Self...

Mean...

Discussion...

Workin...

If you listen to many Republicans in Washington, the Affordable Care Act’s insurance markets are in a “death spiral,” “imploding,” “collapsing” or “will fall of their own weight

Mr. Ryan is right that the Obamacare market has endured hardships. It isn’t as competitive as many of its advocates had hoped, and shoppers in many parts of the country have only one insurer to choose from

But insurers say lawmakers need to make fixes in order for them to remain in the market and have praised some of the early steps taken by the Trump Administration to stabilize the market.

You call it Repeal and replace, or fix Obama care... It wasn't the end of the road and we haven't got Trump-care yet. But it is the politicians tactic to scare the public and they may get some publicity out of this cruel game.  Just a thought.

Spells...*

Two recently deciphered papyri were discovered and translated, dated to the third century. The spells are written in Greek, a language widely used in Egypt at the time.

Ancient, magical spells of love, subjugation and sex,  may sound like a "Game of Thrones" episode, but these evildoings are also found on two recently deciphered papyri from Egypt.

One spell invokes the gods to "burn the heart" of a woman until she loves the spell caster.  Another spell, targeted at a male, uses a series of magical words to "subject" him, forcing him to do whatever the caster wants.

The two spells were not targeted at a specific person, only need to insert the name of the person being targeted sort of like an ancient "Mad Libs."

Archaeologists Bernard Grenfell and Arthur Hunt discovered the spells in Oxyrhynchus, Egypt, more than 100 years ago, among a haul of hundreds of thousands of papyri.   Many of them are now owned by the Egypt Exploration Society and are housed and studied at the University of Oxford in England.

 Nothing new under the Sun.   Been used since. Just a thought.  

Defend...*

An Oregon woman fatally shot a home intruder after she found him in a bedroom. 
The woman, 33, said she had returned home with her two children when she found a stranger in one of her child's bedrooms. She was armed with a handgun and fired at least one shot at the man.  Officers found the man, 59, dead at the scene.

Local defense attorney Edward Kroll says a homeowner has the right to defend themselves in most cases.   He says, if the homeowner reasonably believes an intruder is in their house to commit a crime, they can use deadly force to protect themselves.   

Exceptions come into play when the intruder is a known to the homeowner and, perhaps, has been invited over before.  On a twist, neighbors said squatters have been coming to this house in the past.

Police can response very quickly, that is what they do, so step out of the house and call the police.          Just a thought.

Full-Blown...

The head of a now-defunct Massachusetts pharmacy was sentenced to nine years in prison for his role in a 2012 meningitis outbreak that killed 76 people and left others with debilitating infections.

Barry Cadden, the owner and head pharmacist, was convicted of racketeering and fraud in connection with the outbreak, the largest public health crisis ever caused by a pharmaceutical product.

The 50-year-old was accused of producing drugs in dangerously unsanitary conditions and sidestepping regulations. Tainted steroids from the facility were distributed to patients around the country, triggering a wave of infections that sent health officials scrambling to identify the source.

When regulators inspected Cadden’s facility, they found standing water, mold and bacteria on workers’ gloves all potential sources of contamination.

The case brought new scrutiny to compounding pharmacies, which typically make medicines for individual patients on a custom basis and face looser regulations as a result.  The New England Compounding Center was operating more like a full-blown manufacturer, producing large volumes of medicine and shipping them to many states.  

Even...

Turns out...

Phony...

The veteran reporters and editors Thomas Frank, Lex Haris and Eric Lichtblau submitted their resignations after CNN retracted and apologized for a story that linked a member of Trump’s transition team to Russian-related federal investigations.

The article alleged Anthony Scaramucci, a financier and close ally of Trump, was tied to a Russian investment fund allegedly being investigated by the Senate Intelligence Committee. The article was removed from the site and replaced with an editor’s note stating that the story “did not meet CNN’s editorial standards.”

The retraction marked only the latest in a string of embarrassing incidents for the news network, including firing one of its TV hosts, Reza Aslan, for tweeting that Trump was a “piece of s---.”

In another tweet, Trump accused CNN of publishing other “phony” stories, though it’s unclear to which pieces he was referring. He did go on to retweet “Fox & Friends,” a TV show that has been notably soft on its coverage of the president, several times. You know why is that!!!

