text:
BEIJING (REUTERS) - China's central bank announced long-awaited interest rate reforms on Friday, removing controls on the rates banks may charge clients for loans, in a step towards more market-driven pricing of credit.
The People's Bank of China (PBOC) said in a statement on its website that it was removing its floor on lending rates for commercial banks, meaning that banks will now be able to cut rates as much as they see fit to attract borrowers. The central bank said it hoped the move will lower financial costs for companies.
However, it did not scrap an existing ceiling on deposit rates, currently set at 110 per cent of benchmark rates, which many economists see as the most important step Beijing will eventually need to take in liberalising its interest rate regime.
"This is a big breakthrough in financial reforms. Previously, people had thought the central bank would only gradually lower the floor on lending rates. Now, they scrapped the floor once and for all," said China Centre for International Economic Exchanges' senior economist Wang Jun.
The move, which goes into effect on Saturday, will likely lower borrowing costs for businesses and individuals, ending what many observers said had been artificially high borrowing costs that benefited big state lenders at the expense of private enterprise.
"The reform this time does not expand the floating range on deposit rates. The main consideration is that deposit rate reforms will be more profound and need higher conditions," the central bank said in a statement.
China's big lenders, which include Industrial and Commercial Bank of China , China Construction Bank, Bank of China and Agricultural Bank of China , have generally resisted the long-awaited reform as it will likely hit their margins. But analysts say that the change is necessary for credit to be allocated more effectively in the economy.
The fact that Premier Li Keqiang took the step after just four months in office sends a signal that he and his administration are serious about making reforms aimed at rebalancing the world's second-largest economy.
"In principle, the change could lower borrowing costs, in particular by allowing banks to offer better rates to more credit-worthy borrowers. In practice, the immediate difference will be small," Mr Mark Williams, chief Asia economist at Capital Economics in London, said in a client note.
"Nonetheless, this is a significant development for China's financial sector in the direction of having interest rates determined by market forces rather than government fiat."


text:
Story highlights
Womack dies at 70; his publicist reveals no other details
He said last year he'd been diagnosed with early signs of Alzheimer's disease
Womack was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2009
He married the widow of music partner Sam Cooke 4 months after Cooke's death
The raspy, gruff voice behind some of the most soulful songs of the past six decades is now gone.
Legendary soul singer Bobby Womack died Friday, Womack's publicist said. He was 70.
"I am sadly able to confirm but I have no details at this time," said Sonya Kolowrat, his publicist with XL Recordings.
Womack, whose career started before he was 10, wrote and performed hits such as "That's the Way I feel About Cha" and "Across 110th Street."
He also wrote The Rolling Stones' first U.S. No. 1 hit, "It's All Over Now."
Womack was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2009.
Last year, he revealed to BBC 6 music that he had early signs of Alzheimer's disease.
"With the support of many good doctors, my family, and all of my wonderful fans, I will continue to write and perform and bring the good music to the people for as long as I can," Womack told CNN after his diagnosis.
He thanked his fans for their prayers and well wishes, adding, "I truly appreciate and can feel your love."
Womack's diagnosis came after several other health issues including pneumonia, diabetes, and colon cancer.
The evolution of a legend
Bobby Dwayne Womack was born in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1944. His father, a steelworker, also sang gospel – and young Bobby followed in his father's musical footsteps.
"We came up very poor. My kids have had a much better life than I'd ever thought of livin'," Womack said on his website.
By age 10, Womack and his four brothers – Friendly Jr., Cecil, Harry and Curtis – formed The Womack Brothers. They started touring the gospel circuit.
Then came an encounter that would change the course of the group. In 1953, The Womack Brothers met Soul Stirrers lead singer Sam Cooke.
After The Womack Brothers changed their name to the Valentinos, Cooke signed them to his SAR Records label, and the Valentinos' success took off with the hit "Lookin' for a Love."
"Sam had charisma and a very special way to get into people's hearts through his songs and his music," Womack said in the book "Midnight Mover."
"But Sam wasn't just a singer, he was a leader, and he was getting ready to shake things up, to raise the consciousness of the world and stop prejudice."
But in 1964, Cooke was shot to death at a Los Angeles motel. Four months later, Womack married Cooke's widow.
That same year, The Rolling Stones covered Womack's "It's All Over Now" – and scored their first No. 1 hit in the United States. And Womack became rich.
He broke off into a solo career, which took off in 1967 with his first song "Trust Me."
His song "Across 110th Street" became a hit in 1972 and rode a new wave of popularity in 1997 when it was featured in the opening credits of Quentin Tarantino's film "Jackie Brown."
Mourning an icon
Decades after The Rolling Stones made it big with Womack's song, guitarist Ronnie Wood recalled his friend's ability to captivate his audiences.
"I'm so sad to hear about my friend Bobby Womack – the man who could make you cry when he sang has brought tears to my eyes with his passing," Wood tweeted.
"My heart goes out to his family & friends and everyone who loved his music. Bobby you will be greatly missed."
Singer Darius Rucker also remembered Womack's renowned baritone voice.
"To the great Bobby Womack. Rest In Peace u legend," Rucker tweeted. "Heaven just got another great singer for its choir."
CNN's Topher Gauk-Roger, Nischelle Turner, Ben Brumfield and Andreas Jane Caffrey contributed to this report.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
AT&T expands 4G LTE to 11 new markets including NYC, San Francisco, L.A.
AT&T's 4G LTE is now available in a total of 26 markets to 74 million customers. The announcement was made Thursday by John Stankey, president and chief executive officer of AT&T Business Solutions at Citi's 22nd Annual Global Entertainment, Media and Telecommunications Conference in San Francisco, Calif. The full list of 4G LTE markets recently added are:
- New York City metro area
- Austin, Tex.
- Chapel Hill, N.C.
- Los Angeles, Calif.
- Oakland, Calif.
- Orlando, Fla.
- Phoenix, Ariz.
- Raleigh, N.C.
- San Diego, Calif.
- San Francisco, Calif.
- San Jose, Calif
"We're building a 4G LTE network that's blazing fast, and we offer dual layers of 4G technologies to provide customers with a more consistent speed experience," Stankey said. "Our network, together with our unsurpassed 4G device portfolio and innovative applications, will give our customers an industry-leading mobile broadband experience."
The latest expansion joins 15 markets that AT&T brought 4G LTE to in 2011. They are Athens, Ga.; Atlanta, Ga.; Baltimore, Md.; Boston, Mass.; Chicago, Ill.; Dallas-Fort Worth, Tex.; Houston, Tex.; Indianapolis, Ind.; Kansas City, Kan.; Las Vegas, Nev.; Oklahoma City, Okla.; San Antonio, Tex.; San Juan, Puerto Rico; and Washington D.C.
The roll-out of AT&T's LTE network has been much slower than rival Verizon, which which debuted its fourth-generation high-speed network in December of 2010 in 38 metropolitan areas and more than 60 commercial airports across the U.S. Verizon's 4G network currently covers more than 186 million Americans, while AT&T's is available to 74 million.
Speculation has suggested that 4G LTE markets and related technology in phones will be mature enough this year that Apple could offer an LTE-capable iPhone model. Last year, Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook said poor battery life and other issues with current LTE technology were not up to standard.
"The first generation of LTE chipsets force a lot of design compromises with the handset," Cook said last April, "and some of those we are just not willing to make."


