text:
Lawrence Lessig
I think they should hire a reformed pirate from Somalia. After all, it takes a pirate to stop a pirate.
Seriously, copyright is dead already. It no longer makes sense to pretend that the point of reproduction is a choke point for publication. Yes, we do need to reward creativity, but no, corporate-controlled copyright focused on profit-maximization (based on an ancient paradigm of killing more trees) is NOT the solution.
Yes, we do need to reward creativity, but no, corporate-controlled copyright focused on profit-maximization
So the solution is??????
Copyright focused on what the law originally intended as stated in the Constitution: the advancement of science and the arts for the public good. That doesn't always mean "For the good of this corporation over here, because they put a fat check in my pocket"
We had a choice between assholes that shill for oil companies, or douches that shill for Hollywood. Guess which group we picked.
We had a choice between assholes that shill for oil companies, or douches that shill for Hollywood. Guess which group we picked.
I wish the framers allowed the president and congress critters to be recalled if they pissed off the public.
At the very least, a "disapproved by voters" should bar a reelection.
That way they won't get away with playing nice long enough to get reelected.
The only reason that people are putting up with this crap anyway is due to learned helplessness.
wish the framers allowed the president and congress critters to be recalled if they pissed off the public.
Why would the framers want to do something like that? They set the government up specifically to avoid "Tyranny of the masses" [wikipedia.org] and group stupidity.
What your seeing is exactly what they wanted. It may be being abused but it was the intent. The abuses seem more damaging now that people want to think the federal government is supposed to be over the people and not just a governing body for the states to control common business associated with the state.
I wish the framers allowed the president and congress critters to be recalled if they pissed off the public.
That was a large part of the motivation behind the second amendment.
So the solution is to not criminalize personal filesharing for no commercial gain,
I think that's a pipe dream which doesn't take human nature ("why pay when I can take it for free?") into account.
decrease copyright to a sane 20 or less years, repeal things such as the DMCA
That I agree with.
I think that's a pipe dream which doesn't take human nature ("why pay when I can take it for free?") into account.
But a lot of money being made on copyright with the exception of games is for business use or things that can never be emulated. For example, most bands make their money through live shows, no matter how advanced of video technology we get, you can never really successfully recreate the atmosphere of a concert. Similarly, if movie theaters could provide a great experience many people would go there rather then at home, but sadly the ordinary movie theater experience has technical glitches, loud children,
That's a pretty ridiculous argument, actually.
You can't argue that copyright has anything to do with whether people prefer watching movies in the theater or at home.
And while I can see your argument (which is not to agree) regarding the music business, lives shows don't apply for movies, books or games, so there's still no way to generate revenue for the artist in those mediums.
You suggested specialty hardware (i.e. DRM? yes, I know you meant consoles, I'm just making the comparison) for games, but that adds to the cost of user for the consumer. Not everyone wants to drop 4-500 francs on a gaming console; especially if they already have a computer with sufficient power!
All in all, I don't think you'll see the end of copyright until someone can suggest a specific and implementable plan to reward everyone involved in the creative process. With books this include authors and editors, movies and games have huge staffs, music pretty much requires the band and maybe some songwriters. Good luck with that.
The staff it takes to make a movie, of a given production quality, is falling. If copyright was abolished, and the film industry was reduced to hobbyists, then it wouldn't be irretrievably destroyed - it'd be set back to what it was in, say, the 1940s. (The production values of, say, Casablanca and Clerks are pretty similar. Major motion-picture backing in the first is matched by a hobbyist budget and much-improved technology in the latter.)
Setting the entertainment industry back 60 years in exchange for
Don't you think moviebuffs all over the world would get together and find financing for new movies if they awoke one morning to Hollywood being gone?
I can't say the same for most of the independent films I have watched.
You're not looking very hard. I see wonderful old, foreign and independent movies every day. Hollywood alone is currently producing more than two feature movies a day. Worldwide there must be hundreds per day. That's thousands per year. With a world population of 6,700,000,000+ that's actually a small number. How many movies do you watch in a year?
We simply don't need draconian copyright to increase the number of good movies made. We ar
I was about to rant about the "cinema atmosphere" when you mentioned that you can't recreate the concert atmosphere, but you already took care of that. Still, allow me to stress it:
Why the heck should I got to a cinema? Pushing past crowds that want in or out, standing in line for a bag, box or whatever container of popcorn worth 20 cents (and costing 5-7 dollar), only to find out that the next bozo dumps his coke all over them, then enjoy the "slurp-slarp" of sticky floors while going to my seat which is usually an experience for a forensic biologist, but not for a movie enthusiast who'd rather want to see a movie than play "find out what this encrusted stuff you're gonna sit on is".
Then the movie starts, deafening you with that "THX the audience is listening" crap ("was listening while they could hear anything" would be more appropriate), possibly to deafen you to a few things that you certainly don't want to notice. Like the annoying kids that start fighting about halfway through the movie (whose parents are either not around or, like the ushers, not caring), the various chewing noises all around you (but they go really well with the accompanying smell of cheese, stale fat and other yummy things that wanna make you puke) and the fact that any dialog is done at about 10 dB, any explosion at about 120.
But that way you at least notice when something's going on on screen, because invariably the only person above 8' tall will sit in front of you. Alternatively you get someone with ants in his pants who can't sit still if his life depended on it. Bonus points if this creates a cloud of "didn't shower since July" aroma any time he does so.
All that and more for just 7-10 bucks (plus snacks, gas and parking).
Yeah, that's an experience you just can't copy with your home entertainment system.
Fine. You stay at home. I'll keep going to the theater.
Your understanding of human nature is myopic to say the least.
Humans want people they like to do well. They want people they don't like to do poorly.
Thus, I refuse to pay $20 for an album I'm going to listen to a few times and then discard. On the other hand, I listen to an album several times, and still like it, I'm going to buy a copy, because I want more where that came from.
That's not gonna happen if I don't buy this album. It's simple cause and effect, and anyone with two eyes and two ears knows that's how the music industry is currently functioning, despite the RIAA's protests.
The same applys to movies. I don't want disposable, mass market crap. I want priceless art, and when I see it, I pay for it.
I think that's a pipe dream which doesn't take human nature ("why pay when I can take it for free?") into account.
Its quite the opposite. Its the only solution that actually takes human nature into account. The problem simply isn't the copying, people have done that since forever, thats how culture spreads and they will continue to do that on the Internet. The real problem is that very large parts of the youth is getting criminalize and *that* has to be fixed if you don't want a large scale revolt a few years down the line. Might that mean that the entertainment industry collapses? That could very well happen, after all they are mostly obsolete since distribution can be handled via the Internet. Will it mean that artists get bankrupt? I kind of doubt it. Artists today already get only a very tiny fraction of sales of their stuff, if you remove the industry and distribution on the other side, you could channel all money directly to the artists. So even when many people stop buying stuff, there would still be enough money left once the industry is out of the picture.
The real problem is that very large parts of the youth is getting criminalize and *that* has to be fixed if you don't want a large scale revolt a few years down the line.
A serious corollary of the criminalization of something that such a large portion of the population is doing is that it encourages the people to look down on the law. Our current approach is creating a generation of scofflaws, and that is a bad thing -- because other laws DO matter.
Really, this has been rehashed so many times by now that if you truly haven't seen any of the many possible solutions you haven't been looking.
Basically it's a fairly easy question to solve as long as you simply frame the question appropriately and realize it's just yet another benefit no different than any other such system. From a macro economic point of view copyright is roughly equivalent to an arbitrary sales tax on specific items, with an efficiency rate of about 5% of the collected funds going towards the stated (as opposed to actual, of course) purpose of copyright.
To replace that with a better system would be trivial. The quickest and easiest way, most closely resembling a vastly more efficient version of the current system, would be to simply implement it as what it actually is; a sales tax on creative goods, but with the proceeds going directly to the intended recipients, ie, artists and creators.
A quick calculation of the numbers would yield something like this; with free replication of creative materials the competitive cost of printing and delivering a high-quality CD to a store would fall somewhere around $1. Final sales point adds another $1, and to ensure the creators get what they get today we'd need a levy of about 50% on top of that, ie, $3 final sales price to customer. Add various other factors such as the vastly increased sales from a massive lowering of prices and you'd probably get double or triple the funds to the actual artists and creators. It's also a model that can easily be implemented on pretty much any profit generating scheme based on copyright, from web sales to automatic printing kiosks to cable tv.
That's an exceedingly simplified version of course, a more complete analysis of issues would have to go into everything from derived and combined works to appropriate payment levels (whether implemented like copyright or as a sales tax system it's a benefit scheme. It's not supposed to make anyone rich or fund marketing and parties, it's supposed to maximize social utility and allow as many creators to maximize their creative output as possible).
But in the end it's not a hard question to solve. It's just hard if your basic intention is to have a system intended to make publishers rich, while still screwing the creators as deeply as possible as it's hard to explain and defend a 95% fund leakage even in government unless you hide it outside any visible and publicly reviewed budget.
Lessig supported Obama during his presidential candidacy. How ironic, then, that the very candidate he supported all along ended up appointing people who stand for the very opposite of what Lessig has stood for as the public face of Creative Commons. Judging by his record so far, I seriously doubt Obama would ever appoint somebody like Lessig to the position of Copyright Czar, and besides I'm not sure the job is all that compatible with the principles of the Creative Commons movement.
I'd give her the Nobel Peace Prize if I were on the committee.
The Peace Prize is (at least in theory) given "to the person who shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses". If you seriously think that PJ's work qualifies in any way, you might want to check your reality distortion field meter...
Remember, the czars hail from Russia. I'd like to propose Vladimir Putin.
It's kind of sad to see that despite all the progressive politics that Obama and Biden embody, that they're following Hollywood's line to the letter. I'd like to see some specific language from them on exactly what they think about the proper length of copyright terms -- the current terms lasting a century or more are absurd.
Lessig took the wrong approach in arguing Eldred v. Ashcroft before the Supreme Court. While the frequent extensions to copyright obviously violate the spirit of the Constitution, they don't violate the letter, since century-plus durations are still technically "limited." What does violate the letter of the Constitution is that these extensions do not "promote the Progress" of science and arts, but rather retard them. Past a certain length, copyright terms don't create any additional encouragement to create; they just make it easier for huge corporations to monopolize our common culture.
It's kind of sad to see that despite all the progressive politics that Obama and Biden pretended to give a shit about during the election that they're following Hollywood's line to the letter
Fixed that. If you really didn't see this coming, then welcome to the realities of politics.
"It's kind of sad to see that despite all the progressive politics that Obama and Biden embody, that they're following Hollywood's line to the letter."
Interesting choice of words. The administration isn't looking at the short term here -- they see the writing on the wall and want to cement the USA's position as an economic superpower as the manufacturing leaves us behind. The USA is the biggest exporter of IP on the planet, and the administration likely sees this as our economy's golden ticket as India and China usurp what have been traditionally some of our big money-makers.
The current administration probably looks at it a bit like global warming -- doing something about it should not be put off. They want to make progress here; hence the term "progressive." To do nothing would not be progressive.
Agreed with you, however, that the ever-extending copyright lengths violate the spirit, if not the letter, of the constitution. Very well put. The big media companies would, of course, like to make copyright perpetual, but that would be unconstitutional. So instead they're doing the next best thing, and getting it pushed out each time Mickey Mouse is in danger of entering ye olde publick domain.
If manufacturing leaves us behind, then we're fucking done for.
A country that can't produce its own goods is a country with no future anyway. Adding draconian IP laws to the books and appointing a bunch of lawyers who are in the pockets of big entertainment are NOT in the best interests of this country. Societies do not advance by hoarding all their knowledge and locking it away where nobody else can get at it.
Someone has to be the one to burst your bubble about Obama, so I guess it will be me. Obama is a product of the Chicago machine politics of the type the brought you ACORN, Rod Blagojevich, Reverend Wright, and the sort of pay-to-play corruption that only lobbyists, rabble rousers, and crooked union bosses could love. Obama said it himself, he believes that he is "beholden" to the Unions (and probably to Hollywood too via Biden) and if there is one aspect that defines machine politics it is patronage (i.e.
Is it possible that we wouldn't be downloading everything there ever was, if we had grown up in a world where copyrights were limited in any meaningful sense?
It's more a reaction to completely batshit insane copyright laws.
First, laws will not be upheld if they cannot be understood and accepted. "Don't kill or go to prison" is a concept any common person can understand and accept. Killing someone is bad, I would harm someone if I killed him, so
A law telling you that you can't make a copy of something you paid for is neither understandable nor acceptable. I paid for it, so why shouldn't I make a copy of something that I bought? Why shouldn't I be able to use it the way I want? More, why should I be forced to do with what I own (yes, yes, you don't own it... another thing that makes no sense) only what its maker wants? Can Ford force me to drive my SUV only offroad? Can GE force me to keep my super stinky cheese out of the fridge? Can Heinz force me to eat their Ketchup only on Fries and Burgers but never with Hotdogs? Why can Disney force me to sit through unskippable ads? Makes no sense.
And second, and more importantly, the abundance of copyright laws that do not make intrinsically sense creates an air of uncertainty. What can I do? What can't I do? Or, why the hell should I care what I do, even if I just use it it's prolly already illegal, so why bother trying avoiding breaking the law?
...that we may already be able to see where, in general, the future will lead with regard to copyright enforcement. The music industry has more or less given up on DRM; there were enough places that started selling DRM-free music, and made a mint at it, that the big dogs finally gave up. Why?
Among the population of those who pirate (set P), the subset Q who pirate because it's easy, but would pay if they couldn't pirate, is very small. The big dogs were spending more on creating and implementing DRM schemes than they could ever hope to earn from Q, and they finally figured this out.
The movie industry hasn't quite got this yet, or at least not in the same way; because a piece of music is much smaller and easier to distribute than a piece of video, the RIAA's battle with Internet piracy really began around 1996. The MPAA didn't start having to deal with it to the same degree for five or six years later. Giant corporations are not quick learners, and it'll probably be another two or three years before they really get it (although to some degree they've learned from the RIAA's mistakes).
