MikeLigalig.com

All are politically popular, although rarely mentioned by Republican lawmakers who say the country clamors for a total repeal of the law.

Despite pledging in the 2010 campaign to "repeal and replace" the law known as Obamacare, Republicans have yet to offer a comprehensive alternative. Efforts to create one have been hampered by opposition from conservatives to some of the mandates they tacitly agreed last week to leave in effect.

Conceding as much, Rep. Trent Franks, R-Ariz., said that as a conservative, he had often found during Obama's presidency that his choice was "between something bad or (something) horrible."

Republican unity, so valuable in pushing to reduce spending in the past three years, shows signs of fraying.

The principal impact of that is to raise the cost of insurance dramatically for thousands of congressional aides and political appointees of the administration.

That, too, fell in the Senate.

There have been ideological retrenchments, as well.

Despite their long-held positions against government mandates, House Republicans agreed beginning last week to leave in effect requirements in the health care law they have refused to embrace in the past. Among them is a requirement for insurers to cover individuals with pre-existing conditions and another to allow children up to age 26 to remain on their parents' plans.

First, they passed legislation demanding the health care law be defunded in exchange for a bill providing essential government funding.

When the Senate rejected that, they scaled back.

Instead, they sought a one-year delay in the law, combined with the permanent repeal of a tax on medical devices and creation of new barriers to contraceptive coverage for women purchasing insurance.

That, too, was torpedoed in the Senate.

The next GOP demand was for a one-year delay in the requirement for individuals to purchase coverage, along with a provision that would oblige the president, vice president and members of Congress and their aides to purchase insurance under the same system as the rest of the country without receiving the customary employer contribution from the government, for which they work.

Ironically, Republican leaders urged the rank and file not to link a defunding of Obamacare to federal spending for fear the unavoidable outcome would be a shutdown that would harm the party politically.

Yet Boehner, who survived a conservative-led attempt on his tenure in January, and Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, who faces a primary challenge from a tea party-backed rival in Kentucky, were unable to prevail. Instead, they were steamrolled by Cruz, his allies in Congress and Heritage Action, Club for Growth, the Tea Party Express and other groups that have used the issue to raise funds.

The strategy in effect, Republicans negotiated exclusively with themselves in the days leading to the shutdown as they sought the demise of "Obamacare."

By DAVID ESPO | Associated Press â€" 3 hours ago


WASHINGTON (AP) â€" Republicans insisted they wanted to shut down the nation's 3-year-old health care overhaul, not the government. They got the opposite, and now struggle to convince the public that responsibility for partial closure of the federal establishment lies with President Barack Obama and the Democrats.

There's ample evidence otherwise, beginning with Speaker John Boehner's refusal to permit the House to vote on Senate-passed legislation devoted solely to reopening the government.

In the days leading to the impasse, Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas said he would do "everything and anything possible to defund Obamacare," including a filibuster against legislation to prevent a partial closure of the federal government.

In the House, Rep. Jack Kingston told reporters his Georgia constituents would rather have a shutdown than Obamacare, and Rep. Tim Huelskamp added recently that in his Kansas district, "If you say government is going to shut down, they say, 'OK, which part can we shut down?'"

http://www.funnychill.com/files/funny-pictures/do-not-urinate-in-bathrooms.jpg


Ingon ani man gud sa ilaha...

Sa iyang reklamo, si Carla nibutyag nga sa hapon niadtong Mayo 8, 2009, si Pepe niabot sa iyang balay nga hubog.

Nahitabo ang ilang mainit nga panaglalis.

Paglabay sa pipila ka minutos, ang iyang bana nibitad kaniya ug namugos sa pagpakighilawas kaniya.

Apan sa dihang nibalibad siya, nasuko ang iyang bana ug nisukmag kaniya sa nawong.

Nidagan si Carla aron paglikay sa dugang kagubot.

Apan niapas kaniya ang iyang bana sakay sa motorsiklo ug giligsan siya hinungdan sa pagkapangos ug pagkabun-og sa nagkadaiyang bahin sa iyang lawas.

