oops....lie....good by..good by President of Rutgers too.. Here is a link on the President of Rutgers failures:

Steve Politi/Star-Ledger Columnist
Follow on Twitter
on May 26, 2013 at 12:45 AM, updated May 26, 2013 at 10:32 AM

http://www.nj.com/rutgersfootball/index.ssf/2013/05/julie_hermann_should_never_hav.html


and..........Good By . Julie Hermann ,,.....in my opinion.......

May 24, 2013

Joke: A Day in the Park and an Angel..

There are two statues in a park; one of a nude man and one of a nude
woman. They had been facing each other across a pathway for a hundred
years, when one day an angel comes down from the sky and, with a
single gesture, brings the two to life.

The angel tells them, "As a reward for being so patient through a
hundred blazing summers and dismal winters, you have been given life
for thirty minutes to do what you've wished to do the most."

He looks at her, she looks at him, and they go running behind the
shrubbery. The angel waits patiently as the bushes rustle and
giggling ensues. After fifteen minutes, the two return, out of breath
and laughing.

The angel tells them, "Um, you have fifteen minutes left. Would you
care to do it again?"
He asks her, "Shall we?"

She eagerly replies, "Oh, yes, let's! But let's change positions.
This time I hold the pigeon down and you crap on its head!"

May 23, 2013

Eleven Top Paid Bank CEOs

For your info ..guess who is first...



http://money.cnn.com/gallery/news/companies/2013/05/23/bank-ceo-pay/index.html?iid=H_BN_News

May 22, 2013

In a First, U.S. Acknowledges Drones Killing 4 Americans

Source: New York Times

By CHARLIE SAVAGE

Published: May 22, 2013
4:30 pm Eastern

WASHINGTON — One day before President Obama is due to deliver a major speech on national security, his administration on Wednesday formally acknowledged that the United States had killed four American citizens in drone strikes in Yemen and Pakistan.

In a letter to Congressional leaders obtained by The New York Times, Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. disclosed that the administration had deliberately killed Anwar al-Awlaki, a radical Muslim cleric who was killed in a drone strike in September 2011 in Yemen.

The American responsibility for Mr. Awlaki’s death has been widely reported, but the administration had until now refused to confirm or deny it.

The letter also said that the United States had killed three other Americans: Samir Khan, who was killed in the same strike; Mr. Awlaki’s son Abdulrahman al-Awlaki, who was also killed in Yemen; and Jude Mohammed, who was killed in a strike in Pakistan. “These individuals were not specifically targeted by the United States,” Mr. Holder wrote.


Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/23/us/us-acknowledges-killing-4-americans-in-drone-strikes.html?hp

May 22, 2013

Joke number two... 2 times of misunderstanding...very short....

There are two times when a man doesn't understand a woman:

Before marriage and after marriage.