Controversy

Dream Match: Kurt Angle vs RVD!

I'm watching Impact Wrestling on Spike TV right now. The announcers just said there would be a Dream Match pitting Kurt Angle vs Rob Van Dam! This match is going to be AWESOME! So far we have already seen the episode is excellent, which Mr. Anderson dressed as Sting -- wearing his outfit, hair style and makeup from the 80's. Mr. Anderson called out a surprise guest, Disco Inferno!

I also love the way Velvet Sky and ODB now have a battle going. Eric Bischoff and Hulk Hogan will be doing some interesting things tonight, too. It appears they are bringing in some new elements to what is going on. Also, Gunner and Eric Young will apparently be having a "Finger Poke of Doom" match. Eric Young came up with this idea while Gunner was in the bathroom.

UPDATE: The winner of the Dream Match was Kurt Angle. This was an amazing match with absolutely no outside interference. This match also had some blood in it because it was very physical. As you probably know, The Monster Abyss lost all four of his lower teeth when RVD kicked him in the face. This week, it appeared RVD lost a tooth. This was fairly gross because referee Earl Hebner saw the tooth and brushed it out of the ring while RVD was bleeding all over. I feel bad for RVD and Abyss because I met both of them in Port Huron, MI. Both of these men are nice guys in real life.

We also have a new TV champion! Eric Young was able to beat Gunner in this Finger Poke of Doom match. But this Finger Poke of Doom match was very different than the famous match between Hulk Hogan and Kevin Nash. This time Eric Young volunteered to be the loser of the match, but he then put Gunner into a small package and got a quick three-count for the win! AWESOME!

FDA approves new HIV drug from Johnson & Johnson

Here is an interesting article I just read:

“(AP) WASHINGTON (AP) — The Food and Drug Administration says it approved a new HIV drug from Johnson & Johnson for patients who have not been treated with other medications for the virus.

The once-a-day pill Edurant works by blocking the virus from reproducing. It is designed to be used with other drugs that reduce levels of HIV in the blood.

FDA officials say the approval provides an additional option to HIV patients, who respond differently to various medications.

The FDA approved the drug based on a study showing it was as effective as Sustiva, an older HIV drug already on the market.”

We know HIV medication has exponentially improved since the 1980’s. HIV was originally said to be a devastating punishment from God, targeting people involved in homosexuality and fornication. But from today’s point of view, famous people such as Magic Johnson have been alive for two decades after being diagnosed with HIV. Do you believe this has desensitized AIDS and the fear it once brought to people?

What are your thoughts on the research associated with an HIV vaccine? Is this form of health research something our government should fund? Or should HIV research continue to receive funding from medical philanthropists such as Bill Gates?

Forza Motorsport 3 vs Gran Turismo 5

Forza Motorsport is the racing franchise that defines the Xbox gaming platforms. Forza Motorsport is a game franchise that has been growing in a positive way over the last decade. Many reviews called Forza Motorsport 2 the greatest racing simulator ever made. Many people have been looking forward to Forza Motorsport 3 because it uses a brand new graphics engine with ten times as many polygons being displayed!

Similarly, Gran Turismo is a franchise that defines the Playstation gaming platforms. But over the last decade we’ve seen Gran Turismo games have been moving in a negative direction. Gran Turismo 4 was the lowest rated game in the series, and Gran Turismo 5 was constantly delayed – literally in development for over six years. Sony even released a game called Gran Turismo 5 Prologue in order to keep fans satisfied until the final game arrived.

Now we are going to see if Gran Turismo 5 was worth the wait. We are also going to see how Gran Turismo 5 compares to Forza Motorsport 3 on the Xbox 360. Key areas such as graphics, game play, online performance, and features will be examined. Here goes:

Graphics

Forza Motorsport 3 has significantly better graphics than Gran Turismo 5 in virtually every measurable way. The frame rate always remains at a perfectly smooth 60 frames per second in Forza Motorsport 3. Gran Turismo 5 often experiences problems associated with drops in frame rate. Replays in Forza Motorsport 3 also remain smooth at 60 frames per second while the replays in Gran Turismo 5 are only 30 frames per second.

The native resolution of Forza Motorsport 3 is 1280x720p. Sony originally claimed Gran Turismo 5 was going to have a native resolution of 1920x1080p. Unfortunately, the hardware of the PS3 was modified with one of the two Cell CPU processors being removed prior to launch. As a result, it was no surprise to see the PS3 lacked the power to live up to that promise.

The actual native resolution used by Gran Turismo 5 is 960x1080p. This is important because several websites, including websites offering head-to-head comparisons and technical analysis, have given false specifications of Gran Turismo 5. Resolutions such as 1280x1080p and 1024x1080p have circulated on the Internet. But these technical specifications are incorrect and do not apply to Gran Turismo 5.

In reality, it is the very unusual resolution of 960x1080p which ended up being used in Gran Turismo 5. 960x1080p means the horizontal resolution was cut in half compared to the original development plan. This is probably one of the reasons why Gran Turismo 5 was delayed so many times.

The reason why the frame rate remains smooth at 60 frames per second in Forza Motorsport 3 but drops to 30 frames per second during replays in Gran Tursimo 5 is because of the weaker GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) of the Playstation 3. The Xbox 360 GPU is capable of displaying up to 500,000,000 polygons per second, while the PS3 GPU is capable of displaying only 275,000,000 polygons per second. This is the reason why a game such as All-Pro Football runs at 60 frames per second on Xbox 360 but only 30 frames per second on PS3.

Replays require extra detail, which meant Gran Turismo 5 on the PS3 probably had no chance of maintaining anything close to a steady frame rate of 60 frames per second. Although disappointing, it was probably a smart decision for the developers at Polyphony to make the decision to have replays run at only 30 frames per second in Gran Turismo 5. The replays in Forza Motorsport 3 definitely look better than the replays in Gran Turimso 5.

The cars in Forza Motorsport 3 are built with between 300,000 polygons to 500,000 polygons per car. The cars in Gran Turismo 5 are built with 100,000 polygons per car to 500,000 polygons per car. The majority of cars in Gran Turismo 5 are built with fewer polygons; however, the “premium” cars are built with up to 500,000 polygons per car.

In Gran Turismo 5, the number of cars on screen has a big impact the game. There is an affect on the number of polygons allowed to appear on screen at the same time. You never see more than five cars on screen at a time in Gran Turismo 5, and when premium cars are seen it is even less. This also affects artificial intelligence (A.I.) in Gran Turismo 5, since one of the SPE sub-processors dedicated to A.I. in the PS3 architecture is virtually useless when intense graphics are being displayed. The artificial intelligence in Forza Motorsport 3 remains excellent at all times, regardless of the number of cars being displayed at any time.