text:
NEW DELHI, INDIA: Popular online streaming service for Indian movies and TV shows, Spuul.com, has collaborated with prestigious Bollywood banner Yash Raj Films (YRF) and showcase its super hit films on its website.
Movie buffs worldwide will now be able to watch YRF blockbusters like 'Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge', 'Dil To Pagal Hai', 'Dhoom' and 'Band Baaja Baaraat', amongst others, on their desktops and mobile devices with Spuul. Prakash Ramchandani, south-Asia head, Spuul, said that the banner has produced some of the best cinemas.
"It is great to partner with YRF, who produced some of the Indian cinema's finest and most memorable movies. From old classics like 'Kabhi Kabhie' and 'Silsila' to new-age smash-hits like 'Ek Tha Tiger' and 'Ishaqzaade'," Ramchandani said in a statement.
"We are delighted to offer our users such a robust collection of movies and will continue to work with our partners to regularly expand our offering," he added.
Other YRF films on Spuul are "Mere Brother Ki Dulhan", "Ladies vs Ricky Bahl", "Chak De! India", "Dhoom 2", "Fanaa", "Saathiya" among others.
Spuul has recently launched it's application for Facebook, which allows users to watch full-length movies on Facebook while they chat, check feeds and notifications. Spuul is also available as a free mobile app for iOS devices (iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch) and as a web service at www.spuul.com.


text:
Celebrate the best season of the year with a great summer beer in hand.
Summer Brew Review is your passport to a world of summer beers. Discover new document.write(new Date().getFullYear()) summer beers as well as old favorites you may have forgotten. Expand your tasting experience with over 200 reviews of domestic craft beer, Mexican beer, Caribbean beer, and other international seasonal selections. Don't miss our serving tips, trends, and cool summer gear.
This virtual shopping list will guide your selection of good seasonal summer beers. So, whether you are at the beach, on a boat, relaxing poolside, or mowing the lawn, Summer Brew Review has a new summer beer for you.


text:
In his back page article, "Unconscious Discrimination Against Women in Science," (APS News, January 2000) Howard Georgi takes a challenging task to diagnose the root causes of "white male domination" in sciences, as evidenced by statistics, and puts forth his bold thesis of skewed selection criteria, based on "assertiveness" and "single-mindedness." It baffles me to see a respected physicist to make such leap of faith (and go further to offer "remedies") without a shred of evidence to support it.
In my career I had a chance to grade, evaluate, reference and select dozens of students, postdocs, applicants, on different levels. Rarely, if ever, did I use "assertiveness and single-mindedness" in a positive, let alone decisive way. Nor have I seen many of my colleagues use them to any extent. On the contrary, it was first and foremost (to quote Georgi) "intellectual curiosity, thoughtfulness," creativity and persistence. Yet the overall results of my (anecdotal) statistics would pretty much go along the national trends and figures, offered by Georgi.
There should be something more sinister to skew the numbers, the way they are, that Georgi dares not (or knows not) to speak. As for his "remedies," those have little bearing on two "evil criteria," but amount to nothing less than a voluntary "quota system," the way it is practiced now in the Boston city schools. To make sure to succeed, his quota system should go well beyond hiring practices, and extend to all levels of education, starting from test scores and course grades. Indeed, all those build up in a single evaluation-selection process. So the only assured way to advance any under-represented group is to institute the overall quota.
Here, however, I could cut short Georgi's optimism for the future. Never in my career have I bent or twisted the "rules of the game," based on a single list and single (blind) grading system for all (under- and over-represented) students. As long as it stays that way, Georgi's "egalitarian dream" may never come true.
David Gurarie
Case Western Reserve University
I enjoyed reading Howard Georgi's commentary on the unconscious discrimination against women in science. The article was written with good intentions, but the focus on "assertiveness and single-mindedness" is simply off the mark, because it cannot explain why the life sciences have always had more women. Assertiveness and single-mindedness are selected for in every field of science (and business). Only a physicist would be arrogant (or naive) enough to think that physicists are any more aggressive than biologists.
I know this from experience. I did my PhD in experimental low temperature physics at Cornell University, transitioned to biology, and helped launch one of the major Genome Centers for the Human Genome Project. As a result, I have known some of the biggest names in physics and biology. I can assure you that, compared to some of the people that I have dealt with in genomics (or medical genetics), physicists are downright pansies. For that matter, when it comes to aggressiveness, none of these scientists can hold a candle to some of the pharmaceutical executives and venture capitalists that I have dealt with. I'm afraid Georgi will have to look elsewhere for answers, but I wish him well.
Gane Ka-Shu Wong
University of Washington
After reading Howard Georgi's article I feel that he did not understand the problem. As a woman graduate student in physics, I know that single mindedness and assertiveness do not affect women going into physics or staying in physics. It is true that most physicists are assertive and most physicists are male, but that does not mean that women are not assertive.
One obstacle that women face comes from the way that physicists solve problems. When physicists identify a problem, they pose a question by restating it. The problem is that there is a lack of women in physics, and the question that we pose is: "Why are there so few women in physics?" If your colleagues asked you three times a week every week for 10 years: "Why do you have a beard, when everyone else is clean shaven?" you would feel that you should shave. I get asked the question "Why are there so few women in physics?" routinely, and after 6 years of being asked this question, I am now starting to feel that maybe I should leave physics. We need to rephrase the question to: "How do we attract more women?"
After posing our question, we try to isolate the variables, by separating the women from the men. Most physics departments go out of their way to group all of the women together, whether it is special e-mail lists or TA office assignments. This separation of women from the men even occurs when one enters into math and science competitions (such as the Putnam exam) where the women's tests get identifying marks like red stickers. Since we know segregation causes one to have lower self-esteem, why then would we separate the women from the men in an endeavor to encourage women to stay in physics? As it stands now, the way we are approaching the problem is only causing women that are already in physics to leave. Let's re-think the problem and not make a "list of the best women .., even if they do not rate them as highly as the top men." This cheapens a woman's professorial title and accomplishments. Why do your best, when everyone is going to assume that you got the raise, tenure, or scholarship because you were on a special list? I do feel strongly that this attitude and not a lack of single-mindedness and assertiveness causes women to leave physics.
Evelyn J. Boettcher
University of Maryland
APS encourages the redistribution of the materials included in this newspaper provided that attribution to the source is noted and the materials are not truncated or changed.


text:
Unfreeze Penguins
In the match puzzle game Unfreeze Penguins your goal is to unfreeze as much penguins as possible by removing 3 or more connecting blocks of the same color. During the game, you will notice all sorts of power blocks and other combinations. Try to set the highest score.


