text:
It should stand to reason then if the NFL is constantly in motion,
then fantasy owners should be too. The irony of participating
in dynasty and keeper leagues is that owners are fans of football
– a subset of people typically considered to be impulsive
with a win-now mindset. One of many key characteristics in winning
in non-redraft leagues is channeling the passion for immediate
positive results and combining that with the knowledge that setting
your team up for success in the future is every bit as important
– if not more so – than winning this season.
In all honesty, everything I have said up to this point should
not be new information to the veteran dynasty or keeper league
owner. In order to help each of you begin the process of starting
your league year – just as the NFL does around this time
– on the right foot, I would like to present my thoughts
as to what players should appeal to those of us who need to look
at each of these players as a long-term investment as opposed
to a one-year stock.
We started this journey last week at the quarterback
position. After breaking down the running
backs last week, I will dissect wide receivers now and the
tight ends next week leading up to the NFL Draft. My purpose:
take each offensive position and rank the players in the order
I would value them as long-term assets. In an effort to be as
transparent as possible, I will list the different criteria (which
will change based on the position being discussed that week) that
I most strongly considered in the ranking process. I will attempt
to provide some perspective regarding their past performance by
attaching a percentage value that corresponds to the number of
times that player finished in the top 12 and top 24 at their position
when they have been in their current role. I will also provide
the player's three-year consistency score in order to shed
some light on how good he has been recently.
The Criteria
1) Elite production for at least three
more years
2) Scheme
3) Durability/long-term job stability
4) Proven consistency
5) Age (will penalize over 32)
- Typically, I'd set the bar at a higher number, but there are
so few receivers in the league right now over 30. Thus, age will
not be nearly the factor it was with quarterbacks and running
Johnson just turned in the most dominant fantasy season by a
receiver since Randy Moss in 2007. He has also stayed on the field
for 16 games in consecutive years after dealing with injuries
in two of his first three seasons in the league, removing the
only concern fantasy owners had about the league�s most
difficult matchup. With �Megatron� and Matthew Stafford
both likely just entering their prime, dynasty and keeper-league
owners must think long and hard about Johnson as the most valuable
property in fantasy football.
Despite being the sole focus of the defense in the passing game
and subpar quarterback play since Kurt Warner retired, Fitzgerald
has continued to thrive. Had Arizona managed to snag Peyton Manning,
Fitzgerald could have pushed Calvin Johnson a bit more for the
top spot on this list. Regardless, when a receiver posts an 80-1,411-8
line in an off-year with less than impressive quarterback play,
it�s hard to knock his long-term value. Fitzgerald has eclipsed
1,400 yards AND eight TDs in the same season four times in his
career, hasn�t missed a game since 2007 and should benefit
from any improvement Kevin Kolb or John Skelton makes in 2012.
Add in the fact he is the closest thing the NFL has to Jerry Rice
in terms of his offseason workout regimen and there is enough
to believe he has at least 5-6 elite years left in him.
Green has top-five dynasty talent.
With the way Green crashed the party as a rookie last season,
Calvin Johnson better not get too comfortable as the top receiver
in dynasty and keeper leagues. Already one of the league�s
premier receiving talents, Green�s ability to do just about
everything on the football field � including playing hurt
� makes him almost too good to be true. Unfortunately, like
every other player in the league, Green does have a weakness or
two. Cincinnati wants to be a running team in the West Coast offense,
which will probably hold Green 10-20 receptions below where he
should be each season. The other concern about Green is his size.
While he is fearless, he is also wiry. Perhaps all the 6-4, 211-pound
WR needs is a bit more time to mature into his body, but until
he gets a bit thicker, he might not get the chance to challenge
the two players listed above him.
Many owners did not realize until after the season had ended
that Nicks was a beaten-up and downtrodden shell of himself for
a good part of the season. Amazingly, he missed just one game
despite lingering shoulder, knee and hamstring injuries and still
finished 12th among receivers in PPR formats. But as the season
came to an end and his body began to heal a bit, Nicks finished
with a bang, taking us back to the dominance he displayed in 2010.
With Victor Cruz emerging opposite him and the Giants likely to
threaten teams with an athletic TE (Martellus Bennett) down the
middle of the field, Nicks� owners may find he has another
step left to take�into superstardom. Like Green, durability
may be his most pressing concern.
For the majority of the 2011 season, Jones was either a fantasy
tease or just being a typical inconsistent rookie � depending
on your point of view. And then, as if Jones was summoned by the
fantasy gods, he dominated during the fantasy playoffs and gave
us a brief glimpse of the talent Atlanta saw when it dealt a boatload
of picks for him last April. Jones was drafted to complement Roddy
White initially, but at his current pace, it won�t be long
until he is the No. 1 option in the passing game. Furthermore,
the Falcons will have a wealth of playmakers in the passing game
for the foreseeable future even after Tony Gonzalez retires. So
where�s the downside? Without trying to sound like a broken
record � durability. Jones� inability to stay on the
field for a full season at Alabama and now Atlanta is about the
only major long-term concern he has as a fantasy property.
Perhaps Jennings is just not physically imposing enough or maybe
his resume lacks a 100-catch season. Whatever the excuse is, Green
Bay�s top receiver continues to fly under the radar as an
elite receiver. While he is an old man (will turn 29 during the
season) relative to all but one of the players above him on this
list, Jennings has about as much going for him as any receiver
in the league. His quarterback is Aaron Rodgers and Green Bay
has an abundance of weapons in the passing game. Although that
is a problem for some receivers, the Packers rarely forget to
go his way for very long, making him one of the more consistent
players in fantasy. As a key cog in arguably the most dynamic
offense in the NFL, Jennings is an extremely valuable receiver
relative to the other elite players at his position. And finally,
for those of you who put stock in such things, Jennings is entering
a contract year in 2012.
It appears Pittsburgh gambled and won when it placed a first-round
tender on Wallace instead of the franchise tag. (I will continue
to say this is a no-brainer for a team like Cincinnati, which
has the cap room to offer a contract the Steelers cannot match
while also hurting a division rival, multiple first-round picks
and a pressing need at the position. Wallace is a proven receiver
entering his age-26 season can be had for the same price it will
take to land Kendall Wright or Stephen Hill.) In terms of his
long-term fantasy value, Wallace should experience a short-term
boost as the Steelers will likely be forced to feature him with
Rashard Mendenhall unlikely to carry his usual load. And as long
as Antonio Brown continues his emergence, Wallace should experience
the same kind of consistency that Victor Cruz allows Nicks and
Jordy Nelson gives Jennings.
White is a fantasy machine when he is healthy, which he certainly
was not for the first half of the 2011 season while battling knee
and thigh injuries. The first 30-year-old on this list, White�s
struggles (league-leading 15 drops) were likely a function of
him operating at less than 100%. On the other hand, he has led
the league in third-down receptions in each of the past two seasons,
which suggests he has at least a couple huge PPR years ahead of
him as Matt Ryan�s most trusted receiver. With that said,
Julio Jones will probably emerge as the best fantasy receiver
on this team no later than 2013, so White�s long-term stock
takes a slight hit although I suspect he�ll be a strong
fantasy wideout through the end of his current contract in 2014.
It is White�s durability � and willingness to play
with pain � that gives him the edge over the other grizzled
veterans ranked below him.
Over the last two seasons in which he played a full 16-game schedule,
Andre Johnson posted 100+ catches and 1,500+ yards. Unfortunately,
his hamstrings have made him something of a risk since those huge
years occurred in 2008 and 2009. When he is right, there is perhaps
no other receiver other than Calvin Johnson who matches his level
of athleticism. His other fantasy flaw is the fact he has yet
to eclipse the 10-TD mark in a single season, although it isn�t
really fair to blame AJ for that. Fortunately, the running game
has taken center stage in Houston, which presents Johnson with
his best chance for the first double-digit TD season he�s
had in his career. Certainly, AJ will see his share of double
teams on passing downs, but defenses cannot commit just to taking
him away anymore. It is for that reason that I believe he has
enough good years left in him to warrant a top 10 spot among receivers.
Perhaps he is just destined to be injury-prone, but I wouldn�t
bet on it.
Entering his fourth season in the NFL, Britt has hardly been
an angel. And when he hasn�t appeared on the police blotter,
he�s been in the trainer�s room. After giving us a
brief glimpse of his incredible potential in Weeks 1-2 of last
season, Britt blew out his ACL in Week 3. His rehab is said to
be going exceedingly well and we have already seen he will be
the focal point of the Titans� passing game when healthy,
so will he finally put it all together in his fourth season? I
believe the answer is yes. According to sources, rehab and married
life have helped to keep him out of trouble this offseason. The
eventual ascension of QB Jake Locker into the starting lineup
should also open up even more opportunities for Britt since Locker
should be able to extend plays and has a stronger arm than Matt
Hasselbeck. Assuming Britt�s youthful indiscretions were
just that and he can finally find a way to stay healthy, there
is top-five receiver upside here in dynasty and keeper leagues.
While Harvin�s physical dimensions (5-11, 184 pounds) suggest
he is a something of a lightweight, he is anything but. Despite
being on the field for just 57.9% of the Vikings� offensive
snaps because Minnesota basically wanted to protect him from himself,
Harvin set career highs in receptions (87), receiving yards (965),
rushing yards (345) while finishing second to Wes Welker in yards
after catch (616). If he can muster this kind of production with
limited snaps and the combination of an ineffective Donovan McNabb
and inexperienced Christian Ponder throwing him the ball, just
imagine what is possible if he is on the field for two-thirds
of his team�s offensive snaps and Ponder is one year wiser.
