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SASC Examples
SASC Examples
Example 1: Active Shooter in School
A student is spotted with a gun in the hallway, and the Police Alarm is pulled. SASC immediately contacts 911, the Monitoring Center, and the Resource Office with pre-determined SOP instructions for each.
Example 2: Trouble in Shopping Mall Parking Lot
A scream rings out in the parking lot. Thanks to an Audio equipped Camera and SASC Intelligence, the scream is identified as Violence and both 911 and the Shopping Center’s Monitoring Center are alerted simultaneously with SOP instructions to each. Because the Camera is equipped with full Audio, the Monitoring Center can actually address the Aggressor directly to scare him off.
Example 3: Intruder in Utility Substation
A truck rolls up to the fence in the middle of the night. The intruder climbs the fence and trips a vibration alarm, setting off a siren and camera feed.The monitoring center gets the alert immediately, with SOP instructions and camera feed. Since the camera feed is audio enabled, the monitoring center is able to address the intruder directly to scare him off.
Example 4: Asset Tracking Within a Hospital
A computer on wheels (COW) assigned to the third floor nurses is moved to the second floor. The IT Manager gets alerted so he can follow-up. This is the third occurrence in two weeks.
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Texas A&M's QB Battle Will Last Longer Than Anticipated
The battle to replace Johnny Manziel as Texas A&M's quarterback is one of the biggest storylines of this offseason, and it will last well into fall camp.
Matt Joeckel transferred out of the program following spring practice, leaving sophomore Kenny Hill and true freshman early enrollee Kyle Allen vying for the top spot on the depth chart.
With South Carolina looming on Aug. 28 on the road to open the season, head coach Kevin Sumlin better make the right choice, because one conference loss in the SEC West eliminates all margin for error in the race for the division title.
Sumlin knows this, and he knows what's at stake with this decision. Sure, taking his time does eliminate first-team snaps from the eventual winner. But since Hill is a dual-threat and Allen is more of a traditional pro-style quarterback who can move, they're both running different variations of the same offense anyway.
That will allow Sumlin to take his time to see which direction he wants to go with the offense. Will the quarterback battle last to game week? Maybe not that long, but 10 days from kickoff is a reasonable possibility.
Missouri Will Struggle to Find Its New Offensive Identity
The dismissal of former blue-chip wide receiver Dorial Green-Beckham will undoubtedly be a concern, but Missouri's problems at wide receiver run much deeper than that.
Leading receiver L'Damian Washington and Marcus Lucas are both gone as well, which leaves Bud Sasser (26 rec., 361 yards, 1 TD) as Missouri's leading returning receiver. All of the sudden, the downfield passing game—which was in good hands with Green-Beckham and quarterback Maty Mauk—is more of a concern than initially anticipated.
Can Sasser step up? How will fellow senior Jimmie Hunt factor into the mix? Will former Texas Longhorn and 5-star prospect Darius White live up to the hype? Those questions won't be answered this spring.
Green-Beckham's departure could change the dynamic of Missouri's offense, and it came at a bad time—late in spring practice. Whether he was getting the ball or not, DGB would have drawn attention and allowed the Tigers offense to filter around him. Now Missouri has to find a new offensive identity, which will take some time during fall camp.
South Carolina Will Find Depth in the Trenches
RAINIER EHRHARDT/Associated PressSouth Carolina DL J.T. Surratt
Defensive lineman Jadeveon Clowney is gone, as are Kelcy Quarles and Chaz Sutton. So South Carolina will struggle, right?
Wrong.
J.T. Surratt is an established defensive tackle who's been around the block, Darius English is quick off the edge and has what it takes to be a force in passing situations, Gerald Dixon is a bigger defensive end who's perfectly suited for the strong-side end in defensive coordinator Lorenzo Ward's scheme and Gerald Dixon Jr. is a solid defensive tackle who can take up multiple blocks inside.
On top of that, newcomer Abu Lamin could provide depth in the middle, and Phillip Dukes and Kelsey Griffin will push starting roles
Despite losing three starters up front, South Carolina has all the pieces to boast a stellar two-deep up front in 2014.
The 6'4", 224-pounder sat out the final month of the 2013 season with a thumb injury, but he had his two best games of the season prior to getting injured versus Alabama, completing 55.3 percent of his passes for 394 yards, two touchdowns and zero picks against Georgia and South Carolina.
Are those eye-popping stats? No. Not by any means. But Dobbs threw six picks over the final four games of last season, and the last thing Tennessee needs is a quarterback who makes mistakes.
Worley struggled with accuracy downfield last season, but wide receivers Marquez North, Josh Malone and Von Pearson can help him out and another year in the system will help his confidence.
Georgia Will Find Playmakers in Its Secondary
Three of the four holes on Georgia's defense exist because of transfer or dismissal, which makes new defensive coordinator Jeremy Pruitt's job more like solving a Rubik's Cube than a jigsaw puzzle. But it's not impossible.
Georgia's secondary was awful last year, but it wasn't due to lack of talent. It was due to lack of coaching.
That's fixed thanks to Louisville head coach Bobby Petrino's decision to hire Todd Grantham away from Athens and Pruitt's arrival between the hedges. Players like Corey Moore, Quincy Mauger and J.J. Green will be fine at the safety spots. Brenden Langley could come back to the defensive backfield from wide receiver, Reggie Wilkerson could push for playing time at corner or safety after bursting on to the scene last spring prior to tearing his ACL and Tramel Terry is still a work in progress after moving from wide receiver. The Bulldogs also could get a boost from junior college transfer cornerback Shattle Fenteng.
There are options—talented options. That will become apparent by mid-August.
Ole Miss Will Get Bigger at RB
USA TODAY SportsOle Miss RB Mark Dodson
Head coach Hugh Freeze has used perimeter running game to get to back-to-back bowl games, with quarterback Bo Wallace shouldering most of the load between the tackles. The result has been fantastic for the team, but painful for Wallace—who's dealt with nagging shoulder issues for the last two seasons.
That will change in 2014.
Mark Dodson (5'10", 198 pounds) and Jordan Wilkins (6'1", 209 pounds) give Freeze options between the tackles, which will help keep defenses honest, Wallace healthy and allow those smaller running backs like I-Tavius Mathers and Jaylen Walton even more room outside to work with.
Ole Miss will evolve more into a Gus Malzahn-style ground-and-pound attack in 2014 thanks to between-the-tackles runners and open passing lanes for Wallace, wide receiver Laquon Treadwell and tight end Evan Engram.
Florida Will Find Its Downfield Threat
Quarterback Jeff Driskel takes a lot of the heat, but a big reason Florida's offense has been so mediocre over the last few years is an absence of a downfield threat in the passing game.
Demarcus Robinson is that threat.
The rising sophomore was in and out of head coach Will Muschamp's doghouse as a freshman last season, but he showed flashes of brilliance this spring, including five catches for 53 yards and a touchdown in the spring game, according to stats released by Florida.
A nice foundation, sure. But the best is yet to come.
Robinson will take the next step and become Driskel's go-to guy this August. As a result, the rest of the Gators offense will open up for Driskel and new offensive coordinator Kurt Roper.
Auburn Will Be Unsettled Along the Defensive Line
A big reason Auburn was successful in 2010 and 2013 was a defensive line that rotated eight and nine players up front, allowing the Tigers to stay fresh in the trenches for a full game.
They'll be able to do that again in 2014, but the specific roles won't be defined until late in fall camp or early in the season. Defensive end Carl Lawson's status is up in the air after offseason knee surgery, according to Brandon Marcello of AL.com. His absence, along with fellow defensive end LaDarius Owens, forced Auburn to play primarily out of its "rhino" package—which features defensive tackle Gabe Wright lining up at end—during the spring game.
If Lawson's injury forces him to miss games, it could force that package to become more prevalent in games and/or some freshmen to take on bigger roles as dedicated pass-rushers.
Auburn knows what it has with tackles Wright, Montravius Adams and Lawson when he's healthy. But the uncertainty with Lawson will force defensive coordinator Ellis Johnson to mix-and-match different players into different roles throughout fall camp, which could give off the perception that Auburn is panicking a bit—even though it isn't.
2 Freshmen Will Start at CB for Alabama
One of Alabama's biggest question marks heading into the 2014 season will be at cornerback, where several candidates will vie for the two open spots.
Two freshmen will win those spots.
Tony Brown already established himself as a bona fide candidate this spring, capping it off with a pick in the spring game and praise from Bleacher Report's Lead Alabama Writer Christopher Walsh. Marlon Humphrey will join the battle this summer, which features Cyrus Jones, Bradley Sylve and several other veterans, none of whom could solidify a spot last year.
Brown and Humphrey—both of whom were 5-star prospects—have the most upside in a talented, yet underachieving defensive backfield. They'll be starters come kickoff in the Georgia Dome against West Virginia.
Brandon Harris Will Be Named LSU's Starting QB Early in August
USA TODAY SportsLSU QB Brandon Harris
Before spring practice, it'd be a stretch to think that LSU head coach Les Miles would trot out a true freshman quarterback against Wisconsin in the opener with so much other uncertainty on the roster.
After spring practice, it became much more of a possibility after Anthony Jennings struggled and Brandon Harris displayed dynamic dual-threat playmaking ability in the spring game.
In August, it will become a reality—despite the fact that Jennings is labeled as the "likely starter" on his bio on LSU's website.
Harris will win the job outright over Jennings early in fall camp and be announced as the LSU starting quarterback after just two weeks of practice. He has the passing ability to make all the throws that offensive coordinator Cam Cameron wants and the legs to be a weapon when things break down.
He'll make some freshman mistakes, but the upside will be apparent from Day 1.
Barrett Sallee is the lead SEC college football writer for Bleacher Report. All stats are courtesy of CFBStats.com, and all recruiting information is courtesy of 247Sports.com. | {
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Video FAQs From Our Team
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We at RHRLI have decided to do our part to help slow the spread of coronavirus/COVID-19 by briefly closing our office.We are still available to answer questions. We are also doing complimentary phone and virtual consultations.None of our patients or staff team have had any symptoms nor have they tested positive. We will reopen sometime in May, depending upon circumstances at that time.We appreciate your understanding and look forward to helping you achieve your hair restoration goals for the upcoming summer! | {
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Wildly popular among generations of longtime residents as well as newcomers, the Coronet Luncheonette is an historic daytime eatery located in the heart of Greenport village.
Take a step back in time and enjoy an affordable family-friendly meal at this 1940s throwback. Open daily, from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m., the Coronet serves an array of diner specialties including burgers, meatloaf, delicious Ruben sandwiches, great coffee and ice cream soda. Of course, breakfast is served all day every day.
Don't forget to try The Coronet's famous homemade pancakes made from a generations-old secret recipe. | {
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Jacoby Jones apologized for being in the wrong place at the wrong time, but denied details of a TMZ report that said he got into an altercation with a woman on Bryant McKinnie’s birthday party bus earlier this week.
The report has gone viral over the last several days, and for the first time, Jones gave his side of the story on his 105.7 The Fan radio show.
Jones opted not to go into detail, but admitted he did celebrate McKinnie’s birthday on the bus down to Washington D.C., but said he did not get hit in the head with a bottle by a stripper named Sweet Pea.
"I'm going to take the responsibility that I was in the wrong place at the wrong time," Jones said. "There was no altercation. There's nothing wrong. I did nothing wrong, but I take responsibility for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Enough said. I apologize to my teammates and everybody."
Jones said of a meeting he had with Head Coach John Harbaugh, "We're fine. Everything is good."
McKinnie also spoke to the report on his show with WNST last night, and offered more specifics.
"[Jones] didn't get hit over the head with a bottle," McKinnie said. "You had a girl who ... managed to find her way on the bus at the end of the night.”
McKinnie insisted there were not any strippers on the bus, and said it was offensive to his friends that pictures were taken of them and had that label applied to them. He said two of his friends pictured are a flight attendant and principal.
“Not any strippers. I don't know where this came from," he said.
McKinnie said he rented the bus so that nobody would have to drive home after his birthday celebration. He said he also had security on the bus.
As for where the report came from, McKinnie said he has a friend who works at TMZ and learned that the source for the story “doesn’t have a good reputation.” He doesn’t know how this source managed to get onto the bus.
"She got paid for a story that wasn't true," he added.
Sweet Pea also posted on her Twitter account that there was no altercation with Jones, writing, “I would like to clear up the fact that I'm a waitress & the girls on the pic aren't a bunch of strippers. Jacoby & I had a verbal confrontation & that was it!!! I never hit him with a bottle & I wish ppl would stop spreading lies on the internet.”
Jones was at the Under Armour Performance Center and participated in his regular activities Monday. There were no arrests as a result of the incident.
Jones is rehabbing a sprained knee he sustained in the season opener and is expected to miss game action for a few more weeks while rehabbing.
“I’m getting better every day,” Jones said. “I’m closer.”
Lewis Doesn't Understand Reaction To Leadership Comments
Several of Ray Lewis’ former teammates reacted strongly to his comments about the need to address a leadership void in the Ravens locker room following the party bus reports. But Lewis doesn’t understand all the hubbub.
"I'm totally confused with how someone can take something and make more of it, when what I was saying was so general," Lewis told Jarrett Bell of USA TODAY.
Lewis said Monday night when asked about the party bus incident that without him and Ed Reed, the Ravens are “missing leadership right now.”
Chris Canty explained in the NFL Network video below that Lewis’ comments implied that that the incident with Jones and McKinnie wouldn’t have happened if Lewis was still on the team.
“There’s just a little bit of [that implication] in there, right?” Canty said.
Even though Lewis’ answer came after he was asked about the incident, Lewis attests that he didn’t address the incident specifically, and said he was speaking generally.
"In any locker room and team situation, that's what we do: We help each other out," Lewis said. "I don't see how anybody can misunderstand that. I don't know anything about the incident. I wasn't there. How can I speak about that? That's not just about the Baltimore Ravens, that's with any team. The most important thing is not talent. It's leadership. And I'm not talking about the coaches. It's leadership with the players."
Lewis said he got a number of text messages from his former teammates, most of which essentially asking how he could attack his team.
"I'm the biggest Baltimore Ravens fan there is,” Lewis said. “When I speak, I bring the locker room perspective. I don't understand. Who did I attack? I know I said it from Day 1, and this is true in any locker room, the leadership from the players is what makes a good team. ... When you have an issue, a leader will find out what's going on and how to best handle it for the benefit of the team. That's how teams operate."
He added: “The last thing I'm going to do is misrepresent about my brand."
He told Bell that he is grateful for Art Modell, Steve Bisciotti and Ozzie Newsome and the impact they have had on him.
"I'm connected to them forever."
Even in his new role as an ESPN analyst, Lewis said he still considers himself a Raven and can’t bring himself to pick against the team when panelists project winners in the weekly ESPN segment.
"I've already told them I'm biased," Lewis said. "I'm a Raven for life. You can put me down for picking the Ravens to win every week. Get over it."
Mercilus Fined $15,000 For Hit On Flacco
Texans linebacker Whitney Mercilus was fined $15,000 for his hit on quarterback Joe Flacco Sunday. Mercilus was flagged for roughing the passer during the game.
“I’m going to appeal it just like every other player does in the league and hopefully get the best out of that situation,” Mercilus told Sports Radio 610, per ProFootballTalk.com
“It’s tough to see any reason Mercilus would win that appeal: His helmet struck Flacco’s chin, and both the officials on the field and the league office agreed that it was a penalty,” wrote PFT.com’s Michael David Smith.
Meanwhile, Ravens safety Brynden Trawick, who was recently cut by the Ravens and signed to the practice squad after he cleared waivers, had his fine reduced for an unpenalized collision in the preseason opener against Tampa Bay.
His $21,000 fine was reduced to $10,500 upon appeal, per The Baltimore Sun’s Aaron Wilson.
"Yeah, it's not as bad now," Trawick told Wilson. "It still hurts."
Don’t Write Off Dickson, Interesting Tidbits
Tight end Ed Dickson has gotten off to a rough start this season, as he has dropped several of Flacco’s passes.
Last week, Dickson was not targeted while fellow tight end Dallas Clark caught four balls on seven targets for 46 yards.
But don’t count out Dickson just yet, says ESPN’s Jamison Hensley.
“Dickson is actually a good blocking tight end. He still has value that way and that's how the Ravens are using him right now,” the blogger wrote in a chat with fans. “The Ravens seem like they're going to give Dickson a few weeks off in terms of the passing game. I wouldn't write him off just yet. He stayed after the walkthrough to catch more passes. The Ravens could get more out of him down the road. He needs more confidence right now.”
Here were some other interesting questions and answers from the Hensley chat:
Tom (Illinois): What are fans' thoughts about paying so much for Flacco but him not producing like a 100 million dollar QB?
Hensley: Are Packers upset at paying Aaron Rodgers more money and their team is 1-2?
Michael Zeitlin (Baltimore): How concerned do you think the coaching staff is by the performance of the offensive line on running plays?
Hensley: Let me put it this way: If the Ravens can't run the ball against a Bills defense that has given up 155 yards rushing per game, then it's time to worry. This is a big game for the Ravens' ground game to establish itself again.
Hensley: Jimmy Smith has played better each week this year. He's being more physical and making plays on balls. This is what the Ravens have wanted from Smith. If he can keep this up, he definitely has a future opposite Webb.
Bills running back C.J. Spiller and defensive end Mario Williams both say that they’re planning to be on the field this Sunday against the Ravens. [ProFootballTalk.com]
The Delaware State Treasury is working with the NFL to teach kids financial literacy through a “Financial Football” program. Brandon Stokley offered advice to a group of Delaware high school students, saying, “I’ve seen it over and over where guys get their checks and all of a sudden they’re broke. That’s a lonely feeling, having all that money and then having none.” [DelewareOnline.com]
Please Note
The opinions, analysis and/or speculation expressed on BaltimoreRavens.com represent those of individual authors, and unless quoted or clearly labeled as such, do not represent the opinions or policies of the Baltimore Ravens' organization, front office staff, coaches and executives. Authors' views are formulated independently from any inside knowledge and/or conversations with Ravens officials, including the coaches and scouts, unless otherwise noted. | {
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Culture Syndicates shortlisted for the East Midlands Heritage Awards for empowering local WW1 researchers
Culture Syndicates shortlisted for the East Midlands Heritage Awards for empowering local WW1 researchers
Culture Syndicates are delighted to announce that the Life Lines project has been recognised for its innovative volunteering model under the Volunteer Empowerment category for the East Midlands Heritage Awards. Last year, Culture Syndicates were awarded £10,000 by Heritage Lottery Fund’s WW1 Then and Now scheme. This project empowered amateur researchers to create a handling box to enable teenagers to discuss local WW1 history in comparison to contemporary life. Themes include relationships, censorship, human rights and the social impact of war. The University of Nottingham lend these boxes to schools free of charge.
The Life Lines group was established to research their WW1 family history in 2013. They chose to write a book showcasing their family research and personal collections. This has been donated to all local studies libraries in Nottinghamshire. With the expertise of the team at Culture Syndicates, the volunteer group were empowered to take this research further. It became clear that the next step was that the group wanted to engage young people with history, enabling inter-generational understanding.
Based on these stories of their ancestors and in collaboration with a local artist, Life Lines created sensory handling boxes. The boxes contained many exciting elements: all objects were originals or replicas. The University of Nottingham’s Manuscripts and Special Collections provided material, including a life-like copy of one of the researchers’ grandfather’s diary. His grandfather never spoke of the war, so revealing the facsimile was a heartfelt moment for the team.
One story that captured the imagination of the pupils was that of Fanny Taylor, a ‘canary girl’ who tragically died in the explosion at Chilwell bomb factory where she worked.
Fanny’s box contained smells from the factory, a jam tin bomb and a real, diffused WW1 shell. This tangible connection with the past provided pupils with a unique opportunity to explore their local history in a different way.
This project has inspired the Life Lines group to carry on their historical research and work. They will hold an open day and exhibition of the boxes at Nottingham Lakeside Arts on Sunday 29th October. This will be an opportunity for the public to come and handle the exciting objects, and to talk to the group about their research.
The East Midlands Heritage Awards will be held on the Thursday 9th November. | {
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Local Developers Propose 72-Unit Complex on Irvington Avenue
Local developers Dave Kasdan and Josh Mann presented a proposed 72-unit rental apartment building development to be located at 270-282 Irvington Avenue to a feisty crowd at an informal meeting Wednesday night.
While Mann and Kasdan have been meeting with town committees and neighbors, they said they were presenting to the public tonight to solicit further feedback. Village Administrator Barry Lewis noted that the meeting was not required and preceded any formal approval process. Said Lewis, “This is intended to be an early step in the process.”
If the developers wanted feedback, they got it. Mann found it difficult at times to get through his slide presentation as he was peppered with questions from the audience.
Audience members expressed concerns about the size of the project (50-57′ tall) and its density (72 units with 1.2 parking spaces per unit on a slightly less than 1.4 acre lot), its potential impact on the school district, whether or not it would attract Seton Hall students as tenants, drainage, parking, traffic and screening for nearby single family residences — among other concerns.
Mann explained that he himself is a lifelong South Orange resident with three children (Kasdan is likewise a South Orange native and resident). He said that he and Kasdan had signed contracts on the three lots. He said that the depth of the lots lent the properties to denser development (the parcels currently have split zoning for single family housing in back and town home development in front). Mann said that they felt that a denser development would help to “activate” Irvington Avenue and incentivize further development on the street.
He also said that the density of the project was necessary to make it financially viable. When an audience member asked what he would do should the rezoning for multifamily housing not be approved, Mann said that he and Kasdan would not develop the property.
Mann presented a rendering of the building which has 180 feet of frontage on Irvington Avenue, explaining that the current design was a second draft after receiving feedback from local neighbors who asked that the building not look like downtown developments. Instead, the four-story building has a Victorian-style mansard roof and other flourishes that Mann said reflected the “eclectic” architecture of the neighborhood.
The first floor of the building on Irvington Avenue includes one retail space of 1,100-1,200 sf at its northernmost end, a ground-floor gym space to be rented out to personal trainers, and a cut-through entrance for cars to access the parking lot behind the building. Mann seemed ambivalent about ground-floor retail, saying that it had been included by “consensus.”
The proposed building is set back 10′ from the property to its north and 10′ from Irvington Avenue. It’s southern edge goes to the property line.
When Mann announced the proposed height of the building, there was some audible grumbling from the audience. “What?!” one woman exclaimed. Later in the presentation, another questioner called the building a “monstrosity.” Mann said, “I obviously respectfully disagree.” He noted several times throughout the meeting that there were other multistory buildings on Irvington Avenue (including across the street) and that some local homes were four stories tall.
One audience member expressed concern that Seton Hall students would be attracted to the building — particularly in a corridor that had recently been rebranded as “Seton Village.” Mann said that they were not targeting Seton Hall students and would be “surprised if they could afford it.” One audience member called that comment “naive.” When an audience member pointed out that students often live three to a studio, splitting the rent, Mann suggested that he and Kasdan could discourage such practices through lease agreements. In the meantime, Mann said he would “love” to attract grad students and faculty.
Another audience member was concerned that the redevelopment plan process for this project was “doing it backwards.”
“Shouldn’t rezoning be done first?” she asked.
Lewis said that creating a redevelopment plan involved the “same process, same consideration” that would be considered in rezoning. In addition, he said that the proposed development fit guidelines set forth in the town’s Vision Plan of 2008.
Another audience member worried that such a development would not attract high rents and would have a negative impact on housing values in the neighborhood. Mann said, “In my experience, developments like this raise property values.” He said a recent market study of the area showed that “the demand for multifamily in our area is great.”
While that questioner worried that the development would attract a “transient population,” another audience member questioned why such dense developments were being considered when the school district was stressed by increased enrollments. Mann said that, since the proposed building was made up of studios and one- and two-bedroom apartments, it would attract few families with school-age children. He said that the property would attract more students if developed as currently zoned.
Mann and Kasdan also came under fire from audience members because the proposed Irvington Avenue project is their first development as principals. However, Mann said that he has worked on $100 million redevelopment projects and that Kasdan has been involved in highly complex high-rise developments in Jersey City. Mann said that the two currently manage 300 units of multifamily housing.
The next step for the proposed development, said Mann, is to hammer out the redevelopment plan with the town. Mann said that he’d like to put the “pedal to the metal” with the town over the next two to three months to get the redevelopment plan completed. Mann said that he and Kasdan have hired an architect, engineer, planner and traffic engineer to help create the plan and that more detailed documents would be presented during the approval process.
Village Administrator Barry Lewis said that the redevelopment plan process would “spell out” the density, height and uses for the building to be approved by the Board of Trustees and Planning Board. Lewis said that, once the specifics of a development plan were finalized, the approval process would begin. He said that that process — from the introduction of the plan to the Board of Trustees, through referral and recommendation by the Planning Board, to final approval by the BOT — ideally would take six to eight weeks. Later, Mann said that construction would probably take one year. One woman in the audience expressed concern that this project not be “another Beifus site that drags on for seven years.” Lewis responded, “Not on my watch!”
Lewis updated the attendees on the redevelopment study process for eight areas along Irvington Avenue, saying that town planner Susan Gruel was continuing to work on the studies. He expected that Gruel would be able to present her work to the Board of Trustees in the next month or two. At that time, Gruel’s recommendations would be reviewed by the Trustees, referred to the Planning Board, then sent back to the Board of Trustees for potential approval.
However, Lewis said, Mann and Kasdan were not waiting on such designation. Instead, he said they were utilizing the town-wide designation as an area in need of rehabilitation to craft a redevelopment plan with the town and request a staggered 5-year tax abatement.
The meeting, which took place at Congregation Beth El on Irvington Avenue, needed to end at 9:30 p.m. (after two hours) so that the building could be closed; however, Kasdan and Mann continued to take questions in the parking lot.
Click on any image below to view a slideshow of Mann and Kasdan’s presentation.
The author of this story, Mary Mann, is not related to developer Josh Mann. | {
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BYU newspaper yanks T-shirt ad
Chad Ramos, who capitalizes on "Mormon speak" in order to sell T-shirts, is surprised \\\\— but not particularly disappointed \\\\— at the furor at BYU over his "I can't" T-shirts.
PROVO Managers of the student newspaper at Brigham Young University pulled an advertisement after numerous complaints that it was too offensive for the conservative campus.
The ad campaign began at the start of the month and sparked a big stir over a T-shirt with a simple phrase "I Can't ... I'm Mormon."
Students, professors and administrators felt the slogan implied wearers wished they could drink, smoke or have casual sex but were prevented only because they are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
One letter to the editor in the student paper was particularly sarcastic: "I can't, I'm Mormon, but if I wasn't, you know I'd be there 'cause it sounds sweet!"
Many also felt the female modeling the shirt in the ad struck an overly provocative pose.
Both objections surprised the shirt's creator, Utah Valley State College student Chad Ramos. He grew up in Las Vegas and said the phrase served him well when peers asked him to drink or smoke while he went to high school in an area with a large LDS population.
"I found if I told people I didn't drink, they didn't know how to react," he said, "but if I said, I can't, I'm Mormon, they said, 'Oh,' and boom, it was over."
So Ramos was stunned by the backlash at BYU.
"I didn't identify with it. I couldn't even relate," he said. "Anybody who's lived outside Utah has said this a hundred times."
One upset student, Joseph King, a freshman from Olathe, Kan., asked Universe officials to pull the ad. They told him he could start a petition and take it to the administration, but a meeting Thursday spared King the effort.
The Newsnet Advisory Board met about other topics Thursday but discussed the controversy. Newsnet is the combined operation of student newspaper, KBYU's student news show and a Web site shared by the two.
The advisory board includes Jan Scharman, vice president for student life; Carri Jenkins, an assistant for communications to BYU President Cecil Samuelson; and the dean and chair over the communications department.
Jenkins said administrators expressed opinions, but no mandate was given and no decision reached.
After the meeting, Newsnet general manager Jim Kelly pulled the plug on the ad, which last ran that morning and was scheduled to run again on Monday and Wednesday of next week. He said the number of complaints warranted the decision.
"The administration didn't tell us to do anything," Kelly said. "We had feedback from members of the Newsnet advisory council, but at the end of the day, the decision was made by me as general manager of Newsnet."
Kelly said the Universe rarely pulls ads.
"We don't frequently pull ads, but in terms of declining to run ads, probably two weeks don't go by that we don't decline ads for the Daily Universe. It is universal among newspapers to exercise the right to refuse ads considered objectionable. We're pleased we have high standards, and we're never apologetic about it."
Last year, Universe advisers pulled another insert, Sports Illustrated on Campus. The magazine agreed to BYU's terms it would not run beer or tobacco ads but chose to stop including the weekly insert in the Universe after two incidents. First, the magazine ran a racy ad for a swimsuit issue. A week later there was an article with a photo of nine naked male and female backsides.
Some observers thought the latest flap was too much about too little.
For example, the Daily Universe ran an editorial cartoon by David Lesue, a 2003 BYU graduate who works on campus, that made fun of students for overreacting to the T-shirt and its message.
He laughed when asked if some students are too easily offended.
"I would say most letters to the editor in the Universe include the words, 'shocked and appalled,' " he said. "I just don't think it's that big of a deal. There's nothing really wrong with it. There's a difference between making fun of our religion and pointing out the quirks of our culture."
Ramos said the decision smacks of censorship but didn't object.
"I love edited movies and edited songs," he said. "I'm not one to fight against some censorship.
"I'm not going to criticize BYU for making their decision," he said. "They did what they had to do, buckling under pressure. It is a little close-minded."
As for the protests about the model's pose, Ramos called it flirty, not seductive.
A dual business-philosophy major at UVSC, Ramos is pleased with his business, done solely online at icantimmormon.com. He and his partner in Nevada have taken 15 orders since the ads began running, and they have sold more than 100 shirts in two months.
He expects orders to pick up now.
"That is great," he said of the decision to yank the ad. "I couldn't have asked for better advertising. Everybody will know about us now, and I get my money back." | {
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Ford aims for Lincoln rebound with new cars, ads
Lincoln brand changes name to evoke its history as critical new MKZ goes on sale
12/4/2012
REUTERS
DETROIT — Ford Motor Co. wants to place its lagging Lincoln nameplate back on consumers’ shopping lists with an ambitious marketing campaign that draws on its heritage and includes the upscale brand’s first-ever Super Bowl spot.
The campaign blitz got under way on Monday and features a 60-second TV commercial that opens with an image of an actor playing Abraham Lincoln, the U.S. president after whom the brand is named. Ford has also renamed the brand the Lincoln Motor Co., which was its original name when Ford purchased it in 1922. Since 1940 it had been the Lincoln Division of the Ford Motor Co.
The moves are part of the second-largest U.S. automaker’s latest effort to reinvent Lincoln two decades after its sales peak. Lincoln faces challenges in the increasingly competitive U.S. luxury vehicle market, starting with its musty brand image.
In 2011, Lincoln sales were just 85,643 — less than half the amount sold by Lexus, Toyota Motor Co.’s upscale brand.
“Nobody is waiting for the next ad message from Lincoln,” Matt VanDyke, director of global Lincoln marketing, said in an interview. “We have to shout from the rooftops.”
Under Chief Executive Alan Mulally, Ford pruned its stable of brands over the last six years to pay for its financial turnaround. Ford initially focused on its mainstream lineup but in the last few years began to turn its attention to Lincoln.
By 2015, Ford will launch seven new or revamped Lincolns, starting with the new MKZ sedan, which will be in dealerships by the end of this month. Mr. Mulally and Jim Farley, Ford’s global marketing chief and new head of Lincoln, marked the campaign’s launch in New York’s Lincoln Center Plaza on Monday.
The MKZ will start at $35,925, or about the same as its archrival, the Lexus ES 350. A hybrid version is the same price.
A commercial during the Super Bowl, the most heavily watched annual event on U.S. television, is designed to quickly reach a large, broad audience and highlight the brand’s new direction.
Ford wants to lower the average age of Lincoln buyers to 57 from 65 years old, and raise the target average income more than 50 percent to nearly $160,000 a year.
“This is how Lincoln started. This is how we will become great again,” Ford says in print advertisements that began appearing in major newspapers and online media Monday.
Lincoln is partnering with late-night talk show host and comedian Jimmy Fallon to spark interest ahead of the Super Bowl on social media networks like Twitter. Fallon has more than 7 million followers, while Ford has about 173,000.
Fallon reaches a different demographic for Lincoln, which has featured “Mad Men” actor John Slattery in its television advertisements for the last two years.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Copyright 2015 The Blade. All rights reserved. This material may not be copied or distributed without permission. | {
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Let us understand Turn Around of Indian Railways .
The task of the Indian Railways is getting more and more challenging as the system grows in size. The attempt at modernisation and development is also producing a contrast in services.
About 93 per cent of the 840-crore passenger trips made using the railways are in the unreserved class. The figure is expected to reach the 900-crore mark in 2013-14, with most of the passengers using the general class.
The gap between this desperate lot and the privileged classes is set to widen further, as the Railways power their growth to catch up with global practices and improved services.
The Railways’ prime objective is to set their finances in order, but it can be achieved only at the cost of infrastructure development. To cut expenditure, the Railways have slashed the targets for building new lines, track doubling and gauge conversion. This is expected to bring down the operating ratio to 88.8 per cent this fiscal and to 87.8 per cent in 2013-14. Much of the small surplus generated will be used for technology upgrade and creating amenities for passengers in reserved compartments and in executive lounges.
Sadly enough, the overburdened unreserved compartments do not have power-points for charging mobile phones. The condition of toilets and the security of passengers are way down the priority list.
The Mumbai tracks claim anything between 10 and 15 lives a day. The official answer to that is more trains being added to reduce accident risk.
Another cause for concern is that unreserved compartments are not quite crashworthy and are much behind the safety quotient of the LHB coaches of Rajdhani trains.
As for increasing the number of coaches, the fact is that about 3,000 are added each year; but about 2,500 are taken out as ‘condemned.’
On the infrastructure front, the only option is to increase the potential speed of trains, explains railway watcher Vivek Khare, and use the infrastructure for passenger traffic, with a separate corridor for freight. The Railways have not revised the speed classification of the mainline routes since 1972: 160 km an hour for “A” line main routes and 130 for “B” line routes, with an average of 80 km an hour for the Rajdhani. Increasing the potential speed to 200 km an hour on the 18,000-km length of tracks, which bear 80 per cent of the traffic, will sufficiently meet the national requirement and yield an average speed of 120 km.
That is what Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal intends to do: increase the speed of trains starting with Shatabdi. He told The Hindu that high-speed trains were expensive, and their introduction would take time.
Track improvement by raising the ballast cushion height with quality chips will help without adding to the financial burden. This will go a long way in improving punctuality, but the Railways are yet to find a solution to the problem of fog and inclement weather.
Improving tracks is paramount for safety. But major improvement will be taken up later, with the emphasis being on improving the signalling system and doing away with manned and unmanned level crossings for now. It may be a distant dream for the Railways to regain lost glory. The system enjoyed around 85 per cent of the market share in both the traffic and passenger segments at the time of Independence, but is now down to about 30 per cent and 10 per cent.
Punctuality and checking pilferage are vital to attract more people. The Railways have progressed little from the 54,000-km route length acquired from the British, adding just 10,000 km. The network is yet to touch the capitals of Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Nagaland and Sikkim. | {
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Make an Enquiry
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This solid brick and tile home has all the space a growing family needs and more. So close to schools, public transport and Shopping Centre.
Property features include 4 bedrooms, 1.5 Bathroom, 2 toilets, Large formal lounge, Open plan kitchen/dining, Separate family room, Large undercover alfresco, Timber and Tile flooring, High ceilings and more.
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Paragon Property does NOT accept online applications through 1Form. Properties MUST be viewed and an application form collected from the viewing.
THE PROPERTY ADDRESS IS 8 JARROT PLACE, DIANELLA WA 6059
PLEASE DRIVE BY THE PROPERTY TO ASSESS ITS SUITABILITY. | {
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ALIEN WEAPONRY
Three teenagers, known as ALIEN WEAPONRY, from a tiny town in the small South Pacific nation of New Zealand have managed to capture the imaginations of people all over the world with their unique thrash... | {
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What Are The Performance Characteristics/advantages Of The Groove/groove Roller?
May 29, 2019
The classification of the groove/groove type roller has been briefly introduced before. Then, regarding the performance characteristics/advantages of the groove/groove type roller, ZT BELTING takes you to understand.
Feature 1, the grooved roller has corrosion resistance:
Acid and alkali salts are not corrosive to them.
Feature 2, the grooved roller has a strong hardness:
Strong wear resistance.
Feature 3, the groove/groove roller has good sealing performance:
The grooved roller is fully sealed, and plastic labyrinth seals are installed at both ends. The oil-slip grease will not leak, and the rolling shaft can be long-term; the grooved roller is in a fully sealed state.
Feature 4, grooved roller ceramic surface:
The oxide film is formed, the surface is smooth, the material is not adhered, and the friction coefficient with the conveyor belt is small, which reduces the driving force of the hoisting.
Feature 5, slotted roller has a long service life:
The trough type roller is 2-5 times longer than the steel roller, and can reduce the belt wear, the belt does not run, and the belt life is prolonged. | {
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Ready to join? To get started, you must first login to the NACE web site by creating a user name and password. Once you have your user name and password, follow the
“Become a member of NACE International” link to the membership application. | {
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} |
Custom Masters of the Universe Roboto figure from 2002
Continuing with the Masters of the Universe 200X customs comes Roboto! This guy was quite a few people's faves when they were a kid. To give him full articulation I used the arms and legs of a DCU Lex Luthor and integrated the MotU Roboto forearms on to those. The knees and thigh pads were added and I fitted him with a giant axe that the original figure was missing made from a TFA Voyager and Deluxe Optimus Prime axes. His internal gears were kept working so when you turn his waist the organic 'organs' move and so does his jaw! To top it off I fitted his chest plate with a magnet underneath so it snaps on to his clear chest where the gears are. Roboto is now operational!
Looking to buy some custom figures from customizers all over the world? Look no further! | {
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Your Summer Beauty Essentials
With summer just around the corner, you’ll need to have your summer beauty essentials sorted stat.
Here are the three things you shouldn’t go without this sunny season:
MOISTURIZER. Moisturizer is pretty much a given all year round, but in summer it becomes especially important to keep your skin hydrated especially if you are spending a lot of time outside in the sun. Pick a hydrating moisturizer that won’t cause your skin to breakout.
SPF FOUNDATION. Don’t go anywhere this summer without first applying some SPF foundation or tinted moisturizer. The SPF will protect you from the sun without interfering with your regular makeup look.
BRIGHT LIP STICK. Bright coloured lips are in this summer with hot pinks and bright corals making the rounds. Be sure to choose a shade that suits your skin tone and compliments your outfit. | {
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the conductor. I use Print-Rite compatibles for my Epson I have used them for years and get them for £4 a pair, I buy 10 pairs at a time for the kids.
The site GSM Super Star mentioned I can get
3 pairs for £10.54 with free 2nd class shipping, I ordered 6 pairs, will do for the kids for the price, it is a well laid out site too GSM, might try one myself to see what the quality is like.
That is not so in my case - guess it all depends on what printer you have and what application you are printing. I do high presentation work mainly and have yet to find a compatible that is as good as the original.
Let's take an example - I currently have the Epson C80 on the bench:
Admittedly there is a £1-41 delivery charge but when I use this option, the parcel still arrives the next morning, even when I have ordered late afternoon! So, as I said it all depends on what printer. Im not argueing that one company is better than the other, just in my case this is not so. My experiences with compatibles so far have not been good - inconsistent quantities in the cartridges, spluttering on high density printing, one or more inks not appearing to "soak in" to the paper as much as the others leaving a raised amount on the printout. But dont get me wrong - I havent tried Colourjet, I may do on a secondary printer to try them out. Personally, as my presentation has to be consistantly good, I would prefer to stick with the originals for just a couple of pounds more. I suppose if it was for the kids then yes, it makes sense.
Cheers | {
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} |
The Leaves Are Cupping Up on My Dogwood
Related Articles
The many graceful shapes of dogwoods (Cornus spp.) are known throughout U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 2 through 9, depending on species. These compact landscape plants are favorites of gardeners for their ease of care, but can develop cupping leaves in response to common troubles. Some species, such as the kousa dogwood (Cornus kousa; USDA hardiness zones 5 through 8), cup their leaves in response to adverse weather, but cupping leaves is a common problem for all dogwood species.
Powdery Mildew
If your dogwood's leaves were covered in a white, powdery substance before they began to fade to light green or yellow and cup, powdery mildew is likely the cause of your dogwood problem. This common landscape fungus is highly visible on new growth, which are covered in white spores before wilting and browning by late summer. Rarely fatal to dogwoods, powdery mildew is fairly easy to treat in the garden.
Powdery Mildew Control
Powdery mildew is encouraged by the high humidity levels that exist where plants are crammed in so tightly that air circulates poorly. Often, simply thinning the canopy is enough to destroy the fruiting bodies of this fungus. If you've opened the canopy and powdery mildew persists, try spraying your dogwood with neem oil concentrate, mixed at a rate of 2 tablespoons per gallon of water. Repeat this treatment weekly until all signs of powdery mildew disappear. Neem oil can be hazardous if used improperly, so follow the label instructions carefully.
Aphids
Aphids are tiny, sap-feeding insects that plague landscape plants. These small, variably colored pests huddle together on the undersides of leaves, sucking the juices directly out of their tender tissues. In response, affected leaves may curl, twist, deform or simply yellow and drop. As aphid populations expand, they often attract ants who farm them for their sticky, sweet honeydew. Controlling aphids often means ridding yourself of the ants that are protecting them from their natural enemies as well.
Aphid Control
Aphids are simple to control with daily sprays from a water hose. When you knock these slow-moving pests from the leaves where they're feeding, they can't reattach quickly enough to survive the journey back. Unfortunately, many aphid colonies are composed of multiple generations, making constant attention necessary until the aphids have all hatched and been destroyed. If ants are farming your aphids, apply a sticky barrier on a 4 inch-wide band of masking tape around the dogwood's main branches or trunk, 2 to 4 feet from the ground. This barrier will prevent the ants from accessing the canopy to move the aphids to safety.
Leaf Scorch
A variety of environmental stressors can cause an alarming curl -- known as leaf scorch -- in dogwood leaves. Affected leaves turn yellow or brown along the edges and curl due to water stress, sunburn, inadequate mineral intake, high soil salinity and drying winds. Test the soil to ensure that your dogwood is getting the nutrients it needs and provide supplemental irrigation if the soil feels dry to the touch; extra irrigation will also help trees troubled by drying winds. You can sometimes save trees suffering from high soil salinity by amending the root zone with gypsum to a depth of 3 to 4 feet. Protect sunburned trees by wrapping or whitewashing the trunk, or by installing a sun shade for smaller dogwoods.
About the Author
Kristi Waterworth started her writing career in 1995 as a journalist for a local newspaper. From there, her meandering career path led to a 9 1/2 year stint in the real estate industry. Since 2010, she's written on a wide range of personal finance topics. Waterworth received a Bachelor of Arts in American history from Columbia College.
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Waterworth, Kristi. "The Leaves Are Cupping Up on My Dogwood." Home Guides | SF Gate, http://homeguides.sfgate.com/leaves-cupping-up-dogwood-83762.html. Accessed 25 May 2019.
Waterworth, Kristi. (n.d.). The Leaves Are Cupping Up on My Dogwood. Home Guides | SF Gate. Retrieved from http://homeguides.sfgate.com/leaves-cupping-up-dogwood-83762.html
Waterworth, Kristi. "The Leaves Are Cupping Up on My Dogwood" accessed May 25, 2019. http://homeguides.sfgate.com/leaves-cupping-up-dogwood-83762.html
Note: Depending on which text editor you're pasting into, you might have to add the italics to the site name. | {
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Summary describing the work completed at Continental Shelf Associates, Inc. for 'Explosive Removal of Offshore Structures Information Search and Synthesis.' It includes background information on the project funding and sponsorship, goals, methodology, and findings. | {
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The 2015 Audi S5 exemplifies the charm of sport-luxurious coupes and convertibles. It provides blistering performance, of course — however in this section, that’s just the starting. When you’re just traveling on surface area roads or consuming up kilometers on the freeway, the S5 is at the beck and contact with a flexible, peaceful journey as well as an interior that’s extremely processed and helpful. Then there’s the design, which will continue to position amongst the hottest within this course. The S5 is a car that will fix it all, and that’s why critical consumers are prepared to fulfill its outstanding price.
2015 Audi S5 Trim Levels & Features
The 2015 Audi S5 is provided in coupe and convertible (Cabriolet) body styles. The second option features an energy-run smooth best and a blowing wind blocker. Each is obtainable in High-quality Additionally and Reputation trim levels.
The Reputation provides adaptive front lights, a Bang And Olufsen audio system (with 14 audio speakers for the coupe and 12 for the convertible; optionally available on High-quality Additionally) and the Technology package. The second option consists of Wireless Bluetooth internet streaming sound, Audi Interact with on the internet solutions and mobile phone Wi-fi, a menu program, a 7-” show, an upgraded MMI user interface with gaming console-installed regulates, High definition stereo, front side and rear car parking detectors, a rearview camera and a blind-spot keep track of.
2015 Audi S5 Performance And mpg
The 2015 Audi S5 is inspired by a supercharged 3.0-liter V6 engine ranked at 333 hp and 325 lb-ft of torque. The coupe arrives regularly with a 6-velocity handbook transmission, while the cabriolet becomes a 7-velocity automatic quiet transmission that’s optionally available on the coupe. Each S5 features all-time push, optionally with a sports differential that regularly distributes torque among the rear tires for ideal cornering accuracy.
When performance screening, an S5 coupe built with the automatic handbook transmission (and pre-programmed release setting) faster from a standstill to 60 miles per hour in only 4.6 secs, a quick time when compared with its German competitors. The convertible performed the same work in an entirely aggressive 5.3 secs.
EPA-approximated energy economy for the S5 differ based on the option of a hardtop or convertible and also on which transmission you select. The handbook-transmission coupe is EPA-ranked at 20 mpg in mixed driving (17 town/26 freeway). The coupe with the automatic handbook following at 21 mpg mixed (18 town/28 highway), so we handled an astonishing 23 mpg on the varied 120-distance assessment loop. The two convertible inspections in at 21 mpg combined (18 town/26 highway).
2015 Audi S5 Safety
The 2015 Audi S5 arrives regularly with antilock disc braking system, balance and grip manage, front side seat part and leg safety bags and (for the coupe) complete-duration part curtain safety bags. A blind-spot checking program, rearview camera and front side and rear car parking detectors are regular on the Reputation cut and optionally available on High quality Additionally through the Technology package. Additionally, the Reputation cut is qualified for an adaptive luxury cruise to manage program (through the Motorist Help package) which includes a perceptible caution and brake involvement (below 19 miles per hour) if a frontal effect is upcoming.
When brake screening, the S5 coupe, and convertible arrived at a quiet from 60 mph inside feet of each other at 108 and 109 ft, correspondingly, each big shows amongst similar cars with summer time wheels.
2015 Audi S5 Interior
As anticipated from Audi, the S5’s interior is beautiful, bragging a tastefully modest design and high-quality components. Real performance, nevertheless, could be strike-or-skip. For instance, the standard dash-installed MMI control isn’t almost as simple to run as the gaming console-installed control you get with the Technology package. The upgraded program also features simple food list and a somewhat bigger display screen.
The S5’s regular front side sports seats are very comfy on long street outings, but additionally, they offer lots of lateral assistance to help keep you planted in edges. Some might be dissatisfied to understand that the convertible’s optionally available throat-heating air vents include much less sporty seats, but unless of course, you intend to throw your luxurious convertible into razor-sharp edges on a consistent basis, you probably won’t observe a lot of a distinction. In, either case, the rear seats provide scant brain- or legroom for complete-dimension travelers, so they’re appropriate just for smaller sized riders or freight.
The Audi S5 convertible demands couple of sensible compromises in accordance with the coupe. The small fitted, multilayer best needs about 17 secs to reduce and 15 to increase, and it’s very well-insulated that you might overlook you’re driving a convertible. With the best stowed, the convertible’s trunk area can continue to support 10.2 cubic ft of freight, which is only 2 cubes under that of the coupe. Like the coupe, the convertible features foldable rear seatbacks for additional comfort.
2015 Audi S5 Driving
Driving the S5 is an extremely reduced-effect encounter thinking about its performance possible and abilities. This Audi is simple to deal with daily, but it’s prepared to excitement anytime you get the desire. Energy from the supercharged V6 is plentiful, and in contrast to numerous V6 engines, this is practically vibrations-totally free, even at redline. The regular directing program seems to be each relaxed on the freeway and sensitive in the transforms. We like the sports differential’s understeer-quelling miracle at the restrict, although you won’t get a lot of use out of this feature unless of course, you’re comfy getting edges with all of 4 wheels squealing. | {
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The Sixth of June was a terrorist-like cell organization and quickly infiltrated first the Toyama sect - which was fully owned by the Sixth of June shortly before Demona Aziz was killed, the Free Worlds League intelligence agency SAFE, part of the FWL armed forces and even the government - stealing a massive 10% of the whole Free Worlds League GDP to raise a huge hidden army, and later took over the rest of Word of Blake.
It was the organization that introduced the cyborg Manei Domini (the Hands of the Master soldiers), the new Word of Blake 'Mech models and by extension conducted the whole World of Blake Jihad.
There were hints of strong ties between Kali Liao and the Sixth of June, going so far that the Sixth of June trained and cybernetically modified the Thugee cult assassins for Kali. Because of that tie and since Kali Liao and Cameron St. Jamais become lovers, some people believed that she was the mastermind behind the later Sixth of June and Word of Blake actions.
The original goals of the group were assassinations of all Successor States leaders but later, probably shortly after Cameron St. Jamais took over control of the group, the hidden Master took control over Cameron St. Jamais, and by extension, soon, over the whole Word of Blake. After the takeover, the goals of the Sixth of June changed radically, ironically ending where they started - in the World of Blake Jihad. | {
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We stand in solidarity with all transgender powerlifting athletes who deserve full access to the sport they love. The current International Powerlifting Federation (IPF) and USA Powerlifting (USAPL) policies prohibiting all female transgender powerlifters and male transgender athletes using testosterone from competition are not only based on a flawed understanding of competitive advantage, but are also discriminatory and in violation of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Consensus on Sex Reassignment and Hyperandrogenism, which the IPF has adopted, and Principle 6 of the Olympic Charter, which prohibits any form of discrimination in sport. Under the IOC Consensus, female transgender athletes who meet the specified criteria are eligible to compete, yet recently lifter was told that any and all female transgender athletes are ineligible.
We heard from many cisgender female powerlifters who support transgender athletes' right to compete. See what they had to say:
Vanessa Crouch
"I am a cis queer USAPL Woman Powerlifter, I am against the USAPL's new policy on transgender participation, or lack thereof, in the sport that I love. Everyone deserves a spot on the platform, if not you can't call yourself inclusive. I've thought about cancelling my membership and withdrawing from my next two USAPL meets, but I love competing with the USAPL and I hope that we turn up the pressure on them enough to change this decision."
Allie Feras
"As a lifter, referee, and meet director, I stand with trans lifters. I have competed with and against trans women in roller derby, and I would be proud to share the platform with ALL women in a truly inclusive powerlifting community. As a cisgender woman, I reject the USAPL's attempt to police womanhood and exclude trans women in my name. I urge the Executive Committee to reverse its decision and adopt the IOC Guidelines, which are more in line with the current scientific consensus."
Susan Chambers
"I've competed in the USAPL since 2015. However, I recently learned that USAPL has decided to ban trans athletes from the platform for "fairness". As a cis woman and a strength athlete, they do not speak for me. I will joyfully share the platform with trans women, trans men, genderqueer, enby and truly any lifter who pursues this sport. There is enough room on the platform for everyone who wants to be there."