In practice, there will be a lot of lip service put toward stopping the Evil Pirates, and occasional high-profile incidents such as the Pirate Bay verdict, but in the main, 99% of pirates will never be affected. There's just way too many of them compared to the studios; giant though those corporations may be, they're nothing compared to the tens of thousands of people who are dedicated, for whatever reason, to defeating any conceivable DRM scheme.
There'll still be efforts made against commercial pirates, but as for noncommercial piracy, unless they make a big splash or get noticed for some reason, they're going to be ignored by the studios forever, because it will always cost the studios more to do something about them than they could ever hope to earn from doing so.
Biden and Obama and their successors will, as has been noted, probably sing the same tune forever -- the entertainment industry is a huge political donor. More to the point, the only politicians who get elected are going to be the ones who at least pay lip service to helping Hollywood against the Evil Pirates (tm). But there's really never going to be much they can do about it.
I understand your reason for lack of concern. But hear MY concern. During the MPAA's pursuit against piracy the freedoms of the internet will be trampled on
Feeling suckered yet? Obama knows where to get his bread buttered, and Hollyweird is only happy enough to do it for him.
If the choice is between having the president a puppet of
A) the Oil Industry and the Defense Industry
B) the RIAA and MPAA
Then I would definitely choose B.
Its relatively easy to fight the RIAA and MPAA on my own or just ignore them, compared to the Oil and Defense...
I would choose A
We need the Oil and Defense Industry. The media industry however we can do without, especially due to draconian laws passed in their favor against us.
Seriously, when has BIG Oil and Defense sued thousands of kids on the basis of intellectual property (non-tangible resource)?
"Seriously, when has BIG Oil and Defense sued thousands of kids on the basis of intellectual property (non-tangible resource)?"
I bet there are thousands of kids who would have *wished* they would have been sued by the entertainment industry, rather than killed by the implements of the 'defense' industry to support the interests of the oil industry.
Being sued probably sucks, being bombed probably sucks more.
Suckered? Not particularly. I knew Obama wasn't perfect when I voted for him. I knew Hollywood and copyright issues in general was one where I wouldn't like him much. I also believed (and still do) the the other options weren't particularly better on this front. This really isn't a partisan issue, despite people on both the D and R sides of the aisle pretending it is.
Angry? Certainly. This is a bad policy (well, technically so far it only appears to foreshadow such). Copyright in our country is badly broken, and things that will make it worse make me angry, like many slashdotters.
Disappointed? Yes, somewhat. I had hoped things would be better than this. I didn't expect them to, and there was no rational basis for that hope. But if you stop hoping for a better future, then very quickly you'll stop working for it. And once you stop working for a better future, you're in deep trouble indeed. So I had hope that things will improve, and I was disappointed. I still have hope that things will improve.
Regretful? No. I don't want to be an Obama apologist: he's making a mistake here. Please, take him to task for it. Write angry letters, shout from the rooftops, and get us a decent copyright policy. I'm with you on that one. But please don't act like I was an idiot for voting for an imperfect candidate, or pretending that for some reason I have to either support or oppose everything he does as a single block. I'm capable of agreeing with him on some things and disagreeing on others, and I've basically gotten the candidate I thought I voted for, for better *and* for worse.
I rather suspect I'm not the only one.
Maybe it's just as simple as Biden wanting more money? "Give me more money and I'll make sure the 'right person' gets approved."
The right person for the job will know which battles are winnable, and which battles aren't.
The right person for the job will recognize that intellectual property holders are going to be more effective at combating user vs. corporation-style IP infringements by expanding access. This person will attempt to foment an environment in which it is reasonable for powerful IP holders to aggressively pursue this objective.
The right person for the job will focus enforcement efforts on businesses (e.g., pirated software) rather than living-room pirates, since the former can likely be widely-enforced, whereas the latter can't.
The right person for the job will seek to reform the patent system, and adopt a relatively narrow view of what IP entails.
The right person for the job will see his or her role as more along the lines of facilitating and educating, than as a law enforcement agent, or, worse, a corporate shill.
The right person for the job will be able to come up with witty comebacks to the TPB staff's bizarre antics.
Also, the right person for the job will probably still be widely reviled here. But that's okay, too.
I'm just hoping something like this will happen in the future.
Biden returning from trip, eases himself down into a chair in the Oval Office.
Obama: Long trip there, Joe? *hands him drink*
Biden: Long trip, long visit, good to be back. Thanks. So, how are things back at the ranch?
Obama: Fine, fine. The girls showed me something fairly remarkable on the internet.
Biden: Kids today, whippersnappers et cetera. What was it, youbook or facespace?
Obama: No, no. Something called bittorrent. Did you know there's all sorts of music online? And you can just download it!
Biden: *looks wary* That's none of that file-sharing, is it?
Obama: No, it's called bittorrent. All the kids are doing it.
Biden: Sure it's not piracy?
Obama: I just ordered our boys to blow the heads off of three pirates off of Somalia. I think I know piracy when I see it.
Biden: Sure it's none of that p2b-er b2a um a2m or whatever it is?
Obama: Nope. Bittorrent.
Biden: Hmph. *takes a closer look* Hey, this is neat. Wonder why the Hollywood guys haven't built something like this.
Meanwhile, in the White House IT office
Tech 1: Hey, looks like someone's using bittorrent.
Tech 2: Damn, I thought we blocked the port. Better fix it now before anyone notices.
Tech 1: Better not. Did you see the IP on that one?
Tech 2: Shit, you're right. I'm not going to be the one to tell the POTUS he can't play. Remember how pissed Cheney got after he spent all that time assuring everyone those emails were safely lost and whoops, we found the backups?
Tech 1: *shudders* Tell me about it. I haven't seen anyone that mad since I "accidentally" deleted Rove's furry scat collection.
...sit back, relax, and see who gets the post.
We, as a consumer group, do have the power to stop RIAA and MPAA cold. How? Stop listening to music on the radio, don't buy any new CDs (used is fine), turn off your TV (and cable/sat/uverse), and don't go to the movies. It will take only about six months to completely destroy RIAA and MPAA if as few as 20% of the people do this.
The real problem as I see it is that very few of you want to be rid of the RIAA and MPAA, you just don't like how they do business. That's fine, I don't like how they do business myself. That's why I don't have cable or sat, I don't listen to music on the radio, I don't go to movies, I don't buy movies or CDs....
Put up or shut up folks. It's fine to complain, but do something about it, why don't you? The copyright cartels are paying the politicians far more than we do, and they're doing it with money we pay them. Quit paying them money to abridge your rights and desires.
It will take only about six months to completely destroy RIAA and MPAA if as few as 20% of the people do this.
I have already been doing this for at least the last two (2) years. I have not bought a new CD since 1997 and I quit going to the movies (at least MPAA studio movies) and buying DVDs two (2) years ago (the only film I saw recently was an IMAX movie "Fighter Pilot" at the National Air and Space Museum Steven F Udvar-Hazy Center [si.edu]). I don't pirate the films or music either. I just turned them off; I don't listen anymore. I spend my free time on the Internet in study of various technical, political, economic, an
Obviously, nothing should enter the public domain until it is dug from the ground by an archaeologist.
Are you joking? The archeologist must have copyright then.
all we have are a bunch of old people who don't understand the implications of a new technology
copyright is nothing more than damage to be routed around, and that's what the internet does
let them pass any law, appoint any stooge they want. why does anyone here care?
the whole of intellectual property is simply defunct and unenforceable
now, if they actually could enforce the laws they pass, then this would be an issue
but they can't. they simply can't. they can bankrupt the occasional grandmother or soccer mom, but to what end?
the technology routes around whatever they do
game over
copyright has died. it does matter what anyone thinks, it matters what the technology allows. and the technology allows unfilterable file trading. no one can stop that. no law on earth, that does also destroy the technology as well, which no one wants to do
all that is happening is a bunch of people live in denial about the truth of a new technological reality
You seem to be operating under the assumption that a bad law can't cause a lot of damage.
Kids are being extorted for thousands by the RIAA.
Old movies and other pieces of our culture are rotting away because they're still under copyright and no one can recover them.
Countries are considering laws to remove your internet privileges for file sharing.
People are having to waste countless time and resources fighting them and working around the laws.
And we don't even know what great technologies the law has stopped
I'm sure the "occasional grandmother or soccer mom" that was bankrupted cares about this very much.
Yeah, so it turns out that absent any major concern on the part of the electorate, politicians listen to the people who talk to them the loudest - folks with money to lobby them. And while this site is chock full of people who like to write righteous screeds about the injustices of copyright law, most people in the US don't give a shit about copyright law.
Let me repeat that: most people in the US don't give a shit about copyright law.
They don't know, don't pay attention, haven't had it be a problem for them, and don't care. Go and ask your parents, or your non-tech savvy siblings, or whomever else. Most, if not all of them, won't know or care. And the reason for that is because nearly all the people that do care spend their time writing righteous screeds about it on Slashdot.
If you want to make a difference, sure - complain about it, but not here. Complain about it to your congresscritters; but not just them - you've got to make other people give a shit, and that means talking to someone who's not here to listen to the preaching at choir practice.
If normal people start giving a shit, politicians will change their tune, because that's how politics works. So get the fuck off Slashdot and go talk to regular people who don't know and don't care, and inform them and get them to give a shit. It does matter, and you can convince people that it matters. But you have to actually do some work.
They don't know, don't pay attention, haven't had it be a problem for them, and don't care.
On the contrary, most of them just disagree. We spend hours on slashdot yelling over the semantics of calling it "theft," and ultimately we're probably right. But the average person doesn't really give a shit. You've taken something that wasn't being offered for free and you didn't pay for it; that's close enough to theft that they really don't care what the semantic argument is. You have the artist's product and they don't have your money. Call it what you will. So far as the ridiculous size of the judgments, most people would likely agree it's excessive... and then proceed not to care.
The US has become a society where we actively encourage harsh punishments for tiny crimes, in an effort to be "tough on crime." These same people will agree it's too much and then say "but it's their own damn fault." That's how we are as a society; you can see it refelcted in all sorts of laws, not just copyright infringement issues. Look at the penalties for pot, or just about any crime involving a child. Circumstances be damned, lock those fuckers up!
Yeah, so it turns out that absent any major concern on the part of the electorate, politicians listen to the people who talk to them the loudest - folks with money to lobby them.
On the other hand, we tend to oversimplify the issue here. Even if we're exactly right about all these ills of copyright terms and penalties, it's now the basis of our economy. Want to work in a factory here? You pretty well can't, and what few ones still exist are struggling bad. Those jobs have moved overseas. What we have left here in the US falls into two categories: 1) Service industries and 2) shit that involves copyright. Politicians are not going to write off half the economy on the hope that your ability to use Mickey Mouse in your films somehow makes more money than Disney using it. This is why we work so hard to force other countries around the world to adopt as similar a copyright scheme to us as possible; our own economy depends on strong copyright law, here and abroad.
In a lot of ways, the politicians are being more practical than us. We're arguing semantics or debating whether or not something technically meets the merits of "promot[ing] the progress of science and useful arts." They're talking about what happens to our economy if we release or ignore copyright protections. And while I come down more on
You're right: Money talks. It needn't be some ill-design of lobbying or bribes or corruption. In this case they're protecting economic value (and thus tax revenues). If anybody thought Obama would suddenly strike copyright down where it stood, they very seriously deluded themselves.
"Vice President Joe Biden lauded Hollywood at a gala dinner in Washington, assailed movie piracy, and promised film executives that the Obama administration would pick "the right person" as its copyright czar."
----- The right person for *who*? THAT is the real question people should be asking.
The 'right person' for the people, or the RIAA and MPAA?
How did having Czars become in vogue? It was a dirty word 20 years ago.
If a "Czar" stepped foot into Washington DC, Rambo would have shot 'em while Chuck kicked 'em in the back.
But back to the point... Wow, 2 articles in a row about big bad piracy (previous was the poor PSP). A few days after TPB gang gets $1mil + 1yr in jail.
At least the next story is about a GIANT bot net, not that that is "good". It's just more interesting than this tired rag.
The distributors screw'd the pooch when they squashed Napster. If they would have monetized our old-friend, they would have gotten bonuses bigger than ___________.
Give me a break, produce/sell more at a lower price and make it up in volume.
It's lemonade stand economics.
I would go to more than ~1 movie/year if it didn't cost 15 - 20 bucks per person. I feel soo bad for families.
I find this concept from the article ironic,
"It's pure theft, stolen from the artists and quite frankly from the American people...."
The distributor is the one that really looses with most piracy (software excluded). Artists are just slaves to the whole system as we are.
It is pathetic how much favor is being given to the system(s) that make profit. I think this trend has really accelerated in the past 20 - 30 years. Where's Rambo and Chuck when you need them.
I thought fascism would smell different.
...as a consequence of loss of income
So, if I buy CDs this month instead of paying rent, I've put more money into circulation?
No, I'm pretty sure I'm not buying $600 worth of CDs; if I pay rent this month, I'm pretty sure I'm not buying any. In my case, buying CDs would be stealing from the American people as a consequence of loss of income.
Nice try, Biden; just let Obama do the talking from now on, ok? He might have been able to get that by me.
It's the big publishers who are stealing from the American people. The books, movies, music my grandmother experienced as a child is STILL locked away under copyright. The song I recently made an MP3 of from an original record recording, about the great depression, is still under copyright.
Our very history has been stolen from us by big publishing. They've lobbied the public domain out of existence. As long as the laws are as unjust as they are, the big publishing industry is my enemy, for stealing 50-100 years of my culture for profit.
I had no expectation that either party would act to lessen the power of copyright. I rather expect, if the question comes up at all, they are rationalizing that strong copyright encourages more creativity by allowing people to live on enjoy the fruits of their labor. The fact that the "stronger copyright" stance enjoys such wide support is probably a reflection of this. Free access to and use of information appeals primarily to "intellectuals" and "academics" not acting directly in the commercial markets (although even academia seems to be getting into the IP business these days) and neither of those groups under most reasonable definitions is a major voting block or large percentage of the population.
It might be argued that open source movements are a backlash against over-application or poor definition of copyright, but despite the movement's successes it still remains a niche in terms of overall impact and support. There are even people who consider the very existence of the movement a Bad Thing, and they get to vote too.
It's not a rosy picture, and probably won't be for a loooong time. However, there is one ray of hope that someone up there has a clue - look at http://www.whitehouse.gov/copyright/ [whitehouse.gov] The presence of a Creative Commons license for whitehouse.gov content that has had copyright assigned to the government by 3rd parties must be taken as a hopeful sign.
"An open mind has but one disadvantage: it collects dirt." -- a saying at RPI


