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SOCHI, Russia (Feb. 7) – Six-time Olympian Todd Lodwick (Steamboat Springs, CO) led Team USA amidst a thunderous applause from the packed crowd at the 2014 Olympic Opening Ceremony Friday at Fisht Stadium in Sochi. Team USA's 230 athletes is the largest team to ever participate in any Olympic Winter Games. Coverage of the Opening Ceremony airs on NBC at 8:30 p.m. EST.
QUOTESSarah Hendrickson (Park City, UT), Ski JumpingIt's such an amazing feeling. It really is emotional because everything you have done leads up to this moment. It's everything I have dreamed of for the past five years and specifically the last 6 months.
Aaron Blunck (Crested Butte, CO), Freestyle SkiingI have never felt so good to represent America than tonight at the Opening Ceremony! That was insane! Go USA!
Devin Logan (West Dover, VT), Freestyle SkiingWords can't describe what I witnessed live with my own eyes! It was the coolest experience of my life.
Arielle Gold (Steamboat Springs, CO), SnowboardingThat was definitely one of the most amazing things I've ever done. I think the fact that I'm at the Olympics has finally set in.
Taylor Gold (Steamboat Springs, CO), SnowboardingWalking into the stadium is a crazy and powerful experience. It's unlike anything I've ever seen – as clichéd as it sounds. There's no other way of putting it.
Alex Deibold (Manchester, VT), SnowboardingI've been dreaming about this moment for as long as I can remember and all of the hard work I've put in over the years feels like it paid off the second I walked into the stadium. Definitely something I will always remember.
Hannah Kearney (Norwich, VT), Freestyle SkiingThe Opening Ceremony is the embodiment of everything Olympic. To me, wearing the same uniform as every other American athlete and walking into a stadium designed to celebrate the Olympic spirit is the moment I first truly feel like an Olympian.
Heather McPhie (Bozeman, MT), Freestyle SkiingThe Opening Ceremony was one of my favorite things to watch growing up! Walking in the Opening Ceremony in Vancouver is one of my favorite memories, and it is the first time I truly felt like an Olympian! The Opening Ceremony marks the start of the world coming together for something so positive in this world and I am honored to be an athlete representing the USA here in Sochi!
Bradley Wilson (Butte, MT), Freestyle SkiingThe Opening Ceremony is something that I always would watch over the years. I can remember every one of them very well, too. As a spectator, it was the start of something very special. I was always so inspired after watching. The Opening Ceremony here in Sochi was when I finally realized the amazing accomplishment of being an Olympian.
Emily Cook (Belmont, MA), Freestyle SkiingI am so excited to share this Opening Ceremony experience with an incredible team and the world! Tonight is the start of an amazing few weeks of competition and an opportunity to celebrate the years of training, ups and downs and all of the people it has taken to help each of us get here.
Mac Bohonnon (Madison, CT), Freestyle SkiingWalking into the stadium alongside all of Team USA is the pinnacle of any Olympic experience. The ceremony embodies the Olympic spirit and brings the entire movement together, which I think is pretty special. The only better moment I can think of is hearing the national anthem play with a gold medal around my neck.
Jessie Diggins (Afton, MN), Cross Country SkiingIt was such a rush! I can't keep the smile off my face! I feel so much pride for the USA!
Erik Fisher (Middleton, ID), Alpine SkiingVery impressive. This is the best show I've ever seen. The Olympic spirit is certainly alive in Sochi.
Marco Sullivan (Squaw Valley, CA) Alpine SkiingI have big chills!


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Goalie Hellebuyck stars in UMass Lowell victoryBy ALLEN LESSELS
New Hampshire Union Leader
March 29. 2013 11:06PM
MANCHESTER - Massachusetts Lowell has its spot in the finale.
The first-time Hockey East regular season and tournament champion River Hawks kept their impressive run going with a decisive 6-1 win over Wisconsin on Friday in the opening game of the NCAA Northeast Regional in front of 8,049 at Verizon Wireless Arena.
Led once again by stellar freshman goalie Connor Hellebuyck, the River Hawks improved to 27-10-2 and rolled into today's 6:30 p.m. regional final at the Verizon against No. 2 seed New Hampshire.
The River Hawks weren't thrilled about their start - they were outshot 11-4 in the first period but still came out of it with a 1-0 lead - but were happy with the way things went after that.
"Our goaltender gave us the chance to right the ship and start playing the way we're capable of playing," said Lowell coach Norma Bazin.
"He's been playing unbelievably for us," said Scott Wilson, who had an assist on the winning goal. "He's our rock back there."
Hellebuyck, 6-foot-4 and a Winnipeg Jets draft pick, made 31 saves, including a stop on a penalty shot late in the first period that preserved the 1-0 lead.
Jefferson Dahl took the penalty shot and didn't get as much on it as he wanted.
"It was kind of a waiting game and I guess I outwaited him." Hellebuyck said.
Lowell last year played in the NCAAs for the first time since 1996. The River Hawks beat Miami, 4-3 in overtime, in their opener in the East Regional in Bridgeport, Conn., and lost to Union 4-2, in the regional championship.
They'll try again tonight to win a regional and qualify for their first-ever Division I Frozen Four.
The River Hawks lost all four games they played against the other two semifinalists here. They dropped a 5-1 decision to Denver on the road on Oct. 19 and then lost three times to UNH, the last time on Dec. 1.
Hellebuyck was in the net for the loss at Denver, but played only a period's worth of relief against the Wildcats in one of the losses.
Friday, junior Joseph Pendenza, Lowell's leading scorer, came steaming down the left wing and beat Wisconsin's Joel Rumpel (20 saves) to the glove side to open the scoring 7:11 into the game.
Christian Folin scored at 3:12 of the second period and Shayne Thompson at 14:08 and Lowell had its lead up to 3-0.
That was more than enough for Hellebuyck.
He had given up more than one goal only once in his last five games and that was a pair in a 4-2 win over Maine on March 14.
The Badgers finally got a puck past him for a Brendan Woods power-play goal at 8:19 of the third period.
Junior forward Derek Arnold gave Lowell back its three-goal edge with a score with 6:04 left. Adam Chapie added an empty net goal with 48 seconds to go and Ryan McGrath finished it off with three seconds to play.
The River Hawks and Badgers came into the NCAAs as two of the hottest teams in the country, both in the second half of the season and the last couple of weeks.
Lowell won its first Hockey East championship with a 1-0 win over Boston University in the finale at the TD Garden in Boston on Saturday.
Wisconsin won the WCHA tournament to secure its spot in the NCAA tournament.

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Though the brand name may come off as obnoxious to some, Rich & Skinny does a hell of a job with putting out great jeans. Ironically, you don't have to be rich to buy a pair and you don't have to be skinny to have them fit and look good but they jeans will make you feel that way.
Created by two designers who know the game, Michael Glasser (designer of 7 for All Mankind) and Joie Rucker (founding name of label "Joie"), the dynamic duo bring together their design sensibilities and understanding of the denim industry to produce denim that customers want.
Rich & Skinny got its start late 2006 and steadily gained momentum after appearing on celebs such as Jessica Alba and Rihanna. The denim styles are varied, giving a little something for everyone, and built for comfort due to the use of unique European denim that blends cotton with Lycra Spandex. For this season, Rich & Skinny's signature "Sleek" jeans come in a destroyed camel-color finish while the "Super Skinny" get a subtle acid wash treatment in light and dark blues. Also new for the Spring 2010 collection are cute cut-offs with interesting cuff detail.
The site is down for now but you can get a jist of the styles at online retailers like Revolve Clothing.
Peep the rest of the Rich & Skinny 2010 lookbook below!
