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Agenda for a Better South
NOVEMBER 2009 — Imagine an American South in which every child is safe and healthy, nurtured by a loving family, receives a high-quality education, graduates from high school and achieves a post-secondary education.
|Download a PDF of the full Agenda for a Better South
Imagine an American South in which all adults have career opportunities in diverse industries with opportunities for advancement, live in reasonably-priced housing in safe communities, and have accessible and affordable health care.
Imagine an American South with a thriving business climate that supports entrepreneurial innovation, the growth of small businesses and corporate expansion.
Imagine a South whose citizens are fully engaged in the democratic process and turn out in large numbers to make their voices heard. And imagine an American South that preserves and respects its bountiful natural resources, while also leading the country in energy conservation and the efficient use of renewable resources.
Just imagine.
More than 20 Southern leaders and thinkers imagined these possibilities for a better South during a conference held at Davidson College in North Carolina in November 2009. The result? An eight-point Agenda for a Better South that showcases "measurable visions" for Southern leaders to act upon now to make significant changes in people's lives as the region embraces the knowledge-based economy,
The Agenda doesn't address every challenge for or opportunity offered in the American South. Rather, it seeks to outline major areas on which Southern leaders should concentrate leadership efforts now to have meaningful impacts to improve the quality of Southern lives. By using the priorities offered in this Agenda, Southern leaders can develop innovative solutions that will have rippling effects across generational regional problems such as poverty, health care and education.
The Agenda for a Better South is a bold vision of how things can be if Southern leaders grapple with major issues instead of continuing a narrow, short-term focus to policy alternatives that don't have big impacts. Implementing the visions of the Agenda for a Better South won't be easy, but imagine how much stronger the region would be if Southern leaders welcome the challenge to make major changes.
The purpose of offering an Agenda for a Better South is to provide legislators and leaders with short, measurable visions that frame the serious policy issues in the South in the near term. During the development of the Agenda, participants felt some additional context would be helpful in framing each Agenda item. Below in bold is the Agenda Policy Goal; below each is additional information that seeks to provide context.
To compete in a 21st century global economy, each Southern state must increase its high school graduation rate and have 60 percent of native Southerners and new residents with post-secondary degrees, including associates' degrees from technical colleges, by 2020.
More: The international benchmark for competitiveness is for a nation to have 55 percent of its adult citizens with at least an associate's degree, according to a 2007 report by the National Council on Adult Literacy, "Mounting Pressures Facing the U.S. Workforce and the Increasing Need for Adult Education and Literacy." The group at Davidson strongly believed that for the South to compete actively in the global economy, it was important for Southern states to set a goal of better than the international benchmark for post-secondary education, including associates' degrees, advanced technical education, college degrees and post-graduate degrees.
Each Southern state should increase life expectancy to levels on par with Canada.
More: The group found it important to compare life expectancy rates in the South to a neighboring country, rather than another American state. Life expectancy for children born in neighboring Canada in 2006 was 78.4 years for boys and 83 years for girls, according to Statistics Canada. According to the most recent figures by the U.S. Census, the highest life expectancy in any Southern state was Florida – 74.6 years for boys born in 2000 and 80.3 years for girls born in 2000. More info.
Each Southern state should develop a state energy plan that improves per capita energy efficiency by 20 percent in 2020.
More: In 2007, the European Union set a 20-20-20 energy policy that included the goal of improving energy efficiency by 20 percent by 2020. The group at Davidson discussed the importance of improving energy efficiency throughout the South, which tends to have lower rates but higher usage rates, because boosting efficiencies would allow the region to take significant strides in reducing greenhouse gases and its carbon footprint. Reduced electricity use, for example, likely would lessen the need for new coal-fired power plants.
Each Southern state should adopt or change tax structures by 2015 that expand the tax base while lowering the rate to help ensure revenue sources match or exceed the state's growth rate in the state's overall economy.
More: Group members agreed states should take serious looks at how they tax citizens to ensure that tax structures are fair, balanced and as progressive as possible. Among the ideas discussed were for states to conduct performance reviews to improve efficiencies and modernize government, and to review sales tax exemptions to ensure they made sense in a knowledge-based economy. The group, however, did not believe in providing prescriptive strategies to states. Rather, it encourage state leaders to develop modern tax structures that are based on having broad tax bases to spread the burden and ensure rates are as low as possible for states to operate effectively. Additionally, the group believed revenue sources should match or exceed a state's growth rate to ensure that it had adequate capacity to operate.
Each Southern state must invest 90 percent of its capital budget spending on priorities identified in its infrastructure capital planning process.
More: The group highlighted in discussion that "infrastructure" should be broadly based to include roads, rail, airports, water, wastewater, electricity and communication. In an effort to reduce development of different kinds of infrastructure separately, states should strive to link improvements to all types of infrastructure to achieve efficiency. Planning includes a needs assessment and identification of deferred maintenance. The planning process must be transparent and include regional cooperation. Each state should identify sources of revenue to meet its infrastructure needs.
Each Southern state should develop and implement a benchmark citizen trust survey by 2011. By 2015, each state's levels of trust in state government should increase by 20 percent over the benchmark.
More: The group outlined how it was important for Southern states to work diligently to repair citizens' trust in government by enhancing standards of professionalism, improving accountability, conducting performance reviews and strengthening ethics laws to improve citizens' experiences, perceptions and participation in civic institutions. This set of values is not to be viewed as a means to shrink or grow government, but to restore people's faith that the civilizing institution that they "own" is working on their behalf to deal with challenges, promote economic development and expand opportunities for a better quality of life.
Southern states should reduce disparities in the treatment and well-being of different groups to foster a more inclusive, creative, productive and prosperous South. By 2012, each Southern state should adopt measures to drive significant reduction in identified disparities within at least five major categories.
More: The group believed each Southern state should take a look in the mirror at social indicators it faces and take significant steps to reduce disparities. One state, for example, might look at its rate of low birthweight babies and other health measures, while another might focus on economic indicators. Whatever indicators are selected by a state, the likelihood is great that improvements on at least five indicators will generate improvements in several other areas too.
Each Southern state should reduce the rates of violent crime to below the national average by 2020.
More: Violence is endemic in today's South, just as it has been for centuries. Four of the nation's top five states for violent crime are in the South: South Carolina (1), Tennessee (2), Florida (4) and Louisiana (5), according to the U.S. Census Bureau. To ensure communities are safer and people feel safer, Southern leaders need to take extraordinary steps to reduce violence in the South, which will improve the region's quality of life.
More than two dozen Southern academics, elected officials, business leaders and thinkers met Nov. 6-8, 2009, at Davidson College for a conference, "Setting the Agenda for a Better South."
While participants agreed on the general Agenda Priorities listed above and debated the wording of each, participation should not be construed to be an endorsement of any Agenda item by any individual participant. That being noted, participants included:
- Alabama: Publisher H. Brandt Ayers, Anniston; Prof. Stephen Black, Tuscaloosa; former U.S. Rep. Glen Browder, Birmingham; Editor Bob Davis, Anniston; and advocate Sarah Louise Smith, Birmingham.
- Arkansas: Prof. Jay Barth, Little Rock; advocate Richard Huddleston, Little Rock; and publisher Warwick Sabin, Little Rock.
- Florida: Nonprofit leader Laura Deaton, Tallahassee.
- Georgia: Editor Tom Baxter, Atlanta; Publisher Elliott Brack, Norcross; analyst Sarah Beth Gehl, Atlanta; Sen. Doug Stoner, Smyrna.
- Mississippi: Foundation leader Ivye Allen, Jackson; columnist Phil Hardwick, Jackson; analyst Ed Sivak, Jackson.
- North Carolina: Prof. Ferrel Guillory, Chapel Hill; businessman Bryant Kinney, Charlotte; consultant Pope "Mac" McCorkle, Chapel Hill; former councilman Bruce McMillen, Davidson; editor Mary Newsom, Charlotte; Prof. Mary Thornberry, Davidson.
- South Carolina: Prof. Adolphus Belk, Rock Hill; Better South Chairman Andy Brack, Charleston; Executive Michael Couick, Cayce; Better South Director Leo Fishman, Kiawah Island; Sen. Phil Leventis, Sumter; analyst Mike Shealy, Irmo.
- Other: Analytical writer Richard Greene, New York, New York.
- For more on the Davidson conference, visit: http://www.BetterSouth.org/conference
- For a plethora of statistics about the South, please view our Conference Briefing Book online at: http://www.bettersouth.org/pdfs/09.1013.briefing_final.pdf


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Filed under: Heart & Vascular
Bradycardia is a slower than normal heart rate. The heart usually beats between 60 and 100 times a minute in an adult at rest. If you have bradycardia (brad-e-KAHR-de-uh), your heart beats fewer than 60 times minute.
Bradycardia can be a serious problem if the heart doesn't pump enough oxygen-rich blood to the body. For some people, however, bradycardia doesn't cause symptoms or complications.
An implanted pacemaker and other treatments may correct bradycardia and help your heart maintain an appropriate rate.
©1998-2013 Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research (MFMER). Terms of use.
Read this article on Mayoclinic.com.
Want to know more about this article or other health related issues? Ask your question and we'll post some each week for CNN.com reader to discuss or for our experts to weight in.
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WDVX presents five hours of traditional music programming, produced locally by Jubilee Community Arts. JCA is dedicated to preserving and nurturing the evolving traditional arts and cultural communities of this Southern Appalachian region.
Jim Childs showcases audio treasures collected at yard sales, from family, and pulled from the vaults of the Tennessee Archive of Moving Image and Sound (TAMIS). Tune in to hear old-time string bands, fiddlers, bluegrass, classic honkytonk, Nashville sound, blues, R&B, rock-a-billy, '60s soul, gospel and much else from Jim's collection specializing in small, local-label vinyl.
The Vinyl Frontier explores the distant frontiers of long-forgotten recorded sounds from the dawn of the record industry at the turn of the twentieth century to the demise of the vinyl era in the 1980s. You'll hear anything from home-recorded acetate discs, 1940s' pop, old time country, jazz, blues, to radio transcriptions from local radio stations WNOX and WROL; all on 78, 45 and 331/3. The emphasis will be on local and regional recordings, writers and performers.
Each week a connecting thread links the records being played (although the connections could be diverse and obscure as the records being played!), and Jim provides historical background and commentary and chat about the records and artists.
Tens of thousands of records were released during the first 80 years of recorded sound, from the vanity recordings pressed in small quantities, to now-forgotten hits of the day distributed in their thousands. In this era of CDs, downloading and MP3s, many of these great – and not-so-great records – have fallen through the cracks and will probably never make the crossover to the digital age. Consequently, much of our musical heritage is buried away and hidden, awaiting rediscovery. Fortunately, WDVX is equipped with operable turntables, particularly one that will play 78 rpm records. So sit back and wait to discover some hidden gems on East Tennessee's own.
Tennessee Archive of Moving Image and Sound Located at the East Tennessee History Center
Knoxville, TN 865 215 8856


