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http://www.cnbc.com/2014/01/08/a-growing-taste-for-us-fast-food-in-india.html | http://web.archive.org/web/20160427140729id_/http://www.cnbc.com:80/2014/01/08/a-growing-taste-for-us-fast-food-in-india.html | A growing taste for US fast food in India | 20160427140729 | As an increasing number of young adults in India take to American-style fast food meals, health experts worry about the possible toll on public health.
Dr. Sailesh Mohan, senior research scientist and associate professor at Public Health Foundation of India, criticized the aggressive advertising and marketing that portrays fast food restaurants as "the cool place to eat," saying that they target impressionable children and young people.
"This is detrimental to long-term lifestyle choices and will have implications for the next generation vis-à-vis the increased burden of chronic diseases on the youth," said Dr. Mohan.
Health experts aside, international fast food chains have not encountered much opposition in India, especially compared to big-box foreign retailers like Wal-Mart. Experts in the retail and consumer field say that this is largely because unlike Wal-Mart, international fast food chains are not seen as replacing existing eateries.
"Both Wal-Mart and McDonald's have a very positive impact on the value chain, but the perception is different," said Ms. Nangia of Technopak. "People think that big-box retail chains can impact the local companies. While that's not true, that's the perception and that's what the political posturing in the country is."
More from the New York Times:
India and U.S. Continue Fight Over Diplomacy At Least 15 Die in India Building CollapseU.S. Outlines Efforts to Reach Plea With Indian Diplomat
Yet foreign chains will find that operating in India has its challenges. Like every good business, restaurants need to know their customers, which in India means no beef products, as in McDonald's case, or no egg, as in Krispy Kreme's case.
"The first major challenge for new entrants in the market is menu differentiation and menu creation," said Mr. Sain of Everstone Group. "You have to come up with a good sense of taste and localization without compromising your core product."
The supply chain also presents a challenge, he said, as there are no existing cold chain networks or national suppliers that can deliver across different locations for various products.
"A lot of international players want to come in but when they come and check the scene on the ground, they realize that it's not that easy," said Mr. Sain. "There's a lot of hard work ahead for Burger King and for anyone who wants to come in, a lot of capital you have to invest, a lot of 'roll up your sleeves and get down into the execution of the business' that is required."
However, analysts argue that international chains opening in India today are much more likely to succeed than a few years ago.
"The initial entrants such as McDonald's have done a lot of the hard work — they had to create a market, educate people, change their menus to adapt to Indian taste, create a supply chain network," said Mr. Mishra of Ernst & Young. "The people who are coming in now can learn from those mistakes and successes, so that is a big advantage." | India has a reputation as being unfriendly to foreign businesses, but for fast food, international chains are warmly welcomed. NYT reports. | 24 | 0.68 | 1.08 | medium | low | abstractive |
http://www.people.com/article/devious-maids-eva-longoria-exclusive-first-look | http://web.archive.org/web/20160505045635id_/http://www.people.com/article/devious-maids-eva-longoria-exclusive-first-look | Season 4 Sneak Peek Trailer : People.com | 20160505045635 | 05/04/2016 AT 04:25 PM EDT
is not afraid to get her hands – or body – dirty.
In an exclusive sneak peek, the
star is seen lying on the floor seemingly stabbed to death on the season 4 premiere of
But fear not, Longoria fans!
actress – who also serves as an executive producer on the Lifetime series – is playing herself and the bloody scene takes place on set where she is playing a murdered maid.
In addition to Longoria's appearance on the show, the actors tease that a "big character is going to die this season."
"We are killing people right and left," jokes star
come to Beverly Hills, people!"
premieres June 6 on Lifetime. | Season 4 of Devious Maids premieres June 6 on Lifetime | 14.3 | 0.8 | 3 | low | medium | mixed |
http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/entertainment/seinfeld-bold-episode-reverse-starting-conclusion-article-1.784830 | http://web.archive.org/web/20160507210015id_/http://www.nydailynews.com:80/archives/entertainment/seinfeld-bold-episode-reverse-starting-conclusion-article-1.784830 | 'SEINFELD' GETS IT ALL BACKWARDS BOLD EPISODE GOES IN REVERSE AFTER STARTING AT CONCLUSION | 20160507210015 | 3 Stars SEINFELD. Tonight at 9, NBC. WHY? :is question the backwards presented is "Seinfeld" Tonight's This gimmicky installment of the durable, and often groundbreaking, NBC sitcom is presented from back to front. Not truly backwards, as in a hidden Beatles lyric, but with the scenes presented in reverse chronology. As with reading the lead sentence in this review, watching tonight's "Seinfeld" takes a bit of extra effort and may or may not be worth that effort. The episode, titled "The Betrayal," is not a particularly ambitious "Seinfeld" in terms of its basic plot. Jerry (Jerry Seinfeld) runs into an old acquaintance and ends up sleeping with her, even while encouraging George (Jason Alexander) to date her; Kramer (Michael Richards) is cursed by a friend after attacking him with a snowball, and Elaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) is invited to a wedding in India, and takes Jerry and George along for the very long ride. Had the story unfolded that way, this "Seinfeld" would be nothing special, and fairly straightforward. However, by presenting the narrative straightbackward, "Seinfeld" makes it a more challenging, unusual and enjoyable viewing experience. The episode begins instead of ends with the Castle Rock vanity production credit, and ends instead of begins with the star billing. Every scene is followed by another that, in terms of the plot, actually precedes it, and is identified accordingly ("India, one day earlier"). Some of the visual and verbal gags play to this odd past-time structure quite directly and cleverly. Watching Kramer work his way through an all-day sucker, in reverse, is one such tiny triumph. Another is when, on the plane trip to India, Elaine asks Jerry, "Hey, what time is it?
", and he replies, "You just asked me that two minutes ago.
" The next scene, identified by the superimposed reverse time line as "Two minutes ago," has Elaine repeating the very same question. The chronology also poses some curious questions, which are answered in time in reverse time, that is. What, for example, is Newman (Wayne Knight) doing with that beautiful woman? Also, the blasts from the past allows "Seinfeld" to throw in some nifty backward bonuses at the show's very end (or beginning), flashing back to when George's fiance was still alive, and even to the first meeting between two of the show's lead characters. Even so, if you chopped up this "Seinfeld" and played it in its normal chronological sequence, it wouldn't be that great an episode (only Elaine's drunken abandon qualifies as truly outrageous). It's fun to watch backwards, but regarding this particular episode, the question is: Why? .
already once that asked I But | 3 Stars
SEINFELD. Tonight at 9, NBC.
WHY? :is question the backwards presented is "Seinfeld" Tonight's
This gimmicky installment of the durable, and often groundbreaking, NBC sitcom is presented from back to front. Not truly backwards, as in a hidden Beatles lyric, but with the scenes presented in reverse chronology.
As with reading the lead sentence in this review, watching tonight's "Seinfeld" takes a bit of extra effort and may or may not | 5.905263 | 0.957895 | 27.294737 | low | high | extractive |
http://www.cnbc.com/2015/07/02/like-greece-puerto-rican-debt-is-all-about-socialism.html | http://web.archive.org/web/20160508190541id_/http://www.cnbc.com:80/2015/07/02/like-greece-puerto-rican-debt-is-all-about-socialism.html | Like Greece, Puerto Rican debt is all about socialism | 20160508190541 | I hope no one here in the U.S. is feeling too smug about the financial fiasco dragging on in Greece. Because we have a pretty similar problem on our own island called Puerto Rico and just like Greece, socialist/welfare state policies are the primary culprit.
Puerto Rico seems to have avoided the immediate threat of default for now by making $1.9 billion worth of debt payments that were due July 1st. But Puerto Rico Gov. Alejandro Garcia Padilla said his island's troubled economy was in a "death spiral" earlier this week, and it's hard to argue with the spirit of his comments. Just like Greece, Puerto Rico has become a tragic case of what happens to any municipality when there are just too many incentives not to work.
Read MoreWhy are we ignoring this colossal socialist failure?
Even though entitlement spending continues to soar out of control in America, the myth of the "welfare queen" is still thankfully a myth. Working for a low wage is still a better choice than going on public assistance in almost every possible scenario in the 50 states. But in Puerto Rico that's not always the case. The low cost of living there is not factored in to food stamp and Social Security benefit payments coming from Washington. The same is true of the generous Pell Grant and federally backed student loan programs that go a lot farther to cover education costs in Puerto Rico. U.S. taxpayers are literally subsidizing options that discourage work on the island territory. And people there are simply doing the math.
And the math includes some eye-popping numbers and shocking policies that were exacerbated by the Great Recession. Social Security disability payments are just one example, but the SSA's own internal reports showed that in 2010 nine of the top 10 zip codes for workers receiving disability benefits were on Puerto Rico. Applicants for disability payments were approved at a rate of 69% in 2010 compared to just 36% four years earlier. Things got even more ridiculous this spring when it was revealed that not being able to speak English was considered a legitimate disability on the island. Thankfully, only a handful of Puerto Rican citizens actually got payments based on that claim. But even before the Great Recession, The Economist bluntly labeled Puerto Rico as "Welfare Island."
Read MoreThe jobs report is missing something big
Businesses face a very challenging environment there as well. Puerto Rico imposes the same federal minimum wage as we have in the 50 states, making it much more costly to employ workers there than on its neighboring islands in the Caribbean. So not only is there a strong incentive not to work in Puerto Rico, there's also a pretty good reason not to create jobs there as well.
But don't demonize the Puerto Rican people because this is not unique to them. It's really simple economics. If the government subsidizes an activity, that activity will increase and the people who benefit from those subsidies will likely become the fastest growing part of the population. Puerto Rico's overall population has actually been decreasing over the past decade, but the island is mostly losing its younger, middle class, and more educated people while the poorer and older population stays put and grows.
Read More'Tax the Church' groups look to gain momentum
And that's where there is another stark similarity to the Greek situation that actually doesn't have much to do with welfare. Even before massive taxpayer entitlements came ashore on Puerto Rico, the island's labor participation rate was below 50% because it was easy for its hard working and ambitious residents to move and work legally to the United States where there was much more opportunity. That practice is simply increasing right now. Meanwhile, the European Union arrangement has also made it easier for the best skilled or hardest working Greeks to leave their country and legally find work in more prosperous regions of the E.U. It's a simple case of "brain drain" on two hemispheres.
That's why austerity measures and other policies like it won't really help. Government entitlements should be cut gradually over time and fraud should be stamped out immediately, but what can Puerto Rico do to actually attract new wealth and keep its best human resources on shore? Starting in 2012, the government in San Juan passed new laws to lure millionaires that included no capital gains taxes and a 4% tax rate on their businesses if they make Puerto Rico their primary residence. Of course that leaves the shrinking number of middle class and working poor Puerto Ricans holding the bag on an increased personal tax burden. One would hope that would lead the government to at least consider cutting taxes for everyone, but that is probably wishful thinking.
And it's also probably wishful thinking that American politicians from both parties will learn the important lessons Greece and Puerto Rico are providing our country with right now. If we don't find a way to shrink entitlements and increase the incentives to work and create wealth, we're headed for the same kind of pain. | We have a Greece-like situation much closer to home in Puerto Rico. And the culprit is the same in both cases. | 38.2 | 0.88 | 1.76 | high | medium | mixed |
http://www.bostonglobe.com/arts/theater-dance/2016/05/04/nikki-glaser/8dr42eBKlY4f9oQn0CPMWI/story.html | http://web.archive.org/web/20160510133402id_/http://www.bostonglobe.com:80/arts/theater-dance/2016/05/04/nikki-glaser/8dr42eBKlY4f9oQn0CPMWI/story.html | Nikki Glaser - The Boston Globe | 20160510133402 | ‘I don’t like the fact that when you get married as a woman you just kind of give up your last name. It’s nice to take your husband’s name, but then you’re like, “Oh, this thing I’ve had my whole life that’s my whole identity, that my great-grandparents came through Ellis Island with? I’ll just throw it in the trash. This guy seems cool. Bye.” What? Your name is nothing after you get married. All it is, is your [expletive] son’s bank account security question answer. That’s all your name is.’
— Nikki Glaser, host of Comedy Central’s “Not Safe with Nikki Glaser,” who plays Laugh Boston Friday and Saturday | A joke from Nikki Glaser, who performs at Laugh Boston Friday and Saturday. | 9.666667 | 0.733333 | 2.466667 | low | low | mixed |
http://www.people.com/article/dalai-lama-atlas-emotions | http://web.archive.org/web/20160511143819id_/http://www.people.com/article/dalai-lama-atlas-emotions | Dalai Lama's New Website Helps Users Find Enlightenment Online : People.com | 20160511143819 | Like most humans, I feel a lot of things a lot of the time.
Sadness, elation, jealousy, anger, confusion, disgust – these emotions rush through me, sometimes expected and sometimes not, throughout the day, informing my behavior. If I snap at a coworker or smile at a coworker or pretend to be looking at my phone as I pass a coworker in the hallway, these actions are rooted in emotions, emotions that are as mystical to me as 5th century Buddhist teachings or
, a.k.a. His Holiness Tenzin Gyatso, is trying to demystify emotion with his new website,
, a collaboration between him and psychologist Paul Ekman built by
to help people more fully understand the complex workings of their emotions – and how this informs their behavior.
"Having choice about when to experience an emotion, and how to experience it requires introducing a foreign element into the onset of an emotion â awareness," the site's About page reads. "Skills must be developed if that awareness is to become possible, if we are to exercise choice about when we experience which emotion, and how we experience it. The Atlas of Emotions was created to illuminate it."
While the site doesn't offer the skills (or a how-to guide) for dealing with your emotions, it promotes finding awareness. The implication is that awareness empowers us to change how we perceive, experience, and act on our emotions. The idea is that we get back a little control over our own selves, by virtue of mapping out our feelings, which may
super complex in our head, but are actually quite quantifiable. (In other words: They don't have as much scary, vague power over us as we think they do. They are mappable. They follow patterns.)
The Atlas of Emotions maps out how emotions arrive at you: There's the trigger ("oh hey free cake I'll get myself a slice!"), the perception ("uhoh I'm fat!"), and the response ("I need to run 46 miles to burn this off.") I provided this hypothetical, which may or may not have gone through my mind today.
Would mapping out an emotion – its origin, a trigger, and its destination, an action, – help me get control of it?
My verdict: Yes. Sort of. Over the course of three days, I tried to be more mindful of my emotions and their trajectories, thinking about what caused them and how they caused me to behave. ("The emotions are our response to triggers. They arise automatically and result in emotional actions.") And even if I didn't achieve enlightenment in the process, I certainly felt less powerless to the whims of my triggers: Cookies. Not getting an immediate text response from someone. Another person shot in the news. Seeing someone with a cuter outfit than me. Etc.
A heightened awareness did, in fact, soften the hold my emotions had on me.
I have this nervous habit where I pick at the skin on my lip – disgusting, I know. But on the train this morning, as I was picking away and listening to "Hold Up" (best song on
) for the 5,463,421th time, I paused to think about why I was picking so aggressively. I put my hand on my lap, and took a moment, retracing the events of the morning; waking up, making myself oatmeal, scrolling through Instagram, doing some squats to work on my butt. I couldn't find the trigger, as I'd hoped. But as I sat with this nervousness – and tried to map it – I realized, twenty minutes later as the subway pulled into my station, that I hadn't been picking at my lip. I hadn't yet reached enlightenment, but I counted this as a victory.
Ekman and the Dalai Lama's thesis is that emotion is a process, like a sweaty morning commute. All five "continents of emotions" – disgust, fear, sadness, enjoyment and anger – can be broken down into their simplest parts. And even if you struggle to break them down fully, or figure out why, all of a sudden, you are furious and you don't know why, the process of attempting to break them down is therapeutic in itself. | This PEOPLE staff writer has a lot of emotions. Could the Dalai Lama's "Atlas of Emotions" teach her how to deal with them? | 30.392857 | 0.785714 | 1.785714 | medium | medium | mixed |
http://www.people.com/article/aaron-carter-life-or-debt-clip | http://web.archive.org/web/20160512120332id_/http://www.people.com/article/aaron-carter-life-or-debt-clip | Aaron Carter Opens Up About His Financial Struggles on Life Or Debt: 'It's Been Really Difficult for Me' | 20160512120332 | 05/10/2016 AT 09:45 PM EDT
Child stardom seems to have gotten the best of
... both financially and emotionally.
"Financially, I'm in a terrible position," Carter, 28, tells financial advisor Victor Antonio in a sneak peek of Spike TV's new reality show,
. "When I turned 18, I got hit with all those taxes. I filed a Chapter 7 bankruptcy last year; now I'm already over $100,000 in debt."
An emotional Carter adds, "It's been really difficult for me. I want to have a life set up. I want to have a house. I can't tell you how badly I want to have a home."
The singer has had his share of
In December 2009, Carter owed more than $1 million in taxes.
On top of his financial struggles, Carter has had quite the emotional journey as well.
"to heal some emotional and spiritual issues he was dealing with," his manager at the time, Johnny Wright, previously said in a statement.
Because Carter started his music career at a young age, by the time he was 18 year old, he had millions of dollars in the bank. However, in order to prevent his parents from going to jail for tax evasion, Carter signed the money over to them.
"Everybody told me not to take the brunt of this bankruptcy," Carter reveals in the clip.
He then admits that not only does he have no savings and overdraws his checking account, Carter is also more than $150,000 in debt.
premieres May 15 at 10 p.m. on Spike TV. | "I filed a Chapter 7 bankruptcy last year, now I'm already over $100,000 in debt," the singer reveals. | 12.88 | 1 | 6.28 | low | high | mixed |
http://www.thepostgame.com/6-players-drafted-before-stephen-curry-2009 | http://web.archive.org/web/20160514110023id_/http://www.thepostgame.com/6-players-drafted-before-stephen-curry-2009 | Players Drafted Before Stephen Curry | 20160514110023 | Now that Stephen Curry has won back-to-back MVP awards, including the distinction of being the first unanimous selection, let's review again the six players drafted before him.
This isn't quite the same situation as Tom Brady lasting until the sixth round and having six quarterbacks drafted ahead of him. But if there could be a do-over for the 2009 NBA draft, this would be another unanimous decision for Curry.
Warriors fans should be familiar with the premise of a player being drafted seventh overall and turning into a superstar while players selected before him fizzled. That's what happened in 1985 when Golden State was happy to grab Chris Mullin after the likes of Jon Koncak, Joe Kleine and Benoit Benjamin were taken.
In Curry's case, two of those drafted in the top six have been perennial All-Stars, but two others are no longer in the league.
Griffin has been voted to the All-NBA second team twice. He has had injury issues, but all things considered, Griffin has delivered as advertised.
The 7-foot-3 center from UConn and Tanzania bounced around with four teams and has been out of the NBA since 2014. Ouch!
After being NBA Sixth Man of the Year with Oklahoma City in 2012, Harden was dealt to Houston and has been a first-team All-NBA selection twice. He was also part of the 2012 U.S. Olympic team.
Evans was the NBA rookie of the year in 2010 after averaging 20.1 points and 5.8 assists. (Curry averaged 17.5 points as a rookie.) But Evans hasn't been able to match his rookie numbers, with injuries playing a role. The Kings traded him to New Orleans in 2013.
Rubio, the first point guard taken, stayed in the Spanish league for two seasons before coming to the NBA. He is a clever playmaker, but hardly the type of game-breaking scorer Curry is.
Minnesota had consecutive picks, thanks to a trade with Washington. Since the Timberwolves already selected Rubio, it was puzzling that they took another point guard. Flynn had a respectable rookie season, averaging 13.5 points, 4.4 assists, 2.4 rebounds and 1.0 steals. But after brief stints in Houston and Portland, he has been playing overseas (Australia, China, Italy) since 2012.
The term "game-changer" gets tossed around a lot in sports, but that might actually be an understatement with Curry.
Basketball, Blake Griffin, Golden State Warriors, Hasheem Thabeet, James Harden, Jonny Flynn, NBA, NBA Draft, Ricky Rubio, Stephen Curry, Tyreke Evans | Six players were selected before Stephen Curry in the 2009 NBA draft. | 38.692308 | 1 | 2.076923 | high | high | mixed |
http://www.tmz.com/2012/01/31/alistair-overeem-battery-charged | http://web.archive.org/web/20160514134950id_/http://www.tmz.com:80/2012/01/31/alistair-overeem-battery-charged | UFC Stud Alistair Overeem -- Charged with Battering a Woman | 20160514134950 | -- has been charged with misdemeanor battery for allegedly attacking a woman in a Vegas hotel earlier this month.
According to the Clark County District Attorney's Office ... Overeem is accused of "pushing/shoving" a woman in the face at the Wynn Hotel in Vegas at around 3:00 AM on January 2 ... just a few nights after he defeated Lesnar at the MGM Grand (
Law enforcement sources tell us the alleged victim is 5'4" and 128 pounds. Overeem is listed at 6'5", 260 lbs.
Overeem was not arrested -- but was issued a citation and has been ordered to appear in front of a judge in February.
, released a statement saying, "There are two sides to this story and we intend on vigorously defending this. Alistair maintains his innocence."
If convicted, the fighter faces up to 6 months in jail and a $1,000 fine. | UFC superstar Alistair Overeem -- the guy who beat Brock Lesnar into retirement -- has been charged with misdemeanor battery for allegedly attacking a… | 6.84 | 0.64 | 5.04 | low | low | mixed |
http://www.cnbc.com/2014/01/16/companies-woo-the-weed-crowd-with-artful-edgy-ads.html | http://web.archive.org/web/20160515030028id_/http://www.cnbc.com:80/2014/01/16/companies-woo-the-weed-crowd-with-artful-edgy-ads.html | Companies woo the weed crowd with artful, edgy ads | 20160515030028 | An air carrier is veering into a product-pitching space long dominated by late-night, fast-foodies, hinting at legalized marijuana while beckoning flyers to "get mile high."
Spirit Airlines, playing off the approved use and sale of cannabis in the Rocky Mountain State, dangles discounted fares to Colorado where, its ad informs, "the no smoking sign is off," nudging the content needle inside a sales niche called marijuana marketing.
The tactic has been delicately plied by other brands, including Taco Bell, Jack in the Box, Denny's and Carl's Jr. They have run ads intimating weed use, with code words like "munchies" or "bake," or with squinty-eyed characters engaged in apparent stoner babble.
But Spirit transports passengers through the sky from city to city, not gorditas from a drive-through window to a car. Should an airline mix pot and planes in its consumer messaging?
(Read more: How cannabis could be the next great US industry)
"Spirit operates in a cutthroat business. They get outshouted by the bigger brands so they have to make their marketing dollars work harder and go further. And the message needs to be disruptive," said Simon Williams, founder and CEO of Sterling Brands, a brand consultancy with clients that include Google, Disney and Visa.
"One of the most effective ways of doing that is courting controversy. Another way is being irreverent. They appear to be doing both and adding some humor in the process," Williams added. "As long as Spirit is not alienating its core target, I think that the current messaging is fine."
With two states (Colorado and Washington) having legalized adult cannabis use and 21 states having sanctioned some form of medical marijuana, the number of mainstream companies that sprinkle a bit of pot into their TV pitches will only grow, predicted Timothy Calkins, a clinical professor of marketing at Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management.
(Read more: New marijuana laws get brewers buzzing)
"Many brands in this country aren't going anywhere near the legalization issue. For most brands, that's very smart," Calkins said. "Some brands, though, can push this. We're going to see more brands take advantage of this and use this as a way to define themselves."
"Spirit Airlines has a certain character and, as a result, I think this works for Spirit," Calkins added. "But we're not going to see United (Airlines) embrace the same idea anytime soon." | The number of mainstream companies that sprinkle a bit of pot into their TV pitches is growing: Spirit Airlines is beckoning flyers to "get mile high." | 16.7 | 0.966667 | 10.433333 | medium | high | extractive |
http://www.people.com/article/lin-manuel-miranda-hamilton-freestyle-video | http://web.archive.org/web/20160516171402id_/http://www.people.com:80/article/lin-manuel-miranda-hamilton-freestyle-video | Video : People.com | 20160516171402 | 05/10/2016 AT 04:30 PM EDT
Freestyling is nothing new for
, the creator of the smash Broadway hit
, a musical about the birth of America written almost entirely in rap and hip-hop compositions.
Miranda's first Broadway musical, the Tony-winning
, also consisted of rap and hip-hop melodies, and the composer and actor is a member of the group Freestyle Love Supreme.
spreading throughout the country, President
invited the cast to perform at the White House after seeing the musical in New York. Miranda then freestyled with the President in the Rose Garden, performing spontaneous melodies inspired by cue cards.
Kelly Ripa on the cover of PEOPLE
Naturally, PEOPLE wanted to get in on the action, so we asked Miranda to freestyle about how his own life has changed since
began performances Off-Broadway just 15 months ago. Miranda agreed – after he was promised a little backup beatboxing from our reporter (much like his
Watch his impressive performance above. | Lin-Manuel Miranda raps about his life while a PEOPLE reporter beatboxes | 14.769231 | 0.615385 | 0.615385 | low | low | abstractive |
http://www.people.com/article/olivia-munn-x-men-apocalypse-weight-loss-unintentional | http://web.archive.org/web/20160518015449id_/http://www.people.com:80/article/olivia-munn-x-men-apocalypse-weight-loss-unintentional | Apocalypse' Weight Loss Was 'Not Intentional' : People.com | 20160518015449 | 05/10/2016 AT 09:55 AM EDT
Don't you just hate it when you accidentally lose a bunch of weight while filming a movie?
In a new interview with
revealed that losing 12 pounds was an "unintentional" side effect of preparing for her role in
"It was not intentional," she said. "I was trying to learn how to do all of the stunts."
Munn, 35, took on the challenge when she found out her stunt person had never done any martial arts or swordfighting – two areas in which her character,
"She was very capable and very athletic, but she had never done any stunts before, and I had grown up doing Taekwondo," Munn said. "This is Psylocke's entry into this world. I'm not
: If they don't have it, they're not gonna make sure to get it in there somehow. If there's not a fight scene being shot, if they don't have it, they're not gonna use it."
Olivia Munn as Psylocke in X-Men: Apocalypse
Twentieth Century FOX / Marvel Films / Alamy
The actress continued: "If I wanted the fans to see Psylocke and get a good fight scene for her and for the fans, I knew I had to go do it myself. So I started training every day with Taekwondo and sword and the stunt and wire work and I just ended up losing 12 pounds just from working out every day."
After filming finished, Munn admits she put back on a few pounds – but didn't seem to mind.
"As soon as I finished, I went back to Green Bay, where my boyfriend [
] was, and I literally just ate chips and salsa," she said. "There's a really great Mexican restaurant called Margarita's, and I just massive chips and salsa and just ate that all day long until I fell asleep. And then I'd wake up and eat chips and salsa again." | Olivia Munn plays superhero Psylocke in the upcoming installment of the X-Men series | 26.2 | 0.666667 | 1.466667 | medium | low | abstractive |
http://www.cnbc.com/2014/09/03/inversions-threaten-to-erode-tax-base-cvs-ceo.html | http://web.archive.org/web/20160521164228id_/http://www.cnbc.com:80/2014/09/03/inversions-threaten-to-erode-tax-base-cvs-ceo.html | Inversions threaten to 'erode' tax base: CVS CEO | 20160521164228 | To Jim Woolery, chairman-elect of law firm Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft, "there will be more inversions" regardless of what action Washington takes.
Of course, changes to the tax code will "spook" some corporations, but there's another set of sophisticated companies with knowledge of global tax risk that will continue to find a way to sidestep the lofty U.S. corporate tax rate, Woolery said on "Squawk on the Street."
Read MoreUS could lose $20B from corporate tax inversions
"These companies will continue to invert ... and I want to point out that they're not inverting to an island; it's not Bermuda. This isn't the Cayman Islands," said Woolery, former co-head of JPMorgan's North American mergers and acquisitions business. "They're going to Canada, the U.K. [and] Ireland. These are very competitive, well-developed jurisdictions ... and our economy, and our tax structure is going to have to compete."
Still, concern is growing in Washington about inversions. President Barack Obama has criticized a "herd mentality" by companies seeking deals to escape U.S. corporate taxes.
Read MoreTax inversions are 'shortsighted': Labor secretary
Of the 52 inversions and similar deals done since 1983, 22 have occurred since 2008, with 10 more being finalized and many more said to be in the works, Reuters reported. So far in 2014, several major companies have agreed to invert, including Medtronic and Burger King Worldwide.
—By CNBC's Drew Sandholm. Reuters contributed to this report. | Washington must address corporate tax inversions before the tactic further destroys the U.S. corporate tax base, says CVS CEO Larry Merlo. | 13.130435 | 0.478261 | 1 | low | low | abstractive |
http://time.com/3556338/calvin-harris-motion-review/ | http://web.archive.org/web/20160523052820id_/http://time.com:80/3556338/calvin-harris-motion-review/ | Calvin Harris 'Motion' Album Review | 20160523052820 | After nearly snatching this year’s Song of the Summer crown with the shamelessly titled “Summer,” Scottish DJ-producer Calvin Harris is trying to keep the momentum going. His fourth studio album, Motion, out now, recycles many of the same party tricks he’s honed working with A-list pop stars like Rihanna on hits like “We Found Love”: hyperactive house beats that build and build before bursting into a flurry of repetitive synth earworms. For better or for worse, Harris doesn’t need to shout his name over a song to let you right away who’s responsible
But hearing that approach 15 times in a row can be as exhausting as a wild night out in the club. For any producer trying to turn success behind the boards into solo stardom, making an album that’s both familiar yet not totally boring is an uphill battle. Harris does have a leg up over his peers — he’s got a competent voice of his own, which previously helped score him the Top 20 jam “Feel So Close” (and which he shows off again here on the mindless opening singalong, “Faith”). But while Harris can carry a tune, he alone can’t quite carry an entire album, so he wisely stacks the album with an eclectic list of artists.
The first half of the record finds lesser-known guests offering fairly anonymous vocal takes over typical Harris beats, but it’s in the second half, where more recognizable names show up and lend their respective talents, that sharing the spotlight really starts to pay off. Rapper Big Sean sounds like he couldn’t be having more fun on “Open Wide”; alt-pop sister act Haim lend trademark harmonies and a rock edge to “Pray to God”; and rising R&B star Tinashe sounds as alluring on “Dollar Signs” as she did on her promising debut, Aquarius. (Only the Gwen Stefani collaboration “Together” falls short of its star-power potential, perhaps because the No Doubt frontwoman comes across as just a hired gun, rather than a true collaborator — anybody could sing that song.)
Yet it’s telling that the album’s most entertaining tracks aren’t necessarily the most upbeat nor the most radio-friendly nor even the most star-studded; a few of them are actually instrumentals. Harris gets by with a little help from his friends, no doubt about it, but he still has the best results when he strays from the sounds and styles he’s known for, big names or not. Twisted keyboards go bump in the night on “Slow Acid,” while “Overdrive” (which gets some help from Dutch-Turkish producer Ummet Ozcan) sounds like a swarm of bees all high on MDMA. If Harris really wants to keep the party going, he ought to get weird more often. | The hit producer tries to keep the party going on his new LP | 42.153846 | 0.692308 | 2.230769 | high | low | mixed |
http://fortune.com/2016/05/18/apple-trillion-dollars/ | http://web.archive.org/web/20160523064358id_/http://fortune.com:80/2016/05/18/apple-trillion-dollars/? | Subscriptions Can Make Apple a Trillion Dollar Company: Bernstein | 20160523064358 | Apple was once projected to become the world’s first $1 trillion market cap company. But after a disappointing second quarter earnings that revealed flagging sales, some investors started wondering: Is that possible?
Well, according to a report from Bernstein, yes—there is one way to get there: interweaving Apple’s offerings, hardware, software, and entertainment, all together in a subscription plan—for example, in a family plan. That could help offset the weaknesses that led Apple’s sales to drop in the last quarter.
“Even among the quantitatively-minded investment community, many find it easier to justify a $30 monthly charge than a $720 purchase every 2 years…even though they’re essentially the same,” a team of analysts led by Toni Sacconaghi wrote, noting that consumers today are more used to subscription plans than before.
Sacconaghi created a hypothetical situation in which his own family used Apple products on a subscription basis. Apple could sell, for example, a family bundle with three iPad Minis, one iPad Air with replacements in three years, and three iPhones, which would be replaced in two years. The bundle could also include services such as Apple Music, iCloud Storage, and the speculated, though yet to be released OTT television for about $207 a month.
That’s below the average monthly cable and wireless bill, which averaged around $230 and $260 respectively over the past four months according to Bernstein.
To encourage consumers to adopt the plan, Bernstein suggests that Apple could give these hypothetical family plan customer first priority on new products, or special prices for software such as Apple Music.
Apple has already begun moving toward a subscription model in some areas, most noticeably in its iPhone Upgrade Program, which allows consumers to pay for their phones in installments, Bernstein noted.
In Apple’s second quarter earnings report, lower iPhone sales suggested that the company could no longer rely on hardware for the record beating profits it had reported in quarters past. Management instead bet on services such as Apple Music to do more heavy lifting in the sales department in the future.
“For Apple, the company would essentially mitigate or fully eliminate the two biggest risks of its current transactional hardware sales business model: a lengthening replacement cycle and falling average sale prices,” Bernstein noted. | Think three iPad Minis, three iPhones, and one iPad Air. | 34.692308 | 0.923077 | 2.769231 | medium | medium | mixed |
http://time.com/3071804/these-are-the-10-most-popular-music-videos-on-youtube/ | http://web.archive.org/web/20160523083551id_/http://time.com:80/3071804/these-are-the-10-most-popular-music-videos-on-youtube/ | Justin Bieber, Lady Gaga, Eminem | 20160523083551 | You know which music videos you like to watch incessantly — but what about the rest of the world? YouTube has put together a playlist compiling its 10 most-viewed music videos ever to pay homage to the artists racking up the heftiest numbers of streams.
Here are the winners, along with the amount of views provided by YouTube. Of course, those stats are likely to continue climbing. | Spoiler alert: 'Gangnam Style' is number one | 7.6 | 0 | 0 | low | low | abstractive |
http://www.tmz.com/2012/04/06/texas-women-bar-fight-brawl-video/ | http://web.archive.org/web/20160523143653id_/http://www.tmz.com:80/2012/04/06/texas-women-bar-fight-brawl-video/ | 'Texas Women' -- INSANE Woman-on-Man Brawl Outside Bar | 20160523143653 | " -- because one of the female star's of the CMT reality show single-handedly took down a MAN with a nasty flurry of punches ... and the brutal street fight was all caught on tape!!!
Sources tell TMZ ... the fight went down February 18th outside some bar in Fort Worth, after a guy called
the C-word ... rhymes with runt.
Brooke's husband jumped to defend her ... but she didn't need the help ... and beat the guy down with haymaker after haymaker ... it's pretty gnarly.
Cops swooped in ... ripped Brooke off her helpless victim and put Brooke in handcuffs. But she didn't go quietly ... so one of the officers shoved her on to his squad car to calm her down.
We're told the fight will most likely be a plot line on the show, which premieres Saturday. | Don't mess with "Texas Women" -- because one of the female star's of the CMT reality show single-handedly took down a MAN with a nasty flurry of punches… | 4.771429 | 0.857143 | 20.914286 | low | medium | extractive |
http://fortune.com/2015/11/11/microsoft-veterans-tech-careers/ | http://web.archive.org/web/20160523144810id_/http://fortune.com:80/2015/11/11/microsoft-veterans-tech-careers/ | How Microsoft Is Helping Veterans Land Tech Jobs | 20160523144810 | Last summer, LaVanda Harrison started planning her next move after six years in the Army. A captain doing military intelligence work, including a year in Afghanistan, Harrison liked the idea of learning web development. So she talked to advisors at the education center at Fort Lewis, the base near Seattle where she was stationed. They told her about the Microsoft Software & Systems Academy (MSSA), an intensive 16-week IT training program for soldiers leaving active duty.
Harrison applied, and graduated last December.
“The courses give you a solid grounding in tech skills like web development, writing code, and database management. But beyond that, Microsoft assigns you a mentor who helps you get ready for civilian job interviews,” says Harrison. “That gave me the confidence to go after an IT career.”
She is now a project manager at Accenture in Atlanta.
Since Microsoft started MSSA two years ago, about 300 other people from all four branches of the military have graduated and gone on to IT careers at Dell, Apple, Accenture, Amazon, and 76 other companies. Microsoft itself hires about a quarter of MSSA grads, and retains a search firm to help the rest find jobs. Over 80% of graduates get hired, according to the company. Their average salary, at more than $70,000, often doubles or even triples their military pay.
As Sean Kelley sees it, training veterans for tech careers is a way to solve several different problems. Now director of military affairs at Microsoft, Kelley, an Annapolis grad, put in six years as a submarine officer. As Microsoft’s head of cloud recruiting a few years ago, “I couldn’t find nearly enough people who had the skills we needed,” he says.
At the same time, people coming out of the military faced a tough transition to the civilian job market, and higher-than-average unemployment.
“So we thought, why not put the two together? We could create our own talent pool,” Kelley says.
Over the next 12 months, the pool will get a lot bigger. Microsoft just announced plans to expand MSSA from its current three locations to nine, adding Quantico in Virginia and Camp Lejeune in North Carolina, among others. People preparing to leave the military who want to apply can learn how on the MSSA web site. For more information on hiring MSSA grads, employers can contact Microsoft at mssaops@microsoft.com. | More than 80% of graduates from its 16-week training program find jobs. | 33.714286 | 1 | 2.714286 | medium | high | mixed |
http://fortune.com/2016/03/14/us-cities-job-satisfaction/ | http://web.archive.org/web/20160523144911id_/http://fortune.com:80/2016/03/14/us-cities-job-satisfaction/ | Top US Cities for Highest Job Satisfaction, According to Indeed Study | 20160523144911 | Americans spend an average 47 hours at work each week, adding up to some 2,350 hours over the course of a year. So, it’s no wonder workers are looking for a job that not only meets their financial needs but also provides a satisfying work environment. And it turns out that some cities offer more opportunities than others to find that fulfillment, according to a new study.
Workplace review site Indeed looked at factors that help define office happiness across the U.S. from compensation and work-life balance to job security and workplace culture. It then analyzed those factors over 10 million reviews from current and former employees in the top 25 major metropolitan areas around the nation.
The results may be surprising to some. Big cities don’t dominate the happiest cities for workers. It’s actually dominated by more mid-size cities, and California has an especially strong showing with five of the top 10 cities located around the Golden State. Two of the largest cities in the U.S., New York and Chicago, barely broke the top 20 at 19 and 20, respectively.
“California remains a strong draw for talent, in part due to the tech industry, so it’s not surprising to see many workers in the state are invested in their jobs and show above-average levels of satisfaction,” said Tara Sinclair, chief economist at Indeed. “That said, happiness at work is often in the eye of the beholder, and the high rankings may also reflect cultural and social attitudes toward work in those cities.”
Here are the top 20 cities for overall job satisfaction. | Everything's sunnier in California. | 51 | 0.5 | 0.5 | high | low | abstractive |
http://fortune.com/2016/04/19/illumina-plunges-earnings/ | http://web.archive.org/web/20160523151313id_/http://fortune.com:80/2016/04/19/illumina-plunges-earnings/? | Illumina Genetics Biotech's Stock Plunged Today | 20160523151313 | A weak earnings forecast driven by disappointing sales in Europe hammered shares of genetics analysis biotech Illumina, Inc. ilmn during Tuesday trading. The firm’s stock dropped more than 23% by the closing bell.
San Diego-based Illumina creates tech platforms which are used for genetic sequencing and other genome-related analytic services. While these products have been hailed, particularly for their role in driving down the cost of sequencing, the firm dropped its 2016 revenue growth forecast from 16% to 12% during a first-quarter earnings call late Monday.
CEO Jay Flatley said that the revisions, including a lower-than-expected $572 million Q1 haul, were attributable to troubles in Europe and an unexpected dearth of upgrades to the company’s newer sequencing platforms.
“In particular, sales of the HiSeq 4000 were lower than anticipated, with somewhat more outsourcing to service providers and fewer upgrades from older generation instruments than our models predicted,” he said. Flatley also stated that senior U.S. sales managers will be dispatched to Europe as part of a management change.
Illumina has attracted investments from moguls like Microsoft founder msft Bill Gates and Amazon’s amzn Jeff Bezos for a new early-stage cancer testing company, called Grail, that it’s launching. | Weak European sales led to a disappointing earnings forecast. | 24.1 | 0.8 | 1 | medium | medium | abstractive |
http://fortune.com/2016/04/19/netflix-earnings-subscribers-3/ | http://web.archive.org/web/20160523155247id_/http://fortune.com:80/2016/04/19/netflix-earnings-subscribers-3/ | Analysts Warn Netflix Has To Understand Local Market for Global Growth | 20160523155247 | Netflix nflx is thinking global but needs to act more local to realize its full potential, analysts said after the company’s subscriber forecasts came up short of expectations.
The video streaming pioneer launched its service in almost every country in the world in January, further boosting investors’ expectations about the company’s growth prospects.
The weak subscriber forecast underscores the troubles Netflix is grappling with as it adapts the service to different markets and cultures.
The company’s high-flying stock, up by a third in the past year, fell 7 percent to $100.46 in premarket trading on Tuesday.
“We believe this highlights the increasing challenges facing the company as it expands into more non-English speaking countries and countries with more localized content,” said Mizuho analyst Neil Doshi, who rates the stock “neutral.”
At least seven brokerages, including Mizuho, lowered their target price on the stock.
Baird was the most bearish, cutting its price target to $108 from $115. The median price target on the stock is $125.
