The United States of America was once considered at the top of the food chain. Now though, thanks to welfare and the lazy nature that Americans have become accustomed to, our once great nation has become a breeding ground for bottom feeders. The entire development of an enduring existence has always been based on the notion that only the strong survive. By cradling the unmotivated masses to our chest we’ve become weak in the knees, much like every other nation throughout history that has attempted to do the same! I fully understand that there are people who desperately need the help due to weak economy or personal loss of some sort, but the whole system has been taken advantage of for so long, its nearly impossible to distinguish the difference between the temporary needs of a few and the excessive scamming of the corrupt.

The only way to solve a problem of this magnitude at this point would be with the total breakdown of the entire public aid and welfare program, leaving millions of people lost, confused and mentally incapable of providing for their family’s. This approach would most certainly lead to the deaths or at the very least suffering of tens of thousands of people, who actually may need the assistance. And lets not forget the taxpaying citizens who are already suffering by supporting the useless masses. Once the con artists and thieves that are taking advantage of the system lose their cash cow they will be looking for another source of easy income. It will most likely be in the form of another type of scam on the honest and hardworking: Internet schemes, identity theft, insurance fraud and counterfeit lawsuits to name a few. All of which are already happening on a daily basis all over America, and that’s not even mentioning the horrible violent crimes that will also raise in rate!

So it does appear, we have worked ourselves into the proverbial rock and a hard place, and there will be no true winners, no matter which route we decide to take. The one thing I know for sure is that our country has become much to weak to carry the crooked and lazy any longer, it’s time we cut our losses and fight through the rough times to come up with the skills and determination we were all blessed with at birth. It will be hard, it will be sad, many people will suffer, but the only other option will be the falling of an entire nation from the top of the food chain only to become another 3rd world country surviving on violence and the begging of scrap donations from other countries.

Lets just hope the right decisions are made and we find the strength to recover before it’s to late.

D.S. DUBY

United States Mint Police (Photo credit: cliff1066™)

United States Mint Police (Photo credit: cliff1066™)

• Name: Pimchanok Lerwisetpibol / Pimchanok Leuwisetpaiboon
• Thai: พิมพ์ชนก ลือวิเศษไพบูลย์
• Nickname: Fern/Baifern
• Birthdate: Sept. 30, 1992
• Birthplace: Thailand
• Height: 165cm
• Blood Type: B
• Education: Nawamintarashinutid School

Movies

• Love Summer (2011)
• BKO: Bangkok Knockout (2010)
• A Little Thing Called Love (2010)
• Miss You Again | A-Nueng Kidthueng Pen Yang Ying (2009)
• Meat Grinder (2009)
• Power Kids | 5 huajai hero (2009) – Teelor Girl

TV Dramas

• Genie in the Bottle 3 | Arsoon noi nai ta-kaeng keaw (Channel 7 / 2012) – Nanny
• Miracle Land | Pan din mahatsajarn (Channel 7 / 2011) – Waan
• Love of the Moon River | Mon rak mae nam Moon (Channel 7 / 2011) – Kham-La
• Look Khon (Channel 7 / 2010) – Rum-thai
• E-sarn Fighter | Nak su pun khoa neaw (Channel 7 / 2010) – Mali
• Teen Dreamer | Wai poaun goan la fun (Channel 7 / 2010) – Noi-na
• Blood Lake | Talae sab see leuad (Channel 7 / 2007) – Nooch

I breath the air and I can’t sense the happiness.

I feel as if we are not satisfied!

We are not satisfied with what we have!

We can’t just have happiness! We cant just have love!

We cant just have joy!

We have to have war! We have to have violence!

We have to have greed! and yet we look each other

and say that we love one another.

You say that but that’s a lie!

If we loved each other there

wouldn’t be the need for war, there wouldn’t be a need to die.

There wouldn’t be a need for greed…… or a need to cry.

I look to the sky and i see the hatred.

And all the love that we say we have for each other is just wasted.

Wasted away like a wealthy family’s food.

Wasted like the fruit of our soul.

Wasted like our lives in war.

I look to the sky and i see the violence,

I smell the burning of peoples skin

I hear the screams of men and women of war

And what for? To say that we are going to win.

One day we will all be able to soar.

Soar through the high heights  of happiness.

Soar through the problems in our lives.

Soar through the lives we want to live.

But to get there… We must all,

Look to the sky!