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Jacksonville Jaguars
Will Rackley - #65 - G
|6' 3"/ 310 lbs.
|Riverdale, GA
|Years played
|2011, 3rd round, 12th pick by Jaguars
Peterson's return helps Vikings to OT win
Adrian Peterson ran for two touchdowns in his return from a left knee injury as the Vikings beat the Jaguars in overtime.
Jaguars add RB Jones-Drew to roster
The Jaguars have added RB Maurice Jones-Drew to the roster, the club said Saturday.
Jaguars' decision to keep two QBs a surprise
The Jaguars are the one team in the division that decided keeping a third-string QB on the roster was a luxury they couldn't afford.
Tuesday's 60-second rant: Youth under center
PFW's Arthur Arkush sounds off on the young QBs who will be running three-fourths of the AFC South offenses in 2012.
Jaguars' Mularkey says MJD won't start opener
Jaguars RB Maurice Jones-Drew won the rushing title last season, but he isn't even his club's Week One starter.
Jones-Drew ends holdout without new contract
Disgruntled Jaguars RB Maurice Jones-Drew ended his 38-day holdout, without a new contract, on Sunday.
Jaguars waive TE Miller injured, claim TE Brackett
The Jaguars have waived TE Zach Miller injured and claimed former Eagles TE Brett Brackett off waivers.
Mularkey says he expects RB Jennings to start Week One
Jaguars head coach Mike Mularkey said Monday that he expects RB Rashad Jennings will be the starter Week One.
Jaguars place DE Chick, LB Session on PUP list
The Jaguars placed DE John Chick (knee) and LB Clint Session (concussion) on the reserve PUP list.
Monroe, Smith return to practice for Jaguars
OLT Eugene Monroe and LB Daryl Smith returned to practice Saturday and are expected to play in Thursday night's preseason finale.
Jaguars waive eight players
The Jaguars waived eight players Saturday morning, including veteran CB Ashton Youboty.
Lions sign Osgood
The Lions signed special-teamer Kassim Osgood, the former Jaguar confirmed on Twitter.
RB depth could be concern for Jaguars
Though the Jaguars are high on RB Rashad Jennings, his elevation to starter with Maurice Jones-Drew holding out poses depth concerns.
Report: Jones-Drew open to a trade
Jaguars RB Maurice Jones-Drew's holdout continues, and now he is reportedly open to a trade.
Jaguars commit to London games 2013-16
The NFL announced the Jaguars' multi-year commitment to play games in London from 2013-16.
The Jaguars placed Rackley on injured reserve Friday night, ending his season and creating more depth issues along the offensive line.||||||| Rackley sustained a high-ankle sprain early in training camp and re-injured it last week. Losing Rackley means undrafted rookie Mike Brewster from Ohio State likely will play a pivotal backup role for Jacksonville this season.


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The world's biggest online retailer, Amazon.com, has agreed to start collecting sales taxes on Internet purchases made in Indiana, beginning in 2014.
The agreement means Amazon customers in Indiana will see the 7-percent sales tax added to their purchases after Jan. 1, 2014, and the state will see millions of dollars more in sales tax revenues.
Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels made the surprise announcement Monday, crediting Amazon for working with the state to find a solution to an expensive problem: the loss of state revenue because of online sales that go untaxed. Daniels estimated the deal could bring an additional $20 million to $25 million in sales taxes annually to the state.
Still, Rep. Jeff Espich, a Republican who heads the House budget committee, said the Amazon agreement covers "only a small part of the problem." Estimates of tax revenues lost to untaxed online sales run from $70 million to $200 million a year in Indiana alone.
The agreement was made to put an end to a lawsuit filed against the state of Indiana by Simon Property Group, the nation's largest mall owner. The Indianapolis-based mall owner contended Amazon's tax-free status in Indiana resulted in "an illegal and unconstitutional subsidy" that harms taxpayers and competing bricks-and-mortar retailers.
The agreement, though, doesn't quiet complaints from Amazon's brick-and-mortar competitors who want to know why Amazon, which had $35 billion in global sales last year, should get two more years before it has to collect and remit the Indiana sales tax.
They contend the state gave Amazon an unfair pricing advantage when it cut a deal with the giant online retailer five years ago. In return for building giant distribution centers in Indiana, Amazon got a pass from having to collect the sales tax.
"Amazon has enjoyed a five-year moratorium on collecting the sales tax. Why should they get two more years?" said Grant Monahan, president of the Indiana Retail Council.
Paul Misener, Amazon's vice president for global public policy, said the 2014 date gives Amazon time to push for federal legislation that would compel all online retailers to start collecting sales taxes.
With the agreement, Indiana becomes only the fourth state in the nation where Amazon has voluntarily agreed to collect and remit sales taxes.
The company has been fighting other states attempts to force it to collect the sales tax. Amazon contends it's protected by a 1992 U.S. Supreme Court decision that exempts online retailers from collecting sales taxes if they don't have a physical presence in a state.
The Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Tennessee estimates local and state sales tax revenue lost from online purchases across the country amounts to more than $12 billion per year.
Maureen Hayden is the Indiana Statehouse bureau chief for CNHI, the parent company of the Tribune-Star. She can be reached at firstname.lastname@example.com.


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Q: I read on your website about women desperate to reduce their libido. I used to suffer from the same unwelcome sexual desires. I think my sex drive was due to excess testosterone.
I fixed this problem by drinking spearmint tea in the morning and the evening for several weeks. Spearmint is available in health-food stores or Latino groceries, where it is sold as yerba buena.
A: To our surprise, we found that in Turkey, mint tea has a reputation for lowering libido. Animal research suggests that it may have an impact on testosterone.
In one study, researchers treated 21 women who had unwanted facial hair (Phytotherapy Research, May 2007). A cup of spearmint tea twice a day for five days lowered free testosterone.
A British trial randomized 42 women with polycystic ovary syndrome and high testosterone levels to take either spearminttea or placebo tea twice a day for a month. At the end of 30 days, testosterone levels were lower in the women who had consumed spearmint tea (Phytotherapy Research, February 2010).
Q: I have been suffering from severe migraines and recently noticed that if I chug a Slurpee and induce "brain freeze," my headache immediately clears up or goes away entirely. It makes more of a difference than my prescription medication.
A: You are not alone. Other readers have reported that inducing brain freeze with ice cream, ice water or a Starbucks Frappuccino can interrupt a migraine.
There is even some research to support this approach (FASEB Journal supplement, April 2012). Researchers found that drinking ice water constricted blood flow near the palate, resulting in brain freeze. Since migraines are believed to be triggered by changes in blood flow to the brain, disrupting the process by creating brain freeze may explain your remedy.
Those who don't benefit from brain freeze may be interested in the many other natural approaches in our Guide to Headaches and Migraines. Anyone who would like a copy, please send $3 in check or money order with a long (No. 10), stamped (66 cents), self-addressed envelope to: Graedons' People's Pharmacy, No. M-98, P.O. Box 52027, Durham, NC 27717-2027. It also can be downloaded for $2 from our website: www.peoplespharmacy.com.
Q: I suffer cramps in my fingers. Do you have any remedies for this painful problem?
A: Try holding a bar of soap. As strange as it sounds, some readers report that this is very helpful for hand and finger cramps: "Soap has helped with hand cramps when playing cards. I've started carrying one of the small soaps from motels in my purse, and it has certainly come in handy."
Joe Graedon, a pharmacologist, and Teresa Graedon, a medical anthropologist and nutrition expert, answer readers' questions in their column. Email them via www.PeoplesPharmacy.com.


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PC News
Max Payne 2 this Autumn
Big news from Rockstar
Take 2 have officially revealed Max Payne 2 today, and will be showing this huge sequel to invited audiences at E3 this week. Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne will be developed Remedy once again, and will be in stores for this PC this very autumn - according to the official press release.
The new title will be published by Take 2's hip publishing division Rockstar Games, and Max Payne the sequel promises to be as urban chic as ever, as well as utilising all the comic book inspired stories and slow motion action that made the original a smash hit.
More news on this immense sequel as we get it.


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The party in power of the U.S House sets the working schedule for the coming year. For 2014, the GOP scheduled 113 in-session days. This is half the days they could be working.
For November and December of this year, they will only work 16 days. Remember, a U.S. House member gets paid a minimum of $174,000 a year, which most think is not enough money. It also costs us taxpayers $23 million a week to operate the U.S. House, if they are working or not.
With only 113 days of in session work, you will not see votes on a budget, an immigration reform bill, a transportation bill, a farm bill, any tax reform bills, a bill to properly fund the Veterans Administration, or a bill on your voting rights. What you will see is another 46 votes to de-fund Obamacare.
If the GOP does not take care of the business of all our citizens, then it's time to elect people from another party who will. The Modern Whig Party is growing daily and will take care of all the people's business.
Since most congressmen are millionaires, maybe it's time to cut their pay in half to reflect how much of the people's work they don't do.
The Modern Whig Party is the center for the American voters of the center. Sixty percent of voters in America are in the center.
Remember, the GOP and the DFL do not own your vote. You have the right to vote for whomever you choose — even a Whig.
Michael Burger


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Growing up, Jordan Howard always felt like an outsider. He had trouble making friends, and he felt awkward in groups. He says he felt like one of those misunderstood high school clichés. And he could never put his finger on why.
The first time Rolando Elias came to work at the Federal Way farmers market, Dr. April Walter was nervous."That was a big-time risk," April says. "It could have blown up in my face." She opened a tent at the market to give young adults with autism a chance to work.
Alex Brenner walked into his psychologist's office one day this summer and right away, he thought he had done something wrong. Both his parents were standing at the front desk. As he closed the door, his mom handed him a letter. "She said, 'read it.' I sat down. It said, 'you're getting into the University of Washington.'"Alex was stunned. His dad helped him uncork a bottle of champagne and they celebrated on the spot. The University of Washington in Seattle was Alex's first choice among schools. He had been studying for four years at a community college to get his grades up. All his hard work had finally paid off. But sitting there holding his acceptance letter, another wave of realization washed over him. Soon he'd be living on his own in a new city, a long drive from his parents' home in Tacoma. He suddenly felt nervous.