Iyang gidugang nga gibiyaan sila sa iyang bana.

Gibutyag ni Pereño nga dihay higayon nga ang iyang bana nakit-an niyang nagsuyop og shabu sulod sa ilang kuwarto.

Sa higayon nga mahubog ug ma-high sa drugas, mangulata kini kaniya.

SuperBalita Cebu
Ni Dennes R. Tabar
Thursday, October 3, 2013


ASAWA nipasaka og kasong abuso batok sa iyang bana nga giingong kanunay mangulata kaniya ug nibiya kanila mga duha ka tuig na ang nakalabay.

Usa sa mga hitabo nga gitumbok sa asawa mao ang pagpaligis kaniya sa motorsiklo human siya nibalibad nga makig-sex.

Ang mga ngan sa magtiayong gipugngan ning mantalaan base usab sa balaud.

Ang magtiayon nagpuyo sa Purok Camote, Brgy. Cambaro, dakbayan sa Mandaue sud sa 21 ka mga tuig.

Si Carla (di tinuod niyang ngan), 42, nipasakag kasong  violation against women and children batok sa iyang bana nga si Pepe (di tinuod niyang ngan), 41, ngadto sa Mandaue City Prosecutors Office.

Si PO1 Daezy Pereño sa  Women’s and Children Protection Desk sa  Opao police station nibutyag nga ang managtiayon adunay lima ka mga anak.

Matod ni Pereño nga si Carla niduaw sa ilang buhatan ning semanaha aron mosang-at og reklamo batok sa iyang bana, kinsa dugay nang midaugdaug kaniya.

ABS-CBNnews.com
Posted at 10/03/2013 10:19 PM | Updated as of 10/03/2013 10:19 PM


MANILA - Government troops have captured a suspected communist rebel in Davao Oriental who was later found out to be a former professor at the University of the Philippines in Diliman, the military said Thursday.

Kim Gargar was captured after an encounter between communist New People's Army (NPA) rebels and government troops in Brgy. Aliwagwag, Cateel, Davao Oriental on October 1, according to Army Capt. Alberto Caber, spokesman of the Armed Forces' Eastern Mindanao Command.

Gargar was wounded in the encounter, Caber said.

Soldiers seized an M16 rifle, landmines, and subversive documents from Gargar, he added.

A NPA commander identified only as alias "Ryan" was killed during the clash.

Gargar was found unconscious while clutching a rifle near the encounter site, said 67th Infantry Battalion commanding officer Lt. Col. Krishnamurti Mortela.

"First aid was given to him before he was brought to Davao Oriental provincial hospital,"Mortela said.

The Army said Gargar was a physics professor at UP Diliman from 2000 to 2003, Don Mariano University in Cagayan de Oro City from 2003 to 2005, PUP Sta. Mesa from 2006 to 2007, Mapua University from 2007 to 2008, and was a doctorate scholar in chronological biology at University of Groningen, Netherlands.

Gargar allegedly confessed to the military that he helped CPP-NPA founder Joma Sison produce books and joined the NPA in Compostela Valley Province in 2012.

The military has yet to say if charges will be filed against Gargar.

Quote from: moneytree on October 03, 2013, 04:56:21 PM
okey you asked for it.

RIP Hubag Bohol

Pangaliyupo na ni. Intawon, senyor, hunong na sa imong pagpresentar sa imong kaugalingon. Bidli na jamo. Kasabot man tingali ka nga way gilamian sa imong mga tirada diri sa TB. Gawas nga wa ko mahadlok sa imong threats nako, samot na nga wa ko motuo nga mas kwartahan ka kay nako. Kapoy na. You, with your pitiful topics (self, imagined money, cheap girls), don't belong in this forum. Clowns can be tolerated, but only to a point. You've long crossed the civilized line.