Netflix is offered in only 21 languages, compared with YouTube’s 50, and payment options limited to international credit cards, J.P. Morgan Securities analysts said.
The brokerage added that Netflix needs to add more local languages, content and payment options in the coming quarters.
Pacific Crest lowered its 2016 global net subscriber addition forecast to 18.7 million from 21.5 million.
“The reductions reflect heightened seasonality and lower incremental adoption, as local content and marketing are being phased in more slowly than previously anticipated,” Pacific Crest analyst Andy Hargreaves wrote in a note to clients.
The company, whose original shows include “Orange is the New Black” and “House of Cards,” is also facing increased competition in its home market from the likes of Amazon.com Inc and Hulu.
Amazon announced on Monday it would offer its video streaming service as a standalone monthly subscription as it looks to drive membership in its Prime subscription service.
Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter, one of the few analysts with a “sell” or “underperform” rating on Netflix, said Amazon’s move could spell trouble for the video streaming company.
“Amazon Video will up the ante for acquiring new content. This creates a double-whammy for Netflix-higher content spend and slowing subscriber growth,” Pachter said. | Analysts react to underwhelming earnings. | 75.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | high | low | abstractive |
http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/architecture-design-blog/2014/feb/14/richard-rogers-and-ymca-unveil-30k-flatpack-homes-for-homeless-people | http://web.archive.org/web/20160523175954id_/http://www.theguardian.com:80/artanddesign/architecture-design-blog/2014/feb/14/richard-rogers-and-ymca-unveil-30k-flatpack-homes-for-homeless-people | Richard Rogers and YMCA unveil £30k flatpack homes for homeless people | 20160523175954 | A neat oblong box with a simple pitched roof and jolly red garb, it looks like a giant Monopoly hotel has been airlifted on to a side street in Wimbledon. But this dinky dwelling could be the answer to the housing crisis, according to its makers, providing a first step for those in desperate need of accommodation.
“The aim was to provide a truly affordable move-on scheme for our residents, which didn’t require a grant to build,” says Andy Redfearn of the YMCA, who has worked with architects Rogers Stirk Harbour and Partners (RSH+P) for the last three years to develop a factory-made housing unit that can be built for up to 40% less than the cost of traditional construction. “The real issue is what happens when people leave our hostels,” he says. “The only option is often poor quality shared accommodation managed by private landlords, who require large deposits and rent in advance.”
The Y:Cube aims to provide an alternative, in the form of a self-contained one-bed flat, with its own bathroom, living room and kitchen, all housed in a compact 26 sq m unit, built off-site for just £30,000 and craned into place.
“It’s about a different attitude to construction, rather than revolutionary design,” says Ivan Harbour, the partner in charge of RSH+P’s Homeshell project, which has focused on the development of prefabricated housing for the last seven years. “The beauty is that it’s a high-tech, low-tech approach.”
Employing a timber-framed system called Insulshell, developed by Sheffield Insulations Group and Coxbench (which was also used for the London Olympic velodrome), the units are manufactured in one piece in a factory in Derbyshire. Built from precision-cut glue-laminated timber sections assembled by hand – “fixed with just two kinds of screw,” the designers tell me proudly – they are packed with insulation, forming a structural frame that can be stacked up to eight storeys high.
The precision construction means a degree of air-tightness that brings the units to level six of the code for sustainable homes: a three-week test showed each home can be lit and heated to 20°C all day and all night for £7 per week. The system also allows for units to be joined, windows cut into corners and partition walls freely arranged within, bringing more flexibility than the usual container-home – and built with a lifespan of 60 years.
The YMCA plans to test the system at scale on a site in Mitcham, where it is about to submit an application for a scheme of 36 units, stacked into a three-storey horse-shoe block around a shared garden, where residents can grow vegetables. “It will take eight weeks to build in the factory and just one week to install on site,” says Redfearn, adding that, with each flat rented out for £140 per week (65% of market rent), the project will pay for itself in 15 years. Capital costs are to be provided by “social investors,” he says – to whom he can guarantee a 5% return.
“With this speed of construction and implementation, it could be the perfect solution for brownfield infill plots and even sites where development is stalled, or where construction won’t begin for several years, such as HS2 land,” he says. “The beauty is that the units can be moved off site as quickly as they are installed, as we operate on short-term leases – we expect people to stay for between three to five years, giving them time to skill up and save for a deposit.”
So what do future residents make of it?
“It certainly catches your eye,” says Kieran Kurup, 22, who recently moved into rented accommodation after 18 months at the YMCA hostel, as we walk up to the eye-searing red facade. “It’s amazing inside, so much bigger than you expect, and it’s fitted out like a show home from some Earls Court convention. Having your own front door, and your own bathroom and kitchen, is going to be a great morale booster for people used to the hostel lifestyle.”
The units come complete with double beds, en suite bathrooms and a separate kitchen/living room, while floor-to-ceiling heights are a generous 2.5m, and will be taller in the top-floor flats with the apex roofs. The Mitcham scheme will see units connected by timber decks, providing outdoor social space, along with a communal room for shared equipment like vacuum cleaners and washing machines. Classed as semi-permanent accommodation – the same as student housing and care homes – the units don’t have to meet London housing design guide space standards (they fall 11 sq m short) although the flats are at least three times the size of an average hostel room. “It’s a credible compromise,” says Redfearn.
It is a compromise that seems justified to produce affordable stepping-stone homes which seem more generous than many “studio apartments” being touted on the private market. But could the Y-Cube have lessons for volume housebuilding beyond the move-on sector?
“We’re already working on it,” says Harbour, announcing that their designs for a 36-unit scheme of private flats for the Leather Gardens estate in Newham received planning permission only this week. The first of the local authority’s four pilot projects planned over the next two years, the homes will be let and managed by the council, with the money raised used to fund larger projects.
“Newham wants to raise the bar for the private sector rental market, so it’s taking it into its own hands,” says Harbour. “The next step is to find a bigger scheme. If we can get the demand right – something like 150-plus units per year – the aim would be to have a factory in the borough itself, employing local people at the heart of the community. That’s proper design and build, as it should be. It’s how they built the cathedrals.”
It is a bold ambition, but one that hasn’t had an easy ride in the past. RSH+P’s first foray into factory-made housing, at Oxley Woods in Milton Keynes in 2008, was abandoned before the plan was completed, with the developer complaining of excessive cost and ditching Rogers’ prefabs for a more traditional scheme in a folksy pastiche style. The 120 units that were completed to RSH+P’s designs went on to win numerous awards, and are dearly loved by their evangelical residents, even if the streets of bright boxy blocks are pejoratively known locally as Legoland. So why didn’t it work out as planned?
“Commercial house-builders work on the basis that the longer you can drag out the process, the more money you can make,” says Harbour. “At Oxley Woods, it became clear that the fast production process we were offering was not what was needed. Instead it was like turning a tap on and off, with three houses trickling out every now and then. But off-site production requires a degree of certainty and volume.”
It might also require something of a shift in what people expect their houses to look like. Or perhaps a shift on the part of the architects to make their buildings a little more home-like. Because, for all the clever construction, high-speed fabrication, model environmental performance and indisputable value, it’s hard to escape the fact that everything that has come out of RSH+P’s Homeshell initiative to date looks a bit like something from an out-of-town business park.
Whether it’s the clunky massing that comes with the stacking of prefab boxes, or the cheap-looking laminate cladding that give the air of paper-thin walls (belying the 350mm-deep construction), or the dubious colour schemes punctuated by shallow oblong windows, it’s hard to shake off that image of living in an 80s office block, or a converted data centre. Still, some solace can be taken from the point listed under the “Adaptability” heading in the Homeshell brochure: “Can be clad to suit any vernacular.” I’ll have one that looks like a house then please. | Rogers’ ‘move-on’ homes look like Monopoly hotels – and are bigger than many private studio flats. But are they really the ‘answer to Britain’s housing crisis’? | 49.030303 | 0.787879 | 1.151515 | high | medium | abstractive |
http://nypost.com/2016/02/13/2016-is-cubs-year-the-50-most-interesting-people-in-mlb/ | http://web.archive.org/web/20160523230719id_/http://nypost.com:80/2016/02/13/2016-is-cubs-year-the-50-most-interesting-people-in-mlb/ | 2016 is Cubs’ year: The 50 most interesting people in MLB | 20160523230719 | This is the Cubs’ year.
That is not to be confused with “the Cubs are going to win the World Series.” Though they might. Which is kind of why this is a Cubs year.
A few franchises in all four of North America’s major sports leagues never have won a championship. But none has gone as long as the Cubs, which last captured a title on Oct. 14, 1908 — or 17 days after Henry Ford produced his first Model T.
Enter baseball’s Winston Wolf (“Pulp Fiction” reference). Theo Epstein solves historic problems. He was the architect who put The Curse and Bill Buckner into the past in Boston. If he does the same for The Goat and Steve Bartman in Chicago, well, the waiting period for Cooperstown should just be waived.
The Cubs’ president of baseball operations assembled the game’s best stable of position prospects to revive a lifeless franchise. Epstein was pointing toward 2016 for the beginning of extended contention. But Joe Maddon and Jon Lester became available last offseason, and Epstein was not going to have greater comfort giving big money to a manager and a top-of-the-rotation piece. That led to 97 wins, an NLCS date and the decision to throw a brick on the gas pedal this offseason and go for it full-throttle with Jason Heyward, Ben Zobrist and John Lackey.
They are a big-market monster again. They will do what they have to in July. They are the story of the season, so to represent the organization — Maddon and Heyward, Jake Arrieta and Anthony Rizzo, Kris Bryant and Lester — Epstein is Hardball’s Most Interesting Person in Baseball heading into 2016. Here is the rest of the Top 50 (last year’s ranking in parentheses):
2. David Ortiz (46) — He already has announced his retirement. Beloved in Boston, not so much elsewhere (especially New York), how will he be received on a farewell tour? Also intriguing: Does he still have it at age 40? Can the Red Sox give Ortiz — a star in their last three titles — a goodbye championship?
3. Tony Clark (37) — He is about to embark on his first collective bargaining agreement negotiation as head of the union. Life generally is good for the players. But he will be scrutinized in his debut if he can, for example, modify or get rid of the qualifying offer.
4. Rob Manfred (1) — He is a veteran of CBA talks, having been Bud Selig’s main lieutenant. But the commissioner has more than these negotiations on his docket. He has to decide how to wield new powers in the area of domestic abuse with players such as Aroldis Chapman and Jose Reyes while continuing to emphasize speeding up the game and making the sport more appealing to a younger demographic.
5. Yoenis Cespedes (unranked) — He wanted New York and got New York. Can he play center field full time? Can he be the big bat for a champion? Can he play well enough in 2016 that he can either pressure the Mets to extend his current three-year deal or opt out and go into a more favorable free-agent environment next offseason?
6. Mike Trout (17) — He is the best player in the game. But in Trout’s first four full seasons — while he dominated the sport — the Angels made the playoffs once and did not win a game. Are the Angels wasting a great player’s prime and — if that continues — does the franchise at some point have to think about making its Herschel Walker trade and addressing what Baseball America ranks as the worst farm system in the sport?
7. Vin Scully (unranked) — The best ever also is on his farewell tour. Even now no one weaves stories, information and the game like Scully. Really, find a way to enjoy it one last time.
8. Bryce Harper (38) — He just won the MVP and has played 510 games, yet somehow is still the fourth-youngest player on the Nationals’ whole 40-man roster. But he also is a polarizing figure. There are just a lot of folks who don’t like him — though they like his choker, Jonathan Papelbon, less. Does he continue to thrive and stay on a trajectory to being the first $400 million free agent, after the 2018 season — perhaps with the Yankees waiting with open arms. Heck, is $500 million possible?
9. Barry Bonds (unranked) — Mark McGwire made the transition from steroid-stained home run king to relatively under-the-radar hitting coach. But he was not as demonized as Bonds, who is going into his first year as Marlins hitting coach. His baseball IQ is known to be substantial. How is his patience? How is his ability to be a worker at the beck and call of young players?
10. Alex Rodriguez (2) — A year ago he was a pariah with uncertainty he still could play. Today he is America’s guest — on social media this guy is everywhere. OK, he hardly is beloved and we will wonder again — at age 40 — if A-Rod can sustain offensive excellence. But think about what a change there is around this guy in 365 days.
11. Stephen Strasburg (unranked) — After a star-studded class this offseason, next year’s free agent group projects as poor. Strasburg stands out. But can he do enough this season to eliminate concerns about health and fortitude to soar to $200 million — and beyond?
12. Yasiel Puig (24) — Just 25. Just in his fourth season. Yet, enough questions about health and makeup that this already feels like a make-or-break year — at least in Los Angeles.
13. Matt Harvey (3) — Heat-seeking fastball, attention-seeking attitude. Put it together and you have the biggest star in New York baseball — for good and bad.
14. Mark Shapiro (unranked) — Toronto ended the majors’ longest playoff drought (since 1993) and had its popular, Canada-born GM, Alex Anthopoulos, depart because he did not want to lose authority working under Shapiro, newly hired as team president. That puts a bull’s-eye on Shapiro. It will be fascinating how much Shapiro pivots from his small-market sensibilities in Cleveland with the win-now Blue Jays.
15. Carlos Correa (unranked) — The young A-Rod — in all the good ways — enters his first full season in The Show.
16. Aroldis Chapman (unranked) — He begins his walk year with a new team, facing a suspension and as the closer for perhaps the best end-game threesome ever.
17. Andrew Friedman (unranked) — He leads the highest-paid front office ever with the Dodgers. He is coming off a year with a near $300 million payroll, the largest ever. He will have the largest payroll again in 2016. But there is still no title since 1988, Zack Greinke escaped to the Diamondbacks and the criticism is cresting in Los Angeles.
18. Yulieski Gourriel (unranked) — He was the best hitter left in Cuba when he defected. He is still months away from being certified as a free agent. But if he is available in, say, June or July, you might have a bidding war for a guy who plays second and third and whose bat might impact a pennant race.
19. Shohei Otani (unranked) — Scouts and executives recently flocked to Peoria, Ariz., where the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters were doing some of their spring training. The attraction was a 6-foot-4 righty sometimes outfielder who also happens to be the best pitcher in Japan and has done little to hide his ambitions to play in the States. Whether it is next offseason or sometime afterward, the 21-year-old has MLB’s full attention.
20. Sandy Alderson (unranked) — His combination rebuild (particularly of the rotation) and July trade scorecard delivered the Mets an NL title. His patience led to the re-signing of Cespedes at a dollar figure that Mets ownership could tolerate. Can he push the organization to the finish line as he deals with cancer treatment?
21. Chase Utley (unranked) — The slide rule may be changed, in part, because of his takeout of Ruben Tejada. There is no doubt he will be treated like public enemy No. 1 when his Dodgers come to New York on May 27-29.
22. Jonathan Papelbon (unranked) — What is lost due to Papelbon’s prickly personality is just what an elite reliever he has been. Through his age-34 season, Mariano Rivera had 336 saves and a 2.43 ERA. Papelbon 349 saves and 2.35 ERA. Yet the Nats could not find a trade partner this offseason. Papelbon is in his walk year. Can he do enough on and off the field to create a free-agent market?
23. Dusty Baker (unranked) — He has to manage Harper and Papelbon, and the expectations and recent failures. Baker’s strength is as a handler of human beings. He successfully managed teams with Bonds and Sammy Sosa.
24. David Price (36) — He received the largest pitching contract ever — $217 million. He is being asked to lead the rotation in the crucible that is Boston.
25. Tony La Russa (unranked) — This could have been Arizona owner Ken Kendrick or GM Dave Stewart or La Russa, the Diamondbacks’ chief baseball officer. For Arizona has spent the past 12 months — this offseason in particular — going into overdrive, which has included signing Greinke for six years at $206.5 million and gutting its farm system, notably trading last year’s No. 1 overall pick Dansby Swanson. Are the Diamondbacks contenders or this year’s Padres?
26. Ryan Howard (unranked) — He is owed $35 million this year — $25 million in 2016 salary and $10 million on a 2017 buyout. And the question really feels like not “if” but “when” will the Phillies release him — considering they have been pondering that for more than a year. And, at that point, is there a landing spot for a guy who really should be just a DH against righty pitching?
27. Joe Girardi (unranked) — Joe Torre made the playoffs 13 times in 13 years and won four titles, and it seemed like George Steinbrenner was poised to fire him every year. Girardi has missed the playoffs three times in eight years and his 2015 Yankees were one-and-done wild-card casualties. It is a different era for both the game (where many teams have money to spend, not just the Yanks) and for the Yanks (not as financially bold as in Steinbrenner’s day as they try to rebuild). Still, what if the Yanks ever bottom out and win seventy-something and are non-contenders come September?
28. Corey Seager (unranked) — We saw a cameo in 2015 of the consensus No. 1 prospect in the game for 2016. For the Dodgers to win, their young shortstop must be special.
29. Buster Posey (unranked) — He represents the Giants — who added Johnny Cueto, Jeff Samardzija and Denard Span in attempts for another even-year title and their fourth in seven years.
30. Don Mattingly (12) — He left the Dodgers because he did not like the day-to-day uncertainty of his job and all the second-guessing to have the most manager-firing owner above him (Jeffrey Loria), Bonds beside him and a roster top heavy in stars, but not pitching.
31. Zack Greinke (unranked) — The highest-paid player on an annual basis in history. That will garner some attention.
32. Robinson Cano (33) — He was brutal in the first half last year, terrific in the second (with the Mariners out of the race) then had core muscle surgery in the offseason. Seattle retooled this offseason around him, Felix Hernandez and Nelson Cruz. Is he still a force? This Mariners season and his Hall of Fame legitimacy can be at stake.
33. Hanley Ramirez (26) — The Red Sox invested $183 million in Ramirez and Pablo Sandoval last offseason and both were duds in 2016. Both are said to have trimmed down, but the pressure particularly is on Ramirez to prove he can play first base.
34. Marcus Stroman (unranked) — He made a phenomenal return from a torn ACL last year. Now, he must rise to be Toronto’s ace with David Price gone.
35. Giancarlo Stanton (4) — He still owns the largest contract ($325 million) in history. Can he stay healthy and, if he does, what might he do with moved-in fences in Miami? But if the Marlins cannot get their act together, then how long before we start hearing Stanton trade rumors?
36. Clayton Kershaw (18) — The last five years: three Cy Young firsts, one second, one third, an 88-33 record with a 2.11 ERA. There are still postseason questions.
37. John Farrell (unranked) — The Red Sox skipper’s job was in jeopardy as he was headed to a second straight last-place finish after a championship when he had to take a leave of absence to battle cancer of the lymphatic system. He is in remission, back on the job and, yes, back on the hot seat.
38. Yu Darvish (unranked) — He missed all of last season after Tommy John surgery and is due back in May or June, at which time the Rangers hope he will form a dynamic rotation 1-2 with Cole Hamels.
39. CC Sabathia (27) — He used a new knee brace to pitch as well as he had in a few years in his final five starts, then shockingly announced he was going into a rehab clinic for alcohol addiction before the wild-card game. Who is he now, and can he still help a Yankees rotation beset by questions about its sturdiness?
40. Brad Ausmus (unranked) — Detroit was weighing firing its manager following a last-place showing. But Ausmus is back and so is the pressure after the Tigers shunned rebuilding to just reload with Jordan Zimmermann, Justin Upton and Francisco Rodriguez.
41. Carlos Gonzalez (unranked) — If you were starting a pool on most likely star to be traded in July, the Rockies’ right fielder would be a pretty good favorite.
42. Wade Davis (unranked) — It just feels like there has to be a Royal on this list, as the two-time defending AL champs and defending World Series champs strive for dynasty before their talented core — including Davis — begins to hit free agency over the next 2-3 years.
43. James Andrews (unranked) — Let’s hope this is the last time we see his name. Or that of Neal ElAttrache.
44. Albert Pujols (unranked) — There are still six years remaining on his $240 million contract. He is coming off foot surgery. Can he be ready by the start of the season and still protect Trout?
45. Noah Syndergaard (30) — Raise your hand if you want to see what he can do over a full season.
46. Todd Frazier (unranked)— Can the longtime Reds slugger help the White Sox climb toward the top of the division?
47. Terry Collins (unranked) — He made his first playoff appearance as a manager and was rewarded with a contract extension. Yet, how much security does he actually have?
48. Adam Wainwright (unranked) — With Lackey gone and Lance Lynn lost for the season following Tommy John surgery, the Cardinals need their longtime ace in full after a season nearly fully lost following an Achilles tendon tear.
49. Miguel Sano (unranked) — He is trying a new position — right field. Can he become comfortable there for the Twins so we can see the full extent of what is in his bat?
50. Brian Cashman (unranked) — He is trying to keep the Yankees contenders, run out bad contracts, not do new long-term deals and get the roster younger and more athletic. Does ownership have tolerance for this transition? | This is the Cubs’ year. That is not to be confused with “the Cubs are going to win the World Series.” Though they might. Which is kind of why this is a Cubs year. A few franchises in all four of No… | 65.612245 | 0.979592 | 25.346939 | high | high | extractive |
http://time.com/3329416/greg-hardy-nfl-domestic-violence/ | http://web.archive.org/web/20160524085741id_/http://time.com:80/3329416/greg-hardy-nfl-domestic-violence/ | Greg Hardy, the Convicted Domestic Abuser Who's Still in the NFL | 20160524085741 | Ray Rice was caught on tape punching his future wife. He’s indefinitely suspended from the NFL. Greg Hardy, a Pro-Bowl defensive end for the Carolina Panthers, was arrested on May 13 for assaulting an ex-girlfriend. On the arrest warrant, a police officer made the following statement. The capital letters appeared in the document.
“I, the undersigned, find that there is probable cause to believe that on or about the date of the offense shown [May 13, 2014] and in the county named above [Mecklenburg County, North Carolina] the defendant named above [Hardy] unlawfully and willingly did assault [redacted], a female person, by GRABBING VICTIM AND THROWING TO THE FLOOR, THROWING INTO A BATHTUB, SLAMMING HER AGAINST A FUTON, AND STRANGLING HER. The defendant is a male person and was at least 18 years of age when the assault occurred.”
On the “complaint and motion for domestic violence protective order,” the accuser described the incident.
“On May 13, 2014, Greg Hardy attacked me in his apartment. Hardy picked me up and threw me into the tile tub area in his bathroom. I have bruises from head to toe, including my head, neck, back, shoulders arms, legs, elbow and feet. Hardy pulled me from the tub by my hair, screaming at me that he was going to kill me, break my arms and other threats that I completely believe. He drug me across the bathroom and out into the bedroom. Hardy choked me with both hands around my throat while I was lying on the floor. Hardy picked me up over his head and threw me onto a couch covered in assault rifles and/or shotguns. I landed on those weapons. Hardy bragged that all of those assault rifles were loaded. Landing on those weapons bruised [my] neck and back. Hardy screamed for his “administrative assistant” (Sammy Curtis) to come into the room and hold me down. Curtis came into the room, grabbed me from behind and held me down. Hardy and Curtis then took me into the living room area. I wasn’t nearly strong or fast enough to escape. I begged them to let me go & I wouldn’t tell anyone what he did. They took me out into the hall, pushed me down & went back inside his apartment. I crawled to the elevator and ran into CMPD (Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department)
In court, the accuser testified: “He looked me in my eyes and he told me he was going to kill me. I was so scared I wanted to die. When he loosened his grip slightly, I said just,`Do it. Kill me.”
On June 15, a judge found Hardy guilty of assaulting a female and communicating threats. She sentenced him to 18 months probation; a 60-day jail sentence was suspended. Hardy appealed, and since he was convicted of a misdemeanor, under North Carolina law he’s entitled to a jury trial, which is set for Nov. 17. In court, Hardy and Curtis denied that Hardy assaulted the victim, or communicated threats.
The world hasn’t seen this incident on tape. Hardy played in Carolina’s first game. He didn’t practice on Wednesday for what the team said were “personal reasons” — he met with his attorney. But Hardy returned to practice Thursday and as of right now, he is slated to play on Sunday, as the Panthers host the Detroit Lions. Pressure is building on the team to change that and the Charlotte Observer called for Hardy’s suspension in an editorial.
On Wednesday night, hours after Hardy missed practice, Panthers owner Jerry Richardson received a humanitarian honor in Charlotte: The Echo Award Against Indifference.
Read next: Chris Borland Is the New Model NFL Player
Listen to the most important stories of the day. | Greg Hardy was convicted of assaulting a woman, but he's still suiting up for the Carolina Panthers | 39.315789 | 0.789474 | 1.947368 | high | medium | mixed |
http://www.tmz.com/2013/06/07/ciara-lawsuit-gay-bar-factory-west-hollywood-gay-parade/ | http://web.archive.org/web/20160524100047id_/http://www.tmz.com:80/2013/06/07/ciara-lawsuit-gay-bar-factory-west-hollywood-gay-parade/ | Ciara Sued By Gay Bar -- You BAILED On Our Big Gay Event | 20160524100047 | is being sued by a West Hollywood gay bar ... which claims the singer left them high and dry when she backed out of a gay event during L.A. Pride week ... TMZ has learned.
The nightclub going after Ciara is "
" -- which, according to one Yelp reviewer, is always packed with "gays" who "know how to party."
According to the lawsuit, obtained by TMZ, Ciara signed a $10,000 deal to appear at The Factory on June 7 (tonight) ... one day before she's supposed to perform on the main stage at the 2013 L.A. Pride parade.
Factory says Ciara had mentioned that she couldn't "perform" at Factory due to restrictions in her contract with the L.A. Pride event ... but made it seem like making an "appearance" would be totally kosher.
But Factory says ... Ciara unexpectedly pulled the plug on the whole thing on June 3, leaving the nightclub without a star for its big Friday night pre-gay parade bash.
Now, Factory is suing Ciara for breach of contract -- and want her to pay for all the money the club spent to promote her appearance PLUS the cash they're losing out on thanks to Ciara's last-minute bail.
-- Ciara's rep tells TMZ ... the lawsuit is bogus because Ciara backed out before a deal was ever finalized.
A rep for the singer tells us, "Ciara's commitment to perform at L.A. Gay Pride on Saturday night prevented her from making such a Friday night appearance. Despite being notified early last week that Ciara could not appear, the Factory continued to market and promote Ciara's appearance."
"The reason for the continued marketing/promotion is unclear, as it is not known why the Factory would intend to continue to mislead the public, to cause damage to the L.A. Gay Pride festival and to attempt to portray Ciara in a negative light.” | Ciara is being sued by a West Hollywood gay bar ... which claims the singer left them high and dry when she backed out of a gay event during L.A. Pride… | 11.53125 | 0.96875 | 26.40625 | low | high | extractive |
http://www.nytimes.com/1988/05/22/arts/pop-view-prince-twice-is-still-prince-charming.html | http://web.archive.org/web/20160524113502id_/http://www.nytimes.com:80/1988/05/22/arts/pop-view-prince-twice-is-still-prince-charming.html | POP VIEW - Prince Twice Is Still Prince Charming - NYTimes.com | 20160524113502 | In one of the most enjoyable and peculiar career moves of the 1980's, Prince has completed two albums so far this year. The first, ''The Black Album'' (no catalogue number, cassette only), was announced and then, just before its planned release, withdrawn from the market on Prince's orders. Albums that had been pressed in Great Britain were scrapped, but not before bootlegs of ''The Black Album'' had begun to circulate. (A cassette copy was slipped into my back pocket one night at an ill-lit belly-dance club.) Within months, its replacement arrived: ''Lovesexy'' (Paisley Park/Warner Brothers 25720, album, cassette and CD).
All that the two albums have in common is a ballad, ''When 2 R in Love.'' If he had to choose to release just one, then Prince was right to wait and finish ''Lovesexy.'' But together, they show a musician experimenting like mad with every musical parameter, and so prolific that he has to cut back his output so he won't be competing with himself. Popularity, and the self-consciousness that comes with it, tends to slow performers down; Bruce Springsteen and Michael Jackson can labor over one album for years on end (although Mr. Springsteen also makes enough outtakes to fill B-sides of singles, like the current radio favorite ''Roulette''). Most superstar albums in the 1980's are intended to hang around the Top 10 for months while yielding three to five hit singles. Prince, meanwhile, might just start issuing albums quarterly; ''Tune in next week,'' he advises at the end of ''The Black Album.''
''The Black Album'' makes its title a multiple entendre. It answers the Beatles' eclectic ''White Album'' with Prince's own tour of black music styles (from a skeletal, synthesized blues to a rap, with extended stops at James Brown, Sly and the Family Stone and Parliament-Funkadelic); it has black humor and nasty fantasies. Some of its songs sound like deliberately raunchy updates on Prince's 1980 ''Dirty Mind'' - one tune asks ''girls,'' ''boys'' and ''others'' to shout along in turn - but the lyrics are just the topping on an album obsessed with rhythm and funk.
Along with Prince's usual polymorphous sexuality, the real message is in the bottom-heavy beat, pushing dance tunes called ''The Grind'' (''up and down on the beat y'all'') and ''Superfunkacalafragasexy.'' Like James Brown, Prince talks, moans, chants and screams as much as he sings on ''The Black Album''; he and his backup singers supply one more layer of percussion. There's even an extended, live-sounding instrumental, ''Two Nigs United for West Compton,'' that vamps at length on one chord. For Prince, clearly, ''black'' music means music that relies on rhythm above all.
''Lovesexy'' comes wrapped in white, with a nude, pale-looking, smooth-legged Prince posed among blown-up irises. Where ''The Black Album'' gets rude, ''Lovesexy'' gets seductive; sex, Prince sings, takes him ''closer 2 my higher self.'' (Although Prince occasionally looks at his songs' characters above the waist - ''Dance On'' itemizes a world full of random violence - he doesn't linger outside the bedroom.) And where ''The Black Album'' revolves around its funky bottom, ''Lovesexy'' toys with the upper registers, where melody and harmony reside. If ''The Black Album'' follows up ''Dirty Mind,'' then ''Lovesexy'' picks up from Prince's elaborately arranged ''Parade'' and ''Around the World in a Day.''
''Lovesexy'' purveys melodies the way ''The Black Album'' knocks out rhythms. In fact, there's so much melody that Prince gets away with extraordinary liberties in his harmonies; long stretches of the album qualify as polytonal, with the rhythm section in one key and horns, keyboards and voices in others. It's a strategy Prince probably learned from George Clinton's Parliament-Funkadelic - and, at the other extreme, from the rappers he describes as ''tone deaf'' on ''The Black Album'' - but he takes it as far as or further than they do.
Just about every song has a section with layers of unlikely harmony, while ''Positivity,'' with chords superimposed every which way, doesn't reveal what key it's in until it's almost over. Nonmusicians will recognize that the music sounds different, luxuriant and decentralized and otherworldly. Yet somehow, Prince keeps things from getting too cluttered or discordant.
While ''Lovesexy'' isn't as determinedly danceable as ''The Black Album,'' it has plenty of funky stretches. And by choosing to release ''Lovesexy'' after the near appearance of ''The Black Album,'' Prince has let fans glimpse the kind of choices he and other performers make routinely about image and timing. If ''The Black Album'' had come out as the successor to Prince's stripped-down ''Sign 'o' the Times'' and his concert movie of the same name, we'd all be sure he'd decided to retrench with down-to-earth dance music and bad-boy messages after trying exotic, psychedelic soundscapes. Instead, ''Lovesexy'' reveals he's still omnivorous, keeping every option open.
In fact, I wouldn't rule out any suggestion that, in some way, his near release of ''The Black Album'' was deliberate. Prince revels in contradictions and dualities, alternately courting the mass audience with irresistible pop and feeding it the oddest music he can come up with. Releasing ''Sign 'o' the Times'' as a double album was daring; then, promoting it with a concert film was strictly business as usual. But as a mystique booster, it's hard to beat an album that's mostly a rumor, available to Prince's most assiduous fans and known to others as something scurrilous and underground.
Musically, ''The Black Album'' might almost have been made for dissemination by home-duplicated cassettes; as the upper register erodes and the bass gets noisier with every generation, it just gets funkier. Like Bob Dylan's ''Basement Tapes,'' ''The Black Album'' is bound to get around - but given Prince's productivity, the kind of dry spell for Mr. Dylan that led to the official release of ''The Basement Tapes'' may be a long time coming for Prince. Maybe he could simply add it to the CD version of the 30-minute ''Dirty Mind'' and wait until somebody notices.
Photo of Prince (Joel Bernstein) | LEAD: In one of the most enjoyable and peculiar career moves of the 1980's, Prince has completed two albums so far this year. The first, ''The Black Album'' (no catalogue number, cassette only), was announced and then, just before its planned release, withdrawn from the market on Prince's orders. Albums that had been pressed in Great Britain were scrapped, but not before bootlegs of ''The Black Album'' had begun to circulate. | 14.771739 | 0.98913 | 88.054348 | low | high | extractive |
http://nypost.com/2014/10/22/van-gundy-snipes-at-jacksons-triangle-but-praises-knicks/ | http://web.archive.org/web/20160524135903id_/http://nypost.com:80/2014/10/22/van-gundy-snipes-at-jacksons-triangle-but-praises-knicks/ | Van Gundy snipes at Jackson’s triangle but praises Knicks | 20160524135903 | Jeff Van Gundy says the Knicks will make the playoffs — but it won’t be because of the triangle offense.
In a conference call to promote ESPN’s coverage of the Knicks-Bulls season opener at the Garden in one week, Van Gundy and broadcast partner Mark Jackson said players win titles, not triangles. Van Gundy added the Bulls and Lakers could have won titles under Jackson with a different system than the triangle.
Van Gundy and Phil Jackson have a history. Van Gundy, when he was Knicks coach, once called Jackson “Big Chief Triangle.”
Van Gundy was asked Wednesday why more clubs don’t run the triangle offense like the Derek Fisher-coached Knicks are doing, considering Jackson won 11 coaching titles with that old-school system.
“The triangle itself is just an offense based on freedom of the ball to go to different places, everybody feeling involved,’’ Van Gundy said. “It’s a good thing. It won’t be the triangle itself that will be the reason they win or lose. It’s going to come down to Carmelo Anthony playing exceptionally well. [Iman] Shumpert and J.R. bouncing back with a big year. J.R. Smith playing well. It’s not going to be because of a system.
“I think anybody confusing a system with a reason for success is making a huge mistake. Systems don’t win games. Players do. All you try to do in any system you incorporate is put players in their areas of strength and try to hide and minimize their weaknesses. The triangle for [Scottie] Pippen and [Michael] Jordan with a lot of shooting around them was a tremendous system. Same with [Kobe] Bryant and [Shaquille] O’Neal. Then [Pau] Gasol and Bryant. It can work and other systems would’ve worked and they would’ve won it.’’
Broadcast boothmate Mark Jackson also weighed in. He was a popular choice with Knicks fans to replace the fired Mike Woodson, but Phil Jackson considered him only tepidly, wanting a coach with triangle experience. According to a source, Knicks GM Steve Mills pushed for Jackson to be a stronger candidate.
“In this league you win with players,’’ said Jackson, who parted with the Warriors after the playoffs because of differences with ownership. “Phil had tremendous success with the triangle offense in his coaching career with incredible basketball players, all-time great basketball players. That more than a system won a championship. Teams in this league run part of a triangle offense but nobody has experienced the success with that.’’
Van Gundy says preseason “is a waste of time’’ and won’t judge the Knicks on their unevenness this October. The Knicks are 2-3 and face the Wizards Wednesday night at the Garden. The trade for point guard Jose Calderon and expected rebound seasons for Smith and Shumpert has Van Gundy picking the Knicks for the playoffs.
“I like Calderon,’’ Van Gundy said. “I think he’s a great-shooting, low-turnover point guard. That doesn’t fit the triangle without the pick and rolls but he has Nash-like qualities and is beloved by teammates. In difficult situations he can bring people together. He’s a great leader coming into a team. I also think Carmelo Anthony is going to find a way to have a great year. And their wing play will be improved. Last year their wing play was not even close to good enough. I think Smith and Shumpert will have better years.’’
Jackson, the former Knicks and St. John’s star, stopped short of predicting a playoff berth for a club that nosedived to 37-45. He said only they will “be in the mix,’’ but wondered about their “defensive approach’’ and called Amar’e Stoudemire “the wild card.’’
“Watching him in preseason, he’s got a lot of body, looks like, sad to say, the old Amar’e: explosive at the rim,’’ Jackson said.
Jackson also praised the Fisher hire, saying his “body of work’’ as a player indicates he’ll be a strong coach. | Jeff Van Gundy says the Knicks will make the playoffs — but it won’t be because of the triangle offense. In a conference call to promote ESPN’s coverage of the Knicks-Bulls season opener at the Gar… | 18.627907 | 0.930233 | 13.162791 | medium | medium | extractive |
http://nypost.com/2016/01/05/firm-to-pay-1-75m-after-making-workers-clock-out-for-bathroom/ | http://web.archive.org/web/20160524142616id_/http://nypost.com:80/2016/01/05/firm-to-pay-1-75m-after-making-workers-clock-out-for-bathroom/ | Firm to pay $1.75M after making workers clock out for bathroom | 20160524142616 | PHILADELPHIA — A Pennsylvania company that publishes business newsletters will pay about $1.75 million to thousands of employees who had to clock out while going on short breaks, including for the bathroom.
The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that a federal judge has given the U.S. Department of Labor and the Malvern-based company, American Future Systems Inc., until Thursday to submit proposals on managing payment.
The company had argued that it wasn’t required to pay employees for short breaks.
The bill includes back pay and damages to 6,000 employees at offices in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Ohio between 2009 and 2013.
The Department of Labor filed a lawsuit in 2012 claiming the company violated the federal Fair Labor Standards Act because employees weren’t earning minimum wage when the company required them to clock out for breaks. | PHILADELPHIA — A Pennsylvania company that publishes business newsletters will pay about $1.75 million to thousands of employees who had to clock out while going on short breaks, including for the … | 4.5 | 0.970588 | 32.029412 | low | high | extractive |
http://www.forbes.com/2010/09/07/deborah-ancona-mit-leadership-managing-varghese.html | http://web.archive.org/web/20160524151842id_/http://www.forbes.com:80/2010/09/07/deborah-ancona-mit-leadership-managing-varghese.html | The Four Capabilities Behind Great Leadership | 20160524151842 | Deborah Ancona, the Seley distinguished professor of management at the MIT Sloan School of Management, is the founder and faculty director of the MIT Leadership Center. The center is dedicated to furthering the knowledge, perspectives and experiences that leaders need to transform passion into action. Ancona received B.A. and M.S. degrees in psychology from the University of Pennsylvania and a Ph.D. in management from Columbia University. I have deeply admired her work and have often drawn from it. Here is a distillation of a conversation I recently had with her. I’m presenting it in two parts; the second part appears here.
Tell me about the four capabilities that you believe are at the core of all successful leadership.
The four capabilities–the model was co-created by me, Wanda Orlakowski, Thomas Malone and Peter Senge–are sensemaking, relating, visioning and inventing.
Sensemaking is exactly what it sounds like, making sense of the context in which you operate. It is hard for leaders to know where to go and what to do unless they have a very good sense of what is happening around them–in the company, in their country and in the world. How do people see the situation? Who are the different stakeholders? What are their viewpoints? Understanding those things are necessary for really understanding what you’re doing and the situation you’re facing.
Second is relating. Leadership is not a solo sport. We work with and through other people. A critical part of leading or working with other people is understanding who those people are, what they care about, why they think what they think and how they view the situation. Similarly, you need to be able to communicate to others what you care about, what you’re thinking about, how you’re seeing the world and what you’re feeling about the particular situation. Effective dialogue between individuals that leads to commitment, trust and motivation thus depends on a twofold process of understanding others while explaining yourself.
Third is visioning, although we hate that term, because it is overused. What it means is the capacity to create, to paint a picture of what could be, of what is possible. A different future from the one you’re heading toward if things stay the way they are.
And finally, inventing. Inventing is creating structures and processes, shifting the ways people work together to move toward the vision, to get the product out the door, to get the organization going where you need it to go. Inventing is implementation and execution, but with a creative twist, because you’re often creating things that have never existed before. You need to shift from recreating existing structures to creating new ones.
Do these capabilities happen simultaneously or sequentially?
People move from one to another. Relating tends to go on at all times. You relate while you are sensemaking and inventing and visioning. As you work together, you’re creating bonds–or severing bonds, as the case may be.
There is a lot of work that suggests that when leaders come into new jobs or situations they generally need to do a lot of sensemaking early on, or they may have a vision early on if they’ve been part of the group for some time. Then they cycle through all the four capabilities multiple times. As you invent, you may see other possibilities for what could be created. You get a better sense of the situation you’re dealing with. So you often move between the core capabilities.
Are these leadership capabilities broadly applicable across different organizations and in both developed and developing nations?
Absolutely. We have taught this model to thousands of people, of different ages and from different organizations and cultures. It seems to have application across all those areas. I would imagine, although I don’t have great expertise on developing countries, that you probably need ever greater leadership there, because there’s more that you don’t know there. You are typically starting over, and there’s a lot of inventing to be done to figure out who we want to be and what we need to do. So it seems to me that all these things should quite applicable even in the developing world.
The conclusion of this interview appears here.
Comments are turned off for this post. | Part I of a two-part interview with Deborah Ancona, head of the MIT Leadership Center. | 43.368421 | 0.947368 | 2.947368 | high | high | mixed |
http://fortune.com/2016/05/18/snapchat-algorithm/ | http://web.archive.org/web/20160524152633id_/http://fortune.com:80/2016/05/18/snapchat-algorithm/ | Snapchat Said to be Considering an Algorithmic Feed | 20160524152633 | Algorithmic filtering has been in the news lately, after reports that Facebook routinely fiddles with the site’s Trending Topics, and makes editorial judgements about what to include or exclude. Now, Snapchat is reportedly planning to use an algorithm to decide what to display in the app, which has become a hot platform for short-form video.
