Pages

Thursday, February 28, 2013

Jack's Africa: Happy Birthday To A Great Zimbabwe Lady!

Jack's Africa: Happy Birthday To A Great Zimbabwe Lady!: For 13 almost 13 years Elena and I have been fortunate to count Mandy Findlater as a close friend. Mandy has an incredible story. One day s...

Wednesday, February 27, 2013

JacksMars: Private Mars Mission in 2018? : Discovery News

JacksMars: Private Mars Mission in 2018? : Discovery News: Private Mars Mission in 2018? : Discovery News

2 Santa Cruz officers shot to death - SFGate

2 Santa Cruz officers shot to death - SFGate

Stewart Chevrolet-An Honest Car Repair Facility

My hat is off to the wonderful people at Stewart Chevrolet in Colma, California. I took my car in because the air conditioner had a problem. (I already had another quote from another Chevy dealer on the repair.) At the end of the inspection I got the bad news that my air conditioner was gone. It could not even be rebuilt, as the other Chevrolet dealer had wanted to do. I was given the bad news that the new air conditioner was going to cost $1,600. Elena growled when she heard this. But we authorized the repair. The service shuttle from Stewart Chevrolet came by and picked me up yesterday afternoon. When I went to the cashier I got the astounding good news that my new air conditioner had only cost $1,313 including the normal service on my vehicle. The other Chevrolet dealership had quoted me $1,200.00 just to rebuild the other air conditioner. It was a wonderful surprise. My hat is off to Will Dea and the entire great team at Stewart Chevrolet. They are ladies and gentlemen! They are professionals !! They are honest!!!

Tuesday, February 26, 2013

A Saudi Executioner Loves His Work


The Guardian (G2), Friday, June 6, 2003, page 4
Portrait
The work of God
Decent pay, flexible hours, good benefits package - but being Saudi Arabia's state executioner does have its down side, as Muhammad Saad al-Beshi tells Mahmoud Ahmad
Muhammad Saad al-Beshi beheads up to seven people a day."It doesn't matter to me: Two, four, 10 - as long as I'm doing God's will, it doesn't matter how many people I execute," says Saudi Arabia's leading executioner. Al-Beshi began his career at a prison in Taif, where his job was to handcuff and blindfold the prisoners before their execution. "Because of this background, I developed a desire to be an executioner," he says. When a position became vacant, he applied and was accepted immediately.
His first job was in 1998 in Jeddah. "The criminal was tied and blindfolded. With one stroke of the sword I severed his head. It rolled metres away." Of course he was nervous, he says - there were a lot of people watching, after all - but now stage fright is a thing of the past. He says he is calm at work because he is doing God's work. "But there are many people who faint when they witness an execution. I don't know why they come and watch if they don't have the stomach for it. Me? I sleep very well."
Does he think people are afraid of him? "In this country we have a society that understands God's law," he says. "No one is afraid of me. I have a lot of relatives, and many friends at the mosque, and I live a normal life like everyone else. There are no drawbacks for my social life."
Before an execution, none the less, he will visit the family of the victim of the criminal to obtain forgiveness for the man about to die. "I always have that hope, until the very last minute, and I pray to God to give the criminal a new lease of life. I always keep that hope alive."
Al-Beshi will not reveal how much he gets paid per execution, as this is a confidential agreement with the government. But he insists that the reward is not important. "I am very proud to do God's work," he says.
However, he does reveal that a sword costs something in the region of 20,000 Saudi riyals (£3,300). "It's a gift from the government. I look after it and sharpen it once in a while, and I make sure to clean it of bloodstains. It's very sharp. People are amazed how fast it can separate the head from the body."
By the time the victims reach the execution square, they have surrendered themselves to death, he says, though they may hope to be forgiven at the last minute. Indeed, the only conversation that takes place is when he tells the prisoner to say the Shahada, their covenant with Allah. "Their hearts and minds are taken up with reciting the Shahada. When they get to the execution square, their strength drains away. Then I read the execution order, and at a signal I cut the prisoner's head off."
Description: http://globalfire.tv/nj/graphs/beheaded.jpg
Public execution in Saudi Arabia. Al-Beshi executes women without hesitation for "it is God's work".
He has executed a number of women without hesitation. "Despite the fact that I hate violence against women, when it comes to God's will, I have to carry it out."
There is no great difference between the execution of men and women, except that the women wear hijab, and no one is allowed near them except Al-Beshi when the time for execution comes.When executing women, he has a choice of weapon. "It depends what they ask me to use. Sometimes they ask me to use a sword and sometimes a gun. But most of the time I use the sword," he says.
As an experienced executioner, 42-year-old Al-Beshi is entrusted with the task of training the young. "I successfully trained my son Musaed, 22, as an executioner and he was approved and chosen," he says proudly. Training focuses on the way to hold the sword and where to hit, and consists mostly of the trainee observing the executioner at work.
But an executioner's work is not all killing; sometimes it can simply be an amputation. "I use a special sharp knife instead of a sword," he explains. "When I cut off a hand, I cut it from the joint. If it is a leg, the authorities specify where it is to be taken off, so I follow that."
Al-Beshi describes himself as a family man. He was married when he became an executioner, and his wife did not object to his choice of profession. "She only asked me to think carefully before committing myself," he recalls. "But I don't think she's afraid of me. I deal with my family with kindness and love. They aren't afraid when I come back from an execution. Sometimes they help me clean my sword."
A father of seven, he is a grandfather already. "My daughter has a son called Haza, and he's my pride and joy," he says. "Then there are my sons. The oldest one is Saad, and of course there is Musaed, who will be the next executioner."
 

