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Game of Thrones Season 8, Episode 5: Three Levels Of Structure
This week, we're looking at Game of Thrones Season 8, Episode 5: The Bells.
Let's set aside for now the question of whether or not this episode is actually good. This has been debated ad nauseum everywhere, and I've already waxed poetic for four episodes about some of the issues that have plagued the character development in Game of Thrones Season 8.
Instead, I want to talk about what you can learn from this episode as a screenwriter or TV writer. I also want to discuss why this episode has sparked so much outrage and what you can learn from that when getting feedback on your own scripts or approaching your own rewrites.
To talk about Episode 5, let's start by going way back to Episode 1 of Season 1.
If you've studied screenwriting with me in my Write Your Screenplay classes, you're familiar with the concept of mirrors. This is the idea that elements of the structure of your screenplay evolve from reflecting back on moments that have already happened, but in a different way.
Game of Thrones Episode 5 starts with a moment that is one of those mirrors, a reflection of something we saw back at the very beginning of Season 1.
In the Game of Thrones pilot, we saw a king named Ned Stark execute a man named Will.
Will was a ranger who went out beyond The Wall and encountered a White Walker, a creature Ned Stark believed had long since gone extinct.
When Will comes back, Ned, as king, carries out what he believes to be his duty. Not understanding Will to be telling the truth about the White Walkers, Ned executes him. Not only does he execute Will, he brings his son to watch and learn what it means to be a king.
Game of Thrones Episode 5 begins with a moment that is very similar, a reflection of that moment that launched us into the series.
Except this time, it's Daenerys pronouncing the death sentence and the person being executed is Varys.
This time it's Varys who is speaking the truth nobody wants to hear and it's Daenerys operating as she believes a queen must operate in order to solidify her power.
Thematically, what's happening is the Game of Thrones engine is growing out of events that have come before.
Yes, there are problems with how we got here. Problems such as Varys not acting like Varys, Daenerys not acting like Daenerys, the brilliant Tyrion suddenly becoming very stupid, and everyone being manipulated like puppets by the writers, which I discussed in my previous podcast.
These issues with the path we took to get here do get in the way of what should be a very powerful scene being able to affect us in the way it should. There's a part of us wondering, "Um, yeah, but wouldn't she…? Um, wouldn't he…? Didn't they…?"
So, to get the full value out of this podcast and analysis, imagine, just for a moment, the writers of Game of Thrones have found a way to believably get us to this point.
Imagine they've rewritten the scenes in the previous episodes and found a believable way to chip away at Daenerys' morality while still leaving her a living, breathing character genuinely trying to do good, and pushing the ever-manipulative Varys into getting caught in his own betrayals without simply being stupid about it.
Let's assume for a moment this all actually made sense.
(For a deep discussion of one way to do such a rewrite, check out my Game of Thrones Season 8, Episode 4 podcast.)
Had that rewrite happened, you can imagine just how powerful this scene would have felt as a mirror of the scene that started it all and as the tragic completion of Daenerys' relationship with Varys.
In fact, the issue making the start of this Game of Thrones episode feels hollow it doesn't exist in the moment itself, but rather in the moments that led up to it.
This is probably the most common mistake writers make when receiving feedback. Just as the Game of Thrones writers are getting savaged by their once loving audience for this episode, writers often get torn apart by well-meaning but badly trained teachers, coverage readers, writer's groups, producers, managers, and agents who all point at scenes we know should work and insist that they're tragically broken.
It takes a truly experienced writer to realize the problem often doesn't exist in the offending scene itself, but rather in the scenes surrounding it.
Too often an inexperienced writer will take those notes and inadvertently cut their very best stuff, not realizing the real problem doesn't exist in the scenes themselves but in the ways, we build up to them.
I'm going to go on the record here: The much-reviled Game of Thrones Season 8, Episode 5 does not suck. It has some problems and some mistakes; it has some pivotal moments that are underwritten. It needs some rewrites. But it has the bones of what could have been one of the best episodes in the series.
This is why the Game of Thrones writers are so aghast in defending it, insisting the audience should have been prepared for what's happened.
The big problem doesn't exist in this Game of Thrones episode. It exists in the ones that led up to it, which have robbed us of the value of these powerful moments the writers have created.
So, the next time some well-meaning person tears apart your best scene or best moment by telling you it's never going to work, remember it matters who is giving you the note. Unless that person is truly trained to give you this kind of feedback, don't take them too seriously.
Instead, look at the scenes around that moment you love and ask yourself, "What would need to happen to make this feel inevitable? What reflections of this moment would I need to lay in earlier in the script? What kind of structure would I need to get here believably?"
Whether it's a movie, TV series, miniseries, play, novel, or memoir, no piece of dramatic storytelling is ever built linearly. Everything is a reflection of something else. In our rewriting, we need to hone in on these reflections, to allow these moments in our storytelling to speak to one another.
This is an issue that is almost always true in your screenwriting. In the beginning, writers often worry they aren't going to be able to figure out the plot or what happens next.
We tend to hold on to our best moments, our best elements of the plot. We keep them secretly hidden in our back pockets, waiting to use them because we're afraid we'll never come up with something that good again or that we'll run out of the plot.
In reality, figuring out what happens next in your script begins by looking at where you started. It's just like figuring out how you build to a moment you imagine in the future by imagining what kinds of reflections could lead up to it.
Coming back to the execution of Varys, this moment doesn't grow out of the writer's brilliant imagination. It grows out of the first episode; it grows out of that powerful moment that started the whole series.
Because these two Game of Thrones scenes speak to each other, they start to bring something even more important to the surface: Theme.
So if you imagine we'd gotten here believably, meaning Daenerys is not the hollow shell of "crazy" we've been watching but rather a character as complicated as Ned Stark, someone trying to do the right thing in a world where her power is falling away, where she's seeing enemies everywhere and losing everyone she loves, and where truth seems impossible to believe in, what the writers are really building emerges with much more clarity.
When we're watching Game of Thrones, we're watching a story about the mistakes leaders make. These aren't just evil leaders, though we've certainly seen some glorious shades of evil over the past 8 seasons, but leaders who believe they're doing the right thing.
There are always three different levels of structure to every episode of every TV show, movie, web series, and dramatic story.
The first level is the structure of the character's journey, the choices they're making and how they're changing or refusing to change.
The second level is much deeper. It's the psychological reality of the character, the emotional needs driving the character. It's not the conscious desire to be queen, but the subconscious desire to be loved by her subjects. It's not the conscious desire to murder a small boy who has seen you with your sister, but the subconscious desire for love.
You have the primary structure which grows out of a character saying, "I want this." Then you have the deeper emotional structure which grows out of these primal desires we all have.
Let's face it, most of us are never going to be fighting to gain a throne, but all of us know what it's like to need love, to need comfort, to need respect, to need revenge. These are primal needs that drive all of us.
The first level of structure is, "This is what I want." The second level of structure, the primal structure we connect to at a deep emotional level, is what we understand in our hearts rather than our minds.
You can see how this primal structure works through Jaime and Cersei. And let's once again imagine they've gotten here believably.
Be forewarned there are going to be spoilers ahead…
Cersei is one of the worst people, one of the worst leaders, in television history. In Episode 5, we watch these two characters come back together.
All around Cersei, the city walls have fallen. Everything she has tried to own has fallen apart. Her brother, whom she loves, has been stabbed by Euron Greyjoy, yet somehow these two have found their way back to one another.
Despite the fact we hate Cersei and really wanted Jaime to stay with Brienne, here is this beautiful moment between the two of them when they come back together.
Your feeling at that moment, if you can let go of the "Why did he leave Brienne again?" question we discussed last episode, is a genuine emotional reaction, or at least mine was, to these two people who shouldn't be together yet are together again at the end.
This leads up to that powerful last moment between these two characters when Jaime is holding Cersei in his arms and says, "The only thing that matters is us."
This is the completion of Jaime's arc, the completion of his character's change, of his journey as a character that started back in Season 1, Episode 1. The only thing that matters is us. I'm willing to throw a child off of a wall. I'm willing to kill a king. I'm willing to do anything for love.
The tangible structure grows out of his desire to be with his sister, but the deeper primal level of structure grows out of his need for love. That's why when these two people come back together and that beautiful last moment is created you feel emotion for characters you shouldn't be empathizing with.
Even though you've probably never been in love with an evil, scheming, narcissistic queen you happen to be related to, you've probably felt that need for love, that feeling of, "The only thing that matters is us."