text:
Link Mommy, Link!
Vanity Fair interviews director John Hillcoat (Lawless, The Road) on his controversial Superbowl ad for Coke. I personally loved it. The right-wingers hate its reminder of America as melting pot.
NPR Jehane Noujaim's The Square, nominated for Best Documentary, is having trouble getting screened at home in Egypt
Theater Mania interviews the great Charles Busch (Die Mommy, Die!) about his career and new play "The Tribute Artist" in which he does impressions of Marilyn, Bette Davis, and Katharine Hepburn among others. (I met Mr Busch at the anniversary Cabaret screening last year and he was so sweet)
Gothamist Alfonso Cuarón's Oscar campaign hits Lincoln Center soon for screenings and discussions of Children of Men and Gravity here in NYC. Ah c'mon Lincoln Center. Throw in Y Tu Mama Tambíen (still his best picture) and we'll totally be talking!
Pajiba on the whitewashing of Egyptian mythology on screen. Why not cast people of color. Joel Edgerton as Ramses? Gerard Butler as an Egyptian god? Ummmm
LA Times Spike Jonze acceptance speech at the WGA's for Her
Coming Soon.
Mookie provides us with a list of the most exciting Chinese films coming this year. Lots of auteur epics and stars: Chang Chen, Tang Wei, Gong Li, and Takeshi Kaneshiro
Empire Russell Crowe's next drama Fathers and Daughters is from Italian director Gabriele Muccino (The Pursuit of Happyness) is loading up on starpower.Also cast: Amanda Seyfried, Aaron Paul, Quvenzhane Wallis, Octavia Spencer and Diane Kruger.
THR Matthew McConaughey and Ken Watanabe will costar in Gus Van Sant's Sea of Trees about two suicidal men
Empire Alicia Vikander (yaaaasss) and Kit Harrington (well, he pretty) to co-star in World War I drama The Testament of Youth directed by James Kent. Incidentally Kent has had a long career in TV films but this will be his first feature.
Deadline an update on Yorgos Lanthimos (Dogtooth) and his third film The Lobster
You have undoubtedly read in several places that Jonah Hill & Leonardo DiCaprio are both now attached to a film about the Olympics bombings of 1996. This time Hill will play Lead and Leo supports. It's based on this Vanity Fair article American Nightmare: The Ballad of Richard Jewell so we assume it will be called American Nightmare in release (or something else) since that's more generic and that they'll pretend it's not based on anything if the Original Screenplay category looks like an easy get in 2015. (Why am I so cynical?). Certainly the two worked well together in WoWS. Can they recapture the magic and double Oscar nods again? The Wire wonders which movie duo they're aiming to be.
And in case you missed it at Funny or Die... here is "Jesse Eisenberg's" leaked audition tape for Lex Luthor in Batman vs. Superman. I LOL'ed the most at the little pantomime of breaking Batma... well, I'll let you watch it.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
It was small, as wildfires go -- maybe twice the size of Elysian Park surrounding Dodger Stadium. But the Yarnell Hill fire near Prescott, Ariz., claimed 19 lives, a testimony to the brutal physics of wildfire.
"People seem to think fire is sort of an everywhere, all-at-once kind of thing," said Richard Minnich, a fire ecologist at UC Riverside. "It's a flame line; that's all it is. There's only just a narrow belt of flames and ahead of it is the unburned vegetation and behind it is the burned vegetation. The vegetation is on fire no more than 10 minutes, 15 minutes. And then the fire moves on."
When that narrow strip of flame moved on near Yarnell, the bodies of 19 firefighters were left behind. And while many will look to abstract forces to blame for fire -- drought, climate change -- for the men who stood in its path, simple physics and biochemistry were enough. Fuel, wind and terrain killed them.
"You're looking at accumulating energy through photosynthesis building up for day after day for decades and decades and decades -- in other words, a fantastic reservoir of energy that is being unloaded in 15 minutes," Minnich said.
That fuel is the product of many years of suppressing fire that naturally cycles through forests and chaparral in the western U.S., fire experts agree. Drought can further prepare that fuel for burning, but Minnich, who has chronicled weather and burn patterns, found "the correlation between rainfall and burning rate is random. Nothing less."
Fire behavior, however extreme it may seem, follows simple laws: Heat spreads through conduction, radiation and convection. Conduction, or heat transfer molecule to molecule, plays almost no role in wildfires. Then there's the less direct radiant heat, like the warmth we feel from the sun.
"Believe it or not, that's kind of the minor story," said Minnich. Energy dissipates exponentially with distance -- think about stepping back just a foot from a campfire on a cold night. "Radiant heat transfer is very inefficient in a flame line," said Minnich.
It's convection, or heat transfer by movement of adjacent air, that gives flame lines the ability to accelerate. The horizontal component of convection is essentially a local wind. The vertical component is an updraft that draws in adjacent air. That force is behind many of the extreme behaviors described by witnesses to wildfires over decades -- vortexes or whirlwinds of flame, winds so strong they blow flames horizontally.
Such forces can't be predicted by weather reports, said Minnich, who is also a trained meteorologist.
"You're looking at a flame line that's interacting with an atmosphere, and the atmosphere is really volatile," Minnich said. "It's changeable. None of this changeability at that scale can be predicted by any weather models. And whatever's going on in the interaction of the atmosphere with the flame line is just as unpredictable."
How the firefighters at Yarnell died may best be answered by the ground where their bodies were recovered Monday. Slope is the final deadly ingredient to wildfires.
If the firefighters were uphill from flames accelerated by convection, it's unlikely they could have outrun the blaze. That has been the case in countless wildland fire fatalities. A narrow band of flames racing uphill killed 13 firefighters in Montana's Mann Gulch in 1949, made famous by Norman MacLean's "Young Men and Fire." And it killed 14 in 1994, at Colorado's Storm King Mountain.
The anniversary of the Storm King deaths is Saturday.