Three live chicken were sent to the victim’s house in a bag

The suspect’s photos

The suspect have been disturbing the woman for the past two weeks by sending her presents such as ring, necklace by placing it inside her mailbox in Setapak Jaya.

The 21 year old victim who works as a secretary in an IT company said, her admirer often delivering weird objects to her house especially when she is away working. She added that the first thing she received from the man was a note written Diana Danielle’s name.

“The second harassment happened last Tuesday when I received an envelope containing man used underwear which was placed in the mailbox.” She said who made a police report in Wangsa Maju yesterday. 

A singer from a popular local hip hop group was arrested by police after being charged for raping his 14 years old stepdaughter at his home in Gombak Jaya, yesterday. The 37 year old singer who also acted in a few movies was arrested after his stepdaughter lodged a police report in Gombak Police Department around 11PM last night.

According to source, in the report, the victim claimed that she was raped by her stepfather from the age of 7 and the last time he touched her was on February 9th. Based on the report, police conducted investigation before arresting the singer at his house in Gombak Jaya around 2 AM. The source also added the teenage girl said that she had finally had enough and lodged the report for fear of her younger sister. She had been made sex slave by her stepfather for the last seven years.

The ability to reach large segments of the public is of great value in commerce, politics, and a society’s culture. The mass media are usually controlled by corporations (as in the United States) or by national governments (as in China). The mass-media industry employs professionals to conceive, produce, promote, and deliver communication products that are specifically designed to meet the goal of attracting large audiences. These products may be sold as objects (such as books—or downloaded e-books—or digital videodiscs [DVDs]) or exhibited for the price of a ticket or subscription (such as movies shown in cinemas or on premium or pay-for-view cable TV channels). Some services may be offered at no cash cost to consumers so as to create an audience for paid advertising (such as commercial television or radio broadcasts or Internet sites). Most newspapers and magazines are sold directly to the reader but depend on selling advertisements for their profitability. A growing number of newspapers and magazines are available online for no fee; this “freebie” has proved to be a challenge for the cash-strapped print media.

No communication technology is inherently a mass medium. Rather, it becomes such a medium through usage. Radio was invented at the end of the 19th century primarily for use as a two-way communication system to serve industrial shipping and naval operations. In the 1920s corporate decisions were made by several major electronics manufacturers to mass-produce inexpensive radio receivers for retail sale and to operate radio stations as incentives for consumers to buy those receivers. Thus radio broadcasting—a mass medium—was born; it quickly grew into the primary use of that medium. Television developed in the opposite way. It was first introduced to the general public as a mass medium in the late 1940s. Decades later the development of such supplementary appliances as the videocassette recorder and the home video camera allowed for its use as an interpersonal medium. The telephone has been an example of a medium of interpersonal communication that remained, primarily, just that. It was only occasionally used as a mass medium; telemarketers use computers to automatically dial thousands of phone numbers for the purpose of reaching a potential customer or playing recorded messages. Letter writing has historically been an interpersonal medium. Yet direct mailing of millions of letters of solicitation by post or by e-mail constitutes the use of the letter as a mass medium.

History

Mass media are essentially an industrial-era phenomenon. The first commercial printing industry during the early 18th century sprang up around London’s Grub Street. This is often cited as a beginning for mass media because of the recognizable economic system that was put into place. It was there that publishing found its early commercial applications; hand-operated printing presses were used to produce and reproduce thousands of copies of inexpensive literary products—including novels (”penny-dreadfuls”) and magazines. These were sold for profit to a growing audience of rudimentary readers. Publishing had previously depended on the clergy or the aristocracy for funding rather than on retail marketing.

A string of communication technologies were introduced during the 19th century and accelerated the development of the mass media. The invention of the steam-powered printing press (along with increasing literacy rates) gave rise to mass circulation of newspapers and magazines. These types of mass-produced print products—as well as books—were commonly available for sale in Europe and North America by the 1860s. Photography was invented in the 1820s. Methods for reproducing photographs in the print media were improved throughout the century and made such media ever more attractive to consumers. The development of still photography led to the invention of the motion picture. The cinema was an entirely new means of communication that showed great potential for mass-media application.

In the 1830s the telegraph was invented and was in practical use by the late 1840s. It was perhaps the single most important invention in the history of mass communication. It revolutionized existing media by supplying newspapers and magazines with a continuous stream of news dispatches from the region and even the nation. The Atlantic cable was completed in 1863; newspapers could then acquire information from around the world. Newspapers and magazines were bolstered by the resources of the telegraphic wire services and eventually achieved circulations numbering in the millions. Thus print became the first of the modern mass media.