It's also, structurally, a very sad journey for Jaime. We've watched him go from "the only thing that matters is us" to actually caring about other people, to going on a journey that led him away from his sister and his selfishness, away from his problems, his family, and from who he used to be. We've watched him go on this huge journey all the way to Brienne, and then we found him coming full circle.
A lot of people think of a character's change as a journey from A to Z. That is sometimes the way change works. But other times, a change works more like a spiral, where the character actually comes back over the same ground in a different way.
This kind of spiraling structure is happening throughout the entire franchise, with the echo of that very first scene with Ned Stark being revisited in a different way through another person with good intentions being executed by a leader with good intentions.
You can see the journey of that spiral with Jaime Lannister who has gone just to the brink of becoming a different human being, then finding his way back to his sister and the place where he started. Changed, but also the same.
So, there's the first level of structure driven by the plot and the character's journey, the way we traditionally think of structure.
Then there's the second level, the way the character changes in relation to the emotional needs inside of them, the primal structure that's really driving them.
We've got Plot Structure and Emotional Structure. Then there's the third level of structure.
The third level is called Thematic Structure. This is how all these elements tie together around a theme.
If you look at what is successful in Episode 5, it all grows out of this theme.
This Game of Thrones theme doesn't begin in Episode 5. It begins in Episode 1 of Season 1, when Ned Stark takes his revenge on Will who abandoned his watch.
This theme of revenge, or justice, those two sides of the same coin, connects to the chain of emotional needs in these characters and is mixed up with love and comfort and power and respect. All these different needs are driving the characters on a primal level, and tying them all together is this theme of revenge.
We can see how this theme of revenge affects the structure of this piece.
If we look at The Hound's journey, we've been waiting for him to fight Sir Gregor season after season. We're finally going to watch that fight and we've been tracking that journey building up to this moment where The Hound finally goes for revenge against his brother.
There is an incredibly powerful moment when Sir Gregor, having done his signature move and gouged out The Hound's eyes, is standing with a knife through his head. It's an incredible image of these two men blinded with this primal need for vengeance.
This whole Game of Thrones episode is built around the destruction that grows out of this need for vengeance.
We're watching the same thing happen with Daenerys. Everything is building up to this moment in "The Bells" when the city surrenders and Daenerys chooses to exact her revenge anyway.
Yes, there are problems with this moment too. Because it reminds us that all this concern about having to kill tens of thousands, or was it millions, of innocent children to take King's Landing was exactly the hogwash that it seemed.
But imagine for a moment, as I suggest in the last podcast, that Daenerys had not been turned into such a hollow villain. Imagine if she'd stayed true to herself and insisted she wasn't going to become a monster, even to become queen. That she wasn't going to kill those people.
Then everything kept chipping away at her resolve with one loss after another, a depth of evil and betrayal she was not prepared for, and a desire for revenge that she was fighting down in herself until the moment she snaps. It's that final stab in the back by Cersei, the loss of her connection with Jon, the loss of all of the other people she's loved and trusted and that have helped her balance her anger.
So she storms King's Landing with her dragon, but to her and everyone else's surprise the city is taken without killing a single innocent. The bells are ringing; she is Queen.
And it's not enough. It's not enough to meet the need for revenge that's been growing inside of her, that she's been trying to fight down.
Then she wouldn't just be another crazy Targaryan.
She'd be a person you understood and cried for, even as she did something horrible you could never forgive.
Well, guess what? That moment is there. The writers build it visually. The actor, Emilia Clark, nails it in her performance. That's why no one involved in the production can understand what people are so upset about!
The problem Game of Thrones has with the scene is not in the scene itself. It's in the moments that led up to it.
Finally, we watch this theme of revenge play out through Arya Stark. Arya has spent the entire franchise traveling around with her list of people to kill and she has come all the way back to be the one to kill Cersei.
At the end of that episode, we watch Arya let go of her need for revenge in order to help a normal human being, a common person. We allow her to let go of that need for revenge in order to do the right thing at the moment.
The only reason it doesn't work is because instead of just trusting their visuals and building to that moment where she has to choose between the revenge against Cersei she's been seeking and helping a woman who needs her, a mirror reflection of the same choice Daenerys is making, the writers try to do it with a crappy line of dialogue between Arya and The Hound.
"Go home, girl. You'll be dead too if you don't get out of here. Doesn't matter, she's dead. Look at me! You want to be like me? You come with me, you die here."
Everybody knows Arya doesn't fear death. She's just killed death itself in the Night King. Everybody knows a last-minute word of wisdom isn't going to stop her.
The shame is, it doesn't need to because the story is already there in the images. Cut those lines, stop trying to manipulate the audience, and instead of being a cheesy moment, it becomes a powerful one.
The audience doesn't believe what characters say anyway. We believe what we see. It's only our fear as writers and our lack of trust in our own powerful moments that get in our way.
And that's a shame because these are good writers and this episode is structurally sound on all three levels. Beyond a few tiny tweaks, the problems aren't in the episode itself; they're purely in how we got here.
Cut those lines and you'll feel the effect of the completion of that journey, in Daenerys and in Arya, on all three levels of structure. And with it, you'll feel what the writers are really trying to say about revenge.
For all the problems with this season and as much as we might wish, as we so often do when looking back at our own work, mine too, that we'd given it just more rewrite, because these are good writers what ends up happening is the completion of that journey also ends up getting visualized in an image.
Image is your most powerful tool and the tool that is going to help you discover your theme, your emotional need, and your plot at that level of structure.
These aren't necessarily things we can carefully and slowly plan along the way. These are things we discover when images come to us and that we later shape through a revision in order to create focus.
Sometimes the screenwriting gods are kind, the heavens open and the angels sing and the idea just comes to you, usually in the shower. Sometimes what you're really writing about just comes to you.
But other times, we go on a journey of changing ourselves where we have to figure out what we're really writing about so we can make those decisions, so we can execute them in a rewrite and turn what seems like it's not working into a powerful work of art.
This episode is about revenge and you can see the journey in relation to that theme on three different levels of structure and across so many different character arcs.
You can see it all builds around this one image of this young woman, Arya Stark, covered in dust, wandering through the destruction of what was once King's Landing and walking up to a white horse.
That image tells the whole story of Arya's change, the whole story of Arya's arc as a character. In fact, even if you didn't know the whole structure of what you're building if you just have that image you can start to navigate towards it asking, "How do I get to that moment where Arya walks up to that white horse?"
This isn't a realistic moment. This isn't a "How do we position and maneuver the horse?" moment. It isn't a plot moment.
This is a dream moment. This is one of those moments that comes to you like a dream and feels like a dream, that reverberates on the symbolic level, the thematic level, the emotional level, and on the plot level, all three at the same time.
Here's what I'd encourage you to do if you're working in a very literal way, and there's nothing wrong with that. If you have a little flashcard that says "revenge" on it and you want to work this way to keep yourself focused so you can dig deeply around that theme, this is a totally reasonable way to work and a lot of great writers have done that.
Paddy Chayefsky, for example, used to literally write down one theme above his typewriter. His rule was he could write anything he wanted so long as it was something about that theme.
But if you're working in that literal way, make sure to push yourself to work in a metaphorical way as well.
Don't just create the things you can plan, go inside and imagine, "How do I externalize that internal feeling? What does the visual representation of that look or feel like? What is the crazy image that I don't know exactly what it means, that's going to come to me?"
That is what you see in the image of Arya and the horse. It's what you see in the moment of these two blinded brothers plummeting into fire. It's what you see in Jaime and Cersei embracing as their world literally crumbles around them.
All three of these moments are externalizations of an internal feeling. The writers are taking the internal emotional moment and asking, "What does that look like on the outside?" They're externalizing that internal feeling, that primal need.
All that's needed from there is to find a way to weave it into an intellectually sensible structure, just a couple of tiny rewrites away.
The Game of Thrones writers are doing all that to serve this theme, to look very deeply at this question of revenge. Where does it come from? What does it mean? And how can we transcend it?
Visit my website for more information and be sure to bookmark the Game of Thrones podcast series page for more in-depth analysis of the show!
If you'd like to develop your screenwriting skills, come study with me! I've got some amazing classes starting up in the coming weeks, including a brand new, Write Your Screenplay Level II Weekend Intensive in June.
You can also check out our next Write Your Screenplay Level I Weekend Intensive in July.
As with all our classes, you can join us here in New York City or attend online from anywhere in the world.


