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Yeah I just got done watching Victory Fighting Championship 29:The Rising on American One. Pretty good production value no fighter entrances but eh I can deal its not like this is PRIDE or Japan. You guys should definatly check them Ultimate Combat Experience and AMerican One out.

*Disclaimer!!!! I am in no way affiliated with either of these organizations I am simply spreading the word to help further grow MMA *

VFC B.A.R. (standard version). A very nice airsoft gun. Good performance and strips down almost like the real thing. Build quality is also very good, except for the stock wobble. The two screws holding the stock are too small, this causes the stock to get loose a bit from time to time. Can be fixed though. Sad that VFC decided to make a bipod version which was only used after WW2, pictured is a real steel one. Carry handle is removed for WW2 Reenactment/gaming. Detailed review to follow.

Thomas Fiss, 23, was once in a group called “Varsity Fan Club”. Since leaving the group he has now started a new band himself!! I was given the chance by a great friend to go see Thomas rehearse a day before the show!! If you haven’t seen him perform at all or missed it on the day of the show I recorded a video just for you! So, enjoy and rock OUT!!!

Ash<3

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This Week your video contenders are

Challenger: ‘We Got That B-roll’ by Cream‘
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Champion: ‘Echo Location‘

Challenger: We Got That B-roll

Champion: Echo Location

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Voting will Cease Dec 18th

Think it’s crazy to walk into a speed-ball tournament or a skirmish with nothing but a grenade launcher? VFC’s MK13 EGLM Launcher is no regular launcher it’s a worthy primary weapon (if you can practice reloading fast enough!) See RedWolf Airsoft’s feature presentation video this week to see this bad boy in action!

VFC EGLM DX Airsoft Grenade Launcher

Just like the real steel EGLM, the VFC version features the same rotating locking breech system and 6x dextrorotations simulation rifling just for looks! The EGLM launcher system from VFC can be very easily fitted to both the Standalone MK16 and the SCAR series, complete with both 7.62 and 5.56 style trigger pack modules.

True to the real steel designs, VFC has created a true masterpiece, from the shape of the EGLM all the way down to the unique serial numbers. The breech is opened by depressing a spring loaded button which ejects the shell (not included) from the EGLM, and like the real steel EGLM launcher, the barrel can swivel both left and right up to 15 degrees for ease of loading.

The Stand-alone EGLM comfortable fits all body sizes with its easily adjustable buttstock. Complete with 4 CNC machined rails, you can install literally anything and everything on it, so if you want a great looking EGLM launcher that operates as good as it looks, you need not look further!

Mounted on the Standalone system, the EGLM measures in at:
Length (Retracted): 525mm
Length (Fully Extended): 690mm

For more information and pricing visit: RedWolf Airsoft

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Challenger: ‘Armenian Geico Ad‘
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Challenger: Armenian Geico Ad

Champion: Echo Location

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Voting will Cease Dec 11th

Gavin Sword KF9, Rwanda

Children are adaptable – this is what I have learned since my first post on our kids’ experience in Rwanda.  Christian and Savilla are different people than when we arrived and they have become accustomed to life in Rwanda.  Cold baths are met with resignation if not acceptance.  They now get excited when they see bugs and like to pick them up and give them names.  And the mosquito nets are cool now, like a special fort (for my son) or a princess’ veil (for my daughter).  This was NOT how they were in our first few weeks here. It is time for them to fly home next week and they are genuinely sad to know this.

No longer are they seen as outsiders – they have been accepted as Rwandans who just don’t speak the language that well.  It seems young children communicate mostly through playing, singing and pretending.   To be sure, our children are not totally ‘locals’ – there are different socioeconomic levels here in Rwanda – more pronounced than in the West by far.   But in their own milieu they are fitting in with ease.  It is wonderful to see.

As for being adopted, they now both understand that this is where they came from.  They love to visit the orphanage where we got them and each time we go they pick out things of theirs that they would like to give to the children there.  Their generosity is heartwarming.  Indeed, they keep asking if they can bring home a brother and sister and frankly don’t understand the hold up on our end.  Questions like this are becoming quite common, which I suppose is normal for 4 year-olds.  Additional siblings from the orphanage is not the only new topic with endless questions.  Other, more metaphysical issues have arisen as well.