Other types of media were gaining public attention on this scale by the turn of the 20th century. Silent movies became increasingly popular. Dramatic narratives provided the main audience draw, with the newsreel and the documentary film also garnering viewers. Attendance grew as the introduction of synchronous sound to feature films in 1927 married voice with picture.

The phonograph (invented in 1877) emerged as a mass medium as well. It achieved wider use as electrification of homes allowed for replacement of hand-cranked mechanical models. Sales of recordings reached mass proportions during the 1920s, with commercial radio used to popularize musical genres and to make stars of artists. The first U.S. commercial radio station went on the air in 1920. Radio networks linked stations in various parts of the country to carry a single program simultaneously by 1927.

By the mid-20th century, newspapers and magazines, movies, phonograph records, and radio programs were all conveniently available to most of the American population. These media provided many aspects of cultural learning to a sizable number of people. Eventually these mass media began to rival such traditional cultural determinants as family and religion. Some saw this as a natural and positive extension of democracy. Others criticized the mass media for failing to propagate existing culture and replacing it with a new mass culture based on consumerism at the expense of traditional or any other values.

Broadcast television emerged as the nexus of the mass media during the 1950s. It contained news, drama, cinema, music, and at least some content from all other mass media in a single, convenient home appliance. Television’s overwhelming functionality was soon dictating supplementary roles to other components of the mass media. Radio began to produce specialized programming for smaller target audiences. TV absorbed general-interest entertainment—from drama and comedy to variety—which had been among radio’s most popular attractions. Newspaper circulation had started to decline in the 1930s as radio journalism proved itself both faster and more popular. The number of daily U.S. newspapers began to drop precipitously with the spread of television. Most cities were left with only a single newspaper publisher. Many general-interest magazines disappeared as well; publishers sought the smaller and specialized audiences that television did not serve. Motion-picture attendance declined in the face of television’s at-home convenience.

Mass Media Today

Evolving technologies continue to drive the development of mass media. Instantaneous communication is a process that originated with the telegraph; it reached a milestone with the successful launchings of communications satellites into low Earth orbit. The first of these was Telstar 1 (1962). It orbited the Earth at a speed faster than the Earth revolves. This allowed for “windows” of time when video and audio transmissions could be made within a shifting orbital footprint. There are now dozens of high-capacity communications satellites in synchronous orbit; a reporter may attach a camera or microphone to a laptop computer and report live via satellite from virtually any location in the world.

The nationwide dissemination of cable TV was a process that took decades because of the necessity of seeking legal franchises in virtually every U.S. municipality. Cable subscription reached a saturation point in the late 1980s. The new mass medium began to remake TV in much the same way that the introduction of TV had remade radio and magazines. Cable channels sought smaller audiences with special target interests for advertisers specifically intent on reaching these audiences. But that changed in the first decade of the 21st century; both the number of cable channels and the size of audiences grew. Millions turned to cable news channels for presidential election coverage in 2008.

The 1990s, meanwhile, were marked by an explosive growth in online services for people who used computers and had access to the Internet. Critics hoped that the Internet might offer an alternative or even a counterforce to mass-media influence over public taste and public opinion (with e-mail, newsgroups, and chat rooms).

Mass-media ownership was characterized by concentration of ownership through mergers and acquisitions in the late 20th and the early 21st century. In the United States a consistent trend of deregulation since the 1980s left most of the television industry (as well as other mass media) in the hands of fewer than a dozen companies.

The 2001 merger of Time Warner—an integrated mass-media company with holdings in publishing, film and television, radio, recording, and just about every other form of mass communication—with America Online (AOL), the then-largest Internet service provider, epitomized this trend. This deal, however, was struck at the height of enthusiasm for Internet and media stocks. When new technologies were created, new online providers jumped in. AOL began to lose many of its users. This was followed by highs and lows in the stock market; a recession ensued in 2007. Time Warner and AOL “divorced” in 2009. As part of the split, Time Warner kept the entertainment site TMZ (Thirty Mile Zone) as well as CNN (Cable News Network), HBO (Home Box Office), TBS (Turner Broadcasting System), and TNT (Turner Network Television).

