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Sigma Run charities overjoyed
BY ALICIA DUNKLEY-WILLIS Senior staff reporter email@example.com
LUCK has nothing to do with it. Divine intervention is really what the charities that will benefit from this year's Sagicor Sigma Corporate Run have pegged as the organiser's decision to choose them.
Now in its 16th year, the run, which will take place on Sunday, February 16 at 7:30 am, will see more than 20,000 walkers, joggers, wheelchair racers and competitive runners participating in what is easily regarded as the Caribbean's largest road race. The intention of the organisers is to raise $17 million which will be divided amongst three charities with a portion being reserved to assist with maintenance of the equipment purchased.
The Special Care Nursery at the University Hospital of the West Indies (UHWI) is one of the charities which will feel the touch of these wingless angels.
"How do I feel about this? Ingrid Card (Sagicor's assistant vice-president for group marketing) will tell you I almost did a somersault in her office," Professor Minerva Thame told this week's Jamaica Observer Monday Exchange. "She called me last week Thursday at 11 and asked me to come for a meeting at 2:00 pm in her office. I did not know it had anything to do with Sigma Run."
When that meeting ended, Card had managed to get a list of the needs of the nursery from Professor Thame who, incidentally, had prepared that listing two days before for an unrelated matter.
"I really don't believe in coincidence, it was divine intervention. I was really overjoyed that we were even being considered. The following day she called and she said we were selected. I can't express how I felt," Professor Thame said.
For her, Sagicor's grace was the kiss of life to the infants at the Special Care Nursery.
"The Special Care Nursery is dear to my heart. It's where I have worked for many, many years. We have a 30-bed unit, six of which are for babies in intensive care. We look after babies who are 500 grams in size (just about a pound) to as large as 4.2 pounds," she explained.
"Our youngest survivor is actually 540 grams. She was 24 weeks and five days and she's now 22 years old. So we have been at this a long time, and we are proud to say despite our challenges we do produce some good work," she noted.
That good work, however, has come under threat at times, which is where Sagicor's lifeline comes in.
"In terms of our equipment, that is where we are challenged sometimes, and it's very heartbreaking to sometimes make a choice when you have one ventilator; who you are going to put on that ventilator when you have three infants, and for that reason we are overjoyed about this because we will be able to improve the equipment that exists within the unit as we try to continue the work that we do," she said.
For Dr Jennnifer Knight-Madden of the University of the West Indies' Sickle Cell Unit, who has gone far and wide to raise funds to assist children with sickle cell disease, Sagicor's pledge is the proverbial silver lining.
"I've been with the unit for about 16 years, but I have been looking after patients for over two decades because even while I trained in North America that was my purpose. Because sickle cell really is everybody's business in Jamaica," Dr Knight-Madden said.
With one in every 150 babies born in Jamaica presenting with sickle cell disease and 15 per cent of all Jamaican adults having a trait, Dr Knight-Madden was quick to note that sickle cell disease is "not an issue for an ivory tower, it's an issue for all of us".
She said: "This is like a year of Jubilee," she said. "I have travelled literally thousands of miles to try to raise money for this equipment and then Sagicor stepped up to the plate."
The Sickle Cell Unit, she said, was one of the pioneers of the importance of screening new-borns for sickle cell, given that the highest risk of dying is in the first two years.
"If you are not screened at birth you do not know that you have it and you are at risk. Over the decades, interventions that cause little pennies make all the difference. In America and Canada and England they screen at birth, but we who came up with it do not do so across the island," she pointed out.
At present, she said, the Sickle Cell Unit does some screening in the east end of the island, while the Sickle Cell Trust does some screening in the west.
Sagicor's involvement will therefore help the unit to update its equipment while allowing it to work on a further vision, she told the Monday Exchange.
"The Ministry of Health, the Unit and the Trust work together, we meet once per month and what we are trying to do is get screening islandwide. With the Ministry of Health we are going to be going from region to region and coming up with a way that it doesn't matter where your child is born, they are going to get good care for their sickle cell," Dr Knight-Madden said.
"It's so exciting, it's like a dream come true, so it doesn't matter if the baby is born in Clarendon, Savanna-la-Mar, wherever, they will be screened. The mother will be told, the doctors and nurses will have a template to follow so that they will get the appropriate care," she added, noting that the Sigma brand was the ideal platform from which to speak to the issue of discrimination and stigma against sicklers.
Manchester-based charity the Sickle Cell Trust, which complements the work of the Sickle Cell Unit by providing support and improving services for patients, is also on the receiving end of Sagicor's grace this year.