In terms of the tracks and backgrounds, Forza Motorsport 3 has significantly better graphics than Gran Turismo 5. The texture quality, lighting, shading, and lens flare in Forza Motorsport 3 outperforms Gran Turismo 5 in every area. Simply put, if you play both games you will have no doubt Forza Motorsport 3 has better graphics.

Sound

The sound in both Forza Motorsport 3 and Gran Turismo 5 is excellent. I own a flagship Onkyo A/V receiver and high-end speakers from JBL. The surround sound adds realism to both games. No matter what point of view you choose to use in the game, the sound is excellent and will make you happy.

Game Play

Both games are fun to play; however, there is no doubt the winner is Forza Motorsport 3. Both games have been available for a while and the professionally published reviews in magazines and newspapers clearly show Forza Motorsport 3 is rated higher than Gran Turismo 5. Ultimately, game play is the reason why both game series have been popular over the last decade.

Forza Motorsport 3 is available as a Platinum Hit, which features a staggering 136 tracks to play on! There are also over 400 cars available right out of the box. The really cool feature in Forza 3 is that you can customize cars, signs, and logos, essentially giving you an infinite supply of cars to play with. What’s even better is the way you can create cars, and then auction them on Xbox Live!

Gran Turismo 5 has an impressive 71 tracks to play on with over 1,000 cars available to use. The overwhelming majority of these cars are just “standard” low-polygon designs that most gamers won’t enjoy using. The majority of cars in Gran Turismo 5 simply look like “upscaled versions” of the cars in Gran Turismo 4 which appeared on the PS2. Considering Gran Tursimo 5 spent over six years in development, it really is a big disappointment that such a huge number of cars lack polygon detail.

Both Forza Motorsport 3 and Gran Turismo 5 feature cars that can be damaged, although this feature is not immediately available in Gran Turismo 5. This is a cool feature that adds a lot of fun to game play. When you play online with other gamers, you always know it’s going to put a smile on your face when you see someone else crash or push a competitor into another car.

The damaged vehicles in Forza Motorsport 3 have a significant impact on game play and artificial intelligence. Unfortunately, damaged cars in Gran Turismo 5 are not influenced in any way by damage. This poor artificial intelligence in Gran Turismo 5 has led to a term called “Zombie A.I.” to be associated with the game.

One of the coolest new features I’ve ever seen in a racing game is the way Forza Motorsport 3 adds a form of “time reversal” button. By pressing the “back” button, you can go back in time as long as you hold the button. This means inexperienced gamers can instantly pick up the controller and start playing in a way that immediately brings enjoyment. The instant you see a friend mishandle a car on a turn, just tell your friend to hold the back button so they can give it another try. This is an excellent game play feature!

Winner: Forza Motorsport 3

Forza Motorsport 3 has a relatively easy time beating Gran Turismo 5 as a racing game. At this point in time, Forza Motorsport 3 is generally considered the greatest racing game ever created. There is no doubt the Forza Motorsport game series has continued to move in the right direction. I’m really looking forward to Forza Motorsport 4, which will launch later this year and offer compatibility with Kinect.

Gran Turismo 5 is quite a big letdown that did not live up to six years worth of hype. This is probably the reason why Gran Turismo 5 is the lowest-rated game ever released in the Gran Turismo series. In terms of graphics it was quite disappointing to see such a poor effort by the developers who were given so much time to program the game. Gran Turismo 5 is still a fun game to play, though, just not as fun as Forza Motorsport 3.

In fact, I would say Gran Turismo 5 is not even the best racing game on the Playstation 3. I can think of Need for Speed games that have a better balance of graphics, artificial intelligence, and gameplay. But if you own both consoles, I would recommend the Xbox 360 versions of those games because of better graphics, more people to play with online, and a larger number of people that own microphones to chat with while playing.

Champion: Forza Motorsport 3 is definitely the best racing game ever made. No other racing game offers so many tracks, high-polygon cars, features, and excellent artificial intelligence. If you enjoy racing games, I strongly suggest Forza Motorsport 3: Ultimate Platinum Hit because it can be purchased for a very low price. Amazon is an excellent place to purchase the game because you get free shipping and you may not need to pay taxes, depending on where you live.

Why is Capcom Making Unusual Sales Forecasts?

Recently, Capcom publicly stated how disappointed they were with the way Sony’s PS3 console was experiencing such awful problems with online hacking of the PSN. Capcom claimed to be losing a lot of money because of sales that potentially could have been made during that time period. Most videogame analysts thought Capcom was speaking out in a very unusual way, since we didn’t hear other third-party game developers making bold public statements like that.

Today I learned some of the interesting sales estimates Capcom has made for 2011. These sales estimates are very controversial considering the Xbox 360 has outsold the PS3 worldwide. First, I want to remind you that Microsoft’s Xbox 360 has sold over 53 million consoles worldwide, while Sony recently announced the PS3 has sold 50 million consoles worldwide.  However, as I have confirmed on Controversy, Sony deserves the reputation they now have for publicly announcing inaccurate sales figures.

Capcom’s PS3 sales forecast shows an estimate of 8 million software units sold from the release of 16 different software titles. Capcom’s Xbox 360 sales forecast shows an estimate of 4.7 million software units sold from the release of 14 different software titles.

Even though the Xbox 360 has outsold the PS3, Capcom believes the PS3 will produce nearly double the software sales of the Xbox 360! This sales forecast doesn’t seem to make sense when you consider the Xbox 360 versions of software usually outsell the PS3 versions. For example, Crysis 2 is a recent high-profile multiplatform release resistant to statistical outliers. When sales figures of Crysis 2 started coming in, we saw the Xbox 360 version had outsold the PS3 version by a ratio of 1.7:1.

What are your thoughts about Capcom’s sales forecasts? There is no doubt the majority of third-party companies see greater revenue on Xbox Live than they do the PSN. Sega recently released Sega Rally HD Online exclusively for Xbox Live Arcade. With that in mind, why would Capcom make such outrageous sales forecasts favoring the PS3 by nearly a 2:1 margin?

Where Can You Find a Reliable Doctor?

Twelve years ago, I was diagnosed with epilepsy. Nobody knows better than I do how important it is to visit reliable doctors who are dependable and trustworthy. Word of mouth is a form of review that has helped me quite a bit over the course of time. But prior to talking with other disabled people in grocery stores, I did have several problems with unreliable doctors.