Emily Abarquez
"As a competitor and certified club coach, I wholeheartedly support the inclusion of transgender athletes in the USAPL - I'd be honored to share the platform with them.
The IPF, the USAPL's parent organization, adopted the IOC's rules regarding trans athletes last year. I believe that, as a member organization of the IPF, the USAPL should adhere to the IOC guidelines which are based on the recommendations of top experts and the IOC Medical & Scientific Commission.
Not too long ago, the USAPL was the first to break away from the USPF because of its desire for effective drug testing. Now, the USAPL is once again positioned to lead other American powerlifting federations in the pursuit of fairness - this time, in its inclusion or exclusion of transgender athletes.
My hope is that the USAPL will choose to stand for inclusion, acknowledging that to do so is fair for all competitors when athletes comply with the IOC guidelines."
Ali Lawson
"Powerlifting has taught me a lot of things: building strength takes time, anyone who puts in the time can get stronger, and anyone who gets stronger should celebrate that achievement. As a woman, competing with other women is a celebration of that achievement, and excluding a group of women because they identify differently from me would inherently cheapen that achievement. There was a time when women (like me) were excluded from social and athletic spaces just for being women. There are still spaces today where queer women (like me) are excluded from social and athletic spaces just for being queer. I know what that feels like, and I refuse to participate in a system that excludes women based on their identities. I used to be proud to call the USAPL my federation, but with this stance on excluding transgender athletes, I no intention of renewing my membership or competing in the USAPL again.
Many of us come to powerlifting because strength is an equalizer. I as a white queer woman can lift alongside a Muslim athlete in a hijab, a black athlete with natural hair, or an athlete in recovery, and we can all give each other hell on the platform. I, as a cis-gender female athlete, want transwomen to be included in the diversity that makes powerlifting such a thrilling, rewarding sport. When we get out there, all that matters is that we put in the work, we love the sport, and we support each other. When you ban a group of women from participating in our sport, you fail to support us, and you fail to do your job as an athletic federation. You're not protecting the sanctity of the sport, you're defiling it."
Jenna Damron
"I’m a queer, cis woman who lifts in the USAPL and I stand with trans athletes. I’m more than willing to share the platform with trans women."
Anna Claire Loper
"I continue to powerlift and would have previously gone back to USAPL if I chose to compete again. However, because of their position on trans folks competing, I will not be competing with USAPL until they change their policy to at least align with the IOC Guidelines. Powerlifting is about empowering people in all bodies. I want the platform to reflect this fact. I want to share it with trans folks and non-binary folks." | {
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"In the fifties," says Brian Lister, "you still had two distinct types of successful racing car designers. There were the designer / artists, such as John Cooper and myself, people with an engineering background who designed intuitively, and the designer / scientists such as Colin Chapman. I happen to have been involved in racing at the right time and when we had to make the decision to quit, in...
Still Porsches, but the Jaguars looked good
Speed, colour and variety are three descriptive words which immediately come to mind to describe the Daytona 24-Hour race, opening round of the American IMSA series run the first weekend in February. Seeing no end to the deadlock between FISA and IMSA, Porsche gave their new 962 model its debut on the famous tri-oval track, driven by Mario and Mike...
Memories of the Fifties
Art Evans
Art Evans’ latest overview of US sports car racing is extremely thorough and covers 74 models, with drivers describing their personal experiences with the car in question. Each chapter also includes a short biography of a driver associated with that particular car; the likes of Enzo Ferrari, Ferry Porsche and John Cooper are all covered. Some of the photos on the...
Phoenix in waiting
A distinctive 1960s racer is coming under the hammer, but will need lashings of TLC
I will declare an interest. I offer consultancy advice (often justifiably ignored) to auctioneer Bonhams, whose Goodwood Festival of Speed sale includes some real rarities. Among these are the (hopefully) still restorable remains of a uniquely significant ex-Jim Clark sports-racing car – the...
Reflections on the only man to win Formula 1 titles as both driver and constructor, by a Motor Sport contributor who knew him well
Writer Doug Nye
On hearing of Sir Jack Brabham’s recent death – at the age of 88 – Australian enthusiast Alec Hawkins sat down at a computer keyboard and submitted the following to one of the internet motor racing forums. I believe his words speak for a generation of...
Returning to Indy, Monaco’s faded glamour, Rosberg’s guile
Sometimes,” wrote Henry Manney in Road and Track half a century ago, “I wish I was in Indianapolis. But not often.”
Time was when the Indianapolis 500 was always run – whatever the day of the week – on May 30, Memorial Day, and a public holiday in the USA. And time was, too, when virtually the whole of the month of May, which included two...
Penske Racing's car-building offshoot in Poole may be run on deadly efficient lines, but the man in charge is also one of the great motor sport enthusiasts
It has been said of Nick Goozée that you can see all four seasons in a day on his face, but the fact that he's the one saying it tells you a lot about the man.
"I guess I am lucky, because I probably struck right at the period of time. If you...
Spectacle trumps soundWizards of OzAndretti's concorde offer
Back in the day it was my invariable habit, for final qualifying at Monte Carlo, to position myself immediately behind the guardrail somewhere close to the left-right entry to the swimming pool area. Then defined by solid masonry rather than white lines, it was a place that rewarded the bravest, as well as the most deft, and in 1985 I...
The British Empire Trophy, one of Britain's oldest races has been held yearly except for the war years since 1932, but has seldom proved a racing or commercial success. The latest in the series, held as a F2 race on Saturday, April 11th, did little to disprove this reputation.
The first Empire Trophy race was won by John Cobb in the 10-1/2-litre Delage on the Brooklands Outer Circuit at 126.36 m....
For Gordon Murray, the cooper-climax had it all. Great concept, simplicity and lightness. And it trounced its big-budged rivals.
When I think back to GP design milestones, it's pretty obvious, really: the first rear-engined Fl Cooper. Not so much from a technical point of view even though it was after my own heart from that aspect because it was so simple and so effective compared to the other... | {
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No crystal stair by Eva Rutland(
)15
editions published
between
2000
and
2009
in
English and French
and held by
1,149 WorldCat member
libraries
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Ann Elizabeth Carter leaves her sheltered life as the daughter of an African American doctor in Atlanta to marry a member
of the Tuskegee airmen
The trouble with being a mama by Eva Rutland(
Book
)8
editions published
between
1964
and
1972
in
German and English
and held by
236 WorldCat member
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Heart and soul by Eva Rutland(
Book
)9
editions published
between
2005
and
2012
in
English
and held by
179 WorldCat member
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Jill Ferrell and her boss Scott Randall both believe in throwing themselves into everything heart and soul. Jill's friend
Kris and her man Tom also feel the same way. Despite any differences between them the two couples live their lives with joy
and whole hearted commitment and they can make positive changes in the world
Private dancer by Eva Rutland(
Book
)16
editions published
between
1995
and
1997
in
7
languages
and held by
108 WorldCat member
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Foreign affair by Eva Rutland(
Book
)13
editions published
between
1993
and
1998
in
7
languages
and held by
96 WorldCat member
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The million-dollar marriage by Eva Rutland(
Book
)15
editions published
between
1998
and
2013
in
6
languages
and held by
86 WorldCat member
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Whirlwind WeddingsFor richer, for poorer ... Tony Costello adored Melody. He loved her warmth, her bubbly sense of humor ...
There were a million reasons to marry her. Thirty million to be precise-in dollars! Except Tony hadn't known about his bride's
fortune. And he couldn't forgive her for it-for being rich and for keeping it a secret. But Melody knew Tony was a proud man.
How could she tell him that she had more money in the bank than he could earn in a lifetime' He was everything she'd ever
wanted in a husband, and saving their marriage was all that mattered. Rich or poor, she loved Tony. She just had to prove
it!Who says you can't hurry love'
Marriage bait by Eva Rutland(
Book
)14
editions published
between
1996
and
2013
in
5
languages
and held by
83 WorldCat member
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Scot Harding was stunned when Lisa turned down a dream promotion--to get married! He was amazed not only because Lisa was
a talented career woman--but also because she didn't even have a particular husband in mind! Lisa wanted a home and family,
and a husband was part of the deal. Preferably a rich, gorgeous husband! All she had to do was catch one. Lisa was determined
to turn herself into perfect marriage bait--a beauty make-over, sophisticated new image. Scot could only admire her dedication.
He was impressed, intrigued--tempted! In fact, he was in real danger of falling into Lisa's carefully laid wedding trap
Almost a wife by Eva Rutland(
Book
)13
editions published
between
2000
and
2014
in
7
languages
and held by
81 WorldCat member
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worldwide
Lisa loved her new job looking after two children'even though her employer, Tray Kingsley, had cost Lise her previous highly
paid executive position. He had no idea they'd met before'or why Lisa was so mad at him! But living with Tray, caring for
the children in his charge, Lisa was growing increasingly close to him. In practical terms she was almost his wife! What would
she do if Tray suggested a marriage for real'
Her own Prince Charming by Eva Rutland(
Book
)13
editions published
between
1999
and
2013
in
7
languages
and held by
79 WorldCat member
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Reform of the playboy!Brad Vandercamp was rich, handsome and charming. No wonder his nickname was Prince! He could have any
woman he wanted-but it was Paula who caught his eye: at a party where he was the guest of honor, and she was serving the champagne!They
were worlds apart-and Paula didn't belong in his. Prince was a playboy, and until he changed his ways she could never love
him. Then Paula discovered that there was more to this handsome stranger than the millions in his bank account. He had a passionate
heart-and Paula longed to tame it!
The wedding trap by Eva Rutland(
Book
)12
editions published
between
1998
and
2000
in
5
languages
and held by
62 WorldCat member
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worldwide
At first sight by Eva Rutland(
Book
)11
editions published
between
1988
and
1997
in
7
languages
and held by
58 WorldCat member
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worldwide
To love them all by Eva Rutland(
Book
)8
editions published
between
1988
and
1998
in
6
languages
and held by
48 WorldCat member
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worldwide
No accounting for love by Eva Rutland(
Book
)10
editions published
between
1990
and
2006
in
4
languages
and held by
44 WorldCat member
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worldwide
A child's Christmas by Eva Rutland(
Book
)3
editions published
between
1997
and
2001
in
English
and held by
42 WorldCat member
libraries
worldwide
Always Christmas by Eva Rutland(
Book
)11
editions published
between
1992
and
1995
in
5
languages
and held by
40 WorldCat member
libraries
worldwide
No crystal stair by Eva Rutland(
Recording
)1
edition published
in
2000
in
English
and held by
35 WorldCat member
libraries
worldwide
The wilful lady by Eva Rutland(
Book
)5
editions published
between
1991
and
2001
in
3
languages
and held by
26 WorldCat member
libraries
worldwide
Gretna bride by Eva Rutland(
Book
)2
editions published
in
1993
in
German and English
and held by
13 WorldCat member
libraries
worldwide
Sisters by Anita R Bunkley(
Book
)1
edition published
in
1997
in
English
and held by
11 WorldCat member
libraries
worldwide
Enterprising lady by Eva Rutland(
Book
)3
editions published
between
1990
and
1995
in
3
languages
and held by
10 WorldCat member
libraries
worldwide | {
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Wanted: More Manufacturing in Marble Falls
Authors:
Christian Fletcher
We are a scenic town known for our lakes, golf, summer camps, and Pie Happy Hour, in search of a financially fit manufacturing firm (or firms) to help us expand our horizons. We’ve enjoyed growth in retail, healthcare, and construction, but some industrial variety will help us get to the next level as a community. If you employ between ten and twenty good, honest people and could benefit from easy access to Austin, San Antonio, and all other parts of Texas, then give us a call. We’d like to kick off Phase III of our Business & Technology Park with an extension of roads and utilities to accommodate a business like yours. All inquiries are welcome.
If only recruitment were as easy as placing an ad to pitch sunsets and small-town charm, then areas west of Interstate 35 would look a lot different than they do today. Instead, the Texas Triangle is growing exponentially, pulling from areas west (and all other parts of the country, for that matter).
In between those two poles sits Marble Falls. Even as the regional economic hub for the Highland Lakes area—which has led to sales tax collections and a variety of restaurants and stores that very few other cities our size can match—we’ve been somewhat insulated from the explosive growth to our east, but that is changing. Development pressures are coming our way faster than ever before, especially as more and more people see the value in all that Marble Falls has to offer with only a fraction of the headaches that are associated with more populous places.
But even minimal headaches can be challenging when you’ve operated for so long without any headaches at all. This is the pressure, I think, that many cities in Central Texas are feeling today.
One way to manage demands on the retail, service, and hospitality sectors in booming small towns is to stimulate growth in other sectors, namely light manufacturing. Not only would we create primary jobs and bolster our export activity, but we would be able to expand our economy without adding additional pressure to our physical infrastructure; manufacturers don’t need a lot of visitors in order to be successful. More money from more diverse industries would help to balance our economy and reduce our reliance on sales tax and discretionary spending.
Please don’t get me wrong. I am one of the world’s biggest proponents of tourism and the benefits of outside dollars in a community, but there has to be a balance in order for a place to truly thrive.
Clearly, we have work to do, but we’re off to a better start than many other cities. Marble Falls has a more balanced economy than most people give us credit for, in terms of both seasonality and industry. In the last ten years, no more than 52% of our sales tax collections have come from the “busy” period from April to September. With regard to industry, retail still dominates, but manufacturing is second, well ahead of accommodations and food services, construction, and other industries. In 2015, total gross sales in manufacturing totaled $109.4 million, a 15.2% increase over 2014. Compared to some other notable cities, Marble Falls already stands out.
So, if you enjoy sunsets, walks by the lake, and making widgets in an established but growing manufacturing environment, then Marble Falls may be the perfect match for you. | {
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Restaurants in Singapore Northeast
Singapore East
Singapore North east zone consists of areas such as Punggol, Sengkang, Hougang estates and Serangoon too. Here, you can opt for Japanese, seafood, Chinese and other Asain varieties of food. Some restaurants specialize in serving traditional food as well as fusion food.
A place to visit for sea foodie loyalists, located in Marina Country club and overlooking the waters is a perfect place to enjoy sea food. Though it is pretty isolated from the regular city area, the quiet and peaceful ambiance makes you enjoy a tasty meal at leisure. Regular patrons visit this restaurant for mee goreng, chilly crab and herbal chicken, samba kangkong too. The dishes are just done, with the correct dash of spices, crispiness and authentic taste. This restaurant specializes for its traditional fare.
A lively and vibrant place serving good and tasty seafood. Quite popular and hence make your reservations before hand. Some of the must try dishes include Sunny-side-up scallops with broccoli, chilly crabs, claypot drunken prawns, fried buns, butter crabs with fried mandou, honey pepper ribs, wasabi prawns and bacon cheese roll. Seeing its popularity, the restaurant has expanded its seating capacity to 200 people. If you like the food and ambience, you will surely visit this place frequently.
Friends @ Chomp ChompAddress:
1 Maju Avenue
#01-01A Serangoon Garden Village
Tel: 6289 2600 Open : 12noon 11pm Sunday - Thrusday
12noon 12 midnight - Frid & SaturdayCuisine: European and Western
Average price: S$ 45 - 55/person for 1 person.
A wonderful and a quiet place for eating out. Though little pricey, there is no doubt on its quality and serving portion. Worth trying are its set lunches which comprise of soup, main dish, dessert and coffee or tea, Portobella Mushroom with Cheese, Coq Au Vin, and Duck Breast Salad etc. The recommendations include Fresh/Baked Seasonal Oysters, Grilled Prime Steak, Varholna Chocolate Cake too. On the overall, it is a clean and neat place serving good food.
Bliss Waterfront Dining & Bar Address:
Hougang Avenue 8
Punggol Park
Tel: 6280 3389 Open : 3pm 12am Sunday -Thursday
3pm 2am Friday & SaturdayCuisine: Italian, Western, European,
Average price: S$ 15 25 per person.
Located at the pond side, eating here is of course a blissful experience. You can also watch the health freaks working out too while eating. Do check out the fish and chips, crispy pork, king crab, kurabuta pork along with gratin chicken, aglio olio spaghettim too. They have a wide collection of wines to choose from. A good restaurant which can gain popularity with experience and regular patronage as they food is pretty tasty at these rates too.
Ichiban Sushi (Hougang Mall) Address: 90 Hougang Avenue 10
#02-23 Hougang Mall
Tel: 6386 7836 Open: 11.00am 10.00pm Monday SundaysCuisine: Japanese and Asian
Average price: S$ 5 15 for 1 person
A good place for regular dining options. Friends and family opt for Ichiban Sushi most of the time though they have to wait for their table. Sizeable portions and value for money food is available here. You can try out temaki, tuna roll, deep fried dory fish sushi roll, sashimi, bento sets and unlimited green tea. The Ichiban Sushi is well patronized by loyals and thus they keep coming back to enjoy their sushis.
Disclaimer: The data provided here is based on the facts and research using available sources. As the data is made available on "as is" basis and subject to change anytime. This website shall not be liable for any discrepancy found in the data on our site and actual figures. | {
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Welcome to the Piano World Piano ForumsOver 2 million posts about pianos, digital pianos, and all types of keyboard instruments
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OK, I agree, the layer "stretching" is probably just a filter. But the louder hammer brightness might be an extra sample overlayed on top, with the filter applied to it. I imagine this is what Yamaha calls "Spectral Component Modeling".
THose tow pictures tell us it is NOT a simple high pass or low pas filter being applied. All filters like that have a roll off. I think now that the sound is synthesised, not played from a sample at all. The synthesis may be based on samples or anlyisis of sample. It looks to me like the lower velocity just simply never have the higher order overtones, not filtered just not synthesised.
I think what is stored inside TruePianos is almost exactly the picture we see.
If I'm right this is a lot like the way Roland describes their "Super natural" technology. They record the amplitude of the varoius overtones and how the amplitude changes over time. Then when yo move some parameters (hammer hardness) it makes adjustments to how the overtones play out over time. Finally when you strike the key the sound is synthesised. Seem like TP is doing the same as Roland. Both are sample based but the samles are very, highly processed to the point where there can no longer even be called "recordings", "Measurements" is a better terms I think.
dewsterOn this very close look It seems that samples are not exactly the same - but still, the differences are extremely subtle.
ChrisATP is not like Roland SN at all. Roland has obvious visible and audible variations between all velocities, similar to those in Vienna Imperial (I don't have picture of its layers right now, maybe dewster can post it).
It makes absolutely no sense to me why many critical sound features are missing when the HP-307 plays a MIDI file - shouldn't all features enabled be the default? Roland is leaving everyone to their own devices, flailing around trying to turn them back on, without so much as even a MIDI spec. It's almost like a major manufacturer isn't standing behind their product or something. People want to buy these things and have them just work, that's why they shell out the big bucks.
There might be reasons for that:
1) Patent license restrictions.2) Usage of closed source third party software.3) Maybe the work is done by more than one processor and it is technically impossible to have then both responding to MIDI.
Probably they will not tell the true reason and will not fix this in an update. It might be impossible to fix due to technical or licensing reasons.
Now for me the only conclusion is: Dont spend tons of money for that proprietary stuff, use softwarepianos ;-)
1) Patent license restrictions.2) Usage of closed source third party software.3) Maybe the work is done by more than one processor and it is technically impossible to have then both responding to MIDI.
Probably they will not tell the true reason and will not fix this in an update. It might be impossible to fix due to technical or licensing reasons.
If it's 1 we need to burn down the patent office.If it's 2 Roland needs to fire their legal department.If it's 3 Roland needs to fire their engineering department.
I believe also that modelled pianos use a lot of processing power. So they will probably only be usable as solo instruments.
MIDI instruments are normally multitimbral, that means, multiple MIDI channels can use them simultaniously. That is probably not the case for the modelled piano. Probably this is implemented in another way than the other MIDI instruments.
So that might be another reason why there are MIDI problems.
This is also a problem with some software pianos. However, it is not a problem with Kontakt player based pianos.Sometimes I play MIDI piano files, that have multiple tracks. Simply to solve: load one and the same piano multiply with different MIDI channels. The memory is needed only once, it is shared.This can be easily done with the PC because it has probably 100 times more processing power and 1000 times more RAM and 100000 times more nonvolatible storage.
I think they may be using a second additive layer for the string brightness / hammer sound. But, yeah, other than that it seems rather primitive.
I think dewster is right. TP is in no way similar to SN, I even doubt they're using any kind of modeling (I don't regard using multiple components of a sampled sound as "modeling"). BUT: I still like the sound signature of TP better than that of Roland's SN (sorry Roland owners). It's not always about the best technology but about playability and quality of the basic sound, despite many technical (even audible) limitations.
I uploaded a DP-BSD mp3 of a VST called "Supreme Pianos", which claims to be physically modeled, using no samples at all.
I downloaded the demo and am able to get the popping noises to go away, but can't fix the short note decay thing. Decaying notes just fall off the face of the earth.
- It passes the pedal down sympathetic resonance test - the sound of this is nice.- It passes the key down sympathetic resonance test, though the effect is subtle.- It largely passes the pedal down silent replay test, though the vel=1 note replays.- It fails the quick pedal partial damping test.- No support for partial pedaling.- It doesn't appear to be looped, though there is some evidence of a transition between note attack and note decay.- Stretched, both visually and audibly.- Stretch groups: 2,3(x28),2 = 30 groups.- 2 velocity layers, the upper one blended somehow, harsh step @ vel=66.
This product strikes me as a work in progress. It might not be a strictly sampled instrument, but the end result largely boils down to the same thing. I like the fact that it isn't looped and has nice sympathetic resonance, but they need to lose the stretching, and fix that velocity switch - it just about gave me whiplash.
And, is it my imagination, or are we going backwards lately? When it comes to the subtleties of how pedals and keys work and interact, no one (except Pianoteq) is able to get everything right for some reason, and it seems like it is only getting worse.
And, is it my imagination, or are we going backwards lately? When it comes to the subtleties of how pedals and keys work and interact, no one (except Pianoteq) is able to get everything right for some reason, and it seems like it is only getting worse.
how large is the market of people wanting to use a VST for a complete simulation of an acoustic compared to the market that just wants a 'good sounding piano in the mix' (which will be compressed/eq'd/...)? I think it is a very small niche, which is well served by mostly only pianoteq at this point, other products likely have other priorities.
how large is the market of people wanting to use a VST for a complete simulation of an acoustic compared to the market that just wants a 'good sounding piano in the mix' (which will be compressed/eq'd/...)? I think it is a very small niche, which is well served by mostly only pianoteq at this point, other products likely have other priorities.
Good point, though surely it can't be that difficult to do this stuff right. Most offerings seem to be the product of people who either don't understand how pianos work or don't believe in code craftsmanship (or both).
heh, given that I work as a software developer during the day, I can definitely let you know that 'code craftsmanship' is all fine & dandy, but in the end you are going to implement what is required by the feature set agreed with marketing and product management and QA.
The old adage that 90% of the program takes 90% of the time, and the other 10% takes 90% of the time comes to mind, you'd be surprised how many "can't be difficult" things take a long time & effort to get right, and if you are aiming at the 'piano in the mix' or 'film score with some piano' crowd the ROI is just not there, it's a much better business decision to spend the development time on a new/different piano rather than getting all the intricacies of the DPBSD test just right.
The pianoteq folks, given that they are operating with modeling, have it paradoxically a bit simpler, given that if your model is 'good enough' you will get a lot of these behaviours 'for free'. I can definitely see how going from a raw 4-layer sample set to something that responds to partial pedaling, harmonics and so on would not be easy at all.
And, is it my imagination, or are we going backwards lately? When it comes to the subtleties of how pedals and keys work and interact, no one (except Pianoteq) is able to get everything right for some reason, and it seems like it is only getting worse.
how large is the market of people wanting to use a VST for a complete simulation of an acoustic compared to the market that just wants a 'good sounding piano in the mix' (which will be compressed/eq'd/...)? I think it is a very small niche, which is well served by mostly only pianoteq at this point, other products likely have other priorities.
I would be hoping that the market for a semblance of excellence would be expanding not contracting.
I'm wondering what could the "other priorities" be? It bothers me that mediocracy first comes to mind.
And yet when I listen to postings on another music forum where the piano isn't solo, some of the piano sounds make me cringe. And as you say, "it fits in the mix". Jeez, what would a real live group do with a real live Steinway? Kill it to make it fit in?
And as you say, "it fits in the mix". Jeez, what would a real live group do with a real live Steinway? Kill it to make it fit in?
probably, but given that nowadays' mixing is as far from 'high fidelity' as possible, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loudness_war for example, it does make sense that products like Pianoteq are the exception rather than the rule...
heh, given that I work as a software developer during the day, I can definitely let you know that 'code craftsmanship' is all fine & dandy, but in the end you are going to implement what is required by the feature set agreed with marketing and product management and QA.
Not trying to pick on you, but I was - and hopefully still am - a coder (verilog). The only way I got as good as I am (however good that is) was by constantly rewriting, polishing, and reexamining my and other's code.
Originally Posted By: MarcoM
The old adage that 90% of the program takes 90% of the time, and the other 10% takes 90% of the time comes to mind, you'd be surprised how many "can't be difficult" things take a long time & effort to get right, and if you are aiming at the 'piano in the mix' or 'film score with some piano' crowd the ROI is just not there, it's a much better business decision to spend the development time on a new/different piano rather than getting all the intricacies of the DPBSD test just right.
I think doing it half-assed in the first place is more time consuming and expensive in the long term, though it gives management something to manage, and thus a reason to exist.
Craftsmanship is the only thing that interests me and keeps me going. Really believing in something is the only reason to do anything.
Not trying to pick on you, but I was - and hopefully still am - a coder (verilog). The only way I got as good as I am (however good that is) was by constantly rewriting, polishing, and reexamining my and other's code.
same thing here, but if the schedule says you have to be ready by day X and you know that doing things well would take until day X + 20 well, corners have to be cut unfortunately: as you well know most software developers would LOVE to always have the time to do it 'right' and complete and perfect the first time, but the moment you mix up the business side of things that starts becoming difficult (more or less difficult depending on how 'enlightened' the company you work for is, of course).
Originally Posted By: MarcoM
I think doing it half-assed in the first place is more time consuming and expensive in the long term, though it gives management something to manage, and thus a reason to exist.
and there you go about the 'enlightened' side of things, some companies realize that effort spent upfront saves a lot of time/expense in the long term, but most companies prefer to 'ship early, ship often (and ship a lot of bugfixes)'. Hardware companies have a lot less of a choice to do this (recalling a chip because of a hw bug is not simple, or cheap) but software companies especially in this day and age have very little penalty to pay, and paradoxically having a certain level of patching/bugfixing will generate income for your customer support department
Originally Posted By: MarcoM
Craftsmanship is the only thing that interests me and keeps me going. Really believing in something is the only reason to do anything.
I am lucky that currently I am in a position where I have to make very few compromises in terms of craftmanship (as in, I get the time to do things 'right' 99% of the times) but having been in this field for a while now I do realize this is the exception rather than the rule.
I am lucky that currently I am in a position where I have to make very few compromises in terms of craftmanship (as in, I get the time to do things 'right' 99% of the times) but having been in this field for a while now I do realize this is the exception rather than the rule. | {
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The Homeowner's Advice Blog
There are advantages to choosing a closing date either close to the first or close to the last of the month. Whether you are the buyer or the seller, you have a vested interest in the closing date working for you. The date is negotiable until the contract offered by the buyer is accepted by […]
Spring has sprung, which means the housing market is in full bloom. “For Sale” signs are sprouting up along with azaleas and dogwoods as buyers start to search for new homes. Each year, around 40 percent of real estate transactions occur between the months of May and August, with peak inventory times varying some depending […]
If you are disappointed to find that someone else has already submitted a contract on your dream house, you may want to consider making a backup offer. The housing market has been tight everywhere in recent months, so discuss this option with your real estate agent if you really love the house. Backup offers don’t always work […]
Home inspections, sales history and a good school district are the kinds of things that tend to speak to a buyer’s head. A personal letter from you about your home can speak to the heart. A home sale is an emotional choice and a “love letter” about the features that have made your house a home […]
You’ve searched and searched, finding nothing that suits, when suddenly you’ve found not one, but two homes that would be perfect. What to do? First, remember that your housing market may demand that you come to a decision quickly. You don’t want your dream home to get away. Be prepared to make a prompt, reasonable […]
An inspection of the physical condition of a house should be included as a condition of closing the sale. Your real estate agent will make arrangements for a professional inspector to look for defects in the roof, plumbing, electrical, heating and cooling systems, paint, windows, doors, and foundation. The inspector will also check for dry […]
Although pets may be a significant part of your family, they can pose a challenge when your home is on the market. Pet hair and odors obviously must be addressed, but your furry friend’s presence may be the biggest problem. Although people love their own dogs and cats, they may not like others and they definitely […]
A good first step to buying a new home is to prioritize the amenities you really need the most. Be prepared to compromise a bit. Dreams of marble counter tops, gleaming hardwood floors and a pool in the backyard are great, but be careful to prioritize your real NEEDS over the WANTS. Separating the two […]
Putting your home on the market in December doesn’t sound like much fun. But, before you let your inner Scrooge get the best of your festive spirits, keep in mind that there are some characteristics of the season that might position you for a quick sale. Deck the halls with a light touch. Emotion is a […]
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But it was Michael Taylor who saved my bet, saved the Nationals, and took a piece of Addison Reed he can never have back.
Alright, so I’ve decided after seeing a good bit of Michael Taylor; he reminds me a little bit of Reggie Sanders. I really think this is a great comp, and I think it’s fair to say because I saw a TON of 1992 to 1998 Reggie Sanders. I am proud of my comp.
I don’t know where, and I don’t know how, but there will be a spot somewhere in the big leagues playing every day for a guy like Michael Taylor. | {
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Property Description
New 3-bedroom, 2 bath, single story home in the new Portello neighborhood of Windsor. 1677 square foot duet home, with a shared wall on a zero-lot line has compact, open floor plan with high ceilings, large windows and a 2-car garage. Eco-friendly features include full solar power, tankless water heater and efficient heat and air systems. Also included front and backyard landscaping also covered porch in front and a covered patio in back | {
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HYANNIS – Monomoy/Mashpee junior captain Noah Tambolleo said he had been working on a specific breakaway move in practice.
Having scored twice already Monday on 1-on-1 breaks, he gave it a chance, faking a forehand shot and doing a one-arm backhanded reach to guide the puck under the stick of Nantucket’s freshman goalie Bodie Corbett.
“I’ve been practicing that for a while,” said Tambolleo, who gave a salute mimicking NHL great Jaromir Jagr while skating to the bench. “I’m glad I could finally incorporate it into a game.”
The second-period goal capped a hat trick and marked his team-leading 20th goal of the season, leading the Monarchs to a 3-2 victory at the Hyannis Youth & Community Center.
Video: Noah Tambolleo scores his third goal of the game
“I’ve never really felt that kind of achievement before,” Tambolleo said of reaching the milestone. “It’s just absolutely great.”
Tambolleo leads the core of eight juniors and three seniors in the fourth year of the combined program.
Along with leadership from senior captains Will Wahtola and Josh Vitinsky, the Monarchs have gotten plenty of open-ice hits and solid checking from their juniors, especially Cam Coomber and Tom Dubie.
“We call ourselves a blue-collar hockey team,” said Monarchs coach Chris Peterson, who defeated Nantucket for the first time. “It’s not about huge hits, it’s about disrupting the play, bang them around a little bit and keep them on their toes.”
The Monarchs (5-10), who lost to the Whalers, 4-3, on Jan. 27, were outshot, 30-16, and needed their physical defense to perform when they played conservatively with a 3-2 lead almost the entire third period.
Junior goalie Jack Daigneault, who has played varsity since his freshman year, was up to the task, masking multiple lunging and sprawling saves, plus one he covered up after it hit his mask.
Daigneault also made two stops with Nantucket’s goalie pulled in the final 30 seconds. After the first, sophomore Kyle Gabri fed it to Tambolleo, who shot it off the right post.
Nantucket countered behind the net in the closing seconds, but Daigneault covered the puck as time expired.
Video: Sights and sounds from Monday's game
“We did the little things to get the win,” Peterson said. “They pulled it together when they needed to.”
Tambolleo broke the deadlock about four minutes into the first period when a clearing pass hit his stick at the blue line, and Tambolleo deked the goalie and went to his forehand.
Video: Noah Tambolleo talks about the win against Nantucket
Nantucket (4-9-1) equalized midway through the second when Jeff Duame slammed home a wide-open rebound for his first of two goals.
But Tambolleo came right back down the ice 19 seconds later and beat Corbett to the five-hole, putting the Monarchs back in the lead.
Duame beat Daigneault on a scramble less than a minute into the third, but the defense held off the Whalers the rest of the way.
“The kids came out with a buzz,” Nantucket coach DJ Watkins said of the third period. “The result is not what we wanted, but the effort and intensity is what we wanted.”
Mashpee/Monomoy has to win its final five games to make the postseason, but Tambolleo and Peterson said they’re optimistic about the future regardless of how the season ends.
“I think it’s not over yet,” Tambolleo said. “but there’s definitely more to come and more to build on every year.”
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Nov 9, 2015
IronCAD Design Collaboration Suite (DCS) 2016 is an exciting release with many customer driven requests to improve your overall design productivity. Using 2016, you will find day-to-day commands that increase your efficiency as well as new tools to explore additional capabilities.
The 2016 release will also improve design tasks related to sheet metal design and fabrication. Many improvements in sheet metal have been added to extend the capabilities in creation and leveraging existing design data to convert into sheet metal. Targeted tools are available to aid in typical fabrication tasks such as Flanges, Steels, Pipes, and much more.
Please review the new features below for a more comprehensive list of enhancements in the 2016 release.
Productivity Enhancing Design
Flexible Shapes
A new catalog with various standard shapes has been added to assist in creating common objects. For example: a Belt or a Plate may be a common object that can be easily created but now you have access to a standard shape that can be dynamically pushed and pulled to fit your needs. These objects reduce the overall design time by reducing repetitive tasks found today.
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TriBall Copy/Link To Point Option
Creating copies and links has just gotten easier. Now using the TriBall, you can copy/link to select points. Simply activate the command on a right-click at the center of the TriBall, and select the command. Pick the points you want copy/links located at and your done!
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TriBall Direct Distance “From” Option
Using the TriBall, you have many capabilities to position object to desired locations with easy. The new “Edit Distance From” setting on the TriBall Center and Translation right-click menu reduces the number of clicks to position an object offset from a particular location. Simply access the command, pick a location and set the distance value from that location and your object is immediate placed.
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Design Variation Quick Search
Finding the right design variation may have been difficult in the past especially when you had large numbers of variations. With the new Quick search, you can dynamically filter the design variations to particular keywords of interest that can drastically reduce the complexity and display when selecting the desired variation.
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Design Variation Quick Accept
Speeding up the process to add a design variation, you can now simply select the design variation tab you wish to use and select ok to apply and accept your change. This reduces the need to apply and a second click to accept the modification.
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Graphical Import Support for Model Edge
Graphical importing has been improved to support the model edge stored in the Native File format. This will allow for better visual appearance and referencing when performing snap operations such as Drag and Drop.
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Dimension Support for Graphical Imported Data
Many of the current dimension and measurement commands now work on the graphical imported data. This allows the ability to get rough dimensions of the imported data for use in referencing to/from your design.
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Edge Pattern Offset Start/End
Did you ever need the ability to create a pattern along the length of an edge but wanted the start and end to be offset a distance? Check out the Pattern Feature command using the Edge Pattern to see the new capabilities. With this new command, you can skip the calculations or parametric rules to drive the pattern.
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Extended Mechanisms by Limits
A new constraint option has been added to linear dimensions to define a limit range for your mechanism. Simply specify the maximum and minimum range and the object will be free to move in this range within the mechanism mode operations.
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Intelligent Sizebox Directional Control
When setting up your IntelliShape sizebox for parametric input, you now have the ability to define the direction in which the sizebox will adjust. This gives you added control to build intelligent shapes that can be driven by parameters or design variations.
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Parameter Table Multiple Select Delete
Often when making changes to your design parameters, you will find the need to delete multiple parameters at once. Using the existing selection capabilities in the parameter table, you can now select multiple parameters and delete all selections in a single command.
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Parameter Table Undo Support
Making incorrect changes to a parameter or expression can occur (not intentionally of course). Now you can use the undo command to undo recent changes to parameter expressions to return to previous states.
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Dynamic Part Naming
New capabilities have been added to allow you to dynamically control your part number based on variables within the system. For example: You can configure your part number to be based on a length or parameter values that can dynamically update when the model is modified.
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Thread Tool Start/End Control
The thread tool has been enhanced to provide additional trimming options for the start and end portions of the thread. In the past, this was a manual afterthought operation. With the new setting, you can save time in the creation and editing process by inputting rules for the trimming behavior.
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Assembly Feature Support Structured Parts
The Assembly Feature command has been improved to support both Innovative and Structured parts. Both part types can exist in a single environment and you can now use the single tool to drive assembly operations to both part types reducing the manual creation process at the part levels.
Available in:
Extendable Edit Boxes in Property Browser
Typically in commands such as Blend, Chamfer, Shell, and Draft, you may find that you are selecting many objects to be used in the command. When you are looking to edit these selections, you would end up spending time scrolling up and down in the edit boxes in the property browser. Now you can simply drag and grow these edit boxes to get a much better visual representation of the details contained within making for better selection and editing.
Available in:
Fabrication & Sheet Metal
IronCAD Mechanical Add-on
Based on the proven IronPRO XT add-on, users worldwide can purchase the IronCAD Mechanical add-on which contains numerous productivity and creation tools that are well suite for all users but especially useful to fabricators. Tools are available for piping, steels, flanges, intelligent fasteners and many productivity functions.
Available in:
Sheet Metal Sketched Bend
Using a sketch reference line, you can now fold a sheet metal part based on this definition. This gives you more capabilities to bend corners or even to rebuild sheet metal from a 2D Sketch imported from DWG/DXF. You can select a single line or multiple lines with varying definitions to build simple to complex folding rules.
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Convert Solid/Surface to Sheet Metal
Using the existing unfold a solid/surface command and the sketch bend, we are able to provide a new command to convert existing solids and surfaces (or even imported sheet metal) to an IronCAD sheet metal feature. Once converted, you can continue to edit the sheet metal part as if it was a native sheet metal part.
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Loft Bends For Press Break Design
New settings have been added to allow for lofted sheet metal (for arc to arc, line to arc loft) to define bendlines based on press break forming. This will generate bendlines that are used for the press break operation on the drawing with specified values.
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Tank Catalog Example
New catalog provided to allow the creation of tanks with piping, flanges, and lids that can be used for manufacturing or as examples how Smart eBEHAVIORS can be used in a real example.
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Handle Referencing Settings
When designing sheet metal in IRONCAD, it is common to set bend legs lengths using the handle user interface. In 2016, users can now define if the values of these handle reference the inner, outer or tangent locations. This reduces the need to use commands such as edit distance from point.
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Second Bend Leg Options for Angle Changes
When changing a bend angle, users can now define if material is added or not to the end segment to account for the angle change.
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Restructuring of Sheet Metal Unfold
In previous versions, the unfolded sheet metal part was restricted to be at the same level and location as the folded part. Now you are able to have the unfolded part at different levels and the unfolded part can be moved within the scene browser. This give users more control to define the scene structure and store the unfolded parts in desired locations.
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Folded/Unfolded Property Sharing
Users now have the ability to automatically share the part property information (part number, description, custom properties) from the folded part to the unfolded part. This allows the ability to use a single source for the data and leverage it on the drawing from either the folded or unfolded part.
Available in:
Intelligent Design Improvements
Save Catalogs in Lightweight Mode
Similar to the Save Catalogs for Mobile, you now have the ability to save your design catalogs as lightweight. This will store a graphical representation of your objects in the catalog with reference information back to the source design data. Opening these catalogs in COMPOSE or even IRONCAD/INOVATE, will allow you to design with a secure representation but at a reduce data size. At anytime, you can load the source design data as long as you have access to the original catalog. Using this approach allow you to make use of COMPOSE to demonstrate how to configure a design or to limit editing capabilities to users that may not have permissions to access the source design data.
Available in:
Save Design Variations in Catalogs for COMPOSE and Mobile
New in 2016, you can save a part/assembly that contains a design variation to a catalog. When exporting the catalog as Lightweight or to the Mobile, the system will automatically convert the design variation component into a group containing an element for each variation. This allows users on COMPOSE or the Mobile, to make use of the individual variation and it will allow you to convert the lightweight versions back to the source design at the particular design variation state.
Available in:
Drive Smart eBehaviors With Expressions
Extending the current capability on Smart Assemblies to drive object parameters by setting values, we now have the option to set expressions. This allows you to drive objects by expressions from the object you are dropping on. Therefore, when the original object changes parameters, the connected object from Smart Assemblies will update as well.
Available in:
Smart eBehaviors Catalog Item Look-up
Users have the ability to store objects in groups. These object can be any design and do not necessarily need to be parametric. Smart eBehaviors have been added to define a particular object based on the catalog item name in a group. For example: You could create a group with a block, cylinder, and cone which all have an attachment setting for Smart eBehaviors. When you drop the group, using the attachment naming you can define the dropping object based on its catalog item name.
Available in:
Smart eBehaviors Support at Feature Level
The Smart Assembly behavior has been extended down to the IntelliShape level to give extend capabilities. Adding attachment points at the feature level give you more control to reposition features, create links/patterns and suppression. Now with the extended support, you can build more intelligent designs based on changes at the feature level. Note: Adding constraints through the Smart eBehaviors is not supported at the feature level.
Available in:
Intelligent Creation Tool for Smart eBehaviors
In previous versions, you had to understand the string definitions in order to fully build the attachment points to work as part of the Smart eBehaviors. In 2016, an Intelligent Creation Tool has been added to simplify the creation and to provide feedback for various actions like parameter referencing. Using this tool you can verify the string naming based on verification feedback provide within the tool.
Available in:
Design Variations Remembered
When selecting a design variation on drop or through the right-click options, the last selected state will be remembered. This allows you to visually inspect which design variation was selected and allow better visualization when performing the convert to design data from the lightweight catalogs.
Available in:
Detailing Made Easier
Datum Feature & Feature Control Frame Attached to Dimensions
Datum Features and the Datum Feature Control Frames can now be attached to dimension extension lines and can be placed in locations with respect to the dimension value. Enabling the commands and selecting a dimension will associate these entities to the dimensions. When the dimensions update, the Datum Features will update as well.
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Available in:
Structural Steel in ICD Bom
Support has been added to allow the structural steel information to be transferred to the ICD BOM similar to the DRAFT BOM.
Available in:
Table Creation
The ICD now supports the ability to insert a Table object that can be edited and formatted to meet your detailing needs. Use the table for Revision blocks or just as a reference container for communicating detail instructions.
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Design Variation Tables
New in 2016 is the ability to create a table based on a Design Variation stored on a part/assembly. This capability allows you to create a reference drawing view that you can manually refer to tabular information for calling out size information.
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Automatic Sheet Numbering
The ICD has been enhanced to support the ability to define text properties based on the sheet number. For example: You can now specify Sheet # of # in the title block. When you insert new sheets, the information can automatically update to reflect the total number of sheets and the current sheet.
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Part/Assembly Quantity Access
Using the Text Property capabilities and having a BOM in a given ICD, you can now access the quantity for a selected part/assembly. For example: you can have a call-out on a separate sheet (not containing the BOM) that lists the quantity for a selected part.
Available in:
Export/Print Remembered States
When exporting and printing, often you may set various setting that you will commonly use in the process. These settings for Print and Export on the ICD are now stored and remembered when you access the commands again saving time by reducing the repetitive tasks.
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Enhanced Text Box Controls
More Rich Edit controls have been added to the ICD’s text boxes allowing for commands such as Bullets and Paragraph indention. This new control give more flexibility in creating text information for communication.
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Expanded Default Styles for Welding Symbols
Additional default styles have been added to the Welding Symbol style in the ICD. These new styles allow you to specify additional common settings for the weld symbol reducing the work to enter information on new created weld symbols.
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Last Used Settings for Welding Symbols
It is often common to create similar weld symbols in a drawing. A new option has been added to remember the last set information for the welding symbol so that the next created element can automatically reuse the previous settings.
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Dynamic Leader Line Support for Welding Symbols
The leader line for weld symbols has been updated to dynamically adjust right/left based on the placement of the welding symbol. This makes the placement and editing of weld symbols easier due to the automatic updating of the leader location.
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Verification Of Your Designs
Updates to Multiphysics for IronCAD (MP for IronCAD)
Many improvements have been made to the integrated Multi-Physics for IronCAD product. Faster solver, better boundary condition for intuitive display feedback, and new meshing to filter out tiny unintended geometry automatically are all included. In addition, a new reporting capability has been added to create a meaningful report of your analysis to share among your team.
Add on the new Fluids option to take your analysis to the next level! Run full multi-physics with stress, thermal, electrical, and fluids with simplicity unmatched in the industry.
Available in:
Communicating The Design
Keyshot for IronCAD (KeyShot 6 Support)
2016 will now support the latest release of Keyshot version 6 giving users access to the latest improvements and capabilities. Simply install IronCAD DCS 2016 product and the KeyShot 6 product, and you will be ready to take advantage of the KeyShot for IronCAD! Contact your local IronCAD representative to talk about purchasing options. Note: You must have a purchased version of IRONCAD, INOVATE or IRONCAD DRAFT in order to purchase the KeyShot for IronCAD integration.
Available in:
IRONCAD COMPOSE iOS Multiple Select Move
Using the IRONCAD COMPOSE Mobile application, you are now able to multi-select object and use the Move tool to reposition them in one action. This can save tremendous time when testing out new variations or layouts of a design.
IRONCAD COMPOSE iOS Multiple Select Delete
When testing multiple iterations of a configured design on the Mobile COMPOSE, you can now select multiple object to delete allowing you to quickly add and remove objects to try out new concepts.
IRONCAD COMPOSE iOS Support of Textures/Decals
The latest version of the Mobile COMPOSE now supports Textures/Decals that are stored in the Catalog objects or ICSW files. This allow greater visual appearance for your files on the Mobile device to better communicate.
3D PDF Support for Landscape and Portrait
Export to 3D PDF now supports the ability to export to different layout orientations (portrait and landscape).
Query Tool Updated UI
Communicating your design information has now been improved using the Query Tool. The interface now can present information closer to a BOM look with options to export the data to CSV formats for downstream use. Part Number, Description and custom properties (set to Values) will automatically appear in the Query Tool display.
General Improvements
Updated Native CAD Translators
With the latest release of the IronCAD DCS, you will have access to the latest versions of CAD file formats using our Native Translator. Version support has been enhanced in most major formats that are listed below.
CATIA V5 – V5R8 – V5R25 and V5–6R2012 – V5–6R2015
Pro/E (CREO) – 16 – Creo 3.0
UG NX – 11 – NX 10
Inventor – V6 – V2016
SolidWorks – 98 – 2015
SollidEdge – V18 – ST8
Automatic Update Notification
Future product updates provided by IronCAD will automatically notify you of the availability allowing you to download and install. No longer will you need to notified by your representatives or the community, just simply start the product and you will be notified if there is a new version ready for you. | {
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New US Bill of Rights
U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D. Toledo) whipped the crowd up before Mr. Obama took the stage yesterday telling them that America needed a Second Bill of Rights guaranteeing all Americans a job, health care, homes, an education, and a fair playing field for business and farmers.
In short, the right to coercion of other people and to redistributed wealth. Sadly, it’s this sort of thinking that makes me wary of any movement on a bill of rights in Australia – even though I believe we could certainly benefit from some constitutionally guaranteed freedoms. By “fair playing field for business and farmers,” he no doubt means government assistance and protection from the “evils” of free market competition.
As a reader from The Corner points out, these rights were guaranteed in another country’s constitution:
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28 thoughts on “New US Bill of Rights”
Spot on Fleeced; I have been speculating along the same lines for years.
A bill of rights at this stage would in my opinion end up granting a lefties wish list of things the state aught to do for them and to us.
It hit me when Elisabeth Taylor held a press conference to express her outrage that there were toilets that could only be accessed by inserting a coin in the door. Liz claimed that it was a basic human right to be able to go for free.
lol, Jim… A right to free public toilets – I hadn’t heard that one before.
Though, I would add, the user of a public toilet is not always the primary beneficiary… for example, in a high-density area, between say, a string of pubs and a train station, I could just as easily utinate on some poor bastard’s doorstep – free of charge.
The moral to the story is: don’t buy a terrace in Surry Hills/Darlinghurst 🙂
To the exploding number of rights the Left insists we should have, Bentham long ago wrote that the mere idea of ‘rights’ was “nonsense on stilts.”
Perhaps a moderate libertarian view midway between the Left’s ocean of expanding rights and Bentham’s no rights at all would note the existence of only one human right, which would be the right to be human. All other rights would be ancillary, created by acts of legislatures, court rulings, or executive decree. It necessarily follows, such a human right would be grounded solely on those features of human existence which are distinctly human.
For example, since other life forms build shelters, there is no ‘human right’ to shelter. Other life forms have existence, so there is no ‘human right’ to life. All forms of life in nature consume calories for sustenance, so there is no ‘human right’ to food.
The one human right–the libertarian, universal human right–would be grounded on five distinctively human factors: human morality; human rationality; human history; objectivity; and human nature, especially our very human propensity to form and offer an alternative or contrary opinion. The violation of any of these five grounds would be an attempt to deny a human their humanity, their being human.
As for toilet access as a right, that would be left to politicians with weak kidneys, but it cannot be a human right, because, well, ever watch a horse piss?
Duoist, libertarians do believe in human rights. We believe that humans have the right to self-ownership. That means we have the right to do what we like as long as it’s voluntary and peaceful. Also known as “liberty” or “freedom”.
The other “rights” that are referred to (housing, health, transport etc) would be better described as “benefits”, and they by definition violate the above right to self-ownership.
Perhaps it is appropriate to give up a bit of our self-ownership for some benefits. Though personally, I doubt it.
That’s an interesting way of looking at it Duoist, but I think Temujin’s definition is simpler. All of our freedoms come from self-ownership.
If you own yourself, then you have a right to life. If you own your life, then it follows that you have a right to liberty – to think/act/speak freely. If you own your own life and the right to act accordingly, then it follows that you own the product of your actions, ie, property.
Life, liberty and property. These are your rights, insofar as you do not violate the life, liberty or property of another. They all stem from the concept self-ownership.
Though Australia was a penal colony, it was also founded on the dream of self-ownerhsip – to be a continent “untainted by slavery”.
Actually, what the USA should have done was declare that the Declaration of Independence WAS their Bill of Rights, and was the ultimate law of the land, and every law and act of Congress had to conform to it. Then they should have acted on it, even banning slavery there and then.
As it is, having a separate Bill of Rights seems to be a way to separate it from the acts of government. And, as we keep hearing from Canada, having Bills of Rights gives lots of work to Human Rights Commissions- Mark Steyn is being pursued by one because a Muslim took offence to something in a book. I suppose a Bill of rights for work will give work to judges, at least!
Most people don’t know what rights are and don’t have a logical non-contradictory definition for rights.
ie: Most people wouldn’t understand that a contradiction exists if the government grants a right to education. Because they are then violating the right to own your own property through taxation for this service and your right to be free from physical force.
I’d recommend this link. Howard Stern interviews people on the street who support Obama. He then quotes McCain’s policies to them but pretends they are Obama’s policies. The net result is that these people wouldn’t have a clue what they’re actually voting for.
Most people aren’t concerned with political theory and make their decisions based on emotion, popular opinion or based on a religious authority figure.
Most people also do not understand the basis of the higher level concepts they use (eg/ the concept of “rights” or “freedom”). They cannot connect the concept to reality and don’t understand the less abstract concepts upon which the higher level concept rests. This phenomena was dubbed the “floating abstraction” by Ayn Rand.