Fatale...

A femme fatale  is a stock character of a mysterious and seductive woman whose charms ensnare her lovers, often leading them into compromising, dangerous, and deadly situations. She is an archetype of literature and art. Her ability to entrance and hypnotise her victim with a spell was in the earliest stories seen as being literally supernatural; hence, the femme fatale today is still often described as having a power akin to an enchantress, seductress, vampire, witch, or demon, having power over men.

A femme fatale tries to achieve her hidden purpose by using feminine wiles such as beauty, charm, and sexual allure,  lies or coercion rather than charm. She may also make use of some subduing weapon

She may also be (or imply that she is) a victim, caught in a situation from which she cannot escape.
A younger version of a femme fatale is called a fille fatale, or "fatal girl".

One of the most common traits includes promiscuity and the "rejection of motherhood," seen as "one of her most threatening qualities since by denying his immortality and his posterity it leads to the ultimate destruction of the male."^[1] Femmes fatale are typically villainous, or at least morally ambiguous, and always associated with a sense of mystification, and unease.

Average..

Euphoric...

Endorphins are among the brain chemicals known as neurotransmitters, which function to transmit electrical signals within the nervous system. Endorphins can be found in the pituitary gland, in other parts of the brain, or distributed throughout the nervous system.

In addition to decreased feelings of pain, secretion of endorphins leads to feelings of euphoria, modulation of appetite, release of sex hormones, and enhancement of the immune response. With high endorphin levels, we feel less pain and fewer negative effects of stress. Endorphins have been suggested as modulators of the so-called "runner's high" that athletes achieve with prolonged exercise.

While the role of endorphins as potential triggers of this euphoric response has been debated extensively by doctors and scientists, it is at least known that the body does produce endorphins in response to prolonged, continuous exercise.

Revved...

How can you tell whether an “accidental” pregnancy is legit? 

Women intent on trapping a man with pregnancy may fake it until they can make it.

Many Pregnancy benefits that might motivate someone to get pregnant accidentally-on-purpose.
 Fulfill her dream to be a mom, seal the deal on your relationship, and get you to support her directly or through child support.

The pregnancy is intended to secure a relationship or financial support or the primary objective is motherhood.

A woman may seduce her partner when she thinks she has an increased chance of conceiving.  But then again, some women experience increased sexual arousal when they are fertile. She may just have been seductive because she was revved up by her hormones.

All in all, if you don't want children you know what to do or not to do...

Cosby...

Cosby, 79, was charged in 2015 with three counts of felony aggravated indecent assault stemming from a 2004 encounter with Andrea Constand at his home in Pennsylvania.

She testified during the six-day trial that he gave her a drug that rendered her incapable of stopping his alleged assault, though she said she tried. Though he did not take the stand, he said in a decade-old deposition that he gave her Benadryl to “relax” her, and then the two had a consensual sexual encounter. He pleaded not guilty to the felony charges and denied wrongdoing in other accusations made against him.

Nevertheless, in the end one juror felt it was Bill Cosby's word versus the account of his accuser.  "It was all he said, she said, and what it really comes down to is who are you going to believe more and that was all it was."

Now old people are being prosecuted with what happened when they were young, vivacious and trying to impress someone and score.          Enough already.

Im Peach...

This song will continue distracting everyone of the current status. Healthcare improvement, affordable medicines, tax reform, affordable collage education, all will take a back-stage to defeat the Republican somehow.

Rich...*

Famed defense attorney F. Lee Bailey, whose legion of high-profile cases includes the O.J. Simpson murder trial, has filed for bankruptcy in Maine in an effort to discharge an IRS debt of more than $5 million.

Debts to the IRS aren't normally discharged in bankruptcy proceedings, but the 83-year-old Bailey said that they can be if one abides by certain conditions.

Bailey served as one of Simpson's attorneys during the former NFL star's 1995 trial, which ended in his acquittal in the 1994 murders of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ronald Goldman.

Bailey in the 1960s secured a reversal of Dr. Sam Sheppard's conviction in the murder of his pregnant wife, and an acquittal at his second trial. 

