DirecTV, which a year or two ago, was locked in battle with several stations that I consider my staples.  So much so that I watched them on my desktop that I connected to my TV, which totally sucked.

I called to voice my opinion and let them know that I would break my contract if they did.  Apparently that is not how the TV business works, I was told I am locked in regardless.  Not sure what I would have done, but I sure as hell wouldn't have paid for a service that didn't provide the product I signed up for.

It's not right they think they can lock me in and then deliver a different set of goods.  Thankfully they got it straightened out and actually gave me some money off my next bill for the non-sense.

I would suggest calling them, maybe, like in my case, those irate calls help sway whatever deal they made.  Maybe not, but I felt a whole lot better letting them know and ended up with a little cha-ching in my pocket for my troubles.

During the struggle, Brown handed the cigarillos to Johnson, then swung his left hand and hit Wilson on the right side of the face. Wilson said he almost lost consciousness, the source said. Brown then began to use his left hand in the struggle for the gun, and turned the pistol until the barrel was against Wilson's hip.

[...]

The second time Wilson pulled the trigger, the gun did fire. Wilson told investigators he thought the bullet had struck Brown in the hand, the source said. Broken window glass was everywhere, and blood was on the door, the gun and Wilson's hands. At the time, Wilson said, he wasn't sure whose blood it was.

Wilson said he had yelled for Brown to stop, then fired, the source said. Brown flinched as if he was hit, and Wilson said he had stopped shooting. Brown continued running toward him, and Wilson said he had fired several more shots. The source said that Wilson had recalled that Brown's head was down when the last shot hit him there.

County autopsy reviewed by independent forensic pathologist who is not involved in the case:

Dr. Judy Melinek, a forensic pathologist in San Francisco, said the autopsy "supports the fact that this guy is reaching for the gun, if he has gunpowder particulate material in the wound." She added, "If he has his hand near the gun when it goes off, he's going for the officer's gun."

[note: Odd sentence structure, but forensic microscopic analysis found gun powder residue in the wound on Brown's hand]

Sources told the Post-Dispatch that Brown's blood had been found on Wilson's gun.

Nicholas Slatten was convicted of first degree murder, while Dustin Heard, Evan Liberty, and Paul Slough were each found guilty of manslaughter and various firearms charges. The jury presented those initial verdicts before returning to deliberate other charges, in what was a 33-count indictment against the four men.

The bloody affair outraged Iraqis across the country's ethnic and religious spectrums, which in turn prompted the Iraqi government at the time to demand that the U.S. government end its contract with Blackwater -- which it only did in January 2009, once Barack Obama was sworn in president.

Nevertheless, relations between post-Saddam Iraq and the United States were severely compromised by that senseless slaughter of civilians, coming as it did on the heels of the 2004 Abu Ghraib torture scandal and the Nov. 2005 massacre of 24 Iraqi civilians by U.S. Marines in Haditha.

Personally, I believe that the Nisour Square incident and the repeated legal delays in the prosecution of the accused were likely the determining factors in the our government's subsequent failure to obtain a status-of-forces agreement with Iraq, which of course led to our complete military withdrawal from that country in 2011. Given that most Iraqis were extremely skeptical that justice would ever be achieved in this case, then-Prime Minister al Maliki's regime was never going to agree to blanket immunity for U.S. military and contracted personnel, after what happened.  

Blackwater's reputation was also rightly and perhaps irreparably damaged by the crime. After its contract with the U.S. government was abruptly terminated by the incoming Obama administration, the company was sold and subsequently changed its name to Xe. It has since been re-sold, and has further changed its name again, this time to Academi LLC.

Seven or eight African American eyewitnesses have provided testimony consistent with Wilson's account, but none of them have spoken publicly out of fear for their safety, The Washington Post's sources said.

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has been compelled to testify in Ray Rice's appeal of his indefinite suspension, a source told ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter on Wednesday.

...

NFL lawyers have argued that Goodell shouldn't have to testify, and instead were offering testimony from Jeff Pash, the NFL's general counsel, and Adolpho Birch, the NFL's vice president for labor policy. Pash and Birch were with Goodell when he met with Rice's side in June to talk about what happened when the former Pro Bowl running back hit his then-fiancee in an elevator.

...

Jones was jointly picked by the commissioner and the players' union to hear the appeal. The union said at the time that Goodell's testimony as a witness would be crucial in the proceedings.

