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Did you know that Christian Bale and Matthew McConaughey once made a movie together wherein they fought dragons in a post-apocalyptic world? I don’t know how the hell people could forget about a film like Reign of Fire, but I never hear anyone talking about it. Come on, people! It’s like Mad Max, but with dragons! This is a very silly movie, but the premise is so out there that you’ll probably love it. Matthew McConaughey is the real highlight hear, going above and beyond to play his gung-ho dragon hunter character.
For fans of: Mad Max: Fury Road, Dragonheart, Escape From New York, Matthew McConaughey jumping at a dragon while holding a giant axe.
Look, I could give you a standard write-up here about the plot, and the cast, and so on. But I’m not going to do that. Instead, I’m just going to advise you to jump up there and watch the above clip of a scene in Teen Witch. A scene in which some young men are out on the street, singing and dancing. Watch the entire clip, from beginning to end. And then tell me you don’t want to watch this movie.
For fans of: Did you watch the clip?
TOKYO, March 27 (Reuters) - Oil prices edged lower on Wednesday after an industry report showed an unexpected rise in U.S. crude inventories, but losses were capped by ongoing supply curbs and issues affecting output from countries including Venezuela.
Brent was down by 12 cents, or 0.2 percent, at $67.85 by 0010 GMT. On Tuesday, the global benchmark rose 76 cents to $67.97 a barrel, not far below its year-to-date high of $68.69, reached on March 21.
U.S. crude futures fell 9 cents, or 0.2 percent, to $59.85. The U.S. benchmark rose $1.12, or 1.9 percent, to $59.94 a barrel in the previous session.
The market was waiting to see whether official figures due later on Wednesday would confirm the API data.
Oil prices have risen more than 25 percent this year, supported by supply curbs by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and other major producers, along with U.S. sanctions on exports from Venezuela and Iran.
CHICAGO—The most memorable observation in Errol Morris's film, "The Thin Blue Line," runs like this: "It takes a good Texas prosecutor to convict the guilty . . . and a great Texas prosecutor to convict the innocent." Today, this wry remark applies to plaintiffs lawyers, now that Mark Lanier, down in Angleton, Texas, has drawn blood from Merck for its former blockbuster drug, Vioxx.
Forget the jury's whopping quarter-billion-dollar verdict in Ernst v. Merck, because it's cut 90% by the caps that Texas law places on punitive damages. Still, where do $25 million in actual damages come from? Robert Ernst died in his sleep, without pain and without medical bills. His lost income as a Wal-Mart employee was small. But the $24 million price tag for anguish and loss of companionship to his widow Carol is off the charts. And for what?
Not the death of her husband, whose arteries were 70% clogged and who died, so Dr. Maria Araneta's death certificate states, of arrhythmia, or irregular heart beat. No mention of any heart attack. But in his dramatic eleventh-hour maneuver, Mr. Lanier whisked Dr. Araneta back from the Arabian peninsula to testify conveniently that she really thought that an undetected blood clot had caused the death, but had been dislodged in the last-ditch efforts at resuscitation.
Pretend that this new account is true, and it still doesn't show that Vioxx caused the blood clot. Long before Vioxx, people died of heart failure from all sorts of causes, including physical exertion and dehydration. That second causal link to Vioxx was not made even if the first one to a blood clot is generously presumed. Carol Ernst's lawsuit should be DOA right here, but a clever set of jury instructions allowed the jury to say that Vioxx may have been a contributory cause of death.
By what odds? Merck's clinical trials showed an elevated risk of heart attacks but only in persons that took Vioxx in heavy doses for intestinal polyps for 18 months or more. Ernst took Vioxx only for eight months. In post-trial interviews, the jury members revealed their anger that the company didn't show "respect" for its customers by telling the truth about Vioxx's risks. And they clearly were moved by Mr. Lanier's expert bashing of Merck's medical employee, Dr. Nancy Santanello, who struggled to explain how Merck tried to show the efficacy of the drug in response to criticisms of it.
All this goes to show that physicians under the gun make lousy witnesses, which we already knew. To understand the Angleton verdict, one would think that Vioxx were the moral equivalent of mustard gas. But in truth, we should be grateful to any firm that speeds its product to market when its anticipated use promises many more benefits than adverse side-effects. Merck should not apologize for pushing hard to win quick market acceptance; before Vioxx was withdrawn, countless people with chronic pain were able to get on with their lives. Now these folks are left far worse off because of a double whammy: a Food and Drug Administration that yanks too many drugs off the market because it has no idea how to evaluate risk, and individual jurors who think it is their solemn duty to "send a message" to the drug companies on whose products we so desperately depend.