A proper bill of rights, which should only be a few clauses, defines the limits of the State and is premised on the inherent rights of the individual.
A right to a benefit, like to be provided with a home, is nonsense perched on an atlas rocket and going up fast. for one thing, how are benefit rights to be defined? A tent, a bandaid, grade one? when are these rights exhausted?
I support a Bill of Rights. Just because the left wants a different Bill of Rights to the one I want doesn’t mean I do a dummy spit and give up on the idea entirely.
We have a government that does and will take away freedoms. So it is not enough to say that “self-ownership” should be a right. To do so would instantly provide justification for anarchy, law-breaking and tax evasion, etc. Yes libertarians might like that, but it is too radical.
But we do need a Bill of Rights that enshrines freedom of belief, freedom of speech, freedom of association. We need to guarantee that anything in our minds, anything coming out of our mouths is free from government. And that anyone we meet is our free choice.
A specific Bill of Rights is not a blank cheque anymore than advocating a liberal democracy has a constitution is.
Most people can’t define higher level concepts such as a government granted “right” or even a concept such as “freedom”.
Ayn Rand called this failure to understand the lower level concepts upon which higher level concepts rest and the inability to therefore be able to relate the concept to reality, a floating abstraction.
This means most people don’t have a non-contradictory logical understanding of “rights”.
So they aren’t aware that if a government was to grant the “right” of shelter for example, this would necessarily involve a contradiction ie: a violation of other rights such as property rights (income tax) and the right to be free from physical force (jail if you don’t pay your tax).
I’d recommend the following link to illustrate my point:
Howard Stern interviews Obama supporters on the street. But he quotes McCain’s policies pretending that they are Obama’s. Of course all the people he interviews agree they are good policies even though Obama doesn’t stand for them. He even gets one guy to say Palin would make a good president if something happened to Obama!
These people know they support Obama and they know they support a “change” they can “believe” in. But they have no idea what policies they are supporting.
And when the shit hits the socialist, collectivist fan, I wonder what’s going to happen. (NB/ I don’t support McCain either, I think he could be worse).
So in summary – in our current culture a bill of rights would probably be a disaster – as demonstrated by the ever-so-popular Obama speech.
However a properly constructed bill of rights would IMO ideally be the best basis for legal protection and civil society.
The closest thing to that ideal was the US bill of rights.
In particular the memorable phrase, “the right to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness”. NB/ the pro-individual bent.
Tim R; Indeed”The closest thing to that ideal was the US bill of rights.” however The phrase”the right to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness” was in the declaration of independence, still it is inspiring.
Nobody will be in a hurry to put a right to life in a bill of rights! Imagine the uproar if it was suggested.
A right to liberty would need heavy qualification or criminal law goes out the window and I suppose that would be the end of conscription as well.
Of course the pursuit of happiness is a wonderful motherhood statement incapable of being given meaningful legal expression.
Yeah, Tim R., what are you, an anti-abortionist!!!??? Right to life, indeed!!!
In fact, the pursuit of happiness is the only thing the government is really good at protecting- the pursuit, not the attaining. The economy is a treadmill, needing you and me to keep working for a happiness just over the horizon. If we ever reached happiness, we would stop working, and there goes the economy!
Pedro the statement the “pursuit of happiness” has plenty of meaning and is well worded.
The right to “pursue” happiness as opposed to the right to “happiness” implies freedom for all.
This statement is saying that a person should be free to act on his decisions and achieve his goals. It is also carefully worded so as to not guarentee happiness (unlike Obama’s speech which seeks to guarentee housing, education, health) – because guarenteeing these necessarily involves physical force and rights violations.
Also a right to liberty is a good one as long as the theory is non-contradictory. And as long as the concept liberty is understood by the rights makers.
A criminal’s “liberty” to commit crimes comes at the expense of other’s liberty. Therefore liberty has not been granted at all by the political system.
ie: liberty is not the same thing as anarchy.
Rudd acts as a decent patron of a gun club and rolls back the NFA and guns laws to pre 1997 law.
Article 3.
Rudd is to be kept honest as an economic conservative and promises not to take any more income away than necessary, nor to devalue your money and keeps austere monetary policy, nor have future generations pay for crap we don’t want anyway.
Article 4. Rudd and conegers abide by the High Court decision that Australians have an implied right to vote and free speech.
Article 5. Kev is here to help and so promises to abolish bad laws, paticularly ones he makes, and have sunset clauses on all legislation.
Article 6. Kev, man of action recognises that the only explicit Constitutional rights Australians have are free interestate trade, equal treatment before the law and freedom from religion. This means freedom from the preferences of moralising gits and paticularly zealous religious lobbies. They of course are free to flagellate themselves.
Tim R, yes it is the pursuit of happiness, but still legally undefinable because it is an umbrella term. You know what they mean, but hard to put a finger on direct specifics and thus easily distortable. How can I pursue happiness if you haven’t paid for my education? etc.
Right to liberty as compared to incarceration. In other word, everyone one has the right to liberty unless they break the criminal law, or trespass. Right, what will we criminalise?
I’m all for the fullest protection of liberty against the govt, but some protections are easier to describe than others. You won’t find me arguing against a right to free speech because I trust the pollies to get the balance right.
Totally agree Tim. I think their parliament potentially works better too, with the floor crossing and stuff, but I think the price might be the pork-barrelling and so th USG mark II would address that problem.
This is the switch and bait routine! I say government, and Pedro says parliament! Louis 14th would have been the government of the day, with Parlement merely acting as advisers.
In Switzerland today, Parliament=government=Parliament, et cetera. Your obtuseness must come from your half-whale ancestory.
It seems that there is a report about today that GetUp is financially backed by the CFMEU. Of course, that would be a no brainer. The most radical and dangerous trade unions have been funding the Greens for years. See … Continue reading →
Dan Mitchell reports from DC. Just regulate it! And in France. According to the IEA, France is sitting on 80% of Europe’s frackable gas – enough to keep the country self-sufficient in energy for centuries. But the Macron government has … Continue reading →
Bold Green solutions. Make Australia a renewable superpower! 200% renewable energy!! These ideas are popular. They’re doable. They’re right at our fingertips. All we need is the political will. Just do it!!! | {
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Whooping Cough Scare In Middle School
Pertussis, the highly infectious bacterial disease also known as whooping cough, has made an appearance at the East Hampton Middle School, where one case was reported last week. A letter from the Suffolk County Department of Health was almost immediately put up on the East Hampton Union Free School District’s Web site, and was given to staff and parents at all the schools in the East Hampton system.
Dr. Gail Schonfeld of East End Pediatrics said on Tuesday that she has diagnosed four cases in the last three weeks, including a 3-month-old infant who was admitted to the hospital but eventually recovered.
Most children have been vaccinated against the illness, and the vaccine is reported to be 95 percent effective. However, when a child, particularly a baby, gets infected with pertussis, the results can be very serious and sometimes fatal.
Pertussis is spread through the air by the cough of an infected individual. A course of antibiotics is usually helpful, while cough syrups and elixirs are not.
According to the Suffolk County Department of Health, in a letter that is posted on the East Hampton School District’s Web site, “A person with pertussis is infectious for 21 days from the start of the cough or until he/she has been on five full days of appropriate antibiotic therapy. Children and adults may be susceptible and still develop pertussis even if they are up to date with their vaccinations, as immunity to pertussis wanes over the years.”
Whooping cough earned its name by the distinctive whooping sound made by someone with the illness as they attempt to draw in breath. “In between coughing fits, a patient could feel pretty good,” Dr. Schonfeld said. “But when they start coughing, they can’t stop. There is really thick mucus that blocks the airways, so there is a feeling of not being able to breathe.”
Patients with pertussis often have other cold-like symptoms: fever, nausea, a runny nose. But it is the whooping and gasping for air that are the surest signs. In other countries, it is sometimes known as the “100-day cough.”
According to the Web site for the World Health Organization, in 2008, 16 million people were affected worldwide and 195,000 children died from the illness.
“Pertussis has been with us a long, long time,” Dr. Schonfeld said on Tuesday. “Only 10 percent of the cases were diagnosed until recently, but now we have a test that’s fairly accurate.” The test involves a “skinny little Q-tip” being inserted way back in the throat. “It’s not a really pleasant sensation,” she said.
Up until 2005, she continued, there was no vaccine approved for children over 7 years old. Therefore, many adults could have the disease without knowing it. “If a cough lasts for more than a month in an adult, one-third of the time it’s pertussis,” Dr. Schonfeld said. Only a small percentage of adults in the U.S. have been vaccinated, but there is currently a campaign in progress to encourage adults — particularly those who spend time around a newborn — to get immunized.
Another unpleasant fact: Getting pertussis once does not bring immunity to the illness. “You can get it more than once,” Dr. Schonfeld said.
Fred Weinbaum, the chief medical officer at Southampton Hospital, acknowledged that pertussis in adults over 55 years old is fairly common, because of the decreased immunity as time passes. However, he added that the disease is not frequently spread, since most of the other people around an infected person are usually inoculated against it.
Richard Burns, the interim superintendent of the East Hampton School District, spoke on Tuesday about the situation at the middle school. “The infected child was, of course, immediately removed from the premises, and is already fully recovered and back at school. The facilities, at least any facilities that the child had direct contact with, were cleaned and sterilized. I think we followed the best practices for this kind of situation, and managed to keep it under control,” he said.
The superintendent’s office sent a letter to staff, parents, and guardians on Friday reiterating the points made by the Department of Health and also advising parents or guardians with any concerns at all to contact the nurse in their child’s school.
“Suffolk County continues to see an increase in pertussis,” read the Suffolk County Department of Health’s letter. Last June, there were 40 cases of whooping cough reported in Suffolk County, and in the fall the disease made its way to the South Fork, with two confirmed cases in the Southampton School District.
Dr. Schonfeld, however, remains unperturbed, and put forth the possibility that “this may not be an increase in cases — it’s just that we are better able to diagnose,” she said.
“I do not see this as a catastrophe, like the plague has descended,” she said, adding she did not see this wave of whooping cough becoming epidemic in proportions. “But it’s right for us to publicize this and explain what to look for.” | {
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Toyota considers moving Lexus production to U.S.
Toyota Motor Corp. is considering moving the production of some vehicles, such as the Lexus ES, to North America.
David Dewhurst
BERNIE WOODALL
TRAVERSE CITY, MICH.
Reuters
March 26, 2017August 8, 2012
The strong yen in Japan is causing Toyota Motor Corp. to consider moving some production to the United States, said Jim Lentz, sales chief executive of Toyota's U.S. unit.
A likely candidate would be shifting production of the Lexus ES sedan from Japan to the U.S., Mr. Lentz said, adding the high cost of moving output would mean that Toyota would have to further monitor the market and the yen's strength before making a decision.
"With where the yen is today, I think it's only a matter of time" before Toyota moves more production to North America, to have assembly nearer to the U.S. market, he said.
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In addition to the strong yen, moving production is being driven by engineering capabilities in the U.S., including at its engineering center in Ann Arbor, Mich., that employs more than 1,100 engineers, Mr. Lentz said.
Speaking to reporters at an industry conference in Traverse City, Mich., Mr. Lentz said Toyota is going to maintain its forecast of 14.3 million for U.S. vehicle sales in 2012.
While Mexico is an option for more production, Toyota is more likely to send production to the U.S., Mr. Lentz said.
U.S. auto sales, which gained strength in the final quarter of 2011 and into early 2012, have stalled, Mr. Lentz said, largely because of a lack of consumer confidence in taking out car loans. He said once the U.S. presidential election is decided, retail sales will increase, regardless of which candidate wins because there will be more certainty on federal economic policy.
While the European financial crisis and weak auto sales may have an impact on U.S. consumers psychologically, Mr. Lentz does not think problems in Europe will hit U.S. auto sales significantly. Unlike in the downturn of 2008 and 2009, U.S. banks and credit will not be as greatly affected, he said.
With one of the lowest incentive levels in the industry, Toyota is considering adding incentives in the luxury market.
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Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Another politically-motivated killing in the US? Police are saying the motive for this oneis unclear:
"The chairman of the Democratic Party of Arkansas was killed Wednesday by a gunman who barged into the party's state headquarters and opened fire, police and Democratic leaders said.
Bill Gwatney "was shot multiple times" in the upper body and died of his wounds a few hours later, Little Rock police department Lieutenant Terry Hastings said in a briefing aired by FOX News." [...]
"Lieutenant Hastings said the motive for the shooting was unclear.
"That's something that we'll be looking into. Right now we don't have an answer for you on that," he said, adding that the suspect was not a former Gwatney employee.
Hastings said the suspect fled the scene in a pickup truck and was chased into Grant County some 25 miles (40 kilometers) south of Little Rock, where he was fatally shot.
The violent attack is the second in several months targeting the Democratic Party. In November a man claiming to be armed with a bomb took over US presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton's campaign office in the state of New Hampshire and held five people hostage for more than five hours before surrendering."
Clinton's office, the Knoxville church killings a few weeks ago, now this -- if it's politically-motivated, which is by no means a given. There was speculation that the shooter was a disgruntled ex-employee at one of Gwatney's car dealerships, and oddly, the dealership's staff page is down ("staff" link at bottom of page). But police are saying he wasn't an employee, so at this point I'm going with "who knows?". Although I am starting to wonder why it seems to be all liberals getting attacked.
UPDATE (August 14): Still no real motive, but here's a little more about the shooter. He quit his job at a Target department store yesterday morning after his supervisor complained about graffiti he'd written on the wall there. Must resist the urge to wonder about what kind of graffiti it was... although, graffiti at the workplace doesn't sound like a particularly right-wing thing to do. It sounds more like a guy who just went nuts. | {
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scripture
Scripture not found.
CHAPTER 10
Anxiety of the Parents.1Meanwhile, day by day, Tobit was keeping track of the time Tobiah would need to go and to return. When the number of days was reached and his son did not appear,
2he said, “Could it be that he has been detained there? Or perhaps Gabael has died, and there is no one to give him the money?”
3And he began to grieve.
4His wife Anna said, “My son has perished and is no longer among the living!” And she began to weep aloud and to wail over her son:
5“Alas, child, light of my eyes, that I have let you make this journey!”
6But Tobit kept telling her: “Be still, do not worry, my sister; he is safe! Probably they have to take care of some unexpected business there. The man who is traveling with him is trustworthy and one of our kindred. So do not grieve over him, my sister. He will be here soon.”
7But she retorted, “You be still, and do not try to deceive me! My son has perished!” She would rush out and keep watch every day at the road her son had taken. She ate nothing. After the sun had set, she would go back home to wail and cry the whole night through, getting no sleep at all.a
Departure from Ecbatana.
Now when the fourteen days of the wedding celebration, which Raguel had sworn to hold for his daughter, had come to an end, Tobiah went to him and said: “Send me off, now, since I know that my father and mother do not believe they will ever see me again. So I beg you, father, let me depart and go back to my own father. I have already told you how I left him.”
8Raguel said to Tobiah: “Stay, son, stay with me. I am sending messengers to your father Tobit, and they will give him news of you.”
9But Tobiah insisted, “No, I beg you to send me back to my father.”
10Raguel then promptly handed over to Tobiah his wife Sarah, together with half of all his property: male and female slaves, oxen and sheep, donkeys and camels, clothing, money, and household goods.
11He saw them safely off. Embracing Tobiah, he said to him: “Farewell, son. Have a safe journey. May the Lord of heaven grant prosperity to you and to your wife Sarah. And may I see children of yours before I die!”
12Then he said to his daughter Sarah, “My daughter, honor your father-in-law and your mother-in-law, because from now on they are as much your parents as the ones who brought you into the world. Go in peace, daughter; let me hear a good report about you as long as I live.” Finally he said good-bye to them and let them go.
Edna also said to Tobiah: “My child and beloved kinsman, may the Lord bring you back safely, and may I live long enough to see children of you and of my daughter Sarah before I die. Before the Lord, I entrust my daughter to your care. Never cause her grief all the days of your life. Go in peace, son. From now on I am your mother, and Sarah is your sister. Together may we all prosper throughout the days of our lives.” She kissed them both and saw them safely off.
13Tobiah left Raguel, full of happiness and joy, and he blessed the Lord of heaven and earth, the King of all, for making his journey so successful. Finally he blessed Raguel and his wife Edna, and added, “I have been commanded by the Lord to honor you all the days of your life!”
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Come With An Adventure Every Single Day
I really believe that a journey could be more secure and merely plain fun. There are lots of kinds of adventures and there’s not really a “one-size-fits-all” definition! Exactly what do I am talking about? Read my ideas about adventures below:
1. A journey is exactly what you are making it!
Likely to Walmart is definitely an adventure. You may choose to determine existence like a schedule or see existence being an adventure!
2. Your adventure could be within!
Studying a great book is definitely an adventure which i personally love. If you’re ever bored, fed up with the television or it’s raining – grab a great book! Discover sure what will be a bestseller for you personally, ask your buddies on Facebook or visit check your local library. You will notice that others like to suggest good books.
My kids enjoy studying. My youngest explained that they was fed up with studying about adventures in magazines and she or he was prepared to have her very own adventures! Hopefully she comes with her very own adventures! Watch out world with this youthful lady!
3. Adventures could be taking a chance or facing your fears.
Are you currently the “adventurous” type who rock climbs, swims using the sharks or loves skydiving? Then you’re what many people consider being an adventurer. Being somebody that likes to take a risk using their body requires a particular someone whom I admire greatly. I like happening a journey by traveling, but I am and not the daredevil type.
Why not a fear you have? Are you currently scared of speaking in public, riding a horse or you are scared to create a new existence on your own? Fears could be a strong physical and emotional barrier to beat. Yet, a lot of you overcome your fears with the aid of others, time or by facing your fears mind on. Walking to face your fears is definitely an adventure!
4. Your adventure could be a existence event!
Marriage, moving to a different town, getting an infant – all existence occasions which are certainly a journey! You might not consider existence occasions a journey since they’re “natural” for you and maybe even expected as the next thing of the existence.
A lot of you’re expected to visit college, get wed and also have a family. Sounds boring when typing about this – but it is NOT boring! Your existence is definitely an adventure! | {
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} |
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Photo: Jason Veilleux / For The Forecaster
Deering junior Noah Whittenburg absorbs a hit from a Portland's Lenny Schwartz during Saturday morning's inter-city battle. The Bulldogs scored early and often and remained undefeated with a 16-1 triumph over the Rams.
The defending Class A state champions have come to realize when they keep the verbs flowing more often than not, the other team's getting stuck with the bill.
Saturday morning, the Bulldogs made the Deering Rams pay in full, taking control of the game early and refusing to give it back with an opportunistic, pass-first attack that moved with purpose to stretch the field. Junior Caleb Kenney netted four goals in the first half and senior Jason Knight scored four of his own, pacing the unbeaten Bulldogs (10-0) to a 16-1, running-time victory at Fitzpatrick Stadium.
“Deering lost its best player and we’re undefeated this time,” said Portland coach Eric Begonia, now 88-25 in his eighth season. “But this is still a rivalry game and we wanted come out and play well. We’ve always liked to invert middies to attack and have a lot of players that can pass and shoot. That makes it hard for teams to find six matches that work for them.”
Kenney scored his first two goals in the opening moments as Portland jumped out to a four-goal lead after one period, then, the Bulldogs piled on six more in the second. Knight spread his scoring out more evenly with a goal in each period, starting with his team's fourth and final score of the first.
Knight’s goal with 2:15 left in the second period was the second of three the Bulldogs poured in over a one-minute, nine-second span to close out the half. Sophomore Seamus Kilbride sandwiched Knight’s score with both of his goals, extending Portland’s eight-goal lead to 11-0 at the break.
“We’ve started to keep the pressure on teams for the whole game,” Kenney said. “All week we’ve been talking about our spacing and getting a lot of movement. Everyone got involved. Everyone got a touch. We forced their defense to make a lot of reads and found the open cutters.”
Deering (6-4), on the other hand, suddenly finds itself down an entire line of starters at middle-attack, just this week adding senior Riley Asbury and junior Connor Kelly to an injury report that already lists junior midfielder Carleton Allen, the Rams best player and one of the league’s best at his position. Deering still has the benefit of a healthy Karl Rickett, the sophomore faceoff specialist, who has emerged as one of the league’s best on the draw.
There aren't many teams in the league that could withstand the loss of three starters at midfield and the Rams are no different. Deering struggled in transition and when it did get settled, ran into more trouble finding open spaces against the Bulldogs' experienced back line. After that, the Rams still had to deal with the prospect of finding a section of netting that couldn’t be covered by all or parts of Portland sophomore goalie Ryan Jurgelevich. By game’s end, only Jackson Sewall could provide any insight, the senior attack put Deering on the board with 8:43 left in the fourth quarter.
“We have a lot of guys out with injuries,” said Deering coach Bob Rothbart. “We had a full line of three middies go down last week, including our fastest player. We already lost our best midfielder earlier in the season. That and Portland is the best team we’ve played. They moved the ball well. They executed well. And they have good players. They beat us in every facet of the game except faceoffs.”
Portland came out blasting against the Rams. Kenney scored twice in the game’s first three minutes, junior Bronson Guimond stuffed one five-hole past Deering junior goalie Nick Holton, the first of his three, and by the time Knight got in the act with his first on a settled possession, Portland had built a 4-0 lead that would stand after one.
The Bulldogs survived two-minutes down a man to start the second, before Guimond scored on a little flip to make it 5-0. Portland senior captain Kevin Nielsen, a skillful distributor Begonia calls “a great leader,” caught the Rams thinking pass and got one for himself with a nice individual effort to make it 6-0. Kenney got his third from Knight on a bounce-job across the crease that settled in the lower-left corner, and his fourth goal moments later gave the Bulldogs an 8-0 lead with four minutes still left before the break. It wasn’t looking good for the Rams, and it didn’t get any better when Portland ripped off three straight to close out the half.
“We found a lot open looks today,” said Nielsen. “We had guys cutting and we were finding them. We have a lot experienced players that know the offense, but the younger players are starting to learn how to get open.”
The Bulldogs continued to roll after the break, tacking on three goals highlighted by a pretty exchange, Knight to Guimond, before senior Josh Mohr buried a pair for a 14-0 lead after the third. In close, Knight flipped to Guimond on a bang-bang, pass-and-shoot for a score, Guimond’s third.
“Coming in we felt this was a game we should win,” said Guimond. “But we prepare the same way and can’t afford to take any team lightly. We have a lot of guys on offense that can produce. When we communicate, we usually play well.”
In the fourth, Knight scored his fourth goal and the Bulldogs put up one more after Sewall finally put one home for the Rams, closing the book on a long day for anyone in purple.
Deering heads to Gorham on Wednesday before hosting the Bonny Eagle in the season finale June 2. The Rams were fourth in the latest Eastern A Heal Points standings. The top six teams qualify and Deering still has some work to do to make it back to the postseason after two years away.
Portland (first in Eastern A and third in the latest coaches' poll) plays home on Wednesday against Westbrook and closes out the season at home with rival Scarborough on June 1. The Bulldogs have every reason to believe they make a run at a repeat title, especially if their playoff road consists of playing every game at Fitzpatrick Stadium.
“We still have some young guys out there and they make young mistakes,” said Begonia. “We’re learning how to win games and do it efficiently. It’s contagious. The guys that we’re here last year saw how hard that team worked. They know the type of effort it takes to play at that level.” | {
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Description:
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Sunday, November 5, 2017
First Snow Of 2017 The Meadows Houston British Columbia
The photo was taken on November 5, 2017 at Houston, B.C.
I took a quick 15 minute run from my home here in Houston out to the
meadows which is out in the wilderness. There is a excellent gravel road, but it
truly is wild countryside. It’s beautiful, in any season and since we have our
first snowfall I drove out to get a look around.
It was minus 8 and there was approximately 6 to 8 inches of snow on the
ground and I was not disappointed. I didn’t go far as I am waiting for a few
good dumps of snow which is followed by a cold snap and the scenery out there is
just gorgeous, so maybe I’ll will see you out there. | {
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} |
You are here
AIPF: Women Read: April 9
hosted by Cindy Huyser
BookWoman is pleased to once again be the venue for the Women's Voices reading of the Austin International Poetry Festival. This annual showcase celebrates the power and diversity of women poets. Please join us! Be sure to check out the AIPF website for the full schedule of readings. http://www.aipf.org | {
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} |
Minecraft: here's one I made earlier
It's been dubbed virtual Lego, a place where people build fantasy worlds and drop in on past creations. As Minecraft turns five and tops 50m users, Tom Lamont assembles his dream construction team and steps into a land of opportunity, love and painful memories
Tom Lamont's interpretation of the Telecom Tower rises up from his fantasy island. Photograph: Mathieu Legault
"Let your surroundings load a bit," said Adam, a 27-year-old from New Jersey. "This thing's big." I stared at the fortress he was building as my laptop purred, loading details: the towers and battlements and a giant front door.
During the day, I knew, Adam was Adam Shefki, a lawyer. He wore a suit to work. But right now, in avatar form, he was styled in tan leathers and a rocket pack, and he was figuring out how to make that giant door open and shut on command. Adam was introducing me to Minecraft.
The most popular computer games tend to license the unfeasible. Hey: you're an international footballer. An assassin in 16th-century Rome. In Minecraft, which celebrated its fifth birthday last month, with worldwide sales hovering just under the 50m mark, the fantasy amounts to stiff labour. Construction work. Players are cast as architects – resource-rich architects with the power of flight, granted, but architects nonetheless. Play Minecraft and rather than compete for the World Cup or plot to kill a Borgia, it's preferred you act like a groundsman, or a Roman town planner, willing to put in hard hours with blueprints and shovel.
And somehow Minecraft has become a global sensation, prized by teenagers, adults and, in particular, seven- to 12-year-olds, whose parents tend to endorse the game precisely because it doesn't exalt unsavoury footballers or murder. It is used as a teaching aid in America and Scandinavia; it's a compulsory subject of study in at least one Swedish school. Recently, Denmark's ministry of environment commissioned a Minecraft-made replica of the country. All 85,000 square miles of it.
Adam's avatar. Photograph: Gerald Swanson for the Guardian
What is it like to play? Load Minecraft and you're tossed on to freshly generated terrain. Personal appearance can be tweaked (by default, the in-game avatar is male, T-shirted, black), but really you're here to build. Alone or in collaboration. Online or off. Against the clock and with limited resources, in Minecraft's hectic "survival mode", or with infinite cubes of materials and the serene freedom to arrange them – "creative mode".
You might start by exploring the area, hiking hills and wading through lagoons to find a promising plot of land. Ground is cleared with one button, building blocks placed with another. The game's physics start to make sense as soon as you've hacked down a few trees, made a tunnel and put up a crude monument to yourself. Blocks can be gummed together in unlikely ways, side on, in zigzags, forming queasy, top-heavy clusters, but they can't be made to float (not without clever fiddling). To make a hut, it's best to start from the ground up. There are materials such as carpet squares and windowpanes for prettifying the work.
Minecraft is versatile, too. You won't be satisfied with that hut for long, however attractive the carpet, and will want to graduate to bridges and castles. Whole blocks of Manhattan have been recreated in the game. A 1:1 replica of the Titanic. London's Olympic Park. Jurassic Park. Building is of such importance here that the verb has been made a noun: structures are referred to by Minecraft fans as "builds". When groups band together online, better to attempt something epic, they refer to themselves as "build teams". Adam introduced me to his build team, among them a British woman called Maria Bovor. A 29-year-old illustrator from Worcester, Maria appeared in the game as a cyborg. I was wearing a tuxedo with golden spats and we complimented each other on our outfits, speaking by writing messages that appeared on screen in bright, blocky text.
Maria told me that when she first saw Minecraft in action, the graphics angular and awkward, she dismissed it: "Bad looking." The power of the game, though, was in the ambitions it tickled, and she got hooked once she'd knocked up a decent replica of her own house, then later a desert city with a network of underground commuter canals.
When she met Adam, he was working on a statue of the Greek god Atlas that would require the meticulous placing of 300,000 gravel-grey blocks. She was building a castle made of ice. "It was cute," Adam said, "to see how excited she was about all the secret entrances." They agreed to collaborate.
Double-tapping a special button in Minecraft enables flight; together Adam, Maria and I flew to visit the Atlas statue. Completed in 2012, it loomed over us, 150m tall, about the height of the British Telecom Tower. When I admired it Adam said, "There were other statues, tests."
"We don't talk about the tests," Maria said.
How long had they been at work together? Adam: "Oh lord. Depressing thought to tally." Maria: "Take what he says, then double it at least." Adam: "Months of free time, probably."
Having manipulated millions of pixelated blocks in each other's company, Adam and Maria became a couple last year. She recently visited him in New Jersey for an extended stay. "Sometimes," Adam told me, "a game spills out into real life."
This game! Downloaded on to 21m phones, bought for more than 13m consoles, installed on 15m PCs and Macs, it is is the third bestseller of all time, after Tetris and that sporty one for the Nintendo Wii. The Official Construction Handbook, an introductory guide to the game, debuted at the top of the book charts last Christmas. In April, Minecraft received the priceless flattery of a parody on The Simpsons. Warner Bros had already announced they were making a movie.
Meanwhile, at the user end, ambitious projects continued to roll out. A Scottish sixth-former made a stunning replica of the Winter Palace in St Petersburg. Chinese history enthusiasts laboured to reconstruct Beijing exactly as it had appeared in 1751. I visited, exploring this Qing-dynasty city via monorail, and learned that construction was due for completion in "July 2023". Was it wise, I wondered, while riding a pretty route from the Gate of Divine Might to the Palace of Heavenly Purity, to plan to invest so much time?
Adam had surrendered months to Minecraft. "Picture my parents," he said. "In their 60s, lovely people… They don't understand at all what I do with my leisure time. It's a hard thing to show people. 'Hey! Come over and look at this giant virtual thing I built!' For some people, that abstraction never makes sense. It's just numbers."
Maria was more at ease. People commit to all kinds of activities, she said, "for the process, for the memories... The argument that there is nothing tangible at the end of it doesn't hold sway. There's nothing to stop me opening old builds and going back to them. Rediscovering your old builds" – and she had once made a crumbling Moroccan city, a town square, a giant floating sphere – "is a massive nostalgia trip. Like opening an old photo album."
This is a feeling shared by Markus Persson, the game's creator. He tells me, simply, "The journey is the goal." A thoughtful, bearded 34-year-old, Persson is widely known by his internet nickname, Notch. For a while now, he has earned several hundred thousand pounds a day and is about to move into the most expensive flat, per square metre, in Stockholm. Still, those names – Persson, Notch – feel apt for a man who has been hauled from anonymity by Minecraft's success and who often gives the impression he would like to go back to it. "I'm not sure how I feel," Persson wrote on Twitter after the Simpsons homage was broadcast. "I still feel a bit like it's just this small game I made at home."
Mojang is run by Persson and his colleagues in a relaxed, let's-work-in-our-underpants fashion – authentic breeziness that so many tech firms strive to fake. Every Friday, its 35 staff down tools to play console games. Buyout efforts are not welcome ("They can play it like everyone else," Persson said in 2011, after industry kingpin EA began to circle), and not long ago a collaboration with Facebook was refused on the quite brilliant grounds of Facebook's creepiness. ("Their motives are too unclear," Persson wrote in a blogpost.) While we chatted over email, he posted a tweet that suggested he really was working in his underpants that afternoon.
"Happiness is a moment, not a state," he said, when I asked if his creation had made him happy. "Minecraft has definitely been the cause of many of those moments."
It was the encouragement I needed to play for myself. Impressed by Adam and Maria's camaraderie, I decided to assemble a small build team of my own. The sixth-former who'd made the Winter Palace, Matthew Fulton-Peebles, agreed to join, as did Pablo Zazueta, a friend's nine-year-old son, who was given special permission to play after school. Adam and Maria said they'd chip in with some of the heavy clicking. Would it be enough?
I browsed forums, looking for builders. "Minecraft is my life," a young Californian called Nathan had posted, although by the time I got in touch, his interest had flagged. Others appeared to expect payment for building work, their quotes varying wildly. A Serbian undergraduate called Branko advertised that, "for only $5, I will work for you for two hours in Minecraft". An Australian teen, Jayden, was banned from a forum for asking for up to £150 per job. I liked the sound of both. (Neither gave me their surnames.)
Olivia's avatar. Photograph: Gerald Swanson for the Guardian
My team grew. Olivia Quezada, a student from Texas, had advertised her expertise online. "My goal is to create worlds that are beautiful… Could it happen? Did it happen? You decide." I employed her for a small fee. Joseph White, a 21-year-old web designer whom I'd met on a forum for Minecraft enthusiasts, said he'd assist for free. I found a trio of Italian landscaping specialists who designed me a basic island, with palm trees, a lagoon and expanses of flat terrain – a blank canvas on which to build. We were ready to start. I needed only to tell the team what to do.
Past, hardy Minecrafters, I knew, had made the Eiffel Tower and a Thames-spanning Tower Bridge. There had been at least a dozen efforts to erect a Tower of Babel. As far as I was aware, no one had attempted the BT Tower, and I thought my team might take a shot at it.
Sketches were made. We'd build the Telecom Tower… No, two Telecom Towers, surrounded by a rollercoaster. With a moat. And a tennis court. When Branko logged on, I cautiously explained my plan. He was unfazed: "Where do you want the rollercoaster?" he asked, already hacking down trees.
Digital Lego, virtual Lego, a Lego that doesn't hurt when you step on it: these are the terms used to describe Minecraft to the unfamiliar. Peter Molyneux, creator of the 1990s computer game Dungeon Keeper, to which Minecraft owes a distant debt, has called it "social Lego". Will Wright, creator of SimCity, another significant forebear, once pointed out that Minecraft is like Lego in that it combines "accessibility and depth… complex output with simple input". Persson grew up a fan of the plastic bricks. "I used to build exactly what was on the box," he told me.
Persson was raised in Edsbyn, in the Swedish countryside, then later in Stockholm. His father taught him to code when he was young, and an interest in game design took root. After college and a stint as a web designer, in his late 20s he joined Stockholm games company King. For his employers (nine-to-five) and for himself (around the edges), he spent hundreds of hours making games, many with flatly explanatory titles: Carnival Shootout; Blast Passage; Bunny Press, in which bunnies were crushed in a press.
His work on a new, vaguer project called Cave Game began in spring 2009. After a few days, he had a promising prototype and a better title: a compound of words that highlighted the game's major activities, mining holes and crafting buildings. By the end of the first week, Persson told me, "pretty much the final version of Minecraft was there". He put it online, asking £5 a copy. Over a year, as development progressed, around 20,000 gamers paid.
He left King to found Mojang in summer 2010. By early 2011, when the sign on the office door was still written in green felt-tip, sales of Minecraft were past a million. A finished £12 version of the game was ready for sale in November 2011. Persson celebrated by opening a new box of Lego. He was already quite rich.
I was a Lego devotee as a boy, and perhaps those of us who grew up with that toy will wonder about the soundness of Persson's digital imitation. How could Minecraft, played on a screen, compare? On my island, as two Telecom Towers rose steadily towards the sky, I came to appreciate that the major advantage Minecraft has over Lego is scale.
Tom's avatar. Photograph: Gerald Swanson for the Guardian
The essential Lego block is the size of a thumb. Squeeze together enough of them and you might get something the size of a shoebox. Minecraft blocks are bigger – much: though viewed and manipulated within the limits of a computer screen, they're about waist high in relation to your in-game avatar. Pile up 10 and it's a structure that looms impressively. Pile up 100...
It took teenagers Jayden and Olivia a matter of hours to assemble my Telecom Towers, foundations, windows, ranks of satellites, everything. Meanwhile, Branko knocked together the rollercoaster, every square of wood and segment of rail placed by hand. When he was finished, I was allowed to ride it.
For the most part, I floated about the treetops while construction went on, overseeing as avatars flew about, sloughing off blocks, pausing to consider a tricky curve or corner, and sloughing again. I assisted with the work where I could, but probably I was most use to nine-year-old Pablo, with whom I built a handsome doghouse. At one point, we put out fires together, when a volcano he'd made started burning down my island's trees.
I asked questions of the team as they built. Otherwise, for long periods, everyone lapsed into silence. Time passed quickly, a fact that Minecraft makes players very aware of, with a square-shaped sun programmed to rise and set every 20 minutes. I began to find the repetitiveness of it all quite soothing. My team said this was a famous part of Minecraft's appeal. "I suppose I go into a creative trance when I build," Matthew said. Olivia had a psychology exam coming up, her end-of-school prom to prepare for, and she welcomed the chance to "forget external stress". Adam said, "I made my way through law school playing Minecraft. When I was studying for finals, I'd play the game and put audio recordings of my lectures on in the background. It kept me sane."
Building seemed to open people up. When we were alone, Branko admitted an aspiration to one day run his own hotel. He also mentioned a girlfriend he'd met through the game, and the house they'd built together on a public Minecraft server. "With a balcony and a pool."
When people talk in Minecraft, they have to stop building to type. Their little avatar goes still; its square head appears to dip. When someone is about to tell you something in the game, they look mournful. Branko told me about the time he logged on to find that the house he'd built with his girlfriend had been deleted by accident. "Of course, we'd broken up in the meantime... Minecraft has made me sad many times."
Joseph, the 21-year-old web designer, logged on to my island and found a spot on top of a remote hill where he began to erect a tower. It had a beam of light that projected from the roof and appeared, from where I was floating, to be a monument to something. Joseph told me he'd started playing Minecraft in its early days, when he was a teenager. The pared-down graphics made it one of the few games he could run on a slow computer.
"Life was… tough?" said Joseph, who grew up in Canada. "We were living in a cabin in the middle of nowhere." In 2011, his mother remarried and Joseph, who said he suffered from Asperger syndrome, found it hard to connect with his new stepfather. Eventually they discovered a shared interest in computing, and started playing Minecraft together, becoming close that way.
His stepfather died in 2012. "No warning," said Joseph, who on the night it happened was woken up by the ambulance. Afterwards, he logged on to his stepfather's computer and found a half-finished Minecraft world. Built in secret, it might have been meant as a surprise. Loading it "felt surreal", Joseph told me. "One of the final feelings of, 'He's actually gone.'" He saved the world on to multiple hard drives, worried about losing it. "I'm glad to have this part of him."
A teenager playing Minecraft. Photograph: Voisin /Phanie/REX
When I told Persson about Joseph's story, he said, "Any personal memory of a lost one is valuable, regardless of form. Sometimes it's intangible, sometimes it's transient, and sometimes it's a physical artefact. I have no doubts being able to walk through a fictional world where someone left their imprint could be very powerful."
Persson lost his own father in 2011, a difficult time in his life during which he also separated from his wife. In a profile by Rolling Stone magazine, he said of his divorce that changes to his lifestyle (and you expect being profiled by Rolling Stone was just the sort of thing he meant) played a part. I got the impression that for Persson, as for Joseph and Branko, Minecraft was not a wholly positive force.
"Everything is strange and new and confusing," Persson said of his life since Minecraft got big. "I'm constantly surprised by it, but I've kind of given up reacting to it... So far, all my predictions about when Minecraft will go out of fashion have failed."
In the past, Persson has admitted feeling hampered by the expectant attention of millions. He has abandoned at least one follow-up game he was designing. When I chatted with him in May, prospects were better. Persson was "deep in code", day and night, he told me. He seemed to have rediscovered the high spirits of his Bunny Press days, too, and would go on to release - earlier this week - a new game called Cliffhorse. Programmed in a matter of hours, it cast players as roving, aimless horses – apparently the result of a private joke between Persson and his friends. (Sales have been middling.)
Meanwhile Minecraft, a game he stopped active work on years ago, continued to thrive: in May, total sales of the tie-in books approached a million. Lego, which had made an alliance with Persson in 2012, said it would expand its Minecraft-branded line. As for sales of the game itself, Persson thought it likely the 50 millionth copy had already gone, despite the lack of any formal announcement by Mojang. "We'll probably celebrate it the way we celebrate most milestones," he said. "By realising it happened some time ago and maybe having a glass of champagne."
It happened to be five years to the day since Persson had written his first line of Minecraft's code. Adam and Maria joined me on my island for one last building session.
We met beside the Telecom Towers, where Adam constructed an elaborate treehouse and Maria put up a watchtower. For my part, skulking under a canopy of trees, I tried to even out a tennis court that was badly misshapen. I hadn't even started on the moat. Beginning to feel the first prickles of boredom, I thought of young Nathan, for whom Minecraft was life, until it wasn't.
"I recognise that at some point things will stop happening," Adam said. Increasingly busy at work, he said, he'd felt his commitment to the game lessen. And then?
"Whatever I'm working on will fall into the ether of wherever builds go once people stop looking at them." When Maria last visited him, Adam said, they didn't play Minecraft at all: "She wanted to see America."
Our session came to an end. Adam had been staring at his screen for too long and logged off with a headache. Maria went, too, to watch the Eurovision song contest on TV. Alone, I took wing and did a last circuit of my island. Then I left: I had one more place to visit. Joseph had emailed me the save file of his stepfather's half-made world and suggested I take a look.
When I loaded it up, I found an expanse of flat terrain dominated by a lake. There was a castle on its banks and nearby an ornamental fountain, one that spouted not water but lava – the flourish, as I took it, of a middle-aged man who might have started playing this game to communicate with his stepson, but who wound up enjoying himself, finding his ideas irresistible. I discovered a secret tunnel that led away from the lakeside castle, out of the cellar and all the way under the water, to a secluded cove.
"Placing blocks is fun," Markus Persson had told me. "Even if we prevent ageing, even if we escape the solar system before the sun swallows the Earth, we will not survive. We're something that happens in the universe. We're a story."
Make the story good, was his point. Build a fortress. Build a tower. Build a secret tunnel that leads out under a lake. | {
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Conventional fruit production benefits from the use of chemicals to combat such diseases. However, organic production does not allow for the use of synthetic pesticides or fertilizers, thus, limiting the expansion of organic production in tropical areas.
Certain subtropical areas are less humid, with lower annual rainfalls, but abundance of surface water available for irrigation, such as rivers. These areas have the appropriate conditions to grow organic produce in a natural way and satisfy the growing appetite for organic produce. We aspire to fulfill this gap and exploit the opportunity. | {
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...
> I think we have agreed that 'current' is a Bad Idea and should be
> eliminated from the date/time datatypes...
I've started purging it from the timestamp code I'm working on for 7.2.
Should be gone by the start of beta...
- Thomas | {
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Just when you thought continued belief in any of the various brands of "Peak Oil" theory could hardly become less sustainable, you get a week like this one. No matter whether you come at Peak Oil from the supply side or the demand side, several events this week would have had to put you in a definitively sour mood.
Starting off this "No Good Terrible Very Bad" week for the Peak Oilers, UN International Energy Agency (IEA) Executive Director Fatih Birol debunked a popular piece of the demand side of the theory. Speaking to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland on January 22, Birol told the delegates that “To say that the electric car is the end of oil is definitely misleading." Oh.
Birol expanded on that theme by adding emphatically that “Cars are not the driver of oil demand growth. Full stop." Birol made things even more problematic for those who wish to dramatically accelerate the displacement of internal combustion cars with EVs via massive subsidies for environmental reasons by pointing to the fact that EVs in fact do little to reduce emissions, pointing to the fact that most of the electricity globally is still generated using coal and other fossil fuels. “Where does the electricity come from, to say that electric cars are a solution to our climate change problem? It is not,” he said.
The second major theme of Birol's remarks also no doubt left Peak Oilers crestfallen, as he revealed that the IEA's projection for 2019 crude oil demand growth remains a robust 1.3 million barrels of oil per day despite a slowing global economy. (Note: The report itself has the estimate for 2019 at an even more robust 1.4 million bopd, so Birol may have misspoken.)
This represents a double whammy for the demand side of Peak Oil theory, since the theory always assumes that demand for crude oil can be reduced by slowing economic growth. Indeed, many of the adherents to this demand-side theory actively advocate for governments to pursue policies that would intentionally slow or eliminate economic growth.
Simply put: If the data and projections that Birol rolled out at Davos are accurate, then the often absurdly-aggressive projections of global demand for crude oil reaching its "peak" within a handful of years will have the revised.
But the capper of the week hit hard at the handful of die-hards who still cling bitterly to the belief that the world is running out of oil, and that global production either already has or soon will reach its "peak" and begin a gradual decline. This supply side of Peak Oil theory been repeatedly debunked in its various iterations since it first began to come up in the late 1800s.
This side of the theory was rendered pretty much moot with the advent of the shale era, which led its former advocates at places like the anti-fossil fuel Post-Carbon Institute to switch sides, and turn to demand-side advocacy instead. But for those hardy supply-side advocates still out there, January 24 went south in a hurry with the release of a new report from independent research firm Rystad Energy.
In this new report's base case, Rystad projects that the United States industry is poise to produce more than 24 million barrels of total petroleum liquids (crude oil, condensate and natural gas liquids) per day by the year 2025. If Rystad's projection comes to fruition, U.S. total liquids production would surpass that of Saudi Arabia and Russia combined in that year.
For context, and to understand the scale of the shale revolution in the U.S., the country's total liquids output as recently as 2008 was around seven million bopd. Barely a decade later, that number has jumped to roughly 15 million bopd. A jump of another nine million bopd in the next six years, as Rystad projects, almost defies belief.
Until, that is, one considers that the domestic oil and gas industry increased U.S. crude oil production alone by two million barrels per day from October 2017 through September 2018. So, a rise of nine million bopd in total liquids production over six years suddenly doesn't seem so unbelievable after all.
If supply-side Peak Oil theory was on life support before, Rystad's new data should kill it dead, although it will almost certainly pop up once again somewhere down the road. If history tells us anything about Peak Oil theory, it is that there will always be another set of opportunists ready to promote it in some form for their own purposes.
David Blackmon is an independent energy analyst/consultant based in Mansfield, TX. David has enjoyed a 39-year career in the oil and gas industry, the last 23 years of which were spent in the public policy arena, managing regulatory and legislative issues for various compan... | {
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NUCMC Printed Volumes
Volumes, 1-29 (1959-1993)
Descriptions of approximately 72,300 collections located in 1406 different
repositories with approximately 1,085,000 index references to topical subjects
and personal, family, corporate, and geographic names. All NUCMC printed
volumes are currently out of print.
Microfilm copies of these volumes may
be available at a charge of $85.00 per reel and
should be ordered
from:
Cataloging for the volumes from 1986/87 to 1993 is also available in
RLG Union Catalog. Publisher Chadwyck-Healey has
made available NUCMC cataloging from 1959 forward in its publication, ArchivesUSATM.
Chadwyck-Healey has also published an Index to Personal Names in the
National Union Catalog of Manuscript Collections, 1959-1984 (2 v., 1988), and an
Index to Subjects and Corporate Names in the National Union Catalog
of Manuscript Collections, 1959-1984 (3 v., 1994). | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
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Home > Blog > 3 Good Reasons CCTV Systems Are Important To Your Business
3 Good Reasons CCTV Systems Are Important To Your Business
CCTV systems are imperative to ensure commercial security in all kinds of businesses, be it an office or a local restaurant. CCTV surveillance systems are very effective in the following ways:
1. They are the perfect deterrent: The sight of CCTV cameras not only generally discourages burglars from pursuing their aim, but also puts off any troublemakers around the area.
2. They are Impenetrable: A well set up CCTV system is practically impenetrable, with multiple cameras keeping an eye on each other’s blind spots in addition to keeping an eye on the most vulnerable areas on your property and business – Hollywood movies make it seem easy to invade a CCTV system, however, this is certainly not the case.
3. They Provide You with Remote Surveillance: CCTV Surveillance is a great solution to keep an eye on your property or office in real time. In addition to keeping an eye out for vandals, you can also keep an eye on your employees to prevent unwanted employee behavior and increase their efficiency and productivity.
It is evident that they are indispensable, as they let you watch over these areas so they are protected at all times while also providing you with evidence in case something does go wrong. CCTV systems are imperative if you are at all to protect these spaces and safeguard your overall commercial security. | {
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} |
U.S. Supreme Court
Bank of the United States v. Tyler, 29 U.S. 4 Pet. 366 366 (1830)
Action by the endorsees against the endorser of a promissory note, drawn and endorsed in the State of Kentucky.
The statute of Kentucky authorizing the assignment of notes is silent as to the duties of the assignee or the nature of the contract created by the assignment. It only declares such assignments valid, and the assignee capable of suing in his own name. But the courts of that state have clearly defined his rights, duties, and obligations resulting from the assignment. The assignee cannot maintain an action on the mere nonpayment of the note and notice thereof until the holder of the note has made use of all due and legal diligence to recover the money from the drawer, whose engagement is held to be that he will pay the amount if after due and diligent pursuit the maker is found insolvent.
The principles of the law of Kentucky relative to the liability of endorsees of promissory notes and proceedings to establish the same, as settled by the decisions of the courts of Kentucky.
A judgment does not bind lands in the State of Kentucky. The lien attaches only from the delivery of the execution to the sheriff. It then binds real and personal property held by legal title. An execution, returned, is no lien on any property not levied on, and no new lien can be acquired until a new execution is put into the hands of the sheriff, and none can issue while a former levy is in force. Any delay then by the assignee enables the debtor to alienate his property in the interval between judgment and the execution reaching the sheriff, as well as between the return of one and the lien acquired by a new execution.
By the law of Kentucky, no equitable interest in real or personal property, unless it is held by mortgage, deed of trust, or other encumbrance, can be taken in execution. A capias ad satisfaciendum is the only mode by which the equitable estate of a debtor or his choses in action can be in any way reached by any legal process. It may be the means of coercing the payment of the debt, and it must therefore be used. The return of nulla bona to an execution is in that state the only evidence of there being no property of the debtor on which a levy can be made. It is not evidence of there being no equitable interest which is beyond the reach of such process, or of his not having that kind of property on which a levy can be made.
After judgment obtained in the circuit court of the United States against the drawer of the note, a capias ad satisfaciendum was issued against him by the holder, and he was put in prison. Two justices of the peace ordered his discharge, claiming to proceed according to the law of Kentucky in the case of insolvent debtors, and the jailer permitted him to leave the prison. The jailer made himself and his securities liable for an escape by permitting the prisoner to leave the prison. Held that the neglect of the holder of the note to proceed against the jailer and his securities prevents his making of the endorser liable for the amount of the note.
The Court finds no express decision of the courts of Kentucky enjoining a plaintiff who has sued the drawer of a promissory note and intends to charge the endorser to proceed against a jailer and his sureties when the defendant has been suffered to escape, yet by the spirit of all the decisions he is bound
to do so. The general principle of all the cases is that a plaintiff must pursue with legal diligence all his means and remedies, direct, immediate, or collateral, to recover the amount of his debt from the drawer of the note or of anyone else who has put himself or has by operation of law been put in his place.
The decision of this Court in the case of Bank of the United States v. Weisiger examined and confirmed.
This was an action by the Bank of the United States against Levi Tyler upon two promissory notes, one for $3,900, dated 2 May, 1821, and payable sixty days after date, drawn by Anderson Miller, in favor of John T. Gray. It was negotiable, and payable, without defalcation, at the office of discount and deposit of the Bank of the United States at Louisville, Kentucky, for value received. John T. Gray assigned the note to Levi Tyler, and Levi Tyler assigned it to the bank.
The other note was of the same date, for $3,800, payable to Samuel Vance, assigned by said Vance and by the defendant. In all other respects, it was like the note above stated.
On 24 September, 1821, suit was brought by the bank against the drawer, Anderson Miller, in the Circuit Court of the United States for the District of Kentucky, for the first mentioned note, and judgment was obtained at the November term, 1821.
On this judgment a fieri facias issued bearing date 29 December, 1821, returnable on the first Monday of March, being the 4th day of the month following, which was in the hands of the marshal on 19 January, 1822, and the plaintiffs introduced as a witness the clerk of the court, who stated that it had been his uniform habit, before and since the obtention of the said judgment, to issue executions on all judgments obtained at the last preceding term and place them in a window of his office, from whence it was the habit and custom of the marshal to take them. That it generally required from twelve to sixteen days after the
rising of the court to prepare and issue the executions of the preceding term. That at the November term of the court, at which the before-mentioned judgment was obtained, the court adjourned on 17 December.