I will stop calling you an idiot only when you no longer bring mayhem to this forum. (Of course, out of sheer nostalgia, I might make one vague reference or two to this Dark Age of TB.) I know you are more simian than human, but I appeal to your sub-human sensibilities to desist from setting in motion a force that might compromise creation as we all know it. 

Ayaw sabta nga wa ko maluoy nimo. Ayaw sabta nga gipanghimaraot ko ang imong pagkaikaw (I wanted to use a more specific term, as in "pagkatawo", pero basin in trying to be specific, masayop hinuon ko.) Ayaw sabta nga wa nako matugkad ang gilapdon sa imong kasubo, ang giladmon sa imong kasakit, ang ataon nga kangitngit nga matag karon ug unya mohakop sa imong pag-inusara.

But, please. Stand down, my friend. Don't waste the little time you have left on this sweet earth.

Go scratch your balls if you have any left, you miserable excuse of a human being. I have better things to do.

Samot nang useless. I can see right through that you're a pathetic failure, old man.

I can defend myself from bald, toothless, eggless, starving pretenders, you fool!

Ugok!

Pajag nga wa nay miduaw...

Quote from: moneytree on October 03, 2013, 04:22:43 PM

mantener lang ug lamborghini ba. tiaw bay multi milyoner gud ta konohay.

Libre ang posing...

Quote from: moneytree on October 03, 2013, 04:11:19 PM

Baratohon...

Way motuo...

...nga abhong...

I am a good boy, you are a good goy. All's well that ends well.

Kinahanglan naay saging...

One more time...

Maayo ning makit-an jud...

Usa ka laki nga matso milugos ang usa ka babaye. Sa dihang nagmalampuson siya sa dautan niyang buhat iyaha kining giingnan...

Lalaki: Sulod sa siyam ka buwan manganak kag liwat nako, taw-ga siyag HERCULES.

Tubag ni babaye...

Babaye: Hoy, ugok! Sulod sa siyam ka adlaw, mangatol nang imong pikoy, tawga nag HERPES, unggoya ka!


Bwahaha!

Dato = He-who-cannot-be-named
Pobre = Botoy

http://www.tempo.com.ph/
Posted by Online on Oct 2nd, 2013
 

The Philippines observes Elderly Filipino Week on October 1-7, 2013. This annual event, embodied in Proclamation No. 470 issued on September 26, 1994, highlights the contributions of the elderly, also called senior citizens, for country, family, and community. The Department of Social Welfare and Development, with partner agencies and senior citizen associations, leads the celebration with activities such as outstanding senior citizen awards, visits to older persons’ centers, exhibits and cultural shows, and the giving of free medical checkup, medicines, cataract operation, eyeglasses, and dentures.

Filipino senior citizens cover 6.4 million or 6.8% of our 94-million population. It is projected that by 2020, Filipinos aged 60 and older would reach 9.7 million. The elderly are an integral part of Philippine society who must be given opportunities to be productive. Most elderly stay with their children or with relatives. Taking care of an elderly family member may require patience, dedication, time and effort, but it is the best way to show respect, love, appreciation, and gratitude for their contributions to society, the upbringing of their children, and helping care for their grandchildren.

Agencies of government, local government units, and private institutions have set up centers for senior citizens where they can go for counseling and livelihood training. The Department of Health has a national health program for them.

The Office for Senior Citizens Affairs in every city and town attends to their requirements.

The elderly enjoy more benefits and privileges under Republic Act (RA) 9994, the Expanded Senior Citizens Act of 2010, which amended RA 9257. They are entitled to 20% discount on essential goods and services, including food, medicines, and doctors’ fees. They get discounts on fares for land, air, and sea travel, as well as hotel stay, admission to movie houses, concerts, and leisure activities. The Social Pension Program provides a monthly cash assistance to indigent senior citizens for their basic needs.

We congratulate the Department of Social Welfare and Development, headed by Secretary Corazon J. Soliman, the Department of Health, headed by Secretary Dr, Enrique T. Ona, and other Officers, in their collective efforts to provide socio-economic services to the elderly in our Republic of the Philippines. CONGRATULATIONS AND MABUHAY!