Denim Blog
Similar Posts:
- Rich & Skinny Fall/Winter 09 Lookbook
- Vivienne Westwood Launches Denim Line with Lee
- Spring '08 Preview: Made Me
- J Brand goes green
- 55DSL Fall/Winter '08 Video Look Book: Low Noise – High Quality


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Once upon a time there was a city mouse who dreamed her whole life of living on a farm. So one day she packed up her things and moved out to the country. There was so much to learn and life was so different!
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LONG BEACH >> Officials at Cal State Long Beach and Long Beach City College announced Tuesday that they will partner with the private sector to provide scholarships for students who are in the country illegally.
CSULB and LBCC are among 12 institutions across the country who joined TheDream.US scholarship program, which has raised more than $25 million to provide more than 2,000 scholarships over the next decade for undocumented immigrant students. The program is led by Donald Graham, former CEO of the Washington Post Co., as well as Democratic strategist Henry R. Munoz III and Carlos Gutierrez, former secretary of commerce during the George W. Bush administration.
Long Beach is the first community in California to join the program. Other states include Texas, New York and Florida. They are joined by Washington, D.C., and Mount Washington College, a national online college.
The scholarships, which will cover up to 100 percent of tuition costs, fees and books at a maximum of $12,500 for associate's degrees and $25,000 for bachelor's degrees, are available to students who would benefit from pending DREAM Act legislation, which would give children of undocumented immigrants a path to citizenship.
Opponents of the DREAM Act say the move is part of a thinly veiled effort to eventually provide amnesty to illegal immigrant students and their parents.
LBCC and CSULB officials said Tuesday the TheDream.US scholarship program provides a chance for the brightest undocumented students to earn an education and contribute to the economy.
LBCC President Eloy Ortiz Oakley, speaking by phone from Washington, D.C., said his campus was approached by the founders of the program, which is supported heavily by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Fernandez Foundation, Bloomberg Philanthropies, and Inter-American Development Bank among others.
Oakley expects protests from those who oppose funding the education of illegal immigrants but said his chief concern is for those students already in the community.
"Certainly there's always pushback no matter what you do," he said. "First, California has already made an effort to educate these students by passing the California DREAM Act. We are already serving these students. It has an economic benefit to our community. These students are already in our community, and they are much better assets if they are educated. We'll leave the politics to the politicians, and we will serve the students who are in our community."
Donald J. Para, interim president of CSULB, said in a statement that the scholarship program is an opportunity to help hardworking students reach their personal and career goals.
"Further, we know that when one member of a family earns a college degree, other family members follow," he said. "This lifts an entire family to be able to achieve their collective dream of a better life, which benefits California, our nation and our society."
Terri Carbaugh, a spokeswoman for CSULB, said by phone from the nation's capital that the campus also provides counseling, academic advising and peer support for undocumented students.
"The end goal is always economic prosperity," Carbaugh said. "And they're here, and they live among us. They're our neighbors, friends and family, and we're all better served when we provide opportunities for them to get a degree."
The scholarship program came out of a partnership between so-called "DREAMers," business and education leaders and elected officials.
Eligible students must meet criteria under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals mandate, signed by President Barack Obama in 2012 to allow children brought to the U.S. illegally to work, obtain driver's licenses and attend public universities.
They must also be first-time college students enrolled in one of TheDream.US partner colleges, have graduated from an American high school with at least a 2.5 GPA or have an equivalent GED score, and demonstrate financial need.
Undocumented students are not eligible for federal financial aid, but 17 states have moved to provide them in-state tuition rates at public universities. In California this was established under AB540, signed into law in 2001 by then-Gov. Gray Davis.
Under the TheDream.US scholarship program, students enrolled under AB540 in California who are eligible for a Board of Governor's tuition waiver or other state aid will only be eligible for a scholarship for tuition, fees and books not otherwise covered by a tuition waiver or California aid. For fall semester, CSULB had 650 students enrolled under AB540 and Long Beach City College had 251 students.
Students who qualify for the program have up to three years to complete their associate's degrees, and up to six years to earn their bachelor's degrees. Those who finish their associate's program with a GPA of 3.5 will receive a one-time Honors Graduate Award of $1,000. The award is $2,000 for those who complete a bachelor's degree with a 3.5 GPA.
The application deadline is March 31. Recipients will be notified of their awards on May 15. Students may apply at www.The Dream.US.
Contact Josh Dulaney at 562-714-2150.


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Husband to be charged with murder of Charlestown woman fights extradition from Vt.By MEGHAN PIERCE
Union Leader Correspondent
July 08. 2013 10:06AM
BRATTLEBORO, Vt. - Facing second-degree murder charges in New Hampshire for the death of his wife, James R. Robarge, 43, fought his extradition from Vermont to the Granite State in Windham District Court Monday afternoon.
Judge David Suntag said due to the seriousness of the charges he would acquiesce to Windham County State's Attorney Tracey Shriver's request that Robarge be held without bail.
New Hampshire authorities now have 30 days to make a "governor's request," asking for his return to face the murder charges, Suntag said.
New Hampshire authorities could have taken custody of him as early as Monday if he had waived extradition, New Hampshire Senior Assistant Attorney General Susan Morrell said outside of the court room after his arraignment on a fugitive from justice charge.
He faces one charge of second-degree murder alleging he recklessly caused the death of Kelly Robarge by inflicting trauma to her body, under circumstances manifesting an extreme indifference to the value of human life, Morrell said.
The process of extraditing him to New Hampshire could take several months, she said.
Investigators believe Robarge killed his 42-year-old wife June 27, the same day she filed for divorce from him and the same day family members reported her missing, Morrell said.
Morrell would not comment on the evidence collected by investigators, but according to the supporting affidavit for the issued arrest warrant on file in the Vermont court, investigators found blood splatters and evidence of large amounts of blood being cleaned up at the couple's home at 124 Happy Acres Road, Charlestown. Investigators also found drag marks on the ground outside the home, that is consistent with a body being dragged.
Robarge had been estranged from his wife for several months, Morrell said, and living with his father in Saxton's River, Vermont.
The affidavit also says Robarge had been the one to report Kelly Robarge missing. One of her two daughters had been at work and when she returned home from work around 3:30 p.m. on June 27, she found her father sitting outside with her nephew.
Robarge allegedly told his daughter he found his 1-year-old grandson on the couch crying with "no sign of Kelly, who was supposed to be baby-sitting."
The daughter also told a state trooper that "her father told her that her mother is having an affair, and that her mother is planning to take the house and truck in the divorce."


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Mumbai: Choreographer-director Remo D`Souza says he chose to make his dance film 'ABCD - AnyBody Can Dance' in 3D because he wanted to portray a very common thing as dance in a very special manner.
"I could have made it a normal film, but I chose 3D because you see dance everyday. In India, every other day something happens around dance, at home or on the TV. So how could I portray it as something different? That was the reason I went with 3D because I had to show dance in a new way," the 38-year-old said here Thursday in an interview.
"When I started writing the film, I knew I will make it in 3D and I wrote the script keeping that in mind," he added.
Remo says there was a time in Bollywood, when dance-based films and musicals were not uncommon. He just wanted to revive that.
"I always wanted to make a dance film. This is the only genre which has been in Bollywood since the days of black and white films, but then it got lost for many years. Initially, such films were `Navrang` and `Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baaje` and they were all musicals. Other genres took over and no one touched it again," Remo said.
"I always had this in mind that when I start making films, I will make a dance musical film. I did not get that chance initially," he added.
'ABCD - AnyBody Can Dance' is said to be India`s first 3D dance film. It features Prabhudheva, Kay Kay Menon, Ganesh Acharya, Dharmesh, Salman Yusuff Khan, Mayuresh and others. The film hits theatres Feb 8 next year.


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Is this the first year LSD has exploded with so many users? I mean, with some of the smaller schools (Penn, UChi, etc.), you have the legitimate possibility of 5-10% of the incoming class being active LSD members.
