Article:
11 Ways Immigration Reform Would Boost The Economy -
The Huffington Post
I know that HuffPost is pushing "Immigration Reform." And, yes, there should be reform. But, it should be about controlling the inflow of people into our country, and making sure that those already here actually show that they want to be part of this country, and not just be here for the jobs. They should be willing to do community service to show that they want to be part of their communities and to contribute. They should be willing to pay a small percentage (say 2%) of their income to help pay for the expenses of our housing them and their children for all these years, etc. And, they should be at the back of line, behind those who came here legally.
But, we should also acknowledge why this legislation is being done in the first place: to get Latino votes and to appease Latino groups. It is very simple. Washington never does anything unless they get something out of it. And, that is certainly the case here.
Article:
Apple Chief Calls on US Government to Slash US Corporate Tax -
The Guardian
Wow! Check out the balls on this guy! :-P So, this is what Apple has become post-Jobs: A greedy company that does nothing except for hiding as much money from the IRS as possible, making no new products, instead just making little tweaks to them.
Hey, Tim Cook, if you want to leave, leave! We have no use for you.
Article:
Craigslist Yelp Ad Offers Money In Exchange For Good New York Restaurant Reviews -
Huffington Post
Unfortunately, Yelp has been going from community-based review site to corporate-heavy organization. If you step out of line even slightly in a Yelp review, you get swatted down. In their Terms of Use, they can do whatever they want to with any review you post. There is little to no reward on Yelp. I am a Yelp Elite member, which means that we get invited to occasional special events for appetizers and drinks. And, that's nice, but if your city has a lousy "Community Manager" like we do in Memphis, your opinion of Yelp can drop very quickly. The people I dealt with in New York were great! But, they aren't where I am now.
Keep in mind, with Yelp, or any content site like TripAdvisor, you are providing them with free content. What you provide fuels their sites. They sell advertising, among other revenue generators, and you get (in the case of Yelp) not too much in return. And, on TripAdvisor, nothing that I know of.
Article:
Al Qaeda Calls Death of U.S. Ambassador a 'Gift' -
CNN
Al Qaeda is showing it was involved in stirring up the violence in The Middle East this past week. Now, their affiliate in North Africa is calling for the killing of more U.S. diplomats.
The significance of this is that they have now made themselves targets. In Yemen, when "Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula" took credit for killings and called for more, intelligence services and Special Forces knew where to aim. Those in North Africa have now done the same. Poking your heads above ground will allow our people to track their communications, found who sent them, and take them out.
For those Al Qaeda in North Africa, they may create more violence by making themselves known, but now they're targets.
It should be noted that the extremists wanting violence in the Middle East have no concern for their own people. They want power, and they want control. Yes, we lost four great Americans, which is truly tragic. But, the number of Muslims who will end up dead, and the destruction and unrest resulting in Muslim countries, will be high. It doesn't matter to those stirring up the violence, though. They want the power high of having killed a few Americans on 9/11, the consequences to their people be damned.
As the horrors over the anti-Islam video continue in the Middle East, the picture of what made it happen may be coming together. A "Perfect Storm" of an inflammatory video made here, coupled with rage generated over there.
The video denigrating the Prophet Muhammad was at first alleged to be from an Israeli living in the U.S. Now, the picture has become blurred. The person is now thought to be a Coptic Christian from Egypt, Nakoula Basseley Nakoula.
My thought is that the person was part of a two-part plan to stir up violence in the Middle East. The idea could have been to plant someone over here, make the video, upload it, then go back. Overseas, make sure the video was known and known well. Stir up anger and hatred, and direct those enraged to attack our embassies, killing our people.
The fact that it happened right on 9/11 is no coincidence. My thought is that it was a planned attack. Certainly nothing like the scale of 9/11. But, carefully planned and executed nonetheless.
Religion has too often been driven to extremes. And, Islam is very much in that mode right now. The depressed conditions of nations wracked with war and unrest put people in psychologically vulnerable positions. The opportunism of preachers, Al-Qaeda and other extremist operatives, who want to create anger and hatred, rule the day.
It is now up to American Special Forces and intelligence services to hunt down and kill those responsible for this week's horrors.
And now, we know that Al-Qaeda and others have new ways to attack America and its people.
Site:
The Voice -
NBC
Even though eliminated, The Shields Brothers have developed an AWESOME Drinking Game!
It seems to change constantly! But, I would like to officially add:
1.) If a Disease-of-the-Week contestant like #Jamal shows up, drink! He is both a recovering addict AND he's HIV-positive! That's a #TheVoice Double Double!
2.) Cleavage! Yes, cleavage! If you see cleavage (most likely Christina's, Katrina's or Erin's, drink!
