http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8340664.stm
The president of the Czech Republic, Vaclav Klaus, has signed the EU’s Lisbon Treaty, the final step in the charter’s ratification.
The treaty was drawn up to streamline decision-making in the EU, and is a watered-down version of a draft EU constitution rejected four years ago.
Among its measures, it creates a European Council president and alters the way member states vote.
The treaty could now come into force as early as December.
The Lisbon Treaty’s supporters say it will allow the EU to operate more efficiently and give it greater influence in world affairs.
Critics say it will cede too many national powers to Brussels.
LISBON TREATY
Creates new post of EU president (President of European Council)
New post of high representative for foreign affairs
More decisions by majority vote rather than unanimity
Only Irish Republic held referendum on it – twice (‘Yes’ vote second time)
Took a decade of negotiations
Was intended to take effect in January 2009
———-
and as the czech president signed off he says he is giving up czech sovereignty..so why sign it!!
now we await the election of the president of the united states of europe
401
We’ll probably see Christmas specials before this is even over. – Ilene
An Early Thanksgiving, Black Friday Begins
Courtesy of Mish
Thanksgiving came early this year. It was yesterday, Thursday October 29, 2009. The reason we know this is the after Thanksgiving shopfest known as Black Friday started today.
No doubt some of you who forgot to stuff yourselves with turkey and pumpkin pie yesterday are demanding proof of this occurrence. I can certainly oblige.
Please consider
Sears Starts Black Friday NOW! Promotion Today
Posted on 10/30/09 @ 7:56 am PT
Every week between now and Black Friday, Sears.com will have several doorbusters from their Black Friday ad available only for just a few hours. This week’s sale runs from 5pm this afternoon until noon tomorrow (central time). Here are the doorbusters available this week:
Once again, these items will be on sale starting at 5pm CT today. You can also save $5 off a $50 purchase with coupon code SEARS5OFF50.
BlackFriday.Org has the following leaks.
Sears Black Friday Ad Leaked
October 27th 2009
The first major black Friday ad of 2009 has arrived and it’s from Sears. This year Sears is having an incredible black Friday sale with over 599 doorbusters! Some of the doorbuster deals include a Panasonic Blu-ray Home Theater System for $399.99, a Kenmore 3.5-cu ft. High Efficiency Washer/Dryer Pair for $579.98, and a Kodak CD-80 10.2 MegaPixel Digital Camera (3x zoom, 2.4" LCD) for just $79.99.
Harbor Freight Black Friday Ad Released
October 26th 2009
Our third black Friday ad for 2009 has arrived and it’s from Harbor Freight. We only received the few couple of pages of the advertisement but we expect to have the rest of it within a few days. Also, we should be posting the Ace Hardware, Sears, and Kmart ads within the next week or two, so be sure to check back or join our email list for the latest updates.
Thanksgiving Holiday Schedule Canada vs. US
Inquiring minds just might be interested in Canadian Thanksgiving calendar dates.
Is it any wonder the Canadian economy is in so much better shape than ours? Look at how many extra shopping days they get. This is outrageous. I propose we move Thanksgiving up to August 1 to rectify this anomaly and make up for some of the past lost shopping days in the US.
Over time our economy will recover if we leapfrog Canada now to make up for past lost shopping days, population adjusted. Once we are back on an even keel, I propose both countries settle on September 22 to keep our respective economies humming in sync.
Hint to new readers: please don’t think I am serious.
Black Friday: How Much Will It Matter?
Marketing Daily is asking Black Friday: How Much Will It Matter?
In some ways, there’s something comforting about the way retailers are gearing up for Black Friday, that make-or-break kickoff to the holiday season. Stores like Target are already shoving aisles of Christmas items in between the Halloween costumes. And advertising circulars are already being leaked to deal-finding websites, creating a buzz retailers count on to build traffic.
But there are also signs that this holiday season – the second consecutive year of dreary economics lessons – will be different.
Retailers, for the most part, will consider it a big win if they can sell at least as well as they did last year, Leon Nicholas, director of retail insight at Management Ventures, based in Cambridge, Mass., tells Marketing Daily, "We don’t expect to see as many flashy price points, as more stores have locked in already-low pricing. I don’t think we’ll have the assortment we’ve had in the past. And in many ways, Black Friday is becoming more of a cultural event about browsing than buying, with people surfing the web for deals and ideas."
Stores are encouraging that, Phil Rist EVP/BIGresearch, says, "by making Black Friday earlier and earlier each year," with many events and web-only sales starting on Thursday. "We’ll see even more of that this year."