Just got the email MTG mentioned earlier. Nice to see the final schedule for the ASW.MTG: Any recommendations in terms of the classes we can sit in on? On the official schedule it gives us 3 options for Friday (all 1L electives): 'Legal History' with Prof. LaCroix, 'Parent, Child & the State' with Prof. Buss, and 'Health Law' with Prof. Malani.
Cool: I just saw that even those of us NOT staying with a host overnight still do get A student host. Otherwise, those "dinner with student host" things would have been awkward. I would have had to run around looking for a host interested in adoption.
will the hosts all be living in Regents? also, are they planning to go to the bar after the law firm reception/ the bar on Fri night?
Dear the pre-law students,Please stop insisting that you are sooooo interested in international law. Seriously.
Quote from: MindTheGap76 on April 06, 2007, 04:14:57 PMDear the pre-law students,Please stop insisting that you are sooooo interested in international law. Seriously.Every other Q at NYU ASW dealt with international law.


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Summertime is a perfect time to start trying out some of the recipes on your blogs that I have flagged. Last week I printed off a bunch and I am now here to tell you they were all great. I have always made Toll House's Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe but no more! I was on Penny's site Lake Lure Cottage Kitchen and found her new favorite chocolate chip cookie comes from non other than Cook's Illustrated. So it must be good right? Yes, these cookies were fantastic with all that browned butter goodness, chewy in the middle, crispy on the outside, all the professional looking crackles, and a beautiful sheen on top. Pop on over to Penny's for the recipe.
Here are some other great recipes I have tried:
Strawberry Rhubarb Crumb Bars
Kristen's Strawberry Rhubarb Crumb Bars from her site Le Petit Pierogi. I found this recipe through ThatGirl's site, Paved With Good Intentions. Funny though, I did not have rhubarb or fresh strawberries so I had to think quick. I came up with using 1 1/4 cups of my Strawberry Freezer Jam in place of the fruit, this made the whole thing come together so fast! Everyone raved over these bars.
Banana Ice Cream
Then on to Ingrid's 3 B's- Baseball, Baking, and Books for her Banana Ice Cream Recipe. What I liked about this recipe is that I did have 2 very ripe bananas waiting to made wonderful again. Also this is a no cook recipe and came together in a snap. This ice ream is very creamy and went perfectly with my Peanut Butter Fudge Sauce.
Our gas grill died a few years ago and we have been without a grill since then, other than my cook top grill; not the same though. So I got this UniFlame Charcoal Grill from Walmart for 40 bucks then rebuilt the inside with Weber Parts for another $30, which still brings me below half price of the Weber equivalent. Pretty good. Last night we had our first meal on the grill: Three Day Chicken, Rice Pilaf, and Roasted Cauliflower. Delicious. Love that charcoal flavor. Then we roasted s'mores for dessert! The best.
*Notice My hanging upside down tomato plant- we'll see if this works!
Beer Tasting Dinner
Last week Himself and I went to DC's famous Brasserie Beck for Global Beer's Beer Tasting Dinner. They were highlighting beers from Brasserie de Silly. If you have never been to a beer tasting, you must. It is a great opportunity to meet other beer enthusiasts, foodies, chefs, distributors, as well as eat delicious foods with the most perfect beer pairings.
Summer Reading
I am reading Inkheart to my children.
I am reading Run with the Horsemen.
With one week off of school you can see that the House of BRK has been busy. What have you been up to lately?
Don't forget the KitchenAid Ice Cream Attachment so that you too can make Ingrid's Banana Ice Cream!


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Hard News: A Big Idea
92 Responses
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Relevant: last month's Reserve Bank paper Structural adjustment in New Zealand since the commodity boom.
Yes selling this policy will be a test of Labour. Already you can see commentary focussing on the individual - costlier clothes, not knowing what my future Kiwisaver contribution will be, govt changing my contribution rate.
The staus-quo is unsustainable and this looks like a innovative policy that, combined with previously announced policies, will help address the problems of a high current account deficit, over-valued exchange rate, low investment in the tradeable sector.
The electorate/media still focusses on individuals - the Labour leadership and the many stumbles made. To move that focus to these complex, while integrated, policies will be a true test. This is Labour's last chance.
I think David Parker needs to be very careful not to oversell the effect on the exchange rate, tat Labour and others were considering compulsory (or near to) retirement savings has been known for sometime and the increase of savings, especially while the Cullen fund contributions are halted, in combination with KiwiSaver will help this. Also, Brian Fallow: Labour's plan looks good.
Russell Brown, in reply to
Also, Brian Fallow: Labour's plan looks good.
That's quite significant. I see that Rob Hosking isn't dismissing it either.
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Any extra tools are good, really. I was glad we brought in LVRs, not because I thought it would help, but because there should at least be tools in the toolbox. It could take a long time to work out how to use them. Or maybe it will be continual learning, because conditions continually change. But at least they have them. At the moment, it's like we are trying to swim using only one arm and one leg. Getting control of all 4 limbs isn't going to mean the economy suddenly launches into a perfect Australian Crawl, but it can at least begin to learn the Crawl.
Its well worth a look, but like Tamsyn Parker, I am a little bit nervous about the way the combination of compulsory Kiwisaver (which having lived in Oz for a few decades I support) and Government control over individual contribution rates will work in practice.
Having been an assiduous Kiwisaver for some time, I quite like the certainty of knowing how much I (can) contribute.
There is a fundamental problem with all forms of retirement "savings":
All the goods and services retirees consume have to be produced by workers (or imported in exchange for exports, which amounts to the same thing).
We currently have a fairly effective retirement "savings" plan - house price inflation. It results in workers paying more for a place to live to the benefit of those retirees who have acquired a valuable property over the years. (Of course retirees with no property lose out).
If you substitute that with a pile of money in Kiwisaver, nothing really changes - inflation will limit the value of the "saved" funds and/or raise the cost of living of the workers.
It's no different to taxing workers to pay out a pension - except that doing that has the advantage of providing retirees with an equal, fair amount to live on, rather than a fortune for some and poverty for others.
I suspect that the battleground will be at a much lower level: will quelling the exchange rate mean children's clothes cost more? (Yes, a bit, but it will really help our export sector.)
I'm going to lay a trigger warning on you Russell, for a word I know you really don't like. But I hope the politicians and media folks who are going to be dominating the discussion of this check their economic privilege, and remember there are people out there for whom it really is a big fucking deal when their kids come from school with no idea where they left that newish jacket.
Whatever the merits, it's a real level up that David Parker managed to coherently articulate a policy from Labour that merits more than a eye-roll. But it's also incumbent on everyone else to remember public policy is more than a game of poll points.
Sofie Bribiesca, in reply to
That's quite significant. I see that Rob Hosking isn't dismissing it either.
Of course Blinglish is.Apparently it's old .
I noticed a couple of comments on Brian Fallow. "National should steal this"....
I haven't fully thought this through as an idea, but one way of modifying this would be to include a Kiwisaver surcharge on home lending (*in addition to, not replacing the existing proposal). That is, if you can afford to borrow more for a home, then you can also afford to save more into Kiwisaver. This would take some heat directly out of housing, with a proportionately greater effect on those who can afford to borrow more.
Germany has low net wealth, half that of Greece & France, less than a third of that in Spain. Weird eh? Turns out a good deal of this is due to rules and regulations that favour capital investment over fetishistic home ownership
Wealth is a social construct. Policies can change wealth, which can change investment incentives.
Maybe high house prices are a result of secular stagnation. If so, those other articles might hint at approached to reconfigure the incentives to make capital investment more attractive.
Kumara Republic, in reply to
Of course Blinglish is.Apparently it's old .
I noticed a couple of comments on Brian Fallow. "National should steal this"….