For Professor Graham Serjeant, the chair of the trust which began in 1986, the assistance is an added impetus for the race to preserve and lengthen the life of sicklers.
"In Sub-Saharan Africa a quarter million babies are born each year with sickle cell disease, and there is no way those countries will ever have the resources to provide adequate care. The result is probably the median survivor is less than five years old. In Jamaica, the median survivor (the age to which half the people survive) is 55 years. So prevention has to be an essential component of the management of the disease," he pointed out.
He said the Trust has been venturing into secondary schools in Jamaica as it continues to drive its sickle cell education programme.
Since the first staging of the Sagicor Sigma Corporate Run in 1999, charitable contributions of over $124 million have been donated to several health and child-related charities. The objective of the run focuses on the health and welfare of Jamaica's children.
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Bedford Co., VA - It was a rough commute for drivers Wednesday Morning on Route 221 after two accidents involving multiple vehicles.
The first happened between Goode and Forest at Bethany Church Circle. Both lanes of 221 were closed as police cleared the scene and a detour was in place.
Just down the road at Breezewood Drive and Lakeside Drive, another accident snarled traffic.
Police say this was a chain reaction crash that started when a driver rear-ended a car.
Four vehicles were involved.
There is no word on any serious injuries from either crash.
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Before the UFC swept in with their handfuls of cash, Strikeforce was a pseudo-national MMA organization of moderate success. Without the necessary roster to support deep divisions of talent, Strikeforce owner Scott Coker and matchmaker Rich Chou were forced to manage their resources carefully and creatively in order to sign bouts that appealed to a national audience.
This was evident with their first card following the purchase of EliteXC's assets in February of 2009. Coker and Chou took San Jose-favorite Frank Shamrock and pitted him against newly-acquired welterweight Nick Diaz in a catchweight bout at 179 pounds. The catchweight gimmick continued on their next major show as Jake Shields agreed to fight Robbie Lawler at 182 pounds in the main event.
Once the company settled in, they began to focus on developing traditional talent pools in the five major weight classes. It was a task made tougher by the fact that the vast majority of talent concentrated in the UFC.
The problem peaked in January when welterweight champion Nick Diaz defended his title against Evangelista Santos. Santos, owning a career 18-13 MMA record, challenged for Diaz's titled after a lone victory at 170 pounds over Marius Zaromskis. He put on a spirited performance, but ultimately fell to a Diaz submission late in the second round.
With Diaz's victory over Paul Daley and Gilbert Melendez trouncing Tatsuya Kawajiri last night, the Strikeforce brain trust finds themselves in a familiar position. By wiping out Daley, Diaz eliminated the only fighter ranked in our Consenus Rankings under Strikeforce contract. Melendez whacked the number eight lightweight, but still has number four Shinya Aoki, who submitted Lyle Beerbohm within two minutes last night, waiting should Strikeforce be able to secure his services.
But fans want to see both men fighting the elites in the UFC (as evidenced by the trollish 4% who answered no in last night's absurd Showtime poll), and Melendez himself called for a unification bout between himself and the eventual UFC champion.
Scott Coker believes we'll see crossover fights in eight months to a year, but the situation with Melendez and (moreso) Diaz is immediate. Melendez has Aoki, but a victory would erase his final Strikeforce challenger. Diaz has no viable contenders in line outside of Tyron Woodley, an 8-0 prospect without any meaningful victories on his ledger.
Opening up the possibility for UFC fighters to crossover (or vice versa) just makes sense at this point. It would allow Diaz to fight the likes of Josh Koscheck (and split up the AKA logjam at the top of the UFC's welterweight division), providing him the top ten opponent that fans have demanded.


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Bradley Manning has found yet another unexpected defender.
An editor at the conservative National Review magazine is speaking out on behalf of Manning, the Army private accused of leaking U.S. State Department cables to WikiLeaks.
Robert VerBruggen declared Tuesday that there was "no excuse" for subjecting Manning, who has not been convicted of a crime, to harsh conditions.
Manning attorney David Coombs revealed earlier this month that for at least two nights in row, the Army private had been "stripped naked" for as long as seven hours at a time.
Manning has been held at the Quantico brig since July under a maximum security regimen, which leaves him in his cell for 23 hours a day, because authorities say his escape would pose a risk to national security.
"He has yet to be convicted of a crime — and, regardless, prisons should avoid inflicting arbitrary and pointless miseries on their charges," VerBruggen wrote.
"On at least two and possibly three occasions, prison officials have used their discretion to subject Manning to harsher procedures than would normally be used under the brig's policies. Manning's treatment may well be legal, as the general counsels of the Departments of Defense and of the Navy found — the policies in question are just guidelines — but that doesn't make it right," he added.
