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7 images of Black Antique Oil-rubbed Bronze Bathroom Accessories Sets (ordinary Bronze Bathroom Accessories Set Pictures #5)
Blackblack (blak),USA pronunciation adj., -er, -est, n., v., adv.
- lacking hue and brightness;
absorbing light without reflecting any of the rays composing it.
- characterized by absence of light;
enveloped in darkness: a black night.
- (sometimes cap.)
- pertaining or belonging to any of the various populations characterized by dark skin pigmentation, specifically the dark-skinned peoples of Africa, Oceania, and Australia.
- African-American.
- soiled or stained with dirt: That shirt was black within an hour.
- gloomy;
dismal: a black outlook.
- deliberately;
inexcusable: a black lie.
- boding ill;
sullen or hostile;
threatening: black words; black looks.
- (of coffee or tea) without milk or cream.
- without any moral quality or goodness;
wicked: His black heart has concocted yet another black deed.
- indicating censure, disgrace, or liability to punishment: a black mark on one's record.
- marked by disaster or misfortune: black areas of drought; Black Friday.
- wearing black or dark clothing or armor: the black prince.
- based on the grotesque, morbid, or unpleasant aspects of life: black comedy; black humor.
- (of a check mark, flag, etc.) done or written in black to indicate, as on a list, that which is undesirable, sub-standard, potentially dangerous, etc.: Pilots put a black flag next to the ten most dangerous airports.
- illegal or underground: The black economy pays no taxes.
- showing a profit;
not showing any losses: the first black quarter in two years.
- deliberately false or intentionally misleading: black propaganda.
- boycotted, as certain goods or products by a trade union.
- (of steel) in the form in which it comes from the rolling mill or forge;
- black or white, completely either one way or another, without any intermediate state.
- the color at one extreme end of the scale of grays, opposite to white, absorbing all light incident upon it. Cf. white (def. 20).
- (sometimes cap.)
- a member of any of various dark-skinned peoples, esp. those of Africa, Oceania, and Australia.
- African-American.
- black clothing, esp. as a sign of mourning: He wore black at the funeral.
- the dark-colored men or pieces or squares.
- black pigment: lamp black.
- [Slang.]See black beauty.
- a horse or other animal that is entirely black.
- black and white:
- print or writing: I want that agreement in black and white.
- a monochromatic picture done with black and white only.
- a chocolate soda containing vanilla ice cream.
- in the black, operating at a profit or being out of debt (opposed to in the red): New production methods put the company in the black.
- to make black;
put black on;
- to boycott or ban.
- to polish (shoes, boots, etc.) with blacking.
- to become black;
take on a black color;
- black out:
- to lose consciousness: He blacked out at the sight of blood.
- to erase, obliterate, or suppress: News reports were blacked out.
- to forget everything relating to a particular event, person, etc.: When it came to his war experiences he blacked out completely.
- [Theat.]to extinguish all of the stage lights.
- to make or become inoperable: to black out the radio broadcasts from the U.S.
- [Mil.]to obscure by concealing all light in defense against air raids.
- [Radio and Television.]to impose a broadcast blackout on (an area).
- to withdraw or cancel (a special fare, sale, discount, etc.) for a designated period: The special air fare discount will be blacked out by the airlines over the holiday weekend.
black′ish, adj.
- (of coffee or tea) served without milk or cream.
black′ish•ly, adv.
black′ish•ness, n.
Antiquean•tique (an tēk′),USA pronunciation adj., n., v., -tiqued, -ti•quing.
- of or belonging to the past;
not modern.
- dating from a period long ago: antique furniture.
- noting or pertaining to automobiles approximately 25 years old or more.
- in the tradition, fashion, or style of an earlier period;
- of or belonging to the ancient Greeks and Romans.
- (of paper) neither calendered nor coated and having a rough surface.
- ancient.
- any work of art, piece of furniture, decorative object, or the like, created or produced in a former period, or, according to U.S. customs laws, 100 years before date of purchase.
- the antique style, usually Greek or Roman, esp. in art.
- [Print.]a style of type.
- to make or finish (something, esp. furniture) in imitation of antiques.
- to emboss (an image, design, letters, or the like) on paper or fabric.
an•tique′ly, adv.
- to shop for or collect antiques: She spent her vacation antiquing in Boston.
an•tique′ness, n.
Bronzebronze (bronz),USA pronunciation n., v., bronzed, bronz•ing, adj.
- any of various alloys consisting essentially of copper and tin, the tin content not exceeding 11 percent.
- any of various other alloys having a large copper content.
- a metallic brownish color.
- a work of art, as a statue, statuette, bust, or medal, composed of bronze.
- [Numis.]a coin made of bronze, esp. one from the Roman Empire.
- to give the appearance or color of bronze to.
- to make brown, as by exposure to the sun: The sun bronzed his face.
- [Print.]
- to apply a fine metallic powder to (the ink of a printed surface) in order to create a glossy effect.
- to apply a fine metallic powder to (areas of a reproduction proof on acetate) in order to increase opacity.
bronz′y, bronze′like′, adj.
- having the color bronze.
Bathroombath•room (bath′ro̅o̅m′, -rŏŏm′, bäth′-),USA pronunciation n.
- a room equipped for taking a bath or shower.
- toilet (def. 2).
- go to or use the bathroom, to use the toilet;
urinate or defecate.
Accessoriesac•ces•so•ry (ak ses′ə rē),USA pronunciation n., pl. -ries, adj.
- a subordinate or supplementary part, object, or the like, used mainly for convenience, attractiveness, safety, etc., as a spotlight on an automobile or a lens cover on a camera.
- an article or set of articles of dress, as gloves, earrings, or a scarf, that adds completeness, convenience, attractiveness, etc., to one's basic outfit.
- Also called acces′sory before′ the fact′. a person who, though not present during the commission of a felony, is guilty of having aided and abetted another, who committed the felony.
- Also called acces′sory af′ter the fact′. a person who knowingly conceals or assists another who has committed a felony. Cf. principal (def. 9b).
- See accessory nerve.
ac•ces′so•ri•ly, adv.
- contributing to a general effect;
- giving aid as an accessory.
- [Petrog.]noting any mineral whose presence in a rock has no bearing on the classification of the rock, as zircon in granite.
ac•ces′so•ri•ness, n.
Setsset (set),USA pronunciation v., set, set•ting, n., adj., interj.
- to put (something or someone) in a particular place: to set a vase on a table.
- to place in a particular position or posture: Set the baby on his feet.
- to place in some relation to something or someone: We set a supervisor over the new workers.
- to put into some condition: to set a house on fire.
- to put or apply: to set fire to a house.
- to put in the proper position: to set a chair back on its feet.
- to put in the proper or desired order or condition for use: to set a trap.
- to distribute or arrange china, silver, etc., for use on (a table): to set the table for dinner.
- to place (the hair, esp. when wet) on rollers, in clips, or the like, so that the hair will assume a particular style.
- to put (a price or value) upon something: He set $7500 as the right amount for the car. The teacher sets a high value on neatness.
- to fix the value of at a certain amount or rate;
value: He set the car at $500. She sets neatness at a high value.
- to post, station, or appoint for the purpose of performing some duty: to set spies on a person.
- to determine or fix definitely: to set a time limit.
- to resolve or decide upon: to set a wedding date.
- to cause to pass into a given state or condition: to set one's mind at rest; to set a prisoner free.
- to direct or settle resolutely or wishfully: to set one's mind to a task.
- to present as a model;
place before others as a standard: to set a good example.
- to establish for others to follow: to set a fast pace.
- to prescribe or assign, as a task.
- to adjust (a mechanism) so as to control its performance.
- to adjust the hands of (a clock or watch) according to a certain standard: I always set my watch by the clock in the library.
- to adjust (a timer, alarm of a clock, etc.) so as to sound when desired: He set the alarm for seven o'clock.
- to fix or mount (a gem or the like) in a frame or setting.
- to ornament or stud with gems or the like: a bracelet set with pearls.
- to cause to sit;
seat: to set a child in a highchair.
- to put (a hen) on eggs to hatch them.
- to place (eggs) under a hen or in an incubator for hatching.
- to place or plant firmly: to set a flagpole in concrete.
- to put into a fixed, rigid, or settled state, as the face, muscles, etc.
- to fix at a given point or calibration: to set the dial on an oven; to set a micrometer.
- to tighten (often fol. by up): to set nuts well up.
- to cause to take a particular direction: to set one's course to the south.
- to put (a broken or dislocated bone) back in position.
- (of a hunting dog) to indicate the position of (game) by standing stiffly and pointing with the muzzle.
- to fit, as words to music.
- to arrange for musical performance.
- to arrange (music) for certain voices or instruments.
- [Theat.]
- to arrange the scenery, properties, lights, etc., on (a stage) for an act or scene.
- to prepare (a scene) for dramatic performance.
- to spread and secure (a sail) so as to catch the wind.
- [Print.]
- to arrange (type) in the order required for printing.
- to put together types corresponding to (copy);
compose in type: to set an article.
- [Baking.]to put aside (a substance to which yeast has been added) in order that it may rise.
- to change into curd: to set milk with rennet.
- to cause (glue, mortar, or the like) to become fixed or hard.
- to urge, goad, or encourage to attack: to set the hounds on a trespasser.