text:
Steven Erat
Member since Dec 11, 2008
- Profile: /members/15-steven-erat.htm
- Comments: 16
Recent Blog Comments By Steven Erat
A Better Understanding Of MVC (Model-View-Controller) Thanks To Steven Neiland
Posted on May 22, 2012 at 5:01 PM
This is great discussion. Thank you Ben and Steven for elaborating. I'm with Andy. I can fully get my head around the theory of MVC and Service layers, but a careful examination of an actual (framework-agnostic) implementation of MVC in ColdFusion would be a great help to get me over the hump t... read more »
ColdFusion 10 Beta, Apache Tomcat, And Symbolic Links On Mac OSX
Posted on Feb 20, 2012 at 8:22 AM
On former JRun based installations of ColdFusion (on any OS) I frequently took adavantage of JRun Virtual Directories by adding new virtual contexts to the WEB-INF's jrun-web.xml. Tomcat does not have an equivalent. Now I have to use symbolic links to replace my use of JRun Virtual Dirs. Of cours... read more »
GetHTTPRequestData() Breaks The SOAP Request / Response Cycle In ColdFusion
Posted on Oct 20, 2011 at 11:53 AM
Ok, we resolve this problem. Our RESTful web service and the rest of the webtop is available over port 443 on HTTPS. The client was posting to the web service over HTTP instead. When IIS redirected the client POST from http to https, the XML payload was being stripped off, thus causing the XMLPar... read more »
GetHTTPRequestData() Breaks The SOAP Request / Response Cycle In ColdFusion
Posted on Oct 19, 2011 at 9:23 PM
I'm thinking that the real client that invoked our webservice may have tried to invoke it with SOAP instead of a RESTful POST. I've not found any useful cross references for that error and REST, except for Ben's other blog on intercepting SOAP to convert to REST.... read more »
GetHTTPRequestData() Breaks The SOAP Request / Response Cycle In ColdFusion
Posted on Oct 19, 2011 at 8:58 PM
I'm investigating a report of this error for a RESTful Webservice. Our webservice uses GetHTTPRequestData().content to suck out HTTP body which is expected to only contain the XML data as a POST request. My own client that invokes this webservice operates correctly, simply posting the XML as a str... read more »
Clearing The Session Scope Does Not End Your ColdFusion Session
Posted on Feb 11, 2010 at 9:39 PM
Great exploration of this topic. Thank you. The comments are well worth the reading also.... read more »
Project HUGE: Deadlifts At 385lbs And Natural Hamstring Raises
Posted on Jan 29, 2010 at 7:46 PM
It's inspiring to see you have the will power to manage your schedule to maintain a fitness regimen. Before I worked in IT, I used to be into fitness to almost the same degree. One of my favorite exercises was the leg press where you sit on an inverted incline. It felt great to do sets of 400 plu... read more »
My First ColdFusion Web Service
Posted on Aug 17, 2009 at 10:54 AM
>> "Maybe save the wsdl, change the datatype and havemy client call the wsdl directly instead of the CFC?" The wsdl does not implement the webservice, it only describes it. Changing the datatype in the wsdl will only break the webservice if the implementation (the CFC) does not operate as de... read more »
My First ColdFusion Web Service
Posted on Aug 17, 2009 at 10:43 AM
ColdFusion uses Apache Axis under the hood to implement WebService functionality. Complex types are frequently a topic of discussion in the ColdFusion community. Tom Jordahl is the architect behind the Webservice implementation in CF, and he's on the Webservice W3C committee. He has many article... read more »
My First ColdFusion Web Service
Posted on Aug 17, 2009 at 9:56 AM
Whenever you manually request a CFC manually through a browser (which translates an HTTP GET Request with no parameters), regardless if access is remote, public, or private, the request will redirect to the CFCExplorer to provide "self-documentation" on the CFC properties and functions. When you in... read more »
Ask Ben: Accessing Cached CFCs With AJAX via Remote Proxies
Posted on Apr 15, 2009 at 2:10 PM
Ben, this is a brilliant dissertation. I read it carefully and am running your example. I've learned not only about the technique of using a cfc remote proxy but also about better software design in your approach. Thanks so much!... read more »
Ask Ben: Spoofing Referrer With ColdFusion 8 CFImage Tag
Posted on Aug 28, 2007 at 11:53 AM
In the above code example, the CFHTTP tag has the following attribute/value pair: useragent="#CGI.script_name#" I think you meant this to be useragent="#CGI.http_user_agent#" rather than referer.... read more »
Passing Referer AS ColdFusion CFHttp CGI Value vs HEADER Value?
Posted on Aug 28, 2007 at 11:48 AM
Header values are the meta data that goes into the HTTP request (and return with the response). The receiving webserver turns header values into CGI variables, and CGI variables are available during request processing. I think of it like: HEADER > Webserver > CGI > ColdFusion... read more »
My First ColdFusion Web Service
Posted on Dec 14, 2006 at 10:24 PM
Looks like you had a lot of fun with this! Since this article is catch all for a variety of webservice issues, here's a recent cftalk thread with suggestion for how to deal with webservers returning the WSDL in compressed format: http://www.houseoffusion.com/groups/CF-Talk/thread.cfm/threadid:49... read more »
National Do Not Call Registry
Posted on Nov 10, 2006 at 2:07 PM
When viewing www.donotcall.gov my browser popped up a warning for: "Could not verify this certificate because the issuer is unknown." I chose to examine the certificate details and found the "Issued to" address does not match the domain name for the site, which made me wary: Issued To: g6589dcs.... read more »


text:
Creating a life map involves a close review of personal finances and an assessment of other building blocks. Lifestyle matters look at how to balance work and leisure, how to make smart choices for the future, and many other items in an effort to help an individual "enjoy the journey."
Coaches have helped you your whole life, in ways big and small. We'd like to be one of them.
Have A Question About This Topic?
Alzheimer's Awareness
Things you can do to reduce the risk of dementia
A House Divided
By understanding a few key concepts during a divorce, you may be able to avoid common pitfalls.
Stop Wasting Money
One way to find money is to examine your current spending habits and eliminate money wasters.
Keeping Good Records is Good Business
Maintaining good records for your business not only helps to meet your tax and legal obligations, but it can save you money.
A Cheat Sheet for Sending Your Kid to College
Dropping off your child is loaded with emotions; here are a few tips for a smoother experience.
How to budget for a vacation in 5 easy steps
Are you eager to travel but want to avoid the risk of debt? Here are 5 steps to help creating a vacation budget.
View all articles
How Much Home Can I Afford?
With a few simple inputs you can estimate how much of a mortgage you may be able to obtain.
Bi-Weekly Payments
This calculator estimates the savings from paying a mortgage bi-weekly instead of monthly.
Comparing Mortgage Terms
Estimate the total cost in today's dollars of various mortgage alternatives.
View all calculators
Coaches have helped you your whole life, in ways big and small. We'd like to be one of them.
Consider These 3 Things Before Driving Off the Lot
Here are 3 quick tips to keep in mind when buying or leasing your next vehicle.
View all videos