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Rape On Christian Mingle.com


Rape On Christian Mingle.com
 Almost 13 years ago Elena and I were living 7,000 miles apart. She was in Buenos Aires and I was in San Jose, California. We both were lonely and alone. We both were recovering from relationships that failed and left us broken hearted. For some unknown reason Elena posted a picture of her in Swaziland (near South Africa) on kiss.com along with her profile. She then forgot about it. A couple of months later I was looking at some profiles on kiss.com. All of a sudden I saw this picture of a very attractive woman standing at a spot in Swaziland that I knew well because I had lived in Africa for six years. I read Elena's profile. It all looked great until she said that she was looking for a man within 50 miles of Buenos Aires. I was 7,000 miles away. But something told me not to give up.
I contacted Elena through the dating service. We started to chat every night for 3 hours on MSN Messenger. My boss would not give me time off to go and see her. I finally arranged for Elena to come to San Francisco Airport. We met and the first time I kissed her I knew that she was the woman who I had been waiting for a long time.
Some three months later Elena moved out of Buenos Aires. She got on the plane with me and went to Mexico City. We had our honey moon before we had our wedding. We got married about a month after Elena came to live with me in San Jose. We have been together over 12 years and still love each other dearly.
Currently over 20% of the marriages that take place are a result of meetings on the internet.
Not every one has happy experiences with internet dating. Christian Mingle is a wonderful service for devout Christians seeking a partner in life with Christian views and values. I'm sure that the vast majority of the people who use the website are decent and sincere. One man wasn't. A female member met a man who seemed nice and wonderful. She invited him right to her house for the first date. He violently raped her.
My friends the lesson here is that when you meet a new person, please meet them at a coffee shop or some other very public place.

Celebrating 200 Million Members | LinkedIn

Celebrating 200 Million Members | LinkedIn

The dangers of computer dating.

Over 12 years ago Elaine an hour 7000 miles apart we both were lonely. We both were broken hearted. We met on the computer dating service. We fell in love. We have lived happily for the past 12 years. Not every story has such good outcome. Christian mingle.com is a dating service for Christian people 1 lady was on the service she met a man on the service. She invited him over to her house to meet. The man came to our house and violently rape your. The moral of the story is would you meet a stranger meet them in a public place and be careful you never know who you're dealing with.

Did Navy SEAL Violate Secrecy?

