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Formerly known as P13, there's not much to go on when it comes to Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons.
With their father clinging to his life, two brothers must set out on a journey to find the "Water of Life." Curing your dying father makes a compelling starting point for a video game story, so we're off to a good start.
The game's description says the two boys must rely on one another to survive: "One must be strong where the other is weak, brave where the other is fearful, they must be… Brothers."
And so we have a game about family and courage and adventure.
From the description at least, this appears to be a co-op action-adventure title, something I'm always happy to hear about, especially since the game will be available on Xbox Live Arcade, PSN, and PC next Spring.
There also appears to be some giant ogre or monster that accompanies and aids the boys, who climb vine-covered walls, and walk over ad hoc ogre bridges. There's an obvious platformer element here, though the teaser trailer is sparse on gameplay:
Built using the Unreal Engine, the game certainly looks terrific. There's a bit of Fable in there, though I think it looks prettier than the Fable games.
Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons is being published by 505 Games in partnership with developer Starbreeze Studios and filmmaker Josef Fares.
Follow me on Twitter or Facebook. Read my Forbes blog here.


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Health-Care Reform
To the Editor:
In his generally inaccurate and exaggerated article, "What Health Care Crisis?" [February], Irwin M. Stelzer takes a series of statements from an article of mine in Domestic Affairs and uses them to mislead your readers.
My question was whether any possible differences in services justify the much higher costs of medical care in America than in other countries. The answer is no. That does not mean the United States should want to spend as little as even the most expensive other country, Canada. In the article, I discuss which differences in cost are clearly unnecessary (such as the overhead associated with our risk-rating insurance system, or some of the "excess" capacity of high-tech equipment); which we might choose to reduce slightly (much higher incomes for our providers); and which we might choose to retain (some amenities and extra capacity).
Mr. Stelzer then selects from my article and misapplies what I actually said. According to Mr. Stelzer:
Joseph White . . . concedes that "Britain has restricted capacity severely and makes people wait much longer for services that Americans would consider necessary, than we would accept."
Yes, Britain has restricted capacity severely and created long waiting lists. I would spend more money, but he gives the impression that our level of spending is necessary to eliminate waiting lists. That is absurd. The British spend less than half of what we do as a share of their economy; they could double their hospital spending and still be nowhere close to our level of costs.
Mr. Stelzer then implies that I cite the "British rule that patients over fifty-five are not eligible for kidney dialysis." The British are much more conservative about dialysis, and should do more, but there is no such rule. Further, dialysis is the last example any American should cite as an evil of "socialized medicine." A competent analyst would realize that treatment for end-stage renal disease in the U.S. is a federal entitlement. Dialysis in America is "socialized" because our private insurers would try to exclude any potential customer who needed it.
Next, Mr. Stelzer reports that "Australia faces both availability restrictions and 'spiraling costs.'" I cannot tell if he is deliberately misrepresenting what I wrote or if he does not understand insurance. My sentence reads:
Australia has reached a point where restrictions in its national system, while not nearly as severe as those in Britain, are serious enough to keep private insurance and hospitals in business, despite adverse selection that creates spiraling costs.
In Australia the government guarantees care, but people can also use private insurance and hospitals. "Adverse selection" is a term that is used to describe a situation in which people who are especially likely to incur costs choose to insure. Adverse selection to a national system is impossible, since everybody is automatically a member. Australia has spiraling costs in its private, voluntary insurance system because most people figure the government system is fine, but people who need an elective operation soon are more likely to buy private coverage. Australia does not have spiraling costs in its public system, or overall. And one can argue that in essence its system guarantees basic care to everyone but enables people to pay extra, especially for more choice of physicians—as opposed to the U.S., where people pay extra for more choice, but there is no basic guarantee of care.
Mr. Stelzer cites me accurately as to "stirrings of dissatisfaction" in France, which means that there is not enough of a problem for anybody to have defined it as a serious issue (and French doctors are not shy about protesting).
On Canada he actually raises a substantive point, but couches it in tendentious blather. In a few well-publicized cases, the growth of demand for care in Canada has outstripped supply—particularly in the case of cardiac surgery. He is right that shortages caused by planning are often unintentional. But that is not because "planners" have "preferential access." Canadian "planners" are not "Kremlin bureaucrats" who do not have to "queue," as Mr. Stelzer claims. He has no evidence at all for that slur.
Mr. Stelzer says: "Canada's recent response to unbearable cost increases—a reduction in the services covered—passes without mention in White's analysis." Wrong again. First, there has been very, very little "reduction in the services covered." Second, the "unbearable" cost increases have been much, much lower than the increases in the United States—which Mr. Stelzer claims has no cost crisis! Third, a sentence that he quotes begins, "That does not mean in the future." Fourth, all my comparisons are explicitly to 1991 data. Fifth, I state that Canada had more difficulty restraining costs than other systems (except compared to the U.S.!) in the 1980's and that "suggests any set of institutions can limit health-care costs only to a certain extent." As for Patricia Danzon's analysis, Mr. Stelzer fails to note that Canadians go to the doctor more often than Americans, hospital stays are longer, hospitalization rates are higher—in short, by many measures, Canadians get more services.
Then there are Japan and Germany. Mr. Stelzer is right that the Japanese may be more stoically accepting of waits (though try telling that to subway riders). In fact, there is not much waiting for surgery in Japan because not much surgery is prescribed. As with the British, the Japanese spend so much less than America that comparisons of service for spending are essentially absurd; nobody could imagine that we are buying enough extra to explain the difference. And, as in the British case, I state explicitly that we would not want to spend so little.
But then Mr. Stelzer goes on to Germany, and in a paragraph that is based on my article, he reports that Germany "achieves low costs by limiting malpractice suits. . . ." Which I never said. Yes, the Germans have price controls and buy less high-tech equipment. And costs grew relative to income during the recession after reunification (adopting a whole country gets expensive). But the fact is that German costs as a proportion of GDP went down during the 1980's! They remain much, much lower than in the U.S. And if Mr. Stelzer has evidence for his claims that the Germans save money by letting the terminally ill die, I would rather he cite it (so I could see it) than imply that he learned it from my work.
In short, Mr. Stelzer has either intentionally distorted or misunderstood every single point a reader might believe he took from my work. He takes any statement of a possible problem, however limited and however much it might be (over) balanced by good points, and exaggerates it. . . .
There are many facts, and if selected out of context they can be used to deceive people. But the basic pattern is very clear. The U.S. spends much more for health care than any other country in the world. Many Americans, unlike in other advanced industrial countries, do without treatment because they do not have insurance. American health-care costs have grown much faster than those of every other country during the past decade. That is one reason a larger proportion of individuals and businesses cannot pay for insurance. The only possible argument for superior American quality is easier access to elective surgery if you are insured. But America has lower average quality in many other ways (such as access to immunizations and prenatal care). Up until 1971, when adoption of the Canadian health system was complete, U.S. and Canadian costs and health-care statistics tracked each other closely. Since then, health-care costs as a share of the economy have grown twice as quickly in the U.S., with no positive difference in outcomes. . . .
Joseph White
The Brookings Institution
Washington, D.C.
To the Editor:
. . . It is not my intention to debate the semantic question of whether the problems in American health care are serious enough to constitute a "crisis" (although it is worth noting that in a recent Gallup/CNN/USA Today survey more than eight in ten Americans thought they were). Rather, I wish to identify and challenge several misleading statements Irwin M. Stelzer makes about the current state of our health-care system.
Mr. Stelzer claims that the current sense of crisis is in part a reflection of "the well-documented liberal bias of the major media." My research indicates otherwise. If Mr. Stelzer were correct, we would expect to see public dissatisfaction with the health-care system rise only after the media began to focus on the issue. In fact, the data support the opposite conclusion. In October 1987, for example, a full 72 percent of Americans felt the health-care system needed to be fundamentally changed or completely rebuilt. That same year, not one story on health-care reform or national health insurance appeared in three of the most widely read national newspapers—the Cristian Science Monitor, the New York Times, and the Wall Street Journal. It was not until 1991—the year Harris Wofford won Pennsylvania's special Senate race after campaigning on a platform that included national health insurance—that media coverage of health reform began to take off. In short, the evidence simply does not support Mr. Stelzer's argument. To the contrary, it indicates that the press was reacting to, not driving, public opinion and political events.
Mr. Stelzer also invokes media bias to explain what he calls "one of the great anomalies in the health-care debate," the fact that Americans are overwhelmingly dissatisfied with the health-care system, but satisfied with their own health care. Yet this "anomaly" can be explained more easily. The public is not anxious about the care it gets, but about the adequacy and security of its health-insurance coverage. Americans worry that they or one of their family members or friends will be unprotected from a major medical expense. According to the U.S. Census, in a two-year period one out of every four Americans lose their health-insurance coverage. Roughly half of employed Americans have had their health benefits cut during the last two years, and one in five households is home to someone who has been denied coverage for health insurance because of a preexisting condition. There is no need to search for a media conspiracy to explain why these widely recognized problems foster public discontent with our health-care system.
Mr. Stelzer also dismisses widespread concern over high and rising national health expenditures, arguing that America, as "the richest nation in the world," should be expected to spend more on health care. But he misses the point. We not only spend more on health than other nations, as one might expect, but we also spend a much higher percentage of our national income. Thus, the United States . . . spends more per person relative to its per-capita GDP than any other nation.
I agree with Mr. Stelzer that these figures do not account for differences in quality. But what does the evidence show? America has performed poorly by international standards on such basic (and admittedly crude) health indicators as infant mortality and life expectancy. Mr. Stelzer may be right to argue that our poor performance reflects the distinctive character of American society—our abundant supply of "crack babies," "bullet-ridden drug pushers," "members of urban gangs," and "black women" who are disinclined to "avail themselves of prenatal care"—but he provides no evidence, save a New York Times article, to support this claim. What is known with some certainty is that the percentage of health spending that goes to administrative costs is higher in the U.S. than in other industrialized democracies. We also know that a significant percentage of care delivered in the United States is either unnecessary or inappropriate, and that there is substantial, unexplained regional variation in the use of procedures. And we know that more people are uninsured in America than in any other OECD country. Mr. Stelzer chooses to ignore all these facts.
And what of Mr. Stelzer's claim that societal expectations are to blame for our high health spending? It is flattering to think that Americans are more demanding than the citizens of other countries. But is this true? Americans contact their physicians less frequently than the citizens of either Canada, Germany, or Japan, and they spend fewer days in the hospital. While Americans may demand more technologically intensive care than citizens of other nations, it would be a mistake to assume, as Mr. Stelzer does, that this is a "basic American value." It is doctors, not patients, who make the lion's share of treatment decisions, especially the most costly. And physicians' styles of medical practice are shaped at least as much by the structure of our health-care system, with its open-ended, third-party reimbursements, as they are by the demands of patients. To be sure, Americans would not accept the explicit rationing that takes place in Britain. But Britain spends about one-third of what the U.S. spends on a percapita basis. . . .