Listening to Blinglish on Morning Report earlier today, he was suddenly concerned about the policy driving up living costs for NZers. The words "tu quoque", "pot", "kettle" and "black" immediately came to mind.
An intriguing idea, for this non-economist anyway. I presume the variations will be relatively in line with OCR adjustments - i.e. you'd expect your Kiwisaver contributions to change by 0.25%-0.5% each adjustment. It would be much broader in it's inflation-control (as the number of people in employment > number who own houses) and lining individual retirement funds with monetary policy side-effects seems significantly greater than lining (mostly) offshore funders and (lightly) local savers. And I'm guessing they'll retain OCR adjustments as well, so each of the VSR and OCR adjustments would be more "gentle" as the impact is spread over multiple tools.
Hizzah for compulsory Kiwisaver at the least - now who is going to grab the "Kiwisaver means-tested superannuation payments" third rail?
BenWilson, in reply to
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I like some of this. The variable savings rate is a very curious and interesting idea. I don't think we can foresee how it would be used clearly. Since it is essentially imposing a tax, it gives the Reserve Bank the ability to bring inflation down by raising it. It's a much more powerful tool than the OCR because it works directly on the people spending the money, rather than indirectly through the banks printing it through debt.
It's a very good idea to address inflation directly through economic policy. It should never be left to the Reserve Bank to do it all, because they just don't have enough power. With economic policy changes actually targeting inflation, they will only have to smooth out things.
I'm not entirely clear on how they intend to tackle the high dollar, though. I'm guessing that by putting the risk free rate down it should bring the dollar down, and they might have the freedom to do that if they can tackle inflation via variable savings. But since the key inflation driver is house prices at the moment, a low cash rate encourages more debt, which drives prices up.
So controlling property investment directly seems like the only answer. They've got a bunch of ideas. I'd expect every last one of them to be unpopular with property owners. It's bold though, I give it that. Glad to see some movement here.
I wonder what provisions there might be for International Pension Fund Corporations (and their rights) folded into the TPPA?
Gareth Ward, in reply to
Since it is essentially imposing a tax
Hearing this a lot - plenty of smart people claiming "regressive taxation!" - but that's only true if you believe the OCR also is "imposing a tax". At which point it's a tax whose revenue collection lands disproportionately in the overseas accounts of large global financial firms. I don't buy it.
nzlemming, in reply to
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Whatever the merits, it's a real level up that David Parker managed to coherently articulate a policy from Labour that merits more than a eye-roll. But it's also incumbent on everyone else to remember public policy is more than a game of poll points.
Yes to both points, Craig.
nzlemming, in reply to
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The words "tu quoque", "pot", "kettle" and "black" immediately came to mind.
I prefer "J'accuse!"
BenWilson, in reply to
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but that's only true if you believe the OCR also is "imposing a tax"
It's a bit hard to see the OCR as a tax. It's a far more complicated mechanism. But the variable savings rate is pretty much an identical mechanism - you take an amount out of people's pay, and put it aside. They can use it later, sure, but at the time, it acts like a tax. Exactly like one. It will be administered by the payroll staff and checked by the IRD.
Perhaps you could argue that in a roundabout way the OCR works like that, but if so, you'll have to explain the mechanism. Do you mean that raising it raises the interest people are paying on their loans? That only affects people who have loans. People who have net positive balances get more returns on their savings so it works the other way around. That's not like a tax at all. Furthermore, the government doesn't get to take it in as revenue. Banks collect the interest on the loans. All of this is why it's such a weak lever to control inflation. Clearly so, because it really hasn't worked, and it's been as at historic lows for a long time.
debunk, in reply to
True. And we need to stop selling natural assets (land, forests etc) to overseas buyers so income from them, capital gain etc goes the same direction. We haven't learned anything from Rogernomics and selling railways etc to the "investment" banksters like Fay Richwhite. Bad enough with these Australian banks profiting from household debt..we simply pay/lose too much income to overseas "interests" (Telecom, Serco!!) and so rack up domestic debt. All very well telling ordinary folk to save when government is not focused to investing in basic infrastructure assets: houses, small businesses, clean water, affordable health and tertiary education, apprenticeships, etc..but rather on luxury "tourism" and foreign speculative extractive industries ..mining NZ natual assets; gold, gas, sand, oil ......and fish!. Too mcu capital/wealth is being siphoned out of this country and stowed away in unproductive havens.
Gareth Ward, in reply to
Because both the OCR and the VSR have "neutral" positions - i.e. a (say) 7% contribution rate is standard, not a tax but a compulsory private savings account. They may drop that to 6.75% during stimulators periods. That isn't a benefit. Increasing the rate you transfer your own money to 7.25% to constrain money supply therefore equally isn't best viewed as a tax.
At best the "tax" is only for the periods of constraining money supply, at which point you'd have to call the lower rates a benefit, or subsidy or something. I get the loose point, but believe labelling it a tax misses it's intention and operation.
Also, the OCR "only" affects people with either interest-bearing savings or an interest-bearing loan. That's A LOT of people. I'm not convinced it's dramatically less than those people who will be enrolled in compulsory Kiwisaver (less sure).
The OCR is designed to increase or decrease the money supply - the fact it affects mortgages is just a by-product of the way it's implemented, not a feature or specific goal in itself. A VSR will do the same, just via adding another channel to that mechanism. One that during constraining periods just delays your own access to your "money supply" rather than removing it from you entirely and shipping it to others offshore. And during stimulatory periods will give you access to superannuation funds early. Broadening and lowering the mechanism for altering the money supply strikes me as a good thing.
It occurs to me that if I was short of money and the government reduced my take-home pay through increased Kiwisaver contributions, I'd just compensate by reducing the principal repayments on the mortgage. (With the reasonable justification that I'd have more money later when the Kiwisaver matures).
That leaves an equal amount of funds left to pay interest, and so isn't going to have the effect of limiting house prices.
(People don't behave all that logically, though)
BenWilson, in reply to
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But there's no VSR now. That's its neutral position - zero. If you introduce it, every single taxpayer will start getting it taken out of their pay. It will mean they will have less money in their pockets, in direct proportion to the rate. In that respect, everyone will feel it like a tax. Hell, it is a tax, it's just one you get back later, like we're meant to with all taxes, one way or another. Why even not call it a tax, other than that the word sounds bad? That's precisely how contributions to the Ozzie scheme came across to me. A tax I had to pay, which I might get back in 40 years.
The OCR is not at all like that. My parents don't give a stuff about it, because they're freehold. My friend with $800,000 loan on his million dollar house will crap himself because even with 2 incomes, a rise in the rate could mean he can't pay the mortgage. The minimum wage person will have 7% less money to subsist on with the VSR, but changes in the OCR might mean their rent changes, eventually. Maybe. Maybe not, if the landlord locked in a long fixed term loan.
They're just different mechanisms.
The OCR is designed to increase or decrease the money supply – the fact it affects mortgages is just a by-product of the way it's implemented, not a feature or specific goal in itself. A VSR will do the same, just via adding another channel to that mechanism.
Sort of. I think it's a good idea, I'm just saying it's not some natural mirror of the OCR. They're very different beasts. Its primary effect on money supply would be to reduce it, as it increased. In pretty direct proportion. The OCR has a non-linear effect. As the cost of debt approaches zero, the amount of debt people can afford increases exponentially. If you halve the cost of debt, then you can borrow twice as much on the same income. So it's most certainly not a case of putting one up as much as you put the other down, for a net zero effect. If interest rates doubled, went up to 12%, say, then most families would have to spend all of their money paying the mortgage. But a 12% rise in the VSR would cost them exactly 12%.
There is also a huge lag in effects from the OCR. Changes take years to settle in, because people have huge chunks of mortgage on fixed terms. I have most of mine that way. It's going to be years before I feel the bite of this weeks changes. But if a VSR was implemented, then the moment they make a change, you'd feel it in your next pay packet and retailers would notice it by the end of the month.