I thought you might be interested in this story: Pentagon checking story for bin Laden raid secrets, http://m.sfgate.com/sfchron/db_106665/contentdetail.htm?contentguid=g4lLw7Ad Sent via the SFGate.com Android App. Download the app https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.sfgate.android

Saturday, February 16, 2013

"Once Before I Die"-An Incredible Adventure In Bhutan


February 15, 2013 8:04 pm

The magical kingdom


Trekking in untouched Bhutan feels like being transported to an earlier era
Jomolhari base camp
Jomolhari base camp
On Druk Air, the only airline that flies into Bhutan, the stewardesses wear national dress and the in-flight magazine is charming and strange. After the usual chief executive’s letter – new route launched to Singapore, new Airbus added to the fleet – comes a feature about mermaids. It’s not an article about folk tales or legends but a serious exploration of how mermaids and other spirits interact with humans, written by the editor of one of the country’s national newspapers.
As I’m reading, the pilot comes on the Tannoy to suggest passengers look left – we are passing Mount Everest. In fact, on this two-hour flight from Delhi, we pass nine of the world’s 14 mountains above 8,000m, getting closer to each until we can clearly see the fearsome chaos of ice cliffs on the shoulder of Makalu and the wind blowing the snow off the summit of Kanchenjunga.

More

IN ASIAN AND AUSTRALIAN DESTINATIONS

The aircraft descends, and the snowy ridges give way to forested ones. Through gaps in the cloud we see deep valleys, terraced fields and lonely monasteries, clinging to dusty hillsides. By the time we land at Paro, the passengers – mostly fleece-wearing Swiss, Britons and Belgians in their fifties and sixties – seem to be suffering from scenic overload. They just stand on the tarmac, beaming and turning in circles, looking up at the mountains and sucking great lungfuls of the clean, cold air (a delicious contrast to the smog of Delhi). They take photographs of the terminal (traditionally built, with white walls and elaborately carved and painted woodwork), then the sign that says, “Welcome to the kingdom of the thunder dragon”.
The excitement isn’t just about the scenery, though; there’s also sense of jubilation at finally reaching what is, for a certain type of traveller, the ultimate, trip-of-a-lifetime destination, a magical kingdom that represents an antidote to industrialised western society. Famously the authorities are more concerned with gross national happiness than gross national product, and the population, though poor, is educated and healthy. Smoking and plastic bags are banned. Last week officials revealed plans to become the only country in the world with a completely organic agricultural system.
Bhutan has long been cut off, both by the Himalayan walls that run along much of its border, and the isolationist policies of its rulers. The country did not get television until 1999 – it was the last in the world to do so. The first trickle of tourists only arrived in 1974. Traditions, religion and culture have survived intact. People still believe in mermaids.
. . .
Four nights later, I wake up at 2am, shivering hard and aware of something scratching my face. After a bit of semi-conscious fumbling, I find my torch, which reveals the inside of the tent walls are sparkling with frost. The moisture from my breath has frozen, coating a semi-circle around the top of my sleeping bag in solid ice.
Trekking in Bhutan has its hardships but there are compensations. We are at Jomolhari base camp, 4,044m above sea level, halfway into a week-long trek through Bhutan’s northern uplands. It is the most stunning place I’ve camped. Our tent is on flat meadow beside a meandering stream, just below a mani wall – an ancient wall carrying stones carved with the Buddhist mantra, om mani padme hum. Above it, on a dramatic rocky mound, is a ruined castle, and beyond that, the snows of 7,326m Jomolhari. Yaks wander among the bushes just beyond the campsite.
And if the country as a whole seems sequestered from the modern world, up here in the high mountain valleys, life, on the surface at least, seems to continue as it did in medieval times. A yak herder who invites us in for tea shows us his storeroom in which everything from ropes to rugs and bags is made of yak hair. The yak’s milk is turned into butter with a wooden churn of the kind you might find in an Alpine museum.
We are following the Yaksa trek, a circular route that starts at 2,600m where the road runs out at the northern end of the Paro valley. It follows the Pa Chhu river, climbing up through a dense forest of blue pine, evergreen oak and pink birch, old man’s beard hanging from the high branches. As the altitude grows, the vegetation dwindles. Forest gives way to occasional clumps of rosehip and Himalayan willow bushes. By the time we reach Jomolhari base camp, we have entered a stark landscape of course grass and rocky scree.
Trekking here isn’t like in Nepal, where there is a network of teahouses to feed and accommodate tourists. In these mountains, there are far fewer villages, no teahouses, in fact no tourist infrastructure at all. The trails are not designed for sightseeing, they are longstanding trade routes, the only means of travel through a vast swath of northern Bhutan. At night we hear trains of horses – smugglers heading over the mountains to Tibet, moving in the dark to avoid detection.