Mr. Stelzer is to be commended for taking a hard-headed look at the arguments made by those who wish to reform our health-care system fundamentally. But the inadequacy of his response is clear testimony to the severity of the problem.
Jacob S. Hacker
Harvard School of Public Health
Cambridge, Massachusetts
To the Editor:
In his article, Irwin M. Stelzer states: "Lost in all this [debate] has been the large question of whether a massive transformation of our health-care system is necessary." Mr. Stelzer bases this opinion, at least in part, on the belief that most of the 37 million people who lack health-insurance coverage at a point in time will remain uninsured for a short time, and cites research conducted by Katherine Swartz and myself on the length of uninsured spells. He then concludes that "the chronically uninsured group in our society numbers closer to 5.5 million than 37 million people."
Unfortunately, these conclusions about the uninsured are based on a misinterpretation of our research.
In fact, the number of chronically uninsured is much larger. I have recently completed more research on this topic which shows that 54 percent of the uninsured at any point in time will remain uninsured for more than two years and 75 percent will be uninsured for more than a year. This implies that of the 37 million uninsured at any one time, between 20 and 28 million persons are "chronically uninsured," a number much larger than the 5.5 million Mr. Stelzer cites.
The confusion here relates to the difference between stocks and flows. At any point in time, a simple head count of those who are without health insurance constitutes the "stock" of uninsured (e.g., the 37-39 million uninsured at a point in time). However, each month there is a "flow" of people into and out of the uninsured category. It is well known that for any duration variable such as the duration of "uninsurance," the stock will contain many more people with long spells than will the flow of people into and out of uninsurance. But Mr. Stelzer cites research about the flow of new uninsured spells and applies these percentages to the stock of uninsured at a point in time.
Mr. Stelzer also minimizes the uninsured problem by claiming that most of the rest of the uninsured are uninsured by choice, i.e., that they are either rich or young. But this conclusion is not supported by data. A large portion of the uninsured (63 percent) will remain uninsured for more than one year and are not between the ages of eighteen and twenty-four. Forty-three percent of the uninsured at a point in time will remain uninsured for more than one year and have incomes below 150 percent of the poverty line.
A careful examination of the data on the uninsured suggests that the problem cannot be minimized. Thus, any comprehensive health-care reform proposal must deal with the large segment of our population that cannot obtain health insurance.
Timothy D. McBride
University of Missouri-St. Louis
St. Louis, Missouri
To the Editor:
. . . Ever since I received my first M.A., I have been teaching English part-time at two to three colleges and community colleges while receiving a second M.A. and applying incessantly for full-time positions. . . . I have had two M.A.'s for a year now, and the job prospects continue to look bleak. I work hard, I am highly respected by colleagues and students, and, though working more than a full-time load, including summers, I barely make ends meet. Thus, I cut corners where I can, one of these corners for the past five years being health insurance.
Close to half the community-college English courses in California are taught by part-timers; the percentage is not much lower in other disciplines or in other parts of the country. Of the twenty or so pepole who got M.A.'s in my English-teaching program last year, none has a full-time job and most probably won't get jobs for years.
I present all this simply to dispel Irwin M. Stelzer's notion that most of us without insurance are students awaiting jobs that are right around the corner, or folks temporarily between jobs. I represent only one field among, I imagine, a multitude that teems with overworked part-timers who are not receiving health benefits. . . .
The American health-care system is great, but that does not mean it cannot be better.
Seth Mendelowitz
Oakland, California
To the Editor:
. . . However Irwin M. Stelzer analyzes the situation, there are facts of clinical life "on the ground" that I, a psychiatrist in private practice in Massachusetts, have to live with on a daily basis.
The past two years have seen the proliferation of managed-care companies in mental health whose purposes are to contain the cost and scope of services by controlling the delivery of care. This proliferation is being driven by the perception of large employers and insurance companies that mental-health costs have run out of control and need to be contained. Even if Mr. Stelzer's statistics disprove the existence of a crisis, employers think there is one, and are acting accordingly.
Every health-care consultant I have spoken to asserts that these trends in mental health are the leading edge for all medicine. I have heard of managed-care companies that have been formed for oncology and for obstetrics/gynecology. Can cardiology be far behind? . . .
Mega-medicine is coming. Its advent is being driven by economic exigencies perceived by those who are paying the costs (employers, primarily), with the insurance companies, of course, always ready to maximize their profits. The resulting pressures on physicians to join large organizations are creating a system of care which is becoming increasingly bureaucratically entangled. More and more, every medical decision is carried out with one eye on the financial auditor and the other eye on the quality-assurance reviewer. . . .
The trends toward the bureaucratization of medical care are being driven by economics and the marketplace. The Clinton plan has little or nothing to do with this. It is happening anyway. However, the Clinton plan is compatible with it (of course, adding another level of bureaucracy).
Perhaps Mr. Stelzer might argue that these developments do not constitute a crisis, but merely changes, and are a good example of how a free market can solve problems. I would argue, however, that the way everybody receives care is being driven by profit-oriented marketplace forces, and that consumers (patients) might not, in the end, like the entangled product that they get. Certainly the heavily managed providers do not like it.
I think that there is a crisis and that somebody needs to think about whether the system that is emerging from it is the system that we want.
Ronald Abramson, M.D.
Tufts University School of Medicine
Wayland, Massachusetts
To the Editor:
Irwin M. Stelzer's assessment of health care in America has the correct perspective on health-care spending in relation to other expenditures and the current tendency to dump societal failures and their attendant costs onto the medical system. I would add two areas which would allow significant cost savings and medically make "sense" in terms of appropriate medical management.
First, hospitals, and especially their intensive-care units, are overwhelmed by a great many elderly, debilitated people, often with severe intellectual impairment from a variety of causes, who basically should be kept at home or in a nursing home. For many of these patients, there should be no hospitalization under any circumstance. . . . The judgment here extends not just to elderly patients, but to those who have other chronic, end-stage, debilitating diseases. We have to know when to stop.
The second area of cost-savings includes cost-shifting toward the patient for utilization of the system. Most Americans believe they should have every advantage of advanced medical technology, essentially free. They push for diagnostic testing, such as MRI, CT scans, and referrals to specialists. We need higher deductibles and increased co-payments so that patients would assume more of the costs. For those who are on the lower end of the income scale, tax write-offs for medical expenditures should reduce the burden, but upfront fees would certainly make people think twice about demanding more and more testing.
Physicians, especially primary-care physicians, face an onslaught of demand for referral and objective testing, which minimizes the physician's clinical judgment and emphasizes the risk of malpractice suits. At the other end of the spectrum, chronically ill and debilitated patients should not be completely exempt from some of the costs of utilizing the health-care system at later stages of life. Again, that would make those patients and their caretakers less inclined to push the system to its limits to preserve a life inappropriately.
Martin D. Caplan, M.D.
Richmond, Virginia
To the Editor:
Kudos to Irwin M. Stelzer for demolishing the myth of the health-care crisis. He does an excellent job of showing both how limited the gaps in health-insurance coverage really are and the unreality of the problem of health-care costs. However, he does not go nearly far enough. First, there is no health crisis. Mr. Stelzer makes the valid point that many of America's health problems originate outside the health-care system, but he fails to note that, even so, Americans are healthier than ever. Infant-mortality rates have been steadily decreasing for the last 30 years or more, while life expectancy, especially over the age of forty, has increased. . . .
Second, there is no health-care-quality crisis. American scientific medicine is the envy of the world. In fact, the rest of the world, which has greatly benefited from American medical and biological science, has obtained a free ride at the expense of the American taxpayer. Also, American doctors are the best-trained and -equipped medical professionals anywhere. Even the Prime Minister of Canada and the Premier of Quebec come to America for medical treatment. . . . What kind of health-care system is it where the country's leaders have to go elsewhere for the best treatment?
Third, Mr. Stelzer is quite right that the liberal media are biased against the American health-care system, a condition that predates the Clinton presidency. . . . Most health-care experts, outside of a few physician groups, despise the American health-care system generally and doctors in particular. They almost unanimously favor some form of socialized or corporatized medicine. This can easily be seen by simply attending a few meetings of the American Public Health Association. When I taught a course on the American health-care system, I was unable to find a single supportive text to balance the countless critical ones.
Probably the best-known general work on the American health-care system which expresses these widely held views is sociologist Paul Starr's Pulitzer prize-winning book, The Social Transformation of American Medicine. Starr, an adviser to Hillary Clinton, endorses the growing decline of physician influence in health affairs as the just comeuppance due an arrogant bunch of the greedy. Thus, by scapegoating physicians, insurance companies, and drug companies, the Clintons are only following a well-trodden path created by countless academics.
Robert Lerner
Rockville, Maryland
To the Editor:
Expert opinion has found grave flaws in the Clinton health-care plan. Generally, critical intelligence—including that of liberals—is skeptical, even as almost everyone goes along with the generous sentiments. But we are going to have to live down the football-rally emotions as we get around to more serious reflection.
We ought to consider that, political crowd-pleasing aside, the deepest flaw in the Clinton plan has to do with the very idea of universal coverage at a fairly high level of care. Essentially that is a utopian, even totalitarian, idea that has been tried and found either disastrous—as in the Soviet Union—or bankrupting, as in contemporary France, which this year is actively phasing back its health-care program that has put the nation $20 billion in the red and is being widely abused through fraud and waste.
Universal anything . . . goes against basic Americanism, according to which each person earns his way and is self-reliant as far as is humanly possible. For those who do not make it on these terms, there are safety nets, at a generally lower level. . . . We should consider extending that kind of service (perhaps with community clinics taking the pressure off emergency rooms). . . .
There can be no universal coverage of high quality; not only because it violates the realistic market approach appropriate to free democratic people (we are urging it on the Russians!), but because there are not enough resources for it. We cannot have universal coverage and maintain the truly high-quality medicine 160 million Americans want and are now getting unless we raise taxes drastically and go bankrupt that way. . . .
Robert Greer Cohn
Stanford University
Stanford, California
To the Editor:
Bravo to Irwin M. Stelzer for addressing the central issue that everyone, including those most intimately affected, seems to have accepted: namely, that there is a health-care "crisis." . . .
The world looks to the United States for superior care, and Mr. Stelzer quite rightly points out that care is available to everyone who needs and wishes it. We need to find a way to convince a culturally mixed population to avail itself of already available care and to determine how to prevent many of the diseases and catastrophes that result from social and societal failures. . . . Yes, we probably have too much duplication of expensive technology, . . . but this follows in part because of antitrust actions by the government and because of local demands that inadequately reflect true needs. Nevertheless, one cannot compare proportions of national expenditures devoted to medical care: if the proportion is greater in one country, then less is spent on something else. Good health may be worth a sizable proportion of our budget.