Furthermore, Harvin will likely be asked to do more early this
year since Adrian Peterson will be less than his usual self. Until
further notice, Harvin is the one difference maker the Vikings
have in their passing game. There is virtually no limit to the
number of ways he can touch the ball either, which means his best
years should be ahead of him.
For a player who was on the roster bubble in each of his first
two years in the league, there is a definite one-year wonder factor
to consider with Cruz. But while any number of players can come
out of nowhere to have a huge season, very few have smashed team
records and deliver in the clutch as often as he did. Time after
time, Cruz made the key play or outfought a defender for a deep
ball � occurrences that signal he may have some staying
power. Also consider that Eli Manning will be his quarterback
and Hakeem Nicks will continue to get the majority of defensive
attention for as long as he can stay healthy and there is every
reason to believe that Cruz�s arrival on the scene was not
a fluke. He essentially broke the Giants� all-time receiving
record in just 13 games (he combined for 29 yards over three games
during the first six weeks of the season). Ideally, fantasy owners
would have a year to give a chance to prove himself again, but
his obscene level of production once he became a starter speaks
for itself � he should have good staying power.
Annually underrated in redraft leagues, Welker is a PPR dynamo
� plain and simple. After taking a back seat to Randy Moss
in the touchdown department early in his New England career, Welker
has emerged as a viable red-zone threat over the last two years
despite the emergence of matchup nightmare Rob Gronkowski. However,
one has to think that Brandon Lloyd will give this offense what
Chad Ochocinco was supposed to last season � a player who
can threaten the defense vertically. Along with the Patriots�
additions at fullback (yes, fullback), New England may try to
emphasize the running game a bit more than it did under former
OC Bill O�Brien. The difference shouldn�t show up
too much in Welker�s year-end totals (except in TDs) since
he will be fighting the likes of Gronkowski, Lloyd and Aaron Hernandez
for those chances now. Otherwise, another 1-2 seasons of 100-catches
and 1,200+ yards are very possible before his quickness starts
to fade and/or Brady begins to lose his edge.
In what amounted to a wasted season for Maclin and the Eagles,
the third-year receiver overcame a scary virus that robbed him
of training camp and then dealt with nagging hamstring and shoulder
injuries that dogged him for most of the season, limiting him
to 63 catches, 859 yards and five TDs in 13 games. But as he begins
his age-24 season, it is entirely reasonable to think Maclin has
just scratched the surface of his fantasy potential. DeSean Jackson
is unlikely to ever evolve into anything more than a deep threat
but still strikes fear into defenses, leaving Michael Vick with
several opportunities to hit Maclin on intermediate routes. LeSean
McCoy, Jason Avant and Brent Celek each steal a share of Maclin�s
pie, but the Missouri alum is Vick�s favorite (and most
trusted) target when both Vick and Maclin are healthy. The Missouri
alum doesn�t possess the freakish athleticism of some of
the receivers on this list, but he is the most dependable option
Philadelphia has in its high-scoring, pass-heavy offense.
One of the common threads with the majority of receivers up to
this point is solid to elite quarterback play. On occasion, Bowe
has gotten that from Matt Cassel � but not often enough,
which is why one of the toughest receiver matchups in the NFL
occupies this relatively low spot in the rankings. Whether or
not Kansas City comes out of the draft with competition for Cassel
or adds a free agent before the start of training camp, there
is a strong chance Cassel will be on a short leash in 2011. The
downside, of course, is that option doesn�t figure to be
much better than Cassel. Regardless of who has been under center,
Bowe has produced despite less-than-average QB play for most of
his time as a Chief. While the QB mystery figures to go unanswered
for a while longer, defenses can no longer game plan specifically
for Bowe anymore as the Chiefs are collecting a wealth of receiving
talent. This means that his dynasty arrow is pointing up as he
enters his prime.
Based solely on last season, it would be hard to view Austin
as a must-have fantasy receiver after hamstring injuries in both
legs cost him six games in 2011. Certainly, it is easy to extrapolate
his numbers from the 10 games he did play and suggest he is trending
downwards, but how many games was he actually healthy for and
how many others was he trying to �knock off the rust�?
And before critics suggest he has experienced two �down�
years since his 2009 breakout, remember Tony Romo � who
seems to trust him almost as much as he does Jason Witten �
missed more than half of the 2010 season. So where does that leave
him long-term? Assuming Romo and Austin can both stay on the field
this season, a return to elite status is entirely possible, especially
with Laurent Robinson not around to steal scoring opportunities.
And until we start seeing evidence of Romo repeatedly favoring
Dez Bryant in critical situations over Austin and/or Witten, I
see no reason to move the youngster ahead of Austin in redraft
or dynasty formats.
The next few receivers deserve their own tier, but not just because
they are supremely talented. Kicking off the �bad boy�
tier is Steve Johnson, who apparently graduated from the Chad
Ochocinco school of receivers (rebel on the field in any way possible
but keep your nose clean off the field). Despite lacking the incredible
physical talent of the two players ranked below him, Johnson is
without question the best playmaker Buffalo has in its passing
game. He also benefits from being in a Chan Gailey offense with
a QB that suffers from a touch of the �Napoleon Complex�
in Ryan Fitzpatrick. As a result, Johnson gets a lot of work within
5-10 yards of the line of scrimmage since many of Fitzpatrick�s
throws are off three-step drops. The few times Fitzpatrick challenges
defenses a bit further down the field, he usually does so in Johnson�s
direction. After signing a rich five-year contract in March, it
doesn�t look like much is going to change anytime soon either.
Johnson may ultimately lack the �wow factor� of some
of the receivers below him, but at least he is durable and dependable
� which are good traits to have from a fantasy WR2.
Quite simply, if Dez Bryant ever embraces the fact he is a football
player, he has more than enough talent to become one of the best
receivers in the NFL over the last decade or so. Obviously, as
he enters his age-24 season, there is still more than enough time
for him to mature to the point where he needs to in order to gain
the trust of his team, but it�s not likely to happen until
he shows HC Jason Garrett and QB Tony Romo that he is significantly
better than Miles Austin and more trustworthy than Jason Witten.
As you have likely already guessed, Bryant doesn�t warrant
as high of a ranking as one might think because it is hard to
know if/when his mind is right. Romo has two other dependable
options, so with Bryant�s off-field problems and reports
that he still doesn�t know how to run routes (which would
explain the number of screen passes he gets in relation to other
receivers) and you have enough ammunition to put him in the long-term
�what could have been� tier in fantasy.
Long before Johnson was getting flagged for questionable on-field
judgment and Bryant made poor choices off the field, Marshall
was blazing the trail for them. While it is not fair or pertinent
to list his most notable transgressions here, it really comes
as little surprise why such a dominant talent is already working
for his third different employer. Whether or not his problems
stem from a disorder that can be treated � as has been reported
� or just poor decision-making ability, Marshall essentially
belongs in the Terrell Owens class of players who create as much
chaos for opponents as they do for their own team. The thought
of owning Marshall in a dynasty or keeper league setting makes
owners hold their breath in a similar yet much different way than
owning a player like Michael Vick, Darren McFadden or Frank Gore.
Either way, Marshall gets another fresh start in Chicago, where
he gets a chance to work again with a quarterback that helped
turn him into a household name five years ago. In the end, Bears
fans and fantasy owners alike can hope he will eventually conquer
his personal demons, but until then, he�s no better than
a fantasy WR2 in dynasty and keeper league formats.
(Decker & Thomas) With all the buzz Demaryius Thomas created
once he finally got on the field in 2011, it�s hard to go
against the grain and say that he won�t also be the choice
of Denver�s new QB. Here�s the problem: Thomas has
either had some of the worst injury luck to begin his NFL career
or he is just going to remain a perpetual injury risk. For that
reason, I think Decker is the slightly better choice of the two
young Bronco WRs in dynasty leagues. Using the personnel the Colts
had several years ago (which is apt if Peyton Manning is allowed
to call most of the game for the Broncos as expected), Decker
is projected to play the Marvin Harrison role (flanker) while
Thomas will inherit Reggie Wayne�s split end spot. Harrison
made a living on short �in� routes, something Decker
should be able to emulate given his 6-3, 220-pound frame. Plus,
Decker would seem to be the logical first choice to work out of
the slot, opening the door for even more opportunity and single
coverage while Thomas might see coverage tilted in his direction
due to his big-play ability and the notion that he will remain
on the perimeter. While both young receivers will take turns dominating
in fantasy, I tend to believe Decker has more consistent upside
in PPR leagues due to his new role while Thomas may enjoy huge
games, but be a bit less consistent. In the end, I believe choosing
between the two in dynasty league is simply splitting hairs as
both players have significant upside now with Manning in town.