text:
Wooot, wooot, wooot! Sound the scamp alarm, Andi fans (Fandis?), because it appears that someone isn't here for the right reasons. One of our 16 remaining suitors apparently has a girlfriend and doesn't want to man up, and we need an intensive two-night extravaganza investigation to get to the bottom of all this madness.
So strap in for a rare Sunday night edition of The Bachelorette, because nothing says love like slogging through four hours of dates, dudes and drama in a 26-hour span. And that's not all, as another man's quest for love will end prematurely with the arrival of devastating news from the homefront. It's like when Betty Spaghetti got the telegram from the military but the carrier didn't know who it was for, only Chris Harrison will be playing the role of Jimmy Dugan. Avoid the clap. It's good advice.
Is it just me, or does this season seemed plagued by a combination of bad luck and manufactured cirumstances? Possibly to make up for an otherwise boring season? It started with Chris Bukowski's anticlimactic arrival on the first night, which was sadly the most exciting moment of the premiere. Then Craig got wasted, which was pretty predictable after he declared that he had a bit of the Captain in him shortly after entering the house. Plus, he was more interested in Josh than Andi anyway.
Now, we've got a guy getting devastating news, while another is betrothed? Background check, anyone? And that doesn't even take into consideration explorer Eric's tragic death, which is looming on the horizon as he grows closer with Andi. Ouch.
You can tell our Bachelorette is getting emotional when she starts throwing out the "y'alls," which she uses to express anger, excitement, happiness, frustration and, well, anything, really. And judging from its overuse in the promo, she (and us) is in for a bumpy ride. Y'all better prepare yourselves.
The Bachelorette: The 5 Qualities Andi Dorfman is Really Looking for in Her Man >>>
Santa Barbara is Coming to Town
Andi is taking the long trek from LA to Santa Barbara for the next set of dates, which kicks off with first impression rose recipient Nick V. "riding off into the sunset." He's excited but feeling apprehensive about the process, mentioning the unlikelihood of this all working out.
They go on a bike ride through town, not taking any chances with some super cool helmets, and get to know each other. Andi rides a bike the same way she dances, awkwardly and wobbly. They wade into the surf at the beach and hike up a mountain, and Nick talks about how he's not desperate for love but does want it.
He expresses his concerns to Andi about vulnerability and not knowing where he stands, and she's like, uh, yeah, that's how this works. Have you not been watching for the past 26 seasons? But they're crushing on each other, and she appreciates his honesty and senses the barriers dropping. So they take in the view at sunset and just snug.
A Delightful End to a Simple Day
Andi and Nick head to a fancy dinner to cap off what Andi calls a normal day, which she immediately makes a bit uncomfortable by asking why he's single when all his friends are married. He opens up about his seven and a half year relationship that started in high school and the quick rebound chick that followed. He was engaged for a hot minute at 27, learning a lot from failure, and that's why he's so cautious now.
He feels fortunate about his past and always tries to find the lessons, and she again makes note of his candors. He has some sweet things to say about romance and love and relationships, and he comes across as the most "real" of all the guys so far. He's aware of his surroundings and what he likes, and they're compatible on a philosophical level. I like this guy, and so does Andi. So she gives him a rose and a kiss.
They retire to the top of the clock tower for cuddling, hand holding and neck and lip kisses, generating 1.21 gigawatts of electricity all on their own, without Doc Brown, a Delorian or a lightning strike.
Boyz II, Er, Still Boyz
Back at the mansion, Patrick's boy toy Andrew and super hot Marcus (who is the youngest guy left at a probably-too-young-for-this 25) discuss Nick's skepticism and how it'd probably be better for everyone involved if he ended up going home. Swing and a miss.
The group date card arrives — Let's Start Things Off on the Right Note — and it's addressed to coach Brian, cookie boy Marquel, middle-class man's Sean Lowe Cody, Greek wedding planner Tasos, lamp aficionado Brett, Ron (who?), operatic Bradley, ex-baseball player Josh, explorer Eric, bromancers Andrew and Patrick and hot Marcus.
They are sure they'll be singing, and Bradley is excited because he thinks she needs to hear him do opera again. They enter a music hall to find the three remaining members of Boyz II Men singing "I'll Make Love to You," and it's a grade school flashback wet dream. Bradley starts the singing right away, replacing his normal talking with unpleasing sounds. And Andi will be singing with y'all (expressing excitement). This must be a drinking game.
The Rehearsals
Yeah, these guys cannot sing. Brian, Patrick and Marcus are especially awful (compared to a chicken being strangled), but Cody, Ron and the rest don't do themselves any favors. Only Tasos appears to have any musical inclination. Marquel is hilarious, though, confidently declaring he's gong to serenade the f*** out of Andi.
For her part, Andi is equally terrible. Then she drops the bombshell that they will be performing "I'll Make Love to You" at the Boyz II Men concert in front of the live crowd. This is going to be all about who can have fun and who doesn't take themselves too seriously. Hey, if Ryan Seacrest can sing with Richard Marx during the American Idol finale, these guys can sing in front of Boyz II Men's remaining 29 fans and the people ABC pays to fill the seats.
The guys are divided into two teams, one dressed in matching sport coats and ties and the other rocking some "Motown Philly" school boy outfits. They get to enjoy the outdoor concert, and then it's showtime.
The Bachelorette Family Blogs: Wasted Craig and the Men Who Stood Out >>>
Cover Your Ears for Love
After Boyz II Men's spectacular performance, the guys are quite the stark contrast. Bradley starts off with the first solo by trying really hard and sounding surprisingly horrible for a professional singer. Eric gives a solid wacky performance (since he is good at everything), Cody's timing is way off and Josh and Marcus forget the words.
Marquel and Tasos steal the show, and Boyz II Men laughs off the tragic death of their hit single while everyone in the crowd records the performance on their phones as proof it actually happened. Based on talent, Boyz II Men recommends that Andi stay single.
The Tone Deaf Aftermath
Andi welcomes the guys back to her resort, where she toasts them for making her smile with their off-key attempts at music. Cody gets the first one-on-one time, and Andi thinks he's fun and funny. She decides to mess with him by asking about y'alls (deviousness) house and then telling him that the guys in the house say he has a girlfriend. Then she comes clean and they laugh, and I'm wondering if that was the ruse we've been building towards? If so, weeeaaakkkkkk.
Eric worries that their connection has faded and asks if things are weird now, but they both had a great time on their first date and it's all reassuring. Brian offers her his full open heart, while Marcus parlays his quiet jealousy into their first kiss. He and the chest hair popping out of his open collar feel that she may be "the one."
Josh constantly flashes his perfect big-toothed smile, and they make out in a semi-disturbing forceful way while he coos that he loves everything about her. She rewards him with a rose after telling the group that she enjoys so many parts of y'all (lust). Marcus is upset, but he speculates that whatever she has with Josh could never compare to what they have. Dude is getting a little creepy.
Bad Grandpa
The final date card goes to pantsaholic Bill Nye impersonator JJ, meaning high school haircut Dylan and farmer Chris have struck out this time. JJ has been sitting around for two weeks waiting for this, so he's marking the occasion with particularly hideous pants and ugly flip flops. Bad flops are an immediately deal breaker for me. Just say no to Tevas.
Andi and JJ are growing old together, aging 50 years in a matter of minutes at the hands of Hollywood makeup artists. It's an all-out transformation too, age spots, skin discolorations and all. She looks like a cute old lady, while he resembles a scary old guy that you'd keep your kids away from. Like, he looks like he should be old right now. He doesn't even need to change his pants.
They walk around the beach and boardwalk, attempting to fool people into believing it's their 50th wedding anniversary by employing every old person stereotype in the book, including Andi's uncontrollably shaking hands and JJ's hunchback. Then they ride around on motorized carts, toss a football and do cartwheels, but no one cares, because old people can do whatever they want.
Andi thinks JJ is the most fun person she's ever dated, and they peck-smooch on a tire swing before sharing some Werther's Originals and a ride on the merry-go-round. They de-old and have dinner back at the resort, and they're very comfortable with each other. He's been hesitant in the past to be his full quirky self because he was a bullied nerd growing up, and this experience is helping him learn to risk his feelings for the chance to be accepted by a girl like Andi. A rose and kisses follow.
The Bachelorette Week 3 Rankings: Who are Andi's Major Contenders? >>>
S*** Gets Serious
While all the other guys are hanging out at the mansion, Ron is outside on the phone, pacing back and forth while waving off the cameras. He tells the person he'll call back, hangs up and curses. He cites a family emergency and starts packing his bags.
A close personal friend of his passed away, so his time in the house has to be over. He says his goodbyes and peaces out in a limo. It's a shame for a guy we basically know nothing about. Condolences to his family and friends.
Then high-school haircut Dylan confides in farmer Chris that which he needs to tell Andi in private. At first, I was thinking, man, this guy really wants to talk about himself. But then I heard the story, and it's truly sad and horrible stuff. Four years ago, his sister died of a drug overdose. His brother couldn't deal with it, slipped deeper into his own darkness and was eventually involved in some sort of accident that left him brain dead. It's tragic, but that's a lot to lay on someone after one group date.
Cocktail Confrontation
The only downside of Craig's departure is that there's no one left to act out inappropriately while under the influence. Thankfully, sober drama exists as well. But first, Andi acknowledges Ron's absence and assures the guys that she really cares about y'all (sadness). It also put things into perspective in terms of the time they all have together.
Eric cryptically speaks of this before a delivery guy walks in with a vase of posies from Nick, which throws big E off his game. He hilariously quips that he got c***blocked by a bouquet of flowers. She swoons at the gesture and rewards Nick with romantic tongue interactions. He raised the bar, and the other guys are pissed they didn't think of it first.
JJ is on cloud nine, but he needs to get something off his chest before the rose ceremony. After the first group date, at dinner, Andrew apparently snagged the hostess' number and bragged about it to the guys in the van. He expresses his concerns to Josh, and they grab Andrew for a confrontation.
And while he refuses to engage, Josh and JJ aren't going to let it die. They chase him up to his room, yelling that his actions are proving their point. It was a douche move for sure, but what's the guy supposed to do now? Recuse himself? What a dumbass thing to do, though. So they tell all the other guys.
The Death of a Same-Named Dream?
Andrew thinks he's being attacked because he's a threat, but he decides to give JJ, Josh and whoever else the benefit of the doubt, no matter how nerdy or dorky or a**hole they may be. He admits getting the number, but denies bragging about it. It's game-on now, though, because this means it's a full-on competition now, and he's ready to throw down. But haymakers be damned, these "lowlifes" just aren't worth it to him.
No one is sharing the information with Andi, though, so it's unlikely the indiscretion will cost him a rose this time. But it will certainly come into play later should Andrew stick around. For good measure, he wishes all the guys good luck and hopes that those who get roses are really here for Andi.
Before the ceremony, hot Marcus professes his belief in love at first sight and that he feels it with Andi, and he passes her a note that he wants her to read later. They kiss, and he thinks their feelings are more intense than anyone else's. He's really starting to give me a bit of an unstable vibe, like he's obsessive and possessive and not so good in relationships. Time will tell.
The Bachelorette Week 3 Photos: Turning Boyz Into Men >>>
The Ceremony
Josh, Nick and JJ are safe, and with Ron already gone, only two guys won't be getting roses. Andi distributes flowers to:
Hot Marcus
Coach Brian
Cookie boy Marquel
Greek wedding planner Tasos
Middle-class man's Sean Lowe Cody
Andrew boy-toy Patrick
Farmer Chris
Explorer Eric
High school haircut and walking tragedy Dylan
Patrick boy-toy and number grabber Andrew
That means it's the end of the line for operatic Bradley, who stuck around way too long as it was, and lamp aficionado and now-bearded Brett, who didn't stand out at all. In fact, every time I saw him, I was only able to identify him as Brett by the process of elimination. He was always the only guy left.
Brett wishes her luck on his way out, blaming his shyness and inability to open up for his departure. Bradley wishes her love and a good night, and he thinks his vulnerability and attempts to put himself out there just weren't good enough. He's reduced to tears as he pines about how much he wants love and to be loved.
So these are the 13 guys that Andi's gut told her to go with, and she wants them all to continue experiencing great moments, starting with next week, which is actually Monday. And boy oh boy, is the stuff about to hit the fan in Connecticut.
There's a violent pickup basketball game and a tear-filled rage-induced outburst from Andi that lands one guy in the back of a taxi. Will it be the news of Andrew's digits? Or something else?
How are your favorites holding up, and are you getting the same immature Fatal Attraction vibe from Marcus that I am? Nick and Brian are still at the top of my list, whereas Josh's inclusion just seems too good to be true. The other shoe is going to drop.
Is this season dark or what? We've got two deaths, a rejected former contestant, a drunken outburst, a wrong-reasons guy, Dylan's tragic past and Marcus' looming insanity, plus whatever fisticuffs break-out in the coming weeks and whatever happens in part two of the extravaganza. This is more like The Deadliest Catch. And we're doing it all again tomorrow. See you then.
You can watch The Bachelorette every Monday at 8pm on ABC.
(Image courtesy of ABC)
Contributing Writer, BuddyTV
Emmy-winning news producer & former BuddyTV blogger. Lover of Philly sports, Ned, Zoe, Liam and Delaine…not in that order