Fortunately, I can say medical patients seeking reliable medical help at this point in time can use online services from Vitals to help find a doctor. Vitals can be described as an online resource to help people find and connect with doctors. Vitals helps you find the doctor you need, check up on your doctor, and rate your doctor based on his or her performance. By examining what others have said about a doctor, it provides a form of word-of-mouth credibility.

In 1999 when I was initially diagnosed with epilepsy, I was seeing 12 different doctors at one point! There were several doctors I was very disappointed with. The only reason why the hospital sent me to those doctors was because of geography. In other words, I was sent to the doctors closest to home. This was unfortunate, because it was these neurologists that disappointed me the most.

When the total number of doctors I annually visited was eventually reduced to three, I was still seeing the disappointing neurologists closest to home. This particular man and his sister were both neurologists and they were only in it for the money. Very few questions were asked by these uncaring doctors, which is why very few useful observations were made by these doctors. Seeing these doctors was never helpful in any way because of their lack of passion for the industry they were involved in.

Thankfully, most doctors in most fields of medicine care about their patients and enjoy helping them. But in the world we live in, a chain is only as strong as its weakest link. If one of your doctors is doing a bad job, it means all other doctors will have a difficult time helping you. This is the whole reason why you are sent to see medical specialists. 

Vitals is an online medical resource I definitely know I can trust. I thought it was very interesting that so many people visit the Vitals website. The website says yesterday there were 258,499 doctors examined on the website. This motivated me to examine the neurologists from Port Huron, Michigan that I was very disappointed with.

Sure enough, Vitals showed a review of these particular doctors. The Blue Water Neurology Clinic is rated only one out of four stars – the lowest rating possible. In every way possible, I would agree with the ratings and reviews of Vitals. Here is what Vitals had to say about The Blue Water Neurology Clinic:

Ease of Appointment: 3 out of 4
Courteous Staff: 4 out of 4
Accurate Diagnosis: 1 out of 4 – the lowest rating possible
Bedside Manner: 1 out of 4 – the lowest rating possible
Spends Time With Me: 1 out of 4 –the lowest rating possible
Follow Up: 1 out of 4 – the lowest rating possible

My mother and I agree with this information from Vitals in every possible way! The office staff at the Blue Water Neurology Clinic is actually very nice, as the 4 of 4 rating shows. It is relatively easy to schedule an appointment, which is probably why there is a rating of 3 of 4. But everything associated with doctors at Blue Water Neurology Clinic shows a very poor rating of only 1 of 4. The Blue Water Neurology Clinic is rated only 1 of 4 stars by Vitals.

Twelve years ago, when I was diagnosed with epilepsy, I would have gladly used Vitals as a medical resource to help me find reliable doctors. The neurologist I currently see is further away, but has helped me very much in life. My doctor currently is rated 4 of 4 – the highest rating possible on Vitals. Based on my experience as a patient, I can say this impressive review of my current neurologist is very accurate.

Overall, I can say the Vitals website is definitely a medical resource I will use in the future! I rate Vitals a 4 of 4 – the highest rating possible. If you need to visit a doctor, I strongly suggest you use the Vitals website to examine the doctor you will be visiting. Please feel free to share your thoughts about the Vitals website.

V - Should ABC Film a V Miniseries to Give V the Ending it Deserves?

Recently, I wrote an article titled “ABC Cancels V – But Were Controversial Political Reasons Involved.” One of the Followers of my blog replied by saying ABC should create a miniseries allowing the plot of V to end in a satisfying way. I thought this was an excellent idea, to such an extent that I am now considering contacting ABC this week to speak on behalf of other V fans. I believe it may be fitting for V to conclude as a miniseries, since it started as a miniseries in 1983.

ABC has absolutely no excuse for not allowing a miniseries of V to be filmed. If you take the time to read the detailed response I wrote below, you will learn that we should probably boycott ABC programs if ABC is not willing to allow a V miniseries to be filmed. ABC owes it to viewers, both morally and financially, to film a V miniseries allowing the series to end in a satisfying way. The V series currently has unanswered questions that a miniseries is capable of providing answers for.

Please read the following article I wrote as a response to a great comment on my blog. You will learn why ABC has no excuse for not filming a miniseries of V. Let me know if you believe I should contact ABC about this matter.

From: Michael Zoran

To: demosi

Your idea of an ABC miniseries used to conclude the V series is excellent!

As you said, a V miniseries would allow remaining questions in the storyline to be answered in ways that would make fans of the V series happy. A miniseries would be seen on TV, generate advertising revenue for ABC, and it would also allow sales on Blu-ray/DVD to occur. As the V plot currently exists, fans have absolutely no reason to buy V on DVD or Blu-ray, because that would be like buying a book missing the last few chapters.

V is a series that deserved to be aired for a dedicated final season, simply to make fans happy and fill in remaining gaps in the storyline. Fans like us spent a lot of time watching V -- helping ABC generate advertising revenue during each commercial we sat through. I believe ABC owes it to us, both morally and financially, to create a miniseries of V dedicated to concluding the series in the proper way.

Perhaps a miniseries is in fact the fate the new V series was meant to receive all along. After all, a miniseries is how V started out in 1983. Perhaps a miniseries is the way V should go out in 2011.

Do you think we should approach ABC with this idea of a short miniseries for V? It certainly is within their budget! Look at all the movies Steven Seagal films, produces, and puts directly on DVD. ABC certainly has the resources to film a V miniseries put directly on DVD. The cast would be paid relatively well, the product would be sold at a reasonable price, and fans would be happy because the plot answers their questions and gives a proper conclusion to a great TV series.

If ABC is not willing to film a miniseries of V for fans of the series, it literally means ABC does not care about viewers of ABC programs! As of right now, ABC only cares about themselves and the money they can make from viewers. ABC may claim they care for viewers, but what they really mean is that they only care for viewers helping them make money.

With that in mind, should we be watching ABC programs? Perhaps we should boycott ABC programs if ABC executives are not willing to give V the conclusion it deserves in a miniseries. Even if the miniseries was a low-budget project placed directly on DVD, at least fans of the series would be happy.

In the 21st century we live in today, ABC can’t even use logistics expenses as an excuse for not producing a V miniseries. Rather than putting V directly on DVD and shipping the product to stores or allowing it to be sold online, ABC could sell the V miniseries online in an on-demand format. Netflix, Comcast, or Xbox Live would all be capable of allowing viewers to watch a V miniseries in an on-demand format. The bottom line is that ABC has no excuse for not allowing a V miniseries to be filmed in order to calm down the V fans that ABC hyped up!

Do you think I should contact ABC this week to talk about a V miniseries?

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Randy Savage is DEAD! - He was Killed in a Car Wreck!