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Media coverage can help launch your startup without costing too much, raise your brand awareness/recognition- which can lead to increased everything, especially sales- and can actually help great talent ...Continue Reading → Share

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This article appeared online at TheNewAmerican.com on Wednesday, April 26, 2017:
Initially referred to as a statement of general principles, the one-page summary of the Trump administration's tax reform plan looked more like a trial balloon. Said the White House, the administration "will hold listening sessions with stakeholders to receive their input … [in order to] develop the details of a plan that … can pass both chambers."
Reiterating Trump's goals of growing the economy, creating millions of jobs, simplifying the tax code, and providing tax relief to middle-income families, the trial balloon as summarized would
lower the corporate tax rate from 39.6 percent to 15 percent, including Subchapter S or "pass-through" corporations;
reduce the number of individual income tax brackets from seven to three: 10%, 25% and 35%, depending on income;
double the standard deduction, currently at $6,300 for individuals and $12,600 for married couples filing jointly;
expand tax relief to families with child and dependent care expenses;
eliminate various tax breaks that apply mainly to the wealthiest taxpayers;
keep mortgage interest and charitable deductions while eliminating deductions for state income taxes paid;
repeal the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT);
repeal the 3.8% ObamaCare tax that hits small businesses and investment income;
allow a one-time "tax holiday" for international corporations holding trillions overseas; and
eliminate tax breaks for special interests.
Trump's Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin called it "the biggest tax cut and the largest tax reform in the history of our country," while his Chief Economic Advisor Gary Cohn said the plan represented a "once-in-a-generation opportunity to do something really big."
What's really big is the potential deficits Trump's plan could cause, with at least one critic estimating that it would result in $6 trillion in deficits over the next 10 years.
The underlying goal of the administration being pushed by Trump is that by cutting these tax rates the economy would awake from its slumber and start generating three percent annual rates of growth of the nation's GDP. Although the Laffer Curve was not mentioned by Mnuchin or economist Stephen Moore (in his recent critique of the government's economic outlook), it's the same principle: lower tax rates to result in higher economic growth which will (in theory) result in higher taxes collected by the government.
The increase in the standard deduction is also designed to allow an estimated 27 million Americans who file a long form listing their mortgage interest and charitable deductions to use a "big postcard" instead. This "simplification" of the tax code has long been a stated goal of Trump as candidate and his administration after he was inaugurated in January.
Wednesday's announcement is just the opening salvo in what promises to be a long war before anything reaches Trump's desk. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is calling it a gift for the already-wealthy Americans who don't need any more tax breaks. And Mnuchin referred to the Senate strategy of "reconciliation" that is likely to be needed to pass the Senate without Democrat votes. He noted that he hoped that the bill that finally passes Congress and is signed into law by the president will be permanent, but "if we have them for [just] 10 years, that's better than nothing."
Reconciliation would allow Republicans to pass it without a single Democrat vote, but would also cause the plan to expire in 10 years if it generates deficits. This is what happened to the tax cuts enacted under President George W. Bush. When the projected revenue growth didn't meet expectations, his tax cuts for the most part were automatically ended.
The obstacles are substantial, including determined if futile resistance from Democrats and complaints from the energy industry which might see its depletion allowance deductions cut or removed in Trump's final bill. Those details will be revealed in June and could also negatively impact heavily-indebted public utilities and cable companies that might see some loss of their interest deductions.
On the other hand, winners could include companies that are currently most negatively impacted by high corporate rates in force, including engineering and construction companies, food wholesalers, publishers, and retailers.
The old proverb applies as Trump's trial balloon gets translated into specific language in the tax reform bill in June: "There's many a slip 'twixt the cup and the lip." A newer one is this from Isaac Boltansky, an analyst at Compass Point Research and Trading, who has been following these events closely:
The sugar high of tax cut headlines could turn into a nagging headache once stakeholders return to the painstaking consideration of process and pay-fors.


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Google finally launched its long-rumored Google Drive online storage service today. This was probably one of Google's worst-kept secrets, so the launch itself wasn't much of a surprise to anyone – least of all Dropbox, which – until today – was pretty much synonymous with online storage for documents.
If nothing else, Google Drive is a full-frontal assault on Dropbox on virtually every level. Google is not just massively undercutting Dropbox's pricing scheme, but thanks to integrating Drive with Docs, it is also able to offer far more features. With this kind of competition, the future might not be so bright for Dropbox.
It's not just Google, though. Just yesterday, Microsoft also launched its new SkyDrive apps, which also replicate Dropbox's functionality and add more tools to it. Indeed, besides undercutting Dropbox's pricing, the one area where Google and Microsoft are easily one-upping the popular startup is in the suite of tools they offer around their clones.
In other news, @Dropbox is launching a search engine. :)
— Drew Houston (@drewhouston) April 24, 2012
The question then is, what's next for Dropbox? It was always pretty obvious that the big players wouldn't just ignore this market and leave it to a few scrappy startups. Google's and Microsoft's marketing power and scale could easily overwhelm whatever momentum Dropbox had until now.
To remain competitive, Dropbox will have to seriously cut its prices and improve its feature set at the same time. That's a tough call for a relatively small company. While Google doesn't really need to make money from selling storage, it's those kind of services that make Dropbox and co. viable businesses.
As Posterous co-founder and YCombinator partner Garry Tan noted before the Google Drive launch, Dropbox may have an advantage over others by being platform agnostic – especially on mobile. Even there, though, times are changing. Google is obviously going to deeply integrate Drive into Android, but it will also launch an iOS app. Microsoft is going to bring SkyDrive to Windows Phone and iOS, too – though it's still questionable if it will ever come to Android, too. Apple is the odd one out here, because it is so focused on its own ecosystem and because its iCloud offers a very different vision of what cloud storage should look like.
Dropbox may be platform agnostic, but the funny thing is, most of the big players don't just cater to their own platforms anymore either.
As usual, Google's (and Microsoft's and Apple's) competitors will say that this move validates their model and that they welcome a new competitor, but at the end of the day, Google's entry is only making life tougher (too tough?) for Box, Dropbox and all the other cloud storage startups.


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Friday, August 31, 2007
13 comments:
Wouldn't that make a fascinating reality show? Following up on old stories like this to see what became of the people involved. With the passage of a bit of time, they might be amenable to sitting down and dishing out all the scurrilous details.ReplyDelete
Why did you hang onto this? Would you ask your dates about the condition of their backs and if they asked why, you'd whip this out?
I guess it's all a matter of priorities, isn't it?ReplyDelete
It reminds me of those two teenagers that snogged at a traffic light and had to be cut from each other like five hours later - cos their braces had become entwined.ReplyDelete
That is too funny.ReplyDelete
- AnonymousSun Sep 02, 05:50:00 PM EDT
LOL, truth really is stranger than fiction!ReplyDelete
What I find remarkable is that you've apparently carried this clipping since 1978. There's something a little wrong with you.ReplyDelete
This was sooo funny! Thanks for sharing!ReplyDelete
Bert: A Where Are They Now? Show with a twist. Don't tell on me; DReplyDelete
Mizmell: Peoples' priorities have always fascinated me. People are afraid of the most interesting things.
Jenn: I remember that.
Pauline: Definitely.
Debs: It still makes me laugh.
Kat: It's like a vaudeville skit.
Diesel: Yes, I know. (Hangs her head and grins.)
Katie: A little sad really that she thinks her husband will only be upset about the car.
That is too embarassing! Funny journalism though. I like old articles.ReplyDelete
Tsduff: This makes me laugh every time.ReplyDelete
- AnonymousSat Sep 08, 09:40:00 AM EDT
Oh. my. GOD. that's hilarious! ; )ReplyDelete
Neva: Yes, yes, yes.ReplyDelete


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Dubai 'will enhance sustainability'
Dubai is set to develop its sustainability ahead of Expo 2020, according to one expert.
Speaking to Gulf News, owner of The Change Initiative Gundeep Singh believes the emirate should push for greater sustainability now, stating Dubai has the potential to be very environmentally friendly and resourceful.
Within seven years, he predicts new regulation will help promote sustainability in the emirate.
He said: 'Dubai's intentions are right. Dubai's idea of proving to the world that even bigger events can become sustainable is absolutely correct.'
Based on Shaikh Zayed Road, The Change Initiative is the most sustainable commercial building in the world, holding the highest Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Platinum rating. It is a retail store that focuses entirely on sustainable products, so it can be argued Dubai has already started to enter this market.
A rating developed by the US Green Building Council, LEED is designed to rate projects on their sustainable nature and overall efficiency.
As part of this push for sustainability, Mr Singh also suggested changing the outward message for Expo 2020, highlighting its green efforts as something more permanent.
He added: 'Communication should change from saying that it's a sustainable Expo to saying that Dubai will now stand as a benchmark in the world for sustainability and work through that and that's the key. So it becomes as one movement rather than just one part.'
Yet this greener nature is something that can already be seen in many of Dubai's more recent efforts. For example, last month it launched the first phase of its new Mohammed Bin Rashid Solar Park to provide cleaner energy. This $3.3 billion development currently generates around 13 megawatts but, when fully completed, it is expected to provide the city with 24 million kilowatt-hours per year.
As for Dubai Expo, plans for the structure include a solar power roof which, in addition to providing shade, will power as much as half of the event's electricity needs.


