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[UPDATED JAN. 21]
As the gun crowd jammed gun shows and celebrated Guns Across America rallies around the country, and assault rifles were hot sellers while supplies lasted, still another homicidal lunatic with an assault rifle shot five people to death Saturday night in Albuquerque, N.M. The murdered children were ages 9, 5 and 2. The boy charged in the murders is 15.
[UPDATED JAN. 21) -- The victims were identified today as Greg Griego, 51, his wife Sara Griego, 40, and three of their children: a 9-year-old boy, Zephania Griego, and daughters Jael Griego, 5, and Angelina Griego, 2. The shooter was identified as Nehemiah Griego, 15, who has been charged in the murders.]
[The church Web site has removed recent information on the Griego family, but past church bulletins described Greg Griego as a member of the "pastoral staff," not as the pastor. He is also described as the head of the church's prison outreach ministry.]
[According to the Albuquerque Journal on Monday, "Griego had converted his backyard barn into a halfway house for released prisoners, according to neighbors. He also held services at the county jail’s “God Pod,” where he gave inmates spiritual advice."]
A local TV station, KRQE, had this initial report on Sunday:
"ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) -- Police are investigating multiple murders after they say a teen fatally shot two adults and three young children in southwest Albuquerque.
Deputies responded to a home on 2806 Long Lane in southwest Albuquerque after reports of a
possible homicide a little after 9 o'clock Saturday night. When they arrived, deputies say the found several victims and weapons inside the home. [Including an assault rifle that was used in the shooting]
An adult man, an adult woman and three children around elementary age were found dead with multiple gunshot wounds."
[Greg Griego, identified as the dead clergyman, appeared in a 2003 news report as the chaplain at the county Detention Center. He was at the center of a neighborhood controversy over his plan to open a halfway house on Long Lane. It is not clear if that is the same Long Lane address as the site of last night's shooting. As chaplain at the detention center, Griego was described in a 2003 news account as the overseer of the prison ministry for Calvary Chapel of Albuquerque.]
Meanwhile, the NBC affiliate, KOB, reports today that "Police believe the teenager used an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle in the shooting."
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5 Şubat 2013 Salı
Airlines' Revenues Soar
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"By the end of this week, AirlineFinancials.com LLC is projecting the seven largest US airlines will have collectively reported $152 million in profits from $33.3 billion in revenue for the 4th quarter. This will be record industry revenue for any 4th quarter and the 3rd consecutive year of 4th quarter profits after 10 years of losses. American and United were the only two airlines to report a loss and not have record revenue for the 4th quarter.
For full year 2012, AirlineFinancials.com LLC projects these seven airlines will collectively report $3.7 billion in profits from a record $140 billion in revenues. For the first time since the 1990’s, excluding American, every airline will have annual profits for at least three consecutive years. American has not reported an annual profit since 2007.For the year, every airline will report record revenues with four of the seven also reporting record annual profits. Unfortunately for the industry, these records come with a paltry 2.6% profit margin which is 50% less than industry margins were in the later 1990’s. Since 2001 –year of the tragic 911 attacks-- in spite of the last three years of record revenues and profits, the industry has accumulated a staggering $23 billion in net losses! This compares to $23 billion in accumulated net profits for the six years prior to 2001.
*** Individual airline projections for fourth quarter 2012-Projections exclude special items and one-time charges
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For full year 2012, AirlineFinancials.com LLC projects these seven airlines will collectively report $3.7 billion in profits from a record $140 billion in revenues. For the first time since the 1990’s, excluding American, every airline will have annual profits for at least three consecutive years. American has not reported an annual profit since 2007.For the year, every airline will report record revenues with four of the seven also reporting record annual profits. Unfortunately for the industry, these records come with a paltry 2.6% profit margin which is 50% less than industry margins were in the later 1990’s. Since 2001 –year of the tragic 911 attacks-- in spite of the last three years of record revenues and profits, the industry has accumulated a staggering $23 billion in net losses! This compares to $23 billion in accumulated net profits for the six years prior to 2001.