BREAKING NEWS

Legendary wrestler Randy "Macho Man" Savage is dead at the age of 58! Sadly, he was killed in a car accident in Seminole, Florida. I learned Randy was with his wife when this wreck happened. Thankfuly, Randy's wife was not killed; she suffered only minor injuries from the accident.

According to Lanny Poffo, Randy's brother, Savage suffered from a heart attack while driving. This caused Randy to lose control of the 2009 Jeep Wrangler he was driving. The Florida Highway Patrol has reported the vehicle veered across a concrete median through oncoming traffic and collided head-on with a tree. Afterwards, Randy Savage was taken to Largo Medical Center where he died from crash-related injuries.

This brings up the controversial subject of whether or not steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs may have been what caused the heart attack. Obviously, Randy Savage was in excellent physical health, with a physique far more impressive than most people in their 20's or 30's. This may have been too much of a burden for his 58-year-old body to handle.

Randy Savage is yet another wrestler to die at a relatively young age. Miss Elizabeth and Sensational Queen Sherri  worked with Randy Savage as his manager. Both of these women passed away as a result of drug overdose.

Miss Elizabeth was the real-life wife of Randy Savage at one point in time. After her death, forensics revealed that Miss Elizabeth had been mixing pills of hydrocodone, Alprazolam (Xanax), and anabolic steroids (testosterone and saizen) with vodka. It remains to be seen if any information will be revealed regarding the cause of the heart attack experienced by Randy Savage.

Of the 51 participants in Wrestlemania VII, 14 of them are now dead! If you compare this to the sport of football, all of the starters in the 1991 Superbowl are still alive. And only two of the 44 boxers who held a championship belt that year have passed away. Obviously, it is very controversial that 27% of the participants in Wrestlemania VII have now passed away. Take a look at this data that strongly suggests steroids and other drugs have been involved in the cause of death:
 
I was very disappointed when I heard about the death of Randy Savage. The Macho Man Randy Savage is one of my all-time favorite wrestlers. My thoughts and prayers are with the family members and friends of Randy Savage. I pray for mercy and grace from God to to help you through this difficult time. If you would like to share thoughts, prayers, or memories, please do so. 

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Here are videos showing some of the best matches Randy Savage was a part of:

Randy Savage vs Ric Flair – Part 1 by sterling1983. For the record, Mr. Perfect Curt Hennig is also involved in this match. Curt Hennig also died of a drug overdose. Curt’s father specifically says that steroids were involved with his death at such a young age. Randy Savage vs Ric Flair – Part 2 by sterling1983. Randy Savage, Ric Flair and Mr. Perfect interview after Wrestlemania VIII by alexshirli.

Randy Savage vs Ricky “the Dragon” Steamboat – Part 1 by akim93. This is considered one of the greatest matches in wrestling history. Wrestlemania III was promoted strictly for its World Title match between Hulk Hogan and Andre the Giant. But when Wrestlemania III was over, we saw that Randy Savage had proven Intercontinental matches between high-speed smaller men were just as exciting as matches between large men.
Randy Savage vs. Ricky Steamboat, WM3, Part 1. by akim93 Randy Savage vs Ricky “the Dragon” Steamboat – part 2 by akim93.
Randy Savage vs. Ricky Steamboat, WM3, Part 2. by akim93

Randy Savage vs The Ultimate Warrior – Part 1 by M-Gonjol. At Wrestlemania VII we saw Randy Savage and The Sensational Queen Sherri wrestle The Ultimate Warrior. This career-ending match had a lot of twists and turns. The gods of The Ultimate Warrior appeared to let him down at one point. The lovely Miss Elizabeth bought a ticket to watch her man.
WWE-WrestleMania VII - Macho Man vs Ultimate... by M-Gronjol Randy Savage vs The Ultimate Warrior - Part 2 by M-Gonjol.
WWE-WrestleMania VII - Macho Man vs Ultimate... by M-Gronjol

Randy Savage vs Hulk Hogan - Part 1 by TheRkojames. At Wrestlemania IV Macho Man Randy Savage was the winner of the tournament that gave him the World Wrestling Federation Heavyweight Champions. But Savage never beat Hulk Hogan in order to get that title. Wrestlemani V gave us an opportunity to see these two Megapowers collide after their implosion based on the love of Mizz Elizabeth. Randy Savage vs Hulk Hogan – Part 2 by TheRkojames. Randy Savage vs Hulk Hogan Part 3 – The Ending by Charbyno57.

Platts Provides Valuable Information in Competitive Markets

In today’s economy, virtually all of the markets are very competitive. This is particularly true in the spot markets where commodities are sold. Goods such as oil and rice are the same no matter where you buy them. Consequently, you always want to buy those high-demand goods for the lowest price, because if you don’t, someone else will.

This is where a company like Platts can have a large impact on how efficiently your organization or even your government operates. Platts was founded in 1909 and started out as a company dedicated to providing "reliable market-based price information" on the oil industry. Thanks to the information provided by Platts, benchmark price assessments could be made on the oil industry. The industry oil prices barrel form of measurement owes much of its success to Platts, which currently has a website at platts.com.

Over the course of time, Platts has expanded to provide information based on natural gas, electric power, coal, petrochemical, shipping, and metals. The reason for this is because all of these industries are associated with one another in various ways. For example, if prices associated with oil and natural gas rise, you will obviously feel an impact on jet fuel prices somewhere down the line. Platts.com monitors these prices in a way that can help influence when and how you buy these commodities.

Many large corporations, industries, and even governments are influenced by these basic elements of trade and investment. Should a shipping industry stock up on bunker fuel while prices appear to be lower than usual? Or should the shipping industry wait until prices reach a lower point, taking the risk that prices will be at a higher point when the supply of bunker fuel has run low? Decisions like this can be very complex, time consuming, and expensive if you don’t know what you’re doing. This is why platts.com monitors these situations in real-time, providing high-quality information at reasonable prices for subscribers.

Platts.com offers services so impressive that even the high density polyethylene price can be monitored just as easily as the stock market. I’ve learned that over 10,000 companies, organizations, universities, and governments in 150 different countries subscribe to the valuable information services provided by Platts. The reason for this is because Platts is a company with a reputation for honesty, providing information openly at all times to clients.

If your business needs to operate efficiently in a competitive spot market associated with the commodities Platts is devoted to analyzing, I believe it definitely is a wise investment to subscribe to the services offered at platts.com. This is an excellent website providing a great deal of information to existing clients. The website also clearly explains the multitude of services and resources you will have access to if you become a subscriber. If you currently subscribe to services offered by Platts, feel free to share your thoughts about the services offered based on your experience.