Attacat, Grumpy!

Bwahaha!

Quote from: islander on October 03, 2013, 10:02:46 AM

The full moon rises through the Olympic Rings hanging beneath Tower Bridge during the London 2012 Olympic Games August 3, 2012. (REUTERS/Luke MacGregor)

Splendid!

Read...and learn!

u asked 4 8
i give u 9

Quote from: islander on September 29, 2013, 10:48:07 PM
thanks.  i'll keep coming back and sometimes forth.  see you soon but not so soon, i'm neither here nor there anyway. -from a satisfied customer                   

Pag-sure, oi...

Quote from: lakandula on October 01, 2013, 08:56:03 PM
Walk away, please go
Before you throw your life away

Walk away, please go
Before you throw your wife away

On a clear day...

Quote from: Lorenzo on October 02, 2013, 03:28:19 PM
Mga Valencianhons,

Ready na ba kamo mo duwa sa chess? On a specific date, there will be an opportunity for all of you, as with all people around Bohol to compete on an annual chess tournament.

Seize this opportunity, dear Valencianhons !


A loyal son of Valencia,
A Tan-Salvo Clan Member

Agoi, si Bugsay maoy klarong champion ani. Chess wizard ra ba ning akong amigo. (Ayaw lang padimdimag bahal.)

He he, daghan ra bang corn trees sa Balingsya.

Quote from: balong on October 02, 2013, 06:05:23 PM
ug mag engkwentro mi si hubag sa chess, basin ma mate ko in 8 moves.

Pwede pud paunhanay na lang tag hurot og mais inanag...

The measures are likely to be defeated in the Democratic-controlled Senate, and Obama said he would veto them if they reached his desk.

Still, they allowed Republicans to charge that their adversaries are standing in the way of help for elderly veterans and young cancer patients. "Will they now say 'no' to funding for veterans, our National Parks and the National Institutes of Health?" asked Boehner spokesman Michael Steel.

Reid told Republicans he would engage in talks about tax reform, farm policy and other pressing issues that Congress has failed to address once Republicans agreed to re-open the government without conditions. Republicans dismissed that idea.

A Reuters/Ipsos poll indicated that 24 percent of Americans blamed Republicans for the shutdown, while 19 percent blamed Obama or Democrats. Another 46 percent said everyone was to blame.

Secretary of State John Kerry will visit Malaysia and the Philippines in his place. Obama is weighing whether to attend diplomatic summits in Indonesia and Brunei, a White House official said.

Despite the disruption, Boehner's Republicans have failed to derail Obama's controversial healthcare law, which passed a milestone on Tuesday when it began signing up uninsured Americans for subsidized health coverage.

Though some moderate Republicans have begun to question their party's strategy, Boehner so far has kept them united behind a plan to offer a series of small bills that would re-open select parts of the government most visibly affected by the shutdown.

The Republican-controlled House passed and sent to the Senate a funding bill that would re-open the National Institutes of Health, which conducts medical research, and another bill to reopen shuttered federal parks and museums, such as the Smithsonian museums, the National Gallery of Art and the Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington.

Both bills passed with the support of about two-dozen Democrats, who joined Republicans. The House was expected to vote Thursday on measures to fund veterans' care, the District of Colombia and the Army Reserve.

OBAMA EXASPERATED

"Am I exasperated? Absolutely I'm exasperated. Because this is entirely unnecessary," Obama told CNBC television in an interview before meeting the congressional leaders. "I am exasperated with the idea that unless I say to 20 million people, 'You can't have health insurance,' these folks will not reopen the government. That is irresponsible."

The U.S. Army's top general said the shutdown was significantly harming day-to-day operations, and intelligence leaders say it is undermining their ability to monitor threats. A Federal Reserve official said it could delay the central bank's ability to assess whether its monetary stimulus efforts are still needed.

The uncertainty in Washington has forced the White House to scale back an Asia trip that was designed to reinforce U.S. commitment to the region.