Bailey was disbarred in Florida in 2001 over mishandling client assets, and Massachusetts issued a reciprocal disbarment in 2003. Bailey's bid to gain admission to the Maine bar failed in 2014, when the Maine Supreme Judicial Court reversed a judge's ruling that would have allowed him to practice law in Maine.   Life is a struggle.   Just a thought.    [Fox News].

letters...**

A mother of 5 children sent letters to President Obama and  Mayor Bloomberg of New York. Nothing odd about that. I myself sent letters to the president and he responded.

Shanon sent the  letters laced with Ricin...... Since many handle these letters on behalf of the president, many could have been hurt.

With the Anthrax letter in mind, I thought it would take years to find out who done that in a population of three hundred millions plus.
But thank God for "Hate"

Shanon  reported her husband to the FBI as the source of the letters!!!!!!!!!!!!!  

What did this guy do or didn't do to be framed for a major crime?
He was only married to her for less than two years and she's pregnant with his baby.

So what caused this "misunderstanding". Could it be the pregnancy?  May be the short marriage?  or may be something else. Let us see her lawyer 's "defense".   

The Truth is Stranger than Fiction.  

Everyone...

The Israeli military said it attacked a series of targets belonging to the Syrian military, after several projectiles from neighboring Syria landed in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights for a second day.

It was the second straight day that Israel responded to what it has described as errant fire from Syria. 

Israel is believed to have carried out airstrikes on suspected weapons shipments to its archenemy Hezbollah, whose fighters are in Syria backing government forces.

In Saturday's fighting, Israeli aircraft struck various positions, destroying two tanks, in response to more than 10 projectiles that landed in its territory, the military said.

Syrian state media said a number of people were killed and, citing the Syrian military command, said five soldiers were wounded.

Israel captured the Golan Heights from Syria in the 1967 Mideast war. It subsequently annexed the strategic plateau overlooking northern Israel, but that annexation is not international recognized.

Everyone is bombing Syria....

Team...

Identity...*

The global financial markets greeted the United Kingdom's decision to withdraw with disappointment and anger so is the 48 percent of British voters, many of them young, who wanted to stay.

Until the final days before the referendum, much of the coverage outside of the UK discussed the "Brexit" in economic terms.

For young people in the UK, deciding whether to leave the European Union was a bigger question of national identity, with the "Leave" campaign representing a rejection of current globalization status, immigrants and foreigners.

The former head of Britain’s Equalities and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), Trevor Phillips, has admitted he “got almost everything wrong” on large segment of the immigrants in a damning new report on integration, segregation, and how some are creating “nations within nations” in the West.

A “chasm” has opened up between British Immigrants and the rest of the population on key issues such as marriage, education, freedom of speech and even violence in the defense of religion, according to new research.

Now with the flood of Migrants, in addition to the open labor market in Europe, the Identity and the culture of Britain is gradually evaporating. People can live with less money, but the dissolution of the Identity is something no one can take.          Just a thought

XBOX...

Sneaking...

Dumplings...

DeJa Tofu...

Enough with the To Foo.

Unleach...*

Image is not related.

"Good morning Dallas,Texas! Welcome to Unleash the Power Within!" .

Dallas Fire-Rescue spokesman says five people were taken to a hospital and more than 30 people attending the event in Dallas have been treated for burns after the motivational speaker encouraged them to walk on hot coals.

Ambulances were lined up outside the convention center just after 11 p.m. Those who were more seriously injured were taken to the Parkland Hospital Burn Center.

A statement issued by Robbins Research International said, in part:
"In Dallas tonight, someone not familiar with the fire walk observed the event and called 911 erroneously reporting hundreds of people requiring medical attention for severe burns.   We are pleased to have completed another successful fire walk for 7,000 guests and look forward to the remainder of an outstanding weekend with them."

The coal-walking venue was set up on a parking lot to the north side of the convention center. The injured could be seen limping back to the convention center to seek treatment, according to people on the scene.
It's not the first time people have been hurt at Robbins' seminars.  Feel The Burn?   Just a thought.

Free Us...*

Even at the best of times Britain has always been a semi-detached member of the EU.  Since then Britain has often been more skeptical of the European project than committed to it; the country has been called “the awkward partner”.

Britain eventually joined in 1973, as Europe seemed to be doing so well economically.  Over the past few decades British governments have kept their distance as others within Europe pursued "ever closer union". Britain did not join the single currency, and it is not a member of the Schengen passport-free travel zone.