Parker has noted that New Zealand has low general inflation but high house price inflation. The Reserve Bank has historically responded to house price inflation by raising interest rates for everyone. These high interest rates reduce demand by hurting households with mortgages and businesses with variable rate loans; they also tend to increase the exchange rate.
In short, Parker is proposing to lower house price inflation with a view to allowing the Reserve Bank to lower interest rates and the exchange rate (see 6.10 of policy document). I think this is exactly what is needed, and it feels like we've been fumbling around something like this proposal for the last 20 years.
It's good to see anti-tax avoidance measures and CGT in the mix as well (see paragraphs 6.5 - 6.9; 6.15 - 6.18 of the policy document).
There are a couple of other things we could do:
Our lax overseas investment rules allow vendors to sell their assets to foreign owners at higher prices but the repatriation of profits abroad tends to weaken our economy.
Because most of the banks that operate in New Zealand are owned overseas, most of profits made on the loans that finance the housing sector leave the economy. The re-establishment of a mix of domestically and government owned banks within the industry would tend to mitigate this.
Some of our core markets, including our power and telecommunications markets, seem uncompetitive and generate high prices. These prices lower disposable incomes and make all locally produced goods and services more expensive (by increasing the costs of production). Intervention in these markets would tend to make New Zealanders better off. (Parker has this at paragraphs 6.19 - 6.23.)
I don't know if we'll ever get all this but it's good to see that the discussion is on the right track.
Andrew C, in reply to
And we need to stop selling natural assets (land, forests etc) to overseas buyers so income from them, capital gain etc goes the same direction
I wish I had asked this question when Rod Oram made his initial post - yes the profit etc now does go overseas, but then again didn't the overseas buyer also just deposit a massive chunk of money into NZ to the seller? Surely that is a good thing, and so overseas ownership is not a black and white "it is bad" thing?
Im not an economist so I don't understand this stuff, but hopefully someone here does and can explain.
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our new jarThursday, May 14, 2009
I sort of hesitate to show you our new cookie jar because we found it at target on the clearance shelf. I checked on line and didn't see it.... but maybe your store may still have a few.
We are really diggin' this over here, as we love anything with chalk.
I can always trick them with an empty sign. (I'm sure they will be on to that quickly.)
And if you are a trucker then you may be in luck.
63 comments
awesome cookie jar! I may need to purchase a jar...the boys keep asking me to make your peanut butter cookies again.ReplyDelete
have a wonderful trip. happy knitting!
safe trip. i had 7 hours last weekend, but behind the wheel.ReplyDelete
truckers need cookies too. :)
what a most perfect cookie jar! love that you can personalize it. Have a great trip...may your miles be filled with untangled stitches! :)ReplyDelete
Bonne route!ReplyDelete
(that's French for have a great car trip)
safe travels, friend!ReplyDelete
very cute jar! maybe we all should take a sample of what is inside!ReplyDelete
I love your jar, its fabulous.ReplyDelete
i love the new jar! have fun knitting in the car. :)ReplyDelete
Sweet find. Me want my own cookie jar...ReplyDelete
Ooh! That's great! Maybe I'll make myself one with some chalkboard paint!ReplyDelete
Good luck finishing the lovely sweater.
Does a "taxi driver" count as a truker? Love the jar and have a wonderful and safe trip!ReplyDelete
Nice cookie jar! Mine is blue with an almost delft-like pattern. I love it, but it isn't as fun looking as yours!ReplyDelete
i am lovin that jar for sure! you always have the best luck at target leslie! :) have a safe and happy trip!ReplyDelete
i am lovin that jar for sure! you always have the best luck at target leslie! :) have a safe and happy trip!ReplyDelete
Oh that jar is perfect! Love it :)ReplyDelete
Have a safe trip and nice time.
cool cookie jar...even better that it was on clearance...enjoy your weekend!ReplyDelete
Great cookie jar. Hope you have a fun trip.ReplyDelete
I want those cookie jars they look so fun! Now i really want cookies :)ReplyDelete
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Daniel, yea I can see what you did there. I actually favored that part, however hehe I'm not that harsh like my dad with these things. He always tells me crazy stories again within the day and calls me a loser. I guess it is time I transfer out of my parents' basement LOL. Aaanyways, what about you? what does your dad think xD" Anyway, in my language, there should not much good source like this.ReplyDelete
Completely understand what your stance on this matter. Though I might disagree on a number of the finer details, I think you probably did an awesome job explaining it. Sure beats having to analysis it on my own. Thanks. Anyway, in my language, there aren't a lot good supply like this.ReplyDelete
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Grateful Dead
Just like your favorite jam, things are going to get a bit funky on Dead.net over the next week or so. Community accounts will be temporarily closed October 16th-17th and may be under further maintenance through October 22nd. But rest assured, we will be back up and better than ever shortly thereafter. Stay tuned!
Blair's Golden Road Blog - Sticking Up For Road Trips
By Blair Jackson
I'm as excited as everyone else to see what the future brings with Dave's Picks. But please permit me one moment of nostalgia for the departing Road Trips series, which I thoroughly enjoyed being a small part of these past four years.
The series was controversial from the start because of the initial decision to release compilations from tours rather than complete shows. Why was this done? Well, the last few releases in the original Dick's Picks series came after a gushing flood of soundboard tapes made their way to Archive.org following the death of Dick Latvala. Many of those tapes were then downloaded many thousands of times before the Dead came to their senses and forced Archive to go stream-only for soundboard material. However, the damage was done. Sales for the last several Dick's Picks—which in my view were certainly up to the high standards established by earlier releases (35 and 36 are among my favorites) — plummeted once Archive became a free source for nearly everything in the Grateful Dead vault.
In the meantime, remnants of the Grateful Dead organization cut a deal with Rhino to have them facilitate the Dead's archival release program, and folks on both the Grateful Dead side and at Rhino looked for new ways to generate some interest in the vault material. When Road Trips was established, our thinking was that by presenting a nicely designed package containing two discs with the cream from multiple shows from a tour or series, plus a booklet with liner notes and photos, might be sufficiently compelling to attract both those who already had huge collections of soundboard material and new people who hadn't been big collectors or were relatively new to the band's music. The initial concept was to limit the package to two discs to keep the price down, then toss in a bonus disc with more material from the tour as an added incentive to buy early from Dead.net—not a new idea, as bonus discs had proven to be popular on a number of earlier releases.
The negative response by so many hardcore fans frankly caught us off guard. It was clear that a certain segment really wanted complete shows only and were not going to be satisfied by anything less. Personally, I still stand by the compilation concept. I listen to those first few Road Trips a lot more than I do individual shows from those tours. I don't even think about what is from which show—I just enjoy the high quality of the performances on each, just as I would on a live compilation by any band. The two-disc format did end up being somewhat limiting, however, so I was happy when the series eventually moved to three discs each time. That also allowed us to put out a greater variety of full shows. Needless to say, some were disappointed when the Bonus Discs disappeared; others hated them from the beginning. I liked 'em; always have.
Less surprising than the outrage in some quarters over the compilation idea was the harping about the actual choices. Some people didn't want to hear anything post-'77, much less something as late as '93. Others complained that there wasn't enough early '80s. You name it and there was a segment of folks who attacked it bitterly—'twas ever thus in the Dead world, and so it will be with Dave's Picks, no doubt. I even raised my objections to my buddy Dick Latvala a few times back in the day: "Dude, 10/14/83 is the best you could come up with from '83 for DP6?" Comes with the territory. (Remember the bumpersticker "Just Another Picky Deadhead"?)
Herewith, some favorite performances from each of the 17 Road Trips releases:
RT 1.1, Fall '79 — "Dancing in the Street" > "Franklin's." Not quite up to the 10/27/79 Cape Cod version, but still great. "Terrapin" > "Playing" also show some of the color that "new guy" Brent brought to the band.