According to a report at Digiday, the video service is talking with publishing and advertising partners about its plans to use an algorithm to filter and rank content, something it has been working on since the beginning of the year. Currently, new Snapchat Stories are displayed in chronological order (although the service already ranks a user’s best friends using what it refers to as a “magical algorithm”).
“It’s going to be the same model Facebook has: It’s free for everybody to share content, but an algorithm will penalize some people and boost others,” a publishing-industry source reportedly told Digiday. “That’s why you don’t want to be beholden to any one of these platforms or you’re suddenly stuck when the game changes.”
That comment neatly sums up the downside that many media companies see in distributing their content through platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Since all these services use algorithms to determine what to show to users and when, it’s impossible to know who is going to see your article or video or photo. And even if plenty of people do, that could all change in an instant.
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Facebook came under fire last week for the behavior of some human editors who allegedly kept certain right-wing websites and links out of Trending Topics (something Facebook says it has a firm policy against). CEO Mark Zuckerberg met with a number of conservative leaders on Wednesday in an attempt to smooth the waters.
For many in the media industry, however, the big problem isn’t Facebook’s Trending Topics, but the social network’s main news feed. Not only are there issues around how users wind up perceiving the world as a result of this filtering, but the algorithm that controls the display of posts can have a huge effect on whether a media outlet’s content gets seen at all.
The kind of traffic that Facebook can produce means a lot to media companies that are scrambling to generate digital revenue—a group that even includes digital star BuzzFeed, which has pinned its hopes on a distributed strategy that pushes content out through dozens of social platforms and services. Being highlighted by the algorithm can make the difference between hitting your expected traffic and financial targets and missing them wildly.
At the moment, Facebook is trying to woo media companies to publish through its mobile-friendly Instant Articles feature, which makes pages load faster, and to host their video directly on the network. So it may be inclined the favor those links over content from companies that aren’t playing ball. But it could just as soon change its mind and start pushing traffic somewhere else.
Snapchat has doubled its daily video views since last year. Watch:
The risk for publishers is that Snapchat could do exactly the same thing with its service. And with more than 10 billion video views a day, it is almost as influential as Facebook, at least where video is concerned. Some publishers that distribute their content using Snapchat say their posts can get millions of views in a single day. Using an algorithmic filter could determine whose story goes viral and whose disappears without a trace.
Snapchat’s Discover feature—which is designed specifically for media partners such as BuzzFeed, CNN, Cosmopolitan and other brands—is already sorted by Snapchat. And it can drive significant amounts of engagement, to the point where Snapchat reportedly charges media companies to be part of the feature, over and above sharing in the ad revenue. BuzzFeed said recently that more than 20% of all its video views come from Snapchat.
For Snapchat, meanwhile, one of the benefits of an algorithmic feed is that it would let the company do the same thing that Facebook does, which is to charge advertisers and publishers extra to have their content appear higher or more often in the feed. On Facebook, this takes the form of “promoted posts” and other methods of advertising. Presumably, Snapchat could make use of similar mechanisms, and probably generate a substantial amount of revenue. | An algorithmic feed would give the video platform even more power over media companies. | 56.466667 | 0.866667 | 1.533333 | high | medium | mixed |
http://www.forbes.com/2007/11/05/hollywood-sex-celebrity-biz-media-cx_lh_1105celebsex.html | http://web.archive.org/web/20160524203643id_/http://www.forbes.com:80/2007/11/05/hollywood-sex-celebrity-biz-media-cx_lh_1105celebsex.html | Inside The Sex Lives Of Celebrities | 20160524203643 | Up in the sky! It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s yet another celebrity joining the mile-high club!
Along with fame and truckloads of money, making love at a cruising altitude of 35,000 feet is apparently one of the perks of being a big-deal entertainer, according to a recent survey examining the sex lives of successful actors and musicians.
The survey, conducted by Redding, Conn., wealth-research firm Prince & Associates, also found that stars of the silver screen, television and pop music are quite proficient at having Olympian volumes of sex on terra firma as well, with more partners and in more unusual places than you probably have.
“It’s clear that wealthy celebrities have the one-two punch of being empowered by their success and their fame,” says Hannah Grove, a private-wealth specialist and Prince managing partner. “A lot of them have decided to channel it to allow them to have a more sexual lifestyle.”
As part of the research for their new book Fame & Fortune: Maximizing Celebrity Wealth, Grove and her co-author Russ Alan Prince polled attorneys representing 1,015 actors, musicians and a handful of fashion models, who were all at least 25 years old, with a minimum net worth of $10 million.
Boy, these people sure seem to get around. Nearly all of those surveyed were married or in a relationship with a “life partner.” But 69% of the men and 78% of the women were said to have been unfaithful at least once. That’s a lot higher than the 16% of U.S. adults who admitted to having an affair in an ABC News poll conducted in 2004 by market-research firm TNS.
How many partners have these celebrities had? On average, about 82 for the men and 79 for the women. But the ghost of Wilt Chamberlain can rest easy–Grove notes that a small number of particularly busy celebrities appears to have skewed the averages higher. The median figures (the midpoint between the highest and lowest numbers) were far lower–26 for the men and 36 for the women. But that’s still a good deal more than the median of seven lifetime partners for men and four partners for women found in a survey released earlier this year by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Not that everyone’s been busy getting some. Nine celebrities were said to be virgins–all guys. But for 82% of the men and 90% of the women in the survey sample, sex was deemed to be “very” or “extremely” important. Of those people, 80% of the males and 96% of the females believed their celebrity status had improved their sex lives.
How exactly? The factors most important to the guys were being able to enjoy “higher-quality” sex (79.5%), having more partners (67%) and having “more adventurous and/or exotic” sex (62%). The sex lives of female celebrities were said to be enhanced by higher quality sex (86%) and adventurous or exotic sex (95%).
What, pray tell, did they do that was adventurous or exotic? A few of the things cited: S&M, tantric techniques to prolong lovemaking, lotions, treatments–you name it. According to Russ Prince, one respondent reportedly has a trapeze that hangs down from the bedroom ceiling, while another was said to have had sex in the fountains of major cities.
Of course, perhaps the ultimate place to do the deed is up in the sky. And given the logistical challenges posed by the microscopic restrooms of commercial airliners, it helps to have access to a private jet. That helps explain why half of the celebrities (43.5% of the men and 69% of the women) were said to have had sex on a plane.
What accounts for the hyper-sexualized lifestyle of celebrities? Part of the reason is clearly related to all the opportunities they have to get their groove on, what with all the groupies and starry-eyed fans who are eager to hook up with them.
But it goes beyond just simple access to sex. For instance, the high incidence of extra-marital hanky panky is probably related to the fact that actors and musicians spend much of their time on the road and away from their spouses or partners, says Joy Davidson, a New York-based clinical psychologist and sex therapist who has counseled celebrities.
Davidson cautions that survey data of this kind should be taken with a lump of salt. But she adds that the results are in line with what she’s observed among her clients.
There’s no getting around the fact that top-level entertainers and stars inhabit a different world from the rest of us when it comes to sex.
“Values around sexual experience and sexual experimentation are much more liberal,” Davidson says. “That’s part of the zeitgeist of the world in which they travel in.”
Comments are turned off for this post. | You always knew fame and fortune weren't the only things in abundance. A new study breaks it down by the numbers. | 40.875 | 0.708333 | 0.958333 | high | low | abstractive |
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/12/dining/the-minimalist-a-condiment-gets-to-shine.html | http://web.archive.org/web/20160525013432id_/http://www.nytimes.com:80/2004/05/12/dining/the-minimalist-a-condiment-gets-to-shine.html? | THE MINIMALIST; A Condiment Gets to Shine | 20160525013432 | THIS is a perfectly contemporary dish: Manchurian in origin, inspired by an Indian chef who lives in New York and based on an ingredient that is in almost every refrigerator.
It's stir-fried chicken with ketchup, and before you turn your nose up, think of hoisin sauce, oyster sauce, mayonnaise, Worcestershire sauce, salsa and all the other condiments that somehow are often considered inferior in haute cuisine circles.
Then think how good ketchup can taste.
I learned about the genesis of this dish from Suvir Saran, an Indian chef in New York. In the version he cooked for me, Mr. Saran tossed cauliflower in a slurry of cornstarch and egg, then deep-fried it. The crust was exquisite, and the cauliflower perfectly cooked. But it was what happened next that really got my attention: He finished the cauliflower in a sauce, made in about three minutes, containing nothing more than ketchup, garlic and cayenne pepper.
The garlic and cayenne gave the ketchup a significant leg up, and the brief cooking time caramelized the sugars. In all, the ordinary ingredient we all grew up with was transformed into a glistening, almost exotic sauce, one that latched on to that cauliflower as if the molecules had fused.
''This recipe is one of many dishes created by Chinese immigrants who now live in India,'' Mr. Saran said. ''You see it in Calcutta's Chinatown, where it's sold on the street, to be eaten off toothpicks.''
I tried making the dish with cauliflower that I didn't deep-fry; it wasn't the same. But when I floured some chicken and seared it in oil until it was quite crisp, then turned that in the sauce, I knew I had hit it: Manchurian-style chicken. (And, yes, you can eat it with toothpicks if you like.)
If you take to this dish, you might start to play with it: cook some peanuts with the chicken, toss some slivered scallions or cilantro in at the end (the color is brilliant, as you can imagine), substitute soy sauce for the salt, or start with squid or shrimp. It's all pretty flexible, and just think, you already have the main ingredient.
1 1/2 pounds boneless chicken, preferably dark meat, in 1/2- to 1-inch chunks
1/2 cup flour, more as needed
4 tablespoons neutral oil, like corn or canola
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste
1. Toss chicken with flour so that it is lightly dusted. Put 2 tablespoons oil in a large skillet, preferably nonstick, and turn heat to high. When oil smokes, add chicken in one layer. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
2. When chicken browns on one side, toss it and cook until just about done: smaller pieces will take 5 minutes total, larger pieces about 10. Remove to a plate. Turn off heat and let pan cool for a moment.
3. Add remaining oil to pan and turn heat to medium high. Add garlic and cayenne pepper and cook, stirring, about 2 minutes. Add ketchup and stir; cook until ketchup bubbles, then darkens slightly. Return chicken to pan and stir to coat with sauce. Taste and adjust seasoning, then serve. | Mark Bittman The Minimalist column suggests stir-fried chicken with ketchup; recipe (S) | 37.764706 | 0.647059 | 2.411765 | high | low | mixed |
http://fortune.com/2015/10/23/feds-investigate-alleged-conspiracy-against-vegan-mayonaise/ | http://web.archive.org/web/20160525045341id_/http://fortune.com:80/2015/10/23/feds-investigate-alleged-conspiracy-against-vegan-mayonaise/ | USDA Begins Investigation Into American Egg Board over Mayo Fight | 20160525045341 | The United States Department of Agriculture is investigating the American Egg Board, a checkoff organization that advocates for the egg industry, in the wake of allegations that it waged a campaign against egg-free mayo company Hampton Creek.
Internal American Egg Board emails, released in the wake of a FOIA request due to the organization’s status as a quasi-governmental body, showed leaders of the Board, including its president and CEO Joanne Ivy, conspiring to sink the food start-up. Board leaders allegedly tried to stop the sale of Just Mayo in Whole Foods stores and looked through the company’s patents for flaws, the Guardian reported. At one point, the executive vice president of the Board jokingly offered “to contact some of my old buddies in Brooklyn to pay Mr Tetrick a visit.” (Josh Tetrick is the CEO of Hampton Creek.) | USDA investigates American Egg Board. | 27.333333 | 0.666667 | 1.666667 | medium | low | mixed |
http://nypost.com/2016/05/22/presidents-arent-just-the-commander-in-chief-theyre-also-the-athlete-in-chief/ | http://web.archive.org/web/20160525185521id_/http://nypost.com:80/2016/05/22/presidents-arent-just-the-commander-in-chief-theyre-also-the-athlete-in-chief/ | Presidents aren’t just the commander in chief - they’re also the athlete in chief | 20160525185521 | Presidential candidate Donald Trump is known for his regular rounds of golf and was a three-sport star athlete at the New York Military Academy. Hillary Clinton has said she plays softball and tennis — and on her 2008 Myspace page, she counted speed-walking as her leisure activity.
Which would put either one of them in good company, as the Oval Office has a long history of being occupied by athletes.
Ronald Reagan — who famously starred as football legend George Gipp in the movie “Knute Rockne, All American” — saved 77 lives as a lifeguard. Abraham Lincoln’s handball is now in the Smithsonian. And every day on the White House lawn, Herbert Hoover and pals played a round of “Hoover-ball” — a volleyball-tennis hybrid played with a 6-pound medicine ball, of all things.
These sweaty pursuits are detailed in “Jocks in Chief,” a recently published book that ranks the most athletic United States presidents on variables like physical strength, toughness and how fit they stayed while in office.
Gerald Ford tops the list of 43. Though, ironically, the president was portrayed as a klutz by Chevy Chase on “Saturday Night Live,” a young Ford turned down contracts with both the Green Bay Packers and Detroit Lions to go to Yale Law School.
“In this ‘Moneyball,’ fantasy-sports world, everything is quantified — it made sense to come up with a presidential athletic score,” says “Jocks in Chief” author Jon Finkel. “You can’t always measure how good a president is, because there is always to going to be some partisan argument. But on the [playing] field, it’s really a meritocracy.”
Finkel scoured biographies, presidential libraries and old newspaper articles for nuggets ranging from the wacky (Millard Fillmore, ranked at No. 30, walked 100 miles nonstop through upstate New York in the middle of the winter) to ones that could have appeared on “SportsCenter”: George H.W. Bush, who comes in at No. 3, led the Yale baseball team to back-to-back College World Series appearances.
Early presidents were rated by their hand-to-hand combat, bravery on the battlefield and overall physicality.
“There was no physical-fitness movement then. People just didn’t go out for jogs,” Finkel says. “But Ulysses S. Grant was known as the best horseman at West Point. At the time, that was considered very athletic.”
Those with the most blistering brawn include No. 2-ranked Dwight Eisenhower, who was nicknamed the “Kansas Cyclone” by a sports writer who covered one of his football games at West Point, where he played fullback and linebacker. In 1912, against Carlisle Indian Industrial School, Eisenhower tackled Jim Thorpe — arguably the greatest athlete of all time.
Carlisle won the game 27-6, but it didn’t dampen Ike’s zeal for sports. “Eisenhower wore out the carpet in the Oval Office from putting and practicing his [golf] stroke. He had someone paint his golf balls black so he could play in the snow. He was obsessed,” says Finkel.
President Obama comes in at No. 10 for his well-documented interval training and decent basketball jump shot.
Among the bench warmers toward the bottom of the list are William H. Taft, who was nicknamed “Big Lub,” and Calvin Coolidge. “He was a fly fisherman,” says Finkel. “[For him,] wading in water was an athletic achievement.”
Dead last is Andrew Johnson. As Finkel writes in the book: “Some men are meant to wear athletic uniforms, others are meant to sew them.” | Presidential candidate Donald Trump is known for his regular rounds of golf and was a three-sport star athlete at the New York Military Academy. Hillary Clinton has said she plays softball and tenn… | 19.459459 | 0.945946 | 33.108108 | medium | high | extractive |
http://www.aol.com/article/2015/11/03/unexpected-uses-for-petroleum-jelly-savings-experiment/21258160/ | http://web.archive.org/web/20160526094313id_/http://www.aol.com:80/article/2015/11/03/unexpected-uses-for-petroleum-jelly-savings-experiment/21258160/ | Unexpected Uses for Petroleum Jelly | 20160526094313 | Before you go, we thought you'd like these...
We often use petroleum jelly to relieve cracked skin or chapped lips, but the product has several other handy uses. Here are some unexpected ways you can use petroleum jelly that will help you save big.
First, if you color your hair you can use a little jelly to help keep your skin stain-free. Simply smooth a layer along your hairline before applying the dye and you'll avoid hard-to-remove splatters on your skin.
Petroleum Jelly can also breathe new life into your old shoes. To make your patent-leather footwear shine like new again, simply buff them with petroleum jelly. You can also use this trick to soften other dried leather items: like a baseball glove, or a leather jacket.
Lastly, a little petroleum jelly can go a long way to help around the house. If your key isn't sliding into that rusty lock, spread a very thin layer over the key to get it to slip right in.
Also, to keep ants away from your pet food dishes, spread a thin layer around the outer sides your pup's bowl. Ants won't cross the jelly and your pet can eat or drink in peace.
Give these tips a try, and you'll see that if you use it in unexpected ways, petroleum jelly can lead to big savings.
Unexpected Uses for Petroleum Jelly -- Savings Experiment
If there's something in your home that you need to clean, there's a wipe for it. Aside from the ubiquitous disinfecting wipes that make cleaning the kitchen counters a breeze, there are wipes specially created for furniture, electronics, or glass. There's no denying their convenience, but that convenience comes with a cost.
Product: Lysol Disinfecting Wipes, 80-count canister
Use: Clean and disinfect household surfaces, including stainless steel, plastic, and wood with a quick swipe, then toss immediately.
Annual Cost: If you use one canister each month, you'll spend $45.48 over the course of a year.
Alternative: These DIY disinfecting wipes are a great way to repurpose old rags, and all you need is rubbing alcohol, household multitasker Dawn dish soap (seriously, check Pinterest, it does everything), and good old H20. Or, you could give up on the idea of wipes entirely and mix up a DIY all-purpose cleaner to spritz on surfaces and wipe them down with a washable microfiber cloth.
Not only are sponges wasteful, they're actually kind of disgusting. Studies have shown that more than 75 percent of sponges or dish cloths contain coliform bacteria, the family of germs that includes Salmonella and E.coli. We love our scrubber sponges as much as you, but that statistic makes us shudder a bit.
Product: 3M Scotch-Brite Scrub Sponge, 3-pack
Use: Scrub stubborn dirt and grime from dishes, then toss when it gets too gross.
Annual Cost: It's recommended that you replace your sponge every two weeks (and sanitize it regularly), so you're looking at a yearly cost of about $25.75.
Alternative: A high-quality dish brush will run you about $10, and it's more sanitary because it's easier to clean. All you have to do is just run it through the dishwasher or soak it in vinegar to keep it germ-free.
We get it: Magic Erasers are magic. But they're also wasteful. You can typically use them more than once if you're doing small jobs, but you'll go through at least one for a big job. Either way, they aren't cheap.
Product: Mr. Clean Magic Eraser, 8-pack
Use: "Erase" dirt, grime, and scuff marks from floors, walls, and doors, toss when they begin to break apart.
Annual Cost: Assuming you'd go through a box every two months, you'd end up shelling out $41.94 for the year.
Alternative: Grab a rag and mix up this DIY wall cleaner with Borax, baking soda, and water. (That recipe uses a sponge, but that would kind of defeat the point of this exercise, right?)
Before Swiffer came along, we had brooms and mops. Those wet and dry pads changed the game, and now, most people wouldn't even think of keeping a mop bucket on hand. We may have shinier floors now that spot-cleaning is a breeze, but we likely have less money in our pockets, along with more waste. For cost purposes, we'll focus on the wet pads, and then give a wet/dry alternative option.
Product: Swiffer Sweeper Wet Refill, 24-count (to use with Swiffer Sweeper)
Use: Snap the pads into your Swiffer Sweeper, clean your floor, allow to dry, and then toss the cleaning pad.
Annual Cost: Between all-over and spot cleans, you'd likely go through at least four pads a week, or $61.20 each year.
Alternative: Microfiber cloths! You can use them dry for dust, and add a little water and your favorite floor cleaner to replace the wet ones. Not only will you get a much better clean, but you can also toss them in the washing machine when you're done. Cut them to the same size as a Swiffer pad and you can just snap them in the same way.
If you have pets, then you likely have a lint roller or 12 in your house. Good on furniture, pillows, and bedding, the adhesive sheets collect pet hair in a flash. If you have more than one pet (or a particularly hairy one), you could go through multiple sheets per day, which can add up over time.
Product: Evercare Lint Pic-Up Adhesive Refill, 60-layer (to use with Evercare Lint Roller)
Use: Pick up lint, dust, and pet hair with the sticky sheets, then tear off and toss.
Annual Cost: If you use two sheets per day, which is conservative for pet owners, you'll spend roughly $27.25 over the course of a year.
Alternative: Rubber dish gloves. Seriously. Just put on a glove, run your palm over the fabric you want to clean, and ta da! No more dust or hair.
Who wants to clean a toilet? No one. That's why disposable toilet brushes are so popular. Just clean and toss. No brush to clean. No mess. It takes about one minute to clean one toilet. Easy peasy. But it's neither a sustainable choice nor a cheap one.
Product: Clorox Disinfecting Toilet Wand Refills, 20-count (to use with Clorox Toilet Wand)
Use: Snap handle into cleaning head, scrub toilet bowl, then toss cleaning head.
Annual cost: If you use two cleaning heads per week, you'll spend about $44.10 over a 2-month period.
Alternative: The good old-fashioned toilet bowl brush. Just get an attractive cover for it and clean it regularly. Real Simple's method for toilet brush cleaning is easy.
The annual costs for these disposable cleaning products may not seem significant, but if you used every item on this list, you'd be spending almost $250 each year. And we didn't even add paper towels into that figure.
Any products you can DIY or find reusable replacements for, the better for your wallet and the planet. (Although, we do think the cost for disposable toilet brushes might be worth it, but that may be just us.)
What about you, readers? What alternatives to disposable cleaning products do you use? What couldn't you give up? Let us know in the comments below. | Try these unexpected uses for petroleum jelly to help you save big. | 116.461538 | 1 | 3.615385 | high | high | mixed |
http://time.com/3702894/spider-man-movie-marvel-everything-you-need-to-know/ | http://web.archive.org/web/20160526101324id_/http://time.com:80/3702894/spider-man-movie-marvel-everything-you-need-to-know/ | Why Sony Teamed Up With Marvel Studios For Another 'Spider-Man' Movie | 20160526101324 | Spider-Man is returning to his Marvel home.
Sony has long owned the rights to the superhero, but will finally share him with Marvel Studios, first for a yet-to-be-announced crossover film with other Marvel characters and then for his own solo outing. Movie analysts have long speculated that Sony would turn to Marvel (and its parent company Disney) for help with the character whose films have been flailing as of late — at least compared to the mega-empire that is the Marvel Avengers’ franchise. But how Spider-Man returned to Marvel, and who benefits from this partnership, is a complicated web. Let’s try to untangle it:
Sony buys the rights to Spider-Man
Back in 1985, before superhero films had blockbuster appeal (just try to imagine it!), Marvel put the feature film rights to Spider-Man up for sale. There weren’t many takers, but eventually the comics company struck a deal with Cannon Films, which proceeded to go bankrupt. After years of litigation, Marvel finally reclaimed the rights to Spider-Man in 1999, at which point they sold them to Sony Pictures for a reported $7 million.
This wasn’t the only hero Marvel sold off. The struggling comic book company sold the film rights to the X-Men and Fantastic Four franchises to Fox and the rights to Iron Man, Thor, The Hulk and Captain America to various other studios. It wasn’t until Disney bought Marvel in 2009 that they began the arduous process of buying the characters back, beginning with Iron Man, Thor and Captain America from Paramount Pictures in 2013. (Universal returned to film rights for the Hulk in 2003, but it still owns the distribution rights, which is why Marvel has yet to make a solo Hulk film. Both the Edward Norton and Eric Bana pictures were Universal creations.)
Why did Disney go to the trouble? Because Sony released its first Spider-Man film in 2002 and raked in $821 million. That movie changed everything.
The first Spider-Man movie kicks off a golden age of comic book films
If you’ve experienced comic book movie fatigue in the past decade, you can blame Spider-Man. Before Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man built his robot prototype in a cave and before Christian Bale’s Batman fell down that well, Tobey McGuire’s Spider-Man swung into theaters and ensnared audiences’ hearts in his web. Those three original Spider-Man films (from 2002-2007) launched a new kind of superhero movie that leaned heavily on CGI technology for mass appeal, but also had an emotional core.
It was that depth, tempered by with a sense of light humor, that brought audiences back to find out how Peter Parker and Mary Jane fared, or whether Peter honored his dying uncle’s words. The first Iron Man film, released just one year after the Spider-Man franchise wrapped, began to refine the formula.
After Iron Man proved a hit ($585 million), Marvel quickly began to dominate the comic book universe, outshining the Sony Spider-Man films, the Warner Bros./DC Comics Batman and Superman films and Fox’s X-Men films.
In 2012, Sony rebooted the Spider-Man franchise as The Amazing Spider-Man with Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone; the movie was well-received by fans. But last summer, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 grossed less than the first and was handily beaten by Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy — one of Marvel’s lesser known and more offbeat franchises.
MORE: A Comic Book Dummy’s Guide to the Marvel Universe Plan
This was bad news for Sony, which has little blockbuster firepower lined up for the next several years, aside from the Spider-Man and James Bond franchises. (Prospects are so dismal they’re reportedly considering mashing up Men in Black and 21 Jump Street.)
Spider-Man needed saving, and Marvel Studio Head Kevin Feige, who has produced 10 blockbusters in a row, looked like the people to do it. But why would Marvel want the rights to Spider-Man back?
What Marvel gains: The Civil War plot
First, Spider-Man is one of the most popular superheroes in the world. This will be his sixth movie in 15 years, and yet people are still excited to see him. Merchandising alone will be massive. And as Feige told Wired in 2012, “Clearly we would prefer everything be at home, so to speak.”
But more important, Spider-Man can now become a member of the Avengers. Comic book readers will have missed the wise-cracking Spidey in previous Avengers films. But his absence would have been most jarring in 2016’s Captain America: Civil War. Spider-Man plays an integral role in the Civil War plot line in the comic books, and though Sony and Marvel have yet to say in which film “the new Spider-Man” will make his debut, the 2016 Captain America movie would make a lot of sense.
It’s a relief to comic book fans that the studios came to this decision. After all, Marvel isn’t above playing dirty: The comic book arm of the company is canceling the Fantastic Four comic book series next June, two months before Fox’s film reboot of the franchise with Miles Teller and Michael B. Jordan.
Bad news for Andrew Garfield and Carol Danvers
Even though fans are rejoicing, the announcement is bad news for some. The language of “new Spider-Man” announcement suggests that Andrew Garfield will be recast. And to make room for the new Spider-Man movie on July 28, 2017, Marvel has to reshuffle its calendar. Thor: Ragnarok will be delayed until November 2017, Black Panther delayed until July 2018, Captain Marvel until November 2018 and Inhumans until July 2019.
Fans have long been lobbying for a female superhero film and were overjoyed to hear that Captain Marvel would hit the big screen in the summer of 2017. (A Warner Bros. Wonder Woman movie and a film about a female character from the Spider-Man universe from Sony are also scheduled for that summer.) Now Carol Davners has been pushed until fall 2018, delaying her debut until after the two other ladies.
Read Next: Meet Captain Marvel: Fighter Pilot, Feminist and Marvel’s Big Gamble | Unraveling the spider's tangled web | 205.666667 | 0.5 | 0.833333 | high | low | abstractive |
http://www.cnbc.com/2013/12/13/opening-your-own-business-banker-leaves-merrill-lynch-and-starts-wine-shop.html | http://web.archive.org/web/20160526141351id_/http://www.cnbc.com/2013/12/13/opening-your-own-business-banker-leaves-merrill-lynch-and-starts-wine-shop.html | Banker leaves Merrill Lynch and starts wine shop | 20160526141351 | Former investment banker Sharon Sevrens liked her job, but found what she really loved was wine — drinking it, studying it and teaching others about it.
And by the late 1990s, her passion became so intense that she was convinced a career surrounded by pinot grigio and merlot would be more satisfying than the paycheck she brought home from her number-crunching gig.
So in 2005, she left Wall Street and opened a liquor store called Amanti Vino, which specializes in fine wine, craft beer and artisanal spirits.
Sevrens' career pivot came amid strong growth in wine consumption, which has increased in the U.S. every year since 2000. All this activity is keeping her business buzzing. About 50,000 customers pass through Sevrens' shop doors each year, including talk show host Stephen Colbert and actor Patrick Wilson. | Sharon Sevrens left Merrill Lynch and discovered a new passion in a glass of wine. | 9.75 | 0.625 | 0.75 | low | low | abstractive |
http://www.tmz.com/2010/04/23/survivor-star-russell-hantz-arrested-assault-lafayette-lousiana | http://web.archive.org/web/20160526172210id_/http://www.tmz.com:80/2010/04/23/survivor-star-russell-hantz-arrested-assault-lafayette-lousiana | Survivor 'Villain' Arrested for Battery | 20160526172210 | One of the stars on "
" was arrested in Louisiana early this morning after cops say he attacked somebody at a street festival.
Law enforcement sources tell TMZ
-- the runner-up from "
" -- was partying at the Festival International de Louisiane, when he allegedly "shoved" somebody to the pavement.
Cops say Hantz was immediately arrested by Lafayette City Police -- and taken to a nearby jail.
But get this, Hantz is still in contention to win "Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains" -- which is airing now on CBS ... and yes, he's one of the "villains." | One of the stars on "Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains" was arrested in Louisiana early this morning after cops say he attacked somebody at a street festival.… | 3.903226 | 0.967742 | 12.774194 | low | high | extractive |
http://time.com/3803251/to-deepen-the-mystery-the-self-portaits-of-vivian-maier/ | http://web.archive.org/web/20160526190911id_/http://time.com:80/3803251/to-deepen-the-mystery-the-self-portaits-of-vivian-maier/ | To Deepen the Mystery: The Self-Portaits of Vivian Maier | 20160526190911 | Diane Arbus said, “A photograph is a secret about a secret. The more it tells you, the less you know.” The odyssey of Vivian Maier is proving to be further proof of this. Discovered accidentally in 2007 by Chicago historian and collector John Maloof, the street work of the as-yet unknown nanny rippled quickly through the world of photography. Maier’s talent and the clarity of her vision drew instant admiration. The number of photographs she had taken (more than 150,000 negatives have been found) and then meticulously hidden from all those who had known her endowed her with a near mythical status. The forthcoming book, Vivian Maier: Self-Portraits, to be released this October 29 by powerHouse, concurrent with the release of the documentary film, Finding Vivian Maier, directed by Mr. Maloof and Charlie Siskel, would seem to offer answers to the many questions surrounding Ms. Maier’s legacy. On the contrary, however, it seems that the deeper one delves into her life, the more enigmatic and mysterious she becomes.
Below, Mr. Maloof and Elizabeth Avedon, who has provided the introduction to Self Portraits, discuss Vivian, her work, and what they have gleaned about the prolific and ever evasive artist.
Elizabeth Avedon: As you reconstructed her story through your film and upcoming book, what is most important about Vivian Maier’s work for you?
John Maloof: One of the things that fascinated me early on was the fact that Maier was shooting photos prolifically while she had a career as a nanny and, at the same time, didn’t show her work to anyone for feedback. So, to me, this is the mark of a true artist; someone who can create a large body of work by themselves as an expression of their true self and it speaks to all of us in our own way. That’s important. She didn’t try to become famous, she didn’t create images for others and she didn’t see things that she knew others would appreciate. She saw the world in a personal, uninfluenced way, and her photos are a raw depiction of that world she saw. The photos are beautiful and important because, not only are they great images, they are not contrived.
(Related: For a look at self-portraiture in the digital age, see today’s LightBox feature on the National #Selfie Portrait Gallery in London.)
EA: Viewing Maier’s place in the cannon of self-portraiture alongside the likes of Cindy Sherman and Lee Friedlander, what contribution do you believe was her most essential to that genre?
JM: The fact that Maier is a woman and also using the square format may have helped distinguish her. But I feel that perhaps the main contribution to that genre is that she used photography (which wasn’t really considered art in her time) to express herself artistically. Many photographers had jobs at major agencies such as Magnum or Life and they would create on their own among peers such as the Photo League and there was definitely a feedback loop that influenced many of them to go a certain way with their work. Maier went her own way, the only way she knew, which was to express herself through photography. And I think this is essential because to have photos that are as classical as hers, and to not have been trained, is a rarity in that time.
EA: There is one particular image of Maier casting a full-length reflection in a window, two women sitting together fall within her shadow. It’s a wonderful layered image. What are your thoughts on this photograph and Maier’s frequent use of her own reflections and shadows?
JM: It seems that Maier was an outsider looking into the lives of others. People weren’t aware of how great she was as an artist but she didn’t need that validation to keep going as a photographer. She could see a moment that was more unobtrusive and intimate yet powerful. As a frugal person, she knew she had to strive to get the shot perfect to not waste film. The women’s legs match up with Maier’s, she’s looking in from the outside at a mother and daughter (presumably), the glow from the light behind the plant inside illuminates Maier’s camera, and there’s a perfect break in the background where there are no buildings or trees blocking the sky so her silhouette can be in the composition. It’s perfect.
( See more: Vivian Maier: The Secret Shutterbug )
Vivian Maier: Self-Portraits, edited by John Maloof, is available through powerHouse Books.
Elizabeth Avedon is an independent curator and writer. Follow her on Twitter @elizabethavedon.
John Maloof is a filmmaker and street photographer who lives in Chicago. Follow him on Twitter @johnmaloof.
Mia Tramz is an Associate Photo Editor at TIME.com. Follow her on Twitter @miatramz. | A new book reveals that the deeper one dives into the life of nanny-turned-photographer Vivian Maier, the more enigmatic and mysterious she becomes. | 32.448276 | 0.862069 | 3.482759 | medium | medium | mixed |
http://fortune.com/2015/08/31/ashley-madison-shows-that-ipo-talk-is-often-just-hot-air/ | http://web.archive.org/web/20160526201900id_/http://fortune.com:80/2015/08/31/ashley-madison-shows-that-ipo-talk-is-often-just-hot-air/ | Ashley Madison teaches us a lesson about IPOs | 20160526201900 | Avid Life Media, the Canadian company behind recently-hacked infidelity website Ashley Madison, told Bloomberg back in April that it was prepping an initial public offering that would value that company at upwards of $1 billion. The statement was dutifully picked up by the business press (including by us at Fortune), particularly since it included a wise-sounding caveat about pricing in London because Europeans were less squeamish about such things than Americans.
But it seems those IPO plans were a lot like those “millions” of female Ashley Madison members — not legitimate, but rather a giant self-actualization exercise. If you build it, they will come.
According to Reuters, some of the hacked documents suggest that Avid Life’s IPO plans were revealed at the same time that “investors had pressed [the company] to improve liquidity so they could sell shares.” It also reveals that the company had repeatedly sought, and failed, to find a buyer or third-party debt.
None of this is the sort of high-flyer image that Avid Life had sought to present back in April. If it couldn’t even raise debt — including, presumably, from lenders outside of North America — why would it have any confidence that it could raise $200 million in equity at a $1 billion valuation, or even find IPO underwriters? And if the company knew that a potential buyer was turned off by (recently resigned) CEO Noel Biderman’s “difficult and very demanding” personality, did it not think that similar issues might arise on a road show?
Or was the entire IPO plan a calculated bluff, leveraging the recent public interest in $1 billion-valued tech startups? Tell everyone that public equity investors are willing to invest $200 million at a huge valuation, and maybe it shakes loose a new buyer who thinks it’s getting a bargain?
Even the financials shared in April with Bloomberg are a bit suspect. Fusion recently used hacked data to calculate that Ashley Madison’s revenue growth hit around 30% between 2009 and 2010, but fell consistently through 2013 (when total revenue hit $76.7 million. Bloomberg‘s report was that the site generated $115 million in 2014, which would be nearly a 50% bump. Yes, it’s possible for revenue growth to shoot upward after steadily drifting down, but that’s one hell of a reversal. Moreover, there was a BBC story just one month later that suggested $150 million in revenue (one explanation for the discrepancy could be the inclusion/exclusion of Avid Life properties besides Ashley Madison, including Cougarlife.com and Established Men).
My point here isn’t that you shouldn’t trust a company whose mission is to encourage and enable cheating, nor am I certain that Avid Life execs were fudging the revenue numbers (or even female member numbers, for that matter).
Instead, it is to say that we all must be a bit more circumspect when a company tells us that it is planning for a giant IPO, until there actually are some public documents or strong sourcing to support the claim. How many stories do we see about companies planning an IPO for “next year” or, even worse, “in the next couple of years.” Reporting aspirations is one thing, but that’s different from marking our collective calendars.
Get Term Sheet, our daily newsletter on deals and deal-makers. | Ashley Madison's IPO plans were on life support long before its hack. | 46.928571 | 0.642857 | 1.214286 | high | low | abstractive |
http://fortune.com/2016/02/05/jcpenney-home-office/ | http://web.archive.org/web/20160526204621id_/http://fortune.com:80/2016/02/05/jcpenney-home-office/ | J.C. Penney may sell off its headquarters to raise cash | 20160526204621 | J.C. Penney said on Friday that it is looking into selling off its sprawling headquarters in the Dallas area in order to lower its enormous debt load.
The mid-tier department store chain said the booming commercial real estate market in Plano, Texas, about 20 miles north of downtown Dallas, as well as excess space in its home office, prompted it to explore the transaction. The retailer plans to remain headquartered there and lease back the space. Penney provided no estimate of how much it thinks such a transaction could raise.
“With the tremendous growth and development currently taking place within Plano and North Texas, there’s no better time to take advantage of this lucrative market by pursuing a sale of our Home Office real estate,” said Penney CEO Marvin Ellison in a written statement. “This presents an ideal opportunity to reduce outstanding debt and create long-term savings.”
Its easy to see why he wants to lower Penney’s debt load: since a failed reinvention four years ago led to a 30% drop in annual sales, Penney has been coping with a severe cash shortfall and carrying $5.2 billion in long term debt. The debt has created annual interest expenses of about $400 million, more than the $300 million Penney spends annually on capital projects like its tech and store improvements. The chain’s cap-ex budget is dwarfed by those of rivals like Macy’s, Kohl’s and Target tgt , and its debt load is one factor keeping it from boosting that kind of investment.
J.C. Penney headquarters in Plano, Texas. Photograph courtesy of J.C. Penney.
After a few rounds of layoffs, including 300 job cuts last fall, Penney simply has less need for space at headquarters. (Penney has about 113,000 employees in all.) Under former CEO Ron Johnson, the architect of the failed 2012-2013 attempt to radically reinvent Penney, thousands of other jobs at headquarters were eliminated, so there are now about half as many people working at the Plano head office as there were five years ago.
Under Ellison, who became CEO last August, Penney has been clawing back some of that lost business. The chain reported a 3.9% increase over the holiday season, besting Macy’s m and Kohl’s performance. kss The company has been improving its e-commerce and is testing selling appliances for the first time in 33 years, among many efforts.
But Ellison has also worked to reduce Penney’s financial burden. In November, Penney refinanced some of its debt and earlier in the autumn, the company reduced the benefit obligation of its qualified pension plan.
Penney said that any future headquarters rent expense would be more than offset by a drop in maintenance costs, property taxes and interest. The company has retained CBRE Capital Markets market the 1.8 million-square-foot, Class A office campus; the prospective buyer would have 650,000 square feet of that. Two years ago, also to bolster its balance sheet, Penney sold off a huge chunk of land around its headquarters, keeping a stake in the resulting development, moves that raised hundreds of millions of dollars.
Penney moved to Plano from New York in 1992, attracted by a massive new development in which land was sold at extremely low prices. Penney’s current neighbors include Dr. Pepper Snapple dps , Frito Lay and Ericsson. | A $5.2 billion debt load is hampering its turnaround efforts. | 53.5 | 0.833333 | 2 | high | medium | mixed |
http://www.tmz.com/2015/12/01/kim-kardashian-kendall-jenner-anti-violence-campaign | http://web.archive.org/web/20160527083834id_/http://www.tmz.com:80/2015/12/01/kim-kardashian-kendall-jenner-anti-violence-campaign | Kim Kardashian & Kendall Jenner: Anti-Violence Campaign Stole Our Photos ... But We Support the Cause | 20160527083834 | Someone pulled a Robin Hood on Kim Kardashian and Kendall Jenner by jacking their extremely valuable images to use them for a worthy cause -- the #StopViolenceAgainstWomen campaign.
The photos are shocking ... depicting Kim and her sis with horrific cuts and bruises with the caption, "No woman is immune from domestic abuse." It's a powerful image and message, but we're told neither Kim nor Kendall signed off to join the fight.
Our Kardashian sources tell us that no one ever contacted the women to get permission to use their faces, and now their attorneys are reaching out to the artist responsible to issue a warning.
The obviously photoshopped images are actually paparazzi shots from last year's Valentino fashion show in Paris. Several other celebs -- Angelina Jolie, Miley Cyrus and Madonna -- got the same treatment.
We're told Kim and Kendall happen to back the cause, but also think it's important that people have the right to choose to be involved. | Someone pulled a Robin Hood on Kim Kardashian and Kendall Jenner by jacking their extremely valuable images to use them for a worthy cause -- the… | 6.642857 | 0.928571 | 12.357143 | low | medium | extractive |
http://www.aol.com/article/2016/03/22/dj-makj-proves-hes-here-for-the-fans-period/21331235/ | http://web.archive.org/web/20160527144704id_/http://www.aol.com:80/article/2016/03/22/dj-makj-proves-hes-here-for-the-fans-period/21331235/ | DJ MAKJ proves he's here for the fans, period. | 20160527144704 | This interview is a part of #KanvasLive, an interactive, cross-platform content series brought to life on the Kanvas app and AOL.com. See more on coverage here.