text:
Tongue Control
Could the tongue help a paraplegic pick up a slippery glass or a soft, squishy kitten? Justin Williams and his colleagues at the University of Wisconsin are testing electrical stimulation of the tongue as an adjunct to visual feedback for brain-controlled computer interfaces, such as those used to control prosthetic arms. According to research presented at the Society of Neurosciences conference in Washington, DC, last week, the researchers showed that volunteers can control the movement of a cursor on a computer screen using electrical stimulation to the tongue just as well as they can control it using visual feedback.
"The tongue device opens new ways for devices to interact with the brain and the body in a collaborative way," says Gerwin Schalk, a research scientist at the Wadsworth Center in Albany, NY, who was not involved in the research. "If we have more ways of providing feedback, it would enhance performance."
The tongue stimulator consists of a thin-film array of 144 electrodes–it's a bit larger than a quarter–that sits on the surface of the tongue. A stimulator delivers electrical signals based on visual information–in this case, the movement of a dot on a computer screen. "It acts like a low-resolution monitor with a 12-by-12 array of pixels," says Williams. A similar device is already in use for people with balance disorders–tongue stimulation tells the user whether her head is upright–and is also being tested as a visual aid for the blind.
For the current project, scientists attached the tongue device to a cap that reads electrical activity from the brain through the scalp using electroencephalography (EEG). The EEG cap is being developed as part of a neural prosthesis for people who are severely paralyzed. Specially developed software can detect when the user is thinking of moving his or her arms or feet, which can then be used to control a cursor on the screen.
Users usually determine how well they are performing a task, such as using brain activity to move a ball to a target on a screen, by looking at the position of the ball. Williams and his colleagues found that the volunteers could perform just as quickly and accurately when the ball's location was represented as a pattern of electrical activity on the tongue with no visual information.
The researchers hope to use the device to augment prosthetic limbs. When we pick up a cup, we use visual signals to bring our hand to it, but we use tactile and other information, such as its heaviness or texture, to judge how hard it is to grasp. This type of feedback is missing from existing prosthetic limbs. "A prosthetic hand may be able to do wonderful things mechanically, but if the subject cannot feel anything on the fingertips, it vastly limits the amount of manipulation they may be able to do," says Marc Schieber, a physician and scientist at the University of Rochester Medical School, who was not involved in the research.
While the tongue may seem like an odd location to deliver sensory information, Williams says that it is actually an ideal spot. "It is one of the most densely enervated organs; it has receptors for taste, pain, and temperature," he says. Under some conditions, the device can even stimulate taste, like sweet and sour. As for how the electrical jolts feel: "Sort of like Pop Rocks," says Williams.
Keep Reading
Most Popular
10 Breakthrough Technologies 2024
Every year, we look for promising technologies poised to have a real impact on the world. Here are the advances that we think matter most right now.
Scientists are finding signals of long covid in blood. They could lead to new treatments.
Faults in a certain part of the immune system might be at the root of some long covid cases, new research suggests.
AI for everything: 10 Breakthrough Technologies 2024
Generative AI tools like ChatGPT reached mass adoption in record time, and reset the course of an entire industry.
Stay connected
Get the latest updates from
MIT Technology Review
Discover special offers, top stories, upcoming events, and more.