- [Bridge.]to cause (the opposing partnership or their contract) to fall short: We set them two tricks at four spades. Only perfect defense could set four spades.
- to affix or apply, as by stamping: The king set his seal to the decree.
- to fix or engage (a fishhook) firmly into the jaws of a fish by pulling hard on the line once the fish has taken the bait.
- to sharpen or put a keen edge on (a blade, knife, razor, etc.) by honing or grinding.
- to fix the length, width, and shape of (yarn, fabric, etc.).
- [Carpentry.]to sink (a nail head) with a nail set.
- to bend or form to the proper shape, as a saw tooth or a spring.
- to bend the teeth of (a saw) outward from the blade alternately on both sides in order to make a cut wider than the blade itself.
- to pass below the horizon;
sink: The sun sets early in winter.
- to decline;
- to assume a fixed or rigid state, as the countenance or the muscles.
- (of the hair) to be placed temporarily on rollers, in clips, or the like, in order to assume a particular style: Long hair sets more easily than short hair.
- to become firm, solid, or permanent, as mortar, glue, cement, or a dye, due to drying or physical or chemical change.
- to sit on eggs to hatch them, as a hen.
- to hang or fit, as clothes.
- to begin to move;
start (usually fol. by forth, out, off, etc.).
- (of a flower's ovary) to develop into a fruit.
- (of a hunting dog) to indicate the position of game.
- to have a certain direction or course, as a wind, current, or the like.
- (of a sail) to be spread so as to catch the wind.
- (of type) to occupy a certain width: This copy sets to forty picas.
- [Nonstandard.]sit: Come in and set a spell.
- set about:
- to begin on;
- to undertake;
- to assault;
- set against:
- to cause to be hostile or antagonistic.
- to compare or contrast: The advantages must be set against the disadvantages.
- set ahead, to set to a later setting or time: Set your clocks ahead one hour.
- set apart:
- to reserve for a particular purpose.
- to cause to be noticed;
distinguish: Her bright red hair sets her apart from her sisters.
- set aside:
- to put to one side;
reserve: The clerk set aside the silver brooch for me.
- to dismiss from the mind;
- to prevail over;
annul: to set aside a verdict.
- set back:
- to hinder;
- to turn the hands of (a watch or clock) to show an earlier time: When your plane gets to California, set your watch back two hours.
- to reduce to a lower setting: Set back the thermostat before you go to bed.
- set by, to save or keep for future use.
- set down:
- to write or to copy or record in writing or printing.
- to consider;
estimate: to set someone down as a fool.
- to attribute;
ascribe: to set a failure down to bad planning.
- to put in a position of rest on a level surface.
- to humble or humiliate.
- to land an airplane: We set down in a heavy fog.
- (in horse racing) to suspend (a jockey) from competition because of some offense or infraction of the rules.
- set forth:
- to give an account of;
describe: He set forth his theory in a scholarly report.
- to begin a journey;
start: Columbus set forth with three small ships.
- set forward, to turn the hands of (a watch or clock) to show a later time: When your plane lands in New York, set your watch forward two hours.
- set in:
- to begin to prevail;
arrive: Darkness set in.
- (of winds or currents) to blow or flow toward the shore.
- set off:
- to cause to become ignited or to explode.
- to begin;
- to intensify or improve by contrast.
- to begin a journey or trip;
- set on:
- Also, set upon. to attack or cause to attack: to set one's dog on a stranger.
- to instigate;
incite: to set a crew to mutiny.
- set one's face against. See face (def. 35).
- set out:
- to begin a journey or course: to set out for home.
- to undertake;
attempt: He set out to prove his point.
- to design;
plan: to set out a pattern.
- to define;
describe: to set out one's arguments.
- to plant: to set out petunias and pansies.
- to lay out (the plan of a building) in actual size at the site.
- to lay out (a building member or the like) in actual size.
- set store by. See store (def. 9).
- set to:
- to make a vigorous effort;
apply oneself to work;
- to begin to fight;
- set up:
- to put upright;
- to put into a high or powerful position.
- to construct;
- to be assembled or made ready for use: exercise equipment that sets up in a jiffy.
- to inaugurate;
- to enable to begin in business;
provide with means.
- to make a gift of;
treat, as to drinks.
- to stimulate;
- to propound;
- to bring about;
- to become firm or hard, as a glue or cement: a paint that sets up within five minutes.
- to lead or lure into a dangerous, detrimental, or embarrassing situation, as by deceitful prearrangement or connivance.
- to entrap or frame, as an innocent person in a crime or a criminal suspect in a culpable circumstance in order to achieve an arrest.
- to arrange the murder or execution of: His partner set him up with the mob.
- [Bridge.]to establish (a suit): to set up spades.
- the act or state of setting or the state of being set.
- a collection of articles designed for use together: a set of china; a chess set.
- a collection, each member of which is adapted for a special use in a particular operation: a set of golf clubs; a set of carving knives.
- a number, group, or combination of things of similar nature, design, or function: a set of ideas.
- a series of volumes by one author, about one subject, etc.
- a number, company, or group of persons associated by common interests, occupations, conventions, or status: a set of murderous thieves; the smart set.
- the fit, as of an article of clothing: the set of his coat.
- fixed direction, bent, or inclination: The set of his mind was obvious.
- bearing or carriage: the set of one's shoulders.
- the assumption of a fixed, rigid, or hard state, as by mortar or glue.
- the arrangement of the hair in a particular style: How much does the beauty parlor charge for a shampoo and set?
- a plate for holding a tool or die.
- an apparatus for receiving radio or television programs;
- [Philately.]a group of stamps that form a complete series.
- [Tennis.]a unit of a match, consisting of a group of not fewer than six games with a margin of at least two games between the winner and loser: He won the match in straight sets of 6–3, 6–4, 6–4.
- a construction representing a place or scene in which the action takes place in a stage, motion-picture, or television production.
- [Mach.]
- the bending out of the points of alternate teeth of a saw in opposite directions.
- a permanent deformation or displacement of an object or part.
- a tool for giving a certain form to something, as a saw tooth.
- a chisel having a wide blade for dividing bricks.
- [Hort.]a young plant, or a slip, tuber, or the like, suitable for planting.
- [Dancing.]
- the number of couples required to execute a quadrille or the like.
- a series of movements or figures that make up a quadrille or the like.
- a group of pieces played by a band, as in a night club, and followed by an intermission.
- the period during which these pieces are played.
- [Bridge.]a failure to take the number of tricks specified by one's contract: Our being vulnerable made the set even more costly.
- [Naut.]
- the direction of a wind, current, etc.
- the form or arrangement of the sails, spars, etc., of a vessel.
- suit (def. 12).
- [Psychol.]a temporary state of an organism characterized by a readiness to respond to certain stimuli in a specific way.
- a timber frame bracing or supporting the walls or roof of a shaft or stope.
- [Carpentry.]See nail set.
- a collection of objects or elements classed together.
- the width of a body of type.
- sett (def. 3).
- fixed or prescribed beforehand: a set time; set rules.
- specified;
fixed: The hall holds a set number of people.
- deliberately composed;
customary: set phrases.
- fixed;
rigid: a set smile.
- resolved or determined;
habitually or stubbornly fixed: to be set in one's opinions.
- completely prepared;
ready: Is everyone set?
- all set, in readiness;
prepared: They were at the starting line and all set to begin.
Also, get set!
- (in calling the start of a race): Ready! Set! Go!
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Do muslims really follow the ten commandments in the Qur'an?
Let's see now,
Ten commandments in the Qur'an;
1-"There is no other god beside Allah." (Qur'an 47:19)
→ No they dont follow this one, because Allah will not accept your prayers unless you say in your prayers; Oh Allah pray upon Muhammed… So Allah himself is worshiping Muhammed..
Muhammed will sit in the throne of Allah! Who is the Lord Allah or Muhammed?!
2-"My Lord, make this a peaceful land, and protect me and my children from worshiping idols." (Qur'an 14:35)
→ LOL, What about the Black Stone? It's an idol!
Circling around the Kaaba and the Black Stone? Why is that?
Is it true that the and the Black Stone fall down from heaven? and if it's true then why do they worship it?
Is it true that the Black Stone belongs to Abraham?
There is no verse in the Quran mentions the black stone.
3-"And make not Allah's (name) an excuse in your oaths against doing good, or acting rightly, or making peace between persons; for Allah is One Who heareth and knoweth all things." (Qur'an 2:224) This quranic verse is not entirely analogous to the Old Testament's "You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the Lord your God..." Verse 2:224 is explained by the Prophet Muhammad as: "If anyone takes a solemn oath [that he would do or refrain from doing such-and such a thing], and thereupon realizes that something else would be a more righteous course, then let him do that which is more righteous, and let him break his oath and then atone for it" (Bukhari and Muslim; and other variants of the same Tradition in other compilations).
→No Muslim is interested in this matter nowadays,, all what they interested in, is tricking and lying in the name of their Lord... they are doning the opposite as a matter of fact.
4-"O you who believe, when the Congregational Prayer (Salat Al-Jumu`ah) is announced on Friday, you shall hasten to the commemoration of GOD, and drop all business." (Qur'an 62:9) According to the teachings of Islam, the Sabbath was abrogated by the revelation for Muhammed. Furthermore, the Sabbath was only decreed for the Jews. (Qur'an 16:124) God, however, ordered Muslims to make every effort to drop all business to attend the congregational (Friday) prayer. Believers are permitted to go about their affairs during the rest of the day.