P.J. Crowley, the State Department's top spokesman, was forced to resign over the weekend after he called Manning's treatment "ridiculous and counterproductive and stupid."
In a statement, Crowley acknowledged his remarks but did not rescind them.
"The exercise of power in today's challenging times and relentless media environment must be prudent and consistent with our laws and values," he said. "Given the impact of my remarks, for which I take full responsibility, I have submitted my resignation."
"The fact that the State Department's P.J. Crowley spoke out against Manning's treatment, however ill-considered the outburst was, should encourage Americans to demand a better explanation," VerBruggen noted.
"Manning is an American citizen in an American detention facility, and he has not yet been convicted. There is no excuse for subjecting him to harsh conditions, so long as he poses no threat to himself or others. The American people deserve an explanation as to why Manning remains in maximum custody and on prevention-of-injury watch," he concluded.
By TBogg
By Roy Greenslade, The Guardian
By Katie Halper
By The Conversation
Raw Story is a progressive news site that focuses on stories often ignored in the mainstream media. While giving coverage to the big stories of the day, we also bring our readers' attention to policy, politics, legal and human rights stories that get ignored in an infotainment culture driven solely by pageviews.
Founded in 2004, Raw Story reaches 9 million unique readers per month and serves more than 30 million pageviews.
Copyright © 2004-2013 Raw Story Media, Inc. All rights reserved.


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App Marketing: Legal and Ethical Points
App Marketing – Things Not to Do!
In October of 2009 the Federal Trade Commission released guidelines covering endorsements and testimonials. The new guidelines specifically covered blogs, online "anonymous" endorsements, and other technologies that did not exist when the guidelines were last updated in 1980.
Today (August 27, 2010), the FTC settled one of its first major cases dealing with the new guidelines. In this case, Reverb Communications was charged with engaging in deceptive advertising by having its employees write and post positive reviews of client's iPhone™ applications on the Apple® iTunes® Store, without disclosing in the reviews that they were being paid by the client to post the positive reviews.
Under the terms of the settlement, Reverb Communications now has to remove all of the illegitimate reviews, and is barred from engaging in similar actions in the future.
This case is not the first, and certainly not the last, in which a company was caught trying to cheat its customers by providing false reviews of its services.
In fact, Apple has also been somewhat proactive in policing rating scams. Last December, they even banned one developer who had over a thousand apps in the app store (At the time, it was over 1% of the entire app store). The developer, Molinker, was banned and all apps removed because they were caught trying to scam the ratings system by posting their own fake reviews across multiple accounts.
Apple has since banned other developers for engaging in similar tactics. Also, as past history has shown, Apple has no qualms about removing apps and developers for any reason.
In other words, not only can such blatantly unethical behavior get your product permanently banned from the App Store, but it can also put the FTC on your back, which can result in even more severe penalties. And yet, some marketers still insist on trying to get away with it. It is surprising that an intelligent marketer would walk this close to danger when there are so many better and effective methods that work.
Some Ideas that Work
At Amadeus Consulting, we offer App Promotion Services and App Marketing that can help effectively market apps in a way that ACTUALLY builds a fan base, rather than just the impression of one. Of course, we also offer comprehensive mobile application development as well, so we have a great understanding of all aspects of creating and marketing successful apps.
So we'd like to offer some quick ideas that actually work, and will not get you banned or in trouble. We have not included all the details on how to do these things, but keep in mind that none of these things necessarily cost any money, just a bit of time and know-how.
Engage your audiences where they are:
- Find online and offline publications where your potential customers already congregate. Appeal to these outlets to run a story or review of your application
- Find online groups that deal in a subject area related to your application. Transparently promote your product, or work with these groups to promote your app
- Appeal to legitimate review sites and appeal to them to review your product
- Create a video demo of your product. Let people see what they are getting before they buy it. Video demos are more credible because each person can form their own opinion
- Understand your audience and price your app accordingly
Make your App Visible:
- Optimize your description so that people can easily find it when searching for that type or product or benefit
- Create listings and promotions across a variety of sites so that your audience knows the app exists and the benefit it provides. (For example, on Android™, most people have downloaded Google's™ SkyMap, and they did so because they saw it online or heard about it somewhere else, not because they went specifically searching for a map of constellations)
- If needing to boost sales, create promotions such as free download code giveaways, or a temporary price discount, or other temporary promotions
Provide a place for feedback
- The App Store or Android Market does not need to be the only place that people can provide feedback for you. Create a new channel to report bugs or errors to keep these out of your store ratings.