But 86% of the shoppers in the survey say that unless they can get a discount of at least 20% or more, they won’t buy. (In fact, a quarter of those say that unless discounts are in the neighborhood of 50%, they won’t open their wallets.) And 38% say they shop late deliberately, because that’s when they believe they will find the best bargains.
That may make for a bleak Black Friday. With so many consumers still worried about jobs, Nicholas says, "you may see them buying heavily at discounters, where they believe inventory will be limited. But while you may see a lot of people walking through stores like Macy’s, they won’t be buying yet. Retailers have trained them to wait longer."
Good News
If you forgot to have turkey and pie yesterday, please don’t fret. You can do so every Friday between now and Friday, November 27 comfortable in the knowledge that some store will be announcing an early start to Black Friday.
Dear God,
I know I’m not exactly the most devout. I only pray to you when I want something, and even though I work for the Catholic Church, I haven’t set foot inside a church in eight years except to vote (which counts, right??). So, I know it might be your first instinct to just ignore me- but I have something really important to ask you…
I NEED THE PHILLIES TO COME BACK TO WIN THE WORLD SERIES.
I know at first glance this may seem a trivial request, what with compared to all the starving orphans and all, but hear my out. The Yankees are evil, and not at all meek or humble, and didn’t you say something that the meek will inherit the earth?? Well, one big step towards inheriting the earth is stealing that beautiful world series trophy from us, a trophy I never got to see when we won it last year. The Yankees are owned by a man who I am certain is plotting with Satan to overthrow you..and Alex Rodriguez is a heating (on the field and off) ho, that must be an offense to you, right??
Moreover, this city could use another parade. It made people so happy last year, people were even nice to strangers- the city could use that again. In New York it just doesn’t matter as much, there’s not the 100% saturation of fan-base there is here because they have so many transplants there. Not here, here the whole city routes with every bone to win, it’d mean everything to use to win again- and almost nothing to them. Hell, half the people who sport Yankees caps are just gangsters who think it looks stylish- you can’t support that can’t you?? Plus, a parade is a really good excuse to get out of work and start drinking early in the day, and I will totally dedicate my first drink to you Lord.
The Phillies have tried really hard to get here God, so if you could give them a little push, I’d really appreciate it. Maybe just knock some Yankee home run balls out, or whisper in A-Rod’s ear to not leave Kate Hudson’s bed and come to the stadium today. Hell, that probably wouldn’t even take much convincing!!
Anyway God, if you come through to me, I promise to pray to you and actually mean it, not the insincere praying I typically do. And, I’ll be nicer to strangers- though not too nice, because I don’t want to kidnapped. Hell, I’ll even be nice to all those poor sad Yankees fans, and not mock them too much.
Anyway God, thanks for listening, and while you’re fixing the World Series, maybe you could do something about all the wars, disease, starving people, famine, and those blowhards in the US Senate. But first…Go Phillies!!!
Love, your (mostly) loyal servant,
Joia 
NB: Updates can be found on Post Process here, here, and here.
There has been much discussion in the litsupport groups concerning a new law set to take effect on September 1, which, among other things, expands the definition of an “investigations company.”
From 80(R) HB 2388, Here is the full text of this section (the bold font is the newly amended text):
Sec. 1702.104. INVESTIGATIONS COMPANY. (a) A person acts
as an investigations company for the purposes of this chapter if the
person:
(1) engages in the business of obtaining or
furnishing, or accepts employment to obtain or furnish, information
related to:
(A) crime or wrongs done or threatened against a
state or the United States;
(B) the identity, habits, business, occupation,
knowledge, efficiency, loyalty, movement, location, affiliations,
associations, transactions, acts, reputation, or character of a
person;
(C) the location, disposition, or recovery of
lost or stolen property; or
(D) the cause or responsibility for a fire,
libel, loss, accident, damage, or injury to a person or to property;
(2) engages in the business of securing, or accepts
employment to secure, evidence for use before a court, board,
officer, or investigating committee;
(3) engages in the business of securing, or accepts
employment to secure, the electronic tracking of the location of an
individual or motor vehicle other than for criminal justice
purposes by or on behalf of a governmental entity; or
(4) engages in the business of protecting, or accepts
employment to protect, an individual from bodily harm through the
use of a personal protection officer.
(b) For purposes of Subsection (a)(1), obtaining or
furnishing information includes information obtained or furnished
through the review and analysis of, and the investigation into the
content of, computer-based data not available to the public.