Schwarzenegger’s True Lies Terminate His Marriage – Now, Arnold is a Running Man

Republican governor Arnold Schwarzenegger easily became governor of California, a state filled with a majority of voters labeling themselves as Democrats. The reason Schwarzenegger was able to become governor is because the people of California trusted him. Arnold had apparently been successfully married for a long time while simultaneously maintaining a successful career in acting. But we now know Schwarzenegger’s marriage, career, and understanding of the word “responsibility” involve a lot of controversy.

Up to this point, we thought Arnold Schwarzenegger was the father of four children, currently ranging in age from 14 to 21 years old. But we now know that Schwarzenegger is the father of a fifth child that is 10 years old. The mother of this child is a member of the staff employed at Schwarzenegger’s home known as the Brentwood mansion. This means that when Schwarzenegger had young children ranging in age from 4 to 11 years old, he was cheating on his loyal wife, Maria Shriver.

Arnold Schwarzenegger issued the following statement to the media:

“After leaving the governor’s office I told my wife about this event, which occurred over a decade ago. I understand and deserve the feelings of anger and disappointment among my friends and family. There are no excuses and I take full responsibility for the hurt I have caused. I have apologized to Maria, my children and my family. I am truly sorry.”

The statement made by Schwarzenegger concluded when he said, “I ask that the media respect my wife and children through this extremely difficult time. While I deserve your attention and criticism, my family does not.”

The fact that Arnold Schwarzenegger refers to this adulterous personal incident as an “event” proves he is only looking at the situation from a selfish political point of view. Arnold makes it clear that the timing of this revelation to his family was dependent on the announcement being made after he left the governor’s office! This is further confirmation that Schwarzenegger is a very selfish man, looking at things only from a political point of view.

Arnold Schwarzenegger claims that he takes “full responsibility” for the hurt he has caused. Some of this actually seems true, since we know Arnold has financially provided for his fifth child. This was a very responsible action, showing that Schwarzenegger is a far more responsible man than many others. But there is a big difference between responsibility and accountability. By using the word “responsibility” in place of the word “accountability,” Arnold Schwarzenegger is able to avoid negative publicity and put a positive spin on much of what he has done over the last ten years.

For the last ten years, eight of which were governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger has not been willing to accept any form of accountability for his actions. From the moment Schwarzenegger was running for governor, he was keeping this awful situation a secret from his family and the media. Schwarzenegger knew that he would not be able to achieve his political goals if this information was revealed to the public, since the California voters would hold him accountable for his actions. As a result, Schwarzenegger’s lovely wife and children now suffer.

I’m particularly disappointed by the way Schwarzenegger’s statement concludes by saying “I deserve your attention and criticism.” This suggests Arnold wants the spotlight back on himself, as he once again becomes a Hollywood actor. We know that Arnold Schwarzenegger’s true lies have terminated his 25-year marriage. But it now seems Arnold Schwarzenegger doesn’t mind being seen as a running man, trying to put on the image of a predator seeking employment as a commando.

Personally, I think Schwarzenegger needs a total recall about some basic things in life. When you enter a marriage with someone, you are supposed to remain loyal. And if you do make a mistake in marriage, you shouldn’t allow a false image based on political status to prevent you from telling your loyal wife what happened. Each day that Arnold kept this secret, he must have been thinking to himself “I wonder how long it will be until I’m labeled as a destroyer and my marriage is erased.”

What are your thoughts about this situation? Do you believe the way Schwarzenegger kept this situation secret from California voters was a raw deal? In my opinion, Arnold was acting like a selfish barbarian.

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Mick Foley is the TNA Impact Executive!

On May 12, 2011, we learned Mick Foley is the TNA Impact management executive that has been making life difficult for Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff. We also learned that Mick Foley plans on making some major changes to TNA and the way its brand is marketed. For example, Foley made it clear that the business would be re-branded as “Impact Wrestling.” However, Mick was not clear whether or not the letters TNA would be completely eliminated. 

Many people believe it would be a mistake for management executives at TNA to completely remove the letters of “TNA” that they spent eight years building as a brand. However, a lack of pay-per-view sales seems to be the motive for management executives making these changes. Hulk Hogan is a TNA executive that recently appeared on a radio show called The Law. Hogan was asked why the TNA Impact audience does not order pay-per-views. Hogan was also asked why Spike TV is not available in as many homes as competition such as the WWE, which is offered on channels such as USA and SyFy.

Hulk Hogan made the following statements regarding these topics:

“A lot of it has to do with awareness and the fact that we can get to the people. If I go into my hotel room in Chicago there are certain cable networks that are on like USA Network – there is no Spike TV. I mean a lot of it depends on who you can get to and who you can reach there is a lot more than ‘the fans aren’t buying it’ there is more to the equation and that’s a very shallow statement and that’s not a fact. The people that see it are buying it, there just aren’t enough people seeing it.”

Hulk Hogan then went on to say:

“That’s what it is – it’s creating awareness, a marketing plan we have to work with Spike TV and boost them up the ladder. I don’t know how many cable networks there are in the States if it’s 25 or 35 but in the paper it shows you who the top ten are so if we can get Spike up to that number one position the whole equation would change on how many people are buying it and change the equation and someone wouldn’t say ‘no one is buying it’ well the people that are seeing it are buying it so it’s creating that awareness to make people more aware that the product is there and that they can get it and when they walk into a hotel in Brantford that Spike is available.”

These statements made by Hulk Hogan may sound like intelligent forms of reasoning to someone listening and taking his word for what is being said. But when you do some research to investigate the statistical facts for yourself, you realize that Hulk Hogan is just making bogus excuses. The USA Network used by the WWE is in 86.2% of homes in the country – approximately 99.95 million homes.  However, the Spike TV network used by TNA is in 85.8% of homes in the country – approximately 99.49 million homes.

With that in mind, Hulk Hogan needs a much better excuse for determining the reasons why TNA pay-per-view programs are not being purchased by viewers of TNA Impact. Perhaps this is the reason why TNA is changing their brand to “Impact Wrestling.” Mick Foley has made it clear that TNA wants to place an emphasis on “wrestling.” This is different from the way the WWE places an emphasis on “entertainment.”

My family and friends enjoy the real-life wrestling point of view presented by TNA Impact far more than the entertainment point of view presented by the WWE. The way Hulk Hogan, Dixie Carter, Eric Bischoff, and Mick Foley present themselves as management executives involved in real-life legal battles with genuine personal grudges is far more enjoyable than the way WWE admits everything you see is fake.