To this fieri facias the marshal returned a levy, and that he had not time to sell before the return day. The return was filed 28 March, 1822. On 3 April, 1822, a venditioni exponas issued, returnable the first Monday in June. It was returned on 17 of June, "unsold for want of bidders," and the sale was postponed, and alias venditioni exponas issued, tested 17 June, returnable on the first Monday in September, returned on the 13th. The sales, amounting to $10.50, were credited to another execution.
26 September, 1822, another fieri facias issued, which was levied on slaves and sale made. It was returned 9 December, 1822. The proceeds of the sale were $1,300.
19 December, 1822, another fieri facias issued, and returned "levied on property mentioned, and not sold for want of time." This was returned on the first Monday in March, 1823.
20 March, 1823, a venditioni exponas issued and was returned "unsold, for want of bidders." The return was filed 30 June, returnable the first Monday in June.
1 July, 1823, another venditioni exponas issued, and was returned "unsold, for want of bidders." The return was filed 12 September, 1823.
19 September, 1823, another venditioni exponas issued, and the property was sold. The proceeds amounted to $4.50. It was returned 19 December, 1823.
19 December, 1823, another fieri facias issued, to March 1824, and was returned "no property found to satisfy the execution, or any part thereof." Returned 16 March, 1824.
16 March, 1824, a capias ad satisfaciendum issued under which the defendant was committed, and so
The proceedings in the suit against Anderson Miller on the other note were also given in evidence. They also terminated in his committal to prison.
On 27 March, 1824, two justices of Kentucky discharged Anderson Miller from prison.
Upon this evidence, the court instructed the jury to find for the defendant, and the jury found accordingly. The plaintiffs excepted, and the judge signed a bill of exceptions.
The plaintiffs offered witnesses to prove that Anderson Miller was notoriously insolvent when the note fell due, and had so continued ever since. The court rejected the evidence, and the plaintiffs excepted. This exception is stated in the bill.
The plaintiffs contend, that the court erred in charging the jury to find for the defendant because they say it was fully proved that due diligence was used against the drawer, and the remedies afforded by the law were exhausted without obtaining the money, and therefore they were entitled to recover from the endorser.
They contend also that under the circumstances of this case, the evidence offered of Miller's insolvency ought to have been received.
In this case the plaintiffs sue not as the endorsers of two notes, negotiable under the Statute of Anne, which has never been adopted in Kentucky, but as assignee for a valuable consideration of promissory notes, which are assignable by the laws of that state and on which the assignee may sue in his own name. 1 Kentucky Digest 99.
The first note was drawn by Anderson Miller, dated at Louisville, May 2, 1821, for $3,900, in favor of John T. Gray negotiable and payable sixty days after date, at the office of discount and deposit of the Bank of the United States, Louisville, Kentucky, for value received. The note was assigned in the following manner:
"For value received, I assign the within note to Levi Tyler or order, John T. Gray by Levi Tyler, his attorney. . . . For value received, I assign the within to the president, directors and company of the Bank of the United States, Levi Tyler."
As this note was drawn, assigned, and payable in Kentucky, the obligations and rights of the parties must depend on the laws of that state.
The statute authorizing the assignment of notes is silent as to the duties of the assignee or the nature of the contract created by the assignment. It only declares such assignment valid, and the assignee capable of suing in his own name, but the courts of that state have clearly defined the rights, duties, and obligation resulting from the assignment.
The assignee cannot maintain an action on the mere nonpayment of the note and notice thereof or of a protest to the assignor until the holder of the note has made use of all due and legal diligence to recover the money from the drawer. But if this fails, then the assignor may be resorted to on his assignment, which is held to be an engagement to pay the amount of the note if after due and diligent pursuit, the maker is insolvent. This contract results from the act of assignment, without any express agreement to be
answerable; the law is the same whether this contract is expressed in terms or is implied from the assignment; the rights and duties of the parties are the same in both cases. 4 Bibb 286; 1 Marsh. 229. This case may then be considered as an assignment of a promissory note, with an express promise by the assignor to pay if by legal process and due diligence the assignee is unable to recover the amount due from the drawer. Viewed in this light, the case is more readily comprehended.
The means which the assignee is bound to use, the time within which he must commence, and the diligence with which he must pursue his legal remedies against the maker and the extent to which he must carry them have been the subject of much litigation and discussion in the courts of Kentucky; they have, however, adopted the following as principles which must be taken to be the law of the state.
That the assignee is not bound to run a race against time, or to use extraordinary means; that he is not required to prosecute a drawer or obligor further than a man of ordinary prudence and diligence would do in a case where he was solely and exclusively interested. But in order to bring himself within these rules, he must commence a suit against the drawer at the first term after the note becomes due, if a judgment could be obtained then. He must sue within such time, before the term, as will authorize him to procedure judgment. After suit is brought, he must prosecute it to judgment without delay or giving time to the maker of the note. Though he is notoriously insolvent, and dies on the third day of the first term after the note becomes due, and no administration is taken out on his estate, the assignor is discharged if no suit has been brought. After judgment, there must be the same diligence in pursuing the debtor's property by execution as in the commencement of the suit. There must be no delay in putting the execution into the hands of the sheriff or in making sale of the property levied on; he must continue the process of execution until the property of the drawer is exhausted and the sheriff returns nulla bona to the last execution, and after his insolvency is thus ascertained, a capias ad satisfaciendum must be taken for his body,
and if he is committed, the assignee must show what has become of the debtor, and how he has been discharged.
If the debtor assigns property, it must be sold. If property is taken in execution and replevin bond given, the bond must be put in suit; if there is bail to the action, and the principal cannot be taken on a capias ad satisfaciendum, the bail must be pursued, and all incidental and collateral remedies which may accrue to the assignee must be adopted and prosecuted, and the discharge of the drawer by the insolvent act, at the suit of a third person, will be no excuse for any relaxation in the diligence required to fix the assignor, who is suable only after the exhaustion of all legal means of obtaining payment.
The cases on this subject have been collected in a note in 2 Pet. 338-340 [notes omitted -- see printed version], and were all cited and ably commented on by the counsel on both sides.
It is believed that the principles which exact such an unusual degree of vigilance from the assignee are peculiar to the jurisprudence of Kentucky, but they have been established by a long series of cases adjudged in their highest courts for many years; they have long formed the law of that state as to notes and bonds assigned under their statute, and the legislature has not thought proper to change it. The courts in Virginia have given a very different construction to their statute on the same object, and there are no decisions in any state which have extended the rule of diligence so far. But this Court has always felt itself bound to respect local laws, however peculiar, in all cases where they do not come in collision with laws of higher authority and more imposing obligation. Such a case is not presented in the record now under our consideration.
These are the duties imposed by the law of Kentucky on the assignees of promissory notes before they can commence a suit against the assignor on his promise. These rules are the law of this case, and although in our opinion they carry the doctrine of diligence to an extent unknown to the principles of the common law or the law of other states where bonds, notes, and bills are assignable, we must adopt them as the guide to our judgment. They must be considered with
a reference to the laws of Kentucky respecting judgments and executions in order to form a correct opinion of their true character. A judgment does not bind land in that state; the lien attaches only from the delivery of an execution to the sheriff; it then binds real and personal property, held by a legal title. An execution returned is no lien on any property not levied on, and no new one can be acquired until a new execution is put into the hands of the sheriff, and none can issue while a former levy is in force. 6 Kentucky Digest 485, sec. 8. Any delay then by the assignee enables the debtor to acquire, hold, or alienate his property in the interval between judgment and the execution reaching the sheriff, as well as between the return of one and the lien acquired by a new execution. There is therefore more reason in exacting strict diligence on the part of the assignee than in those states where real estate is bound by a judgment without an execution. On general principles, it is certainly a rule of very great "rigor" to require a capias ad satisfaciendum to be issued and served after a return of nulla bona. But as, by the law of Kentucky, no equitable interest in real or personal property, except where it is held or covered by mortgage, deed of trust, or other encumbrance can be taken in execution, a capias ad satisfaciendum is the only mode by which the equitable estate of the debtor or his choses in action can be in any way reached by any legal process. 1 Kent. Dig. 504, sec. 5, 505, sec. 6. It may be the means of coercing the payment of the debt, and it must therefore be used. The return of nulla bona to an execution, is, in that state, evidence only of there being no property of the debtor on which a levy can be made. It is not evidence of there being no equitable interests which are beyond the reach of legal process, or of his not having that kind of property on which no levy can be made. A debtor, confined by an execution from the federal courts, can only be discharged under the insolvent act of Congress passed January, 1800, the provisions of which are effectual to compel a disclosure of all his property. In the language of this Court,
"The coercive means of this law are to be found in the searching oath to be administered and in the fear of a
The creditor has a right to use these coercive means, and where he intends to make the insolvency of the debtor the ground of a resort to the assignor of the note on which the judgment was obtained, he is by the principles of the Kentucky decisions bound to use them to the full extent authorized by the laws of that state, as expounded by its highest judicial tribunals.
In discarding from our minds all considerations unconnected with the peculiar local law which governs this case, and considering it in all its bearings on both parties, we are not prepared to say that either has any right to complain of the severity of the rules which impose on them their respective obligations. If the law merchant were to govern, the plaintiff would be without remedy.
Suing as the endorser of a negotiable note, he must fail for want of a protest or demand of payment of the drawer and notice to the endorser. The diligence exacted of him is quite as extreme, if not more so, as when he sues as assignee. He must not give the drawer time for one day beyond the days of grace or what local usage permits. His notorious insolvency, his being discharged as an insolvent debtor or a certified bankrupt, will not excuse the holder. This Court has decided at this term, in the case of Bank of the United States v. Magruder, that where a drawer of a note dies before it becomes due, and the endorser administers on his estate, demand of payment and notice to the endorser are indispensable. No decisions in Kentucky on assigned notes establish a more rigid doctrine than is applicable to endorsers by the law merchant. In such cases, demand and notice are required to fix the endorser, because the debtor may pay by the interference of friends, not because he is supposed to have the means of doing it otherwise. It is too late to inquire into the reason of these rules, which have become settled and established as the general law of negotiable notes in the commercial world and of assignable notes in Kentucky. They must be submitted to as the law of the contract into which
the parties respectively enter on becoming endorsers in the one case, and assignees in the other. If it is not going beyond the principles of the common law of England and this country, it is at least extending them to their utmost limits to say that the assignor of a note, without fraud or a promise to pay in the event of the insolvency of the drawer, should be liable by the mere effect of the assignment, and that there is no difference between his assigning with or without an express promise. It is at least testing the contract of assignment by the rules of the summum jus. Neither the Statute of Anne or of any of the states of this union making notes assignable (so far as is known) expressly impose on the assignor any obligation which did not attach to the assignment of a chose in action at common law. Such assignment are recognized, and though the assignee cannot sue in his own name, his rights are as much protected in courts of law as those of assignees, by virtue of the statute. 3 Bibb 293; 4 Bibb 557. It is not easy to assign any sound reasons for construing the assignment as, per se, importing a higher obligation in the one case than the other. But the law of Kentucky has given this effect to assignments of notes under the statute of that state, and as the plaintiffs cannot sustain this action in their own name without the aid of the law, they must submit to the conditions which the settled judgments on the action have imposed on them. If, in availing themselves of this strict obligation imposed on the assignor, they find themselves compelled to use a corresponding degree of vigilance on their part exceeding that which is required in other states under similar statutes, this Court cannot afford them an exemption from its exercise. The local law is clearly settled, and we must submit to it, however we might be inclined to construe the law if it were now open to a construction more consistent with that which has been uniformly given to statutes authorizing the assignment of bonds, bills, and notes.
In the application of these rules to the first note which is the subject of this action, the defendant admits that up to the time of issuing the first execution, there has been no want of due diligence on the part of the plaintiff; but he alleges that from that time, there was unnecessary delay in various
particulars which have been pointed out and dwelt upon with much earnestness. As the statement of the case contains the teste, the return day, the day of the return of each execution, and the time of their coming to the hands of the marshal, it is unnecessary to examine in detail the alleged instances of negligence by the lapse of time: but there is one rule for which the defendant contends, which deserves some more particular notice.
By the fifth section of a law of Kentucky, passed in 1811, it is made the duty of the courts of that state, to appoint by rule of court, some day in each month as a general return day of execution. The provisions of this law having been carried into effect; the defendant insists, that in the exercise of the legal diligence incumbent on the plaintiff, he was bound to take out his execution returnable on some rule day, and attend at the office to watch its progress and effect. We think this would be applying the doctrine of diligence with unreasonable strictness. We find no decision which warrants the extension of it to so extreme a point, and we are not disposed to go one step in advance of the principles heretofore adopted. The case of Bank v. Weisiger is conclusive on this part of the defendant's case; it was there settled, that a lapse of thirty-six days between the judgment and the delivery of the execution to the marshal, did not amount to that want of diligence which exonerated the assignor of the note on which the judgment was obtained.
We have been furnished with no adjudged cases in Kentucky, which fix any definite time within which an execution must be made returnable. On examining the executions which have issued on the judgment on the first note, they are all returnable within three months from their teste, and no period of three months has been suffered to elapse, within which an execution has not been in the hands of the marshal, unless when writs of venditioni exponas were out, and they appear to have issued in all instances within that period. The greatest time which has intervened between the issuing of an execution and placing it in the hands of the marshal, appears to be thirty-one days, and from the return of one execution or venditioni, until the issuing of another, thirty
days, and we are not aware that in any of these cases there is any decision that this would be a want of diligence in the assignor. In the absence of any such decision, and feeling at liberty to decide upon them as open questions, we are of opinion, that the plaintiff, in the proceedings subsequent to the judgment, has at no time omitted to pursue the maker of this note with all the diligence which the law required of him. On this part of the case, we think the decision of this Court in the case of Bank of the United States v. Weisiger is strongly applicable. That was a case of the assignee against the assignor of a promissory note. Judgment was entered November term, 1821. Execution issued 29 December was placed in marshal's hands on 19 January, thirty-six days from the entry of judgment; returned nulla bona, at March term 1822, the 3d day of the month, and a capias ad satisfaciendum issued on 11 April, 1822, thirty-eight days from the return day of the fieri facias. This was held not to be such a want of diligence as exonerated the assignor. This decision seems to us to cover all the ground assumed by the plaintiff, up to the time of the discharge of Miller from his imprisonment on the capias ad satisfaciendum, and thus far we think he has done or omitted no act which has impaired his right of action.
It remains now to consider the last allegation of the want of diligence imputed to the plaintiff, and its effect on the suit. Miller was arrested and imprisoned on 27 March, 1824, and on the same day was discharged by the jailer, on the order of two justices of the peace, acting or pretending to act under a law of Kentucky, passed in 1820, 1 Kent.Dig. 503, sec. 1 and 3, abolishing imprisonment for debt, and authorizing a justice of the peace, on application of any person in jail or in prison bounds, on reasonable notice to the party at whose suit he has been committed, to issue an order for his discharge.
It is not necessary to inquire whether this law would apply to process from the federal courts, so as to legalize the discharge of a prisoner from the execution issued in this case, and protect the jailer and his sureties from an action by the plaintiffs for an escape. The laws of Kentucky on
this subject are too clear to admit of a doubt; they authorize the discharge of a debtor from imprisonment, on making a schedule of his property, surrendering it to the use of his creditors, and taking the oath prescribed. 1 Kent.Dig. 490-492, act of 1819; 564, act of 1821.
It was under this law that the justices acted in issuing the order of discharge. But it could not apply to a commitment by the marshal, under an execution from the federal courts, because an express provision was made by prior laws, which made it the duty of the jailer to safely keep such prisoners, until they shall be discharged according to the laws of the United States. 2 Kentucky Digest 676. The act of 1798 provides; that jailers shall receive into their custody all persons committed under the authority of the United States, and keep them safely, until discharged by the due course of the laws of the United States, and the jailer is subject to the same pains and penalties for neglect of duty, as if the commitment had been by state authority. By the act of 1800, the marshal of the United States has a right to use any prison for the imprisonment of anyone by legal process, in the same manner as the sheriff of a county may, if the prisoner was delivered by him, and this law was unrepealed, and in force, at the time of Miller's discharge. To entitle a debtor to a discharge under the insolvent law of January, 1800, he must give the creditor thirty days' notice of his application, and take an oath that he is not worth thirty dollars, &c.
The jailer was bound to take notice of this law, and of the laws of Kentucky, which required him to detain the prisoner until he complied with these provisions; he knew the conditions of his bond, and acted at his peril in releasing him; without one day's confinement, without notice, oath, or the order of the district judge. The discharge was wholly unauthorized and illegal; the order of the justices did not protect the jailer, and he was liable to the plaintiff in an action for the escape, to the full amount of the execution.
The act of 1812, 2 Kent. Dig. 679, requires all jailers to execute, in their county court, a bond with one or more approved sureties in at least the sum of $1,000,
and as much more as the court may deem proper, payable to the commonwealth and conditioned for the faithful discharge of the duties of the office of jailer, which may be put in suit by any person injured by his acts. And the act of 1811 enacts that where a bond is given by any public officer to the commonwealth, the recovery against the principal and his sureties shall not be limited to the penalty, but they shall be liable according to law and to the full extent of the official obligations of such officer as the same are enumerated in the condition of such bond. 2 Kent. Dig. 978.
The remedy thus afforded to the plaintiff was a substantial one, extending to his whole claim if the jailer or his securities were solvent. It was not indirect, remote, or doubtful. He had acquired a new security, of which the assignor had a right to claim the benefit, but which he could not use for his protection; the plaintiff could alone sue for the escape or bring an action on the jailer's official bond, which enured to his use, but not to the use of the defendant. If this new security had been a bond for the prison bounds, there would be no doubt that it would be his duty to pursue the parties to it before resorting to the defendant, and it was equally his duty to pursue the jailer, and his securities, on his bond of office.
The jailer had violated his duty; his bond became forfeited; he and his securities had put themselves in the place of the debtor, who was permitted to escape, and they thus assumed all his responsibility to the plaintiff. No event could arise by which they could be discharged. A voluntary return or a recaption of the prisoner would not avail them; they were under a stronger and more direct obligation to pay the money than special bail, against whom it is admitted that legal proceedings must be used with due diligence before resorting to the assignor.
Although we find no express decision by the courts of Kentucky enjoining on a plaintiff the necessity of suing a jailer and his securities for the escape of a prisoner, yet it seems to us that in the spirit of them all, he is bound to do so. The general principle of all the cases is that a plaintiff must pursue with legal diligence all his means and
remedies, direct, incidental, or collateral, to recover the amount of his debt from the defendant or anyone who has put himself or has by operation of law been put in his place. This the plaintiffs in this case have wholly omitted, with a plain, undoubted cause of action against the jailer and his sureties, with legal means of compelling them to pay to the whole extent of their estates, and, for ought which appears, to the full amount of his claim against Miller, the maker of the note in question. They have made no attempt to assert their rights against either. According to the spirit and principle of the Kentucky decisions, we are constrained to say this is not due diligence, but that kind of legal negligence which entitled the defendant to a judgment in his favor in the circuit court.
This view of the case renders it unnecessary to consider the effect of the proceedings on the second note, which were conducted with less diligence than those on the first.
Having thus disposed of the first error assigned by the plaintiff, it remains to consider the second, which is that the circuit court erred in rejecting the evidence offered of Miller's notorious insolvency at the time the note became due.
If the court is correct in overruling the exception taken to the charge of the circuit court, we cannot reverse their judgment for overruling this evidence. It did not conduce to prove any fact material to the issue between the parties, which was not whether Miller was in fact insolvent, but whether the plaintiff had by due diligence ascertained his insolvency by legal process commenced in time, diligently conducted till its final consummation, and by the exhaustion of all incidental and collateral remedies afforded by the law, without obtaining the debt. The proof, or the admission of actual insolvency, would in no wise relieve the plaintiffs from the duty imposed on them; it would not accelerate their right to sue the defendant or enlarge his obligation to pay, which did not arise by the mere insolvency of the maker of the note, but by its legal ascertainment in the manner prescribed by the judicial law of Kentucky. That law has been recognized by this Court in the case of Weisiger as
applicable to cases of this description. To decide now that the plaintiffs could avail themselves of the insolvency of the maker, unaccompanied with the diligent use of all legal remedies, and in a case where we are of opinion that the plaintiffs have not made use of the diligence which under the circumstances of this case it was incumbent on them to use, would be to disregard all the principles of Kentucky jurisprudence as evidenced by the received opinion, general practice, and judicial decisions of that state.
We think it is not an open question whether these principles shall be respected by this Court, and cannot feel authorized to depart from them in a case to which their application cannot be questioned.
The judgment of the circuit court is therefore affirmed with costs.
This cause came on to be heard on the transcript of the record from the Circuit Court of the United States for the Seventh Circuit and District of Kentucky and was argued by counsel, on consideration whereof it is ordered and adjudged by this Court that the judgment of the said circuit court in this cause be and the same is hereby affirmed with costs.
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Hoffenden had obtained a restraining order against Guy who fathered one of her children. However, Guy showed up at the apartment which led to both becoming involved in an argument before the woman was shot dead. [ Ow.ly Link ]
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Chairman of the ICWI Group and former president of the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica (PSOJ) Dennis Lalor gave a particularly sagacious address at the PSOJ’s 40th Anniversary Christmas Luncheon Thursday at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel in Kingston. [ Ow.ly Link ]
Having earned annually over one million Jamaican dollars through full-time hosting on Airbnb, the retired banker cautions that while the Christmas season income is looking “very merry” he is worried about the new year, as the Ministry of Tourism and Airbnb... [ Ow.ly Link ]
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Mayors See Infrastructure Investment As Key To Future As U.S. Metros Lead Nation’s Job Growth, But Many Still Lag Behind
Sara Durr
2 years ago
Washington, D.C. — While the nation’s metropolitan areas are economically strong with more than 300 metros experiencing job growth in 2016 and accounting for 95% of all the U.S. job gains last year, growth continues to remain uneven, with nearly one-third of metro cities (121) still not having recovered their lost jobs from the Great Recession, according to a report released today by the U.S. Conference of Mayors.
These metros are predominantly older Midwestern communities suffering from the loss of heavy manufacturing jobs and an aging population and infrastructure.
The report further forecasts that by the end of the decade (2020) nearly one in four U.S. metros (88) will have employment levels below their 2008 levels, representing a decade of lost jobs. For some metros, the loss of jobs has been even more prolonged, with 23 cities having fewer jobs today than in 1990. A large number of metros (140 or nearly 37%) for the same period experienced annual job growth of less than 1%.
Issued during Infrastructure Week in Washington, D.C., the mayors’ report also points to infrastructure spending as an economic tool that holds the promise of generating job growth across these metros. Such investment, if funneled directly to metro regions, can create jobs faster, relieve congestion, decrease costs to businesses and increase productivity—all of which further accelerates growth. The entire report and its key findings can be found here.
“Some of the oldest infrastructure is in the Rust Belt metros, which our data show have lagged the national recovery and expansion. And while infrastructure investment is not a cure-all, it can provide cities a “shot in the arm” to help jumpstart their local economies,” said U.S. Conference of Mayors President Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett.
But increased infrastructure spending is also needed in high growth areas. The report’s findings project that over the next 30 years, the U.S. metro population will grow by 66.7 million people, almost all of the nation’s total population growth. By 2047, 72 metros will have population exceeding 1 million, compared to only 53 in 2016. In addition, five metros will have over 10 million people by 2047 – whereas only 2 currently meet that benchmark. And as the metro areas grow, so will traffic congestion.
U.S. metros are already the most congested areas in the country. In fact, from 2013 to 2014, 95 of the nation’s largest 100 metros saw increased traffic congestion, up from 61 from 2012 to 2013. The price tag associated with this congestion, which is the value of wasted time and fuel, is estimated at $160 billion in 2014 for U.S. urban areas, or $960 per commuter.
Mayors maintain that infrastructure investment in roads, rails, bridges and other forms of transportation will help relieve the bottlenecks impeding economic expansion, noting for example, the 4.8 billion hours of travel delay Americans experienced in 2014.
“Infrastructure dollars should also be directed where the potential returns are greatest. Clearly, population and economic projections indicate that growth in the United States in the coming years will largely be in cities and their metropolitan areas,” said Louisville, KY Mayor Greg Fischer, Chair of the Conference’s Council on Metro Economies which produced the report. “If we ignore these trends without preparing for future growth, we will face unnecessary challenges to human, environmental, and economic health.”
Mayors consistently tout the strength of U.S. Metros that contribute 91% of the production of goods and services that make up the nation’s total gross domestic product (GDP). In fact, since January 2009, 315 metros, 83% of all metros, gained jobs. And twelve of those metros, led by Provo at 29% and Austin at 27%, exceeded a 20% growth rate over the 2009-2016 period.
“We need the Administration and Congress to fulfill their pledge to put real dollars directly into the nation’s metro cities, which are the engines of our national economy and have the best track record in delivering infrastructure on time and on budget,” said U.S. Conference of Mayors CEO and Executive Director Tom Cochran. “As we look toward the release of the federal budget, mayors are hopeful, as the President promised, that an infusion of federal infrastructure dollars to our cities and metro areas is forthcoming. Anything less will be wholly insufficient to meet the infrastructure needs of the country.” | {
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Monthly Archives: January 2018
Decisions, decisions. What should these stubby fingers be typing about this evening?? Our blogging buddy at The South Roane Agrarian has dropped a gauntlet in the form of a new header photo and a weekend reading list from a rather robust agrarian library. Facing off against such a collection will require significant grit. I may […]
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North Korea’s Nuclear Intentions, Out There for All to See
FOR much of the nuclear age, nations that sought the ultimate weapon kept their intentions and test sites veiled in secrecy, hidden from public view and foreign governments. The first detonations by the United States and the Soviet Union were top secrets and India’s test in 1998 caught American intelligence agencies by surprise.
No more, or so it seems. North Korea all but yelled “look at me” in announcing that it plans to conduct its first nuclear test, which experts say might come at any time or perhaps never. “Shouting from the rooftops is new,” said Robert S. Norris, author of “Racing for the Bomb” (Steerforth Press, 2002). “It’s an unusual way to go about asserting your status as a member of the nuclear club.”
What lies behind this outbreak of atomic exhibitionism? While deciphering the intentions of one of the world’s most cryptic regimes seems next to impossible, analysts say likely factors include North Korea’s taste for bold propaganda as well as its awareness that new classes of satellite technology are making it increasingly hard to hide nuclear sites anyway.
In the bad old days of the cold war, nations that aspired to nuclear fearsomeness wrestled with a fundamental conflict. While seeking to project a terrifying image, they also wanted to keep many test details secret so adversaries would face greater difficulty in crafting potential countermeasures and knowing the exact dimensions of the threat.
“If it was a dud, you didn’t want to announce that it was a dud,” recalled Philip E. Coyle III, a former head of weapons testing at the Pentagon and former director of nuclear testing for the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, a weapon design center in California.
Nuclear powers hid vast industrial complexes in the middle of nowhere and often tried to keep their tests secret. In 1949, it took weeks for Washington to find out that Moscow had detonated a bomb that ended the American atomic monopoly.
The United States responded with a costly array of instruments meant to pull back the veil — everything from high-flying planes that could sniff out whiffs of stray radioactivity to giant microphones that listened for the distant nuclear rumbles. Jeffrey T. Richelson, who profiles the era in “Spying on the Bomb” (Norton, 2006), said the gargantuan effort cost billions.
Today, a new factor is opening the secretive art to the public: a generation of commercial satellites that can peer down from the heavens to see objects on the ground as small as two or three feet wide, enough to distinguish between a car and a truck. The orbiting eyes can ogle hot tubs and backyard trampolines as well as troop movements and dictators’ lairs, undermining what was once a government monopoly on such reconnaissance.
Last week, CNN broadcast satellite images of what it called a potential test site located in a valley in North Korea not far from its northeastern coast. Pentagon sources, CNN reported, confirmed suspicious movements there of people, equipment and vehicles that tended to buttress North Korea’s claim that it could detonate a bomb.
GeoEye, a provider of commercial satellite pictures based in Dulles, Va., made available to The New York Times images of the same military complex, but focusing on a rocky site farther up the rugged valley. On July 31, the company’s satellite looked down from a height of nearly 300 miles, its camera and telescope zooming in on what appears to be a tunnel entrance dug into the flank of a high mountain and, nearby, buildings that could store mining equipment.
“We provide customers with a map-accurate view of the ground they can’t get any other way,” said Mark E. Brender, a company spokesman. “Eyes in the sky are good for governments in the region who are concerned about this, and good for customers who need to know as much as they can about what may be going on in North Korea.”
American officials say government spy satellites monitor about a half-dozen suspicious sites in North Korea but have also focused on the military base.
The much-scrutinized base would be an ideal spot for North Korea to set off an underground nuclear blast if it wanted to make a splash. A senior American intelligence official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of federal secrecy rules, noted that the mountainous redoubt “is a place they know we’re looking at.”
Along with lots of civilians. Google Earth, on the Web at earth.google.com, features some of the best public snooping on the isolated base, its software combining close-up images and altitude data so the surrounding mountains rise up in three dimensions. A viewer can zoom overhead like a spy plane. The images come from DigitalGlobe, a satellite company in Longmont, Colo.
Google views of the tunneling area, near 41.279 degrees north latitude and 129.087 east longitude, show a set of industrial buildings and what appears to be a mine entrance.
For North Korea, the emergence of the commercial spies would seem to cut two ways, either reinforcing its propaganda effort or threatening to undermine it by exposing a ruse.
And paradoxically, the best monitor of its actions, the world’s largest and most sensitive network meant to detect nuclear blasts, run out of Vienna by the United Nations, is powerless to judge the North’s real intentions until there is a test. This network, with its global arrays of hundreds of sensors, is meant to police a shaky global ban on the explosive tests, mainly by listening for the faint reverberations of shock waves.
If North Korea decides to go ahead and press the button, this network will help discern exactly what North Korea has succeeded in developing by way of nuclear arms — or not.
“Until they do, people can argue about their capability,” said Dr. Coyle, the weapons expert. “But once they test, there’s no question. The world will know.”
A version of this article appears in print on , on Page WK5 of the New York edition with the headline: North Korea’s Nuclear Intentions, Out There for All to See. Order Reprints|Today's Paper|Subscribe | {
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POLICE QUOTA LAWSUIT FILED
William B. Crawford Jr. and Patrick ReardonCHICAGO TRIBUNE
Already under siege by the Reagan administration, Chicago`s hiring quotas to improve minority representation on the police department were attacked Wednesday in a lawsuit charging that the quotas discriminate against women and white men.
The suit was filed on behalf of 32 white men, two white women and one black woman who took the 1981 police test but have not been hired.
They contend that the 1981 hiring list is being discarded because there are no longer any black or Hispanic men on the list to permit city officials to meet quotas approved by U.S. District Judge Prentice Marshall.
A new police test is to be given in June to develop a new hiring list, according attorney Patrick Murphy, who filed the lawsuit.
The 35 police applicants are asking Marshall to declare the quotas unconstitutional and to require the police department to continue hiring from the 1981 list.
Their lawsuit comes two days after the civil rights division of the U.S. Justice Department filed a motion in Indianapolis attempting to overturn hiring quotas for the Indianapolis police and fire departments.
That motion represented the first time the government had initiated legal action to rescind court-imposed quotas. However, it came at the end of more than four months of attempts by federal officials to convince more than 40 states, counties and cities--including Chicago--to request the elimination of such quotas.
Justice Department officials have warned that they will act on their own, as they did in Indianapolis, if local governments do not agree to join in seeking to overturn their hiring and promotion quotas.
Chicago officials expect the Justice Department to follow through with that threat in a move against the hiring and promotion quotas for the city`s police and fire departments, and they have vowed to fight it.
The Justice Department has been moving to overturn such quotas--most of which were imposed in the 1970s at its urging--because of an interpretation of a 1984 U.S. Supreme Court decision in a case involving Memphis firefighters.
Under that interpretation, all quotas are illegal unless they are established to aid the actual victims of previous discrimination.
Murphy cited the Memphis case in his lawsuit on behalf of the Chicago police applicants.
Potentially more important, Murphy said, is a case the U.S. Supreme Court has recently agreed to hear in which white school teachers in Detroit contend that they were victims of discrimination in promotions because of quotas.
''You should not discriminate against anyone because of color,'' Murphy said. ''My personal feeling is that the quotas have caused tremendous hard feelings. You just have to hire the best person.''
In the spring of 1981, the city submitted to Marshall a voluntary quota system to enhance the opportunities of blacks, Hispanics and women to become police officers. Under the plan, which Marshall eventually approved, the city agreed to hire 35 percent black and Hispanic-surnamed men, 34 percent white men and 31 percent women.
City officials have previously said those percentages mirrored the percentages of people who passed the test.
Murphy said passing scores on the test ranged from 86 to 113, and some of the men and women he is representing scored higher than 100. | {
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Volume
101
Issue
1
First Page
13
Last Page
23
Abstract
Feeding habits of spotted sand bass Paralabrax maculatofasciatus, in Laguna Ojo de Liebre, B.C.S., Mexico, were analyzed. According to relative importance index the amphipod Corophium spp., isopod Paracerceis spp., polychaetes Pherusa spp., crabs Callinectes bellicosus and fish were the most important items. Seasonal variations were observed during May-September, Corophium spp. and Paracerseis spp. were the most important prey, whereas C. bellicosus and fish were important during November. The smaller spotted sand bass fed mainly on amphipods, isopods and mollusks, whereas the largest bass fed on crabs and Octopus spp. No trophic overlap was found between size-intervals of spotted sand bass. We concluded that P. maculatofasciatus are carnivorous predators that feed mainly on epibenthic invertebrates. | {
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Enter a search term for instant results
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Why Does Penn State Basketball’s Student Section Suck?
Penn State has gone through some tough times with its basketball program over the last few years — well, for a lot of years, but the last decade has been especially frustrating. The team has perpetually sucked, even with the silver lining of players the caliber of D.J. Newbill and Tim Frazier. The venue sucks for basketball. The lack of national exposure sucks. Really, everything about Penn State hoops — except for a few players, a small, passionate fanbase, and the fact that Pat Chambers is a P.R. wizard — sucks.
However, one thing that sucks more than anything else, more than losing or the BJC or the heartburn you get after having nine $1 hot dogs, is the crowds at games. Mother of God, the crowds at Penn State basketball games — the crowds that I’m usually a part of — are quite possibly the most pathetic crowds in all of major college basketball.
People seem to forget that just three years ago, Penn State was one of the 64 best college basketball teams in America. Led by seniors Talor Battle and Jeff Brooks, the Bryce Jordan Center was routinely packed, and Nittany Lion fans were awesome. The baseline was always full and the seats behind both baskets were full for most of the conference games, too. There was no talk of it being a terrible student section, because that would have been a lie. Fans weren’t as passionate as they are at elite basketball schools, but the BJC was still an intimidating place to play.
Hell, look at 2009, when Penn State won the NIT. A total of 36 busses carried fans from State College to Madison Square Garden, where Nittany Lion fans gave the team a home court advantage in the World’s Most Famous Arena. But something has changed, despite Pat Chambers being out in the community trying to sell tickets far more than Ed DeChellis ever was. For some reason, driving to MSG was easier than “go to a game in 2014 and act like you have a pulse.”
Here’s how bad it is: This season, Penn State men’s basketball has played 13 games at the Bryce Jordan Center, a venue that holds just over 15,200 people for basketball games. In those 13 games, the Nittany Lions have drawn approximately 5,950 people on average. Nobody goes to games. There can be excellent promotions or an elite opponent, and yet for some reason, the BJC is perpetually empty.
But the emptiness isn’t always the problem; sometimes it’s the lifelessness. Take, for example, Sunday’s 60-55 loss against Illinois. As a student body, we knew that Illinois was bringing more than 100 students to the game, with the intent of embarrassing our school. There’s a reason Orange Krush does this little stunt against Penn State and not Michigan State or Indiana — those schools have student sections that would never allow that to happen.
They came. They did exactly what they said they would do: wore Penn State colors until the tip, then ripped it off to reveal their Illini gear, and spent the rest of the game cheering. 150 people from Illinois tucked into a far corner of the BJC? That shouldn’t have made any impact.
Instead, 150 Illinois students were more raucous, better choreographed, and more into the game than the several hundred members of Penn State’s student section. At one point during a media time out — when about 90 percent of the student section sat down — Orange Krush chanted “STAND UP!” It was the kind of thing that would have embarrassed any competent student section. However, it motivated a small portion of students to be louder…and those were the students (mostly hardcore members of Nittany Nation) who didn’t sit down during the media time out in the first place.
There are a variety of reasons why things like that happen, and the debate flared up once again after the game on Twitter. The main reason, of course, is the team’s performance and lack of tradition that helps ignite the fanbase.
A handful of students, who are usually the most passionate, sit directly behind the basket opposite of the band, and are rendered useless once the opposing team is going towards the opposite hoop. The rest are scattered haphazardly courtside opposite of the benches. Sometimes they cheer. Sometimes they don’t. Sometimes they stand. Sometimes they sit down. If you made a movie about a bad basketball team, and needed a student section that reflected its incompetence, it would be modeled after Penn State’s courtside student section.
A lot of this is due to this weird feeling of apathy that Penn State students have towards the basketball team. There are approximately 40,000 people on campus. The fact that 1,500 or so students can’t find a way to give a shit about their college basketball team is completely mind blowing.
As for solutions to this obvious problem, that’s tough. The easiest solution is to put out a product that people want to see, which is fair. The team is 34-52 since Chambers took over and, by all accounts, has underperformed this season. But that shouldn’t matter. All over the country, fans show up to games, and Penn State is constantly the butt of multiple jokes for being awful.
There also needs to be a way to get students involved in cheers to make the section better choreographed. Usually, it’s just the front few rows of Nittany Nation diehards that actually do the chants and cheers. “Go….State Go” just isn’t getting anyone pumped up anymore. Hell, most of the chants are started by the band — that should never be the case.
One day, hopefully, getting people to games won’t be an issue. Hopefully students will finally see a team that they have no qualms about supporting, and losses happen less frequently than wins. But that’s not happening now. Now, Penn State basketball’s student section is, quite possibly, the worst in the major conferences.
Unfortunately, until the students give a shit, that’s not going to change.
The men of Mute Cities don’t want to be the usual, run-of-the-mill bar band. They have aspirations beyond State College, not wanting to be stuck in the trap of being a band that never gets out of Happy Valley.
A Pennsylvania Disciplinary Board hearing began on Tuesday in Pittsburgh for former Penn State general counsel Cynthia Baldwin, who is accused of violating rules of professional conduct in her representation of former university administrators during the Jerry Sandusky investigation. | {
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Etsy Store
About Me
Handmade Artists Forum
Virtual Craft Store
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Dream Again Jewelry by Stephanie
Stephanie walked into her first bead store at the age of twenty and never looked back. Overcome by the sheer number and types of beads in the shops, she bought a few things ~ some African Trade Beads, leather, and clasps, and she was hooked. She's been making one of a kind, handmade jewelry ever since, and is completely self-taught.
Growing up in the country in a small town in California, she was surrounded by creatures, domesticated and wild, from chickens to wild turkeys, from dogs to coyotes. The family business was grapes, and says Stephanie, "we had lots and lots of grapes." Being the firstborn in her family, she admits to being spoiled by her mother and attributes this to the beginning of her love for "pretty things."
Stephanie's original creations are made with with pliers and wire, chain, beads, and stones. When inspiration strikes, she starts dreaming up new ideas, which she turns into reality. She also does custom work and says, " I want to make your dreams a reality." To enjoy Stephanie's work, visit her Etsy store, "Dream Again Jewelry": http://www.etsy.com/shop/DreamAgainJewelry | {
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Indications and Ethical Considerations of Deep Brain Stimulation
Summary
Electrical impulses through chronically implanted electrodes in the human brain are used today in the relief of chronic crippling pain, motor movement disorders and behavior disturbances. A great number of reports from animal studies and several descriptions of the results produced by human Stimulation seem to suggest that pain can often be adequately controlled. However, the perspectives of such methods raise many ethical problems and ask for caution. Nervous tissue damage after long-term Stimulation, biochemical modifications, electrode migration and long-term follow-up of its clinical value are still under study and are the factors which might limit for the time being the indications. A restrictive role for this procedure is advocated for: 1. cases of chronic facial pain, 2. cases of chronic pain in other locations where other neurosurgical Operations have failed and where the patient is not too young and is not suffering from pain of benign origin. | {
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News
Bárðarbunga - updated information
A fissure eruption started in Holuhraun, north of Dynjujökul around midnight.
Seismic activity has decreased as a result of the pressure release, however a significant amount of earthquakes is still detected in the magma dike, between the eruption site and south to about 5 km into Dyngjujökull.Strongest events were 3.8 in the caldera of Bárðarbunga at 04:37, as well as 2.9 at 05:39 and 3.5 at 06:38 in the dike. These earthquake are very closely monitored, but no significant change volcanic activity following these has been observed so far.
The color aviation code for Bárðarbunga was raised to red (eruption is imminent or in progress - significant emission of ash into atmosphere likely) during the night, and brought back to orange (Volcano shows heightened or escalating unrest with increased potential of eruption) this morning. In the meanwhile, Askja volcano (roughtly 50 km NE of Bárðarbunga) has switched from green (Volcano is in typical background, non-eruptive state) to yellow (Volcano is exhibiting signs of elevated unrest above known background level). | {
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Kent pile on the runs
Kent scored 300 runs in the day to grind home their first-innings advantage over Leicestershire and reach 404 for six, an overall lead of 263 runs at the mid-point of their LV= County Championship Division Two game.
Resuming on their overnight position of 104 for two – in response to Leicestershire’s modest 141 all out – Kent spent two sessions doggedly enforcing their lead.
Centurion Michael Powell and James Tredwell cracked on in the final hour to add an unbroken 92 for the seventh wicket against a weary Foxes attack.
The second day started with Kent skipper Rob Key and overseas player Brendan Nash at the helm, with both seemingly hell-bent on grinding the visiting attack into the dirt.
Michael Powell completed his second century of the season for Kent as they continued to dominate proceedings against Leicestershire
Nash at least played some attacking strokes in his innings of 76 with eight fours, while Key appeared content to drop anchor as he batted almost six hours for a dogged 85.
Their third-wicket stand of 131 in 43 overs ended almost without a murmur when Nash, driving at a low full toss from Wayne White, picked out Greg Smith in the gully to stun the Kent members.
Winter recruit Powell added 86 in tandem with Key until, just 15 short of his first hundred of the season, the Kent skipper chopped on against Josh Cobb to make it 253 for four.
Stroke-maker Darren Stevens upped the tempo with a chancy but quickfire innings of 23 from 33 balls that ended all too soon when the right-hander miscued an attempted sweep and picked out Cobb at mid-on, with Kent already 151 ahead.
Geraint Jones perished soon after tea when, in attempting to drive, the toe of his bat hit the ground and inadvertently scooped the ball to Jacques du Toit at short extra-cover.
Though visiting skipper Matthew Hoggard continued to ring the changes - he used eight bowlers in all - neither Powell nor Tredwell could be dislodged thereafter.
Powell, who hit his maiden century for Kent against Northamptonshire at Wantage Road in April, reached the three-figure milestone for the first time at Canterbury, after four hours and from 246 balls.
He duly punched the air with delight, before accelerating his scoring rate in the six remaining overs as Kent hammered home their dominance ahead of the third day of four. | {
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Reijo Ruotsalainen started his career in Kärpät. From his early days, "Reksa" was recognized as a talented defenseman while playing for Kärpät Junior teams.
Kärpät, along with Ruotsalainen, got promoted to SM-liiga from 1. Divisioona for the 1977–78 season, and Ruotsalainen played 30 games and posted 23 points in his first SM-liiga season.
During the 1979–80 season, Ruotsalainen and Kärpät played in the SM-liiga Playoffs, but were eliminated from the Finals by HIFK. Kärpät, however, won the bronze medal series, 2-0, against TPS, and Ruotsalainen along with Kärpät got to enjoy their first medals in SM-liiga history.
The 1980–81 season proved to be a breakthrough for Ruotsalainen. Kärpät broke their way through to finals against Tappara. Before the fifth and decisive game, the series was tied 2 games to 2. After the first period, Tappara was leading 2-0 but Kärpät made a spectacular comeback and won the game 5-2.
Ruotsalainen was signed by the New York Rangers of the NHL in 1981. During his debut season, Ruotsalainen scored 56 points in 78 games.
Ruotsalainen, initially paired on defense with Barry Beck, was eventually moved to forward. His Head Coach Herb Brooks said that Ruotsalainen was the best skater in NHL. Ruotsalainen's fluid skating helped him compensate for his lack of size (Ruotsalainen was 1,73m tall).
Ruotsalainen had his NHL-career high in points during the 1984–85 NHL season, when he scored 73 points in 80 games and led the Rangers in scoring. Ruotsalainen played in the 1986 NHL All-Star game.
Ruotsalainen's contract expired after the conclusion of the 1985–86 NHL season. Ruotsalainen was without a team before the start of the 1986–87 NHL season, and accepted an offer from SC Bern, a Swiss team that played in Swiss Nationalliga A.
Ruotsalainen played in 35 games and scored 53 points for SC Bern before returning to the NHL.
Ruotsalainen was acquired by SM-liiga team Tappara for reminder of 1993–94 season. Ruotsalainen played six regular season games with Tappara and scored 6 points. Ruotsalainen played in the SM-liiga Playoffs with 3 points in 9 games. Tappara however did not have any success in the playoffs and they were eliminated by TPS in Semifinals.
After his season in Zürich, Ruotsalainen decided to end his career in Finland. Ruotsalainen played for Kärpät in the Finnish 1. Divisioona for two more seasons, scoring 31 points in 44 games during his Final season. | {
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Tags: 2014, Drama, Film My Sister The Never Ending Story Of A Sex Toy, Film My Sister The Never Ending Story Of A Sex Toy 2014, My Sister The Never Ending Story Of A Sex Toy, My Sister The Never Ending Story Of A Sex Toy 2014, Romance, Subtitle Indonesia, Thriller | {
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} |
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Start PreambleStart Printed Page 41930
AGENCY:
Department of Health and Human Services.
ACTION:
Proposed rule.
SUMMARY:
This proposed rule would implement standards for States related to reinsurance and risk adjustment, and for health insurance issuers related to reinsurance, risk corridors, and risk adjustment consistent with title I of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act as amended by the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010, referred to collectively as the Affordable Care Act. These programs will mitigate the impact of potential adverse selection and stabilize premiums in the individual and small group markets as insurance reforms and the Affordable Insurance Exchanges (“Exchanges”) are implemented, starting in 2014. The transitional State-based reinsurance program serves to reduce the uncertainty of insurance risk in the individual market by making payments for high-cost cases. The temporary Federally-administered risk corridor program serves to protect against uncertainty in the Exchange by limiting the extent of issuer losses (and gains). On an ongoing basis, the State-based risk adjustment program is intended to provide adequate payments to health insurance issuers that attract high-risk populations (such as individuals with chronic conditions).
DATES:
To be assured consideration, comments must be received at one of the addresses provided below, no later than 5 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (E.S.T.) on September 28, 2011.
ADDRESSES:
In commenting, please refer to file code CMS-9975-P. Because of staff and resource limitations, we cannot accept comments by facsimile (Fax) transmission.
You may submit comments in one of four ways (please choose only one of the ways listed):
1. Electronically. You may submit electronic comments on this regulation to http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the instructions under the “More Search Options” tab.
(Because access to the interior of the Hubert H. Humphrey Building is not readily available to persons without Federal government identification; commenters are encouraged to leave their comments in the CMS drop slots located in the main lobby of the building. A stamp-in clock is available for persons wishing to retain a proof of filing by stamping in and retaining an extra copy of the comments being filed.)
If you intend to deliver your comments to the Baltimore address, please call telephone number (410) 786-9994 in advance to schedule your arrival with one of our staff members.
Comments mailed to the addresses indicated as appropriate for hand or courier delivery may be delayed and received after the comment period.
Submission of comments on paperwork requirements. You may submit comments on this document's paperwork requirements by following the instructions at the end of the “Collection of Information Requirements” section in this document.
For information on viewing public comments, see the beginning of the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section.
Start Further Info
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Sharon Arnold at (301) 492-4415 for general information.
Wakina Scott at (301) 492-4393 for matters related to reinsurance and risk corridors.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Submitting Comments: We welcome comments from the public on all issues set forth in this proposed rule to assist us in fully considering issues and developing policies. Comments will be most useful if they are organized by the section of the proposed rule to which they apply. You can assist us by referencing the file code [CMS-9975-P] and the specific “issue identifier” that precedes the section on which you choose to comment.
Inspection of Public Comments: All comments received before the close of the comment period are available for viewing by the public, including any personally identifiable or confidential business information that is included in a comment. We post all electronic comments received before the close of the comment period on the following public Web site as soon as possible after they have been received: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the search instructions on that Web site to view public comments. Comments received timely will be available for public inspection as they are received, generally beginning approximately 3 weeks after publication of a document, at Room 445-G, Department of Health and Human Services, Hubert H. Humphrey Building, 200 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20201, Monday through Friday of each week from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. To schedule an appointment to view public comments, call 1-800-743-3951.Start Printed Page 41931
I. Background
A. Legislative Overview
Starting in 2014, individuals and small businesses will be able to purchase private health insurance through State-based competitive marketplaces called Affordable Insurance Exchanges, or “Exchanges.” Exchanges will offer Americans competition, choice, and clout. Insurance companies will compete for business on a level playing field, driving down costs. Consumers will have a choice of health plans to fit their needs. And Exchanges will give individuals and small businesses the same purchasing clout as big businesses. The Departments of Health and Human Services, Labor, and the Treasury (the Departments) are working in close coordination to release guidance related to Exchanges in several phases. The first in this series was a Request for Comment relating to Exchanges, published in the Federal Register on August 3, 2010. Second, Initial Guidance to States on Exchanges was issued on November 18, 2010. Third, a proposed rule for the application, review, and reporting process for waivers for State innovation was published in the Federal Register on March 14, 2011. Fourth, two proposed regulations, including this one, are published in this issue of the Federal Register to implement components of the Exchange and health insurance premium stabilization policies in the Affordable Care Act.
Section 1341 of the Affordable Care Act provides that each State must establish a transitional reinsurance program to help stabilize premiums for coverage in the individual market during the first three years of Exchange operation (2014-2016). Section 1342 provides that the Secretary must establish a transitional risk corridor program that will apply to the qualified health plans in the individual and small group markets for the first three years of Exchange operation (2014-2016). Section 1343 provides that each State may establish a program of risk adjustment for all non-grandfathered plans in the individual and small group market both inside and outside of the Exchange. These risk-spreading mechanisms, which will be implemented by the Secretary and the States, are designed to mitigate the potential impact of adverse selection and provide stability for health insurance issuers in the individual and small group markets.
Section 1321(a) also provides broad authority for the Secretary to establish standards and regulations to implement the statutory requirements related to Exchanges, reinsurance, risk adjustment, and other components of title I of the Affordable Care Act. Section 1321(a)(2) requires, in issuing such regulations, the Secretary to engage in stakeholder consultation in a way that ensures balanced representation among interested parties. We describe the consultation activities the Secretary has undertaken later in this introduction. Section 1321(c)(1) authorizes the Secretary to establish Exchanges and implement reinsurance, risk adjustment and other components of title I of the Affordable Care Act in States that have not done so.
B. Introduction
Underpinning the goals of high-quality, affordable health insurance coverage is the need to minimize the possible negative effects of adverse selection. Adverse selection occurs when each new health insurance purchaser understands his or her own potential health risk better than health insurance insurers do, and health insurance issuers are therefore less able to accurately price their products.