One other point is worth mentioning. I brought it up in a speech to the American Academy of Political and Social Science in 1973; it is still valid: the emphasis on general practice, another centerpiece of the Clinton plan, is an exercise in nostalgia. The 21st century, soon to be upon us, . . . will make the corner doctor obsolete. What we will need is more specialists and . . . a triage system adapted from our wartime experiences in Vietnam, the Gulf, and elsewhere, whereby those truly in need of urgent care can be evacuated to centers equipped with the latest technical advances. Various health professions may well spring up to offer the kindly hand that the public craves and can serve as the first step in the triage system, but what we need are specialists concentrated in centers who can render instant opinions to those who are far off and give care to those patients who have been brought to the centers. The care of chronic diseases may devolve to allied health professions under the direction of specialists.
If we wish to avoid the rationing that is becoming a feature of all the systems we are told to admire and emulate, we must attempt to understand the future. . . .
George E. Ehrlich, M.D.
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
To the Editor:
As a physician who grew up in Britain and became a doctor in the socialized health service of that country, lived three years in the United States while taking specialist training, and has practiced for the past 21 years in Canada, I have just one word for those who think of bringing a Canadian-style health-care system to the U.S.: don't.
Americans are being grossly misled about the real state of health care in Canada today, by being shown snapshots of the Canadian system as it was ten or fifteen years ago. Things have changed dramatically since then, and the changes have been uniformly negative. Here in Ontario, the province with the largest population in Canada, almost every doctor will tell you that in the nine years since first a Left, and then a far-Left, party came into government, there has not been one single change for the better in medical care.
What we have today are increased waiting lists, delays in treatment, progressive reductions leading to shortages of staff and equipment, poorer availability of services, and contractions in what is covered under the so-called "free" universal coverage. The drive to lower costs has come with increased bureaucratic intrusion and controls and higher taxes. Choice has been lessened, as other priorities demand funds from the single, diminishing resource.
Worst of all, though, is the absence of incentives, which is inherent in a socialist system that pays the new, unproved graduate exactly the same fee as a highly competent, experienced specialist. This discourages excellence, and has already contributed to nearly tripling the number of doctors who have left the country in the past year.
The health-care system in Canada survives now only because of the dedication of an older generation of physicians who gained their training and experience under very difference conditions, and because of the generosity of you, our neighbors to the South, who still offer Canadians the excellence and the innovation that can develop only where a private alternative is allowed the freedom to flourish, and who provide the heart surgery and other treatments that are unavailable or greatly delayed here.
Americans who think that in pursuing a Canadian-style system they will be obtaining a combination of quality, efficiency, lower costs, and reasonable choices are deluding themselves. That was the Canada of fifteen years ago. What you would be getting is not Canadian-style health care, but what Canada is rapidly on its way to becoming, which is a country with Romanian-style health care. Is that what Americans really want?
Joseph Berger, M.D.
Downsview, Ontario, Canada
To the Editor:
For at least twenty years an assortment of intellectuals, academicians, and Democratic politicians has been proclaiming a crisis in American health care. The news media have willingly conveyed this message to the public, scaring the wits out of some and convincing many that something must be horribly wrong, even if they personally thought their medical care was superb.
Irwin M. Stelzer has done an excellent job analyzing the facts behind this phony crisis, and, more importantly, explaining why it was concocted in the first place. He is right to note that the Democratic party needs the welfare state and it needs as many people dependent on the welfare state as it can possibly get. By the early 1970's, the Democrats had nothing further to gain from the poor and the working class. In order to survive and thrive, the Democrats must create greater dependence among middle-class Americans. Health-care "reform" is one way this can be accomplished.
Mr. Stelzer is correct that the two most important components of the "crisis"—costs and the uninsured—have been exaggerated and the data manipulated to achieve the desired political effect. We do spend a great deal of money in the United States on health care, but we receive a great deal in return. When middle-class Americans find out what cost controls really mean on a day-to-day basis, they are going to be surprised.
Mr. Stelzer is also correct about the problem of the uninsured. The number of chronically or long-term uninsured is much smaller than the figure used by the news media. Something needs to be done for this group of people, but the Clinton approach is that if you have a fly in your china cabinet, kill it with a sledgehammer.
The real point of the Clinton plan is neither health nor health care. It is power. The point is to give Washington greater control over the lives of middle-class Americans. If these tactics work, look for a housing "crisis," and a food "crisis," and so on.
The battle over the health-care system began years ago and is certainly not over. Irwin M. Stelzer's article deserves to be read by all those who think ours is a pretty good system. They should also keep in mind that the health-care system is like a fine old mansion. Once it is demolished, you will never see its like again.
Thomas Wilson
Montgomery, Alabama
Irwin M. Stelzer writes:
I am content that any fair reading of my article and these letters will lead the reader to conclude: (1) the magnitude of America's health-care problems has been overblown by those who need to generate a "crisis" in order to garner support for a radical overhaul of a system that, in its present, imperfect form, already satisfies three-quarters of the American people; (2) this country's health-care system is superior to that of other countries; witness the fact that few Bostonians eschew Massachusetts General in order to fly to Japan or elsewhere for care, whereas the reverse traffic is well known; (3) costs can, indeed, be lowered by curtailing the availability of care (rationing) or reducing its quality (four-minute visits to doctors), but this is not what Americans want.
That leaves the question of how many people are uninsured, either temporarily or for what seems to various commentators to be a substantial period of time. Rather than wade through these statistics again, it seems that we can safely conclude that however many uninsured there are at any given time, they are not denied health care; the total includes many who quickly become insured again and many uninsured, especially the young, who can afford but do not choose to buy insurance. The genuine problems of the uninsured can be solved by subsidizing the insurance premiums of the poor and by mandating portability, both of which measures I favor. No radical socialization of the American health-care system, no huge bureaucracy, no quotas for specialists, no compulsory limitation of freedom of choice, and no system of price control are called for by any of the data presented in any studies or in any of these letters.
To Joseph White, who feels he has been misquoted, I offer my regrets for any pain I may have caused him. But a careful reading of his letter reveals more anger than reason. I said Britain has kept its costs down by restricting its capacity to render care. "Yes," says Mr. White. He would spend more money, were he British, but is quite confident that he would not have to spend as much as we spend in America in order to eliminate waiting lists. How he knows that is not revealed. And he now concedes that the British "should do more" to assist those in need of dialysis.
Mr. White rejects my characterization of his study of Australia. I said that one can reasonably conclude from his work that "Australia faces . . . availability restrictions. . . ." He responds by quoting his original text, which states that Australia "has reached a point where restrictions in its national system . . . are serious enough . . ." to induce people to buy supplementary private insurance. And he concedes that "people who need an elective operation soon" do indeed buy private coverage. Why? Because they are satisfied with the capacity of the national system to render service? Hardly.
He also objects to my characterization of his conclusions about Canada. And then, remarkably, he agrees that, "in a few well-publicized cases," including the important one of cardiac surgery, "the growth of demand for care in Canada has outstripped supply." I go on to say that Canada has reduced the services covered, to which Mr. White replies that there has been "very, very little" such reduction. I suppose that the magnitude of the withdrawal of services is in the eye of the beholder, but withdrawal there has been, supporting my point that Canada's experience suggests that President Clinton's promise of health care "they can never take away from you" is clearly not proved by the Canadian experience, where some of the health care offered by the national system has just been "taken away."
And, turning to cost, Mr. White makes what he must think is a cute debating point by stating that the cost increases I have characterized as "unbearable" in Canada have been lower than the increases in the United States. But that misses the point: we are a richer country. We can tolerate higher costs for medical care—and choose to do so. So increases that are unbearable in Canada are bearable in America, especially if required to avoid the "increased waiting lists, delays in treatment, . . . shortage of staff and equipment, poorer availability of services, and contraction in what is covered" described by Joseph Berger, a physician practicing in Canada. And for Jacob S. Hacker to join Mr. White in citing the facts that Canadians visit their physicians more often and stay in hospitals longer as proof of the superiority of Canadian care is odd, rather like saying that the people who visit their repairman most frequently, and leave their cars there for the longest time, have the most serviceable automobiles. Is not one plausible reason for the greater frequency of visits to physicians that those visits are shorter, as Mr. White, if asked, would surely tell Mr. Hacker is the case in Japan? And, perhaps, as a consequence of brevity, less efficacious.
Failure to understand the difference between rich and poor countries' consumption patterns also leads Mr. Hacker astray. He says not only do we spend more on health care than do other countries, but we also spend "a much higher percentage of our national income." Of course we do. Citizens of poor countries spend almost 100 percent of their incomes on food and shelter, and a trivial percentage on health care. Are they therefore better off, the beneficiaries of a more efficient health-care system? As a rich country, one whose citizens spend what elsewhere would be small fortunes on family trips to Disneyland, we should feel no embarrassment at devoting a higher portion of our income to health care—and a higher portion, still, of any future increments in our incomes.
I could go on. Mr. Hacker says that Americans are not more demanding of first-class health care than are citizens of other countries, and offers as support the fact that we "spend fewer days in the hospital." Most observers think shorter stays are a good thing, a result of insistence on the technologically-intensive medicine that brings Americans so many benefits—among them, shorter hospital stays and, important in appraising costs, fewer work days lost. If Mr. Hacker's academic studies lead him to conclude that "it is doctors, not patients," who demand costly diagnostic and treatment techniques, he might consider Martin D. Caplan's letter. Dr. Caplan's experience is that patients demand "every advantage of advanced medical technology," and his suggestion for higher co-payments is a quite sensible solution—far better than doctor-bashing or rationing of medical services by a government board.
But enough. The facts, it seems, are catching up with the scaremongers, and support for the most draconian features of the Clinton plan is drifting rapidly away. Senator Moynihan says that the regional buying groups are dead; most Democrats concede that employer mandates will not be part of the final package; the provision that would have government planners limit the number of doctors who may be trained in each specialty, and compound the insanity by setting gender and racial quotas for each specialty, remains attractive only to Mrs. Clinton and her adviser, Ira Magaziner, and should be buried forever if we heed George E. Ehrlich's warning that more, not fewer, specialists will be needed in the future. The more the public learns about the Clinton plan, the less it likes it. So it may all come right in the end, as we sensibly address a problem, and tweak the system rather than panic at a manufactured crisis, and destroy it.