Large media companies—such as General Electric, Westinghouse, News Corporation, and the Bertelsmann Group—also lost their luster by the end of the first decade of the new millennium. Their success had been fueled largely by a surplus of stock portfolios and the oversized presence—and dreams—of modern moguls.

Mass Media and Democracy

When mass-media ownership was in the hands of a limited number of companies, fewer communicators (and fewer types of communicators) were available to supply users with content. Although this changed with the advent of the Internet, television—both network and cable—remained the major source of news for many individuals. Political or social biases (whether perceived or actual) in the media have compelled some viewers to identify themselves in political terms—liberal, conservative, radical, reactionary. Many of these viewers, in turn, read or watch media material that accords with their own ideology.

The challenge to active participation in democracy was further compounded when the mass media seemed to be in concert about which issues to cover. Some critics think that the inclusion of foreign-based news organizations broadens the variety of American news coverage. Evidence of this appeared during the 2003 Iraq War; radio and television coverage included that by the British Broadcasting Corporation. The fact that a number of important American newspapers (and television stations) are moving to outsource foreign coverage in order to save money may have a significant effect on domestic issues in the future.

The diminishing coverage of world events is the result of budget constraints; it may also be caused by physical inaccessability to newsworthy places because of censorship or lack of a free press. Foreign reporters were banned from Iran after the controversial presidential election of 2009. Yet thousands of videos taken by Iranian citizens during election protests were uploaded to the social media site YouTube and were broadcast on TV stations and Internet sites around the world. In this way, a degree of public access to world news is growing; making this growth possible are new technology and participation of individuals who make their images available to the mass media.

The Effects of Mass Media

Because of their central position as a source of cultural and social learning, the mass media are easily, and often, blamed for many of society’s ills. Some researchers believe that the mass media shape the way people view the world, especially when people have little direct experience. Others point to the media as providing role models—positive and negative—imitated by members of the audience. The portrayal of violence in the media is perhaps the most prominent issue. Other behavioral areas are of concern as well, such as explicit sex or extremely coarse language. These arguments tend to be based on a couple of suppositions: one is that the experience of content presented by contemporary mass media differs in some qualitative way from material that people have been exposed to since the beginning of social communication; the other is that individuals will copy or be influenced by what they view. Attempts to hold mass-media corporations legally responsible for the criminal acts of the consumers of their products have failed. A general consensus has been reached that people will have to continue to be responsible for their own behaviors in the age of mass media.

Image by ▓▒░ TORLEY ░▒▓ via Flickr

     How long has it been since you expressed your creativity? In the daily rush to meet deadlines and fulfill obligations, our creative self often gets shuffled to the sidelines. And that’s not a good thing as our creativity is so closely connected to our sense of self-fulfillment. Creativity helps us to experience the magical and playful side of life. It lets us explore our passions and express ourselves artistically.

    In my case, my preferred creative passion is my creative design through Lingerie & Jewelry. I love spending time tending to fabrics and style. They delight my eyes and fill me with much joy and satisfaction. It is a very grounding pastime, and one that I also get to share with others as well by spending many glorious hours talking about our fashion experiences.

Image via Wikipedia

    Sadly, many people don’t consider themselves creative, especially if they don’t write, paint or play music. But that is a limited perspective of creativity. There are many forms of creative self-expression with different kinds of execution and levels of expertise. Within each and every one of us exists an artistic being just waiting for the opportunity to shine. And, friend, that is not to be taken lightly!

    Our creative expression touches us on a very personal level. It can be as simple and spontaneous as singing in the shower or the car. It can be a playful moment of making up a silly limerick or strumming chords on a guitar, Or it could be a more directed and focused activity such as sewing a quilt, cooking an exceptional meal, or making your home a special place for you and for those close to you to relax and enjoy.

    So, friend, how do you express your creativity, and when was the last time you did that? If it’s been a while, I hope this article will serve as an inspirational reminder to exercise your inner artist! Just open yourself up to the possibilities around you, and hopefully you will find ways to explore, nurture and enjoy your creative side!

The 23-year-old had been given permission to film a video for the song We Found Love in a muddy barley field owned by farmer Alan Graham.

He explained Tuesday, that he “didn’t know who was coming. If the name ‘Rihanna’ had been mentioned, well, no disrespect, but it wouldn’t have meant anything.”

However, Mr. Graham said when he went to get his tractor on Monday, September 26, and saw the singer stripping down to a bikini top; he stepped in to end the shoot.