To avoid adverse selection, issuers may set premiums higher than necessary in order to offset the potential expense of high-cost enrollees. This uncertainty could also result in an issuer being more cautious about offering certain plan designs in the Exchange. This risk will be greatest in the first years of the Exchange, and become less as the new market matures and issuers learn more about new enrollees.
As experience in States has shown, offsetting the adverse selection from insurance reforms may be best accomplished by broadening the risk pool: making coverage affordable through lower premiums and targeted financial assistance and making coverage a responsibility so that people pay premiums in sickness and in health. In addition, to minimize the negative effects of adverse selection and foster a stable marketplace from year one, the Affordable Care Act establishes transitional reinsurance and temporary risk corridor programs, and a permanent risk adjustment program to provide payments to health insurance issuers that cover higher-risk populations and to more evenly spread the financial risk borne by issuers.
The transitional reinsurance program and temporary risk corridor program, which begin in 2014, are designed to provide issuers with greater payment stability as insurance market reforms are implemented. The reinsurance program, which is a State-based program, will reduce the uncertainty of insurance risk in the individual market by making payments for high-cost cases. This program will attenuate individual market rate increases that might otherwise occur because of the immediate enrollment of individuals with unknown health status, potentially including, at the State's discretion, those currently in State high risk pools. The risk corridor program, which is a Federally-administered program, will protect against uncertainty in setting rates in the Exchange by limiting the extent of issuer losses (and gains). Under the risk corridor program, an issuer of a qualified health plan (QHP) plan whose gains are greater than three percent of the issuer's projections must remit charges to HHS, while HHS must make payments to an issuer of a QHP plan that experiences losses greater than three percent of the issuer's projections. On an ongoing basis, the risk adjustment program is intended to provide adequate payments to health insurance issuers that attract high-risk populations (such as those with chronic conditions). Under this program, generally, funds are transferred from issuers with lower risk enrollees to issuers with higher risk enrollees. Section 1343 indicates that the Secretary may utilize criteria and methods similar to the criteria and methods utilized under part C or D of title XVIII of the Social Security Act. Proposed standards for these critical programs are addressed in this proposed rule. The chart below summarizes theses programs:Start Printed Page 41932
Program
Reinsurance
Risk corridors
Risk adjustment
What
Provides funding to plans that enroll highest cost individuals
Limit issuer loss (and gains)
Transfers funds from lowest risk plans to highest risk plans.
Program Oversight
State or State Option if no State-Run Exchange
HHS
State Option in a State-Run Exchange.
Who Participates
All issuers and TPAs contribute funding; non-grandfathered individual market plans (inside and outside the Exchange) are eligible for payments
Qualified Health Plans (QHPs)
Non-grandfathered individual and small group market plans, inside and outside the Exchange.
When
Throughout the year 2014-2016
After reinsurance and risk adjustment 2014-2016
After end of benefit year 2014 and subsequent years.
Why
Offsets high cost outliers
Protect against inaccurate rate-setting
Protects against adverse selection.
Time Frame
3 years (2014-2016)
3 years (2014-2016)
Permanent.
On August 3, 2010, HHS published a Request for Comment (RFC) inviting the public to provide input regarding the rules that will govern the Exchanges and related functions such as reinsurance and risk adjustment. In particular, HHS asked States, tribal representatives, consumer advocates, employers, issuers, and other interested stakeholders to comment on the types of standards Exchanges and related functions should be required to meet. The comment period closed on October 4, 2010. In this proposed rule, we do not directly respond to comments from the RFC; however, we generally describe the comments received at the beginning of each subpart and refer to them, where applicable, when discussing specific regulatory proposals. We intend to respond to comments from the RFC, along with comments received on this proposed rule, as part of the final rule. We also plan to disseminate parameters that will rely on factors that may change each year, such as the national reinsurance contribution rate and the Federally-certified risk adjustment model, in an annually updated Federal notice of benefit and payment parameters. In addition to the RFC, we have consulted with stakeholders through weekly meetings with the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, regular contact with States that received Exchange planning grants, and meetings with tribal representatives, health insurance issuers, trade groups, consumer advocates, employers, and other interested parties.
II. Provisions of the Proposed Regulation
A. Subpart A—General Provisions
1. Basis and Scope (§ 153.10)
Section 153.10(a) of subpart A specifies that the general statutory authority for the standards proposed in part 153 are based on the following sections of title I of the Affordable Care Act: sections 1321 and 1341-1343. Section 153.10(b) specifies that this part establishes standards for the establishment and operation of a transitional reinsurance program, temporary risk corridors, and a permanent risk adjustment program.
2. Definitions (§ 153.20)
Under § 153.20, we set forth definitions for terms that are used throughout part 153. Many of the definitions presented in § 153.20 are taken directly from the Affordable Care Act, from existing regulations, or from § 155.20 of the notice of proposed rulemaking entitled “Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act; Establishment of Exchanges and Qualified Health Plans,” published in this issue of the Federal Register. New definitions were created for the purposes of carrying out regulations proposed in part 153. When a term is defined in part 153 other than in subpart A, the definition of the term is applicable only to the relevant subpart or section. The application of the terms defined in this section is limited to this proposed rule.
Specifically, several terms are defined by the Affordable Care Act, including “individual market” (section 1304(a)(2)), “qualified health plan” (section 1301(a)(1)), and “health plan” (section 1301(b)(1)). The definition for an “Exchange” is drawn from the statutory text in section 1311(d)(1) and 1311(d)(2)(A). The term “State” is also taken directly from section 1304(d) of the Affordable Care Act to mean the 50 States and the District of Columbia.
Some definitions were taken from other interim final regulations issued pursuant to the Affordable Care Act, including the term “grandfathered plan” from § 147.140. The definitions for the terms “group health plan,” “health insurance issuer,” and “health insurance coverage” are cross-referenced to the definitions established in § 144.103. The definitions for the terms “enrollee,” “benefit year,” and “small group market” are cross-referenced to the definitions in the notice of proposed rulemaking entitled “Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act; Establishment of Exchanges and Qualified Health Plans,” published in this issue of the Federal Register. Other definitions used throughout this proposed rule are established for specific purposes. For example, the terms “applicable reinsurance entity,” “contributing entity,” and “reinsurance-eligible plan” relate to reinsurance programs, while the term “risk adjustment covered plan” relates to the risk adjustment program.
In this subpart, we propose a process by which the States that are operating an Exchange or establishing a reinsurance program issue an annual notice to disseminate information to issuers and other stakeholders about specific requirements to support payment-related functions. This notice may also be a mechanism to address updates to other Exchange-related provisions proposed elsewhere that impact payment and benefit design. This provides a practical way to update certain payment and benefit factors that may change annually, such as reinsurance contribution rates that are based on annually changing thresholds.
In § 153.100(a), we propose that a State operating an Exchange, as well as a State establishing a reinsurance program, issue an annual notice to describe the specific parameters that the State will employ if that State intends to utilize any reinsurance or risk adjustment parameters that differ from those specified in the forthcoming annual Federal notice of benefit and payment parameters. We believe the Start Printed Page 41933information contained in the State notice should be provided one year in advance of the benefit year so that issuers may account for any updates in their design and review of plan benefits and in establishing and reviewing rates. As such, in paragraph (b), we propose specific deadlines for the State notice, if it intends on modifying Federally-proposed parameters, which will be tied to a forthcoming annual Federal notice of benefit and payment parameters, upon which the public will have an opportunity to comment. Below are charts detailing the schedules for the forthcoming annual Federal notice of benefit and payment parameters for 2014 and subsequent years, with the first two dates occurring in the calendar year two years before the effective date.
Annual Federal Notice of Benefit and Payment Parameters
HHS publishes advance notice
Mid-October.
Comment period ends
Mid-November.
HHS publishes final notice
Mid-January.
We propose that States that plan to modify Federal parameters issue their notice by early March in the calendar year before the effective date. We understand that States may have their own timelines for public notice; this proposed requirement sets an outer bound for the final notice to be issued by a State that intends to utilize any reinsurance or risk adjustment parameters that differ from those specified in the forthcoming annual Federal notice of benefit and payment parameters. We seek comment on whether the proposed timing allows issuers sufficient time to reflect these State requirements in setting rates. In particular, we seek comment as to whether the schedule should be adjusted in the initial year to provide issuers additional time for setting rates for 2014.
We also propose in paragraph (c) that if a State operating an Exchange or establishing a reinsurance program does not provide public notice of its intent to have State-specific parameters for any provision within the period specified in paragraph (b) of this section, the parameters set forth in the forthcoming annual Federal notice of benefits and payment parameters will serve as the State parameters.
2. Standards for the State Notice (§ 153.110)
In paragraph (a)(1), we propose that content related to the reinsurance program include the data requirements and data collection frequency for health insurance issuers to receive reinsurance payment. In paragraph (a)(2), we propose that the State specify the attachment point, reinsurance cap, and coinsurance rate if the State plans to use different values than those set forth in the forthcoming annual Federal notice of benefit and payment parameters. In paragraph (a)(3), we propose that if a State plans to use more than one reinsurance entity, the State must include in the notice information related to the geographic boundaries of each applicable reinsurance entity and estimates related to the number of enrollees, payments, and premiums available for contributions in each region. We note that the forthcoming annual Federal notice of benefit and payment parameters will provide States with estimates for these values at the State level.
In paragraph (b), we propose content related to the risk adjustment program if the State intends to modify the risk adjustment parameters set forth in the forthcoming annual Federal notice of benefits and payment parameters, including a detailed description of and rationale for any modification. Specifically, the State description of modifications should include: the methodology for determining average actuarial risk, including the establishment of risk pools and the Federally-certified risk adjustment model; and the risk adjustment data validation methodology.
C. Subpart C—State Standards for the Transitional Reinsurance Program for the Individual Market
Section 1341 of the Affordable Care Act provides that a transitional reinsurance program is established in each State to help stabilize premiums for coverage in the individual market during the years 2014 through 2016. Under this provision, all health insurance issuers, and third-party administrators on behalf of self-insured group health plans, must make contributions to a not-for-profit reinsurance entity to support reinsurance payments to individual market issuers that cover high-cost individuals, except for high-cost individuals in grandfathered individual market health plans. As a basis for reinsurance payments, the law directs the Secretary to develop a list of 50 to 100 medical conditions to identify high-cost individuals or to identify alternative methods for payment in consultation with the American Academy of Actuaries (AAA). In this subpart, we codify section 1341 of the Affordable Care Act as it relates to establishing a reinsurance program. Related standards on health insurance issuers with respect to reinsurance are proposed in subpart E.
We identified three critical policy goals of the transitional reinsurance program. First, the transitional reinsurance program should offer protection to health insurance issuers against medical cost overruns for high-cost enrollees in the individual market, particularly those that are newly insured or those with previously excluded conditions, thereby allowing issuers to set lower premiums.
Second, a transitional reinsurance program should permit early and prompt payment of reinsurance funds during the benefit year to help offset the potential high costs of health insurance issuers early in the benefit year. This objective is particularly important since the two other risk sharing protections against adverse selection—risk adjustment and risk corridors—are likely to be calculated after the end of the benefit year.
Third, the transitional reinsurance program should require minimal administrative burden since it is a temporary program. Given the short-term nature of the program, the costs of setting up and administering this program must be commensurate with its benefits over the three-year window.
We received a number of comments on the transitional reinsurance program in response to the RFC. Multiple respondents emphasized that, although underlying conditions are referenced in the Affordable Care Act with respect to the reinsurance provisions, reinsurance programs typically do not consider the health status of the individual. Health insurance issuers seek traditional reinsurance to protect against unusually high medical cost of enrollees during a coverage year. Generally, reinsurance is not tied to underlying conditions that lead to high enrollee medical costs but to high claims costs beyond a specific dollar threshold within a coverage period, regardless of health condition.
Several commenters asserted that coverage of specific conditions under a reinsurance program could lead to discriminatory practices toward certain individuals, with one commenter noting that identifying medical conditions as a basis for reinsurance payments requires a level of verification beyond that of traditional reinsurance. Another commenter contended that traditional reinsurance that makes payments based solely on incurred costs does not encourage efficient and effective care.
We considered all of these comments in the development of this subpart, along with commenter suggestions on entities that could serve as the Start Printed Page 41934applicable reinsurance entity for a State. As explained more fully below, we believe that States should have discretion to make a number of decisions within the proposed standards, including the appropriateness of any specific entity as an administrator of the reinsurance program.
1. Definitions (§ 153.200)
In § 153.200, we propose several definitions that are critical to the establishment of a properly functioning transitional reinsurance program. We define an “attachment point” as the threshold dollar amount of costs incurred by a health insurance issuer for payment of essential health benefits provided for an enrolled individual, after which threshold, the costs for covered essential health benefits are eligible for reinsurance payments. The definition of “essential health benefits” will be proposed in future rulemaking. We define “coinsurance rate” as the rate at which the applicable reinsurance entity will reimburse the health insurance issuer for costs incurred to cover essential health benefits after the attachment point and before the reinsurance cap. We define the “reinsurance cap” as the threshold dollar amount for costs incurred by a health insurance issuer for payment of essential health benefits provided for an enrolled individual, after which threshold, the costs for covered essential health benefits are no longer eligible for reinsurance payments. In order to ensure reinsurance payments are made on a comparable set of benefits, we propose that payments be calculated for costs to cover the essential health benefits package. We solicit comments on alternatives to the use of the essential health benefits package.
We define “contribution rate” as the rate, based on a percent of premium, used to determine the dollar amounts each health insurance issuer and third party administrator, on behalf of a self-insured group health plan, must contribute to a State reinsurance program. We define the “percent of premium” as the percent of total revenue, based on earned premiums as described in § 158.130(a), in all fully-insured markets (inside and outside of the Exchange) or the percent of total medical expenses in a self-insured market. Part 158 describes standards for health insurance issuers implementing the medical loss ratio requirements under section 2718 of the PHS Act. Finally, we define “third party administrator” as the claims processing entity for a self-insured group health plan. As such, if a self-insured group health plan processes its own claims, the self-insured plan will be considered a third-party administrator for the purpose of the reinsurance program.
2. State Establishment of a Reinsurance Program (§ 153.210)
In § 153.210, we describe standards for States regarding the establishment of a reinsurance program. We propose in paragraph (a) that each State that elects to operate an Exchange must also establish a reinsurance program as required by the law. In paragraph (a)(1), we codify section 1341(a) of the Affordable Care Act, which requires that such States must either enter into a contract with an existing applicable reinsurance entity or establish an applicable reinsurance entity to carry out the provisions for the reinsurance program discussed in this subpart. We believe the statute allows State flexibility in selecting an applicable reinsurance entity and do not propose more specific guidelines.
The Affordable Care Act also allows States to set up more than one reinsurance entity, although this option may increase administrative costs. We propose in paragraph (a)(2) that, for any State that chooses to have more than one reinsurance entity, the State must publish in a State notice, described in § 153.110, information regarding the geographic divisions between the applicable entities. We further interpret the statute to imply that the geographic divisions of the applicable reinsurance entities must be distinct and, together, cover the entire individual market in the State and not just certain areas or populations. In paragraph (a)(3), we propose to allow the State to permit a reinsurance entity to subcontract administrative functions, provided that the State reviews and approves these subcontracted arrangements as described in paragraph (a)(4). We interpret the statute to allow flexibility in the performance of administrative functions, with the understanding that the responsible party must be the applicable reinsurance entity.
We propose in paragraph (a)(5) that the establishment of, or contract with, the applicable reinsurance entity must extend for a sufficient period to ensure that the entity can fulfill all reinsurance requirements for all benefit years through 2016 and any activities required to be undertaken in subsequent periods. Any State in which contributions remain to be disbursed for benefit years beyond 2016 must ensure that an applicable reinsurance entity is available for required payment activities for additional benefit years. When establishing or contracting with an applicable reinsurance entity, States must establish sufficient time to pay reinsurance claims after 2016. This time cannot extend past December 31, 2018 as described in section 1341(b)(4) of the Affordable Care Act.
We clarify in paragraph (b) that there may be situations in which an applicable reinsurance entity operates a reinsurance program for more than one State. In other words, several States may contract with one reinsurance entity, but that entity must maintain separate risk pools for each State's reinsurance programs. In such cases, we consider each contract to be an individual reinsurance arrangement between a specific State and the applicable reinsurance entity.
We propose in paragraph (c) to allow a State that does not elect to establish an Exchange to operate its own reinsurance program. Under this circumstance, the State will be required to carry out the provisions of this subpart. In paragraph (d), we propose that, if a State does not elect to establish an Exchange and does not determine to operate its own reinsurance program, HHS will establish the reinsurance program to perform all the reinsurance functions for that State. These functions would include the collection of all contributions described in § 153.220, including funds required to operate and administer the applicable reinsurance functions. In paragraph (e), we propose that each State that establishes an Exchange or operates a reinsurance program must ensure that each applicable reinsurance entity complies with all provisions of this subpart and with subpart E.
3. Collection of Reinsurance Contribution Funds (§ 153.220)
In § 153.220, we describe standards for how States must ensure that the reinsurance entity collects reinsurance contribution funds. Section 1341 provides for the collection of contribution funds to cover all reinsurance payments and also permits the collection of funds to cover administrative costs incurred by the applicable reinsurance entity. These contribution funds must be collected by the reinsurance entity from all health insurance issuers and third party administrators on behalf of self-insured plans. The aggregate contribution funds for purposes of making reinsurance payments are specified as $10 billion in 2014, $6 billion in 2015, and $4 billion in 2016 as described in section 1341(b)(3)(B)(iii). None of these funds can be used for any purpose other than paying reinsurance or administering the reinsurance programs. The aggregate Start Printed Page 41935contribution funds would be returned to those issuers that qualify for the transitional reinsurance program. In paragraph (a)(1), we codify the aggregate contribution amounts.
The statute also requires that the reinsurance entity collect specified additional contribution funds for deposit into the general fund of the U.S. Treasury. The additional contribution funds to the general fund are set at $2 billion in calendar years 2014 and 2015, and $1 billion in 2016 as described in section 1341(b)(3)(B)(iv). The Congressional Budget Office considered the additional contributions to score as an offset for the costs of administering the Early Retiree Reinsurance Program within the 10 year budget window, however, these funds will not be used to directly pay for ERRP costs. In paragraph (a)(2), we codify these additional contribution amounts.
Although the transitional reinsurance program is State-based, section 1341(b)(3) sets contribution levels for the program on a national basis. We considered two approaches by which to collect contribution funds: (1) Use of a national uniform contribution rate, and (2) use of a State-level allocation, both set by HHS to ensure that the sum of all contribution funds equals the national amounts set forth in statute. In paragraph (b) we propose the first approach to collect contribution funds for amounts listed in paragraph (a)(1) and (a)(2). Use of a national contribution rate is a simpler approach. Further, since there is significant uncertainty about Exchange enrollment, the overall health of the enrolled population, and the cost of care for new enrollees, we believe that a national contribution rate would be the less ambiguous approach of the two. All contribution funds collected by a State establishing a reinsurance program, using the national contribution rate, will stay in that State and be used to make reinsurance payments on valid claims submitted by reinsurance-eligible plans in that State. A State-level allocation would be more complex to administer. We solicit comments regarding whether to use a State-level allocation or a national rate.
There are two methods we considered for determining contributions using a national rate: (1) A percent of premium amount applied to all contributing entities, and (2) a flat per capita amount applied to all covered enrollees of contributing entities. In paragraph (b)(1), we propose the percent of premium method as the fairest method by which to collect these contributions, as it allows States that tend to have higher premium and health care costs, and thus reinsurance claims, to collect additional funds towards reinsurance. A flat, per capita amount could represent an excessively high percent of premium for products that are designed and intended to have low premiums targeted toward a population such as young adults and children. HHS will establish the percentage through a forthcoming annual Federal notice of benefit and payment parameters, based on its estimate of total premiums in the fully insured market and medical expenses in the self-insured market. We invite comments regarding the preferred method for calculating health insurance issuer contribution funds using a national rate.
In paragraph (b)(2), we also propose that all contribution funds collected for reinsurance payments must be used for reinsurance, and all contribution funds collected for the U.S. Treasury must be paid to the U.S. Treasury. In paragraph (b)(3)(i), we propose that a State may collect more than its amount collected in the national rate, if the State believes that these amounts are not sufficient to cover the payments it will make under the payment formula. Nothing in the Affordable Care Act precludes a State from supplementing this program. In paragraph (b)(3)(ii), we also propose that a State may collect more than its amount collected at the national rate to cover the administrative costs of the applicable reinsurance entity.
We have also considered the frequency by which applicable reinsurance entities should collect contribution funds from contributing entities. For example, applicable reinsurance entities could collect contribution funds intended for reinsurance payments and payments to the U.S. Treasury on a monthly basis beginning in January 2014 so that reinsurance payments could begin in February 2014. We invite comments on the most appropriate method and frequency to collect reinsurance contribution funds.
4. Calculation of Reinsurance Payments (§ 153.230)
As required, in § 153.230 we set the payment policy for the reinsurance program based upon consultation with the AAA. The reinsurance payment policy addresses two basic issues: (1) How to determine the individuals who are covered by reinsurance, and (2) how to determine appropriate payment amounts. Given the short-term nature of the program, our primary objective is to select an implementation approach that is administratively and operationally simple, but satisfies the goals of the program. Therefore, we would use reliable and readily accessible data sources that would allow health insurance issuers to receive prompt payment. We propose in paragraph (a) of this section that coverage be based on items and services within the essential health benefits for an individual enrollee that exceeds an attachment point. We invite comments regarding this proposed provision or if we should allow reinsurance payment for more generous coverage beyond that provided by essential health benefits.
In paragraph (b), we propose to announce the reinsurance payment formula and State-specific values for the attachment point, reinsurance cap, and coinsurance rate in the forthcoming annual Federal notice of benefits and payment parameters. We believe that publishing this information in a Federal notice is the best approach for announcing the attachment point and reinsurance cap as these values may change in years 2015 and 2016. The Affordable Care Act does not suggest that the three-year reinsurance program should replace commercial reinsurance or internal risk mitigation strategies. There will be a continued need for ongoing commercial reinsurance. Therefore, we propose establishing a reinsurance cap set at the attachment point of traditional reinsurance. We seek comment on this approach.
In paragraph (b)(1), we propose that the reinsurance payment amount be a percentage of those costs above an attachment point and below a reinsurance cap. However, we believe States may have unique situations and recommend allowing a State that runs the reinsurance program to establish its own payment formula by varying the attachment point, coinsurance rate, and reinsurance cap. The reasoning for the policy proposed in paragraph (b)(1) follows below, along with a discussion of some operational issues related to the timing of reinsurance payments.
(4) Identification of reinsurance-eligible individuals based on medical cost to the health insurance issuer for covered benefits.
The last option, which we propose to adopt, focuses on all high-cost enrollees without respect to the conditions that caused the increased cost. This approach would be most familiar to health insurance issuers and administratively less burdensome than the first and second options. Data will be immediately available and dependent only on health insurance issuers filing proof of payment for claims. While the third option might mitigate some of the burden and cost concerns, it would not eliminate the timing issues that are critical to effective reinsurance implementation. In 2014, we will be able to collect reliable condition information only for those conditions that are diagnosed during that benefit year. In other words, condition-based reinsurance will not be a predictive model until at least 2015 due to lack of sufficient and timely data. As a result, we found all of the condition-based approaches to eligibility identification to be considerably more burdensome in comparison to the medical cost approach without significant improvement in outcomes from a determination standpoint. We solicit comments for a suitable method for ensuring that issuer costs are appropriate and accurate.
With respect to the decision on how to calculate payments, AAA discussed the following two principal approaches:
(1) Payments for costs incurred above an attachment point.
(2) Fixed payment schedule for specific conditions.
The first option, payment for costs incurred above an attachment point, aligns compensation with cost by reimbursing health insurance issuers that have enrollees in the individual market who actually experience higher health costs. We propose this approach, which represents a more traditional view of reinsurance. It is also consistent with the Early Retiree Reinsurance Program. Health insurance issuers are eligible for reinsurance payments only when costs are in excess of a certain level. The proposed approach is simpler from an operational perspective; the only data required to implement it will be cost and claims data for individuals. This approach also works in tandem with the medical-cost method of determining eligibility.
The fixed payment schedule option, which we are not proposing to adopt, has the effect of paying the same amount for all individuals who present with a specific condition regardless of actual enrollee cost. This method assumes that high-cost individuals incurring highest costs across plans are of equal care mix and does not make distinctions. This method also penalizes issuers that attract more individuals with higher disease burden within disease categories, and thus may be less effective in mitigating the actual financial impact of adverse selection.
In sum, we propose using medical cost experience only to identify eligible enrollees for which health insurance issuers would receive reinsurance. Accordingly, we also propose to use the attachment point approach for determining payment. As described by AAA, an attachment method for calculating reinsurance payments considers costs only for high-risk individuals and may reduce incentives for health insurance issuers to control costs. However, use of a reinsurance cap, as well as the requirement for health insurance issuer coinsurance rate above the attachment point and below the cap, may incentivize health insurance issuers to control costs. We invite comment regarding the best method of determining payments for the reinsurance program, which can relate to either our criteria for selecting eligible enrollees for payment or the method for calculating the payment amounts.
We propose in § 153.230(b)(2) that all payments to the general fund of the U.S. Treasury be made in a manner specified in the forthcoming annual Federal notice of benefits and payment parameters. We have also considered the frequency for which payments should be made to the U.S. Treasury. For example, the applicable reinsurance entities could remit payment on a monthly or quarterly basis commencing February 28, 2014, continuing through January 31, 2017 or until States have remitted the full amount of all payments. We invite comment as to the most appropriate frequency and method for applicable reinsurance entities to remit payment to the U.S. Treasury.
We propose in § 153.230(c) to allow some degree of State variation from the reinsurance parameters proposed by HHS. The Affordable Care Act contemplates the potential of modifications to the payment parameters through a statutory reference to “model regulation” as opposed to strict Federal regulation. Therefore, we propose in paragraph (c)(1) that the State may alter the attachment point, reinsurance cap, including elimination of the cap, and coinsurance rate. We propose in paragraph (c)(2) that States must publish any modification to the reinsurance payment formula and parameters in a State notice as described in § 153.110 of this part. We propose in paragraph (c)(3) that the State must ensure that all proposed alterations to the reinsurance formulas proposed by HHS, including payments and contributions, result in the applicable reinsurance entity having sufficient contributions to meet of all of its obligations for payments. Such alterations to reinsurance parameters do not require HHS approval.
We believe that a State may have many reasons to make adjustments to the HHS reinsurance payment formula. First, the State may determine to increase the reinsurance benefit above the level established by HHS. Second, the State may have additional unexpended funds from a prior contribution period and may seek to adjust the reinsurance formulas to disburse the unexpended funds. Third, the State may elect to pay the same amounts recommended by HHS, but may wish to make those payments either earlier or later in the medical cost experience. Finally, the State may decide to vary the annual amounts without varying the total across all three years.
5. Disbursement of Reinsurance Payments (§ 153.240)
In § 153.240, we propose parameters for the timing of reinsurance payments. In paragraph (a) of this section, we propose that States must ensure that the applicable reinsurance entity collects from health insurance issuers of reinsurance-eligible plans data required to calculate payments described in § 153.230, according to the data requirements and data collection frequency specified by the State in the notice described in § 153.110 or in the forthcoming annual Federal notice of benefit and payment parameters.
Since we are proposing that reinsurance eligibility and payments be based on the health insurance issuer medical costs, we believe that a standard method of collecting the required information should be a reasonable goal and easily achievable. Further, a standard method will enable multi-State health insurance issuers to submit data promptly without causing disruption for any single-State health insurance issuer.
In paragraph (b), we propose that the State must ensure that each applicable reinsurance entity makes payments that do not exceed contributions and makes payments to health insurance issuers of reinsurance-eligible plans according to § 153.230. We also propose in paragraph Start Printed Page 41937(b)(2) to allow States to reduce payments on a pro rata basis to match the amount of contributions received by the State in a given reinsurance year. Any pro rata reductions made by the State must be made in a fair and equitable manner for all health insurance issuers in the individual market.
In paragraph (b)(3), we propose that the State must ensure that an applicable reinsurance entity makes payments as specified in § 153.410(b) to the issuer of a reinsurance-eligible plan after receiving a valid claim for payment. We invite comments as to the most appropriate timeframe that an applicable reinsurance entity should make payments for reinsurance claims submitted, particularly, since reinsurance claims may exceed contributions for a given month, but not total projected contributions for the entire year.
We have also considered deadlines by which a health insurance issuer could submit a claim for a given reinsurance benefit year. For example, Medicare Part D has a requirement for data submission within 6 months after the end of the coverage year, and we believe this is an appropriate standard. We seek comment as to whether the deadline for health insurance issuers for submitting reinsurance claims should be the same or different.
A standard deadline would allow for an orderly completion of the payment processes that depend upon reinsurance, specifically the risk corridors program and the medical loss ratio (MLR) reporting to support the rebate calculations in section 2718 of the PHS Act. Health insurance issuers must know the value of their reinsurance payments and must report that value to HHS under the risk corridor and MLR reporting provisions. Failure to establish a standard deadline could result in excessive delays in the completion of the rebate calculations under section 2718 of the PHS Act. Such delays would in turn delay receipt of rebate payments by the affected enrollees. We invite comment on the use of a standard deadline and the most appropriate deadline considering the interaction of the reinsurance program with risk corridor and the MLR process.
Finally, in paragraph (c), we propose that for each benefit year, the State maintains all records related to the reinsurance program for 10 years, consistent with requirements for record retention under the False Claims Act. We solicit comments on this record retention requirement.
5. Coordination With High-Risk Pools (§ 153.250)
In § 153.250, we codify the requirement under section 1341(d) of the Affordable Care Act that States shall eliminate or modify high risk pools to the extent necessary to carry out the reinsurance program. As stated in the introduction to this subpart, the reinsurance program required under the Affordable Care Act is designed to help mitigate adverse selection risks in the first three years of Exchange operation. In paragraph (a), we codify the above-referenced section. In paragraph (b), we propose to allow a State that continues its high risk pool to coordinate its high risk pool with its reinsurance program to the extent it conforms to the provisions of this subpart. We seek comment regarding whether a high risk pool that continues operation after January 1, 2014 should be considered an individual market plan eligible for reinsurance under this provision.
D. Subpart D—State Standards Related to the Risk Adjustment Program
In subpart D, we propose standards for States with respect to the risk adjustment program required under section 1343 of the Affordable Care Act. Parallel provisions on health plans are proposed in subpart G of this subpart. Section 1343 provides for a program of risk adjustment for all non-grandfathered plans in the individual and small group market both inside and outside of the Exchange. Under this provision, the Secretary, in consultation with the States, must establish criteria and methods to be used by States in determining the actuarial risk of plans within a State. States electing to operate an Exchange, or HHS on behalf of States not electing to operate an Exchange, will assess charges to plans that experience lower than average actuarial risk and use them to make payments to plans that have higher than average actuarial risk. Thus, the risk adjustment program is intended to reduce or eliminate premium differences between plans based solely on expectations of favorable or unfavorable risk selection or choices by higher risk enrollees in the individual and small group market. The risk adjustment program also serves to level the playing field inside and outside of the Exchange, reducing the potential for excessive premium growth or instability within the Exchange.
We received a variety of comments on the risk adjustment process in response to the RFC. Many commenters expressed strong opinions about the extent of Federal oversight in risk adjustment and the level of flexibility afforded States for developing a risk adjustment model and how much to rely on current prospective models being used, for example, in Medicare Advantage or concurrent risk adjustment models being used.
We also received comments related to data standards and the role of the Federal government. Commenters noted difficulties in obtaining certain types of data accurately and expressed concerns about audit requirements. Commenters discussed upcoding problems, as well as issues of credibility of the underlying systems to support risk adjustment. Commenters also raised issues related to the transition both to the Exchanges and the risk adjustment program, with the primary issue being the timing of claims data availability in the early years of the program. Some States indicated that they are developing “all payer claims databases,” although not all of these databases are expected to be complete by 2014. However, even existing “all payer” databases will not contain any data from the currently uninsured individuals, who are expected to comprise a segment of new individual market enrollees.
Overall, we believe that States have discretion to make a number of decisions within the standards we propose herein.
1. Definitions (§ 153.300)
We propose several definitions that are specifically applicable to this subpart in § 153.300. First, we distinguish between risk adjustment models and risk adjustment methodologies. We define “risk adjustment model” as an actuarial tool used to predict health plan costs based on the relative actuarial risk of enrollees in risk adjustment covered plans, which we had previously defined as non-grandfathered plans in the individual and small group market. We define “risk adjustment methodology” as the specific set of procedures used to determine average actuarial risk.
A “Federally-certified risk adjustment methodology” is a risk adjustment methodology that has been developed and promulgated by HHS or has been certified by HHS. As explained further in § 153.330, States may use a modified methodology if it has been certified by HHS and deemed a Federally-certified risk adjustment methodology. An “alternate risk adjustment methodology” is a risk adjustment methodology proposed by one or more States for use in place of the Federally-certified risk adjustment methodology, not yet certified by HHS. Additionally, we define “risk pool” as the population Start Printed Page 41938across which risk is distributed in risk adjustment.
2. Risk Adjustment Administration (§ 153.310)
Section 1343(a) of the Affordable Care Act establishes that States must assess risk adjustment charges and provide risk adjustment payments based on plan actuarial risk as compared to a State average. We interpret this provision to mean that risk pools must be aggregated at the State level, even if a State decides to utilize regional Exchanges. Furthermore, section 1343(c) indicates that risk adjustment applies to individual and small group market health insurance issuers of non-grandfathered plans within a State, both inside and outside of the Exchange. Accordingly, similar to our approach in reinsurance, if multiple States contract with a single entity to administer risk adjustment, risk may not be combined across State lines, but must be pooled at the individual State-level.
In this section, in paragraph (a)(1), we specify that any State electing to establish an Exchange is eligible to establish a risk adjustment program. Pursuant to section 1321(a)(1)(D) of the Affordable Care Act, we propose in paragraph (a)(2) that for States that do not operate an Exchange, HHS will establish a risk adjustment program. We also clarify in (a)(3) that HHS will administer all of the risk adjustment functions for any State that elects to establish an Exchange but does not elect to administer risk adjustment. In paragraph (b), we clarify that the State may elect to have an entity other than the Exchange perform the risk adjustment functions of this subpart provided that the selected entity meets the requirements for eligibility to serve as the Exchange proposed in § 155.110 of the notice of proposed rulemaking entitled, “Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act; Establishment of Exchanges and Qualified Health Plans.”
In paragraph (c), we propose timeframes for completion of the risk adjustment process. We propose that all payment calculations must commence with the 2014 benefit year. The Affordable Care Act does not explicitly set forth a timeframe by which risk adjustment programs must start. However, we believe risk adjustment must be coordinated with reinsurance and risk corridors to help stabilize the individual and small group markets and ensure the viability of the Exchanges, which begin in 2014. Timely completion of the risk adjustment process is important because risk adjustments affect calculations of both risk corridors and the rebates specified under section 2718 of the PHS Act. By law, HHS will be performing the risk corridors calculations for all qualified health plans (QHP) in all States. Therefore, we seek comment on the appropriate deadline by which risk adjustment must be completed. For example, HHS may require that States complete risk adjustment activities by June 30 of the year following the benefit year. This timing assumes at least a three-month lag from items and services furnished in a benefit year and the end of the data collection period. This approach is similar to the Medicare Advantage (Part C) risk adjustment data submission, in which the annual deadline for risk adjustment data submission is 2-months after the end of the 12-month benefit period, but may, at CMS's discretion, include a 6-month lag time.
Since risk adjustment is designed as a budget neutral activity, States would likely need to receive remittances from issuers of low actuarial risk plans before making payments to issuers of high actuarial risk plans. We seek comment on an appropriate timeframe for State commencement of payments.
To ensure the each State's risk adjustment program is functioning properly, we believe that States should provide HHS with a summary report of risk adjustment activities for each benefit year in the year following the calendar year covered in the report. The summary report should include the average actuarial risk score for each plan, corresponding charges or payments, and any additional information HHS deems necessary to support risk adjustment methodology determinations. We seek comment on the requirements for such reports, including data elements and timing.
3. Federally-Certified Risk Adjustment Methodology (§ 153.320)
Section 1343(b) of the Affordable Care Act requires HHS to establish criteria and methods for risk adjustment in coordination with the States. We interpret this provision to mean that HHS will establish a baseline methodology to be used by a State, or HHS on behalf of the State, in determining average actuarial risk. To fulfill the terms of that basic requirement, we propose in paragraph (a)(1) a Federally-certified risk adjustment methodology that will be developed and authorized by HHS. Section 1343 indicates that the Secretary may utilize criteria and methods similar to the criteria and methods utilized under part C or D of title XVIII of the Social Security Act. We seek to minimize issuer burden and will leverage existing processes of part C and D wherever appropriate while recognizing the differences in market demographics in determining methodologies.
We considered proposing a requirement that all States utilize a Federally-certified risk adjustment methodology that was developed and promulgated by HHS. However, we recognize that States may have alternative methods that can achieve similar results. We also know that some States have already implemented risk adjustment models for programs such as Medicaid. We believe that the terms “methods and criteria” in the Affordable Care Act can be interpreted to allow certain levels of State variation provided that States meet basic Federal standards. Therefore, we propose in paragraph (a)(2) that a State-submitted alternative risk adjustment methodology may become a Federally-certified risk adjustment methodology through HHS certification. States that would like to use other methodologies should view the Federally-certified risk adjustment methodology as a comparative standard for their alternate risk adjustment methodologies. A State's alternate risk adjustment methodology should offer similar or better performance in that State than the Federally-certified risk adjustment methodology as determined based on the criteria set forth in § 153.330(a)(2). After HHS approves a State alternative risk adjustment methodology, that methodology is considered a Federally-certified risk adjustment methodology.
We propose in paragraph (b) of this section that a State that is operating a risk adjustment program must use one of the Federally-certified risk adjustment methodologies that HHS will publish in a forthcoming annual Federal notice of benefit and payment parameters or that has been published by the State in that State's annual notice, as described in § 153.110(b). These notices will include a full description of the risk adjustment model, including but not limited to: demographic factors, diagnostic factors, and utilization factors if any; the qualifying criteria for establishing that an individual is eligible for a specific factor; the weights assigned to each factor; the data required to support the model; and information regarding the deadlines for data submission and the schedule for risk adjustment factor determination. We seek comments on other information that should be included in this notice.
In paragraph (b)(2), we propose that the risk adjustment methodology will also describe any adjustments made to Start Printed Page 41939the risk adjustment model weights when calculating average actuarial risk, including premium rating variation. Under section 2701 of the PHS Act as amended by the Affordable Care Act, issuers may vary rates within defined maximum ranges based on age and tobacco use. Plans may also vary rates by geographic rating area and family size. An approach is needed to account for this allowed variation in rating so that risk adjustment does not adjust for the actuarial risk that issuers have been allowed to incorporate into their premium rates.
We invite comments on possible approaches to achieving the stated policy goals. In particular, we request comments on the implications of approaches for market efficiency, potential incentives created in how issuers set rates, and how approaches address allowed rating variation for age, family size, and tobacco use. We request comments on other approaches to determining average actuarial risk and whether links exist between potential actuarial risk methodology and potential payments and charges methodology as described in § 153.345. We also request comments on the extent of State flexibility that should be allowed in adopting an approach to determine average actuarial risk.
In paragraph (c), we propose that HHS will specify in a forthcoming annual Federal notice of benefit and payment parameters the Federally-certified risk adjustment methodology that will apply when the Federal government operates the risk adjustment program in States that do not elect to operate an Exchange, or that elect to operate an Exchange but not a risk adjustment program.
To assist States in assessing a potential alternate risk adjustment methodology, HHS will publish the basic standards any alternate risk adjustment methodology must meet in the forthcoming annual Federal notice of benefit and payment parameters that contains the details of one or more Federally-certified risk adjustment methodologies. These standards will likely include the minimum number or types of factors that must be included and the statistical metrics the models will be expected to achieve. Prior to that formal publication of standards, and as part of the development of the Federally-certified methodologies and associated standards for alternate risk adjustment methodologies, HHS will consult with States regarding its development and the minimum standards for alternate risk adjustment methodologies. States may use information from the consultation process to either develop their own methodologies or decide to utilize the Federally-certified risk adjustment methodology.
The statute is not specific with respect to the method by which States are expected to determine the precise value of payments and charges. We believe the payments and charges methodology should mitigate the financial impact of adverse selection on risk adjustment covered plans, while limiting overall issuer uncertainty. We have identified two methods that may achieve those goals—multiplying plan average actuarial risk by the State average normalized premiums and multiplying plan average actuarial risk by the specific premiums collected for each plan. To determine the precise value of payments and charges using State average normalized premiums, plan average premiums are first normalized to the actuarial value of their benefits by dividing each plan's premiums by the plan's actuarial value. This step is necessary because plan premiums reflect differences in the benefits and administration, including actuarial value.
Next, States would use these normalized average premiums as the basis for the State normalized average premiums, weighted by enrollee months, for all plans in a specific risk pool. The State normalized average premium represents the premium that will be used in the charges and payments calculation. Next, the amount by which a plan's average actuarial risk deviates from the state average actuarial risk is calculated. This deviation in actuarial risk is multiplied by the State normalized average premium, the plan's enrollee months, and the plan's actuarial value.
The alternative methodology uses plan-specific premiums as the basis for calculating the gross plan charges and gross plan payments, assuming that health plan premiums reflect State average actuarial risk and the expectation that risk adjustment accounts for favorable or adverse selection. Under this methodology, the deviation in actuarial risk is multiplied by the aggregated plan premiums to determine the gross plan charges and total plan payments that should be collected from or disbursed to health plans through risk adjustment. We request comment on the validity of these assumptions, including the two methods described, and any alternative methods that could be used to calculate payments and charges that would reduce uncertainty for plans. Finally, we request comment on any intentional and unintentional consequences from the use of either methodology.
Due to premium variance, we expect inequalities between payments and charges, which could result in aggregate surpluses or deficits if a simple collection of gross plan charges and disbursement of gross plan payments is implemented. We have identified at least three methods for adjusting gross calculations when gross plan payments are greater than gross plan charges: decrease plan payments on a prorated basis to equal plan charges; increase plan charges on a prorated basis to equal plan payments; or split the shortfall between high-risk and low-risk plans and pro-rating in both directions. We also identified two methods for when gross plan charges are greater than the sum of gross plan payments: reducing gross plan charges on a prorated basis such that the net plan charges are sufficient to cover total plan payments; and putting excess plan charges in a reserve account that would provide a margin of error to ensure that all necessary payments can be covered by charges.
We request comment on these methodologies and whether there are alternative methodologies that might be used, including their strengths, limitations, intentional or unintentional consequences and any links that exist between the payments and charges methodology and the actuarial risk methodology.
4. State Alternate Risk Adjustment Methodologies (§ 153.330)
We interpret the statutory provision regarding the Secretary's establishment of criteria and methods for risk adjustment under section 1343(b) to require substantive Federal oversight of the risk adjustment process. Accordingly, while we propose to allow States to utilize alternate risk adjustment methodologies, we also propose in paragraph (a) of § 153.330 that States taking advantage of this flexibility must submit their proposed alternate risk adjustment methodologies for HHS review and certification.
As outlined in paragraph (a)(1), the State request must include certain information about the State's proposed risk adjustment methodology. As noted in paragraph (a)(1)(i), any request must identify the risk pools to which the methodology will apply. Paragraph (a)(1)(ii) also indicates that the proposed risk adjustment methodology must include a full description of the risk adjustment model, consisting of: factors employed in the model; weights associated with each factor; the data collection method; the schedule for data collection and risk adjustment factor calculation; and the calibration Start Printed Page 41940methodology. HHS will also review the relevant statistical performance metrics of the model, such as R-squared or predictive ratios, which indicates the predictive power of the model. If the State wants to use a Federally-certified risk adjustment model but with State-specific weights, retaining all other characteristics of that model, the State would only need to provide the State-specific weights and a description of the calibration methodology, as well as an attestation that all other model attributes will be implemented consistently with the Federally-certified methodology.
As with the Federally-certified risk adjustment methodology, the schedule for collection and submission of data and calculation of factors are critical success elements for any State-proposed alternate risk adjustment methodology. If a State proposes to deviate from the Federally-certified methodology with respect to these elements, HHS expects to evaluate a State proposed alternate risk adjustment methodology to ensure that the proposed approach will meet HHS goals for the risk adjustment program.
We propose in paragraph (a)(1)(iii) that States must describe any adjustments they propose to make to the risk adjustment model weights when determining average actuarial risk. We expect that States will also incorporate a rating factor into the proposed risk adjustment methodology.
In paragraph (a)(2), we propose that all requests be evaluated against criteria that HHS establishes for risk adjustment methodologies. Alternate risk adjustment methodologies should be evaluated based on the extent to which the methodology: accurately explains cost variation within a given population; chooses risk factors that are clinically meaningful to providers; encourages favorable behavior and discourages unfavorable behavior; uses data that is complete, high in quality and available in a timely fashion; provides stable risk scores over time and across plans; and minimizes administrative burden. This criteria is based on the principles that guided the creation of the hierarchical condition categories (HCC) model used in Medicare's risk adjustment program, as well as criteria described by AcademyHealth in its 2004 risk assessment paper (see http://www.hcfo.org/pdf/riskadjustment.pdf) and criteria described by the American Academy of Actuaries in its 2010 risk adjustment paper (see http://www.actuary.org/pdf/health/Risk_Adjustment_Issue_Brief_Final_5-26-10.pdf).
To ensure the stability and predictability of payments, we contemplated proposing that requests must be submitted to HHS no later than early November in the calendar year two years before the effective date. HHS recognizes that health insurance issuers must have detailed information about risk adjustment prior to setting rates for any benefit year because the risk adjustment methodology will affect both the total value of premiums received after accounting for payments and charges, as well as health plan administrative costs. Therefore, under this scenario, HHS would evaluate the proposed alternate risk adjustment methodologies submitted within the required timeframes and notify States within 60 days, at the time of the publication of the forthcoming annual Federal notice of benefits and payment parameters whether such methodologies have been certified. In this scenario, if HHS approves an alternate risk adjustment methodology, such a methodology would be considered a Federally-certified risk adjustment methodology and could be implemented in the State that proposed the methodology as well as any other State that elects to implement an Exchange.
We recognize that the above contemplated timeframe requires States to submit requests for alternate methodology certification only 30 days after the advance annual Federal notice of benefit and payment parameters and prior to publication of the final annual Federal notice of benefit and payment parameters. However, we believe any advantage in allowing States additional time would be offset by a lesser ability to leverage State alternative models and inadequate time for issuers to reflect methodology decisions in setting rates. We seek comments regarding our contemplated timeline and potential alternatives for States to request submissions for alternate risk adjustment methodology.
In paragraph (b), we propose that States that operate a risk adjustment program must renew HHS certification of alternate risk adjustment methodologies whenever changes occur, including at the time of recalibration, which the State must identify when initially requesting certification for the alternate risk adjustment model. The proposed requirements for describing an update to a certified risk adjustment model are the same as those for the initial model. The State must describe any change to the model between the last certified version and the recalibrated version. For example, if the only change was to the schedule for data submission, then the State would need to provide that update when seeking certification. Additionally, we propose that States send a notification if they intend to use the certified alternate risk adjustment model with no changes to any of the basic parameters. We expect to use this certification process to ensure that States make updates to their alternate risk adjustment methodologies at reasonable intervals.
5. Data Collection Under Risk Adjustment (§ 153.340)
As described above, a robust risk adjustment process requires data to support the determination of an individual's risk score and the corresponding plan and State averages. In paragraph (a) we propose that a State, or HHS on behalf of the State, is responsible for collecting the data for use in determining individual risk scores.
HHS considered three possibilities for data collection: (1) A centralized approach in which issuers submit raw claims data sets to HHS; (2) an intermediate State-level approach in which issuers submit raw claims data sets to the State government, or the entity responsible for administering the risk adjustment process at the State level; and (3) a distributed approach in which each issuer must reformat its own data to map correctly to the risk assessment database and then pass on self-determined individual risk scores and plan averages to the entity responsible for assessing risk adjustment charges and payments.
A fully distributed approach would leverage existing infrastructures established to support Exchanges. A distributed approach also keeps individual-level data with the issuers, eliminating privacy risks related to transmission. However, there is reason to be concerned that some issuers would make errors in calculating individual risk scores and plan averages. Furthermore, we believe that the complicated nature of a distributed risk adjustment model may prove challenging for some issuers, especially smaller issuers and would thus require significant involvement by the State, or HHS on behalf of the State. In addition, this approach would require issuers to be able to respond to multiple queries to support other functions, such as data to recalibrate the Federally-certified risk adjustment model, reconciling cost-sharing reductions payments, verifying risk corridor submissions, or auditing cost-sharing reductions or reinsurance payments. We seek comment on use of this data for auditing purposes. We believe the proposed intermediate approach would result in the most Start Printed Page 41941complete, actuarially sound risk adjustment methodology and provides support for other functions that also require encounter level data, while maintaining State flexibility. We recognize this approach may raise concerns related to consumer privacy and standard submission formats. Accordingly, we propose national standards to address each of these issues. We seek comment on the proposed approach, as well as comments on the potential advantages and disadvantages of the alternative approaches.
We propose in paragraph (b) that States, or HHS on behalf of the State, use standard HIPAA transaction standards for data collection. We note that HIPAA provides measures to achieve cost savings through administrative simplification. As described in Health Insurance Reform: Standards for Electronic Transactions, “The purpose of this part is to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the health care system, by encouraging the development of a health information system through the establishment of standards and requirements to enable the electronic exchange of certain health information.” (65 FR 50312) “We estimated that the impact of the proposed rules would result in net savings to health plans and health care providers of $1.5 billion during the first 5 years; use of the standards would continue to save the industry money.” (65 FR 50345)
Although the transaction standards promulgated under the HIPAA administrative simplification provisions do not specifically apply to data collections under section 1343 of the Affordable Care Act, we propose in paragraph (b)(1) and (b)(2) to require States to utilize two specific HIPAA transaction standards for risk adjustment data collection: the ASC X12N 837 Health Care Claim transaction standard for any claims-related data including encounters; and the ASC X12N 834 Enrollment and Maintenance transaction standard for any enrollment or demographic data. In this paragraph, we also allow the use of the NCPDP claims transaction standard for prescription drug, claims and encounter data. We solicit comment on whether we should rely on the existing HIPAA and NCPDP standards or engage stakeholders to develop a new set of national standards for use in risk adjustment, for example, leveraging the claims standards developed with stakeholder input by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. In paragraph (b)(3), to address consumer privacy concerns, we propose that States must utilize specific privacy standards in its data collection risk adjustment procedures. We solicit comments on whether submission of issuers' rate setting rules should be required.
We believe that standardizing data collection will allow State flexibility in modeling while not unreasonably increasing issuer burden for multi-State issuers. Under the proposed approach, States may limit the minimum information required to specific data elements, provided that the information submitted represents standard code sets and values on the HIPAA transactions. We also propose that States must accept any valid transaction submitted by an issuer provided that the transaction contains the minimum data required by the State. In other words, the State may not reject a HIPAA compliant transaction strictly on the basis that it contains more data than the State requires.
In paragraph (c), we propose that States with existing all payer claims databases may request an exception from the minimum standards for data collection. We are contemplating syncing the timing of the request submission with requirements for alternate risk adjustment models. Similarly, we are contemplating that HHS will notify States as to exception status concurrently with the publication of the forthcoming annual Federal notice of benefit and payment parameters. We seek comment on these contemplated timelines. We propose that requests for exception from minimum data collection standards must include technical specifications, as well as proposed modifications to support risk adjustment and other claims-related activities.