text:
Women's Zoot Performance Run Swift 3 Inch ShortItem #ZTW462
VIP, All Your Benefits Apply!
Loading product details ...
Reviews (0)
Need Help?
Product Description:
Women's Zoot Performance Run Swift 3 Inch Short :: MICROsilk woven fabric for lightweight free flowing movement. Performance mesh side panels for enhanced ventilation. VENTflex hip panel in brief for for maximum range of motion and support. Reflective details for visibility in low-light conditions. Internal pocket for secure storage of small items. Yoga waistband with draw cord. UPF 50+ sun protection. 3" inseam.
Features & Benefits:
Your Help Is Here
Shop with confidence knowing your team of Fit Experts is waiting to answer all your questions. You can always find your perfect product and your perfect fit. Your Road Runner Sports Fit Experts will make sure you get exactly what you want and have tons of fun in the process! Give us a call, chat, or email!
Call 800-743-3206 to
You May Also Like


text:
Averna. The word reminds me of taverna. In my mind, there's group of us lingering over coffee at the end of a long, particularly warm day early spring. We're in a little town west of Palermo, in a caffe about a block from the ocean. It's the season for alici, the little fresh anchovy fish that come in by the boatload, and are devoured at dinner.
Afterward, someone orders Averna, the Sicilian amaro, and we all sip from our tiny, stemmed glasses. A strong, dark liqueur, full of shadowy herbs, anise and other pungent, secret scents. Just what we need to settle down and relax before strolling back to the hotel – the way they've been doing it here ever since Averna amaro was first bottled in 1868.
Did this really happen? Did I see it in a movie? Did I dream it?
Anyhow, it's what I pictured when I poured out my first sip of Averna after a meal this fall. I handed around glasses with a thimbleful of Averna in each, to dinner guests at home. Several had never tried it. A few refused it, a couple said they were leaving. I put the glasses in their hands anyhow. Everyone remained in their little groups, talking and sipping. Finally, they looked down at their glasses in surprise: the Averna was gone. Good night.
Becky Sue Epstein is a Contributing Editor for THE TASTING PANEL. Follow her work online at
THE TASTING PANEL, 6345 Balboa Blvd, Ste. 111, Encino, CA 91316Content ©2016 THE TASTING PANEL magazine. All rights reserved
powered by COP´s IPS4
designed by dataTV


text:
More Information
Garage Muscle is located at 515 W. 11 Mile Road in Madison Heights. More information can be found online at www.garagemuscle.com.
A year ago, Madison Heights-based personal trainer Ryan Spiteri was dreaming that someday he could open his own training facility.
In December, Spiteri's dream came true when he opened Garage Muscle Athletic Group in Madison Heights.
"It was kind of a long time coming," Spiteri said.
Spiteri previously worked as a personal trainer at Snap Fitness in Birmingham, where he hosted a program for bullied youth to gain self-confidence.
Spiteri said he often would break up fights in his local neighborhood. While he doesn't advocate violence, he believes some kids are targets for bullying and they should be able to defend themselves.
However, Snap Fitness closed and other area fitness clubs did not support the idea or wanted the kids to pay. Spiteri said that is not what his program is about, and he wants to offer his services for free to those youth.
Now he has his own space, at 515 W. 11 Mile Road, with his own professional equipment, which he said he has been buying piece by piece over the years.
It took him 11 days to put the facility together, which he did himself and with the help of his father.
"I'm already looking to expand," he said. "I'm in talks with the landlord ... to get another 1,000 feet of space next door. I'm looking to open to the public, with the expansion opening sometime next month."
He offers classes in areas such as kickboxing, yoga, strength and conditioning, senior fitness, Zumba and prenatal fitness.
"I think most women would take advantage of that," Spiteri said.
Spiteri said the City of Madison Heights will be featuring the classes in their upcoming brochure. He has two other trainers at his facility helping him teach.
He also offers a 16-week program for individuals looking to become personal trainers. The class is offered for a fee, but in a classroom session, plus hands-on work.
He said many trainers today are only taught by textbook and do not retain the knowledge about the body. He hopes to change this aspect of training.
The thing that makes his facility unique, Spiteri said, is that larger gyms cannot provide the in-depth services he does.
"We cater to each person differently because that's how people need to be treated," he said.
That includes custom meal plans and blood pressure monitoring. He also makes individual programs for his clients, which include plans for when they go on vacation.
All of his clients also get their own account on the Garage Muscle website (garagemuscle.com), which has various information about workouts and meal plans.
He notes that he only charges one flat rate per month, which includes two sessions per week. He does not believe in charging people for answering questions.
Garage Muscle has been doing various promotions on websites like Groupon and LivingSocial, which has helped get the word out about his new facility.
Spiteri hopes to help and influence as many people as he can.
"My long term goal is to have a full-blown training facility and everybody walking through my door knows exactly (how to train)."