So, in return, I would like to send my message to Mr. Lanier and those indignant jurors. It's not from an irate tort professor, but from a scared citizen who is steamed that those "good people" have imperiled his own health and that of his family and friends. None of you have ever done a single blessed thing to help relieve anybody's pain and suffering. Just do the math to grasp the harm that you've done.
Right now there are over 4,000 law suits against Merck for Vioxx. If each clocks in at $25 million, then your verdict is that the social harm from Vioxx exceeds $100 billion, before thousands more join in the treasure hunt. Pfizer's Celebrex and Bextra could easily be next. Understand that no future drug will be free of adverse side effects, nor reach market, without the tough calls that Merck had to make with Vioxx. Your implicit verdict is to shut down the entire quest for new medical therapies. Your verdict says you think that the American public is really better off with just hot-water bottles and leftover aspirin tablets.
Ah, you will say, but we're only after Vioxx, and not those good drugs. Sorry, the investment community won't take you at your word. It realizes that any new drug which treats common chronic conditions can generate the same ruinous financial losses as Vioxx, because the flimsy evidence on causation and malice you cobbled together in the Ernst case can be ginned up in any other. Clever lawyers like Mr. Lanier will be able to ambush enough large corporations in small, dusty towns where they will stand the same chance of survival that Custer had at Little Big Horn. Investors can multiply: They won't bet hundreds of millions of dollars in new therapies on the off-chance of being proved wrong. They know they'll go broke if they win 90% of the time.
Your appalling carnage cries out for prompt action. Much as I disapprove of how the FDA does business, we must enact this hard-edged no-nonsense legal rule: no drug that makes it through the FDA gauntlet can be attacked for bad warnings or deficient design. In plain English, Mr. Lanier, you're out of court before you make your opening statement. You've already proved beyond a reasonable doubt that the fancy diagrams that university economists use to explain why the negligence system maximizes social welfare is an academic delusion that clever lawyers use to prop up a broken tort system.
So where does that leave Merck? Perhaps in Chapter 11, where this madness may be brought to a halt.
Mr. Epstein, the James Parker Hall Distinguished Service Professor of Law at the University of Chicago and the Peter and Kirsten Bedford Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, has consulted extensively for the pharmaceutical industry. His book on the industry will be published next year by Yale University Press.
Reprinted from The Wall Street Journal � 2005 Dow Jones & Company. All rights reserved.
04/10/2019 14:48:09 90751637 1 Priority_Search,ExtendedNetworkExposure,PerformanceBoost3x,FeaturedJobs,SocialBoost,PerformanceBoost 9 0 3503 1 0 Finance Accounting Account Analyst Account Analyst Full Time GT USA WILMINGTON LLC | Wilmington, DE (19801) 10 DAYS AGO Account Analyst Interested applicants should apply no later than April 5, 2019 to GT USA WILMINGTON, LLC, HUMAN RESOURCES, Tiffany Wiggins, 1 Hausel Road,... 10 DAYS AGO Do you match?
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04/19/2019 05:53:39 95487882 3 0 0 3730 1 1 Finance Financial Services Incident Investigator -FT- Second Shift Hours - Risk Management Department Incident Investigator -FT- Second Shift Hours - Risk Management Department Full Time Acadia-Healthcare | Philadelphia, PA NEW Belmont Behavioral Hospital is a premiere provider of comprehensive treatment for mental health conditions and substance abuse problems. Having been in ope... NEW Do you match?
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04/13/2019 18:26:50 94347847 9 TJNBoost30Days 6 0 3735 1 1 Finance Financial Services Personal Banker Personal Banker Full Time Citizens Bank | Wilmington, DE 7 DAYS AGO DescriptionDo you have a knack for working with people – always ready to help them, regardless of the situation, and make their day? Are you looking to dev... 7 DAYS AGO Do you match?
04/13/2019 18:26:48 94347844 10 TJNBoost30Days 6 0 3735 1 1 Finance Financial Services InStore Personal Banker InStore Personal Banker Full Time Citizens Bank | Wilmington, DE 7 DAYS AGO DescriptionYou might be asking yourself, “What exactly is an InStore Universal Banker?” We partner with top regional grocery store chains throughout our fo... 7 DAYS AGO Do you match?
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Whether they are B2B or B2C companies, one thing the top brands have in common is that they create an unforgettable customer experience by executing well even in the smallest interactions.
Instagram has over 700 million monthly active users, and the best brands are flocking to the platform to create small but meaningful customer experiences that make a lasting impression.