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CEO SUMMARY: For decades, hospitals were reluctant to allow any outside lab company to run their inpatient lab operations because they preferred to maintain control over quality results and turnaround times. That attitude may be changing as health systems face increasing margin compression by moving to value-based reimbursement models and taking on more risk-based contracts. Hospitals usually don't make much of a margin on inpatient testing. That makes partnering with an outside manager more attractive.
FOR ALMOST THREE DECADES, the one segment of clinical lab testing that the public lab companies could not crack was managing hospital inpatient testing. Now comes news from Denver of an inpatient lab testing deal that may presage more such agreements between hospitals and public lab companies.
Earlier this month, Quest Diagnostics Incorporated announced that it had an agreement with the HealthONE System, a division of HCA Healthcare, to manage the inpatient laboratory operations of six of HealthONE's eight Denver-area hospi- tals. In a joint statement, Quest and HealthONE said that the agreement was designed to enhance the quality and value of diagnostic services and to improve efficiency of laboratory operations.
Historically, hospitals and health systems have been reluctant to turn over control and management of their inpatient laboratories to an outside entity, particularly such lab companies as Quest Diagnostics and Laboratory Corporation of America. The fact that Quest and LabCorp were strong competitors for the same outreach business that hospitals coveted for themselves was also a factor in why these types of deals rarely happened. However, healthcare's ongoing transformation may be causing hospital and health system administrators to rethink the role of their clinical laboratories in the strategies of their institutions. If this is true, then the laboratory industry may see more hospitals willing to agree to have a public lab company manage their inpatient laboratories.
Hospital Lab Joint Ventures
One lab executive who has extensive experience in developing joint ventures involving hospitals and commercial lab companies is Noel Maring, who, since 2012, has been Vice President of Hospital Affiliations at Sonic Healthcare USA, based in Austin, Texas.
Previously, during his 17 years working for Pathology Associates Medical Laboratories (PAML) of Spokane, Washington, as Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer for PAML, Maring developed a growth strategy that emphasized joint ventures with hospitals and lab companies across the West.
That included starting a lab outreach joint venture in Denver involving PAML and 12 hospital labs owned by Centura Health. Known as Colorado Laboratory Services, it was launched in 2010 and operates today. (See TDR, September 13, 2010.)
"It is too early to say that the Quest-HealthONE agreement in Denver is an early sign of a new trend," said Maring. "These types of deals have been done for a number of years, but only on a sporadic basis.
Start of a Trend?
"On the other hand, even if it is too early to say we are on the start of a trend, this deal is evidence that some hospital CEOs are exploring ways to get more leverage from their clinical laboratory assets," affirmed Maring. "It is consistent with what we see in the marketplace. Over the past 12 months, a number of hospitals have approached Sonic to explore different options with their outreach lab business and their inpatient lab business.
"This is a definite change because, in the past, hospitals were always sensitive about allowing an outside lab company to run their inpatient lab operations for them," observed Maring.
"Hospital CEOs wanted to maintain control of inpatient lab operations to ensure that they were delivering timely, high-quality results and good customer service to their physicians on staff at the hospital," he added. "It was outside their comfort zone to think about giving a lab company management control over a key service line such as their laboratory.
"But that is changing as healthcare's transformation creates new care delivery models and new payment methodologies," stated Maring. "Now hospitals are willing to discuss every aspect of laboratory testing. That includes whether to bring in a partner to run the inpatient lab operations and whether they should con- solidate all lab operations into one core lab that runs the inpatient and outreach testing activities.
Quest to Manage Six Labs at HealthONE Hospitals
EARLIER THIS MONTH, Denver's largest healthcare system, HealthONE, selected Quest Diagnostics Incorporated to manage the inpatient lab testing operations at six of its eight hospitals.
HealthONE is a division of HCA Healthcare. It has more than 10,000 staff in the metro- politan Denver area. Quest Diagnostics will operate the labs in these six facilities:
- The Medical Center of Aurora
- North Suburban Medical Center
- Presbyterian/St. Luke's Medical Center
- Rose Medical Center
- Sky Ridge Medical Center
- Swedish Medical Center
The other two facilities do not have inpa- tient labs, a HealthONE spokeswoman said. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Some employees in the HealthONE labs will transfer to Quest Diagnostics. The remaining HealthONE lab employees will continue to be employed at HealthONE, said Stephanie Sullivan, a HealthONE spokeswoman.
"Hospital administrators also recognize that they are being asked to take on greater financial risk with patients," explained Maring. "It is why they've built or acquired other hospitals, ambulatory surgery centers, imaging companies, and other facilities in an effort to create integrated delivery networks and better manage a patient's total health needs.
"Now that they've spent six years or more developing this network, they have the time to look at lab operations and develop a strategic direction for their labs," he said.
"All this time, clinical laboratories were almost entirely left out of the mix," observed Maring. "But today, hospitals and health systems are looking hard at their lab- oratory operations in order to make strategic decisions in two or three areas.
"First, hospitals are trying to decide whether to be in the lab outreach business at all," he said. "Second, they want to have their labs benchmarked and then have those labs become as efficient as they can be.
"Third, as health systems have bought more hospitals in certain regions, they've tried to centralize their lab operations for more efficiency," added Maring. "This con- solidation of lab testing across multiple hospitals creates opportunities to add to the lab test menu and realize further economies of scale for their lab operations.
Two New Market Forces
"While hospitals and health systems were getting bigger through acquisitions, they were also experiencing two market forces that now drive their business decisions," he stated. "Both factors affect hospital lab revenue and those factors are compelling hospitals to take additional steps to suc- ceed in their growth strategies.
"The first market factor is a change in reimbursement for lab tests," continued Maring.
"For several years, reimbursement for outreach lab testing has been quite lucrative for hospitals. As long as tests were paid for under the hospital fee schedule, the lab generated strong revenues," he said. "But now there is plenty of evidence to indicate that the days of exceptionally high outreach laboratory reimbursement are numbered for hospitals. As we move to value-based reimbursement, with bundled payments or risk sharing arrangements, lower lab reimbursements will affect health system margins.
"Even if a hospital lab still operates on fee-for-schedule reimbursement for some contracts, the revenue hospitals will receive in the future will be lower than it was compared with what the lab generated for its parent hospital just a few years ago," he said.
"From their lab outreach business alone, some hospitals have enjoyed payment that has been in the range of 150% to 200% of Medicare. That's great, of course, but those days are ending," added Maring. "There is plenty of evidence that, in the future, payment for lab outreach testing will be, at best, equal to what Medicare pays and will probably be significantly less than Medicare fees.
"The second market factor is the risk that hospitals must assume as they operate under new models of care delivery such as accountable care organizations," emphasized Maring. "In these arrangements, labs in hospitals become cost centers.
"When a hospital gets paid under a risk model such as capitation, labs and every other department are no longer generating revenue. They all become cost centers, which means they all have to operate at peak efficiency.
"Some larger health systems have their own insurance plans," he said. "When that happens, every department becomes a cost center because, as an insurance company, the hospital is paying itself.
"As more hospitals take on risk contracts to deliver patient care, we see them responding in two ways," Maring noted. "First, hospitals are looking closely at the value of their outreach lab operations. That value may be at its peak right about now.
Forecast: Lower Revenue
"Second, over the past nine months, a number of hospitals have sent out requests for proposals (RFPs)," he added. "They want to know whether Sonic Healthcare is interested in buying or partnering with them on their laboratory outreach business. There's more of this activity now than I've seen in many years.
"At the same time, as Sonic Healthcare gets these RFPs, then I must assume that Quest Diagnostics and LabCorp are getting the same requests," observed Maring.
Contact Noel Maring at 512-439-1677 or email@example.com.
Health System CEOs Now Ask Three Questions About Operating or Selling Their Laboratories
WHEN IT COMES TO LABS, "Hospital administrators have three basic questions they want answered," stated Noel Maring, Vice President of Hospital Affiliations at Sonic Healthcare. "One, is our lab cost effective?
"Two, can we use our outreach lab operations to generate operating cash in a value- based reimbursement environment?" he said. "Three, should we sell our outreach lab and use those funds to reinvest in areas that are more strategic for our health system?
"I expect that, if hospitals have not already asked those questions, they will be asking them about all aspects of the lab business, including the inpatient lab busi- ness," he predicted. "That seems to be what HCA has done with HealthONE. But HCA is not alone in looking at labs strategically.
Sell Lab or Partner?
"The second and greater trend for hospitals right now involves their outreach business," he added. "Hospitals want to know if they should get out of that business. They also want to know if they should sell or partner with someone to run that business.
"And if they partner with a lab company such as Quest or LabCorp or Sonic, will they let that company run the inpatient lab operations too?" he asked. "We're talking with several hospitals that are currently considering these questions.
"To understand how hospital systems will approach the issue of lab management, you have to think of these health systems as falling into three categories," advised Maring. "First, there will be large systems that have made significant investments in streamlining their lab operations and will continue to operate clinical laboratories for inpatients, outpa- tients, and outreach. Northwell Health in New York (formerly North Shore Long Island Jewish) is a good example of a large system that will most likely retain its lab operations.
"Northwell invested heavily in its lab in recent years," he noted. "It built a core lab and moved from hospital billing fee schedules to commercial lab fee schedules to retain managed care contracts. They are big and have enough employed physicians so that it makes sense for them to stay in the lab business.
"Second are health systems that are medium-sized or small and that are considering their options for their labs," he continued. "At a minimum, they ask if they should sell their outreach business. If the answer is no, will they be able to maintain the margins they've had?
"Typically, these health systems perform inpatient testing and let's assume they do some modest lab outreach of about $10 million per year," he stated. "The contribution margins from those outreach lab programs are often in the 30% or higher range because they billed using the hospital fee schedule mentioned earlier. The margins have been high because the hospitals already need to operate their labs on a 24/7 schedule to support inpatient testing needs. Thus, for a modest lab outreach program, the marginal costs are relatively low.
"The problem for these mid-sized hospitals is that patients are complaining about the high out-of-pocket costs for lab testing," he noted. "Thus, that high cost of outreach lab testing to patients is becoming a source of concern for hospital administrators.
Lab Economies of Scale
"The third group is comprised of hospitals that recognize that, either because of competition in their regional market or because of the difficulty of achieving the needed economies of scale in their lab, it makes sense to work with a partner," noted Maring. "That could include finding a partner to man- age their inpatient lab operations, as Quest Diagnostics is doing for HealthONE in Denver."