To parse the language then, the existence of new section (b) means that if you are in the business of: obtaining or furnishing information related to four areas listed above:
A Crimes or wrongs against the US;
B The identity, habits, business, occupation,
knowledge, efficiency, loyalty, movement, location, affiliations,
associations, transactions, acts, reputation, or character of a
person
C The location or disposition of stolen property; or
D An investigation into a fire
Then you are an investigations company.
This is true if the information is obtained through the “review and analysis of, and the investigation into the content of, computer-based data not available to the public.”
So the question for vendors becomes: what operational tasks meet the definition of the new section? There seems little doubt that a forensics examination of a network or pc system is covered by the new definition, because forensic examiners deliver a report based on an analysis of and investigation into the content of computer-based data” on private systems.
But what about other tasks, such as the collection of data, the processing of data for review and production, and the storing and display of data for attorney review?
We should not an exception is noted in section Section 1702.324:
This chapter does not apply to:
…(10) a person who obtains a document for use in
litigation under an authorization or subpoena issued for a written
or oral deposition…
Yet that exception seems rather narrow, as it only applies to a particular deposition, and not to a possible trial in general. Furthermore, the exception is narrowed still by text in section 1702.324 (c), which states:
The exemptions do not apply to activities or services that are independent of the service or profession that is the basis for the exemption.
It seems obvious that in order to provide a full range of litigation support services, including forensic examination, then you will have to become licensed. But will all vendors, even those who do not perform such examinations, need a license as well? Stay tuned…
On October 24, 1969 the movie Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid was released in the United States of America.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0064115/releaseinfo
Here is one of my favorite clips from the movie:
Rain Drops keep falling on my head
The Making Of Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid – (Full Program)
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
Background Articles and Videos
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
“…Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid is a 1969 American Western film that tells the story of bank robbers Butch Cassidy (played by Paul Newman) and his partner The Sundance Kid (played by Robert Redford), based loosely on historical fact.
The film was directed by George Roy Hill and produced at 20th Century Fox by John Foreman from a screenplay by William Goldman. The music score was by Burt Bacharach with song lyrics by Hal David. Along with Newman and Redford, the film stars Katharine Ross as Etta Place, and features Strother Martin, Henry Jones, Jeff Corey, Sam Elliott, Cloris Leachman, Ted Cassidy, Kenneth Mars and Donnelly Rhodes.
With a box office of over US$100 million (equivalent to over $500 million in 2009 dollars[3]), it was the top grossing film of the year.[2] At the 42nd Academy Awards in 1970 the film won Oscars in four of the seven categories within which it had been nominated, including awards for its screenplay and cinematography. At the 24th British Academy Film Awards, the film received nine awards including Best Film. Years later, the film has been recognized on a half dozen of the American Film Institute’s AFI 100 Years… series lists, including both editions of the “100 Years… 100 Movies” lists; it has been part of the United States National Film Registry since 2003.
The film was originally rated M by the Motion Picture Association of America. It was re-rated PG when 20th Century Fox re-released the film in 1974. …”
“…
The film won Academy Awards for Best Cinematography, Best Music, Original Score for a Motion Picture (not a Musical), Best Music, Song (Burt Bacharach and Hal David for “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head”), and Best Writing, Story and Screenplay Based on Material Not Previously Published or Produced. It was nominated for Best Director, Best Picture, and Best Sound.
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid also won numerous British Academy Film Awards, including Best Film, Best Direction, Best Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Actor (won by Redford though Newman was also nominated), and Best Actress for Katharine Ross, among others.
William Goldman won the Writers Guild of America Award for Best Original Screenplay.
In 2003, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant”.
The American Film Institute included the film on several of its AFI 100 Years… series lists:
- AFI’s 100 Years… 100 Movies #50
- AFI’s 100 Years… 100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition) #73
- AFI’s 100 Years… 100 Thrills #54
- AFI’s 100 Years… 100 Heroes and Villains #20 on the heroes list (for Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid)
- AFI’s 100 Years… 100 Songs #23 (for “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head”)
AFI’s 10 Top 10 #7 among Western[6][7] …”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butch_Cassidy_and_the_Sundance_Kid
Robert Redford『BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID』
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid – Best fight ever
Related Posts On Pronk Palisades
1984-Videos
A Brave New World–Videos
Battle of Waterloo–Videos
Before The Fall or Napola–Videos
Rain Drops Keep Falling Upon My Head–40th Anniversity of The Release of Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid
Gattaca–Videos
Hitler: The Rise of Evil–Videos
The Hitler Gang–Videos
The Patriot–Videos
The Wave–Videos
By Christian Mullins
Last month, I wrote that the members of KVFCU (Augusta, Maine) weren’t doing much, at least in the public eye, to stave off the President and Board of Directors desire to convert to a mutual bank, then merge with Kennebec Savings Bank (Augusta, Maine). That is no longer the case.