3 bananas
4 oz Apple sauce (that is the size of one of those individual serving things sold in 6 or 8 pacs in the store)
2 eggs
2 Cups flour
1 Cup sugar
1 t-spoon each vanilla, baking soda and baking powder
1/2 cup nuts
1/2 cup of raisins

Stir it up put it in a loaf pan.  350 for 50-60 minutes.

Ok
I liked this but I wanted more "goodies" so I started trying adding more nuts and other things.  I tried cranberries, chopped dried apricots, dates, and semi chocolate chips.  I also thought it was a bit dry.  I also realized that with a lot more goodies, two or three times what is called for, I could drop most or even all the sugar and end up with a tasty treat with no fat and little or no sugar.
This is my current version-

4 bananas
2 eggs
Two or three 4 oz containers of Appel sauce
1/4 cup of sugar (or to taste)
1 1/2 t-spoon vanilla, baking powder, baking soda
1 cup flour  (may need to be adjusted depending on Apple sauce-I like it moist)
1 oz poppy seeds. (That's a small container.  They sell them in my market for a dollar.) added to the mix and close to another oz sprinkled on top once it's in the pans and used to coat the inside of the sprayed pans before you pour it it.  (I like poppy seeds.)
1 cup nuts.  I mostly use sliced or slivered almonds.  But anything works.
2 cups (small semi sweet chocolate chips)

That fills two 8 inch loaf pans.

Told of Wilson's version of events, Brown family lawyer Anthony Gray scoffed, calling it "absurd from beginning to end" and a "concocted version of events that nobody supports," referring to other public witness statements.

Gray said the version of Dorian Johnson, who was with Brown, was more plausible.

He said that the only important part of the story was the final few shots fired and that Wilson had to be justified in taking every shot.

Clayton police used their extrasensory powers when arresting  activist Elizabeth Vega.

"Clayton Police Chief Kevin Murphy said the demonstrator was charged with assault because police sensed the pumpkin was about to be lobbed in the `direction of officers arresting another person,'" the Post-Dispatch reported.

Last week on his talk radio program, Michael Savage got into an argument with a caller over whether California lawmakers should rename a San Francisco tunnel in honor of Robin Williams. The caller, who said he was a veteran suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), defended the move, while Savage objected to the plan, claiming that it would promote suicide.

After a lengthy argument, Savage hung up on the caller and proceeded to attack him. "I am so sick and tired with everyone with their complaints about PTSD, depression. Everyone wants their hand held and a check, a government check. What, are you the only generation that had PTSD? The only generation that's depressed?"

He then blamed America's problems on those who "cry like a little baby" over depression: "If the whole nation is told, `boo-hoo-hoo, come and get a medication, come and get treatment, talk about mental illness,' you know what you wind up with? You wind up with Obama in the White House and lawyers in every phase of the government, that's what you wind up with. It's a weak, sick nation. A weak, sick, broken nation."

Savage continued that veterans with PTSD are a "bunch of losers" and recommended that they be more like Michael Savage.

"You need men like me to save the country," he said. "You need men to stand up and say stop crying like a baby over everything." He continued that "men are so weak and so narcissistic" that it is "no wonder ISIS can defeat our military."

OPELIKA, Ala. -- Powerful Alabama House Speaker Mike Hubbard has been arrested on felony ethics charges, accused of using public office for personal gain. Hubbard was indicted by a grand jury on 23 charges accusing him of misusing his office as speaker and his previous post as chairman of the Alabama Republican Party.

...

If convicted, Hubbard faces from two to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $300,000 on each count. The charges are latest corruption allegations against Alabama politicians to make headlines. The 52-year-old Republican led the GOP's takeover of the Legislature in 2010, ending 136 years of Democratic control.

And if it hadn't been for that they probably wouldn't have [Ebola]. So there are some people who think we kind of deserve a little bit of this. The danger we have now is that we elected people in positions of power and authority who think this or think like this in terms of this country being responsible, this country being to blame for things and it's that kind of thinking that leads to opposition to shutting down airports from various countries.

Click the LINK if you have doubts.