Seeking data submission efficiencies, in paragraph (d), we propose that the State must make certain claims and encounter data collected under risk adjustment available to support other activities including: recalibrating Federally-certified risk adjustment models; verifying of risk corridor submissions; and verifying and auditing reinsurance claims. We also anticipate encounter and claims data collected for risk adjustment may be required to support other Exchange-related functions such as cost-sharing requirements and quality reporting. We solicit comment on these alternative uses of risk adjustment data.
6. Risk Adjustment Data Validation Standards (§ 153.350)
In § 153.350, we propose that States have a reliable data validation process, which is essential to the establishment of a credible risk adjustment program. The credibility of risk adjustment is important to establishing the issuer confidence required for risk adjustment to have a positive impact on premium reduction. We propose that States, and HHS, when HHS performs the risk adjustment function on behalf of States, will perform some form of validation regarding the data submitted. We also believe that issuers will want such data validations to be performed since the effect of risk adjustment will be a transfer of premiums between issuers. One of the critical aspects of risk adjustment under the Affordable Care Act is that it represents a relative actuarial risk calculation. Therefore, for any data validation to have the capacity to extrapolate to adjust specific charges and payments, the validation must cover a sufficient number of plans to allow an equitable adjustment to all health plan risk adjustment factors.
In paragraph (a) of § 153.350, we propose that the State, or HHS on behalf of the State, validate a statistically valid sample of all issuers that submit data for risk adjustment every year. We also propose an appropriate use of the information derived from the data validation. For a validation to work under this form of risk adjustment, States must be able to adjust the average actuarial risk of each plan to account for the inaccuracies noted during the data validation process. As such, we propose in paragraph (b) that the State, or HHS on behalf of the State, may adjust the average actuarial risk for each plan based on the error rate found in the validation. In paragraph (c), we further propose that the State, or HHS on behalf of the State, adjust payments and charges based on the changes to average actuarial risk. We seek comment on appropriate timeframes for completion of the data validation process. For example, we may propose a three-year deadline for completing data validation, so as to ensure some finality in the risk adjustment process. Finally, in paragraph (d), we propose that States, or HHS on behalf of the State, must provide an appeals process for issuers. We believe that there may be alternative methods that allow sufficient coverage to estimate the validation impact on all plans. We solicit comments on this data validation provision and any alternatives that may be able to satisfy the need to provide assurance that the charges and payments truly represent relative plan risk.Start Printed Page 41942
In this subpart, we propose requirements for health insurance issuers that complement the requirements for the transitional reinsurance program fully described in the preamble for subpart C. Since the reinsurance program is operated at the State level, many elements related to the purpose, methods, and operation of this program will vary across States and are discussed in greater detail in the preamble for subpart C. In this subpart, we discuss the elements of the program that relate specifically to the requirements for health insurance issuers and third party administrators on behalf of self-insured group health plans.
1. Reinsurance Contribution Funds (§ 153.400)
In § 153.400, we codify section 1341 of the Affordable Care Act, which requires that the reinsurance program be funded by contribution funds from contributing entities. In paragraph (a), we propose that all contributing entities make contributions, in a frequency and manner to be determined by the State or HHS, to the applicable reinsurance entity in the State. For example, contributing entities may be required to submit contributions on a monthly or quarterly basis starting in January 2014. We invite comments on the appropriate frequency and manner in which payments should be made by contributing entities.
In paragraph (b), we propose that if any State establishes multiple applicable reinsurance entities, the contributing entities must contribute an appropriate payment to each applicable reinsurance entity according to the formula established by the State. We propose in paragraph (c) that contributing entities will be required to provide the data necessary for the applicable reinsurance entity to calculate the amounts due from each contributing entity. The type of data required will depend on the contributing entity. For contributing entities in the individual and fully insured market, we propose that data on enrollment and premiums be required. For contributing entities in the self-insured market, data on covered lives and total medical expenses would be required. This data, for example, could be collected on a monthly or quarterly basis beginning January 2014. We invite comments on the appropriate timing to collect data submissions from contributing entities. We also seek comment on whether there are existing sources of this data that can be drawn upon.
2. Requests for Reinsurance Payment (§ 153.410)
The reinsurance program as proposed in subpart C will make payments to reinsurance-eligible plan issuers. In paragraph (a), we propose that reinsurance-eligible plan issuers must submit a request for reinsurance payment to the applicable reinsurance entity. We propose in paragraph (b) that this request is made according to the method that will be specified in the forthcoming annual Federal notice of benefit and payment parameters. We invite comments regarding methods for requesting payments, and the frequency and deadline for such requests. We also invite comments on how to manage late claims from reinsurance eligible plan issuers.
In this subpart, we propose requirements on health insurance issuers related to the temporary risk corridor program. Section 1342 of the Affordable Care Act establishes a program of risk corridors for the first three years of Exchange operation. In addition to risk adjustment and reinsurance, the risk corridor program limits adverse selection and stabilizes markets as changes are implemented starting in 2014. Risk corridors create a mechanism for sharing risk for allowable costs between the Federal government and QHP issuers. QHP issuers of QHPs with costs that are less than 97 percent of the QHP's costs projections will remit charges for a percentage of those savings to HHS, while QHP issuers of QHP's with costs greater than 103 percent of cost projections will receive payments from HHS to offset a percentage of those losses. The Affordable Care Act directs HHS to administer the risk corridors program.
1. Definitions (§ 153.500)
In § 153.500, we propose a number of definitions for the purpose of administering risk corridors. First, we define “allowable costs” as an amount equal to the total medical costs, which include clinical costs, excluding allowable administrative costs, paid by the QHP issuer in providing benefits covered by the QHP. We define “allowable administrative costs” as total non-medical costs defined in § 158.160(b), including costs for the administration and operation of the health insurance issuer. We invite comment on whether we should consider costs for activities that improve health care quality as described in § 158.150 and § 158.151 for allowable costs to be consistent with the medical loss ratio (MLR) policy in the Affordable Care Act. We also invite comment on whether we should limit administrative costs to 20 percent consistent with MLR. If the allowable administrative costs differ from calculations for the MLR rebate, issuers may be incentivized to use risk corridors payments to pay for their MLR rebates.
We define “charge” as the flow of funds from QHP issuers to HHS. We define “direct and indirect remuneration” in the same way it was defined in the risk corridor provision implemented as a result of Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003. It means prescription drug price concessions or similar benefits from manufacturers, pharmacies or similar entities obtained by a QHP issuer or an intermediary contracting organization with which a QHP issuer has contracted. Such concessions include but are not limited to: discounts, charge backs, rebates, free goods contingent on a purchase agreement, up-front payments, coupons, goods in kind, free or reduced-price services, and grants. We further specify that the term applies regardless of whether the intermediary contracting organization retains all or a portion of the direct and indirect remuneration or passes the entire direct and indirect remuneration to the QHP issuer and regardless of the terms of the contract between the issuer and the intermediary contracting organization.
We define “payment” as the flow of funds from HHS to QHP issuers. We define “qualified health plan” consistent with the term proposed in the general definitions section of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act; Establishment of Exchanges and Qualified Health Plans, published in this issue of the Federal Register. We define “risk corridor” as any payment adjustment system based on the ratio of allowable costs of a plan to the plan's target amount. Finally, we define “target amount” to be the amount equal to the total premiums incurred by the QHP, including any premium tax credits or financial assistance from any governmental program, reduced by the allowable administrative costs of the health insurance issuer.
2. Risk Corridor Establishment and Payment Methodology (§ 153.510)
The risk corridor provision in 1342 of the Affordable Care Act directs HHS to Start Printed Page 41943establish and administer a program of risk corridors. In § 153.510, HHS proposes to establish risk corridors by specifying risk percentages above and below the target amount. In paragraph (a), we propose to require a QHP issuer to adhere to the requirements set by HHS for the establishment and administration of a risk corridor program for calendar years 2014 through 2016. We will issue guidance in the forthcoming annual Federal notice of benefits and payment parameters for QHPs regarding reporting and the administration of payments and charges similar to part 158. Risk corridors guidance will be plan specific and not issuer specific as indicated in part 158. We interpret the risk corridor provision to apply to all QHPs offered in the Exchange.
In § 153.510, we also establish the payment methodology for the risk corridor program, using the thresholds and risks-sharing levels specified in statute. The risk corridor thresholds are applied when a QHP's allowable costs reach plus or minus three percent of the target amount. Accordingly, HHS will pay a QHP issuer whose QHP incurred allowable costs for a benefit year that are greater than 103 percent of its target amount. Conversely, a QHP issuer must pay HHS if its QHP's allowable costs for a benefit year are less than 97 percent of its target amount. A QHP issuer whose QHP's allowable costs for a benefit year are greater than 97 percent but less than 103 percent of the target amount will neither make nor receive payments for risk corridors. For example, a QHP issuer with a QHP that has a target amount of $10 million will not receive or pay a risk corridor payment if its allowable charges range between $9.7 million and $10.3 million.
Paragraph (b) of this section describes the method for determining payment amounts to QHP issuers as well as the timing of those payments. For a QHP with allowable costs in excess of 103 percent but not more than 108 percent of the target amount, HHS will pay the QHP issuer 50 percent of the amount in excess of 103 percent of the target amount. For example, a QHP has a target amount of $10 million, and the QHP has allowable costs of $10.5 million, or 105 percent of the target amount. Since 103 percent of the target amount would equal $10.3 million, the amount of allowable costs that exceed 103 percent of the target amount is $200,000. Therefore, HHS would pay 50 percent of that amount, or $100,000 to the QHP issuer.
For QHPs that have allowable costs that exceed 108 percent of the target amount, the Affordable Care Act directs HHS to pay the QHP issuer an amount equal to 2.5 percent of the target amount plus 80 percent of the amount in excess of 108 percent of the target amount. For example, a QHP has a target amount of $10 million. The QHP has allowable costs of $11.5 million, or 115 percent of the target amount. Since 108 percent of the target amount would be $10.8 million, the amount of allowable costs that exceed 108 percent of the target amount is $700,000. Therefore, HHS pays 2.5 percent of the target amount, or $250,000, plus 80 percent of $700,000, or $560,000, for a total of $810,000.
Paragraph (c) describes the circumstances under which QHP issuers will remit charges to HHS, as well as the means by which HHS will determine those charge amounts. We propose that QHP issuers will begin to remit charges to HHS for the first dollar of allowable charges less than 97 percent of the target amount. For a QHP that has allowable costs that are less than 97 percent of the target amount but greater than 92 percent of the target amount, HHS will charge the QHP issuer an amount equal to 50 percent of the difference between 97 percent of the target amount and the actual value of allowable costs. For example, a QHP has a target amount of $10 million. The amount of allowable costs for this QHP is $9.3 million, or 93 percent of the target amount. The difference between 97 percent of the target amount, or $9.7 million, and the actual allowable charges is $400,000. The QHP issuer must pay HHS 50 percent of that amount, or $200,000.
For QHPs with allowable costs below 92 percent of the target amount, the QHP issuer will remit charges to HHS an amount equal to 2.5 percent of the target amount plus 80 percent of the difference between 92 percent of the target amount and the actual value of allowable costs. For that same QHP with a $10 million target amount, assume the allowable charges are now $8.8 million, or 88 percent of the target amount. Ninety-two percent of the target amount would be $9.2 million, and the difference between 92 percent of the target amount and the actual value of allowed costs is $400,000. The QHP issuer will remit charges to HHS an amount equal to 2.5 percent of the target amount, or $250,000, plus 80 percent of $400,000, or $320,000, for a total of $570,000.
While we are not proposing deadlines at this time, HHS has considered timeframes for QHP issuers to remit charges to HHS. For example, a QHP issuer required to make a risk corridor payment may be required to remit charges within 30 days of receiving notice from HHS. Similarly, HHS would make payments to QHP issuers that are owed risk corridor amounts from HHS within a 30-day period after HHS determines that a payment should be made to the QHP issuer. We believe that QHP issuers who are owed these amounts will want prompt payment, and also believe that the payment deadlines should be the same for HHS and QHP issuers. We invite comments as to the appropriate frequency QHP issuers should remit charges to HHS.
3. Risk Corridor Standards for QHP Issuers (§ 153.520)
To support the risk corridor program calculations, we propose in § 153.520 that all QHP issuers submit data needed to determine actual performance relative to their target amounts. The data would be collected in standard formats specified by HHS. We propose in paragraph § 153.520(a) that QHP issuers must submit data related to actual premium amounts collected by QHP issuers, including premium amounts paid by parties other than the enrollee in a QHP and specifically advance premium tax credits paid by the government. We also regard risk adjustment and reinsurance as an after-the-fact adjustment to premiums for purposes of determining risk corridor amounts. Medicare Advantage, Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit Program and Medicaid managed care risk adjustment programs similarly result in adjustments to total payments to plans. However, in these programs, the adjustment occurs concurrently with payments because they are made by the government (excluding monthly premium payments made by beneficiaries). For reinsurance, we anticipate health insurance issuers will reduce their premiums by an amount that would approximate the average reinsurance that they expect to receive, filling in the gap between the premium charged and the health insurance issuer's revenue needs.
Therefore, in paragraph (a)(1), we propose that the reported premium amounts must be increased by the amounts paid to the QHP issuer for risk adjustment and reinsurance. Similarly, we propose in paragraph (a)(2) that the reported premium amounts be reduced for any risk adjustment charges the QHP issuer pays on behalf of the plan, reinsurance contributions that the QHP issuer makes on behalf of the plan, and Exchange user fees that the QHP issuer pays on behalf of the plan. We invite comment on the treatment of reinsurance and risk adjustment as after-the-fact adjustments to premium for purposes of determining risk corridor amounts.Start Printed Page 41944
In paragraph (a)(3), we propose rules for accounting for reinsurance claims submitted on a date to be determined by HHS for a given reinsurance benefit year. Specifically, we propose that QHP issuers attribute reinsurance payments to risk corridors based on the date on which the valid reinsurance claim was submitted. For example, if the QHP issuer submits a claim on or before the deadline for a benefit year, that QHP issuer would attribute the claim payment to risk corridor calculation for the benefit year in which the costs were accrued. Conversely, if the QHP issuer submits a claim after the deadline for a benefit year, that health QHP would attribute the claim payment to risk corridor calculation for the following benefit year. We invite comments on how the risk corridor calculations would interact with the MLR process.
We propose in paragraph (b) that QHP issuers must submit allowable cost data to calculate the risk corridors in a format specified by HHS. We propose that allowable costs must be reduced for any direct or indirect remuneration received in paragraph (b)(1). In paragraph (b)(2), we also propose that the allowable costs must be reduced by the amount of any cost-sharing reductions received from HHS. We invite comment on an appropriate deadline for QHP issuers to complete submission of all risk corridor data especially since this would interact with the MLR process. We also invite comment as to how HHS could determine allowable costs for QHP issuers in calculating risk corridors, if a QHP issuer fails to comply with the reporting provisions in paragraph (b).
HHS seeks to limit the reporting requirements on issuers in submitting this information and would like to prevent duplicative data collection requirements on issuers for the temporary risk corridors program. As such, we seek comment on how we can utilize data from 2718 to meet the data submission requirements for risk corridors.
Section 1343 of the Affordable Care Act provides for a program of risk adjustment for all non-grandfathered plans in the individual and small group market both inside and outside of the Exchange. We noted in the introduction to subpart D of this part that the risk adjustment program described in section 1343 employs a model to determine comparative actuarial risk of plans within a State. That overview can serve as a reference for this subpart as well. We note that subpart D of this part describes some of the comments to the RFC related to risk adjustment and our approach to the process, methodology, and model for implementing the risk adjustment program under section 1343 of the Affordable Care Act. This subpart proposes the health issuer standards that are necessary to carry out risk adjustment as described in subpart D.
1. Definitions (§ 153.600)
In § 153.600, we define “risk adjustment data” to mean any data that is used in a risk adjustment model.
2. Risk Adjustment Issuer Requirements (§ 153.610)
We propose in paragraph (a) of § 153.610 that all issuers of risk adjustment covered plans submit risk adjustment data according to the timetable and format prescribed by the State, or HHS on behalf of the State. Since there will be some variety in approaches to risk adjustment, both across States as well as over time, we expect that these data will include demographic data; encounter data for items and services provided in conjunction with a risk adjustment covered plan; and prescription drug utilization data. We seek comment on whether other categories of data such as methods for setting rates should be required in support of risk adjustment.
We considered proposing the following timelines for risk adjustment data submission: claims and encounter data must be submitted every 30 days and no later than the end of 180 days following the date of service; enrollment and demographic information must be submitted by the end of the month following enrollment; issuer rate-setting rules must be submitted by the end of the month in which they become effective; prescription drug utilization data must be submitted every 30 days, and no later than the end of 90 days following date of service. We recognize that these timeframes may limit the ability of States to collect a full calendar year of data on risk adjustment. However, given the traditional lag of claims submissions, we did not think a shortened timeframe was feasible. Additionally, monthly data submission would address anticipated issuer difficulty in transmitting large volumes of data at the end of the data collection period. We solicit comments on these and alternative data submission timeframes.
We interpret the Affordable Care Act to require participation in the risk adjustment program for all risk adjustment covered plans. We believe that any voluntary participation provisions would result in non-participation by the lowest actuarial risk plans, which in turn would defeat the purpose of the provision. Additionally, in paragraph (b), we propose to permit contractual arrangements between issuers and providers, suppliers, physicians, and other practitioners to ensure that issuers receive the necessary risk adjustment data.
We discuss the calculation of payments and charges extensively describing the methods by which we propose States could perform that function. After the State, or HHS on behalf of the State, has calculated all payments and charges for all risk adjustment covered plans, the State, or HHS on behalf of the State, will determine a net value of payments and charges for each risk adjustment covered plan issuer. In paragraph (c), we propose that risk adjustment covered plan issuers who owe a net balance of risk adjustment charges will be assessed those net charges upon completion of the risk adjustment process. We interpret the Affordable Care Act to mean that the payment of charges is mandatory for issuers who have a net charges payable balance based on the difference between the charges calculated for their low actuarial risk plans and the payments calculated for their high actuarial risk plans. Additionally, we considered proposing that issuers be given a 30 day timeframe in which to pay all these net charges to the State that assessed those charges, or to HHS on behalf of the State. We solicit comment on this and alternative timelines. Since risk adjustment pools individual and small group market risk on a State level, payments and charges will be netted out at the State level, and issuers in multiple States must settle with each State individually.
3. Compliance With Risk Adjustment Standards (§ 153.620)
The credibility of risk adjustment is important to making health insurance premiums in Exchanges stable. Issuers should have confidence that, if they experience adverse selection, their actuarial risk as calculated under this risk adjustment program will reflect the degree to which they have experienced adverse selection and that, if competing plans have low actuarial risk, that those plans cannot inflate their risk score. Therefore, a data validation program is necessary. Consistent with proposed § 153.350, we propose in § 153.620 that risk adjustment covered plan issuers provide the required documentation in response to any HHS or State validation to substantiate the risk adjustment data that they have submitted. We believe Start Printed Page 41945that all risk adjustment covered plans should support such an audit to ensure the integrity of charges they may be required to pay, as well as to ensure that any payments they receive are sufficient to cover additional medical costs incurred due to adverse selection. In paragraph (b), we propose that risk adjustment covered plan issuers must retain the required documentation to substantiate the risk adjustment data that they have submitted for a period of ten years.
III. Collection of Information Requirements
Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, we are required to provide 60-day notice in the Federal Register and solicit public comment before a collection of information requirement is submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval. In order to fairly evaluate whether an information collection should be approved by OMB, section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 requires that we solicit comment on the following issues:
The need for the information collection and its usefulness in carrying out the proper functions of our agency.
The accuracy of our estimate of the information collection burden.
The quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected.
Recommendations to minimize the information collection burden on the affected public, including automated collection techniques.
Below is a summary of the proposed information collection requirements outlined in this regulation. Throughout this section we employ assumptions regarding the frequency of data collection as this level of detail is not proposed in regulation text, but is discussed in preamble. A number of assumptions are made regarding the wages of personnel needed to accomplish the proposed collection of information. Wage rates are based on the Employer Costs for Employee Compensation report by U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and represent a national average. Some states or employers may face higher or lower wage burdens. Wage rates estimates include a 35% fringe benefit estimate for state employees and a 30% fringe benefit estimate for private sector employees. For purposes of presenting an estimate of paperwork burden for States, we reflect full participation of all States and the District of Columbia in operating an Exchange and assume all States operate the reinsurance and risk adjustment programs. However, we recognize that not all States will elect to operate their own Exchanges, so these estimates should be considered an upper bound of burden estimates. These estimates may be adjusted proportionally in the final rule based upon additional information as States progress in their Exchange development processes.
We are soliciting public comment on each of these issues for the following sections of this document that contain information collection requirements (ICRs):
As discussed in § 153.100, States would issue an annual notice of benefits and payment parameters specific to that State. We estimate a minimum burden for the development of the State notice as States have the option to adopt the parameters in the forthcoming annual Federal notice of benefits and payments parameters, and would only have to indicate their intention of using these parameters in their annual notice.
We assume that all 50 States and the District of Columbia would be subject to these reporting requirements. Again, this estimate should be considered an upper bound, and we may revise these estimates in the final rule based upon additional information as States progress in their Exchange development processes. We estimate that it will take each State approximately 160 hours to meet the requirements of this subpart with a total estimated burden of 8,160 hours. We estimate that it will take a financial analyst 120 hours (at an average wage rate of $62 an hour) and a senior manager 40 hours (at $77 an hour) to meet these requirements. The cost estimate for each State is $10,520 for a total estimated cost burden of $536,520.
B. ICRs Regarding State Standards for the Transitional Reinsurance Program in the Individual Market (§ 153.240)
Within Part 153, subpart C we describe reporting requirements and maintenance of records for States for reinsurance. States would ensure that the applicable reinsurance entity collects the data required from issuers to make reinsurance payments. The type of data required is currently not described in this proposed rule to allow for State flexibility in determining the data type and collection method. However, the type of data that might be used to make reinsurance payments may include claims data or encounter data. We estimate that it will take about 12 hours on an annual basis for the applicable reinsurance entity to collect this information in an electronic format from issuers on an annual basis. This estimate is similar to estimates provided in Medicare Part D rule for data submission. For example, Medicare Part D estimated that it would take plan sponsors approximately 10 hours annually for plan sponsors to submit data on aggregated negotiated drug pricing from pharmaceutical companies described in § 423.104. We provide a slightly higher estimate for the collection of data from issuers for reinsurance payments due to the complexity of the program.
States that operate an Exchange would also maintain any records associated with the reinsurance program. For this requirement, we estimate that it will take approximately 52 hours annually for States to maintain records. This is a broad estimate that includes not only the maintenance of data for the reinsurance program, but all books, records, documents, and other evidence of accounting procedures and practices related to the reinsurance program. This estimate is similar to Medicare Part D, where is was estimated that it will take 52 hours on an annual basis for plan sponsors to maintain books, records, and documents on accounting procedures and practices as described in § 423.505.
We assume that 50 States and the District of Columbia will be subject to the reporting requirements in this subpart. This estimate is an upper bound of burden as a result of the reporting requirements in this subpart; we will revise these estimates in the final rule as States progress in their Exchange development. We estimate that it will take each State approximately 64 hours to meet the provisions of this subpart for a total burden estimate of 3,264 hours. We presume that it will take a financial analyst 54 hours (at $55 an hour) and a senior manager 10 hours (at $77 an hour) to meet the reporting requirements. The burden cost estimate for each State is $3,740 for a total burden cost estimate of $190,740.
C. ICRs Regarding State Standards for the Risk Adjustment Program (§ 153.310-§ 153.340)
Part 153, subpart D describes reporting requirements for States related to the risk adjustment program. We provide minimum burden estimates in this section for the collection and submission of risk-related data, particularly encounter data, as States would be required to collect this information for Medicaid beginning in 2012.
States would be required to implement privacy standards for all data Start Printed Page 41946to be collected for the risk adjustment program. We estimate it will take States approximately 40 hours to create and implement privacy standards for this data collection. This estimate presumes it will take a policy analyst 10 hours (at $55 per hour), an operations analyst 25 hours (at $55 per hour) and a senior manager 5 hours (at $77 per hour). We expect it will cost each state $2,310 to create and implement privacy standards. The total burden of this requirement is $117,810.
States may file for an exception from minimum data collection standards, as described in § 153.430(c). We estimate that filing for an exception would take 17 hours and that 5 states will elect to file for exception. This includes 15 hours for an operations analyst (at $55 per hour) and 2 hours for a senior manager (at $77 per hour). The total burden of a minimum data reporting exception is $979 and a total of $4,895.
States would also collect risk-related data from health insurance issuers. This risk-related data includes claims, encounter, demographic, and enrollment data as described in § 153.340. While we do not specify the data collection timeframe for risk adjustment data, we provide an assumption on the timing of submission of this data. We estimate that it will take an issuer approximately 12 hours to collect this data electronically on an annual basis. We estimate that it will take an operations analyst 12 hours (at $55 per hour) to collect this data annually.
States would submit to HHS de-identified claims and encounter data for use in recalibrating Federally-certified risk adjustment models. We estimate that it will take 3 hours for States to submit this information to HHS. This estimate is slightly lower that Medicare Part D estimates for data submission as discussed previously and is a minimum burden estimate for this requirement since States will have already collected this data in the format requested for the risk adjustment program. States would submit summarized claims cost for use in verifying risk corridor submissions. Again we provide a minimum burden estimate of 2 hours since States would have already collected this information for risk adjustment.
States would submit summarized and individual-level claims and encounter data from reinsurance-eligible plans for audit purposes. We estimate a minimum burden of 2 hours for States to submit this information to HHS. Finally, States would also provide claims and encounter data for Exchange-related activities such as cost-sharing requirements and quality reporting. We estimate a minimum burden of 3 hours for States to submit this information for this purpose.
We assume that all 50 States and the District of Columbia will be subject to these reporting requirements. This estimate is an upper bound of burden as a result of the reporting requirements in this subpart; we will revise these estimates in the final rule as States progress in their Exchange development. We estimate that it will take each State approximately 30 hours to meet these requirements with a total estimated burden of 1,530 hours. We presume that it will take an operations analyst 22 hours (at $55 an hour) and a senior manager 8 hours (at $77 an hour) to meet these requirements for a cost estimate of $1,826. The total estimated cost burden is $93,126.
As discussed in § 153.330, States must submit a request to HHS for review and approval of an alternate risk adjustment methodology. We estimate that 5 States will request an approval for an alternate risk adjustment methodology. We presume all states requesting approval of an alternative risk adjustment methodology will update their methodology once. We presume that it will take an operations analyst 22 hours (at $55 an hour) and a senior manager 6 hours (at $77 an hour). Updating the methodology is expected to take an operations analyst 8 hours and a senior manager 2 hours. In total, we estimate that it will take approximately 38 hours for a State electing to establish an alternate risk adjustment methodology to meet the reporting requirements with a total estimated burden of 190 hours. We expect it will cost each state $2,266 to meet these requirements. The total estimated cost burden for five States is $11,330.
States choosing to run a risk adjustment program must validate their risk adjustment data annually. We estimate data collection and validation will take an operations analyst 25 hours (at $55 per hour) and a senior manager 5 hours (at $77 per hour). The cost estimate for validating the risk adjustment data annually is $1,760 per state and a total burden of $89,760.
Within part 153, subpart E we discuss reporting requirements for health insurance issuers related to the transitional reinsurance program. We would require all health insurance issuers both inside and outside of the exchange to provide enrollment and premium data (covered lives and total expenses for the self-insured market) to the applicable reinsurance entity for the estimation and collection of contributions. We also would require that health insurance issuers of reinsurance-eligible plans submit data necessary in order to receive reinsurance payment.
For the purpose of this estimate and whenever we refer to burden requirements for issuers, we utilize estimates of the number of issuers provided by the Healthcare.gov Web site as this site provides the best estimate of possible issuers at this time. Based on preliminary findings there are approximately 1827 issuers in the individual and small group markets. While we recognize that not all issuers will offer QHPs, we use the estimate of 1827 issuers as the upper bound of participation and burden.
We further estimate that it will take each issuer approximately 12 hours to submit enrollment and premium data electronically on an annual basis and 12 hours to submit data for reinsurance payment on an annual basis. This estimate is similar to Medicare Part D estimates as discussed previously.
As such, we estimate that it will take each issuer approximately 24 hours to comply with these requirements for a total estimated annual burden of 43,848 hours. We presume that it will take a financial analyst 16 hours (at $57 an hour) and a senior manager 8 hours (at $72 an hour) to meet these requirements. The cost estimate for meeting these requirements for each issuer is of $1,488. The total burden cost estimate for all issuers is $2,718,576.
Within part 153, subpart F we discuss reporting requirements for qualified health plan issuers related to the risk corridors program. We would require all qualified health plan issuers to submit data on premiums collected and allowable costs. While we recognize that not all issuers will offer QHPs, we use the estimate of 1827 issuers as the upper bound of participation and burden. We further estimate that it will take each issuer approximately 12 hours to comply with this requirement on an annual basis. This estimate is similar to estimates for data submission in Medicare Part D as discussed previously with a slight increase due to the complexity of the risk corridor program. The total estimated annual burden is 21, 924 hours. We presume that it will take a financial analyst 8 hours (at $57 an hour) and a senior manager 4 hours (at Start Printed Page 41947$72 an hour) for a cost estimate of $744. The total burden cost estimate for all issuers is $1,359,288.
Within part 153, subpart G, we described reporting requirements for health insurance issuers related to the risk adjustment program. Health insurance issuers would be required to submit data required for risk adjustment. This data may include claims and encounter data for items and services rendered; enrollment and demographic information; issuer rate-setting rules; and prescription drug utilization data. While we do not specify the data collection timeframe for risk adjustment data, we provide an assumption on the timing of submission of this data. We estimate that it will take an issuer approximately 20 hours to submit this data electronically on an annual basis. This estimate is a slight increase from the Medicare Advantage requirements for submitting data for drug claims as described for § 423.329 for Medicare Part D and reflects the complexity of risk adjustment for the Exchange program.
Health insurance issuers would also submit data for validation and verification activities to HHS and States. Again, we estimate that it will take an issuer approximately 12 hours to submit this data electronically on an annual basis as this should be data they already collect for risk adjustment. Finally, health insurance issuers would maintain risk adjustment data for a period of ten years. We estimate that it will take approximately 2 hours annually for issuers to maintain this data.
We estimate that 1827 issuers must comply with these requirements. We further estimate that it will take each issuer approximately 34 hours to meet the reporting provisions in this subpart for a total of 62,118 hours. We presume that it will take a financial analyst 30 hours (at $57 an hour) and a senior manager 4 hours (at $72 an hour) for a cost estimate of $2,002 for each issuer. The total estimated annual burden cost for all issuers is $3,657,654.
IV. Summary of Preliminary Regulatory Impact Analysis
The summary analysis of benefits and costs included in this proposed rule is drawn from the detailed Preliminary Regulatory Impact Analysis, available at http://cciio.cms.gov under “Regulations and Guidance.” That preliminary impact analysis evaluates the impacts of this proposed rule and a second proposed rule “Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act; Establishment of Exchanges and Qualified Health Plans.” The second proposed rule is published in this issue of the Federal Register. The following summary focuses on the benefits and costs of this proposed rule.
A. Introduction
HHS has examined the impacts of the proposed rule under Executive Orders 12866 and 13563, the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601-612), and the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-4). Executive Orders 13563 and 12866 direct agencies to assess all costs and benefits (both quantitative and qualitative) of available regulatory alternatives and, if regulation is necessary, to select regulatory approaches that maximize net benefits (including potential economic, environmental, public health and safety effects, distributive impacts, and equity). Executive Order 13563 emphasizes the importance of quantifying both costs and benefits, of reducing costs, of harmonizing rules, and of promoting flexibility. This rule has been designated an “economically” significant rule, under section 3(f)(1) of Executive Order 12866. Accordingly, the rule has been reviewed by the Office of Management and Budget.
The Regulatory Flexibility Act requires agencies to analyze regulatory options that would minimize any significant impact of a rule on small entities. Few if any insurance issuers offering comprehensive health insurance policies fell below the size thresholds for “small” business established by the SBA. CMS tentatively concludes that this NPRM would not have a significant impact on a substantial number of small entities. We request comment on whether the small entities affected by this rule have been fully identified.
Section 202(a) of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 requires that agencies prepare a written statement, which includes an assessment of anticipated costs and benefits, before proposing “any rule that includes any Federal mandate that may result in the expenditure by State, local, and tribal governments, in the aggregate, or by the private sector, of $100,000,000 or more (adjusted annually for inflation) in any one year.” The current threshold after adjustment for inflation is approximately $136 million, using the most current (2011) Implicit Price Deflator for the Gross Domestic Product. Because States are not required to set up an Exchange or operate reinsurance and risk adjustment, the NPRM does not impose a mandate to incur costs above that $136 million UMRA threshold on State, local, or tribal governments.Start Printed Page 41948
B. Need for This Regulation
This proposed rule would implement standards for States related to reinsurance and risk adjustment, and for health insurance issuers related to reinsurance, risk corridors, and risk adjustment consistent with title I of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Pub. L. 111-148) as amended by the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 (Pub. L. 111-152), referred to collectively as the Affordable Care Act. These programs will mitigate the impacts of potential adverse selection and stabilize the individual and small group markets as insurance reforms and the Affordable Insurance Exchanges (“Exchanges”) are implemented, starting in 2014. The transitional State-based reinsurance program serves to reduce the uncertainty of insurance risk in the individual market by making payments for high-cost cases. The temporary Federally-administered risk corridor program serves to protect against rate-setting uncertainty in the Exchange by limiting the extent of issuer losses (and gains). On an ongoing basis, the State-based risk adjustment program is intended to protect health insurance issuers that attract high-risk populations (such as individuals with chronic conditions).
C. Summary of Costs and Benefits of the Proposed Requirements
Two proposed regulations are being published simultaneously to implement components of the Exchange and health insurance premium stabilization policies in the Affordable Care Act. The detailed PRIA evaluates the impacts of both proposed rules, while this summary focuses on the benefits and costs of the proposed requirements in this NPRM.
Methods of Analysis
This preliminary impact analysis references the estimates of the CMS Office of the Actuary (OACT) (CMS, April 22, 2010), but primarily uses the underlying assumptions and analysis done by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) and the staff of the Joint Committee on Taxation. Their modeling effort accounts for all of the interactions among the interlocking pieces of the Affordable Care Act including its tax policies, and estimates premium effects that are important to assessing the benefits of the NPRM. A description of CBO's methods used to estimate budget and enrollment impacts is available.[1]
The CBO estimates are not significantly different than the comparable components produced by OACT; the Administration is working on developing an integrated modeling capacity that will estimate Federal spending, revenue, and private premium impacts comparable to those of CBO. Based on our review, we expect that the requirements in these NPRMs will not substantially alter the estimates of the budget impact of Exchanges or enrollment. The proposed requirements are well within the parameters used in the CBO modeling of the Affordable Care Act and do not diverge from assumptions embedded in the model. Our review and analysis of the proposed requirements indicate that the impacts are within the model's margin of error.
Summary of Costs and Benefits
CBO estimated program payments and receipts for reinsurance and risk adjustment. As Exchanges do not begin operation until 2014, there are no outlays for reinsurance and risk adjustment in 2012 and 2013. CBO estimates that risk adjustment payments and collections are equal in the aggregate, but that risk adjustment payments lag revenues by one quarter. CBO did not score the impact of risk corridors, but assumed collections would equal payments to plans in the aggregate. The payments and receipts in risk adjustment, reinsurance, and risk corridors are financial transfers between issuers.
Benefits. Payments through reinsurance, risk adjustment, and risk corridors reduce the increased risk of financial loss that health insurance issuers might otherwise expect to incur in 2014 due to market reforms such as guaranteed issue and the elimination of medical underwriting. Insurers charge premiums for expected costs plus a risk premium, in order to build up reserve funds in case medical costs are higher than expected. Reinsurance, risk adjustment and risk corridors payments reduce the risk to the issuer and the issuer can pass on a reduced risk premium to beneficiaries.
Costs. There are administrative costs to States and Exchanges to set up and administer these risk mitigation programs. It is important to note that per section 1311 of the Affordable Care Act, States may use Exchange Planning and Establishment Grant funding to help with the development of these programs. For issuers not receiving payments, any contribution is an additional cost, which is typically passed on to beneficiaries through premium increases. There are also reporting costs for issuers to submit data and financial information.
Regulatory Options Considered
Options considered for reinsurance, risk adjustment and risk corridor programs parallel the options considered for Exchanges. These programs aim to mitigate the impacts of potential adverse selection and stabilize the individual and small group markets as insurance reforms and the Affordable Insurance Exchanges are implemented, starting in 2014. The Affordable Care Act structures reinsurance and risk adjustment as State-run programs with Federal guidelines on methodology, while it establishes risk corridors as a Federally-run program.
In addition to the proposed baseline, HHS has identified two regulatory options for this proposed rule as required by Executive Order 12866.Start Printed Page 41949
Uniform Standard for Operations of Exchange and Exchange-Related Programs
Under this option HHS would require a single standard for State operations of Exchanges, reinsurance, risk adjustment and risk corridors. This alternative model would restrict State flexibility, requiring a more uniform standard that States must enact in order to achieve certification.
State Flexibility for Operation of Exchange and Exchange-Related Programs
Under this option, States would have a great deal of flexibility around whether and how to implement Exchanges, reinsurance and risk adjustment. This alternative would allow States to develop these programs to fit their State-specific characteristics. The programs would be subject to few Federal standards.
Summary of Estimate Costs for Each Option
HHS notes that a single standard for State operations of Exchanges, reinsurance, risk adjustment and risk corridors could produce a benefit of reduced Federal oversight cost. However this option may reduce innovation and therefore limit diffusion of successful policies. HHS also notes that while State flexibility could allow for innovation for States, it would increase administrative burden on the Federal government and national issuers, as policies and procedures would vary between States. HHS proposes a middle approach that aims to limit administrative costs for temporary programs while also ensuring that the policy aims of these risk mitigation programs are met. These costs and benefits are discussed more fully in the detailed impact analysis.
D. Accounting Statement
Category
Primary estimate
Year dollar
Unit discount rate (percent)
Period covered
Benefits
Annualized
Not estimated
2011
7
2012-2016
Monetized ($millions/year)
Not estimated
2011
3
2012-2016
Costs
Annualized
Not estimated
2011
7
2012-2016
Monetized ($millions/year)
Not estimated
2011
3
2012-2016
Transfers
Federal Annualized
9925
2011
7
2012-2016
Monetized ($millions/year)
9633
2011
3
2012-2016
Qualitative
Risk Adjustment transfers funds among individual and small group market health plan issuers.
Reinsurance collects funds from all issuers and distributes it to individual market issuers.
Note: For full documentation and discussion of these estimated costs and benefits see the detailed PRIA, available at http://cciio.cms.gov under “Regulations and Guidance.”
V. Regulatory Flexibility Act
The Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601et seq.) (RFA) requires agencies to prepare an initial regulatory flexibility analysis to describe the impact of the proposed rule on small entities, unless the head of the agency can certify that the rule will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. The Act generally defines a “small entity” as (1) a proprietary firm meeting the size standards of the Small Business Administration (SBA), (2) a not-for-profit organization that is not dominant in its field, or (3) a small government jurisdiction with a population of less than 50,000. States and individuals are not included in the definition of “small entity.” HHS uses as its measure of significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities a change in revenues of more than 3 to 5 percent.
As discussed above, this proposed rule is necessary to implement standards for States related to reinsurance and risk adjustment, and for health insurance issuers related to reinsurance, risk corridors, and risk adjustment consistent with title I of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Pub. L. 111-148) as amended by the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 (Pub. L. 111-152), referred to collectively as the Affordable Care Act. For purpose of the Regulatory Flexibility Analysis, we expect entities offering health insurance plans including fully insured health plan issuers, self-insured health plan issuers, TPAs and other organizations to be affected by this proposed rule. We believe that health insurers would be classified under the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Codes 524114 (Direct Health and Medical Insurance Carriers) According to SBA size standards, entities with average annual receipts of $7 million or less would be considered small entities for both of these NAICS codes. Health issuers could possibly be classified in 621491 (HMO Medical Centers) and, if this is the case, the SBA size standard would be $10 million or less.
As discussed in the Web Portal interim final rule (75 FR 24481), HHS examined the health insurance industry in depth in the Regulatory Impact Analysis we prepared for the proposed rule on establishment of the Medicare Advantage program (69 FR 46866, August 3, 2004). In that analysis, we determined that there were few, if any, insurance firms underwriting comprehensive health insurance policies (in contrast, for example, to travel insurance policies or dental discount policies) that fell below the size thresholds for “small” business established by the SBA (currently $7 million in annual receipts for health insurers, based on North American Industry Classification System Code 524114).2
Additionally, as discussed in the Medical Loss Ratio interim final rule (75 FR 74918), the Department used a data set created from 2009 National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) Health and Life Blank annual Start Printed Page 41950financial statement data to develop an updated estimate of the number of small entities that offer comprehensive major medical coverage in the individual and group markets. For purposes of that analysis, the Department used total Accident and Health (A&H) earned premiums as a proxy for annual receipts. The Department estimated that there were 28 small entities with less than $7 million in A&H earned premiums offering individual or group comprehensive major medical coverage; however, this estimate may overstate the actual number of small health insurance issuers offering such coverage, since it does not include receipts from these companies' other lines of business.
As discussed earlier in this summary of the preliminary RIA, the Department is seeking comments on the potential impacts of the requirements in this proposed regulation on issuers' administrative costs. The Department is also seeking comments relating to potential impacts on small issuers.
This rule proposes standards for premium stabilization programs required of health plan issuers including the risk adjustment program as well as the transitional reinsurance and risk corridors programs. Because health plan issuers are the only entities impacted by this rule and as evidenced above, few if any insurance firms offering comprehensive health insurance policies fell below the size thresholds for “small” business established by the SBA. We request comment on whether the small entities affected by this rule have been fully identified. We also request comment and information on potential costs for these entities and on any alternatives that we should consider.
VI. Unfunded Mandates
Section 202 of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (UMRA) requires that agencies assess anticipated costs and benefits and take certain other actions before issuing proposed rule (and subsequent final rule) that includes any Federal mandate that may result in expenditures in any one year by a State, local, or tribal governments, in the aggregate, or by the private sector, of $100 million in 1995 dollars, updated annually for inflation. In 2011, that threshold is approximately $136 million. Because States are not required to set up an Exchange or operate reinsurance and risk adjustment, the NPRM does not impose a mandate to incur costs above the $136 million UMRA threshold on State, local, or tribal governments.
VII. Federalism
Executive Order 13132 establishes certain requirements that an agency must meet when it promulgates a proposed rule (and subsequent final rule) that imposes substantial direct costs on State and local governments, pre-empts State law, or otherwise has Federalism implications. Because States have flexibility in designing their Exchange and Exchange-related programs, State decisions will ultimately influence both administrative expenses and overall premiums. States are not required to operate an Exchange, risk adjustment, or reinsurance. For States electing to operate an Exchange, risk adjustment and reinsurance, much of the initial costs to the creation of Exchanges and Exchange-related programs will be funded by Exchange Planning and Establishment Grants. After this time, Exchanges will be financially self-sustaining with revenue sources at the discretion of the State. Current State Exchanges charge user fees to issuers.
In compliance with the requirement of Executive Order 13132 that agencies examine closely any policies that may have Federalism implications or limit the policy making discretion of the States, the Department has engaged in efforts to consult with and work cooperatively with affected States, including participating in conference calls with and attending conferences of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, and consulting with State insurance officials on an individual basis.
Throughout the process of developing this NPRM, the Department has attempted to balance the States' interests in regulating health insurance issuers, and Congress' intent to provide access to Affordable Insurance Exchanges for consumers in every State. By doing so, it is the Department's view that we have complied with the requirements of Executive Order 13132.
Pursuant to the requirements set forth in section 8(a) of Executive Order 13132, and by the signatures affixed to this regulation, the Department certifies that CMS has complied with the requirements of Executive Order 13132 for the attached proposed regulation in a meaningful and timely manner.
Subpart B—State Notice of Insurance Benefits and Payment Parameters
(a) General requirement. A State operating an Exchange, as well as a State establishing a reinsurance program, must issue an annual notice of benefits and payment parameters specific to that State if that State intends to modify any reinsurance or risk adjustment parameters from those specified in the forthcoming annual Federal notice of benefit and payment parameters.
(b) State notice deadlines. If a State elects to publish an annual notice of benefits and payment parameters, the State must issue the notice by early March of the year prior to the benefit year.
(c) State failure to publish notice. Any State operating an Exchange or establishing a reinsurance program that fails to publish a notice within the period specified in paragraph (b) of this section must adhere to the parameters, as specified in the forthcoming annual Federal notice of benefit and payment parameters.
(a) Reinsurance content. If a State operating an Exchange or establishing a reinsurance program intends to modify a Federal reinsurance payment parameter, the State notice must specify at least the following information:
(2) The reinsurance attachment point, reinsurance cap, and coinsurance rate, as specified in § 153.230, if different from the corresponding parameters specified in the forthcoming annual Federal notice of benefit and payment parameters;
(3) If a State plans to use more than one applicable reinsurance entity, for each applicable reinsurance entity, the geographic boundaries for that entity and estimates of:
(i) The number of enrollees in group health plans, including the fully insured and self insured market;
(ii) The number of enrollees in the individual market;
(iii) The amount of reinsurance payments that will be made to issuers; and
(iv) The amount of all premiums in the geographic region that will be available for contributions for each reinsurance entity.
(b) Risk adjustment content. If a State operating an Exchange intends to modify a Federal risk adjustment parameter, the State notice must provide a detailed description of and rationale for any modifications, including:
(1) The methodology for determining average actuarial risk, including the establishment of risk pools and the Federally-certified risk adjustment model as specified in § 153.320; and
Subpart C—State Standards for the Transitional Reinsurance Program for the Individual Market
Attachment point means the threshold dollar amount of costs incurred by a health insurance issuer for payment of essential health benefits, as defined in section 1302(b) of the Affordable Care Act, provided for an enrolled individual, after which threshold, the costs for covered essential health benefits, as defined in section 1302(b) of the Affordable Care Act, are eligible for reinsurance payments.
Coinsurance rate means the rate at which the applicable reinsurance entity will reimburse the health insurance issuer for costs incurred to cover essential health benefits, as defined in section 1302(b) of the Affordable Care Act, after the attachment point and before the reinsurance cap.
Contribution rate means the rate, based on a percent of premium, used to determine the dollar amounts each health insurance issuer and third party administrator, on behalf of a self-insured group health plan, must contribute to a State reinsurance program.
Percent of premium means the percent of total revenue, based on earned premiums as described in § 158.130(a), in a fully insured market or the percent of total medical expenses in a self-insured market.
Reinsurance cap means the threshold dollar amount for costs incurred by a Start Printed Page 41952health insurance issuer for payment of essential health benefits, as defined in section 1302(b) of the Affordable Care Act, provided for an enrolled individual, after which threshold, the costs for covered essential health benefits, as defined in section 1302(b) of the Affordable Care Act, are no longer eligible for reinsurance payments.
Third party administrator means the claims processing entity for a self-insured group health plan.
(a) General requirement. Each State that elects to operate an Exchange must establish a reinsurance program for the years 2014 through 2016.
(1) The State must enter into a contract with an existing applicable reinsurance entity or establish an applicable reinsurance entity to carry out the provisions of this subpart.
(2) If a State establishes or contracts with more than one applicable reinsurance entity, the State must:
(i) Ensure that each applicable reinsurance entity operates in a distinct geographic area with no overlap of jurisdiction with any other applicable reinsurance entity; and
(ii) Publish the geographic boundaries for each applicable reinsurance entity in a State notice described in § 153.110.
(3) Under authority granted by the State, an applicable reinsurance entity may subcontract specific administrative functions required under this subpart and part 156 subpart G.
(4) States must review and approve subcontracting arrangements to ensure efficient and appropriate expenditures of administrative funds collected under this subpart.
(5) States must ensure that the contract or establishment of the applicable reinsurance entity is of sufficient duration to cover completion of all reinsurance-related activities for benefit years commencing in 2014 through 2016 and any activities required to be undertaken in subsequent periods.
(b) Multi-State reinsurance arrangements. Multiple States may contract with a single not-for-profit entity to serve as the applicable reinsurance entity for each State. In such cases, each contractual arrangement between the not-for-profit entity and the individual State will be treated as an individual State applicable reinsurance entity separate and distinct from all other applicable reinsurance entities operated by the not-for-profit entity.
(c) Special State circumstances for establishing a reinsurance program. For each State that does not elect to establish an Exchange, the State may determine to operate its own reinsurance program and must carry out all of the provisions in this subpart.
(d) Non-electing States. For each State that does not elect to establish an Exchange and does not determine to operate its own reinsurance program, HHS will carry out all of the provisions of this subpart on behalf of the State and establish the reinsurance program to perform all the reinsurance functions for that State.
(e) Oversight. Each State that establishes an Exchange or operates a reinsurance program must ensure that each applicable reinsurance entity complies with all provisions of this subpart and subpart E throughout the duration of its contract or establishment.
(a) General requirement. The State must ensure that the applicable reinsurance entity collects contributions to fund the following:
(1) Reinsurance contributions that will total, on a national basis, $10 billion in 2014, $6 billion in 2015, and $4 billion in 2016.
(2) U.S. Treasury contributions that will total, on a national basis, $2 billion in 2014, $2 billion in 2015, and $1 billion in 2016.
(b) Contribution rate. The State must adhere to a national contribution rate set by HHS for the amounts listed in paragraph (a)(1) and (a)(2) of this section.
(1) HHS will set the contribution rate as a percent of premium through a forthcoming annual Federal notice of benefit and payment parameters.
(2) At a minimum, the State must ensure that all applicable reinsurance entities operating in a State collect from all contributing entities the amount set forth by the national rate. The contributions allocated for—
(i) Reinsurance payments must be used for reinsurance payments.
(ii) Payments to the U.S. Treasury must be paid to the U.S. Treasury.
(3) An applicable reinsurance entity may collect more than the amounts collected from the set national rate to provide—
(i) Additional funding for reinsurance payments if the State believes the amount is not sufficient to fund required reinsurance payments; and
(ii) Funding for administrative expenses of the applicable reinsurance entity.
(a) General requirement. A health insurance issuer of a non-grandfathered individual market plan becomes eligible for reinsurance payments when its expenses for items and services within the essential health benefits, as defined in section 1302(b) of the Affordable Care Act, of an individual enrollee exceed an attachment point.
(b) Reinsurance payment. States may use the payment formula and values for the attachment point, reinsurance cap, and coinsurance rate for each year commencing in 2014 and ending in 2016, established in the forthcoming annual Federal notice of benefit and payment parameters.
(1) States must ensure that the reinsurance payment represents the product of the coinsurance rate times all health insurance issuer costs for an individual's essential health benefits, as defined in section 1302(b) of the Affordable Care Act, which the health insurance issuer incurs between the attachment point and the reinsurance cap.
(2) The State, or the applicable reinsurance entity on behalf of the State, must remit the amounts in paragraph § 153.220(a)(2) of this section to the general fund of the U.S. Treasury at a frequency to be determined by HHS.
(c) State modification of reinsurance payment formula. States may modify the reinsurance payment formula to values determined appropriate by the State.
(1) States may use one or all of the following methods:
(i) Increasing or decreasing the attachment point;
(ii) Increasing, decreasing, or eliminating the reinsurance cap; and
(iii) Increasing or decreasing the coinsurance rate.
(2) States must publish any modification to the reinsurance payment formula and parameters in a State notice as described in § 153.110.