text:
THE SQL Server Blog Spot on the Web
Brad Anderson just completed a keynote in Las Vegas at the Microsoft Management Summit 2011 and announced the new name for what was originally called Project Atlanta. Dot da da dah… And the new name is: System Center Advisor. You can find much more information at www.SystemCenterAdvisor.com. The product also goes from a Beta to a Release Candidate with this latest version. Give it a look when you have a minute.
If you would like to receive an email when updates are made to this post, please register here
Subscribe to this post's comments using


text:
TNA Impact Video Feature 2
Let's take this outside the ring, TNA Impact.
Good old beatdown in TNA Impact.
Ultimate X match in TNA Impact.
GameSpot editor Chris Watters throws it down in this video review for TNA iMPACT!
Slamfest: TNA iMPACT!
Tough it out in TNA Impact!
Going up the ropes in TNA Impact!
Chair abuse in TNA iMPACT!
Fighting dirty in TNA iMPACT!
Check out a fierce match in TNA iMPACT!
Sweet new trailer, straight from Leipzig GC '08!
Hot new trailer for TNA iMPACT!
Check out this awesome video for TNA iMPACT!
Make an Impact, a TNA IMPACT live on GameSpot at E3.
Get ready to enter the ring once again in TNA iMPACT.
TNA iMPACT! is shown off on GameSpot's E3 2008 stage show.
Take a look at the featured match between Somoa Joe and AJ Styles!
This is where dreams become legends! Check out the hot new trailer for TNA iMPACT!
Brett Favre, soccer strategy, yoga and men in tights. Your favorite trio is back in episode 3 of The Lineup.
Midway Los Angeles Studio Head Scot Lane gives us some new details on TNA iMPACT! straight from the Midway Gamers' Day 2008!
Check out TNA iMPACT! in action on the Xbox 360.
Check out TNA iMPACT! in action on the Xbox 360.
We've got a brand-new official movie from Midway's upcoming wrestling game!
Check out this new official movie for TNA iMPACT!
We're in Atlanta at Midway's special event for TNA iMPACT! talking to wrestlers about video games and wrestling.
Introducing Christian Cage vs. Samoa Joe in this gameplay clip from TNA iMPACT!
Samoa Joe takes the fight out of the ring in this gameplay clip from TNA iMPACT!
Check out Samoa Joe putting Christian Cage to the mat in this gameplay clip from TNA iMPACT!
Check out this live gameplay demonstration from the TNA iMPACT! press event in Atlanta!
We go behind the scenes of the TNA iMPACT! mo-cap sessions with the wrestlers of TNA in this official movie.
Scot Lane, Head of Midway's LA Studio, gives us the newest details on TNA iMPACT!
Check out an awesome new clip for TNA iMPACT!
Get ready to rock the house in TNA iMPACT!
Take a look at the E3 2007 trailer for TNA iMPACT!
Find out what's in store in TNA Impact! in this exclusive interview.
Use your keyboard!
Log in to comment


text:
Falke Vertical Sneaker Sock 13181
Sorry, no other customer-recommended styles found.
This product was discontinued July, 2014 and is no longer available. Please consider one of the Customer-Recommended Replacements above, or try a new search.
Casual doesn't have to be boring: these Falke low cut socks are a fun, colorful and comfortable way to relax. Made of a 77% Cotton, 23% Polyamide blend for extra softness with the right amount of stretch for a great fit.
Try these keyword searches with similar features:


text: The Portale Antenati (Ancestors Portal) - promoted and sponsored by the Direzione Generale per gli Archivi (Italian National Archives) - was born out of the necessity to make available the huge treasure of documents that are stored in the State Archives, not only for the purposes of genealogical research, of recreating the history of families and individuals, but also to contribute to the understanding of the social history of communities. Through Il Portale (The Portal), it is actually possible to browse through millions and millions of historical images of records in possession of the State, and to find the names of people in these documents, and obtain information on the documentation as well. Currently (May 2018) 71.472.960 images from 52 state archives are present in the Portal.


text: H. C. Milburn was a British comic book artist who worked mainly for the Amalgamated Press. Among his early work was 'Lonely Nan' in Bubbles and the Children's Fairy in 1921. During the 1930s he appeared mainly to be a duplicator of other artist's work, when he drew for Joker and Illustrated Chips ('Barnacle Bill the Sailor', among other strips). He drew 'Yu Chong the Yellow Pirate' for The Monster Comic in 1931 and 'Pals of the Prairie' for Comic Cuts in 1937. In 1947 he did contributions to Load-o-fun and Funny Stuff, two one-shot comics published by Holland Press. Between 1954 and 1957 he drew the feature 'Prince the Wonder Dog' for Playhour. He has also drawn 'Buck Jones' for Cowboy Comics.


text:
This show begins a new acrylic painting Fire & Rain. Jerry begins a new western theme painting that will focus on setting the atmosphere of a stormy weather scene. The next three episodes will take you through the different stages of this western painting.
Visit the Website: http://www.yarnellart.com
Episode #805 / Length: 27 minutes


text:
March 17, 1999
COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The No. 7 Maryland mens lacrosse team broke open a 10-8 halftime lead outscoring No. 12 Penn State 5-0 in the third quarter and 9-2 in the second half to cruise to a 19-10 victory on Wednesday afternoon. Junior Brian Zeller (Forest Hill, Md./Loyola) scored a career-high five goals, including two in the second half, to lead the Terps.
The Terps (3-1) busted open the game with five unanswered goals in the third quarter with scores from senior Scott Hochstadt (Columbia, Md./Boys Latin), Zeller, freshman Mike LaMonica (Lutherville, Md./Calvert Hall), freshman Beau Pich (Ellicott City, Md./Glenelg) and senior James Mollica (Massapequa Park, N.Y./St. Anthonys).
The game was a historic one for Hochstadt, who finished with four points including three goals, which moved him into 10th place on the Maryland all-time goal scoring list with 98. Hochtstadt passed Ron Martinello (1977-81) with his second goal of the game at the 8:35 mark of the second quarter.
Sophomore Jon Kemezis (Crofton, Md./DeMatha) added four points with a goal and three assists and LaMonica finished with a career-high three goals for the Terps.
Penn State (2-1) played a tight first half and never trailed by more than three goals and cut the Maryland lead to one on four occasions. The Nittany Lions scoring attack was led by junior Don Mayerhofer (Rockville Center, N.Y./Kellenberg), who was the only Penn State player with multiple goals. Sophomore Ted Holmes (Flourtown, Pa./Germantown) finished with a team-high three points on a goal and two assists.
In the match-up of brothers in the face-off circle, Maryland senior Brian Haggerty (Lido Beach, N.Y./Long Beach) won six of the 11 face-offs against his sophomore brother Penn States Kevin Haggerty (Lido Beach, N.Y./Long Beach). Overall, the teams each won 16 of 32 face-offs. Maryland outshot the Lions 41-30 and won the groundball battle, 47-24.
The Terps improve to 29-0 all-time against Penn State in a series that dates back to 1924, when Maryland started its varsity lacrosse program. Todays game was a make-up of the March 10 postponement, to snow.
The Terps return to action this Saturday, March 20, when they host Cornell at 1 p.m. at Byrd Stadium.
GAME SCORING No. 12 Penn St. (2-1) 3 5 0 2 10 No. 7 Maryland (3-1) 5 5 5 4 19
Qtr.-Team Goal Assist Score
1-13:14 UM EM Brian Zeller Marcus LaChapelle UM 1-0
1-11:33 UM Brian Zeller un UM 2-0
1-11:04 PSU Eric Wood Todd Kaiser UM 2-1
1-7:22 UM Chris Malone un UM 3-1
1-6:59 UM EM Scott Hochstadt Dan Hughes UM 4-1
1-6:51 PSU John Cascavage Greg Demos UM 4-2
1-5:08 UM Mike LaMonica Jon Kemezis UM 5-2
1-0:38 PSU Mike Kern John Cascavage UM 5-3
2-14:21 PSU EM Will Driscoll Ted Holmes UM 5-4
2-13:18 UM Brian Zeller un UM 6-4
2-12:20 PSU Don Mayerhofer un UM 6-5
2-12:03 UM Chris Lamy un UM 7-5
2-10:15 PSU Todd Kaiser Ted Holmes UM 7-6
2-8:35 UM Scott Hochstadt Chris Malone UM 8-6
2-7:05 UM Jon Kemezis un UM 9-6
2-6:05 PSU EM Don Mayerhofer Will Drsicoll UM 9-7
2-4:17 UM EM M. LaChapelle Scott Hochstadt UM 10-7
2-2:46 PSU Chris Schiller Sean Huss UM 10-8
3-10:16 UM Scott Hochstadt un UM 11-8
3-7:15 UM EM Brian Zeller Jon Kemezis UM 12-8
3-6:12 UM Mike LaMonica Beau Pich UM 13-8
3-4:46 UM Beau Pich Jeff Shirk UM 14-8
3-2:18 UM James Mollica un UM 15-8
4-11:48 UM EM Brian Zeller Dan Hughes UM 16-8
4-10:52 PSU Ted Holmes un UM 16-9
4-10:21 UM M. LaChapelle Jon Kemezis UM 17-9
4-5:20 UM Beau Pich Mike Morsell UM 18-9
4-4:26 UM EM Mike LaMonica Marc Sullivan UM 19-9
4-1:44 PSU Wes Furchner Mike Haswell UM 19-10
INDIVIDUAL SCORING Maryland Scorers Goals-Asst.-Pts. Brian Zeller 5-0-5 Scott Hochstadt 3-1-4 Jon Kemezis 1-3-4 Mike LaMonica 3-0-3 Marcus LaChapelle 2-1-3 Beau Pich 2-1-3 Chris Malone 1-1-2 Dan Hughes 0-2-2 James Mollica 1-0-1 Chris Lamy 1-0-1 Jeff Shirk 0-1-1 Mike Morsell 0-1-1 Marc Sullivan 0-1-1
Penn State Scorers Goals-Asst.-Pts. Ted Holmes 1-2-3 Don Mayerhofer 2-0-2 Eric Wood 1-0-1 John Cascavage 1-1-2 Will Driscoll 1-1-2 Todd Kaiser 1-1-2 Mike Kern 1-0-1 Chris Schiller 1-0-1 Wes Furchner 1-0-1 Greg Demos 0-1-1 Sean Huss 0-1-1 Mike Maswell 0-1-1
GOALIES Maryland Goalies Saves GA Min. Kevin Healy 8 8 45:00 Pat McGinnis 5 2 15:00
Penn State Goalies Saves GA Min. Kevin Keenan 9 14 40:14 Matt Vallone 4 5 16:26 Ian Kupferberg 1 0 3:20
TEAM STATS Category Maryland Penn State Shots 10-10-13-8=41 7-9-5-9=30 Saves 2-1-5-5=13 3-1-7-3=14 Face-Offs 16/32 16/32 Groundballs 6-19-15-7=47 6-5-5-8=24 Clears 26/29 17/21 Extra-Man Opp. 6/12 2/4 Penalties 4/3:30 12/9:00