Rwanda is a decidedly Christian country and this has not been lost on them.  They have started speaking more about Jesus and God and Heaven and “going down to the fire” and are asking some rather deep questions about who will be going where when they die and why.  (Also, which specific infractions are to be avoided) This is new territory for me as a parent but we are rolling with it by answering questions with questions.  It’s working for now…

For their part, they have endured church services that last longer than 2 hours with nary a complaint.  They seem to really love the singing and general rejoicing of the whole scene.  This, in bleacher-type seats with no “children’s time” to speak of – amazing, really.  Yes, our Rwandan / Canadian / American children have adapted amazingly well and as a parent, I’m very proud of them.

I will relate this to microfinance and Kiva in this way – there is no way I would be here, knee-deep in Rwandan culture without this opportunity.  So, I am grateful to Kiva and the good work that my MFI, Vision Finance Company is doing – it made it possible for us to be here with a larger purpose – beyond tourism.  This experience has been life changing for my children and for us as a family and for that I am truly grateful.  I highly recommend the Kiva Fellow Program to anyone interested in learning more about microfinance, experiencing different cultures and helping to alleviate poverty around the world.

To support Vision Finance Company and Rwandan entrepreneurs, join the VFC Lending Team.

Crazed shoppers go for black friday gold

With the unofficial unemployment rates approaching 20%, consumer confidence at 60% its normal level, and retail sales showing only slight percentage increases over abysmally low levels, one would be forgiven for having a low amount of confidence in consumer spending juicing the economy this holiday season.  Add to this the declining levels of credit available to consumers, and a generally bad attitude towards taking on more debt as consumers retrench (especially those 25% of mortgage-holders who are underwater in their mortgage), and it looks like we are in for a rough post-thanksgiving period.

But, is it actually going to be that bad?

Last year, despite Thanksgiving weekend finding itself a few weeks after the start of the worst financial crises since the Great Depression, sales actually increased by 7.2%, with the average person spending $372.57.  Over 50% of Americans were out during that weekend (source here) Since then, unemployment has become worse, but consumer confidence as measured by the UoM has increased from 57.9 to 66 (although normal levels are closer to 90).

And of course, there is always the pent-up demand.  Spending this year has been unbelievably low, as exhibited by the repeated 2% declines in retail sales last year followed by scattered and inconsistent recovery.  Eventually, consumers will get frustrated with the lack of new things that they have, and will crave shopping.  The sale prices that will be available on Black Friday could be the trigger consumers need to dig back into their wallets.

Finally, on a personal note, how many times have we heard that some part of the economy is reaching a new paradigm (like we are hearing now).  We heard it during the tech boom of the early 2000s, during the S&L boom of the 1990s, and about the economy during just about every recession.  The most dangerous words I have heard when it comes to investing are: This time it is different. Consumer spending will come back, and I think it will be sooner than people think.

-AH

Disclosure: Long TGT, and am net long the market with other positions.

^“Fix this picture firmly in your mind: Jesus, descended from the line of David, raised from the dead. It’s what you’ve heard from me all along. It’s what I’m sitting in jail for right now—but God’s Word isn’t in jail! That’s why I stick it out here—so that everyone God calls will get in on the salvation of Christ in all its glory. This is a sure thing:

   If we die with him, we’ll live with him;
   If we stick it out with him, we’ll rule with him;
   If we turn our backs on him, he’ll turn his back on us;
   If we give up on him, he does not give up—
      for there’s no way he can be false to himself.”    (2 Timothy 2:8-13)

I’ve been taking a class at the local community college here in Kalamazoo.  I feel pretty old when I’m at class.  I’m the oldest person in the class besides the teacher.  Early in the class one of the girls said “I was born the year you graduated from high school” in a sweet happy voice.  Did she really need to point this out???  It always amuses me a little when the 17-year-old boy comes in and sits next to me and starts telling me how he’s SO tired and he had to risk life and limb to get to class on time at 9 am because it’s just SO hard to get up this early.  I try really hard to remember that when I was that age….that was stressful to me too.  But I really want to tell him everything I had to do this morning before class.  Feed and dress three kids.  Calm a handful of fights between three children.  Get the oldest child to school.  Remember all the oldest child’s homework and make sure she has a lunch packed and a snack.  Hope the babysitter arrives on time.  And somewhere in there hope I get a shower and can look decent for the day. 

I enjoy this class.  But here’s what I enjoy the most.

Each class, I am more and more surrounded by students who “casually” like to ask me about my job as a pastor.  It’s not often you see a young woman pastor and they have questions.  Like where I work and where I went to seminary. 