subset: commoncrawl


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Gear Review
As good as the last model?
I don't have these yet, but I've been wearing the previous model almost every day for the last two years and they've held up spectacularly. I can only imagine that these will last just as long. Sizing is a little to the larger size. I wear a 10 to 10 1/2 and my foot is quite wide, these in a size 45 are perfect. Can't wait to swap out the old pair for these.
View More Details on Shimano SH-AM41 Shoes


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Last Days of Anne Boleyn
Last Days of Anne Boleyn Previous Broadcasts
KQED 9: Tue, Aug 19, 2014 -- 8:57 PM
Anne Boleyn's sudden and violent downfall has captivated and fiercely divided historians, writers and amateur enthusiasts for centuries, thanks to its intoxicating elements of romance, power, sex, religion and political intrigue. But who is this most argued over woman in history, and why did she have to go? This fascinating drama documentary examines the terrific controversy at the heart of her story. Compressed into three paranoid and panic-laden weeks, from Anne's arrest to her death on the scaffold, the film combines dramatic reconstruction with argumentative contributions from highly respected commentators - including Hilary Mantel, David Starkey, Philippa Gregory and Alison Weir, who all have their own distinctive take on Anne's fate. Loved and hated, scorned and respected in equal measure, how much was Anne Boleyn an agent of her own destruction and how much a casualty of the stark sexual politics of the Tudor court?
Repeat Broadcasts:
- KQED Life: Thu, Aug 21, 2014 -- 1:57 AM
- KQED Life: Wed, Aug 20, 2014 -- 7:57 PM
- KQED 9: Wed, Aug 20, 2014 -- 2:57 AM


text: In my opinion, there are two possibilities. If development is something you're good at or passionate about then sure, go ahead. If not however, then you're better off letting those who are do it for you. At the end of the day, it's all a matter of crunching some numbers.


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Posted at: 05/04/2013 8:22 PM
Updated at: 05/04/2013 11:34 PM
The Knighthawks are back in the Champion's Cup Final after beating Minnesota 12-10 in the East Division Final. Down 9-7 in the 4th quarter, Rochester scored five unanswered goals to win the game. Craig Point lead the way with four goals. The Knighthawks won the Champion's Cup last season.


