text:
MasterCard Pins ATM Fraud on Owners
Thousands of ATM owners, from megabanks to mom-and-pop operators, could be on the hook for millions in fraud losses if they miss a deadline this month to upgrade their machines.
The shift will come if the owners fail to meet an April 19 deadline set by MasterCard Inc. MA 0.12% for ATMs to authenticate debit-card transactions using computer chips rather than magnetic stripes.
"Virtually no one is going to be ready," says David Tente, executive director in the U.S. for the ATM Industry Association. The trade group has asked MasterCard Inc. to delay the target date, but the Purchase, N.Y.-based company so far hasn't changed it.
The April 19 deadline applies only to MasterCard-branded debit cards that are issued by overseas banks and used at U.S. ATMs. That is roughly 1% of all U.S. ATM transactions, or roughly 60 million swipes a year.
If the ATMs aren't upgraded, the owners will be financially responsible for fraudulent transactions linked to those cards. While withdrawals are typically limited to less than $1,000, the losses could mount quickly; one sizable fraud could wipe out the annual profits for a machine, according to industry experts.
Counterfeit cards used at ATMs racked up an estimated $426 million in fraud last year, according to Brian Riley, senior research director at CEB TowerGroup, a consulting firm. Last month, police in New York arrested four men on charges of stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars by using counterfeit debit cards at local ATMs.
Under current rules, the banks that issue the debit cards to consumers—and not the ATM owners—are responsible for losses tied to fraud.
MasterCard and Visa Inc., which run the networks that process electronic payments, are pressuring banks, merchants and ATM operators to get chip-based cards into American hands.
The cards are widely used around the world because they are considered more secure, but U.S. banks have been reluctant to issue them because they are more expensive to manufacture than traditional cards.
One part of the campaign is a series of rolling deadlines, which extend through 2017, to further encourage the use of chip-based cards. Merchants will eventually also have to upgrade their devices, and banks will have to issue the chip-based cards.
Tourists to the U.S. and other cardholders who carry such plastic will still be able to withdraw cash from U.S. ATMs. Consumers are unlikely to see higher costs in the near future, but ATM owners may choose to remove their machines from fraud-prone areas such as tourist destinations and border towns, said Sam Ditzion, chief executive of Tremont Capital Group, a Boston-based firm that tracks the industry.
A Tremont analysis estimates that it will cost ATM owners more than $860 million to upgrade their machines for the chip cards. The chip card "ultimately makes sense for the United States, but rushing its implementation would be a mistake," Mr. Ditzion said.
The April 19 deadline hasn't been a priority for Wells Fargo & Co., which instead is focused on other types of fraud prevention, says Alicia Moore, who runs the San Francisco-based bank's ATM business. Wells Fargo operates more than 12,000 ATMs. "We want to be compliant when it makes sense," she said.
MasterCard disputes the trade group's contention that hardly any ATM operators will meet the deadline.
MasterCard is "extremely pleased at the commitment and the priority" of ATM operators, said Leland Englebardt, who oversees MasterCard's ATM business. He said that company is seeing "excellent progress" among ATM operators, noting that an operator who chooses not to make the switch is "making its own decision" to accept liability.
MasterCard has set a more aggressive deadline for ATM transactions than Visa, which doesn't impose the liability shift until 2017.
MasterCard's first big deadline comes at a time when ATM fraud is a rising concern, particularly a process known as card skimming.
In skimming, information is stolen from a card's magnetic stripe and then used to make a counterfeit card. Thieves can then take that card and withdraw cash.
The debate over chip-enabled cards has been a chicken-and-egg issue in the U.S. for years. Many merchants say they don't want to invest in new technology to support the more secure payments if banks won't issue the cards.
The banks, meanwhile, haven't converted their card portfolios because they say that other technology, such as mobile-device payments, may leapfrog the need for the chip-enabled plastic.
Vance Rowland, president of AOneATM, says few of his company's 3,000 ATMs will meet the deadline because there is still uncertainty about some of the software that is required to accept the chip-based transactions.
"There are a few pieces of the puzzle that just aren't ready yet," he said, adding that he isn't overly concerned about the liability shift because most of the company's machines, which are primarily in the Southeast, aren't located in fraud-prone areas.
Write to Robin Sidel at firstname.lastname@example.com


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From Indonesia to California – Protecting Pacific Leatherback Turtles
October 13, 2013 by Alessandra Bergamin
Did you know the Pacific leatherback turtle is California's official marine reptile? Nesting in Indonesia then migrating to Californian waters to feast on jellyfish, this elusive species is a truly global traveler. But with threats both in the Pacific and on their nesting beaches, the leatherback turtle may not be around for that much longer.

