A wise man once said.

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Hoy!

Hoy mi nombre es José Enrique!

True!!

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Welcome to my home!

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Zombie Outbreak Tools

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Food Prices to Rise in Wake of Severe Drought - NYTimes.com

Food Prices to Rise in Wake of Severe Drought - NYTimes.com:

'via Blog this'

Remember this!

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Global food crisis looms as grain prices soar

By Veronica Brown and Nigel Hunt

LONDON — What looks to be the worst U.S. drought in a quarter of a century has given rise to an old-fashioned commodity rally on world markets, with key grain prices hitting highs which caused food crises in vulnerable parts of the globe last time around.

Seeking to protect their populations from hunger this time, many countries relying heavily on imports have held off for now, touting healthy stock levels and hoping other sources will come through and bring prices down.

But their hopes may be dashed if they all return to market at once.

With so much of the world putting faith in a record U.S. corn crop, it is little wonder that prices have surged around 40 percent in the past three weeks as relentless dry weather melted yield expectations for cereals. Soybeans are at record highs, while wheat is not far behind.

"Production potential looked great and it kind of lulled these end-users into a false sense of security. At that point we were seriously looking at (corn) prices under $5 if weather conditions remained ideal, but now we've rallied sharply higher and never looked back," Jefferies Bache analyst Shawn McCambridge said.

Now, corn futures contracts backed by the 2012 harvest are above $7 a bushel and climbing fast.

Traders said consumers in Europe, North Africa and the Middle East had pulled back on regular purchases, expecting prices to cool off.

"This to me is a time bomb. I am routinely one of the more bearish people but it wouldn't surprise me if corn traded at $10," the trader added.

There are several parallels between the current state of play and food crises of the past few years, including scorching weather, wilting crops and sky-rocketing prices. Just substitute 2012's U.S. drought and corn for 2010's Russian crop failure.

Similarities can also be found on the macro front - 2008, when prices were last at these levels, saw a mushrooming financial crisis culminate in the failure of Lehman Brothers, and now Europe's debt crisis has left the euro zone precariously balanced, with other regions also on edge.

The uncertainty has led to swings in all the markets this time as then, but the simple common denominator of supply and demand has been the driving force of the latest grain price spike, with weather the only fundamental that matters.

Such frenzied buying leads ultimately to additional food inflation and domestic price rises can be a tipping point in countries with already struggling populations.

Buyers watch and wait State buyers from the top importing countries, including Egypt and Iran, China and India are sanguine so far, united in delivering a message of comfort in domestic stock levels and ability to sit out the current price surge.

Leading wheat buyer Egypt, importing more than 10 million tonnes per year, has said it has a strategic stock of about six months plus to last until January.

"Of course entering the markets for August shipment isn't likely now and that's because our local purchases leave us in a very comfortable position," Nomani Nomani, vice chairman of the General Authority for Supply Commodities (GASC) said last week.

In Asia, top grain consumers China and India have ample stocks of wheat and rice, thanks to near-record harvests in the last few years. U.S. corn export sources also noted that China and South Korea were ahead of the curve, booking larger shipments in anticipation of supply problems and high prices.

The surge in prices has revived memories of the 2007/08 food crisis which the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimated added 75 million to the number of chronically hungry people in the world. Other estimates put the increase at up to 160 million.

The International Grains Council's Grains and Oilseeeds Index, a weighted average of prices for wheat, corn, soybeans, soymeal, rice, barley, sorghum and rapeseed, rose this week to its highest level since July 2008.

While grain stocks currently stand 25 percent higher compared with 2008, according to IGC data, the devil is in the detail as China now has a large holding of wheat and corn and is unlikely to release it onto international markets.

For the entire story click the link below:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/48162896/ns/business-us_business/

True Friendship!

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The 2nd Amendment

The Constitution of the United States, 2nd Amendment:

A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.



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Mcdonald vs Chicago Gun Case

Interesting view by Judge Alito on our 2nd Amendment Right.

Justice Alito's Opinion

Justice Alito wrote the majority opinion and was joined, for the most part, by Chief Justice Roberts and Justices Kennedy, Scalia, and Thomas. Justices Thomas and Scalia wrote separate concurring opinions.