Most of us were led to believe during Antonio Brown�s explosive
2011 preseason that he was simply another creation of the Steelers�
passing game machine that has given us such WR3 luminaries such
as Antwaan Randle El and Nate Washington over the years. After
all, if any player was going to emerge as the next WR3 in line,
it was going to be Emmanuel Sanders. Little did we know at the
time Sanders was destined to be injury-prone, so by the time he
was able to actually contribute in consecutive games, Brown had
already breezed right past him and a declining Hines Ward in the
pecking order for Ben Roethlisberger. And once teams got tired
of watching Wallace burn them repeatedly over the first half of
the season, Brown repeatedly burned single coverage as defenses
made shutting down Wallace a priority. I�m still a bit leery
of Brown�s ability to be an actual WR1 if Wallace were injured
for any length of time, but until that becomes an issue, the Steelers
have a pair of receivers � much like the Giants and Falcons,
among others � who will benefit from playing off their tag-team
partner with a quarterback more than capable of hitting them in
While A.J. Green and Julio Jones were expected to make an impact
in their rookie seasons, I�m not sure a single first-year
receiver impressed me more than Denarius Moore did in 2011. Certainly,
it is easy to get caught up in all the measurables a gifted receiver
has and/or the highlight-reel plays he makes, but Moore is more
than just track speed and �wow� plays. In my opinion,
he is a lot like Brandon Lloyd, just eight years younger. After
flashing in his second NFL game (5-146-1 against Buffalo), Moore
quickly lost his luster as injuries and defenses adjusted to him
quickly since Oakland lacked an above-average quarterback. However,
Moore enjoyed another rise to prominence in the second half of
the season after the team acquired Carson Palmer. When you consider
what Moore was able to do as a rookie (618 yards and five scores)
with no offseason, constant change at QB and his own injuries,
it boggles the mind what might be able to do when luck is actually
is on his side. Over the final six games when he played with Palmer,
Moore posted three games of 91+ receiving yards and scored three
times. Palmer has already gone on record he expect Moore to become
a star and, quite frankly, when quarterbacks make announcements
like that, they do what they can to make it happen. Even though
I compared him to Lloyd earlier, it is obvious he won�t
have to wait nearly as long as Lloyd did to break through. If
Palmer can stay healthy and remain somewhat productive over the
next 1-2 years, Moore could be vying for a Pro Bowl berth as early
as 2013.
Much like Denarius Moore, Torrey Smith was another rookie who
showed he was more than just a �speed guy� in 2011.
His 50-841-7 stat line from last season came as a surprise to
just everyone who not only considered him raw, but also because
he wasn�t supposed to get a whole lot of run last season
after the Ravens traded for Lee Evans. As we look forward to 2012
and beyond, Smith has a wonderful opportunity to snatch the WR1
job from Anquan Boldin at some point this season or next since
the ex-Cardinal will be turning 32 during the season. With Boldin
likely to become less effective in the coming years, Baltimore
doesn�t currently possess much in-house competition for
Smith�s rise to the top receiving spot. The tight ends (Dennis
Pitta and Ed Dickson) are solid, but will never be elite and Tandon
Doss doesn�t figure to see much action until Boldin has
noticeably declined, so it is quite possibly Smith and Ray Rice
lead the team in most receiving categories over the next few years.
Smith has a lot of work to do on his route running, but considering
how truly raw he was coming out of Maryland, his rookie-year numbers
gives you a fair idea of what his upside is once he actually learns
the art of receiving.
Give Lloyd credit � he knows a good thing when he sees
it. Lloyd credits OC Josh McDaniels for being the first coach
he had at the NFL level who really believed in him. Thus, he jumped
at the opportunity to continue working with him when he signed
a three-year deal with New England to fill the role the Pats hoped
Chad Ochocinco would occupy in 2010 � a deep threat that
could make some Randy Moss-like plays downfield. Lloyd was an
obvious choice for New England since he already knows McDaniels�
offense and the OC is certainly no stranger to the Patriots. Although
Tom Brady is on a whole other level than either Sam Bradford or
Kyle Orton, the quality of Lloyd�s new QB figures to be
counterbalanced by the fact that neither Denver nor St. Louis
had anything close to the trio of Wes Welker-Aaron Hernandez-Rob
Gronkowski. It is also worth noting that McDaniels� dynamic
Patriot offenses leaned on Welker and Moss, so suggesting he will
post Moss-like numbers at any point is a bit of a stretch. With
that said, he is the best receiver the team has employed opposite
Welker since Moss, so he will be productive.
For someone who returns punts on a part-time basis, it surprises
me DeSean Jackson has the kind of reservations he does about running
routes over the middle of the field. Perhaps he was simply playing
to �protect himself� over the past year or two, but
with his financial future now secure, he has little reason to
operate solely as a clearout receiver now. Because he is such
a big-play wideout, Jackson will always be more valuable in non-PPR
formats, but if his contract was truly the one factor holding
him back, then a return to his 2009 production (63-1,167-9) shouldn�t
be asking for too much. Because Philadelphia spreads the wealth
in the passing game like it does and focuses much more on short
and intermediate routes, that stat line from 2009 � barring
an injury to Jeremy Maclin or Jason Avant � is probably
his ceiling. And based on the way I saw him play (and complain)
over the last two years, I�m not sure he�s going to
generate enough trust among his teammates to get back to that
Based on some early observations, the fantasy community seems
to believe Vincent Jackson will take a production hit based almost
entirely on the expected drop-off from Philip Rivers to Josh Freeman.
While the reasoning is logical, Freeman is still easily an above-average
NFL quarterback that may have a more complete offense around him
than Rivers has enjoyed in years. With the Bucs focused on being
a physical running team behind one of the league�s most
talented run-blocking lines, Jackson should be lethal as a deep-ball
receiver off play-action. In short, I don�t expect Jackson�s
overall numbers to drop much � if at all � over the
next 2-3 years because whatever talent gap exists between the
two quarterbacks should be made up by Freeman�s ability
to extend plays with his mobility and an offensive line that should
give him a second or two more on a consistent basis than Rivers
has received lately.
After seeing his career resuscitated by the arrivals of Cam Newton
and OC Rob Chudzinski in 2011, Steve Smith was able to remind
us all of the fearless mighty mite in his prime and land one more
big contract � especially for a receiver entering his age-33
season. While age will probably catch up to him before the end
of his contract � he�ll be 37 if the option in his
contract for 2016 gets picked up � there�s a pretty
good chance Smith will be Newton�s main target for at least
2-3 more seasons. One reason for my level of confidence in that
statement is based on Smith�s physical build. At 5-9 and
185 pounds, he sounds like nothing more than a slot receiver.
However, he is thick in addition to being quick and wears his
weight like a running back, which makes him a nightmare for most
of the defensive backs in the league now that spend such little
time practicing how to tackle. It�s his build that makes
me think he�ll age more gracefully than most receivers his
age, which is why I�m giving him a slight nod here over
some talented younger wideouts.
For a receiver who has been so productive, it may come as a surprise
to see Colston this low. My issues with him are simple: the fact
that he lines up in the slot so often nowadays helps mask his
inability to create separation from most cornerbacks. Furthermore,
he has proven to be an injury risk. In fact, the only reason I
have him this high is based on the high regard I have for Drew
Brees, who consistently threads the needle on his throws to Colston
and allows him to use the one advantage he does have on most defensive
backs � size. For those dynasty owners tied to Colston,
you can probably safely assume about three more years of WR2-level
production from him since Brees isn�t going anywhere and
Jimmy Graham and Darren Sproles will be attracting a lot of the
defensive attention. Last but not least, it is very difficult
for any defense to double a slot receiver since doing so leaves
a defense very vulnerable to the kind of big plays that players
like Graham and Sproles can create.
At first, the Chargers� acquisition of Meachem didn�t
thrill me a great deal. But as I considered it a bit more, if
Meachem is going to thrive in an offensive system, it would be
in a downfield passing game that uses play-action as often as
HC Norv Turner does. Furthermore, Vincent Jackson never was a
high-volume catch receiver, instead making his living by beating
his man down the field and not as much because he was a strong
run-after-catch player. It�d be foolish to expect Meachem
to post the same kind of ridiculous numbers Jackson did in San
Diego (such as V-Jax�s career 17.5 YPC or his 28 TDs over
his last 51 games), but I do not doubt Meachem�s ability
to play the position at a level at which he will be an every-week
starter in three-receiver leagues. Ultimately, I can see Vincent
Brown emerging as the lead receiver over the next few years, but
despite flashes during his rookie season, that is a fairly risky
projection for a 23-year-old receiver who will always be a better
route runner than athlete. There�s also something to be
said about the opportunity Meachem has to make a name for himself
(and the motivation that comes along with it) after being cast
as a deep-threat specialist as a Saint.
Titus Young will be the first of two second-year receivers at
the back end of this list that I�m sure will cause some
debate with their rather high ranking. While it is quite obvious
he will never be anything more than the second option in the passing
game as long as Calvin Johnson is around, it doesn�t mean
he won�t be important. Quite often, when talent meets opportunity
in fantasy, big numbers will follow. In Detroit, there will be
plenty of opportunity since Matthew Stafford will probably continue
to attempt more than 40 passes per game (41.4 attempts in 2011)
and �Megatron� will continue to attract more defensive
attention than just about any other receiver in the game. Further
consider that Young should begin his rise to fantasy prominence
over the next year or two, allowing him to share WR2 duties with
Nate Burleson this year before overtaking him in 2013. Since Detroit
has no plans to run a balanced offense in the near future, Young
should enjoy being one of the few high-volume big-play receivers
that should never see double coverage. He�s probably still
a year away from 60+ catches AND 1,000 receiving yards, but once
he gets there � presumably in 2013 � look for him
to stay at that level for a few years.
Who exactly is Michael Crabtree? The Texas Tech alum is still
plenty young (entering his age-25 season) and coming off a career-best
season, but he continues to fall short of expectations. At some
point, a player is who he is, with the only thing that can help
him achieve more is when he is surrounded with more talent. Fortunately
for Crabtree, he may be getting that needed talent infusion heading
into his fourth season. In Randy Moss and Mario Manningham, the
Niners should be getting at least one player who can stretch the
field in three-receiver sets, allowing Crabtree to work the underneath
zone coverage from the slot and use his run-after-catch abilities.