MAKJ is ahead of the curve. The DJ, who started his careers playing weddings and frat parties, was featured this weekend at one of the most sought-after EDM festivals around: Ultra Miami.
What makes him so special, you ask? Well, besides his jaw-dropping beats and nonstop ethic, there's a savviness behind the music that you love so much. The DJ has a background in business, and while that gives him a leg up in successfully marketing his tracks, he also has an eye for platforms that are here to authentically market his music versus those that are just "trying to make a dollar."
This market of authenticity embodies MAKJ's music.
Want more Ultra Miami news? Get an exclusive insider look through Kanvas!
So, we're in Miami, you're playing at Ultra. What is so special to you about Miami, what makes it different than everywhere else in the world that you can play?
It's just the atmosphere of DJs. It's the atmosphere of people that come and actually see artists perform and see what artists have to look forward to for the whole of 2016. It's almost kind of like spring training for DJs. They come out to Miami to test new stuff, they see how their year is going to unfold. It leaves a lot of people expecting a lot from a lot of DJs. There's just a vibe here -- it's amazing people, amazing hotels, amazing food, amazing weather. It's great -- it's a really, really fun time.
Awesome! It's interesting how festivals work versus solo shows, because you have an audience that isn't necessarily buying a ticket solely to see you, you have people who might never have even heard your music. What makes it different for the show? Does it excite you?
I started doing college events, so when I started DJing I was doing frat parties and house parties. So I've always been really used to doing smaller venues and as my career has grown, I've definitely gotten used to the whole festival vibe, focusing on that front row of people. To feel the energy of the whole festival it's easy, because you can play anything and everyone goes crazy, but if you just focus on the front row, those are the people who are really watching you. It's definitely a different vibe, but I definitely love doing the beach parties in Miami and going out to Ultra and playing a festival. It's the atmosphere. Yes, not everyone's there solely for you, they're there for the whole festival, the atmosphere of Miami.
Is there anyone else playing at Ultra that you're excited to watch?
Pendulum, for sure. Nero, I've been a fan since birth. I've seen Nero before but I want to see them again, I want to see what they have prepared for this year. But, yeah, Pendulum is going to be super rad. I'm actually staying at Ultra just to see them.
That's so awesome! So, let's touch upon your fans. What's your favorite thing about your fans?
They're so supportive. I know that sounds so cliché, but they're so supportive. Anything I do, they're just like, "Awesome, man! Keep going!" I finally hit over the million mark, and every single one of those fans seems intrigued about my life and my career, and anywhere I go in the world I'll always have MAKJ fans, which is amazing. It's so hard, since day one I've wanted to do that. I've wanted to be able to play my music and go anywhere and have people come see me for my music. But it's just a weird feeling -- I can go anywhere, and people will see me play. It's so bizarre to me; I come from a very small city in California so going from frat parties to playing anywhere around the world, it's one of the most next-level, game changing moments.
Totally. And with your social media platforms, you're able to reach your fans pretty much any time.
You know, it's been difficult. I went to school for business, so studying all these marketing programs and seeing how other social media platforms interact. You're definitely having to find the loopholes with Facebook -- same thing with Instagram. With Snapchat, I feel like that's the best social media platform right now because you can reach anyone it's not restricted. People love seeing the day-to-day stuff. With Facebook, I feel like it's more of a business platform now. Amazing platforms, like I said, I wouldn't be here right now if it weren't for Facebook and social media. But it's just hard right now because everyone wants to make a dollar.
Trying to scratch MAKJ, making dope beats Jesse Marco
Completely -- they want you to pay for everything.
I put something up last night and it got, like, 30,000 likes. And I got a message saying, "Spend $6,000 to make it reach 35,000 people!" Is that really necessary?
Totally. Have you done livestreams? We've been doing that, and it's huge.
You know what's big about that, every time someone does a livestream that I'm following, I see that they're doing a livestream. Ultra wants to do a livestream of my sets, like have it on their social platforms. So I think that'd be a good way to start but I have not done it yet.
What's one thing that your fans don't know about you?
I'm allergic to watermelon. Super allergic, like deathly allergic.
Do you like watermelon? Does it suck to be allergic?
I've never had it except the time I found out I was allergic.
Got it. What are you excited for in the back 3/4 of 2016?
I have an album coming out and it's completely different from the stuff I've produced in the past. It's more of me, more MAKJ, a sense of where I started from. Hip hop, rock, not just solely house music.
Check out what else was happening at Ultra this past weekend:
DJ MAKJ proves he's here for the fans, period.
MIAMI, FL - MARCH 20: Destroid performing at Ultra Music Festival 2016 on March 20, 2016 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Arik McArthur/FilmMagic)
MIAMI, FL - MARCH 20: Destroid performing at Ultra Music Festival 2016 on March 20, 2016 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Arik McArthur/FilmMagic)
MIAMI, FL - MARCH 20: Ultra Music Festival 2016 on March 20, 2016 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Arik McArthur/FilmMagic)
MIAMI, FL - MARCH 20: Ultra Music Festival 2016 on March 20, 2016 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Arik McArthur/FilmMagic)
MIAMI, FL - MARCH 20: Ultra Music Festival 2016 on March 20, 2016 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Arik McArthur/FilmMagic)
MIAMI, FL - MARCH 20: Destroid performing at Ultra Music Festival 2016 on March 20, 2016 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Arik McArthur/FilmMagic)
MIAMI, FL - MARCH 20: Ultra Music Festival 2016 on March 20, 2016 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Arik McArthur/FilmMagic)
MIAMI, FLORIDA: Guests attend the Ultra Music Festival 2016 on March 19, 2016 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Sergi Alexander/WireImage)
MIAMI, FLORIDA - MARCH 19: Ultra DJ Spotlight Carl Cox performs on stage at the Ultra Music Festival 2016 on March 19, 2016 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Sergi Alexander/WireImage)
MIAMI, FLORIDA - MARCH 19: Ultra DJ Spotlight Carl Cox performs on stage at the Ultra Music Festival 2016 on March 19, 2016 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Sergi Alexander/WireImage)
MIAMI, FL - MARCH 19: Fans attend the Ultra Music Festival 2016 - Day 2 on March 19, 2016 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Aaron Davidson/Getty Images)
MIAMI, FL - MARCH 19: Chris Chronicles and Alex Andre of DVBBS perform at Ultra Music Festival 2016 - Day 2 on March 19, 2016 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Aaron Davidson/Getty Images)
MIAMI, FL - MARCH 19: Chris Chronicles and Alex Andre of DVBBS perform at Ultra Music Festival 2016 - Day 2 on March 19, 2016 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Aaron Davidson/Getty Images)
MIAMI, FL - MARCH 18: Ultra Music Festival 2016 on March 18, 2016 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Arik McArthur/FilmMagic)
MIAMI, FL - MARCH 18: Guests attend Ultra Music Festival 2016 on March 18, 2016 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Aaron Davidson/Getty Images)
MIAMI, FL - MARCH 18: Guests attend Ultra Music Festival 2016 on March 18, 2016 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Aaron Davidson/Getty Images)
MIAMI, FL - MARCH 18: - MARCH 18: Kaskade performs at Ultra Music Festival 2016 on March 18, 2016 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Aaron Davidson/Getty Images)
MIAMI, FL - MARCH 18: DJ Snake performs at Ultra Music Festival 2016 on March 18, 2016 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Aaron Davidson/Getty Images)
MIAMI, FL - MARCH 18: A general view of atmsphere at Ultra Music Festival 2016 on March 18, 2016 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Aaron Davidson/Getty Images)
MIAMI, FL - MARCH 18: Labrinth perform at Ultra Music Festival 2016 on March 18, 2016 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Aaron Davidson/Getty Images)
MIAMI, FL - MARCH 18: Martin Garrix performs at Ultra Music Festival 2016 on March 18, 2016 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Aaron Davidson/Getty Images)
MIAMI, FLORIDA - MARCH 18: DJ Armin van Buuren performs at the Ultra Music Festival 2016 on March 18, 2016 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Sergi Alexander/WireImage)
MIAMI, FLORIDA - MARCH 18: Afrojack performs at SiriusXM's 'UMF Radio' Broadcast Live From The SiriusXM Music Lounge at 1 Hotel South Beach at 1 Hotel South Beach on March 18, 2016 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Gustavo Caballero/Getty Images for SiriusXM)
MIAMI, FLORIDA - MARCH 18: Steve Aoki performs at SiriusXM's 'UMF Radio' Broadcast Live From The SiriusXM Music Lounge at 1 Hotel South Beach at 1 Hotel South Beach on March 18, 2016 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Gustavo Caballero/Getty Images for SiriusXM)
More social influencers: Daniel Nguyen is the social media comedian you should be following Joe Zee is revolutionizing standards of beauty -- and you can, too Curtis Lepore is the king of social media -- and here's why we're bowing down | The DJ, who started his careers playing weddings and frat parties, was featured this weekend at Ultra Miami. | 105.047619 | 1 | 15.857143 | high | high | extractive |
http://www.aol.com/article/2014/11/04/beyonce-chops-her-hair-into-a-bob/20988591/ | http://web.archive.org/web/20160527151300id_/http://www.aol.com:80/article/2014/11/04/beyonce-chops-her-hair-into-a-bob/20988591/ | Beyonce chops her hair into a bob! | 20160527151300 | Before you go, we thought you'd like these...
Beyonce chops her hair into a bob!
Before: Beyonce's long hair and side-swept bangs.
Beyonce and Jay-Z attend the Brooklyn Nets game.
Beyonce and Jay-Z attend the Brooklyn Nets game.
Beyonce and Jay-Z attend the Brooklyn Nets game.
Another major hair change for Queen Bey!
attended a Brooklyn Nets game with husband Jay Z yesterday November 3rd, debuting a brand new hair cut. She was rocking long extensions earlier this week - with bangs, to boot! - but switched up her 'do to pick something much shorter.
-- or to doing drastic things with her hair (remember when she showed off her
and the internet almost imploded?) -- and we love seeing how she constantly tries new things.
Just last month Bey showed off one of her more controversial hairstyles, extremely blunt bags. Honestly, if there's a risk to take with hair, Beyonce might be the only one who can pull it off! She then transitioned to side-swept bangs, sporting the following look earlier this week: | Beyonce attended a Brooklyn Nets game with husband Jay Z yesterday November 3rd, debuting a brand new hair cut. | 10.619048 | 1 | 19.095238 | low | high | extractive |
http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/movies/stars-pull-stutns-movie-flops-article-1.2096615 | http://web.archive.org/web/20160527193433id_/http://www.nydailynews.com:80/entertainment/movies/stars-pull-stutns-movie-flops-article-1.2096615 | How stars pull stunts to save movie flops | 20160527193433 | Best way to deal with a bad movie? Talk your way out of it.
A-list actresses are dishing up rare dirt about themselves in an effort to distract attention from their high-profile flops like never before:
There’s Gwyneth Paltrow bragging about her membership in the Mile High Club on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” — just as her new film “Mortdecai” crashed multiplexes.
And here’s Jennifer Aniston “revealing” her dyslexia — right before critics turned up their noses at her new movie, “Cake.”
And don’t forget Cameron Diaz. Think it was a coincidence that she revealed her engagement to rocker Benji Madden just as her critically panned “Annie” was hitting screens late last year?
It’s all part of the PR act.
“When an actor is (in) a bad movie, any publicity is good publicity,” says Marc Berman, editor in chief of TV Media Insights. “It’s orchestrated and gets people talking.”
These shameless stunts can go two ways: scandal or sympathy.
Paltrow consciously uncoupled with her good-girl image when she told Ellen about her in-flight entertainment last week — which certainly steered the conversation away from her zero-star, unfunny comedy.
The Oscar-winning actress continued her naughty TMI streak by talking about oral sex on Howard Stern’s radio show. When Stern said that “a lot of guys are insecure,” dating famous women, Paltrow cracked, “It depends on how many b------- you give them.”
A day later she launched an aphrodisiac recipe for “Sex Bark” on her lifestyle blog Goop, noting ingredients such as the Chinese herb tonic he shou wu are supposed to “enhance sex drive.”
Aniston’s approach was to tug at heartstrings. In “Cake,” she plays a woman traumatized by an intense accident and divorce. The movie was panned — so let the revelations begin!
“I thought I wasn’t smart,” she told the Hollywood Reporter of struggling as a supposed dyslexic in her 20s.
But experts aren’t buying it.
“She’s been living with this diagnosis for almost two decades — why would you reveal this now?” asks Berman. “It’s obvious that this confession was to promote her movie.”
It’s not the first time Aniston was the life the pity party. In 2008, the “Friends” star blasted hubby stealer Angelina Jolie as “uncool” for talking about how she fell in love with Brad Pit on the set of “Mr. and Mrs. Smith.”
Aniston’s revelation caused a media circus — conveniently timed to distract from her upcoming movie fail, “He’s Just Not that Into You,” which the Daily News dubbed “deflating to watch” when it hit theaters a month later.
This kind of deflection is certainly not new. Roseanne Barr suddenly revealed that she multiple-personality disorder around the same time her show “Roseanne” was plummeting in ratings.
“We started feeling badly for her. It was so bizarre and so personal,” says Cooper Lawrence, a New York psychologist. “If you tell someone a secret, it’s a way to bond with them and deepen your relationship. Her story distracted viewers from how badly the show was doing.”
And who could forget the “Gigli” debacle? Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez went public with their relationship in 2002 to deflect attention from a movie so bad that merely evoking its name is bad luck.
Nothing is off limits, even, even one’s deepest secrets.
When Megan Fox was struggling to promote her flop “Jennifer’s Body” in 2009, she teased the press that she was bisexual. She even shared some of her girl crushes.
“There's a lot of people who really take this stuff to heart,” says Berman. “The PR wheels keep spinning.”
When Megan Fox was struggling to promote her flop “Jennifer’s Body” in 2009, she teased the press that she was bisexual.
HERE ARE SOME OF THE BEST WORST MOVIES:
Flop: "Annie" Critics say: "The awkward choreography is disappointing. The strangest mistake is the music, which has been blandly retooled for a new generation." Daily News gave it: Two stars out of five The stunt: Cameron Diaz revealed her engagement to rocker Benji Madden while promoting the movie.
Flop: "Cake" Critics say: "Jennifer Aniston shows she's a serious actress ... but the movie's still half-baked." Daily News gave it: Two stars out of five Stunt: Aniston reveals she was diagnosed with dyslexia in her 20s.
Flop: "Mortdecai" Critics say: "Mortdecai is both intellectually deficient and morally bankrupt." Daily News gave it: Zero stars Stunt: Paltrow sheds her good girl image by talking about her membership in the Mile High Club and oral sex.
Flop: "Gigli" Critics say: "A disaster." Daily News gave it: Zero stars Stunt: Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck flaunted their highly publicized relationship in 2002.
Flop: "Jennifer's Body" Critics say: "If a flick is gonna get all zombie on everyone, it should try not to become a bloody mess." Daily News gave it: Two stars Stunt: Megan Fox shared some of her girl crushes to spice up coverage of the tame thriller. | Celebrities like Jennifer Aniston, Gwyneth Paltrow and Cameron Diaz talk their way out of bad movies. | 58.888889 | 0.944444 | 1.611111 | high | high | mixed |
http://www.aol.com/article/2016/03/22/carrie-underwood-kisses-husband-at-his-1-000th-nhl-game/21331889/ | http://web.archive.org/web/20160527204453id_/http://www.aol.com:80/article/2016/03/22/carrie-underwood-kisses-husband-at-his-1-000th-nhl-game/21331889/ | Carrie Underwood kisses husband at his 1,000th NHL game | 20160527204453 | Before you go, we thought you'd like these...
Carrie Underwood sealed her husband Mike Fisher's 1000th NHL hockey game with a kiss!
The "Blown Away" singer, 33, attended the showdown between The Nashville Predators and the Los Angeles Kings on Monday night in Nashville, Tennessee, where her husband was honored before the game for his major NHL feat. Underwood, who was holding onto their son, Isaiah, during the ceremony made sure to celebrate her husband's major night with a rinkside smooch. Baby Isaiah, 12 months, adorably looked on at his parents' major PDA.
It was a super sweet moment for the family of three. In honor of his dad's night, Isaiah, wore his dad's jersey and Underwood shared a pre-recorded message for her husband.
"I'm so proud of you for so many reasons," Underwood told her husband via a pre-recorded video montage. "Specifically tonight I'm proud of you because I know how hard you work at everything you do and how much dedication you have towards hockey and towards this team. And I just think you're the best."
Carrie Underwood kisses husband at his 1,000th NHL game
Nashville Predators forward Mike Fisher kisses his wife, singer Carrie Underwood, as Fisher is honored for his 1,000th NHL hockey game prior to playing against the Los Angeles Kings Monday, March 21, 2016, in Nashville, Tenn. Watching is their son, Isaiah. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)
Nashville Predators forward Mike Fisher is honored for his 1,000th NHL hockey game before the first period of a game against the Los Angeles Kings Monday, March 21, 2016, in Nashville, Tenn. With Fisher is his wife, singer Carrie Underwood, and their son, Isaiah. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)
Nashville Predators forward Mike Fisher watches a video tribute as he is honored for his 1,000th NHL hockey game before the first period of a game against the Los Angeles Kings Monday, March 21, 2016, in Nashville, Tenn. With Fisher is his wife, singer Carrie Underwood, and their son, Isaiah. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)
Nashville Predators forward Mike Fisher watches a video tribute as he is honored for his 1,000th NHL hockey game before the first period of a game against the Los Angeles Kings Monday, March 21, 2016, in Nashville, Tenn. With Fisher is his wife, singer Carrie Underwood, and their son, Isaiah. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)
Nashville Predators forward Mike Fisher is honored for his 1,000th NHL hockey game before the first period of a game against the Los Angeles Kings Monday, March 21, 2016, in Nashville, Tenn. With Fisher is his wife, singer Carrie Underwood, and their son, Isaiah. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)
Nashville Predators forward Mike Fisher kisses his wife, singer Carrie Underwood, as Fisher is honored for his 1,000th NHL hockey game before the first period of a game against the Los Angeles Kings Monday, March 21, 2016, in Nashville, Tenn. Underwood holds their son, Isaiah. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)
Nashville Predators forward Mike Fisher is honored for his 1,000th NHL hockey game before the first period of a game against the Los Angeles Kings Monday, March 21, 2016, in Nashville, Tenn. With Fisher is his wife, singer Carrie Underwood, and their son, Isaiah. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)
Nashville Predators forward Mike Fisher kisses his son, Isaiah, as Fisher is honored for his 1,000th NHL hockey game before the first period of a game against the Los Angeles Kings Monday, March 21, 2016, in Nashville, Tenn. Holding Isaiah is Fisher's wife, singer Carrie Underwood. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)
Nashville Predators forward Mike Fisher is honored for his 1,000th NHL hockey game before the first period of a game against the Los Angeles Kings Monday, March 21, 2016, in Nashville, Tenn. With Fisher is his wife, singer Carrie Underwood, and their son, Isaiah. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)
The 35-year-old Nashville Predators center was presented with a silver hockey stick, a framed collage of some of his big career moments, and a Tiffany crystal from the NHL.
After the game the pair celebrated with their NHL friends and Carrie posted a fun snap of a massive cake of cupcakes marking Fisher's successes. She captioned the snap "only the best for Mike's 1000th."
Underwood and her NHL hunk wed in 2010 and the pair have easily been one of the cutest couple's Nashville has seen.
The superstar singer is currently on her sold-out Storyteller tour. | The country singer hit her husband, Mike Fisher's, big game on Monday night -- and the pics are super cute. | 37.666667 | 0.75 | 1.416667 | high | low | abstractive |
http://www.cbsnews.com/amp/news/scientists-work-on-plans-to-defend-earth-from-killer-asteroids/ | http://web.archive.org/web/20160528022627id_/http://www.cbsnews.com:80/amp/news/scientists-work-on-plans-to-defend-earth-from-killer-asteroids/ | Scientists work on plans to defend Earth from killer asteroids | 20160528022627 | May 23, 2016 11:58 AM EDT SciTech
LIVERMORE -- Disaster movies from "Deep Impact" to "Asteroid" to "Armageddon" have mined drama from the mortal threat humanity could face if a massive asteroid were speeding towards Earth.
At Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, scientists are taking that disaster scenario seriously and working on a plan to prevent it.
To save mankind from a doomsday collision, planetary scientist Megan Bruck Syal is working with small meteorites -- space rocks formed at the dawn of the solar system that drifted through space for billions of years before crashing into Earth.
"Nobody has really looked at meteorites in this way before, under these high-pressure conditions, so we're doing something new and it's difficult in a lot of ways when you do something new," Bruck told CBS San Francisco. "[They] came a long way and we're pretty lucky to get to use them," she added.
Using them also means destroying them, because Syal and her team are considering two possible ways to deflect a killer asteroid.
On option is to use what's called a kinetic impactor, which is basically a spacecraft to ram the asteroid and push it off-course.
The other option is a bit messier -- a so-called standoff nuclear explosion. This would involve detonating an atomic bomb at just the right distance from the surface -- but not so close as to break it apart.
"Just the uppermost layers of the surface are heated to high temperatures and blow off in a vapor and the rest of the asteroid recoils in the other direction -- so you're keeping the bulk of it intact," Syal explained. "It's just the surface that's being vaporized and coming off."
It's not a good idea to go nuking asteroids without knowing how they'll respond, so scientists are simulating the process using powerful lasers to create a high-temperature plasma to annihilate the meteorite specimens.
"The results from this will feed directly into the numerical simulation -- will head into the supercomputers here at Livermore -- to see how an asteroid would actually respond to a standoff nuclear blast or a kinetic impactor," she said.
These aren't the only options scientists have considered. There are some less-violent strategies.
There's the so-called "gravity tractor," which would use a relatively small mass, possibly even a piece of the asteroid itself, to nudge it into a safe solar orbit.
Even the feather-light touch of a laser beam might supply enough pressure to push an asteroid off-course.
But those options take years of planning and execution, so if time is short, going nuclear might be humanity's best hope.
"We want to be prepared in the event there is an emergency and we need to act quickly and advise the decision-makers based on high-quality science," Syal said. | Researchers are working on several possible techniques to defend the planet from asteroid collisions | 40.5 | 0.571429 | 0.714286 | high | low | abstractive |
http://www.aol.com/article/2015/08/18/top-10-summer-hairstyles/20907436/ | http://web.archive.org/web/20160529055306id_/http://www.aol.com:80/article/2015/08/18/top-10-summer-hairstyles/20907436/ | Top 10 summer hairstyles to copy right now | 20160529055306 | Before you go, we thought you'd like these...
Top 10 summer hairstyles to copy right now
L’Oréal Paris Celebrity Hair Stylist, Mara Roszak once told us “people are always impressed by braids,” a tip we took to heart. We’ll be practicing our plaits until this intricately woven headband is perfect. One thing to remember: Braids are easier to manage with day-old hair. If you have a fresh blow out, a
will add just the right amount of grit.
The Lob, or long bob, is gaining major notoriety for its versatility. Not too long or too short (you can still pull into a ponytail), this cut looks good styled up, down, curly, or straight.
Already rocking the Lob? Give your look a summertime facelift with vibrant ombré tips.
Curly-haired girls will love this off-kilter updo. Instead of striving for a symmetrical bun and starting from scratch every time one ringlet pops out of place, the beauty of this style is in its subtle imperfections. That said, we still recommend defining your natural waves with a
We love tousled tresses for a day in the sand, but when it comes time to ditch your swimsuit in favor of stilettos, we’re all about blending in a few strategically placed man-made curls.
The must-haves: A great texturizing spray and a wide barrel curling iron.
A low, braided ponytail often skews sporty, but this one, with its deep side part and relaxed weave, feels both effortless and fancy. For a frizz-free part, prep your hair with a
before rough-drying and smooth with a round bristle brush.
Perfect for an updo novice, this tousled day-to-night 'do' is a cinch. Pull your strands into a ponytail at the nape of your neck and tease the ends. Spritz with a
We plan to make this softer take on a prima donna knot our summer go-to. Use a
to create pin-straight strands and tie them into a ponytail that sits just below the crown. Next, swirl the ponytail and pin it in place. For an ultra laid-back look, pull out a few face-framing layers and leave them loose around the temples.
Master weavers will love this sleek take on the milkmaid braid. It’s the perfect updo to try after a swim or a shower. Just braid your wet strands into pigtails, wrap upwards, and pin. Curly-haired girls should start by prepping their strands with a
The pixie cut is not only adorable -- it’s also the easiest way to beat the heat. Apply
to your ends to make sure every strand stays put.
This more intricate take on the traditional braid is a great way to show off your
. Once you’ve intertwined your pony, secure your strands with a mini elastic hairband, and spritz with hairspray to keep your work of art intact.
From beachy waves to intricate braids and sleek updos, here are the absolute best beat-the-heat hairstyles.
Click through the gallery above to see all 10! | Amazing hairstyles you should try immediately | 102 | 0.666667 | 0.666667 | high | low | abstractive |
http://fortune.com/2016/05/26/south-carolina-gov-nikki-haley-signs-law-banning-abortion-after-19-weeks/ | http://web.archive.org/web/20160529095513id_/http://fortune.com:80/2016/05/26/south-carolina-gov-nikki-haley-signs-law-banning-abortion-after-19-weeks/ | SC Gov. Nikki Haley Signs Law Banning Abortion After 19 Weeks | 20160529095513 | South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley signed legislation on Wednesday outlawing most abortions at 20 weeks after fertilization.
The law passed the General Assembly last week and blocks women from having abortions after 19 weeks of pregnancy, with no exceptions for rape or incest. There are exceptions to the law if the mother’s life is threatened or if a doctor determines a “fetal anomaly” would prevent the fetus from surviving after birth. Doctors who violate the law could face a fine or jail time.
Abortion bans at 20 weeks are now in place in 13 states, according to the Associated Press.
Opponents of the law rallied outside the South Carolina Statehouse on Tuesday, urging the Haley to veto the bill. The Republican governor had previously said she would sign bills that limit access to abortions, the Charleston Post and Courier reported.
This article originally ran on Time. | There are now 13 states with such a ban in effect. | 13.75 | 0.75 | 1.083333 | low | low | abstractive |
http://time.com/3801889/us-legalization-marijuana-trade/ | http://web.archive.org/web/20160529130549id_/http://time.com:80/3801889/us-legalization-marijuana-trade/ | U.S. Legalization of Marijuana Has Hit Mexican Cartels' Border Trade | 20160529130549 | In the midst of this seething mountain capital, Mexico’s security ministry houses a bizarre museum — a collection of what the army seizes from drug traffickers. The Museo de Enervantes, often referred to as the Narco Museum, has drug samples themselves (including the rare black cocaine), diamond-studded guns, gold-coated cell phones, rocket-propelled grenades and medals that cartels award their most productive smugglers. It also shows off the narcos’ ingenuity for getting their drugs into the United States, including “trap cars” with secret compartments, catapults to hurl packages over the border fence and even false buttocks, to hide drugs in.
Agents on the 2,000 mile-U.S. border have wrestled with these smuggling techniques for decades, seemingly unable to stop the northward flow of drugs and southward flow of dollars and guns. But the amount of one drug — marijuana — seems to have finally fallen. U.S. Border Patrol has been seizing steadily smaller quantities of the drug, from 2.5 million pounds in 2011 to 1.9 million pounds in 2014. Mexico’s army has noted an even steeper decline, confiscating 664 tons of cannabis in 2014, a drop of 32% compared to year before.
This fall appears to have little to do with law enforcement, however, and all to do with the wave of U.S. marijuana legalization. The votes by Colorado and Washington State to legalize marijuana in 2012, followed by Alaska, Oregon and D.C. last year have created a budding industry. U.S. growers produce gourmet products with exotic names such as White Widow, Golden Goat and Oaktown Crippler as opposed to the bog-standard Mexican “mota.” American dispensaries even label their drugs, showing how strong they are, measured in THC (tetrahydrocannabinol, the main psychoactive ingredient), and grade their mix of sativa, which gets people stoned in a psychedelic way and indica, which has a more knock-out effect.
Drug policy reformists tout this market shift from Mexican gangsters to American licensed growers as a reason to spread legalization. “It is no surprise to me that marijuana consumers choose to buy their product from a legal tax-paying business as opposed to a black market product that is not tested or regulated,” says Tom Angell, chairman of Marijuana Majority. “When you go to a legal store, you know what you are getting, and that is not going to be contaminated.” A group called Marijuana Doctors elaborate the point in this comical online ad.
Analysts are still trying to work out the long-term effect this shift will have on Mexican cartel finances and violence. The legal marijuana industry could be the fastest growing sector of the U.S. economy. It grew 74% in 2014 to $2.7 billion, according to the ArcView group, a cannabis investment and research firm. This includes revenue from both recreational drug stores and from medical marijuana, which has been legalized in 23 states. The group predicts the industry will top $4 billion by 2016.
This means less cash for Mexican cartels to buy guns, bribe police and pay assassins. Coinciding with legalization, violence has decreased in Mexico. Homicides hit a high in 2011, with Mexican police departments reporting almost 23,000 murders. Last year, they reported 15,649.
Other factors may have caused this fall in killings, says Alejandro Hope, a security analyst and former officer of Mexico’s federal intelligence agency. “Finances from marijuana could be having an impact on violence but you also have to look at other causes. Many of the most violent cartel commanders have been killed or arrested,” Hope says. These downed warlords include the head of the Zetas cartel Heriberto Lazcano, a former soldier who was known as the Executioner for the mass graves he dug. Mexican marines say they shot Lazcano dead in 2012, although his cohorts bust into the funeral home and stole his corpse.
Despite the drop in homicides, Mexico’s violence is still at painful levels. In September, cartel thugs working with corrupt police attacked a group of students, killing three and abducting 43. The atrocity caused hundreds of thousands to take to the streets to protest corruption and bloodshed. On Monday, cartel gunmen ambushed police in Jalisco state, killing 15 in one of the worst attacks on security forces in recent years.
A key problem is that cartels have diversified to a portfolio of other crimes, from sex trafficking to stealing crude oil from Mexican pipelines. They also make billions smuggling hard drugs. Seizures of both heroin and crystal meth on the U.S.-Mexico border have gone up as those of marijuana have sunk, according to U.S. Homeland Security, with agents nabbing a record 34,840 pounds of meth in 2014.
In total, Americans spend about $100 billion on illegal drugs every year, according to a White House report. The estimate puts marijuana at about 40% of this, so the legal industry still only accounts for a fraction of the total. One restriction to growth is that U.S. federal law still prohibits cannabis, making banking difficult and scaring investors.
In the long term, drug policy reformers hope for a legal marijuana market in the entire region. This would throw up the possibility of Mexicans legally producing and exporting their drugs to the U.S., taking advantage of cheaper labor. “Cannabis is not unlike wine,” says Sanho Tree, director of the Drug Policy Project at Washington’s Institute of Policy Studies. “I can buy a $200 bottle of wine, if that is what I am after. But many people will prefer the cheaper mass market product.” One advocate is former Mexican President Vicente Fox, who has voiced support for an American entrepreneur who wants to import marijuana to the United States.
Any such cross-border market would require a change of U.N. treaties, which outlaw marijuana. These come up for discussion in a General Assembly Special Session on Drugs in April 2016. “I feel optimistic there will be change. This movement has momentum,” Angell of Marijuana Majority says. “It is interesting that the United States was historically a driver of drug prohibition. Now parts of the U.S. are leading the change.”
Read next: The Business of Pot
Listen to the most important stories of the day. | The cartels are still smuggling harder drugs but advocates point out the success of legalization in cutting illegal trade | 62.736842 | 0.736842 | 0.947368 | high | low | abstractive |
http://fortune.com/2015/10/27/kyle-bass-china-banks/ | http://web.archive.org/web/20160529185956id_/http://fortune.com:80/2015/10/27/kyle-bass-china-banks/ | Kyle Bass on China's banking crisis and the U.S. economy | 20160529185956 | Kyle Bass, head of Dallas-based hedge-fund Hayman Capital Management, rose to prominence in 2007 for being one of the few investors to spot the U.S. financial crisis early, and to profit from it by betting against subprime mortgages. He successfully called Japan’s banking problems (and bold monetary stimulus) a few years later, and now he’s saying China will be next.
In an interview with Fortune prior to his appearance at this week’s Ira Sohn investing conference in San Francisco, Bass offered reasons why China’s impending banking crisis, though far bigger than the U.S. crisis in terms of the assets at risk, will have a smaller impact on the global economy. He also explained why the hedge fund business is less forgiving than it has ever been. Edited excerpts of the conversation follow.
Fortune: You have said the banking system in China is under-capitalized, and the country could blow through foreign reserves quickly. What does China’s banking system look like?
Kyle Bass: It’s not a mono-variable equation. Foreign reserves aren’t China’s only access to capital – they can sell bonds and they can actually print more money. But when you are thinking about their [foreign-exchange] reserve pile, and investor solace that they have so much money – a $3.5 trillion rainy day fund that they can weather any storm – the point is that their banking system used to be 41 trillion RMB only eight years ago and now it’s 184 trillion RMB. They have $31 trillion of assets in their banking system. Their economy is $10 trillion.
What does that look like relative to the U.S. in 2008?
When the U.S. was entering the financial crisis, the US banking system was [equivalent to] 100% of GDP, with $16 trillion of assets on the balance sheet. We had $1 trillion of equity, meaning we were, in essence, levered 16 times. Loan losses then were about 7.6%. China has three times its GDP in bank assets.
Their reserves imply they could cover about 10% in loan losses, right? They have a $3.5 trillion fund and about $31 trillion of assets. Isn’t that reasonable?
It’s hard to make a blanket statement like that. When you look at other non-performing loan cycles, it varies. When you get to emerging markets like Malaysia in 1999, losses got to 11%. The Philippines in 2002 lost 18%. Indonesia and Thailand, hit in 1999 and 1998 [respectively], hit 47% and 58%.
Loan losses in developed markets end up from 5% to 10% and emerging markets go anywhere from 10% to 40%. But emerging markets should never have 300% of GDP on their books.
My view is that China is an emerging market. Last time it had a non-performing loan crisis in 2001 to 2002, their losses got to over 30% of assets across entire banking system. My view this time, since they have grown 400% in eight years, is that they are going to have some loan losses. And emerging markets should never be higher than developed markets in [ratio of] bank assets to GDP. That is my conservative assumption.
So how do they recapitalize?
Let’s say in this cycle they lose 10%. They are going to need $3 trillion to recapitalize. This $3.5 trillion in FX reserves isn’t what it appears. If you subtract the CIC fund which is partly invested in bank equity, gold, and the policy bank injection, the real FX numbers are $2.7 trillion.
Will China get through it?
Yes. They can print bonds. China has the resources to recap banks and get through it like the U.S. did.
But what does that mean for everyone else?
When you look at emerging markets even back to the Asian financial crisis in 1998, emerging markets only represented 12% of global GDP. In U.S. dollar terms now, emerging markets make up 34% of global GDP.
If we are right about China, they are going to have credit contraction and a hard landing. It’s not the end of the world but it will be a hard landing. Asian GDP overall will be extremely challenged.
What about the US economy?
We don’t know. If a third of the globe that’s been driving GDP growth slows down or goes negative, it doesn’t mean we are going into a surefire recession, but there is no chance of 2.5% real growth in the U.S. We think it’s going to shave 1.5% off GDP growth: That means that U.S. GDP could be up 0.5% to 1%, which is not good. Again, it’s not the end of the world. The U.S. already recapped its banks so we won’t have any banking problems. But we will have problems with growth.
A financial crisis in China would arguably be multiple times as large as the one in the U.S. Why doesn’t a financial crisis in China affect the global economy in same way?
In the U.S. financial crisis, we had Lehman [Brothers] go down. When Lehman went down, all letters of credit and trade were cancelled and had to be redone. Global trade came to a halt.
So is it that these economies are decoupling or simply that the global banking system is much less tied to Chinese banks?
We don’t think the Chinese banks represent a systemic risk to U.S. banks. U.S. banks were so inextricably linked with all businesses, when Lehman went down there was this fear of a contagion effect.
You believe several emerging markets will be hurt as China slows. Are those mostly the East Asian markets tied to China?
It’s important to know how interconnected Southeast Asia is with itself. Singapore has 68.4% of exports going to East Asia. If China is contracting and the rest of East Asia is contracting, Singapore is at a huge risk. In all, China accounts for 40% of trade in the region. If Chinese banks have a credit contraction, what does that mean for the rest of the region? It’s not good.
How do you make money off this?
What we think is likely to happen is that the Chinese currency is likely to devalue. The next devaluation they do will be somewhere between 15%-20%. If and when they do, these other currencies are going to have betas to China. We think the Singapore dollar and Thai baht are going to devalue even more than China.
Do you have a preference to taking a bearish view? Is there anything you like right now?
No I don’t have a preference. I think when you look through our 10-year history, where we do best is where we spot anomalies. First was the financial crisis. Then we raised a Japan fund. Now we are really focused on the Asian banking crisis. There will be great things to come out of that crisis to go long. What you’ll see now is some loans going bad.
How do you think about length of time and your investments?
The subprime crisis happened very quickly. We launched a subprime-only fund in September 2006 and the first big crack in subprime bonds was February 2007. The Japan fund originally launched in end of 2010, and we had two years before the bank of Japan went on their shock-and-awe program, so that took a while. It is easier from a perspective of what we do to launch a special vehicle that has a three- or four-year time frame on it than it is in the hedge fund world that has quarterly redemptions. The Chinese banking issues are just getting started. It may take another two years or so before loan losses reach their peak.
So you do have the ability to take a longer-term stance on trades?
I have in the past, but in this world, in this day and age, if you don’t win for 18 months, everyone thinks you’re an idiot, so it’s much harder these days than it was even back then.
Quite a few hedge funds are shutting down. Thinking through how Fortress was unwound, how has the landscape changed?
I think it’s literally quarter-to-quarter. I think life is so fleeting in this business. You can have a fantastic track record and in one year’s time you can have redemptions for 80% of assets. It’s unbelievable how fickle investors can be. We literally count our blessings every time we wake up and have all the assets we have because you never know how fragile life is, both personally and professionally. You know how quickly everything can change. If you have a healthy respect for that, it is much easier to deal with it.
For more about the impact of China’s slowdown, see this Fortune video: | Bass tells Fortune he expects a 'hard landing' for China and the global economy, but that it won't be as bad as the 2007-09 financial crisis. | 52.545455 | 0.818182 | 1.30303 | high | medium | abstractive |
http://fortune.com/2016/05/13/clinton-foundation-mcmahon/ | http://web.archive.org/web/20160529194846id_/http://fortune.com:80/2016/05/13/clinton-foundation-mcmahon/ | Clinton Global Initiative Under Fire for Grant to friends of Bill | 20160529194846 | The Wall Street Journal is accusing the Bill Clinton and his charity the Clinton Global Initiative of running afoul of IRS rules prohibiting charities from benefiting “private interests.”
According to the report, CGI—a program of the Bill, Hillary and Chelsea Clinton Foundation—gave a $2 million grant to Energy Pioneer Services to weatherize low-income family’s home. The problem, according to the report, is that Energy Pioneer Services is owned by friends of the Clintons.
“Energy Pioneer Solutions was founded in 2009 by Scott Kleeb, a Democrat who twice ran for Congress from Nebraska,” the report reads. “An internal document from that year showed it was owned 29% by Mr. Kleeb; 29% by Jane Eckert, the owner of an art gallery in Pine Plains, N.Y.; and 29% by Julie Tauber McMahon of Chappaqua, N.Y., a close friend of Mr. Clinton, who also lives in Chappaqua.”
The report implies that this runs afoul of IRS rules but quotes no experts saying that the transaction would lead to legal trouble for the Clinton family. It’s not clear whether just because the grant was given to a company owned by friends of the Clintons that this means that the Clinton Global Initiative was “organized or operated for the benefit of private interests,” something the IRS proscribes.
A CGI Spokesperson told the Journal, “President Clinton has forged an amazing universe of relationships and friendships throughout his life that endure to this day, and many of those individuals and friends are involved in CGI Commitments because they share a passion for making a positive impact in the world. As opposed to a conflict of interest, they share a common interest.”
The Clintons have also been criticized for taking donations for the Clinton Global Initiative from foreigners with close ties to foreign governments that had business before Hillary Clinton when she was Secretary of State. | More criticism of the Clinton Global Initiative | 51.571429 | 0.714286 | 1.857143 | high | low | mixed |
http://fortune.com/2016/03/16/donald-trump-mar-a-lago/ | http://web.archive.org/web/20160529221312id_/http://fortune.com:80/2016/03/16/donald-trump-mar-a-lago/ | A Look Inside Mar-a-Lago, Donald Trump's Lavish, Palm Beach 'Palace' | 20160529221312 | If Donald Trump were to actually win the presidency, one of his homes almost certainly would be in the spotlight: Mar-a-Lago. Already, when Trump won a victory in 3 states’s primaries Tuesday, he delivered his speech from Mar-a-Lago. Like George Bush’s Kennebunkport compound and George W. Bush’s Crawford, Texas retreat, Trump’s Mar-a-Lago is a luxurious escape for his family.
But unlike George Bush Sr. and George W. Bush’s homes, Mar-a-Lago is also a business: a private club and spa that reportedly made him $15.6 million last year. Trump keeps a section of Mar-a-Lago private, for the use of his family.