Traditional hostility to the EU has increased in recent years with the arrival of hundreds of thousands of east Europeans to find work, and Migrants,  who became a source of threat to the stability.

The country could become like Switzerland, which has an association with the EU, or more like Norway and Iceland, which are inside the European Economic Area, and thus the internal market, but with no power to change the rules of that market. Or, Britain might find a spurned EU an unwilling partner.  It is every where.        Just a thought

Rub...

Repeat...

Threat...

Dual citizenship is a tricky subject in Austria since it is largely illegal. But its Turkish population has reportedly been registering in both their country of homeland and their new adopted country.

The country’s politicians are now reacting to the Turkish referendum and the fact that over 73% of Austria-based voters supported the push for constitutional change.

The result of perceptions in Austria that Turks, among the largest groups of migrants to the country,  refuse to assimilate even decades after arriving. Such fears are part of larger Europe-wide concerns that migrants represent a threat to the continent's values. 

If found to be holding dual citizenship illegally, then offenders would be stripped of their Austrian citizenship as well as incurring a €5,000 fine. Officials hope that these punishments will act as a deterrent.              Just a thought.

Play...

Whipped...

A popular French fitness model has died after being hit by an exploding whipped-cream dispenser. The horrifying accident occurred, when the pressurized canister Rebecca Burger was using at home blew up and collided with her chest, sending her into cardiac arrest.  French media report that medics were able to get Burger’s heart beating again, but she was unconscious at the hospital and died the very next day, sadly.

For years, consumer groups have been warning that defective connectors in those devices can cause the nitrous-oxide chargers to break off and shoot out “like a rubber bullet.” Dispensers operate by piercing what are frankly very volatile capsules with pins to fill their canisters with gas — something that doesn’t sound very safe at all when it’s put in those terms. Projectile capsules have reportedly broken teeth and put out eyes, and a victim in France who suffered six broken ribs and a cracked sternum told the press in 2013: “I was told that if the shock and blast had been facing the heart, I would be dead now.”

Who Knew? 

Gain...

A former government employee has been arrested and charged with providing top-secret documents to a Chinese intelligence in exchange for $25,000 and lying to investigators.

Kevin Mallory,  could face the death penalty "if certain conditions are met." His top-secret security clearance was terminated in October 2012 when he left government service. 

Prosecutors allege Mallory, a U.S. citizen who speaks fluent Mandarin, traveled to Shanghai in March and April and met with a person who said he worked for the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences (SASS), a Chinese think tank that the FBI said frequently provides cover for Chinese intelligence operatives.

According to the affidavit, Mallory consented to a search of a device he used to communicate with the Chinese operative during an interview with FBI agents on May 24. Investigators allegedly discovered messages on the device from Mallory to the operative in which he described obscuring classification markings on documents transmitted to the operative.

In one message on May 5, Mallory allegedly told the operative "your object is to gain information, and my object is to be paid for," according to the affidavit.

Contribute...

The process of changing healthcare is one difficult process. For once, it's label,
repeal and replace which makes it difficult to swallow by the Democrats.

Then the Senate and the congress comes in place. Every member wants his/her name known for something. Hence they opposed or agreed slightly, or just talk, talk and talk.

At the end, something is going happen, opposed by those who lost recently. It is controlled by the money and the "lobbyist" influence on campaign donation. New Jersey is the base of many big Pharma, so mark the Menendez and the Cory for the opposition of any thing that touch the revenue.

Obama care was not the end of the road of healthcare improvement. It is a step to be followed.

Questions...

Resume...

The Song...

Shorter...

Jack Ma, the poster child for the benefits of globalization: trained as a teacher, he founded e-commerce platform Alibaba in 1999 and is now a billionaire.

Now he's predicting another benefit for humans: drastically shorter workweeks.
The billionaire businessman said in the next three decades, "people [will] only work four hours a day and maybe four days a week.

My grandfather worked 16 hours a day in the farmland and [thought he was] very busy. We work eight hours, five days a week and think we are very busy."

That's about the same number as famed economist John Maynard Keynes predicted in 1930, when he said in 100 years the workweek will be much shorter, around 15 hours per week as automation increasingly takes care of people's material needs.
Ma also said people in the future will be able to vacation in a far greater variety of places.