There�s little doubt Vernon Davis should remain Alex Smith�s
most trusted target going forward, but even if Crabtree does nothing
more than find the end zone a bit more often, his 73 receptions
and 880 yards over 15 games last season should serve as a floor
for what he is capable of as a high-end fantasy WR3 over the next
3-5 years.
Let�s get this out of the way right away: the Redskins
overpaid for Garcon and just about everyone knows it, including
his current employer. However, our job as fantasy owners is not
to punish a player for that, but recognize the statistical contributions
he will make because he is being paid like a WR1. With that said,
I can�t think of many other places that Garcon could have
landed to maintain the same kind of fantasy value he enjoyed in
2011 with Curtis Painter and Dan Orlovsky on his way to a career-best
season. Even without watching Robert Griffin III take a single
NFL snap, it is clear to me that Team Shanahan will give him carte
blanche to make plays with his feet � which includes extending
pass plays � So when the rookie freelances like that, Garcon
is the one Washington receiver most likely to benefit. I�m
not going to suggest Garcon will average 65-70 catches or exceed
1,000 yards on a regular basis, but the threat of the run will
open him up to match or break his career high of six TD catches.
Garcon is probably going to be a matchup receiver in fantasy at
best going forward and doesn�t figure to be any more consistent
now than he was as a Colt, but I tend to believe he will have
enough �splash� games to be a solid WR3 option in
fantasy for the next few seasons.
I�m not sure there was a player who benefitted from the
offseason in reality but saw his short- to-intermediate fantasy
stock drop more than the Bucs� Mike Williams this offseason.
New HC Greg Schiano will stress the run game more than any recent
Tampa Bay coach, which will certainly take some of the pressure
off of Williams to carry the offense. The addition of Vincent
Jackson also means that Williams will receive less of the defense�s
attention each week. However, unlike many of the other tag-team
receiver situations mentioned above, the new offense under OC
Mike Sullivan will probably be too conservative initially to ensure
the fantasy success of two receivers, a tight end and a running
back. Furthermore, if I were considering any young receiver for
my dynasty league team, I would hate to be concerned about his
work ethic or focus on football � and that is a concern
with Williams, especially after last season. Perhaps Schiano and
Sullivan will show Williams some tough love and get the best out
of him, but I�m not going to assume that will happen either.
So, for now, Williams� talent keeps him among the top 40
dynasty receivers, but just barely.
As of this very moment, there is very little standing in the
way of Holmes enjoying his best season as a Jet � outside
of his lukewarm relationship with Mark Sanchez. (The kids are
reportedly mending fences as we speak, so we�ll assume for
now they�ll place nice in 2012.) However, despite the fact
that touchdown vulture Plaxico Burress will not return, there
are two rather large obstacles for Holmes drastically improving
upon the 51- and 52-catch seasons he has managed in his first
two seasons with the Jets: 1) New York may very well be the most
run-heavy team in the league this season and 2) when Sanchez isn�t
the one throwing him the ball � far from an ideal situation
anyway � it will be Tim Tebow. The more optimistic fantasy
owner would suggest since the Jets will be so run-centric, it
should loosen coverage on Holmes a bit when the team goes play-action,
allowing Holmes to improve his YPC and long-distance touchdowns.
Still, when you consider all that is wrong with his on-field situation
and add in his less-than-ideal attitude, you have a recipe for
a receiver whose name value will likely continue to outweigh his
actual fantasy value on draft day.
For those that value my opinion on such things, I tend to agree
with Mike Mayock�s recent assessment that Blackmon compares
more favorably with Hakeem Nicks and Dwayne Bowe � two receivers
drafted in the twenties of their respective drafts � than
A.J. Green and Julio Jones. (My early comparison was a slightly
better version of Michael Crabtree.) While Minnesota would have
us believe it is considering him at No. 3 overall, Blackmon is
the most likely of the six �blue-chip� players to
fall a bit on draft day. (In fact, I wouldn�t be overly
surprised to see him wind up in Miami or Carolina.) Regardless
of his future employer, he will be expected to start almost immediately
and likely to be asked to be his team�s top receiver this
year (or next, at the latest). While Blackmon doesn�t possess
the same skill set as Green or Jones, I don�t think talent
will be his issue � he�s not elite in that regard,
but he�s good enough to be a long-term NFL starter �
I�m more concerned about some of off-field decisions he
has made (DUI, reported missed practices and flying to Las Vegas
following Oklahoma State�s win over Stanford in the Fiesta
Bowl). As a result, I�m going to throw him into this top
40 in the same tier that I do other players who I cannot trust
for one reason or another and allow him to prove me wrong.
For fantasy owners, it�s a shame that former Raiders HC
Hue Jackson wasn�t kept around for a number of reasons.
Among those reasons was the 2011 breakout of Heyward-Bey, who
I believe will be negatively impacted by the transition from Jackson
to new OC Greg Knapp. For the most part, Knapp tends to favor
the run game and will be installing a zone run-blocking system
in Oakland. Where this hurts DHB is that such teams usually don�t
run play-action from that in order to hit a receiver in the short
to intermediate areas of the field � a place where Heyward-Bey
was able to make a living last season with his improving run-after-catch
abilities. Denarius Moore figures to move into the WR1 role and
will likely command most of the deep shots Knapp dials up, so
I struggle with the likelihood DHB will match his 64-975-4 line
from a season ago. Additionally, I�m less than enthusiastic
about Carson Palmer�s ability to remain an above-average
quarterback much longer. He still runs a bit hot and cold �
as he did in his final years with the Bengals � and as he
turns 33 at the end of the season, so I don�t see that changing
now. Last but not least, I�m afraid that a healthy Jacoby
Ford could steal even more of DHB�s fantasy thunder on an
offense that will likely lean on the run.
As I hinted above in the Titus Young blurb, I am also really
high on the future of another second-year receiver � Randall
Cobb. I�m well aware that Donald Driver will likely be around
for a farewell tour and that Green Bay has no shortage of receiving
options, meaning production in 2012 may be hard to come by for
Cobb. Here�s the thing: Cobb is nearly impossible for one
defender to guard in the slot and he is the most explosive player
the Packers have on offense (and special teams). I suppose the
case could be made that Cobb will remain in a Devin Hester-like
role for the time being, but for a team that is so pass-happy,
I have my doubts as to whether or not Green Bay will limit the
role of such a dynamic playmaker. The upside with Cobb in this
offense is huge and it would not surprise me if he became a bit
of a drain on Jordy Nelson�s fantasy value already this
season. Perhaps he doesn�t exceed 40 catches in 2012 (he
had 25 as a rookie), but as one of the youngest players in the
NFL, time is on his side.
I think it is safe to say that if this ranking was being done
strictly based on athleticism and age, Sidney Rice would much
higher. And it is too bad because Matt Flynn represents the best
quarterback he�s had to work with since Brett Favre in 2009
� the year before Favre finally started showing his age.
Rice cannot seem to catch a break when it comes to injuries, having
suffered three concussions in 12 months to go along with recent
shoulder and hip surgeries. The injuries are piling up to a point
now where he is probably a risky WR3 in redraft or dynasty leagues.
Thus, Rice is much lower on this list than someone with his talent,
age and situation should be. I�m not going to pretend that
Rice is a perfect fantasy receiver when he�s healthy, but
the holes he does have as a fantasy wideout don�t matter
much to the dynasty owner that only gets to use him half a season
and worries about his availability the rest of the time.
The Next 10
41. Vincent Brown, SD
Brown doesn�t possess an elite skill set, but he was pro-ready
coming out of last year�s draft and has Philip Rivers as his quarterback
for the foreseeable future. It would not come as a shock if overtakes
Malcom Floyd in the starting lineup at some point this season.
42. Michael Floyd, TBD
Some draftniks are calling Floyd �the Larry Fitzgerald to Justin
Blackmon�s Anquan Boldin�, which will only rile up the masses
even more if the Golden Domer doesn�t make 5-8 Pro Bowls. Floyd
doesn�t project to be an elite wideout, but like the other rookie
receivers in this draft, he�ll be selected at a point where he�ll
be expected to contribute in 2011. He could go as high as No.
6 to St. Louis, but Buffalo at No. 10 or any of the teams from
Nos. 16-19 make more sense.
43. Greg Little, CLE
Fortunately for his fantasy stock (and unfortunately for his team�s
offensive potential), Little is currently his team�s most
dynamic regular offensive playmaker when he really should be the
second or third. The lead receiver in Cleveland�s underwhelming
offensive talent pool, Little seems certain to lead the Browns
in most receiving categories in 2012 almost by default unless
they land Blackmon with their first pick or watch Floyd somehow
drop to No. 22 overall.
44. Anquan
Boldin, BAL
Long one of my favorite receivers, Boldin is closer to the end
of his career than the beginning. His physical style of play has
allowed him to maximize his fantasy potential over the years but
also caused him to miss more games than fantasy owners want to
see from a WR2. Torrey Smith should begin to emerge as Joe Flacco�s
top WR option over the next 1-2 years and Baltimore also has Ray
Rice to steal a lot of short-catch opportunities from Boldin as
45. Lance Moore, NO
I find it nearly impossible to get a handle on Moore, but the
stats speak for themselves: 50+ catches and eight-plus touchdowns
in three of the last four seasons. For fantasy purposes, he�s
a �splash receiver� as his three-year consistency
score (4.48) will attest. Still, serving as one of his quarterback�s
main short and intermediate options in one of the NFL�s
most explosive offenses makes him a viable low-end WR3 or WR4
most weeks in PPR.