RT 1.2, October '77 — I've always loved the Norman, Okla., "Help-Slip-Frank" and the "Sugaree" on the same disc is one of the best in a great year for that tune.
RT 1.3, Summer '71 — Two major finds made this release a winner: The long-missing Yale Bowl tape (love that "Dark Star" > "Bird Song") and more of the spectacular Hollywood Palladium show (some of which was released on DP35), including the legendary "Hard to Handle," which is on the Bonus Disc. Incredible "That's It for the Other One" from Chicago, too.
RT 1.4, From Egypt With Love — This one was put out to coincide with Rocking the Cradle: Egypt '78, and for my money it's a much stronger release musically. Taken from the GD's post-Egypt shows a Winterland, it contains the famous sequence of "Got My Mojo Working" (with Lee Oskar) into "The Other One" into what many agree is the finest "Stella Blue" the band ever played. Cool "Ollin Arageed," too.
RT 2.1, MSG September '90 — Much better than the Dick's Picks (Vol. 9) from these first shows with Bruce and Vince together, this contains some wild and inspired jamming on "Playing" and "Dark Star," and a great "Let It Grow."
RT 2.2, Carousel 2/14/68 —The only multitrack mixdown in the Road Trips series, it's one of the Dead's most-loved late '60s shows. The extra material on Disc 1 (including a fantastic "Viola Lee Blues") and on the Bonus Disc are tracks from the same era that had been recently discovered in a defunct SF recording studio.
RT 2.3, Wall of Sound June '74 — There were probably more gripes about us not releasing the full Louisville and Des Moines shows than with any other RT release. (C'mon, did you really need both versions of "Mexicali Blues" from those shows?) I'm partial to the "Eyes" > "China Doll" and "The Other One" from Louisville, but it's all top drawer.
RT 2.4, Cal Expo '93 — The "Playing in the Band" is probably the most adventurous of any early '90s versions. Good takes of later tunes such as "Corrina," "Liberty" and "Victim," as well.
RT 3.1, Oakland 12/28/79 — A nice companion to Dick's Picks Vol. 5 from the same set of shows. Another fine "Terrapin" > "Playing," though in this case I like the Bonus Disc best, with the scorching "Scarlet-Fire" > "Let It Grow" from 12/30.
RT 3.2, Austin 11/15/71 — Like RT 3.1, this is a complete show. The "Dark Star" > "El Paso" in the first set is heady stuff, and the "Not Fade Away" > "GDTRFB" > "NFA" truly one of my all-time favorite Grateful Dead performances.
RT 3.3, Fillmore East 5/15/70 — Our first three-disc set (plus Bonus)! The acoustic material is priceless (especially "Long Black Limousine" and "Ain't It Crazy") and both the "Dark Star" and "That's It for the Other One" are standouts. The Bonus Disc tracks from Merrimac College the previous night are killer, as well.
RT 3.4, Penn State/Cornell 1980 — I've listened to this one a lot. I particularly dig the "Shakedown" > "Bertha" and "space" > "Saint of Circumstance" from Cornell and the "He's Gone" > "The Other One" from Penn State.
RT 4.1, Big Rock Pow Wow 1969 — Two crazy acid-drenched shows from Florida in May '69. I'm a sucker for "He Was a Friend of Mine," and there are a couple of fiery versions of "The Eleven," a trippy "Dark Star" and a thumping "St. Stephen" out of "drums." Two half-hour versions of "Lovelight" is a bit much for me, though.
RT 4.2, April Fools '88 — Classic high-energy late '80s Dead, with outstanding versions of "Scarlet-Fire" and "China Cat-Rider," along with relative rarities such as "Dear Mr. Fantasy," "To Lay Me Down" and Dylan's "Ballad of a Thin Man."
RT 4.3, Denver 1973 — Love the "Playing" > "Wharf Rat" > "Playing" reprise > "Morning Dew," and the lacy first-set "Here Comes Sunshine."
RT 4.4, Spectrum 4/6/82 — For me, it's all about the "Shakedown" > "Lost Sailor- Saint" and "The Other One" > "Morning Dew." More early '80s, please!
RT 4.5, Boston Music Hall 6/9/76 — This would make my RT Top 5, with the awesome "St. Stephen" > "Eyes," best-ever "Crazy Fingers," wonderful "High Time" and solid bonus versions (from 6/12/76) of "Comes a Time" and "Mission in the Rain."
End of the line. Last call for Road Trips rants and raves! What do you think?
Lunchbox16 adds another brilliant suggestion to a list of brilliant ideas offered up by deadheads in the forums. Rhino should be offering up consulting compensations to some of these folks.
What would the bonus disc for this box set be made up of?
nafoster, your wife is one sick puppy. I agree with her. I don't think that was the intent in the original rendition of the song. If you look in the lyrics section you'll see where Bobby changes it to "now I spend my lifetime running with the Mexicali Blues" which I do believe implies the lady gave him something to remember her by.
Never really liked the road trips. Too used to having complete shows I guess, compilations just didn't work for me. And the whole bonus disc pissed me off more than once... Only the hardcore are buying these, why would you deny any one who flops down the $ all the discs no matter when they bought?
I did prefer the packaging over dick's picks. Almost every DP I bought the little plastic teeth in the box to hold the disc broke! The card board packages are much better and more durable.
Keep cost down, make complete shows, keep them coming! No 'bonus' disc, just make it part of the deal.
Thank You- RT, almost completely, for at the final moment releasing some of my first show on June 12, 1976!!!!!
Comes a Time you know.................
thanks, Blair!
To Zuckfun:
What you say is true and has been true for many moons. The only changes are the medium for the trade!! Can you imagine in 50 years what we'll be trading?
To Blair: I really enjoyed this BLOG. I was looking at all the RT releases and I only have 9. I might buy the last one and the Denver one. I have found contentment in the music I have and it really takes something unique for me to really want something more.
I never thought of it that way. i always assumed it was because "I shot first and killed him, lord he didn't even draw..."
But you could be onto something!
My wife interprets the lines "I'm paying for those happy hours I spent there in her arms/With a lifetime's worth of the Mexicali Blues" as suggesting the singer contracted an STD.
Anyone else "read" it that way?
Nice to see others joining the campaign for re-release of the bonus discs. They've already got the mastering and packaging done for them. All that is needed is to order another manufacturing run. Personally, I'd still advocate for a boxset that has them all in one, but being available a la carte would be fine, too. A boxset would probably be better from a business sense because there would be fewer individual discs sitting around a warehouse.
By my count such a project could include the following bonus discs:
1. Dead Ahead
2. Beyond Description
3. Fillmore West '69
4. Postcards of the Hanging
5. Closing of Winterland
6. Rocking the Rhine
7. Spirit of '76 (Cow Palace)
8. Winterland '73
9. Rocking the Cradle
10. Winterland '77
22. RT Bonus Disc 2011
Was there a bonus disc with the release of The Golden Road? I wasn't sure about that one.
But as we can see in the very least this could be an awesome 22 CD boxset. Or perhaps 2 different sets - one with all the RT discs (12) and one with all the others (10). I'd pay for physical copies of these. Put it this way, would it be better to pay $100 per set for new copies of these discs, or chance ebay and pay up to $100 per disc?
I realize that the bonus discs were originally a way to incentivize early purchase, but from a marketing/sales stand point it would seem to me that they still have a value as a commodity in their own right. A few people might complain, but I think most people would be happy they're available.
Just a thought!