- Don't just accept feedback, open lines of discussion with your audience. Work with your biggest fans and biggest critics to make the app better and appeal to more people. This will help turn even your sharpest critics into your biggest fans.
We are excited about the ingenuity and invention that the app community has displayed over the last few years. There are thousands of really cool and really innovative applications that would never have been possible otherwise.
However, marketers need to remember that standard rules still apply, and punishments can be severe. The FTC may only fine you and your marketing company, but Apple or Google can delete you out of existence.
For more information on our app promotion and marketing services, please contact our mobile app marketing team directly.
Additional Resources:
For more information on the FTC Guidelines please see http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2009/10/endortest.shtm.
For information on the FTC court case, you can read the full complaint here: http://www.ftc.gov/os/caselist/0923199/100826reverbcmpt.pdf


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After the first round of voting, the majority of the Bills fans opted to take a defensive lineman first overall with 31% for Marcell Dareus (33% total wanting to reinforce the D-Line). In second, close behind was OLB Von Miller with 26% (27% for an OLB) of the vote. In third was CB Patrick Peterson with 19% of the vote. Only 10% wanted the Bills to draft a QB (6% going to Cam Newton). Here are the results so far:
Round 1: DL Marcell Dareus - Alabama
A quick note about the quarterbacks listed below. In my opinion, there are five QBs that can go as early as the second round or as late as the third round. They are Locker, Ponder, Dalton, Mallett and Kaepernick. For the sake of not making half the selections for QBs, I followed Todd McShay's QB rankings. As such, I decided to only list the the first three of this group, Locker, Ponder and Dalton, in the second round. That means if a QB is not selected in round 2, Mallett and Kaepernick will be available in round 3.
Now that you guys selected a defensive lineman in the first, I am going to go dormant in that position until the fourth or fifth round, because while it is possible the Bills could draft two defensive lineman (McCargo's a bust), they would do so having drafted Troupe and Carrington in rounds 2 and 3 a year ago. As always remember to comment and rec on people you would like to see in a Bills uniform in a few weeks.
QB Andy Dalton - TCU [6-2, 215, 4.82]
Dalton is quite an impressive QB who has largely been sailing under the Bills radar so far. In each of his four years in college he has improved ending with a 13-0 season. While he does not have the biggest arm, Dalton is extremely accurate having gone 812-1,310 (62%), 10,314 yards passing with 71 TDs and 30 INTs. While not the fastest guy on the field, Dalton has some running ability, but has operated in pro-offensive schemes.
QB Jake Locker - Washington [6-3, 230, 4.50]
An interesting prospect with a big arm, quick legs, but highly inconsistent. After deciding to forgo last year's draft in which he was almost on par with Sam Bradford, Locker struggled in his senior year, although he was not helped by his receiving corps or offensive line much. Playing mostly for a little more than three years, Locker has thrown 619-1,148 (54%), 7.639 yards 53 TDs and 35 INTs.
QB Christian Ponder - Florida St. [6-2, 229, 4.63]
Like Locker, Ponder struggled in his senior year, more so do to injuries, but salvaged his draft stock via a good pro-day, combine and senior bowl. As a three year starter, Ponder went 588-947 (62%) with 6,767 yards, 48 TDs and 28 INTs thrown. Ponder has an above average arm, good running ability, a quick release and has good accuracy. Despite needing to read defenses better, Ponder benefits from operating in a pro-styled offense.
OT Marcus Cannon - TCU [6-5, 349, 5.28]
When you look at his size, many people were thinking he could be the next Mike Williams. Rather, Cannon displayed an impressive speed for size. Although he has trouble blocking smaller players than defensive lineman (leading to some experts picturing him as a guard), Cannon has the technique and ability to play right tackle. Who knows... Gailey likes his linemen big.
TE Kyle Rudolph - Notre Dame [6-6, 259, 4.64]
The best tight end this year despite a major (but not serious) injury, Rudolph is one of the biggest and fastest tight ends this draft. A deadly combination of run blocking and catching, Rudolph could be the tight end the Bills have been lacking since Lonnie Johnson or Pete Metzelaars. In three years, Rudolph caught 90 passes for 1,032 yards and 8 TDs.
OLB Brooks Reed - Arizona [6-3, 267, 4.64]
Reed was an outside linebacker that emerged in his senior year. In 3 years as a starter he recorded 107 tackles and 17 sacks and may have had more had he not sustained an injury partway through his junior year. While he needs time to learn to cover opponents, Reed comes with the ability to play special teams as well.