→(Friday) prayers,, yes they do pray "Salat Al-Jumu`ah"and I wish if they don't!.
After they listen attentively to the Imam's lecture....
-->The Imam will say, Oh Allah curse Jews and Christians,,, and Muslims will repeat after him, Ameen, Ameen, just like parrots.
He will tell them to beat their wives.. because women will not go to heaven unless they obey men.
then after that the Imam will describe the 72 virgin in a pornographic way!
in the end he says, Allah himself and his angels are praying upon Muhammed oh muslims pray upon him.
5-"....and your parents shall be honoured. As long as one or both of them live, you shall never (even) say to them, "Uff" (the slightest gesture of annoyance), nor shall you shout at them; you shall treat them amicably." (Qur'an 17:23)
→Oh come on Allah,dont be stupid! all of us love our parents!
6-"....anyone who murders any person who had not committed murder or horrendous crimes, it shall be as if he murdered all the people." (Qur'an 5:32)
→What about jihad? is'nt a murder? they are killing to praise the name of Allah.
The Qur'an tells muslims to kill and go to war to fight for Islam: Quran, chapters (Surahs) 9:5; 2:191; 2:193; 3:118; 4:75,76; 5:33, 8:12; 8:65; 9:73,123; 33:60-62.
also, Muslims must kill Salamanders because these creatures hate Abraham! lol.
7-"You shall not commit adultery; it is a gross sin, and an evil behaviour." (Qur'an 17:32)
→Muslims are committing adultery in the name of Allah by marrying four wives ....this is worse than adultery..
shame on you muslim man isn't not enough for you that you will get 72 virgin!
8-"They shall not steal." (Al-Mumtahanah 60: 12) and "The thief, male or female, you shall cut off their hands as a punishment for their crime, and to serve as an example from God. God is Almighty, Most Wise." (Qur'an 5:38)
→no one is following the teaching of this verse or taking it seriously nowadays.
9-"Do not withhold any testimony by concealing what you had witnessed. Anyone who withholds a testimony is sinful at heart." (Qur'an 2:283)
→Muhammad wrote this verse because he mortgage his clothes to a jewish man.
So that's not even a commandment.
10-"And do not covet what we bestowed upon any other people. Such are temporary ornaments of this life, whereby we put them to the test. What your Lord provides for you is far better, and everlasting." (Qur'an 20:131)
→Jews said that Muhammad loves s*x.. cough cough.. So, he thought the Jews were jealous of him then he wrote this verse. that's it… that's can not be a commandment. lol
Views: 101
that post above was my own thoughts about the ten commandments of the Qur'an!
I think that the Bible said the truth about how evil the descendants of Ishmael(muslims)
will become.....and how they will be the enemies of Jews although I believe that the Bible has been changed.
The story of the black stone is just like a joke!!
"Abraham and his son Ismail were looking for stones in order to build the Kaaba then Abraham came with this special stone.. Ismail said, wow dad,
where do you get this stone from.. he answered, Angel Gabriel gave it to me as a gift from heaven...and now Muslims are starting circling around the Kaaba from the black stone as a mark to start circling.
1--> the black stone.
About paradise,
It's ot only for Muhammad followers,
It's for the followers of the past prophets such as Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, etc who adhered to their true teachings and worshipped Allah without partners.. they will go to paradise.
- how paradise described in the Qur'an,
"For them will be Gardens of eternity; beneath them rivers will flow; they will be adorned therein with bracelets of gold, and they will wear green garments of fine silk and heavy brocade. 18:31
-in hadith,
About the 72 virgins,
'The smallest reward for the people of Heaven is an abode where there are 80,000 servants and 72 wives, over which stands a dome decorated with pearls, aquamarine and ruby, as wide as the distance from al-Jabiyyah(A village in Damascus.) to San'a(Capital city of Yemen.)->embarrassing hadith!
-also there are unknown rewards, Muhammad said, "Never mind what Allah has told you; what He has not told you is even greater."
Description of Paradise
Paradise described in the Qur'an
by Abdulkader Kamal Tayebi

subset: commoncrawl


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Thanksgiving Weekend TV: Your Guide to All the Marathons, Specials and Football
Nov 26, 2013 12:41 PM EST
Stuffed with Thanksgiving turkey? Tired of flag football with your family? Fortunately, there are plenty of reasons to stay put on the couch all weekend long. Check out our roundup of all the marathons, specials and football games on tap. All times a… Read more


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Britain - London, anyway - might be enjoying some autumnal sunshine right now, but spare a thought for DiS's Rob Webb, Gary Wolstenholme and Shain Shapiro as they board a plane for the dark and icy surroundings of Reykjavik for the annual Iceland Airwaves festival. Think of them, huddled, freezing… actually, don't: they'll be inside most of the time, enjoying a slew of top-notch bands from the world over. The bastards.
Airwaves starts today, and the full line-up can be found at the official website here. DiS expects to catch !!!, Slow Club, Annuals and more, but we're most excited about our own night on Friday at the Icelandic capital's Gaukurinn venue. Line-up:
20.00: Weapons
20.45: Sudden Weather Change
21.30: Jan Mayen
22.15: Reykajavik!
23.00: Deerhoof
00.00: Jakobinarina
01.00: I Adapt
01.45: Æla
You can follow DiS's adventures at Airwaves on a live blog, updated with words and pictures daily. Just click HERE. Enjoy, and keep an eye out for the review proper in the coming weeks.


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Julian Treasure cares very deeply for your ears. That's why he's given TED talks like "The 4 ways sound affects us" and "Why architects need to use their ears." Treasure is on a mission to make policymakers, engineers, architects and, well, [ted_talkteaser id=965]everyone think more about what they hear around them — because the way things sound have a tangible, measurable effect on how we feel, how we heal, how we work and how we live.
To this end, Treasure's The Sound Agency has teamed up with Biamp Systems to create a whitepaper called "Building in Sound," a look at the data linking sound and well-being.
"This paper is based on exhaustive review of academic papers, and reports from national governments and multinational bodies, going back some 40 years," it begins. "The research examines the causes and impacts of sound on our health, recovery from illness…
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Recent Advances in Anćsthesia and Analgesia
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*hugs tight* Josi!!!! So many good writers here!
Woohoo! Gryffindor for the win!
Holy crap, is this starting?*stares forlornly at the roster...sure all the roles have been filled, by now*
I got a stupid question, been reading up to get a better feel of the setting. And I keep seeing the fact the wizards have a hard time with modern tech. I just can't really find a reason why? Is it the magical words just kind of rejects it or reacts badly to it? Again dumb question it was just one of those things that made me think. ~goes back to reading~
Nice one, Josi. @Lunar Sage: ~stabs the Gryffindor with sharp snake fangs~ I win, I win, I win!!! >.>I'll just ... go over here now. <.<
~smirks and uses the raven's beak to snap the snake in half before flying into a tree so the badger can't sneak up on her~I WIN!!! ~runs off to play with her wand~
LOL! Me thinks I have been bested. Don't worry. I'll get you next time, Gadget!Go, gadget go! Ba nananana na na na na na na!@Remiel: 'One of us ... one of us ...' That's all I've got. ... I can't read or write. ~headdesk~
Ohhhh okay. Me too. All I have is a lame twin size bed no privacy for me.And I was going to say if you need help photoshopping things I might be of assistance. But I suppose they are secret things?
I'm very interested in throwing my hat in the ring, but I need to wait until I find out if I'll be able to due to some unpleasant personal business looming ahead in the near future. Would it be possible to join the game after its official start?
There would be no E!
Getting owl post is so effing awesome
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Soda, pizza and the destruction of America
I've heard a lot of rumors lately about the Muslim Student Association – the national organization of Muslim college students that boasts chapters in over a thousand colleges across America and Canada, and is one of the most influential religious organizations around. They've been accused of promoting Islamic fundamentalism and inviting speakers who spew violent anti-American rhetoric. I thought I'd check things out for myself.
I'm Jewish, but thanks to my Middle Eastern features, I can easily pass for an Arab. So, last week, I attended a closed (as in Muslim students only) meeting sponsored by the MSA at Queensborough Community College, just across the bridge from me in Manhattan.
The event featured a speech about Iraq by two American-based leaders of Al-Muhajiroun, a well-known Islamic fundamentalist organization that supports the ideology of Osama bin Laden, and whose worldwide leader, Sheikh Omar Bakri Muhammad, has long been suspected of ties with al-Qaida.
I arrived at the mid-sized classroom in the Humanities building of the college. About 20 students were in attendance. The males were on their knees, barefoot, completing afternoon services, while the women sat clustered in the back, traditional scarves covering their heads.
The president of the Queensborough MSA distributed soda and slices of pizza, and then introduced the two speakers – Abu Yousuf and Muhammad Faheed.
Yousuf, 20, looked like a regular college student – dark skin, clad in black jeans and a gray sweater. He was born in America, and became involved with Al-Muhajiroun at age 15. He says he attended a "camp" in Sudan last year, and now leads the New York chapter of the organization.