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How much do you spend a week on alcohol? Whatever it is, you're probably underestimating. By a lot. And that's a problem for the statisticians who compile the nation's main inflation gauge.
Despite the flurry of attention paid earlier this month to the surprise drop in unemployment, there's another indicator that some economists say could be improved: the closely watched Consumer Price Index, a key measure of inflation. Businesses and the Federal Reserve Bank follow it closely, and economists use it to analyze the effects of policies on price trends.
But part of the CPI is due for a reboot, experts say. And a panel of statisticians and social scientists is meeting throughout the day on Tuesday to share the conclusions of a two-year review of how to do that. The problem lies with a key input in calculating the CPI—interview responses on how Americans spend their money.
"People are being asked to do a lot, and recalling back everything that you've spent in a great deal of detail over three months is a difficult task," said Carol House, who works for the National Academies' Committee on National Statistics and serves as the study director for the panel on redesigning the way the surveys are conducted.
The review comes as the Labor Department on Tuesday released its latest CPI reading, showing the index jumped 0.6 percent in September, driven by higher gasoline costs. But the "core" CPI, which excludes volatile food and energy costs, rose a tame 0.1 percent for the third month in a row.
The CPI is maintained by Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics, which compiles a number of economic indicators, including the all-important monthly employment report. Two things generally go into calculating the indicator: the changing costs of more than 200 items, and the share of spending that Americans devote to those items, as reported through BLS's Consumer Expenditure Survey.
The survey responses dictate how much weight to assign each item within the inflation index. The cost of dried beans, peas, and lentils could jump up, as it did from August 2011 to August 2012, but if no one's buying them the impact on inflation would be negligible. The problem is that, with the increased use of credit cards and online shopping, people just aren't that good at remembering how much they spend on what and where.
"Basically, if you ask people how they spend their money, they can't tell you," said Barry Bosworth, a Brookings Institution expert on fiscal and monetary policy. "And this problem has been getting progressively worse over time."
People have a tendency to underreport how much they spend on some items, according to an August study in which researchers compared the 2010 Consumer Expenditures Survey responses to a similar, but broader, measure of spending--the Bureau for Economic Analysis' Personal Consumption Expenditures.
Rent and spending on cable and satellite TV services tracked closely between the two measures, they found. But gambling reported in the CPI surveys came in at a mere one-tenth of what was reported in the other measure, signaling that consumers greatly underestimated their expenditures in that category. Alcohol bought in stores was one-fourth. Neither measure perfectly tracks spending, but the discrepancy underscores the challenge of asking Americans to report things they may not accurately remember.
But it's not just the accuracy of the survey reports that's a concern. Some argue that they don't reflect variety among different groups of people. The standard CPI measure is accurate for the nation, but it's a "one-size fits nobody" indicator, said Keith Hall, who in January completed a four-year term as the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Seniors, especially, feel the effects of that, said Ross Eisenbrey, a labor- and employment-law expert and a vice president of the Economic Policy Institute. The CPI is used to calculate cost-of-living adjustments to Social Security benefits, but it fails to account for the fact that a big portion of senior spending goes to health care, he said.
"Anyone who has the goal of having a better measure—a more technically accurate measure—of what the effects of inflation are on the Social Security population would want to much more heavily weigh health than the CPI-U does," he said.
Identifying how the CPI is used and how BLS would like it to be used is key, the review panel found. In an advance report released earlier this month, they recommended a "major redesign" of the Consumer Expenditure surveys, but not until BLS has prioritized "the many uses of the CE data."
BLS has "to think very carefully about which priority needs are most important to be met," said Don Dillman, a Washington State University sociology professor, a survey methodology expert, and the chairman of the panel. "It's no small set of issues to think about making changes to it right now."


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New leaked photos courtesy of famous iPhone parts leaker Sonny Dickson (1,2) show what is claimed to be the rear shell of the iPhone 6. The part shows a circular true tone LED flash, which is what we've been seeing in almost all the iPhone 6 leaks. It also shows a protruding camera lens similar to what the current gen iPod Touch has.
The above photo clearly shows a protruding lens, probably because the iPhone 6 is going to be too thin. There were rumors that suggested that the camera on the iPhone 6 could protrude out as the phone was going to be really thin. Until now, from all the leaked photos and mockups, it was believed that the iPhone 6 would not feature the true tone flash as the cutout was circular. However, now it is believed that the circular cutout could actually feature an improved version of the true tone flash. Below is a close up on the camera and flash cutout.
Like always, we can't be very sure that these photos show the actual iPhone 6 rear shell. Sonny Dickson has been accurate many times, but he has also be completely off the mark. What do you think of these images? What do you think of an improved circular true tone flash?


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I'm going to use this introductory lesson for my eighth graders this coming school year. What a simple and effective way to teach the...American Symbols: The Flag, the Statue of Liberty, and the Great Seal
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This is an amazing resource! These questions definitely promote thinking skills and reflection on the way our country has faced issues over time....Essential Questions in Teaching American History
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Roland TD3 crackling at high volume ?
Hey everyone,
I picked up a TD-3 kit and for about a month and a half i have been using my Sony MDR-7506's, however recently, the wire gave out and i had to buy a new pair. So i picked up the ATH-M50's and wow, they sound amazing... until i turn up the volume and give the bass a heel and toe kick.. it makes a crackling sound that really interrupts the bass audio. Now, this only happens at max volume, however, when i had the MDR's i never had this problem and always ran it on max volume. (this only happens on the bass, and not any of the other pads)
Could anyone shed some light on this ? is it the unit itself ? cause i'm sure as hell it isn't the headphones.. lets also keep in mind that the headphones are less than a day old.. maybe they need to break in ?
It should be noted that the M50's are a bit louder and bass'ier.
Any feedback would be very appreciated!
Re: Roland TD3 crackling at high volume ?
The difference is probably on account of headphone impedance. It's a volume issue, so just lower the kick so that it doesn't distort.
- Reggae Mangle
Re: Roland TD3 crackling at high volume ?
Yea, you are probably right. I will have to try lowering the bass a bit as you said, kinda sux that it cant go louder tho, but i can deal :)
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Courses: Organic Chemistry I-Laboratory (CHEMB211B)
Fall 2010
Class Number: 1186
An introduction to the principles of organic chemistry, including synthetic and spectroscopic techniques. Lecture three hours, recitation one hour and laboratory five hours a week. Prerequisite: CHEM 104 with a grade of at least 2.0.
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Fulfills: Class Nbr: 1186 Div: IIL
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Great bored
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from Las Vegas
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Comments about Jones Aviator Snowboard 2014:
Haven't had the bored very long but I'm loving every moment I get. I was ridding on an old burton that was a hand me down that was alright, and on it I went from beginner to intermediate. But, with simply getting a new bored I've gone from intermediate to advance over night. I'm riding better than some of my friends that have been snowboarding years before me.
Bottom Line Yes, I would recommend this to a friend
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Video of Amma's programme in Tokyo
Amma in Tokyo
26 May 2007 —Tokyo, Japan
Amma began two days of programmes at Tokyo's Ajinomoto Stadium. This is the 17th year Amma has visited Japan.
Sri Vibhav Upadhyay, Director of the Indian Center, which deals with Indo-Japanese relations, from cultural to economic spoke.
"India and Japan should be good friends, and I've been working on this for ten years. Its very important that all of Asia come together and live peacefully. Communication is the key. Proper communication between different cultures and nations can be a big problem. Amma's role in this is very big, because whatsoever the language cannot communicate, our hearts make it possible. Spirituality makes communication possible. So I am hoping Amma's teachings and activities will bring us together. "
Professsor Tsuyoshinara, Professor Emeritus of linguistics of the Tokyo Gaidei University. "Language is more powerful when we put Love behind it."
Professor Fujita of Tokyo University welcomed Amma to the city. In his speech, he said that Tokyo University is currently accepting students from Amrita University and collaborating on VLSI projects.
"You may think that Japan is much more advanced in these technologies, but in fact India is much better in designing, and many corporations make orders from India."
He then inaugurated Amma's most recently translated book in Japanese – Eternal Wisdom.
Medha Sananda, head of the Japan branch Ashram of the Ramakrishna mission also came to receive Amma's blessings.
The Nepalese ambassador to Japan, Mr. Paras Gihimire, and his wife Prabina Ghimire, came for Amma's Darshan.
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ESPN's Jerry Crasnick reports that the Angels and Ryan Madson have come to terms on a one-year contract. This comes just two days after our own Justin Millar examined Madson as a potential fit for the Halos' bullpen.
Madson, who turned 32 back in August, missed all of the 2012 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery. This is exactly what the Angels ought to be doing: supplementing the players that are signed long-term with short-term, low-risk, and high-reward options.
The SoCal native was very effective in 2010 and 2011, thanks in particular to his ability to keep the ball on the ground. His ground ball rate hovers around 50 percent, and he doesn't allow a ton of line drives (17.5 LD rate in 2011, 12.8 LD rate in 2010). Madson uses a mid-90s fastball to set up a mid-80s changeup that misses plenty of bats.
He might not be 100 percent on Opening Day, but he provides depth to the back of a bullpen that desperately needed help in 2012.