subset: commoncrawl


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Kentucky's Finest: Bourbon
Small-Batch and Single-Barrel Bourbons Revive the Good Old Days of Whiskey
(continued from page 2)
Noe, a giant of a man with a slow, deliberate down-home style, takes a large mallet in one beefy hand and rests the other against the side of the nearest barrel. With three sharp whacks on the barrel's staves, Noe skillfully removes the two-inch-thick softwood plug, called a bung, that protrudes from the barrel. With a pop, the bung almost flies out. "There's pressure builds up in a whiskey barrel this time of year," explains Noe, who is a retired master distiller and a self-appointed "ambassador of Bourbon." "In winter, it's just the opposite, and you've got to get hold of the damn thing with something and give it a good pull."
Using a copper siphon, Noe draws a glassful of dark-amber liquid from the barrel. He holds it up in the dim light to check the color, sniffs at it twice and reverentially offers it. "Here, take a good snort of this. It's just what Bourbon was meant to be, the way our forefathers drank it. I kept telling the marketing boys that we ought to be putting this in bottles, and they finally listened to me." The Bourbon has a rich bouquet of smoky spice and the full sweet flavor of burnt caramel and oaky vanilla.
"That's Booker's," says Noe, referring to the label under which this particular whiskey will be bottled. "It goes into the bottle just as it comes out of the barrel, at about 125 proof, not cut or filtered. It's a sipping whiskey, just right for the back porch in the late afternoon."
Later, during that same warm day, Bill Samuels, a lanky talkative Kentuckian with a maverick's reputation in Bourbon circles, tours his Maker's Mark distillery. Nestled in a quiet hollow at the corners of Marion, Nelson, and Washington counties, Maker's Mark retains much of the charm of the old Burke's distillery, which Samuels's father, William Samuels Sr., bought in 1953 for $67,000. The purchase price included the 200-acre Spring Hill Farm, a farmhouse, and a cluster of aging buildings, some dating back to the early 1800s. Most distilleries have an industrial air about them, with 1930s-style, vertical metal architecture and paved parking lots, but not Maker's Mark. With its meticulously restored buildings and tastefully landscaped grounds, the look is distinctly nineteenth century. And the pace is geared to match: Maker's Mark limits production to 40 barrels a day--tiny compared to the industry average of nearly 600 barrels.
"Our philosophy has always been that rather than make a lot and pick out that which is really good from the bunch, we prefer to make a little bit and have it all come out right," says Samuels.
After the tour, Samuels arranges for a comparative tasting of premium Bourbons in the distillery's small conference room decorated with family memorabilia: the revolver of outlaw Frank James, a distant cousin by marriage; a photograph of great-great-grandfather T.W. Samuels, founder of the defunct T.W. Samuels distillery, just up the road in Deatsville; a letter from Ronald Reagan thanking Samuels for a bottle of Maker's Mark delivered to the president's hotel room on the eve of a debate with Walter Mondale in Louisville during the 1984 presidential campaign. ("Reagan was just awful against Mondale in that debate," jokes Samuels, a lifelong Republican. "I'm sure that bottle of Maker's had something to do with it.")
Lined up along a tasting counter are 14 Bourbons. Mostly single-barrel or small-batch, they include some of the finest premium Bourbon whiskeys available: Hancock's Reserve, Rock Hill Farms, Blanton's and Ancient Age 10 Year Old from Ancient Age; Elijah Craig and Evan Williams from Heaven Hill; Wild Turkey Rare Breed from Wild Turkey; Baker's 107, Knob Creek, Basil Hayden's and Booker's from Jim Beam; Old Forester from Brown-Forman; and Maker's Mark standard six-year-old and an experimental eight-year-old.
J. Bennie Miles, assistant vice-president for production at Maker's Mark, supervises tasting of the distillery's Bourbons throughout the aging process. A polite, soft-spoken native of nearby Bardstown, Kentucky, Miles has been at Maker's Mark for 27 years. "The best way to taste a bunch of Bourbons," explains Miles, "is to cut them all down to the same proof. Otherwise, you'll find that the higher proofs will be too hot compared to the lower ones, and your taste buds will get burned."
Miles picks up a glass of Hancock's Reserve and offers it along with some tasting instructions. "What you're looking for is any overaging, which gives it a bitter tannic taste; underaging, which leaves it grainy and sweet, and balance, which means the charcoal, alcohol and wood are all more or less right. Just take a little sip and let it hit the front of your lips, then back it around the tip of your tongue, roll it a little and spit it out."
Like most Kentuckians, Miles hesitates to criticize his neighbors. But he has definite preferences when searching for good Bourbon. Says Miles, "It should be clean, with a slight flavor of caramel, vanilla and charcoal, and a very light taste of wood."
Straight Kentucky Bourbon is to blended whiskey what a demarcated wine is to ordinary table wine. It takes its name from Bourbon county, Kentucky, once the major transshipment site for distilled spirits heading down the Ohio and Mississippi rivers to New Orleans. Barrels shipped from its ports were stamped with the county's name, and Bourbon and whiskey soon became synonymous. Today, 90 percent of all Bourbon is made in Kentucky, most of it in Jefferson, Franklin, Nelson, and Anderson counties, the heart of Bluegrass Country.
As with French-appellation wines, there are strict laws governing just what a Bourbon must be to be labeled as such. For example, at least 51 percent of the grain used in making the whiskey must be corn (most distillers use 65 to 75 percent corn). Bourbon must be aged for a minimum of two years in new, white oak barrels that have been charred. Nothing can be added at bottling to enhance flavor, add sweetness or alter color. Though technically Bourbon can be made anywhere, Kentucky is the only state allowed to put its name on the bottle. And as Kentucky distillers are quick to point out, Bourbon is not Bourbon unless the label says so.
Therefore, some very fine American whiskeys aren't called Kentucky Bourbon. Many look the same, and some even taste very similar, depending on their production style. Jack Daniels, a Tennessee sour mash whiskey, however, is charcoal-filtered, which many experts say gives it a different character. But up to and after the charcoal filtering, the Jack Daniels's production is much the same as any other Bourbon. Gentleman Jack, a superpremium entry into the whiskey field, also doesn't carry a Kentucky Bourbon designation. George Dickel is another highly rated Tennessee whiskey.
If Bourbon is the appellation wine of American whiskeys, then single-barrel and small-batch Bourbons are the grand crus of Bourbons. These superpremium, high-cost spirits should not be confused with single-malt Scotch, which simply denotes a Scotch from a single distillery that has not been blended with neutral spirits or whiskeys from other distilleries. Since no Bourbon is blended, it would all qualify under Scottish law as single malt.
As the name implies, a single-barrel Bourbon, of which there are precious few, is a whiskey actually taken and bottled from one barrel. Small-batch Bourbons are whiskeys from a "batch" of barrels that have been mixed or mingled, as the distillers say, prior to bottling. For a common brand, the mingling batch could be as many as 200 barrels or more. In contrast, a mingle for a small batch might be 20 barrels or fewer.
"What you want to do with a small batch," says Jimmy Russell, master distiller at Wild Turkey and a 40-year veteran of Bourbon-making, "is take your very best barrels, the cream of the crop, and mingle them to match the standard you're trying to achieve. It takes a lot of time and patience to produce a good Bourbon."
On a tour of the Wild Turkey distillery in Lawrenceburg, Russell carefully explains the various Bourbon-making steps: "All Bourbon whiskey, I don't care if it's single-barrel, small-batch, or whatever, is distilled from a fermented mash of corn, barley and one other grain, usually rye. Your fermentation will take three to four days, depending on the temperature you keep the mash at. Here at Wild Turkey, we still use the old-fashioned, cypress fermenting tanks for most of our production; some are more than 100 years old. I guess you'd say we're kind of traditional in our approach.
"Once it's been fermented, it's ready to be distilled," continues Russell. "We use a double-distilling process in our whiskey-making, which is pretty much the industry standard now. The first time through the still, your whiskey is a little raw and harsh tasting. The second time through, it comes out more refined, with a taste of grain and sweetness, but clean on your palate. After that second distilling, you're ready to barrel. The whole process, from grinding the grains to barreling, takes about five days."
It is the variations in each step of the production process, handed down from master distiller to apprentice--often for generations--that give the different Bourbons their distinct flavors. Take the grain mix, for instance. One distiller uses 80 percent corn and 10 percent each of rye and barley malt, while another cuts the corn to 78 percent, increases the barley malt to 12 percent, and uses 10 percent rye. At Maker's Mark, the only distillery in Kentucky to vary from the traditional formula, wheat replaces rye altogether in the grain recipe.
"It was Dad's idea," explains Samuels. "He had a certain taste in mind from day one. So he fiddled around in the kitchen making bread to test the grain recipe until he got what he was looking for. He must have baked hundreds of loaves; we all thought he was crazy. But he finally found what he wanted, which meant taking out the rye and adding wheat to the mash."
The yeast culture used in the fermentation process is another important variable. Distillers are protective of their yeast; many use strains dating back a century or more that have been carefully nurtured. The Maker's Mark culture dates back to the original T.W. Samuels distillery founded in 1842. "We kept it in storage at a local bakery during the 13 years of Prohibition," says Samuels. At Brown-Forman's Early Times distillery, where two yeast cultures are used, one for Early Times and the other for Old Forester, the cultures "probably date back to some of the original strains," says Quality Control Specialist Brian M. Gregory. Adds Noe, "I keep my yeast formula under lock and key."
Asked whether there are any other elements that make Kentucky Bourbon different or better than other kinds of whiskeys, Noe doesn't hesitate. "The water," he says. "We've got limestone water here, and it's pretty much iron-free. That's why our horses are special, too. The limestone gets right up into their bones and makes good runners out of 'em."
The warehouses, however, serve as the final stage where the most distinctive characteristics are added to the whiskey. Bourbon takes its color and much of its flavor from the oak barrels in which it is aged. The process of charring barrels originated with Elijah Craig, an eighteenth-century minister and distiller from Georgetown, Kentucky. Craig "discovered" charring when several barrels he was preparing for transportion to market caught fire. The fire may have been set on purpose, in which case it is likely that Craig was trying to find a way to recycle barrels that had been used to ship dried fish. If the conflagration was an accident, it was probably caused by a fire in Craig's own cooperage.
"Either way," says Samuels, "being a good Scotsman, he didn't want to throw any barrels away. So he filled them with white lightning, and by the time he got it all downriver to market in New Orleans, with all the sloshing and such, the whiskey had this nice amber color and it had started to round out and soften a bit. And the people loved it."
Today, Bourbon barrels are charred to different degrees, ranked from one to four, depending on the depth of the bum. Single-barrel and small-batch Bourbons are usually aged in a three or four char barrel (moderate to heavy). The charring not only darkens the wood but also caramelizes some of the natural sugars in the oak.
During the aging process, the whiskey is said to "breathe" in the barrel, expanding into the wood over the hotter months and contracting out of it in the winter. Since color and flavor are transferred to the Bourbon while it is in the wood, summer is the most important time in the warehouse. Distillers often refer to it as the "aging" season. Naturally, the longer a Bourbon is aged, the more flavor it takes from the wood.
Gary Gayheart, master distiller at Ancient Age in Frankfort, explains it this way: "The barrels are totally filled with water-white whiskey when they come off the line, and after two years, you develop some color and you lose some volume [to evaporation]; six years, you've got a lot more color and you've lost about a third in volume. After ten years, you're getting really dark color, and about half the volume is gone."
"Down here," adds Russell, "we call the third you loose to evaporation 'the angels' third.' The old-timers say if the angels didn't take their share, the whiskey wouldn't be worth drinking."
A Bourbon-aging warehouse is a large rectangular structure, eight or more stories high, built of traditional post-and-beam construction, sided and roofed with tin, with a neat row of small windows along each story. Inside, each floor is divided into three tiers of ricks, with each rick holding a row of barrels, extending broadside from a narrow passage down the center of the building.
Most distilleries prefer to build their warehouses on hilltops, so they are fully exposed to seasonal changes. With their massive size and stark lines, they can dominate the landscape for miles. "Folks around here say the whiskey is going to prison when we put it up to age," says Russell, standing before one of Wild Turkey's 23 Bourbon warehouses.
Single-barrel and small-batch Bourbons are aged for at least six years, some for as long as 12. Few spend longer than that in the barrel, because the oak will eventually overpower all other flavors. Heaven Hill in Bardstown does bottle a very rare edition Evan Williams 23-Year-Old, the entire production of which is sold in Japan. (No, you can't even get a taste, let alone a bottle, in the United States, mostly because quantities are extremely limited, and the Japanese are willing to spend close to $200 per bottle.)
"Buildings age whiskey in different ways," says Noe, "depending on their size, whether or not they've got side aisles [alternating air currents throughout the building], how tall they are, and what not. And the liquor will age differently in different parts of a warehouse. On the very top, it's hot and dry; on the very bottom, it's cool and damp. That's why you get better aging and the best whiskey in the center. It's not exposed to those extremes."
Traditionally, distilleries rotated barrels during aging, so that each spent a given time at the various temperature and humidity levels in the warehouse. But the practice has been largely abandoned due to the cost of maintaining the unused space needed for movement and the amount of labor involved. Only two, Maker's Mark and Wild Turkey, still rotate all their barrels, allowing for a more even aging process.
"All our new whiskey enters at the top and then is rotated down, depending on how it's aging and how the whiskey in the rest of the warehouse is aging," explains Samuels. "It represents a big cost, but it's the only way we can figure to get the quality we want out of all our product."
If there is one thing that seems to characterize all Bourbon makers, it is dedication to their craft. It takes decades to learn the fine art of distilling, and as a result, master distillers are a rare breed, men who have patiently learned their trade through long apprenticeships. Gayheart, for example, worked for more than 20 years under Ancient Age's master distiller emeritus Elmer T. Lee, who in turn learned the craft from his predecessor, Colonel Albert B. Blanton, who managed the distillery from 1912 to 1952. At Heaven Hill, master distiller Parker Beam took over from his father, Earl Beam, whose brother, Carl Beam, was master distiller at Jim Beam distillery for many years. Parker Beam is now training his son, Craig Beam, to take over at Heaven Hill.
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Pacers Starting 5 and Frank Vogel on SportsCenter Convo
Awesome interview.. awesome...
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Pacers Starting 5 and Frank Vogel on SportsCenter Convo
Awesome interview.. awesome...
"They want to be famous. We want to be champions. They want to be rappers and backup dancers. We want to play football." - T.J. Ward, Denver Broncos
Great interview. George Hill got kind of snubbed though.
Counting down the days untill DJ Augustin's contract expires.
Would love to see the full interview. Thanks for sharing.
Championship or bust. Wow thats dope
Impossible Is Nothing
Beautiful.. I love our team.
Sent from my LG-D802 using Tapatalk
Updated with the video....Not the best quality, but this is the rip from SportsCenter...
Last edited by ejwallace; 11-20-2013 at 12:08 PM. Reason: Added video
When I watched the interview I was honestly waiting for Stephen A. Smith to ask George Hill this type of question:
"So Hill, a lot of people think the Pacers need a pure point to win the championship. What do you have to say about that?"
Why you Grimpin?
It was reported yesterday that the interview lasted about 45mins, so I'd think that it's much more ESPN and their editing than it was SAS actively ignoring GH. Now I need to go take a shower after defending SAS.
Just because you're offended, doesn't mean you're right. ― Ricky Gervais.
It's playing on Sportscenter all morning... supposedly they first wanted to talk to Bird, he said to talk to the team instead... they reached out to PG, and he said I'll talk to you, but it needs to be with the rest of the starting five...
These guys are quickly becoming masters of the PR game...
Sent from my LG-D802 using Tapatalk
Say what you want about SAS, but he's been giving the Pacers props for a while now. Of course, what can he say after the Pacers demolished his Knicks?
Even when he gives the Pacers credit, I re-think my position just to make sure I'm not going crazy and it's just a case of a broken clock getting one right.
Just because you're offended, doesn't mean you're right. ― Ricky Gervais.
HOWEVA, I can't remember him ever shying away from recognizing good teams that weren't big market. Why he's a talking head I have no idea, but he's always given credit where it's due for the most part.
Screamin' A just jumps on the bandwagon du jour. Whenever the Pacers take a dip in the season, he'll be back to ignoring them or ragging on them.
He does what ESPN asks him to do. Be loud, obnoxious and get people talking about him (and ESPN in general). Media puppet.
SAS is huge on Andrew Luck too.
They should've had Danny sitting in one of the seats in the background waving an I'LL BE BACK! sign. Seriously, I don't want to make this another Danny thread, but it's a bummer he doesn't even get mentioned in stuff like this anymore.
Or Copeland shooting 3's in the background
Lol to ESPN. What's the point of having the starting 5, and only interviewing 4? What clowns...
Being unable to close out a game in which you have a comfortable lead in the 4th Q = Pulling a Frank Vogel
It's because he isn't a part of the on the court success. He didn't play during the playoffs last season and had less of an impact than Ben Hansbrough. When he finally returns, they'll mention him a lot.
He's annoying, but Stephen A has been talking about the Pacers for a while.
It's not about what SAS is "big on" or personally thinks at all, folks. First Take is a produced show. Producers give Skip Bayless one take, SAS another, allow a little improv, and let them have at it.
First Take isn't opinion or analysis. It's a sports entertainment show. In the same way Jerry Springer is scripted/produced.
Stephen A has gotten less obnoxious over time. When he first hit the scene he was outrageously obnoxious and loud. He's also been on the Pacers bandwagon for awhile now, before a lot of the media pundits followed suit. I think he generally has a good bead on the NBA, his presentation hasn't always been palatable, but he's gettin' better. I generally agree with a lot of his thoughts. I also appreciate that he goes against Skip, who in my opinion is literally a blithering idiot.
There are two types of quarterbacks in the league: Those whom over time, the league figures out ... and those who figure out the league.
Stephen A, as a basketball analyst, well is someone I can't rely on for even 50% of the time. While he's been somewhat high on the Pacers last playoffs and this season, he still leans more towards teams with the "Hollywood" vibe.
But as an interviewer, I think Stephen A really delivers. So I think the SC convo of the Pacers is pretty well made. Good job, SAS!
I just hoped Larry did oblige just to have some feel of the Legend once in a while.
Skip has one purpose in life, to be controversial. He doesn't care if he is right or wrong as long as it is controversial, same with a few other ESPN personalities. I am pretty sure ESPN targets them on purpose cause they get people to watch their shows.
Just because you're offended, doesn't mean you're right. ― Ricky Gervais.