text:
By Michael Aneiro
- There's so little that's truly new in the Fed's latest policy committee statement that it's sparked some of the most detailed line-by-line parsing of any statement in recent memory (which is saying something) as investors try to glean any sort of insight into any subtle changes in Fed mood.
In a note this afternoon, Adrian Miller of GMP Securities delves into a paragraph-by-paragraph dissection of the new statement's minor changes in wording and offers the following conclusion:
So in short, while the Fed's initial comment reported a pause in growth, they washed that dovish statement with a view the reasons were transitory. At the same time they gave an encouraging nod to business investments while confirming inflation is well anchored.
And yet, the most important word in the policy communiqué, at least from the market's perspective was "continue" in the first sentence of the third paragraph as the committee confirmed asset purchases would be maintained going forward, effectively removing any theories of a cut or cessation of asset purchases earlier than expected.
The Fed maintained its longstanding interest-rate policy as well as the benchmarks for employment and inflation it had announced last month. Here's Kurt Karl, chief economist at Swiss Re, weighing in this afternoon:
"The unemployment rate is likely to fall below 6.5% next year, so the Fed may be raising interest rates as soon as mid-2014. However, any rate hikes are likely to be moderate so the policy rate will remain low by historical standards into 2015."
Treasuries' initial reaction was to post some small gains, with the ten-year yield falling back below 2% to 1.999% in the minutes immediately after the statement's release from 2.027% right beforehand, per Tradeweb data, while the 30-year bond yield has fallen to 3.194% from 3.214%. Both yieldss have since held around that level.
Courtesy of our colleagues at the Wall Street Journal's Real Time Economics blog, here's a line-by-line comparison between the text of this statement and the last one.


text: Exhibitor Service Center Page ContentWe are committed to providing you with comprehensive information to prepare you for RIMS '14. Menus on the Right and links below will provide direct access to forms and information. RIMS MANUAL AND INFORMATION · Deadline Checklist (PDF) (links included to forms and information) · RIMS Exhibitor Service Manual (PDF) · RIMS Official Service Vendors (PDF) DECORATOR INFORMATION AND SERVICES · Freeman Online Online Customer Support (888) 508-5054 or (817) 607-5000 Furnishings & Accessories, Exhibit Rental Systems, Carpeting, Cleaning, Graphics & Signs, Ground Transportation, Hanging Sign Labor, I&D Services, Material Handling and Rigging Freeman Exhibitor Service Desk Phone: 303-320-5100 Fax: 469-621-5614 Email: firstname.lastname@example.com · Freeman Exhibitor Kit (PDF) COLORADO CONVENTION CENTER · Colorado Convention Center (CCC) · CCC Exhibitor Order Online o Electrical, Plumbing, Telecommunications · Business Center DBA My Office Business Centers · Catering · Internet · CCC General Service contractor Guidelines · CCC Work Rules and Jurisdictions · Denver Fire Safety Regulations RIMS '14 OFFICIAL SERVICE VENDORS - ORDER FORMS Air Freight Computer Rental Photographer Audio/Visual DMC Plumbing Business Center Information Electrical Rigging and Forklift Business Center Order Form Floral/Plant Security Carpet Hotel Door Drop Shuttle Catering Services Internet Telecommunications Cleaning Lead Tracking Transportation


text:
Arsenal goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny says that the Gunners are "buzzing" ahead of their important Champions League match against Montpellier on Wednesday.
Arsene Wenger's team emerged triumphant from the north London derby on Saturday, beating rivals Tottenham 5-2.
And Szczesny says that the result has put them in the perfect frame of mind for their home match against the defending French champions.
"We couldn't get a better time to play that game [against Montpellier]," he told Arsenal's official website. "We are buzzing today, we can't wait for the next game. We're confident.
"We've had a couple of poor results recently, but we're back on track and we're confident that we can get the three points and qualify for the knockout stages, which is the least you can ask from us.
"We want to make sure we do the job properly and qualify."
Arsenal currently sit in second place in their group behind Schalke, who came from behind to draw 2-2 when the two sides met in Gelsenkirchen.
They remain on course to qualify for the next round, however, and Szczesny hopes that the victory over Spurs will prove the catalyst for a change in their patchy form.
"I know that over the last few weeks the fans might have been frustrated, and we understand that completely," he said. "I think the team and the fans work as a unit, and they were fantastic [against Tottenham], they helped us to get a boost before the game and helped keep us going.
"They deserve a lot of credit for the result as well. We're certainly hoping that they can keep it the same and help us to win all the fixtures coming up.
"Obviously, all Premier League games are as important as the next one but I think the fans enjoy it just that little bit more [against Tottenham] - when we won you could see how much they were buzzing after the game.
"At the final whistle there were still 60,000 people there - the only fans who left were the Tottenham fans. It was fantastic."


text:
A college is an institution of post-secondary education. Depending on whether the student selects one of the Worst College Majors, college can leave the student in suffocating debt and a brainwashing that will take decades to undo.
A college may be an independent organization, or one of many colleges (and often graduate schools) under the umbrella of a university system. In the United States, the word college is usually used to refer to university. However, in the United Kingdom and some former British territories, the word may used to denote a school for post-secondary, but non-degree education, defined as Further Education. Many UK secondary school students will go to a college (a Sixth Form College or a College of Further Education) after the age of 16, to study academic, business or vocational subjects up to pre-university level.
The word college is also used in a few non-educational applications, such as the Electoral College in the United States, the Royal College of Nursing in the United Kingdom, or the College of Cardinals at the Vatican.
Some colleges and professors have been known for their strong liberal biases, and for promoting liberal propaganda.[1]