Obama scuttled two stops on a planned four-country tour and left visits to two other countries up in the air. He was due to leave on Saturday and return a week later.

"The president reiterated one more time that he will not negotiate," Boehner told reporters after the White House meeting. "All we're asking for here is a discussion and fairness for the American people under Obamacare."

Reid said Democrats were willing to discuss any ways to tackle the budget after a temporary funding bill is passed. "We're through playing these little games," he said.

The shutdown, which took effect Monday at midnight (0400 GMT Tuesday), has raised questions about Washington's ability to carry out its most essential duties.

Though it would do relatively little damage to the world's largest economy in the short term, global markets could be roiled if Congress also fails to raise the debt limit before borrowing authority runs out in coming weeks.

The shutdown has closed landmarks like the Grand Canyon and prevented some cancer patients from receiving cutting-edge treatment.

United Technologies Corp, which makes Sikorsky helicopters and other items for the military, said it would be forced to furlough as many as 4,000 employees, if the U.S. government shutdown continues through next week, due to the absence of government quality inspectors.

Obama, congressional leaders still deadlocked on shutdown
By Jeff Mason and Thomas Ferraro
WASHINGTON | Wed Oct 2, 2013 7:57pm EDT


(Reuters) - President Barack Obama met with Republican and Democratic leaders in Congress on Wednesday to try to break a deadlock that has shut down wide swaths of the federal government, but there was no breakthrough.

After more than an hour of talks, House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner said Obama refused to negotiate, while House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi and Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid accused Republicans of trying to hold the president hostage over Obamacare.

Reid said Obama told Republicans "he will not stand" for their tactics.

As hundreds of thousands of federal employees faced a second day without pay, leaders of the Republican-controlled House of Representatives and the Democratic-led Senate offered token concessions that were quickly dismissed by the other side. Obama, meanwhile, scaled back a long-planned trip to Asia.

Republicans have tried to tie continued government funding to measures that would undercut Obama's signature healthcare law. Obama and his Democrats say that is a non-starter.

But in the meantime, all Americans can just break the law free of consequence and don't have to go work?

No. No. No! You're an idiot.

So now what happens?

We have to wait for one side to blink and agree to cut a deal. Lawmakers are back at it today. On Monday night the House decided to form a "bipartisan committee" to come up with a proposal, but if any part of that deal includes defunding Obamacare, the Senate will reject it. Federal employees will continue to go unpaid until a budget is struck.

I'm sure this sort of thing has never happened before. I would have heard about the zombies.

There won't be any zombies. (Hopefully, anyway. The CDC is shutting down.) But, there have been shutdowns in the past, usually not lasting more than a few days at a time. The most recent shutdown was in 1996, when President Bill Clinton and House Republicans led by Speaker Newt Gingrich could not reach a deal. That shutdown lasted nearly a month.

So after all that Obamacare is going to be defunded anyway?

No. Obamacare will not be affected by the shutdown. In fact, the online marketplaces to buy insurance went live at midnight, just as the rest of the government shut down.

Those guys can never agree on anything. And now they're going to let all the animals at the National Zoo starve to death. Those poor pandas! Why couldn't they just make a deal?

Firstly, all of the animals will be fed and taken care of. The pandacam, however, will be shut down.

The sticking point in the negotiations was funding the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, the president's signature piece of legislation that would increase the number of Americans who receive health insurance by requiring them to buy it.

The House is controlled by Republicans, whose Tea Party faction is wholly opposed to Obamacare. They've tried to use the budget as leverage to defund or delay Obamacare.

Every budget they sent to the Senate for approval was bounced back, because the Senate is controlled by Democrats who want see Obamacare succeed.

Someone is going to get a very angry tweet about this! If only I knew who to blame… and also how this happened.

Every year Congress has to agree on a budget to fund the government. The fiscal year ended on Sept. 30, but Congress was unable come to a consensus about how best to use federal funds. Without a budget â€" essentially a law passed by both the House of Representatives and the Senate -- to pay employees and fund programs for the new fiscal year, the government effectively shut down at midnight on Oct. 1.