Even on the most popular routes, walkers must be self-sufficient, which means any trip grows into a fairly major expedition. My girlfriend and I are accompanied by a guide, a cook, an assistant cook, a horseman and three horses. This is travelling light – a group of three Americans we meet has nine horses.
Punakha Dzong, a combined monastic and administrative centre built in traditional Bhutanese style©Alamy
Punakha Dzong, a combined monastic and administrative centre built in traditional Bhutanese style
The downside is that, like all tourism in Bhutan, trekking is strictly controlled. Our route has been arranged weeks in advance and submitted to government authorities for approval by Blue Poppy, a specialist tour operator with offices in Thimpu, the capital, and London. We carry with us two permits, one from the department of forestry, the other from the army, which have to be checked at various points along the route. Climbing the high peaks has been banned since 1994, after villagers complained that previous expeditions had angered the deities dwelling on the mountain tops.
But the upside is that, though our route is one of the country’s most popular treks, those three Americans are literally the only other tourists we see all week.
Visitor numbers to the country are growing but remain tiny. Not including Indians (who can drive over the border without a pre-arranged visa), only 53,504 foreign tourists came last year – about the same number that visit the Tower of London every week. Only about 10 per cent of those go trekking.
And though it initially seems anachronistic to be on a walking holiday with staff, it comes as a blessed relief to be woken, after a night spent in the netherworld between shivering and sleep, by the gentle voice of Tenzin, the shy assistant cook. “Good morning, here is bed tea,” he whispers, unzipping a crack in the tent and handing in two steaming cups.
. . .
The days follow a similar routine. After breakfast in the dining tent, we start walking, accompanied by Rinzin Dorje, the guide we feared would be a gooseberry but whose company turns out to be a highlight of the trip. The crew strike camp and load up the horses, overtaking us sometime during the day and hurrying on to the next campsite, where they will pitch the tents before we arrive. Tenzin walks separately and when we rendezvous for lunch, in a clearing beside a stream or a sheltered hollow on the hillside, he pulls a tiffin box from his rucksack and serves three or four dishes with rice.
We walk for between four and seven hours a day, arriving in time to have afternoon tea sitting on camp chairs in the sun. We munch biscuits and watch as the sun sinks towards the mountains in the west, casting a shadow that moves along the valley, slowly at first, then rushing towards us and plunging us back into the cold.
Young monks take lessons beneath a bodhi tree©Tom Robbins
Young monks take lessons beneath a bodhi tree
It is mid-November, towards the end of the three-month autumn trekking season, which means it’s cold but also that the air is perfectly clear. After leaving Jomolhari base camp, we climb again, past the frozen lakes at Tsho Phu. The jagged peak of Jitchu Drake is reflected in the ice and Rinzin stops to take photos with his smartphone, immediately uploading them on Facebook. When we move on, he talks about the deities that live in water – swimming is not allowed – and gives a long explanation about how another lake was created by the impact of a drum dropped by a flying Buddhist lama.
This, in essence, is Bhutan’s story now – modern communications meet oral tradition, western influences meet devout, centuries-old beliefs.
Beyond the lakes, we climb up to the Bonte La, a 4,890m pass, and shout the traditional celebration, “Lha gyal lo!” (may the gods prevail). Then the path drops into the Yaksa valley, through golden pastures dotted with gnarled juniper trees and the occasional large, whitewashed, farmhouse. It is like an exotic version of Switzerland.
The farmers may use wooden milk churns but they are not necessarily poor. Unlike in other Himalayan countries, when you walk through a remote village, children never rush up to ask for gifts. In fact, the economy here has been transformed in the past decade by a law allowing residents to collect Ophiocordyceps sinensis, the “caterpillar fungus”, which is prized in Chinese medicine. A kilo of the fungus can fetch more than £10,000, and Rinzin recounts stories of farmers in yak-hair clothes carrying sacks of money into the bank in Paro.
There are other changes afoot in Bhutan. Rinzin tells us his children like watching cartoons rather than listening to the stories he was brought up on, and how, in the towns, fewer young people are wearing the gho and kira, the national costume that is still compulsory for those in public office. Thimpu is growing fast and there are mirrored-glass buildings beside the carved wooden ones. Many cars have Manchester United or Chelsea scarves hanging in their rear windows.
So there’s an element of “come now, before it changes”, but don’t panic, especially if you are prepared to walk. At the end of the trek, we retrace our steps along the Pa Chhu, occasionally passing a little man-made pool, beside which a bonfire smoulders. Rocks are baked in the fire for hours, ready to be thrown into the pool to warm the water when the owner is ready.