text:
In the first half of Arsenal's Champions League tie against Napoli last night, the Gunners showed a brand of football so slick and so impressive that the strongest team in the Serie A were simply blown away.
The match saw the top-placed Premier League team meet the top-placed Serie A team and many were expecting problems for Arsene Wenger's men.
But Arsenal piled on the pressure in the opening 45 minutes scoring two quick goals courtesy of Mesut Ozil and Olivier Giroud, which proved to be an unassailable lead.
This devastating brand of football was done with Arsenal's golden boy Jack Wilshere on the bench.
If the form of Aaron Ramsey, Mathieu Flamini and Ozil continue in the same vain, that may be a position Wilshere will have to get used to.
The last handful of games has seen Wilshere moved out of his natural central position on to the left wing - something he clearly isn't comfortable with.
The move is due to the fact that Ramsey has found the form of his life whilst Flamini has brought a defensive discipline to the side for the first time since the Frenchman left in 2008.
Also, trying to displace the 'King of Assists' Mesut Ozil will take some doing if Wilshere wants to play in his favoured advanced midfield role.
It seems that Wilshere will be on the wings for the foreseeable future. But what happens when natural left wing players Lukas Podolski and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain return to the squad? Wilshere will take a seat on the bench.
But it needn't be this way for the boy hailed as England's saviour.
Heading north to the crumbling Premier League champions and we find a gaping Wilshere-shaped hole in the Manchester United team.
David Moyes' men are crying out for a creative, passionate player to fill the void left by Paul Scholes. Thiago Alcantara and Cesc Fabregas turned down Manchester United's advances but the best replacement possible lies at the Emirates.
If Ramsey's form continues, it is unlikely the 22-year-old will be displaced, even by Wilshere. As they are similar ages, it means Wilshere faces a career in the shadow of the fast-developing Welshman.
Unlike at the home of the Gunners, Wilshere is guaranteed a first team place at Old Trafford. He will get every, if not more, chances to win trophies than at Arsenal.
If Wilshere wants to fulfil his potential, he needs playing time. Not only that, he needs to be the main man. Wenger no longer needs Wilshere on a tactical basis and is unlikely to give him the environment to blossom in to the great player he can become.
That perfect environment is lying in 12th place in the Premier League at the moment. Not only can he be England's saviour but Manchester United's as well.
Do YOU want to write for GiveMeSport? Get started today by signing-up and submitting an article HERE: https://www.givemesport.com/writeforgms


text:
The CyBi®-CrystalCreator is CyBio's Workstation for protein crystallization automates various protein crystallization methods for sitting drop and hanging drop efficiently and reliable, with fast and precise pipetting.
The combination of a 96- and an 8-channel pipettor on a circular 10-place deck assures sufficient space for crystallization plates and reagent reservoirs. Its extended volume range from 0.1 – 25 µl as well as its flexible and user-friendly software guarantees problem-free application execution. This flexible platform allows automation of the entire process of protein crystallization process from screening to optimization and scale-up.
Manufacturer Analytik Jena AG
Be the first to review this product


text:
Syracuse zones in on Elite Eight after upsetting Indiana
WASHINGTON -- Syracuse is in a zone. And the Orange can thank their zone defense for another trip to the Elite Eight.
Syracuse zones in on Elite Eight after upsetting Indiana
WASHINGTON -- Syracuse is in a zone. And the Orange can thank their zone defense for another trip to the Elite Eight.
No. 4 seed Syracuse built up an 18-point lead in the first half and went on to post a 61-50 victory over No. 1 seed Indiana on Thursday in the East Region semifinals. It was the lowest point total of the season for the Hoosiers.
The Orange (29-9) will face Marquette on Saturday at 4:30 EST in the East Region title game after holding Indiana to 33.3 percent shooting from the field.
"The one thing that teams don't see is how long we are until they are approaching our zone defense," said Syracuse forward James Southerland, who had seven rebounds, three blocks and three steals to go with five points.
"Not too many teams are used to our zone," said Syracuse guard Brandon Triche, who had 14 points. "We are very long. We are very active. We are hard to score on."
Syracuse forced a season-high 19 turnovers by IU and had 12 steals and 10 blocks against the Hoosiers, who ended the season 29-7 as top players Cody Zeller and Victor Oladipo were not definitive on their possible NBA plans.
"Let's face it: We haven't seen a zone like that," said Tom Crean, the Indiana head coach. "The stat of the day is we did not take care of the ball. We get never get out of the hump. They played well. They deserved it. They move on and we call it a great year."
"They have great length," Crean added. "They swarm to the ball. They are very good. It just wasn't meant to be."
"Our defense has been good all year," said Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim. "Tonight I thought it was very good. We made some really good defensive plays against them."
Syracuse (29-9) got 24 points from Michael Carter-Williams and C.J. Fair had 11 points and nine rebounds.
Indiana (29-7) was led by local product Victor Oladipo, who had 16 points while Christian Watford had 13 and Cody Zeller had 10 points and nine boards.
Zeller was asked if he had played his last game for the Hoosiers.
"I have put everything into this," he said. "I have not thought about it one bit."
"I have been focusing on Indiana Hoosier basketball," Oladipo said, when asked about his future. "I will never forget this team."
Crean said he will be "a voice of reason" when talking to Zeller and Oladipo about their pro aspirations and draft prospects.
Syracuse, which led 34-22 at halftime, saw its lead cut to 34-27 on a basket by Oladipo early in the second half. His 3-pointer cut the lead to 38-32 with 14:10 left in the game.
But the Orange took a 51-37 lead on a 3-pointer by Carter-Williams with 9:05 to go and Triche scored to make it 56-40 with 5:37 left.
Southerland of Syracuse made two free throws with 1:45 left to make it 60-46 as IU fans began to head to the exits around midnight, perhaps to catch the Metro which stayed open one hour later than normal due to the late start of Thursday's second game.
"We just wanted to get to the basket," Triche said. "We didn't want to shoot too many jumpers. We just did a good job of getting to the lane and getting them in foul trouble."
Syracuse was 15 of 20 from the foul line while IU was 15 of 24.
The Orange won even though they had just four assists on 21 field goals.
Syracuse led by 18 points late in the first half before Watford hit a 3-pointer to make it 31-20 with 1:31 left.
After a basket and free throw by Fair made it 34-20, a basket by Indiana's Will Sheehey trimmed the Syracuse lead to 34-22 at the break.
Carter-Williams had 12 first-half points to lead all scorers, and his team made 14 of 30 shots from the field (46.7 percent). Triche added eight points in the first half.
Indiana was limited to 19 first-half shots from the field and made only seven while committing 12 turnovers against the tough Syracuse zone defense.
The Orange had just six turnovers in the first half and put intense pressure on the Hoosiers with seven steals and five blocks.
Oladipo scored seven first-half points.
NOTES: Oladipo, a junior averaging 13.6 points, played in high school at DeMatha Catholic in Hyattsville, Md., just a few miles north of the Verizon Center. "I won a couple of city championships with DeMatha, won a couple of AAU championship games here, and there hasn't been a lot of hoopla," Oladipo told reporters Wednesday of playing at the Verizon Center. "My family has been fortunate to come out and watch me play because they live so close." ... Indiana reserve junior guard Maurice Creek is from Oxon Hill, Md. ... Syracuse freshman reserve Jerami Grant, son of former Washington Bullets player Harvey Grant, also played in high school at DeMatha Catholic.


text:
Founded in 1976, Montreal-based CGI has worked extensively with the U.S federal, state and local government to modernize their programs in automating and integrating data. CGI has worked with government agencies involved in defense and intelligence, health and human services, public safety and justice, tax, revenue and collection, space, agriculture, education and environment. With the Department of the Interior contract, CGI will support cloud hosting and data center consolidation, among other IT infrastructure tasks.
"Now organizations within DOI have access to a very flexible contract vehicle to help them easily procure infrastructure solutions that will cost-effectively and securely meet emerging needs and new challenges for many years to come," said Toni Townes-Whitley, senior vice president for civilian agency programs at CGI, in a statement.


text:
Supporters of same-sex marriage are both pleased and perplexed by the friend-of-the-court brief the Obama administration has filed with the Supreme Court in the Proposition 8 case.
They're pleased because Solicitor General Donald Verrilli argues that Proposition 8 is unconstitutional and that the court should examine it with "heightened scrutiny" because (among other reasons) gays and lesbians have suffered discrimination.
They're perplexed because, having massed this heavy constitutional artillery, the brief doesn't insist that same-sex couples everywhere in the country have a constitutional right to marry.
TIMELINE: Gay marriage chronology
Instead, the brief advises the court that it "can resolve this case by focusing on the particular circumstances presented by California law" -- namely, the fact that California provides for same-sex domestic partnerships. The brief recycles an argument that figured in the California Supreme Court's 2008 decision allowing same-sex marriage (the decision that was overturned by Proposition 8). The argument goes this way: If a state approves of marriage in everything but name for same-sex couples, then the withholding of the name is proof of what the Obama brief calls "impermissible prejudice."