The same can be said about Jeff Jarrett, Karen Jarrett, and Kurt Angle. The fact is, Kurt and Karen really were married and really were divorced. This is an excellent environment for a plot that TNA takes excellent advantage of! Yeah, I realize that there are soap opera style plots and storylines in TNA just as much as in WWE. However, the simple fact that TNA tries to present it with an element of realism is what makes TNA better than the competition.

This Thursday we learned that Chyna is the woman Kurt Angle has been talking about for the last several weeks. I like the way Chyna tossed Jeff Jarrett out of the ring at the end of the 25-man Battle Royal. However, Chyna was not a participant in the Battle Royal when it started. I now wonder if Jeff Jarrett will use this as an excuse to cheat Mr. Anderson – the winner of the Battle Royal – out of being the #1 contender for the TNA heavyweight championship.

I’d like to compliment Mick Foley on the “Impact” style of wrestling he bought with him Thursday night! I literally don’t remember the last time I saw a Battle Royal. This Battle Royal was action-packed and intense! Keep up the great work, Mick!

For the record, I believe there is still an excellent chance Bill Goldberg will be coming to TNA. Hulk Hogan has talked about Bill Goldberg on his Twitter account, telling everyone how Bill Goldberg would blow the roof off of TNA with his popularity. The name Bill Goldberg has even been mentioned multiple times on episodes of TNA Impact! I believe Bill Goldberg truly is an untapped wrestling resource that TNA should take advantage of.

I’d also like to let the TNA executives know I am very disappointed that Jay Lethal has not seen a contract extension with TNA. The way Jay Lethal has the ability to imitate Randy Savage and Ric Flair is absolutely incredible – truly entertaining! The whole reason why I purchased tickets for my family to attend a TNA event in Port Huron, Michigan is because my sister loves Jay Lethal! When we saw Jay Lethal imitate Ric Flair, we laughed so hard it literally brought tears to our eyes!

What are your thoughts about Mick Foley being the TNA executive? How do you feel about TNA being rebranded as Impact Wrestling? And do you think the rumors about Bill Goldberg coming to TNA are true?

Make a Wish Using This Dual Rainbow!

Yesterday I looked out the window at the exact moment needed to see an incredibly bright dual rainbow! I grabbed my camera as fast as I could so all of my loyal Followers could see this wonderful rainbow. I'm sure you will want to tell all of your family members and friends about this, because it really is a beautiful thing to see. You might want to use this rainbow to make a wish! (Note: I am disabled with epilepsy, so it might be nice if everyone wished for me to get better.) ;)

Isn't this a beautiful double rainbow! Look to the right, and you see two rainbows!

 

Here is the other side of this giant rainbow:

 

By the time I took seven pictures, I realized the second rainbow was disappearing very quickly! Here is the video that shows the rainbow from one side to the other:

Why is Sony Hiding PS3 Sales Figures?

NPD Sales results for the month of April were just released. For the second month in a row, Sony has asked the NPD not to publicly release the actual number of PS3 units sold. Sony has commented on the sales figures, saying these results show year-to-year sales of the PS3 are up 13% for the month of April, 2011 compared to April, 2010. But for the second month in a row, Sony has asked the NPD not to publicly release the exact sales figures for the PS3 console. The controversial questions is, what would Sony’s motive be for doing such a thing?

Although the year-to-year sales for the PS3 are improved by 13% for the month of April, the same apparently could not be said for the month of March. If the PS3 had produced impressive sales figures or seen a year-to-year rise in sales, Sony would have wanted to announce this publicly, as they did this month. But we will never know for sure, since Sony did not allow those numbers to be released publicly.

Now that it seems reasonable that the PS3 did not see a year-to-year improvement for the month of March, it means there was apparently a year-to-year decline for March. This seems like a logical motive for Sony to ask the NPD not to release sales figures to the public. This seems particularly true when you take into consideration that Xbox 360 sales in March saw a year-to-year improvement of 28% and sold a whopping 433,000 units! The Nintendo Wii sold an impressive 290,000 units this March.

For the month of April, both Microsoft and Nintendo allowed the NPD to release sales figures, as usual. The Xbox 360 sold 297,000 units, which was a 60% year-to-year gain compared to April of 2010. Only 172,000 Wii units were sold for April 2011, which is a large year-to-year decline in sales. For 10 of the last 11 months, the Xbox 360 has been the top-selling console, while the Wii has continuously seen declines in year-to-year sales.

Several websites online have been listing an April sales figure of 204,000 for the PS3. However, this is not based on anything that the NPD publicly released with Sony’s permission. The only reason this number of 204,000 exists is because Sony has said there was a 13% year-to-year increase in sales. We know that the PS3 sold 180,800 units in April, 2010, which would put April, 2011, at 204,304 units sold.

The controversial question many people want answered is why Sony is no longer willing to allow NPD to publicly release sales information based on exact numbers. Although a year-to-year sales increase of 13% for the PS3 is not as good as the 60% year-to-year sales increase seen by the Xbox 360, it is still something to be proud of.

As I said before, Microsoft recently announced that the Xbox 360 has been the top-selling console 10 of the last 11 months. But if you investigate and look at the sales figures during those 11 months, you see that the PS3 finished in last place each of those months, except this month! This month the PS3 was apparently able to finish in second place, outselling the Wii for the first time in years!

With that in mind, we need to ask ourselves why Sony isn’t willing to put a spotlight on their exact sales figures anymore. Some people have speculated that the recent problems experienced with the PSN outage is Sony’s motive for apparently not wanting publicity. But what about Sony’s motive for not sharing exact sales data for the month of March? Was Sony’s only motive for not wanting to release March sales figures the fact that the PS3 finished so far behind its direct competitor, the Xbox 360?

Statements made by Sony Computer Entertainment CEO, Jack Tretton, indicate that Sony uses a far more forgiving method of defining what a “sale” is than Nintendo and Microsoft. We know that Microsoft and Nintendo consider a unit sold when it has “Been shipped to a retailer or wholesaler that has made a purchase.” This doesn’t necessarily mean consumers purchased the units in stores, but it does mean retailers and wholesalers have purchased the units and have them sitting in stores waiting to be purchased by consumers.

Statements made by Sony executive, Jack Tretton, clearly show that Sony’s definition of a sale is very different. Sony considers a PS3 unit “sold” the instant it is “Produced and placed into inventory.” This means even if a retailer or wholesaler has not purchased the unit, Sony still classifies PS3 units as “sold,” even though they are collecting dust in inventory warehouses. This is a method of cheating – telling the public a unit is sold, even though it hasn’t been shipped to a retailer or wholesaler yet.

Using this form of definition to define the word “sold,” Sony can take credit for millions of units being sold in a very deceptive manner that produces inaccurate results. The best example of this situation occurred in 2006 at the E3 show, and was then proven in 2007 during an interview that Sony executive, Jack Tretton, was a part of. I will briefly describe what happened.