(3) States that develop a State formula for reinsurance payments must ensure that contributions toward reinsurance are sufficient to cover:
(i) All payments that the applicable reinsurance entity is obligated to make under that State formula for the given calendar year for the reinsurance program;
(ii) All contributions to the U.S. Treasury described in § 153.220(a)(2).
(a) Data collection. The State must ensure that the applicable reinsurance entity collects from health insurance issuers of reinsurance-eligible plans data required to calculate payments described in § 153.230, according to the data requirements and data collection Start Printed Page 41953frequency specified by the State in the notice described in § 153.110 or in the forthcoming annual Federal notice of benefit and payment parameters.
(b) Reinsurance entity payments. The State must ensure that each applicable reinsurance entity make payments to health insurance issuers that do not exceed contributions.
(1) Payments must be made to health insurance issuers of reinsurance-eligible plans based on the applicable payment notice identified in § 153.230(b) or the payment parameters set pursuant to § 153.230(c).
(2) Payments may be reduced on a pro rata basis to match the amount of contributions received by the State in a given reinsurance year. Any pro rata reductions that the State determines are necessary must be fair and equitable for all health insurance issuers in the individual market.
(3) The State must ensure that an applicable reinsurance entity makes payment as specified in § 153.410(b) to the health insurance issuer of a reinsurance-eligible plan after receiving a valid claim for payment from that health insurance issuer.
(c) Maintenance of Records. The State must maintain books, records, documents, and other evidence of accounting procedures and practices of the reinsurance program for each benefit year for at least 10 years.
(a) State eligibility to establish a risk adjustment program. (1) A State that elects to operate an Exchange is eligible to establish a risk adjustment program.
(2) Any State that does not elect an Exchange, or that HHS has not approved to operate an Exchange, will forgo implementation of all State functions in this subpart and HHS will carry out all of the provisions of this subpart on behalf of the State.
(3) Any State that elects to establish an Exchange but does not elect to administer risk adjustment will forgo implementation of all State functions in this subpart and HHS will carry out all of the provisions of this subpart on behalf of the State.
(b) Entities eligible to carry out risk adjustment activities. A State may elect to have an entity other than the Exchange perform the risk adjustment functions of this subpart provided that the entity selected meets the requirements proposed in § 155.110 of the notice of proposed rulemaking entitled, “Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act; Establishment of Exchanges and Qualified Health Plans,” published in this issue of the Federal Register.
(c) Timeframes. A State, or HHS on behalf of the State, must commence calculating payment and charges with the 2014 benefit year.
(a) General requirement. Any risk adjustment methodology used by a State, or HHS on behalf of the State, must be established as a Federally-certified risk adjustment methodology. A risk adjustment methodology may become Federally-certified by one of the following processes:
(1) A risk adjustment methodology developed by HHS, with its use authorized and published in a forthcoming annual Federal notice of benefits and payment parameters; or
(2) An alternative risk adjustment methodology submitted by a State in accordance with § 153.330, and reviewed and certified by HHS. After HHS approves a State alternative risk adjustment methodology, that methodology is considered a Federally-certified risk adjustment methodology.
(b) Publication of methodology in notices. A State must use one of the Federally-certified risk adjustment methodologies that will be published by HHS in a forthcoming annual Federal notice of benefits and payment parameters or that has been published by the State in the annual State notice described in § 153.110(b). Each methodology will include:
(1) A complete description of the risk adjustment model, including—
(i) Factors to be employed in the model, including but not limited to demographic factors, diagnostic factors, and utilization factors, if any;
(ii) The qualifying criteria for establishing that an individual is eligible for a specific factor;
(iii) Weights assigned to each factor; and
(iv) The schedule for collection of risk adjustment data and determination of factors; and
(2) Any adjustments made to the risk adjustment model weights to determine average actuarial risk.
(c) Use of methodology for States that do not elect an Exchange. HHS will specify in the forthcoming annual Federal notice of benefits and payment parameters the Federally-certified risk adjustment methodology that will apply in States that do not elect to operate an Exchange.
(a) Data collection requirements. The State, or HHS on behalf of the State, must collect risk-related data to determine individual risk scores that form the basis for risk adjustment.
(b) Minimum standards. The State, or HHS on behalf of the State, may vary the amount and type of data collected provided that the State, or HHS on behalf of the State, uses the following standards for risk adjustment data collection:
(2) The HIPAA standard ASC X12N 834 Benefit Enrollment and Maintenance transaction for all demographic and enrollment data; and
(3) To ensure adequate data privacy standards, the State, or any official, employee, agent or representative of the State must use individually identifiable information only as specifically required or permitted by this part and must not disclose individually identifiable information except as provided in paragraph (d) of this section.
(i) The State should interpret this provision as separate from the authority of other applicable laws for disclosing individual identifiable information under paragraph (d) of this section.
(ii) The State must implement security standards that provide administrative, physical, and technical safeguards for the individually identifiable information consistent with the security standards described at 45 CFR 164.308, 164.310, and 164.312.
(iii) The State must establish privacy standards that set forth approved uses and disclosures of individually identifiable information.
(c) Exception for States with all payer claims databases. Any State with an all payer claims database that is operational on or before January 1, 2013 may request an exception from the data collection minimum standards described in paragraph (b) of this section by submitting:
(1) Technical specifications for the all payer claims database including data formats;
(2) Proposed system modifications to support risk adjustment activities;
(3) Proposed system modifications to meet requirements set forth in paragraph (d) of this section and other Exchange-related activities.
(d) Uses of risk adjustment data. The State, or HHS on behalf of the State, must make relevant claims and encounter data collected under risk adjustment available to support claims-related activities as follows:
(a) General requirement. The State, or HHS on behalf of the State, must validate a statistically valid sample of risk adjustment data from each issuer that offers at least one risk adjustment covered plan in that State.
(b) Use of data validation to adjust risk. The State, or HHS on behalf of the State, may adjust the average actuarial risk calculated in § 153.310 for all risk adjustment covered plans offered by an issuer based on the risk score error determined in the data validation conducted pursuant to paragraph (a) of this section.
(c) Adjustment to charges and payments. The State may adjust charges and payments to all risk adjustment covered plan issuers based on the adjustments calculated in paragraph (b) of this section.
(d) Appeals. The State must provide an administrative process to appeal data validation findings.
(a) General requirement. Each contributing entity must make payments of contributions, in a frequency and manner determined by the State or HHS, to the applicable reinsurance entity for each State in which the contributing entity issues health insurance for the contributions specified pursuant to § 153.220(b).
(b) Multiple reinsurance entities. If the State establishes or contracts with more than one reinsurance entity, the contributing entity must make payments to each applicable reinsurance entity that covers each geographic area in which the contributing entity issues health insurance.
(c) Data requirements. Each contributing entity must submit to each applicable reinsurance entity data required to substantiate the contribution amounts for the contributing entity.
(1) Each contributing entity in the individual and fully insured market must submit enrollment and premium data.
(2) Each contributing entity in the self-insured market must submit data on covered lives and total expenses.
(a) General requirement. A reinsurance-eligible plan issuer may make a request for payment when an enrollee of that reinsurance-eligible plan has met the criteria for reinsurance payment.
(b) Manner of request. Reinsurance-eligible plan issuers must make requests for payment in a manner that will be specified by the State as described in § 153.110 or in the forthcoming annual Federal notice of benefit and payment parameters.
Allowable administrative costs means the total non-medical costs as defined in § 158.160(b), including costs for the administration and operation incurred by the plan as set forth in § 158.160(b)(2).
Allowable costs means an amount equal to the total medical costs, which include clinical costs, excluding allowable administrative costs, paid by the QHP issuer in providing benefits covered by the QHP.
Direct and indirect remuneration means prescription drug price concessions or similar benefits from manufacturers, pharmacies or similar entities obtained by a QHP issuer or an intermediary contracting organization with which a QHP issuer has contracted. Such concessions include but are not limited to: Discounts, charge backs, rebates, free goods contingent on a purchase agreement, up-front payments, coupons, goods in kind, free or reduced-price services, and grants. We further specify that the term applies regardless of whether the intermediary contracting organization retains all or a portion of the direct and indirect remuneration or passes the entire direct and indirect remuneration to the QHP issuer and regardless of the terms of the contract between the issuer and the intermediary contracting organization.
Payment means the flow of funds from HHS to QHP issuers.
Qualified Health Plan, or QHP, has the meaning given to the term proposed in the general definitions section of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act; Establishment of Exchanges and Qualified Health Plans, published in this issue of the Federal Register.
Risk corridor means any payment adjustment system based on the ratio of allowable costs of a plan to the plan's target amount.
Target amount means an amount equal to the total premiums incurred by a QHP, including any premium tax credit under any governmental program, reduced by the allowable administrative costs of the plan.
(a) General requirement. A QHP issuer must adhere to the requirements set by HHS in this subpart and in the forthcoming annual Federal notice of benefits and payment parameters for the establishment and administration of a program of risk corridors for calendar years 2014, 2015, and 2016.
(b) HHS payments to health insurance issuers. QHP issuers will receive payment from HHS in the following amounts under the following circumstances:
(1) When a QHP's allowable costs for any benefit year are more than 103 percent but not more than 108 percent of the target amount, HHS pays the QHP issuer an amount equal to 50 percent of the target amount in excess of 103 percent of the target amount; and
(2) When a QHP's allowable costs for any benefit year are more than 108 percent of the target amount, HHS pays to the QHP issuer an amount equal to the sum of 2.5 percent of the target amount plus 80 percent of allowable costs in excess of 108 percent of the target amount.
(c) Health insurance issuers' remittance of charges. QHP issuers must remit charges to HHS in the following amounts under the following circumstances:
(1) If a QHP's allowable costs for any benefit year are less than 97 percent but not less than 92 percent of the target amount, the QHP issuer must remit charges to HHS an amount equal to 50 percent of the difference between 97 percent of the target amount and the allowable costs; and
(2) When a QHP's allowable costs for any benefit year are less than 92 percent of the target amount, the QHP issuer must remit charges to HHS an amount equal to the sum of 2.5 percent of the target amount plus 80 percent of the difference between 92 percent of the target amount and the allowable costs.
(a) Adjusted premium data. QHP issuers must submit to HHS data on the premiums collected for each QHP that the issuer offers in a format specified by HHS. These premium amounts must be adjusted in the following manner:
(1) Increased by the amount of any payments received for—
(i) Risk adjustment, and
(ii) Reinsurance as described in § 153.230; and
(2) Reduced for any—
(i) Risk adjustment charges assessed,
(ii) Reinsurance contributions made as described in § 153.220, and
(iii) User fees paid.
(3) Accounting for reinsurance payments. QHP issuers must attribute reinsurance payments to risk corridors based on the date, to be determined by HHS, on which the valid reinsurance claim was submitted.
(b) Allowable costs. All QHP issuers offering QHP's must submit to HHS the allowable costs incurred for each QHP that the QHP issuer offers in a format to be specified in the forthcoming annual Federal notice of benefits and payment parameters.
(1) Allowable costs must be net of direct and indirect remuneration.
(2) Allowable costs must be reduced for any cost-sharing reductions payments received from HHS.
(a) Data submission. All issuers that offer risk adjustment covered plans must submit all required risk adjustment data for those risk adjustment covered plans in the manner and timeframes established by the State, or by HHS on behalf of the State. This data may include but is not limited to:
(1) Claims and encounter data for items and services rendered;
(2) Enrollment and demographic information; and
(3) Prescription drug utilization data.
(b) Issuer contracts. Issuers that offer risk adjustment covered plans may include in their contracts with providers, suppliers, physicians, and other practitioners, provisions that require such contractor's submission of complete and accurate risk adjustment data in the manner and timeframes established by the State, or HHS on behalf of the State. These provisions may include financial penalties for failure to submit complete, timely, or accurate data.
(c) Assessment of charges. After charges and payments for all risk adjustment covered plans have been calculated, issuers that offer risk adjustment covered plans with a net balance of risk adjustment charges payable will be notified by the State, or by HHS on behalf of the State, for those net charges and must remit those risk adjustment charges to the State, or to HHS on behalf of the State.
(a) Issuer support of data validation. All issuers that offer risk adjustment covered plans must make available to HHS and the State any data requested to support validation of risk adjustment data reported under this subpart of this part.
(b) Issuer records maintenance requirements. All issuers that offer risk adjustment covered plans must retain any risk adjustment data reported under this subpart of this part for a period of at least ten years after the date of the report. | {
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Miserable commute: Rain and thunderstorms forecast for Friday
A band of moisture that started drenching the Southland overnight will continue through Friday morning in fits and starts with a smattering of thunder and lightning, the National Weather Service said.
“Roads will be slick,” said NWS meteorologist Carol Smith. “There are going to be scattered showers with a possibility of thunderstorms and also the possibility on your commute that you could run into a heavier shower and water on the road.”
A storm stretching from Catalina Island to Los Angeles International Airport and inland into Burbank and the western Antelope Valley will dampen Southern Californians on Friday morning but should fade away by the evening, Smith said.
Rain that sprinkled across South and Downtown L.A. early Friday won’t return until the morning heats up, triggering more showers and thunder, Smith said. It will drift east by the afternoon, she said.
Flash-flood warnings are in effect for the interior mountains and the Antelope Valley.
Antelope Valley residents should watch out for mud and debris from recent wildfires, the NWS said. | {
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Buildings For Toys - Guide
Gladiator's Sanctum: This building allows access to the Highmaul Coliseum which, upon winning the event, grants you the toy Warlord's Flag of Victory.
Lumbermill: Having this building gives you the ability to loot Barkskin Tome, which drops from Petrified Ancient that are found in specific locations in Draenor. It starts the quest Legacy of the Ancients. This quest requires you to kill and loot four unique Draenor ancients. These are spawned by chopping down Level 2 Trees (Medium Timber). Completing this quest awards the Treessassin's Guise, a toy that transforms you into a tree unique to the Draenor zone you are in. There are six styles total.
Inn: Having this building gives you access to a rotating set of quest givers who give you quests to enter dungeons. Many of these quests reward toys and their full list can be seenhere. | {
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NVIDIA's New Quad SLI Disappoints - 'Lackluster Performance'
"Quad SLI is a familiar term to us - not only have we had to hear about for months building up to today's release but NVIDIA has tried this once before. The card of choice (well, really there was no choice) was the GeForce 7950 GX2 and the success of the platform was less than spectacular. After being met with lackluster performance results, small lists of compatible games and eventually complete abandonment at the hands of NVIDIA when Vista came in to the fray the company definitely needed to rethink things."
They need to get all the chips on the same motherboard. The other issue is game programming, and I have yet to even hear about native multicore GPU support that's built to take advantage of what we're seeing here.
This is where console development has a major advantage; static hardware.
If the benchmarks of the GeForce 9 series are so similar to the performance of Series 8, then of course we would be bummed. I can get similar performance from an 8800GT for less money. The only time we'll see value is when the new drivers come out. | {
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The White Sox are set to sign Cuban slugger Jose Abreu to a six-year, $68 million contract, pending a physical, according to MLB.com.
The mega-deal for the 26-year-old first baseman follows the success of Oakland’s Yoenis Cespedes (four years, $36 million) and Dodgers sensation Yasiel Puig (seven years, $42 million) — also Cuban defectors.
The Astros, Rangers and Red Sox were also reported to be in the running for Abreu, who went 9-for-25 with three home runs and nine RBIs in six games for Cuba in the World Baseball Classic this spring. The contract — with an average annual value of $11.33 million — would be the largest first-time deal given to an international player. | {
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My Trey's Angel SistaS WorldWide (TreyAholics) [FB group]
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My Trey's Angel SistaS WorldWide (TreyAholics) [FB group]
June 26, 2011
Please sisters, all of you who r part of this FB group with the same name, write your facebook name & angel name here so that our sister, who is running the FB group, can kick out all the fake angels! Thank you so much ! :)
Please sisters, all of you who r part of this FB group with the same name, write your facebook name & angel name here so that our sister, who is running the FB group, can kick out all the fake angels! Thank you so much ! :)
I am not apart of the group. But, I would love to join it. My FB name is Anscia Brown and if you can't find me by my name then here's my email address: [email protected] . My angel nickname is #SplendidAngel
Pages
[{"parent":{"title":"Get on the list!","body":" Get exclusive information about STARTER SITE tour dates, video premieres and special announcements ","field_newsletter_id":"6010047","field_label_list_id":"50","field_display_rates":"0","field_preview_mode":"false","field_lbox_height":"","field_lbox_width":"","field_toaster_timeout":"60000","field_toaster_position":"From Top","field_turnkey_height":"1000"}}]
By submitting my information above, I acknowledge that I have reviewed and agreed to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use, and I agree to receive updates and marketing messages from time to time from Trey Songz and his record label.
By submitting my information above, I acknowledge that I have reviewed and agreed to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use, and I agree to receive updates and marketing messages from time to time from Trey Songz and his record label.
By submitting my information above, I acknowledge that I have reviewed and agreed to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use, and I agree to receive updates and marketing messages from time to time from Trey Songz and his record label.
Trey would love to know more about you! Customize your notifications for tour dates near your hometown, birthday wishes, or special discounts in our online store!
Please fill out the correct information.
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Sign me up to discover more artists like Trey Songz!
By submitting my information above, I acknowledge that I have reviewed and agreed to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use, and I agree to receive updates and marketing messages from time to time from Trey Songz and his record label. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
Hamilton officers were dispatched to an apartment at 2 Sirena Drive on the report of a person shot at 7:40 p.m. Thursday.
On arrival officers found Ollie Sales, 25, who lived in the apartment with a gunshot wound.
Sales was transported to University Hospital West Chester, where he was pronounced dead.
Police said two people were seen in the area at the time of the shooting.
One person is described as a black male, 5 foot 10 inches, with dreadlocks. He was last seen wearing a black long sleeved T-shirt and black jeans. The other person is described as a black male, 6 feet tall, with short hair. He was last seen wearing baggy jeans with boxers hanging out.
The two men were last seen driving a red or maroon Chevrolet Caprice.
Anyone with information on this incident is asked to contact Hamilton Police detectives at 513-868-5811 ext 2002. | {
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Welcome to the GNOME FTP tree.
Here is a little guide:
sources/
This is a huge tree of released tarballs for each module. If this
directory does not exist on your mirror, they have chosen to provide
just the major release tarballs. You will find them under the following
directories.
apps/
core/
These directories are for major GNOME 3 releases in each category.
admin/
platform/
desktop/
bindings/
devtools/
mobile/
These directories are for major GNOME 2 releases in each category.
teams/
This is an FTP area for the various GNOME subprojects, such as
documentation, usability, i18n and accessibility.
binaries/
This directory holds binaries released by various GNOME sub projects.
misc/
This directory has miscellaneous things.
Thanks and enjoy,
The GNOME Team | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
An Exposing the ELCA reader sent me this news item. In 2006, The Lutheran, a publication of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, wrote a “favorable” review of the movie “Brokeback Mountain,” an R-rated movie about two homosexual cowboys.
The full review is only available to subscribers of The Lutheran, but its editor, Daniel J Lehmann talks about it here. The magazine does allow non-subscribers to read the first two paragraphs of the article and it is here we read “(w)e encourage you to see the fine movies described here.” (see here)
There were a number of Lutherans who did not appreciate The Lutheran recommending this movie. One person wrote saying, “I was disappointed with some of the movie choices recommended in the March issue of The Lutheran. . .In my opinion sexually explicit movies, whether heterosexual or homosexual, aren’t the type of movies we need to recommend to others.” Another wrote, “I’m appalled that you included Brokeback Mountain in your review of movies. This movie is just another way of desensitizing the public to homosexuality . . . I hope a church magazine would promote wholesome family movies.” (read here)
Shellfish, a ELCA-focused blog said this, “Let's see, high praise for a movie that praises adultery and the break-up of two families while two ‘I'm not queer, no me either’ guys ‘find themselves.’ Makes perfect sense for a church magazine, that is, if you are a denomination that has seriously lost everything that is holy . . . ” (read here)
How sad that a supposed Christian denominational magazine encourages young and old alike to go to R-rated movies which glorify homosexuality. Note that this review article was written in 2006, before the ELCA overruled God and “unsinned” homosexual relations in 2009.
The Bethany College men’s golf team got itself in hot water recently when they posed naked for an unofficial team picture. (see this article - Bethany suspends golfers after racy picture - warning, picture is posted with article)
The story out of Bethany College (ELCA) has been picked up by newspapers, websites, television stations and radio programs from around the nation. (see here)
Rev. Dr. S. John Roth is currently the pastor at Faith Lutheran Church in Jacksonville, IL. In June of 2011, Rev. Roth was elected to be the next Bishop of the Central/Southern Illinois Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).
In the most recent publication of Rev. Roth’s church’s newsletter, there was an article that had an interesting prayer in it. Here is the first section of the prayer:
“Eternal Spirit,Earth-maker, Pain-bearer, Life-giver,Source of all that is and that shall be,Father and Mother of us all,Loving God, in whom is heaven: . . .” (see here)
The notion of “Mother” God continues to permeate the lexicon of ELCA leadership, and this is another example of it, coming from a church under the leadership of the next Central/Southern Illinois Synod Bishop.
The 2011 ELCA Churchwide Assembly is now over. No doubt reports will be coming out about the happenings. Here is the ELCA’s summery of what took place (click here)
A few items which I find interesting:- An Islamic leader spoke to the assembly and received three standing ovations.- The assembly passed a resolution which calls for congregations to protest against immigration laws like those in Arizona and Alabama. (read here) - Veiled comments were spoken and a memorial was approved which is founded in anti-Semitism.- The genetics social statement was adopted.- My understanding is that the assembly did vote in regards to proposed changes for congregations who want to leave the ELCA, it may have been brought forward in conjunction with other motions which I have not yet uncovered. - Many words were spoken which professed overwhelming pride for and the greatness of the ELCA.
So in honor of the self-promoting and self-love which was so evident at the 2011 Churchwide Assembly, I give to you a video made at an ELCA National Youth Gathering:
It is not always easy doing what is right and standing up for Christ and God’s Word. I have been called names you wouldn’t expect “Christians” to call another person. I have been accused of being hateful. I have been threatened by an ELCA seminary professor saying he would make sure I never received a Masters of Divinity degree. Just this week, I was banned from the American Lutheran Publicity Bureau forum (ALPB) after merely posting two links which provide information regarding the actions of the ELCA concerning the abortion issue (on a posted thread entitled "Abortion and the Church.")
The Bible tells us “(t)hat is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” - 2 Corinthians 12:10
So for Christ’s sake I gladly take the scorn and anger. ELCA supporters can say whatever they would like about this ministry and my work. People are at risk of eternity in hell because of the false teachings of the ELCA. God has called me to this ministry, to shine light on what ELCA leadership believes. That is what I will do. In the words of Horatio G. Spafford, “It is well with my soul.”
------
Thank you to those who have helped support Exposing the ELCA with your financial gifts and encouragement. It is a great blessing to me and my family.
We have seen ELCA leadership attempt to eliminate masculine pronouns when referring to God (see here, here and here).This is confirmed again in a written conversation between three ELCA seminarians:
Person One - posts that he - "(i)s unsure if Wartburg's conversion of me toward a posture of inclusive language about God is a blessing or a curse as I learn songs for VBS!!! I cringe every 4 seconds as I hear masculine pronouns!"
Person Two - "I do the same thing here during bible studies!!!"
Person Three - "YOU TOO!!!!! It's driving me NUTS! Hahahaha...funny thing is I NEVER thought it would."(Person One is referring to Wartburg Theological Seminary when he says "Wartburg.")
It is interesting how removing masculine pronouns for God is called "inclusive."
I ran across an article recently which told a story of a United Methodist Church in a nearby city that had lesbians play Mary and Joseph in a church nativity. I thought this was information more people should know about so I passed the story on to a well known internet news website, WorldNetDaily. They responded within half a day, decided to write an article on it and asked me for some quotes. Here is the article.
Lutheran Woman Today, a publication of Women of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, published an article in their June 2011 magazine called “Holden Together.” In the article we are told about a retreat and Bible study where ELCA pastor, Matt Larson, taught on Genesis 1, 2 and 3. The pastor did not teach the traditional historical understanding that Moses wrote these chapters, instead it was “Yahwists” and priests. The take-away message of this Bible study on creation and Adam and Eve was, “(j)ust because it’s not real doesn’t mean it’s not true.” (link to the article)
The article earlier stated, “(w)hen asked to describe the creation story, members of our group offered similar words: allegory, symbolic, myth, parable.”
Here is an ELCA affiliated magazine promoting the denial of the words of the Bible and make no mistake, it is also teaching their readers that they can not trust that what the Bible says is true.
In the same article about the retreat, a Methodist preacher spoke to the group, the author tells us “he excoriated America for ‘raining down fire’ on the Middle East and called for forgiveness and reconciliation in our foreign relations.”
This is so typical, many leaders in the ELCA and the mainline denominations that it is full communion with, blame America, hate on Jews and deny Scripture. | {
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A patient wears metal frames after leg extension surgery
A patient wears metal frames after leg extension surgery
Getty Images
Leg lengthening is becoming a popular procedure in countries such as China, where height issues are controversial and many high-income jobs have height requirements. A very painful and expensive surgery, leg extension involves breaking the leg in several places, then using steel cages and pins to stretch the leg. Photo: Getty Images
Leg lengthening is becoming a popular procedure in countries such as China, where height issues are controversial and many high-income jobs have height requirements. A very painful and expensive surgery, leg extension involves breaking the leg in several places, then using steel cages and pins to stretch the leg. Photo: Getty Images (Getty Images)
Leg lengthening is becoming a popular procedure in countries such as China, where height issues are controversial and many high-income jobs have height requirements. A very painful and expensive surgery, leg extension involves breaking the leg in several places, then using steel cages and pins to stretch the leg. Photo: Getty Images | {
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CROWN JEWEL OF THE TUSCANY COLLECTION. If you’re lucky enough to rent one of these 32 spacious two car attached garage townhomes, get ready for life on easy street. Located just north of Westheimer on Augusta Street, in the Galleria district of Uptown Houston, Tuscany Row Apartments offers only three-story townhome residences in a classic rowhome style. Each townhome apartment offers tremendous storage, private backyard patio, island kitchens, dramatic ceilings, big bathroom suites, spacious bedrooms, a den/office, and of course, a great garage. Impress your guests with elegant crown molding, 9-foot ceilings and large arched windows.
You’ll appreciate your own pool, courtyards, and limited access gates. Getting anywhere fast is easy as I-10, I-59, 610 and Westheimer are all seconds away. Whether it is running to the grocery store, making a deposit at the bank or seeing what the Houston Galleria (the nation’s fifth largest shopping complex) has to offer, you’ll learn how convenient living in Houston’s premier Tanglewood neighborhood can be. Walk from your luxury Houston townhome to the neighboring shoppes and enjoy lunch at Jason’s Deli or have a drink at Houston’s restaurants.
Rent your Townhome today…luxury townhomes for lease in Houston are hard to come by, especially in a beautiful setting less than two miles from the Galleria. Call (713) 781-8800 today to see for yourself.
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We chose Tuscany Row based on size of unit, layout of floorplan and complex, and liked the small, gated feel of the community. Our leasing experience has been good to date and we have recommended our friends to this complex and others owned by Richdale in the area. | {
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Kennesaw State University, Kennesaw, Georgia, USA
October 02 through October 31, 2014
Oman's exhibition promoting tolerance, understanding and peaceful coexistence opened for the second time in the United States on October 2, 2014 at Kennesaw State University, located approximately 20 miles from Atlanta, Georgia. The university's modern campus in a rural setting is conducive to academic learning for the 25,000 students enrolled here.
The American Association of State Colleges and Universities has awarded Kennesaw State University an award for excellence and innovation in international education, one of only two such awards presented among the organization’s 400 member institutions nationwide.
Among the initiatives cited for the AASCU honor is Kennesaw State’s 30-year-old “Year of” annual country study program that dedicates each academic year to a particular country or region. The program features more than 30 lectures, performances, exhibits and other cultural events and an international conference throughout the year. During the 2014-2015 academic year, the University is celebrating “Year of the Arabian Peninsula.”
“The country study program has introduced thousands of Kennesaw State students to the rich diversity of world cultures that make up the human family,” said Daniel Paracka, director of academic initiatives for the University’s Global Affairs Division. “Annually, it results in the creation of new courses and curriculum, research projects, education abroad programs, and global partnerships. Its success is based upon campus-wide collaboration and input, and is based upon and builds upon the expertise of our faculty, staff and students.”
On behalf of the President Daniel Papp, Dr. Daniel Paracka welcomed the approx. 100 students, staff, faculty and guests in attendance at the exhibition opening, and introduced the other speakers.
“This award validates the extremely high value Kennesaw State places on international education,” said Lance Askildson, the University’s vice provost for global affairs and chief international officer. “The institution is profoundly committed to educating globally competent students who can understand and navigate cultural differences as both successful professionals and engaged citizens.”
Representing the Sultanate of Oman, counselor Salim Al Kindi, and information attaché Hanan Al Kindi, from Oman's embassy in Washington, D.C., expressed their gratitude to the university for hosting the exhibition in such beautiful surroundings.
A member of the exhibition's organizing team, Michael Dickinson, offered a few words on the background and evolution of the exhibition, and distributed samples of genuine Omani frankincense, and DVDs with the documentary film "Religious Tolerance in Oman," produced specifically to accompany the exhibition. | {
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This motel is in the outskirts of Roman. There is not much around it so you need a car if you want to go into town. There is a large pool that was not opened yet when we were there. The hotel is fairly new...More
2 Thank Sarracenia
About
Amenities
Room amenities
Air Conditioning
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TripAdvisor is proud to partner with Booking.com and Priceline so you can book your Motel Imperial reservations with confidence. We help millions of travellers each month to find the perfect hotel for both holiday and business trips, always with the best discounts and special offers. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
Agneby Women T-Shirts are an Idakoos specialtiy! Idakoos has many things to offer. Whether you want to get a Agneby Women T-Shirt for a special occasion, give a Printed Agneby Women T-Shirt as a present or need to represent with a funny Agneby Tee during Holidays or Family and Friends get-togethers, Idakoos is sure to have the right Agneby Women T-Shirt for you! Even if it turns out you can't find the right Agneby Tshirt with the perfect design for your mother, father or children; Idakoos offers all of its men's women's and children's Agneby Tshirts as Custom Agneby Women T-Shirts. Personalize any Agneby Women T-Shirt the way you want to ensure the perfect gift. | {
"pile_set_name": "Pile-CC"
} |
The new functions of the system (1)
In the latest information on National Security Bureau announced in 2014 April the system function of the new features in the Guild Wars 2 Gold, bag, these changes will make the feature points of consumption and the feature selection and feature more easily reset.The feature layer.GW2 players don't need access to faculty and purchasing skills training materials caract ristiques.maintenant access layer, when you reach an appropriate level, feature level new unlock free. In addition, the characteristics of different level 30, players to unlock skills or the main layer in the 60 to 80 and the opening of the master.The characteristics of:In the system the new characteristics of the new characteristics and five points, each of which corresponds to the man. We will win the gold medal and two thirty layer characteristics to unlock skills. Then, you each feature points in six grade 66, this means you have time two caract e ristiques.quand level 80, you 14 hours instead of 70 of all lines features, if you spend a little on a straight line features you use, each slot 50 statistics and unlock petit.c'or are new to the game experience the rhythm of the earliest.Performance: a refundAll of the characters of the game immediately refund button has port e e.jeu now returns the character of free, you can go back to your character, you want a new restore button also increases, thus allowing the player to remove a feature point. | {
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]]>http://929nin.com/your-political-status-updates-dont-change-opinions-one-iota/feed/0Wavebreak MediaObvious Study Says Tons of People Use Social Media at Work for Personal Reasonshttp://929nin.com/study-social-media-work/
http://929nin.com/study-social-media-work/#commentsFri, 24 Jun 2016 14:00:00 +0000http://totalnewswire.com/?p=15392Continue reading…]]>It's hard to believe, but there was a time when people had to kill time at work without the benefit of the internet.
]]>http://929nin.com/study-social-media-work/feed/0iStockDon't Be Fooled By This Viral Image Promising Free Food at Chick-Fil-Ahttp://929nin.com/dont-be-fooled-by-this-viral-image-promising-free-food-at-chick-fil-a/
http://929nin.com/dont-be-fooled-by-this-viral-image-promising-free-food-at-chick-fil-a/#commentsMon, 21 Mar 2016 17:18:02 +0000http://ktemnews.com/?p=145413Continue reading…]]>If you scroll through your Facebook newsfeed today, you may see the image above, but don't be duped.
]]>http://929nin.com/duncan-oklahoma-teen-facing-felony-charges-over-hit-list/feed/0Duncan Public SchoolsAlarming Study Reveals People Tweet, Snap Selfies and More While Driving [POLL]http://929nin.com/study-tweet-selfies-driving/
http://929nin.com/study-tweet-selfies-driving/#commentsWed, 20 May 2015 13:08:28 +0000http://totalnewswire.com/?p=12565Continue reading…]]>We've all heard the refrain that you shouldn't text and drive. Well, it seems there is a whole slew of other questionable phone-related behavior we need to stop.
]]>http://929nin.com/study-tweet-selfies-driving/feed/0iStockFirst Social Media Trend of 2015 Involves Lots of Heliumhttp://929nin.com/first-social-media-trend-of-2015-involves-lots-of-helium/
http://929nin.com/first-social-media-trend-of-2015-involves-lots-of-helium/#commentsMon, 05 Jan 2015 19:01:25 +0000http://1063thebuzz.com/?p=298795Continue reading…]]>Everyone is wondering what this year's big social media trend will be. And even though the year is just beginning, we have our first attempt at a new trend.
]]>http://929nin.com/first-social-media-trend-of-2015-involves-lots-of-helium/feed/0YouTubeBaby Role-Playing is Instagram's Disturbing New Trendhttp://929nin.com/baby-role-playing-is-intagrams-disturbing-new-trend/
http://929nin.com/baby-role-playing-is-intagrams-disturbing-new-trend/#commentsThu, 25 Sep 2014 13:04:58 +0000http://929nin.com/?p=307767Continue reading…]]>It turns out that nothing you put online is safe from those internet creeps that lurk in the darkest of corners, not even pictures of your baby.
]]>http://929nin.com/baby-role-playing-is-intagrams-disturbing-new-trend/feed/0ThinkStockTexan's Jaw-Dropping Beatboxing Skills Earning National Attentionhttp://929nin.com/texans-jaw-dropping-beatboxing-skills-earning-national-attention/
http://929nin.com/texans-jaw-dropping-beatboxing-skills-earning-national-attention/#commentsWed, 05 Mar 2014 05:57:48 +0000http://myb106.com/?p=163038Continue reading…]]>You may not know his name, but if you're on the Internet (and we know you are because you're reading this), you've likely seen some of Vincent Marcus' videos. Thanks to his dead-on impressions and jaw-dropping beatboxing skills, the Texas native has earned Internet fame and currently has more than 1.8 million followers on the video-sharing app Vine.
]]>http://929nin.com/texans-jaw-dropping-beatboxing-skills-earning-national-attention/feed/0KSIINew Website Lets Your Friends Give Anonymous Feedback About Youhttp://929nin.com/new-website-lets-your-friends-give-anonymous-feedback-about-you/
http://929nin.com/new-website-lets-your-friends-give-anonymous-feedback-about-you/#commentsFri, 19 Oct 2012 03:17:08 +0000http://929nin.com/?p=136816Continue reading…]]>We see so many ways that this does not end well.
A new website called YouTell.com launched yesterday, and apparently its intention is to help you become a better person - by completely destroying your self-esteem...
]]>http://929nin.com/new-website-lets-your-friends-give-anonymous-feedback-about-you/feed/0YouTell.comSchools and Employers Demanding Access To Social Networking Profileshttp://929nin.com/schools-and-employers-demanding-access-to-social-networking-profiles/
http://929nin.com/schools-and-employers-demanding-access-to-social-networking-profiles/#commentsSat, 24 Mar 2012 17:24:27 +0000http://929nin.com/?p=86420Continue reading…]]>In a practice that is sparking a First Amendment debate, some schools and employers are requiring access to students'/applicants' Facebook and Twitter accounts. | {
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Tuesday, July 31, 2012
A STRUGGLE FOR CHONG WEI
Pressure, lack of confidence and rustiness were attributed by Lee Chong Wei in his hard fought three set win over Ville Lang in the opening match of the men's singles competition of the Olympic Games at the Wembley Arena tonight.
Chong Wei triumped at the end 21-8, 14-21, 21-11, but not before spending 47 minutes on the court after having to spend 80 minutes waiting for the match to get underway.
"I am under pressure and that is not something that I can control. It was a poor performance and I admit that I could not play my normal game at all," conceded Chong Wei.
"Never once did it cross my mind that I will lose this match but it was a good workout for me and I need to iron out certain aspects of my game."
The first set was a brewze for Chong Wei as he reeled off seven consecutive points from a 14-8 lead to finish off his opponent.
But it was in the second that his game went to tatters, from sending his smashes out to being outclassed by the Finnish player at the net.
Lang took the lead for the first time at 3-2, and from then on it was point for point until 7-7. But four unforced errors gave Lang a 11-7 advantage and he was gaining in confidence.
There was no looking back as Lang led 18-11 at one stage before wrapping up the second 21-14, and the Malaysian fans in the stands were stunned.
When the third set commenced, one could see the nervourness on the facial expression of Chong Wei, and Lang knew his opponent was in fragile mood.
Once again it was neck to neck until Chong Wei took the decisive point to lead 11-10 at the break. He then conceded one point before reeling off 10 points in a row to move into the second round where he plauys Simon Santoso of Indonesia.
"I last played him in December in the Super Series Finals but seven months is a long time. As I said past meetings count for nothing," said Chong Wei. | {
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All of us would want to seek a word from God, especially when we have important decisions to make. Sometimes the word of God may come to us even when we have not been deliberately seeking for it. Be that as it may be, after receiving it, what do we do with it? Do we follow through what God has told us or do we allow doubts to surface? Also, do we become wise in our own eyes and begin to do things our way contrary to the full counsel of God’s word for the sake of achieving the desired end?
When Solomon went against God’s commandment not to go after other gods, the Lord said to him in 1 Kings 11:11~13, “Because you have done this, and have not kept My covenant and My statutes, which I have commanded you, I will surely tear the kingdom away from you and give it to your servant. Nevertheless, I will not do it in your days, for the sake of your father David; but I will tear it out of the hand of your son. However I will not tear the whole kingdom, but I will give one tribe to your son for the sake of my servant David, and for the sake of Jerusalem which I have chosen.”
God regarded David as His servant; David had a servant-heart towards God. His desire was to please God. Truly, as Scripture tells us, he was a man after God’s own heart. Interestingly, God told Solomon that the kingdom of Israel with the exception of Judah will be given to another servant -- Solomon’s servant, Jeroboam the son of Nebat. When the Lord had thus spoken, Solomon did not repent. Instead, 1 Kings 11:40 recorded for us that Solomon sought to kill Jeroboam. He behaved as Saul did towards David.
When Jeroboam the son of Nebat went out of Jerusalem, the prophet Ahijah met him on the way and spoke to him the word of the Lord, “… So I will take you, and you shall reign over all your heart desires, and you shall be king over Israel. Then it shall be, if you heed all that I command you, walk in My ways, and do what is right in My sight, to keep My statutes and My commandments, as My servant David did, then I will be with you and build for you an enduring house, as I built for David, and will give Israel to you.” (1 Kings 11:37~38)
God gave a tremendous proclamation to Jeroboam whom 1 Kings 11:28 described as an industrious person and a man of valor. However, Jeroboam feared that the kingdom may return to the house of David if the people went up to worship in Jerusalem where Rehoboam (the son of Solomon) ruled as king of Judah. “Therefore the king took counsel and made two calves of gold, and said to the people, “It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem. Here are your gods, O Israel, which brought you up from the land of Egypt!” ”(1 Kings 12:28) This was a sin, and God’s word of judgment came to Jeroboam through “a man of God” (1 Kings 13) and Ahijah (1 Kings 14).
To whom much is given, much is expected. One will receive five talents, another receive two talents and yet another receive one talent. Likewise, we will receive revelation from the word of God by the Holy Spirit. The important thing is what we do with it? Do we share it or hide it? God is looking for a servant like David who kept His commandments and who followed Him with all his heart, to do only what was right in His eyes. (1 Kings 14:8)
Indeed, the Lord’s call is to Take Up the Cross and Follow Him and keep His Desires and Will ever before us:
“Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it.
For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?
Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?
For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.” | {
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Illustrations for Kenneth Rexroth's "Bestiary" / Clifford Harper
Raven: The Prometheus of the Indians / George Woodcock
The Poet Among the Anarchists / Caroline Robinson
The Appalling State of Modern Architecture / Brian Richardson
Welcoming the Thinner City / Colin Ward
The Source of Anarchism / George Walford
Anarchism, Existentialism and Human Nature / L. Susan Brown
The Spies for Peace and After
Illustrations for Kenneth Rexroth's "Bestiary" / Clifford Harper
Raven: The Prometheus of the Indians / George Woodcock
The Poet Among the Anarchists / Caroline Robinson
The Appalling State of Modern Architecture / Brian Richardson
Welcoming the Thinner City / Colin Ward
The Source of Anarchism / George Walford
Anarchism, Existentialism and Human Nature / L. Susan Brown
The Spies for Peace and After | {
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A New Vision for CISOs – Unprecedented Visibility of Your Attack Surface
In today’s complex security landscape, networks are getting larger and more complicated, creating myriad holes in defenses, while cyberattacks are increasing in sophistication and persistence. CISOs are challenged to centralize security and gain visibility over the attack surface, the ways in which their IT systems are vulnerable to threats, including potential attack vectors.
Organizations today are facing multiple challenges on providing an enhanced digital experience to their customers, whilst ensuring confidential data remains secure in accordance to evolving regulatory and compliance regimes. While APIs are the core of digital experiences, including single-page apps and mobile applications, traditional perimeter security architecture is no longer enough to protect your business and you must concurrently evolve your security approach.
In this webinar, Akamai will be sharing findings on how adopting a zero trust model will increase the security posture of organisation through a “Never Trust, Always Verify” paradigm. We will also look at how the API threat landscape have evolved and share best practises in API security.
Organizations need to:
•Deliver just the right data to the right tools.
•Drive consolidation across their security stack.
•Manage a common platform across physical, virtual and public cloud environments.
Hence, a next-generation network packet broker is required to deliver visibility to security tools focused on threat prevention, detection, analytics and forensics. The right tools get the right traffic at the right time, every time.
Attend this webinar to learn how to:
•Maximize tool performance and ROI by applying advanced traffic intelligence.
•Rapidly detect and respond to new threats while eliminating security tool sprawl.
•Have pervasive and consistent visibility across their physical, virtual and cloud infrastructure.
Join Gigamon and (ISC)² on Apr 18, 2018 (Wed) at 14:00 (Singapore time) to learn how to increase efficiency of your security stack.
As organizations embrace cloud infrastructure, DevOps methodologies, PAAS, IoT and mobile workforce, there are new risks coming from a broader attack surface. Vulnerability management designed for traditional assets is not enough. To improve security, you need to rethink how you do things. For example, containers have become the de facto standard in cloud architectures today, which means that security needs to move into developers’ build processes while complementing existing solutions.
Attend this webinar to discover:
•Where vulnerability management for today’s assets needs to start
•What the new faces of attacks and remediation look like
•Why prioritization should not be based on scan results
•Why reports using Excel are no longer the answer
•How DevOps can be part of the solution to incorporate security
Join Tenable and (ISC)² on Jan 24, 2018 (Wed) at 14:00 (Singapore time) to learn how to minimize cyber exposure in a world of cloud, containers and other modern assets.
As organizations migrate workloads to cloud computing, they benefit from flexibility and agility, but network security operations grow increasingly difficult.
Gaining visibility into cloud environments, extending existing security operations and workflows, ensuring compliance, and managing shared responsibility create new challenges for security professionals. Add to this the complexity of hybrid and multi-cloud environments — and the loss of control within those environments — and it’s no wonder security leaders are scratching their heads over how to best secure their organization’s journey to the cloud.
This session will look at approaches to addressing the many challenges around cloud security management and best practices for translating on-prem security controls and processes into hybrid and multi-cloud environments.
Join Skybox Security and (ISC)² on Jan 17, 2018 (Wed) at 14:00 Singapore time to learn more about security management in the cloud.
First in the Industry to deliver Deception, Mobile Threat Defense, and Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) in a Single-Agent Architecture. Join us to learn the latest Evolution of Endpoint Security & Data Protection:
In recent years, we have seen large-scale botnets used to execute attacks rarely seen in the past -- botnets that incorporate new features and bigger capabilities than ever before. How and why some of these botnets remain resilient is a question that needs to be answered, and one of the reasons is Fast Flux. Fast Flux is a DNS technique used by botnets to hide various types of malicious activities (such as phishing, web proxying, malware delivery, and malware communication) behind an ever-changing network of compromised hosts acting as proxies. In general, a Fast Flux network is mostly used to make communication between malware and its command and control server (C&C) more resistant to discovery. Akamai’s high visibility to both Web and Enterprise traffic enables new and unique insights on the behavior of such Fast Flux networks.
In this webinar, you will get an in-depth analysis on:
- How network fluxing is using domains, IP addresses and even nameservers to become resistant to discovery
- How Fast Flux networks offer services such as malware communication and hosting of malicious content
- How botnets are used both for Fast Flux communications and a variety of Web attacks such as Web scraping and credential abuse
- Best practices for detecting and defending against such botnets
A recent survey conducted among security professionals in Australia, Singapore revealed that up to 95% of respondents said phishing is the #1 threat. Yet many acknowledged they’re unprepared to deal with phishing attacks.
Attend this webinar to learn why responders are drowning in emails instead of hunting real threats. See why they’re betting on automation whilst we know, tech alone won’t stop threats from getting through and wreaking serious havoc. Learn what rapid changes and investments your peers are planning to turn the tide against phishing and protect their organisations.
In this webinar, you will learn:
- How bad is the phishing threat?
- How confident are companies in their phishing responses?
- What solutions are companies using—and which ones should they add?
- How can automation and technology help? Why are humans important, too?
- How does your organisation compare to organisations in Australia, Singapore and other countries around the globe?
Join PhishMe and (ISC)² on Nov 15 (Wed) at 14:00 (Singapore time) and learn more about phishing incident response.
Credential abuse attacks have become a prevalent threat in recent years, and a successful credential abuse attack campaign can result in damaging consequences such as losing access and control over the accounts, data breach and fraudulent transactions.
Many of the accounts being abused are compromised account, which are the result of information breach in vulnerable web applications. The problem starts once visitors of highly-secured web applications create login credentials and then recycle those credentials to access another potentially vulnerable web application.
In this webinar, Akamai will present our latest research on malicious activity that sheds new light on credential abuse attack campaigns characteristics. The research reveals the techniques that are being used and what make these campaigns difficult to detect over long periods of time. We will show how collaboration of attack evidence on different targets can become a solution to mitigate such attacks.
The speakers will also share key attack data and trends observed from the latest Akamai Q2 2017 State of the Internet Security Report.
Frequent cyber security attacks spreading around the world and affecting systems everywhere has become the "new norm". Recent changes in IT architecture such as virtual, mobile & cloud services, plus increasingly sophisticated cyber threats are forcing enterprise security practices and principles to be re-evaluated. Analyst research data shows that system vulnerabilities are still the largest contributing factor in enterprise data breaches. Thus, identifying vulnerable systems on your network and applying mitigations to them must continue to be a strong priority.
This webinar will provide you with insight into how successful organisations have evolved their Vulnerability Management programs to gain a deeper understanding of their overall Security posture. The presentation will share ideas to boost the effectiveness of your security program now and in future, taking into account the major new IT paradigms including Cloud, Containers & DevOps.
Join Tenable and (ISC)² on July 19 (Wed) at 14:00 (Singapore time) to learn more about the evolution of vulnerability management.
Continuous delivery of application is the new norm. Businesses recognize that applications are a competitive differentiator so they are creating and pushing them out at a lightning pace, thus putting a lot of pressure on development and security teams. HPE Enterprise Security, together with Mainstay Partners, studied data collected from a broad set of Fortify customers to quantify the business value they are experiencing by building security into each phase of development.
Join HPE and (ISC)² on July 12 (Wed) at 13:00 (Singapore time) to learn about the key findings from the research. Discover the ROI of application security practices for your organization to scale confidently for business growth.
Threats from within the enterprise can pose the biggest cybersecurity risk to the organisation. Whether intentionally or accidentally, users with legitimate credentials can go about the network without triggering suspicion or alert, making their unauthorised activity difficult to detect. Insider threat activity can sometimes hide in plain sight, but what happens when people deliberately cover their tracks?
In this webinar, you will learn:
- Where to look for suspicious activity
- How to set up traps that will catch malicious insiders
- What finding paths across seemingly disparate data can reveal.
According to a 2016 industry report, employees cause 77 percent of internal security breaches. Find out who is causing yours.
Join Nuix’s and (ISC)² on Jun 28 (Wed) at 13:00 (Singapore time) and uncover the six hidden signs that help you detect the presence of insider threat activity.
Looking for expertise and information to advance your career and tackle your challenges? Subscribe and join us for the educational webinars in APAC time zone. Earn CPEs quickly and at no cost by attending webinars: 1 hour of webinar equals 1 CPE. We welcome members and non members alike. | {
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Our company mainly design and produce wooden products. There are more than 50 major series and totally 1000-plus kinds of different products. A. Bamboo tablet PC case for Apple iPad, bamboo mobile pho ...
1. Furniture hardware stainless steel hinge is anti-rust, which can be used under acid and water condition. 2. Our furniture hardware stainless steel hinge has been sold more than 500,000,000 sets all ...Keyword : kitchen door hinges
Each shelf is fully adjustable Very strong,over 300KG per shelf No nuts or bolts needed Adjustable feet for leveling castors also available OEM factory size according to clients requests Should you h ...Keyword : chrome wire shelving units for kitchen
We are Paisenda Furniture Manufacturing Co., Ltd., specialized in manufacturing all kinds of wooden products such as banquet furniture, outdoor furniture, indoor furniture and bentwood furniture, Most ... | {
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Daily Yoga: Great Review
Daily Yoga has 1893 reviews. Enter your email below and we'll notify you when new reviews are added, so you can comment, share or remove the reviews. This is great for monitoring your apps or the competition's apps
GreatDid the workout this morning. Audio instruction and pace are perfect. Background music isn't the greates but is relaxing and soothing so ok. Have tried several different yoga apps and this is the best one I've found so far | {
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Design and the Ageing Brain Symposium: Auckland, New Zealand
Paul Chamberlain and Claire Craig delivered two keynote presentations to over 100 delegates at the Ageing Brain Symposium, Auckland, New Zealand in March 2017. The Symposium was organised by the Design for Health and Wellbeing Lab, Auckland University of Technology and was funded by Brain Research New Zealand. It brought together designers, design researchers, clinicians and health researchers to explore the role that design can play in promoting quality of life for people with dementia and their families.
Virginia Heath joined Paul and Claire later in the day. Together they facilitated a workshop that looked at the role of creative practices and methods in health research. Virginia was invited to show her film from Scotland with Love in the context of interventions to promote wellbeing for people with dementia. | {
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Honua Kai #HKH-742 Kaanapali, Maui, Hawaii
Description from the manager
Views, views and views. Unit 742 on the 7th floor of the Hokulani tower on the north side has gorgeous views of the ocean, mountains, and exciting pools and grounds of the Honua Kai Resort. Folding nanno doors give the ultimate feeling of the indoor-outdoor experience. This unit as two bedrooms and an enormous bathroom to accommodate up to 6 people. The second bedroom has a queen heavenly bed with it's own flat screen television. The master suite has a king heavenly bed with it's own entrance out to the large lanai that can easily accomodate your family and guests. An entertainers kitchen, there is everything the chef could ask for. New stainless steel Bosch appliances, a large granite kitchen bar to prepare meals either in the unit or down at the Viking BBQ's located just a quick elevator ride down from this unit. Unit 742 is conveniently located toward the front of the building and the the most West elevator to drop you right at Dukes and the pool. This unit has plenty of room for a family or two couples. The living room sofa converts to a queen size bed and also has a down comforter and pressed linens. All the amenities of a luxury hotel combined with the conveniences of a condominium are within unit 742. The huge bathroom is all travertine, glass and granite with dual sinks and a separate tub and shower. You will not want to leave after staying in this unit.