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Internationally Famous U.S. Army Field Band to Visit Susquehanna University
SELINSGROVE— The U.S. Army Field Band, conducted by Col. Thomas H. Palmatier, will perform at Susquehanna University Sept. 26 at 7:30 p.m. in Weber Chapel Auditorium.
As the premier touring musical representative for the U.S. Army, the band travels thousands of miles each year throughout the nation and abroad. Since its formation in 1946, the band has appeared in all 50 states and in more than 30 countries on four continents.
Along with the Soldiers' Chorus, founded in 1957, the 65-member concert band presents a powerful and diverse program of marches, overtures, popular music, patriotic selections, and instrumental and vocal solos. A music critic for the Boston Globe called a Field Band performance "a cause to stand up and cheer."
Past performance highlights include World War II 50th anniversary commemorations in the United States and Europe, presidential inaugural parades, the rededication of the Statue of Liberty, nationally televised broadcasts on Memorial Day and the Fourth of July, and the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. Joint concerts with many of the nation's leading orchestras, including the Boston Pops, Detroit Symphony Orchestra and Cincinnati Pops, have received rave reviews.
The Field Band's members, selected by highly competitive audition, represent some of the finest musical talent in America. More than five decades as the military's most traveled musicians have earned them the title, "The Musical Ambassadors of the Army."
To obtain free tickets by mail, send a self-addressed, stamped envelope with your request to: ATTN: U.S. Army Field Band, SU Box Office, Susquehanna University, 514 University Avenue, Selinsgrove, PA 17870. (Limit 6 tickets per request.) Tickets may also be obtained in person at the box office at least 24 hours in advance of the performance.
Founded in 1858, Susquehanna University is a national liberal arts college that prepares students for achievement, leadership and service in a diverse, interconnected world. Academic excellence, study away and service learning, student-faculty collaboration, and rich opportunities for creative and personal growth are hallmarks of a Susquehanna University education. Susquehanna students come from 30 states and 12 countries, and more than 90 percent of them find jobs or pursue graduate study within six months of graduation. The university is located in central Pennsylvania, in the town of Selinsgrove, along the banks of the scenic Susquehanna River and about three hours from major East Coast cultural, financial and recreational centers. For more information, visit www.susqu.edu.
Karen M. Jones


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The charts and information on this page do not imply interchangeability. Consult your machine's manual to determine correct replacements, clearances, compatibility and stability, load-bearing capacity, speed rating, radial vs. non-radial, pattern and tread compound requirements, inflation recommendations and front-to-rear tire matching. Wrong selection can result in tire failure or loss of control with serious injury or death.
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Comments On Jan 09, 2014:Simply the best from roads to track and I'll do it all at a mid-level great value
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Comments On Oct 29, 2013:Q2 has been the the champ of the high performance tire market. The only tire better is the Q3
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Comments On Sep 20, 2013:Was good for one full season of riding. Stuck to the road A-OK.
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Comments On Feb 24, 2013:The Q2 are a great gripy tyre for around the mountain roads here in Victoria.The Fallscreek and Hotham roads tend to sort the tyres out. unfortunately you don't get the kilometres out of them,about 2,600 klm but if you want a good play tyre you can't beat it.
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Comments On Jan 15, 2013:I got screwed on a ride........got a large self tapping screw in my rear tire, had to purchase new ones.........went to these Q2's, and LOVE them. Should have gotten them along time ago. ACH and Mulhulland love them tooo. Excellent tire and price/shipping. Very sticky, the only draw back is they won't last long under the R1 power. But better than buying new plastics......
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Comments On Dec 21, 2012:I love these bad boys - Quick warm up and good ride on the street, and plenty of stick at the track by dropping down a few PSI. I wear the sides down before the middle.
Shipping was super quick, only downside was that I didn't get stickers haha.
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Comments On Nov 22, 2012:Had the sportmax Gp Racer tyre before these and the Q2's have not let me down excellent through corners and great for australian conditions.
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Comments On Oct 09, 2012:I go way back with motorcycle tires, used to use Dunlop K81's on my GS -750. They were triangular to put as much rubber on the road in corners. Anyway, these things stick like nothing I've ever used. You can lean a bike over as far as you have courage for, and no movement. You can actually feel the adhesion of the tire through the handlebars, pretty bizarre. So far, they are wearing well.
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Comments On Jun 10, 2012:Sticky Sticky Sticky...even when cool. Freakishly grippy when warm. Came stock on my 09 Triumph Street Triple R, and I liked them so much I bought the same tire to replace the worn rear last summer. I'll be due for a full set by summer of 2013. Expect to get 5-6K miles out of your rear and about double that on the front depending on road conditions and your riding style.
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Comments On Apr 21, 2012:Ive had these tires on my Yamaha before , so i know they're reliable, I took a couple of trips before from Abilene texas to dallas once and San Antonio 3 times. Good traction and they heat up pretty fast. I just put these on my CBR600 today and took my bike out to the hills, I love these tires and I feel comfortable any and everywhere I ride with these Dunlaps and will continue to ride with these tires.
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CSA Group has been involved in the design and implementation of water projects for more than 50 years. Our extensive work includes projects in water, wastewater and water resources through all of the project delivery life cycle. Services provided include program management, architecture and engineering, GIS, modeling, construction management, and environmental assessments.
We offer to our clients in the public and private sectors, outstanding capabilities in every facet of the water industry. Our experienced engineers and technicians strive to deliver quality, ease of operation and long-term reliability at the lowest life-cycle cost. Since 1998, CSA has accumulated well over two million man-hours of experience in the execution of more than 500 water projects, making us an experienced and reliable partner to assist our clients from planning and program management, to operations and maintenance.
The experience accumulated by CSA Group includes the following:
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CHICAGO — Facebook executive Sheryl Sandberg told students geeking out at a robotics camp in Chicago they were making the right move by spending their spring break indulging their tech inclinations.
The social media company's chief operating officer and best-selling author visited high school and middle school students Thursday at the camp at the Illinois Institute of Technology campus, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.
"All the things that make you uncool in high school are the things that are good for your life," Sandberg told the group of about a dozen students.
Sandberg is the author of "Lean In," which has ignited debate over her thoughts on how to advance the role of women in the workplace.
During her visit, she revealed a bit of her own teenage geek credentials, saying she used to take part in weekend math contests.
Accompanying her was Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who added that his time spent training as a ballet dancer was not "in the top list of cool" for a teenage boy.
That was encouraging for 14-year-old Cherokee Sperry, who counts politics, traditional Hawaiian cooking and science camps among his interests.
When 18-year-old Hannan Ouyoun said she was torn between a career in fashion or engineering, Sandberg suggested she do both. The executive explained that an engineer's understanding of how things work would give her a competitive edge in the fashion world.
"When she said that, it was an eye-opener," Ouyoun said later. "I never thought of it that way."
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LOS ANGELES Green Day is going back on the road.
The Grammy-winning punk band announced new tour dates Monday.
The band canceled the rest of its 2012 club schedule and postponed the start of a 2013 arena tour after singer-guitarist Billie Joe Armstrongs substance abuse problems emerged publicly in September when he had a profane meltdown on the stage of the iHeartRadio Music Festival in Las Vegas.
The bands rep announced later that Armstrong was headed to treatment for substance abuse.
I just want to thank you all for the love and support youve shown for the past few months, Armstrong told fans in a statement Monday. Believe me, it hasnt gone unnoticed and Im eternally grateful to have such an amazing set of friends and family. Im getting better every day. So now, without further ado, the show must go on.
The tour is scheduled to begin March 28 at the Allstate Arena in the Chicago area. Tickets for postponed shows will be honored on the new dates, and refunds will be available for canceled shows.
We want to thank everyone for hanging in with us for the last few months, the band said. We are very excited to hit the road and see all of you again, though we regret having to cancel more shows.
The band released their most recent album, Tre, on Dec. 11, more than a month ahead of schedule.
Notice about comments:
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The 19-year-old, who was released from the Gunners without making a first-team appearance, links up with the Shakers after previously enjoying a trial at Bristol City earlier in the summer.
Blackwell said: "We've signed him as he has some great potential down the line.
"He was at one of (former goalkeeping coach) Fred Barber's soccer camps and he has been very impressed with him, we haven't got a young goalkeeper and Reice fits the bill."
Charles-Cook put pen to paper ahead of the Shakers' 3-1 friendly defeat to Sheffield United on Saturday.
Striker Shaun Harrad, who spent last season on loan at Cheltenham, opened the scoring in the first half before the Blades hit back after the break.