text:
Need help?
Enter your e-mail and password:
New customer? Create your account
Lost password? Recover password
Enter your email:
Remembered your password? Back to login
Please fill in the information below:
Already have an account? Login here
72 products
Free Shipping
On Orders over $49 Canada-Wide
Call Us
Secure payments
100% Safe and Secure Transactions
Hassle-Free Returns
Not Completely Satisfied? Let us Know


text:
GObject, and its lower-level type system, GType, are used by GTK+ and most GNOME libraries to provide:
object-oriented C-based APIs and
automatic transparent API bindings to other compiled or interpreted languages.
A lot of programmers are used to working with compiled-only or dynamically interpreted-only languages and do not understand the challenges associated with cross-language interoperability. This introduction tries to provide an insight into these challenges and briefly describes the solution chosen by GLib.
The following chapters go into greater detail into how GType and GObject work and how you can use them as a C programmer. It is useful to keep in mind that allowing access to C objects from other interpreted languages was one of the major design goals: this can often explain the sometimes rather convoluted APIs and features present in this library.
One could say that a programming language is merely a way to create data types and manipulate them. Most languages provide a number of language-native types and a few primitives to create more complex types based on these primitive types.
In C, the language provides types such as char, long, pointer. During compilation of C code, the compiler maps these language types to the compiler's target architecture machine types. If you are using a C interpreter (assuming one exists), the interpreter (the program which interprets the source code and executes it) maps the language types to the machine types of the target machine at runtime, during the program execution (or just before execution if it uses a Just In Time compiler engine).
Perl and Python are interpreted languages which do not really provide type definitions similar to those used by C. Perl and Python programmers manipulate variables and the type of the variables is decided only upon the first assignment or upon the first use which forces a type on the variable. The interpreter also often provides a lot of automatic conversions from one type to the other. For example, in Perl, a variable which holds an integer can be automatically converted to a string given the required context:
1 2 |
my $tmp = 10; print "this is an integer converted to a string:" . $tmp . "\n"; |
Of course, it is also often possible to explicitly specify conversions when the default conversions provided by the language are not intuitive.


text:
Backyard Barbecued Chicken with Homemade BBQ Sauce
This kid-friendly dish is about as simple as it gets, folks. If you don't have the time to prepare the homemade barbecue sauce, simply make sure to buy a quality bottled sauce.
- 8 whole chicken leg quarters
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 2 cups Homemade BBQ Sauce
Preheat a grill to medium-low, and brush the grate with oil.
Season both sides of the chicken legs with salt and pepper. Place the chicken on the grill, skin side down, and cook, adjusting the chicken's position and turning the pieces occasionally, until it appears to be about halfway cooked, about 15 minutes. Then use a basting brush to brush the chicken legs with the barbecue sauce, and continue to cook, turning the pieces frequently and reapplying barbecue sauce each time the chicken is turned, until it is cooked through and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part registers 160 to 165 degrees, 15 to 20 minutes. Serve the chicken hot or warm.


text:
The first time many people heard about Kehlani, unfortunately, was the lowest moment of her career.
Last spring the singer was caught in a love triangle after dating Cleveland Cavaliers player, Kyrie Irving for months. Exposed by a photo of her in bed with ex-boyfriend PartyNextDoor, social media was made to believe by the Toronto rapper that the singer cheated on her boyfriend.
The merciless teasing and assault from the internet lead to her failed suicide attempt. And while she appeared to rebound from the traumatic experience, she's spoken very little about it, until now.
"I'm strong enough to thank God and talk about it, in a positive way, in an inspirational way," she said during a recent interview on The Cruz Show (mark 17:30).
"I wasn't a victim, I'm never a victim, I refuse to be a victim. I'm not. I think it was a combination of things: One, their response was insane. Two, I think people forget that I was a 21-year-old going through the biggest heartbreak of my life. So on top of it being public and scary, I'm hurting y'all. I'm going through heartbreak. This is a young woman who's dealing with a guy. So it was recovering from all those things at once."
Adding, "It was tough. It's still tough. It's still a day by day thing…But on the flip side, it's not too much that can hurt me now."
Currently Kehlani is working on her debut album and a video for her single "CRZY" is out now.
#StayStrongKehlani: Fans & Celebs Rally In Support Of Singer After Apparent Suicide Attempt
PartyNextDoor Strikes Again: Posts And Deletes Video With Kylie Jenner
The Alarming Double Standard When It Comes To Men & Women Cheating
Kehlani Opens Up About Social Media Bullies And Public Breakup was originally published on hellobeautiful.com


text:
Quandary is a neat online game/choose your own adventure story that is can work well as a tool for English language development (see Digital Play for an ELL lesson plan) and/or as a way to deal with ethical questions (the site itself has lot of teaching ideas). You can play as a guest or register.
I'm adding it to The Best Places To Read & Write "Choose Your Own Adventure" Stories.


text:
A History of Banking Where You're Known
with a Future of Moving you Forward
Phishing is a criminal activity where a malicious person(s) attempt to fraudulently acquire sensitive information, such as online banking passwords and credit card details, by masquerading as a trustworthy organization or website. Phishing is usually done in the form of an email. Most of us have received phishing emails and have been trained to never click any links or follow their instructions.
Here is a sample phishing email. ( Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phishing )
As our customer and a user of our online banking system, we want to share with you a simple tool you can use when logging into your online banking accounts that can guarantee you never enter your login credentials in an unauthorized website.
You can begin using our anti-phishing tool the next time you log into the online banking system. Go to Preferences and click Security. There, you can create your own "Phishing Protection Phrase". Once you enter that phrase and click "Submit My Phrase", every time you log in you will see a box displaying that phrase hovering over the Login and Password fields. In order to log in, you will click on the box to close it.
The Phishing Protection Phrase will display every time you log in. This is your assurance that you are in fact on our website and not on a phishing site, and that when you enter your login credentials, you can have confidence that you are not compromising your security. If ever, after you set up your protection phrase, you do not see the box hovering over the login fields when you go to login, you should not log into the site and, instead, you should contact us.
© 2024 Contact | Privacy Notice | IL CRA Notice | Terms of Use


text:
Content found in this wiki may not reflect official Church information. See Terms of Use for more information.
Priesthood Line of Authority
A Priesthood Line of Authority shows who ordained an individual and who in turn ordained them and so on back to the Lord.
Thousands of ordinances are performed weekly throughout the Church. These ordinances are to be performed by priesthood holders who have been properly ordained and properly authorized by one who has the keys to authorize the ordinance under the direction of the prophet. Therefore, a priesthood authority line traces a priesthood holder's authority from the person ordaining him back to the Lord (D&C 42:11).
Definition of Line of Authority
The line of authority is traced through the office held at the time of the ordination:[1]
If a priesthood bearer desires to trace his own line of authority, he should pursue his current office in the priesthood — not former offices. Bishops and patriarchs should trace their line of authority as high priests. In completing an authority line, each step should go back through the office held by the person at the time he performed the ordination. It is not appropriate to trace the line of authority in cases of setting apart or for other ordinances.
How to request a copy of a Priesthood Line of Authority
Methods of contacting
Contact Church headquarters in one of the following ways:
- Email: email@example.com with PLA in the subject line. In return you'll receive a form to fill out and return (this is an automated reply to any message that contains "PLA" in the subject line).
- Phone: 800-453-3860 ext 23500 then choose option 6, then option 3. After the message and tone leave a voice mail message with your fax number or mailing address. The form will be mailed to you.
Helpful information
Be prepared with as much of the following information as possible (your ward clerk MAY be able to help you with some of this information):
- Full name of the priesthood holder
- Date of birth
- Current ward and stake
- Address and Zip Code
- Elder ordination date
- Who performed the Elder ordination
- Ward and stake where Elder ordination was performed
- High Priest ordination date if applicable
- Who performed the High Priest ordination
- Ward and stake where High Priest ordination was performed
- Any Melchizedek Priesthood ordination performed by the priesthood holder
- ↑ See Ensign, August 1976, Priesthood Line of Authority.