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Poet Truth Thomas and essayist Elise Armacost will headline this month's Greektown Reading Series – Thursday, October 18 – at the newly renovated Ikaros restaurant at the corner of Eastern Avenue and Ponca Street.
Just added to the bill—which will feature the oil paintings of Ikaros' founder Xenos Kohilas—is young singer/songwriter sensation Allison Olender and Fishbowl columnist Marion Winik.
Asked to describe the essence of the work he will present, Thomas said he would shine a light on the nobility of those struggling among us as well as "poems that chronicle the human quest for love to conquer hate, without becoming hateful."
No small task, as was particularly well-chronicled in a 2010 New Yorker profile of the musician/artist John Lurie.
Though raised a half-hour's ride to the south in Washington, Thomas said the compelling effect Baltimore has on storytellers was not lost on him.
"It's a town of heroes," he said of Crabtown. "It is welcoming, unpretentious, real life reflected in both triumphs and hardships, unveiled for all to see. [Baltimore] knows strength and humility from hard work and suffering. Great stories are often born of suffering …"
The hardship that Armacost will detail in her memoir "National Anthem," came in her youthful efforts to be true to her family's religion. At least once, sitting down for her faith got the former Sunapapers reporter smacked in the head by folks who barely knew her. The emotional injury lingered longer.
"How do you find a way to belong when you've been taught since birth that the Almighty wants you to stay separate?" she said. "National Anthem is story about family, about coping and my quest to answer that question."
Asked why Baltimore was such a good writer's town, Armacost said succinctly, "because it's interesting."
Like this, she said: "colorful, whimsical, tragic and fun."
As will be the stories, songs and art this Thursday night from 7 to 9 p.m. in the upper room of Ikaros.
For more information contact Rafael Alvarez via firstname.lastname@example.com


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Wilfred Santiago has some fun with a Victoria Jackson post-election tweet.
Clever work Mr Santiago.
Reblogged from Fantagraphics Books Inc..
Posted by luclatulippe-deactivated2013102
Filed under: wilfred santiagocomicsvictoria jacksonIllustrationbarack obamaelection
Victoria Jackson is a national treasure and a true inspiration to us all.
The Drawn Blog is your daily source of inspiration for illustration, animation, cartooning, and comic art.
This entry was posted by luclatulippe-deactivated2013102 on Tuesday, November 13, 2012.


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News from WTOP
News from the AP
Mike Causey
Shows & Panels
Shows & Panels
Shows & Panels
Shows & Panels
- The 2014 Big Picture on Cyber Security
- AFCEA Answers
- Ask the CIO
- Building the Hybrid Cloud
- CDWG/NetApp
- Connected Government: How to Build and Procure Network Services for the Future
- Continuing Diagnostics and Mitigation: Discussion of Progress and Next Steps
- Federal Executive Forum
- Federal Tech Talk
- The Intersection: Where Technology Meets Transformation
- Maximizing ROI Through Data Center Consolidation
- Moving to the Cloud. What's the best approach for me
- Navigating Tough Choices in Government Cloud Computing
- The New Generation of Database
- Satellite Communications: Acquiring SATCOM in Tight Times
- Targeting Advanced Threats: Proven Methods from Detection through Remediation
- Transformative Technology: Desktop Virtualization in Government
- The Truth About IT Opex and Software Defined Networking
- Value of Health IT
Shows & Panels
Post office: $18B loss without cuts, rate increase
In a letter to Congress, Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe described an updated five-year cost-cutting plan put together in coordination with Wall Street adviser Evercore Partners Inc.
Air Force, USPS team up to grab cyber crook
A hacker had stolen the credit card information of more the 16,000 users of the Army and Air Force Exchange Service website.
Postal Service posts $3.3B loss for the quarter
The Postal Service said large losses would continue until the agency can trim its workforce, close some facilities, and restructure its healthcare program. The Postal Service posted a total loss of $5.1 billion in fiscal 2011.
Cool Jobs: The Mural Preservationist
Dallan Wordekemper, federal preservation officer with the Postal Service, restores New Deal-era murals at U.S. post offices across the country.
Postal Service offers reduced rate on commercial mailing
This week, Postal Service introduced "2nd Ounce Free" pricing for businesses mailing First-Class Mail automation, presort letters.
Postal Service, unions reach impasse in labor talks
Labor talks failed this weekend between the Postal Service and two postal unions the National Association of Letter Carriers and the National Postal Handlers Union.
Cummings: Fight ahead for federal pay raise
Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), the ranking member on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, anticipates strong opposition to President Obama's promised 0.5 percent pay increase for federal employees.
USPS awards $168M communications contract to Verizon
Verizon will design and manage a private Internet protocol network for the Postal Service under a new six-year agreement. The New York-based telecom has provided IT services for the agency for two decades.
Postal Service's plan to close post offices hits roadbumps
The Postal Regulatory Commission has criticized the Postal Service's proposal to consider closing more than 3,600 post offices as part of its plan to avoid a projected $14 billion loss this year. The plan is causing anxiety in communities that depend on their post offices and it would not save that much money, PRC Chairman Ruth Goldway told Federal News Radio. The commission will be watching the agency's cash flow closely in the coming months.
Feds glad to bid adieu to 2011, but will 2012 be better?
Federal News Radio's Emily Kopp counts down the top federal workforce stories of 2011 and makes some predictions fo 2012.
Postal Service, unions to continue negotiating into January
Postal Service and the NALC and NPMHU extend talks through Jan. 20.
Postal Service to delay cutbacks until mid-May
The U.S. Postal Service has agreed to delay the closing of 252 mail processing centers and 3,700 local post offices until mid-May.
USPS, unions extend contract deadline again
The U.S. Postal Service and the two major Postal unions have agreed to extend the deadline for negotiating a new labor contract until Dec. 16. It is now the second extension agreed to by USPS and the two unions the National Association of Letter Carriers and the National Postal Mail Handlers Union. The initial deadline for labor negotiations was Nov. 20, which was then extended until midnight Wednesday.
Postal Service addresses concerns uncovered by safety review
Judy Leonhardt, the acting deputy assistant inspector general for support operations in the Office of the Inspector General, says that Postal Service is putting safety first.
USPS reviews closing 252 processing plants, cutting workforce
The IG's report outlined several recommendations, some of which the Postal Service have already started implementing.
Video contest inspires public to answer GSA's everyday questions
General Services Administration names winners in contest that challenged videographers to answer questions like how do you let the government know you're moving and how do you obtain a Social Security card?
Spammers spoof USPS messages
SophosLabs reports spammers are targeting users and tricking them into clicking on and infecting their computers with a Trojan horse. The messages, sent from what appears to be the U.S. Postal Service use a variety of subject lines such as, "Track your parcel" and "Your package is available for pickup."
Postal Service seeks outside opinion on restructuring
The Postal Service has hired Evercore Partners, a New York-based investment bank, to evaluate proposed changes to its operations, compensation and benefits. Evercore has advised General Motors and other large, troubled companies. USPS said it needs to cut annual expenses by $20 billion by 2015.
Donahoe says bills 'do not come close' to saving the USPS
None of the legislation moving through Congress would provide the Postal Service the speed and flexibility it needs to cut annual costs by $20 billion, Postmaster General Pat Donahoe said Monday. He said they would give USPS "a couple of years of profitability and at least many decades of steep losses." He argued for quicker resolution to the agency's cash crisis.
Tweets from Donahoe's address at National Press Club
Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe brought the latest news of the Postal Service's future at a National Press Club luncheon on Monday.


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Join the Venice Penguin Swim Club at the Breakwater, at the end of Windward on Jan. 1 and greet the New Year with a Big Splash!
Sign up starts at 11 a.m. on the beach and there is no entry charge to participate. The first man and woman to complete a 500-yard swim around a buoy and back will be crowned the penguin prince and princess.