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text: Dear all Could anyone give me the direction or hints on 'how to derive the F81 model distance formula' from its probability formula ?? The F81 distance is given as follows : D = -(1-([P_A]^2 + [P_C]^2 + [P_G]^2 + [P_T]^2))ln(1-(P/([P_A]^2 + [P_C]^2 + [P_G]^2 + [P_T]^2)). The probability formula for F81 is given as: P(ij) = P_j + (1-P_j)*Exp[-at] for all i == j P_j*(1-Exp[-at]) for all i != J where P_j is the equilibrium value for the frequency of each nucleotide. Exp is the exponential function. at is the expected rate of change per unit time. I use the idea given by Li's book [Molecular Evolution - The method to derive Juke-Cantor model distance based on sequence similiarity (p.69 and p.80] for F81 model, but it doesn't come out that what i expected. Rgds Rex


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As an entrepreneur and business owner, there will come times where you will have to handle those portions of your business that are not fun. This may include financial statements, emailing clientele and even the branding portions of your service. Some may handle these business responsibilities on their own, and there are others who outsource to handle these things for them so they can focus solely on the fun parts of being a business owner.
Check out a clip from our affiliate House of Brazen on tips for hiring your first Virtual Assistant.
What's a Virtual Assistant?
A Virtual Assistant is really exactly what it says, a virtual assistant. This is where you hire someone, virtually, to assist you in business operations completely online. You don't have get up and attend long meetings with them in person. You don't have to report to an office with phones ringing off the hook or any of those daily activities as you would physically in a traditional office setting. Your assistant assists you remotely with a majority of communications done either via email or through phone conversations. A virtual assistant is there to help you with any day to day operations depending on what type of VA you hire. The great thing about a virtual assistant is that they are pretty much apart of any field, even some doctors use virtual assistants to help them out.
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Fastest Things on Wings: Rescuing Hummingbirds in Hollywood by Terry Masear (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, $25.00, 306 pages)
When Frank and I first moved into West Hollywood, twenty years ago, it took me three months to attract one hummingbird to my feeder. Now, with the explosion in the local population that has resulted from over five hundred releases and their progeny, new sugar feeders immediately draw dozens of interested birds.
Hummingbirds, the zippy little colorful creatures that fascinate the young and old alike – humans and felines, are well documented in Fastest Things on Wings. Educator-writer Terry Masear has dedicated her "free time" to rescue and rehabilitate hummingbirds that have dropped from nests, been caught by cats, or fallen down while perched on tree branches trimmed by city maintenance workers. You name it, and Ms. Masear has heard of a way that these little birds have been put in peril. She takes calls from people who have found them in dire straights.
As there are two sugar feeders hanging from a gazebo just outside our kitchen door and a large bougainvillea climbing nearby, the daily visitors are often the subjects of excited viewing. Other than the recipe for their food (one-half cup of white granulated sugar dissolved in two cups of boiling water that is then left to cool) there's not much this reviewer knew about our little buddies.
During the months that I don't have to teach classes in the morning, I gather fresh flowers for the fledglings in large flight cages and young adults in the aviary.
Ms. Masear, like her subjects, flits between narratives of her own experiences fueled by an undeniable dedication to rescuing and rehabilitating the tiny birds and a somewhat repetitive discourse on the growth and development of hummingbirds in general. This back and forth between the styles is interspersed with in depth segments chronicling the challenges presented by one or two standout birds in particular. Ms. Masear's writing style tends toward very long sentences. This book could have benefited from more editing.
The book includes color photos toward the last half of the text. These photos provide the reader with the opportunity to get up really close to the little buzzing wonders.
Well recommended to hummingbird and nature lovers.
Ruta Arellano
A review copy was provided by the publisher. "This is a book that is actually a book about love." Los Angeles Times