OLB Jabaal Sheard - Pittsburgh [6-3, 259, 4.68]
Sheard emerged on the strong side in his senior year following an injury to Greg Romeus. In his career as a 3 year starter, Sheard recorded 141 tackles, 19 sacks (9 coming in his senior year). Sheard has good pass rushing skills and is a sound tackler. Another reason to consider him is that his former coach Dave Wannstedt is now the Bills LB coach who knows how to get production from him.
ILB Martez Wilson - Illinois [6-4, 250, 4.42]
Touted as the best inside linebacker of the draft, Wilson bounced back from a major neck injury for a strong senior year. In his career, he recorded 222 tackles, 9 sacks, half of these stats coming in his senior year. Although Wilson has incredible speed second to Von Miller, Wilson's lack of technique and footwork as seen in his pro-day has all but taken him out of consideration in the first round.
CB Brandon Harris - Miami [5-10, 191, 4.45]
Harris is a capable second round cornerback who recorded 129 tackles 4 interceptions in 3 years. Like Peterson, Harris is a shutdown corner despite lacking the same physical prowess with good speed and coverage on opponent wideouts.
CB Aaron Williams - Texas [6-0, 205, 4.55]
Williams is the other high second round commodity at corner. With 89 tackles, 4 interceptions, 5 forced fumbles in his career, Williams has good coverage ability, but lacks elite speed which could push him over to free safety. Still he has the size to cover bigger targets out there.
Go Bills!


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It was all going so well for Zdenek Zeman and his trademark brand of attacking football. Then, AS Roma took their eyes off the ball, or perhaps their feet, and went from beating Bologna 2-0 to losing 3-2 at the Stadio Olimpico. Fun, attacking football is all well and good, but if Roma can't get the wins, patience will surely wear thin.
Alessandro Florenzi gave the home side an early lead in the 6th minute. Francesco Totti, looking positively rejuvenated under Zeman, sent his shot off the post, but Florenzi was there to head it past a helpless Federico Agliardi. All good, so far.
Just ten minutes later, the woodwork was there to assist again. Erik Lamela sent his shot off the post, doubtless making Agliardi wonder what he'd done to deserve such punishment. The shot was a long-range beauty, though, and there was nothing much that the Bologna keeper or his defenders could have done to stop it.
In fact, it turned out that all Bologna needed to do was sit back and wait for Roma to self-destruct. In the 69th minute, Zeman, continuing to show just how attack minded he is, replaced Lamela with Nico Lopez -- and it all went downhill from there (although the giallorossi had looked as though their heads were elsewhere for the majority of the second half).
Alberto Gilardino struck first, escaping his marker to head the ball past Maarten Stekelenburg. Less than a minute later, Bologna found their equaliser, through a bouncing shot by Alessandro Diamanti.
It would have been bad enough for Roma had the match ended in a draw. But Gilardino struck again in extra time -- or, to be more accurate, Stekelenburg struck. He fumbled a cross from Gyorgy Garics, losing the ball and allowing Gilardino to tap in the winning goal.


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Awhile back, I asked my facebook readers to leave 4 ingredients for me to try and make a new recipe out of. Kind of like the show Chopped on Food Network where they give you 4 crazy ingredients to make a new dish out of it. If you want to join in the fun, leave a comment with 4 ingredients below for me to work with, and I'll try coming up with a new recipe or dish out of all those ingredients.
The last time I got some pretty crazy ingredients like duck, which I've never worked with before. Turns out that I thought duck was pretty good.


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Over the past several months we have debated & negated possible directions the 49ers front office may take heading into April's draft. One of the many topics of conversation have revolved around the position of General Manager beyond 22 DEC 09 but here we go again.
We liked him! We
really liked Him!
BTW: http://www.ninersnation.com/2009/12/22/1213122/scot-mccloughans-job-security
The point of the post had questioned Scot McCloughan's overall ability to manage the organization - to which 45% approved.
Perhaps it was premature, done with little homework and amature to say the least but it had been something that had been on my mind for about a year at that time...
After waiting through the first 48 hrs of Free Agency without the slightest hint of addressing an offseason need, I began to wonder... In the past, the 49ers have signed guys like, Aubrayo Franklin, Justin Smith, and after 2008 where we surrendered an NFL high 55 sacks, we signed Marvel Smith who subsequently retired prior to the 2009 season.
Lauded by its fanfare for not "overpaying" for talent but still addressing areas of need, this year's off-season seemed to start off a little different (Minus Nate Clements but that's another topic :~P). Unlike the excessive press conferences of last year, this years' lack of communication has been deafening and almost seemed unintentional until two things happened: 1.) Scot McCloughan took an extended leave of absence; and 2.) Chester Pitts came in to town.