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View the article online at http://citywire.co.uk/new-model-adviser/article/a639498
Apfa hits out at FSCS over £7.7m Keydata legal costs
by Jun Merrett on Dec 03, 2012 at 14:19
The Association of Professional Financial Advisers (Apfa) has called for the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) to show evidence of how cost effective its legal action against Keydata-selling IFAs is.
The trade body responded to the FSCS's half year review in which the scheme predicted an increase of its budget from £3.9 million to a new revised figure of £7.7 million to pursue recoveries for 2012/2013.
Chris Hannant (pictured), policy director of Apfa said the budget had almost doubled which was in addition to the £7.9 million the scheme had spent last year on recoveries which will mostly be spend on legal fees.
'These are significant numbers for the profession, but the worst of it is that we have no idea of how cost effective legal action has been. The FSCS's half year review gives no detail at all as to what money has been recovered from legal actions so far. The Financial Services Authority must look closely at this issue. The FSCS needs to demonstrate that these recoveries are warranted and cost effective.
'Furthermore, there should now be a process for bringing an end to actions against advisers with a handful of cases. It cannot be cost effective to use City lawyers to pursue claims worth small amounts.'
The FSCS also recently revealed that investment advisers face being hit with a further £28 million levy due to the collapse of Pritchard Stockbrokers and Worldspreads.
Last week, the scheme called in a £25 million interim levy for the investment intermediation sub class and an additional cost of £3 million as a result of a redistribution levy because of £36 million shortfall in FSCS funds.
2 comments so far. Why not have your say?
Dec 03, 2012 at 20:55
If course it pays!report this
Dec 04, 2012 at 09:37
Why isn't APFA demanding that the FSA explains the basis of what seems to have become its standard policy of instructing the FSCS to short-circuit and, at huge expense (to us), bypass the normal, established consumer complaints process? Why the rush to pre-judge liability on a blanket basis and to hand out wads of compensation like Monopoly money to all and sundry?
If customers aren't satisfied with a rejection of their complaint, they have the right to refer it to the FOS. If the FOS upholds the complaint, it then becomes a matter for the firm's PI insurer ~ isn't that how system was designed to work and the way in which it has worked to date? Why isn't that good enough any more?
Or, as the evidence tends to suggest, is this new policy part of a premeditated pernicious agenda against small IFA's ~ the very thing that Hector Sants claimed before the TSC in March 2011 that the FSA doesn't have?report this
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Kevin Bruns is an accomplished public affairs professional with 25 years of experience in senior policy and communications positions on Capitol Hill, with public affairs firms, and as a consultant. A highly regarded writer, he writes for a ...Profile
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Kevin Bruns is an accomplished public affairs professional with 25 years of experience in senior policy and communications positions on Capitol Hill, with public affairs firms, and as a consultant. A highly regarded writer, he writes for a range of audiences and in a range of styles and formats, including research papers, policy analysis, articles, media statements, congressional testimony and Web copy. An attorney, Kevin worked on Capitol Hill for ten years, where he held legislative and committee counsel positions, handling health care, education, tax, federal budget and banking. He served as executive director of America's Student Loan Providers, a coalition of student loan organizations. In that capacity, he appeared on NPR, Marketplace radio and C-Span's Washington Journal and was quoted widely on higher education financing issues. His strongest background is in health policy, education and the pharmaceutical industry.Years of Experience: 10+
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Parking in Billund
If you don't want to pay for your car parking while visiting Legoland, you can leave it in the parking area not close to the gates, but more distant. You will have to walk maybe 10min, but save some money (if it is important to you).
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Search by ticker symbol or company name for a quick quote:
Sunday, March 5, 2000
A Love affair with
a robotic lawnmower
By ROY A. JONES II
Senior Staff Writer
If Cindi Herndon Love had stuck with her
first love she would probably be editor of the New York Times
Instead, the one-time editor of Abilene
High Schools newspaper, The Battery has an earned doctorate
in education and enough professional accomplishments in a variety
of educational and business endeavors to fill a book.
Fortunately, for Abilene, shes also
still involved in a Love affair with her hometown.
That explains why the 45-year-old educator-turned-businesswoman
picked Abilene to be the North American headquarters of the Israeli
company that she was personally recruited to lead.
I really was semi-retired to Abilene
when they came along and made me an offer that was too good to
turn down, she said. I finally accepted with the understanding
I could stay in Abilene.
Not that she doesnt spend a lot of
time traveling including four trips to the Tel Aviv headquarters
of Friendly Machines, Ltd. since late November.
Im putting all my computer training
to good use, she said with a laugh. I do a lot of
work on my laptop while Im flying somewhere.
Youve probably seen the ads for her
Robomow, a robotic lawnmower that allows its owner to play with
the kids or sit in the shade sipping a cold drink while the environment-friendly
machine takes care of the yard by itself.
Its mamma was a sheep. Its daddy was
a traveling alien, says one of the signs being readied for
Robomows Texas debut at the Big Country Home and Garden
Expo Saturday and today at the Abilene Civic Center.
Another says, Brains 1, Brawn 0.
Still another: Smart enough to mow your lawn. Dumb enough
to do it for free.
Potential windfall
Cindi Love is not a hard-sell promoter.
Shes content to let Robomow sell itself, as it has been
doing quite successfully in Europe for several years.
If sales take off in the United States like
she believes they will, Love stands to become filthy rich. Wealth
isnt what motivates her, but she admits that it would help
her to attain a lifelong goal of helping her community through
Dont get me wrong. Theres
a tremendous sense of personal fulfillment that comes with helping
others through education and rehabilitation and community involvement
and the other things Ive been involved in, but most of the
time those endeavors just pay the bills, she said.
Ive seen a lot of people over
the years who were just $1,000 away from being destitute or turning
their life around and I always wished there was something more
I could do to help them, she said.
She listed the late A.B. Stormy
Shelton, most of whose charitable work was done behind the scenes,
as her role model for philanthropy.
He was so modest that most people
didnt realize what all he had done for Abilene until he
was gone, she said. But he left fingerprints all over
Abilene hospital, school, churches I admire that.
Love also had a built-in role model for
business and civic leadership in her mother. Alamae Herndon found
success in an industry dominated by men petroleum.
Before her death in 1988, at age 63, Herndon
had been secretary-treasurer of the Grisham-Hunter Corp., vice
president of Delaware Basin Properties and co-manager of Delaware
Basin Joint Venture, as well as a consultant to several large
independent Texas oil and gas corporations.
She was also a charter member of the Petroleum
Club of Abilene; president of the Altrusa Club and Women for ACU,
and a 10-year member of ACUs National Development Council.
I got my drive from her, Love
Her father, Leo, who still lives here, is
retired from a long career as credit manager for Lone Star Gas.
Getting started
Love graduated from Abilene High School
in 1972 and became interested in speech pathology through a visit
to the West Texas Rehabilitation Center. She earned her bachelors
degree in that field in 1975, then worked as a school speech pathologist
in Shreveport while earning her masters degree at Louisiana
She returned home to work at the Rehab Center
and for the AISD, then taught at Hardin-Simmons University. In
1981, she founded C.H. Love & Co., Inc., and became the ComputerLand
franchise. Over the next few years she earned her doctoral degree
in education at Texas Tech University and restored three downtown
businesses on Cypress Street for her growing businesses.
In 1990, the firm was named one of the fastest
growing companies in the nation, based on a 3,201-percent increase
in gross sales from 1985-89. Sales went from $363,000 to almost
$12 million, she recalled.
The company was grossly undercapitalized
and she wound up selling the firm in 1991 and accepting an MIT
Looking back, she said, the business was
almost designed to fail because it sold computers too cheaply
in the competitive market and was unable to overcome the debt
it assumed when it purchased three ComputerLand franchises which
were in financial trouble.
ComputerLand went from 756 employees
to 178 in less than two years, and at the same time the effective
(profit) margin on PCs went from 42 percent to 14. What we faced
was no different than what small retailers face when Wal-Mart
comes in to an area, she said. Once the bigger stores
got into the mass marketing arena, and we had to stay competitive,
we simply could not sustain the losses.
She said directors decided to sell out to
save investors a worse fate if the company was forced into bankruptcy.
She later founded Integration Control Systems
and Services, which developed software to distribute irrigation
industry products. In 1996, she sold out to the Toro Company,
the largest turf care product manufacturer in the world.
As part of the buy-out she became a director
in Toros Minneapolis headquarters until late 1998. Then,
she returned to Abilene, intending to retire from everything but
a little consulting work.
But last November, Israeli leaders of Friendly
Machines, Ltd., sought her out and asked her to be chief operating
officer for North America. They wanted her to introduce Robomow
to the United States, she said.
She lined up more than 200 U.S. dealers
so quickly that the impressed corporation directors elected her
CEO of the whole company before a U.S. sale was made.
I didnt want to have to travel.
Now look at me, she said recently during an airport telephone
interview between flights in Detroit.
After a recent public demonstration, she
said she was moved by a 6-year-old boy who sent her a colorful
drawing of a man walking behind a robotic mower, guiding it with
a small device similar to a TV remote control.
This is a safer way to mow. You cant
cut off your fingers and toes, the child wrote. And
my Dad can mow again because he has a bad back.
Love laughed when she added that the child
also warned that the machines will become popular targets for
thieves and suggested, Make it say, help, help, someone
is stealing me.
Actually, Robomows makers have already
thought of that, Love said. The latest models include a hidden
honing device which could lead police to a stolen machine.
But drive-by thefts should not be a problem,
she said, because the mowers weigh 121 pounds.
How does it work?
The key component of Robomow is a small
electronic navigation device that acts as the brain
of the machine. Once a wire, connected to a small generator powered
by AA batteries, is placed around the perimeter of the lawn, Robomow
is set to work. The mower moves in straight lines, turning at
the end of each run with a natural overlap.
During cutting, the navigation module updates
a map of the lawn in its memory, including obstacles. It does
not require any knowledge of the area to be cut, or of any obstacle.
The company got its name, he said, from
the fact that the machine is friendly to the environment.
It uses no oil or gasoline and emits no exhaust. It runs on two
12-volt batteries that can be recharged overnight. It can mow
about 5,300 square feet on a single charge, he said.
Love said she believes that Robomow, despite
its $695 price tag, will make a significant dent in the 5.6 million
walk-behind and 1.5 million riding lawn mowers that are sold in
the U.S. each year.
Abilene salesmen of traditional mowers dont
see Robomow as a serious threat to their business the lack
of moisture is far worse a threat, they say.
Don Smith of Moores Bicycle Shop,
who sells Toro, Honda and Snapper mowers, said most mowers here
are sold to medium-size lawn owners who might find setting up
a perimeter wire and getting the robotic mower all ready to mow
more hassle than just getting a little exercise behind their old
faithful walk-behind mower.
But Fred Hamilton, owner of Hamilton Supply,
said he thinks robotic mowers are here to stay and will grow in
popularity as competition drives prices down. He said Husqvarna,
a 310-year-old company which began making muskets for the King
of Sweden, began marketing a robotic lawn mower in Europe three
years ago.
Its supposed to be released
in the U.S. sometime in 2000, and well be the area dealer,
he said. One model, he said, recognizes when it is running low
on electricity, quits mowing and drives itself to its portal
and plugs itself in until it is recharged, he said. then
it goes back and finishes the job.
Another Husqvarna robot model runs off of
solar power, he added.
Well never replace walk-behind
mowers, but this developing computer technology is going to make
the future of lawn care even more exciting for us all, he
For more information about Robomow call
(888) 404-ROBO or visit the companys Web site at www.robomow.com.
Roy A. Jones II can be reached at 676-6737
or by e-mail at firstname.lastname@example.com