Today the spas of Bhutan’s smart hotels offer luxurious versions of these traditional “hot stone baths”, with water covered in marigolds and camphor leaves, but these are the real thing, taking place as they have for hundreds of years – in the open air, right beside the rushing river and the public path. A laughing family takes it in turns to soak their muscles after a day planting crops; a mother tenderly bathes her small child.
-------------------------------------------
The new Uma Punakha hotel
The main lounge at the new Uma Punakha hotel
Backwater luxury: From Park Lane to the Punakha valley
Beneath the terrace of the new Uma hotel in the Punakha valley, fields drop away to the rushing, glacial waters of the Mo Chhu. Far above, the snowy peak of Kang Bum is just visible, but Punakha, in central Bhutan, sits at an altitude of just 1,200m – more than 1,000m below Thimpu or Paro – and so banana plants grow by the roadside, beside swaths of cherry blossom and bushes of bright red poinsettia.
In the fields, the farmers pile hay into conical stacks like those painted by Monet in 1890, and yet the hotel terrace could not be more up to date. Waiters serve warm ginger and lime muffins with watermelon jam, and freshly made macchiato to guests sitting on chic white loungers. Behind the terrace is the hotel’s main public room, a double-height, glass-walled lounge, as architecturally striking as the very latest openings in Bali or Thailand.
That such a hotel should find itself in such a remote, and little-visited backwater is one of the paradoxes of Bhutan. Yet Uma Punakha, which opened in September 2012, is only the latest in a string of exclusive hotels to come to the country, attracted by the wealthy profile of visitors and encouraged by a government eager to attract “low volume, high value” tourists.
Apart from Indians and Bangladeshis, all visitors to Bhutan must pay a minimum daily fee – currently $250 per person per day (rising to $290 for solo travellers) – which covers hotels, travel, food and a full-time guide. In practice, this means there are no backpackers and, therefore, no backpacker cafĂ©s, no banana pancakes, no tie-dye and certainly no full-moon parties. In Paro, marijuana grows shoulder-high in the town centre, disturbed only by the pigs.
A private villa at Uma Paro
A private villa at Uma Paro
In fact, many visitors end up spending far more than $250 per day, in order to stay in Bhutan’s top-end hotels. Aman, the chain known for its minimalist style, has five properties in Bhutan and rates that can top $1,000 per night.
Uma Punakha is the second Bhutan outpost for Como Hotels, the Singapore-based group best known for Parrot Cay in the Turks and Caicos and the Metropolitan on London’s Park Lane. It calls the 11-room hotel an “adventure lodge” but it is for those who like to end a day’s adventuring in a marble bathroom, or drinking lychee martinis as the sun sets.
That Como has opened in Punakha is a sign of tourism’s spread towards the east of Bhutan. Until now, visitors have concentrated on the west of the country after landing in Paro, one of the few places in Bhutan with enough flat land to make an airport. From there, anyone wanting to travel east had to spend hours on the one, winding road, where landslides often cause delays.
Late last year, however, regular domestic flights began between Paro and Bumthang, meaning tourists can drive one direction and fly back. Another route, from Paro to Tashigang, even further east, is due this year. New treks are being opened in the east, and more smart hotels are expected to follow.
Como are hoping guests will combine Uma Punakha with visits to their first Bhutanese hotel, which opened in Paro in 2004 – travelling by car, bike or, best of all, on a 10-day trek between the two.
Where Uma Punakha sits among bamboo and banana, Uma Paro is on a pine-covered hillside high above Paro town. Both were designed by Bali-based architect Cheong Yew Kuan but where Uma Punakha is modern and striking, Uma Paro, which has 20 rooms and nine villas, is more traditional. The main building is whitewashed stone and dark wood, with the same overhanging eaves and sloping roof as Bhutan’s monasteries and farmhouses.
Guests can try archery, the national sport, among the trees, then eat yak curry sitting around a wood-burning stove, or bukhari, in the restaurant. I can’t decide if it’s weird or wonderful that the signs for the toilets are identical to the ones in the bar at the Metropolitan on Park Lane.
-------------------------------------------
Details
Tom Robbins was a guest of Virgin Atlantic (www.virginatlantic.com), Blue Poppy Tours (www.bluepoppy bhutan.com) and Como Hotels (www.comohotels.com). A 10-day trip with Blue Poppy, including the Yaksa trek, costs from £1,500, including meals, guides and transfers. Doubles at Uma Punakha cost from $400, and at Uma Paro from $300 (private villas from $700). Virgin Atlantic flies daily from London to Delhi, from £636 return. In Delhi, he stayed at the ITC Maurya (www.itchotels.in; doubles from £233). For general information on visiting the country, seewww.tourism.gov.bt
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2013. You may share using our article tools.
Please don't cut articles from FT.com and redistribute by email or post to the web.