46. Kendall Wright, TBD
Wright elicits comparisons to Santonio Holmes (thankfully, just
on the field) while others believe he will ultimately find his
long-term home as a slot receiver. He doesn�t have Mike Wallace�s
long speed, but if he lands in a place like Cincinnati or Houston,
he could find himself enjoying a lighter version of Wallace�s
first three years in Pittsburgh. I believe there is less difference
between his floor and ceiling than any of this draft�s other top
receiver prospects.
47. Austin Collie, IND
I�m sure the absence of Reggie Wayne from this list is appalling,
but he will turn 34 during the season and could easily be released
after the season with the way his new contract is structured.
Donnie Avery can�t be expected to stay healthy, leaving Collie,
who one of the most efficient receivers on a per-play basis entering
his age-27 season, to work the slot in the coming years with a
rookie QB.
48. Nate Washington, TEN
Washington showed me a lot more than I thought he was capable
of last season, posting career highs across the board. One of
these years, however, Kenny Britt WILL stay healthy AND Tennessee
will commit to using Jared Cook � as a matchup nightmare all across
the field as opposed to just a passing-down specialist � for an
entire season. Additionally, the Titans will want to find Damian
Williams playing time as well, meaning Washington will return
to his 40-50 catch ways.
49. Laurent Robinson, JAC
Robinson has always been long on talent, but short on durability�until
last season. In Jacksonville, he�ll be part of the group of players/coaches
that will attempt to make the Jags field a decent passing game
after the debacle they put on the field in 2011. With Marcedes
Lewis and Mike Thomas around, there is enough talent to field
a respectable passing game � assuming Jacksonville didn�t traumatize
Blaine Gabbert too much by rushing him into the starting lineup
in 2011.
50. Stephen Hill, TBD
Strictly a raw talent selection at this point, Hill could easily
enjoy a Torrey Smith-like rookie season in the right situation
or serve as a little-used WR4 in 2012. However, given the price
some team will pay to draft him, the former seems more likely
than the latter. In my opinion, he has a bit more polish to his
skill set than former Georgia Tech WR Demaryius Thomas when he
was drafted.
Suggestions, comments, musings about the article
or fantasy football in general? E-mail
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text:
- Drivers spread out across a field or woods and push game out of cover.
- Posters take positions at the end of the cover to intercept game pushed out by the drivers.
The success of a drive depends on good organization and being familiar with the terrain.
It is critical that everyone involved in the drive is aware of the position of other drivers and posters. Wear blaze orange, and never shoot in the direction of another hunter.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Advanced Search
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text:
In 'Cours d'arithmetique', Serre mentions in passing the following fact (communicated to him by Bombieri): Let P be the set of primes whose first (most significant) digit in decimal notation is 1. Then P possesses an analytic density, defined as
$\lim_{s \to 1^+} \frac{\sum_{p \in P} p^{-s}}{\log(\frac{1}{s-1})}$.
This is an interesting example since it's easy to see that this set does not have a 'natural' density, defined simply as the limit of the proportion of elements in P to the # of all primes up to $x$, as $x$ tends to infinity. Therefore the notion of analytic density is a genuine extension of the naive notion (they do coincide when both exist).
How would one go about proving that P has an analytic density?


text:
U.S. Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission
City Hired Younger Workers Over More Qualified 58-Year-Old Applicant, Federal Agency Charged
GREENSBORO , N.C. – The City of Greensboro has agreed to pay $91,000 and furnish other relief to settle an age discrimination lawsuit brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the agency announced today. The EEOC had charged that the city failed to hire a 58-year-old job applicant in June 2007 in favor of three younger candidates.
The EEOC brought the lawsuit against the City of Greensboro under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) after the city failed to hire Terry Pearson (then age 58) as an electronic processes specialist within the city's Guilford Metro 911 Division. The job was a technician's position and generally involved maintenance of the city's radio communication systems for first responders. Pearson had owned an electronics repair shop and had other substantial experience in electronics repair and maintenance through various technician jobs. However, the city selected three substantially younger applicants, all under age 40, who, the EEOC contends, were not as qualified as Pearson. According to the EEOC, several individuals in the case testified that Pearson was rejected because of his age, and specifically, that the hiring manager was concerned Pearson might retire soon after being hired.
Discrimination against persons age 40 and over based on age violates the ADEA. The EEOC filed its complaint in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. city of Greensboro, Civil Action No. 1:09-cv-00576) after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its conciliation process.
The lawsuit also involved a claim against the city for failure to preserve records related to hiring for the position. Federal law requires all employers to keep documents related to personnel decisions for at least one year, and further requires that employers retain such documents in the event an EEOC charge is filed against the employer after the personnel decision is made.


text:
Remember the other day, when I wrote that a few computer models were hinting that the much-publicized "pattern change" to cold and stormy weather might not be coming as expected at the beginning of the year?
I wrote that it was just a few runs of the models and not yet a trend.
Now it's a trend.
Most of the long-range guidance, including the pretty reliable Coupled Forecast System (CFSv2) operated by NOAA, is pointing to a mild January in the Southeast. In fact, temperatures could be well above average, if everything breaks the way it seems.
This marks a pretty big bust in many of the long-range forecasts that had called for a chilly and stormy winter, with the worst of the wintry weather arriving in early January.
First of all, this doesn't mean that it won't get chilly in the Carolinas, because it will -- next week. We're looking at several days of below-average temperatures before and immediately after New Years, although it won't be bitterly cold -- just highs in the mid and upper 40s for a few days.
Second, it doesn't mean arctic cold won't push into the United States. It looks like a blast of cold will slide southward from Canada into the Midwest, dumping cold air into Texas all the way to the Rio Grande next week.
But the computer guidance insists that the cold air won't push east of the Appalachians. Many of the forecasts show a persistent high pressure ridge off the Florida coast. Those southeast ridges are a death knell to wintry weather in the Southeast.
The Arctic Oscillation (AO) refuses to go negative, which keeps a steady west-to-east flow across the southern United States.
This doesn't mean our weather won't turn much colder in late January or February, but it means the computers certainly don't think it will happen anytime soon.
What caused the forecasts to go so wrong? I've been reading a lot of possible explanations, but it's really a reminder that what the science of meteorology has improved a lot in recent years, there are still many things we don't understand. One theory I've seen thrown around the past few days is solar activity, with the theory being that strong solar activity overrides many of our other weather factors.
Greg Fishel of WRAL-TV wrote on his Facebook page on Friday afternoon that the last time we had a pattern like the one developing in early January was in 2005 and again in 2006. Both years, we had highs in the 60s and 70s.
Those two winters produced some of our lightest snowfall ever -- a trace in 2004-05 and 1 inch in 2005-06.
All it takes is one big storm to give us a big snowfall total, but it doesn't seem likely any time soon.
Friday, December 26, 2014
Coming up: A very mild January for Carolinas
Remember the other day, when I wrote that a few computer models were hinting that the much-publicized "pattern change" to cold and stormy weather might not be coming as expected at the beginning of the year?
11 comments:
- Anonymous said...
I don't care how many computer models and radar we develop, we will never predict the weather 100%
- December 26, 2014 at 7:24 PM
- Anonymous said...
Great... guess we'll just keep summer and 90's around all year... Jeez 60's and 70's in winter sucks... some cold weather as a reprieve from the heat and humidity is welcome... shaping up like 2012 when we had no winter.
- December 27, 2014 at 12:07 AM
- Anonymous said...
Charlotte used to have 4 seasons, getting more and more like we have 8 months of summer, 2 of fall and 2 of spring.
- December 27, 2014 at 12:14 AM
- Anonymous said...
But don't worry ... they can forecast that 10 years from now the average temperature will rise 0.2 degrees wreaking havoc on oceans all over the world. Right ...
- December 27, 2014 at 1:16 AM
- Anonymous said...
Anonymous @ 1:16 AM - Ignorance is bliss for you, I guess. There's a huge difference between predicting weather, which is incredibly variable, and predicting climate change, which occurs over decades or more. It has been proven, over and over again, that we are on a path of no return if we don't figure out how to stop global warming. I guess it's people like you who can be blamed by future generations for an uninhabitable planet.
- December 27, 2014 at 9:53 AM
- Stan Carpenter said...
Steve, is there any past record predictability that is published about these forecasts. That is, accurate 60 or 70% of the time? I hope there right.
- December 27, 2014 at 10:37 AM
- Anonymous said...
Anonymous 9:53...jus' keep drinkin' the koolaide. Cause it's never been warmer, in human history, than it is right now.
- December 27, 2014 at 12:13 PM
- Anonymous said...
In my fifty years here Charlotte has really only had two seasons-hot and pleasant. So enjoy the pleasant-until sometime in May that is.
- December 27, 2014 at 1:13 PM
- Cold Miser said...
Hey Anonymous 9:53: You are never going to figure out how to stop "global warming" because there is no such thing, you sanctimonious phony.
"Path of no return." Such pompous rhetoric.
The real story here is how completely and consistently wrong these ridiculous forecasts are. You can look back a few weeks here to see where the prediction was "very cold for January." You see, the science monkey can't make up his mind.
- December 30, 2014 at 6:30 AM
- Anonymous said...
while the weather changes, so does the climate....but the climate changed many times long before man could even be thought to be a factor. The earth was warmer in the 1100-1400 period when the Vikings had over 100,000 head of cattle on Iceland. Then the climate turned cold again. It was colder for a few centuries before it started warming up in the 1700's.
to blame man's actions for the current warming ignores the warming trend long before cars,trains, or electricity production.
- December 30, 2014 at 10:49 PM
- Jeremiah said...