text:
Home > Regulation
& Examinations >
Bank Examinations >Trust Examination Manual
Trust Examination Manual
Field Assistance Bulletin 2002-2
November 4, 2002
Memorandum for: Virginia C. Smith
From: Robert J. Doyle
Subject: Plan Amendments Made by Multiemployer Plan Trustees
Were the trustees of two related multiemployer plans subject to ERISA's fiduciary standards when they amended the plans' trust agreement?
Employer Association X and Labor Union Y established a defined benefit plan (DB plan) in 1955 and, in 1987, a defined contribution plan (DC Plan). Employer contributions to Fund Z fund both plans. Although some DC Plan participants also participate in the DB plan, most do not. In 1989, the DB plan was frozen. No new employees became participants of the DB plan and the existing participants accrued no further benefits. At that time, the trustees believed that the DB plan needed no further contributions. All future contributions were allocated to the DC Plan.
By 1999, the DB plan's funding situation had apparently changed. That year, Employer Association X and Labor Union Y amended the trust agreement to allocate employer contributions to the DB plan in an amount equivalent to the forfeitures in the DC Plan. The collective bargaining agreement under which the plans are maintained only sets a formula for employer contributions to Fund Z; the trust agreement specifies the allocation of contributions among the plans. The trust agreement provides that either Employer Association X and Labor Union Y, or Fund Z's board of trustees may make amendments.
The 1999 reallocation did not prove sufficient to make the DB Plan solvent. In 2002, the trustees voted to amend the trust agreement, this time diverting an additional 20% of the employer contributions to the DB plan. The amendment resolution states that the trustees were acting "in their Settlor capacity."
Section 3(21) of ERISA defines a fiduciary as one who has or exercises discretionary authority or control in the administration or management of an employee benefit plan or its assets. Part 4 of Title I of ERISA establishes the standards pursuant to which any fiduciary is to act, including the duty to act solely in the interests of the participants and beneficiaries of the plan, to be prudent in carrying out her responsibilities, and to avoid engaging in prohibited transactions. Section 3(16) of ERISA, in relevant part, defines the term "plan sponsor" of a plan established or maintained jointly by one or more employers and one or more employee organizations, as the joint board trustees who establish or maintain the plan.
In analyzing the extent to which assets of an employee benefit plan may properly be applied toward the payment of certain expenses, the Department has distinguished between activities that are "settlor" in nature (i.e., activities that relate to the establishment, design, and termination of plans) and activities that are fiduciary in nature (i.e., activities involving management of the plan). As indicated in various pronouncements, expenses incurred in connection with the performance of settlor functions would not be reasonable plan expenses as they would be incurred for the benefit of the employer and would involve services for which an employer could reasonably be expected to bear the cost in the normal course of its business or operations.(1) In applying these distinctions, the Department has generally recognized that certain activities that would be settlor activities in the context of a single employer plan might be fiduciary activities in the context of a multiemployer plan.(2) This view was consistent with earlier case law, such as NLRB v. Amax Coal Co., 453 U.S. 322 (1981) which held that employer appointed trustees of a multiemployer plan do not represent the interests of the contributing employers, but act as fiduciaries of the plan. 453 U.S. at 331-334. More recent Supreme Court pronouncements on settlor functions, however, have led several courts to conclude that multiemployer plan trustees may act in a settlor capacity without regard to ERISA's fiduciary standards.(3)
For example, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, in Walling v. Brady(4) and the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, in Gard v. Blankenburg,(5) have taken the position that boards of trustees may act as settlors when they amend plans, and that such amendments are not subject to ERISA's fiduciary responsibility provisions. As the Third Circuit noted in the Walling case, the Supreme Court, in both Lockheed Corp. v. Spink and Wright Corp. v. Schoonejongen,(6) recognized that the use of the term "plan sponsor" is significant. Under ERISA section 3(16), the sponsor of a multiemployer plan is the joint board of trustees that is directed, pursuant to a collective bargaining agreement, to establish one or more employee benefit plans. While the Walling court noted that, notwithstanding Lockheed, there may be situations in which single employer and multiemployer plans should be treated differently, they opined that under the facts of that case, involving the amendment of a multiemployer plan, ERISA's fiduciary rules did not apply.
The facts in Walling are very similar to those in the present case. In Walling, the board of trustees of a multiemployer defined benefit pension plan and group health plan amended the health plan (pursuant to authority granted under the collective bargaining agreement and the plan document) to require that participants pay $100 per month in order to receive benefits and amended the pension plan (also pursuant to authority granted under the collective bargaining agreement and the plan document) to provide an additional $100 benefit to those participants who were also participants in the health plan. The court in Walling, in concluding that the trustees' amendment of the pension plan fell outside of the scope of ERISA's fiduciary responsibility provisions, noted that imposing fiduciary duties on a sponsor's decision to amend a plan, whether the employer in the case of a single-employer plan, or the trustees in the case of a multiemployer plan, would divide the sponsor's loyalties and make amendment of a plan impossible.
In Advisory Opinion 80-8A,(7) we considered the issue of whether trustees who allocate employer contributions to related multiemployer plans established and maintained under the same collective bargaining agreements engage in a fiduciary act in making such allocations. In that opinion, we concluded that where allocations are made pursuant to a fixed formula established in the collective bargaining agreement, which formula is binding on the trustees, the trustees are not, solely by reason of such allocation, engaged in an act described in section 406(b)(2). However, the opinion noted that if the trustees exercise discretion in determining how to allocate employer contributions among the related plans, the trustees were engaging in a transaction involving the plans to which contributions were allocated, or withheld, and that such transactions could violate section 406(b)(2) since the plans may have competing interests as to the fixed pool of money. We note, however, that the opinion expressly reserved the question of whether the trustees would be engaged in a fiduciary violation where the collective bargaining agreement gives the trustees the authority to make prospective changes in the formula under which contributions are allocated among related plans.
In the case at hand, the collective bargaining agreements vested broad authority in the trustees to act establish the Fund, as well as the DB Plan and the DC Plan. The trustees also had the authority to amend the Fund and the plans. Pursuant to this authority, the trustees have amended the trust agreement and the plans to provide for the allocation of a portion of the employer contributions to the DB Plan, based on a fixed formula contained in the trust agreement. Once the amendment was properly adopted, the formula became binding on the trustees.
In our view, where relevant documents (e.g., collective bargaining agreements, trust documents, and plan documents) contemplate that the board of trustees of a multi-employer plan will act as fiduciaries in carrying out activities which would otherwise be settlor in nature, such activities would be governed by the fiduciary provisions of ERISA. In our view, such designation by the plan would result in the board of trustees exercising discretion as fiduciaries in the management or administration of a plan or its assets when undertaking the activities. However, where, as here, the relevant plan documents are silent, then the activities of the board of trustees which are settlor in nature generally will be viewed as carried out by the board of trustees in a settlor capacity, and such activities would not be fiduciary activities subject to Title I of ERISA. Accordingly, it is the view of this Office that the Trustees of the Fund did not violate their fiduciary duties under ERISA in amending the Fund, the DB Plan, and the DC Plan to provide for an allocation of employer contributions to the DB Plan.
It is also the view of this Office that, consistent with the plan expense guidance discussed above, it would not be appropriate for a multiemployer plan to pay for expenses attendant to activities that a multiemployer plan trustee carries out in a settlor capacity.
Any questions concerning this matter may be directed to Louis Campagna or David Lurie, Division of Fiduciary Interpretations at 202.693.8510.
February 1, 1980


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New construction townhomes. June 2017 availability. Each unit will have approximately 2,300 square feet. First level consists of an alcove, finished recreation room with powder room and sliding doors to patio. Second level has a tastefully decorated kitchen with an island, granite counter tops and GE appliances, dining area and a large living room with 9' ceilings and fireplace. Third level has two full baths with three bedrooms and laundry area. Lots of closet space for storage. It is located within walking distance to the Septa rail line, close to all major highways, shopping and 30 minutes to Center City.
Listing Area: Upper Merion Twp (10658)
The data relating to real estate for sale on this website appears in part through the TREND Internet Data Exchange program, a voluntary cooperative exchange of property listing data between licensed real estate brokerage firms in which Callaway Henderson Sotheby's International Realty participates, and is provided by TREND through a licensing agreement and identified with the TREND IDX Logo. Some properties which appear for sale on this website may no longer be available because they are under contract, have sold or are no longer being offered for sale. Some real estate firms do not participate in IDX and their listings do not appear on this website.Some properties listed with participating firms do not appear on this website at the request of the seller.
2017 TREND, All Rights Reserved. Information Deemed Reliable But Not Guaranteed.