Faheed, 23, stood out a bit more. A freshly grown beard complimented his brown turban, long white robe and a green military sweater with Arabic writing on it. He was born in Pakistan, and says he immigrated to America at age 3 and now assists Yousuf with Al-Muhajiroun in New York.
Yousuf took the podium first. He began in Arabic: "With thanks to Allah we are here. I testify that there is no God but Allah … May Allah grant that I speak only the truth."
He then switched to English, and explained that the war against Iraq is about oil and Western dominance over Muslim nations under the pretext of disarmament. He argued that President Bush is starting a "Christian crusade to rid the world of Islam," and that after Iraq, America will likely attack the rest of the Arab countries.
He said that a war with Iraq will cause a major humanitarian crisis in which American soldiers "starve, rape and murder our brothers and sisters," and that something must be done if that happens.
"America is hypocritical," he asserts. "Now it says it must 'disarm' Saddam, but they armed him in the first place! And most of the crimes against Saddam's people were committed while America supported him and turned a blind eye to his atrocities."
Yousuf disregards the argument that America is trying to liberate the Iraqi people and fight terrorism: "America doesn't want Saddam attacking his own people, so what are they going to do to liberate the Iraqis? Attack Saddam's people!"
"Because there is no way to justify this war," Yousuf said, "we must find a solution." He then introduced Brother Faheed to explain just what that solution is.
Faheed immediately declared that there is an outright conspiracy against Islam by Christians and Jews, and that as Muslims, "we must not recognize any government authority, or any authority at all besides Allah."
"We are not Americans," he shouted. "We are Muslims. [The U.S.] is going to deport and attack us! It is us vs. them! Truth against falsehood! The colonizers and masters against the oppressed, and we will burn down the master's house!"
Faheed argued that it is against the Koran for Muslims to protest the American government because that would constitute unfaithfully recognizing the authority of a non-Muslim country.
"We reject the U.N., reject America, reject all law and order. Don't lobby Congress or protest because we don't recognize Congress! The only relationship you should have with America is to topple it!"
Faheed explained that those in attendance should also reject the authority of secular Muslim states such as Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey, "which have been bought out by America … Mushariff gets $60 Million a month to betray and arrest us."
Faheed said the war against Iraq would be "felt in America," and that U.S. Muslims would soon be in danger and should prepare themselves for a battle with the American people.
I was particularly concerned when he indicated his support for terrorist organizations.
"The so-called terrorists are the only people who truly fear Allah. Since everyone fears the worldly things that Allah controls, they therefore fear these Islamic organizations [which have been labeled terrorist organizations]. We must join with these organizations. They are the only worthy causes, and the mighty superpower only fears them."
That seemed the main thrust of his presentation – that the proper Muslim response to an American war with Iraq should not be intellectual or to protest against the government, but to join "appropriate" Muslim organizations and prepare for some sort of physical confrontation with America.
Faheed explained that the U.S. is "not strong. Vietnam, they lost. Somalia, they ran away from. America hasn't won anything since World War II. We can defeat America."
"Eventually there will be a Muslim in the White House dictating the laws of Shariah."
Faheed then opened the floor to questions, and I immediately asked what it is that people in the room should do, what specific organizations they should join. Al-Qaida? Hamas? Hezbollah?
Faheed said that he "already answered that question – you must join true Muslim organizations."
But he was nonspecific. I asked for names, details.
Yousuf took over and told the students to "use the Koran to divine whether a Muslim organization is true – does it recognize the authority of the West? Does it use true Muslim principles for guidance?"
"You see, there is only one good Muslim organization out of every 73."
He still wouldn't mention specific groups, or even directly promote his own organization.
The students in the room asked basic but complimentary questions like, "How can we support the people in Iraq financially?" and "What kind of rhetoric should we use when we talk with non-Muslims about the situation?"
People started to trickle out, and the MSA leader thanked everyone for coming.
I had a chance to chat for a few minutes in private with the leaders of Al-Muhajiroun. Yousuf explained that he speaks at many colleges throughout the New York area, and that most of his speeches are arranged by the MSA. In fact, Yousuf invited me to a speech he was giving the very next day being sponsored by the MSA of Marymount College in Manhattan.
As I helped Yousuf and Faheed clean up the pizza boxes and empty plates, I wondered how students likely receiving federal aid to attend a public college can agree with speakers who promote the destruction of the very government that is educating them? Whether some of these students would consider joining the kinds of organizations that were being promoted? How such rhetoric can be accepted at an American university?
And when I walked out, I realized that those rumors about the MSA had just been confirmed.
Religion of peace? Or "holy" war against America? Learn the truth about radical Islam's plans for the United States!
Aaron Klein has previously conducted interviews with Yasser Arafat, Benjamin Netanyahu, Ehud Barak and leaders of the Taliban.


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Important stakes races run the gamut this weekend, on all surfaces, for all ages, from short to long and from Ireland to Iowa.
Japan Cup and Dubai Sheeman Classic winner Gentildonna, Epsom Derby winner Australia, Kentucky Oaks winner Untapable and the enigmatic old man, Game On Dude, all are on tap.
Saturday is the Group 1 Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby and, conditions permitting, the impressive winner of the Group 1 Investec Epsom Derby, Australia, will be trying for the "Derby Double." On the other side of the world, some of Japan's brightest stars, including Gentildonna, will line up for Sunday's Group 1 Takarazuka Kinen at Hanshin.
The going gets a little deeper for the juvenile set in the Grade III Bashford Manor at Churchill Downs and the My Dear Stakes for fillies at Woodbine.
At Prairie Meadows in Iowa, a stakes-filled weekend culminates in three graded events on Saturday, including the $300,000, Grade III Prairie Meadows Cornhusker.
And Saturday's Firecracker Stakes at Churchill Downs looks like an old-boys club, even without 7-year-old, two-time Horse of the Year Wise Dan.
Before we get much older, let's get going:
Turf Mile
We'll be missing Wise Dan in Saturday $200,000, Grade II Firecracker Stakes at Churchill Downs. The 7-year-old, two-time and reigning Horse of the Year, currently recovering from a colic attack, won the Firecracker in 2011 and again last year. But the Firecracker field has plenty of pop, with the likes of Silver Max, who makes his first start since finishing a good fourth in last fall's Breeders' Cup Mile after three straight graded stakes wins; Free World, riding a five-race win skein; 7-year-old Regally Ready who has won two straight under the Twin Spires; Nikki's Sandcastle, another 7-year-old who won the Grade III Hanshin Cup on the Arlington all-weather in his last start; and Guy's Reward, yet another 7-year-old who won this race two years ago. Dale Romans, who trains Silver Max and Guy's Reward, said the former is well rested and ready to run. Latest reports have Wise Dan doing well -- perhaps well enough to return during the Saratoga meet and then shoot for a third straight Breeders' Cup Mile win.
Three-year-old fillies tackle 1 mile on the grass in Saturday's $100,000, Grade III Senorita Stakes at Santa Anita. To paraphrase Benjamin Braddock in "The Graduate," this bunch isn't completely baked yet. But it might pay to watch for Famous Alice, a Kitten's Joy filly who won over the course and distance before finishing fourth on a trip to the Penn Oaks Stakes out east. Tom Proctor trains and Gary Stevens rides. Rovenna has won three straight but all on the dirt.
Fillies and mares go the same distance on the lawn in Saturday's $200,000, Grade II Royal Heroine at Santa Anita. Stormy Lucy is the highweight among 10 entered after winning the Grade II Santa Anna and the Grade III Santa Barbara earlier in the meeting. But she finished fourth in her last try, the Grade I Gamely Stakes. Wishing Gate and Parranda are graded stakes winners.
Speaking of 7-year-olds, Game On Dude is back for Saturday's $500,000, Grade I Gold Cup at Santa Anita, facing six rivals. The Awesome Again gelding has been inconsistent of late for trainer Bob Baffert. But he did win the Grade I Santa Anita Handicap over the course earlier in the year before yielding to Imperative in the late going in the $1.5 million Charles Town Classic. This used to be the Hollywood Gold Cup, when there was a Hollywood Park, and Game On Dude won the last two runnings at the LAX track. Imperative finished seventh in the "Big Cap" before taking home the big check from West Virginia and the recently reformed claimer is back to try Game On Dude again. Fury Kapcori and Clubhouse Ride are both tough customers over the Santa Anita strip. Salto Del Indio and Lidaris both make their first U.S. start after shipping up from South America. The race is a "Win and You're In" event for the Breeders' Cup Classic. In light of Game On Dude's dismal record in the last two runnings of that event, trainer Bob Baffert might be looking for some redemption for the old guy.
Oddly enough, the Equibase morning-line for Saturday evening's $300,000, Grade III Cornhusker Stakes at Prairie Meadows will line up in order of their odds, from the outside in. The 3-1 favorite, Golden Ticket, is drawn No. 8 with the outside chance, Eriugena, in stall No. 1. Golden Ticket, a 5-year-old son of Speightstown, won last year's Prairie Meadows Handicap and earlier this year finished second in both the Grade II Gulfstream Park Handicap and the Grade II Alysheba at Churchill Downs. Immediately to his inside for the 9-furlongs tilt is Carve, who is 2-for-4 this season with both wins coming in allowance company. Ground Transport had a two-race winning streak snapped in his last outing. Coin Broker is lightly raced and promising for trainer Dale Romans. Right to Vote has a recent win over the course in a minor stakes.