1. Did Scot McCloughan initiate the leave of absence or get fired for not addressing team needs in the off-season?
2. If his personal life was affecting him so much, why would he leave 1 month prior to the draft?
3. If Chester Pitts was Scot McCloughan's guy to bring in, where was Scott and why didn't he care to be involved?
4. Was Chester Pitts really Scot McCloughan's guy or was he someone elses who helped push him out?
In any event, Scot's gone and no one seems to have any real answers. Speculation perhaps? Below is a poll.. Click away but please, the point of this post is to discuss it's affects on the front office and to speculate on its origins. Thank you.


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All Mostly True statements involving National Association of Realtors
A "foreclosure tax" that would take effect in 2013 could mean a high tax bill for those facing foreclosure and millions of families who modified their mortgage or had a short sale through their lender.
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CATEGORIES Sci-Fi & Fantasy, New Releases, Paramount, Box Office, Comic/Superhero/Geek, Movies, UK Box Office, New Releases, Cinematical, UK Box OfficeWhat got lost in the sea of scathingly negative reviews for M. Night Shyamalan's live action version of The Last Airbender is that it has still managed to pull in more than $74 million since its release last week. Granted, that's not anywhere close to what Twilight made, but it's a pretty respectable opening.
Shyamalan appears to have decided to focus on that rather than the reviews -- the film is currently sitting at an overwhelmingly rotten 8% rating after critics had their way with it -- and is already talking about his plans for the second and third films in the trilogy. The director recently chatted with MTV and had this to say about his plans for upcoming installments: "The third is more ambiguous, but the second one, I've written a draft that I'm really happy with and is darker and richer, and it has a wonderful antagonist in it in Azula, who's kind of like our only real, pure antagonist in the series, so I'm excited about that."
The director goes on to add that the Kyoshi Warriors -- an elite group of female fighters -- will play a prominent role in the second film. As The Last Airbender fans already know, Shyamalan shot scenes involving these warrior women in the first film but scrapped them when he decided they drew attention away from the main story.
This all sounds intriguing, and good for Shyamalan being positive (or is it delusional?) in the face of adversity, but the fact remains that Paramount hasn't greenlit a sequel, let alone two of them. The Last Airbender survived negative reviews last weekend, but can it survive a whole week's worth of obituaries written about Shyamalan's career? We'll know in a few days.


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Reader comments are listed below. Comments are currently closed and new comments are no longer being accepted.
Cisco? Who the hell are Cisco? Are they even in the market? (Hint, if anyone in the UK is interested in this, run a mile from Deloitte Consulting - I'm happy to put together a team that'll do a far superior job for a fraction of the cost. Second hint: Cisco are a corpse. They are kept undead because they pay big kickbacks to Deloitte & co to ensure that consultants recommend their inferior & extortionate services.)
The dominant benefits of software defined networks are:
1) speed of deployment - beat the competition to market and iterate features faster
2) robustness - scale more effectively; respond to changing load patterns; survive attacks
3) security - SDN takes potential for human failure out of some of the most exposed & vulnerable activities
Yeah, SDN also offers far more efficient use of scarce computing resources. If software development costs happen to exceed these resource savings (and usually they won't) for particular applications, that's often just fine - the quality benefits from faster deployment, robustness & security probably justify higher upfront development costs (not universally, but in many applications).
SDN is not as much about technology as it is about control over network infrastructure in a business. SDN convincingly shifts the playing field in the favor of compute administrators and away from network administrators. Majority of the IT budget is spent on human capital. A saving in that category will free up capital for innovation.
What's new is that the hardware becomes a commodity and the switching/routing protocols are implemented in an external management agent. This is a disruptive technology and a potential threat to Cisco.
The article seems to imply that SDN is a replacement for network routers and switches. However, it is more likely to be found as an additional layer within a virtualised environment between virtual computers and physical networking equipment. There is nothing new about this; routing protocols can be implemented within Windows, Unix and Unix-like operating systems, remove unnecessary OS baggage and you have SDN.
ADARA is the largest SDN production company, with documented sales, customers, and proven capital gains, yet it was somehow omitted from the Economist's article? Consumers are asking for ADARA; with the proof on paper and the popular demand in its corner, nothing about SDN should be considered "hype" – this author cited only small/ startup companies, and failed to mention ADARA (who even made a press release together on SDN at ONS) at all! Perhaps this author's acclaim is all hype – ADARA is who the customers want, and the company whose name should be every writer's key mention!