Mr. Graham’s wife has shed more light on the incident revealing that Rihanna had gone topless. “What she was doing became more inappropriate when she started to go topless, that’s what her husband was objecting to … things were getting out of hand. There was a man as well, and the behavior was getting more inappropriate. It wasn’t the sort of thing Mr. Graham wanted young people to see on his land. (We) are Christians,” Mrs. Graham said. Mr. Graham said he “asked the film crew to stop, and they did.” He insisted that “there were no hard feelings.”

He added that he had a conversation with Rihanna they shook hands and parted company on good terms. H added that he found her very gracious and hoped she understood where he was coming from and wished her well.

I often wonder if the continuous release of sex tapes, music videos and naked pictures featuring artistes are attempts to stay in the spotlight that have gone too far.

I am especially ashamed of the bunch whose names have been making the rounds because this activity. Their talent is not what is making them the hot topic, it is instead the act. They are now being critiqued for their talent as porn stars rather than as entertainers.

I wonder if they are so desperate to make it, that they have chosen to lower themselves in the eyes of the public. Let us face it, artistes are admired as role models by many children and adults and what they are caught doing on these tapes and videos is disgraceful and leaves a lot to be desired.

Their fellow artistes, who keep quiet and allow this rotten few to misrepresent the industry are no better as they do not recognize that because of their silence, they are allowing themselves to be judged equally with them.

I know the entertainers could not be doing this if the society was not accepting of it. The widespread acceptance and interest in these pictures and videos only emphasizes how far gone we are as a society.

When we will get up and say enough is enough and yes the media in some cases has been the avenue putting it out there, but if you do not consume it, they will not do it. So it is full time that everybody recognize that they have a responsibility to play.

Becoming an adult does not only mean, you can do what you want when you want. It also means you need to be responsible, you need to have self respect, you need to put a value on your life and determine what you are willing to do to maintain this value.

Based on the low standards of some artistes by their actions in the business, I am beginning to feel that some entertainers have got it twisted and are selling themselves cheap to make money. There is a funny thing about cheap things though, they seldom last long.

(intro)

Pick up lines doesn’t work

Autumns are spoiling my days

Winter makes it too cool for me

The papers fly all over my face

everybody’s looking at me,

(Bridge)

It is raining

I know I’m not perfect

I hope I could walk in the red carpet

with Madonna,

The sky is falling to me,

The girls are going away from me

(Chorus)

This gotta stop,

Theres A part of me that says

Somethings wrong

Babe, something is wrong

Somethings wrong

The newspaper upside down,

ooh somethings wrong

oooh, somethings wrong

The oceans rise and fall back,

ooh a part of me says,

somethings wrong…

yeah…whoaa

(intro)

She doesn’t want me ooh,

Everybody is leaving,

The sky is falling apart

The birds are singing and dancing wild

Whats going on, with me oh me!

(Bridge)

It is raining

I know I’m not perfect

I hope I could walk in the red carpet

with Madonna,

The sky is falling to me,

The girls are going away from me

(Chorus)

This gotta stop,

Theres A part of me that says

Somethings wrong

Babe, something is wrong

Somethings wrong

The newspaper upside down,

ooh somethings wrong

oooh, somethings wrong

The oceans rise and fall back,

ooh a part of me says,

somethings wrong…

yeah…whoaa

na.. na.. na.. na.. 

(Chorus)

This gotta stop,

Theres A part of me that says

Somethings wrong

Babe, something is wrong

Somethings wrong

The newspaper upside down,

ooh somethings wrong

oooh, somethings wrong

The oceans rise and fall back,

ooh a part of me says,

somethings wrong…

yeah…whoa

(fast intro)

Pick up lines doesn’t work

Autumns are spoiling my days

Winter makes it too cool for me

The papers fly all over my face

everybody’s looking at me,

(Bridge)

It is raining

I know I’m not perfect

I hope I could walk in the red carpet

with Madonna,

The sky is falling to me,

The girls are going away from me

(Chorus)

This gotta stop,

Theres A part of me that says

Somethings wrong

Babe, something is wrong

Somethings wrong

The newspaper upside down,

ooh somethings wrong

oooh, somethings wrong

The oceans rise and fall back,

ooh a part of me says,

somethings wrong…

yeah…whoa(somethings wrong!!)

Oooh something is wrong….