Embellishing Bob and Vicar's In Trouble are the early picks for Saturday's $250,000, Grade III Iowa Derby at Prairie Meadows. Embellishing Bob, a Northern Afleet colt, won the Grade III Derby Trial at Churchill Downs on a disqualification after Bayern beat him to the wire by a nose. He subsequently finished seventh in the Grade II Woody Stephens at Belmont -- a race Bayern won by 7 1/2 lengths. So, go figure. Vicar's In Trouble won the Grade II Louisiana Derby at Fair Grounds, then finished last in the Kentucky Derby after being bounced around pretty severely in the first few furlongs. The Mike Maker trainee has been working well over the Churchill Downs training track. The other seven have more to prove. However, Charge Now, a Tiznow colt trained by Bill Mott, posted a second and a win at Gulfstream Park, then was the easiest of winners in a Belmont Park allowance event and bears watching.
It's hard to look beyond Untapable in Saturday's $300,000, Grade I Mother Goose at Belmont Park. The Tapit filly makes her first start since running away with the Kentucky Oaks. Before that, she also was an easy winner in the Grade III Rachel Alexandra and Grade II Fair Grounds Oaks, both in New Orleans. She has been off for a while. She does cut back to 1 1/16 miles. And her regular rider, Rosie Napravnik, is sidelined with a shoulder injury. But John Velazquez is a fine substitute and Untapable has been working steadily at her Churchill Downs home base for trainer Steve Asmussen. So her five rivals have their work cut out for them although Stopchargingmaria looks good after a hard-fought win in the Grade II Black-Eyed Susan at Pimlico. Those who do look beyond the favorite might look for House Rules.
Sugar Shock, the eighth-place finisher behind Untapable in the Kentucky Oaks, came back to post a hard-fought win in the Panthers Stakes at Prairie Meadows in her last start and is among the favorites for Saturday's $200,000, Grade III Iowa Oaks over the same track. The Candy Ride filly also shows a win in the Grade III Fantasy Stakes at Oaklawn Park this spring among her four career victories. Thank You Marylou was third in the Ashland at Keeneland before finishing fifth in the Kentucky Oaks and makes her comeback here for owners Ken and Sarah Ramsey. She also was second -- after a disqualification -- to Designer Legs in last summer's Adirondack at Saratoga and faces that foe again on Saturday. And speaking of disqualifications, the Iowa Oaks field also includes Ria Antonia, who won last fall's Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies after the DQ of She's a Tiger. She hasn't won since while bouncing from trainer to trainer to trainer although Bob Baffert did saddle her to a second-place showing Grade I Santa Anita Oaks during his brief tenure. She was running for Tom Amoss when she finished 10th and last in the Grade I Preakness in her last start. She started her career with Jeremiah Englehart.
Quiet Success just missed in the $200,000 Sugar Maple Stakes at Charles Town in her last race and now the 4-year-old Successful Appeal filly finds herself the morning-line favorite for Friday's $100,000 Iowa Distaff at 1 1/16 miles. Diva's Diamond, Hung the Moon and Hitechnoweenie will provide some meaningful competition.
Filly & Mare Turf
Tannery heads a cast of six for Saturday's $200,000, Grade II New York Stakes at 1 1/4 miles on the Belmont Park green course. The 5-year-old Dylan Thomas mare finished fifth in this heat last year but has done better since, winning the Grade I E.P. Taylor Stakes at Woodbine last fall, then taking her seasonal debut at Monmouth Park last month in a show of determination. Riposte is fresh from a win in the Grade II Sheepshead Bay Stakes over the course and hasn't been out of the frame in any of her four U.S. starts since shipping from Europe after last year's campaign. Inimitable Romanee won the Grade III The Very One Stakes at Gulfstream Park and the Grade III Bewitch at Keeneland earlier in the year. Shug McGaughey saddles Scampering, who might enjoy the added distance.
Sahara Sky might be the favorite in Saturday's $300,000, Grade I Triple Bend Stakes at Santa Anita going 7 furlongs just because of his victory in March in the Grade II San Carlos. But he has been going the wrong way since, albeit in good company, and finished seventh in his last outing, the Grade II Churchill Downs Stakes. Cyclometer and Wine Police come to this off a 1-2 finish in the Grade III Los Angeles Handicap at 6 furlongs. But there was only one other starter in that race and he finished 10 3/4 lengths back of Wine Police. Bob Baffert has two of the seven starters here but neither of them is top-shelf right now, either. Someone has found an easy spot. The problem is spotting which one that is. There are a lot of "buts" in this paragraph.
Friday night's $125,000 Iowa Sprint Handicap at Prairie Meadows promises to be a contentious -- and speedy -- affair. The morning-line favorites, Delaunay and Work All Week, both like to be out there on the lead. Delaunay was second in this race last year as the favorite and won the Grade III Aristides Stakes at Churchill Downs in his last start. Work All Week, based at Arlington Park, has won nine of his last 10 starts but gets a significant class test in this event. There are some qualified closers, including Alsvid, who was second in three straight stakes at Oaklawn Park, including the Grade III Count Fleet Sprint Handicap and comes off a victory over the Iowa oval. Mico Margarita is a graded stakes winner and Apprehender has been known to apprehend reckless early speed with a late stretch rush.
Filly & Mare Sprint
Apropos makes her first visit to Chicago for Saturday's $150,000, Grade III Chicago Handicap at 7 furlongs and was installed as a lukewarm morning-line favorite. The First Samurai filly won her first two starts of the year, then ran out in graded stakes at Keeneland and earlier in the Churchill Downs meet. Cozze Up Lady shows a similar pattern, the difference being she won this race last year. Disco Barbie has won two straight optional claimers at Presque Isle Downs. My Option won the Grade III Arlington Oaks last season but hasn't tasted victory in six intervening trips.
An evenly matched field of 11 distaffers is set for Friday night's $100,000 Saylorville Stakes at 6 furlongs at Prairie Meadows. With more than half the field at single-digit odds on the morning line, it's a tough one to figure. But it sure offers some opportunity for those who find the key.
Marks Mine is almost always in the frame in minor stakes and could be the one in Saturday's $100,000 Oak Tree Distaff at Pleasanton. Unusual Way was second in the Grade II San Clemente at Del Mar nearly a year ago. The rest have served, so far, with little distinction.
Only six were entered to tackle 6 furlongs in Saturday's $100,000, Grade III Bashford Manor at Churchill Downs. Governmentshutdown, an Exchange Rate gelding, has won two straight at Pimlico after finishing third in his career bow. Cinco Charlie was impressive in blazing to victory in a 4 1/2-furlong maiden win under the Twin Spires. The others also come direct from maiden wins as far afield as Lone Star Park, Keeneland and Presque Isle Downs.
2-year-old fillies
Sweet Dreams came from off the pace to win at first asking last month and that's enough to make her the narrow favorite for Saturday's $125,000 (Canadian) My Dear Stakes over the same all-weather course. The daughter of Candy Ride is trainer by Gail Cox. Unhindered won her career debut at Woodbine two weeks ago by 5 lengths, well in hand, after leading most of the way. The Stormy Atlantic filly is trained by Ralph Biamonte. Happy to Go was all of that in winning her career debut at Arlington. Twisted Ginger was a first-out winner at Presque Isle Downs. Dixie Twist, an Indian Charlie filly making her first start for trainer Mark Casse, could have a future.
Aidan O'Brien says Australia, the Epsom Derby winner, is a "good ground horse" and if there is boggy ground on Saturday at the Curragh, that might keep him on the sidelines. Otherwise, the son of Galileo-Ouija Board could continue what promises to be a stellar career that would live up to his heavenly pedigree. Six likely rivals include Kingston Hill, Fascinating Rock, Geoffrey Chaucer, Orchestra, Kingfisher and Ponfeigh. Kingston Hill, second to Australia at Epsom, would seem the main threat in the 1 1/2-miles test.
Fifteen fillies and mares remained in the mix on Thursday for Sunday's Group 1 Pretty Polly Stakes at the Curragh, among them Irish 1,000 Guineas winner Marvelous, who subsequently finished sixth in the Epsom Oaks. Several of these are ambitiously entered but Ambivalent, Thistle Bird and Venus De Milo all are recent Group stakes winners.
Like the year-end Arima Kinen, the field for Sunday's US$2.75 million, Group 1 Takarazuka Kinen at Hanshin is chosen primarily by fan ballot. The top 10 vote-getters are given an automatic pass into the race should their connections choose to run. For the first time since 2007, the three top vote-getters will run -- Gold Ship, Win Variation and Gentildonna. Gold Ship, a 5-year-old son of Stay Gold, won this race last year. Norihiro Yokoyama will have the mount for the first time on the top vote-getter. Win Variation has been running in the shadow of Orfevre and tries for the eighth time to land a Group 1 victory. Gentildonna, twice winner of the Japan Cup, has been idle since winning the Group 1 Dubai Sheema Classic on March 29. She followed a similar course last year but finished a good third in the Takarazuka Kinen. There are some other good ones here, too, including Meisho Mambo and Denim and Ruby, who just missed upsetting Gentildonna in last fall's Japan Cup. The race is at 2,200 meters, or about 11 furlongs, on the right-handed Hanshin turf course. The race also is a "Win and You're In" race for the Breeders' Cup Turf.