Here’s how marketers and social media managers can use Instagram analytics to create meaningful customer interactions just like the biggest brands do.
Social listening tools allow social media managers to monitor platforms like Instagram for specific keywords, hashtags or comments. This allows the social media manager to reply directly to an Instagram user.
Social listening is a great way to provide customer support even when the customer may not realize the brand is available.
Connect with customers through social listening.
In the example above, an Amazon social media manager replied directly to a few Instagram users who commented on a recent post. The users felt like the brand was listening, which helps create engagement for future Instagram posts, and also improves overall brand sentiment.
Social listening can also be used to collect and re-share user-generated content (known as UGC). This process rewards customers for sharing a brand’s message, while making it easier to curate a compelling Instagram profile.
Audi is doing social listening right.
In the example above, Audi re-shared a great photo taken by an Audi owner. This win-win is a result of good social listening. The customer feels that the brand cares about his or her experience with the car, and the social media manager is able to share a compelling piece of content.
Instagram analytics platforms not only help with social listening; they can also help optimize content to ensure your customers actually see the great things being shared on your company Instagram account.
There are a variety of cost-effective platforms that analyze previous Instagram post performance, follower demographics and more to determine when is the best time to share content.
Armed with this information, social media managers can then schedule content to be shared at optimal times. Usually the same platform that can determine when it’s best to post a piece of content can also schedule Instagram posts in the future.
As with any marketing initiative, when trying to create an outstanding customer experience, you need to understand likes, dislikes, motivations and habits. Instagram analytics can provide marketers with helpful insights to ensure that the content shared is likely to appeal to customers.
Let’s use the popular shaving brand Harry’s as an example. Below is the first post Harry’s shared on Instagram. The post is straightforward and includes a short first comment with many general hashtags.
Avoid posting dull content on Instagram.
Now compare that post with the more recent post below.
Make sure your brand is telling an authentic story.
In the more recent post, the marketing team behind Harry’s decided to forgo hashtags in the first comment, and instead relied on a first comment that tells a real story. They also decided to showcase Harry’s products rather than present a more generic composition.
It’s likely that the social media managers at Harry’s realized with the help of Instagram analytics what type of content resonated with their audience. The proof is in the pudding—the more recent Instagram post received 14 times more likes and 3 times more comments than the first post.
You’ve probably heard of social media influencers. These are social media users who have a sizable group of dedicated followers. Influencers who endorse or promote a product aligned with the interests of their audience can provide a meaningful boost for brands.
Often the challenge for marketing teams is identifying a social media influencer who will resonate with existing and potential customers. Some Instagram analytics platforms have the ability to identify influencers within specific markets, making it easier for brands to understand who would make a worthy partner, and who would not.
Have your posts resonate with your audience.
In the example above, Balvenie Whiskey partnered with famous chef and author Anthony Bourdain to create a series of short videos that profile various craftspeople. The theme of the project is in keeping with the interests of Balvenie customers—well-crafted goods—and also resonates with Bourdain’s followers, who are foodies and adventurers.
Instagram tools aren’t just for growing a following or easily scheduling content, though those are some of the things Instagram platforms can help with. Some Instagram tools can also provide users with valuable analytics. These can help marketers build profiles that create exceptional customer experiences.
Labor's landslide swept away the remaining Kennett legacy of a dominant Liberal presence in the Geelong region.
The win included the three seats of Geelong (notionally Liberal after a redivision), Bellarine and, for the first time, South Barwon.
"It's a premiership day for Geelong," said an elated Neil "Nipper" Trezise, the former champion Geelong dual-premiership player from 1951-52. His son Ian, who had held the central city seat of Geelong by just 16 votes, was re-elected with a swing of nearly 9 per cent.
Importantly, he won the two new booths of Bell Park and Bell Park South in the Croation-dominated northern corner of the electorate gained in the redivision.
"I feel relieved, absolutely relieved," he said. "Those booths were an unknown quantity to me."
His Liberal opponent, the former mayor of Greater Geelong, Stretch Kontelj, who went in with a notional advantage was bitterly disappointed by his loss. "I think Victoria will suffer, Geelong will suffer," he said.
"I see dark clouds on the horizon for Geelong."
He predicted that a crucial issue, Labor's promise to end logging in the Otways, would still not have taken place by the next election.
The Labor clean-sweep also brings to Parliament a professional fireman, the CFA Officer Michael Crutchfield, a former Geelong mayor, who remained pessimistic about his chances right up until yesterday.
Late this week, he was telling people that he would need to get his fireman mates with their jackhammers and jaws-of-life to pluck the last 1 per cent of votes he would need to be elected in the seat.