On Friday, a petition with at least 180 signatures was presented to KVFCU requesting all Board of Director meeting minutes over the last several years. Said member Lucille Cloutier, “We want to see how much background work did they do,” Cloutier said. “For what reason did they pick the bank?”
KVFCU now has 14 days to provide the minutes, though any information deemed ‘confidential’ may be excluded.
This move by the membership is significant for two reasons.
First, reading the Board of Director meeting minutes will provide valuable insight into how KVFCU arrived at their decision to convert, then immediately merge, into a bank. While the meeting minutes likely won’t provide any gossip style details, it will provide insight into how many (if any) credit unions were considered and how far those negotiations progressed. It should also identify those Directors that have supported the conversion/merger process from the beginning and those that needed to be convinced.
Second, obtaining 180+ signatures (approximately 2.25% of KVFCU’s 8,000 members) serves notice to KVFCU management that not only are a significant number of members concerned about how their credit union arrived at this decision, additional steps can be taken if it was arrived at unsatisfactorily. Should the subsequent back and forth between members and management deteriorate beyond reconciliation, they’ll easily be able to round up enough signatures to call a Special Meeting to vote on the removal of individual members of (or the entire) Board of Directors. While that is an extreme measure, KVFCU members may feel that the only way to keep their credit union charter is to remove those that would take it away.
At this point, the information contained in the meeting minutes is pure speculation, though any findings that will damage KVFCU’s position are sure to be released. However, it is possible that the minutes will lead to a greater understanding of why the credit union chose this course of action, and may ultimately assist KVFCU in their efforts to merge with Kennebec Savings Bank. All we know for certain is that the minutes will be in the hands of the CU membership by the middle of February.
King Kaufman conducted this Q&A with the new Berra Boswell. You can read it here or hear it here:
Y llegamos al cuarto episodio, Blinded by The Light, un título que hace referencia no solo a las luces con sensores que Elliot instala, sino que es más bien una excelente metáfora que acompaña a varios personajes con sus tramas a lo largo del episodio. Pero vamos a extendernos en eso más adelante. Un episodio con guiños al primero de todos, y también con escenas y acciones que nos dejan pensando: ¿qué tan diferentes son Dexter y Trinity?
- Episodio: S04E03 “Blinded by The Light”
- Fecha de emisión: 11 de octubre del 2009
- Guión: Scott Buck
- Dirección: Marcos Siega
Dexter ha perdido su vida privada, ha dejado de ser un lobo solitario debido a su nueva familia y su reciente paternidad, y ahora está cegado por la vida en los suburbios, algo que ciertamente el señor Morgan odia y sabe que no está para nada bien si desea continuar en el anonimato como asesino serial. Cualquier error, por más minúsculo que sea, podría ponerlo en evidencia haciendo que los demás lo cuestionen, y una cosa puede llevar a la otra, ya lo ha dicho el sabio Harry.
Hasta ahora Dexter tenía casi todo controlado, nada grave, pero desde que un vándalo -quien luego nos enteramos resulta ser el secretario de la patrulla vecinal- comienza a destruir el barrio, todo se complica para él, ahora no puede entrar y salir a simple gusto como solía hacerlo antes, ahora hay gente vigilándolo: sus vecinos, su nueva comunidad, a la que por cierto no desea pertenecer, pero debe hacerlo para mantener las apariencias.
Y hablando de mantener apariencias, tenemos un episodio con mucho humor, viendo a Dexter intentando encajar en la sociedad, intentando encajar en esta nueva comunidad vecinal, asistiendo a esas barbacoas que realizan entre ellos. Por cierto, la escena que abre el episodio con Dexter haciendo el trago de color rojizo y esa sonrisa en su cara es espléndido, sobre todo con la música que suena de fondo (aunque la del compositor Daniel Licht en este episodio brilla por su ausencia…)
Por otro lado, Rita descubre que Dexter le mintió y no le permite conducir durante 10 días -receta médica-. Sin dudas es un gran problema para Dexter no poder moverse a gusto, por lo que vemos que Rita comienza a llevarlo mientras canta Karma Chameleon de Culture Club, al tiempo que Dexter le muestra una falsa sonrisa, y es que pobre, ¡no sabe cómo actuar en esas situaciones! Luego vemos que también sus compañeros y su hermana lo llevan y lo traen todo el tiempo, pero por ahora, Dexter tiene mayores problemas en los que preocuparse.