One of the largest churches in the Kalamazoo area has a male and female, husband wife team as head pastors.  Valley Family Church is a growing, vibrant, church making a difference in our community.  Men and women are at all levels of ministry serving as God called them to serve.

1 Timothy 2:14 goes on to say:  “Repeat these basic essentials over and over to God’s people. Warn them before God against pious nitpicking, which chips away at the faith. It just wears everyone out. Concentrate on doing your best for God, work you won’t be ashamed of, laying out the truth plain and simple.”

I’m growing tired of defending women in ministry.  It wears me out sometimes.  The world doesn’t need to see the church divided on this issue.  The church needs to stop being nitpicky and focus on the task at hand:  Sharing who Christ was and is. 

If women shouldn’t be in ministry at any level of their giftedness, than why is someplace like Valley Family Church having such AMAZING success?  Why is their ministry so fruitful? 

I think the kids in my class are curious about me as a pastor because for the first time, they have seen the church as accepting rather than oppressive to people.  This matters, because when the church acts in this way, Christ is seen in this way.  This is the bottom line.

Vega Force Company just released their new M4 E Series. Take a look at the video to see the VFC M4 E-Series internals. For more details visit VFC website.

VFC M4ES 14.5R

VFC M4ES Defender

VFC M4ES Tactical Carbine

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This Week your video contenders are

Challenger: ‘Best Buy Parody‘
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Champion: ‘Echo Location‘

Challenger: Echo Location

Champion: Echo Location

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Voting will Cease Nov 12th

To submit your videos email your video link to failpire at
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This Week your video contenders are

Challenger: ‘Echo Location‘
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Champion: ‘Vinegar Tea Party’

Challenger: Echo Location

Champion: Vinegar Tea Party by Destructobox

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Voting will Cease Nov 5th

//

To submit your videos email your video link to failpire at
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This Week your video contenders are

Challenger: ‘Name Discrimination’
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Champion: ‘Vinegar Tea Party’

Challenger: Name Discrimination

Champion: Vinegar Tea Party by Destructobox

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Voting will Cease Oct 22nd

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This Week your video contenders are

Challenger:’Orchid Suckers’ VS Champion:’Vinegar Tea Party’

Watch the videos Click Here

Challenger: Orchid Suckers by FIC

Champion: Vinegar Tea Party by Destructobox

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Voting will Cease Oct 15th

Rainbow Over Kigali

By Gavin Sword, KF9 Rwanda

It is no secret that the rainbow is a harbinger of good things ahead.  This photo is a view of Rwanda’ capital city, Kigali after a brief rain spell.  On my very first day here, a rainbow was a happy sight indeed..

I am happy to report that I have arrived to begin my work here as a Kiva Fellow – my first day is tomorrow.  In the meantime, I thought I would (briefly) share some of my impressions thus far.

First, some perspective, I was perusing over the map of Africa in Brussels Airline’s newsy inflight magazine while en route to Kigali and I learned that Rwanda has a population of over 10 million and a landmass of approximately 10,000 square miles.  Using a useful web-based tool called “google.com”, I further learned that Rwanda is a bit smaller than Maryland with twice the population.

So, Rwanda is about 100 miles by 100 miles in area – this should bode well for microfinance efforts to reach rural regions since they are relatively close to urban centers.  Microfinance is surely needed here as I also learned that the average annual per capital income is just over $US1,000.  Ok, no more statistics, onto anecdotes!

Last night I ventured out to a café/bar and enjoyed watching a football match on TV with a room full of football loving Rwandans.  Recognizing a foreigner (not hard to spot with reddish/blond hair), several people came up to me to welcome me to Rwanda and asked where I was from, what I was doing in Rwanda and which team I was cheering for.  (Deciding allegiance was called for; I am a very newly minted fan of Liverpool’s football squad and was utterly crestfallen to see them lose to Chelsea last night).  More seriously, I was genuinely moved by the good-natured, friendliness of the people I met.  A kinder welcome to a country one could not hope to have.  There truly is a rainbow over Kigali… I am excited to be here and begin my work as a Kiva Fellow!

Me showing the finger

Me, of course! This is the first time I’ve voted, and it felt great. I couldn’t (or didn’t bother to) vote last year during the assembly elections, but this time, when the 15th Lok Sabha elections were announced, I had made up my mind to do whatever it takes to go and vote. It wasn’t easy though. I had to make multiple trips to the Voter Facilitation Centre (VFC) and have wasted more than four hours of my life standing in the stupid queue just to check whether my name has appeared in the draft rolls. When my name wasn’t found even when I went there the second time, I had given up all hopes of voting.