Despite several last minute attempts, lawmakers could not even agree to a stopgap measure that would fund the government temporarily.

http://abcnews.go.com/
Oct. 1, 2013
By RUSSELL GOLDMAN
via Nightline



A National Park Service employee posts a sign on a barricade to close access to the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, Oct. 1, 2013.
Carolyn Kaster/AP Photo


So, it's happened. Congress could not agree on a budget and the U.S. federal government has shut down all non-essential services. Hundreds of thousands of government workers have been furloughed without knowing when they will return to work.

Oh my God! Oh my God! I saw this on "Doomsday Preppers." Total collapse! I knew I should have built that bomb shelter and started hoarding lentils.

Cool your jets. This is far from the apocalypse. The government has not ground to a complete halt. Services deemed essential like Medicare, mail delivery, tax collection and the military will continue to operate. Non-essential departments and employees, like national park rangers and NASA staff (who aren't currently in orbit) will be furloughed. Also, the National Zoo will be closed.

Kini, real cool pud...

Wow! Real cool...

The guide came as China introduced its first ever tourism law on Tuesday, showing that authorities are keen to get a grip on the tourism trade. The law banned tour companies from hiding costs such as mandatory shopping trips, state news agency Xinhua reported on Wednesday.

Furthermore, it is not the first time the image-conscious government has tried to "civilize" its nascent tourist sector. In May, the authorities tried to appeal to national pride, telling people that "being a civilized tourist is the obligation of each citizen," Xinhua stated.

But despite the boon for economically struggling countries in Europe and elsewhere that rely on tourism, the Chinese have nonetheless developed something of a reputation for uncouth behaviour while abroad.

In May, a mainland Chinese woman who let her son relieve himself in a bottle in a crowded Hong Kong restaurant sparked an outpour of anger. Plus, there was outrage when a 15 year-old tourist from Nanjing recently carved his name into an ancient temple in Luxor, Egypt.

The guide was issued ahead of China's "Golden Week" of public holidays in which millions of Chinese people take vacations, which begun on October 1. The guide Is designed to instruct people how to behave in their own country as well as abroad, and comes as an increasing number of affluent Chinese travel abroad.

In April, the World Trade Organisation named China the new number one nation for expenditure when traveling abroad. Chinese expenditure abroad reached $102 billion in 2012 and the volume of international trips by Chinese travelers reached 83 million, up from 10 million in 2000.

As well as urging would-be tourists to comply with non-smoking areas and not to throw rubbish or shout in public, it also warned against the annoying habit of forcing locals to take their photos. In addition, the guide advised travelers to keep their nose-hair neatly trimmed.

Other snippets of advice were country-specific . The guide warned Chinese visitors to Germany to only snap their fingers to beckon dogs, not humans, and that women in Spain should always wear earrings in public, or be considered effectively naked. Visitors to Japan were advised to avoid fidgeting with hair or clothes in restaurants.

Published: Wednesday, 2 Oct 2013 | 7:22 AM ET
By: Holly Ellyatt    | Assistant Producer, CNBC.com



Philippe Lopez | AFP | Getty Images


As an increasing number of Chinese people travel abroad, the Chinese authorities have issued instructions how to be "civilized" tourists, with an illustrated list of dos and don'ts to ensure tourists don't give the country a bad name.

China's National Tourism Administration have publicized a 64-page guidebook on their website, entitled "Guidebook for Civilized Tourism," advising Chinese nationals not to pick their noses in public, urinate in pools or steal airplane life jackets, according to a report by news agency AFP on Wednesday.

OK kaayo nga mouli sa Pinas aron magpataod og pustiso. Barato ra sa atoa, affordable. Naa gani kunoy mga dentist nga modawat og data-data.

Obama has worked to expand gay rights as president and last year backed same-sex marriage. He also supports the use of contraception and a woman's right to an abortion.