*** Individual airline projections for fourth quarter 2012-Projections exclude special items and one-time charges
- United (UAL) - $146 million loss from $8.8 billion revenue
- Delta (DAL) - $239 million profit from $8.7 billion revenue**
- American (AAMRQ) - $ 88 million loss from $5.9 billion revenue*
- Southwest LUV) - $ 46 million profit from $4.2 billion revenue**
- US Airways (LCC) - $ 38 million profit from $3.3 billion revenue**
- JetBlue (JBLU) - $ 5 million profit from $1.2 billion revenue**
- Alaska (ALK) - $ 58 million profit from $1.2 billion revenue**
- United (UAL) - $647 million profit from $37.2 billion revenue
- Delta (DAL) - $ 1.7 billion profit from $36.8 billion revenue**
- American (AAMRQ) - $130 million loss from $24.9 billion revenue*
- Southwest LUV) - $400 million profit from $17.1 billion revenue
- US Airways (LCC) - $528 million profit from $13.8 billion revenue**
- JetBlue (JBLU) - $137 million profit from $5.0 billion revenue**
- Alaska (ALK) - $352 million profit from $4.7 billion revenue**
###
A Long Way From Katrina ...
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Not sure what it says about a place that spent nearly a half-billion dollars to refurbish a football stadium after a catastrophic hurricane that nearly destroyed a city and whose effects are still not fully socially or physically alleviated.
But just as a reminder, here's what the New Orleans Superdome, now bearing the amusingly preposterous name Mercedes-Benz Superdome, looked like in that awful time in 2005.
###
Not sure what it says about a place that spent nearly a half-billion dollars to refurbish a football stadium after a catastrophic hurricane that nearly destroyed a city and whose effects are still not fully socially or physically alleviated.
But just as a reminder, here's what the New Orleans Superdome, now bearing the amusingly preposterous name Mercedes-Benz Superdome, looked like in that awful time in 2005.
###
'CBS' Used to Be Followed by 'News'
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When the lights unaccountably went out at the preposterously named Mercedes-Benz Superdome last night during the biggest sports event of the year, you might have thought that CBS, broadcasting the game, would have made at least a minimal effort to address for viewers what had just happened.
You would have been wrong. Instead, in a shocking example of journalistic malfeasance, the CBS Sports flunkies on site (and the CBS News people on site or in New York) at first punted in panic and went to commercial, and then took the position that, well, we'll wait till the NFL suits tell us what to say before we explain anything. What had happened? What was happening in the stands, where tens of thousands of spectators were in the dark in more ways than one?
Broadcast sports journalism has long been mostly a bad joke, with print sports journalism not far behind. Witness the weak response to this remarkable event this morning among our vaunted sportswriters, a breed that I once respected in general but now associate with one phrase: "When're they going to bring out more free shrimp?"
There were some exceptions, like Bob Raissman in today's New York Daily News:
"At a time when they should have been aggressively gathering news, CBS’ crew was satisfied with the crumbs the NFL dropped on them. And they swallowed the scraps gladly. Not once during the 34-minute delay did a representative of the National Football League appear on camera to attempt to explain what caused half the Superdome to lose power.
Why should they? No one from CBS put any pressure on them.
Instead of having anyone with a microphone express a hint of outrage, they accepted what was going down. ..."
Yes they did, like the house stooges they actually are.
But where was CBS News, which presumably had at least one news reporter there among the 5,000 media hacks sent to New Orleans, many by news organizations that otherwise wouldn't cover the Second Coming if it required paying for a flight and a hotel room?
As the blackout stretched on, what were they doing at CBS News headquarters in New York? Did it not occur to those descendants of Walter Cronkite to perhaps elbow their way onto the air, you know, like in the old days, with a brief news report that at least indicated that something very unusual had happened, and questions were being asked?
If it did, there was no sign of it last night. No, the attitude was clearly: We'll wait till we're told what to say.
This, from Will Leitch at Sportsdonearth.com, is worth reading on the subject.
Also, while we're on the subject of lackey reporting, when might it occur to the media that the real advertising story last night wasn't who had the best or worst ad (the perennial narrative), but rather, why couldn't CBS sell advertising time? I wasn't counting, but it seemed to me that most of the ads aired last night during the Super Bowl (with the exception of the cheap local ads slotted in during the regular segments where the local TV stations get their allotted time) were non-revenue CBS house-ads -- promos for CBS shows -- and barter-deal promos for the NFL.
That might be a story, it seems to me. That is, if any actual journalists were covering this, rather than just swooning over the content of the relatively few beer, car and junk-food ads that did actually air.
Meanwhile, it went unnoted by the NFL handmaidens who CBS trots out to broadcast the game, but hey, how about that murder suspect down there on the field?
Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis was described by a CBS stooge last night as "an extraordinary individual who has impacted sports and community."
Why yes, how true, how true.
That would underscore the recent incident after the Ravens beat the Broncos in postseason, when Ravens players jeered a USA Today reporter who had the temerity to ask the glowering Mr. Lewis about an unfortunate incident in which he, Lewis, was accused in a still-unsolved double murder. Inconveniences for Lewis in that 2000 murder case were that a victim's blood was found in his limo, where Lewis had instructed fellow passengers to keep their mouths shut about the incident.