Friday's Copa de Oro Vinas de Chile at Santiago is a "Win and You're In" for the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile.
News and notes:
Breeders' Cup made it official Tuesday: The 2015 World Championships will be run at Keeneland; 2016 at Santa Anita; 2017, Del Mar. Keeneland and Del Mar, two of the most iconic tracks in North America, will be hosting for the first time. "In solidifying the Breeders' Cup World Championships as a leading global event in Thoroughbred racing, we are very pleased to align ourselves with three of the world's premier racetracks in Keeneland, Santa Anita and Del Mar," said Craig Fravel, Breeders' Cup president and CEO. He said the venues, enhanced marketing and innovative outreach efforts "provide us with an excellent opportunity to grow our audience by combining the best that horse racing and entertainment have to offer."


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Many Gifts, One Body
A few years ago I was given a month-long sabbatical to study in Wittenberg, Germany, the birthplace of the Protestant Reformation. While in Wittenberg, I stayed at the Evangelical Preacher's Seminary, which shared the same courtyard as Martin Luther's home …Read More
The Service of Leading
Good music is hard to find these days. In fact, I would argue, most of what we hear today isn't music at all, it's just synthesized noise with a beat. Good music, however, takes time to produce. It takes talented …Read More
It Is Finished
Several years ago, I attended a conference that was held at a charismatic church. The building was the size of a small country and, being an inquisitive fellow, I decided to take a little stroll through the church's many corridors …Read More
Spirit of Light
The reformers placed tremendous stress on the gifts of the Spirit to the whole body of Christ. John Calvin himself has rightly been described as "the theologian of the Holy Spirit" (B.B. Warfield). Yet Reformed Christians always have been …Read More
Thus Saith the Lord?
"LAST WEEK, THE LORD TOLD me.…" To someone from a Reformed background, it is sort of jarring to hear a statement like that. But the proposition is not all that unusual—especially in Pentecostal circles. I remember once asking a …Read More
With Heart and Mind
Reformed folk have not earned a reputation for hearts overflowing with love. We tend to be the cerebral ones, very careful to dot our theological I's and cross our philosophical T's. Given our peculiar gift, it is no small wonder …Read More
Zeal Without Knowledge
Many people are surprised, and some are shocked, when they hear of my involvement in the charismatic movement years ago. It began in 1965, shortly after I returned from graduate study in Holland to teach philosophy and theology at my …Read More


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The Department of Homeland Security and its immigration enforcement efforts took a modest cut under President Obama's proposed federal budget for 2013 that he unveiled Monday.
The belt-tightening proposed budget calls for a reduction of 0.5 percent — or $191 million — from the 2012 mark of $39.5 billion.
The president's proposal seems to strengthen immigration enforcement against undocumented immigrants while reducing the number of those in detention. If approved by Congress, the budget would maintain funds and the number of deployed officers along the northern and southern borders, streamline collection data from international travelers and expand immigration verification systems.
Obama's budget consolidates the US-Visit program within Homeland Security's two major branches –- Customs and Border Protection, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The program is used to collect biometric data — digital fingerprints and a photograph — from international travelers at U.S. visa-issuing posts and ports of entry. The consolidation could reduce funds by $27 million.
The budget provides an additional $132 million for two programs that help employers determine the immigration status of their workforce. The funds would support E-Verify, which yields data showing whether potential employees are legally allow to work in the country, and the Systematic Alien Verification Entitlements, commonly referred to as SAVE. This program helps public agencies check the immigration status of individuals applying for federal, state and local government benefits.
No new immigration enforcement mandates were announced on Monday. But the budget unveiled a voluntary "self-check" option for E-Verify, which along with SAVE, was designed "to promote compliance with immigration laws while preventing individuals from obtaining benefits they are not eligible to receive," the budget stated.
The White House unveiled additional strategies that go along Homeland Security's recent policy changes that intend to reprioritize the department's prosecutorial decisions on undocumented immigrants. The budget adds electronic monitoring and intensive supervision as alternatives to detention for undocumented aliens who are deemed low-priority for deportation.
"The Department's FY 2013 budget request preserves core frontline priorities by cutting costs, sharing resources across components, and streamlining operations wherever possible," Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano said in a statement Monday.
The $3.8 trillion budget blueprint also suggests keeping the number of Customs and Border Protection officers at 21,186 and Border Patrol agents at 21,370.
The proposed budget for Homeland Security redirects over $850 million in base resources including contracts, personnel (through attrition), overtime and travel among others, to frontline operations. Yet stakeholders on both sides of the immigration table questioned whether the budget meets the nation's needs.
"We always want to have more agents, but under the budget not going below (the existing number) is enough," said Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo. "(…) Keep in mind that the number of illegal crossings is at its lowest since 1972, but we have to see how do we get more efficiency out of the Border Patrol agents that we have."
Cuellar, whose district sits along the U.S-Mexico border, questioned whether the number of agents currently headquarted in Washington is appropriate, and whether they should be deployed to posts along the borders.
A coalition of Texas-border mayors, county judges and economic development associations expressed their disapproval of the president's budget Monday.
"We didn't expect President Obama to wave a fiscal wand and fully fund the border crossings overnight,' said Ramsey Cantu, Eagle Pass mayor and chairman of the Texas Boarder Coalition. "But we are extremely disappointed that the federal budget does not include additional resources for the Southern border crossings, and that security at these facilities remains a low priority for this Administration in the year to come."


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Over the past ten years most producers and financiers have been deriding the escalating cost of film production.
Indie producers have been on a relentless quest to find the elusive "final 20%" of their budgets. They've raised the equity, made the presales, maxed the gap, and still they come up 20% short. This shortfall is often due to the bank's discounting of presale contracts, which wouldn't be a problem if producers stopped trying to finance with gross numbers (see my rant on this.)
Meanwhile, over the same past ten years, producers and financiers have heralded film tax credits for saving the independent film industry in its darkest hour (where escalating budgets have collided with deminished access to capital.) South Africa and Puerto Rico were amoung the first to offer 10% to 15% tax credits for shooting in their respective countries.
Producers flew in from all over the world to cash on this windfall. Since then, incentives have shot-up from 15% to over 40% of local production spending. It stands to reason that the proverbial 20% shortfall matched-up against a whopping 40% cash rebate should be a slamdunk for financing — these films should be financing themselves.
So why then are producers still stumbling around trying to fill that final 20% of their budgets?! In short, its because producers can't get out of their own way. Rather than using the tax credits to plug a financing shortfall, they instead use the tax credits to subsidize bigger budgets. The 2008 credit crunch, the dimise of over two-thirds of the entertainment lenders, the scarcity of equity, the exodus of hedge funds, and the increasingly conservative lending practices of the remaining banks have lead to a healthy contraction in film production.
Not only are fewer films being made, but they're being made for less. Many talent agents had a hard time coming to terms with this and as a result their clients didn't work. After two years of this, they've finally gotten the message. Studio stars are now having to forage for work in the indie meadow and for once they're being cooperative. With studios and indies making fewer films: gone are the days of fat upfront star salaries and gone are the mandatory rewriting fees for that script you just optioned. Writers and actors are finally playing ball.
Post production houses and other vendors are so desperate for clients that they're becoming investors just to get the business. Producers haven't had this much levererage since the 1930's. But yet, they still can't find that final 20%. Producers are sabotaging themselves by using the tax credits (and vendor investments) as layers in a film's capital structure. In other words, they make their movies by adding up all the money they have:
$3m in equity
+ $3m presales
+ $1m gap/mezz
+ $2m tax credits
+ $500k vendor investment
$9.5m budget.
However, after the bank discounts the presales and deducts their fees and interest, there's going to be a 20%-25% shortfall (or more depending on who your sales agent is) that has to be plugged with additoinal equity or deferments, which is why most indie producers invariably end up working for free.
Equity investors are already skeptical about the film business, let alone trying to convince one that your film will be the one that makes enough money to pay off all the debt and fees that they're sitting beneath, as well as their own investment + premium + profit. This is why it's so hard to find equity. Wouldn't the smarter play be to carve out the tax credit from the capital structure (finance plan) and pledge it to the equity? In that scenario, the example above would now be: $7.5m budget that generates a $1.2m tax credit, or more.
In addition, if you don't have somebody lend against the estimated value of the credit, but instead wait for the credit to be certified, then you won't have to pay the 15%-20% vig that the lender will charge on the value of credit. Within a few months, up to 30% of your equity's investment will be covered. If needed, you can also pledge the vendor investment to the equity to cover any remaining shortfalls (or use that to pay your producer fee.)
Bottom line: actors, directors, and writers all need to work and make money. As such, producers have the opportunity right now to make movies for less, with marketable talent. And using your tax credits to attract investors, who stand to recoup a third or more of their investment within the first year, will be a much easier sell.


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Top Ten Tips for Getting Started with SlideShare.net For Your Business Presentations.Continue reading
Getting Started With SlideShare
February 23, 2012 by billycripe Comments Off on Getting Started With SlideShare
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Enterprise Collaboration: Moving from Need-to-Know to Need-to-Share CMS Wire, March 2011
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Vick Ballard, Indianapolis Colts
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Andrew Luck, Indianapolis Colts
Luck completed 26 of 38 passes for 297 yards and one touchdown in the air as the Colts beat the Titans 19-13.