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In my quest for porcelain perfect skin, I have tried everything. From lights to lasers to expensive creams with magical seaweed (you know the one). Not to mention the masks: mud masks, 24k gold masks and Korean sheet masks that make me look like a panda. I am a girl on a mission to find the ultimate beauty solution for a flawless, ageless complexion-- with no Photoshop required.
So when Sakara Beauty Chocolates first landed on my desk, I was intrigued, but skeptical. Could eating chocolate possibly reduce signs of aging and give me back my glow, as promised? Sounds like a gimmick. But as a woman in my 30s living and working in New York City, where the stress doesn't stop, I've noticed little lines starting to form around my eyes and across my forehead, and a rough patch of dry skin right above my eyebrow that no moisturizer seems to fix. Improved skin in two weeks by eating chocolate sounded hard to believe, but I've tried crazier things. And between my $150-per-month facial subscription and medicine cabinet filled with hundreds of dollars in toners, serums, lotions and creams, what's one more product? It's worth a shot.
The label reads that each Beauty Chocolate contains 70mg of a patented blend of phytoceramides "clinically proven to reduce signs of aging, improve skin elasticity and boost cellular moisture retention, with visible results in just two weeks." Sounds great, but how do they work? I decided to do some research of my own.
A quick Google search revealed some pretty fascinating scientific studies, complete with little diagrams of what my skin looks like up close. They explained that that as we age our skin loses key lipids called ceramides, which act as a water barrier between our skin and the outside world. This water barrier is there to seal in moisture, keeping our skin hydrated and plump. As we lose these ceramides in our skin with age, hydration is able to escape, resulting in dryer skin, and the dreaded fine lines and wrinkles (that I'm now seeing on my face).
While the science of ceramides may be new to me, I know that hydration is one of the keys to staying radiant and wrinkle-free. Take a grape, for instance. What's the difference between a grape (plump, juicy and smooth) and a raisin (dry and wrinkled)? Hydration! If we're comparing our complexions to fruit, I definitely want to be a grape, not a raisin. And the key is to keep moisture locked in by maintaining a youthful level of ceramides in the skin. But how do we do that? That's where phytoceramides come in.
Phytoceramides are ceramides that come from plants—typically wheat, like the ones in Sakara Beauty Chocolates, or rice. By consuming these ceramides from plants, we are able to replenish the natural ceramides in our skin and rebuild that water barrier from the inside out.
OK, but do they work?
I've been consuming the recommended daily dose of one chocolate per day for about a week and a half now, and honestly, I've already started to see changes. They are subtle, but when it comes to your face, subtle is good. Overall, my skin seems a bit softer and brighter, and even though I definitely haven't been sleeping more, I wake up looking more well-rested. And just the other day, someone at work asked me if I'd had a facial...the ultimate compliment.
At $45 for a full month's supply of Beauty Chocolate, this is the most cost-effective skin routine I've ever had. It's also the most delicious...it's real, high-quality dark chocolate, sweetened with coconut sugar (another bonus). I'm going to continue to watch for all of the anti-aging benefits, but I've seen enough signs to continue. I might not go as far as to toss out all of my lotions and potions just yet, but this little jar has definitely earned a permanent spot on my vanity.
By S LIFE MAG • April 6, 2017
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Unexpected Wines of Macedonia
Macedonia (The Republic of Macedonia, to be precise) is a small country right in a middle of Balkan Peninsula in Europe. While it exists under its current name only since 1991, it is one of the oldest countries in Europe, tracing its history for more than 7,000 years. Similar to its neighbors – Turkey, Greece and others – Macedonia also has very long wine history, but still remains "one of the Europe's last undiscovered wine country", as stated on Wines of Macedonia web site.
Macedonia has about 62,000 acres of vines planted, split between 3 regions and 16 wine districts. There are 28 grape varietals growing there, equally split between white and red. The climate in Macedonia is a cross between Mediterranean and Continental with warm, dry summer and fall, which definitely helps with wine production.
Okay, enough of the facts – you can read that all on your own. Now let me explain the "unexpected" part of the title. In my mind, Macedonian mostly associated with indigenous grapes, such as Vranec (there are 7 indigenous grapes in Macedonia at the moment). When I was offered a sample of Macedonian wines, I was hoping to find something new and unusual, and may be even advance my grape count.
When the box arrived and was opened, to my surprise I found inside a bottle of Rkatsiteli and a bottle of Merlot. Rkatsiteli to me is a Georgian variety (yes, I heard that it is growing in some of the Balkan countries). And Merlot – don't think we need to discuss the origins of that. I don't know what I was expecting, but Merlot and Rkatsiteli definitely surprised me. Both wines came from the region called Tikveš, which is the biggest wine region out of three in Macedonia. Well, of course I tasted the wines, and below you can find my thoughts:
2014 Stobi Rkatsiteli Tikveš, Macedonia (12.3% ABV, $12, 100% Rkatsiteli)
C: Pale straw
N: touch of minerality, white peaches, candied lemon zest, overall very inviting
P: lemony acidity, underripe green apple, nice creaminess, touch of minerality, medium+ body, clean
V: 7+, food wine – fresh seafood, oysters
2009 Bovin Merlot Barrique Tikveš, Macedonia (14% ABV, $N/A, 12 month in Macedonian oak)
C: dark garnet, almost black
N: delicious dark chocolate, ripe fruit, hint of black currant, blueberries
P: medium to full body, baking spices, slightly overripe cherries, short finish.
V: I had this wine over the period of a few days. Here is the conclusion from the initial tasting: 7-, beautiful nose; interesting taste components on the palate, but not coherent together. Two days later, the wine became surprisingly coherent, rounded up and showed an silky dark power and excellent balance, so the final verdict is 7+/8-.
There you have it, my friends – two wines, may be unexpected, but well drinkable. Next time if you see a wine from Macedonia on the shelf – give it a try, you might be pleasantly surprised. Cheers!


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A post by Tomas Mancebo. English translation by Pablo Segundo.
Internal elections were held at the end of May 2017 in the Valencian Community branch of the Spanish party Podemos. The alliance called "A Tide to Deepen Change" (Una marea per aprofundir el canvi / Una Marea para Profundizar el Cambio) composed of three inner groups: Democratic Deepening (Profundización Democrática), Valencian Tide (Marea Valenciana), and Deepen the Change (Aprofundir el Canvi), won the General Secretary post for Antonio Estañ, and set the branch's new Organizational Statutes.
The new organizational model introduces more internal democracy in this regional branch: new participation mechanisms, preferential voting methods, and sortition for the selection of members of key directorial boards, committees and assemblies. These organizational innovations were pushed for by the group "Democratic Deepening" (Profundización Democrática), that has been championing new organizational and democratic mechanisms as the key to real change since the founding of the Podemos Party.
Salvador Mestre, co-founder of "Democratic Deepening" had a key role in securing the alliance between the three groups. He explains:
"The goal of 'Deepening Democracy' has always been to couple organizational efficiency with the integration of the different areas, sectors and spaces inside and outside the Party, as we understand this is a strong need for a new party like Podemos. The only option is to push for innovation. We seek to integrate the plurality and diversity of the 15M Plazas [the Spanish spontaneous political street assemblies that exploded in 2011], their transversality and abundance of ideas, inside a flexible and multi-purposed structure, permeable to the collaborative and creative energy of activists, supporters and social movements. It's funny how part of this innovation is based in the age old mechanism of sortition, but quite probably Van Reybouck is right when he affirms that sortition is the only chance of medium-term survival for our political systems called 'democratic' in spite of their representative character, survival that has to be a renewal and a true evolution towards real democracy. In the 15M Plazas we cried for 'Real Democracy NOW!' and it is evident that sortition must be an important answer to that call."
"During the formation of the alliance sortition had to be explained, defended and motivated. It was accepted as a superb method to integrate the party bases within the executive party decisions, and among other measures we agreed for a significative part of the Directorial Board to be drawn by lot."
Some basic context
The Valencian Region (Comunidad de Valencia) holds the 10.7% of the Spanish population, and 4.6% of Spain's land mass. At the national elections, Podemos was the second largest force in the Comunidad de Valencia, securing 9 national deputies out of the 33 appointed by Valencia for the 350 strong National Deputy Congress (Congreso de los Diputados). In this highest of political chambers, Podemos and its allies hold 71 deputies, behind PP with 137, and PSOE with 85. PP and PSOE have rotated in government since the stabilization of modern democracy in Spain after 1978.
The regional Valencian Parliament has 99 seats, of which 31 are from the PP, 23 from PSOE, 19 from Compromis [an ally of Podemos], 13 from Ciudadanos [a liberal nationalist Spanish party that was refurbished and relaunched by the status quo after Podemos appeared], and 13 from Podemos. The regional government is held by PSOE and Compromis, with needed support from Podemos which holds no executive posts.
Sortition and democratic innovation
The regional organization of Podemos in Valencia is complicated. The full text in Spanish and Valencian of the Organizational Statutes is attached for the details.
Sortition has been incorporated in the following ways:
- Citizen Regional Board, the organization's highest political board (Consejo ciudadano autonómico, CCA):
10 out of 57 members selected by sortition (17.5%).
- Valencian Gathering, a large yearly assembly (Trobada Valenciana). 60 members:
10 (16,66%) by lot among the members of the CCA (the Board).
30 (50%) by lot among volunteers.
- Deliberative Groups in Support of Popular Consultations (Grupos deliberativos de apoyo a las consultas):
All 20 to 30 members (100%) drawn by lot.
- Municipal Citizen Board (Consejo ciudadano municipal) for municipalities with more than 51 supporters:
20% by lot.
- Democratic Warranties Committee, resolves statutory quarrels and controls some key procedures (Comisión de Garantías Democráticas):
12 members, 6 drawn by lot (50%).
- Podemos Technical Personnel Selection Committee (Comisión de selección para la contratación de personal técnico de Podemos):
5 members, of which 2 (40%) are chosen among Municipal General Secretaries (there are 98 towns or cities with General Secretaries in Valencia).
- Supplies Table for expenditures above 5000 Euros:
7 members, of which 2 (~30%) are chosen among Municipal General Secretaries (there are 98).
To be eligible for sortition, depending on the case, one or more of the following can be required: registration as a volunteer for sortition; endorsement by a Circle (local Podemos supporters groups) or an institutional or organic official; holding a post elected by vote or by lot; being a lawyer; pertaining to a Circle; or having been a registered Podemos supporter for some time.
Some of the mentioned conditions introduce biases. On top of that, some of the collectives into which sortition is introduced are small, regardless whether the percentage of seats of the particular body which are to be drawn by lot is high or low. In spite of these drawbacks – bias and small population sizes for random selection – the Valencian Podemos branch, insiders and supporters alike, have chosen to introduce sortition into its new political democratic culture. It is a very significant step in a first rank political organization taking into account the usual reluctance of political parties to embrace within democratic procedures.
Selection by sortition has been introduced to Podemos. It will be used and normalized by the Podemos supporters and organizers in Valencia and it will give the national Podemos party a reference model ready to be copied. Also, Podemos will soon hold elections in other Spanish regions, like Murcia and Canary Islands, where Deepening Democracy also supports alliances that make organizational proposals similar to the one from Valencia.
Along with sortition, other democratization measures have been introduced in Podemos Valencian Region, like effective recallability of officials, popular-initiated initiatives, preferential voting methods (VUT, Condorcet-Schulze and Borda Dowdall with even fractions) and the so called "Democracia 4.0" system championed by Juan Moreno Yagüe as a complement to the yearly regional deliberative assembly, the "Trobada Valenciana".
Filed under: Applications, Elections, Sortition |