text:
Diagnosis of bacterial superinfections of patients with influenza A H1N1 by culture-independent DNA sequence typing
Nachweis bakterieller Supverinfektionen bei Patienten mit Influenza A H1N1 mithilfe kultur-unabhängiger molekulargenetischer Typisierung
Suche in Medline nach
Veröffentlicht: | 2. Juni 2010 |
During the current influenza A H1N1 pandemia the clinical course in infancy and childhood is generally mild and the frequency of hospitalization is low. However, pulmonary infections can be aggravated by bacterial superinfections in the absence of early and appropriate antibiotic treatment. Super-infections are mainly caused by Streptococcus. pneumoniae, Streptococcus pyogenes and Staphylococcus aureus.
A complicated respiratory infection of an eight year old boy with influenza A H1N1 infection prompted us to review the clinical role of bacterial super-infections with consequences for prevention, antibiotic treatment and application of new diagnostic culture-independent techniques.
The patient was admitted to a tertiary care hospital due to clinical signs and symptoms of pneumonia. X-ray analysis demonstrated opacity of the right lung with concomitant pleural effusions. Antibiotic therapy was initiated with erythromycin and cefuroxim i.v.; however, without clinical success. Following transfer to the University Children's Hospital of Saarland Influenza A H1N1 infection was diagnosed by PCR in a respiratory swab. Oseltamivir treatment was initiated and the antibiotic therapy for bacterial superinfections was changed to meropenem. In parallel, the pleural effusions were drained.
Classical bacterial and fungal cultures from pleural effusions remained sterile whereas the panbacterial PCR using universal 16S RNA primer was positive. Consecutively, S. pneumoniae genome was identified by culture-independent sequence typing in pleural effusions and later on also in abscess material. Antibiotic therapy was changed for additional two weeks using penicillin G. Following thoracic surgery with debridement and drainage of two independent pulmonary abscesses the patient was discharged without further treatment.
Conclusions: Bacterial post-influenza A superinfections require early antibiotic therapy with activity against both, streptococcal and staphylococcal infections. Following antibiotic pre-treatment the causing pathogen of superinfections can still be identified by culture-independent molecular-genetic methods even in otherwise sterile samples. Pneumococcal vaccination may help to prevent a significant proportion of severe respiratory infections following influenza.


text: Back in March the folks over at Doodlers Anonymous asked their readers to draw original artwork for their studio walls -- they got a bunch of submissions, which you can see here, there are some great ones! They teamed up with Bilk and turned three of the designs into limited edition wall decals. I'll moving soon and I am loving the pink mesh! You can see the other two designs at DA.


text:
Time series filters. These, at their most simple, just smooth the data on actual output to produce the measure of trend output that is one half of the output gap. These have no economic content and therefore tell us almost nothing.
Production function estimates. These combine measures of the labour force with the capital stock to give potential output: the level of output that could be produced if all factors of production were fully utilised. The major problem with these measures is that they have no measure of technology: how much can be produced by capital and labour. What is generally done is to use time series methods to estimate this, which takes us back to the smoothing idea. As a result, measures produced by the IMF and OECD suggest the years before the recession were a huge boom, which is implausible given other evidence we have.
Labour market measures, like unemployment or participation. There are of course many problems in knowing what the non-inflationary level of these variables are.
Firm surveys. These ask questions like are you producing at normal levels of capacity utilisation. The answer you get right now is that firms are indeed working close to normal capacity.
Friday 10 March 2017
The Output Gap and the Innovations Gap
8 comments:
The piece by Martin Sandhu is persuasive but I wonder if there are other factors at play.
If investment will save labour then it may be profitable anyway, even at depressed levels of demand. What I am suggesting is that demand may not be a necessary condition for investment (the investment deepening argument).
I wonder if the middling firm has become more highly leveraged since 2008 and its borrowing capacity has become constrained and this, in addition to inertia, is a reason for lower investment.
Has the continuing drift away from manufacturing and towards services had anything to do with this?
I believe that aggregate demand will struggle as you suggest but this does not mean that investment is unprofitable; it seems to me that there have to be other contributory factors.- Anonymous11 March 2017 at 16:04
As I was reading though the article, I couldn't help notice the parallels between the big push model and the expectations-driven innovations gap you were describing. I've always thought that Krugman (1994, http://web.mit.edu/krugman/www/dishpan.html) provides an elegant graphical exposition of Murphy, Shleifer and Vishny's big push model, in simplifying the complex variables involved in this underdevelopment trap (no technological externalities, only imperfect competition and a large fixed cost). If the wage premium is in the intermediate range shown in Krugman's graph, innovation is a coordination problem. If expectations of income/other people using innovative techniques are rising (demand externalities), then this might overcome the problem. If not, the state or increased openness to trade would be necessary (which on both accounts, has been undermined by the Conservatives). Was this what you had in mind when writing?
It's also a rather sad indictment of our current government that we're looking – or at least I am – at development theory to explain the UK's woeful productivity and growth record since the financial crisis. This makes sense. If the economy is demand limited, then there is plenty of spare capacity. We know this is true of labor in that the employment / population ratio has been falling. We know this is true of capital in that interest rates are low and have stayed low through the recovery. Unfortunately, raising demand requires moving money downmarket to the undeserving lower and middle classes, and our current aristocratic ideology will not let this happen. We are as trapped by our ideology as the Soviets were thirty years ago.
ReplyDeleteYou may be right about the behaviour of some sectors of the economy but the model you describe sound like something out of the 1970s. We have added about 2 million jobs since 2010 with only a small dip in the dark days around 2011. Clearly there has been a lot of business formation and expansion but this has been predominantly in low paid service sectors. In most areas of the economy it is difficult to get any more productivity improvements with current technology. The UK is particularly badly affected because of the small proportion of manufacturing and a mature IT capability. Look at Uber: investment in this kind of industry creates lots of low paid jobs and seems to reduce average productivity as measured by economists. Austerity may be part of the problem but there is a lot more going on here.
ReplyDeleteTo maybe put a simplistic view on investment in our current climate, we are as I have said before bumping along the bottom of a depression, when expectations rise and the economy starts to expand businesses that want to keep up, i.e. progressive companies will reinvest, as things are only those that can see no other way of improving productivity will invest, and possibly cut employees at the same time.
Could it be the final paragraph sums up the inevitable consequence of a government more driven to reducing taxation for the mega rich than stimulating the economy to benefit everyone?
The story that you describe is generally in line with the post-Keynesian analysis about inflation, productivity, investment and the NAIRU. In many post-Keynesian models potential output and the NAIRU are a function of demand and hysteresis plays a key role. When demand increases, firms invest more (a Kaleckian function is typically used to capture the positive impact of profitability and capacity utilisation on investment). This demand-induced investment leads to more innovation and higher labour productivity (via the Kaldor-Verdoorn's law). If labour productivity growth is not fully passed on to wage growth, the NAIRU declines and we do not have inflationary pressures. Higher investment also tends to reduce capacity utilisation, which prevents firms from increasing their mark-ups and, thus, inflation. You can find more details about the formalisation of these channels in these papers and the references therein:
Overall, your arguments about the role of innovation could be easily formulated by using post-Keynesian models that incorporate the role of demand-led technical progress and conflict inflation.
I think you play a dangerous game linking to the Sandbu piece. You should keep in mind that many laymen and lot's of "experts" (city economists) who just love, Love, LOVE the story that low interest rates and QE are the cause of the productivity slowdown by keeping zombie firms afloat and that higher rates/tighter monetary policy would in fact cure the problem.
The Sandbu piece is actually clear that it is not arguing this, well somewhat clear, but you have to read most of the way down to find that out. Someone who just reads the first couple paragraphs or just the title will absolutely take the piece as supporting that story and, since you linked to the piece, they may conclude you endorse that story as well.
I think you need to be very clear, perhaps a post devoted to the subject, that there is no automatic mechanism that says if we bankrupt the zombie firms then new, more efficient firms just magically appear to take their place. To my understanding to get creative destruction we actually need more demand and easier money, not the reverse.
Not all destruction is creative destruction, sometimes it's just destructive destruction.
Unfortunately because of spam with embedded links (which then flag up warnings about the whole site on some browsers), I have to personally moderate all comments. As a result, your comment may not appear for some time. In addition, I cannot publish comments with links to websites because it takes too much time to check whether these sites are legitimate.