Are the long-range forecasts still showing a significant warm-up, or does the January 07-09 cold snap indicate that long-range models were wrong about the high pressure off Florida keeping cold weather away from the east coast?
- January 8, 2015 at 2:47 PM


text:
2012 Mirror Awards: Angelina's leg, Britney keeps her hair, and Pop wants some nasty
Those ancient Mayans — they're such big, fat liars.
We weren't turned into toast, and so now comes another year of enduring the Kardashian sisterhood. Not to mention months of a royal baby watch, Lindsay Lohan's continuing woes and more bad fashion, which, coincidentally, is our favorite subject here at the Mirror Awards desk.
Yes, it's the most blunderful time of the year — time for an irreverent look back at 2012's fashion flubs and fabs and buzzed-about pop culture moments, stylish and otherwise.
Here's to our seventh annual honorees. May I have the mirror, please?
Ooh, baby, baby!
While many celebs announced they were preggers this year (Kristen Bell, Shakira, Sophie Dahl), it was Kate Middleton who trumped them with her mum-to-be news. As tabloids trumpeted the announcement, you can bet designers set their designs on outfitting the pregnant princess. Our bets are on Sarah Burton of Alexander McQueen to do a turned-around version of Auntie Pippa's butt-hugging maid-of-honor gown. That would be one sexy way to show off a royal baby bump.
Royal commando performance
Harry, that naughty Prince of Wales, made the unruly roster of royal scandal when he was snapped going commando in Las Vegas while ... well ... holding his crown jewels. The photos of the playboy prince were taken with a phone cam during a reported game of "strip billiards."
Olympic-sized fashion flub
Ralph Lauren should have known better, said House Speaker John Boehner of the designer's decision to have the U.S. Olympic team's yuppie-inspired uniforms made in China. The controversy brought attention to America's decline in clothing manufacturing and became a bipartisan debate with Republican leader Boehner and Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., teaming up in the fashion fracas. Reid saw red, suggesting the uniforms be piled and burned. Lauren listened, and come summer 2014, the Olympians' uniforms will bear something too seldom seen in fashion: a Made in the U.S.A. label.
Read her lips
That face. Those eyes. Those screwed-up lips.
Olympic gymnast McKayla Maroney set off Yahoo's most viral photo with facial gymnastics as her golden moment turned silver. More specific, she twisted her mouth to the side, clearly disappointed with her tumble to second place. Instantly, the image became an Internet meme, sparked by a Tumblr blog called "McKayla is not impressed."
It made the rounds like Forrest Gump, popping up in iconic places and alongside famous faces through the wonders of Photoshop. But it was the real deal at the White House last month when she and President Barack Obama mugged the expression for cameras. Now that's impressive.
And the Oscar for Outstanding Achievement in Legs goes to ...
Angelina Jolie's leg was the Oscar night buzz. In her black velveteen Atelier Versace creation, the actress stuck her right leg out — way out, honey — through the gown's thigh-high slit, placing her left hand on her hip and sexing it up for the paparazzi.
But it wasn't only Jolie proving she's got gams. Screenwriter Jim Rash cleverly got a leg up on her, mimicking the provocative pose after she presented him with an Academy Award for "The Descendants." Still, it's Jolie's career that's got legs.
Habit forming
God bless Nicki Minaj and her blasphemous sense of style. With our eyes radar-ready for the worst in fashion, this was a no-brainer. After all, red carpet-bagging is our fave sport, so when Minaj arrived at the Grammy's in a ruby red Atelier Versace nun's habit, we fell to our knees and thanked the heavens for this fabulous fiasco. The red-riding hood part of the ensemble was studded with black grommets. The skirt's poufy front featured a sparkly, black crystal Medusa head. And as for her accessories, forget a clutch or Louboutins — she locked arms with a man wearing papal vestments.
The year saw its share of Hollywood marriages that went belly up (Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony) and high-profile hook-ups that went kaput (Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez) and new unions with forever potential (Jennifer Aniston and Justin Theroux). But the biggest breakup news of all was Katie Holmes blindsiding Tom Cruise to escape from ... well ... Cruise control and his Church of Scientology.
In the end, their 6-year-old daughter Suri went home with Mama and Mama took home a chunk of change.
Popping off a T-shirt craze
During the Western Conference finals in May with the Oklahoma City Thunder, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich demanded: "I want some nasty!" His declaration to kick butt went live on TV. Within hours the catchphrase caught fire and was emblazoned in silver on black T-shirts. Go, Pop, Go!
Comeback queen
Everyone loves a comeback, and Britney Spears has climbed to the top yet again. According to Forbes, Spears hauled in $58 million, making her 2012's highest-paid woman in music. Take that, Taylor Swift. You, too, Rihanna. And since we're slap-happy, come here Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, Beyoncé, Adele, Sade and Madonna. We see you running, Shakira.
Spears' "Femme Fatale" album went platinum, she's a terrific coach on "The X Factor," and she made it through the year without shaving her head.
Fashion's dearly departed
Helen Gurley Brown, editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan's 64 international editions died in August at age 90. Her impact on fashion, popular culture and society reached around the world, first with her 1962 bestseller, "Sex and the Single Girl," and then for more than three decades with her personal stamp on Cosmopolitan. Under her reign, the magazine became the bible of single girls, and Brown became the quintessential "Cosmo girl."
Vidal Sassoon, who became the most famous hairdresser of the late 1950s and 1960s, died in May of natural causes. He was 84. Sassoon is credited for transforming women's hair with his architectural, geometric wash-and-wear cuts that freed women from piled-high sprayed styles at the time. His clients included Twiggy, Peggy Moffat, Jean Shrimpton and Mia Farrow.
Other famous deaths in music, entertainment and pop culture: Whitney Houston, who died Feb. 11, was the most Googled subject of 2012. She was 48. Also gone this year were Neil Armstrong, Ernest Borgnine, Dick Clark, Don Cornelius, Phyllis Diller, Nora Ephron, Robin Gibb, Andy Griffith, Larry Hagman, Marvin Hamlisch, Sherman Hemsley, Etta James, Davy Jones, Sally Ride, Ravi Shankar, Donna Summer, Gore Vidal, Andy Williams and Beastie boy Adam Yaunch.


text:
Date/Time: 27 November 2018 - 19:00 to 20:00
Event Type: Regional Event
Organiser: Mid West: John MacDonald Community Worker
Region: Mid West
Ennis Leisure Complex
Brief Description Of Event:
Group Physio session for people with MS whose mobility is mildly affected (able to walk unaided or with one stick).
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Research shows online supports vital as majority of carers feel isolated in their role Ireland's 360,000 family carers are being celebrated this week as National Carers Week takes place across the country with scores of events being organised specifically for those who care for their loved ones. However, research being published today (Monday) as part of this 13th National Carers Week, indicates that many family carers continue to be unable to leave their own home and depend heavily on online supports for information, support and social connection. Care Alliance Ireland, in partnership with the eleven other National Carers Week partner groups recently undertook a survey of 300 family carers across Ireland. The full report is available here Over half (59%) of respondents said they felt lonely or isolated either 'often' or 'always', with a further 37% saying they 'sometimes' felt that way. Only 3% of respondents said they could 'always' make it to social and support events that they would like to get to – with almost a quarter (23%) saying they can 'never' get to those kinds of events. Over half the respondents are members of online support groups and 76% have looked up information regarding the health of their loved one online. Speaking about the research, Zoe Hughes, Policy & Research Officer with Care Alliance Ireland said; "It's clear that the lack of on-the-ground supports like respite and home care is having a huge impact on family carers being able to take a break and seek supports – meaning that online supports are increasingly become vital for many of those who are isolated and lonely in their role". Following from the results of the research, Care Alliance Ireland are hosting an online coffee morning for those family carers who are unable to make it to the many events happening across the country from 10-16th June. Carers who would like to take part should check the National Carers Week Facebook Page for details.
This week Robert Joyce shares his thoughts on World MS Day and invisible symptoms Every year we take one day, May 30, to tell the world about Multiple Sclerosis. This post is on 'our' blog where we share our experiences of MS and its impact on our lives. I am the audience we write for and I know when I write 'pins & needles', your heads will nod. You have experienced this and many other symptoms, many of which are invisible. This World MS Day we are going to share with the wider world what it is like to have invisible symptoms, and the impact they have on our lives. In the last year there have been two projects showing how these (invisible symptoms) feel. In Ireland we had the MSunderstood Cafe starting as a pop up experience in Dublin and then it toured the country in a bus. When someone without this disease walked in and tried to move an impossible heavy chair or couldn't focus on the blurry menu, they felt for a moment, this illness. The second project was the film 'Hidden' produced by Shift.MS. It followed a young woman on her journey through the day and you could see how difficult it is experiencing something you cannot share. On this day our aim is to move these stories outside of our group to the wider community to share them with people who have no experience of MS. Experiences like the crushing fatigue that makes every movement leaden and difficult, to lost sensation in our fingers making the world feel like some coarse sandpaper, limbs refusing to move like they once did, pain manifesting in so many ways in so many places or L'Hermittes that causes an electric shock to run from your neck to your bottom just because you nodded your head! The world will not know what it is like to live with MS unless we, the people in the MS community, tell them. On this day the spotlight will shine on us all over the world. If you are from Connemara, the USA or India, the message will be the same. We have invisible symptoms we cannot escape from and we cannot fix. MS is incurable. By sharing this message we will be pushing to get more understanding of our daily lives and to get more research to find solutions to our medical needs. On the World MS Day website you will find events taking place all around Ireland and the world. We encourage you to take part in any way possible. It can be online through Twitter, Facebook or Instagram, or maybe at a coffee morning hosted by your local branch. Take part so the wider community, your local community, will understand a little bit of what it is like to live with Multiple Sclerosis.