text:
this wiki
|"I could help you do that better."
This article may require cleanup to meet League of Legends Wiki's quality standards. Consider using more specific cleanup instructions. Please help improve this article if you can. The talk page may contain suggestions.
A Turret, also called a Tower, is a heavy fortification that blocks the enemy's minion waves and champions' path to the Nexus. In order for a champion to push forward and continue its assault into the enemies' territory, the champion must destroy these turrets. Charging minions will not be able to pass any further up a lane until the turret closest to them is destroyed. Turrets deal heavy damage to enemy units. Summoner's Rift has 11 turrets per team.
Attack Prioritization
Turrets will continue to attack their current target until the target dies, leaves attack range, or becomes untargetable due to abilities or items.
A turret will prioritize an enemy champion if that champion deals damage to an allied champion who is within the tower's range. Damage dealt can come from any source (pet, aura, item, etc.) in order for a champion to be targeted. Additionally, turrets will target an enemy champion if no other valid target is within range. Turrets will not attack an enemy champion who uses a non-damaging spell (ex. Karthus's Wall of Pain). A spell or attack that is blocked (by a spell shield or ability effect) and deals no damage will still draw turret aggro.
When the current target is lost for whatever reason, the turret will select a new target—whichever of the following, in order, is found in range first:
- The closest targetable Trap (ex. Jack In The Box).
- The closest enemy Pet (ex. Mirror Image, Hallucinate, Summon: Tibbers, Children of the Grave, Summon Voidling, H-28G Evolution Turret, Decoy, Spider Swarm, or Omen of Death).
- The closest enemy Siege Minion or Super Minion.
- The closest enemy Melee Minion.
- The closest enemy Caster Minion.
- The closest enemy Champion.
Turret healing and invulnerability
- Inhibitor turrets have 15 health regeneration per 5 seconds.
- The Nexus Turrets also have natural health regeneration. However, if inhibitors have been destroyed this far, it would be difficult to "turtle" the match by turret-hugging.
- Inner turrets are invulnerable and untargetable until the corresponding Outer turrets are destroyed. Likewise, Inhibitor turrets are invulnerable and untargetable until the corresponding Inner turrets are destroyed, and Nexus turrets are invulnerable and untargetable unless at least one inhibitor is destroyed.
Turret Damage
- Turrets deal 70% damage to siege minions and super minions [1].
- Damage is mitigated by your armor - minus the Armor penetration due to the Penetrating Bullets passive.
- The Nexus Obelisk deals a flat 1000 damage every 0.5 seconds, ignoring all damage reduction and resistance.
- Turrets deal bonus damage to melee and caster minions so that melee minions generally die to 2 tower attack and 1 champion auto attack, and ranged minions die to 1 tower attack and 2 champion auto attacks.
Tower passives
Turrets have a pseudo-inventory that can be viewed, with each pseudo-item explaining a specific turret mechanic.
Reinforced Armor
- Unique Passive - Reinforced Armor: Gains 150 armor and 150 magic resistance when no enemy minions are in range for attack.
This reduces the effectiveness of backdooring (pushing without minions) compared to conventional pushing. Pets ( Annie's Tibbers, Malzahar's Voidlings), traps ( Shaco's Jack In The Box), and monsters (a Golem brought around by Syndra's Force of Will) do not deactivate this passive.
Penetrating Bullets
- +30% armor penetration
- Unique Passive - Dodge Piercing: Turret attacks can not be dodged
- Unique Passive - Warming Up: Turrets gain 37.5% damage each time they strike a champion (Max 75% bonus damage).
- Unique Passive - Heated Up: After the turret is fully heated, consecutive attacks against the same champion deal 25% additional damage (Max 50% bonus damage).
Against champions, Warming Up and Heated Up combine to deal 100% damage on the first hit, then 137.5%, 175%, 200%, and finally 225% on the fifth hit and beyond. If the turret attacks another champion, only Heated Up stacks will be reset, and the damage will stay at 175%. As soon as the turret is not targeting any champion, both passives reset and damage returns to 100%.
It should be noted that this Warming-Up is not champion-specific, meaning it keeps stacking even when switching between champions. In other words, it resets only when attacking a non-champion (pet, minion or monster).
Warden's Eye
- Unique Passive - True Sight: Can see invisible units within 1000 units.
Fortification (Outer turrets only.)
- Unique Passive - Fortification: Blocks 30 damage from champion basic attacks, this effect expires after 7 minutes. (Reduction applies before armor.)
Turrets have 1095 sight range and 775 attack range.
Statistics (Summoner's Rift)
All turrets have an estimated 900 range. The following table details values that are not the same across all turrets.
|AD (Max)
|Armor (Max)
|MR (Max)
|+4 AD, +1 Armor, +1 MR at…
|152 (180)
|100 (107)
|0:30, 1:30, …, 6:303,4
|170 (250)
|60 (80)
|100 (120)
|8:00, 9:00, …, 27:00
|190 (310)
|67 (97)
|100 (130)
|8:00, 9:00, …, 37:00
|180 (300)
|65 (95)
|100 (130)
|8:00, 9:00, …, 37:00
- 1300 plus 250 per champion on the enemy team.
- 1300 plus 125 per champion on the enemy team.
- Outer turrets do not gain armor over time.
- 0:40, 1:40, …, 6:40, reduced by 2 seconds for each champion on the enemy team.
Damaging Turrets
- Damage to a turret is based on your base attack damage plus the higher of your bonus attack damage or 40% of your ability power.[2] It is not affected by any kind of armor or magic penetration.[3][4]
- Critical strikes will register against turrets, but no bonus damage will be applied. Also the Frenzy Mastery won't be procced.
- Outer turrets have 30 damage reduction from champion basic attacks for the first 7 minutes of the game.
Abilities that deal bonus damage to turrets
- Attack modifiers
- Akali's Twin Disciplines
- Blitzcrank's Power Fist
- Darius's Crippling Strike
- Diana's Moonsilver Blade
- Garen's Decisive Strike
- Hecarim's Devastating Charge
- Jayce's Transform: Mercury Hammer and Hyper Charge
- Leona's Shield of Daybreak
- Master Yi's Double Strike
- Nasus's Siphoning Strike
- Nidalee's Takedown
- Sejuani's Flail of the Northern Winds (only initial blow, not the AoE)
- Shen's Ki Strike
- Shyvana's Twin Bite
- Sona's Power Chord
- Talon's Noxian Diplomacy
- Trundle's Chomp
- Twisted Fate's Pick A Card
- Vi's Excessive Force
- Volibear's Rolling Thunder
- Wukong's Crushing Blow
- Xin Zhao's Three Talon Strike
- Ziggs's Short Fuse
- AoE
Items that deal bonus damage to turrets
Abilities that are affected when attacking the turret
These abilities are affected when attacking the turret but do not deal extra damage:
- Stacking effect
Abilities that do not deal bonus damage to turrets
- Jax's Empower and Grandmaster's Might
- Kayle's Righteous Fury
- Kog'Maw's Bio-Arcane Barrage
- Mordekaiser's Mace of Spades
- Nocturne's Umbra Blades
- Poppy's Devastating Blow
- Renekton's Ruthless Predator
- Udyr's Tiger Stance
- Yorick's Omen of War
- Vayne's Tumble
- Kassadin's Nether Blade
It should be noted, however, that some of these abilities reset the champion's autoattack animation, and while the ability itself does not deal bonus damage to the turret, activating it right after an attack will allow for a double strike, taking the turret down faster.
Abilities that are not affected when attacking turrets
No stacking effect
- Caitlyn's Headshot
- Graves's Quickdraw
- Gangplank's Grog Soaked Blade
- Kennen's Electrical Surge
- Twisted Fate's Stacked Deck
- Twitch's Deadly Venom
- Shen's Ki Strike
- Skarner's Energize
No heal
No proc
Rewards for destruction
- When an Outer turrets is destroyed, each member of the destroyer's team gains 100 global gold, and 150 gold are split among the players who participate in destroying the turret. No experience is gained.
- When an Inner turret is destroyed, each member of the destroyer's team gains 30 experience, each member of the destroyer's team gains 125 global gold, and 100 gold are split among the players who participate in destroying the turret.
- When an Inhibitor turret is destroyed, each member of the destroyer's team gains 100 experience and 175 gold. Players participating in the destruction of the turret do not gain additional gold.
Last-hitting a turret does not grant bonuses to champions, unless they have a relevant effect:
- Twisted Fate's Loaded Dice grants him from 1 to 6 gold.
- Ashe's Hawkshot grants 3 gold.
- Avarice Blade grants 2 gold.
- Cho'Gath's Carnivore restores a small amount of health and mana.
- Nasus's Siphoning Strike gains permanent damage.
- Turrets count as terrain. Any abilities that interact with terrain can trigger their effects using them, namely the stuns from Poppy's Heroic Charge and Vayne's Condemn. Nautilus's Dredge Line will also drag him to turrets.
- Towers can be shielded by Janna's Eye Of The Storm.
- Aura effects do not affect turrets.
- If a turret is destroyed while a shot is in mid-flight, that shot will not deal any damage.
- The 3D models and icons of the Inner, Inhibitor and Nexus turrets are different. Inner and Outer turrets have the same model and icons.
Patch history
- Penetrating Bullets: Turret damage gained per hit increased to 37.5% from 25%.
- Warming Up: Turrets now finish warning up after 2 hits from 3.
- Turrets select targets slightly faster.
- Fortification buff
- Duration reduced to 7 minutes from 8.
- Damage reduction from champions increased to 30 from 20.
- Now also applies to bottom tower, not just top and mid.
- Outer turrets no longer gain bonus armor and magic resist for the first eight minutes of the game.
- Top and middle lane outer turrets now have 20 damage reduction from champion basic attacks.
- Outer turrets now grant 100 global gold per player and 150 gold split among the players who participate in destroying the turret.
- Inner turrets now grant 125 global gold per player and 100 gold split among the players who participate in destroying the turret.
- Inhibitor turrets now grant 175 global gold per player.
- Turrets now deal 105% damage to champions for the first attack, increased from 94.5%
- Turrets now deal 25% additional damage for consecutive attacks on the same champion (max 225%), increased from 20% (max 210%).
|Twisted Treeline