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Wynn was a delight to work with. She's very friendly and approachable but also professional and responsible. I used her services starting from one month prior to my wedding at The Prado in San Diego. She always answered my questions quickly and provided some great advice. She also met the catering manager with me to make sure that every detail was addressed. My husband and I were so happy to have had Wynn and her team helping us on our wedding day. Even on the day of our wedding, we were talking about how she was such a HUGE help! I couldn't imagine not having her there! The day went so smoothly, and I didn't have to worry about a thing! She really allowed us to enjoy the day and really celebrate the beginning of our marriage! -Lillian
Wynn Austin went above and beyond our expectations. Because of Wynn, our wedding has been given Platinum status by all that witnessed it! It was flawless and beautiful. The hardwork that Wynn and her team displays only shows the true dedication, commitment and passion they possess for their profession. Wynn does not provide a just a simple service, she will give you a day to remember, and that is priceless in a bride's and groom's eyes.-Anh
Dear Wynn,
Rick and I wish to profoundly thank you for all your assistance with our wedding day. We loved every minute of it! Everything was more beautiful than we ever dreamed. We appreciate all your loving attention to every detail and your great smile. We highly recommend you to any future bride and groom to ensure a fantastic wedding experience!
Rick and Linda
Wynn was an amazing wedding planner. We worked with her for the last 2 months as a day of planner. Our wedding was on a Navy Base so it was great to have her there to take care of any last minute situations. I am definitely an "in control" person but on my wedding day I completely trusted her!! I did not look at one thing or check on anything before the wedding started. I had complete faith that she knew what she was doing, knew what we were looking for, and was great at her job! We also had our hotel room decorated by Le Chic and it was amazing to walk into the room and have such a romantic setting for our wedding night. I did not have to think of a thing the day of the wedding and never needed to check a clock or see what we were forgetting. Wynn and her assistant were right on top of everything and the day was exactly what we were hoping for and then some!! Definitely work with Wynn if you are looking for a wedding planner!! -Danielle
Wynn was superb! She did an exceptional job at organizing our tasks, our vendor contracts, our timeline, and our wedding! She pays close attention to detail, gently keeping us on track to the time schedule. She is a true professional, who maintains her friendliness and her approachability through those stressful moments. She really helped us define our priorities for the wedding day so that we would have a successful event. I was very impressed with how well she negotiated with our vendors. We had a situation in which one of our vendors was not completely holding up his end of the contract. It took persistence on behalf of Wynn and she was able to negotiate the terms so that we would not lose money and our vendor would play for the full length of time we wanted him. I definitely could not have pulled that off without Wynn! Also, the day of the wedding, Wynn was extremely professional (appropriate attire as well) and was an exceptional helping hand! Any and every task that I (the bride) asked Wynn to help me with was done and was done correctly!! My family and guests really enjoyed the wedding and we KNOW that are wedding would not have been such a smooth, successful day if Wynn had not been there to help us with it! It was amazing how much we enjoyed our wedding day and how well everything went… trust me… Wynn's timeline and organization made the difference in the world so that my husband and I did not feel rushed and were able to enjoy our day! I highly, highly recommend Wynn as anyone's wedding coordinator! She will not let you down and is the best value for your money! Trust me… she is the best wedding present you can get!!!
Beatriz Lewis
Her name says it all! With Wynn, you seriously get the wedding of your dreams! Everything went so smoothly, on cue, on time. Guests would not stop commenting on how beautifully the wedding flowed from beginning to end! As a event sales & coordinator myself, I could not have asked for a better executed day =) Without Wynn's help, I know for a fact it my wedding would have not been as perfect as it was (no joke). She caught all the details that I missed, and even brought up points that I would have never expected! I highly recommend every bride to hire a wedding coordinator, no matter how organized she is! And it would be your best investment if you booked Wynn!
Jennifer Legacy
My husband and I got married on 5/1/09 and we couldn't be happier with how the event turned out. It was so beautiful! Wynn did a STELLAR job – from day one, through the end of our reception. She helped us find the perfect venue, referred us to a great Pastor, and her vendor referrals were excellent. All the while, she kept our budget in mind and kept us on track. Nothing would have gotten done without her! For anyone looking for a friendly, professional, considerate, detail-oriented, time-oriented wedding consultant who really listens to what you want, go with Wynn. (THANK YOU WYNN!!!)
Susanne Sanchez
Wynn was extremely organized and helped out my mom a lot. On the day of the wedding she was the one who had everything under control and it was a big weight lifted off of my mothers shoulders to be able to depend on Wynn. =)
Nkki Clarkson
Wynn is an awesome wedding consultant. She completely took care of me both leading up to my big day and through it. She is very organized and scheduled, and her time line was so necessary!! Even though I just hired her to do my day of planning, she was a huge help when I ran into an issue. Three weeks prior to my date my DJ canceled on me. I was a total mess, freaking out like crazy!! I called Wynn and within one day she had found me a replacement. My new DJ honored my old contract and was able to deliver perfect music on my day! Without Wynn I don't know what I would have done. On my wedding day, Wynn directed us through each event and kept us on schedule even when my bridal party was trying hard to be on their own time. Wynn is professional, kind, and works hard to make every part of your day perfect. At my wedding, Wynn was also 9 months pregnant and still smiling!! I loved her and I highly recommend her for all your wedding needs! She wont let you down! Thanks Wynn!!
Carlie Nemecyk
Wynn has been amazing in guiding me through my wedding plans. Wynn Austin is wonderful to work with and I would recommend her to anyone!
Holly Stephenson


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The NYPD is shifting its resources following the attack on Charlie Hebdo.
At the Walls of Darkness haunted house, customers pay $30 to be scared out of their wits.
Jose Pimentel plotted to "harm" the U.S. government, according to an indictment filed by prosecutors.
The city paused on Feb. 26, 2012 to remember the victims of the 1993 WTC attack.
Dutch architectural firm MVRDV apologizes over South Korean project that evokes terror attack.
Grand Jury action has been pushed back a month for WaHi bomb plot suspect Jose Pimentel.
Murray Weiss has got the inside story on why the FBI didn't pursue the Jose Pimentel bomb plot case.
Police arrested a man Saturday who's accused of making pipe bombs to attack police patrol cars, postage facilities and military personnel returning home from Iraq and Afghanistan.
Thousands of Lower Manhattan residents came to the 9/11 Memorial on Oct. 2, 2011 for a gathering of the community.
The city marked the 10th Anniversary of 9/11 with a solemn ceremony at the flourishing World Trade Center site.
Some 5,000 people participated in the "Chain of Humanity" on Sept. 10, 2011, forming a massive chain that began in Battery Park to commemorate the 10th Anniversary of 9/11.
Three vans have been stolen in the New York area in recent days, but officials are cautioning against connecting the thefts to a 9/11 Anniversary terror plot.
Mohammad Younis, 45, pleaded guilty Thursday to conducting illegal money transfers, including to Times Square bomber Faisal Shahzad.
The World Trade Center Cross was lowered into its place at the 9/11 Memorial Saturday.
Mohamed Mamdouh, 20, of Queens, said that he was "at the wrong place at the wrong time," according to a report.
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City and Columbia Public Schools officials said there is potential for better collaboration that might allow Columbia Transit buses to handle some transportation needs for middle and high school students.
The idea spurred discussion yesterday at a joint meeting of the Columbia and Boone County governments and Columbia Public Schools. Members of the Columbia City Council, Boone County Commission and Columbia Board of Education took part, as did Columbia City Manager Mike Matthes and schools Superintendent Chris Belcher.
Belcher said using public transportation to move students likely would not be popular with parents of elementary school students, but he said it might be useful for older students, especially those who take part in after-school activities.


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County Executive Isiah Leggett To Participate in Dedication Ceremony for Victory Court Senior Affordable Housing
Thursday, October 24, 2013
209 Monroe Street, Rockville, MD 20850
Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett will help dedicate the new Victory Court Senior Affordable Housing community in downtown Rockville, consisting of 86 one- and two-bedroom units for low- and moderate-income seniors, ages 62 and older. Leggett will be joined by His Eminence Donald Cardinal Wuerl, Archbishop of Washington, Victory Housing partners and other community leaders in celebrating the opening of the project.
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Hey guys,
i have a 1st gen wii which was hard modded with one of the 1st gen modchip, probably the wiikey.
everything was going well until my wii was accidentally updated to 4.3u this morning....
so I following this guide step by step, I am now back to 4.1u with the pack file 4 on a SD card.
homebrew and all the apps seem to be working without any problem.
the issue is that 95% of my DVD backups are no longer launching... I am getting the unable to read the disc error from the disc channel and getting unrecovrered read error from neogamma.
All those games were working just fine until yesterday so it can't be a bad iso, bad game or bad media, anyone has any idea of what to do from here?