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What about guys who pull a J.T. Rosenthal and actually covers up your disc with leaves to make it harder to find, then acts like it's a big joke and can't figure out why everybody is so mad?curt wrote:Every time a crazy example to play DA is thrown out there it always boils down to interpreting the rules, evaluating the situation and using good judgment.
I have to say, that despite how angry I would be at someone I suspected of lying about finding my disc, I would have a hard time justifying a DQ in that situation. I believe the rules lean toward a generally assumption towards innocence. Considering the difficulty of actually proving someone saw the disc, but said they had not, I would find it difficult to bring the charge up officially. This is especially true when I consider how angry I would be if I were DQ'ed from a tournament for that reason and had legitimately not seen the disc. (I would probably never go to another one of that TD's tournaments).
*Note: I am also working under the assumption that the disc isn't laying out in the open and is in an area that is at least mildly difficult to search. Otherwise, I don't believe this situation would come up.


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Saving the Earth through Photography
John Novis, the head of photography for Greenpeace International, joined Greenpeace in 1989 after a successful photography career which began in the 1960s. He has travelled the world documenting environmental issues and now directs photo operations for Greenpeace campaigns. He also organises photo master classes for the World Press Photo Foundation and has served as a jury member for various photography competitions around the world.
In December, he worked as a tutor at the Angkor Photo Workshop in Siem Reap, Cambodia. Part of the larger Angkor Photo Festival, the workshops provided an exclusive opportunity to Asian photographers to learn the tricks of the trade from experienced photographers and photojournalists from around the world. The workshops were free of charge and attendees were chosen after a screening of their work.
John Novis has documented many campaigns for Greenpeace around the world and he recently shared his experiences with students in Siem Reap. He said, ìIn the middle of Siem Reap over flowing with Angkor Wat tourists and Angkor Photo Festival visitors we ran a 5-day environmental workshop for young aspiring photographers. The Greenpeace message is in Cambodia for a week and we are doing our best to open a window through our images to everybody visiting the festival to inspire them enough to want to know more about the challenges ahead for a changing planet.
Following is a collection of John Novis's pictures documenting environmental issues and Greenpeace actions from around the world.
Pictures reproduced with permission from Greenpeace and Greenpeace India


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Curious who was selected for the PRC juried exhibition? UPDATEDPosted on March 25th, 2009 by Leslie in PRC Exhibitions, PRC News, tags: american photo, blind spot, calls for entries, juried opportunity, prc juried show, russell hart
Well, you'll have to wait just a little while longer…
BUT, we'll be posting the names and links of the 14 photographers selected by our 2009 guest juror Russell Hart on April 1st at this link (now live!) as well as on the blog shortly thereafter. Congrats all.
Remember, we have another juried opportunity coming up in April juried by Dana Faconti, Editor of Blind Spot magazine. This publication opportunity can feature two to maybe even three times as many people as the juried show.
Each juror brings a new perspective, so please keep trying!
Get your required entry form right here.


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Skateboarder/designer Nick Tershay, aka Nick Diamond, launched Diamond Supply Co. in 1998, and it has been a leading streetwear brand ever since. Initially known for its skateboard clothing and accessories, the collections of Diamond Supply Co. have grown to include shirts, shoes, outerwear, hats, and more. In a landmark development for the brand, Diamond collaborated with Nike in 2005 to release the Diamond "Tiffany" Dunk SB—a sneaker so hotly anticipated it had fans lining up outside stores days ahead of the release, and which is still one of the most iconic streetwear sneakers. Over the years, Diamond Supply Co. has become known for its bold designs and for creating gear that can withstand heavy use, while still looking and feeling great. By maintaining its high standards, Diamond Supply Co. will continue to cultivate its reputation as a leading streetwear fashion brand.
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Regional Opera Company of the Week: Boheme Opera, NJ
BroadwayWorld.com, the largest theatre site on the net, continues its expansion into other areas of entertainment with our latest feature -'The Regional Opera Company of the Week'.
This week's featured Opera Company is Boheme Opera New Jersey!
Boheme Opera's history began in the most unassuming of places: a simple church parking lot. The company took its first steps in 1982, seven years before it was officially launched, with an outdoor production of I Pagliacci. The formative years that followed saw small milestones that helped to set the stage for 1989, when Boheme Opera ushered in its inaugural season as a producer of opera theater with productions of Verdi's La Traviata at Trenton Central High School and in Truman High School in Bristol, Pennsylvania.
Within its first five main stage seasons, Boheme Opera developed its repertoire and mission, offering growing audiences pre-curtain talks, projectEd English supertitles, original sets and costumes, casting of accomplished artists from the rosters of major U.S. companies and abroad, collaborative classic ballet sequences and open invited dress rehearsals. During this time, the company also established its model for educational outreach, including its High School Apprenticeship Program, backstage tours, a visiting opera program with local middle schools and college course presentations. During this period, the company established its new home at the Patriots Theater of the War Memorial in Trenton.
In recent seasons, Boheme Opera has shown its stage versatility by presenting works that embody the spectacle of opera, but are not recognized as traditional opera:
• The American opera Susannah, by Carlisle Floyd
• Leonard Bernstein's West Side Story (which received American Masterpiece Program funding from the National Endowment for the Arts)
• The Pirates of Penzance by Gilbert and Sullivan
West Side Story exemplified Boheme Opera's goal of broadening its programming to cultivate a new generation of prospective opera goers. The Company gave a free daytime performance of the production to over 1,100 students from 17 schools and education groups in 5 different NJ counties & Bucks County, PA.
While economic and entertainment trends are changing, the company is seeking avenues to attract younger and more diverse audiences. It recently facilitated an accredited college internship opportunity with Mercer County Community College for students pursuing careers in opera and theater, while continuing to offer professional experience to young choristers, emerging artists, and professional designers and directors.
Upcoming productions include Gaetano Donizetti's DON PASQUALE which will run February 9 and 10, 2013, and Charles Gounod's FAUST, presented on April 20 and 21, 2013. For tickets and more information, click here.
To learn more about Boheme Opera, click here.
Know of an opera company we should feature? Send your suggestion to firstname.lastname@example.com
Information and photos courtesy of Boheme Opera


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Aug 05, 2011
ProfNet Connect Blog Round Up – Rude Reporters, Hashtags 101, Building Communities
- Tagged in Media Relations, Social Media
- Leave a Comment
ProfNet Connect, our free online community for journalists, bloggers, PR pros, experts and communicators of all stripes, features blog section where members can write and post as their hearts desire. The site is chockablock with interesting content. Here are some of the most popular posts from this week. Enjoy!
Why is That Reporter Rude?
If you're a PR practitioner, there's no doubt you've probably asked yourself, "Why is that reporter so rude?" Heidi Rafferty, a freelance writer and editor answers this question and provides some excellent insight into why this can happen.
Weekly Roundup: Branding Journalists, Using Wikipedia for PR and the Master of AP Style
Jason Hahn, an editor at ProfNet offers this roundup of 10 interesting PR- and media-related stories found online last week.
Dear Gracie: Hashtags 101
Each week, Dear Gracie (ProfNet editor Grace Lavigne) answers questions from ProfNet Connect readers with advice from our network of more than 44,000 ProfNet experts. This week she tackles the question, "I'm an amateur Twitter user, and it's not clear to me how and why I should use #hashtags. Since I can search for keywords on Twitter, I don't understand what the difference is. What purpose do they serve? And is there a wrong way to use them? Sometimes I see really long hashtags — what's the point?"
August MEDIAware
MEDIAware aims to bring you a selection of the most important media updates from the thousands available every day via MEDIAtlas, plus key media moves on the horizon, and a synopsis of interesting media news. Kevin Frey, senior media researcher at PR Newswire offers up this report each month.
Building an Online Community: Lessons Learned from ProfNet Connect
Sandra Azzollini, the director of online content and community at PR Newswire shares her insight on ProfNet Connect, the free online community we launched last year to connect journalists, bloggers, public relations pros, and experts. The site is coming up on its first anniversary in September and we're taking a little time to reflect on our first year (so far) and to share some things we've learned about building an online community.
Fill in your details below:


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Child killed on bike: Family shares grief to save others
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KBAK/KBFX) The family of an 11-year-old boy who was killed in a crash Sunday night shared their grief Monday with Eyewitness News in an effort to spread the word about bicycle safety.
Joshua Jimenez was hit as he tried to cross Harris Road on his bike.
Family, friends and witnesses of Sunday night's crash have started setting up a memorial at Harris Road and Caracas in remembrance of Joshua. The boy's family is asking for the community to come together, in hopes that their story can prevent other bicycle-involved accidents.
"We couldn't believe it, we prayed the whole time," said the boy's uncle Donald Luther White.
Joshua was hit by a car while out riding bikes with his older brother and cousin.
White said he was not only the boy's uncle, but his father.
"He was my son, I raised him since he was born," White said. "Every parent should cherish ever moment with their child, take a minute to be with their child. Make sure they know exactly where they need to cross the road when they're on their bicycles."
White said the boys were visiting family for the Super Bowl when they decided to go out for a ride. He and his wife were at work when they got the tragic call.
"The accident is something that every parent worries about happening," he said. "It's something that we never expect. Time spent with your child is very important, because we weren't there to be with our child."
Witnesses said Joshua's 12-year-old brother never left his side, waiting for paramedics to arrive.
"That was probably the really sad thing to see, I think the younger brother or one of the relatives was there, as they're trying to do lifesaving procedures," said Cory Thompson who lives just a few houses down from the crash scene. "I found myself telling my son a lot more last night how much I love him."
Joshua did not have on a helmet when he was hit.
White said Monday that as his family tries to cope with the sudden loss they want others in the community to take that extra moment to talk with their children every time they go out to ride their bikes.
"Where he got hit at is an area that there's a lot of traffic. There is a park with no crosswalks, an area that wasn't lit well," he said. "It's gonna be a life-long loss for everyone."
Joshua was transported to Mercy Hospital, where he died.
The driver of the involved car remained at the scene and police say he's cooperating with the investigation. They also say drugs and alcohol don't appear to have been involved in the crash.