Instead he got a swing of more than 9 per cent. "The tidal wave was coming in, I can surf, I put the board out and Bracksy brought me home," he said.
In Bellarine, Labor's Lisa Neville, a candidate endorsed by the women's group Emily's List, romped in over former army officer, Frank Kelloway. Ms Neville, 38, is a neighbourhood house manager, and believes the government's addition of 162 nurses to Geelong Hospital helped in the win. She is the president of the board of Barwon Health, which runs the hospitals.
Her election makes it two Labor women from Geelong in State Parliament - the other is upper house member Elaine Carbines.
The desperately close nature of the election in the seat of Geelong made for an "all hands on deck" policy by the competing candidates. At Geelong High School, voters were greeted by Neil "Nipper" Trezise, his son Ian and Ian's wife Jenny, reinforcing the dynastic inheritance in Geelong.
But trying desperately to trump them, Stretch Kontelj's wife Paula, a glamorous Geelong radio personality, met voters at the gate with a direct appeal to elect her husband, whom she guaranteed was a good man.
Making things cozier, Ian and Jenny Trezise and Paula Kontelj were school mates at Geelong High together in the 1970s. Stretch Kontelj, though, went to Geelong North Secondary in Bell Park and was expected to poll strongly among the largely migrant population of that section of the electorate.
Oyo high chief, Chief Abiodun Odusanwo, is the President of the Institute of Tourism Practitioners of Nigeria (ITP) as well as the Vice President, Federation of Tourism Practitioners of Nigeria (FTAN). He lived in the United Kingdom for many years imparting knowledge. Apart from being a director of Education Qualification Agency, he represented Black and Minority Ethnic Groups in Lewisham Strategic Partnership. He spoke with OKORIE UGURU about his life, career and his passion for empowering people through education.
MY background really is that I am an educationist in terms of the fact that most, if not all my post-graduate experience, has been in education. I started in 1982 after my MBA in England. I was a lecturer at the London College of Further Education. I also lectured in a number of further and higher education institutions. I taught virtually everything when it comes to Business Administration, apart from teaching Law and Statistics. I taught Marketing, Tourism, Business Administration, Principles of Banking, and so on. I have been into human resource development; that is my main trust. I saw myself as an agent of change. I want to see people transformed into achieving competences that would enrich their lives.
Have you always lived in England? I left for England in 1976. I was born in Lagos, but I am a native of Ijebu Ayepe. I had my secondary education at Remo Secondary School, Sagamu. It was an Ionian schools. In fact, my school was really the first mixed secondary school in the whole of West Africa. It was established in 1945 or thereabout. I was actually meant to travel. It started with doing some correspondence courses in those days. I actually worked with the Nigerian Airways as a commercial officer. By that time, they had not built this new international airport. It was under construction. That was actually my first step into tourism and aviation industry. This stimulated my interest in the industry. After working at the place for some time, I travelled to Italy in 1976 and moved to England mainly because of language, because I always knew that I was going to study Business Administration.
On getting to England, I went to City Polytechnic and studied Marketing and then International Business, specialising in tourism. What was life like as a growing up child? My dad sold Lino, what they call carpet, at Idumagbo Avenue in Isale Eko; Jankara to be specific. You know, all those Baba Ijebu (Ijebu indigenes) are into big commerce. I was in fact born into a Moslem family. I even studied the Koran in primary school. I actually went to Ahmadiyya, where we wore white uniform. But what changed all that was that I went to Remo Secondary School, Sagamu, which was a pure Christian school. It was then I opted to become a Christian. It was a matter of choice.
That time, having gone from Lagos to study in Ijebu, I was one of the flamboyant students. We bought things from Kingsway and so on. Is that to say that you were born with a silver spoon? Not really, but with a very nice spoon. Going to secondary school in Remo made me become a Christian, because when I want to pray, I want to pray in a language I understand, and that made things easier. When I left school, the idea was really to travel out despite the fact that my dad wanted me in his business. But I had made up my mind that I was not going to go into business. Was there any special reason for that? Really, my dad had a couple of houses in Surulere and so on, but I really wanted to go to school. My dad was very disappointed that I refused to join him in the family business. Any reason for that? I was well mannered, very enterprising. That was why after secondary school, he wanted me to join him, but I refused. I ran to go meet my grandmother and reported to her, that this was what my daddy was saying.
She asked me: ‘Why don’t you go?’ She said people were actually praying for such opportunities. I told her I didn’t want to. Was your decision based on the secondary education you acquired? It was just a matter of choice really. I wanted to actually get something that is mine, something I can say I generated this. In other words, you wanted to run away from your father’s shadow? Yes. Also being from a polygamous home, I just said I didn’t want the rat race. When he went to report me to my grandmother, she appealed on my behalf. Then I started working.