My name is Maggie Green… I live in Donegal with my two beautiful children, Abigail (8) and Conor (7), my partner Danny and my Great Dane Blue. I was diagnosed in October 2016 with Relasping Remitting MS ( RRMS) and to say that it came as a shock is an understatement! What I thought was a trapped nerve, turned out to be a life changing diagnosis! Initially, we were terrified and all I could focus on were worst case scenarios, but when I was referred to Professor Niall Tubridy in St. Vincent's Hospital this was a big turning point for me. He helped me to realise that I just needed to keep living my life and to manage my MS as effectively as possible. He also helped me to focus on the positives rather than the negatives. Overall, I have been pretty lucky and I count my blessings every day! I work full time as a primary school teacher, teaching children with autism in Letterkenny Educate Together National School and I love my job. The children I teach are incredible and they teach me something new every single day. My Support Network I come from a very big family and they have been wonderful. They are always there for us when things get tough, and sometimes when you live with MS things can get particularly tough. They are always just a phone call away ready to help in any way they can. My mother and father have been unbelievably supportive and I don't think that we would have gotten through the last few years without them. My children Abigail and Conor know that I have MS and know that sometimes I get very tired easily. They know that my body doesn't always do what I want it to do! We've explained to them that it's a bit like a computer that has a few faults! Why am I taking part in the Mini Marathon this year? I want to raise more awareness about MS. I want to help raise funds for MS Ireland and the amazing supports they provide to people like me living with MS. I can't change the fact that I have MS but I feel that I need to do something so my something is trying to contribute to the MS community in some small way. I feel really lucky that I am physically able to do this. Although I might not be saying that by the end of the Mini Marathon!!! My partner Danny and I are getting married four weeks after the Mini Marathon and I cannot wait to walk up the aisle and share our special day with family and friends. We have come through a lot but MS is just one part of our story. You can still join Maggie & Team MS Ireland on the 2nd June. Sign up today! Or get in touch with Melanie at firstname.lastname@example.com #GetActiveForMS
NEW Research shows that 44% of Irish people have poor understanding of the symptoms and nature of Multiple Sclerosis (MS)[1] Research study commissioned by MS Ireland and Novartis Ireland to mark World MS Day 2019 explores the public's awareness of the visible and invisible symptoms of MS 93% of people in Ireland claim to be aware of MS, more than 44% consider their understanding of the symptoms and details of the condition to be poor with nearly one third of respondents unable to list any symptoms related to MS.1 This new research conducted in April 2019 by IPSOS/MRBI, was revealed to mark World MS Day on 30th May 2019 by MS Ireland and Novartis who join with MS organisations around the world as part of the 'My Invisible MS' (#MyInvisibleMS) campaign exploring public awareness around the invisible symptoms of MS and the impact it can have on day to day life. Although more than a third of the population (37%) claim to have a family member, friend, or loved one living with MS, and 66% of people in Ireland believe they have a good understanding of MS, there are still some key aspects of the condition that remain unclear.1 When asked if MS was more prevalent amongst men or women, almost half (45%) of participants responded that MS affects men and women equally. In fact, MS is at least two to three times more common in women than in men.[2] Nine thousand people and their family members live with Multiple Sclerosis across Ireland. Although MS is a progressive neurological condition that can affect a person's health, lifestyle and relationships, many people with MS find ways to manage and cope with many of the effects and difficulties. Symptoms vary from person to person and each person is affected by the condition differently. Some of the symptoms of MS are immediately obvious. Reduced mobility is often the most visually apparent. Other symptoms such as fatigue, changes in sensation, memory and concentration problems are often 'invisible' symptoms and can be difficult to explain to others. Ava Battles, Chief Executive of MS Ireland said, "While many people are aware of MS and the more visible, tangible symptoms that it can cause, the effects of MS can vary greatly from person to person and can often be invisible to those around them. Through this research and our World MS Day activity we hope to raise awareness around the less visible aspects of MS and how it can impact on the day to day life of a person living with the condition." Loretto Callaghan, General Manager and Country President, Novartis Ireland commented, "We are delighted to support MS Ireland on World MS Day and to bring the results of this research study to the general public. It is so important that the community of people living with MS in Ireland feel that their condition is properly understood by their peers and this is something that can only happen by spreading awareness through initiatives such as World MS Day." Levels of awareness around the more visible symptoms of MS among the public are relatively high with almost 20% of those surveyed listing muscle degeneration, and 17% naming loss of mobility.1 Only 8% of people identified fatigue as a key symptom despite almost 90% of people living with MS reporting fatigue as a consequence of their condition.1,[3] Commenting on the launch of the research findings, Professor Orla Hardiman, Consultant Neurologist at Beaumont Hospital, Professor of Neurology and Head of the Academic Unit of Neurology in Trinity College Dublin and the HSE National Clinical Lead for Neurology said, "The research findings highlight how prevalent MS is in our society today with nearly 40% of the population being impacted either directly or indirectly by the condition. It's important that as a community we educate ourselves on the symptoms that affect the day to day lives of people living with MS, especially those that are not immediately apparent and less visible." Sharon Henvey, World MS Day spokesperson said, "As someone living with Multiple Sclerosis for the past 10 years, World MS Day is a day that means so much to me and my family. It's a day that shines a spotlight on the 9,000 people in Ireland living with MS and what life is like for us. The theme for this year's campaign is visibility which I think is crucially important, as some of the symptoms I experience are unseen. I do at times feel that my MS is invisible which can be hard to explain to friends and family, so hopefully, the campaign can create awareness of these unseen symptoms" Research commissioned by MS Ireland and Novartis and completed by IPSOS/MRBI, April 2019. [1] Research commissioned by MS Ireland and Novartis and completed by IPSOS/MRBI, April 2019. [2] MS Ireland website Available here [3] Societal Cost of Multiple Sclerosis in Ireland 2015 [online]. Available here
Short Story Evening to mark World MS Day Greystones Scribbles - now in its tenth year, would like to invite you to an evening of original short stories at the Glenview Hotel on Thursday, May 30th for a 7.30 pm start until 9.00 pm. Admission is just €7 to include a complimentary glass of wine/soft drink. All proceeds to MS Ireland's East Wicklow Branch. Get in touch Text Mark Mitchell at 087 2453 193.
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The number of principals who say they are unlikely to allow students to use their own mobile devices in class has dropped by nearly half in four years, from 63 percent in 2010 to just 32 percent in 2013, according to the latest report based on Project Tomorrow's annual Speak Up survey.
The latest report, "The New Digital Learning Playbook: Advancing College and Career Skill Development in K-12 Schools," relies on online survey responses from more than 400,000 teachers, administrators, students and community members to examine attitudes about technology's role in preparing K-12 students for higher education and the professional world.
The benefit of mobile devices in the classroom most often cited by both teachers and principals surveyed was increased engagement in learning, at 74 and 86 percent, respectively. Teachers in 1:1 classes and principals who responded were largely in agreement on other benefits of mobile devices in the classroom, though there were some differences.
One-to-one teachers, at a rate of 68 percent, identified access to online textbooks as the second main benefit of using mobile devices in the classroom, yet online books didn't even crack the top five benefits cited by principals. The benefit principals identified as the second largest, at 67 percent, was the ability to personalize learning for each student. Personalized learning came in third for teachers working in 1:1 classrooms, at 57 percent.
Other benefits of mobile devices commonly reported by teachers and principals included:
"Interestingly, 50 percent of the teachers also saw the inclusion of mobile devices in the classroom as a catalyst for teachers to improve their own technology skills," according to the report. "This may seem counterintuitive to many districts who believe that teachers need technology training prior to the adoption of a one-to-one model in the classroom. Speak Up national data findings have repeatedly documented a linkage between teachers' development of a personal value proposition with digital tools and their subsequent greater interest in using those tools in the classroom. Based upon the views of the teachers who are on the front lines of mobile learning with in their classroom, it may make sense for teachers to learn how to use these devices within instruction alongside their students, rather than in a formalized learning environment that is beyond the class room context."
Teachers of all experience levels who took the survey indicated that topics associated with mobile devices were on their professional development "wish list." "How to differentiate instruction using technology" topped the list at about half, ranging from 51 percent for teachers in their first year of teaching to 44 percent among teachers with 4 to 15 years of experience.
"Identifying mobile apps" took third place for the professional development topic teachers are hungriest for with first-year teachers again expressing the most eagerness at a rate of 39 percent. Teachers with more than 16 years of experience were the least likely to say they want professional development around mobile app identification at 35 percent.
Using tablets rounded out the professional development top-five list at a range of 32-30 percent, and about a quarter of teachers said they'd like to receive professional development about implementing a blended classroom.
Other key findings of the report related to mobile technology include:
The full report is available at tomorrow.org.
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A Dell EMC expert on K-12 digital transformations explains why a lot of districts that have already implemented a program to give computing devices to every student aren't getting the return they expected.
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Few animals inspire the awe, fear and respect that sharks command, yet there is still so much we don't know about these often misunderstood creatures — and the benefits they provide.
I first joined Conservation International (CI) in 2004 to open a marine conservation office in the Galápagos Islands, where I've lived for the past 20 years. At that time, sharks were being illegally extracted from the Galápagos Marine Reserve (GMR) at an alarming rate, largely due to the practice of shark finning. With strong commitment from the government of Ecuador, Galápagos National Park Service and a range of local partners led by WildAid and the Charles Darwin Research Station, we began a multifaceted program aimed at better understanding and protecting sharks.