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Attack Of The Killer Aplomado Falcons Sleeveless
Product Color:
Product information
The Sleeveless Attack Of The Killer Aplomado Falcons is the no-sleeve version of the popular favorite t-shape. Perfect for use in sports where you are bound to sweat and need wide range of movement as well as on hot and sunny days, to avoid those tan-lines across your biceps. Put Aplomado Falcon on the finest combed jersey which feels soothing against your skin.
Aplomado Falcon Sleeveless is available in 10 different color options. Heather Grey: 80% Peruvian Cotton/20% Polyester. Remaining Colors: 100% Peruvian Cotton.
Sku: SL1BL0000001222020200026YGORRE000


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Thank you!
A Genesis II Church broadcast discussing various health-related topics every week. Liveshow every Sunday at 10AM EST. [Timezone Converter]
With your hosts
• Archbishop Mark Grenon
• Bishop Joseph Grenon
Except where otherwise noted, content on this site is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License
Disclaimer: The protocols described on this site are official sacraments of the Genesis II Church of Health and Healing. The reader accepts 100% responsibility for any and all use made of any information herein.


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Helixate NexGen Side Effects
Generic Name: antihemophilic factor
Note: This page contains information about the side effects of antihemophilic factor. Some of the dosage forms included on this document may not apply to the brand name Helixate NexGen.
For the Consumer
Applies to antihemophilic factor: intravenous powder for solution
In addition to its needed effects, some unwanted effects may be caused by antihemophilic factor (the active ingredient contained in Helixate NexGen). In the event that any of these side effects do occur, they may require medical attention.
Major Side Effects
You should check with your doctor immediately if any of these side effects occur when taking antihemophilic factor:More common:
- Fever
- Changes in facial skin color
- chills
- fast or irregular breathing
- nausea
- puffiness or swelling of the eyelids or around the eyes
- sensation of burning, warmth, heat, numbness, tightness, or tingling
- skin rash, hives, or itching
- tightness in the chest
- troubled breathing
- unusual tiredness or weakness
- Bluish color of the fingernails, lips, skin, palms, or nail beds
- blurred vision
- chest pain or discomfort
- confusion
- cough
- deep or fast breathing with dizziness
- difficult or labored breathing
- difficulty with swallowing
- dizziness, faintness, or lightheadedness when getting up suddenly from a lying or sitting position
- fast, pounding, or irregular heartbeat or pulse
- noisy breathing
- numbness of the feet, hands, and around the mouth
- puffiness or swelling of the eyelids or around the eyes, face, lips, or tongue
- slow or irregular heartbeat
- sweating
- swelling of the face, throat, or tongue
- unusual tiredness or weakness
Minor Side Effects
Some of the side effects that can occur with antihemophilic factor may not need medical attention. As your body adjusts to the medicine during treatment these side effects may go away. Your health care professional may also be able to tell you about ways to reduce or prevent some of these side effects. If any of the following side effects continue, are bothersome or if you have any questions about them, check with your health care professional:More common:
- Headache
- Burning, stinging, or swelling at the injection site
- diarrhea
- dizziness or lightheadedness
- dry mouth or bad taste in the mouth
- lack or loss of strength
- nosebleed
- redness of the face
- vomiting
- Change in taste
- loss of taste
- Abdominal or stomach pain
- feeling of warmth
- increased sweating
- irritability
- muscle or bone pain
- redness of the eye
- redness of the face, neck, arms, and occasionally, upper chest
- redness of the skin
- trouble seeing
For Healthcare Professionals
Applies to antihemophilic factor: intravenous kit, intravenous powder for injection
Nervous system
Nervous system side effects have included headache, dizziness, somnolence, and asthenia.[Ref]
Respiratory side effects have included dyspnea and rhinitis.[Ref]
Musculoskeletal side effects have included arthralgia.[Ref]
Local side effects have included injection site pain.[Ref]
General side effects have included pyrexia and chills.[Ref]
Gastrointestinal side effects have included nausea, diarrhea, and vomiting.[Ref]
Dermatologic side effects have include pruritus, rash, and urticaria.[Ref]
Cardiovascular side effects have included hemorrhage, hypotension, and vasodilatation.[Ref]
1. "Product Information. Koate-HP (antihemophilic factor)." Bayer, West Haven, CT.
2. "Product Information. Helixate FS (antihemophilic factor)." CSL Behring, King of Prussia, PA.
3. "Product Information. Humate-P (antihemophilic factor-von Willebrand factor)." CSL Behring, King of Prussia, PA.
4. "Product Information. Xyntha (antihemophilic factor)." Wyeth Laboratories, Philadelphia, PA.
Not all side effects for Helixate NexGen may be reported. You should always consult a doctor or healthcare professional for medical advice. Side effects can be reported to the FDA here.
More about Helixate NexGen (antihemophilic factor)
- Side Effects
- During Pregnancy
- Dosage Information
- Drug Interactions
- Support Group
- 0 Reviews – Add your own review/rating
- Drug class: miscellaneous coagulation modifiers
Consumer resources
Other brands: Advate, Eloctate, Xyntha, Kogenate, ... +13 more
Professional resources
Other Formulations
Related treatment guides
Disclaimer: Every effort has been made to ensure that the information provided is accurate, up-to-date and complete, but no guarantee is made to that effect. In addition, the drug information contained herein may be time sensitive and should not be utilized as a reference resource beyond the date hereof. This material does not endorse drugs, diagnose patients, or recommend therapy. This information is a reference resource designed as supplement to, and not a substitute for, the expertise, skill , knowledge, and judgement of healthcare practitioners in patient care. The absence of a warning for a given drug or combination thereof in no way should be construed to indicate safety, effectiveness, or appropriateness for any given patient. Drugs.com does not assume any responsibility for any aspect of healthcare administered with the aid of materials provided. The information contained herein is not intended to cover all possible uses, directions, precautions, warnings, drug interactions, allergic reactions, or adverse effects. If you have questions about the substances you are taking, check with your doctor, nurse, or pharmacist.


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T-VEC Tester for Simulink is used by engineers who develop and test embedded applications with Simulink. It analyzes the compiled version of the Simulink model generated by the Simulink Coder to identify defects in the model and generate comprehensive test suites. Test drivers are automatically generated for executing the tests against the C source code generated by the Simulink Coder or for driving simulations within MATLAB. Testing activities from test design to test result analysis are fully automated. Qualification materials are available for software certification of safety critical applications based on the DO-178B guidelines.
3701 FAU Blvd Ste 210
Boca Raton, FL 33431
Fax: 800-921-1571
Related Connections Views: Verification and Validation Tools, Control Systems, Real-Time Systems, Aerospace and Defense, Automotive, Consumer Electronics


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The Mi-Pac Classic Backpack in pink boasts a durable polyester construction with a classic style. Featuring a faux suede base and a top grab handle, the rucksack has a spacious main compartment which houses an interior padded laptop sleeve. It's fastened with a secure zip around closure, with a front zipped front pocket and adjustable padded shoulder straps for comfortable carrying. Finished with branding to the front, it's the ultimate mix between functionality and style. K.D.
- Classic Backpack by Mi-Pac
- Polyester
- Faux suede base
- Spacious main compartment
- Zip around closure
- Internal padded laptop sleeve
- Zipped front pocket
- Top carry handle
- Adjustable, padded shoulder straps
- Front branding
Measures: H:41 x W:30 x D:15cm


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AHEAD of the Winchester Poetry Festival, one of the country's most prominent poets visited a Winchester college.
Patience Agbabi encouraged English students at Peter Symonds College to explore word and rhyme in an afternoon workshop, and write a 'remix' poem based on Anthem for Doomed Youth by leading First World War poet Wilfred Owen.
Whilst demonstrating how the poem could sound with examples of her own work, Ms Agbabi admitted that like many other modern poets she loves rhythm and the sounds of language in her work, but also tries to follow traditional structures.
The workshop was the first in a series designed to inspire teenagers to get involved in the upcoming festival, from September 12-14, by writing their own poetry to compete in a Poetry Slam.
Head of English Language at the college, Paul Davies, said the poet both entertained and inspired the students.
He said: "Patience will be one of the many national and local poets supporting the first ever Winchester Poetry Festival in September.
"The festival offers young people the opportunity to engage with living poetry and to appreciate our rich poetic heritage. My hope is that the Poetry Slam and other events will inspire them to find their own poetic voice and possibly become the poet of tomorrow."
The Winchester Poetry Festival was launched in March by Roger McGough, presenter of BBC Radio Four's Poetry Please.