I don't usually comment, but the biggest thing in networking in 20, 30 years comes in SDN and now it is "overblown"?
Point 1- SDN is real, the future and is changing and will change how the industry works
Point 2 – The proof of over-hype is Big Switch? The same start-up that keeps getting used over and over again? The company whose own sales person says Big Switch has no value on its own? How is that not setting SDN up for doubt? What about Midokura, ADARA, Embrane and so many others…companies doing real SDN work in different ways?
Point 3- SDN would not exist if the current networking and computing weren't stuck in yesteryear. SDN and SDN companies exist because there are problems that the current products just don't solve
Point 4- The article sounds like someone admires Cisco so much they want to trumpet the $46 Billion and forget they have been stuck on that level for a while now
Point 5- If SDN is so questionable why is Cisco trying to buy SDN companies?
Point 6- The Economist should do more research before they print
I'm struggling to understand what is so new in this offering. Switches and Routers are still needed to forward data and voice traffic. They are hardly going to disappear. The SDN just seems to be a centralised management engine that can push configurations out to the hardware devices. That isn't anything new.
I disagree with that characterization. Cisco has a vast portfolio of products, outstanding sales and support network, and an immense amount of know-how.
Maybe one day SDN will be useful for everything. Right now, SDN is still struggling to figure out some of the basic things that were solved by autonomous network hardware ages ago (unknown first-packet latency, bootstrap etc.) while offering some neat possibilities on more advanced features like application-level load balancing and full utilization of all links without loops in the topology. It has a lot of promise for things like data centers, not so much for things like remote retail sites that just need one router/switch box and only have one uplink.
Adara Networks is and has been operational with a solid business structure. More importantly, Adara Networks delivers on their promises of improved performance. It is not hype or hope when something is installed and working as advertised. I was expecting to read an updated article about the hope and hype of SDN as of December 2012. Instead I found an article more appropriately titled "Cisco still strong despite SDN"
Why is every major vendor adopting SDN if it is all hype? Why isn't ADARA mentioned when they have customers and sales as a SDN company making money? Why does the article ignore that ADARA and Verizon made a press release together on SDN at ONS, and only includes Verizon as a side mention?
Insiemi? The author has got to be joking. First of all there hasn't been a Cisco funded start-up/spin-in make any difference in a long time, and second, the word everywhere is that Insiemi is a huge disappointment. If you are in tech, you know that ADARA and Big Switch are ex-Cisco heavy, so they have the best chance overall in killing Cisco, VMware and Oracle have the best chance in the short term depending on who they buy, and Cisco's days are numbered …they are drowning under their own weight.
Cisco makes margins on the resellers…the folks out here selling Cisco have to do it because it is expected…SDN changes that. No more fat margins for Cisco. The only way Cisco survives is to buy SDN companies. Now that VMware has Nicira, Cisco had better be buying ADARA, Embrane, PLUMgrid, and some others because if they don't, the one that gets away is going to come back and kill them, by themselves or with some other company like HP, Juniper or Alcatel Lucent.
No one buys and SDN Company for $1.6 Billion and this is just hype. Nicira had just shipped? ADARA and Big Switch have a channel already going..just as VMware did and look where they are now....you have to wonder how much more ADARA and Big Switch are worth....a lot more than $1.6 Billion... no wonder the VCs are drooling
SDN is a hot button, definitely not hype. Cisco is and always has been a bigger monopoly than Microsoft. The article looks like it is defending Cisco. The real innovation is with VMware, ADARA – they have the technology and backing, and have a real chance to hurt Cisco, and I wouldn't bet against Oracle jumping in because the market is so big and the Applications will be able to control the network. ADARA vs Cisco…reminds me of Apple vs Microsoft …they said Microsoft couldn't be beat…don't bet against the smaller company
In short: yep. I guess humour doesn't come across so well online.
(Communication isn't as rich without body language, facial expressions, etc... Diversity of cultural background or familiar language patterns makes it even trickier.)
On market power, you're right. We desperately need disruption.
No corporate customer will settle for this system alone.
As it is, corporations want at least two different physical supplies from different providers into their site in the case that one goes down. Based on this very expensive need for certainty, I can't see any customer worth its salt throwing all its eggs in the SDN basket.
If anything, it will operate as a back up. You can count on this for a VERY long time.
Are you kidding? Cisco is so big in Europe that it treads a fine line between breach and compliance with Art 102 TFEU.
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FORT MYERS: Deputies arrested a man Saturday morning after they say he wrecked his car and told them he was carjacked.