Pope Francis told the Italian Jesuit Journal last month that the Church had "locked itself up in small things" by its obsession with abortion, contraception and homosexuality.

Obama said the pope seemed to be someone who "lives out the teachings of Christ" and shows "incredible humility" toward the poor.

"That's a quality I admire," said Obama, who has yet to meet the new pope.

(Reporting by Steve Holland; Editing by Peter Cooney)

Reuters Oct. 02, 2013 2:03PM PDT

   

U.S. President Barack Obama speaks from the White House about the shootings at the U.S. Navy Yard in Washington September 16, 2013. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama on Wednesday welcomed Pope Francis' recent remarks that the Catholic Church must shake off an obsession with teachings on abortion, contraception and homosexuals, saying the pontiff was showing incredible humility.

"I tell you, I have been hugely impressed with the pope's pronouncements," Obama said in a CNBC interview.

Ta-dah!

Quote from: balong on October 02, 2013, 06:13:28 PM
yeah. i admit init ko ug o. i need anger management. maybe wa pa gihapon ma wa ang trauma sa gera. thank you so much doc. kong di pa tungod nimo, dugay ra kong mi uli sa pinas ug gi posil si hubag

Hilom diha, tiguwanga ka. Naupaw, napangag, nawad-ag itlog ug napurdoy ka na lang, nagpasuwabi pa jud ang imong borit. Please do a MacArthur (even if you don't deserve the figure of speech), and just fade away...

Quote from: TUBAGBOHOL.com on October 01, 2013, 06:15:21 AM
Her 41-year-old male companion lost both legs, but survived to tell the tale.

He who f^^^s and runs away
Lives to f^^^ another day.

Folena said Cuban should have waited to sell his shares until the company publicly announced the stock offering so that he wouldn't take advantage of other investors. But he couldn't do that, she said, ''because in his mind, that's losing, and Mark Cuban is a winner.''

Melsheimer said that the Internet billionaire neither promised to keep the information confidential nor to refrain from trading. He said the company's CEO made up comments that he attributed to Cuban.

''Mark Cuban didn't deceive Mamma.com, he didn't deceive anyone,'' Melsheimer said. ''He did exactly what he said he would do'' - sold his shares.

Melsheimer said there wasn't even anything secret about the Mamma.com stock offering. Speculation was so pervasive that it showed up on Yahoo chat sites and caused trading volume in the shares to spike. He said Cuban was upset with the company for other reasons, including an investigation into alleged ties with a stock swindler.

Testimony began late Tuesday morning. Cuban is expected to testify at some point, but said he didn't know when. The trial is expected to last three weeks.

''Mark Cuban violated the law, and he knew better,'' Securities and Exchange Commission lawyer Jan Folena said Tuesday during opening statements to jurors at Cuban's insider-trading trial.

One of Cuban's lawyers said that the SEC's chief witness was lying, and portrayed the case as government overreach.

Cuban ''is going to stand up to them when they call him a liar, he's going to stand up to them when they call him a cheat,'' said the lawyer, Thomas Melsheimer. The government, he said, ''can't prove a lick'' of its case.

It's a civil lawsuit; Cuban is not charged with a crime. The SEC wants Cuban, the owner of the Dallas Mavericks and a regular on the ABC reality show ''Shark Tank,'' to give up $750,000 he saved from selling his shares, plus pay a penalty that could be two or three times that amount.

The SEC alleges that Cuban promised not to trade on information he learned in 2004 from the CEO of Mamma.com, a Canadian search-engine company of which Cuban owned 6 percent of all shares. The company planned a stock offering that would reduce the value of existing shares. Cuban broke his vow and sold, the agency says.