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Brussels Startup Weekend 01/11
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About Startup Weekend: Startup Weekends are 54-hour events designed to provide superior experiential education for technical and non-technical entrepreneurs. Beginning with Friday night pitches and continuing through brainstorming, business plan development, and basic prototype creation, Startup Weekends culminate in Sunday night demos and presentations. Participants create working startups during the event and are able to collaborate with like-minded individuals outside of their daily networks. All teams hear talks by industry leaders and receive valuable feedback from local entrepreneurials. The weekend is centered around action, innovation, and education. Whether you are looking for feedback on a idea, a co-founder, specific skill sets, or a team to help you execute, Startup Weekends are the perfect environment in which to test your idea and take the first steps towards launching your own startup.
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El Instituto de Emprendimiento Eugenio Garza Lagüera del Instituto Tecnológico de Monterrey Campus León, en coordinación con los grupos estudiantiles GEAR y CREATOR, buscamos crear el evento de emprendimiento más importante en la región que permita generar ideas que aporten a nuestra sociedad innovación y mejoras en las vertientes de Movilidad y Paz Duradera.


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Nuclear Trade Reform Bill Faces Hostile Lobbying, as Obama Team Renews Policy Review
WASHINGTON -- Intense industry opposition is casting uncertainty over the prospects for a pending House bill that would expand the role of Congress in reviewing nuclear trade agreements, government sources and experts close to the issue say (see GSN, April 27).
Leading the effort to kill the legislation is the Nuclear Energy Institute, the industry's lobbying arm. The group has dispatched more than two dozen lobbyists to Capitol Hill at a cost of more than $3 million to oppose the reform legislation, H.R. 1280, as well as advocate the energy sector's position on other congressional measures.
The House Foreign Affairs Committee passed the bill by unanimous vote in April 2011. It would require congressional approval of U.S. nuclear cooperation pacts with other nations, unless the proposed agreement includes strict nonproliferation measures.
As it stands, however, the House Rules Committee is "actively blocking" H.R. 1280, one aide in that chamber said recently, while another complained about the circulation of misinformation about the bill.
In an effort to spark new interest in the legislation, the foreign affairs panel last month issued a 28-page report on the measure that slammed the Obama administration's handling of nonproliferation objectives in these types of atomic cooperation negotiations. It argued Capitol Hill should step up its role in reviewing such agreements and determining which ones can proceed.
At the same time, in a surprising development that could be a potential boost for the congressional measure's sponsors, the administration has launched a new interagency review of its policy on nuclear trade and nonproliferation, according to sources in and outside of government.
A January policy decision that Washington would decide on a case-by-case basis whether to demand the strictest nonproliferation provisions in such accords -- rather than seek such assurances from all trade partners -- has drawn forceful resistance from Democrats and Republicans alike (see GSN, March 9).
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has directed that the Obama team move to rethink the approach, Global Security Newswire has learned. That comes despite a January letter to Congress from senior officials with the State and Energy departments explaining why a more proliferation-proof policy would risk alienating prospective trade partners (see GSN, Jan. 23).
A case-by-case approach translates to "no policy at all," Henry Sokolski, executive director of the Nonproliferation Policy Education Center, said last month. "It's just one-off."
He applauded the administration's latest move to "take another hard look at what we're doing, if anything, to stem the spread of sensitive technology."
Should the Obama team ultimately commit itself to stronger nonproliferation terms in its nuclear trade policy, Congress might feel less compelled to act, according to some issue experts. Lawmakers formulated the H.R. 1280 bill in 2010 and 2011 only after it appeared that the executive branch was taking a more permissive approach in talks with Jordan and Vietnam, sources said.
Under such trade deals, Washington allows U.S. companies to build nuclear reactors abroad or provide sensitive energy materials, technologies or services to foreign nations.
The debate revolves mainly around the so-called "gold standard," a provision that could be included in U.S. nuclear cooperation agreements under which partner nations would pledge not to domestically enrich uranium or reprocess plutonium.
These activities can be useful for peaceful nuclear power -- the focus of the trade agreements -- but also might open the door to clandestine efforts to develop an atomic weapon.
The United Arab Emirates agreed in a 2009 pact with the United States to forsake any enrichment or reprocessing. That led to a debate in Washington as to whether such trade agreements with other nations should include a similar gold-standard promise.
Advocates said this could help prevent future copycats of Iran's nuclear program, which is widely suspected of having a military dimension despite Tehran's insistence that it remains dedicated only to peaceful power generation and research.
The House legislation, cosponsored by committee Chairwoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.) and Ranking Member Howard Berman (D-Calif.), would allow only those trade accords that include the gold standard to be implemented after 90 days of continuous congressional session, unless lawmakers act to stop them. This is seen as a relatively light form of congressional review that typically results in a pact going forward.
For agreements that do allow the buyer nation to enrich or reprocess, the bill would involve a higher test; it would require a congressional vote of approval before going into effect.
As things stand under current law, the Atomic Energy Act is relatively permissive, allowing any so-called "Section 123" nuclear cooperation agreement to move forward following the 90-day waiting period.
A State Department spokesman last week said the Obama administration continues to oppose the House bill. A July 2011 position paper said the agency "shares many of the policy objectives reflected in H.R. 1280, but is deeply concerned by many of the bill's provisions."
The administration has said the legislation could make it more difficult for the U.S. nuclear industry to compete for foreign sales and ultimately could deny Washington influence over its prospective trade partners' nonproliferation policies.
Those who support the bill's objectives see it differently.
"The critics' basic position is that Congress cannot be trusted to consider and vote upon nuclear cooperation agreements according to their nonproliferation benefits," asserted one congressional aide this week. "These agreements authorize trade in nuclear reactors and sensitive nuclear exports and could lay the basis for military applications, as in Iran. Sure, Congress can vote on multibillion-dollar free trade agreements, but not nuclear reactors."
This Capitol Hill aide and several others spoke for this story on condition of not being named, lacking permission to address the issue publicly.
Industry advocates are convinced that the taller hurdle for congressional approval would mean that many future nuclear trade accords negotiated by Washington would fall victim to political scuffles, die on the vine and represent a huge blow to the domestic nuclear sector.
"If you didn't have the gold standard or equivalent language in a '123 agreement,' it would take an affirmative act of both houses to put the agreement in place," one industry source griped about H.R. 1280 in a late-March interview.
"It's hard enough just to get the requisite 90 continuous session days to put it in front of Congress and actually just sit there and become law," another industry representative said. "To get both houses to approve a '123' by joint resolution, I think most congressional staffers would tell you that's kind of a stretch."
Both industry sources demanded anonymity in this article, saying they were not authorized to openly discuss the hotly contested legislation.
The U.S. nuclear energy sector has established a significant presence on Capitol Hill and has made H.R. 1280 an important focus. Twenty companies and industry organizations -- from the French-based AREVA Group to the U.S. powerhouse Xcel Energy -- have paid lobbyists this year and last to explain their positions on this bill, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
Topping the list is the Nuclear Energy Institute, which spent more than $2 million in 2011 for its staff to lobby on legislation that included the Ros-Lehtinen-Berman bill. The group's rate of spending is up considerably in 2012, with $755,000 already spent on staff lobbyists for this purpose in the year's first quarter alone, according to CRP data.
The industry arm also paid two outside lobbying firms, Kountoupes Consulting and the Mathis Group, a combined total of $160,000 in 2011 and $30,000 to date in 2012 to advocate against H.R. 1280, among other NEI legislative priorities, states information compiled by the watchdog organization.
All told, the institute spent more than $3 million in 2011 and more than $1 million thus far this year, using more than two dozen staff lobbyists and external consultants to address with lawmakers and staff all the legislation before Congress that it seeks to affect, CRP data show.
Some cite industry lobbying as a key reason why the Foreign Affairs Committee-sponsored bill might never make it to the House floor.
"For the moment, too many people in town have been bought," Sokolski said.
The House legislation has stalled for just over a year and the Obama administration's latest policy review is, by some counts, its third on the same issue since 2009.
However, Sokolski voiced confidence that the global consequences of nuclear proliferation and a need for more serious response measures will, at some point, carry the day.
"In time, they'll listen to their conscience rather than their wallet," he said of elected officials.
The House Rules Committee -- which shares jurisdiction under the 1954 Atomic Energy Act for the process by which Congress approves nuclear trade pacts – thus far has not acted on the H.R. 1280 legislation. Unless the rules panel actively refers the measure to the House floor, it can go no further, according to congressional staffers.
The rules panel's jurisdiction extends solely to legislative process matters, so it lacks an option to block the bill on substantive grounds, aides say.
Rules Committee aides have argued that H.R. 1280's demand for congressional votes on each nuclear trade pact -- which average no more than one or two per year, experts say -- would put too much of a burden on the legislation calendar and thus should not move into the general chamber for consideration, said one House staffer.
Another reason for the panel's opposition is the notion that additional congressional oversight of nuclear trade pacts in the form of floor votes is overkill, once lawmakers have empowered the executive branch to negotiate such deals, said one longtime industry consultant.