"... Lewis pleaded guilty in relation to the case: for obstruction of justice, a misdemeanor. He originally was charged with two counts of murder but struck a deal with prosecutors in exchange for his testimony against two of his companions that night..."
That's from Brent Schrotenboer of USA Today, who has some journalistic guts, and who had this to say about Mr. Lewis and his misadventure.
I'll provide a little more background on the Lewis case in a bit. But gotta go now! I see they're bringing out more free shrimp and king crab claws to the buffet table, and you know how the line forms, up in the press box.
###
You would have been wrong. Instead, in a shocking example of journalistic malfeasance, the CBS Sports flunkies on site (and the CBS News people on site or in New York) at first punted in panic and went to commercial, and then took the position that, well, we'll wait till the NFL suits tell us what to say before we explain anything. What had happened? What was happening in the stands, where tens of thousands of spectators were in the dark in more ways than one?
Broadcast sports journalism has long been mostly a bad joke, with print sports journalism not far behind. Witness the weak response to this remarkable event this morning among our vaunted sportswriters, a breed that I once respected in general but now associate with one phrase: "When're they going to bring out more free shrimp?"
There were some exceptions, like Bob Raissman in today's New York Daily News:
"At a time when they should have been aggressively gathering news, CBS’ crew was satisfied with the crumbs the NFL dropped on them. And they swallowed the scraps gladly. Not once during the 34-minute delay did a representative of the National Football League appear on camera to attempt to explain what caused half the Superdome to lose power.
Why should they? No one from CBS put any pressure on them.
Instead of having anyone with a microphone express a hint of outrage, they accepted what was going down. ..."
Yes they did, like the house stooges they actually are.
But where was CBS News, which presumably had at least one news reporter there among the 5,000 media hacks sent to New Orleans, many by news organizations that otherwise wouldn't cover the Second Coming if it required paying for a flight and a hotel room?
As the blackout stretched on, what were they doing at CBS News headquarters in New York? Did it not occur to those descendants of Walter Cronkite to perhaps elbow their way onto the air, you know, like in the old days, with a brief news report that at least indicated that something very unusual had happened, and questions were being asked?
If it did, there was no sign of it last night. No, the attitude was clearly: We'll wait till we're told what to say.
This, from Will Leitch at Sportsdonearth.com, is worth reading on the subject.
Also, while we're on the subject of lackey reporting, when might it occur to the media that the real advertising story last night wasn't who had the best or worst ad (the perennial narrative), but rather, why couldn't CBS sell advertising time? I wasn't counting, but it seemed to me that most of the ads aired last night during the Super Bowl (with the exception of the cheap local ads slotted in during the regular segments where the local TV stations get their allotted time) were non-revenue CBS house-ads -- promos for CBS shows -- and barter-deal promos for the NFL.
That might be a story, it seems to me. That is, if any actual journalists were covering this, rather than just swooning over the content of the relatively few beer, car and junk-food ads that did actually air.
Meanwhile, it went unnoted by the NFL handmaidens who CBS trots out to broadcast the game, but hey, how about that murder suspect down there on the field?
Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis was described by a CBS stooge last night as "an extraordinary individual who has impacted sports and community."
Why yes, how true, how true.
That would underscore the recent incident after the Ravens beat the Broncos in postseason, when Ravens players jeered a USA Today reporter who had the temerity to ask the glowering Mr. Lewis about an unfortunate incident in which he, Lewis, was accused in a still-unsolved double murder. Inconveniences for Lewis in that 2000 murder case were that a victim's blood was found in his limo, where Lewis had instructed fellow passengers to keep their mouths shut about the incident.
"... Lewis pleaded guilty in relation to the case: for obstruction of justice, a misdemeanor. He originally was charged with two counts of murder but struck a deal with prosecutors in exchange for his testimony against two of his companions that night..."
That's from Brent Schrotenboer of USA Today, who has some journalistic guts, and who had this to say about Mr. Lewis and his misadventure.
I'll provide a little more background on the Lewis case in a bit. But gotta go now! I see they're bringing out more free shrimp and king crab claws to the buffet table, and you know how the line forms, up in the press box.
###
Can someone define ';Disney Magic';
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Can someone define ';Disney Magic';
Can someone define ';Disney Magic';
On another thread much has been talked about Disney Magic in the context of Orlando WDW versus other parks.
I don%26#39;t really get this concept. I enjoy Universal IOA much more than Disney %26amp; I take it it has no Disney Magic?