At the 2006 E3 show, Jack Tretton predicted that the PS3 would sell 6 million units by the spring of 2007. But when the spring of 2007 arrived, only 1.4 million consumers worldwide had purchased the PS3. In fact, the PS3 never had a chance of selling 6 million units, since Sony was only able to produce 5.5 million units in factories. In this interview, you see a chart clearly showing that the PS3 had seen disappointing sales of only 1.4 million units worldwide, yet Jack Tretton is claiming that the PS3 was only “a half million” units behind Sony’s goal of 6 million units.

When you subtract a half-million (500,000) from 6 million, you end up with 5.5 million. This is the exact number of units that Sony says had been “produced” by the spring of 2007. Not even close to 5.5 million units had been shipped to retailers and wholesalers by the spring of 2007. This obviously means that Sony’s executives were claiming that all 5.5 million units that had been produced and placed into inventory warehouses were classified as “sold,” even though 4.1 million of them were still sitting in warehouses collecting dust.

Most people believe that the reason Sony started classifying sales in this inaccurate manner is because the PS3 saw such disappointing sales when it launched. Even in Japan, the PS3 has not sold well – even being outsold by the Xbox 360 several months during the first couple years of its life. Each time the Xbox 360 saw an exclusive launch of an RPG game like Blue Dragon, Lost Odyssey, Infinite Undiscovery, or Tales of Vesperia, it would produce a spike in sales that resulted in the Xbox 360 outselling the PS3 in Japan that month.

This is a surprise, because foreign products like the Xbox 360 usually sell very poorly in Japan – a market that always does its best to stay away from American products. If executives at Sony Computer Entertainment would have told Sony shareholders that only 1.4 million PS3 units had been shipped to retailers due to a lack of consumer demand, it would have caused management executives to be fired. This is probably why Sony executives started reporting the number of units “sold” in a way that was synonymous with the number of units “produced.”

In fact, Ken Kutaragi, the designer of the PS1, PS2, PS3, and PSP was asked to step down and instead take up the roll of Honorary Chairman. This is the Japanese cultural way of getting fired, since Japanese companies have a tradition of hiring an employee for life. The PS2 and PS3 were both criticized by developers for being difficult to program. As a result, Ken Kutaragi is no longer involved with the Playstation products.

Most people don’t realize that Sony still uses this form of deception when publicly announcing sales figures such as 50 million PS3 hardware units sold worldwide. Sony can get away with this because most of the world doesn’t accurately keep track of sales the way we do in North America. But in North America, Sony can’t get away with deception like this because the NPD sales data is so accurate. According to NPD sales figures, the Xbox 360 is outselling the PS3 at a large rate.

This is very important because North America is the largest videogame market in the world. This expanding sales gap between the Xbox 360 and PS3 is the reason why popular multiplatform games such as Crysis 2, Portal 2, and many others continuously see sales figures significantly higher on Xbox 360 – a console that has sold 53 million units. If the Xbox 360 has sold 53 million units while the PS3 has sold 50 million units, it is a difference of only 6%. With a difference of only 6%, it would not be possible for Xbox 360 versions of software to continuously outsell PS3 versions by such a wide margin.

For example, Crysis 2 is a highly rated game resistant to statistical outliers. Crysis 2 recently launched on both the PS3 and Xbox 360. But we saw the Xbox 360 version outsell the PS3 version by a ratio of 1.7:1. This would not have happened if the Xbox 360 had only a 3 million unit hardware sales advantage over the PS3. Thus, we can logically conclude there is obviously a bigger gap than 3 million units between the Xbox 360 and the PS3. I believe this is why Sony no longer wants sales data from NPD and other sales organizations released to the public.

I really do recommend you take a look at that interview here. This will help you to see what I’m talking about. Thankfully, the person on CNBC interviewing Sony executive, Jack Tretton, was not fooled or deceived, as you will see in this interview: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JFIDsTsWJHw

Please share your thoughts about why Sony is no longer allowing NPD to publicly release exact sales figures of the Playstation 3, even though the PS3 has done several impressive things this month.

ABC Cancels V – But Were Controversial Political Reasons Involved?

As a kid growing up in the 1980’s, one of my favorite TV shows was V. The program called V started out as a 1983 sci-fi miniseries based on aliens known as Visitors that were invading Earth. This miniseries expanded to a one-hour TV show airing weekly from 1984 through 1985. Over the years, the V reruns helped gather a very loyal group of followers. This motivated ABC to start a new V series, which first aired in 2009.

When ABC first announced this new series, fans of the original series (including me) were very happy! Unfortunately, the new HD version of V has been cancelled by ABC after just two seasons. Personally, I think this is very disappointing and may involve controversial motives associated with politics. The audience of V was growing and ABC has left a lot of cliffhanger questions in the plot unanswered.

ABC claims that low ratings are the reason why V will not be renewed for a third season. I question if this is the true motive, though. No Ordinary Family and Detroit 1-8-7 also air on Tuesday nights, but V has higher ratings than those two programs which were also cancelled on this Friday the 13th. Although Detroit 1-8-7 started out with impressive ratings, the ratings dropped significantly. But the year-to-year ratings of V clearly showed that the V program had ratings that were increasing as the audience became larger.

One of the really cool things that the new V series did during the second season was bring back Jane Badler to play the role of Diane – the same role she played in 1983. In the new V series, Diane played the mother of the character known as Anna – the Visitor High Commander. Diane had once been Queen but was imprisoned for 15 years because she proposed living in peace with the humans. Although Diane apparently died in the last episode of the second season, you would tend to think that if she survived 15 years and two different shows it would mean the writers could have found a way to bring her back again in the third season. Sadly, we will never know thanks to ABC.

One controversial element that has me wondering if there were underhanded motives for V being cancelled by executives at ABC is the recent death of Osama Bin Laden. Many politicians have always said they noticed parallels between the premise of the show and the Obama administration.

For example, in her review of the V series, Lisa de Moraes of The Washington Post made a relatively big deal about the fact that the series was debuting on the first anniversary of President Obama’s election. In an article titled “ABC Executives Sound Coy About New TV Series Political Edge” she says that phrases in the series (such as “hope” and “change”) made it seem as though “Lou Dobbs had taken over the network, as those things only became popular with the current administration.”

I believe words such as “hope” and “change” are simply common words in the world of politics. And the reason why the Visitors were concerned with offering healthcare to all humans (interpreted as President Obama’s “Universal Healthcare” by Republicans watching the program) is because humans need that type of healthcare system! If this parallels what President Obama is trying to do, it proves that President Obama is aiming high while shooting for the stars and achieving impressive results that are out of this world!