Your family will love the five-star Honua Kai Resort - featuring two large pools, a flowing riverpool, theme-park waterside, warm sandy beach for wave and snorkeling fun, fitness center, and a children's activity center. Dining is easy at local favorite Dukes Restaurant located on the resort property, or enjoy outdoor home cooking at any of the three bbq patios featuring four Viking stainless grills each. If you are on the run try take-out from 'Aina Gourmet Market, or a quick walk across the street to the full service Times market.
As with all properties managed by KBM Hawaii, this unit comes with the extras that make your vacation one you will always remember. Provided at no extra cost with your reservation are the following luxury packages:
Hotel Amenities Packagefeaturing exclusive L'Occitane soaps and lotions found in luxury spas and resorts worldwide, premium bath linens for extra comfort, pressed bed linens steamed with a hint of lavender, bottled or filtered water, and delicious Hawaiian Host chocolate covered macadamia nuts. Upon arrival your resort concierge greets you and personally checks you in to ensure your comfort and familiarize you with the many features of your luxury vacation home
Starter Packageincludes dish towels, paper towels, dish soap, dishwasher detergent, plastic refuse bags, bathroom and facial tissue, HE Laundry detergent, fabric softeners, and more.
Pool and Beach Packagecomes with extra-large beach towels, folding beach chairs, portable beach umbrella with carry case, plastic ice chest, boogie boards, and sand bucket and toys for hours of beach fun
Entertainment Packageincludes free wireless internet, house phone, cable tv service, dvd player, and high-definition flat screen tv(s) with HDMI ports for video cameras, gaming consoles, Apple TV, etc.
Children's Package(if requested) includes a portable Pac 'n Play which doubles as a infant's crib (please bring your own crib sheet), clip on high chair, plastic cups / dishes / utensils, and large bucket of sand toys for the beach.
Premium Services
During your stay take advantage of our premium services - just a call or click away:
* Daily or on-demand maid service or fresh linen drop-off
* KBM Hawaii activities desk with discount golf, luau, snorkel and sunset boat trips, surf lessons, paddle board rentals and more
* Personal grocery shopping service to stock your pantry and refrigerator with your pick of favorite foods and beverages upon your arrival or during your stay
* Special occasion fruit, wine and cheese gift baskets packed with your favorite fresh fruits, nuts, chocolates, gourmet cheese selection and wine pairings
* Thinking of buying? Contact our full service real estate and property mangment division for a rental pro-forma
Finally, you know you won't be gambling with your vacation investment when you book through KBM Hawaii. KBM Hawaii is a licensed, full service vacation rental and real estate sales company in Lahaina, Maui. You will book with confidence knowing our concierge, activities, and maintenance staff are just minutes away on call 24/7 for assistance and/or emergencies should you ever need to reach out for assistance during your stay.
Additional amenities include: ipod dock, ice maker, ipod, make up mirror, laundry in unit, elevator, drawers, fan, luggage rack, attached balcony, window coverings, ironing board. steel Bosch appliances, a large granite kitchen bar to prepare meals either in the unit or down at the Viking BBQ's located just a quick elevator ride down from this unit. Unit 742 is conveniently located toward the front of the building and the the most West elevator to drop you right at Dukes and the pool. This unit has plenty of room for a family or two couples. The living room sofa converts to a queen size bed and also has a down comforter and pressed linens. All the amenities of a luxury hotel combined with the conveniences of a condominium are within unit 742. The huge bathroom is all travertine, glass and granite with dual sinks and a separate tub and shower. You will not want to leave after staying in this unit.
Your family will love the five-star Honua Kai Resort - featuring two large pools, a flowing riverpool, theme-park waterside, warm sandy beach for wave and snorkeling fun, fitness center, and a children's activity center. Dining is easy at local favorite Dukes Restaurant located on the resort property, or enjoy outdoor home cooking at any of the three bbq patios featuring four Viking stainless grills each. If you are on the run try take-out from 'Aina Gourmet Market, or a quick walk across the street to the full service Times market.
As with all properties managed by KBM Hawaii, this unit comes with the extras that make your vacation one you will always remember. Provided at no extra cost with your reservation are the following luxury packages:
Hotel Amenities Packagefeaturing exclusive L'Occitane soaps and lotions found in luxury spas and resorts worldwide, premium bath linens for extra comfort, pressed bed linens steamed with a hint of lavender, bottled or filtered water, and delicious Hawaiian Host chocolate covered macadamia nuts. Upon arrival your resort concierge greets you and personally checks you in to ensure your comfort and familiarize you with the many features of your luxury vacation home
Children's Package(if requested) includes a portable Pac 'n Play which doubles as a infant's crib (please bring your own crib sheet), clip on high chair, plastic cups / dishes / utensils, and large bucket of sand toys for the beach.
Premium Services
During your stay take advantage of our premium services - just a call or click away:
* Thinking of buying? Contact our full service real estate and property mangment division for a rental pro-forma
Finally, you know you won't be gambling with your vacation investment when you book through KBM Hawaii. KBM Hawaii is a licensed, full service vacation rental and real estate sales company in Lahaina, Maui. You will book with confidence knowing our concierge, activities, and maintenance staff are just minutes away on call 24/7 for assistance and/or emergencies should you ever need to reach out for assistance during your stay.
About Us
Love for FlipKey
As featured in USA TODAY and recommended by Travel + Leisure in its annual Villa Guide:
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FlipKey is a vacation rental marketplace with more than 300,000 rentals around the world. Find the perfect place to stay for your trip, and get great value along with the space, privacy and amenities of home. | {
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Game #167. Another NCAA bid will be handed out in St. Louis this afternoon as the MVC Finals tip off.
Three of the four games in the quarterfinal round of Arch Madness went down to the buzzer, but there were no real upsets — the only lower seed to win was Creighton in the 4/5 game, but they beat a team they had tied with for fourth place in Northern Iowa. Saturday, that changed when Indiana State, who finished in third place but had been picked sixth or seventh by many preseason prognosticators, pulled off a stunning upset of Wichita State. The Sycamores now find themselves one win away from an NCAA Tournament berth. Standing between them and the fulfillment of that dream is regular season champ Missouri State and MVC Player of the Year Kyle Weems. It should be an exciting Arch Madness Championship; join RTC for a live blog from press row starting at 12:45 Central.
The Lede. It was the last weekend in February, and as we come out of it, we’re less clear about who the favorites are to cut down the nets in early April than we have been at any point this season. RTCs went down in Blacksburg, Boulder, Springfield and more, befitting the stress, pressure and expectations of a season reaching its regular season terminus. As usual, after a weekend like this, there’s a lot to cover, so let’s jump right in with some of the major moments…
An RTC Kinda Weekend
Your Watercooler Moment. Parity is This Year’s Dominance. It was another weekend where many of the top teams came away with losses. #2 Duke (#1 AP/#1 ESPN) went to Cassell Coliseum in Blacksburg, Virginia, on Saturday night and left with a lighter load. #3 Pittsburgh (#4 AP/#6 ESPN) dropped a tough Big East road battle at Louisville for the second straight weekend. #4 Texas (#5 AP/#5 ESPN) suffered a ridiculously bad second half at Colorado and headed back to Austin with two Ls in its last three outings. #5 San Diego State (#6 AP/#4 ESPN) suffered the ignoble embarrassment of getting Jimmered in its own building by the only team to have proven it can beat the Aztecs this season. Shuffle the deck for another week and repeat. The only top teams to come out unscathed this weekend were #1 Ohio State (#2 AP/#3 ESPN), #6 Kansas (#3 AP/#2 ESPN) and #7 BYU (#7 AP/#7 ESPN) — and both the Buckeyes and Jayhawks were part of last week’s poll carnage. The point we’re making is a simple one: the field is completely wide open this year. It wouldn’t surprise us nor should it surprise you if none of the eventual #1 seeds make it to the Final Four — the difference between the top seven named above and the next tier of teams is not large. The four teams we would put on our top line as of tonight — Ohio State, Pitt, BYU and Kansas — are all strong candidates to lose at least one more game between now and Selection Sunday, now only fourteen days out. This kind of parity among the top teams makes for an exciting NCAA Tournament, but it shouldn’t shock anybody if the seeds that make it to Houston in April add up to a total well into the teens (e.g., 2, 3, 6, 8).
Your Watercooler Moment, Pt. II. That Stupid Louisville Cheerleader. If Rick Pitino were a little younger and brasher (say, the Knicks or early Kentucky eras), the Louisville cheerleader who grabbed the ball and tossed it up into the air after what appeared to be Kyle Kuric’s game-sealing dunk would already be encased in concrete in the Ohio River locks. Instead, the older and somewhat more forgiving head coach will likely only have a horse’s head delivered to the cheerleader’s bed for making his gaffe with 0.5 seconds remaining on the clock. The sophomoric ball-toss resulted in two technical FTs for Pitt taking a five-point lead down to three, and the Panthers put up a decent half-court heave at the buzzer that would have tied the game. We can understand a little confusion with respect to the last half-second of time running off the clock, but why touch the ball at all? That should be the province of the players and game officials, nobody else, and the cheer people should understand that better than most. Here’s the question on everyone’s mind, though: will Cheer Dufus be back in action or will Pitino have him removed (we’re not sure what “The male cheerleader is coming to an end” means exactly)?
Your Watercooler Moment, Pt. III. Tyler Trapani Shuts Down Pauley With an Assist From the Ghost of John Wooden. It was the last game in Pauley Pavilion, the House That Wooden Built, before it undergoes massive renovations over the next year-plus to bring the building seemingly mired in the 1960s into the modern era. UCLA was throttling league-leading Arizona and the Bruin partisans were rocking out with every Reeves Nelson dunk, Josh Smith twirl and each long-range brick from Arizona. With just a few seconds remaining in garbage time, UCLA’s Jack Haley, Jr., missed a corner three badly short; standing directly under the basket to catch it and lay it in as the final points scored in the “old” Pauley was walk-on Tyler Trapani, The Wizard of Westwood’s great-grandson. The bucket represented his only two points of the entire season, and it seemed a fitting tribute to finishing off the old barn in its current state. Pauley Pavilion is one of the temples of the sport, so we’re glad to hear that UCLA is finally updating it — it’s our opinion that modernizing a terrific old venue is much preferred to building an austere and lifeless new one.
This Weekend’s Quick Hits…
Virginia Tech and Colorado’s RTCs. Coverage of the court was quick, complete and rowdy, befitting how you should RTC when you take down a top five team in your building. Virginia Tech’s crowd was fantastic the entire evening, as the below video clearly illustrates (move ahead for the RTC, and here’s a bird’s eye view if you’re into that). As the second video shows, Colorado’s was also quite good (here’s another from within the maelstrom at center court). Perhaps more importantly, the huge wins keep both teams’ hopes alive for an at-large NCAA bid in two weeks. Much was expected from both of these schools prior to season tipoff, but they’ve had myriad ups and downs along the way. These two huge wins will go a long way toward finding the right side of the bubble in fourteen days.
Game #153. It’s all come down to this single game for the MVC regular season championship for 2010-11.
Since joining the Missouri Valley Conference in 1990, there’s one thing Missouri State has never done: win a regular season title. That’s why Saturday’s contest with Wichita State, a six-time MVC champion, at the sparkling JQH Arena is one of the most important games in program history. The two teams are tied at the top of the standings at 14-3, so the city of Springfield is effectively hosting the Missouri Valley regular season championship game this weekend. MSU won at Koch Arena in January, a stunning result at the time because the Shockers are traditionally so dominant in that building. Wichita State has since lost three more home games, but it’s looked more comfortable on the road– the Shockers’ only road loss this season came at San Diego State. Saturday’s game is all about toughness. Wichita State thinks it’s tougher than you, and it wins by crashing the offensive glass and feeding the paint. That doesn’t intimidate Missouri State, because former Purdue assistant Cuonzo Martin takes a tough-nosed approach with his program, too. As far as individual match-ups go, WSU’s J.T. Durley may be the Valley’s best back-to-the-basket scorer. He’ll have his hands full with the Bears’ frontcourt tandem, which consists of POY candidate Kyle Weems and the fiery Will Creekmore. Gregg Marshall has a deeper roster with more athleticism, and he has the ability to pressure teams full court whenever he likes. Without consistent point guard play, though, his team’s been prone to offensive droughts in the half-court, and he’ll need more out of guard Toure’ Murry, who made just one shot in that January meeting. The two teams are long shots for at-large bids, so Arch Madness next week is the more important event, but a conference championship is on the line Saturday. How’s that for some drama?
RTC’s Kevin Doyle, writer of the weekly column, The Other 26, will be providing some BGTD-style analysis throughout Saturday’s BracketBuster games, mostly focusing on the evening sessions.
(ed. note: we’ll work our way backwards so the most recent update is always at the top of the post.)
8:34 PM – UNI is holding onto a slim lead against George Mason thanks in large part to the strong play of Kwadzo Ahelegbe. The senior from Minnesota already has 18 points as the Panthers are up on GMU 54-50 late in the second half. I have not seen Ahelegbe play once this year, but I love his pure stroke from beyond the arc and his quickness while attacking the basket. If Northern Iowa can hold on against GMU it would be a huge confidence booster heading into the MVC tournament.
7:58PM – The Panthers are besting George Mason 36-32 at the half and are playing the kind of basketball they have failed to play lately in the Missouri Valley. UNI lost three straight in the MVC and are no longer contending with Missouri State and Wichita State, but seem to be peaking at the right time. George Mason, win or lose, will still be the favorite in the CAA going into the conference tournament, but a win in Iowa over the Panthers would certainly help their resume if they falter in the CAA tournament. Cam Long and Ryan Pearson are two of the CAA’s best and are a tough match up for any opponent. I’d argue that the outcome of this game means more for GMU than UNI for the sole reason that Mason is still in contention for an at-large berth.
7:15PM – College of Charleston ended up defeating Vermont 85-70 in a game that was not as close as the score would indicate. The Cougars proved how dangerous of a threat they are due to the play of one player: Andrew Goudelock. The senior from Georgia tore apart Vermont and in doing so proved they are they class of the Southern Conference. Can Charleston do what Davidson did a few years ago? Probably not, but Goudelock is a very similar player to Stephen Curry in how he is able to take over a game.
As for the other 5:00 game, Valpo soundly defeated Missouri State 80-67. The Crusaders, along with Cleveland State who thoroughly defeated Hofstra earlier today, appear to be the clear favorites in the Horizon League.
The non-conference is often times a good barometer for determining how strong a team will be and how they will perform within their respective conferences during league play. There are times, of course, when a team will challenge themselves by scheduling many BCS opponents and tough mid-majors, and compile a poor OOC record. Despite the lackluster record, they still may be a quality team. In some instances, however, it simply takes teams longer to gel and come together—conference play is when they finally peak. Likewise, there are always a handful of squads that will play nothing but cupcakes with extra frosting on the top, and run up many wins throughout the first half of the year, only to flounder during conference play. After witnessing teams play several games against conference opponents, let’s take a look at who may be exceeding expectations based on a struggling OOC record, and who has fallen flat on their faces after soaring through the OOC:
Surprising
Binghamton (6-10, 3-0)—Although they have beaten three of the weaker teams in the America East, the Bearcats are out to a nice 3-0 start nevertheless and have one of the best pure scorers in the league in Greer Wright. If Binghamton can knock off Vermont and Maine—two of the top teams—then they will be taken as a serious threa
Hofstra (11-5, 5-0)—Any team with Charles Jenkins has a fighter’s chance. Jenkins has the Pride as the last unbeaten team in the CAA, but a crucial game looms with ODU this weekend.
Wagner (8-8, 4-1)—Don’t bet against the Hurley family. Dan and Bobby Hurley are both in their first year with the program, and have already brought in some great recruits and wins to go along with it.
Holy Cross(3-13, 2-0)—Gone are the days where the Crusaders would breeze through the Patriot League en route to the NCAA Tournament. Now, Milan Brown has the daunting task of building Holy Cross back into the mid-major power they once were. After a disastrous non-conference, HC has won their first two league games.
Falling
Cleveland State(15-3, 4-2)—The Vikings look to be a notch below the upper tier teams of the league. After winning their first 12 games, Cleveland State had a rough weekend this past losing to Butler and Valpo.
Loyola Chicago (10-8, 1-6)—Similar to Cleveland State, Loyola Chicago looked like they could be a force in the Horizon League, but have lost all their games to the top five teams in the Horizon. They began the year 7-0, and their first loss was only by two points to Butler
Northern Iowa (12-6, 3-3)—After defeating New Mexico to win the Las Vegas Classic, UNI looked like they would challenge Wichita State and Missouri State in the Missouri Valley. They are just 3-3 in their last six games, with the most disappointing loss coming in a lackluster effort against Indiana State where they lost 70-45
San Jose State (9-7, 1-4)—Adrian Oliver, a transfer from Washington, may be the best player in the WAC, but his Spartans have not been able to follow suit. San Jose State went 8-3 in the non-conference, but have gone onto lose four of their last five games.
Granted, conference play is still very young, and no team has even gone through the first go-around of games against their counterparts, so there still is ample time for many things to happen. With that being said, the preceding 10 teams certainly did stick out when analyzing their play in the non-conference and comparing it to their performance in their league.
I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but the college basketball season is nearly half over. It is not all bad though, with conference play beginning we are just another step closer to Championship Week, Selection Sunday, and, of course, the NCAA Tournament. During this time of the year, the Other 26 and BCS largely go their separate ways, only to be reunited just two months later on the biggest stage of them all. As it is every year, the non-conference is nothing more than a tease of what is to come later. What are five major things that we learned during the first half of the year?
The top three teams in the Mountain West (SDSU, UNLV, BYU) will all be a force in the NCAA Tournament.
Gonzaga and Butler are not as dominant as they have been in past years, but both seem poised to perform well in their conference play as they drastically improved in the latter half of the non-conference schedule.
Temple and Richmond can go toe-to-toe with the big boys. In one week, the Owls defeated Maryland and then Georgetown, and then just weeks later they were points away from beating Villanova. As for the Spiders, they have beaten four of five BCS teams they played against.
Don’t sleep on Conference USA. Although the league probably will receive only two bids—maybe three—Central Florida, Memphis, Southern Mississippi, UAB and UTEP are pretty darn good.
The Mountain West and Atlantic 10 will combine to have more teams in the NCAA Tournament than the ACC and SEC. Okay that is a bit of a reach, but don’t be surprised if this is close to happening. Right now, the only lock in the ACC is Duke, obviously. As for the SEC, it is only Vanderbilt and Kentucky. The MWC will almost certainly have SDSU, BYU, and UNLV, and the Atlantic 10 is a bit of a crapshoot at the top. Over the last three years, however, the A10 has sent three years to the Dance in each year—food for thought.
Patrick Marshall of White & Blue Review is the RTC correspondent for the Missouri Valley Conference.
A Look Back
End of the Non-Conference Season—Some people may say it is a relief to see the end of the Missouri Valley Conference’s non-conference season. Every school in the conference had opportunities against top teams in the nation and none of them could come through and separate themselves, nor get into the national spotlight. The conference really needs to take a look at the scheduling that each of the schools do and maybe re-evaluate what can be accomplished in the non-conference season. There were more games than usual scheduled against the top 25 teams in the nation, but maybe it would be better to get more with the teams ranked 26-75 instead. They may also have to try and play more neutral court games as well.
Diamond in the Rough—We have talked before about Gregory Echenique and his impact to the Creighton basketball team since becoming eligible, but another player that has become eligible heading into conference season is Diamond Taylor from Southern Illinois. Taylor came to the Salukis last season after being kicked off the Wisconsin basketball team in September 2009 after being arrested for burglary and possession of stolen property. With a new start, Taylor will bring a scoring and defensive spark to Southern Illinois.
RPI doldrums— If the Valley ever wants to be considered a multiple big league again, one thing they will need to do is find a way to move up the conference RPI rankings. As of the past week, the Missouri Valley Conference was as low as the 13th in some conference rankings sitting below the Ivy League. While they now beat up on each other in the conference season, their only hope to move up now is to have a couple of teams separate themselves and then make a nice showing in the now overblown Bracketbusters.
Non-Conference Player of the Season—Kyle Weems, Missouri State—Weems is second in the league in scoring, sixth in rebounding and the only player in the league to be in the top 10 in both categories. He has been the leader the Bears have needed during their tough non-conference season. The junior has scored in double figures in all but one of their games and has averaged 22 points a game in the past four games. If Missouri State is going to win the conference season, Weems will be the key to take them there.
Non-Conference Newcomer of the Season—Doug McDermott, Creighton—There was talk that McDermott would redshirt this season. With the wait of Gregory Echenique to become eligible, Ethan Wragge’s foot injury and the loss of Casey Harriman, McDermott was the required to go ahead and play. He has started every game this season and is second on the team in minutes played. The freshman has responded by averaging almost 13 points and 6 rebounds a game. Creighton received a gift when Northern Iowa released him from his Letter of Intent so he could play for his dad.
Power Rankings (Record) (Last week rank) and Conference Outlook
Wichita State (9-2) (1)— Wichita State had an up and down non-conference season. They missed some opportunities out in Maui, blowing a lead late to Connecticut putting them in the wrong part of the bracket and missing a chance against Michigan State and Kentucky. Then they failed to win their MVC/MWC Challenge game against a still undefeated San Diego State. However they have come on lately by winning a tight game at LSU (which now doesn’t look as good after the Tigers were blown out by North Texas) and then taking down Tulsa this past week in the first basketball game at Intrust Bank Arena. They have some big momentum going into conference play. They host Evansville and travel to Bradley for their first two conference games.
Missouri State (8-3) (2)—Will Creekmore has stepped up larger than many have expected and together with Kyle Weems gave the Bears a decent non-conference season, but probably not what they were hoping for. They came up just short against Tennessee in the NIT Tipoff, got caught by Tulsa unprepared, and played tough against Oklahoma State. Unfortunately they were all losses. There is no signature win on their resume that will help them come March.
Northern Iowa (9-3) (3)— Rebuilding and exceeding expectations from last season has been a large challenge on Ben Jacobson’s plate. The Panthers were taught an early lesson at Syracuse and have had some troubles on the road losing to Iowa and Wisconsin-Milwaukee. However, winning the Las Vegas Classic springboards them into conference play with a lot of confidence and a solid rotation of players. The Panthers now have a knack for beating storied teams with the win against Indiana this week.
Creighton (8-4) (5)— Creighton got off to a slow start, but heads into a conference season riding a four game winning streak, getting Rutgers transfer Gregory Echeniquethree games under his belt to get ready for conference season. However, losses to their toughest competition like BYU, Nebraska, Northwestern and Iowa State lays out a path that the Bluejays need to have a stellar MVC regular season and put all of their eggs into the MVC Tournament basket..
Illinois State (8-3) (4)— Tim Jankovich said coming into the season he had one of the youngest teams in the league having to replace a lot of key players, so their non-conference has been probably as expected. They lost games against their toughest competition, UNLV and Ohio, and had a rough outing on their first road game of the season losing at Arkansas-Little Rock. But they finished their non-conference on a strong note in a back and forth contest at UNC-Wilmington before winning in overtime. They will be tested early with Creighton and Missouri State to start things off.
Southern Illinois (6-5) (7)—Southern Illinois is where most people had them coming into this season. Somehow I missed the memo and expected them to be better than they have been. They started off the season getting blown out by Illinois and then somehow called a timeout they didn’t have against Northeastern to start the season 0-2. The Salukis have been able to beat the teams they were supposed to beat, but lost to known commodities of a Drake and Northern Iowa start their battle for the MVC. Shorter and more intense practices might be their answer.
Evansville (6-4) (6)— There are signs of improvement in Evansville, but like the other teams in the conference, could not get a big win to put in their back pocket. Butler could be that win, but even they look down compared to their NCAA Championship game run last season. Losses against North Carolina and Indiana along with Air Force and Middle Tennessee exploits their inconsistency that is still being put in place for a program that has struggled to do anything since becoming a part of Division I years ago. But with young players like Colt Ryan, Denver Holmes andNed Cox, things might be looking up. Starting at Wichita State will not be an easy task.
Bradley (6-5) (9)— There is something in the water in Peoria that has caused things not to turn out at all what was expected coming into this season. Two starters and potential All-Conference players in Taylor Brown and Sam Maniscalco have been grounded with injury and the Braves were riding a five-game losing streak coming into the week before Christmas where they were able to get back on the winning track. Jim Les may have saved his job for another year once again because of injuries and coaching a different way. Indiana State and Wichita State are on the slate for the first week.
Indiana State (5-6) (8)—The Sycamores have had time to think about their last non-conference game against Purdue on December 18th. Being on the road for most of their non-conference season was a killer for Indiana State though they probably gained a lot of experience playing against adversity heading into the conference season. They could get themselves off to a good start if they can beat Bradley and Evansville in the first week.
Drake (5-6) (10)— After Drake’s teaching lesson from Dartmouth to start the week, the Bulldogs in shambles at the end of the non-conference. When your wins are against Texas Southern, Southern Utah, Eastern Michigan, Boise State and Chicago State, there is definitely something that is not clicking for them. They have had the last two top recruiting classes in the conference, but there may be some questions on whether that talent has the right coach in place.
A Look Ahead
Conference play begins and there are already some good matchups to kick things off.
12/29—Missouri State @ Northern Iowa (Fox Sports Net)—A great game to kick off MVC conference play as both teams expect to be in the race at the end of the season.
12/29—Creighton @ Illinois State (ESPN Full Court/ESPN3.com)—Creighton has had some struggles with Illinois state when they have played each other early in the conference schedule. Both teams have work to do as they start conference play.
1/1—Wichita State @ Bradley (ESPNU)—This game had a lot of potential before half of Bradley’s starters went down with injury. The Shockers will set the bar in this game.
1/1—Illinois State @ Missouri State (No TV)—Missouri State has steadily risen in the Valley stature over the past couple of seasons. I still think the Bears can win the conference. At the same time, we may know early where the Redbirds will ultimately end up.
1/1—Northern Iowa @ Southern Illinois (No TV)—Both programs are heading in different directions. Northern Iowa is in the reloading stage while Southern Illinois is still going through an extreme makeover.
For about a four hour stretch on Tuesday evening, I was glued to my TV. Watching college basketball on the ESPN family of networks is a beautiful distraction during finals week. Somehow, watching Oakland shock Tennessee and then Drexel hand Louisville its first loss of the season was more appealing than writing a paper. To the average hoops fans, both of these games would be of little interest. I mean, the Summit League vs. the SEC and the CAA vs. the Big East? Call me crazy, but I greatly anticipated both of these matchups. Teams coming from obscurity that are comprised of players who were a mere afterthought when recruited excites me. When further investigating both Oakland and Drexel, it wasn’t inconceivable that an upset could happen. Oakland had just lost to Michigan State by a point, and Drexel had won six of seven games. The point being, there are many teams from the Other 26 conferences that when they catch a talented BCS team on an off night, can knock them off. This is, after all, the allure of the NCAA Tournament—watching the little guy win. Seeing the likes of Oakland and Drexel defeat the big kids on Tuesday night could be a preview of what is to come during March.
Tidbits from the Rankings:
Steady at the Top: Although UNLV lost to drop them in the rankings, San Diego State and BYU maintained their positions at one and two. A lot can happen this coming week though as both teams play three games each.
The Mountain West and Atlantic 10 lead the way in the rankings: #1 and #2 are from the MWC and #3 and #4 from the A-10.
There was not a whole lot of upward movement in the rankings, but two teams did have significant falls. UNLV, after losing two games, dropped five spots to number eight, and Virginia Commonwealth moved from #10 to #19 after Richmond beat them handily.
Cleveland State, at 12-0, is still outside of the top ten, but will have an opportunity to potentially crack it with a victory against West Virginia.
Two come and two go, again: Drexel and Southern Mississippi entered the top 20, while Dayton and Missouri State departed.
Kevin Doyle is an RTC contributor. For an introduction to this series, please click here.
Introduction
As every week of the college basketball season evaporates right before our eyes—like a double-digit lead is whittled down to a single possession in a matter of minutes—more and more stories subsequently develop. To draw a comparison to mathematics for you brainiacs out there, this is the classic inverse relationship. As “X”—the number of weeks in the season—decreases, “Y”—the amount of stories—increases. Think about it, when are there the most stories surrounding college basketball? At the end of the year during the NCAA Tournament, of course. From the moment Selection Sunday rolls around all the way to that final, depressing buzzer in the NCAA Championship game rings signaling an end to another season, it seems as if college hoops are being discussed 24/7. Just this past week, there were several major developments in the world of the Other 26:
The top three teams in the Mountain West—SDSU, BYU, and UNLV—are a combined 27-0.
Butler and Gonzaga have identical, albeit very mediocre, records: 4-4.
Temple defeated Maryland and Georgetown, and in the process Fran Dunphy picked up his 400th win.
Cleveland State has the most victories in the country with 11.
One of the biggest recruits in the nation—Adjehi Baru—signed with the College of Charleston over a couple of ACC schools. Bobby Cremins really has something brewing down there in South Carolina. Could Charleston be the next Davidson? Both schools, after all, hail from the Southern Conference.
Illinois and Oakland were getting in touch with their feminine side by using a women’s basketball for the first seven minutes of the first half of their game.
The inverse relationship will not fail as the season progresses. I promise.
For the second October in a row, we’re bringing you our RTC Impact Players series. The braintrust has gone back and forth on this and we’ve finally settled on a group of sixty players throughout ten geographic regions of the country (five starters plus a sixth man) to represent the who and where of players you should be watching this season. Seriously, if you haven’t seen every one of these players ball at least once by the end of February, then you need to figure out a way to get a better television package. As always in a subjective analysis such as this, some of our decisions were difficult; many others were quite easy. What we can say without reservation is that there is great talent in every corner of this nation of ours, and we’ll do our best to excavate it over the next five weeks in this series that will publish on Mondays and Thursdays. Each time, we’ll also provide a list of some of the near-misses as well as the players we considered in each region, but as always, we welcome you guys, our faithful and very knowledgeable readers, to critique us in the comments.
Brandon Knight – Fr, G – Kentucky. What on earth could Brandon Knight do to live up to what has preceded him? It’s not just that he’s been stood for membership along the Caliparian Derrick Rose-Tyreke Evans-John Wall axis, or that he’ll immediately be expected to live up to the ridiculous standard entailed by that little club. Yeah, that’s hard enough, but there’s something more. Last year’s Kentucky team wasn’t just about five first-round draft picks and an Elite Eight run. It wasn’t about the actual on-court achievements of Messrs. Wall, Cousins, Patterson, Bledsoe, and Calipari. It was what the season symbolized, a pronouncement that, after two years of weirdness under Billy Gillispie, Kentucky had returned to prominence in a major way, wasn’t likely to go anywhere for a very long time, and that deep tournament runs with big bad recruits were to be the norm once again. That’s quite a show to follow. Brandon Knight says he’s up for the challenge, and he might be right. Don’t let the 32.5 PPG average as a prep senior in Ft. Lauderdale fool you. Even though Calipari cautions people against comparing last year’s Wildcats to this year’s, since Knight has yet to play a single second of college basketball, something has to be used as a reference point right now. That said, Knight shares Wall’s second-most important attribute as a collegian, which is the ability to provide whatever’s needed. Scoring? Not a problem. Less emphasis on points and more on distribution? Consider it done. Help on the glass? Let’s do it. Defensive leadership? Fine. Another similar aspect is that while Wall was a genius at getting to the rim, taking contact, and finishing, Knight has this gift as well and will gladly take whatever’s waiting on him in terms of body blows, but he’s also likely to pull up at the edge of the lane to shoot his mid-range jumper or slip a pass to an open teammate before defenders know what happened. Finally, as for the most important thing Knight has in common with Wall? That’d be the commitment in the classroom. You might as well just go ahead and fill in the bubbles on Knight’s APR sheets. He arrives from high school riding a 4.3 GPA, which we’ll assume is based on an accelerated/AP scoring system. Unless that 4.3 is based on some screwy 9.0 scale from Florida that we don’t know about, anybody looking for an offseason scandal here is wasting their time.
Brandon Knight Will Take the Reins From Wall at UK
Will Barton – Fr, G – Memphis. Considered by many to be the top shooting guard in this year’s freshman class, Will Barton has already taken a rather interesting path on his way to Midnight Madness. First there was concern over whether he would be academically eligible for the coming season, which he ultimately overcame. Then there was his Twitter guarantee that the Tigers were going to win the national title, which upon questioning he defended by simply saying, “What was I suppose [sic] 2 [sic] say?” Now that Memphis appears to have gotten past all of the headaches (hopefully) it is time for Josh Pastner and Tiger fans to enjoy Barton’s many gifts. If they’re expecting another Derrick Rose they are going to be disappointed because Barton’s game is quite different from the one-and-done Tiger star — who technically never played at Memphis according to the NCAA — as Rose was more of a distributor whose athleticism and physical skills made him a legitimate scoring threat, whereas Barton is primarily a scorer who also distributes because of his athleticism and physical skills. Barton also lacks many of the complementary pieces that Rose had around him so don’t expect a repeat of the 2007-08 season for the Tigers, but Barton could lead them further than you would otherwise expect for a team that was weaker than recent Memphis teams even before the departure of Elliot Williams. Although Barton does not have range of some of the premier scorers of recent vintage like J.J. Redick or Stephen Curry, he does possess a solid outside shot, which he combines with a mid-range game that very few players at any level have, and an ability to get to the basket. What could potentially set him apart from the likes of Redick and Curry is Barton’s ability to rebound and play defense. With that combination of skills and his potential for improvement (he is rail-thin right now, listed at 6’6” and 170 pounds coming out of high school) Barton could be the best player at Memphis since Rose and if he sticks around for a few years his name could be mentioned alongside Keith Lee, Elliot Perry and Anfernee Hardaway as one of the all-time greats there.
Big Red Freshness Lasts Right Through It. Cornell 95, Brown 76. It probably took a little longer than the nervous Big Red faithful hoped to put away the pesky Brown Bears tonight, but in the end, it was simply a formality because Cornell players were so narrowly focused on winning their third straight Ivy League title and NCAA bid that there was no way they were going to lose this game tonight. How focused were they? Try a season-best 57% shooting and an utterly ridonkulous 20-30 from deep tonight. At one point during the conflagration of shot-making by the Big Red, they hit eight treys in a row en route to an 11-13 first half. But it was the second half where Cornell exhibited its dominance, using a 14-4 run early to take control of the game and ensure another title coming to Ithaca this season. All five starters reached double figures, but it was lesser-known forward Jon Jaques who took the scoring honors with 20/7 tonight (including six threes). In all, four players had four or more threes, which we figure has to be some kind of a record for versatile and voluminous shooting! Cornell will now wait to see where their NCAA seed lies, but the smart money is on a #12 seed when the brackets are released. Anyone up for a #12/#5 upset this year?
Will 3d Time Be the Charm For Cornell? (Ithaca Journal/G. Ertl)
RTC Live.
Wichita State 73, Missouri State 63. On Quarterfinal Friday in St. Louis, top seed Northern Iowa defeated Drake, Bradley upset Creighton and Illinois State won the nightcap. And in the game you followed here on RTC Live, Wichita State held off Missouri State, 73-63. A close, hard-fought and well-played game, the Shockers were paced by Garrett Stutz, whose play in the paint helped them overcome hot outside shooting of the Bears. Stutz finished with 19 points and 6 rebounds, and converted on back-to-back possessions during a key stretch of the second half to help them pull away. The Shockers advance to play the Redbirds of Illinois State tomorrow afternoon here in St. Louis.
Conference Tourneys. Eight conference tourneys tonight, and a ridiculous thirteen tomorrow. Let’s see what was interesting…
Ohio Valley. The top two teams — Murray State and Morehead State — both advanced tonight to the finals on Saturday. Murray has put together a phenomenal 29-win season, so it’d be a shame to see them miss out on the NCAAs, but Morehead is the only OVC team to have beaten the Racers this year. It was Morehead tonight, though, not Murray, who had the comfortable win in the semis. Should be a great one on Saturday for the auto-bid.
Atlantic Sun. #6 seed Mercer continues to use its home court advantage to knock off higher-seeded teams with tonight’s victory over #2 Jacksonville. #5 East Tennessee State was able to get by #8 Kennesaw State whom had knocked off top seed Belmont last night. So it’ll be Mercer vs. ETSU for the automatic bid. The Bucs will be playing in their third A-Sun title game in four years, and will be looking to win back-t0-back NCAA bids despite having not finished first in the regular season in either of the last two years.
Horizon. In the Horizon second round tonight, #7 Detroit continues to turn heads with another upset win behind Eli Holman’s dub-dub (16/11), while #4 Milwaukee earned the pleasure of facing #1 Butler in the semifinals on Saturday by defeating #5 Cleveland State. The Titans will play #2 Wright State in the other semifinal — neither of the top two seeds have played yet in this tournament, while Detroit has already played two games and Milwaukee one. | {
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Just when it looked like it was smooth sailing for light heavyweight Fabio Maldonado, an injury has forced him from Saturday's UFC 142 event in Rio, prompting the cancellation of his bout against Caio Magalhaes. The bout will not be replaced, and the card will go on with 10 fights.
Fight Card Back Up to Speed for Rio
updated December 20After a rash of injuries to the fighters on the UFC 142 card, the Rio event's lineup is back in fighting shape with the announcement an additional replacement. UFC president Dana White confirmed today that undefeated Brazilian Caio Magalhaes will make his UFC debut against uber-tough Fabio Maldonado. Magalhaes replaces light heavyweight Stanisilav Nedkov.
Familiar Faces Return for UFC 142
updated December 17With injuries hitting the UFC 142 card in Brazil on January 14th, three familiar faces from Zuffa's recent past have verbally agreed to return to the Octagon.
In heavyweight action, former world title challenger Gabriel "Napao" Gonzaga will resume his UFC career when he replaces Rob Broughton against newcomer Ednaldo Oliveira.
Stanislav Nedkov has also been forced out of his light heavyweight bout against Fabio Maldonado a new opponent for Maldonado will be named shortly.
Paulo Thiago vs. Mike Pyle Plus Heavyweights at 142
updated November 29Skilled contenders Paulo Thiago and Mike Pyle will meet in a welterweight battle, as "Quicksand" will enter Thiago's home territory at UFC 142.
A heavyweight bout on the undercard completes the Brazil card's lineup, as undefeated Brazilian Ednaldo Oliveira has agreed to make his UFC debut against the U.K’s Rob "The Bear" Broughton.
UFC 142's Featherweight Feast Continues
updated November 24Jose Aldo and Chad Mendes won't be the only featherweights showing off the division at UFC </a>142 in Brazil on January 14th, as UFC President Dana White announced two verbally agreed to bouts for the highly anticipated card: a clash between Yuri Alcantara and Michihiro Omigawa, and a battle pitting Felipe Arantes against debuting Antonio Carvalho.
Two Powerhouses to Lock Horns in Brazil
Verbal agreements are in for a matchup between powerful wrestler Mike "The Master of Disaster" Massenzio and Brazilian leg-locking machine Rousimar "Toquinho" Palhares at UFC 142 January 14, announced UFC president Dana White today.
Bahadurzada-E.Silva, Maldonado-Nedkov added to UFC 142
updated November 14January's UFC </a>142 event has gotten a jot with two more explosive matchups that will put Brazilian fans on their feet from start to finish.
First up, highly-touted Siyar Bahadurzada enters the Octagon for the first time to face Erick Silva, who stopped Luis Ramos in 40 seconds in his own debut in August.
“Verbal agreements are in for the UFC debut of Shooto champion Siyar Bahadurzada January 14th in Brazil," said UFC President Dana White. "He will be taking on Jungle Fight champion Erick Silva, who looked spectacular in his UFC debut in August.”
Tavares vs. Stout, Barboza vs. Etim Headed to Brazil
Two lightweight wars between fan favorites have been slated for the UFC's return to Brazil in January.
A pair of fighters known for their exciting performances have verbally agreed to meet as Sam "Hands of Stone" Stout will take on Brazil’s Thiago Tavares. Both men are coming off of impressive finishes - Stout scored Knockout of the Night in the first round of UFC 131, while Tavares TKOd Spencer Fisher in the second at UFC Rio.
Additionally, Terry Etim will follow up his 17-second UFC 138 Submission of the Night blitz with a bout against another UFC Rio winner. “Get ready for fireworks as verbal agreements are in for a matchup featuring two of the best strikers in the lightweight division: Terry Etim takes on Edson Barboza at UFC 142," said UFC president Dana White.Belfort vs. Rumble Announced for UFC's Return to Brazil updated November 1A second Brazilian mega-star is set to fight at home at UFC 142. "Verbal agreements in for what should be an explosive matchup as powerhouse Anthony ‘Rumble’ Johnson moves up to middleweight to face ‘The Phenom’ Vitor Belfort at the event," UFC president Dana White said.
Aldo to Defend Title in Brazil updated October 31After the success of UFC Rio in August, UFC officials promised that they would stage another event in the country as soon as possible. That return has now been confirmed as UFC 142, to be held January 14 in a to-be-named Brazilian city.
Besides the date, a title-fight main event was also confirmed.
Pound-for-pound superstar Jose Aldo will fight in Brazil for the first time since 2007 when he defends his UFC featherweight title against unbeaten powerhouse Chad Mendes.
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Kevin Lee is set to face Tony Ferguson for the interim lightweight title at UFC 216 in Las Vegas on Oct. 7 with the champ Conor McGregor taking care of some business in the boxing ring. Lee spoke to UFC.com about the fight.
16-Aug-2017
UFC Minute host Lisa Foiles delivers an important update regarding the rules for next week's superfight between Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather.
16-Aug-2017
History is up for grabs when flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson attempts to defend his belt against challenger Ray Borg at UFC 215. In the co-main event Amanda Nunes and Valentina Shevchenko battle for the women's bantamweight title.
16-Aug-2017
Daniel Cormier and Jon Jones will meet for their rematch at UFC 214 with the light heavyweight title on the line. Don't miss the action on July 29 live on Pay-Per-View. Watch the first promo released, being called the best in UFC history.
08-Jul-2017
Daniel Cormier and Jon Jones will meet for their rematch at UFC 214 with the light heavyweight title on the line. Don't miss the action on July 29 live on Pay-Per-View.
21-Jul-2017
Daniel Cormier and Jon Jones will meet for their rematch at UFC 214 with the light heavyweight title on the line. Don't miss the action on July 29 live on Pay-Per-View.
21-Jul-2017
Daniel Cormier and Jon Jones will meet for their rematch at UFC 214 with the light heavyweight title on the line. Don't miss the action on July 29 live on Pay-Per-View. Watch the first promo released, being called the best in UFC history. | {
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NATO Policy on Cyber Defence, 2011
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Strategy
NATO released its Policy on Cyber Defence on June 8, 2011. The document's introduction states,
"The security environment of the twenty-first century has changed remarkably. Our modern societies and economies are wired together by networks, cables and the IP addresses of our computers. Increasingly dependent on complex critical communication and information systems (CIS), the Alliance must adapt and enhance its defences in order to confront emerging challenges head-on. To this end, the revised NATO Policy on Cyber Defence sets out a clear vision of how the Alliance plans to bolster its cyber efforts.
The 2010 NATO Strategic Concept highlighted the need to "develop further our ability to prevent, detect, defend against and recover from cyber-attacks…". Threats are rapidly evolving both in frequency and sophistication. Threats emanating from cyberspace – whether from states, hacktivists or criminal organisations, among many others – pose a considerable challenge to the Alliance and must be dealt with as a matter of urgency.
Against this background, at the 2010 Lisbon Summit, the Heads of State tasked the North Atlantic Council to develop a revised NATO cyber defence policy. A NATO Concept on Cyber Defence was first drafted for Defence Ministers in March 2011, which formed the conceptual basis of the revised NATO Policy on Cyber Defence. The Policy itself was then developed and approved by the NATO Defence Ministers on 8 June. The document is coupled with an implementation tool – an Action Plan, which represents a detailed document with specific tasks and activities for NATO's own structures and Allies' defence forces." | {
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This winter season was the 20th warmest on record in Slovakia (until February 15th), however, every tail has a sting. The European land is cooled down after all and mild maritime air is streamed deeply to the Arctic regions at the same time. As a response, strong anticyclone circulation over Scandinavia and Barents Sea is developed. Consequently, there is flowing of continental air over the Europe around this huge weather system and this chilled air mass can even reach the British Isles. This type of pressure and temperature field typically leads to even more unusual circulation patterns thus many meteorologists and weather enthusiasts closely watch to every new numerical model outputs. | {
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Sasha Graham’s Card a Day Tarot Blog – The Five of Wands
Intensity, commotion, heat! The fives in the Minor Arcana of Tarot tend to be tough cards and the Five of Wands is no exception.
Wands represent the element of fire that contains intention, exhilaration and incendiary energy. Fives can be problematic the same way the middle act of a play, novel or film gets tough before things resolve themselves. Oh – the drama!
Today, my sister called to alert me that an earthquake had just struck LA – where she lives. An earthquake is an excellent example of Five of Wands energy – ruckus underground shaking the earth’s surface!
An ever so sexy soap opera star brings his children to the same swimming lessons I take my daughter to. I call him “man candy”. I can’t even look in his direction because I get all Five of Wands over his tan, sculpted muscles. I pray he never attempts conversation with me.
There are certain political topics that get me worked up so fast – I can barely debate them. Namely a woman’s right to choose!
Are there buttons your family presses that get you from zero to sixty in a heartbeat? There are issues between my husband and myself that signal instant argument.
The thing to remember when your cheeks start to flush, your ears start to burn and you are in the midst of a Five of Wands moment – is to calm down. Unless this energy is benefiting you – shift your focus ever so slightly.
A dear friend of mine is a commercial and print model. She often gets worked up, excited and nervous when auditioning for TV. On her last audition, rather than staying flustered, she asked for peace and calmness in the moment. By focusing on the present – not the projected outcome – she clicked with the director and guess what? She booked the job!
Tap into your Five of Wand energy so it serves you!
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I’m so glad I came upon your elab on the 5 of wands. There’s this guy that I see often here at work, and he does this for me. I kept seeing this card come up in asking about him! I was telling a co-worker that I don’t get it, I can’t stand how arrogant this guy is… but I can’t tame the desire to fantasize about him! She said you wanna have “hate-sex with him.” LOL! My mouth dropped open and I said, “OMG, that’s so true.” 😉 | {
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I just recently had a conversation with Peter Hinssen, one of our keynote speakers at Forrester’s colocated CIO Forum and EA Forum in Las Vegas (May 3-4) and our EMEA CIO Forum and EA Forum in Paris (June 19-20).
Peter is both a dynamic speaker and a provocative thought-leader on the rapidly changing relationship of technology, business, and “the business function called IT.” Here’s a short summary of this conversation — and a preview of what he will be talking about at our forums.
On “The New Normal”:
Technology has stopped being “technology,” and digital has just become “normal”: We’ve entered the world of the “New Normal.” The rate of change of the technology world has become the beat to which markets transform. But the rate of change “outside” companies is now faster than the internal velocity of organizations. But how will companies evolve to cope with the changes as a result of the New Normal? How will organizations evolve to respond quickly enough when markets turn into networks of intelligence? | {
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3 comments:
Hubert Rawlinson
said...
Perhaps we should, at least, consider putting such a dangerous, brutal and clearly deeply unhappy individual out of our misery? It would surely be a mercy killing, both for him and for us. Or, if that seems a little bit too proactive for some tastes, then at the very least when he next attempts self immolation I,for one, will not waste my good piss to put him out! | {
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TitleWorkPlace
PropertyInfo and Stewart engineers are monitoring an event
happening within the SureClose Environment. At this time, it
appears to be isolated to SureClose. This event is not impacting
StewartWorkPlace, TitleWorkPlace, or other applications within
those environments. Engineers are engaged and working to isolate
the issue. | {
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} |
About
In the spring of 2003, when his hometown of Lafayette, California began buzzing about the impending invasion of Iraq, attorney Budd MacKenzie became concerned that America would once again be torn apart over a war in a far-off land.
Reminiscent of his college days during the Vietnam War, Budd decided to look for something his neighbors and friends might do that wouldn’t be divisive.
He came across a Parade magazine article about the work of Greg Mortenson, who was building schools in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Budd reasoned that everyone could agree that building schools and providing children with an education was the best long-term solution to solving problems in the region. He felt that he and his neighbors could come together to raise money to build a school.
He called Greg and learned about his plan to build a school in the village of Lalander, Afghanistan, that would educate both boys and girls. Greg said he needed to raise $25,000 to build the school, so Budd agreed to raise the funds.
A few friends pitched in and over time they were able to raise $60,000 for Greg’s nonprofit organization, Central Asia Institute.
While spearheading the fundraising effort, Budd educated himself about America’s historical role in Afghanistan. After reading the book Charlie Wilson’s War, Budd concluded that we have a moral obligation to the Afghan people to help them rebuild their lives and country. (see Why Afghanistan?).
At that point, he became personally committed to the reconstruction effort in Afghanistan, and in January 2004 he formed Trust in Education to continue that work.
A New Chapter Begins…
In March 2005 Budd traveled to Lalander to see the school that his friends and neighbors had financed. After personally seeing the effects of almost thirty years of war (see Basics), there was no turning back. Helping Afghanistan was no longer a part time activity. It began and continues to consume the vast majority of his time.
Budd had an enlightening encounter during his second visit to Lalander. As he was talking, a village leader reached into his pocket, and pulled out a large stack of cards from other organizations.
He said, “All these people came to my home and never came back. I thought you would be the same.”
Budd understood right then that help in Afghanistan would have to be a long term proposition, based on trust and building relationships over time. He pledged to himself and the village leader that he would be back, and that he would be in it for the long haul.
There are no quick fixes to bringing about meaningful change. Budd has gone to Afghanistan twice a year since then. Trust in Education is a highly regarded and respected organization in several Afghan villages. We keep coming back!
Over the past ten years, Trust in Education has expanded from one school of 120 children, to supporting classes in 10 villages that in 2010 helped educate more than 1,250 children.
We have worked with the villagers to jointly prioritize their other needs, funding economic development projects and other wish list items, so they can better support their families.
We have supported improved health care, both through direct care and through providing supplies to hospitals.
And we have a “play strategy” which supports playgrounds and soccer programs, both to improve school attendance and because we recognize how important it is to incorporate fun into a child’s day.
Our Afghan program directors provide daily oversight to the programs, allowing us to expand to several villages adjoining Lalander.
With Budd serving as the messenger between American communities and Afghan villages, sharing what he has seen and learned through his many visits, thousands of Americans have become transformed into supporters.
For those Americans who want to make a difference, Trust in Education has earned their trust. Trust in Education now has a solid base of supporters who understand that this work in Afghanistan requires a commitment over time.
As Budd is fond of saying, “We can’t be short distance runners.”
We are absolutely convinced that the grassroots, human-to-human approach to humanitarian aid is the way to go. Small is beautiful. How do we know? The proof lies in the results, which are described throughout this website. Once you’re as convinced as we are, get out of the bleachers and join us on the field. We and they need all the help we can get.
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TIE is a partner of the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves, a public-private initiative led by the United Nations Foundation to save lives, improve livelihoods, empower women and preserve the environment by creating a thriving global market for clean cooking solutions.
Learn more at www.cleancookstoves.org. | {
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