I think holiday magic comes from yourself and those with you.
So what constitutes Disney Magic?
Answers on a postcard please!
Can someone define ';Disney Magic';
Jenni, I never got it either. We had a great time at WDW, but then we have a great time wherever we go. I agree with you, the magic comes from being with our kids and doing the family thing. Some folks just really get in to it I guess. These folks also seem to kind of get offended when you just don%26#39;t get the %26#39;magic%26#39;. That other forum (the one I think you are talking about) is serious about their %26#39;magic%26#39; and some folks seem to be on the verge of tears when their family members don%26#39;t understand their %26#39;magic%26#39; feelings.
Can someone define ';Disney Magic';
Jenni-
Personally ive found Disney at Orlando being one of the few must do%26#39;s in your life. Paris is much closer but wouldn%26#39;t be the same.
That said, we%26#39;ve been there and now done it and personally its been more of experiencing very good theme parks in quick succession.
Mickey and gang are not really up to it these days since they seem to belong to the generation gone.
My kids are more into Dora the Explorer and co and if they were part of Disney then they would have enjoyed even more since they could directly relate to the character!
It%26#39;s like believing or not believing in Santa.
If you believe, you have the magic surrounding you. If you don%26#39;t believe, well, you%26#39;re missing the whole thing.
Disney magic depends for adults on their childhood memories. As a little girl i was mesmerised by cinderella, beauty and the beast etc... not everyone has disney imprinted on their memories. My boyfriend had no connection with disney or the %26#39;magic%26#39; but still had an awesome time
I think disney magic does exist for some but its not essential, you need good company to enjoy anything.
Trying to take it apart, here%26#39;s what I get:
Magic Kingdom is the model for the ';Disney Magic'; in my book; other Disney parks go with or against the below principles in different ways
Appealing to idealized notions of royalty and romance
';########'; childhood dreams (flying like Peter Pan and Tinkerbell)
Old time idealized notions of America and the American Dream, and progress (sort of a non-sectarian non-violent postmillenialism) without being so ';futuristic'; and ';cool'; (though Disney is not immune to trying to be ';futuristic'; and ';cool';); yet nostalgic; of course, thinking about old time notions of progress above things is nostalgic (think ';Main Street USA'; and ';Carosel of Progress';)
Emphasis on talking animals and Disney characters and cartoons that aren%26#39;t so ';violent'; or ';dangerous'; (like Looney Toons or ';Itchy and Scratchy';)
To some extent, tending toward a traditional understanding of beauty and childlike simplicity over ugliness (the Old lady in snow white as an exception); even the villans in the non-Disney things tend to be more artistic than the villans in other fantasy movies and animated features (one example: compare the Buzz Lightyear ride to the Men in Black Alien Attack and you%26#39;ll see the difference; one is more colorful and pretty in some ways; the other is cooler, more advanced, and the targets are uglier).
And, of course, a childlike utopianism about different nations and cultures coming together (';Its a Small World'; of course)
And also a more straightfoward way of looking at and talking about things (not the snappy quick at times over kids head and ';wicked humor of ';The Simpsons'; and ';Family Guy'; animated series).
To some extent, ';tenderness'; ';gentleness'; and being nice over against Endeavour105 type behavior (lol!)
Also, the relative ';innocence'; and childlike atmosphere of not serving beer at Magic Kingdom
To some extent, all these things rolled together somehow make up ';Disney Magic';. Yet there are some things which don%26#39;t necessarily go with these things, yet get rolled up in Disney magic (';Pirates of the Caribbean';, for example, appeals to childhood dreams, but is hardly ';########';, though it is somewhat idealistic)
Tomorrowland is futuristic, but in an almost quaint way
This is my somewhat ';clumsy'; attempt to define the Disney Magic.
Of course, Disney as a company and movie studio goes with or against these virtues at any time. It seems that in the Pixar era it has at times completely jettisoned these things, but not as fast as say other studios have; ';The Incredibles'; may be cool, but not as hip as, say ';Madagascar';.
Also, I personally hypothesize that Magic Kingdom is more of a park for adults rather than kids. Its more for adults who want to become a child again in some ways, or want to live vicariously as a child through their children. That%26#39;s why so many people bring young kids who can%26#39;t or may not remember what is going on; its more for the adults than kids. And adults are more capable of feeling the nostalga that Disney brings than kids are, though kids can be taught to be nostalgic too.
And, as referred to above (I meant to say it but forgot to type it, I think), the idea of being a child living in a fairy tale.
Disney Magic: As you enter the park, you wallet like magic comes out of your pocket, opens, and by the time you leave all of your money disappears!