Content recommended for you


Jack's Africa: Oscar Pistorius Bail Hearing Delayed, Prosecutors ...

Jack's Africa: Oscar Pistorius Bail Hearing Delayed, Prosecutors ...: Oscar Pistorius Bail Hearing Delayed, Prosecutors To Pursue Premeditated Murder Charge

Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Joining The Seven-Mile High CLub

My dear friends in the wild and uninhibited days of aviation some 40 years ago food was great and planes flew with many empty seats. There was also plenty of room even in the economy section. When the lights went out on night flights, it was couples took this opportunity to become intimate. If one did this it was called "Joining The 7-Mile High Club." I have done this a number of times in my 46 year flying career. The last time was in September of 1990 when I was flying South African Airways business class between Cape Town and Rio de Janeiro. The head stewardess caught us "in the act." She blurted out: "You must be on your honey moon!"

Mile High Club: Brits Are Most Likely To Be Members, Survey Says (POLL)

Mile High Club: Brits Are Most Likely To Be Members, Survey Says (POLL):

'via Blog this'

Monday, February 11, 2013

A Beautiful Pacifica Sunday With Pleasant Surprises


It was such a beautiful day yesterday. It was great to be alive and payment for all the dark and bad days that one has to suffer through. Elena, Luah, and I went to Pacifica Thai Cuisine restaurant near the house. We had driven by it for nine years and never bothered to go in. Then we got curious. We had lunch there and it was really a pleasant surprise. The food was great and the service was warm and friendly. Later that evening I watched the latest Battlestar Galactica Blood and Chrome. It was a brilliant show that lived up to the proud traditions of this great series. Now the work week begins.