text:
What I Learned This Year 2011 #1: Jim Elkin
My father has Alzheimer's Disease. It's not a good disease. Not that any disease is good, but this is one disease that you wouldn't wish on your worst enemy. It's that bad. At the end, it doesn't just strip away your memory and the very core of who you are...it takes away your dignity. I know that nothing is supposed to take away your dignity and every badly designed, overly earnest medical pamphlet tries to explain that...but this disease is just completely soul sucking. I've had a lot of people close to me die. Family, friends, an ex-girlfriend...I thought it made me a stronger person...but nothing really prepared me for this. Watching someone you care about slowly slip away...day by day...inch by inch. I always used to think about Woody Allen's quote about death "I'm not afraid of death, I just don't want to be there when it happens." In some way...that's what Alzheimer's is about...there is a part of you that is not really there when it happens. Even if you want to be.
Before I wrote this, I reread what I wrote last year. I learned eight things last year. This year is different. I learned one thing. One important thing. This is the year that everything changed for me. I don't look at the world the same way I used to. I took everything happening to my dad and I just threw myself into my work. I worked my ass off...took on new clients...bought more equipment...hired an amazing employee (who I'm grateful for finding every day) and spent more time with my beautiful wife and insanely attention seeking dogs. But, it was different this year. The time I spend with everyone now is different. I owe a lot of that to my dad. Not my dad now. Not this person who I fly 2,000 miles to see every month or so, hoping he'll recognize me. That person is not always there...he's slowly fading away. But, I owe a lot to the dad that I grew up with. The one person in my life who taught me a lesson that I'll never forget.
My dad was an amazing businessman. He was really successful at a time when some weren't as lucky. I remember growing up, my dad used to take the train from Philadelphia where we we lived into New York or Washington D.C. Sometimes he left at 4am and didn't come back till 10 at night. But, wherever his travels took him he always came home. He always made a point of that. I used to always ask him business advice Saturday mornings over cereal. Even as a rebellious teenager (rebellious in this case meant a serious mullet), I still admired him. He used to always impart his wisdom one way or another...and sometimes repeatedly even if I didn't ask. I remember when I graduated college and I asked him what advice he had for me going into the real world. He told me he learned one thing from all of his years in business. One thing that he lives by every day. He got really quiet and looked at me for a long time. "Be there," he finally said. I never really knew what he meant...not really...not until this year. I just thought it was one of those things that people say...it seems kind of obvious and not really some ultimate key to the universe. Of course, "I'm there," I thought to myself...where else would I be...in Cleveland?! But, maybe all it took for me to get it are just a couple decades of living my life in the wrong way. I was sitting in a plane this year flying back from the east coast and staring out the window 30,000 feet up. I watched the clouds go by over the wing. It was kind of nice in a way. Even though I was tired from all the flying back and forth. I thought about what my dad said to me. I thought about all of his advice throughout the years and that's the one thing I never forgot. It just kept coming back to me, "Be there." How often are we really paying attention to where we are...who we are with and what we are doing in the present moment? It's totally fortune cookie zen and I know that it sounds quite glib...but it really does mean something. Something important.
I've spent so much time with so many people...clients, friends, family over the years...people who mean a lot to me...who I love deeply...and who I appreciated immensely...but somewhere along the way...I lost track of my dad's advice. How many times have you had a conversation with someone you cared about and just completely spaced out. I've had more than my share. That's the weird thing about being there...you have to mean it...believe it...live it...and remember that being there for someone isn't just half way. It's not just when it's convenient for you...it's all the time no matter what. It makes you a better friend, client, worker, confidant, husband, wife, boyfriend, girlfriend...etc. Don't lose sight of who you are with and why you're doing it. It's affected everything I do since I realized it...I'm a better creative thinker because I'm not just thinking about a hundred things I have to do or what cool thing I want to do...I'm thinking about what the client wants, needs and their expectations for success...it becomes my only goal...one at a time. I'm there 100% because of my dad and that has made all the difference.
And as the father passed his story down to his son's ears
Younger kid, younger every year, yeah
- Jay Z
Fantastic buddy. You're clearly "being there" for your dad. And whether he knows it or not, you know it, Beth knows it, and I feel lucky to now know it as well.
Mazel tov
Awesome Jim! Thanks for sharing!
Hey that was my post above - but realized I was dialed in as anonymous. Stay strong my friend. And thank you for such a great post.
Beautifully said, Jim.
I have chills. Thank you for sharing, Jim. An important reminder.
Outstanding, Jim.
Thanks everyone...I appreciate all your kind words. You all rock.
"Don't lose sight of who you are with and why you're doing it." Thanks, Jim. Just amazing stuff.
Bravo! I thank your dad, too - for having you!
Jimme, this is why you are the best. And this is the best I've seen of your writing. I owe you cocktails.
And, I'm really sorry about your Dad.
Your article touched my heart strings Jim.It made me realize how proud I am to be your Mom.You are a splendid ,sensitive person who has always had the perception to observe and create at the same time.Dad would be so touched if he thought he played a positive role in helping you find your place as an adult in the real world.Thanks Jim for writing such a splendid article .The concept of the simple words Be there became so understandable as you revealed your true inner feelings as you searched for your role in life. Thanks for being our son Jim! I know how pleased Dad would be to learn that his words lingered with you and that you discovered the meaning of life.as you value your wife ,family and clients......Mom.
Thanks so much again. I'm really grateful to have such amazing friends in my life...and thanks mom...love ya.
awesome.. like the age old zen questions.. who is the most important person, when is the most important time, and what is the most important thing to do.
Beautifully written by a beautiful man.
What an amazing and touching piece of writing.
It's moments like this I know I'm in the right place and on the right path. Thanks for sharing Jim.
I am proud and fortunate to be able to have a brother who is as kind, thoughtful, mindful, and sensitive as you. Always "be there" and everything and everyone will "be there" for you.
Your sister---------
Thanks you so much again. I'm overwhelmed by the responses both publicly and privately. Each one means so much to me. I feel really grateful and completely humbled by every comment. Thanks!
Thanks JIm.
What an elegant piece of advice. Thanks for sharing. You're a mensch (and so's your pops).
Jimmye. tears in my eyes.
thanks for sharing your amazing perspective, and such an important lesson from your dad.
Great stuff, Jim. Thanks.


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Man killed in accident Sunday in Wright
A 63-year-old East Berne man was killed Sunday morning in a one-car accident in the town of Wright, according to a media release from the Schoharie County Sheriff's Office.
According to the release, Dennis P. Miller was driving west on state Route 146 when his vehicle went off the south side of the road and struck a guide rail. He was treated at the scene by crews from Scho-Wright Ambulance, Rural Metro Medical Services and Gallupville Fire Department, and transported to Cobleskill Regional Hospital, where he was pronouced deceased.
Wright's wife, who was a passenger in the car, was not injured.
An autopsy is pending, but the release said officials believe a medical condition may have caused the accident.
The Sheriff's Office was assisted by State Police.
Officials: Some roads still closed after storms
No major road closures were reported Sunday night as a result of storms in recent days, dispatchers in Schoharie, Delaware, Otsego and Chenango counties said.
In Chenango County, however, fire and police officials were directing traffic on state Route 8 in the vicinity of county Route 24 in South New Berlin after a barn collapsed at about 7 p.m. Sunday, a dispatcher said.
In Otsego County, multiple roads in Richfield were closed as a result of recent days' storms, a dispatcher said, but most had re-opened and their status would be checked by officials today. Also, a large beaver dam near Burdick Road in the town of Hartwick had broken.
In Schoharie County, Huntersland Road south and east of Middleburgh remained closed Sunday, but other roads had re-opened, a dispatcher said.
Paving to begin today on two Oneonta streets
The city of Oneonta will begin a drainage improvement project today, weather permitting, on Park and Herkimer streets, according to a media release. The project, which is expected to be complete by July 26, will create some disruptions for property owners and residents.


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RALEIGH — The Raleigh Police Department is seeking assistance from the public as it works to identify and arrest a man who robbed a Bank of America today.
At approximately 4:30 p.m., the suspect entered the bank at 5005 Capital Boulevard, passed a note to a teller and implied he had a weapon.
After the teller complied with the notes demands, the suspect fled the bank on foot and was last seen running eastbound across Capital Boulevard in the Mini City area.
The suspect is described as an older black male who stands about 5 feet 10 inches tall. He has salt and pepper hair and was wearing dark-colored pants.
Anyone who might be able to identify the suspect or who believes to have seen him is asked to call Raleigh Crime Stoppers at 919-834-4357.
Crime Stoppers pays cash rewards for anonymous tips that help solve cases. The North Carolina Bankers Association also offers a reward for information leading to the arrest and indictment of anyone responsible for robbing a bank or savings institution in North Carolina.


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Transforming the Landscape: Reduction Woodcut Printmaking Workshop
April 16-17, 2011
Red Barn Art Center
Rhyolite, Nevada
Goldwell Artist in Residence Jean Gumpper will lead a two day workshop exploring connections between the subject matter of landscape and natural phenomena and the physical processes of carving wood and printing layers of ink.
With reductive woodcuts ink is applied onto paper in a series of transparent and overlapping layers. Gradually these layers build up into a completed into a completed image. The process is a balance between careful planning of the print and being open to the unexpected possibilities inherent in the process. Participants will have the opportunity to work from direct observation of the natural surroundings in the Amargosa Desert to develop imagery as well as to envision how constructed and imagined environments can become visual metaphors.
Media and techniques explored:
- Paper and wood characteristics
- Carving, transferring images to blocks, color ink mixing
- Relief printing from plywood blocks and oil based inks using a press and by hand
- Relief stencils and pochoir techniques using gouache
- Registration techniques
- Discussion of unique and editioned prints
Class is open to students of all levels. Lunch provided both days.
We will likely socialize as a group on Saturday night in Beatty!
Cost: $100 for the weekend, includes all materials and lunch on both days. Please email us with any special dietary requirements and we will do our best to accommodate you.
[wp_cart:Two-Day Workshop:price:$100.00:end]
(Total price will display after pressing PayPal Checkout in the Shopping Cart)
Lodging is available in nearby Beatty. Follow this link for lodging options.
Jean Gumpper earned a B.F.A., magna cum laude, from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, in 1977, followed by an M.A. and M.F.A. from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Currently, Gumpper lives in Colorado and is a visiting associate professor in the Art Department at Colorado College, Colorado Springs. She is represented by Davidson Galleries in Seattle, WA; William Havu Gallery, Denver, CO; Hudson Gallery, Sylvania, OH; and Open Studio, Toronto, Canada.
In addition to numerous group exhibitions, Gumpper has held four solo shows: Jean Gumpper: New Woodcuts, Hudson Gallery, Sylvania, OH; Landscapes of Change, Cyrus Running Gallery, Concordia College, Moorhead, MN; Sangre de Cristo Art Center, Pueblo, CO; and Crooked Tree Art Center, Petosky, MI.
Gumpper is also the recipient of grants and fellowships such as the "Visual Artist Fellowship Award" from Colorado Council on the Arts. She has completed artist residencies at Rocky Mountain National Park, Estes Park, CO, and Ucross Foundation, Clearmont, WY.