Mientras tanto, Trinity continúa con lo que había dejado en el episodio pasado: la cacería de su próxima víctima, una tal Tarla Grant. Sigo muy intrigado con toda esta trama, y sé que es muy pronto para conocerla toda ya que es el arco argumental principal de la cuarta temporada, ¡pero tanto misterio alrededor de este nuevo asesino serial me está matando!
De todos modos, gracias a las locas teorías de Lundy hemos podido conocer más sobre Trinity. El Agente Especial encontró el primer patrón de asesinatos en Raleigh, North Carolina en el año 1993, pero por lo que sabemos Trinity lleva más de 30 años sin ser capturado (o al menos es la fecha estimativa que dan Lundy y la muerte de Lisa Bell). Frank, como buen obsesivo que es, no pudo dejarlo pasar e investigó más y determinó que hasta la fecha el patrón ha sido encontrado en ocho ciudades diferentes pero nunca antes había ocurrido en la misma ciudad, hasta ahora. Entonces, ¿por qué Miami? ¿Sabe Trinity de la existencia de Dexter? ¿Sabe que haciendo lo que hace en esa ciudad Dexter se interesará por él? ¿Tiene algún plan para con Dexter? En fin, son puras especulaciones y preguntas que me hago, si tienen alguna idea ya saben que son bienvenidas en los comentarios.
En una de las últimas escenas de Trinity vemos que, como predijo Lundy, éste ya tiene en la mira a su próxima víctima, y si todo ocurre al pie de la letra, veremos a un hombre ser golpeado hasta morir.
En el Departamento de Policía, Deb hace caso omiso a lo que sus colegas y la evidencia le dicen, y prefiere aferrarse, una vez más, a las teorías de su ex amante, Lundy. Por supuesto que Deb, como buena Detective que es, también sabe que la muerte de Tarla Grant no ha sido un suicidio, también cree que fue un asesinato y también lo cree así Dexter.
LaGuerta y Batista continúan con su relación a escondidas, lo que podría ponerlos en un grave aprieto si no lo ocultan bien y siguen yendo a hoteles a tener sexo en lugar de ponerse a trabajar. Aún no me convence esta relación, digo, se los ve felices, pero hay algo que no me termina de cerrar, supongo que se debe a que en el comienzo de temporada me tomó por sorpresam, pero qué se yo…
Masuka, por otro lado, sigue siendo el mismo raro y retorcido con sus chistes machistas y sexuales, ¡un genio! Igualmente, como muy pocas veces ha pasado, y con poco tacto, le muestra su lado “humano” a Deb cuando habla con ella acerca del regreso de Lundy y le dice que tome el asunto con más calma. Y también conocimos su vehículo de transporte: una camioneta 4×4 enorme y tuneada, bien al estilo Masuka. ¡Es fantástica!
Para Quinn, la vida es buena. Bueno, no sé si tanto, porque aún teniendo semejante mujer a su lado -aunque sea por conveniencia para ambos-, Joey no ha podido acercarse a Dexter de ninguna manera, y es que a nuestro querido asesino no le gustan ese tipo de cosas, no tiene interés en hacer contacto con alguien más, no sabe cómo y además le molesta, sabe que eso podría poner al descubierto su lado oscuro, aprendió su lección con Miguel Prado.
Finalmente, luego de encontrar al verdadero vándalo del barrio, Dexter le da un buen susto haciendo lo mismo que hace Trinity con su víctima al comienzo del episodio: amenaza con matar a su hijo. Y tenemos un final que deja a Dexter al descubierto totalmente con Rita, la rubia lo atrapa rompiendo las luces luego de que Harry (alias consciencia) lo incita a hacerlo. Se vienen tiempos difíciles para Dexter, con una esposa que se da cuenta de que no conoce realmente a su esposo y con una hijastra adolescente demasiada irritante.
Y para ir terminando, retomo el tema título. El título Blinded by The Light, Cegado por la luz, está relacionado y por sobre todo con las luces con sensores que son instaladas en el barrio por los vecinos, y que vemos Dexter tiene una justo frente a su casa, algo que odia profundamente. El título también es una metáfora utilizada para desarrollar varias tramas a lo largo del episodio, algo demasiado bueno es, de hecho, demasiado. Deb parece estar cegada por la llegada de Lundy mientras ella tiene una actual y aparentemente sana relación con Anton. Quinn está cegado por su nueva relación con la reportera, una mujer que sólo está interesada en conocer las últimas noticias sobre el Departamento. Incluso el Oscuro Pasajero de Dexter parece estar cegado por aquellos que son cercanos a él, su familia. Este episodio prueba que para algunas personas las luces producen más oscuridad que algo bueno.
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