Ditto on the comments from Pwdrtrns13-please always keep CD releases in the mix. The mp3 is a waste of time in my opinion-the detail is gone-makes the music pale and without nuance and emotion. Other than convenience-whats the point? It is worse than the old cassette. CD could be better obviously-SACD-but it is high res. enough to get most of the detail from the source. I love vinyl but 10 lps set of a concert at today's vinyl lp cost is not going to happen. Remember 78 sets of a single symphony.(I'm not that old but I like to browse used bins for old stuff including 78s.)


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XFX & Sapphire HD 7770 1GB Review
The beginning of this year marked the introduction of AMD's 28nm video cards, the HD 7970 Tahiti core. We got to explore it thoroughly along with its counterparts from other manufacturers within the next couple of weeks. A month later the initial 28nm launch, the HD 7950s, followed and fell into their expected performance ranges. With the industry's first 28nm GPUs on the market and the fastest single-core video cards now available, the performance margin for all other video cards have stepped up — even the budget cards. Although we can expect the best and meanest performance out of Tahiti-cored graphics cards, we can also expect to pay top dollar for the top-shelf cards.
For those of us who don't necessarily want or maybe can't afford such a powerful card but still want the low power consumption and good performance ratio of the 28nm core, AMD's budget 28nm cards launch today. Codenamed "Cape Verdi" as part of AMD's "Northern Islands" collection, the HD 7750 and HD 7770 have the potential to offer much more playable DX 11 games for around $149. The HD 7770's core clocks when they hit the shelves will be no less than 1000MHz as we can find in the retail base models. In this review, we will be taking a look at XFX's HD 7770 Super Overclocked Black Edition Double Dissipation video card. The name is a mouthful, but describes it perfectly. XFX also has an Overclocked Black Edition with a core clock of 1090MHz, but it's not as super as the Super Overclocked Black Edition with an out-of-the-box core clock of 1120MHz. The Double Dissipation part, as we recently saw in our review of an XFX HD 7970 means one thing — two fans. With 1GB of 128bit GDDR5, 1.5 billion transistors, 640 stream processors, 40 texture units and 16 ROPs, the new Cape Verdi HD 7770 cards from AMD are sure to please the budget-conscious gamers, the light gamers, and those who might want to run six monitors off of one card. In this review, a thorough evaluation of the XFX HD 7770 Black Edition Double Dissipation will be featured — let's get started!
Closer Look
As we are accustomed to with XFX's packaging, this HD 7770 is housed in an artistically-decorated box that is mostly black with some blue and red graphics and text. At the top on the front is the XFX logo with a blue graphic beneath it, followed by the text "R7770 / Black Edition S / Super Overclocked". At the bottom is some more information regarding the double dissipation technology feature. It also mentions the fact that this is the "first generation of ground-breaking GPUs with core clocks above 1GHz". On the left side of it is a very long list of "Key Features" of over 100 entries, most of which will be explained on the Specifications & Features page. The rear of the box is covered in more information regarding the cards tesselation capabilities, physics engine, and multi-monitor stereoscopic 3D abilities. The Sapphire box is decorated with a picture of a combat-ready hero-ess complete with a smoking gun, hard hat, an ammo belt, and an appropriate amount of cleavage. The text "1GB GDDR5" is justly surrounded by gold stars, and has the rest of the descriptive text over the front. As seen on the bottom (closest, skinny face), the system requirements are provided. In general, a Windows operating system from XP and up, 1GB of system memory, and a 450W or greater power supply with one 75W 6-pin PCI Express power connector. Also described here are the box's contents; I will share those with you shortly. The rear of the box, like the XFX's container, lists the video card's capabilities and associated technologies — such as its 28nm architecture, Eyefinity 2.0, AMD APP Acceleration, etc.
Inside of the outer sleeve is a black cardboard box with white graphics on it for the XFX card and a plain brown cardboard box for the Sapphire version. Opening these boxes exposes the area that contains the accessories. For the XFX card, this includes: adapters (DVI to VGA and HDMI to DVI), Crossfire bridge, door hanger, and driver CD along with the quick install guide and brochures about other XFX products including its power supplies, monitor stands, and display adapters. Sapphire includes similar paper content, two adapters (DVI to VGA and mini Displayport to Displayport), Crossfire bridge, and a 1.8m HDMI cable. Underneath the cardboard tray in the XFX packaging is the video card itself, while the Sapphire card is on the same "level" as the packaged accessories. Both are enclosed in an anti-static plastic bag. Judging by the size of the boxes, I thought the card would have been a little bigger — but being a lower-end card, it's expected. XFX and Sapphire most likely uses the same "blank" boxes for all of its cards.
Now that everything is unpacked, let's take a closer look at each of the cards. Although under the hood they should be rather similar, the external features and characteristics will vary.


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Phillies manager Charlie Manuel held a news conference Wednesday at Citizens Bank Park to wrap up the season. Here are some highlights:
On what Amaro said yesterday about changing the approach at the plate: "I think I'm definitely on board with what Ruben says when I talked to him. At the same time, if you guys listen to me during the course of the year and last couple of years, I touch on it when I talked about hitting. He would like to see us grind out more at-bats, learn how to work more counts, plate discipline. All those things he talks about, I talked about, I teach that … It's a matter of keep reminding guys. We definitely will have meetings and things like that in spring training and carry it out during the season. We have to get better hitting … You have to know what kind of hitter you are. I'm definitely on board with what Ruben says."
On the current hitters: "I take it very personal. I talk about the fact that we used to have .300 hitters .. If you have listened to me in the past, especially in the last two years you've heard me say that over and over again. Utley used to be a .300 hitter. He's had injury problems … Victorino can be a .300 hitter. He can be better and can hit .300. He's got talent and capable. Howard hit .300 hit one year. He hasn't hit .300 since. I know he hit in the .280s … We've got some guys who can hit .300."
On can these hitters adjust: "I go back to pitchers and scouting reports. You make adjustments, the pitchers make adjustments and the hitters have to make adjustments. If you don't like to or are afraid to go deep in the count or to hit with two strikes on you, you are going to get anxious, you'll be aggressive and chase bad balls. At times, we'll take a fastball right down the middle, some guy will throw a breaking ball down and we'll roll over it and swing at it and miss. That's not good hitting. We talk about that all the time. That's how I talk to our hitters and so goes [Greg Gross]. At the same time, pitching in baseball is getting better .. They know who likes to swing, who won't walk, who doesn't take pitches, who will go out of strike zone and take bad pitches. At lot of times they don't like to go deep in the counts."
Should the expectations be lowered moving ahead: "Absolutely not. That's the way I like it. We play the every day game. You can put expectations on all you want to, it's the expectations that they put on themselves and how we look at things. Right now when we go to spring training, what we will be talking about is getting to the World Series and win. That's been our goal ever since we won after 2008."
Age of core players?: "From an offensive standpoint, with the core players, the health thing definitely comes into play, having them on the field for a period of time and instead of having a disarray of lineups. We would get a better look at how good they can do, the health part and being on the field counts as much or more than anything. Talking about guys anywhere from 31 to 34 years old. That's at the backside of their career but near the top of what their production should be … When I say together, I don't know how many lineups changes we had, if we have same guys in our lineup for a long period of time we get a better read on it. The last 2-3 years we just haven't had that."
Is the message getting through? "Do the players listen to me? Without a doubt. I know they listen to me. Do every one of them? There might be somebody who didn't get to play or who's upset or something, he'll tell you. The only way to find out is if you ask them and I'm sure they will tell you. I think they listen to me."
On can he make the changes happen? "I take a lot of pride in hitters. … I know how good a hitting coach I am and I don't care whether you want to believe that or not. We will get better."
What is the biggest need right now? "We have to wait and see what our roster is going to be. We have a lot of question marks. We've got some guys, Rollins, Madson, Ibanez, Gload. We've got guys like who are question marks at the moment."