Saturday, February 9, 2013

Venezuela devalues bolívar by 32% - http://www.ft.com/cms/6cfdb6ae-7243-11e2-896a-00144feab49a.html

Rogue Ex Cop Eludes Captors

I thought you might be interested in this story: Hunt for fugitive resumes in Calif. mountains, http://m.sfgate.com/sfchron/db_106665/contentdetail.htm?contentguid=nwCQSIDh Sent via the SFGate.com Android App. Download the app https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.sfgate.android

The Comfort Law Firm-World Class Financial Negotiators


To make a long story short, the Comfort law firm literally saved our lives financially. They were able to negotiate debt settlements with major creditors totaling some $135,000. They also gave us strategic IRS advice that saved us from possible IRS tax liabilities on these debts in excess of $80,000.

For some people bankruptcy is not an option. If you have a government security clearance, if you are a law enforcement officer, if you are employed at a financial institution, or if you have certain professional licenses, the filing of a bankruptcy petition can literally be a career-ending even.

From 2004-2008, my wife enjoyed those heddy times when houses literally doubled in value and credit card companies could not hand out high-credit limited unsecured credit cards fast enough.

When financial markets collapsed in late 2008, "the bill came due for our massive debt." We woke up one morning with a credit card debt of $135,000 and a personal home that crashed in value some $400,000. We were truly insolvent and should have taken bankruptcy. But we could not.

I knew that we needed a great law firm to get us out of this mess through skilled negotiations. I talked to several lawyers here in Pacifica. The Comfort law firm was mentioned several times. I contacted them and set up an appointment. I got to meet the senior partner Mike Comfort and Alan Sherman. They were very professional and knew what they were doing. My wife met with them and agreed to retain them.

Alan Sherman went to work and amazed us. He negotiated our credit card debt down from $135,000 to $27,000, We paid the credit card companies this money and were literally free of credit card debt. I came to the conclusion that Alan Sherman is one of the finest negotiators on planet earth.

Alan also advised us that we would get Form 1099 miscellaneous income statements from the credit card companies for the $109,000 in forgiven debt. He advised us to contact the IRS and present them with a balance sheet backed up with creditable source document to prove that we were insolvent. We did this and the IRS agreed that we were insolvent. We saved a possible  state and federal tax bill of $40,000.

Mike and Alan then helped us with getting a loan modification on our house's first lien with Bank of America. They did not negotiate directly with the lender. Rather they let me do the negotiations and advised me from the sidelines. Their good advice paid off. Out loan interest rate dropped from 10% to 6.68%.

Mike and Alan then went to work on the second mortgage we had on our home with Wells Fargo Bank. This was a long and protracted negotiation battle. It lasted from 2009-2012. In April of 2012 Alan got Wells Fargo to agree to accept a payment of $20,000 to settle a $145,000 second lien.

We also followed their advice and sent a statement to the IRS that we were insolvent so we would not have a tax liability of $40,000+ on the forgiven loan.

The Comfort Law Firm is a good firm if you need to file for bankruptcy. If you have some very complex negotiations on financial matters, they are one of the best firms in the world to retain.

Friday, February 8, 2013

A Prosecutor Who Put An Innocent Man On Prison For 25 Years Faces Justice

I thought you might be interested in this story: Ex-DA denies misconduct in wrongful conviction, http://m.chron.com/chron/db_273428/contentdetail.htm?contentguid=KIBLJ9VE Sent via the Chron.com Android App. Download the app https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.chron.android

Baltimore Bankruptcy? City Forecasts Financial Ruin

Baltimore Bankruptcy? City Forecasts Financial Ruin

Thursday, February 7, 2013

Gonzalo Lira: Why Isn’t Gold Higher?

Gonzalo Lira: Why Isn’t Gold Higher?: Hint: Because it’s the Credit Default Swap of the Next Financial Crisis Why isn’t gold higher? Two of the three reserve currencies of the ...

Gonzalo Lira: Mo’ Debt, Mo’ Problems (Mo’ Keynesian Cynicism)

Gonzalo Lira: Mo’ Debt, Mo’ Problems (Mo’ Keynesian Cynicism): Christ, is Matt Yglesias stupid. Stupid or high, or maybe he’s just a cynical bastard—I really can’t make up my mind. The U.S. Debt: Noti...