But a couple of days back, I opened the Chief Electoral Officer’s site, and found that they had put up a link to the Final Electoral Rolls, and surprise, surprise, my name was there (albeit with all kinds of spelling mistakes)! I strongly believe there was some kind of divine intervention to put my name there. A quick phone call to the VFC and I found that the last date to get the Electors Photo Identity Card (EPIC) was over. But I could still vote using my PAN card.

So today morning, I went to the polling booth at 7.30 AM. I wanted to be there early to avoid the long queue. As expected the queue was very less and I was among the first ten people to vote in my booth. There were no objections about my identity from the officers and I exercised my franchise for the very first time! Yay!

So I guess this makes me a responsible citizen of India, and gives me all kinds of rights to indulge in serious debates about Indian politics. Maybe I should write a post sometime about how stupid Sanjay Dutt looks in khadi…

On April 17, 2009, VFC, the Midwest’s top fighting organization made its first stop at Lincoln, Nebraska on its Road To Victory Tour with VFC: Capital Punishment.

Revgear sponsored fighter Joel Mickells showed his best at this fighting event. Joel fought Chad Obermiller, an undefeated MMA champion, and won by submission (Rear Naked Choke) 1:15 in the 2nd round.
He is now 9-2 in his MMA career. Way to go, Joel!

Revgear Sponsored Fighter Joel Mickells

The initial euphoria about how easy it has become to get one’s name on the voter’s list is turning into disappointment. At the Election Commission’s latest innovation — the Voter Facilitation Centres (VFC) — there is now an EPIC battle being fought between citizens keen to vote and government officials.

The VFCs were meant to be one-stop enablers for voter registration, but the idea has been defeated by apathetic officials, complain citizens, who are increasingly joining hands under Residents’ Welfare Association (RWA) banners and are up in arms against the “cold attitude” of the officials at VFCs across the city.

N.S. Mukunda, president of Citizen Action Forum (CAF) complained that officials at VFC centres have deleted names in the voter lists arbitrarily. “Though the Election Commission says it has set up VFCs to help people get EPIC cards so that they can exercise their franchise freely and fairly, officials at VFCs aren’t people-friendly,” he says. Members of the CAF have been offering support to the officials by bringing in people in organised batches, but the VFCs are short-staffed and lack skilled workers who can process requests quickly.

“When my wife and daughter approached the special tahsildar who is in charge of issuing EPIC cards at Padmanabhanagar, they were rudely told they could go out of the centre and complain to anyone they thought fit,” Mukunda said. Banashankari 2nd stage RWA president said that considering the scale of the operation that they were entrusted with, the VFC officials were ill-equipped.

“Serpentine queues and inadequate facilities reign supreme. People in the queues fight among themselves and with officials all the time”, he added.

It seems that there is renewed interest in a Warren Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-A) acquisition strategy for another large takeover.  This has always been on the table, and as we noted in the most recent annual report, Buffett has mentioned an interest.  He even laid out a set of criteria.  But the new list of companies that is being passed around as a potential target list actually is based upon the current numbers rather than on many of these actually being legitimate targets.

Buffett has stressed that the larger the company, the greater the interest, and as always he looks for businesses that have a longevity projection of “forever” in his search.  His criteria was laid out as companies with at least $75 million of pre-tax earnings unless the business will fit into existing units, consistent earnings history rather than turnarounds or promises ahead, and strong returns on equity with little or no debt.  Buffett also said he wants simple businesses that are easy to understand and that has a management team already in place.

Where this is most interesting is that Buffett has already stated that an offering price needs to be in place.  He even noted, “We don’t want to waste our time or that of the seller by talking, even preliminarily, about a transaction when price is unknown.” Buffett said outright that he will not engage in unfriendly takeovers and won’t participate in business auctions.  His preferred target is the $5 to $20 billion range.

But here is where there is a stretch between what is going around right now and what Buffett himself has said:  “We are not interested, however, in receiving suggestions about purchases we might make in the general stock market.” It seems that the mere act of pointing names out could in fact make Mr. Buffett turn the other way.

Bloomberg yesterday ran a list of 46 companies which fit into the criteria.  What is odd about this list is that it seems that the screen criteria only ran numbers that fit into what Buffett said.  But many of these names are going to be too cyclical or too dependent upon too many factors for Buffett to want to buy them.  More importantly, a lot of these companies have been beaten up too much for management to want to sell.