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Amerie, In Love & War (Feenix Rising/Def Jam)
If funk could walk, the first 12 minutes of In Love & War would be Jesse Owens. Producer Rich Harrison may be gone, but Amerie can still slam the dancefloor harder than anyone since Prince—and at moments you have to wonder if even the unpronounceable glyph himself wouldn't have to jump back and beg for mercy at the virile swagger packed into Amerie's every devastating "ooo!" The jagged, repetitive drums and percussive horns of "Tell Me You Love Me" are gloriously reminiscent of Amerie's own "1 Thing"; "Heard 'Em All is based around a sinuous pseudo-Bollywood loop that gets worked so hard it transmutes into rasta declamation. "Dangerous" and "Higher" combine classic rock and funk into a seamless, explosive package that makes even successful fusions like Public Enemy or Funkadelic seem a little naïve and klutzy.
There are nine more songs here, but really, the less said about them the better. Amerie's clipped, declamatory phrasing, so perfect on the funk, sounds bland and uninvolved when she slows down the tempo, and even her best ballads come nowhere near the passion or invention of Mariah Carey—or Britney Spears, for that matter. Someday, maybe, Amerie will recognize her strengths and make an album that kicks from start to finish—and when she does, that album will be one of the greatest funk documents of all time. In the meantime, if four perfect tracks are all I get, I'll take them and say thank you.
© 2009 MetroPulse. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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username and password verification
hi all,
my database name is "test".in the "test" database
i have created a table name called "log" which has two fields
namely username and password.
i have given username as "admin" and password as "admin123".
now i have written one code using php so that when i click the submit button both the username as "admin" and password as "admin123" gets matched then it should direct to the next page...
tell me how to check whether username and passwords are matching and if it matches it must point to the action part what we give in <form method="POST" action="www.php">
kindly tell me what i must add to the below program.....
below is the code in php......
<?php $host="localhost"; $username="root"; $password=""; $db_name="test"; $tbl_name="log"; mysql_connect("$host", "$username", "$password")or die("cannot connect"); mysql_select_db("$db_name")or die("cannot select DB"); $myusername=$_POST['myusername']; $mypassword=$_POST['mypassword']; $myusername = stripslashes($myusername); $mypassword = stripslashes($mypassword); $myusername = mysql_real_escape_string($myusername); $mypassword = mysql_real_escape_string($mypassword); $sql="SELECT * FROM $tbl_name WHERE username='$myusername' and password='$mypassword'"; $result=mysql_query($sql); // Mysql_num_row is counting table row $count=mysql_num_rows($result); // If result matched $myusername and $mypassword, table row must be 1 row if($count==1) { // Register $myusername, $mypassword and redirect to file "login_success.php" session_register("myusername"); session_register("mypassword"); header("location:login_success.php"); } else { echo "Wrong Username or Password"; } ?>


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LOS ANGELES, CA - JUNE 29: Singer/rapper Nicki Minaj accepts Best Female Hip-Hop Artist onstage during the BET AWARDS '14 at Nokia Theatre L.A. LIVE on June 29, 2014 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images for BET)
Content engaging our readers now, with additional prominence accorded if the story is rapidly gaining attention. Our WSJ algorithm comprises 30% page views, 20% Facebook, 20% Twitter, 20% email shares and 10% comments.


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We have visited several places in Italy and this year trip (two weeks) was our second time in Certaldo and apartment in Podere Casasole. It is easy to agree with the other reviews: we chose "Il Caratello" because we knew the apartment is spacious enough to accommodate our 4 person family, quite new, beautiful and tidy. The kitchen is well... More
- Official Description (provided by the hotel):
- Podere Casalsoleis the place for you. Here you'll find 3 beautiful apartments newly renovated and equipped with all comforts where you could spend a few days or weeks in complete relaxation. Podere Casalsole is surrounded by over 20 hectares of forest where you can take a leisurely stroll or an excursion by mountain bike along paths bordered with oaks and holm oaks that will take you into total fusion with nature. ... more less


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Graphic-FX is proud to announce and welcome Amy Campbell as its new graphic designer and illustrator.
Amy brings with her over 20 years of professional, graphic design, and illustration experience. She has produced work for First Tennessee Bank, TVA, the East Tennessee Foundation, WDVX Radio, Keep Blount Beautiful, and the Maryville Farmers' Market. Amy's large scale portraits of founding members of Maryville such as Sam Houston, Will McTeer, and Isaac Anderson are on permanent display in the foyer of the Maryville Municipal Building.
Ms. Campbell holds an MFA from the University of Tennessee and has previously served as professor of graphic design at Carson Newman College and Maryville College. Please feel free to call Amy at 983-0363 or email her at firstname.lastname@example.com.


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Haunted Vegas Tour and Ghost Hunt
Read what other Viator.com travelers think about the Haunted Vegas Tour and Ghost Hunt. What they loved, what they liked and what they think could be improved, it's all here to help you make the most of your next trip.
Click here for tour details, schedule and pricing
My sister and myself took this tour on June 14th and had a great time. Our guide was quite interesting and kept us all entertained the entire time. Really enjoyed taking photo's of things that I could not see yet show up on camera! Very fun, whether you believe or not.
It was interesting something people should try...our guide was great
Krystal W
Very haunting tour! Our guide, Jack was extremely entertaining and lively. I loved that we got to get off the bus at a few stops to try and have some interactions with the ghosts! Instead of just being a boring bus ride, our guide was always telling us spooky things about Vegas and showing us clips from real events that have happened around the city.
So much fun. Had ghost hunting tools that made this much more exciting. Would love to go again. The guide was great.
We had a great time. We were really excited that the tour was not a joke it was real facts that are documented. The tour operator was very knowledgeable and very funny sharing lots of jokes.
They drove us around the town and showed us a video during the bus drive. I'm not the strongest ghost believer but our tour guide had some crazy story to tell us about the Stratosphere, Elvis Presley and other celebrities. Great tour, I would do it again with more people just to cross the bridge.
Great fun and very informative. Was a top night out
I loved this tour. Our tour guide was this amazing man who's a certified Undertaker. He was wearing a totally amazing "Haunted Mansion" style outfit, it was great. He was funny, morbid, interesting - everything you could ask for in a Haunted Tour Guide.
Bring a camera! You do want to try and catch ghosts on film! There's a bit of walking, but not too much. I was almost surprised when the tour was over, the time went by so fast. It felt like it'd only been like a half an hour, and suddenly three hours had gone by. Don't miss this tour! Especially around Halloween. :D
This trip is excellent! I was expecting a slighting cheesey tour with unexpected "frights" along the way, but this wasn't the case. The guide we had was a great old chap who speaks more about the history of Vegas and the tradegies and deaths that have taken place. He knows his stuff and makes it very entertaining. The tour ran exactly to time and there were only 8 of us on my trip which made it more personal. Would thoroghly recomend it to anyone who likes "ghost hunting" or popular history. The pick up is a taxi ride away to the hotel where it starts, its off the strip and I wouldn't suggest walking, the ride from the MGM was about 10 mins. The area was fine and theres a "taxi phone" to use when you get back. Theres also a great cheap clothes shop opposite if you get there early!!
Julie P
The tour was fantastic! Even better than I could have anticipated. The guide was knowledgeable and very funny. Great value for money!
David C
This was a great tour and a lot of fun. I recommend it highly.
Sharon B
Don't miss this one! The best fun I had in Vegas.
David C
Very informative and just alot of fun. Ranked as one of the best haunted tours and after taking it I now know why.
Bryn T
United Kingdom
Really good. Fascinating trip around Las Vegas learning about it's history and visiting some very interesting places. I would have like to clarify a few things that aren't made clear on the website. This is not a walking tour, the majority of the tour is on a small 'mini' bus with the tour guide and there is a little bit of walking to and from the various haunted sites but nothing major. Don't listen to anything saying about not taking photos. I didn't bother taking my digital camera thinking that I wouldn't be able to use it. When the tour guide took us to our first haunted stop he said 'I hope you've brought your cameras because previous guests have caught orbs and other such phenomena', and then showed us some photos. So my recommendation is bring your digital camera with you and snap away, you never know what you might take.
Highly recommended if you like hearing ghost stories, or, if like me, a huge fan of Most Haunted.
Paul C
Loved it. Very informative. Enjoyed every minute of it.


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Baby Penguin Strolls Through Lion's Den At Zoo
At a zoo in western Germany, a baby African Penguin decided to go for a walk through a lion's den. As reported by Der Spiegel, the tiny bird escaped its habitat and started waddling through the lion enclosure. Fortunately, the lions were asleep. Zookeepers guided the penguin to safety using a trail of herrings.