In the City Hall, my uncle, Sanwo, was the paymaster. I went to him to engage me. My father called him and warned him not to give me a job; that he was going to disown him if he did, and that if I wanted a job, I should join his business. I said okay. Then, there was labour office where after you left school, you could just go and queue and you would get a job. I went there but I did not like the offers available. I then went to meet my aunt who took me to the old Nigerian Airways. The Personnel Manager, Mr. Makinde, told me, ‘Your sister is such a nice person. Nobody can terminate your appointment in Nigerian Airways unless you steal.’ That was where I started my career. While working, I started correspondence classes and then I travelled to England. In our own time, education was a meal ticket. So long as you had your qualification, you were okay. That means your motivation was the meal ticket… I was not looking for a meal ticket. I just said I must be educated to be independent. I started studying for my qualifications. I was interested in developing and contributing to my environment. When Federal Polytechnic, Bida, was established, they came to England to interview people and I attended the interview.
That time, I was actually a part time marketing lecturer in England. When the interviewer asked me my definition of marketing, which is making profit through customers’ satisfaction, the man was looking for one long definition but I didn’t go with that. I didn’t take the offer because I was not ready. At that time, I was hoping to do my PhD as well. The second interview I had, which was equally interesting, was for one bank, BCCI or something like that, because I also taught banking. They wanted to employ a trainer for banking. They got my name through the Institute of Bankers because they had a directory of banking teachers in England. I got the job, but the man said: ‘Sorry, we cannot employ you because one, you are not from the North; two, if we employ you, you will be the highest paid Nigerian and you are the general manager of the bank. I told him you people came here to employ me as a British person. He said unless they bring me in as an expatriate, and I said I didn’t mind.
I continued with my part-time and full-time lecturing. As at that time, there were so many Nigerians in London, but only a few of us managed to do proper jobs like being lecturers or part-time lecturers. Many of my contemporaries worked as security guards, cab drivers and so on. Through my part-time lecturing job, they started asking, so this man can do this? So, it was like blazing the trail, because not many black people were into lecturing, not to talk of Nigerians… Yes. So, how did they react to seeing you in an area that was like an exclusive preserve of the white? They were quite pleased. There is a college called Central London College. I was the head of department. Somebody came out looking for the department, because they couldn’t call my name, Biodun, they called me Mr. Abbey. They told him to go and see Mr. Abbey.
The man was asking me who Mr. Abbey was. Because you were black? Yes. Some Nigerians that I came across, I tried to assist them to excel. In 1989, I think I was a lecturer then also. I told them that no Nigerian person should come to me to give them reference for security jobs. If you want reference from me, you must apply for a proper job. Through that, many of them applied for proper jobs. Why did you decide to do so? They were qualified to do all these jobs. They were qualified to work in the office as opposed to marking time doing cleaning and so on. So the idea was for you to push them to go for better jobs? Yes. It helped enormously. It created a pool who would say if it were not for that man, I would have still been doing those menial jobs. It was not just Nigerians, but blacks generally.
That time, as a Commonwealth citizen, one was allowed to work for 20 hours a day as a student. So, I told them, for those 20 hours, why not go for proper jobs? With that, many of them got the necessary experience for future employment. Then after you have lived in England illegally for seven years, you get your stay. I also encouraged them to do short training programmes. At the time you moved to England, by virtue of your qualification, you could apply for other jobs. Why settle for teaching? I think it was my drive to improve the lot of people. Like I said, according to my background, work was not an issue. I thought having done all these, why not assist other people? That helped because it brought in better understanding of blacks. Also at that time, I started getting more interest in tourism and I applied to many institutions for a PhD in tourism but they refused. I was asked to do tourism in either of two countries: Gambia or Spain.
Those were the areas they wanted me to focus on. I told them I wanted to focus on Nigeria and they said Nigeria was not a tourists’ destination. So, I asked myself what I could do. I said I must study tourism. I knew also of many doctors and professors who were my senior colleagues in the academia. They said the two were the areas they could easily get supervisors. These supervisors were also working for their own research interests as well. While working for my PhD, I got so involved in lecturing. That is why I have not yet completed it. I became a college principal during the Margaret Thatcher era. You can imagine what Margaret Thatcher was to black people. I mean she was a conservative prime minister. Being the head, there were so many issues with immigration and I didn’t deal with so many of those guys; I dealt with the policy. I called them.