Not going to happen.....   Just a thought.

Flash...

The price of ethereum [alternative to Bitcoin] crashed as low as 10 cents from around $319 in about a second on the GDAX cryptocurrency exchange, which is being blamed on a "multimillion dollar market sell" order.

As the price continued to fall, another 800 stop loss orders and margin funding liquidations caused ethereum to trade as low as 10 cents.

A stop loss order is executed automatically once a security hits a particular price. Margin funding is essentially trading with borrowed funds. Liquidation is when these positions are closed automatically in order to prevent further losses. The knock-on selling effect caused the flash crash on GDAX.

Whatever it is....  the basics is there.

Ruin...

kick...

Then...

Rational...

Bull...

Who Knew? May be businesses.

The Nerve...

Rick’s Cabaret, a strip club in Midtown Manhattan, owes more than $10 million in back pay to about 1,900 dancers who performed there without being paid hourly wages, a federal judge ruled on Friday.

The judge, Paul A. Engelmayer of the Southern District, had decided last year that Rick’s had treated the dancers as though they were employees and should have been paying them at least the minimum wage.   

The judge ruled that Rick’s must pay the dancers at least $10.8 million and possibly much more, depending on the outcome of the trial, which is set for early next year.

The award, a combination of wages Rick’s did not pay and fees that the judge said Rick’s unfairly collected from the dancers, would be split among the 1,900 members of the class of plaintiffs.

Taking advantage of the worker is disgraceful.   Just a thought.

War game...

 

The U.S. military shot down an Iranian-made, armed drone in southern Syria.  CBS News reports the drone came too close to one of the outposts of U.S.-backed fighters outside of their main base in Tanf. U.S. forces have been training and advising local Syrian Arabs for the fight against .........

During the first six years of the Syrian crisis, the United States supported rebel groups fighting Assad, but avoided direct conflict with his forces. That changed, now, it has engaged in air-to-air combat in Syria for the very first time by downing a Syrian jet.

An armed Russian jet came within five feet of a U.S. reconnaissance plane over the Baltic Sea, CBS News national security correspondent David Martin reports.

What are we doing in Syria? Didi we started occupying parts of Syria? for what reason?

Clean...

Rain...*

Regina Ilyinichna Spektor is a Russian-born American singer-songwriter and pianist. Her music is associated with the anti-folk scene centered on New York City's East Village.
In New York City, Spektor studied classical piano at the Manhattan School of Music until she was 17.  Although the family had been unable to bring their piano from Russia, Spektor found a piano on which to play in the basement of her synagogue, and also practiced on tabletops and other hard surfaces.
Here is her song. I love Paris in the rain.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWXWivwhi14

Untold...

       

Fred Warmbier stated that his son Otto was traveling in China at the end of 2015 when he saw a company offering trips to North Korea. He decided to go. He accused the tour operator of specifically targeting young Westerners with slogans like, "This is the trip your parents don't want you to take!"

Fred Warmbier said the China-based tour operator, Young Pioneer Tours, advertised the trip as safe for U.S. citizens.^[2] 

Warmbier traveled to North Korea for a five-day New Year's tour of the country organized by Young Pioneer Tours. Ten other U.S. citizens were in his tour group. During his stay at the Yanggakdo International Hotel in Pyongyang, Warmbier allegedly stole a propaganda sign from a staff-only floor of the hotel.^[22]

The poster said, "Let's arm ourselves strongly with Kim Jong-il's patriotism!". Harming such items with the name or image of a North Korean leader is considered a serious crime by the government. Yong people be careful. There is a scam wherever you go.

Taller...

Caltrans is building a taller, stronger wall in San Jose to stop homeless individuals from returning to an encampment, CBS San Francisco reports.

While the project has pleased many homeowners, it is generating a lot of anger in the community.
Caltrans workers have repeatedly cleaned up a large encampment under I-280, but the homeless keep returning.

Residents, Laura Nunez, say everything changed when homeless people began using chain link fences as a doorway to their encampments along the freeway.

"Every time, Caltrans would come out and repair it . As soon as they left, (the homeless would) cut a hole in it and they just use that. That was their main access point to go in and out. We've had to live with their garbage.

There may be a handy man among them.  

High Def...