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Story by
Matthew ElworthyMarketing Manager, TNW Events
Let's start with a simple truth: three out of four startups are destined to fail. The scariest thing is, the line between success and failure is a fine one. Even if you've got a killer product and your startup is 'off the ground,' if you're not getting your fair share of capital, coverage and customers, your great idea will never be flying. We felt we had to help find a solution.
So at this year's TNW Europe Conference, The Next Web partnered with WeTransfer to launch Boost – a program dedicated to accelerating the growth of early-stage startups from all around the world. Now Boost is back: but this time, it's in New York.
Boost is back… in the Big Apple
Both The Next Web and WeTransfer believe that stimulating early-stage startups is vitally important: these companies are responsible for some of the industry's greatest innovations. It also provides The Next Web with a stream of exciting products and ideas to write about!
At the same time, we feel that WeTransfer is the perfect partner for a startup program dedicated to international growth. Not only does it offer a free and easy service for effortlessly sharing your projects (and pitch decks) with colleagues and clients around the world, but the company is also run by a team who have experienced the trials and tribulations of bootstrapping, and come out on top. Click here to read more about their service and story.
Over the next three months, we'll be selecting 30 startups to accompany us at TNW USA in New York. These companies will receive a comprehensive package that includes: an all-day demo table, a one-to-one introduction with a TNW editor, and the opportunity to meet a whole host of international investors. Let's take a more detailed look at how Boost can benefit your company and help you to achieve your goals:
1. Capital
Boost is a brilliant opportunity to rub shoulders with some of the world's leading startup venture capitalists and investors. Your pitch deck is shared with the right people, at the right time (i.e. before the conference), so that you can focus on the more important details during the day. If you've got a great product, TNW USA can bring the exposure you need to secure some well-deserved investment. The likes of Waze, Rapportive and Shutl have all taken part in TNW startup programs and secured millions in funding – thanks, in part, to excellent…
2. Coverage
The Next Web has a reach of more than 6.5 million unique users and 3+ million followers on social media. As a Boost participant, your startup will receive coverage on our blog, as well as the opportunity to meet a TNW editor, one-on-one. Combine this with the exposure of your working product to some of the biggest influencers in the international tech scene (not to mention some of the world's biggest media outlets), and all this can result in…
3. Customers
Persuading our conference attendees to use your product will help you to secure a significant number of new customers. TNW Conference attendees are generally tech trendsetters (we're sure we don't need to explain Roger's theory on the diffusion of innovations to you!). Aside from being the very people likely to adopt your product first, our expert audience are in a position to offer you considerable, candid feedback to help you refine your product's future releases, as well as other aspects of your business model.
Boost your startup – Apply now!
If you want to boost your early-stage startup, apply now for free. If your application is selected you'll be invited for a second-round interview with a TNW team member. Applications will be handled on a rolling basis. Successful startups will only need to pay the price of two regular conference tickets for entrance.
The program is open to any startup under two years old that has acquired less than $3 million in funding, has a fully functional demo of their product, and was launched no earlier than January 2012.
➤ Click here to apply for the Boost program! or share this article with others that might benefit from The Next Web's exposure opportunities.
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The Contest
Applications for 2020 are now closed
Pythons' Pit provides an avenue for creative, entrepreneurial students of Halton, Hamilton and Peel Regions to pitch their business concepts and product ideas in front of a live audience and a panel of real business moguls from the community. The goal of Pythons' Pit is to foster innovation, creativity and an entrepreneurial spirit in Halton, Hamilton and Peel Regions by:
Providing an opportunity for high school students to further develop their business planning skills. Student will learn how to make a 3 minute pitch, and will be given access to a network of key community influencers.
Rules & Regulations
Applications – High School Category
Students attending any high school or equivalent in Halton, Hamilton and Peel Regions at the time the application is submitted are eligible.
Entries can be made by individuals or teams, with a maximum of 3 team members.
Cash prizes will be awarded to the winning team(s).
Awards of in kind services will be awarded at the sole discretion of the Sponsors.
Prizes awarded will be split equally among all members of the winning team(s).
Free to apply.
The Top 15 entries will be invited to attend the pitch preparation webinar on February 18th, 2020, 5:30-9 30pm
Regsiter here:
The Top 15 will be screened to the Top 10 by the end of March 2020
Incomplete applications will be disqualified.
Applications containing any misrepresentations will be disqualified.
Presentations by Qualifiers – High School Category
Successful candidates will pitch in Studio ( Tech Place ) on April 25, 2020 form 8 am – 5pm and at the live Show on May 27, 2020 at The Burlington Performing Arts Centre from 10:30am – 2:30pm . These sessions are MANDATORY for all Top 10 finalists
Qualifiers will be given 3 minutes to present and 10 minutes for questions from the Pythons.
Presentations are oral and may be accompanied by visual aids and props. No power points.
The evaluation of a presentation will be based on presentation skills and the business case for the concept.
Top 10 successful candidates will pitch at the studio filming session. The Pythons will select the top 3 after the in studio session. The Top 3 will move on to pitch at Burlington Performing Arts Centre on May 27, 2020 at the live event. All Top 10 MUST attend the Live show on TBD.
Applications will be submitted by video only.
How to Enter
- Entries will be submitted by video only
- Please upload your video to dropbox and send the dropbox link to email@example.com with your name and email in the message, or use Facebook messenger to send the video to the Pythons' Pit Facebook account.
- Entries cannot be longer than 90 seconds
Your video must answer the following questions:
If you have any questions please contact us at: email@example.com


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Rachel Horne, CNM
Certified Nurse Midwife
Rachel began her career as a perinatal nurse in a variety of high risk and low risk settings. She recently completed her Master of Science in Nursing and training as a Certified Nurse Midwife at Frontier Nursing University. She provides obstetrical and gynecological care throughout the lifespan. She attends deliveries at the Birthing Inn at Inova Loudoun Hospital, as well as the Natural Birth Center.
Rachel has a passion for helping her patients safely achieve their ideal birth and supporting them as leaders in their healthcare. Shared decision-making and evidence-based practice are the foundation of the care Rachel provides. She strives to leave every patient feeling cared for, empowered, and satisfied with their care.
In her free time, Rachel enjoys spending time with her family and friends, doing arts and crafts, and traveling when she can.