This past Sunday, this simmering scandal began to burst out into the open with a bombshell article from the Alaska Dispatch News (formerly the Anchorage Daily News), which chronicles the shocking allegations in some considerable detail, and further challenges Gov. Sean Parnell's apparent mishandling of complaints and allegations regarding chronic sexual misconduct in the Alaska National Guard -- just in time for the general election:

Alaska Dispatch News | October 19, 2014
National Guard documents detail chronic misconduct among recruiting leaders - "The Alaska Army National Guard's Recruiting and Retention Battalion, a unit with access to high school students around the state and a budget to attend or sponsor popular outdoor events, has been, for years, a center of repeated sexual misconduct among its officers, according to investigative files. The files describe a unit in which officers prowled the lists of new recruits for sex, routinely cheated on their wives, drank to excess, went to strip clubs, chiseled the government with their official credit cards and made a habit of making leering and demeaning comments about women, including their fellow soldiers. The files were prepared between 2010 and 2014 in a largely failed effort by a few officers to mark the leaders of the battalion with the stain of an other-than-honorable discharge."

For his part, Republican U.S. Senate candidate Dan Sullivan -- who was serving as Gov. Parnell's attorney general at the time many of these accusations and allegations were first being made -- has refused to discuss the issue with local media, which prompted a rather skeptical report from KTVA-TV News in Anchorage:

KTVA-TV News | October 22, 2014
Alaska National Guard scandal not worth talking about for Sullivan - "U.S. Senate candidate Dan Sullivan refuses to answer questions about what he knew, or did not know, about alleged sexual assault and fraud in the Alaska National Guard. Sullivan was Alaska's attorney general from June 17, 2009 to Dec. 5, 2010. During that time, Gov. Sean Parnell was told about the mishandling and cover-up of sexual assaults and fraud in the Guard. It's plausible that Parnell consulted his attorney general about the revelations, but Sullivan won't confirm or deny that it happened. Sullivan repeatedly reminds voters about his strong military background, yet his campaign manager, Ben Sparks, told KTVA that the problems within the National Guard are not something that Sullivan will talk about. When asked why Sullivan will not talk about the National Guard, Sparks told KTVA that it's not a story."

Gov. Parnell is presently locked in a tight re-election battle with independent candidate Bill Walker, and current polls show Sullivan holding a consistent but still narrow lead over the Democratic incumbent, Sen. Mark Begich.

While Alaska voters generally lean Republican, it should be noted they're not necessarily as firmly wedded to the GOP as people outside that state might otherwise think. This is particularly true in the Anchorage metropolitan area, where over half of the state's population resides.

Further, more than a few of the allegations highlighted in these stories involve alleged attempts by ANG recruiters to coerce high school students sexually. While some of the incidents contained in these allegations obviously predate the Parnell administration, it's also readily apparent that the most serious complaints were first raised on Parnell's and Sullivan's watch.

And finally, it's definitely not clear exactly what steps -- if any -- were taken by the Parnell administration to confront and resolve the problem, nor are the governor's current claims to have not consulted his own attorney general very credible, given both the seriousness of the allegations and the alleged criminal conduct.

So, whatever political impact this story might have on the hotly contested gubernatorial and U.S. Senate races, well, it remains to be seen.

"It is upon all Muslims to exhort love, respect for others and human dignity."

President Hassan Rouhani of Iran.

The context is a protest by thousands of Iranians protesting acid attacks on women who were deemed to be acting in an "un-Islamic" way.

The protestors likened those attacking women to "supporters of Islamic State militants". (ISIS)

The complete story is here.

7 Bullet wounds and trajectories:

#1] Top of head  -- downward

#2,3,4] Forehead  -- in out in backward and downward

#5] Lateral right chest -- the path of this shot is backward and downward

#6,7] Upper right arm -- the path of this shot is slightly upward backward and leftward

#8,9] Right forearm -- the path of this shot is slightly upward foreward and leftward

#10] Right bicep grazing wound -- no determinable direction

#11]Right thumb grazing wound -- path of the track is from tip of the thumb toward the wrist.

No stippling and no GSR for any of these.

Pew study finds Rush Limbaugh least trustworthy news source

PunditFact is tracking the accuracy of claims made on the five major networks using our network scorecards. By that measure, 61 percent of the claims fact-checked on Fox News have been rated Mostly False, False or Pants on Fire, the most among any of the major networks.

As for the rest:

• 45 percent of the claims made on NBC and MSNBC rate Mostly False, False or Pants on Fire;
  
• 38 percent of the claims made on CBS rate Mostly False, False or Pants on Fire;
  
• 36 percent of the claims made on ABC rate Mostly False, False or Pants on Fire;
  
• 22 percent of the claims made on CNN rate Mostly False, False or Pants on Fire.

For the record, 82 percent of the claims we've checked from Limbaugh have been rated Mostly False, False or Pants on Fire.