The three big names that were used as points of reference were food supplier Sysco Corp. (NYSE: SYY), clothing maker VF Corp. (NYSE VFC), and medical and consumer tool maker Danaher Corp. (NYSE: DHR).  While Danaher’s policy is unknown to us, our own screening in the past has put Sysco as a company that would not want to be acquired or one that would require too large of a premium for Mr. Buffett to consider upon higher prices.  Our own screening in the past also put VF Corp. as a company that only wants to be an acquirer of brands rather than prey.

There is one company which Buffett has in his current portfolio where Buffett could make a play, and that is Burlington Northern Santa Fe (NYSE: BNI).  Its market cap is $19 billion now that it has fallen by more than half, and Berkshire already holds more than 20% of the stock.  The question boils down to whether or not management would sell at depressed levels.  Buffett might just want to take a larger stake here.

Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC) is not one that Buffett would acquire.  Even after the drop, it is far too large.  But he is a huge holder, even in his personal account, and the recent woes took the company down so far that Buffett may have snapped up more shares.  We discussed this with some traders last week as being a possibility, but there has not been any word on this notion yet.  Even with the shares down so much, his stake that we already knew about in Q4 is currently worth over $4 billion.

Some target companies were in the oil patch and a large steel company was in there.  Buffett already got his fingers pinched when he tried to gobble up a lot of Conoco Phillips (NYSE: COP), and that position looked slightly lower than before.  Either way, the recent swings in metals and commodities probably makes Buffett want to steer clear.  He might believe in the “forever” model in those, but if forever comes with too much pain or too many headaches he is likely to stay away.   Conoco was one of our own energy stocks which we think can double, and that assumes no Buffett actions.

One thing to remember about Buffett is that he doesn’t like being predictable.  His appetite is there for a deal, that is obvious.  Ultimately, any of these companies could still fit the bill for Buffett.  It just has to be friendly and we think it has to not be something that has burned him lately.  If it was as easy as having historically low P/E’s right now, Buffett would be out of cash many times over because of all the possibilities.  But whatever business he chooses as that old former phrase of “a whale of a deal” is going to have to be an absolute slam dunk.

As always, here is the full list of Buffett & Berkshire holdings.

JON C. OGG
March 20, 2009

Where can you get lunch for two for less than £8 in London that’s worth recommending? Simithane, that’s where. I paid £3 for Menemen from Simithane’s special ‘Eggs in the Pan’ menu served 7am-2pm. The skinny looking bagel on the left is simit and it was warm, fresh and absolutely delicious, an improvement on the kind I tried from the street vendor in Istanbul. The eggs in the pan weren’t bad either, served with tomatoes, peppers and onions all mixed in. The meal was light, flavoursome, and precisely the kind of cheap café food that it’s so hard to find in the UK unless you want a heart attack on a plate. If there was a place like Simithane near where I worked I’m sure I’d be all over it, not only because it costs about the same as a sandwich, but because you don’t have to eat at your desk.

My friend ordered a simit sandwich but we were told the option was finished. This was confusing because there seemed to be a constant supply of simit in circulation, but the lack of English spoken just added to the feeling I had of doing some of the sightseeing I’d missed out on in Turkey while there on business. My friend ended up with a halloumi cheese and tomato panini, which seemed to go down well. It came garnished with a cruchy salad and a pile of olives. Midway through our meal we received a complimentary plate of salad with another bunch of tasty olives. We each had a drink with our meals and it still only came to £7.50. The waitresses smiled at us every time they so much as walked past our table. It was so authentically unlike being in London that it makes the price we paid all the more shocking.

I chickened out of ordering a cup of ayran to go with my simit though. Remember that Value For Calories thing I was talking about? That’s what was on my mind when I made that decision. There’s no doubt in my mind that ayran and fresh, warm simit are a dream combo, but perhaps the experience is best saved for an occasion when I have more energy to replace than I do directly after a night of sitting on the couch playing Guitar Hero. I know Simithane – or any of the other delicious-looking Turkish cafés, restaurants and patisseries in the Stoke Newington area – will still be waiting there for me when I do eventually find myself a hobby that involves more exertion than placing my fingers on a keyboard or a fork between my lips.

VFC AKM/AKS

Vega Force Company has been teasing us lately with their 2009 version of the AKM/AKMS AEGs. No information about what’s new or other specifics on this gun and people are getting excited about it. Stay tuned for more. =)