And, in contrast to George Bush Sr. and George W. Bush’s homes, the Palm Beach, Florida property is opulent in the extreme — it’s been compared to the Palace of Versailles by the New York Times. It’s also become a source of annoyance for the people who live in the surrounding community. “It’s all about the Trumpster,” Laurel Baker, executive director of the Palm Beach Chamber of Commerce, told The Tampa Bay Times. “I would venture to think that old Palm Beach doesn’t . . . consider him one of their own.”
Here’s what we know about Mar-a-Lago.
The comparison is apt. Sumptuous appointments framed by rivers of marble, carved stone, and gold leaf, 126 rooms on 17 acres bound by the Atlantic and Intracoastal waterway, liberally graced with glittering chandeliers, oriental rugs, and 16th century Flemish tapestries — this is a lifestyle that makes a statement.
Trump purchased it for less than $10 million in 1985. Now it’s worth is estimated at between $200 million and $300 million.
Marjorie Merriweather Post, a socialite and heiress to the founder of what would become General Foods and a savvy businesswoman in her own right, started to build the estate in 1923, according to the National Park Service. It opened in 1927 and would ultimately become a National Historic Landmark.
American architect Marion Sims Wyeth, who also created other mansions in Palm Beach as well as the Florida Governor’s Mansion in Tallahassee, handled the design of the estate. Viennese designer and illustrator Joseph Urban was responsible for the interior design. In Europe he was responsible for the interior design of a number of royal palaces. Urban brought over a father and son team of sculptors who created the parrot, monkey, ram, eagle, and griffin figures on the exterior walls.
Black and white marble floor blocks, 2,200 in all, and 20,000 roofing tiles came from a Cuban castle. Post imported a collection almost 36,000 Spanish tiles, some dating to the 15th century. The living room ceiling is a copy of a ceiling in the Academia of Venice and is covered in gold leaf.
When Post died in 1973, she left the house to the federal government as a summer presidential getaway. Only the upkeep was too much and the government eventually gave it back to Post’s daughters.
They didn’t want it either. In 1985, the daughters sold the estate to Trump, reportedly for less than $10 million, including the furnishings.
According to an old Vanity Fair report, moving to Palm Beach in the mid-1980s was the idea of Trump’s former wife, Ivana. After the couple divorced, Mar-a-Lago stayed with Trump.
And the property has been a point of contention between Trump and the surrounding old-money community for decades. When he turned the mansion into the Mar-a-Lago Club and spa on parts of the estate (part is closed off as private space for him and his family), the town council tried to limit membership, party attendance, and photography, according to the Washington Post.
Trump went on the offensive with a PR campaign, reportedly claiming that the existing private clubs excluded Jews and blacks and yet didn’t face the same restrictions. Eventually Trump won and the town lifted most of the restrictions. The club has an initiation fee of $100,000 and annual dues of $14,000, according to the Post.
Trump added a Louis XIV-style ballroom with $7 million in gold leaf on the walls and 40-foot ceilings, as well as a spa, tennis courts, and croquet courts. But when he erected an 80-foot flagpole on the front lawn with a 15-by-25-foot American flag, both over local zoning restrictions, the town began to fine him $250 a day. By the time the amount reached $120,000, Trump sued for $25 million, claiming an abridgment of his First Amendment rights to free expression. The two sides agreed to compromise, with Trump agreeing to a pole that was only 70-feet high and a donation of $100,000 to veterans’ charities. But Trump still got the tallest flagpole in town.
Now Trump is looking for another legal victory. He’s been filing lawsuits since 1995 over airport noise in an attempt to keep planes from flying over the property, according to the Sun-Sentinel. The actions have reportedly already cost local taxpayers $600,000 in legal fees. His latest suit seeks $100 million in damages. | Learn why many aren't a fan of Trump's Mar-a-Lago. | 63.25 | 0.5625 | 2.5625 | high | low | mixed |
http://fortune.com/2016/05/11/north-face-fake-spider-silk/ | http://web.archive.org/web/20160530204014id_/http://fortune.com:80/2016/05/11/north-face-fake-spider-silk/ | North Face Will Start Selling Parkas Made from Spider Silk for $1,000 | 20160530204014 | North Face is looking to the animal kingdom for inspiration for its latest jacket.
The $1,000 “Moon parka,” selling only in Japan, is a gold-colored jacket that uses the same design as typical North Face parkas. However, the item is made from a synthetic spider silk developed by Spiber, according to Bloomberg.
Interestingly, this isn’t the only company to be working on a similar product. Bolt Threads is partnering with Patagonia to enhance the brand’s fabrics for commercial use, Fortune reported Wednesday. A German company called Amsilk is also developing a type of thread for commercial products.
Spiber’s president Kazuhide Sekiyama invented the technology used to create the fake spider silk and said this will be the first clothing made from the material sold in stores. “What makes a protein-based material marvelous is it’s evolving,” said Sekiyama in an interview with the publication.
“The global market for textiles is $3 trillion, and we believe there is a huge opportunity for sustainably produced protein microfibers,” Dan Widmaier, CEO of Bolt Threads, told Bloomberg. “In order to succeed, companies need to be able to bring a wide range of advanced materials to market at a price that’s competitive with today’s fibers.” | New protein-based textile makes its debut in Japan. | 22.272727 | 0.727273 | 1.454545 | medium | low | abstractive |
http://fortune.com/2016/05/26/money-ceos-made-last-year/ | http://web.archive.org/web/20160530204206id_/http://fortune.com:80/2016/05/26/money-ceos-made-last-year/? | Here's How Much Money Pharma and Health-Care CEOs Made Last Year | 20160530204206 | This story originally appeared on STAT News.
Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who are the top-earning CEOs of them all?
A new report from the Associated Press and the research firm Equilar has some answers, and once again, many of the highest earners among execs running large companies are pharma and health care CEOs.
Consider Dr. Leonard S. Schleifer, the head of Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, based in Tarrytown, N.Y. His total compensation in 2015? More than $47 million. If he were working at New York state’s minimum wage — $9 an hour — it would have taken him well over 5 million hours to earn that much. That’s about 600 years of work without stopping to eat or sleep.
(Regeneron, by the way, just announced it’ll spend $100 million over the next decade to sponsor the nation’s largest high school science competition.)
Next on the list is Dr. Jeffrey M. Leiden, of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in Boston, at $28 million. That actually represents a pretty hefty pay cut for Leiden. He earned more than $36 million in 2014, which raised a few eyebrows given that the company had turned a profit just once in the previous quarter-century.
Related: A Little-Known Rule Could Force Startups to Divulge Financial Info
Larry J. Merlo, of CVS Health, clocks in at number 3 among health-care execs. His total compensation last year was just shy of $23 million — a 6 percent drop from the year before.
Here are the top 20 earners in the health care field, from the AP and Equilar, which analyzed CEO pay at hundreds of companies on the S&P 500:
Total CEO compensation includes salary, bonus, stock and stock option awards, and other perks. | Someone's total compensation was $47 million. | 38.555556 | 0.777778 | 2.333333 | high | low | mixed |
http://www.aol.com/article/2014/08/20/find-out-how-much-100-is-really-worth-in-your-state/20949818/ | http://web.archive.org/web/20160530210844id_/http://www.aol.com:80/article/2014/08/20/find-out-how-much-100-is-really-worth-in-your-state/20949818/?icid=maing-grid7%7Cmain5%7Cdl6%7Csec1_lnk2%26pLid%3D517989 | Find out how much $100 is really worth in your state | 20160530210844 | Before you go, we thought you'd like these...
Find out how much $100 is really worth in your state
Tetra Images - Henryk Sadura/Getty
Money has never been created equal. Americans who travel abroad to places such as
undoubtedly revel in the power of the dollar ($1 = approximately
), and it's no secret that the euro has quickly
But how do the bucks stack up in our own country? America's 50 states are uniquely diverse with staggeringly different standards of living, meaning that a dollar can go a lot further in some states over others. For instance, if you have an annual salary of $35K while living and working in
, you would need to make $46.7K to maintain your
For the first time ever, the federal government has released an analysis of these price differences among states, and on Monday,
used the data to create a map exposing the real value of $100 in each state.
The non-profit explained the numbers in a
is a low-price state, where $100 will buy what would cost $110.25 in another state that is closer to the national average. You can think of this as meaning that Tennesseans are about ten percent richer than their nominal income suggests."
The states where $100 is worth the least were
actually surpassing all four. In D.C., $100 is only worth $84.60. Money goes furthest in Mississippi where $100 is equal to $115.17. Arkansas offers the next biggest bang for your buck, followed by
Click through our slideshow above to see how your state stacks up against $100. | %Slideshow-215580% By EMILY CEGIELSKI Money has never been created equal. Americans who travel abroad to places such a | 14.043478 | 0.695652 | 8.608696 | low | low | extractive |
http://fortune.com/2016/05/26/raceahead-may-26-2016/ | http://web.archive.org/web/20160530213535id_/http://fortune.com:80/2016/05/26/raceahead-may-26-2016/ | raceAhead: May 26, 2016 | 20160530213535 | At Yale, the struggle is real. In the last few years, the elite institution and treasured talent pipeline to the U.S. State Department, has experienced waves of student protests calling for a more diverse faculty and curriculum. But students have also demanded other things: that all undergrads be required to take an ethnic studies class, that mental health support services be offered through the cultural centers for minority students, and, most painfully, that Calhoun College, named for a white supremacist and ardent defender of slavery, be renamed. The university declined to do so.
This week, Yale’s troubles bubbled to the surface again, this time with charts and graphs and from within faculty ranks. An ad hoc committee of Yale’s Senate of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences published a “Report on Faculty Diversity and Inclusivity in FAS,” a 72-page investigation that education experts have described as “devastating” and “unsparing.” The report examines four decades of diversity initiatives, hiring practices, and retention rates, and will provide diversity and inclusion officers from every sector both a rich dataset and a cautionary tale. “Rather than overt ill will,” the report states, “we see an accumulated pattern of thousands of small decisions at all levels — decisions that persistently, if largely unconsciously, have cast the diversity of the faculty as a lower priority in times of strict budget austerity.”
Yale first began to recruit faculty from diverse backgrounds in 1972, and the report does mention that the university has made some progress. Currently, women are better represented across departments and racial minorities saw an uptick in hiring from 1999 to 2007. But the economic downturn reversed the gains—by 2012, only 22 of 56 recently hired minority faculty members remained. At the heart of the issue is a managerial roundabout described in detail by the Chronicle of Higher Education (paywall, sorry) that will be familiar to many: “Form a committee in reaction to a crisis, pledge to diversify the faculty, and then fail to follow through with action and resources needed to sustain progress.” | raceAhead: May 26, 2016 | 66.333333 | 0.333333 | 0.333333 | high | low | abstractive |
http://time.com/3020266/you-asked-will-eating-before-bed-make-me-fat/ | http://web.archive.org/web/20160531035147id_/http://time.com:80/3020266/you-asked-will-eating-before-bed-make-me-fat/ | Will Eating Before Bed Make Me Fat? | 20160531035147 | Especially if you tend to eat dinner a few hours before bedtime or you’re very active (or both), snacking before bed will help stabilize your blood sugar levels during the long, meal-less night, explains Stephanie Maxson, senior clinical dietician at the University of Texas’s MD Anderson Cancer Center.
Why should you care about blood sugar? As most diabetics know, blood sugar and its attendant hormones can supercharge or deflate your appetite and energy levels, as well as mess with your body’s efforts to store or burn fat. “Having low blood sugar in the morning will cause a person to feel sluggish and make it more difficult to get out of bed,” Maxson explains, adding that low blood sugar could also wake you up or otherwise disrupt your sleep in the middle of the night.
Ideally, you want to encourage stable blood sugar levels for optimal health, which will be tough to do if you’re going 10 or 12 or 14 hours without eating, Maxson says. (This is one reason she and many other nutrition experts underscore the importance of eating breakfast.)
“It’s such a big myth that you don’t need any energy for sleep,” adds Cassie Bjork, a registered dietician and founder of HealthySimpleLife.com. Not only can the right bedtime snack provide the fuel your body needs to burn calories while you sleep, but a little grub also calms the release of hunger hormones that tell your body to store fat, Bjork explains.
That said, a pint of ice cream isn’t going to do you any favors. Instead, you should be reaching for complex carbohydrates like whole wheat bread, non-starchy vegetables, popcorn, and fruit, Maxson says. These foods break down slowly, and so help stave off the blood sugar spikes or crashes that could mess with your sleep or appetite, she explains. For athletes, adding a protein like turkey or chicken to a bedtime snack can help with muscle repair during the night while also providing a hit of an essential amino acid called tryptophan, which is beneficial for sleep, Maxson says.
And don’t shy away from a little fat, which can further slow the absorption of carbohydrates into your system, Bjork says. Some avocado or peanut butter—or a splash of melted butter on your popcorn—can help if you frequently wake up hungry or tired.
Just be sure to avoid things like chips, cookies, cereal, or pretty much any traditional dessert food, advises Dr. Joan Sabaté, a professor of public health and nutrition at Loma Linda University. Because fiber and other digestion-slowing nutrients are typically stripped away from these foods during their preparation, your body absorbs them quickly and they tend to cause quick spikes in your blood sugar, which can make it tough for your to sleep, Sabaté explains.
Anything featuring caffeine—yes, that includes chocolate—is also a bad idea at bedtime, Maxson says. | You’ve been told eating before bed is a no-no. But a little pre-slumber snack can help you sleep more soundly without packing on pounds—if you reach for the right foods. | 14.512821 | 0.717949 | 1.230769 | low | low | abstractive |
http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20160113-could-just-two-people-repopulate-earth | http://web.archive.org/web/20160531124601id_/http://www.bbc.com:80/future/story/20160113-could-just-two-people-repopulate-earth? | Could just two people repopulate Earth? | 20160531124601 | The alien predators arrived by boat. Within two years, everyone was dead. Almost.
The tiny islet of Ball’s Pyramid lies 600km east of Australia in the South Pacific, rising out of the sea like a shard of glass. And there they were – halfway up its sheer cliff edge, sheltering under a spindly bush – the last of the species. Two escaped and just nine years later there were 9,000, the children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren of Adam and Eve.
No, this isn’t a bizarre take on the story of creation. The lucky couple were tree lobsters Dryococelus australis, stick insects the size of a human hand. They were thought to be extinct soon after black rats invaded their native Lord Howe Island in 1918, but were found clinging on in Ball’s Pyramid 83 years later. The species owes its miraculous recovery to a team of scientists who scaled 500ft of vertical rock to reach their hiding place in 2003. The lobsters were named “Adam” and “Eve” and sent to start a breeding programme at Melbourne Zoo.
Bouncing back after insect Armageddon is one thing. Female tree lobsters lay 10 eggs every 10 days and are capable of parthenogenesis; they don’t need a man to reproduce. Repopulating the earth with humans is quite another matter. Could we do it? And how long would it take?
The answer is more than a whimsical discussion for the pub. From Nasa’s research on the magic number of pioneers needed for our move to another planet, to decisions about the conservation of endangered species, it’s a matter of increasing international importance and urgency.
The average person has between one and two lethal recessive mutations in their genome
So let’s fast-forward 100 years. Humanity’s endeavours have gone horribly wrong and a robot uprising has wiped us off the face of the Earth – a fate predicted by Stephen Hawking in 2014. Just two people made it. There’s no way around it: the first generation would all be brothers and sisters.
Sigmund Freud believed incest was the only universal human taboo alongside murdering your parents. It’s not just gross, it’s downright dangerous. A study of children born in Czechoslovakia between 1933 and 1970 found that nearly 40% of those whose parents were first-degree relatives were severely handicapped, of which 14% eventually died.
To understand why inbreeding can be so deadly, we need to get to grips with some genetics. We all have two copies of every gene, one from each parent. But some gene variants don’t show up unless you have two exactly the same. Most inherited diseases are caused by these “recessive” variants, which sneak through the evolutionary radar because they are harmless on their own. In fact, the average person has between one and two lethal recessive mutations in their genome.
When a couple are related, it doesn’t take long for the mask to slip. Take achromatopsia, a rare recessive disorder which causes total colour blindness. It affects 1 in 33,000 Americans and is carried by one in 100. If one of our post-apocalyptic survivors had the variant, there’s a one in four chance of their child having a copy. So far, so good. After just one generation of incest, the risk skyrockets – with a one in four chance of their child having two copies. That’s a 1 in 16 chance that the original couple’s first grandchild would have the disease.
This was the fate of the inhabitants of Pingelap, an isolated atoll in the western Pacific. The entire population is descended from just 20 survivors of a typhoon which swept the island in the 18th Century, including a carrier of achromatopsia. With such a small gene pool, today a 10th of the island’s population is totally colour blind.
Even with these hideous risks in mind, if the survivors had enough children the chances are at least some of them would be healthy. But what happens when inbreeding continues for hundreds of years? It turns out you don’t have to be stuck on an island to find out, because there’s one community that just can’t get enough of their close relatives: European royalty. And with nine generations of strategic marriages between cousins, uncles, and nieces in 200 years, the Spanish Habsburgs are a natural experiment in how it all adds up.
Charles II was the family’s most famous victim. Born with a litany of physical and mental disabilities, the king didn’t learn to walk until he was eight years old. As an adult his infertility spelled the extinction of an entire dynasty.
Genetic diversity allows species to evolve their way around future challenges
In 2009 a team of Spanish scientists revealed why. Charles’ ancestry was so entangled, his “inbreeding coefficient” – a figure reflecting the proportion of inherited genes that would be identical from both parents – was higher than if he had been born to siblings.
It’s the same measure used by ecologists to assess the genetic risks faced by endangered species. “With a small population size everyone is going to be related sooner or later, and as relatedness increases inbreeding effects become more important,” explains Dr Bruce Robertson from Otago University. He studies New Zealand’s giant, flightless parrots, called the kakapo, of which there are only 125 left on the planet.
Of particular concern are the effects of inbreeding on sperm quality, which has increased the proportion of eggs that will never hatch from 10% to around 40%. It’s an example of inbreeding depression, Robertson says, caused by the exposure of recessive genetic defects in a population. Despite plenty of food and protection from predators, the kakapo might not make it.
Endangered species also run the gauntlet of longer-term risks. Although they may already be well adapted to their environment, genetic diversity allows species to evolve their way around future challenges. Nowhere is this more important than immunity. “It’s something that most species seem keen to promote diversity in, even humans. We pick mates with a very different immune composition so our offspring have a diverse array of immune locks,” says Dr Philip Stephens from Durham University. Back in our evolutionary past, it’s thought that pairing with Neanderthals may have given our immune systems a genetic boost.
Even if our species makes it, it could be unrecognisable. When small pockets of individuals remain isolated for too long they become susceptible to the founder effect, in which the loss of genetic diversity amplifies the population’s genetic quirks. Not only would the new humans look and sound different – they could be an entirely different species.
So how much variety do you need? It’s a debate that goes right back to the 80s, says Stephens, when an Australian scientist proposed a universal rule of thumb. “Basically you need 50 breeding individuals to avoid inbreeding depression and 500 in order to adapt,” he says. It’s a rule still used today – though it’s been upped to 500-5,000 to account for random losses when genes are passed from one generation to the next – to inform the IUCN Red List, which catalogues the world’s most threatened species.
Increasingly, the concept is leading those in the field to question the policies of large conservation charities, which prioritise the most endangered species. “It’s conservation framed in the context of triage – you sift casualties and ask is there a chance of saving them. It can be used to say well, can we forget about species?”
There are stories of incredible journeys back from the brink – anything is possible – Dr Philip Stephens
But before you write off our couple, as one scientist pointed out, we’re living proof of the concept’s inherent flaws. According to anatomical and archaeological evidence, our ancestors wouldn’t have made our own population targets, with 1,000 individuals in existence for nearly a million years. Then between 50,000 and 100,000 years ago, we hit another rough patch as our ancestors migrated out of Africa. As you would expect, we’ve been left with astonishingly low genetic diversity. A 2012 study of the genetic differences between neighbouring groups of chimpanzees found more diversity in a single group than among all seven billion humans alive today.
Looking to our ancestors may be our best bet. Anthropologist John Moore’s estimate, which was published by Nasa in 2002, was modelled on small migrating groups of early humans – around 160 people. He recommends starting with young, childless couples and screening for the presence of potentially dangerous recessive genes. Alas, Moore was contemplating long-term space travel, not repopulating the planet. His number only allows for 200 years of isolation before the pioneers head back to Earth.
So what of the last man and woman? It’s impossible to say with any certainty, though Stephens is tentatively optimistic. “The evidence for the short-term effects of low genetic diversity is very strong, but all these things are probabilistic. There are stories of incredible journeys back from the brink – anything is possible.”
As long as the apocalypse doesn’t destroy the foundations of modern civilisation, humanity could bounce back surprisingly fast. At the turn of the 20th Century, the Hutterite community of North America – which is, incidentally, highly inbred – achieved the highest levels of population growth ever recorded, doubling every 17 years. It’s a tough ask, but if each woman had eight children, we’d be back to seven billion people and our current population crisis in just 556 years.
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If you liked this story, sign up for the weekly BBC.com features newsletter, called “If You Only Read 6 Things This Week”. A handpicked selection of stories from BBC Future, Earth, Culture, Capital, Travel and Autos, delivered to your inbox every Friday. | The last man on Earth is a common trope in fiction – but what if it actually happened? How many people would it take to save our species? | 63.5 | 0.766667 | 1.3 | high | low | abstractive |
http://time.com/3534531/mindfulness-protects-heart-health/ | http://web.archive.org/web/20160531223921id_/http://time.com:80/3534531/mindfulness-protects-heart-health/ | How Self Awareness Protects Your Heart | 20160531223921 | Self-aware people have better heart health, a new study suggests.
People who are mindful score higher on healthy heart indicators, according to recent findings published in the International Journal of Behavioral Medicine from Brown University researchers. The team looked at whether having something called “dispositional mindfulness”—which means you’re the type of person who’s very aware and attentive to what you’re feeling and thinking at any given moment—was a factor for heart health. They found a pretty significant connection: people with high mindfulness scores had an 83% greater prevalence of good cardiovascular health.
Having dispositional mindfulness doesn’t necessarily mean you’re regularly practicing mindfulness processes, like meditation. For some people, being more present is a natural part of their personality. For the rest of us, some say, it can be learned.
In the study, the researchers asked 382 people to evaluate statements that measure their level of mindfulness. Participants responded to statements like “I find it difficult to stay focused on what’s happening in the present”on a six point scale ranging from “almost always” to “almost never.” The participants who scored highest with the best mindfulness scores also had very healthy scores when it came to the seven American Heart Association indicators for cardiovascular health. Those include avoiding smoking, being physically active, having a healthy body mass index, consuming decent amounts of fruits and vegetables, and maintaining good cholesterol, blood pressure and fasting blood glucose levels.
The associations appeared to be strongest with factors including smoking, BMI, fasting glucose and physical activity. “The society we live in right now is very promoting of cardiovascular disease…cigarettes are still pretty inexpensive, and jobs are sedentary,” says study author Eric Loucks, an assistant professor in epidemiology at Brown University. “People who are more mindful tend to have more awareness of where their mind and bodies are at. By increasing our awareness, we might become more aware of the impact of what we are doing on ourselves.” If a mindful person is less physically active, Loucks suggests, they might notice that they have less energy.
Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction has been taught in some medical settings for years, and Loucks points out that mindfulness scores tend to go up with the practice. “It does seem like mindfulness can be taught,” he says. “I think it’s good for it to be available for people who are interested in it…we shouldn’t force people to go mindfulness [training] if they don’t want to go. But it has the potential to be a resource.”
The findings are still preliminary, and the reasons for the connection are still inconclusive. But if corroborated, mindfulness interventions may be non-invasive ways to help people adopt healthier behaviors. | Tuning in to your body is good for your health | 53.3 | 0.7 | 0.9 | high | low | abstractive |
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/08/theater/reviews/08grey.html | http://web.archive.org/web/20160601030434id_/http://www.nytimes.com:80/2006/03/08/theater/reviews/08grey.html? | Grey Gardens - Review - Theater - New York Times | 20160601030434 | Please welcome another first-class clairvoyant to the swelling ranks of those who dazzle by channeling dead celebrities on the stage and screen. Resurrecting that strange socialite-in-limbo known as "Little" Edie Beale in "Grey Gardens," the irritatingly mixed blessing of a musical that opened last night at Playwrights Horizons, Christine Ebersole easily matches the achievements of this year's newly anointed Oscar winners Philip Seymour Hoffman (who played Truman Capote in "Capote") and Reese Witherspoon (June Carter Cash in "Walk the Line").
Sara Krulwich/The New York Times
Christine Ebersole channels "Little" Edie Beale (and also her mother, Edith Bouvier Beale) in the musical version of the cult documentary film "Grey Gardens."
Sara Krulwich/The New York Times
Christine Ebersole, left, in full Edie regalia, and Mary Louise Wilson, as her intimidating mother, Edith.
Like Mr. Hoffman and Ms. Witherspoon, Ms. Ebersole embodies a once living figure of, shall we say, distinctive style with a radiant conviction and finesse that turn surface mimicry into fine-grained portraiture. Anyone who has seen the 1975 Maysles brothers documentary that inspired this show will know that Ms. Ebersole looks, sounds, moves and (most important, for much of this show's audience) dresses with eerie exactitude like the real Edie Beale. (For the uninitiated, Edie Beale, a cousin of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, achieved the notoriety that inspires cult worship when she was discovered in the early 1970's living in rancid squalor in the family mansion in East Hampton with her ancient mother.)
But Ms. Ebersole's Edie is not a human sideshow, or not only that. When she sings, skillfully layering softness with stridency, she takes familial ambivalence to an operatic level of eccentricity, yet becomes frighteningly easy to love, to understand and to identify with. She's every aging child with parent issues, and who doesn't that include? A blend of gentle compassion and acute observation, Ms. Ebersole's performance is one of the most gorgeous ever to grace a musical.
Ms. Ebersole's Edie, it must be noted, is a pearl of incalculable price in a show that is, at best, costume jewelry. Adapted by Doug Wright (book), Scott Frankel (music) and Michael Korie (lyrics), "Grey Gardens" tilts perilously toward cheap celebrity camp. Directed with merciful clarity by Michael Greif ("Rent"), with a solid supporting cast led by the excellent Mary Louise Wilson, the show often coasts on the allure of loudly dropped names and the gay-bait thrills of women in extreme states of glamour and grotesqueness, preferably at the same time. (Its second act, which hews closely to the movie, brings to mind a singing version of the 1962 cinematic shocker "What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?")
It is a musical you might expect to see performed by men in Max Factor and thrift shop drag in a downtown bar lighted by Christmas tree bulbs. Be grateful that Ms. Wilson (an affecting anchor in the second act as Little Edie's mother, Edith Bouvier Beale) and Ms. Ebersole are on hand to find the soul beneath the shredded tinsel. Otherwise "Grey Gardens" whose limited run has already been extended, thanks in part to its appeal to cultists who know every line and gesture from the film might have emerged as a fancier version of the live entertainments that accompany midnight screenings of "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" and "The Sound of Music."
The very long and finally tedious first act is devoted to orienting the socially benighted on the history of the Bouvier Beales. It is 1941. Grey Gardens, the family homestead, oozes patrician affluence. And a middle-aged, handsome Edith Bouvier Beale (Ms. Ebersole again, in resplendent high-bohemian form) is preparing for a party to honor the engagement of her daughter, Edie (Sara Gettelfinger) to Joseph Patrick Kennedy Jr. (Matt Cavenaugh, of the musical adaptation of "Urban Cowboy").
That's right, that Joe Kennedy Jr. And guess who's visiting this summer? Edith's young nieces Jackie (Sarah Hyland) and Lee Bouvier (Audrey Twitchell), who would become famous as Mrs. Kennedy Onassis and Princess Lee Radziwill. Mr. Korie's lyrics set to songs that glibly evoke popular period standards by Coward, Kern and Porter are festooned with nudging rhymed references to famous names. ("Howard Hughes she had no use for," goes one song, describing Little Edie's parade of suitors. "Guess who he named Spruce Goose for?")
Even more oppressive is the anticipatory irony that rumbles through many of the songs and the script by Mr. Wright ("I Am My Own Wife"). "Trust me, Joe, my days at Grey Gardens are limited," says Little Edie, and the audience chuckles knowingly.
The supporting cast members who also include the estimable John McMartin (as Edith's hidebound father), Bob Stillman (in the thankless, overemphasized role of Edith's gay, piano-playing pet) and Michael Potts (as a family retainer) are never less than adept. (And they do nifty double duty in the second act, particularly Mr. Cavenaugh as a friendly teenager.)
But it's Ms. Ebersole, a revitalizing master of period style, who gives the drawn-out first act a magnetic center. She delivers all sorts of pastiche pieces (including a hilariously tasteless "Mammy"-style number) with a high-wattage narcissism that recalls her Tony-winning Broadway diva from "42nd Street." | Christine Ebersole's performance in this irritatingly mixed blessing of a show is one of the most gorgeous ever to grace a musical. | 45.5 | 1 | 7.5 | high | high | mixed |
http://www.aol.com/article/2016/03/29/4-leadership-lessons-from-pope-francis/21335182/ | http://web.archive.org/web/20160601070237id_/http://www.aol.com:80/article/2016/03/29/4-leadership-lessons-from-pope-francis/21335182/ | 4 leadership lessons from Pope Francis | 20160601070237 | The pope offered a reminder of the importance of love, mercy, and acceptance in his Easter message.
On Easter Sunday, in Saint Peter's Square at the Vatican, Pope Francis delivered his Easter benediction. Thankfully, it's not just the pontiff's followers who can benefit from his words: As a business leader, you too can learn a thing or two about the importance of love, mercy, and freedom in times of crisis.
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Here are four lessons you can apply to your business and your life.
Whether you are a world leader dealing with terrorism or a CEO fighting against competitors who are trying to beat your business, it is easy to succumb to negative feelings. But Pope Francis says you need to be merciful: "Before the spiritual and moral abysses of mankind, before the chasms that open up in hearts and provoke hatred and death, only an infinite mercy can bring us salvation."
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It is easy to be prejudiced against people who are different from you. But as a leader your job is to bring people together, to keep your employees safe, and make sure others feel protected. You should not close your doors to people in need. Pope Francis says you should should show love and compassion for those "who hunger and thirst, strangers and prisoners, the marginalized and the outcast, the victims of oppression and violence."
In times like these, when fear and violence dominate the headlines, Pope Francis says it is important to "water the seeds of hope and prospects for peace." He says to practice good will and cooperation. As a leader, you should realize you govern a community within your office and you need to build "a fraternal society respectful of the dignity and rights of each citizen." Business can be cutthroat, but you should be leading through positive and life-affirming tactics.
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When something bad happens in your company, you should "work for the common good, seeking spaces of dialog and cooperation with all," as the pope says. "May efforts be made everywhere to promote the culture of... reciprocal respect, which alone can guarantee the spiritual and material welfare of all people."
Making money is important for a business, but not if it comes at the expense of the environment. Pope Francis reminds us that climate change affects everyone and we should not allow for the planet to be destroyed. "On this glorious day, 'let the earth rejoice, in shining splendor,' even though it is so often mistreated and greedily exploited, resulting in an alteration of natural equilibria," he said.
RELATED: Pope Francis' best moments captured in photos
4 leadership lessons from Pope Francis
Pope Francis (R) wears a plastic poncho as he waves to well wishers after a mass in Tacloban on January 17, 2015. Pope Francis will spend an emotional day in the Philippines on January 17 with survivors of a catastrophic super typhoon that claimed thousands of lives, highlighting his concern over climate change. AFP PHOTO / JOHANNES EISELE (Photo credit should read JOHANNES EISELE/AFP/Getty Images)
Harlem Globetrotters' Hi-Lite Bruton, second from left, Ant Atitkson, third from left, look at teammate Flight Time Lang, right, helping Pope Francis spin the ball on his finger as they meet during the general audience in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Wednesday, May 6, 2015. (L'Osservatore Romano/Pool Photo via AP)
VATICAN CITY, VATICAN - JUNE 25: Pope Francis holds his weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square on June 25, 2014 in Vatican City, Vatican. This will be the last Pope's weekly audience before the suspension of the event for the summer. (Photo by Franco Origlia/Getty Images)
Pope Francis wears a traditional Mexican sombrero hat he received as a gift by a Mexican journalist aboard the plane during the flight from Rome to Habana, Cuba, on his way to a week-long trip to Mexico, Friday, Feb. 12, 2016. The pontiff is scheduled to stop in Cuba for an historical meeting with Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill that the Vatican sees as a historic step in the path toward healing the 1,000-year schism that split Christianity. At right is Vatican spokesperson Rev. Federico Lombardi. (Alessandro Di Meo/Pool Photo via AP)
A gust of wind blows Pope Francis' mantle during his weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2014. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
Faithful take selfies with Pope Francis during his visit at the St. Joseph parish church in Rome, Sunday, Dec. 14, 2014. Pope Francis will celebrate his 78th birthday on Dec. 17. Pope Francis is encouraging people to strive for joy, telling his worldwide flock, "We've never heard of a sad saint." (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
VATICAN CITY, VATICAN - AUGUST 04: Pope Francis waves as he arrives in St. Peter's Square for an audience with thousands of altar servers from around Europe on August 4, 2015 in Vatican City, Vatican. The encounter was part of the ninth International Pilgrimage of Acolytes and Altar Servers. (Photo by Franco Origlia/Getty Images)
Pope Francis puts on a cap of "Scholas Ocurrentes" signed by students at the end of a ceremony at the Banado Norte neighbourhood in Asuncion, Paraguay, Sunday, July 12, 2015. "Scholas Ocurrentes" is a global project to support education. Pope Francis begins the last day of a weeklong South American tour on Sunday with a stop in Banado Norte, an Asuncion slum that borders the Paraguay river that frequently floods it and makes its dirt roads impassable pools of mud. (AP Photo/Jorge Saenz)
Pope Francis kisses a child upon his arrival for the weekly general audience at the Vatican, Wednesday, Dec. 16, 2015. Pope Francis enters his 80th year on Thursday amid mounting hopes among his critics that it will be his last _ at least as pope. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Pope Francis and President Barack Obama smile as they exchange gifts, at the Vatican Thursday, March 27, 2014. President Barack Obama called himself a "great admirer" of Pope Francis as he sat down at the Vatican Thursday with the pontiff he considers a kindred spirit on issues of economic inequality. Their historic first meeting comes as Obama's administration and the church remain deeply split on issues of abortion and contraception. (AP Photo/Gabriel Bouys, Pool)
VATICAN CITY, VATICAN - NOVEMBER 26: Pope Francis attends his weekly audience in St. Peter's Square on November 26, 2014 in Vatican City, Vatican. During today's General Audience Pope Francis told pilgrims the Church is on a continuing journey towards heaven. (Photo by Franco Origlia/Getty Images)
A pilgrim throws a blue hat in direction of Pope Francis (C) as he stands on the popemobile and waves to the crowd in St Peter's square for the 60th anniversary of the Comunione e Liberazione (Communion and Liberation) catholic mouvement on March 7, 2015 at the Vatican. AFP PHOTO / ANDREAS SOLARO (Photo credit should read ANDREAS SOLARO/AFP/Getty Images)
A balloon flies past Pope Francis during his general audience in St Peter's Square at the Vatican on May 14, 2014. AFP PHOTO / TIZIANA FABI (Photo credit should read TIZIANA FABI/AFP/Getty Images)
A Vatican Swiss Guard salutes Pope Francis holding his skull-cap as he leaves after the morning session of a two-week synod on family issues at the Vatican, Monday, Oct. 6, 2014. Francis has urged bishops to speak their minds about contentious issues like contraception, gays, marriage and divorce at the start of the meeting aimed at making the church's teaching on family matters relevant to today's Catholics. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
VATICAN CITY, VATICAN - JANUARY 29: Pope Francis kisses a little girl as he arrives at his weekly audience in St. Peter's Square on January 29, 2014 in Vatican City, Vatican. After his appearance on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine, today Pontiff was also found to be represented in a graffiti in Rome that portrays him in a superhero vest. (Photo by Franco Origlia/Getty Images)
Pope Francis gesticulates as he is driven through the crowd, in Mother Teresa Square in Tirana, Sunday, Sept. 21, 2014. Pope Francis denounced that extremists around the world are "perverting" religion to justify violence as he arrived Sunday in Albania, a Balkan nation where Christians and Muslims endured brutal religious oppression under communism but today live and work together peacefully. (AP Photo/Hector Pustina)
JOINT BASE ANDREWS, MD - SEPTEMBER 22: Pope Francis waves from the back of his Fiat after arriving from Cuba September 22, 2015 at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland. Francis will be visiting Washington, New York City and Philadelphia during his first trip to the United States as pope. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
In this March 21, 2015 pool photo, made available Monday, March 23, 2015, Pope Francis wears a helmet as he meets youths in Naples, Italy. Pope Francis made an impassioned defense of the unemployed during a speech to people in the poor Neapolitan neighborhood of Scampia Saturday. (AP Photo/L'Osservatore Romano, Pool)
VATICAN CITY, VATICAN - SEPTEMBER 24: Pope Francis loses his 'papalina' cup as he catches a baseball ball thrown by a faithful at the end of his weekly audience at St. Peter's Square on September 24, 2014 in Vatican City, Vatican. During his General Audience on Wednesday, Pope Francis reflected on his Apostolic Voyage to Albania. (Photo by Franco Origlia/Getty Images)
A gust of wind blows Pope Francis mantle during his weekly general audience in St. Peter Square at the Vatican, Wednesday, May 22, 2013. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
Circus artists perform for Pope Francis during his weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square, at the Vatican, Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2016. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Pope Francis uses his sleeves as a muffler to keep his hands warm as he sits at the beginning of his weekly general audience, in St. Peter's Square, at the Vatican, Wednesday, Dec. 30, 2015. Pope Francis arrived at his weekly general audience donning a white double-breasted winter coat and scarf. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Pope Francis arrives for the afternoon session of the Synod of bishops, at the Vatican, Saturday, Oct. 10, 2015. Pope Francis directed the attention of the world's bishops to real-world crises Friday by denouncing the escalation of conflicts in Syria and Iraq and urging greater diplomacy to end the "humanitarian crisis of enormous proportions." (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Pope Francis, wearing a red scarf, has a light moment as he leaves St. Peter's Square at the Vatican after an audience with with Altar boys and girls Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2015. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Pope Francis and Bolivia's President Evo Morales wear traditional Bolivian hats during the second World Meeting of Popular Movements in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, Thursday, July 9, 2015. Francis gave a late-afternoon speech to delegates at the gathering. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Pope Francis attends his general audience at St Peter's square on May 28, 2014 at the Vatican. AFP PHOTO / ANDREAS SOLARO (Photo credit should read ANDREAS SOLARO/AFP/Getty Images)
APARECIDA, BRAZIL - JULY 24: Pope Francis takes communion as he celebrates Mass at the Basilica of the National Shrine of Our Lady Aparecida on July 24, 2013 in Aparecida, Brazil. The shrine attracts millions each year and honors the dark-skinned Virgin of Aparecida, who is considered the patron saint of Brazil. Pilgrims throughout the world are joining Pope Francis for his visits to various locations in Brazil from July 22- July 28 during the Catholic Church's World Youth Day celebrations. (Photo by Buda Mendes/Getty Images)
Pope Francis blesses a baby during an audience in the Paul VI hall at the Vatican, Saturday, May 31, 2014. The pontiff met with children from poor neighborhoods in Naples and Rome at risk of leaving school. (AP Photo/Riccardo De Luca)
Pope Francis exchanges his skull cap with one donated to him by a pilgrim during his weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2014. Pope Francis urged governments and legislatures on Wednesday to do more to end modern-day slavery, calling for better laws and policies to prevent human trafficking, protect its victims and prosecute those responsible. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Pope Francis loses his skull cap as he disembarks from his plane shortly upon arrival from Sri Lanka, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2015, south of Manila, Philippines. Pope Francis arrived Thursday for a five-day apostolic visit in this predominantly Catholic nation in Asia. (AP Photo/Bullit Marquez)
TOPSHOT - Pope Francis takes a sip of 'Mate', a traditional South American infused drink, with Argentinian soldiers of the United Nation during the weekly general audience at St Peter's square on February 3, 2016 at the Vatican. AFP PHOTO / TIZIANA FABI / AFP / TIZIANA FABI (Photo credit should read TIZIANA FABI/AFP/Getty Images)
Pope Francis listens to a video message from a journalist's tablet, as he greets journalists on board he flight to Nairobi, Kenya, Wednesday, Nov. 25, 2015. Pope Francis is traveling to Africa for a six-day visit that is taking him to Kenya, Uganda and the Central African Republic. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
TOPSHOT - Pope Francis looks on as artists perform during his weekly general audience in St Peter's square on February 3, 2016 at the Vatican. AFP PHOTO / TIZIANA FABI / AFP / TIZIANA FABI (Photo credit should read TIZIANA FABI/AFP/Getty Images)
Pope Francis keeps the balance of a ball during a meeting with the members of the Italian Sports Center in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican Saturday, June 7, 2014. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
VATICAN CITY, VATICAN - SEPTEMBER 16: The robes of Pope Francis are blown over his head by a gust of wind as he holds his weekly audience in St. Peter's Square on September 16, 2015 in Vatican City, Vatican. Pope Francis on Wednesday appealed for prayers for his Apostolic Voyage to Cuba and to the United States, which begins on Saturday. (Photo by Franco Origlia/Getty Images) | It's not just the pontiff's followers who can benefit from his words. You too can learn a thing or two about the importance of love, mercy, and freedom. | 84.588235 | 1 | 14.411765 | high | high | extractive |
http://www.9news.com.au/world/2016/05/31/13/38/nz-govt-reveals-plain-packaging-details | http://web.archive.org/web/20160601131228id_/http://www.9news.com.au/world/2016/05/31/13/38/nz-govt-reveals-plain-packaging-details | NZ government reveals cigarette plain packaging details | 20160601131228 | An example of the cigarette packaging the New Zealand government is pushing for, shown at a press conference in Wellington. (AAP)
The New Zealand government is pushing ahead with its plans to bring in plain packaging for cigarettes and it's revealed what it wants the packs to look like.