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Skip to Content
Three faculty members from across the University of Colorado system have been named 2014 President's Teaching Scholars, each recognized as an educator who skillfully integrates teaching and research at an exceptional level.
The title of President's Teaching Scholar signifies CU's highest recognition of excellence in and commitment to learning and teaching, as well as active, substantial contributions to scholarly work. CU President Bruce D. Benson solicits annual nominations of faculty for the designation, which is a lifetime appointment.
Associate Professor Helen Norton, associate dean for Academic Affairs at Colorado Law, was named from the Boulder campus.
Norton, who joined the Colorado Law faculty in 2007, previously served as Deputy Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Justice and as Director of Legal and Public Policy at the National Partnership for Women & Families. She has been honored with multiple Excellence in Teaching Awards. Her scholarly and teaching interests include constitutional law, civil rights, and employment discrimination law. She is frequently invited to testify before Congress and federal agencies on civil rights law and policy issues.
Her nominators, Professor Mimi Wesson and Dean Phil Weiser, noted in their letter that when Norton agreed to serve as the school's associate dean, she declined the customary reduction of course load. Her commitment to teaching, they wrote, "has multiplied the credibility of her efforts to place teaching at the center of our shared mission, no matter what other contributions we may be making."
Norton joins Associate Professor Lisa Keränen, director of Graduate Studies, Department of Communication, CU Denver College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, and Professor Raphael Sassower, UCCS Department of Philosophy, in this year's group of scholars.


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For May, we've teamed up with Attune Foods to bring you Whole Grain Brunch. We challenged eight food bloggers to develop a whole grain brunch recipe using one of our flours and an Attune Foods cereal. Each week, two bloggers will post a great whole grain brunch recipe and host a giveaway of the two products used in the recipe on their blogs. We'll post the recipe here and let you know where you can find the giveaway. Here is the second of the eight recipes from Mary Fran of Franny Cakes. Visit her blog to enter the giveaway. We think this recipe and the Cornbread Quiche from The Roasted Root would make a fabulous brunch for Mother's Day. Enjoy!
- 150 grams (5 cups) Attune Foods Erewhon Brown Rice Crisps Cereal
- 90 grams (6 tablespoons) Butter
- 1 tablespoon Canola Oil
- 3 tablespoons Water
- 1 tablespoon Sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon Salt
- 90 grams (6 tablespoons) Butter, softened
- 85 grams (2/3 cup) Bob's Red Mill Almond Meal
- 85 grams (2/3 cup) Confectioners Sugar
- 1/8 teaspoon Salt
- 7 grams (1 tablespoon) Cornstarch
- 1 Egg
- 1/2 pound container of Strawberries, with tops removed and cut into 1/4 inch slices
- 1/2 cup (2 big scoops from a jar) Jelly
While that cooks, make the frangipane. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the softened butter until light and fluffy. Add almond meal, confectioners sugar, salt and cornstarch. Mix thoroughly, scraping down the sides of the bowl. Beat in the egg until you have a smooth mixture.
When the butter starts to brown, remove the bowl from the oven and reduce the oven temperature to 375°F. Carefully stir the cereal crumbs into the bowl. THE BOWL IS HOT! USE AN OVEN MIT TO HOLD ON TO IT!.
Pour the buttery cereal into a 9-inch round or similarly sized rectangular tart pan. Once it is cool enough to handle, press it into the bottom of the pan and then firmly up the sides. Be firm and quick – if you don't press it firmly, your sides will crumble.
Pour the frangipane into the tart crust a little at a time and spread it around. Dropping teaspoonfulls of filling spaced out will result in less crust being mixed in than dumping all the filling in the center.
Bake for 25 minutes – until the frangipane is golden. And let cool completely.
Arrange strawberries in rows on top of the tart. Melt the jelly in the microwave and spoon it over the strawberries. Depending how hot you got the jelly, it might not cover the whole tart (my jelly was pretty much liquid). It is ok if you need a little more or a little less.
Let the tart stand for about 20 minutes so the jelly can firm back up. Makes about 8-10 slices.


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Collins praises first-time All-Star Murphy's work ethic
Mets second baseman continues to be subject of trade rumors as Deadline nears
NEW YORK -- Considering second baseman Daniel Murphy finished Sunday's game against the Rangers in a relative cold snap at the plate, with just three hits in 20 at-bats, the All-Star Game was not at the front of his mind. So when Terry Collins called Murphy into his office after the game, the manager recalled laughing, "I think he thought he got traded."
Murphy's name has indeed been prominent in early trade rumors, and should remain so throughout July. With his production and salary both at all-time highs, the Mets have little choice but to weigh offers for their All-Star second baseman in the weeks leading up to the July 31 non-waiver Trade Deadline. Murphy can become a free agent after next season.
For now, however, he will focus on the newest line of his resume: All-Star. Collins on Monday added to the chorus heaping praise upon Murphy, lauding the corner-infielder-turned-outfielder-turned-second-baseman's work ethic, which has seen him transform from fringe Major Leaguer to All-Star over the past three seasons.
"When you're in an organization and you have a guy who's maybe not a standout," Collins said, "but a good, solid player, you can point to Daniel Murphy and say, 'If you work as hard as he does … anything can happen.' I think Dan's a great example."
Anthony DiComo is a reporter for MLB.com. Follow him on Twitter @AnthonyDicomo. Tim Healey is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.


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An Open-Label Trial of Donepezil in Fragile X Syndrome
- Full Text View
- Tabular View
- No Study Results Posted
- Disclaimer
- How to Read a Study Record
|Fragile X Syndrome
|Drug: donepezil
|Phase 1
|Study Type:
|Study Design:
|Intervention Model: Single Group Assignment
Masking: None (Open Label)
Primary Purpose: Treatment
|Official Title:
|An Open-Label Trial of Donepezil in Fragile X Syndrome
- Scores on learning tests at baseline [ Time Frame: baseline, day 21, day 42 ]
- score on test of attention [ Time Frame: baseline, day 21, day 42 ]
- score on measures of behavior [ Time Frame: baseline, day 21, day 42 ]
- scores on learning tests [ Time Frame: baseline, day 21, day 42 ]
- scores on working memory tests [ Time Frame: baseline, day 21, day 42 ]
|Study Start Date:
|July 2005
|Study Completion Date:
|July 2009
|Primary Completion Date:
|July 2009 (Final data collection date for primary outcome measure)
|Assigned Interventions
Experimental: Open donepezil
open donepezil
Drug: donepezil
donepezil 5 mg daily for 3 weeks (days 1-21); 10 mg daily for 3 weeks (days 22-42)
Other Names:
Detailed Description:
Fragile X syndrome is the most common genetically inherited cause of neurodevelopmental disability in humans, affecting approximately 1:2000 to 4000 live births. Affected individuals have significant, long-term problems with learning, and often with behavior as well. The disorder is caused by the presence of a greatly expanded CGG repeat within the FMR1 gene on the long arm of the X chromosome. Abnormal methylation of this repeat, and adjacent areas within the FMR1 gene impedes transcription, ultimately resulting in reduced production of the FMR1 protein (FMRP). This protein is expressed in neurons, with particularly high levels of gene transcription occurring in the nucleus basalis (basal forebrain) and hippocampus. A recent functional imaging study from our group showed girls with fragile X to have greatly reduced levels of brain activation in the basal forebrain and hippocampal activation during a memory task. The nucleus basalis, is a cholinergic nucleus with widespread connections to the neocortex. It is critical to visuospatial attention in rodents and primates and is presumed to play a similar role in humans. The finding of decreased basal forebrain activation in girls with fragile X, considered in light of histological evidence showing high transcription levels of FMR1 in healthy nucleus basalis, suggests the possibility of a functional cholinergic deficit in fragile X syndrome.
Donepezil is an acetylcholinesterase inhibitor which slows the degradation of synaptic acetylcholine thereby increasing its availability. It is approved for the treatment of mild-moderate Alzheimer's disease. It has been studied in several other neurologic disorders--including vascular dementia, Lewy Body dementia, and Down's syndrome (with and without dementia)--where it has shown varying degrees of efficacy but consistently high degrees of safety and tolerability. The goal of the proposed study is to determine if enhancing cholinergic activity with donepezil has beneficial effects on behavior or cognition in subjects with fragile X syndrome.
|Ages Eligible for Study:
|14 Years and older (Child, Adult, Senior)
|Sexes Eligible for Study:
|Accepts Healthy Volunteers:
Inclusion Criteria:1. Confirmed genetic diagnosis of fragile X syndrome
2. Age e 14
3. Verbal IQ e 60
Exclusion Criteria:1. Currently taking any anticholinergic medications, tricyclic antidepressant medications, or diphenhydramine.
2. Presence of cardiac disease or bradycardia (< 60 beats/minute) at initial evaluation.
Please refer to this study by its ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT00220584
|United States, California
|Stanford University School of Medicine
|Stanford, California, United States, 94305
|Principal Investigator:
|Allan L Reiss
|Stanford University
|Responsible Party:
|Stanford University
|ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:
|NCT00220584 History of Changes
|Other Study ID Numbers:
|Study First Received:
|September 15, 2005
|Last Updated:
|December 11, 2012
Additional relevant MeSH terms:
Fragile X Syndrome
Pathologic Processes
Mental Retardation, X-Linked
Intellectual Disability
Neurobehavioral Manifestations
Neurologic Manifestations
Nervous System Diseases
Sex Chromosome Disorders
Chromosome Disorders
Congenital Abnormalities
Genetic Diseases, Inborn
Genetic Diseases, X-Linked
Heredodegenerative Disorders, Nervous System
Cholinesterase Inhibitors
Enzyme Inhibitors
Molecular Mechanisms of Pharmacological Action
Cholinergic Agents
Neurotransmitter Agents
Physiological Effects of Drugs
Nootropic Agents
ClinicalTrials.gov processed this record on September 21, 2017


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Dear all,
The name of Burmese meditation teacher U Tejaniya has been mentioned on this forum a number of times. Bellow is the site to his audio interviews during the retreat he has conducted at IMS recently. The interviews, usually in groups, with Sayadaw are in general very informative and opened. U Tejaniya always tries to do his best to point out the wrong views, wrong attitude, and wrong understandings of yogis, sharing his own experiences to illustrate the way of practice in a very down-to-earth manor.
Here we go:


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i've noticed a trend, not accusing anyone of anything but it seems any time a wrestler reaches a certain level of popularity we pick them apart. Cena, Orton, HHH... etc. just a reality check on my part here lets look at Super Cena.
Wrestling skill, CRAP really? no he has skills he may not have the greatest move set but he can sell he's one of the better people at LOOKING like he's getting
Updated 12-09-2010 at 09:00 PM by Frank
© 2011 eWrestlingNews, All Rights Reserved.