I don%26#39;t think it makes any difference who you are. Anything your heart desires will come to you if your heart is in your dream. No request is too extreme - Fate is kind; She brings the sweet fulfillment of secret longing like a bolt out of the blue.
In summary, Fate steps in and sees you through and when you wish upon a star your dreams come true, and that%26#39;s how I guess I would define it (without straying from the topic).
I%26#39;m actually thinking of marketing this reply as a Disney song if I can tone it down a little. If Phil Collins is reading this, please get in touch, or tell Elton.
It is the look in your little girls eyes as tinkerbell starts her descent from the fairy tale castle.
That is the magic.
Recipe for Disney Magic...
1 cup Goofy
1 cup nostalgia
1/2 cup pixie dust
8 oz winter chill, warmed
3 1/2 (1 lb) bag %26#39;o cash
Grease body with sunblock. Cover head with mouse ears. Mix parks as directed on park hopper. Pour money out of wallet. Mix Dole Whips with funnel cakes and shake on Everest. Add Zantac and mix with Mountain Dew. Spoon over... well lets not go there. Bake 10 hours at 90 degrees. Cool completely in resort%26#39;s pool.
3 Ocak 2013 Perşembe
Obozo's Gifts Buried in "Tax" Bill
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If he weren't the savior, some in the MFM might question this.
The "fiscal cliff" legislation passed this week included $76 billion in special-interest tax credits for the likes of General Electric, Hollywood and even Captain Morgan. But these subsidies weren't the fruit of eleventh-hour lobbying conducted on the cliff's edge -- they were crafted back in August in a Senate committee, and they sat dormant until the White House reportedly insisted on them this week....
Really? These provisions? Tax-avoidance?
Really.
...A Republican Senate aide familiar with the cliff negotiations tells me the White House wanted permanent extensions of a whole slew of corporate tax credits. When Senate Republicans said no, "the White House insisted that the exact language" of the Baucus bill be included in the fiscal cliff deal. "They were absolutely insistent," another aide tells me....
Sure enough, Title II of the fiscal cliff legislation is nearly a word-for-word replication of the Family and Business Tax Cut Certainty Act of 2012.
The Slimebucket-in-Chief pays off his friends.
The "fiscal cliff" legislation passed this week included $76 billion in special-interest tax credits for the likes of General Electric, Hollywood and even Captain Morgan. But these subsidies weren't the fruit of eleventh-hour lobbying conducted on the cliff's edge -- they were crafted back in August in a Senate committee, and they sat dormant until the White House reportedly insisted on them this week....
Really? These provisions? Tax-avoidance?
Really.
...A Republican Senate aide familiar with the cliff negotiations tells me the White House wanted permanent extensions of a whole slew of corporate tax credits. When Senate Republicans said no, "the White House insisted that the exact language" of the Baucus bill be included in the fiscal cliff deal. "They were absolutely insistent," another aide tells me....
Sure enough, Title II of the fiscal cliff legislation is nearly a word-for-word replication of the Family and Business Tax Cut Certainty Act of 2012.
The Slimebucket-in-Chief pays off his friends.
Megna, Fallone Are In SCOWI Race
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This will be fun to watch.
Both Vince Megna and Ed Fallone have filed enough signatures to run for SCOWI.
In all likelihood, Fallone will run to the right of Megna (even though they are similarly Left-inclined.)
Fallone will have the Democrat Party's machinery behind him, as noted by Lakeshore. That means that Fallone has a fat source of funds, too--and unless Megna wants to spend a whole lot of his personal fortune, he's not likely to prevail.
The fact that the Dem Party of Wisconsin has more-or-less anointed Fallone leaves Megna and his supporters in the position that Eric Hovde and his supporters were in during the Senate primary. Megna won't necessarily like that comparison (nor Hovde), but the Party Elders have wrinkled their noses at him.
Hmmmm.
Both Vince Megna and Ed Fallone have filed enough signatures to run for SCOWI.
In all likelihood, Fallone will run to the right of Megna (even though they are similarly Left-inclined.)
Fallone will have the Democrat Party's machinery behind him, as noted by Lakeshore. That means that Fallone has a fat source of funds, too--and unless Megna wants to spend a whole lot of his personal fortune, he's not likely to prevail.
The fact that the Dem Party of Wisconsin has more-or-less anointed Fallone leaves Megna and his supporters in the position that Eric Hovde and his supporters were in during the Senate primary. Megna won't necessarily like that comparison (nor Hovde), but the Party Elders have wrinkled their noses at him.
Hmmmm.
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