Associate Health Minister Sam Lotu-Iiga today - on World Smoke Free Day - unveiled the proposed new brown-green packaging, which is similar to what is used in Australia.
Mandatory health warnings will cover at least 75 percent of the front of the packs and all tobacco imagery will be removed.
While brand names will be allowed, there will be rules to standardise how and where the printing is.
"The design and appearance of cigarette packets are powerful marketing tools for vendors," Mr Lotu-Iiga said.
The government wants the Smokefree Environments (Tobacco Plain Packaging) Amendment Bill passed by the end of the year.
That could mean plain cigarette packets could be on shelves early next year, Prime Minister John Key said.
The government first mooted plain packaging back in 2012 and the bill to bring it in passed its first reading back in February 2014.
It went to a select committee, which supported it, but the government put it on hold because it was worried about the possibility of costly legal challenges from big multi-national tobacco companies.
The Australian government was being sued at the time, but in December last year legal action taken by Philip Morris failed.
However, Australia is still waiting for the outcome of a challenge to its plain packaging laws that is being dealt with by the World Trade Organisation.
A decision on that dispute is expected some time this year.
Despite that, Mr Lotu-Iiga insists now is the right time for New Zealand to proceed with plain packaging.
It's estimated between 4500 and 5000 people die from smoking-related illnesses each year.
About 15 per cent of adult New Zealanders smoke. The figure for Maori is 35 per cent and for Pacific peoples it's 22 per cent.
The unveiling of the proposed new plain packaging comes after last week's budget confirmed that the annual 10 per cent increase to the tax on tobacco would continue for the next four years.
That will eventually take the price of a packet of cigarettes to $30. | The government has revealed details about what it wants standardised plain cigarette packaging to look like. | 26.705882 | 0.823529 | 2.117647 | medium | medium | mixed |
http://fortune.com/2016/03/09/mcdonalds-full-breakfast/ | http://web.archive.org/web/20160601165024id_/http://fortune.com:80/2016/03/09/mcdonalds-full-breakfast/ | McDonald's Full Breakfast Menu Is Served All Day in Oklahoma, NC | 20160601165024 | Can it really be considered “all-day breakfast” if you can’t get hash browns?
McDonald’s mcd is reportedly offering its full breakfast menu at select locations. People can order any and all breakfast items including biscuits, McMuffins, McGriddles, and of course hash browns.
When the fast food chain launched all day breakfast back in October, there was a catch. Customers could only get either a biscuit or a McMuffin, depending on where they live and what their local McDonald’s serves, and even then they could only get certain varieties. While most menus included a core list of items—sausage burrito, hotcakes, parfait, and oatmeal—menus varied by location, and most didn’t serve hash browns after 10:30 a.m.
At the time, McDonald’s spokesperson Lisa McComb assured breakfast fans, “If a location isn’t able to offer hash browns at this point, that doesn’t mean they may never offer them as more learning continues to happen.” Finally that learning is happening and, according to Brand Eating, it’s starting in Tulsa, Oklahoma and the Triad area of North Carolina. McDonald’s is calling it, “All Day Breakfast: Bigger Menu,” and if market testing goes well it could extend nationally in the near future. | Its full breakfast menu will be available all day in these locations. | 18.923077 | 0.769231 | 2 | medium | low | mixed |
http://time.com/3856534/pitch-perfect-honest-trailer/ | http://web.archive.org/web/20160602155237id_/http://time.com:80/3856534/pitch-perfect-honest-trailer/ | 'Aca' Joke Is Played Out | 20160602155237 | YouTube channel “ScreenJunkies,” which makes brutally honest parodies of movies in the form of trailers, has released one for Pitch Perfect, which the narrator sarcastically hails as “the best film of all-time about making noises with your mouth.”
It describes the campus in the film as a “fantasy version of college” where “the students actually like and respect a cappella groups.” While the movie’s fans love Anna Kendrick’s outsider character, the Internet jokesters describe her as the kind of person one wouldn’t want to be around in real life—someone who doesn’t like to work, doesn’t like movies, doesn’t like it when guys flirt with her, and doesn’t like that her dad pays for college.
And it slams the way the characters use the first few letters of the word a cappella to describe everything: “aca-nough, aca-stop it,” the narrator says. | Needless to say, the satirists do not think the movie is "aca-awesome" | 10.647059 | 0.411765 | 0.764706 | low | low | abstractive |
http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/prince-coat-worn-purple-rain-film-auction-article-1.2618443 | http://web.archive.org/web/20160602185753id_/http://www.nydailynews.com:80/entertainment/prince-coat-worn-purple-rain-film-auction-article-1.2618443 | Prince's coat worn in 'Purple Rain' film going up for auction | 20160602185753 | CALABASAS, Calif. — A rare piece of movie memorabilia from Prince's 1984 classic film "Purple Rain" is hitting the auction block.
Prince donned the black and white blazer with leather sleeves while riding a motorcycle with co-star Apollonia Kotero.
"It's definitely the most important piece of screen-worn Prince clothing that's ever come up for auction," said Joe Maddalena, president of the Calabasas, California-based auction house, Profiles in History. "This is a signature piece of wardrobe worn from an iconic movie in his most famous role."
PRINCE MAY HAVE OVERDOSED AS OFFICIALS PROBE WHTHER HE HAD PRESCRIPTION FOR DRUGS FOUND IN HOME
The coat is a unique find from the typically reclusive artist, who was found dead last week at his Paisley Park complex just outside of Minneapolis.
"Prince memorabilia in general, it just really doesn't exist. It seems like he controlled it all," Maddalena said. "This is the first time ever for something like this, and it might be the only time because the rest of the costumes may be in his (personal) wardrobe."
The original seller said her sister, a makeup artist, received the piece from Prince after they worked together on "Purple Rain."
The June 29th auction will also include costumes from Britney Spears, Katy Perry, Alicia Keys and a Swarovski crystal studded glove from Michael Jackson's 1992 Dangerous world tour.
Maddalena said he believes the "Purple Rain" blazer will be the "star of the show" and expects it to sell for much more than the asking price, $6,000 to $8,000.
"Hopefully it will reach a price that is equivalent to his stature as a musician," he said. | Prince donned the black and white blazer with leather sleeves while riding a motorcycle with co-star Apollonia Kotero in the 1984 classic. | 13.56 | 1 | 16.28 | low | high | extractive |
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/industry/engineering/11733103/Why-future-airliners-could-be-flying-Toyota-Priuses.html | http://web.archive.org/web/20160603031609id_/http://www.telegraph.co.uk:80/finance/newsbysector/industry/engineering/11733103/Why-future-airliners-could-be-flying-Toyota-Priuses.html | Why future airliners could be 'flying Toyota Priuses' | 20160603031609 | French pilot Hugues Duval claims to have beaten Airbus to the record by just a few hours
The fact the row has made headlines highlights the interest in the possibilities of electrically powered flight. Airbus has so far spent €20m (£14m) developing the E-Fan. Although it is just a demonstrator aircraft, it has completed more than 100 flights and hints at the direction in which aviation could be going.
• Video - the E-Fan explained in 60 seconds
Recreating French aviation pioneer Louis Bleriot’s first cross-channel flight in a machine that was heavier than air back in 1909 – although being a European company, Airbus did Friday's crossing in the opposite direction – makes a very public statement about what is possible in with new technology.
“This is a starting point to show electric technology is going to become a reality in aeroplanes,” says Jean Botti, Airbus’s chief technology officer and the man behind the E-Fan. “This flight is a public symbol but we have to be honest, it is just the start of a very long curve.”
Battery technology will have to advance to make the E-Fan practical for anything more than short flights
It is likely to be several decades before paying passengers are buckling up their seatbelts for a trip on such an “E-Airliner”. However, he hopes to start on a prototype in the next 10 years, though he expects a production version of the E-Fan will come to market around 2018 with a four-seater version a few years later.
“We start with a small plane like the E-Fan, as we have to learn and build up the know-how from the first concept to full understanding of how to build, operate, industrialise and maintain such an aircraft,” says Botti.
While it might be decades off, Airbus is investing large sums of money in the technology and is setting up a laboratory where engineers can learn how to integrate all the new systems that would be required.
There are several factors driving the costly development of new forms of propulsion for aircraft. “The oil is not going to last for ever,” says Botti. “It’s not an immediate problem but we need to start work on it now.”
Other drivers include tough environmental controls. The EU’s Flightpath 2050 is targeting reductions of 75pc in CO2 and 90pc in nitrogen oxide pumped out by aircraft compared with levels seen in 2000.
New controls on aviation means airliners will have to emit far pollution
The initiative also wants to deliver aircraft that are 65pc quieter. Near-silent aircraft are unlikely to face the kind of restrictions on night flights in place at many airports, meaning a better return on the cost of buying them, as aircraft that emit only a whisper will not be limited by noise restrictions. As the furious debate around the location of a new runway serving London shows, it’s in aircraft manufacturers’ interests to work out how to deal with these factors.
The importance of starting research now is compounded by the long development cycles and high costs in the aerospace industry as issues such as safety, regulation and sheer complexity mean advances do not come quickly. Even an upgrade to existing technology such as a jet engine can take a decade and cost billions.
These are all challenges to be overcome but hastening work is the always present challenge of economics. The low margins in the airline sector make it an industry highly driven to squeeze every last efficiency out of its aircraft.
The size of the airline business – IATA predicts annual spending on air transport will be $823bn in 2015 – means that while research may be expensive, scale means that small savings soon stack up, especially in aircraft that have service lives that can be as long as 30 years.
Before the E-Airliners Botti describes is a regular sight in the air there are other major hurdles to overcome – including developing longer lasting, lighter batteries, superconductive materials for the motors and wires and less power hungry avionics.
While the E-Fan looks and works basically the same as a conventional contemporary aircraft, with a fuselage, wings and engines in pods which are powered by an energy source, the E-Airliners that will develop from it could be radically different – both in how they are powered and how they look.
“Pure electric power is currently quite some way short of being practical for an airliner,” says Simon Weeks, chief technology officer at Britain’s Aerospace Technology Institute. “Battery technology needs to advance and a more probable approach is a hybrid power system, like a Toyota Prius.”
Future aircraft could have a power system similar to the hybrid engine in Toyota's Prius
This would involve a primary power source – probably a jet engine – used to power fans like those on the E-Fan but whose thrust could be used to give an extra boost when the aircraft needs a lot of power, such as take-off and climbing. Once the aeroplane is cruising, the jet engine could be run at a lower, less fuel-thirsty rate to generate power for the fans.
“Like a hybrid car getting energy from braking, these fans could also generate power as the aircraft descends with them windmilling and putting power into a battery,” says Weeks. “You would still need fuel, but less of it.”
Airbus’s Botti says this is the sort of set-up he sees in his regional airliner, though the power to drive the fans would always be electric, with the gas turbine being used only to generate electrical energy, not direct thrust.
Driving several fans from a single power source is known as “distributive power” and could pave the way for airliners that look completely different from the familiar Airbuses and Boeings. Rather than having a couple of large jet engines on the wings or fuselage, instead a larger number of fans could be spread around the aircraft’s body with the engine generating the power to drive them hidden deep in the fuselage.
Freed from current design limits because of their engines, future airliners could look very different
Freed from previous constrictions, designers are letting their imaginations run wild, sketching out aircraft where wings and fuselage have blended into a single aerodynamic body with rows of fans along the trailing edges, and shapes similar to the “flying wing” of the US airforce’s B-2 stealth bomber.
How the public will react to such a transformation is unknown, but Alan Newby, head of future programmes and technology at Rolls-Royce, believes it won’t be an issue.
“Some people won’t care because you don’t see the aircraft,” he says, referring to the walk down a boarding gate at the airport that means many passengers don’t even see what sort of aircraft they are flying on. “They could also be encouraged by the environmental benefits new types of aircraft and power will bring.”
Botti doesn’t believe the jumbo jets and A330s the public are used to will be disappearing too soon.
“We’ll still see wide-bodied airliners carrying hundreds of passengers on long-haul routes,” he says. “The potential for electrical power is much greater in aircraft flying shorter routes – longer flights will look for benefits in areas such as using biofuels.”
The interest in electric power doesn’t mean there aren’t more improvements to be made to the jet turbines of today’s aircraft.
“We’ve not run out of ideas for gas turbines yet,” says Newby, who believes another 10pc of efficiency can be squeezed out of the jet engines hanging off current aircraft's wings.
Rolls is working on an “Advance” gas turbine which uses new materials such as ceramics so the engine can run hotter, where it is more efficient, and carbon titanium blades which are lighter, effectively meaning aircraft can carry more passengers, effectively “for free” because of the weight saving.
“You get to a virtuous circle where the less an aircraft and its engines weigh, the less power is needed, so you need to carry less fuel, which means the weight goes down and so on,” says Newby.
Rolls-Royce's Advance and Ultrafan engine desings offer significant benefits over current models
Further down the line, likely in 2025, is the “Ultrafan”. This builds on the Advance but the blades of the fan at the front – which provide most of the thrust in a modern gas turbine – are larger and can be adjusted to run at the optimum angle and speed.
“To get the best propulsive efficiency you want a large amount of air moving slowly,” says Newby. “That’s why fans are getting bigger – and the slower the air moves the quieter it is.”
There’s a limit to how big fans could become with conventional aeroplane designs so Newby says he expects even closer co-operation in the future between aircraft and engine designers.
He also sees distributive power featuring in forthcoming aircraft, with lots of smaller fans moving lots of air slowly to deliver less noisy aeroplanes.
For future passenger aircraft, it would seem speed is something that’s been left in the past. The amount of fuel needed to push Concorde to through the sound barrier meant it was hard to make the jet’s economics work and the current generation of large airliners cruise at slower speeds than their predecessors, as the faster a jet goes disproportionately more fuel is burnt.
Breaking the sound barrier looks set to be preserve of military, says the ATI’s Weeks – at least for the time being and even then for only the very richest few.
“We’re unlikely to see civil supersonic flight in the near term, it’s just too expensive to go that fast with the technology currently available,” he says. “The only possibility of it outside the military seems to be business jets.”
Although many aerospace companies have concepts for airliners capable of breaking the sound barrier tucked away in the design offices, perhaps one of the most realistic prospects of supersonic flight is from Aerion.
Aerion's AS2 jet offers supersonic travel for civilians - but has a $120m price tag
The US-based company has been developing a jet capable of carrying nine passengers at up to 1.5 times the speed of sound more than 4,500 miles – though not at that speed all the way. However, when the company opened up the order book for its AS2 jet in May it had a $120m list price, meaning those who feel the need for speed will have to have extremely deep pockets.
If aircraft engine manufacturers do have a revolutionary power system in development, then they are keeping very quiet about it. Warp drive remains the preserve of Star Trek and for the next few decades the type of technology being pioneered by E-Fan is about as radical as it gets.
It seems that those living near airports and under flightpaths will just have to get used to the rumble of jet engines - even if they are becoming quieter.
As Weeks puts it: “Unless there’s a huge breakthrough, jet engines are about the best we’ve got - but they remain a remarkable way of generating a huge amount of power from a small volume.”
They’d certainly seem remarkable to Louise Bleriot back in 1909.
Follow the Telegraph on LinkedIn. Share this article with your network. | The first flight across the Channel in an electric aircraft highlights research by the aerospace industry into future forms of power for airliners | 92.291667 | 0.916667 | 1.333333 | high | medium | abstractive |
http://www.aol.com/article/2013/03/20/technology-career-trends-opportunities/20510179/ | http://web.archive.org/web/20160603120926id_/http://www.aol.com:80/article/2013/03/20/technology-career-trends-opportunities/20510179/? | 12 Tech Trends Transforming Careers -- And Leading To New Jobs | 20160603120926 | As technology continues to impact our lives, workers in today's ever-changing labor market need to be prepared with skills to adapt and succeed in the workplace. Job opportunities in technology are
than other career fields in the U.S. Long gone are the days of a linear education and career trajectory as technology continues to reshape the world's education and workplace landscapes. Nowadays, the career paths of most individuals resemble a scaffold rather than a conservative straight line.
Changes in the education and workplace landscape not only impact job seekers, but educators and employers as well. It's estimated that by 2025, we could have
.Before you start thinking that there will be no jobs for humans to do in the near future, first realize that technology has always eliminated jobs. What we're experiencing now is nothing new. Even in the 18th and 19th centuries, new advancements in everything from textiles to railroads to mail delivery to manufacturing caused jobs to disappear. The difference is that the change used to be slow. It took a long time for those jobs to disappear, so there was time to adapt.
But today, thanks to the three change accelerators of exponential advances in processing power, bandwidth, and storage, we are experiencing rapid change -- or rather, transformation. Because processing power is creating a digital explosion in our tools' ability to do more with less at a faster rate, and bandwidth is increasing exponentially, and storage is moving to the cloud, over the next five short years we will be transforming how we sell, market, communicate, collaborate, innovate, train and educate. As a result, we are going to see many jobs disappear, yet at the same time, many current job definitions redefined as technology gives us new and more efficient ways to do our old jobs.
The key is to get ahead of the curve.
Obviously, advanced automation and robotics is going to take over those jobs quickly, if they haven't already. Similarly, do you have a well-defined procedure that you do every day, or do you have rule-based skills? Intelligent systems are going to be able to do those procedures for you.
What are the new areas of learning that will make me more relevant in a world of rapid change?" It's time to ask new and better questions, because we used to have a lot of time -- in some cases, a lifetime -- to prepare for job and career changes. Today the time frame to prepare for change is extremely short.
The problem is, we live in an uncertain world, and because of the high levels of uncertainty we all face, people of all ages and career levels are finding it difficult to know what new skills to learn, what courses to take, and what degrees to get that will provide them with the most opportunity going forward. Uncertainty keeps us stuck in the present.
to move forward, to invest time and money to learn new things. Over the past 30 years, I have developed and proven the power of the science of certainty. The science of certainty involves a scientific method of separating Hard Trends -- trends that will happen -- from Soft Trends – trends that might happen. This method is currently being used by many Fortune 500 companies including IBM, Deloitte, and Pratt & Whitney to name a few, to provide an accurate road map of the opportunities that are ahead.
That's why I'm launching a list of 12 Certainties that will transform every career, and create new ones. By providing an accurate road map for anyone from CEO to sales superstar to auto mechanic who wishes to increase their personal career relevancy in a world of transformative change, you now have a new tool that you can use to make career and education decisions with confidence. The list highlights technologies that are here now, and will continue to transform present and future careers. As you read through the list, ask yourself how each one will play a key role in your industry and your personal career path.
will continue to rapidly evolve, creating many new careers, as all phones become smartphones, and our primary computer and tablets continue to evolve as our laptop replacement. This new level of mobility will allow any size business to transform how they market, sell, communicate, collaborate, educate, train and innovate.
will become a primary relationship-building tool for businesses of all sizes as employees use smartphones, tablets and laptops, in combination with current video conferencing systems, to communicate at new levels with customers, partners and employees.
will grow rapidly as organizations shift from an Information Age "informing" model to a Communication Age "communicating and engaging" model. New careers will emerge as social software rapidly grows -- with applications to enhance business relationships, collaboration, networking, social validation and more. Social search will increasingly shape careers as marketers, researchers and those on Wall Street create applications and services to tap into millions of daily tweets and Facebook conversations, providing real-time analysis of many key consumer metrics.
will grow rapidly as we become increasingly connected and dependent on computer systems and machines using intelligent sensors connected to just about everything. Careers in data and information forensics will grow rapidly as the need to solve cyber crimes increases.
) will create many new careers in manufacturing as this revolutionary technology allows any size company to manufacture quickly, locally and with far fewer costs. Additive manufacturing builds things by depositing material (typically plastic or metal) layer by layer until the final product is finished. Examples of final products today include jewelry, iPhone cases, shoes, car dashboards, parts for jet engines, prosthetic limbs and much more.
will create many new careers as corporations and educational institutions at all levels accelerate learning by using advanced simulations and skill-based learning systems that are self-diagnostic, interactive, game-like, and competitive, all focused on giving the user an immersive experience thanks to a photo-realistic 3-D interface.
will be increasingly embraced by businesses of all sizes, as this represents a major shift in how organizations obtain and maintain software, hardware, and computing capacity. IT is rapidly becoming an on-demand service that is rapidly transforming all business processes resulting in a rapid evolution of current careers as well as creating new careers in every functional area.
describe the technologies and techniques used to capture and utilize the exponentially increasing streams of data with the goal of bringing enterprise-wide visibility and insights to make rapid critical decisions. This new level of data integration and analytics will require many new skills and cross-functional training in order to take advantage of new opportunities as well as break down the many data and organizational silos that still exist.
using natural language voice commands was launched with Apple's Siri, which was rapidly followed by Google, Microsoft, and others all offering what will become a mobile electronic concierge on your phone, tablet and television. The technology will rapidly evolve and soon every profession from retailers to maintenance workers will have a Siri-like assistant. Adding an e-personal assistant to support an existing product and/or service will create many new careers.
will transform today's Internet experience (which is like looking at a flat piece of paper with a few photos, embedded video, and a few hyperlinks) to a true 3-D experience, similar to today's video games, where you can virtually walk into a showroom, look around and both listen to and see the new car you are interested in, or whatever the website is trying to show you. This will employ many new graphic artists, designers and programmers.
using chips, microsensors and both wired and wireless networks will create a rapidly growing "Internet of things" sharing real-time data, performing diagnostics and making remote repairs. Many jobs will be created as we add intelligent connected sensors to bridges, roads, buildings, homes and much more. By 2020, there will be well over a billion machines talking to each other, and people will install them.
will take a giant leap forward, thanks to networked sensors, artificial intelligence, and Siri-like voice communications, taking the next level of repetitive jobs from humans. This will create many new career opportunities from design, programming and installation to service and maintenance, to name just a few.
You don't have to know the physics of a telephone in order to use it. You do have to know it exists and how to creatively use it to accomplish your goal. Don't wait until next year, or the year after, or until you're laid off. Invest the time to identify what you need to learn right away so that you will thrive both now and in the future, either in your current career or a new one.
Looking for a job? Click here to get started. | AlamyAdditive Manufacturing with the Maker Bot, a 3-D printer. By Daniel Burrus As technology continues to impact our lives, workers in today' | 63.074074 | 0.740741 | 5.037037 | high | low | mixed |
http://www.thepostgame.com/fan-loses-foul-ball-finds-free-beer | http://web.archive.org/web/20160603135354id_/http://www.thepostgame.com/fan-loses-foul-ball-finds-free-beer | A's Fan Loses Foul Ball, But Finds Free Beer | 20160603135354 | A foul ball is a souvenir to be treasured. You can't put a price on it.
But you can put a price on a beer at Oakland-County Coliseum. At more than $10 per drink, they don't come cheap. So when one fan at a recent Oakland game dove for a foul ball and lost out to his neighbor, he could count his blessings that he didn't come up empty-handed.
The fan who won the battle for the foul ball did so at a cost: He had to leave his beer on the ground behind the tarp to free his hand. So the losing fan seized the moment, taking his beer as a consolation prize.
That fan held the beer in celebration as he returned to the stands, drawing cheers from the crowd. Even better is when the beer's original owner puts together what just happened to him, and his laughter turns to bitterness.
Of course, there's a small problem with the man's free beer: He had to go onto the playing field to get it. So security came to remove him from the game, souring the taste of that beer.
But the fan who won the foul ball did hand it over as the beer-wielding fan was escorted out of the stadium. Greatness recognizes greatness.
More MLB: -- Military Dad Dresses As Ump, Surprises Kids -- Minor League Baseball Team Hosting 'Keep Brady Suspended' Night -- Miguel Cabrera Gives Pitcher Jeremy Hellickson Thumbs Up
Baseball, Beer, MLB, Oakland Athletics | An Oakland A's fan dives over the railing to get a foul ball, but instead finds a free beer. | 13.545455 | 0.772727 | 1.227273 | low | low | abstractive |
http://www.aol.com/article/2016/03/30/measles-case-reported-at-california-school-with-record-low-vacci/21335592/ | http://web.archive.org/web/20160604074826id_/http://www.aol.com:80/article/2016/03/30/measles-case-reported-at-california-school-with-record-low-vacci/21335592/ | Measles case reported at California school with record low vaccination rate | 20160604074826 | The Yuba River Charter School in Nevada County, California — a county with one of the lowest immunization rates in the state — closed Tuesday after a child there was diagnosed with measles. California's department of public health is reportedly investigating the child, who "showed symptoms of measles after returning home from a trip overseas."
He's fine, but he was also infectious at school on March 17, which means his unvaccinated classmates were exposed to the highly contagious disease. If no new cases are reported, the school will be closed to all students until Wednesday and closed to students without a measles vaccine until April 8.
Coincidentally, YRCS's immunization rate is even lower than the county average — according to the Huffington Post, only 43 percent of kindergarteners there are up to date on their immunizations. That number is even lower than the already low county average of 77.1 percent of kindergarteners who meet the requirement.
RELATED GALLERY: See photos from California's measles outbreak in January 2015
Measles case reported at California school with record low vaccination rate
MIAMI, FL - JANUARY 28: Miami Children's Hospital pediatrician Dr. Amanda Porro, M.D prepares to administer a measles vaccination to Sophie Barquin,4, as her mother Gabrielle Barquin holds her during a visit to the Miami Children's Hospital on January 28, 2015 in Miami, Florida. A recent outbreak of measles has some doctors encouraging vaccination as the best way to prevent measles and its spread. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
MIAMI, FL - JANUARY 28: Miami Children's Hospital pediatrician Dr. Amanda Porro, M.D administers a measles vaccination to Sophie Barquin,4, as her mother Gabrielle Barquin and Miami Children's Hospital R.N. Diane Lichtman (R) hold her during a visit to the Miami Children's Hospital on January 28, 2015 in Miami, Florida. A recent outbreak of measles has some doctors encouraging vaccination as the best way to prevent measles and its spread. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
FOR USE AS DESIRED WITH MEASLES STORIES - A flyer educating parents about measles is displayed on a bulletin board at the Tamalpais Pediatrics clinic Friday, Feb. 6, 2015, in Greenbrae, Calif. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)
Pediatrician Charles Goodman vaccinates 1 year- old Cameron Fierro with the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine, or MMR vaccine at his practice in Northridge, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 29, 2015. Some doctors are adamant about not accepting patients who don't believe in vaccinations, with some saying they don't want to be responsible for someone's death from an illness that was preventable. Others warn that refusing treatment to such people will just send them into the arms of quacks. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
People walk toward the Sleeping Beauty's Castle in the background at Disneyland, Thursday, Jan. 22, 2015, in Anaheim, Calif. Seventy people have been infected in a measles outbreak that led California public health officials to urge those who haven't been vaccinated against the disease, including children too young to be immunized, should avoid Disney parks where the spread originated. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Mickey Mouse poses with visitors at Disneyland, Thursday, Jan. 22, 2015, in Anaheim, Calif. Seventy people have been infected in a measles outbreak that led California public health officials to urge those who haven't been vaccinated against the disease, including children too young to be immunized, should avoid Disney parks where the spread originated. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
People watch a parade at Disneyland, Thursday, Jan. 22, 2015, in Anaheim, Calif. A major measles outbreak traced to Disneyland has brought criticism down on the small but vocal movement among parents to opt out of vaccinations for their children. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Mickey Mouse shaped balloons are for sale at Disneyland, Thursday, Jan. 22, 2015, in Anaheim, Calif. A major measles outbreak traced to Disneyland has brought criticism down on the small but vocal movement among parents to opt out of vaccinations for their children. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Los Angeles County Department of Public Health Interim Health Officer, Dr. Jeffrey Gunzenhauser, speaks about the state's measles outbreak during a news conference in downtown Los Angeles on Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2015. The department is strongly advising unvaccinated individuals to get the measles vaccine. (AP Photo/Nick Ut)
Visitors arrive at the main entrance to the Disney theme parks, Thursday, Jan. 22, 2015, in Anaheim, Calif. Seventy people have been infected in a measles outbreak that led California public health officials to urge those who haven't been vaccinated against the disease, including children too young to be immunized, should avoid Disney parks where the spread originated. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Dr. Karen Smith, the state's public health officer, is not pleased. "It's concerning to receive a report of a child with measles because it's a disease that can easily be prevented," she wrote in a statement. She went on to remind parents, including those who choose not to vaccinate their children, that "immunization is the best way to protect against measles. Two doses of the Measles, Mumps, and Rubella (MMR) vaccine are approximately 97 percent effective at preventing disease in exposed persons."
After the Disneyland measles outbreak of last spring, California passed strict legislation that requires parents to vaccinate their kids enrolled in public and private schools. According to the law parents can no longer be exempt from vaccinating their children for religious or personal reasons, although they can still opt out for medical reasons. Parents who refuse to comply with the law must homeschool their children.
In a letter to YRCS families, school director Ron Charles encouraged "conscious speech" when addressing the inevitable media storm and told parents the state health department recommends they vaccinate their kids. The school is even holding a free drive-up clinic on Thursday afternoon for all their MMR vaccine needs! Unfortunately for Charles and YRCS, if a parent has joined the ranks of the anti-vaxxers, it's unlikely even a measles outbreak will change their minds.
More from Daily Intelligencer: Researchers Think a Single Traveler in 2013 May Be Responsible for This Zika Mess Report: The NFL’s Concussion Research Was Even Shoddier Than Anyone Thought Debris Found in Mozambique ‘Almost Certainly’ from MH370 | The school's immunization rate is even lower than the county average, with only 43 percent of kindergarteners up to date on their immunizations. | 47.038462 | 1 | 7 | high | high | mixed |
http://fortune.com/2016/03/29/chipotle-wedbush-sink/ | http://web.archive.org/web/20160604093958id_/http://fortune.com:80/2016/03/29/chipotle-wedbush-sink/ | Wedbush Says Chipotle Won't Recover Until 2018 | 20160604093958 | Shares of Chipotle cmg fell another 2.17% in pre-market trading Tuesday after financial firm Wedbush Securities ripped off the Band-Aid with a stark outlook, saying that the fast casual Mexican chain won’t recover sales lost from the norovirus and E. Coli outbreaks until 2018, and that’s the best case scenario.
The analysts downgraded the stock to underperform and slashed the target price from $450 to $400.
“Based on our belief that current valuation reflects an overly optimistic outlook regarding Chipotle’s path to recovery, we downgrade shares to underperform from neutral,” wrote a team of analysts led by Nick Setyan. They noted that Chipotle would have to unceasingly accelerate growth for three years if they were to recover pre-outbreak levels of comparable same store sales, a measure of revenue, of $2.5 million.
Wedbush also noted that Chipotle also has other headwinds to contend with, including labor and other operating expenses, which the fast food chain has upped in the first quarter. Chipotle reported an expected loss of $1 per share this quarter due to additional safety protocols and more staffing for its free burrito offers.
Once a Wall Street darling for its stellar growth and profits, the Denver-based restaurant chain has seen stock prices sink nearly 37% since their August highs after breakouts of E. Coli in nine states and a norovirus episode in Boston were reported. Same-store sales dropped 26% in February and another 22% in the first week of March.
The securities firm forecasts 2018 earnings per share at $15.68, with the best case scenario of $17.13 per share. For 2016, Wedbush also cut estimated EPS from $7.06 to $4.12, in response to Chipotle’s recent first quarter results. | It won't see the light for a while yet. | 30.363636 | 0.454545 | 0.454545 | medium | low | abstractive |
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/03/03/nyregion/jane-engelhard-86-fixture-in-society-and-philanthropy.html | http://web.archive.org/web/20160605104207id_/http://www.nytimes.com:80/2004/03/03/nyregion/jane-engelhard-86-fixture-in-society-and-philanthropy.html? | Jane Engelhard, 86, Fixture In Society and Philanthropy | 20160605104207 | Jane Engelhard, a philanthropist and art collector whose many gifts ranged from major donations to the Metropolitan Museum of Art to the Christmas crèche displayed at the White House, died on Sunday at her home in Nantucket, Mass. She was 86.
The cause was pneumonia, her daughter Annette de la Renta said.
As the wife of Charles Engelhard, owner of a vast international business empire, she helped Jacqueline Kennedy restore the White House, regularly made best-dressed lists and was such a fixture of New York society, its own magazines recounted, that socialites affectionately called her ''Our Mother Superior.'' After Mr. Engelhard's death in 1971, Mrs. Engelhard continued to display eclectic taste in her personal collecting, picking up rarities like the original presidential proclamation of the Louisiana Purchase as well as the perhaps predictable Monets.
Her gifts to the Met included the Charles Engelhard Court in the museum's American Wing in 1980. She was a trustee from 1974 until 1981, when she became a trustee emeritus.
She also gave to many smaller institutions, including the Newark Museum and the New Jersey Symphony, paying all of the salary expenses of the orchestra in some years.
Her contributions often went beyond money, as when she and Laurance S. Rockefeller and Brooke Astor in 1976 came up with the idea of planting a grove along the Potomac River to honor President Lyndon B. Johnson. From the administration of John F. Kennedy to that of George W. Bush, she served on committees to preserve the White House.
Jane Pinto-Reis Brian was born on Aug. 12, 1917, in Qingdao, China, where her father was serving as Brazil's ambassador. The family moved to Paris, where she was educated at the Couvent des Oiseaux.
Vogue reported that ''at 16 or so, black-eyed, confident and competent beyond her years,'' she married Fritz Mannheimer, a Dutch banker and, like Mr. Engelhard, thought to be one of the world's richest men. Eight weeks after they wed, Dr. Mannheimer died. The next day, his investment house closed, bankrupt.
She did inherit a microfilm company that copied United States war records and material for the Library of Congress, on whose board she later served. She was executive vice president of the microfilm company. After five years there, she married Mr. Engelhard, whose portfolio (ranging from gold, platinum, diamonds and timber to racehorses like Nijinsky II, a winner of the English Triple Crown) was once referred to as ''a consortium of conglomerates.''
They had houses in Johannesburg, in Maine and on the Gaspé Peninsula of Canada, and apartments in Manhattan, Rome and London. But they spent most of their time at their estate in Far Hills, N.J., where they kept champion golden retrievers and a pet lion roamed.
The Engelhards were active in Democratic Party politics. President Kennedy dispatched them as his representatives on diplomatic occasions.
President Johnson continued to send the Engelhards on diplomatic missions. But they proved even more useful as a bridge between Kennedy and Johnson loyalists.
In addition to Mrs. de la Renta, who lives in Manhattan and Kent, Conn., Mrs. Engelhard is survived by her four other daughters, Susan O'Connor of Missoula, Mont.; Sophie Craighead of Jackson Hole, Wyo.; Sally Pingree of Washington; and Charlene Engelhard of Concord, Mass.; two sisters, Brigitte de la Rochefoucauld of Paris and Madame Jacque Bemberg of Lausanne, Switzerland; 12 grandchildren; and 8 great-grandchildren. | Jane Engelhard, philanthropist and art collector whose many gifts ranged from major donations to Metropolitan Museum of Art to Christmas creche displayed at White House, dies at age 86; photo (M) | 18.805556 | 0.861111 | 5.472222 | medium | medium | mixed |
http://fortune.com/2016/05/01/radiohead-disappeared-internet/ | http://web.archive.org/web/20160605112830id_/http://fortune.com:80/2016/05/01/radiohead-disappeared-internet/? | Radiohead Disappears From the Internet | 20160605112830 | Starting a little over 4 hours ago, Radiohead’s website started to disappear—literally. Bit by bit, it faded away, and as of this writing Radiohead.com is an entirely blank page. All the posts on Radiohead’s Facebook page have also been erased. As have all of their Tweets. All this was first spotted and chronicled on Reddit.
Don’t worry, though – it’s unlikely that Radiohead is really disappearing. Instead, this seems like the latest iteration of the way publicity is done in the era of total information awareness.
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Invisibility, whether you’re Radiohead or Beyoncé or Drake, is the new hype—a tactic actually pioneered by Radiohead when it released its last album, way back in 2011.
Now there’s plenty of evidence that Radiohead’s vanishing act is promotion for a new album. Pitchfork reports that Radiohead fans in the UK received cryptic postcards on Friday, bearing an abstract image and the text “Sing a song of sixpence that goes/Burn the Witch,” followed by the even more menacing tagline “We know Where You Live.”
The band also recently announced a world tour, and registered two new companies under the name Dawn Chorus. So blanking out its internet presence isn’t a way of announcing the band’s retirement or breakup.
What it is, clearly, is a smart and slightly snarky reaction to the hypersaturation of the social media era. The particular choice to use postcards to tantalize/threaten Radiohead fans suggests a disdain for digital culture—though the band has pioneered using technology to promote and distribute its music.
For more on music and tech, watch our video:
Considering how short the cycles on these things are now, it’s entirely possible all of this adds up to a new Radiohead album appearing next week—maybe even tomorrow. And here we are, helping to promote . . . nothing.
I’m not sure if Radiohead would consider that a win or not. | Because that's how you promote an album now. | 38.9 | 0.8 | 0.8 | high | medium | abstractive |
http://fortune.com/2016/04/29/clinton-fiorina-womens-issues/ | http://web.archive.org/web/20160605120508id_/http://fortune.com:80/2016/04/29/clinton-fiorina-womens-issues/? | Here's How Hillary Clinton and Carly Fiorina Compare On Women's Issues | 20160605120508 | This story originally appeared on Motto.
On Wednesday, former Republican presidential candidate Carly Fiorina joined Ted Cruz’s campaign as his running mate. The real race is on, with some speculation that Fiorina was brought onto the ticket as a “woman card” to rival Hillary Clinton as she continues to lead the Democratic race.
Fiorina has deliberately set herself up against Clinton in the past, saying at a past Republican debate that Clinton “will do anything to gain and hang on to power” and making comments about Clinton’s marriage. A Republican strategist told TIME in 2015 that Fiorina would be a strong candidate because of her ability to take on Clinton: “The most effective way to criticize a woman is to have another woman do it.”
We have history in the making as these two women vie for the top two jobs in the nation. The United States has never had a female president or vice president—and women hold only 20% of seats in the Senate and 18% in the House.
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See how Clinton and Fiorina compare on various women’s issues:
Clinton: Clinton is pro-abortion rights and a supporter of Planned Parenthood, although in a March 2016 town hall, she said she supports some regulations on later-term abortions. In a Democratic debate in April, she said that the right to choose “goes to the heart of who we are as women, our rights, our autonomy, our ability to make our own decisions.”
Fiorina: Fiorina has said she’s anti-abortion. While on the campaign trail in 2015, Fiorina supported defunding Planned Parenthood, citing controversial footage of alleged abortion practices. She attributes her anti-abortion stance to her experience earlier in life accompanying a friend to a Planned Parenthood clinic.
Clinton: Clinton has long been an advocate for equal pay, calling it “an economic growth issue.” She wants to create more incentives for states to encourage employers to adopt equal-pay policies. As a Senator, she was a cosponsor of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act.
Fiorina: Fiorina also believes in equal pay, saying that it has been a serious issue for women. To address this, she believes that employers should dismantle the “seniority system,” which rewards employees for time served, not for merit. She said in April 2015: “We don’t need increased regulation to address this issue; we need flexibility for employers. … This structure systematically disadvantages women and must be reformed.”
Clinton: When Lena Dunham asked Clinton, “Are you a feminist?” in her inaugural Lenny Letter, the candidate responded: “Yes. Absolutely. I’m always a little bit puzzled when any woman, of whatever age but particularly a young woman, says something like, ‘Well, I believe in equal rights, but I’m not a feminist.’ Well, a feminist is by definition someone who believes in equal rights!”
Fiorina: Fiorina gave a speech on feminism in July 2015 in which she said: “Today, only 23% of women identify with the term feminist. Liberal ideas aren’t the answer. Their version of feminism isn’t working. It is time for a new definition. … A feminist is a woman who lives the life she chooses. We will have arrived when every woman can decide for herself how to best find and use her God-given gifts. A woman may choose to have five children and home-school them. She may choose to become a CEO … or run for President.”
ON CHILD CARE AND FAMILY LEAVE:
Clinton: Clinton supports paid family leave for 12 weeks and proposes that the wealthy should be taxed to pay for it. She also wants to invest in and expand existing programs to allow for universal preschool and child care for those who need it. “Funding for these opportunities has not kept up with changing times and rising demand,” she said in 2015.
Fiorina: Fiorina says that she supports paid family leave but does not believe that it should be a government mandate. “I don’t think it’s the role of government to dictate to the private sector how to manage their businesses,” she said to CNN. | They differ on reproductive rights, the wage gap, and more. | 64.538462 | 0.615385 | 0.769231 | high | low | abstractive |
http://time.com/3934980/right-wing-extremists-white-terrorism-islamist-jihadi-dangerous/ | http://web.archive.org/web/20160605213744id_/http://time.com:80/3934980/right-wing-extremists-white-terrorism-islamist-jihadi-dangerous/ | White Extremists More Dangerous Than Islamists Since 9/11 | 20160605213744 | Since 9/11, white right-wing terrorists have killed almost twice as many Americans in homegrown attacks than radical Islamists have, according to research by the New America Foundation.