text: Home → Jenni Rivera was working toward crossover with television series, album By Bob Strauss, Staff Writer Posted: 12/10/12, 12:01 AM PST | # Comments Latin music superstar and rising television personality Jenni Rivera's death in a plane crash in Mexico Sunday put an end to a career on an increasingly upward trajectory. | PHOTOSHaving sold more than 15 million albums and filled concert venues throughout the United States and Mexico, the Long Beach born-and-raised 43-year-old "Diva of Banda" was also making a name for herself in other media.She produced and appeared on such mun2 network shows as "Chiquis & Raq-C" and "I Love Jenni," as well as on various programs for the Burbank-based Estrella TV network and in Mexico. She also made her feature film acting debut in the independent production "Filly Brown" at the Sundance Film Festival in January.And Rivera had an English-language sitcom in development at ABC, in which she was to play a single working Latina mother.This along with clothing, fragrance and makeup lines, and from a woman who worked as a Realtor before moving into show business in the late 1990s."I was the first person to put her music on the radio around 1999," explained Pepe Garza, a close friend and songwriter for Rivera and the program director for L.A.'s Que Buena 105.5 FM. "She was a part-time singer because she had a real estate license. But when I started playing her music on the radio, people - especially the girls from L.A. - started to support her a lot."Rivera sang banda, a Mexican-style polka with big-band, brass ensembles.Married three times, the mother of five and grandmother of two, Rivera not only informed her traditional Mexican regional songs with her life experiences, but solidified her fan base by being upfront about her vida loca."I think she had some real-life problems that the Hispanic audience, and probably a lot of women, have gone through," observed Lenard Liberman, president and CEO of Liberman Broadcasting, Que Buena and Estrella's parent company.Rivera was a straight-A student at Poly High in Long Beach when she got pregnant at 15, although she continued her education through college. Later her first ex-husband was found guilty of sexual abuse for molesting her oldest daughter and youngest sister, according to a 2011 profile in the Press-Telegram.Liberman said her listeners could relate to those rocky relationship and travails."A lot of folks face that in their lives, and she always came back, she never let it get her down. I think that people respected that."She didn't downplay it, she talked about it,' Liberman added. "She didn't try to live a picture-perfect life and hide these things from the media. She was real, and in being real, she was wholesome. She would tell her audience, `Yeah, I've made mistakes and suffered for them, but I've also learned from those mistakes.' That made her, probably, even more beloved."Mariluz Gonzalez, who owns Vesper Public Relations in Los Angeles, knew Rivera from her time as a publicist at Fonovisa Records, from 2001 to 2008, and remembers the singer as "very genuine.""The way you see her on television, that's the way she was in real life," Gonzalez continued. "She was upfront. She was a good person with a really good heart who was really friendly. When you were with her, you just felt like she was just another person who happened to be famous."In those days Rivera was already among the freshest voices of regional Mexican music. She built up a strong audience selling her music at local swap meets and mom-and-pop shops before ever appearing in clubs."Her audience loved her because of her honesty as an artist and as a young single mother who struggled in her life, and who raised her kids in adversity," Gonzalez said."Jenni was one of the most influential, authentic and captivating Latinas in entertainment," Diana Mogollon, general manager, mun2, and Emilio Romano, president, Telemundo Media, said in a press release mourning Rivera's loss.The singer's friend of 11 years and music representative, Fonovisa Marketing Director Martha Ledezma, said the reason she believes Rivera was so popular on both sides of the border was because she never forgot her roots and was always generous to those who were in need."Jenni will always be remembered as a great woman, a great artist, but more than anything a great human being who always gave and never asked for anything in return," said Ledezma in Spanish. "She left a legacy for women all over the world because she was strong, she was respected and admired for this."Liberman pointed out that few if any female singers found the success Rivera enjoyed in her chosen genres - and that, too, was what earned her so much respect."Competing in a man's world, and the ultimate macho man's world, I think is what resonated with the audience," Liberman said, "and the crossover audience, all the folks who feel slighted and maybe disadvantaged in American culture and society. I mean, she broke out and made it."Although Garza and Liberman were unaware of any plans to cross over into the English language music market, Ledezma said in recent months Rivera was in the final stages of an English pop album."Her crossover plan was complete, she was ready," said Ledezma. "It was all coming together.""She never really had any limits, never said `I can't do this,"' Garza said, through an interpreter, of Rivera. "I wouldn't be surprised if, at the end of the day, she'd have become a very successful American crossover. Anything she wanted, she would conquer."Staff Writer Sandra Barrera and freelance writer Brenda Duran contributed to this firstname.lastname@example.com/bscritic Advertisement Click here to subscribe to Digital & Home Delivery - 50% off


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With the trade deadline looming, February can be a stressful time for coaches and players alike.
Before the Feb. 21 deadline arrives, coaches consider moves to improve their rosters and players live with the real possibility they could be traded any day.
Denver Nuggets coach George Karl, who oversaw the 13-player Carmelo Anthony trade, is keenly aware of the pressure felt on both sides. As a former player, he lived with that pressure. Now a coach, he wields the power to make trade rumors into reality.
"There's this solid anxiety to this period of time for players," Karl said, according to The Cleveland Plain Dealer. "So, how I can calm that and make them feel like, 'Yeah, a trade could happen, but it's a small, small percentage.'"
This anxiety only heightens when a player's name is included in trade rumors or floated through the media as teams work to assume leverage. At times a players name can come up in trade talk even if the team never put him on the block.
Karl told The Plain Dealer he once had a competition with friends to see who could get an unreasonable trade published in a newspaper first.
"We make up some trade that never was proposed in 100 years and suddenly it's on ESPN," Karl said.


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found a new home!
Plenty of my friends are looking
for one too. Find a pet to adopt.
I am already neutered, housetrained, purebred, up to date with shots, good with kids, and good with dogs.
Parker, a Chicago Dachshund puppy was adopted! Here's how you can benefit by looking at adoption as an option to buying a Dachshund for sale in Chicago, or seeking a Dachshund puppy from a breeder in Chicago.


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Federal Project No. STP-M-9409(128)
State PIN# 112847.00
City Project # PW01202
The City of Memphis, through a Federal Surface Transportation Program Grant totaling $3,819,216, proposes to perform preventative maintenance and asphalt overlay on several roadway segments. This project is 80% Federally funded and 20% funded by the City of Memphis. The proposed segments are:
The proposed roadway segments may have signs of excessive wear such as potholes and pavement surface cracking and spalling. Vehicle use, weathering, aging and in some cases utility cuts/repairs in the pavement are contributing factors to the deterioration. A new pavement surface with the absence of pavement deformations will prolong the life of the roadway, reduce potential vehicular damage and provide safer routes for motorists.
Base and subgrade repairs will be made as necessary prior to resurfacing and any pavement markings will be replaced. Improvements to facilities for pedestrians and bicyclist will be included. Special emphasis will be placed on bike facilities identified in the Memphis MPO Regional Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan, Bicycle Facilities Funded Plan.
Bicycle facility improvements may include establishment of bike lanes, restriping to maximize the width of outside lanes, designation of shared laneage and/or placement of bike route signage.
Low cost safety improvements such as improved traveled way delineation, removal of roadside obstacles, improved signage, upgrading of guardrail terminals, installation / upgrading of ADA ramps, etc. will be evaluated and included if feasible.
The City is committed to making as many of the improvements as possible under State and Federal guidelines for the grant to the extent that the funding allows.