The Documentary Soviet Storm-World War II In The East

I must confess that for 43 years I have had a passion in life. It started when I had a minor in Russian history at Tulane University. It is The Great Patriotic War. I was the time in World War II from June 22, 1941 to April, 1945 when the Russians fought off Nazi invaders, Please bear in mind that in all of World War II the US lost 407,000 men and women in battle and accidents. The British lost some 360,000 people including those killed in air raids. The Nazis lost some 5 million people. The Russian people suffered a staggering 27 million people killed including battle deaths, starvation, and Nazi brutality toward Jewish people, etc. To put this into some kind of scale, it is like 38.5 cities the size of San Francisco being destroyed with all inhabitants killed. Had the Germans not been tied down fighting the Russians, US and British casualties in World War II would have been horrific.
I have read over 3,000 books on this subject. It is very important to me that we never forget the incredible courage and suffering of the Russian people.
The internet television service Hulu gave me a rare treat. It was a multi-part documentary from Russia. Its title was "Soviet Storm-World War II In The East. It is a documentary that was beautifully researched and produced. After 43 years of study I was learning new things. This is a wonderful program!!!

My Wife Elena Retunrs From Argentina This Afternoon!

After almost three weeks in Argentina with friends and family members, Elena returns this afternoon.II will be there at the airport to greet her. The dogs senses that something is about to happen. They are very restless.

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

Jack's South America: Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis: Argentina A...

Jack's South America: Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis: Argentina A...: Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis: Argentina Announces Price Freeze to Control Inflation; Expect a Robust Black Market and Falling Tax R...

Sunday, February 3, 2013

My Words For The 49'ers

I am a man who has known many defeats in life. What are my victories-staying alive this long and finding Elena. 49'ers you broke a couple of Super Bowl records tonight. Here are my words for you:

"It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds
might have done them better.
The credit belongs to the man actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust, sweat and blood, who strives valiantly,
who errs and comes up short again and again. Because there is no effort without error, there can be no achievement
without setback.
The credit belongs to the man who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows the great enthusiasms and the great
devotions, who spends himself in a worthy cause.
Who at best, in the end, knows the triumph of high achievement, and who at worst, should he fail, at least fails while
daring greatly.
For his place shall never be among those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat."

Imagining Argentina (2003) - IMDb

Imagining Argentina (2003) - IMDb

A Gift From Luah

http://instagr.am/p/VSQ_vXRm5f/

My Favorite Beer!!!

http://instagr.am/p/VSQ_vXRm5f/

Jack's Beautiful Woman For Sunday 3 February, 2013


Sakina Jaffrey - Biography

Sakina Jaffrey - Biography

48 Hours: Crazy Love - 48 Hours - CBS News

48 Hours: Crazy Love - 48 Hours - CBS News

Saturday, February 2, 2013

The Incredibly Complex US Tax System

My dear friends I always go to work early each year to do income taxes. I feel that it is important to get this out of the way quickly. This year I spent close to 100 hours getting my return filed and Elena's returns ready for a final review by the accountants. I have some 45 years of experience with taxes. It can be bewildering even for me. I send Elena's taxes to a very competent accountant to double check everything that I have done. The moral of this story is that Congress needs to simplify the tax system. I feel sorry for the poor people who have to work at the IRS. I doubt if many of them understand this complex machine. My friends we need to make taxes simple! I'm sure that most of you out there find the system bewildering!

Barney Bush Dead: George W. Bush's Dog Dies At 12

Barney Bush Dead: George W. Bush's Dog Dies At 12

Friday, February 1, 2013

The Netflix Original Series House of Cards

I have spent this afternoon Bing mesmerize. I'm watching the new Netflix original show house of cards. Kevin Stacy place a US congressman. It is set in Washington DC. I started in politics in 1966 in Houston. That's 47 years ago. This is what it's really like. This is a great show I recommend it for everyone.

Law Schools’ Applications Fall as Costs Rise and Jobs Are Cut - NYTimes.com

Law Schools’ Applications Fall as Costs Rise and Jobs Are Cut - NYTimes.com