In their June study, the foundation decided to examine groups “engaged in violent extremist activity” and found that white extremists were by far the most dangerous. They pointed to the recent Emanuel AME Church shooting in Charleston, S.C., and the 2012 attack on a Sikh temple in Wisconsin, as well as many lesser-known attacks on Jewish institutions and on police. They found that 48 people were killed by white terrorists, while 26 were killed by radical Islamists, since Sept. 11.
The study also found that the criminal justice system judged jihadists more harshly than their non-Muslim counterparts, indicting them more frequently than non-jihadists and handing down longer sentences.
See a full breakdown of the numbers here. | Jihadists are also indicted more frequently and serve longer sentences. | 15.545455 | 0.727273 | 1.454545 | medium | low | abstractive |
http://www.tmz.com/2015/05/12/duff-mckagan-guns-n-roses-sweet-child-o-mine-stolen-video-australian-crawl | http://web.archive.org/web/20160605234612id_/http://www.tmz.com:80/2015/05/12/duff-mckagan-guns-n-roses-sweet-child-o-mine-stolen-video-australian-crawl | Guns N' Roses Bassist Duff McKagan -- 'Sweet Child O' Mine' WAS Jacked ... JK??? | 20160605234612 | The "Sweet Child O' Mine" plot just thickened ... based on ex-Guns N' Roses bassist Duff McKagan's response to allegations the band's mega-hit was ripped off from an Australian group.
Duff was in NYC when we asked him about the big shocker -- the eerie similarity between 'Sweet Child' and an Australian hit called "Unpublished Critics" ... which came out SIX years before the GnR classic.
Watch ... our photog clearly expects Duff to quickly shoot down the claim -- but instead he says the Aussie group, Australian Crawl, deserves credit ... saying, "they did" write it!
Now, what's not clear is if Duff is serious, kidding ... or just taking a jab at his former bandmates -- who wrote the song. Check it out. | The "Sweet Child O' Mine" plot just thickened ... based on ex-Guns N' Roses bassist Duff McKagan's response to allegations the band's mega-hit was ripped… | 4.305556 | 0.972222 | 34.027778 | low | high | extractive |
http://www.nytimes.com/1994/12/23/arts/offering-pearl-jam-tickets-in-a-lottery.html | http://web.archive.org/web/20160606131822id_/http://www.nytimes.com:80/1994/12/23/arts/offering-pearl-jam-tickets-in-a-lottery.html | Offering Pearl Jam Tickets in a Lottery | 20160606131822 | Pearl Jam, the Seattle rock band that has been enmeshed in a dispute with Ticketmaster over service charges, has found a way to perform without selling seats through this ticket-distribution company. In May, Pearl Jam set off a Justice Department investigation of the ticketing industry when it canceled its low-cost summer tour, accusing Ticketmaster of organizing a boycott against the band and of exercising a monopoly over ticket distribution in the United States. (Ticketmaster has denied these charges.)
The band has scheduled its its first major concerts since the conflict began for Jan. 14 and 15. These benefit concerts are to take place in Washington, at the 3,500-seat Constitution Hall, and are expected to raise $125,000 for Voters for Choice, an organization that helps the campaigns of abortion-rights candidates.
Though Constitution Hall has an exclusive contract with Ticketmaster, there is a clause in the contract that allows tickets for benefits to be sold independently by charity organizations. The executive director of Voters for Choice, Julie Burton, said tickets for this benefit, which is also to include Neil Young, L7 and possibly one or two other performers chosen by Pearl Jam, will be sold through a mail-order lottery system without a service charge. Information on how to buy tickets is to be announced on New Year's Eve, and all seats are expected to be $25.
This mail-order ticket distribution system -- as well as the charity clause in some arena's Ticketmaster contracts -- could make it possible for Pearl Jam to go ahead with its planned summer tour promoting its new record, "Vitalogy," which is the second-top-selling album in the country. | Pearl Jam, the Seattle rock band that has been enmeshed in a dispute with Ticketmaster over service charges, has found a way to perform without selling seats through this ticket-distribution company. In May, Pearl Jam set off a Justice Department investigation of the ticketing industry when it canceled its low-cost summer tour, accusing Ticketmaster of organizing a boycott against the band and of exercising a monopoly over ticket distribution in the United States. (Ticketmaster has denied these charges.) The band has scheduled its its first major concerts since the conflict began for Jan. 14 and 15. These benefit concerts are to take place in Washington, at the 3,500-seat Constitution Hall, and are expected to raise $125,000 for Voters for Choice, an organization that helps the campaigns of abortion-rights candidates. | 2.119205 | 0.993377 | 77.89404 | low | high | extractive |
http://www.cnbc.com/2013/08/27/The-worlds-10-safest-banks.html | http://web.archive.org/web/20160606143028id_/http://www.cnbc.com:80/2013/08/27/The-worlds-10-safest-banks.html? | The world's 10 safest banks | 20160606143028 | Bank ratings are not yet showing the impact of either the slowdown in emerging economies or the more sustained recovery in developed countries.
That said, Europe still leads the Global Finance list of the world's safest banks.
Some banking market instability seems to be moving from the West to certain countries in the East, and companies are keeping a close eye on the solidity and reliability of their counterparts worldwide.
The world's safest banks 2012The world's safest banks 2011The world's safest banks 2010The world's safest banks 2009
(The safest U.S. bank, incidentally, is BNY Mellon—No. 31 on the list).
For Global Finance's top-10 list of the world's safest banks, click ahead. | Bank ratings do not show the impact of the slowdown in emerging economies or the more sustained recovery in developed countries. Europe still leads the list of the world's safest banks. | 4.058824 | 0.941176 | 8.529412 | low | medium | extractive |
http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/gossip/confidential/kate-winslet-ned-rocknroll-costume-controversies-article-1.2660437 | http://web.archive.org/web/20160607064400id_/http://www.nydailynews.com:80/entertainment/gossip/confidential/kate-winslet-ned-rocknroll-costume-controversies-article-1.2660437 | Kate Winslet and Ned Rocknroll cause costume controversies | 20160607064400 | The Winslet family has wardrobe issues.
While controversy continues in England over a distasteful costume Kate Winslet's husband Ned Rocknroll wore to a chi-chi party, a Hollywood insider recalls having issues with the “Collateral Beauty” star while filming the 2015 movie "Insurgent.”
“Her costumes didn't fit her well at all so the (wardrobe team) struggled constantly to zipper up her costumes,” says a set insider, who referred to the Academy Award winning Brit as “a nightmare” behind the scenes.
“She had a complete hissy fit meltdown when the producers asked her to stay an hour longer on Halloween,” we're told. “She screamed that she had previously told them that she wanted to spend time with her children for Halloween and that she was going to miss it if she stayed an hour longer. Then she completely went off the handle and yelled, ‘I feel like I'm being taken advantage of here!’”
According to our Tinseltown spy: “She acted like a petulant child.”
Our insider recalled that experience in the midst of an ongoing scandal across the pond involving party photos of her hubby — the nephew of billionaire Richard Branson — that can't be published online due to an injunction in the U.K. even though the outfit in question was worn to a party that happened in 2010.
The National Enquirer printed details of Rocknroll's costume last month, but didn't run that story online for fear of legal action in England. The British courts have ruled that their decision to prohibit Rocknroll's photos from being published are based in part on Winslet's “concern that the publication of the Photographs, or a description of their contents, will cause real harm and distress to her two children.” Rocknroll, a businessman whose name was Abel Smith until 2008, became Winslet's third husband in 2012. Together, they have a 2-year-old son named Bear. Winslet also has a 15-year-old daughter named Mia and a 12-year-old son named Joe from her previous relationships.
Winslet's rep from 42West declined to comment. | The Winslet family has run into problems over their fashion choices in the U.S. and the U.K. | 23.764706 | 0.705882 | 1.647059 | medium | low | mixed |
http://www.bbc.com/hausa/news/2016/06/160603_muhammad_ali_sick | http://web.archive.org/web/20160607100443id_/http://www.bbc.com:80/hausa/news/2016/06/160603_muhammad_ali_sick | Muhammad Ali ya rasu | 20160607100443 | Fitaccen zakaran damben duniya da ya kafa tarihi, Muhammad Ali ya rasu.
Kafin nan dai ya kwanta a asibiti a jihar Arizona dake Amurka. Ya rasu yana da shekaru 74.
Dattijon yana fama ne da cutar da ta shafi numfashi, wadda kuma cutar tsufa ta kyarma ke ƙara ta'azzara ta.
Yayi ritaya daga dambe ne a shekarar 1980, amma a baya bayan nan yana fama da rashin lafiya, inda koda a farkon bara sai da ya kwanta a asibiti.
Sunansa na ainihi dai shi ne Cassius Clay, amma ya koma Muhammad Ali bayan ya zama musulmi a shekarar 1964 lokacin da karon farko ya zama zakaran damben duniya.
An dai janye lambar bajinta da yake da ita bayan ya ƙi yin zuwa Vietnam, amma ya sake ceto matsayin bayan shekaru goma lokacin da doke George Foreman a damben da ake yi wa taken 'karon battar ƙarfe.'
An haifi Muhammad Ali ne a shekarar 1942. | Fitaccen zakaran damben duniya da ya kafa tarihi, Muhammad Ali ya rasu, yana da shekaru 74. | 9.263158 | 1 | 10.263158 | low | high | extractive |
http://time.com/22030/aleutian-islands-campaign-rare-and-classic-photos-from-wwii/ | http://web.archive.org/web/20160607232318id_/http://time.com:80/22030/aleutian-islands-campaign-rare-and-classic-photos-from-wwii/ | Rare and Classic Photos From WWII | 20160607232318 | Maybe it’s because the casualties, in relative terms, were light compared to those suffered in other theaters of conflict during World War II. Or perhaps the isolated front was destined to a gradual, ever-deepening obscurity because no storied battles with stirring names (Iwo Jima, Bastogne, Normandy, Saipan) were fought there. Or maybe it’s simply that, like countless other narratives in countless other wars, the story of the Aleutian Islands Campaign was gradually forgotten by those who did not fight or serve there, or by those families that did not lose a loved one there.
But in the early 1940s the Aleutian Campaign was news throughout the U.S. , as some of the islands in the North Pacific, in what was then the American territory of Alaska, had been invaded and occupied by Japanese troops. Was it a diversion ahead of another, critical attack elsewhere? Was it the vanguard of a far larger assault on America’s enormous, and perhaps fatally vulnerable, west coast?
Here, 70 years after Japanese forces seized control of Attu and Kiska islands early in the war, LIFE.com presents a gallery of photos—most of which never ran in LIFE magazine— by Dmitri Kessel chronicling the day-to-day existence of Allied troops serving in the dramatic and forbidding landscape of the Aleutians.
Ultimately, long before the war was over, the Japanese were routed from the islands they did occupy. But Allied casualties (U.S. and Canadian) during the year-long campaign to push them off of American territory were in the thousands, with a grim percentage killed or severely wounded by the same hazards that troops have always faced when fighting in a wilderness thousands of miles from home: friendly fire; exposure; minor wounds that turn mortal when transportation proves impossible.
And then there was the fatigue; the sheer lethargy-inducing sameness of the place. The old characterization of warfare as long stretches of boredom punctuated by moments of terror might have been coined especially for the Aleutian campaign. Even the most adamant and dedicated nature lover could hardly remain enthralled, month after month after month, by the surroundings—endless snow-capped mountains, mud-filled tundra and water, water everywhere. As LIFE pointed out to its readers in the midst of the war, the weather and the landscape were relentless, monotonous enemies all their own:
The Aleutian Islands are a chain of high mountains rising our of the North Pacific between Alaska and Siberia. There, among fog and sudden storms, the world is still in the making. Volcanoes blow rings of steam. Islets pop out of the water and then mysteriously vanish again. Earthquakes make and unmake harbors, cliffs, beaches and caves.
The shortest route between the U.S. and Japan lies through Alaska and out the Aleutians. From Attu to Tokyo is only1,750 miles. . . . Whoever controls the Aleutians has a flanking position on the whole ocean. [In June 1942 Japan] seized Attu and Kiska and remained a constant threat to Alaska, Canada and the U.S. until August 1943 when they were finally driven off. To defend the Aleutians against another attack, thousands of Americans are still stationed there.
Of all the U.S. outposts the Aleutians are probably the wildest and most inhospitable. There are almost no trees on the islands. There are few animals. The temperature seldom drops below freezing in winter or goes above 60 degrees in summer. There are as many as 250 rainy days a year and as few as eight clear days.
Kessel’s pictures, meanwhile, suggest that despite the spartan lodgings, the often impassable terrain, the questionable food, the tricky climate, the grueling work and the ceaselessly challenging environment, thousands of troops, nurses and even some civilians stuck with it throughout the war years, and they made do.
In often primitive conditions, in one of the most unforgiving environments on Earth, they did what was asked of them. They are not forgotten.
Ben Cosgrove is the Editor of LIFE.com | Eight decades after Japanese troops seized control of Alaskan islands during WWII, LIFE presents rare photos of the day-to-day existence of Allied troops during the little-known Aleutian Campaign. | 21.25 | 0.833333 | 3.333333 | medium | medium | mixed |
http://www.cnbc.com/2011/10/05/Worlds-Most-Polluted-Countries.html | http://web.archive.org/web/20160608023703id_/http://www.cnbc.com:80/2011/10/05/Worlds-Most-Polluted-Countries.html | World’s Most Polluted Countries | 20160608023703 | Emerging nations around the world are often heralded for their fast growth, but we don’t often hear about the downsides of that rapid development.The World Health Organization (WHO) recently released a report on air quality in countries around the globe, on which we based a list of the ten most polluted countries. Almost all the worst offenders are either major oil and gas producers, or emerging economies that are growing rapidly.The WHO study looked at air quality in 91 countries, measured by the amount of PM10 particles per cubic meter. PM10 particles are particles of 10 micrometers or less that can cause diseases and infections. According to the WHO, PM10 levels above 20 micrograms per cubic meter can cause health risks. The top ten most polluted countries have PM10 levels from six times to 14 times that level.So, which countries have the world’s worst air quality? Click ahead to find out.By: Rajeshni Naidu-Ghelani(Posted: Oct. 5, 2011) | The World Health Organization recently released a report on air quality in countries around the globe, on which we based a list of the ten most polluted countries. | 5.967742 | 0.967742 | 12.451613 | low | high | extractive |
http://www.bbc.com/cymrufyw/36427710 | http://web.archive.org/web/20160608033532id_/http://www.bbc.com:80/cymrufyw/36427710 | Y Frenhines yn mynd adre'n gynnar | 20160608033532 | Roedd yn ddiwrnod pan daeth myfyrwyr Aberystwyth i sylw'r byd. Ddydd Gwener 31 Mai 1996 daeth y Frenhines i Geredigion i agor estyniad newydd i'r Llyfrgell Genedlaethol. Roedd hi hefyd i fod i agor adran newydd Prifysgol Aberystwyth ond wnaeth hynny ddim digwydd. Ar gyngor Heddlu Dyfed Powys penderfynodd y swyddogion Brenhinol i adael y coleg ger y lli yn gynt na'r disgwyl.
Yr Athro Derec Llwyd Morgan oedd Is-Ganghellor Prifysgol Aberystwyth ar y pryd:
"Dwi'n cofio bod y Frenhines wedi ei gwahodd i agor estyniad newydd y Llyfrgell Genedlaethol a derbyniais gais gan swyddogion Palas Buckingham i weld a fyddai hi'n gallu ymweld â'r coleg hefyd.
"Do'n i ddim yn awyddus iawn a dweud y gwir am resymau cenedlaethol yn fwy na dim, ond wedi ystyried bod yna nifer o bobl yn ein plith yn arddel y Frenhines wedi'r cwbl fe ddechreuais i feddwl sut i'w chroesawu."
"Yn digwydd bod roedd ganddon ni adran rewlifeg newydd wedi ei sefydlu. Roedd honno wedi ei lleoli mewn stafelloedd ar dop tŵr Llandinam, cartre'r Adran Ddaearyddiaeth. Roedd y lifft i'w chyrraedd yn gyfyng a'r 'stafelloedd eu hunain yn fach felly tybiais y byddai'r swyddogion diogelwch yn penderfynu peidio bwrw 'mlaen gyda'r ymweliad.
"Fe ddaethon nhw yma a phenderfynu nad oedd yna broblem felly daeth cadarnhad y byddai'r Frenhines yn ymweld ddiwrnod ola' mis Mai."
Doedd y cyhoeddiad yma ddim wrth fodd y myfyrwyr ac fe ddaethon nhw at ei gilydd i drafod eu hymateb. Llywydd Undeb Myfyrwyr Cymraeg Aberystwyth y flwyddyn honno oedd Emyr Wyn Francis:
"Ar y pryd roedd hi'n gyfnod arholiadau ac oherwydd bod y Frenhines yn dod i'r Llyfrgell Genedlaethol doedd yr adnoddau yno ddim ar gael i ni am ddyddiau cyn yr ymweliad. Roedd nifer ohonon ni yn gweld hynny yn annheg iawn, roedd angen y cyfleusterau arnon ni i adolygu.
"Dridiau cyn yr ymweliad fe aeth tua 45-50 ohonon ni i'r Llyfrgell Genedlaethol a gwrthod gadael. Cafodd y myfyriwr olaf ei symud oddi yno 16 awr yn ddiweddarach.
"Roedd criw ohonon ni yn awyddus i brotestio ar y diwrnod ei hun, ond doedd ganddon ni ddim syniad pendant am natur y brotest. Roedd 'na rai wedi crybwyll eistedd ynghanol y ffordd er mwyn rhwystro'r cerbydau rhag mynd heibio. Yn y dyddiau cyn yr ymweliad aethon ni ati i greu posteri gan eu paentio yn hwyr yn y nos yn y garej yn Neuadd Pantycelyn.
"Roedd hi'n amlwg bod 'na rywun yn cadw llygaid arnon ni. Ar ganol y paentio mi aethon ni am baned, ond pan ddaethon ni'n ôl roedd y posteri wedi diflannu. Doedd dim amdani ond dechrau eto - slogannau fel 'Go Home' ac ati."
Roedd yna gyffro mawr ymhlith y myfyrwyr ar ddiwrnod yr ymweliad ei hun yn ôl Emyr Wyn:
"Roedden ni'n ceisio chwifio'r posteri o ffenestri Neuadd Pantycelyn ond roedd hi'n ddiwrnod gwyntog felly roedden nhw'n codi yn y gwynt fel nad oedd neb yn medru eu gweld. Cafodd rhywun y syniad o glymu trainers i'w gwaelodion nhw fel eu bod nhw yn aros yn eu lle.
"Roedd 'na tua 250 o fyfyrwyr tu fas i'r Llyfrgell Genedlaethol cyn i'r Frenhines gyrraedd. Fel Llywydd yr Undeb, ro'n i'n teimlo ei bod hi'n gyfrifoldeb arna' i roi arweiniad. Felly mi geisiais i neidio i ganol y ffordd ond cefais fy stopio yn syth gan ddau blismon a oedd yn gwisgo crysau-t Cymdeithas yr Iaith.
"Mi wnaethon nhw fy nghymryd i i'r bwthyn sydd rhwng y Llyfrgell Genedlaethol a Neuadd Pantycelyn. Roedd y plismyn yn gefnogol i'r brotest a thrwyddyn nhw y ces i wybod ei bod yn gwisgo peach."
Mae'r Athro Derec Llwyd Morgan yn cofio'r diwrnod yn dda hefyd:
"Roedd yr ymweliad â'r Llyfrgell wedi mynd yn ddi-drafferth. Pan gyrhaeddais i a Jane, fy ngwraig, i'w chroesawu i'r coleg yr hyn sy'n aros yn y cof ydy clywed sgrechiadau'r myfyrwyr a gweld y placardiau - roedd "Arise Sir Derec" i'w weld yn glir ar un ohonyn nhw.
"Erbyn hyn roedd mwy o bobl wedi cyrraedd y campws ac roedd yr heddlu yn dechrau poeni am y sefyllfa ddiogelwch. Dywedais i yn glir wrthyn nhw am adael i mi wybod unwaith eu bod nhw wedi penderfynu beth i'w wneud. Roedd hi'n brotest swnllyd ond fyddai'r myfyrwyr ddim yn gwneud niwed i unrhywun.
"Ond wyddwn ni ddim beth oedd yn digwydd tan i mi weld car y Frenhines yn mynd heibio i Pantycelyn. Ro'n i'n gwybod wedyn na fyddai hi'n dod i'r coleg ei hun.
"Roeddwn i'n feirniadol iawn o'r heddlu am beidio dweud wrtha i beth oedd yn digwydd. Pan es i a Jane adre i gartre'r Is-Ganghellor yn nes 'mlaen fe wnaethon ni sylwi bod rhywun wedi taflu carreg trwy'r ffenestr. Felly mi 'naethon ni benderfynu mynd am bryd o fwyd i'r dre' y noson honno.
"Dwi'n cofio clywed merch yn dweud yn Saesneg yn y bwyty "wasn't the principal brave".
"Roedd y stori am y brotest a fy sylwadau am yr heddlu yn drwch ar dudalennau blaen y papurau y diwrnod wedyn.
"Mi gefais i fy ngalw i gyfarfod gyda'r Prif Gwnstabl yng Nghaerfyrddin yn ddiweddarach ac mae'n rhaid dweud i ni gael cyfarfod digon heddychlon er gwaetha' beth oedd wedi digwydd.
"Mi aeth Jane a finnau ar wyliau yn fuan wedi'r brotest. Roedd yna domen o lythyrau yn fy nisgwyl pan ddes i yn ôl. Roedd fy ysgrifenyddes Nan Thomas wedi eu gosod mewn tri phentwr - y rhai neis, y rhai niwtral a'r rhai cas. Rhai gan disgusted of Tunbridge Wells oedd lot o'r rheiny!"
Ar ôl iddo gael ei atal gan y ddau blismon cafodd Emyr Wyn Francis ei gludo i'r ddalfa:
"Roedd 'na wyth myfyriwr wedi eu harestio a phump ohonon ni wedi cael ein charjio. Tra roedden ni yn y ddalfa buon ni'n bwyta fish and chips a chanu rhai o ganeuon Dafydd Iwan 'da'r plismyn.
"Ar ôl i ni gael ein rhyddhau roedd yn rhaid i ni deithio i Wrecsam i gystadlu yn Eisteddfod yr Urdd. Doedd dim siâp arnon ni yn y prelims, ond gan bod y newyddion am y brotest dros y lle ym mhobman, dwi'n meddwl bod y beirniaid wedi dangos tipyn bach o dosturi.
"Pan gawson ni'n cyflwyno ar y llwyfan mi gyfeiriodd yr arweinydd Dei Tomos at y brotest - "Rhowch groeso brenhinol i Aelwyd Pantycelyn".
"Rwy'n credu yn gryf mai yma y dechreuodd adfywiad Aelwyd Pantycelyn a hyder y myfyrwyr yng ngrym protestio. Roedd e'n hwb hefyd i Ffederasiwn Plaid Cymru.
Yn yr achos llys cafodd yr ynadon Emyr Wyn Francis yn ddi-euog o'r cyhuddiad yn ei erbyn.
"Dwi'n cofio ar ddiwedd yr achos daeth yr erlynydd ata i a chanmol y brotest. Gofynnodd a fyddai'n bosib iddo brynu'r crys-t 'Twll Tin i'r Cwîn' gen i. Fe roies i iddo fe yn anrheg.
"Rwy'n prowd iawn o'r diwrnod. Roedd e'n drobwynt ac fe newidiodd pethe yn gyflym wedyn ym mherthynas Cymru â'r 'Sefydliad'. Y flwyddyn ganlynol daeth y refferendwm a sefydlu'r Cynulliad yn 1999. Erbyn hyn mae ganddon ni Geidwadwyr sy'n arddel syniadaeth genedlaethol." | Cofio protest fawr myfyrwyr Aberystwyth 20 mlynedd yn ôl | 149.111111 | 0.555556 | 1 | high | low | abstractive |
http://www.nytimes.com/1988/02/06/world/contra-aid-cutoff-a-setback-not-a-death-blow.html | http://web.archive.org/web/20160608232646id_/http://www.nytimes.com:80/1988/02/06/world/contra-aid-cutoff-a-setback-not-a-death-blow.html? | CONTRA AID CUTOFF - A SETBACK, NOT A DEATH BLOW - NYTimes.com | 20160608232646 | The Congressional rejection of President Reagan's contra aid package is a psychological blow for the rebels, but it will have little immediate effect on their ability to fight.
In discussions over the last two months, officials and military officers in the United States and Central America have agreed that the contras are probably strong enough to carry on their guerrilla war in Nicaragua even with a cutoff of American aid. Some senior Sandinista field commanders say they agree that the contras will not fade away because of a lack of American support.
The loss of American arms, particularly the shoulder-launched Redeye antiaircraft missiles now in the contra arsenal, will ultimately hurt the contras unless they come up with other sources of supply. But for now it is the contras' morale more than their fighting ability that will suffer as a result of the House vote Wednesday night cutting off aid.
Yet guerrilla movements have historically survived reverses and adversity as long as they have pockets of popular support. The Sandinistas say there is no support for the rebels in Nicaragua, but the ease with which the contras have moved undetected through the mountains and have concentrated large forces for attacks in recent months contradicts that assertion.
To prevent the contras from building support among the population, the Sandinistas have relocated thousands of peasant families from isolated farms in areas where contras are known to be active to sites under Government control. This relocation program has been partly successful in cutting off food and other support for the contras, even though many of the displaced farmers resent being moved from their homes. #8,000 to 14,000 Rebels Despite a vigorous anti-guerrilla campaign by the Sandinistas in the last year, thousands of well-equipped contras have entered Nicaragua from base camps in Honduras. They now operate in strength in three regions along the mountainous spine of Nicaragua: Jinotega and Matagalpa provinces in the north, Chontales in the center of Nicaragua and Rio San Juan adjacent to Costa Rica in the south.
The contras say they have 14,000 men under arms in Nicaragua; Managua puts the number at about 8,000. For most of 1987 they were supplied by American-sponsored airdrops, at a rate of more than one flight a day. The Sandinistas have not been able to stop these flights, although they did shoot down one supply plane in October 1986 and another one late last month.
Western analysts estimate that the contras have from one to six months' worth of American-supplied arms and other equipment stored in Honduras and in the mountains inside Nicaragua. Ultimately the contras must develop other sources of resupply.
An Administration official said President Reagan could not dip into the Central Intelligence Agency's contingency fund to send money to the contras because limitations on such covert support, approved by Congress two years ago, remain in effect. The restrictions were part of an amendment written by Representative Edward P. Boland, Democrat of Massachusetts.
A ready source of supplies for the contras is the Sandinistas themselves. Living off the enemy is a traditional guerrilla tactic when external support does not exist. If the contras are to be effective in the months ahead, it is logical that they will increase attacks against isolated garrisons and farm cooperatives to capture supplies.
A year ago the contras were not strong enough for such a strategy, but when the aid voted by Congress in October 1986 began to reach them in the field, their ability to conduct offensive operations improved dramatically. Financing of Contras
During the period of covert financing of the contras in 1981-82, $80 million to $90 million was channeled to the Nicaraguan rebels through the Central Intelligence Agency. Congress voted to finance the rebels openly in 1983, approving a $24 million spending ceiling. In 1985, $27 million was authorized for food, clothing and other non-arms supplies. The largest package was approved in October 1986 when Congress authorized $70 million in military aid and an additional $30 million for supplies other than weapons.
In addition, $10 million to $30 million was secretly diverted during the Iran-contra affair. Last October and December the contras mounted successful attacks against the Sandinistas at widely separated locations in Nicaragua.
In a December attack on the three towns of Bonanza, Rosita and Siuna in northeastern Nicaragua, the contras captured significant amounts of supplies and ammunition.
But the Sandinistas are also better prepared to fight the contras than they were a year ago. Their special counterinsurgency battalions have become battle-hardened and tactically proficient. The number of Sandinista troops in the field has increased over last year. And the relocation of farmers in many regions has not only reduced local support for the contras, but has also allowed the Sandinistas to establish free-fire zones into which they fire Soviet-made 120-millimeter rockets.
Most of all, the Sandinistas have superior mobility and firepower in the form of 12 heavily armed Russian-made MI-24 attack helicopters, known in the West as Hinds, and 50 MI-17 transport helicopters, known in the West as Hips, each of which can carry several dozen soldiers. In 1986 the Sandinistas used these helicopters with devastating effect against the contras. Sandinista patrols on foot and in helicopter were sent out to find the contras. When they were found, the MI-24 helicopters were sent to attack them from the air, while the transports flew in reinforcements to trap them. Importance of Redeyes
This successful technique came to an end when the United States-supplied Redeyes were put in contra hands. In 1987 the contras damaged or shot down more than a dozen Sandinista helicopters. The Redeye made a strategic difference in favor of the contras. By neutralizing their helicopters, the contras fought the Sandinistas to a stalemate.
Today the Sandinistas are using their helicopters more cautiously. Their attack helicopters have virtually stopped flying against the contras and the transport helicopters are used almost exclusively for logistic and administrative tasks in areas believed free of contras. Even then, the pilots fly as low to the ground as safety will permit to avoid being a target for the Redeyes.
Now that American military aid to the contras is to end, the role of the Redeye becomes critical to both sides. If the contras are to remain in Nicaragua as an effective fighting force they must prevent the Sandinistas from using helicopters against them. This can be done only with the Redeye or a similar weapon. How the contras will cope with the helicopter threat once their present supply of missiles runs out poses a difficult problem.
The contras may be able to replace the Redeyes with other missiles. Some weapons might be available on the international arms market if the contras can pay the price. France, Sweden and Britain all make effective systems, and even the Soviet SA-7 missile, which the Sandinistas used last month to shoot down a contra supply plane, could fill the need for air defenses. | LEAD: WASHINGTON, Feb. 5 - | 186.142857 | 0.428571 | 0.428571 | high | low | abstractive |
http://time.com/3824325/watch-spacex-rocket-land-slow-motion/ | http://web.archive.org/web/20160609005036id_/http://time.com:80/3824325/watch-spacex-rocket-land-slow-motion/ | Watch the SpaceX CRS-6 First Stage Landing in Slow Motion HD | 20160609005036 | SpaceX successfully launched a Falcon 9 rocket with the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft on Tuesday from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, marking the sixth resupply mission for SpaceX to the International Space Station and a second chance at attempting to recover a Falcon 9 rocket. The company released this HD slow motion video on Wednesday that shows the rocket approach SpaceX’s autonomous drone barge landing platform, then tipping over after impact. SpaceX CEO and CTO Elon Musk tweeted: | The rocket tipped over due to excess lateral velocity | 9.444444 | 0.444444 | 0.666667 | low | low | abstractive |
http://fortune.com/2016/06/06/faraday-future-michigan-self-driving-cars/ | http://web.archive.org/web/20160609053938id_/http://fortune.com:80/2016/06/06/faraday-future-michigan-self-driving-cars/ | Faraday Future Eyes Michigan for Self-Driving Car Tests | 20160609053938 | Faraday Future, the electric vehicle startup that wants to take on Tesla, reportedly plans to test autonomous vehicle technology on public roads in Michigan.
The company has applied for three manufacturer license plates through the Michigan Department of Transportation to test self-driving vehicles in the state, the Detroit News reported. To test self-driving cars in Michigan, a company must first apply for a manufacturer plate, show proof of state insurance, and pay a registration fee.
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Faraday Future did not immediately return a request for comment.
The applications are another sign of Faraday Future’s aggressive expansion plans, although it still isn’t entirely clear what it will build or how it will make money. The company, which is backed by Chinese billionaire Jia Yueting, the owner of online entertainment company Leshi Internet Information & Technology, emerged from the shadows in January when it unveiled its FFZero1, a futuristic, single-seat electric vehicle concept car at CES, the annual consumer electronics industry trade show.
Since then, Faraday Future has started construction on a 3 million square-foot factory in Nevada with the help of $215 million in tax incentives. The company is now negotiating with the Vallejo, Calif., near San Francisco, about plans to build an assembly plant and “customer experience center” in the city.
Check out this electric concept car:
The expansion to Michigan might seem premature—especially since the company has yet to produce a car. The state has become a hotbed of autonomous vehicle testing. A 23 acre mini-city called MCity opened in July 2015 at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor for researchers to test driverless car technology and figure out how it would work in the real world. Toyota announced in April that it would put 5,000 connected cars that can wirelessly communicate with other vehicles and infrastructure onto the streets of Ann Arbor in a real-world experiment designed to move autonomous driving closer to reality.
Big automakers like GM and Ford as well as startups such as NuTonomy, the autonomous vehicle software MIT spinoff that raised $16 million in funding round last month, is also testing in Ann Arbor.
Faraday Future, which doesn’t have the same infrastructure in place as the big established automakers, likely needs a test facility and access to the hundreds of suppliers located in the state, not to mention a deep pool of skilled engineers and others with automotive expertise. | Michigan has become a hotbed of self-driving car research. | 39.416667 | 0.916667 | 3.083333 | high | medium | mixed |
http://www.nytimes.com/1995/07/30/world/eva-peron-s-corpse-continues-to-haunt-argentina.html | http://web.archive.org/web/20160609103455id_/http://www.nytimes.com:80/1995/07/30/world/eva-peron-s-corpse-continues-to-haunt-argentina.html | Eva Peron's Corpse Continues to Haunt Argentina | 20160609103455 | BUENOS AIRES, July 29— A new novel about Eva Duarte de Peron, which deals with the struggle over her remains after she died more than 40 years ago, has added to the fascination about her in a country with a long history of preoccupation with the dead.
Wife of the strongman Juan Domingo Peron, she was a champion of the poor until her death from cancer in 1952 at the age of 33. Her life was celebrated in the Broadway musical "Evita."
"No other corpse has meant so much to a nation than Eva Peron's to Argentina," said Tomas Eloy Martinez, whose novel, "Santa Evita," chronicles the unusual story of her embalmed body and how it was transported within Argentina and to Italy and then back to Argentina in a bizarre two-decade-long battle for possession between political forces.
Mr. Martinez, an Argentine who is chairman of Latin American studies department at Rutgers University, received much of the information about the fight for Eva Peron's body from military informants who made contact with him several years ago after reading a novel he wrote about Mr. Peron.
The informants, who included officers in the Argentine intelligence service as well as an Argentine Ambassador to Spain, took part in the military's confiscation and eventual return of the body.
Explaining his reason for telling the story in a novel, which was published this month and was at the top of the best-seller list here this week, Mr. Martinez said what he learned about the fight for Eva Peron's body from the informants and from his own research was "so incredible, so unbelievable that it had to be written in the novel style."
"The novel is the most effective way of telling the truth, especially about a person like Eva Peron, whose character has taken on mythical qualities in Argentina," said Mr. Martinez, who is one of Argentina's most prominent authors. While some names, places, and events have been altered, the novel is a reconstruction of the truth, he said.
So far, no one is disputing the basic facts in the book: Military leaders who overthrew Mr. Peron in 1955 confiscated Eva Peron's corpse because they were afraid that the opposition would use the body to rally the populace.
But wherever they hid the body, even in the most secure military buildings, there were problems keeping it from admirers, who would repeatedly place flowers and candles nearby, Mr. Martinez said. So the military eventually sent the body to a secret burial site in Italy, and after 16 years, her husband, exiled to Spain, recovered it and returned it to Buenos Aires.
"Her body was such a powerful symbol that everybody tried to control it," Mr. Martinez said. "I believe that this points to this country's tendency toward necrophilia."
Indeed, Argentina has a long history of preoccupation with the dead and of using the deceased for political purposes. In the 16th and 17th centuries, Spanish settlers often smeared the blood of their victims on their own wounds and paraded the bodies of the conquered around town.
In 1987, vandals broke into the tomb holding the body of Mr. Peron, who died here in 1974, and sawed off his hands. When the mutilation was discovered, labor unions and the Peronist party organized a protest that was attended by an estimated 50,000 people.
In 1989, before pardoning military officers for rebellion and political crimes, President Carlos Saul Menem brought back the remains of Juan Manuel de Rosas, the most infamous of Argentina's 19th-century provincial warlords, from England as an example of the futility of continuing to nurture old hostilities.
But none of these cases comes close to matching Argentina's obsession with Eva Peron's body.
Mr. Martinez sees Eva Peron's body as symbolic for Argentina.
"It's the embalmed body of a beautiful woman who has not yet been resuscitated," Mr. Martinez said. "In the same way Argentina is a country of hope and promise that has never been fulfilled. This is the melancholy nature of Argentina."
From the start, Eva Peron's life after death was unorthodox. Her embalmer, Pedro Ara, wanted her embalmment to equal that of Lenin. Mr. Ara was so meticulous that he preserved the body with all its internal organs, which are normally removed, Mr. Martinez said.
Mr. Ara also made several wax and vinyl replicas of Eva Peron's body that were indistinguishable from the original, according to the book by Mr. Martinez. The military later used these body doubles, and others it commissioned, to deceive those who sought the real corpse.
After her death in 1952, the corpse was put on display at the headquarters of the General Confederation of Labor, where admirers came by the tens of thousands with candles and flowers and held vigils.
When Mr. Peron was toppled in 1955, military leaders determined that they had to keep Eva Peron's body from opposing political forces but they did not know how best to accomplish that.
"Evita was a symbol of the 'shirtless ones,' " Mr. Martinez said, referring to what she called the poor, who worshiped her. "And if the Peronists got hold of the body they would lead the masses, but the anti-Peronists were trying to destroy it and that would also mean trouble for the military."
After being moved to a number of military installations in Buenos Aires, the book says Eva Peron's body ended up in the house of an army major who stored it in his attic under old papers. But the body had to moved again after the major mysteriously shot his wife.
Finally, in April 1957, the military put the body on a ship bound for Italy where it was buried under a false name. Then in 1971, Gen. Alejandro A. Lanusse overthrew Gen. Juan Carlos Ongania, the Argentine military leader. In exchange for Juan Peron's blessing from exile, General Lanusse agreed to hold elections, restore Mr. Peron's citizenship, provide presidential back pay of $50,000 and give him the body of Eva.
The body was exhumed from a small cemetery near Rome and transported in a silver coffin to Juan Peron's villa in Madrid. Italian and Spanish police officers accompanied the hearse. Mr. Peron kept the body in an open casket on the dining room table of his villa, where he later built a shrine for it in the attic. His third wife, Isabel, combed the corpse's hair in a daily devotion, Mr. Martinez said.
In 1974, after Mr. Peron was elected President again, the Montoneros, the guerrilla organization that emerged from the leftist Peronist youth group, stole the coffin of Gen. Pedro Eugenic Aramburu, one of the military leaders who toppled Mr. Peron, and demanded Eva Peron's in exchange. They were unsuccessful and returned the general's coffin to its tomb.
In November 1974, after the death of Mr. Peron, Eva Peron's body was brought back to Argentina by Isabel, who succeeded him as President. It lay in state in the presidential residence until Mrs. Peron was overthrown in 1976, when the new military rulers had the body buried in the Duarte family tomb under three plates of steel in the Recoleta Cemetery in Buenos Aires.
So today, Eva Peron rests not among the "shirtless ones" she sought to care for but among the patrician families she despised and down the way from the tomb of General Aramburu, who had been instrumental in banishing her remains.
Photos: On Dec. 9, 1974, the Argentine Government released this photo of the embalmed body of Eva Peron, one month after it was returned from Italy. It was displayed in the presidential palace near Buenos Aires next to the coffin holding her husband, the Argentine leader Juan Domingo Peron, who had died that July. New details of the struggle over Eva Peron's body are told in a recent novel. (United Press International); "No other corpse has meant so much to a nation than Eva Peron's to Argentina," said Tomas Eloy Martinez. (Pablo Corradi for The New York Times) | A new novel about Eva Duarte de Peron, which deals with the struggle over her remains after she died more than 40 years ago, has added to the fascination about her in a country with a long history of preoccupation with the dead. Wife of the strongman Juan Domingo Peron, she was a champion of the poor until her death from cancer in 1952 at the age of 33. Her life was celebrated in the Broadway musical "Evita." | 17.988506 | 0.988506 | 42.712644 | medium | high | extractive |
http://time.com/4024396/sarah-palin-speak-american-energy-department/ | http://web.archive.org/web/20160609143006id_/http://time.com:80/4024396/sarah-palin-speak-american-energy-department/ | Sarah Palin Tells Immigrants 'Speak American' in Interview | 20160609143006 | Former Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin said in a recent interview that U.S. immigrants should “speak American” and that she’d get rid of the Department of Energy if Donald Trump asked her to serve in his administration.
During a Sunday appearance on CNN’s State of the Union, host Jake Tapper asked Palin what she thought of Trump’s insistence that fellow presidential hopeful Jeb Bush speak only English on the campaign trail. “It’s a benefit of Bush to be able to be so fluent, because we have a large and wonderful Hispanic population that’s helping to build America,” she said according to The Wrap.
Then she added, “We can send a message and say, ‘You want to be in America, A, you’d better be here legally or you’re out of here. B, when you’re here, let’s speak American. Let’s speak English, and that’s a kind of a unifying aspect of a nation is the language that is understood by all.”
Trump recently said that Palin was “a special person” and that he’d “love” for her to be part of his administration if elected. Palin herself told CNN that she’d be a qualified candidate for the Department of Energy, given the former Alaskan governor’s knowledge of “oil and gas and minerals, those things that God has dumped on this part of the Earth for mankind’s use.” (Though as the Washington Post notes, that’d make her a better fit for the Department of Interior.)