Justice Alito framed the case as an issue of due process incorporation, i.e., whether the 2nd Amendment is incorporated in and applies to states through the 14th Amendment's Due Process Clause (slip op., p. 10). The 14th Amendment states in part that “No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty or property without due process of law.” The first clause is generally referred to as the “privileges and immunities” clause; the latter, the “due process” clause. Over the past century, the Supreme Court has interpreted the Due Process Clause to “selectively incorporate various rights.” Incorporation of certain Bill of Rights provisions into the 14th Amendment's due process guarantee, make these rights enforceable against the states and not just the federal government.

After reviewing various tests and standards that the Court has used in the past to apply the Bill of Rights' protections to the states through incorporation, Alito concluded that the appropriate test is whether “a particular Bill of Rights guarantee is fundamental to our scheme of ordered liberty. . . [and] deeply rooted in the country's history and tradition” (ibid, p. 19).

Drawing largely on the historical record and the fact that the majority of states include the right to bear arms in their constitutions, Alito determined that “self defense” is a fundamental right and central component of the 2nd Amendment, and the right to own a handgun is part of this basic right to self-defense. Alito draws on Heller for much of the support behind his reasoning (ibid, pp. 21-26). According to him:

Self-defense is a basic right, recognized by many legal systems from ancient times to the present day and in Heller, we held that individual self-defense is the “central component” of the Second Amendment right. . . . [and that] this right applies to handguns because they are 'the most preferred firearm in the nation to 'keep' and use for protection of one's home and family'. . . Heller makes it clear that this right is 'deeply rooted in this Nation's history and tradition'. . . . It cannot be doubted that the right to bear arms was regarded as a substantive guarantee, not a prohibition that could be ignored so long as the States legislated in an evenhanded manner (ibid, pp. 19-20 and 33).


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My New EDC Radio the UV-3R

First of all I ordered this radio only because of the price, I thought well for $50 I need to check out this radio. My surprise when the radio arrived! 

This thing is just awesome. Let’s begin with the size, tiny is a great way to describe this radio it can easily fit in your back pocket and in fact I carry this little radio everywhere. It has become my favorite radio, my Yaesu VX-7R looks sad and lonely but it’s too big for an EDC radio.

 Signals come in loud and clear and the receiver seems to be really good for a $50 radio.  It is dual band but can only receive one frequency at a time but no problem just set the DW (Dual Watch) and it will check two frequencies and stop when a signal is received. Battery life seems to be fairly good and so far the radio lasts for a couple of days without recharging. It has 99 memories that can store TX frequency, RX frequency, power, and tone. This is a list of all the specs of the radio.  By the way if you decide to order this radio do yourself a favor and order the programing cable it is easier to program that way. Mine came with a charger that connects to a USB cable so it can also be charge using a computer. Well I will write some more later on this great find and include a video so you can se how good a receiver it has.  

BAOFENG UV-3R Mark II 136-174/400-470 MHz mini radio

BAOFENG UV-3R Mark II The transceiver is a micro-miniature multiband
FM transceiver with dual band VHF/UHF frequency coverage,
providing local-area two-way amateur communications along with unmatched monitoring capability.

VHF/ UHF  

DUAL-BAND TWO WAY RADIO

• Frequency Range: 136-174 / 400-470MHz
• Dual-Band 2 Frequency Display, Dual-Standby
• Output Power: 2 Watts
• 99 Channels + 1 Emergency Channel
• 50 CTCSS and 104 CDCSS
• Built-in VOX Function
• 1750Hz Burst Tone
• FM Radio (87.0MHz-108.0MHz)
• LED Flashlight
• Large LCD Display
• High /Low Power Switchable
• 25KHz/12.5KHz Switchable
• Emergency Alert
• Low Battery Alert
• Battery Saver
• Time-out Timer
• Keypad Lock
• Monitor Channel
• Channel Step: 5/6.25/12.5/25KHz

A Thing of Beauty!

Federación de Radio Aficionados de PR Hamfest

Hamfest zona Este

Fecha: 25 de Marzo de 2012

Lugar: Cancha bajo techo, Humacao P.R.

Pronto mas información...

Hamfest in Humacao

Les vs Grylls

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