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Soon, men and mice won't be the only beneficiaries of CT technology's diagnostic wonders. Oak Ridge National Laboratory researchers are developing ways to use a computer tomography machine originally designed for small laboratory animals to analyze wood, with potential applications in the pulp, paper and nascent bioenergy industries. ORNL researcher Justin Baba is working to develop analytical tools to determine parameters such as fiber length and arrangement, cell wall thickness and density from the CT scans. These scans could replace more destructive, chemical-dependant, methods of analyzing wood samples that compromise the information collection process. The technology could potentially be used to easily determine if a particular wood should be made into stationery ? or toilet paper. For bioenergy, after some basic measurement standards are established, the scans will be able to show the cellulosic content of wood to help create a cellulose-based biofuel supply. The work is funded by the Laboratory Directed Research and Development Program.
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Cynthia, Costa Mesa, CA.
Come visit me, Pearl & Silver.
Come visit me, Spot, Ruby & Stevie.
Brianna, Abilene, TX.
Come visit me, Derby Farms, Chyna & Bailey ♥ RIP.
Come visit me, Angel Bertie's Rainbow Gym: Thanks for BOTD!, Angel Bertie: Happy New Year!, Chirps: Happy New Year!!!, The Happy Couple!!!, Spot: Vote Mikey D for May BOTM,276082 & BonBon and Parker:Vote for BOTM!.
Come visit me, vern--good bye, RIP tressa RIP, amos, RIP scarlett,rose,poppy, iris- RIP Chickens, noah, malachi, silas RIP & RIP ike RIP.
Come visit me, Gus~Playing with my favorite paper. & Chi chi RIP my sweet girl..
Come visit me, Norman.
Come visit me, Carter-Justice For Ozzi-TY 4 BOTD 8/28/14, Doo Diligence-Justice for Ozzi TY 4 BOTD!, Kookie-Bird -Justice For Ozzi-ty 4 BOTD 7/31/15, Charlie-Justice 4 Ozzy-TY for BOTD 10/29/14, Tricky D- RIP 12/12/12-Thank you BOTD 12/12/14, Teal'c-Thank you for BOTD 10-14-14 Justice for Ozz, Elvis Thank you for BOTD 2/22/15, Joshua Chico Justice for Ozzi, Blue-Justice for Ozzi-TY 4 BOTD 9/7/14, Moggie -Justice for Ozzi TY 4 BOTD 7/11/15, George (Gen George Hammond)RIP Gen 12/13/08, Cu-Bird -Justice for Ozzi, Nanday Security Services, LLC, Miranda -Justice for Ozzi-ty 4 botd 5/13/15, Captain Darling-RIP 5/19/2014 ty 4 BOTD 9/19/14 & Baldrick Thank you for BOTD 3/20/14.
Ronnie Lee, Charlotte, NC.
Come visit me, ANGEL LOVES CORI & PEPPER LOVES ZIPPY.
Come visit me, 10K Hall of Fame, BOTD ARCHIVES, Sugar Pop!!! & The Calendar Page~For August we have Apricots.
Come visit me, Baby/Vote10K /Chip257319/BCWarrio- rs263181 & Oki,/Vote BOTM Cydney11365/Mourning Gizmo.
Come visit me, Remington, Athena ~ Thank you all for Bird of the Day Honors! & Mackenzie - Thank you for BOTD!.
Come visit me, Silver Sluggers Page Where Greyt Things Happen & Sam & Miranda on a Picnic.
Come visit me, Paddy Cake & Piddy Girl, CORI vote Cydney BOTM 11356 & BOO BOO vote Cydney BOTM 11356.
Come visit me, Raffi says vote for Cydney #11356 BOTM.
Come visit me, Gizmo and Divo, mom loves you both, Willie, Peppino & Falco.
Come visit me, PARKER, SILVER, APACHE MARRIED HIS LOVE SNOWFLAKE ON 09/20/14, OZ (MY MOMMY'S DREAM BIRD) & CHEYENNE MARRIED HER JEDI ON 09/20/14.
Come visit me, Molly-Palmer MA Summer fun..
Come visit me, tucker, blue berry, tater, murdock. im in the front!, snowman, bandit, Blue, Jasper & baby.
Come visit me, Cookie enjoying summer, BC Library Now Open & Fly with the angels my Sally.
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Come visit me, PeeWee & Cheeky.
Joan, Franklin Square, NY.
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As one Liverpool player reached an unforgettable milestone for England on Wednesday night, another took his first steps in what he hopes will be a long and successful international career.
All the attention was rightly on Steven Gerrard as he made his 100th appearance for the Three Lions, but it was also a big night for Raheem Sterling as he was handed a debut by Roy Hodgson in the 4-2 defeat by Sweden.
Sterling, who became Liverpool's youngest ever England player, stayed on the field for 84 minutes and showed some impressive touches while Gerrard and Glen Johnson enjoyed a 74-minute run-out.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic fired Sweden in front but England came back to lead 2-1 just before half-time.
Sterling played a part in the equaliser when his brilliant pass found Ashley Young, who crossed for Manchester United teammate Danny Welbeck to score.
Gerrard then provided the assist with a superb free-kick delivery which found Tottenham Hotspur's Steven Caulker, who converted to take the score to 2-1.
Ibrahimovic was to have the final word though as he pounced for 2-2 before firing a free-kick past Joe Hart for his hat-trick to make it 3-2.
In stoppage time Ibrahimovic then produced a moment of pure magic with a stunning overhead kick from well outside the area to make the final score 4-2.
Reflecting on winning his 100th cap, Gerrard said: "This was a special night for me and I'm going to give the shirt to my dad. He has supported me all the way through and it will be a nice present for him.
"Ibrahimovic's performance was world class and full credit to him. He scored one of the best goals I've ever seen live so it was his night.
"There were a lot of positives from our point of view as there were a lot of young boys out there making their debut."
Meanwhile, Luis Suarez was on the mark as Uruguay won 3-1 in Poland. Liverpool's No.7 played for 86 minutes.
Nuri Sahin also played for 86 minutes as Turkey came from behind to draw 1-1 with Denmark. Daniel Agger was rested and wasn't included in the Denmark squad.
Please take 30 seconds to sign an e-petition and help a dying mother gain justice for her son after 23 years>>
Tagged: england , gerrard , internationals , raheem sterling , sterling , steven gerrard
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3-Day Cappadocia Tour from Kayseri with Optional Balloon Ride
- Location: Cappadocia, Turkey
- Duration: 3 days (approx.)
- 3-day Cappadocia trip from Kayseri with an expert local guide
- Visit Monk's Valley and Göreme Open-Air Museum
- Upgrade to include a Cappadocia hot air balloon ride!
- Trek through Rose Valley, explore the village of Çavuşin and then visit Kaymakli Underground City
- Pose for pictures against the surreal backdrop of Ortahisar Castle
- 4-star cave-hotel accommodation in Cappadocia plus a round-trip airport transfer from Kayseri Airport included
What You Can Expect
Start your 3-day tour with an airport transfer from Kayseri Airport to your Cappadocia hotel. Alternatively, if you are already in the greater Cappadocia area, you can opt for a hotel-to-hotel transfer for a hassle-free start to your tour. Once you've checked in, head out by minibus for a tour of the incredible Dervent Valley area. Admire the landscape and stop in Pasabag (Monk's Valley) to walk through the area's cone-like rocks where monks and hermits once lived in isolated seclusion.
Continue by minibus to the pottery town of Avanos, and after a break for lunch, travel to Pigeon Valley. See its famous bird-nesting caves and then head to Göreme Open-Air Museum. Exemplified by dusty-looking beige buildings and fairy chimneys, this open-air museum comprises a cluster of rocky monuments that attest to Byzantine life in Cappadocia.
Overnight: 4-Star Alfina Cave or Dilek Kaya Cave Hotel
Day 2: Cappadocia (B, D)
Upgrade to start your day in style with a hot air balloon ride over Cappadocia! It's an early start from your hotel, but once at the hot air balloon office, a buffet breakfast awaits. Tuck in and then take to the skies on a 1-hour flight! Cappadocia's volcanic origins have left some truly captivating sights, with fairy chimneys punctuating the rocky landscape that you'll see below you. Finish with a glass of Champagne and then return to your hotel.
If you choose not to take the balloon ride, then spend the early morning at leisure. Both groups meet up in the late morning for your hike through Rose Valley – a beautiful stretch of land that takes its name from the red-hued rock that abounds throughout it. Straddling the villages of Göreme and Çavuşin, the valley is peppered with rock-carved churches and tunnels, and your guide will point out the best ones on your hike. Finish up in Çavuşin, and after visiting its cave mosque, enjoy some free time for lunch (own expense).
Hop aboard your minibus and continue your day's tour to Kaymakli Underground City, one of Cappadocia's best-preserved subterranean sites. Explore its maze of passages, seeing underground stable and cellars while learning about the early Christians who once hid here to escape persecution. Return to your coach and travel to Ortahisar for a stroll, admiring its stone houses that surround its crowing rocky glory -- Ortahisar Castle. Stop for photos by this unique fortress and then continue by minibus through Pigeon Valley. If time permits then stop at a wine cellar for a wine-tasting session, and then return to your hotel in time for dinner.
Overnight: 4-Star Alfina Cave or Dilek Kaya Cave Hotel
Day 3: Cappadocia – Kayseri (B)
Check out of your hotel after breakfast and then finish your 3-day tour with a transfer to Kayseri Airport or another Cappadocia hotel.