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- Doctors
- Virginia
- Alexandria
- Dermatologists
- Dr. Yvette E. Appiah
You may also like
Dr. Bruce D. Glassman
Ratings for Dr. Yvette E. Appiah
Dr. Appiah is an excellent physician that knows her stuff!
Beware, Dr. Appiah is a scam artist. I was referred to her by my primary care physician to do a skin cancer screening since I have a lot of moles all over my torso. I have had various dermatologists over the years and have had biopsys done, all came back negative. She took one look at me and told me I should never leave the house wthout a shirt. She removed two moles that day, one that I agreed look suspecious. Screening came back that one of the moles was Melonoma Stage 0. But it was not the one that I thought was suspecious. Immediate treatment was to continue to cut away at the skin and to have follow up appointments every 3 months. I did that for a while, as she continued to cut things off of me, but the biopsies always came back benign. Despite this, she continued to cut away at those moles on account that they were "displastic" and I had a history of skin cancer. When I asked her and her staff what that meant, they never gave me a clear answer, only saying that they are changing and could become bad in the future. I finally got fed up with the lack of meaningful information I was getting and returned to my PCP. He sent me to another dermatologist that he said was the best (why he did not send me there in the first place I will never know). I told her about my experience with Dr. Appiah and she told me even for someone with a history of skin cancer, she would only see them for screenings every six months, not every three months. She told me displastic means nothing as 90 percent of moles change, but that does not mean they turn to cancer. I have been with her now three years and am very pleased. To date, I have not had one biopsy. To this day I have some doubts as to whether I really did have very early skin cancer or was just told that to get me to continue to come back for regular treatments every three months. I agree with most everyone else that the whole set up of the operation puts making money first and patient care second. I think they took one look at me and saw dollar signs. They just needed to give me a reason to come back.
Sat for an hour to see the doctor, who was clearly overwhelmed with the number of patients scheduled for the same date/time. It seems to me that this place is all about the all mighty dollar!!!
Dr. Appiah is personable and, from what I can tell, knowledgeable. But the 45-60 minute wait time I've encountered the last few times I've been is painful (especially with a toddler!). I think the staff should at least be up front about the wait time with patients instead of assuring them they'll be seen right away when that clearly isn't the case.
I saw Dr. Appiah several times in 2011, which proved life changing, and for which I will be forever thankful. Prior to seeing Dr. Appiah I had seen so many dermatologists and general practitioners over many years, all of whom incorrectly diagnosed me with an unusual case of one particular skin condition, prescribed me pills which didn't work at all, and sent me on my way. Dr. Appiah was the only doctor/dermatologist who instead immediately suspected a different condition, and performed a biopsy which confirmed both her suspicion and the incorrect diagnoses of so many other doctors. Dr. Appiah then prescribed me creams that cured my symptoms, practically miraculously, after years of daily suffering. I am indebted to Dr. Appiah forever. Months later a different healer confirmed that the root cause of my symptoms (which were now being successfully treated with the right creams) was actually some combination of parasites (treated via medicinal plants) & a gluten/dairy allergy.
I'm absolutely amazed at the negative comments. Dr. Appiah clearly knows her stuff...graduated from top medical schools ( check out http://vahealthprovider.com/) and has the experience to recognize skin cancers at a glance. She is proactive preferring to biopsy rather than wait and see (in my case really crucial) and removes keratoses before they become cancerous. I personally think she has a great bedside manner although I don't require this....I think people (including doctors) generally react positively to positive people....it is hard to be friendly to the unfriendly. As far as waiting time....she's better than the average although the average isn't all that great....always consider that if you are waiting another patient may be getting some unexpected needed care. Definitely highly recommended.
All they care about is money!!! THey made it so obvious! But I wouldn't even care if the service was good, the receptionist is presuming and impature Ms Appiah herself came in 45 minutes late and didn't apologize until I brought it up and then was in a rush! Terrible, I will never go back
This Dr. office only care about getting money from you. Staffs are really rude.
I had to wait an hour to see the doctor. Other patients were called in ahead of me even though I had arrived on time for my appointment. The doctor was rushed and not thorough in answering my questions.
Completely rude and really did not provide any options nor a shred of care for a few simple skin conditions. My office visit was really more about the Co-Pay and un-needed followup appointment.
Dr. Yvette E. Appiah's Credentials
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Accepting New Patients
- University Of Chicago - Pritzker School Of Medicine (Grad. 1997)
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Regions Sponsored by
According to Kline & Company's recently released Cosmetics & Toiletries USA 2010 study, rising consumer confidence, aggressive promotional activity and technological advances have propelled sales of cosmetics and toiletries in the United States by 2.4% to reach $36.5 billion in 2010 at the manufacturers' level. After experiencing a 0.8% decline in 2009, the current increase has brought sales to above pre-recession levels.
While the industry showed signs of recovery, consumers influenced by economic uncertainties continued to scrutinize their spending, shopped at venues with competitive pricing and sought out products on sale. The increased willingness to spend was captivated primarily by offers that provided extra value. Skin care kits, priced more favorably than individual products, and multi-functional products were among the core trends of 2010.
All trade classes registered a certain level of growth in 2010. While the specialty trade class, which consists mainly of mall-based stores, including Bath & Body Works and The Body Shop, posted the strongest gains, providing a good sign that consumers are back out and shopping again, the professional channel (encompassing salons, spas and physician offices) registered the lowest overall increase of 1.9%.
As consumers continued to hold back from visits at professional beauty outlets, focus has shifted to achieving the best possible results at home. In the skin care segment, a host of products were introduced during the year that compared their results to those obtained at spas or a doctor's office. For example, at-home skin care devices used to treat fine lines and wrinkles, as well as tone and cleanse skin, have seen a significant growth in popularity. Kline is launching a new research study, At-home Skin Care Devices 2011: U.S. Market Analysis and Opportunities, to explore this fast-emerging trend.
"This hunt for additional quality has been spearheaded by marketers' extensive innovation efforts," says Carrie Mellage, director at Kline's Consumer Products Practice. "Advancements in skin care have included bioelectric technology to help stimulate the natural renewal process of the skin and DNA enhancement formulas found in power-serum products."


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M*A*S*H, Money, and Murder
As committed to social causes as any Hollywood notable, Mike Farrell has stood against murder since his days growing up in West Hollywood, California—whether it was war or state-sanctioned murder in the form of capital punishment. The son of a carpenter working at Hollywood studios, Farrell grew up a Catholic believing in "Thou shalt not kill." He never stopped believing it, during and after his role on the TV series "M*A*S*H." That the death penalty is also racist, classist, sexist, arbitrary, anachronistic, faulty, financially wasteful, and inhumane drives Farrell, now president of Death Penalty Focus, to stop the killing.
ESTHER: What initially drew you to acting?
FARRELL: Like a lot of people, I was a young, frightened, and lonely kid wanting some attention and I saw movie magazines that showed young movie stars getting all kinds of attention. It seemed to be the answer to my childhood dreams. When I grew up I became a little savvier. I understood that being an actor was a choice that, if given the opportunity, might enable me to have a career and a lot of fun in the meantime.
Do you still enjoy acting?
I do very much.
Your most famous role is B.J. Hunnicutt on "M*A*S*H." Do you think that show still stands up?
The show was an extraordinary success. It has held up powerfully over time. It's become symbolic of an anti-war ethic. We knew who we were speaking to, but we didn't quite understand the grip, socially, and it really became a social phenomenon in this country and around the world. I say that with a fair amount of confidence because I still hear from people about how much the show meant to them then and how much it means to them now. We're talking 20-plus years since the show went off the air. The reruns continue and people continue to respond to it. Generations who weren't even alive when we did the show are now big fans.
I understand that you were concerned with the womanizing on the show.
We could hold our heads high about a lot of things in terms of the message of the show, but the two areas we were subject to criticism for were the consumption of alcohol and the womanizing and objectification of women, although Alan Alda was and remains a staunch feminist. When they created my character, the specific intention was to have a man who was dedicated to his wife and child at home. When I say it was subject to criticism, I don't mean to say we were unaware of those things, but the question was how to deal with them fairly and appropriately.
Did you have concerns about your career after becoming active against capital punishment?
That was never a consideration. There are certainly those people who disagree with me and who have said, "A pox on you and your career," but, generally, I don't ever think it's been a consideration career-wise.
What do you think about those who criticize celebrities for using their fame to promote particular causes?
It's silly, but I understand. The people who object to it are the people who disagree. They object to the fact that some of us have more access to media or to the public ear. So they are offended by the fact that, as they see it, we are taking advantage. From my point of view, I didn't become an actor to promote issues. I became an actor to be an actor. I'm a citizen and as a citizen I have certain responsibilities that I didn't ignore just because I became successful as an actor.
With all the issues facing our country, where do you think the death penalty abolition movement is right now?
We are making steady, quite dramatic progress. During the past three years, New Jersey and New Mexico both gave up the death penalty. That's an indication that abolition is coming. Unfortunately, because of the makeup of the Supreme Court, it will be on a state-by-state basis until the Court understands that it's the will of the people. You see states as varied as Montana, Colorado, Kansas, Maryland, and Washington looking at eliminating the death penalty for various reasons—primarily for cost reasons, although there are better reasons.
With all of this discussion about "fiscal responsibility," why isn't there a louder voice for eliminating capital punishment in California?
There are lots of voices, but they're not loud enough. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger apparently believes the death penalty is effective, although he's leading a state that's being held at bay by the federal government/federal court. Mostly, politicians are fearful that if they support the abolition of the death penalty, or an amendment to it, they will be portrayed by their opponents as "soft on crime." It's that fear more than anything else that keeps the issue from taking the political front row it deserves. But your question is a good one. When a state is $20 billion in debt and we can save hundreds of millions of dollars every year—one study showed a billion dollars within five years—by simply eliminating the death system, the question becomes: "When does political cowardice give way to the necessities of the day?"
There have been studies in California and nationwide that when the alternative of life in prison without the possibility of parole is offered instead of the death penalty, people prefer that. Why not just promote that stance rather than talking about getting rid of capital punishment?
Why? Fear. They're afraid they're going to be attacked by the hardliners for being soft on crime.
Look at the issue of health care. The majority of Americans want significant health care reform, yet politicians dragged their feet. Is it really because they are afraid of the will of the people or is it a fear of alienating those in power, like those who have a vested interest in maintaining capital punishment?
Sure. Here in California, one of the most powerful political organizations is the California Correctional Peace Officers Association. They give a tremendous amount of money to politicians to maintain a tough line on crime. It's fear. On some level it's arrogance. There are some who believe they know better than the public. As you've said, polls show people prefer life without parole to the death penalty for all kinds of reasons. But politicians are unwilling to butt heads with powerful interests who want to maintain it. It's going to take some meaningful, thoughtful, and courageous leadership, such as we had with the California Commission on the Fair Administration of Justice led by former Attorney General John Van de Kamp, which was very straightforward in its analysis. It didn't say do away with the death penalty. They said it's costing $135 million a year to maintain this system, although we're not using it because of a court order [issued in December 2006]. If you want to do it more reasonably and more fairly it's going to cost us another $95 million a year. Nobody's willing to spend $230 million a year to maintain the death system, so they just look the other way and pretend the Commission's report didn't come in and pretend they're doing the peoples' business while they're failing us all.
And the cost is not the appeals, but the actual trial itself.
Hundreds protest at San Quentin in 2004, when an execution was postponed hours before its scheduled time to allow for DNA testing —photo from indybay.org
They usually say, "Let's cut out the appeals." First of all, you can't do it because they're constitutionally required, according to the Supreme Court. But secondly, if you cut out all the appeals, what you do is execute a bunch of innocent people. We have a record in this state where 40 percent of capital convictions are reversed on appeal. That demonstrates the system just isn't working and it's overzealously pursued by prosecutors. The California State Supreme Court runs in fear of it as well because they have a record of accepting and condoning 97 percent of capital convictions. When the appeals go on to the federal system, 40 percent of them are knocked out. The simple decision to go for death rather than life without parole triggers a number of elements in the trial. The two trials actually, crime and punishment, are hugely expensive and too many people don't seem to understand that. Everyone who examines the system understands that it's dysfunctional in any number of ways.
A significant majority of police chiefs across the country consider capital punishment an ineffective tool for fighting crime.
A national poll of police chiefs put support for the death penalty as a major crime-fighting element down around 2 percent. They understand that's it's not a major crime-fighting element. Deterrence is nonsense. It simply doesn't work.
Do you think President Obama is going to move on capital punishment? He came out in support of it during the election.
He sort of did. When he was in the state legislature in Illinois he was instrumental in helping then-Illinois Governor George Ryan to move forward some of the restrictions he wanted in death penalty law. State Senator Obama was very helpful in those regards. My sense is that he is personally not happy with the death penalty, but I don't think he's in a position where he's going to take a strong anti-death penalty position—at least not during the early days of his presidency. But he did appoint Eric Holder as U.S. Attorney General and Holder is openly opposed to the death penalty.
I don't imagine President Obama will be taking anyone's life on Federal Death Row—like the previous president did.
It will be interesting to see what happens.