"So that's the hang-up in the Rules Committee, if there is one," said this source, adding "it's not just" panel Chairman David Dreier (R-Calif.) who has qualms about the bill.
Dreier does not sit on the chamber's foreign affairs- or energy-related committees, but the 16-term lawmaker does have some notable ties to the nuclear industry.
One longtime lobbyist for the nuclear energy sector is also one of Dreier's major campaign contributors. Richard Hohlt and his wife, Deborah Messick Hohlt, have donated nearly $15,000 to Dreier's reelection campaigns since 2008.
A private consultant, Hohlt represented the Nuclear Energy Institute on Capitol Hill through 2007. More recently, he has lobbied on behalf of Pinnacle West, a nuclear energy provider in western U.S. states.
Reached by phone on Friday, Hohlt said he has not lobbied on this particular piece of legislation or talked personally with Dreier in the past two years.
Dreier's top campaign contributors this year also include several nuclear energy interests, among them industry heavyweight General Electric. A GE political action committee and individuals representing the company have contributed more than $28,000 to Dreier's reelection bids since 1996, according to federal filings.
Another of the chairman's big donors, Ernst & Young, lobbies on behalf of General Electric and more recently gave a $2,000 gift this year and $3,000 in 2010.
The Nuclear Energy Institute was not recorded among Dreier's top 100 contributors until this year, when it gave the lawmaker $1,000.
Dreier on Feb. 29 announced he planned to retire from the House at the end of the year.
The lawmaker's spokeswoman declined to respond to questions about his position on H.R. 1280 and whether he has discussed the legislation with other House GOP leaders or industry lobbyists.
The broader U.S. nuclear energy lobby, however, is likely larger and more influential than it appears, with the extent of links to particular lawmakers impossible to fully track .
That said, other nuclear industry players have lavished funds on other political candidates who ultimately might cast votes on the nuclear nonproliferation bill. Seven nuclear energy companies -- most led by executives who also sit on the NEI board of directors -- have injected more than $3.5 million into political campaigns since January 2011, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
The Nuclear Energy Institute itself gave more than $325,000 to federal candidates in 2010 and, thus far this year, has made $170,000 in such donations, according to CRP data. Just over 53 percent of its political contributions during the 2010 campaign went to Democrats, while Republicans have a slight edge in NEI contributions thus far this year.
U.S. law requires lobbyists to disclose their work only if their activities on behalf of a particular client exceeds contact with more than one government official or takes up more than 20 percent of the advocate's time.
"It's come to be known as the 'Gingrich Rule,'" said Viveca Novac, a spokeswoman for the Center for Responsive Politics. Many of the former GOP presidential candidate's political opponents viewed his Washington advocacy for Fannie Mae as lobbying, though Gingrich insisted he consulted for the mortgage giant as a historian.
"That's a Monday," said Novak, underscoring that lobbying for a client one full day each week -- one-fifth or less of a Washington insider's work time -- need not be divulged under the law.
Meanwhile, Brendan Buck, a spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), said it is important for all proposed legislation, including the Atomic Energy Act reform measure, to undergo a deliberative process on Capitol Hill "so that different committees [and] members can address any concerns they may have."
"So [we] won't have a position on the legislation until all committees with jurisdiction are able to work on the legislation," Buck told GSN this week.
Boehner's spokesman said he was unaware of any conversations his boss might have had with nuclear industry representatives or other House members regarding H.R. 1280.
"Our staff is obviously always in consultation with the committees about their work and various pieces of legislation, but I couldn't say for certain whether the speaker has had any conversations with any of the committee chairs," Buck said.
A spokesman for House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.), who controls the schedule for bills to be considered on the House floor, declined to make any public comment.
One GOP leadership aide, though, said on Wednesday that the bill "is working its way through the committee process and has been referred to the Rules Committee."
What are members of Congress and their aides hearing from nuclear industry lobbyists about H.R. 1280? Representatives of the energy sector are arguing the United States simply is not in a strong enough position in the global marketplace to start making demands on up-and-coming atomic energy customers, such as Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Vietnam.
"In decades past … we held a great deal of influence over global commercial nuclear trade, by virtue of our strong, dominant position as a supplier," said one industry source at the March interview. "And when we added new terms for nuclear trade, the customers would accept them. They didn't have much of a choice."
Over the past few decades, though, the sector has seen a steep rise in global nuclear energy sellers, including France and Russia. Some of these industry players have successfully undercut their U.S. competitors with government-subsidized prices, according to experts.
"It's really touchy because if you're in a position where you're just sort of teetering on whether you'll even get to be a supplier, you're not in a position to dictate terms," the industry source said. "Our competitors will jump on anything that calls into question whether the U.S. is a reliable supplier. And by reliable supplier, you don't mean just are they going to transfer this technology when you need it. Are they going to be a reliable supplier for the next [several] decades?"
The pending House legislation does not make the no-enrichment-or-reprocessing gold standard a requirement of every future nuclear trade agreement, but would simply require a congressional vote of approval for pacts that lack such pledges.
Industry advocates fear, though, that the bill is a big step toward an ironclad requirement.
"Essentially it would" make the gold standard an implicit demand in all future agreements, said the industry source.
"I think a lot of folks would tell you, look how little is getting passed through Congress," said the other nuclear energy source taking part in the March question-and-answer session. Even approval legislation for relatively noncontroversial nuclear trade accord renewals could become politicized, the two interviewees agreed.
One congressional aide said nuclear energy lobbyists are sometimes leaving lawmakers and staff with misleading information.
"I've seen the lobbying that they've done," said the staffer. "They do their best to scare members' offices" and have "misrepresented" what the legislation does, either "by design or ignorance."
Some of those in the nuclear industry, though, insist that they share the bill's underlying objectives of restraining the spread of dangerous technologies.
"It's all very well intended," said the first industry source of congressional motives. "We all understand what's driving it. We know the frustrations at dealing with nuclear proliferation and the two break-out countries of Iran and North Korea. It's been a very frustrating experience to deal with that in an effective, multilateral way."
That frustration has boiled over into proposed legislation that will not actually resolve nonproliferation problems, this advocate argued.
"What is there for Congress to do about it but legislate?" the source said. "[However,] the alternative to U.S. supply isn't, as in the 50s, no nuclear. It's nuclear supply by someone else."
"This is not an impotent Congress grasping at straws because they're frustrated," one Capitol Hill aide responded. Rather, lawmakers are "trying to establish a positive precedent in the global nuclear commerce and nonproliferation regime to benefit everyone. In the view of some lawmakers, [the idea] that the industry is terrified [that the legislation] may affect their bottom lines is shameful."
"Stopping the spread of nuclear weapons must be among our highest priorities as we work to protect U.S. security and that of our allies," Ros-Lehtinen said in a statement provided to GSN on Friday. "H.R. 1280 will strengthen Congress's ability to bring us closer to achieving the goal of protecting the American people from the threat of nuclear material and technologies falling into dangerous hands."
Berman, the foreign affairs panel's top Democrat, in his own statement on Friday said the risk is that "more countries may follow Iran's example and construct, quote-unquote, 'peaceful' nuclear fuel facilities whose real purpose is to provide the country, and possibly terrorist groups, the fuel for nuclear weapons that are meant to be used against us.
"The U.S.," he added, "must only engage in nuclear cooperation in circumstances that are not going to be conducive to proliferation."
For its part, the Nuclear Energy Institute has not yet taken a position on whether it supports the gold standard, if voluntarily embraced by other nations in the wake of the 2009 UAE pledge.
"The nuclear energy industry takes the 'gold standard' issue very seriously and is in the process of finalizing its formal position statement," which should be available in coming days, said NEI spokesman Thomas Kauffman in a written response to questions.
Perhaps the greatest thrust of the nuclear industry's pitch on Capitol Hill, though, is related to the U.S. economy and jobs. A fact sheet the Nuclear Energy Institute has circulated in Congress cites a Commerce Department estimate that the international market for nuclear equipment and services could reach $740 billion in the next decade.
"As a rule of thumb, every $1 billion of exports by U.S. companies supports 5,000 to 10,000 domestic jobs," states the fact sheet.
One of the industry sources said it would be "impossible" to project how many of these jobs might be lost if the House bill allowing for congressional up-or-down votes on selected nuclear trade pacts becomes law.
An NEI statement about H.R. 1280 released last year, attributed to the group's senior lobbyist, suggested otherwise.
The legislation "threatens thousands of American jobs and billions of dollars in exports by U.S. companies," said Alex Flint, NEI senior vice president for governmental affairs. "Without a Section 123 agreement, there are no contracts, no supply relationships, and waning U.S. influence on nuclear nonproliferation or nuclear safety."
Flint also asserted that "with the sole exception of United Arab Emirates, U.S. requests that potential trading partners forswear enrichment and reprocessing activities have been publicly rejected as an infringement of their sovereign rights."
Recent events, though, may have overtaken this contention. Word on Capitol Hill is that, in dialogue with Washington diplomats, Saudi Arabia and Jordan have both indicated a willingness to consider some form of no-enrichment-and-reprocessing pledge in respective bilateral accords. The U.S. government has not addressed the latest details of these ongoing talks in public statements.
WASHINGTON -- Intense industry opposition is casting uncertainty over the prospects for a pending House bill that would expand the role of Congress in reviewing nuclear trade agreements, government sources and experts close to the issue say.