DAVID KOENIG (AP Business Writer) 9 hours ago



In this March 28, 2013, file photo, Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban smiles during an NBA game in Dallas on March 28, 2013. Opening arguments in the government's insider-trading case against Cuban begin on Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2013, in federal court in Dallas. (AP Photo/Mike Fuentes, File)


DALLAS (AP) -- A government lawyer says the drive to win that helps Mark Cuban succeed in business led the billionaire basketball owner to cheat by using insider information to sell stock in an Internet company.

http://thechive.com/

By Helen Flores (The Philippine Star) | Updated October 2, 2013 - 12:00am


MANILA, Philippines - The reported shutdown of the US government owing to a budget stalemate in Congress might affect the scheduled visit of President Barack Obama to Manila next week, Philippine Ambassador to Washington Jose Cuisia Jr. said yesterday.

Cuisia told radio station dzBB there is a possibility that Obama might put off foreign trips until the deadlock is resolved.

Obama is set to visit the Philippines on Oct. 11 and 12.

“I hope Obama’s visit to the Philippines will not be affected by the shutdown, but we can’t be sure of that. The US President may think that he should be in the US,” Cuisia said.

As of yesterday noon, Cuisia said the Philippine embassy has not been advised by the US State Department of any change in Obama’s plan to visit the Philippines.

“Up to now we have not received any advisory from the State department, but if the shutdown prolongs, it may affect President Obama’s visit to the Philippines,” he said.

I also admire that he's not afraid to say what he feels and to do what is right. It's so refreshing when we live in a country full of leaders who are terrified of doing anything that will result in them not being reelected. The needs of the poor in America appear to be inconsequential to our government, which is even more apparent after the House recently voted to cut billions from the food stamp program.

Pope Francis makes me hopeful and wanting to once again get involved with the Catholic Church. I'm hopeful, but I really want a reason to go back. I want us to go to church on Sunday and not cringe at the sermon because it's not inclusive. I want to give my children the gift that was given to me.

-By Yvonne Condes

However, as an adult I wasn't able to get my mind around the things the Catholic Church was saying. I remember the last straw came when I went to Mass with my mother when I was living in Texas. The priest, who looked like he was 1,000-years-old, gave a sermon condemning birth control. It wasn't just that he said birth control was bad, but it was equivalent to abortion.

I became a "holiday Catholic" after that. The church was too political for me (well, not in line with MY politics anyway) and it seemed to be straying from the message of Jesus, which was to take care of people who need help.

Pope Francis appears to be focusing on who needs help instead of who should be condemned. He seems to be genuinely humble, kind, and care for everyone, especially the less fortunate among us. He is truly a man of the people.

I was raised in a traditional Mexican-American family by Catholic parents. They sent me to after-school religious education from elementary through high school and I joined the church youth group on my own (I went for the cute boys and stayed because I ended up really enjoying it). Being involved in church gave me an interest in public service and a very personal spiritualism.

Church was comforting and quiet and many of my friends were there. I loved the rituals and admired the iconography. Going to church made me feel like I was part of a community and that there was a higher being looking out for me. There was never talk (that I can remember) of excluding anyone or of not accepting anyone because they were different. Maybe there was and I don't remember or I was too focused on myself to listen to what was being said. It was definitely not the same for some friends and family.

His question heard round the world, "Who am I to judge?" when referring to gays and lesbians, was the most hopeful statement I've heard in years that made me think that the Catholic church might be the right place for our family.

Since taking office in March, Pope Francis has led by example. He won't live in the isolated Papal Palace, but instead lives in the Vatican guesthouse. He has literally washed the feet of prisoners and spent time with the poor. He's reaching out to people in many different ways including Twitter where he sent this message on September, 21, "True charity requires courage: let us overcome the fear of getting our hands dirty so as to help those in need."

These are the kind of messages I want to pass along to my children: Charity, forgiveness, and love.

By Babble.com | Parenting â€" 5 hours ago





Pope Francis keeps saying all the right things and his words just might lure me back to Catholicism. He said last week that the church had "become obsessed" with the issues of gay marriage, birth control, and contraception and lost focus on the plight of the poor and marginalized.

...of a toothless retard.

Balik na, Bay Tigs. The monkey is off our backs. (Of course, the circus has not yet left town...)