Thanks to improved law enforcement, better scientific understanding of shark migration and improved public communications efforts, illegal shark fishing has been significantly curtailed. Industrial vessels are kept out of the GMR by a state-of-the-art Vessel Monitoring System and rapid response by the Galápagos National Park Service. Efforts to illegally export shark fins are now thwarted by highly-trained sniffer dogs that root through cargo to detect shipments.
We recently received exciting news that a shark tagged in the Galápagos showed up on a receiving station way out near Clipperton Island. If this shark can run the 2,000-kilometer (1,243-mile) gauntlet scattered with hundreds of fishing boats back from Clipperton to Galápagos, it will find protection here. But given that up to 73 million sharks are captured worldwide each year, this is a big "if".
In 2007 I became the regional director of CI's marine conservation work in the four-country Eastern Tropical Pacific Seascape (ETPS). Shark finning is now illegal in all four ETPS countries — Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador and Panama — and government capacity and will to enforce these important laws is stronger.
These are all remarkable achievements, but as overharvesting continues, they are only first steps. We cannot protect what we do not understand. Toward this end, a ground-breaking new book entitled "Demon Fish: Travels Through the Hidden World of Sharks" was released this week. In the book, Washington Post environmental reporter Juliet Eilperin examines the role that these animals play in ocean ecosystems and the fascinating ways people around the world relate to the ocean's top predators. She also highlights CI's work in Indonesia's Birds Head Seascape, and our team's discovery of the "walking shark" (Hemiscyllium sp.).
I hope that this book will help to convince more people that protecting sharks is in everyone's interest. For one thing, hundreds of millions of people depend on the oceans for food, and sharks help keep that food supply intact. Economic studies from around the world have proven that live sharks are worth far more to a wider range of beneficiaries than dead sharks, which typically only benefit a single fisherman and chain of intermediaries.
But I would also argue — based on some of the most memorable moments of my life — that the importance of shark conservation goes beyond protecting them for the sake of their direct benefits to humans. If you ever get the chance — and dare to take it — jump in the ocean with a few dozen scalloped hammerheads (Sphyrna lewini) or the world's largest fish, the whale shark (Rhincodon typus). Take it from me — the only risk you'll run is developing a lifelong commitment to protecting one of the ocean's most majestic creatures.
Scott Henderson is the regional director of CI's Eastern Tropical Pacific Seascape program.


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Apr 07 2011
Corvallis Earth Connect
Love the environment? Love volunteering? Well, I have the perfect event that will allow you to get involved in our community. Corvallis Earth Connect is an event the Community Service Center is putting on in conjunction with the City of Corvallis on April 16th to celebrate Earth Day. The event starts out at Avery Park at 10am with a procession of volunteer stations doing environmental work through Avery and Pioneer Park. At the same time the Corvallis Farmer's Market is opening for business this season downtown. There will also be an Earth Fair and Parade downtown as well. We would LOVE for you to come but more importantly we would LOVE for you to VOLUNTEER at this event. Particularly, we need volunteers, especially groups, to run the stations along Avery Park. If interested please contact the CSC at 541 737 3041 or email Nate Bodie at email@example.com.


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European Commission
Press release
Brussels, 6 June 2012
New crisis management measures to avoid future bank bail-outs
The financial crisis highlighted that public authorities are ill-equipped to deal with ailing banks operating in today's global markets. In order to maintain essential financial services for citizens and businesses, governments have had to inject public money into banks and issue guarantees on an unprecedented scale: between October 2008 and October 2011, the European Commission approved €4.5 trillion (equivalent to 37% of EU GDP) of state aid measures to financial institutions1. This averted massive banking failure and economic disruption, but has burdened taxpayers with deteriorating public finances and failed to settle the question of how to deal with large cross-border banks in trouble.
The proposals adopted today by the European Commission for EU-wide rules for bank recovery and resolution will change this. They ensure that in the future authorities will have the means to intervene decisively both before problems occur and early on in the process if they do. Furthermore, if the financial situation of a bank deteriorates beyond repair, the proposal ensures that a bank's critical functions can be rescued while the costs of restructuring and resolving failing banks fall upon the bank's owners and creditors and not on taxpayers.
President Barroso said: "The EU is fully delivering on its G20 commitments. Two weeks ahead of the summit in Los Cabos, the Commission is presenting a proposal which will help protect our taxpayers and economies from the impact of any future bank failure. Today's proposal is an essential step towards Banking Union in the EU and will make the banking sector more responsible. This will contribute to stability and confidence in the EU in the future, as we work to strengthen and further integrate our interdependent economies"
Internal Market Commissioner Michel Barnier said: "The financial crisis has cost taxpayers a lot of money. Today's proposal is the final measure in fulfilling our G20 commitments for better financial regulation. We must equip public authorities so that they can deal adequately with future bank crises. Otherwise citizens will once again be left to pay the bill, while the rescued banks continue as before knowing that they will be bailed out again."
Key elements of the proposal:
A framework for resolution
The framework builds on recent efforts by several Member States to improve national resolution systems. It strengthens them in key respects and ensures the viability of resolution tools in Europe's integrated financial market.
The proposed tools are divided into powers of "prevention", "early intervention" and "resolution", with intervention by the authorities becoming more intrusive as the situation deteriorates.
1. Preparation and prevention:
2. Early intervention
Early supervisory intervention will ensure that financial difficulties are addressed as soon as they arise. Early intervention powers are triggered when an institution does not meet or is likely to be in breach of regulatory capital requirements. Authorities could require the institution to implement any measures set out in the recovery plan, draw up an action programme and a timetable for its implementation, require the convening of a meeting of shareholders to adopt urgent decisions, and require the institution to draw up a plan for restructuring of debt with its creditors.
In addition, supervisors will have the power to appoint a special manager at a bank for a limited period when there is a significant deterioration in its financial situation and the tools described above are not sufficient to reverse the situation. The primary duty of a special manager is to restore the financial situation of the bank and the sound and prudent management of its business.
3. Resolution powers and tools
Resolution takes place if the preventive and early intervention measures fail to redress the situation from deteriorating to the point where the bank is failing or likely to fail. If the authority determines that no alternative action would help prevent failure of the bank, and that the public interest (of access to critical banking functions, financial stability, integrity of public finances, etc.) is at stake, authorities should take control of the institution and initiate decisive resolution action.
Harmonised resolution tools and powers, together with the resolution plans prepared in advance for both nationally-active and cross-border banks, will ensure that national authorities in all Member States have a common toolkit and roadmap to manage the failure of banks. The interference in the rights of shareholders and creditors which the tools entail is justified by the overriding need to protect financial stability, depositors and taxpayers, and is supported by safeguards to ensure that the resolution tools are not improperly used.
The main resolution tools are the following:
Cooperation between national authorities
In order to deal with EU banks or groups that operate across borders, the framework enhances cooperation between national authorities in all phases of preparation, intervention and resolution. Resolution colleges are established under the leadership of the group resolution authority and with the participation of the European Banking Authority (EBA). The EBA will facilitate joint actions and act as a binding mediator if necessary. This lays the foundations for an increasingly integrated EU-level oversight of cross-border entities, to be explored further in the coming years in the context of the review of Europe's supervisory architecture.
Resolution funding
To be effective, the resolution tools will require a certain amount of funding. For example, if authorities create a bridge bank, it will need capital or short term loans to operate. If market funding is not available and in order to avoid resolution actions from being funded by the state, supplementary funding will be provided by resolution funds which will raise contributions from banks proportionate to their liabilities and risk profiles. The funds will have to build up sufficient capacity to reach 1% of covered deposits in 10 years. They will be used exclusively for supporting orderly reorganisation and resolution, and never to bail out a bank. National resolution funds would interact, notably to provide funding for resolving cross-border banks.
For an optimal use of resources, the resolution Directive also takes advantage of the funding already available in the 27 Deposit Guarantee Schemes (DGS). The DGS will provide funding, alongside the resolution fund, for the protection of retail depositors. For maximum synergy, Member States will even be allowed to merge the DGS and the resolution fund, as long as all the guarantees are in place to ensure that the scheme remains in position to repay depositors in case of failure.
The crisis clearly demonstrated that when problems hit one bank, they can spread to the whole financial sector and well beyond the borders of any one country. It also showed that systems were not in place to manage financial institutions facing difficulties. Very few rules exist which determine what actions should be taken by authorities in the case of a banking crisis. That is why the G20 agreed that crisis prevention and crisis management frameworks had to be set up.2
The financial crisis provided clear evidence of the need for more robust crisis management arrangements at national level, as well as the need to put in place arrangements better able to cater for cross-border banking failures. There have been a number of high profile banking failures during the crisis (Fortis, Lehman Brothers, Icelandic banks, Anglo Irish Bank, Dexia) which have revealed serious shortcomings in the existing arrangements. In the absence of mechanisms to organise an orderly wind down, EU Member States have had no choice other than to bail out their banking sector. The Commission has already published in 2010 a Communication on a way forward on the subject (IP/10/1353).
More information
Source: European Commission
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Kids and the Law: An A-to-Z Guide for Parents is the first in the State Bar's consumer education series that also includes When You Become 18: A Survival Guide for Teenagers and Seniors & the Law: A Guide for Maturing Californians (also available on the bar's website).
Kids and the Law was first published in 1996 after a State Bar survey revealed that many kids were unclear about certain laws and the consequences for breaking them. It was revised into its current form in 2013. Print versions are now available in English and Spanish.