According to the report, 55-year-old Ulrick Chery contacted deputies with the Lee County Sheriff's office stating he was carjacked from his 2001 Jaguar Type S at the corner of Martin Luther King Junior Boulevard and Fowler Street.
Deputies say Chery claims the carjackers then forced him into another vehicle, blindfolded him and drove around for about eight hours before dropping him off near the corner of East 14th Street and Calvin Avenue in Lehigh Acres.
Further investigation revealed that around 5:00 a.m., a 2001 Jaguar Type S was in a car accident in the area of Buckingham Road and Cemetery Road, according to the report.
Detectives say when contacted the firefighters who responded to that call, both firefighters said Chery was the person who crashed the car, refused medial treatment and left before law enforcement arrived.
Chery is charged with Knowingly Giving False Information to a Law Enforcement Officer in Reference to an Alleged Crime.


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Police and fire crews responded to a van on fire at the school bus yard on Gamble Road in Savannah early Thursday.
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BLOOMINGTON, Ill -- A McLean County jury took only a short time Tuesday to convict Misook Wang Nowlin of murdering her mother-in-law.
The jury returned a guilty verdict on a count of first-degree murder after two and a half hours of deliberations.
Wang had admitted to burying the body of 70-year-old Wenlan Linda Tyda in a forest preserve but had denied murdering the elderly woman, saying that her death came during a struggle.
She admitted luring the woman to Bloomington on a pretense of a translation job but said it was only to talk with her.
Prosecutors argued that Wenlan Tyda was killed for a share of her life insurance.
Because of the age of the victim, the minimum sentence Nowlin can receive is 60 years in prison.


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It's not the Natty Light talking
This is a video of a drunk Alabama fan, who is (oddly enough) supporting Auburn and taunting Oregon fans. WARNING! The video on the website contains a lot of cussing. As the person on the video warns, "If you don't like cussing and vulgarity," especially the "f" word, please don't click on this video.


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Iron Man star Gwyneth Paltrow says she wouldn't call up Madonna to brag about having better ab muscles.
However, the actress joked that she might send her a picture message to show off her stomach.
The Hollywood beauty also admits to going to bed with her make-up on and sometimes concealing her wild side.


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I guess we just can't expect to win 'em all.
Well, boys ... I haven't a thing to say. Played a great game...all of you. Great game.
I'm going to tell you something I've kept to myself for years -- Some of you ever knew Johnny Oates. It was long before your time. But you know what a tradition he is at Texas.
And the last thing he said to me -- "Rock," he said - "sometime, when the team is up against it -- and the breaks are beating the boys -- tell them to go out there with all they got and win just one for the Skipper...
I don't know where I'll be then, Rock", he said - "but I'll know about it - and I'll be happy."


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Trial lawyer Hugo L. Black Jr., son of famous US Supreme Court justice, is dead at 91
Posted Jul 24, 2013 12:30 PM CDT
By Martha Neil
Hugo L. Black Jr., a longtime trial lawyer and the son of a famous U.S. Supreme Court justice, died Monday at his Florida home. He was 91 years old.
Still a practicing lawyer in Coral Gables, Fla., until shortly before his death, Black is survived by two daughters. He was predeceased by his wife and a namesake son who was also a lawyer, according to the Miami Herald.
Known for his rapport with a jury and representing the underdog, Black was also a devoted family man, his law partner told the ABA Journal.
"Juries loved Hugo," said Bonnie J. Losak-Jimenez, who had practiced with him for over 20 years. Some of the small firm's bigger cases during that time involved representing investors in securities cases against individuals who had taken advantage of them, she said, noting that the firm had not only prevailed but actually collected money for its clients.
"He did a lot of that, where he would represent the defrauded individual."
The two attorneys first met, she said, when they represented opposing parties in a case between a bank and a developer. She won, as Black liked to recount afterward. "I had the better case, he was the better lawyer," she recalls.
For some, being the son of such a famous man might have presented difficulties, but Black viewed his father's role in his life very positively, Losak-Jimenez said. "He was certainly very, very proud of his father, spoke of his father a lot, and had a lot of respect for his memory." Additionally, "he always talked about what his father had taught him and he very much looked up to his father and to his image, so I'm sure it influenced the way he practiced."
Black had suffered a fracture in May, but had seemingly been in good health and doing well prior to this death.
Funeral arrangements are pending.
See also:
Mr. Justice and Mrs. Black (Random House): "I Begin the Practice of Law"
Southern District of Florida Blog: "AUSA Hugo Black III passed away this weekend "
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