Another example can be found in a review of V that was written by Glenn Garvin of the Chicago Tribune. In an article titled “‘V’ aims at Obamamania,” Garvin called V “controversial,” saying the series was "a barbed commentary on Obamamania that will infuriate the president's supporters and delight his detractors.”

This statement proves that many people believe the script of V was mixed with real-world politics in a controversial way. With that in mind, we need to ask ourselves if President Obama’s recent triumphs over Osama Bin Laden and Pakistan have anything to do with the cancellation of V – a series with a growing market of viewers.

All of the cast and crew of V have repeatedly denied charges of political bias associated with real-world politics. Morena Baccarin is the actress that plays Anna – the leader of the alien Visitors. Baccarin says that she is very surprised by all the controversy, acknowledging that she did model her character after politicians but nobody in particular. This is what makes me wonder if somebody at ABC was motivated to cancel V for political reasons.

Think about this for a moment. If the writers at ABC really were writing scripts based on what was happening with the Obama administration, it would mean the third season of V would be filled with praise and respect for the excellent accomplishments of President Barack Obama. If there were Republican executives at ABC, this would generate a motive for the cancellation of V. Either way, I am very disappointed that ABC cancelled V without giving it the ending it deserved.

I just want to remind the political-minded executives at ABC of one thing. Although the V series may have been cancelled, even though the plot left a lot of questions unanswered and a lot of promises unfulfilled, the same cannot be said of the Obama administration. President Obama has fulfilled the promises he made while running for President of the United States of America!

President Obama has restored the stock market, bailed the entire auto industry out of bankruptcy, passed a universal healthcare coverage plan, won the Nobel Peace Prize honor, and invaded Pakistan without permission in order to kill the most wanted criminal in the world, Osama Bin Laden. If there would have been a third season of V, it would have involved some form of new leader being introduced that had all the abilities of Captain America, Superman, and Professor X all rolled into one!

ABC executives knew this, which may be why they cancelled V. But that won’t stop me from voting for Barack Obama! Please share your thoughts on this subject, especially if you are angry at the way ABC failed to give V the ending it deserved.

Is myhosting.com Your Answer for Web Design and VPS?

In the online era we currently live in, it is very easy for entrepreneurs to start a business online. Similarly, it is very easy for small businesses and medium-sized businesses to target a much larger audience of consumers online. But in order to do so, you need to make sure your website is designed in a satisfactory way and operated efficiently. This is where an online web hosting service such as myhosting.com enters your life.

Recently, I decided to do some research on what forms of service myhosting.com offers and at what price. Based on what I learned online, I can say that myhosting.com appears to offer a high-quality service for a very competitive price. Regardless of what size your business is or what type of website you plan on designing, it seems as if myhosting.com can help you out.

I run a business called  Résumé Design Service at www.resumedesignservice.com. I personally designed that website because I possess the skills needed to do so. But there are other people that may not possess that level of skill. This is where myhosting.com appears to have a fundamental advantage over the competition.

The myhosting.com service gives you the opportunity to work with a Web Designer for a low price. This Web Designer assists in the custom design of your website in a way that helps you effectively target the market you want to reach. I was very impressed when I learned that myhosting.com even offers a form of software that helps you create a logo for your business that can be applied to your website. This is quite a bit better than my current web host, which forced me to create a logo in Microsoft Office and then transform it into a JPEG picture in order to insert the logo into the web design template.

The other area of service I think myhosting.com may be particularly useful to people is the area called VPS, which stands for Virtual Private Server. The VPS provides all of the dedicated server functions you need, but at a much lower cost. The reason the price is so much lower while still maintaining all the features such as online performance and security is because you will be tapping into a significantly greater hardware resource.

Regardless of whether you prefer to use Windows or Linux operating systems, it seems as if myhosting.com has what consumers are looking for. If you prefer to use the Windows operating system, myhosting.com offers a service known as Windows VPS. Similarly, myhosting.com realizes there are consumers strictly interested in Windows Server 2008, which is why they provide a great deal of information that is easy to understand.

From what I have learned online, I am actually tempted to switch to myhosting.com as my new web hosting service. The value is greater in several areas and it looks as if the quality of the service may be better, as well. Please feel free to share your thoughts about myhosting.com with everyone else, especially if you have experience working with myhosting.com.

Will You Be Left Behind May 21, 2011 When and If the Rapture Happens, as Predicted?

 

The Rapture is a topic debated amongst Christians. Many Christians believe that since they have been saved by the blood of Jesus Christ they will not be forced to live through seven years of apocalyptic tribulation before the Lord returns. Other Christians believe that since God's people were forced to live through tribulation in the Old Testament era under leaders such as Moses, it means they will be forced to live through tribulation in this New Testament era we currently live in. But one thing is clear, the majority of Christians never put an exact time on the moment the Rapture will take place or the moment we will see the return of Jesus Christ.

However, once in a while we do see a group of Christians put a date on when these so-called Judgment Day events will take place. May 21, 2011 is the day that Christians at wecanknow.com have said they believe Jesus Christ will return to save His followers, taking all of those born-again followers with Him. The Rapture will cause everyone else who was not born-again to be left behind, wondering how millions of people could have just magically disappeared right before their eyes. This prediction has generated a lot of publicity with the media and also given atheists something new to target as evidence that there is no god.

The term atheist is often confused with the term agnostic. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, an agnostic person is "One who is not committed to believing in either the existence or nonexistence of God or a god. A person who is unwilling to commit to an opinion about something." But an atheist is more hardcore in beliefs, which is why the Merriam-Webster dictionary defines the term atheist as "One who believes that there is no deity." In other words, an atheist knows exactly what he or she believes and acts on those beliefs -- similar to the ways religious people such as Christians act on beliefs and call it faith.

A group of atheists that host a radio show on KLAY AM 1180 have said they are hosting a party for those "Left Behind." These atheists are referring to everyone on the planet, since they believe nobody will be taken during any form of Rapture on May 21, 2011. Put differently, this is the atheists way of saying everyone is invited to the party. There is an official invite from these radio hosts that says:

"The night that we’re all Left Behind, May 21st, 2011 at 8:00 PM, the producers and crew of Ask An Atheist would love to see you at Dorky’s Arcade in Tacoma. We’re throwing an awesome party in Tacoma’s new retro arcade and bringing in our favorite Seattle bands to rock the place as we celebrate the END… of the countdown to backpedaling."

What are your thoughts on this subject? ... Do you believe there will be a Rapture on May 21, 2011?