The job as energy secretary wouldn’t last long, however.
“If I were head of that, I would get rid of it,” Palin said. “And I would let the states start having more control over the lands that are within their boundaries and the people who are affected by the developments within their space.” | She'd also get rid of the Dept. of Energy if asked to serve in Trump's cabinet | 19.157895 | 0.736842 | 2 | medium | low | mixed |
http://fortune.com/2016/01/15/new-jobs-technology/ | http://web.archive.org/web/20160609230332id_/http://fortune.com:80/2016/01/15/new-jobs-technology/? | 25 Million New Jobs Coming to America, Thanks to Technology | 20160609230332 | Last week’s stellar jobs report notwithstanding, it’s easy to understand why so many people are anxious that they may find themselves out of work before long.
Oxford researchers suggest that nearly half of the occupations in the U.S. will be computerized over the next 20 years. Gartner predicts that one in three jobs will be converted to software, robots, and smart machines within a decade. And a McKinsey & Co. analysis finds that “as many as 45% of the activities individuals are paid to perform can be automated by adapting currently demonstrated technologies.”
All of which is why I’ve been so intrigued by Robert Cohen, a senior fellow at the Economic Strategy Institute, who is as sanguine about the future of labor as anyone I know.
Cohen not only sees the glass as half full; he sees it brimming over, thanks to three major trends:
With this in mind, Cohen says, “cloud computing, Big Data, and the Internet of Things will employ millions of people in new types of jobs.”
More precisely, Cohen figures that as a new “virtualized infrastructure” gets built out over the next 15 years, as many as 25 million jobs will be created. He acknowledges that automation is certain to wipe out a bunch of positions, but he estimates that the net gain will still be around 15 million.
“It’s almost like building out the road system or railroad system,” says Cohen, who will present his views later this month at the Innovation for Jobs Ecosystem Summit in Menlo Park, Calif. “Now we’re basically building the superhighway for data. It will mean replacing old generations of computers with new ones.”
Cohen arrived at his forecast in two ways: by extrapolating from expected growth in the gross domestic product and by poking around at companies on the cutting edge of the trends he’s citing, including Netflix nflx , Google googl , Amazon amzn , and Facebook fb .
What has caught his eye is how many other companies are suddenly trying to be like them. Ford f , for instance, is partnering with Amazon and home-automation company Wink to allow people to control lights, thermostats, security systems, and other features of their houses from the driver’s seat of their cars. Boeing ba is collecting data from sensors and mobile devices to provide its airline customers with real-time insights into how to better fly their planes and manage their fleets. Banks, insurers, hospitals, and pharmaceutical companies are all heading down similar paths as they seek to remain competitive, Cohen notes.
“It’s very impressive to see how many different types of companies, in how many different sectors, are beginning to operate in these ways,” he says. “This service orientation is going to ripple through every area.”
As the business world transforms itself, Cohen believes that there will be especially high demand for three types of workers: computer programmers, data analysts, and those who design, make and install all sorts of sensors across the commercial landscape—a process, Cohen says, that “will require several stages of rebuilding to add more capabilities.”
Importantly, Cohen doesn’t think that the only ones poised to land good jobs in this new “software age” are the highly educated or highly skilled—a decidedly contrary assessment to those who maintain that all too many folks are destined for “gig economy” work that lacks security, benefits, and a chance for advancement.
“Substantial numbers” of managerial, marketing, manufacturing, cybersecurity, and support roles will be required as more “programmable enterprises” take shape, Cohen says, adding that “there will be whole new categories of jobs for people who lack formal degrees.”
Indeed, while some worry that the U.S. isn’t doing enough to train workers for the new economy, Cohen is optimistic here, as well. He is confident that community colleges, coding academies, and nonprofit organizations such as Girls Who Code will begin to supply talent and demonstrate mechanisms that companies can tap to fill openings. “We’re going to change our assumptions about how people access jobs,” Cohen says.
At the risk of succumbing to some Luddite fallacy, I must confess that I’m not terribly convinced by the case Cohen makes. Yes, new technologies have historically generated more jobs than they’ve killed off. But these days, it really seems to me like something is different.
The speed with which entire industries are likely to be upended is unprecedented; imagine, for instance, what autonomous vehicles are going to do to those driving trucks, taxis, and more. In addition, higher productivity—which is often a result of new technologies being introduced—used to go hand in hand with job creation. But that link is now broken.
At the least, the labor market may well be subject to “greater disruptions” than in the past, as Erik Brynjolfsson and Andrew McAfee write in their book, The Second Machine Age.
Yet Cohen is unmoved, relishing his place as the positive provocateur. “Ninety-nine out of 100 people will tell you that technology is going to destroy jobs,” he says. “The media has almost made it acceptable that we’re not going to have job growth in the future. The argument has become so dominant, it’s almost like a reflex reaction.”
Only time will tell who is right—worriers like me or Bob Cohen. Frankly, I hope it’s him.
Rick Wartzman is the executive director of the Drucker Institute at Claremont Graduate University. The author or editor of five books, he is currently writing a narrative history of how the social contract between employer and employee in America has changed since the end of World War II. | As many as 25 million jobs will be created in the next 15 years, expert predicts. | 62 | 0.944444 | 5.722222 | high | high | mixed |
http://time.com/4029172/apple-tv-new-siri/ | http://web.archive.org/web/20160610030652id_/http://time.com:80/4029172/apple-tv-new-siri/ | Here’s What Apple TV Needs To Do To Be A Hit | 20160610030652 | Well, it looks like after years of waiting, the revolution will not be television. Standing in front of a packed house at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco on Wednesday, Apple CEO Tim Cook laid out the company’s living room strategy in the clearest way to date.
“We believe the future of television is apps,” said Cook while revealing a new, more powerful, cloud-connected and voice-controllable Apple TV.
This isn’t the first time apps have come to television. Google also thought the future of television was apps, way back in 2010. Since then, Google TV has come and gone, and the world is still driven by linear programming. Of course, cord-cutting is now en vogue and over-the-top programming is rivaling traditional shows, but key content like local news is still locked into over-the-air, satellite, and cable television models.
But so what if Apple didn’t invent television apps. The company also didn’t originate personal computers, digital music players, smartphones, or tablets. Indeed, it’s long been Apple’s modus operandi to wait, watch and strike when the time is right. And now that Apple is finally making a move on the living room, here are four things it needs to do to have a hit.
1. Sell people on Siri
As the invitation to the event alluded, Siri is at the heart of the new Apple TV. This is welcome news for people tired of pushing buttons and scrolling through rows of television shows, but it’s a turn-off to people who swear the personal digital assistant still cannot understand them. At Apple’s last keynote presentation in June, Craig Federighi revealed that Siri’s word error rate was just 5%. This number will have to stand pat or improve if people are going to start telling their remote control things like “Let’s watch a television show starring Nikolaj Coster-Waldau.”
But voice is only half the story of Apple TV’s new interface. The other part, universal search technology that allows the device to pull up viewing options across streaming services, is just as important. This is nothing new—TiVo and Roku already have it—so Apple will need to execute and promote it better than the competition. On one hand that could be an uphill battle, considering how poor the search on Apple’s own App Store has been. On the other, Roku and TiVo do little to no marketing, and Apple is, well, Apple.
2. Convert a lot of old Apple TV users
In order to make the new Apple TV a success, the company has to convince many of its existing Apple TV users to upgrade to the new model. To date, Apple has sold more than 25 million Apple TV units, largely because the device’s low price made it more an iPhone accessory than a product in its own right. When it was launched in 2007, the original Apple TV sold for $299. According to data from tech analyst Horace Dediu, sales were poor quarter after quarter, even after a new model with a $99 price tag was released in September 2010. A year later, it finally caught fire, selling 1.4 million units in a quarter during 2011’s holiday season. Not coincidentally, video streaming services were starting to take off around the same time.
But now many people who want streaming hardware already have it. It’s going to be tough to convince them that they need to pay even more money to stream shows better. Keep in mind, the video signal for these shows and movies will look the same, it’s just the method of finding the content that will be better.
If Apple had found a way to turn the 25 million previously sold Apple TV units into an accessory to the new version (sort of like how the TiVo Roamio can stream cable television programing to TiVo minis), the company would have a huge advantage in the market moving forward. But instead, it’s taking a fresh approach. Apple must have its reasons.
One thing Apple excels at is showcasing the apps that make its hardware stand out. In Wednesday’s keynote, the developers of Crossy Road, a best-selling iPhone game, showed off two-player gaming on the new Apple TV. Harmonix, maker of Rock Band, revealed Wiimote-like capabilities in the Apple TV’s new remote control. And it was revealed that gaming console favorites Disney Infinity and Guitar Hero would be available on Apple’s new set top box as well.
While those previews seem to reveal the new Apple TV to be a gaming juggernaut-in-the-making, keep in mind that we’ve been here before. Keynotes past are a graveyard for grand Apple ideas. In gaming, for instance, much was made about “made for iPhone” game controllers, but just ask anyone who bought one how much traction this hardware ultimately got. Sure, Crossy Road looks great, but what else have you got, Apple?
The company also mentioned planning vacations through an Airbnb app, and highlighted shopping from your couch via Gilt. I’ll make the bold prediction that says people will not use this device for those purposes whatsoever. But I do hope that developers find something beyond casual games and weather apps to put on my television. And you know there’s going to be tons of weather apps.
4. Connect the smart home
Speaking of graveyards past, not one executive on the stage made mention of Apple’s stillborn smarthome technology known as HomeKit. As someone actually owns one of the few HomeKit devices on the market, I can attest first-hand to the neglect that Apple seems to be giving this space. In years past (since this Apple TV update was so long overdue), speculation abounded that Apple would turn its living room device into a smart home hub. But since then, Apple TV 3 (all 25 million of them out in the wild) became the device that made Siri speak with your smart home gear.
Now the problem with HomeKit, however, is a lack of compatible smart home devices, and according to reports, this is because Apple is being too demanding with chip-makers. Dimming the lights and closing the blinds with a voice command spoken into the new Apple TV’s remote would have been the kind of ‘killer’ app we’ve come to expect, but it didn’t show itself this week. Still, there’s time for that to happen yet. | The new device was announced Wednesday | 211.5 | 0.833333 | 1.166667 | high | medium | abstractive |
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/09/06/sports/othersports/06HOOP.html | http://web.archive.org/web/20160610043426id_/http://www.nytimes.com:80/2002/09/06/sports/othersports/06HOOP.html | U.S. Eliminated From World Championships | 20160610043426 | INDIANAPOLIS, Sept. 5 — Already stripped of its unblemished record and even its home-court flavor, the United States proceeded to surrender all hope for a medal at the world basketball championships tonight when it blew a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter and was ousted by the defending champion, Yugoslavia, in the quarterfinals, 81-78.
It felt as if Conseco Fieldhouse had been turned into Little Belgrade as a sizable band of Yugoslav fans easily outcheered, if not outnumbered, another sparse crowd of Americans, who watched the professionals from the N.B.A. lose for the second time in two nights in international competition after 58 straight victories.
"It was like we were playing at home," said the Yugoslav coach, Svetislav Pesic.
Digging in for an effort that was as blue in the collar as their sleeveless team jerseys, the Americans built a 69-59 lead behind Paul Pierce and Andre Miller, only to have Yugoslavia go on an 18-4 run that was capped by a dagger of a 3-pointer from the right wing by Milan Gurovic. That gave Yugoslavia a 77-73 lead, and after Miller's 3-pointer cut it to a point, guard Marko Jaric made four free throws to seal the victory.
"It was an N.B.A. playoff game in the summer," said the crestfallen United States coach, George Karl, whose Milwaukee Bucks failed to make the playoffs last spring.
Bedlam was set off in the Yugoslav rooting sections and on the court as Miller misfired a 3-point attempt as time expired. It was the first time that an American team failed to earn a medal at the world championships since 1978, when the tournament was played in October and the United States sent the barnstorming amateur team Athletes in Action.
Yugoslavia will play New Zealand, which upset Puerto Rico, 65-63, in the semifinals tonight. Argentina, which beat the United States on Wednesday night, eliminated Brazil, 78-67, and will next play Germany, which ousted Spain, 70-62.
The United States team, led tonight by Pierce and Miller with 19 points each, was consigned to the consolation round Friday night against Puerto Rico, a development Miller called embarrassing.
If Wednesday marked the end of the American dominance, tonight was the official beginning of the new world order, the first time since the N.B.A. unleashed its dunk-and-pony show in the international arena in 1992 that one could argue there was no more order at all. Anybody could win, and the United States could obviously lose.
"The game isn't ours now, it's everybody's," said Mike D'Antoni, an assistant coach for the Phoenix Suns who last season coached Italy's Benetton Treviso's Euro League champions and is familiar with most of the foreign players here.
That the Americans' 58-game winning streak was finally over was less the shock than the way they were vanquished Wednesday by Argentina: nearly beginning to end and in every measurable aspect of play.
Before the United States team even had the opportunity to redeem itself tonight, the focus around the arena was more on who was not wearing the United States uniforms than who was and who would have to be in them for 2004 Olympics for the Americans to win.
Few would argue that Shaquille O'Neal, who played for the United States in 1994 and 1996, would change the dynamic and outcome of any tournament, but in two years he will be 32, with chronic big toe pain and most likely coming off another playoff run deep into June.
Tim Duncan would certainly give the United States a much improved post presence from what it has here, but those who believe that more elite personnel will be the American panacea might reflect back on Sydney before looking ahead to Athens.
The 2000 United States Olympic team, while playing without O'Neal, did have a roster laden with so-called franchise players: Kevin Garnett, Vince Carter, Jason Kidd, Gary Payton, Alonzo Mourning, Antonio McDyess. They flew home under critical assault for surviving a Lithuanian 3-pointer at the buzzer that would have beaten them had it been good and for being unable to shake France in the gold medal game.
For Karl and his players, burdened now by unwelcome historical distinction, the first N.B.A. team to lose and not earn a medal, all that mattered was the chance to prove that Wednesday was a false step, if not a fluke. After more or less guaranteeing earlier in the week that some future team would be the one to lose, Baron Davis said, "We'll be back to win the gold medal."
Yugoslavia had its own medal plan and such a desire to finally defeat the N.B.A. entry that Vlade Divac claimed to have given up smoking until Sunday. Having lost twice early in the tournament before reaching the single-elimination round, Divac, Peja Stojakovic, who led Yugoslavia tonight with 20 points, and their teammates wound up meeting the United States sooner than they would have preferred. But they were ready, running out to a 9-0 lead as their raucous fans roared.
Desperate for veteran poise and leadership, Karl started Reggie Miller, the 38-year-old hometown Pacer, and it was Miller's pair of 3-pointers that cut into the early deficit, got the United States on its defensive toes and into a better state of mind. The score was tied at 20-20 by the end of the first quarter, but the game would get away in the last six minutes, leaving the United States two long years to determine a strategy to reintroduce itself as a world basketball power. | The U.S. was eliminated from the world basketball championships, losing to defending champion Yugoslavia in the quarterfinals. | 56.578947 | 0.894737 | 1.736842 | high | medium | mixed |
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/06/16/books/the-vice-squad.html | http://web.archive.org/web/20160611104903id_/http://www.nytimes.com:80/2002/06/16/books/the-vice-squad.html?scp=48&sq=jay%20mcinerney&st=cse | The Vice Squad - NYTimes.com | 20160611104903 | W. W. Norton & Company. $24.95.
A DECADE ago, Raymond Carver was almost certainly the most influential American fiction writer -- his spawn of laconic realists populated the creative writing programs and the tables of contents of the best literary journals. More recently, Carver's near contemporary Don DeLillo has probably become the most conspicuous masculine influence on a younger literary generation. Count Mark Costello (whose first novel, ''Bag Men,'' was published under the pseudonym John Flood) among the Sons of Don. His second novel, ''Big If,'' explores the American obsession with assassination by taking us deep inside the Secret Service. Like so many of his peers, Costello has clearly read ''White Noise'' and ''Underworld,'' but like all good novelists he has created a thoroughly original universe -- which seems, in retrospect, to have been waiting for us all along.
We are accustomed to thinking of Washington -- specifically, of Inside the Beltway -- as the setting for thrillers and novels of suspense, the kind of hypomanic plot whirligigs in which heroic guys save the world from destruction and women are accessories characterized with words like ''shapely'' and ''sassy.'' Costello's characters have never met Jack Ryan or anyone else likely to be portrayed by Harrison Ford (or Ben Affleck), and you can be sure they never will. About half of them, it should be noted, are women; whether this is a realistic ratio in the Secret Service I have no idea -- I rather doubt it is -- but Costello's women are at least as convincing and complicated as his men.
Like DeLillo, Costello is fascinated by the specialized vocabularies and rituals of organizations. He's a virtuoso of the arcane lingo of government and of computer programming. But the narrative is ultimately rooted in the middle-class lives of its characters. Costello's world, like Carver's, is tangled up with dirty laundry, implicated in seedy motel trysts and bogged down by malfunctioning pickup trucks. (One of the more interesting divertissements of the novel is a section on New Hampshire real estate that is worthy of Richard Ford's ''Independence Day.'')
In between assignments, Costello's stressed-out, glassy-eyed agents struggle with bills, lingerie issues, parental and marital as well as health and weight problems. They have trouble sleeping and trouble maintaining erections. They have a hell of a time adjusting to the tempo of daily life after a week ''on the ropes,'' protecting the vice president (who is himself running for the presidency) against every threatening contingency, watching for faces that appear in their files of kooks and fringe-group militants, looking for a hand with a gun in it. But they try. ''Camp David made him horny,'' we read of an agent named Tashmo, ''everything about it -- the goofy swimmin' holes, the timbered dining halls, the motor court cabins done up in a thrift-store Happy Angler motif.''
Tashmo, like several of the veep's agents, is a veteran of Ronald Reagan's detail and of the Hinckley assassination attempt. That era is a sort of golden age, despite the fact that Reagan was shot; guarding the Great Communicator when it was morning in America is a high point from which they can't quite recover. ''It was a subtle danger of bodyguarding greatness,'' Tashmo thinks. ''Exposure to that wattage of charisma seemed to hollow out the everyday. You came to see yourself not as a man with the duties of suburbia, but rather as the president of the country called your life.''
The vice president they are guarding now might be Al Gore, although it really doesn't matter; Costello, smartly, leaves him nameless and faceless -- the blank center of a staggeringly complex security juggernaut. Costello is spellbound by process, and he infects his readers with the bug: what concerns the agents is the elaborate rules and contingencies and countercontingencies of ''the Dome'' -- the theoretical prophylactic construct around the protectee. In the world Costello creates, political issues are beside the point, except that, because the vice president is apparently a liberal Democrat, potential threats come from the extreme right.
The Dome is the creation of an agent named Lloyd Felker. After the bloody Hinckley affair, Felker retreats to the world of pure theory. From a bunker in the middle of a cornfield in Maryland, Felker writes a series of position papers that collectively come to be known as ''the Certainties,'' and that form the basis for Secret Service strategy. Eventually Felker decides to do the opposite, to write a series of scenarios in order to test the soundness of the Certainties. When he finally exhausts the ingenuity of his colleagues in the agency, they decide to shut him down. Goons are sent in to destroy the cornfield bunker. ''They took his PC to the mock parking lot and hit the thing with baseball bats until it was in pieces, then hit the pieces until they were in bits, then jumped up and down on the bits, looking like Sicilians making wine.'' | BIG IF By Mark Costello. 315 pp. New York: W. W. Norton & Company. $24.95. | 41.583333 | 0.75 | 3.916667 | high | low | mixed |
http://www.9news.com.au/Wild-Weather/2016/06/10/16/15/Monster-17m-wave-recorded-off-the-NSW-South-Coast-on-Monday-confirmed-as-states-largest-on-record | http://web.archive.org/web/20160611125432id_/http://www.9news.com.au/Wild-Weather/2016/06/10/16/15/Monster-17m-wave-recorded-off-the-NSW-South-Coast-on-Monday-confirmed-as-states-largest-on-record | Monster 17.7m wave measured off NSW South Coast during storms smashes state record | 20160611125432 | A wave at Narrabeen in Sydney on Monday. (AAP file image)
A wave measuring more than 17 metres tall has smashed the existing New South Wales wave height record, after it was recorded off the South Coast on Monday.
Strong winds from the intense low pressure cell created the monster 17.7m wave, which was recorded near Eden about 4.30am on June 6, a statement by the NSW Public Works advised.
The wave easily eclipsed the previous record of 14.9m recorded in April 2015, which had been the largest since measurements began in the early 1970s.
READ MORE: Sydney storm damage: 'Stormageddon' before-and-after photos reveal eroded beaches
"For the past fifty years, WaveRider buoys operated by the Manly Hydraulics Laboratory have been collecting wave data several kilometres offshore in Sydney, Byron Bay, Coffs Harbour, Crowdy Head, Port Kembla, Batemans Bay and Eden," the statement read.
"Throughout the storms the Manly Hydraulics Laboratory was able to provide local councils and other State emergency agencies with reliable and site specific nearshore wave conditions and expected coastal hazards along the entire NSW coast exacerbated by coinciding king tides and heavy rainfall"
The information was conveyed through the State Wide Nearshore Wave Transformation project, the statement advised.
"Over the past week the toolkit has proved an invaluable resource, with essential and near real-time information transmitted to the laboratory’s coastal storm database." | A wave measuring more than 17 metres tall has smashed the existing New South Wales wave height record, after it was recorded off the South Coast on Monday. | 9.166667 | 0.933333 | 26.133333 | low | medium | extractive |
http://www.aol.com/article/2015/02/10/23-year-old-hasnt-produced-any-trash-in-2-years/21139114/ | http://web.archive.org/web/20160611202110id_/http://www.aol.com:80/article/2015/02/10/23-year-old-hasnt-produced-any-trash-in-2-years/21139114/? | 23-year-old hasn't produced any trash in 2 years | 20160611202110 | At first glance, Lauren Singer seems like a typical 23-year-old post-graduate living in New York City. Clad in slouchy black slacks, black crop top and leather moto vest, Singer's style is congruent with her stylish one-bedroom apartment in a South Williamsburg development.
But a closer look beyond the shabby-chic decor and fresh flora revealed something unexpected. A small mason jar filled with a few colorful wrappers and bits of plastic sat behind her atop the pristine, white kitchen counter.
"It's been two years, and that's my trash," she said with a smile.
23-year-old hasn't produced any trash in 2 years
Singer can fit two years of trash in a single mason jar.
Some alternatives: compostable toothbrushes in compostable packaging and reusable stainless steel straws.
People always ask me to give them one simple step they can take towards Zero Waste - and I tell them to transition from a disposable plastic toothbrush to a compostable one like @brushwithbamboo . It's also a really great holiday gift for family and friends that they can really use. Use code 'trashisfortossers' for a 10% discount at checkout. #trashisfortossers #zerowaste #compost #holiday #giftidea #notrash #brushwithbamboo
Singer has barely produced any garbage since she began subscribing to a zero-waste lifestyle, which meant eliminating anything that will end up in a landfill or can't be composted from her day-to-day –- a process she's documented in detail on her blog
As an environmental studies major at New York University, she felt like a "hypocrite" for promoting sustainability but having an apartment full of plastic packaging. She decided to remove plastic from her life altogether -- a drastic choice many might find impossible.
"Quitting plastic wasn't just reducing the amount I used. It actually meant eliminating a lot of the plastic that I was buying, so not buying things like toothpaste or deodorant packaging," she said.
That meant finding alternatives to everyday items and making a lot of them herself. Her bathroom is now lined with mason jars of different sizes filled with various homemade products, and her refrigerator is filled with organic, perishable items. She also makes secondhand purchases to avoid any firsthand packaging.
23-year-old hasn't produced any trash in 2 years
Left to right: corn starch for dry shampoo, French green clay mask, African black soap for spot treatments, tooth powder (an alternative for toothpaste), cocoa butter moisturizer, tea tree oil.
Singer typically does her food shopping at the McCarren Park farmer's market on Saturdays. Her kitchen and refrigerator were pictured on a Thursday.
Singer typically does her food shopping at the McCarren Park farmer's market on Saturdays. Her kitchen and refrigerator were pictured on a Thursday.
Singer spends $20 to $25 a week at the farmer's market and $10 to $20 a month on bulk grains and pastas."
Singer bottles her own shampoo. Check out
Despite her unique lifestyle, Singer said she hasn't really changed, even though stigmas might suggest otherwise. She's just found alternative means to live her existing life.
"You don't have to be a stereotype of anything to live a sustainable lifestyle. My style is the same. My taste is the same. I enjoy the same things. I just don't make trash."
Plus, it's not a pricy way to live, despite what many people might think.
"It's so funny how that narrative caught on that living sustainably is like a 'rich white people thing.' It's not the case at all. I spend like $20 to $25 a week now on everything that I need from the farmer's market," Singer said.
Don't expect Singer to get preachy, though.
"Being an environmental studies major you learn quickly that nobody likes being told what to do. I learned really fast to not tell people how to live because they'll never change or learn from you," she said.
Instead, Singer started her blog and a
to present her lifestyle in a way that's really easy for people to understand, digest and "do on their own time." But she's also noticed her own day-to-day behavior spark a dialogue with friends and family.
"Even just by living my values, it's making a difference and inspiring them to make changes. I have friends who started shopping bulk or going to farmers markets or carry mason jars around," she said. "But I never asked them to do that."
She also recalled a recent date in which she ordered a cocktail with "no straw and no napkin," and her date followed suit.
Although she has already made an impact, the young professional quit her job as a sustainability manager for the New York City Department of Agriculture to "do something more."
Singer left her position and launched
in October 2014, a sustainable home cleaning goods line inspired by the products she makes and uses in her own home with ingredients and quality she can control.
23-year-old hasn't produced any trash in 2 years
Singer's laundry powder includes three simple ingredients baking soda, washing soda and castile soap.
Laundry balls are a reusable alternative to dryer sheets made from yarn and organic sheep's wool.
The idea sparked when friends and family started asking her for recommendations for safe and non-toxic cleaning products. After scouring store shelves and the Web, Singer couldn't find one product that she felt comfortable recommending because most of them contained toxic, carcinogenic chemicals or were not low-trash.
"People deserve to know what's in their products that they're putting in their homes, that are touching their bodies, that are going on their clothes and into the water into the environment," she said. "I wanted to provide people with the products I make for myself because I think chemicals should have no place in our homes."
Singer has received a very positive response to her effort to provide clean, safe organic cleaning products for people who want it. Her
exceeded her $10,000 goal considerably, reaping $41,000.
The green entrepreneur now has 1,000 orders of natural three-ingredient laundry powder to fill, in addition to laundry balls, the reusable and sustainable equivalent to dryer sheets. Although the goal for any business is to sell units, Singer has a broader outlook.
"It's not the typical business model, but I kind of wish that everyone would make their products, which is to say that I wish that my business model didn't have to exist," she said. "Ultimately, my goal is for people to realize that you don't need toxic chemicals to clean your home."
As Singer continues to spread the green message, she acknowledges that diving into a total zero-waste lifestyle isn't for everyone, but small steps like bringing reusable cutlery to work and carrying a reusable bag can have a big impact.
"It is possible to not produce trash. It's definitely possible to produce less trash. Living sustainably is so stigmatized in a negative way -- but this is everybody's earth."
to learn more about your zero-waste options. | A small mason jar filled with a few colorful wrappers and bits of plastic sat behind her atop a pristine, white kitchen counter. | 56.96 | 1 | 14.44 | high | high | extractive |
http://time.com/3557120/cvs-revenues-increase-after-cigarette-ban/ | http://web.archive.org/web/20160612141856id_/http://time.com:80/3557120/cvs-revenues-increase-after-cigarette-ban/ | CVS Revenues Up Even After Banning Cigarette sales | 20160612141856 | CVS proved that a company can stop selling tobacco and still turn a profit, when they announced an almost 10% increase in revenue since last year.
After barring cigarette sales in September, CVS — which now goes by CVS Health — announced that revenue rose 9.7% from its third quarter earnings in 2013. Its operating profit increased by 4.3%.
The removal of cigarettes did have a negative impact on front-of-the-store sales, the Wall Street Journal reports, but the “strength from the pharmacy business offset” that decline. Pharmacy revenue was up 16%. | Although front-of-store sales were down | 12.666667 | 0.666667 | 2.222222 | low | low | mixed |
http://www.aol.com/article/2016/02/03/how-important-is-the-length-of-your-commute/21307254/ | http://web.archive.org/web/20160612203619id_/http://www.aol.com:80/article/2016/02/03/how-important-is-the-length-of-your-commute/21307254/?jwp=1 | How Important Is the Length of Your Commute? | 20160612203619 | If you're weighing a new job offer, there are multiple factors to consider beyond the salary, company culture, and the nature of the actual job itself. One of these factors is the length and type of commute you'll be undertaking to the workplace and back on a daily basis.
If you don't give your commute much thought, hopefully that means it's relatively painless. For many, though, a commute can be long, stressful, and over time, rather expensive. Here are the different elements you might want to think about before accepting a new job, or if you're looking to improve your current route to work.
Have you ever worked out how much
to and from work daily, monthly, or even annually? Your mode of transportation and the distance from home to work are obviously the main factors. If you cycle, you likely made an initial investment in the bike, but are getting the benefit of exercise and the knowledge that you're not harming the environment. If you find yourself filling up your car with gas more often than you'd like, though, see if the problem might be that the office is simply too far away.
Of course, most of us can't just drop a job because we're tired of the commute, but there are things you can do to offset the costs, such as talking to the boss about working from home once or twice a week or adopting a flex schedule that puts you on the road when others have done their traveling for the day, thus minimizing time spent idling in traffic.
Stressed Before You're at Your Desk
Long commutes are more than unpleasant; they could be bad for your health. According to
, excessive traveling every day can be a contributing factor to obesity, neck pain, stress, and exhaustion. Sure, podcasts and a book can help pass the time – but wouldn't you rather be really putting that time to use or getting more sleep before going to work?
If you really feel like your commute is getting you down, take action. Whether it's talking to your boss about telecommuting, changing jobs to one that's close by, or taking the bus instead of driving, figure out what will instantly improve your daily life.
Even if you don't actively hate your commute, it might still be in danger of cutting into a sizable chunk of your day. Most of us have a limit to how much time we're willing to spend traveling to and from work.
Again, we can ease that feeling by finding things to fill the time, but it's also important to be spending enough time with family, friends and relaxing by ourselves. Cutting down on a commute can be a way to give yourself some breathing room. | Getty By Kirsty Wareing If you're weighing a new job offer, there are multiple factors to consider beyond the salary, company culture, and the nature of the actual job itself. One of the | 13.475 | 0.875 | 27.275 | low | medium | extractive |
http://time.com/3669792/gun-violence-chicago-families/ | http://web.archive.org/web/20160613071708id_/http://time.com:80/3669792/gun-violence-chicago-families/ | Go Inside the Lives of Families Affected by Gun Violence | 20160613071708 | Siretha White was at her 11th birthday party when she was killed in 2006. Nugget, as she was known to her family, had been celebrating in her cousin’s home when gunman Moses Phillips, who had reportedly been aiming at a man who was on the porch, shot through the front window fatally wounding her as she ran toward the back of the house. It was a sudden, shocking death that devastated the Whites and many others in their neighborhood of Englewood, Chicago.
The young girl’s story quickly caught the attention of photographer Carlos Javier Ortiz, who had planned on documenting the effects of gun related violence on communities not long before. Shocked by the brutal nature of the incident — and struck by how similar it was to the death of 14-year-old Starkesia Reed, who had been killed by stray gunfire a few blocks away just days before — he approached the White family with the aim of documenting the aftermath.
“The next day I was at the house. There was a birthday cake on the table that didn’t get cut [and] I spent about two hours talking to [Siretha’s] mother’s cousin outside,” Ortiz says. “We talked about a lot of things that were wrong in this neighborhood.”
Englewood often leads the city of Chicago in homicides, though there was a reported 19 percent decrease in 2013.
“[Siretha’s] mother called me that same night, she is a really good friend of mine now, [and said]: ‘I want you to do something. I want you to come to the radio station with me tomorrow and photograph me.’ [And then] she basically let me follow her home.”
Starting that day, Ortiz embedded himself with both the Whites and a larger community, locally and nationally, in an attempt to start a conversation about gun violence and its consequences. It evolved into a project that spanned eight years, and one that saw him travel between neighborhoods in Chicago and Philadelphia. Now, much of the work appears in his newest book, We All We Got, which will be on show at the Bronx Documentary Center in New York until March 22, 2015.
The images that emerged from his project are as powerful and heart-breaking as they are unnerving and thought-provoking. In one photograph, we see Albert Vaughn, who was beaten to death with a baseball bat, in his coffin as relatives mourn. In another, we see the mother of Fakhur Uddin grieving outside the store where he was killed as he opened the family business in August, 2008.
Ortiz sees the often difficult work he produced as a collaboration and would sometimes show his photographs to subjects. And while he sought to preserve journalistic distance, he couldn’t help but feel involved on a personal level with the communities, and individuals, who opened up to him.
“I saw boys and girls growing up and I couldn’t really do anything for them. I would see [a] change in the boys when they got to be 11 [or] 12. They would start walking differently, acting differently,” he says. “They start to pick up all these things from the other guys in the neighborhood, who picked them up from the other guys. So it’s like a circle.”
Indeed, having embedded himself with families for so long he started to witness tragedies unfold around him: “[The White’s] next door neighbor, he would DJ and sell shoes on the side, just to support his family. One day somebody robbed him and just murdered him.”
“It started becoming really hard. I started losing people too,” he adds. “They were my friends, people in the neighborhood were my friends. That was kind of a big wake up call.”
Carlos Javier Ortiz is a documentary photographer and experimental filmmaker based in Chicago. We All We Got is available now. The Bronx Documentary Center will host an opening reception for the book Jan. 24, 2015 and will show Ortiz’s work from Jan 24 to March 22, 2015.
Richard Conway is reporter/producer for TIME LightBox. | Carlos Javier Ortiz's eight-year photography project goes on show at the Bronx Documentary Center in New York | 40.35 | 0.8 | 5.6 | high | medium | mixed |
http://www.tmz.com/2014/02/06/maya-rudolph-suv-car-crash-side-swipe-garbage-cans | http://web.archive.org/web/20160613122918id_/http://www.tmz.com:80/2014/02/06/maya-rudolph-suv-car-crash-side-swipe-garbage-cans | Maya Rudolph -- Drive-By Garbage Can Disaster [VIDEO] | 20160613122918 | sideswiped a bunch of roadside garbage cans with her SUV Wednesday ... HARD ... and the accident was all caught on tape.
Maya was driving down the road in L.A. -- pretty fast -- when her side view mirror collided with a garbage can and a recycling bin ... sending both flying into the air.
Needless to say, she lost her mirror in the process ... and had to get out of her car to retrieve it. While she was out, she also put the garbage cans back in place.
In fairness, roadside garbage cans in L.A. are an oversized pain in the ass ... | Hilarious video -- Maya Rudolph sideswiped a bunch of roadside garbage cans with her SUV Wednesday ... HARD ... and the accident was all caught on… | 4.259259 | 0.851852 | 16.407407 | low | medium | extractive |
http://fortune.com/2016/02/03/rand-paul-drops-out-primary/ | http://web.archive.org/web/20160613172253id_/http://fortune.com:80/2016/02/03/rand-paul-drops-out-primary/ | Rand Paul Is Dropping Out of the GOP Primary | 20160613172253 | Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul is calling quits on his presidential bid Wednesday, according to two people familiar with his plans.
Paul, who finished in fifth place in the Iowa caucuses and picked up a single delegate to the Republican National Convention, has struggled with money and for voter attention for most of the last year of his candidacy.
He is getting out of the race to focus on winning re-election to his Senate seat, a race for which he just received a challenger last week.
“It’s been an incredible honor to run a principled campaign for the White House. Today, I will end where I began, ready and willing to fight for the cause of Liberty,” Paul said in a statement.
“Although, today I will suspend my campaign for President, the fight is far from over,” Paul continued. I will continue to carry the torch for Liberty in the United States Senate and I look forward to earning the privilege to represent the people of Kentucky for another term.”
Paul’s campaign struggled to get off the ground as his libertarian message proved ill-timed amid new fears surrounding international terrorism and the rise of ISIS.
Paul had sought to expand on his father, Ron Paul’s, bloc of libertarians by bringing new voters into the Republican Party, but watched as a better funded and organized Ted Cruz managed to pull many of them toward his campaign.
This story originally appeared on time.com. | After a poor showing in Iowa | 47 | 0.5 | 0.5 | high | low | abstractive |
http://time.com/3699084/100-years-birth-of-a-nation/ | http://web.archive.org/web/20160614003925id_/http://time.com:80/3699084/100-years-birth-of-a-nation/ | A Troublesome Legacy | 20160614003925 | The Birth of a Nation, by all accounts the first American blockbuster, the first historical epic, the first Hollywood film to resemble what movies are like today, premiered in Los Angeles exactly 100 years ago on Sunday. But the centennial won’t be celebratory. It will likely be awkward, sobering even — because in director D.W. Griffith’s 12-reel Civil War saga, the Ku Klux Klan members are the glorious heroes.
Since its premiere on Feb. 8, 1915, the film has been at once wildly popular and widely condemned. It inspired the revival of the KKK but also galvanized what was then a nascent NAACP into action. It helped define what cinema means for American audiences. It was the first film ever shown inside the White House.
After 100 years, it has left a complicated, powerful legacy, but a legacy of what, exactly?
“Excuses are sometimes made by scholars of film for the content, but I don’t think that for the last ten to 15 years there has been any doubt that this is an unequivocally, viciously racist film,” says Paul McEwan, Associate Professor of Media and Communications at Muhlenberg College. McEwan has been studying and writing about the history of Birth of a Nation for 12 years. “I mean, this film makes Gone With the Wind look very progressive.”
Griffith claimed to be filming history, but Birth of a Nation, based on the novel The Clansman by Thomas Dixon, features a stunning revision of Reconstruction. White actors in blackface portray members of a barbaric, sex-crazed militia of freedmen that terrorizes and disenfranchises cowering whites. Black men overtake South Carolina’s judicial system and legislature, swigging whiskey and eating fried chicken on the floor of the State House. After the blackface character Gus attempts to rape a white woman, the protagonists don their hoods and apprehend him, lynching him after their version of a fair trial. The film is ostensibly about white national reconciliation at the expense of emancipated black Americans. A title card punctuates the action toward the end of the silent film to declare, “The former enemies of North and South are united again in defense of their Aryan birthright.”
Despite its objectionable content, the film remains an essential part of the discussion about American cinema because of Griffith’s pioneering technical innovations. Things that today are completely taken for granted — like close-ups, fade-outs and even varying camera angles — originated with Birth of a Nation‘s director and crew.
Because of its landmark cinematic achievements, dialogue surrounding the film has been fraught with debate pitting its artistic value against its dangerous racial politics. Famously, filmmaker Spike Lee has described seeing the film in a class as a first-year student. While professors were eager to applaud all the innovations of the film, lauding Griffith as “the father of cinema,” they ignored its implications as a racist epic. Lee responded with one of his first-year projects, called The Answer, about a black screenwriter drafted to write a Birth of a Nation remake.
In the 1970s, a journalist in Connecticut named Dick Lehr infiltrated a recruitment meeting of the KKK. There, Grand Wizard David Duke treated attendees to a screening of the film. Lehr, who had studied the film in college, said exposure to the film “in the real world” made him start considering the consequences of its content. Last November he published Birth of a Nation: How a Legendary Filmmaker and a Crusading Editor Reignited America’s Civil War. The book chronicles the backlash against the film in African American communities, particularly protests in Boston that were led by Monroe Trotter.
“In 1915, black leaders were appalled and outraged,” Lehr tells TIME. The film helped galvanize protests by thousands of African Americans, which Lehr characterizes as powerful foreshadowing of the Civil Rights movement.
President Woodrow Wilson cast Trotter and his protestors out of the White House after Trotter, a Harvard-educated newspaper editor, confronted him. “Wilson is a very well documented racist,” Lehr says. “He was very paternalistic, and Trotter became persona non grata because Wilson just thought ‘how dare you speak to me this way.'”
A few months later, Wilson hosted Griffith and novelist Dixon, a college friend of Wilson’s, for a screening of Birth of a Nation, the second film ever shown on the grounds of the White House and the first ever inside. Wilson lauded the film, famously commenting that it was “like writing history with lightning.” Excerpts from Wilson’s History of the American People appeared in the film to justify the portrayal of the Reconstruction-era South. The film quotes, “The policy of the congressional leaders wrought…a veritable overthrow of civilization in the South…in their determination to ‘put the white South under the heel of the black South.'”
It’s obvious, then, that the film has managed to sustain dual meanings for a whole century: its cinematic advances are still relevant, but its racism is still shocking. But, says Muhlenberg’s McEwan, there’s another piece of that legacy — and it’s one that’s a lot harder to see.
“For a long time the question was just, is it racist or is it art? Well, it’s both, and that’s more complicated,” McEwan says. “For American audiences, I think the legacy of the film is a cautionary tale. Especially on the centennial, you have to look 100 years into our future, and think about what we do, what our Birth of a Nation is going to be once that eye of judgement is turned on us.”
But perhaps there’s reason to hope that our own version, the movie we’ll be shocked at in 2115, won’t be quite so shameful. After all, in thinking about the centennial, Lehr says he noticed some hopeful irony: The first movie to screen in the White House was Birth of a Nation, but one of the most recent was Selma. | America's first historical epic was a racist fantasy about the KKK | 96.916667 | 0.833333 | 1.666667 | high | medium | mixed |
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