text:
4820.0.55.001 - Diabetes in Australia: A Snapshot, 2007-08
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 16/09/2011
Page tools: Print Page Print All | |||||
AGE STANDARDISATION Diabetes prevalence is related to age. One of the ways that age can be accounted for is age standardisation, a method of allowing comparisons between two or more populations with different age structures to remove age as a factor when examining correlations between other variables. For example, the age distribution of people with diabetes is heavily skewed towards the higher age groups (that is, older people are more likely to have diabetes than younger people). When looking at the labour force status of people with and without diabetes, it can be seen that people with diabetes are less likely to be in the work force, however, this could be due to the fact that there are more older people with diabetes and less older people in the work force. Age standardising removes age from the picture so it can be seen whether there is a correlation between diabetes and labour force status independent of age. In this article, the Australian 2001 estimated resident population is used as the reference population. BODY MASS INDEX (BMI) This article uses measured height and weight data of persons from the 2007-08 NHS to calculate body mass index (BMI), a simple index of weight for height commonly used to classify people as underweight, normal weight, overweight and obese. It is defined as the weight in kilograms divided by the square of the height in metres (kg/m2). BMI scores are classified as: 18.5 or less Underweight 18.5 to 24.99 Normal Weight 25 to 29.99 Overweight 30 or greater Obese PHYSICAL ACTIVITY In the 2007-08 NHS, people aged 15 years and over were asked questions about all exercise undertaken for fitness, recreation or sport (including walking for transport) in the week prior to the survey. They were then grouped into exercise levels (sedentary, low, moderate or high) based on a score derived from the frequency, duration and intensity of their physical activity in the previous week. ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION In the 2007-08 NHS, information was collected about a person's alcohol consumption for the three most recent drinking occasions in the week prior to the survey. This was averaged over 7 days and used to calculate levels of long term risk from alcohol consumption. SOCIO-ECONOMIC INDEX FOR AREAS (SEIFA) INDEX OF DISADVANTAGE From information collected in the Census of Population and Housing, the ABS has developed indexes to allow ranking of areas, providing a method of determining the level of social and economic wellbeing in that area. One of these indexes is the SEIFA Index of Relative Socio-economic Disadvantage, derived from attributes such as income, unemployment and educational attainment. In this article, people are grouped into quintiles ranking from areas of most disadvantage to those of least disadvantage, which enables comparisons to be made between the health characteristics of people living in each area. Document Selection These documents will be presented in a new window. |


text:
A contribution by Venessa Miemis:
I've been reading through danah boyd's recent posts, Facebook is a utility; utilities get regulated and Facebook and "radical transparency" (a rant) and all the other posts out there about Facebook and this privacy issue – and would like to add my voice to the mix. Everything seems to be coming to a head, and I haven't seen anyone really tackle the emotional aspects of what's going on, so I'd like to take a crack at it. Everyone is up at arms and pissed, but do we know why? What's the big deal with privacy? What is privacy? What are we really talking about here? My take: When conversations get commodified, we are lost. Tell me, besides being physically intimate with another human, what is more sacred than the space where you share yourself and your life with others? Whether this be a conversation, sending a photo of what you're doing, a text message, or any other form of communicating information about the way you feel or the things you think – what else is there? This is us being human. In my opinion, people are not so much upset that Facebook is making this sharing of ourselves more transparent, it's that this sharing of ourselves is being commodified, and people are making money off of it. For me, this is bullshit. If I can't have a conversation with you without someone invading it and trying to sell me something, I don't know what else I'm supposed to do. How much closer do you want to come to my soul, and then try to put up an advertisement next to it??? For me, THIS is the big privacy issue. Putting ourselves out there is not a bad thing. Someone profiting off of it IS. This is why the open source movement is about to absolutely explode, this is why a project like diaspora has raised almost $200k in less than a month on Kickstarter, why people are looking at open protocols like OAuth and open source tools like Mahout and Hadoop, why the concept of Junto is being fleshed out, why the "crazy" developers and builders of the infrastructure are getting restless and might be ready to extend themselves to each other and build the bridges between each other so that this new thing can FINALLY emerge. People want to be able to communicate with each other without being robbed. We want to share ourselves with each other because it helps us learn, relate, and grow. The most valuable things we have are time and attention. These are the things we give to people we care about. When someone makes money off of us exchanging the highest gifts we can give, it crushes the soul. Facebook has what, over 500 million people now? They don't have to compete with the "next big thing" social network. They already have us there, and it's a pain in the ass to have to be migrating all the time, but we'll do it if we have to. Maybe they should just pay attention to the open movement and figure out how to be a part of it, instead of fight it. Facebook is not the wolf, the greed for money is the wolf. Facebook could unite with the open source movement and be a foundation for a new global economy to emerge. Have you seen Rushkoff describe the future of money? Have you seen Thomas Power describe the Bank of Facebook and the potential of a peer to peer business model? Do you see? There is a tremendous opportunity right now to do the right thing and EMPOWER people. And everyone can join the party. Everyone. Facebook has a choice, and ultimately it's the battle over your soul. Are you gonna sell out, or do the right thing? Just let me be. This is what privacy means to me. What does it mean to you?


text:
Gen. John R. Allen, the second four star general ensnared in the sexual scandal that has already ended the career of David Petraeus, has a lot in common with the former CIA director beyond an acquaintance with Jill Kelley, a Tampa Bay woman who served as a social liaison with MacDill Airbase.
Like Petraeus, Allen served in a leadership post at Central Command (CentCom), the theater of operations that included the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. At CentCom, Allen at first served under Petraeus as deputy commander between 2008 and 2010 until Petraeus left to command the U.S. war in Afghanistan. When Petraeus left Afghanistan to become CIA director, Allen took his slot in Kabul where he serves to this day.
Allen is believed to have sent several inappropriate emails to Kelley, the woman who was allegedly threatened by Paula Broadwell, the reported paramour of Petraeus, in a scandal that has now thrown Allen's military career into question.
On Thursday the general was scheduled to testify before Congress regarding his nomination to be the supreme allied commander for NATO forces in Europe. But that nomination has been put on hold pending an investigation.
Allen honed his counterinsurgency chops in Iraq where he oversaw the effort to persuade Sunni sheiks in the lawless western part of the country to join the war against al Qaeda in what became known as the Anbar Awakening.
"He came up with a strategy for clearing Falluja itself and then bringing all the tribes around Falluja over to the coalition side," said Mario Loyola, a former Pentagon analyst and speechwriter who got to know Allen at the Pentagon and later spent time with him, when he embedded with U.S. troops in Iraq for National Review magazine.
Loyola said Allen treated the sheiks with respect, addressing many of them as his "brothers," even if some had been allied with al Qaeda only months earlier. He skillfully established "personal bonds of trust with the sheiks" and used those relationships to create a national network of pro-American Sunni sheiks and tribal leaders, Loyala said.
Returning stateside, he earned a reputation for being candid with members of Congress, according to two congressional aides who work on military affairs. "He was respected by both Democrats and Republicans," a Democratic aide told The Daily Beast.
By the time Allen took command in Afghanistan, counterinsurgency and notions of "victory" had given way to plans for an American exit.
Loyola said Allen never discussed his personal life or his family, but focused on the job at hand. Much like Petraeus, Allen was known as a soldier with a scholarly side.
In 2007, Allen led a tour of Anbar province, pointing out historical and anthropological features of the ancient region. At one point, the general turned to Loyola and said: "But for a few twists and turns, I would've been an archeologist."