More on expectations: "When we added Hunter Pence, that improved our team and gave us a big lift and gave us a player that we desperately needed. We became a better team with Hunter Pence. Our expectation coming out of spring training, we wanted to go to the World Series and win. That was our ultimate goal. We did not fulfill that goal. We had a tremendous regular season, we got to the first round of the playoffs and got beat. I look at it that we didn't reach our goal. We got into a 2-2 situation, we lost the third game in a shutout. Baseball is a game you're asking a whole lot when you say we gotta win a World Series. That's high stakes. With the talent assembled on our team people and the media put expectations that we had to win the World Series. It didn't happen .. . I'm sorry for that."
On the home run total: "If we need to upgrade and we can, we should do it … Our home run production is down. I think Hunter Pence, he ended up hitting 11-12 home runs for us. I think we 're going to get 25 or 30 out of him. That will up our total … I think Utley can hit anywhere from 20 to 30, if he stays healthy. If we can stay healthy, it gets back to that being a key. Being healthy and being on the field is going to take care of a lot of things."
About the bench and whether that needs to be upgraded: "This year, I felt like that you'll notice we carried Michael Martinez and Wilson Valdez, two utility players that are similar players. The reason we did that was because of the health problems of Chase and Polanco and Jimmy has missed time with injuries. If we had both of those guys in the lineup at the same time, it was good that we had those guys … Gload was our lefthanded hitter off the bench and we had Ben Francisco and at times we had Mayberry at times. We had Petey Orr. Any way we thought we can improve our team, I definitely will talk to Ruben about this. We can do some things, if we can upgrade our order. I had a meeting with Ruben the other day and it was very positive, him and I talking quite a bit about the team and our bench is one of those positions."
Do you need a more vocal leader in the clubhouse? "I think that might be the key to it. It's the team and everything together. We do have some guys who can do that. That will get the message across too. That is one of the steps we are going to take to get better."
On John Mayberry: "John Mayberry is going to get a chance to be a regular player. I think he will get to play more this coming season than he did this year. When I talked to John Mayberry last year at this time, Ruben Amaro and I thought it was time at his age and with the time he spent in minor leagues, to see if he could play in the big leagues. He proved that he can be a good big-league player. He will get every chance in the world to be a regular player."
On Jimmy Rollins: "Jimmy has had some injuries that definitely have cut into his running and the fact that he was a top profile base stelaer. He was one of these guys to get on first base, raise his hand and say I'm going, throw me out. I don't think he can do that anymore. When I watch him play defense and Jimmy knows his hitting, he is capable of having a better year than he had this year. "
On getting some older players more rest: "I'm a best lineup guy. Most managers are that way. The reasons sometimes you see us flip flop players or rotate players or run a platoon system, there are guys in baseball that do that and can be very successful at it. I have had success with it in Cleveland and here. I am a best lineup guy for that day, whoever's pitching that day I want to put the best lineup on the field. That win on the first of April is just as important as the game in September. If you can give down time at the end of the year that makes some sense."
On being among the top teams in runs scored: "Runs scored can be very misleading. What I saw was a team that had good starting pitcher. Our pitching is better than what I thought it would be. Pitching covered over some mistakes. If we did score we had a chance to win games. We won 102 games, the most games the Phillies have ever won. What happened was we didn't get it done and that happens a lot … Baseball is a funny game."
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David Bell
David Bell is in his fourth year on the Cardinals coaching staff and his third as the team's bench coach after serving as assistant hitting coach in 2014.
Bell was previously the third base coach for the Chicago Cubs in 2013 after having spent the previous four seasons as a manager and coach in the Cincinnati Reds organization. After a 12-year Major League career, he began his coaching career in 2009 as the Manager for the Reds' Double-A Carolina team, serving in that position through 2011. He managed the Triple-A Louisville club for the Reds in 2012. Following the 2009 campaign, Bell also managed the Peoria Saguaros of the Arizona Fall League.
Bell, 44, is a member of one of Major League Baseball's three generation families: the son of Buddy Bell and the grandson of Gus Bell. David's career began with Cleveland and continued with St. Louis, Seattle, San Francisco, Philadelphia and Milwaukee. He was fortunate to play in 35 postseason games, reaching the ALCS with Seattle in both 2000 and 2001 before reaching the World Series with the N.L. Champion San Francisco Giants in 2002. David faced St. Louis in the 2002 LCS with San Francisco.
The former infielder set career highs with 21 home runs and 78 RBI in 1999 with Seattle and batted a career-best .291 with Philadelphia in 2004. He made his Major League debut in 1995 with Cleveland and was traded to St. Louis on July 27 of that season in a four-player deal that sent pitcher Ken Hill to the Indians. Bell hit for the cycle on June 28, 2004 with Philadelphia, and in doing so became the first grandfather-grandson tandem in Major League history to hit for the cycle (Gus doing so on 6/4/51 while with Pittsburgh at Philadelphia). In 2002, David received the Willie McCovey Award as the Giants' most inspirational player.
A graduate of Moeller High School in Cincinnati, Bell helped the club to the 1989 state baseball championship. He was drafted by Cleveland in the seventh round of the 1990 draft. He resides in Scottsdale, Ariz., in the off-season.


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Normally, a mid-season NBA game between the Detroit Pistons and the Washington Wizards would be unworthy of comment, even by my offbeat approach to what's interesting in sports. But there's a lesson, albeit an unsurprising one, in last night's game between these two lowly teams.
With the Pistons leading 96-95 and time just about expired, the Wiz's Trevor Ariza took a potentially game-winning shot from the corner. The shot tickled the net, but neglected the cylinder. As one commentator later put it, Ariza's effort gave a new meaning to the basketball cliche "nothing but nylon."
Unfortunately, long-time Wizards television play-by-play man Steve Buckhantz proclaimed the shot good, using his trademark "dagger" call to emphasize that the Wizards had won the game on a buzzer beater. Detroit's play-by-play guy also announced that the shot was made but, seeing no indication to that effect from the players or the refs, suggested that time had run out before Ariza launched it.
Buckhantz has taken a fair amount of ridicule for his call, but it is undeserved. The error almost certainly occurred because he no longer announces from court side. Wizards management, under owner Ted Leonsis, banished Buckhantz and color commentator Phil Chenier to a higher elevation and, I am told, to a bad angle to boot. Had Buckhantz been in the seat he occupied for 15 years or so, he would presumably have seen that Ariza's shot was an air-ball, as the players and refs did. So too with the Detroit announcer.
I hardly need explain the reason for Buckhantz's exile. Leonsis wanted to install additional court side seats to sell for many hundreds of dollars ($800 is the price I've heard).
I have nothing against trying to make a buck. But one might have hoped for an owner prepared to forgo a small slice of revenue in the name of providing fans with reliable descriptions of game action. Even in this day and age, such a hope is not unreasonable. So far, anyway, Washington and Philadelphia have banished their announcers from court side.
Calling a missed shot good is embarrassing but correctable. It's the small things Buckhantz and Chenier inevitably will miss from their inferior vantage point that bother me more.
At least Buckhantz seems to reacting to what he calls his "retracted dagger" with reasonably good cheer. Today he quipped "you live by the dagger and you die by it."


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France have been surprised by the physical fortitude of Croatia and are not expecting a tired opponent in Sunday's World Cup final. The post Russia 2018: France not expecting tired Croatia appeared first on PM NEWS Nigeria.
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Originally published on September 28, 2012 6:15 pm
There may be international sanctions against Iran, but not in Afghanistan's border provinces with the Islamic Republic where trade and money-laundering are thriving. Every day, millions in Iranian currency are brought in by taxis ferrying passengers. The Iranian money is exchanged for dollars, which are then shipped back to Iran. American officials recently ordered the Afghan banks to crack down on this phenomenon and it appears to be having some effect. But Afghan money changers claim the money-laundering will never stop unless border guards stop accepting bribes and letting the Iranians in.