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We want to see healthy, happy people enjoying their lives and living to their full potential. We don't want to see illness, disease and pain. To make this a reality, we want to empower every individual with the skills and knowledge to prevent chronic pain and disease within their own body.
Yet every body is completely unique, and what keeps one body healthy may not do the same for the next. With PH360, technology and science unite to deliver Smart Health guidance. Finally, a way to discover what will help keep you, as a unique individual, healthy and happy!
Join us in the Personal Health Revolution. Live to your full potential and take control of your future!
When we take a big step back, the solution to chronic pain and disease in our world is fundamentally quite simple – prevent it from happening in the first place and it no longer exists. – Matt Riemann
Our Team
Matt Riemann, founder and chief executive officer
Founder and CEO, Matt Riemann is an author, educator and leading expert in personalized health and the prevention of chronic pain. He holds a masters degree in applied human sciences, and is a university-level lecturer, clinical educator, and sought-after consultant to state and national organizations. Matt also trains doctors, health practitioners and fitness experts around the world. He believes that, given the right tools for its assessment, the human body will provide all the information necessary for its optimal care and wellbeing. Matt has launched 5 successful businesses in the health and medical fields over the past 10 years and first started searching for personalized health solutions when he was diagnosed with a terminal illness in 2007. Determined to survive, he's worked with top international scientists and physicians to develop this personal health tool and help empower patients across the globe to be proactive with their health.
Dr. Phillip Wuth, MD, internal medicine
Dr Phillip Wuth is a leading Preventative and Lifestyle medicine physician. In 1999 in just 2 years Phil graduated from the Queensland University of Technology with a Bachelor of Applied Science with Distinction. In 2003 he then went on to complete his undergraduate medical training at the University of Queensland and graduated with a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery with first class honours. He has worked in various public hospitals for Queensland Health, and entered general practice training obtaining his FRACGP in 2008. In 2009, he opened a specialist medical practice which incorporates a wide range of medical services ranging from integrative medicine to allied health professionals.
Phil has passion for preventative medicine and health maintenance. As his experience in general practice progressed, he was frustrated with traditional medicine's focus on treating diseases and the outcomes rather then concentrating on their prevention and maintenance of health. Phil has since attained a Master of Clinical Science (Lifestyle Medicine) along with certification from the American board Anti Ageing and Regenerative medicine.
Dr. Rebecca McLennan, PhD, genetics and biology
Rebecca McLennan is a senior researcher at a nonprofit organization that conducts biomedical research. In 1998, Dr. McLennan received a Bachelor of Science with Honors in Genetics from the University of Adelaide. Dr. McLennan then received a Ph.D. in Biological Sciences with an emphasis in Neuroscience from the University of Missouri in 2004. This training that was assisted by a Neuroscience Fellowship from the University of Missouri and then a NIH Training Grant.
She is currently a member of the Society for Developmental Biology and American Association of Anatomists. Her primary research interest is to understand the molecular signals that drive cell migration during vertebrate embryogenesis. Understanding basic cell migration will help with understanding and treating certain adult diseases in the future such as cancer.
Rebekah Morrison, product
With a background in Education, Heath and Wellbeing, Rebekah's natural eye for detail and beautiful design, and her love of happiness have been large factors in her success. Rebekah has forged a practicable, natural and joyful stream of business through Health, Wellness and Education over the past 20 years. Rebekah founded the Elite Massage Academy, Ultimate Massage Therapy, and Myotherapy International, co-founded Elite Body Management Specialist Centres, and is the author and creator of several Wellness books in the Exciting Health Series. Rebekah is a lover of change, practicality and simplicity and specializes in creating products of ease to integrate seamlessly into your life.
Daniella Remy, research
Daniella graduated with a BSc in Early Childhood Education at Ryerson University (Canada) followed by a MSc in Family Relations and Human Development at the University of Guelph (Canada). She has worked in the arena of medical research and statistics for the past 10 years, editing and coordinating research for many specialized publications and books.
Diana Anderson, strategic partnerships
Diana Anderson is an author, coach, public speaker and entrepreneur. She thrives on learning how to improve the quality of life in health and love, and sharing the details through speech, one-on-one coaching and the written word.
Diana has a strong computer background, beginning with programming in 1982 and eventually owning a company in 1996 that manufactured PC's. Her sales background includes telecommunications, computers and real estate. In a few short years Diana sold one hundred million dollars in residential and commercial property while also developing residential property. She holds the CCIM designation and attended Boise State University.
James Brown, sales & marketing
James Brown has emerged onto the scene as one of the ultimate marketing and business strategy gurus.He is a graduate and former lecturer of the Australian College of Natural Medicine and College of Traditional Healing Arts, specializing in the arts of Traditional Chinese Medicine. James has spent the better part of 18 years helping individuals find better personal and financial health.
Since 2002, James has worked in many varied industries, helping companies, small business owners and entrepreneurs to maximize their profits with online endeavors. He regularly travels, consults & teaches in the United Kingdom, USA, Canada, Panama & Japan.
Cameron Cooper, chief legal officer
Cameron Cooper joined ph360 in 2013. Cameron's emphasis is on International, Comparative, and Foreign Law and holds a special interest in Health. Cameron holds a Bachelor of Science (B.S.), Biology, University of Missouri-Columbia and Doctor of Law (J.D.) from University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law.


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LW-3500024/5A AMC Compatible ECG Leadwire
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Blogs > Secrecy News (2000 – 2021) > Military Contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan
Military Contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan
The Department of Defense has more contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan than it has uniformed military personnel, another newly updated report from the Congressional Research Service reminds us.
"The Department of Defense increasingly relies upon contractors to support operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, which has resulted in a DOD workforce that has 19% more contractor personnel (207,600) than uniformed personnel (175,000)," said the CRS report — which forms a timely counterpoint to this week's Washington Post "Top Secret America" series on the tremendous expansion of the intelligence bureaucracy, including the increased and often unchecked reliance on contractors.
The explosive growth in reliance on contractors naturally entails new difficulties in management and oversight. "Some analysts believe that poor contract management has also played a role in abuses and crimes committed by certain contractors against local nationals, which may have undermined U.S. counterinsurgency efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan," the CRS said. See "Department of Defense Contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan: Background and Analysis," July 2, 2010.
And see, relatedly, "U.S. Special Operations Forces (SOF): Background and Issues for Congress," July 16, 2010.


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Forrester Research named the nine most significant lead-to-revenue management (L2RM) marketing automation platform vendors. So what makes a good one?
They go beyond revenue performance management and transform marketing across the customer life cycle. They have deep features and functions. They make smart acquisitions
"Change in the B2B marketing automation market is likely to accelerate in 2014," Forrester's Lori Wizdo predicted in her new report. "New buyers from B2C and B2B2C marketers will redefine the functional table stakes. Acquisitions will continue as the mega enterprise software vendors plump up their marketing clouds. And the pace of innovation, driven by new tech startups, will remain high."
Enterprise: Who Leads and Why
So who's on top in general, according to Forrester?
Act-On, Adobe, CallidusCloud, IBM, Marketo, Oracle, Salesforce.com, Salesfusion and Silverpop.
Forrester, in its enterprise evaluation, determined five leaders and four strong performers:
Oracle (Eloqua) and Marketo lead the pack. It's not surprising that Eloqua leads in features and functions, Wizdo reported. Oracle's products have been around the longest (since the early 2000s) and have been deployed by many larger enterprises with complex marketing program requirements. Marketo, which was launched in 2006, "presented a product set to Forrester that indicates it has come up the functionality curve quite quickly vis-à-vis the competition."
Adobe is close behind. Adobe's acquisition of Neolane puts it here. "Neolane has excellent multichannel campaign management capabilities, which were weighted highly in the enterprise view," according to Wizdo.
Act-On and Salesforce.com (Pardot) also fall into the Leaders category. Both Act-On and Pardot -- the latter joining the salesforce.com family through the ExactTarget acquisition -- focus on the small and medium-sized business (SMB) market. "Both companies do an admirable job of delivering functionality for nearly every criterion in our evaluation," Wizdo said.
Silverpop and IBM are on the cusp of leadership. With strong products, these vendors "straddle the line between B2B and B2C marketing." Marketing automation vendors have long treated the requirements of B2C and B2B marketers as different. However, Wizdo said, recent acquisitions and market developments indicate some convergence in B2C and B2B marketing automation segments, which will probably serve to raise the relevance of both of these competitors.
Learning Opportunities
CallidusCloud and Salesfusion are also strong performers. CallidusCloud and Salesfusion each have strong capabilities for managing the later stages of the lead-to-revenue funnel, Wizdo said.
Small Marketing Teams: Who Leads and Why
Forrester's small marketing teams evaluation revealed two leaders, three strong performers and four contenders:
Act-On and Salesfusion are leaders. Forrester looked in this category for vendors with a robust, but simple, set of capabilities at a low entry price point. Act-On and SalesFusion fit well here.
Silverpop, Salesforce.com and Marketo are strong performers. Take price and commitment to smaller marketing teams out of the equation, Wizdo said, and these vendors deserve an evaluation based on their strong functional performance.
Adobe, CallidusCloud, IBM, and Oracle are contenders. B2B marketers can get the job done with any of these solutions providers. "Given the cost and complexity tradeoffs, it's likely that small marketing teams or SMBs will choose a different vendor," Wizdo wrote, "which will most likely be a satisfactory decision for the vendors."
Title image by BlueSkyImage (Shutterstock).