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By BRAD KELLAR
Herald-Banner Staff
A Grayson County man has been sentenced to prison after being found guilty of the 2010 armed robbery of a Hunt County game room and a shootout with a Hunt County Sheriff's deputy, which also resulted in the shooting death of a Greenville man.
A jury in the 196th District Court found Darreus Demont Williams of Van Alstyne guilty Thursday night of three counts of aggravated assault, and one count each of aggravated robbery and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
Following a punishment hearing Friday, the panel sentenced Williams to 23 years in prison with a $10,000 fine on the aggravated robbery indictment, 18 years in prison for the aggravated assault on a public servant conviction and seven years in prison for each of the aggravated assault counts, according to Hunt Coiunty District Attorney Noble D. Walker Jr.
""We are extremely pleased that the jury found this defendant guilty and gave him significant penitentiary time," Walker said. "My Assistant Calvin Grogan did a great job presenting this case during both guilt/innocence and sentencing. Calvin also represented the State in securing a conviction and substantial penitentiary time for the co-actor."
Walker also commended the Hunt County Sheriff's Department for their work in bringing the defendants to justice.
Williams' co-actor, Guadalupe Ramirez III, was convicted by a jury last fall and was also sentenced to prison.
Williams and Ramirez acted alongside Vincent Thomas of Greenville on the night of Feb. 20, 2010 during the armed hold-up of the Bonnie Lou's Game Room on State Highway 276.
Thomas was shot and killed during a gun battle with a Hunt County Sheriff's deputy following a chase which ended at the Greenville city limits.
The sentences were set to run concurrently. As a deadly weapon was found to have been used in the commission of the crimes, Williams will have to spend at least half of the longest sentence, or 11 and one-half years, in prison before he can be considered eligible for parole.
Williams was facing a maxium sentence of up to life in prison on the aggravated robbery and aggravated assault against a public servant indictments.


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Sinjar (Arabic:سنجار, Kurdish: Şengal, Syriac: ܫܝܓܪ šiggar) is a town in northwestern Iraq's Ninawa Governorate on Mount Sinjar near the Syrian border. Its population in 2013 was estimated at 23,023.[1] The town is mainly inhabited by Yezidis with Arab and Assyrian minorities.
A huge mound and wall in northeastern Syria known as Tell Hamoukar indicate an urban civilisation dating back at least 6,000 years. The Sinjar valley belonged to the Northern Ubaid culture. In the Sinjar plain, where Tell Hamoukar is located, civilizations are known to have existed many centuries earlier (Hassuna, Halaf, Ubaid). More than 200 sites are known.
Some sources mention the city as the location of the Christian saint Abd-al-Masih's martyrdom. Ibn al-Akfani was born in Sinjar.[2]
Sinjar was the site of the filming, and some of the plot, for the 1973 film The Exorcist.
See also[edit]
- ^ "Iraq: largest cities and towns and statistics of their population". World Gazetteer.[dead link]
- ^ "The Selection of Treasures Regarding Precious Stones". World Digital Library. 1700–1800. Retrieved 2013-07-14.


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Police have charged a Manhattan woman after a prostitution sting in Woodbury.
Narcotics/Vice detectives said the incident took place at the Best Western Motel in Woodbury Thursday at about 9:50 p.m.
As police conducted the investigation, Diana Espinal, 40, of Manhattan, allegedly offered to perform a sexual act on an undercover detective for an undisclosed amount of money, cops said.
Espinal was arrested and charged without incident at the scene. She is charged with prostitution and will appear at First District Court April 5.
Espinal's charges came less than two hours after another reported prostitution investigation in Hicksville.
According to police, Precious Griffin, 29, also of Manhattan, was charged at 8:10 p.m. at the Days Inn Motel after offering to perform sexual acts on a cop for money. Griffin was charged with prostitution and will be arraigned Friday.
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Prosecutors in California filed charges today against an alleged thief who infamously handed a lost iPhone 4 prototype to reporters at Gawker Media.
Brian Hogan, 22, of San Mateo county, was charged with misdemeanor theft. He faces up to one year in jail and a $1,000 fine. Also charged was Sage Robert Wallower, 28, suspected of organizing the handover, which precipitated wall-to-wall coverage of the device at Gawker's gadget blog, Gizmodo.
The early iPhone 4, its distinctive form masked by a heavy-duty protector, was left in a Redwood City beer garden by Robert Gray Powell, a 28-year-old engineer at Apple. Gizmodo reportedly paid $5,000 payment for the handset, only returning it to Apple days later.
Gizmodo itself reports being off the hook, despite an editor's house being searched. Perhaps tech pundits are not legal experts after all! [via Ars Technica and Gizmodo] Discuss
22 Responses to "Charges filed in lost iPhone 4 case; Gizmodo editors cleared"
hassenpfeffer says:
Pfft, that is SO early-2010. Can we please get a non-scandal involving the iPhone 5 prototype? or someone sneaking the Nokia N9 into the US?
Andy O'Brien says:
…and ever since, that "Redwood City beer garden" (*cough* http://www.gourmethausstaudt.com/ *cough*) has been a mecca for geeks and beer afficinados everywhere. Long live tech! Long live beer!
Sagodjur says:
I wish I could go into the past and use this news to save myself all that time I spent trying to read comments on Gizmodo articles that had nothing to do with the iPhone that were flooded with angry fanboys screaming about Gizmodo editors being petty criminals and thieves.
BarBarSeven says:
But Gizmodo editors (and Gawker Media) were clearly enablers in this fiasco. Which is a legally gray area, thus they are "off the hook" but they deserve the level of distrust and disdain they have received. Gawker Media's reputation is well deserved, but not too sure who would be proud of that.
Sagodjur says:
They purchased a phone and took pictures of it. Big deal.
I'm more concerned about Apple's anti-competitive business practices that drive up the cost and the FUD of competing platforms to the detriment of the free market.
Where's the investigation into that?
BarBarSeven says:
No pun intended, but you're talking about apples and oranges. Leaking an iPhone prototype to a tech gossip blog does nothing to further a more competitive environment; if anything it drove up Apple demand. Maybe you're real complaint is the prototype was not sold to Samsung, Palm or Google instead?
Scott Frazer says:
They purchased a stolen device. Note that the charges that _were_ filed include misdemeanor theft.
morcheeba says:
what anti-competitive business practice do you allege, and which law does it violate? Also what do you mean by "the FUD of competing platforms"?
BarBarSeven says:
The way Apple is behaving in the mobile market is fairly questionable when it comes to slapping lawyers on anyone who dares make anything that looks remotely like an iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch. Market bullying is a fair assessment in that case.
"FUD" clearly refers to the classic "Far Side" cartoon by that witty rapscallion Gary Larson. Look out cat!
morcheeba says:
That's called trade dress and it's protected by design patents. "market bullying" isn't a law; "trademark infringement" (which apple alleges in the samsung case) is a law, and apple is allowed to protect the uniqueness of their designs. Now if a large number of these cases are thrown out by the courts, I'd be upset, but until then, it looks like they've got some decent claims.
haha … love that cartoon! But I still don't understand what Sagodjur was trying to say.
arikol says:
This is GREAT news. Willfully buying stolen property (property which you KNOW that the seller does not rightfully own and/or know the seller has received it through questionable means) is apparently legal!
I have to go now, this guy is selling computer equipment out of his boot at insanely low prices….brand new, except for some other guy's name on it. That's allowed, right?
jcostantino says:
Are you a journalist? Then yes, it's allowed.
BarBarSeven says:
Receiving stolen materials to cover a story is one thing. Paying for that stolen material as a prerequisite of receiving that stolen material is another. If Gizmodo simply received the iPhone with no cash exchanged, whatever. But it's clear from the dollar amount that Gizmodo (and parent company Gawker Media) were trying to avoid liability by skirting the repercussions of Title 18, US Code, Section 2314 and 2315: "Whoever transports, transmits, or transfers in interstate or foreign commerce any goods, wares, merchandise, securities or money, of the value of $5,000 or more… shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both."
Which is all to say Gawker Media legally got away with it. Morally, that is another question.
michaelk42 says:
People get charged with a crime but a corporation doesn't.
Not exactly news.
Rob Beschizza says:
Someone should inform the district attorney that the law is in fact a special computer that executes instructions listed in statute books without checking all the other statute books or case law, or indeed the willingness of victims and witnesses to cooperate, or anything else that may affect the likelihood of a successful prosecution.
michaelk42 says:
Yet this does not change the fact that Gizmodo did something really stupid, and ran a real risk of not only being charged but convicted of criminal conversion.
Not being surprised that the individuals did get charged/corporation didn't doesn't mean I necessarily think he *had* to charge the corporation, BTW.
Dan says:
How did Hogan get charged with theft? All the stories said that the phone was just left in the bar, ie forgotten. I found a phone in the park the other day and took it with me, charged it and called the most used contact to see if I could return the phone. Luckily they didn't charge me with stealing.
Besides, Hogan tried to call Apple to return the device and they told him he was a crazy person.
LikesTurtles says:
Most jurisdictions divide theft into many categories including theft by taking and theft by finding. Hogan didn't have any reasonable expectation that the phone he found was abandoned (in the legal sense) by its owner.
waetherman says:
In the grand scheme of things, and in light of the Murdoch scandal, this was a pretty minor offense. What bothered me most was the way that Gawker seemed to put the editor (Chen, I think) out as a sacrificial lamb. And that seemed particularly bad because with a little forethought, and the consultation of a good lawyer, they probably could have avoided all liability. Instead they committed a crime, and put Chen in a position to have his house raided and his belongings seized.
As much of a fan of the first amendment as I am, I think it's good to have a reminder every now and again that being a member of the press (whatever that means) doesn't mean it's okay to commit crimes. And for that, this case seems to have served as a good example.
ackpht says:
When my San Diego rental was burglarized, one of the items surfaced later at a pawn shop (flagged because the pawn shop reports serial numbers to the police). The police advised me that the simplest thing for me to do was go pay the shop for what they loaned on it, because a judge would get angry if I took up his time over a small amount like $20. I asked the detective how much of the stuff in pawn shops was stolen, and he said "most of it". But as long as they don't punish the pawn shops, the shops will report serial numbers like they're supposed to, which is all the police care about.
I decided to consider it a finder's fee, and when I made the transaction at the pawn shop, the weasel behind the counter had the stones to say "I hate it when people have to pay to get their stuff back."
lecti says:
Cleared, but real sleazy: THIS IS GIZMODO
Seriously, the folks there actually consulted a lawyer about this – they knew they were in hot legal waters the minute they forked over 5 grand. It's not like they were forced into theft.
BarBarSeven says:
Slight correction: Gizmodo forked over 5 grand because they consciously knew that was the max legal amount they could pay to avoid significant criminal liability.