text:
Media Notes (PDF) | Practice Photos | Practice Video
GOLD RIVER, Calif.—The Radcliffe heavyweight crew is in Northern California to compete for a national title at the NCAA Division I Rowing Championships on Lake Natoma. The Black and White is making its 13th NCAA appearance in the 15-year history of the event.
The Particulars
Racing will be held Friday through Sunday at the Sacramento State Aquatic Center on Lake Natoma. The Black and White kicks off the weekend with its varsity eight heat at 9 a.m. Pacific Friday. The top three finishers from each of the three heats will advance directly to Saturday's semifinals, while the rest of the field will return to the course Friday afternoon for the repechage. The top three repechage finishers will also move on to the semifinals.
The second varsity eight and varsity four events will follow the same progression pattern. Radcliffe's second varsity heat is Friday at 9:45 a.m., and its varsity four heat is at 10:15.
Follow From Home
Live video of the racing is available here. Real-time results updates can be found here.
Probable Lineups
Varsity Eight
Cox: Jill Carlson, 8: Olivia Coffey, 7: Michelle Pearson, 6: Katie Wilcox, 5: Liz Soutter, 4: Celia Kohl, 3: Scout Moran, 2: Mary Maginnis, 1: Christina McClintock
Second Varsity Eight
Cox: Rachel Rauh, 8: Kelly Bauer, 7: Miruna Ioan, 6: Anne Carroll Ingersoll, 5: Courtney Diekema, 4: Marisa D'Orsogna, 3: Laura Savarese, 2: Deva Steketee, 1: Jessica Mealia
Varsity Four
Cox: Greer Rosenbaum, 4: Kirsten Van Fossen, 3: Mary Miller, 2: Jenna Gregoire, 1: Brooke Carter
The Season So Far
The Radcliffe heavyweights (11-4) have steadily climbed the national rankings over the last month of the dual season and entered the Eastern Association of Women's Rowing Colleges Sprints at No. 12 after defeating their last eight varsity opponents. The Black and White's dual campaign included wins against defending NCAA varsity champ Yale, Big Ten runner-up Ohio State and EAWRC medalist Dartmouth.
At one of the fastest, deepest Sprints fields in memory, the Black and White's three NCAA-level boats reached their grand finals, with the varsity eight and team finishing fifth.
Records and Rankings
The Radcliffe varsity eight enters the NCAA regatta ranked 17th nationally. The second varsity owns a 10-5 record, while the varsity four is 5-9.
All-Region Athletes
Olivia Coffey (Watkins Glen, N.Y.) and Liz Soutter (Toronto, Ont.), both members of the Radcliffe varsity eight, were named to the Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association all-region teams this week. Coffey was selected to the All-New England first team, while Soutter was an All-New England second-team pick.
She's Honored
Radcliffe assistant coach Cory Bosworth has been named New England Assistant Coach of the Year, the CRCA has announced. Bosworth is in her ninth season with the Black and White. She coaches the varsity four, which showed great improvement during the season, won a Beanpot title and reached the Sprints grand final.
Hitting the Books
Four members of the Radcliffe heavyweight crew have earned selection as CRCA Scholar Athletes: junior classics concentrator Jill Carlson (Newton, Mass.) senior social studies concentrator Jessica Flakne (Londonderry, N.H.), sophomore history concentrator Laura Savarese (New York, N.Y.) and junior engineering sciences concentrator Kirsten Van Fossen (Moorestown, N.J.).
To be chosen as a Scholar Athlete, one must be a sophomore, junior or senior with a grade-point average of 3.50 or greater and have competed in an NCAA-eligible boat for 75 percent of the season.
Regular Attendees
Radcliffe is making its 12th team appearance and its 13th overall trip to the NCAA Championships. The Black and White varsity eight qualified for the inaugural NCAA regatta in 1997, and Radcliffe reached the national championships as a team in each of the next eight years before a one-year hiatus in 2006. The Black and White then made three straight appearances before missing last year's regatta on Lake Natoma.
Grand Performances
Radcliffe boats have advanced to eight NCAA grand finals. The Black and White pulled off the "triple grand" in its national-championship season of 2003, putting all three entries in the championship races for the first time. The varsity eight advanced to the grand final in 1999, 2003 and 2005. The second varsity eight has made it once, in 2003. The varsity four has
qualified for the grand final on four occasions. In 1998 and 1999, the boat took fifth (at the time the highest NCAA finish of any Radcliffe boat). The four placed sixth in 2002 and 2003.
On Lake Natoma
This is Radcliffe's sixth NCAA appearance on Lake Natoma. The varsity eight has reached the grand final in two of those years, finishing sixth in 1999 and earning a bronze medal in 2005.
The Trophy Case
So far this season, Radcliffe has won the Case Cup (vs. Yale), Beanpot and Beanpot team banner (vs. Boston College, Boston University, MIT, Northeastern), Allen-DeWolfe Trophy (vs. BU) and Rowlands Cup (vs. Northeastern).
The Captains
Olivia Coffey and Rachel Rauh (Andover, Mass.), former teammates at Phillips Academy Andover, captain the Black and White. Coffey strokes the varsity eight and is in her fourth year in Radcliffe's top boat. Rauh has coxed the second varsity eight all season after splitting time between that boat and the varsity four the previous two years.
Last Time
After narrowly missing semifinal qualification in its heat and placing fifth in the repechage, the Radcliffe varsity eight won the third-level final for a 13th-place overall finish at the 2009 NCAA Championships on the Cooper River in Camden, N.J. The Black and White finished sixth in the varsity four petite final and third in the second varsity eight third-level final to place 14th in the team standings.
Last Time Here
On the Black and White's last West Coast trip, at the 2008 NCAA regatta, Stanford passed Radcliffe in the third 500 meter of the teams' semifinal and kept the Black and White out of the grand final by about three-quarters of a length. Undaunted, Radcliffe stormed away from the petite-final field for a seventh‑place finish. The Black and White took the lead from Virginia with about 500 meters left and pulled away to a 3.22-second win. The boat's split of 1:35.79 was the fastest final 500 of any boat in any race that day. Radcliffe finished ninth as a team, with the second varsity eight and varsity four placing 11th and 12th, respectively.
NCAA Experience
Olivia Coffey is making her third NCAA Championships appearance and has been part of the varsity eight in each of those three trips. Jill Carlson coxed the varsity eight in its last NCAA appearance in 2009, while Kirsten Van Fossen and Rachel Rauh are also making their second NCAA appearances. Van Fossen was part of the second varsity eight in 2009, and Rauh coxed the varsity four.
The Varsity Eight
Olivia Coffey is in her fourth season in the Radcliffe varsity eight and is the boat's lone senior. Only she and coxswain Jill Carlson remain from the varsity that rowed in the 2009 NCAA regatta. Three other rowers return from last year's varsity eight: junior Liz Soutter and sophomores Mary Maginnis (Maple Glen, Pa.) and Michelle Pearson (Pembroke, Bermuda).
Celia Kohl (Wilton, Conn.) finished last season in the second varsity eight, while fellow sophomore Scout Moran (San Rafael, Calif.) was a part of the varsity four and junior Christina McClintock (Larchmont, N.Y.) rowed in the third varsity eight. Katie Wilcox (Winnetka, Ill.) is the Black and White varsity eight's only freshman.
I Wish They All Could Be ...
There are five Californians in Radcliffe's NCAA boats. Four are from Northern California: San Rafael's Scout Moran and freshmen Kelly Bauer (Orinda, Calif.), Brooke Carter (San Francisco, Calif.) and Greer Rosenbaum (Ross, Calif.). Junior Anne Carroll Ingersoll (Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.) hails from just north of San Diego.
Double Duty
Three members of Radcliffe's NCAA squad came to Harvard to play other sports. Anne Carroll Ingersoll and freshman Jenna Gregoire (Colorado Springs, Colo.) are members of Harvard's women's volleyball and swimming and diving teams, respectively. Sophomore Courtney Diekema (Holland, Mich.) had her career with the Crimson women's soccer team cut short by injury.
Learning Curve?
Four student-athletes representing Radcliffe this weekend began rowing during the 2010-11 school year: Courtney Diekema and freshman Deva Steketee (Orford, N.H.) in September, Anne Carroll Ingersoll in January and Jenna Gregoire in March, just weeks before the start of the spring dual season. Gregoire was introduced to the sport through ergometer work used as cross training for the sprinters on the Harvard women's swimming and diving team.
Patriot Games
Olivia Coffey rowed in the bow seat of the U.S. women's eight that captured gold in the 2010 World Rowing Under 23 Championships in July in Belarus. The boat was coached by Harvard men's freshman lightweight coach Linda Muri. In November, former Radcliffe All-American Esther Lofgren '08‑09, Coffey's varsity boatmate at the 2009 NCAA Championships, won gold with the U.S. senior eight at the World Rowing Championships in New Zealand.
Food for Thought
Assorted facts about Radcliffe's NCAA squad: Jill Carlson's brother, Jack, captained on the Georgetown men's varsity heavyweight crew ... Courtney Diekema's father, brother and sister were all collegiate swimmers ... Christina McClintock is a staff writer for The Harvard Crimson ... The father, mother and brother of senior Mary Miller (Winchester, Mass.) all rowed for MIT, and another brother, Doug, played basketball for Harvard ... Liz Soutter's brother, Alex, is a Harvard senior and will row in the combination race of the 146th Harvard-Yale Regatta Friday evening ... Rachel Rauh studies Russian and Chinese ... Kirsten Van Fossen plays the violin.
Same Result, Three Decades Apart
Just two years after starting its rowing program and 30 years before capturing the NCAA title, Radcliffe won the 1973 national championship. That crew went on to represent the United States at the World Championships in Moscow. Radcliffe regularly sent crews to the Cincinnati Regatta, which served as the national championship for women's crew prior to the advent of the NCAA Championships, and finished as high as second in 1990.


text:
Now, I may have written my own epitaph to the great career of Roy Halladay earlier this week, but I'll be damned if I will stand here and let anyone attack his legacy.
One observer suggested this week that Halladay's career was no better than that of Kevin Brown, who got 12 votes in his first year of Hall of Fame eligibility last year.
That blasphemy cannot be permitted to stand.
In fairness to Brown, who pitched three more years than has Halladay, the former Ranger-Marlin-Yankee-Everything has 10 more wins than the Doc, plus almost 300 more strikeouts and a slightly lower ERA (3.28 to Doc's 3.37).
Brown also had 328 more walks (more than 100 per extra year that he pitched) and 40 more losses. To his credit, though, Brown was in the top five for Cy Young twice, including a runner-up finish.
As for Halladay, let's do the list:
•20 shutouts, more than any active pitcher.
•Cy Young Award in each league.
•Top 5 in voting for Cy Young five additional times.
•Top 10 in Most Valuable Player voting … twice.
•A perfect game and a playoff no-hitter.
Mr. Brown, I know Roy Halladay, and you're no Roy Halladay.
If Halladay doesn't get 10 times the votes that Brown got in his first year of Hall eligibility, I'll eat my hat with sautéed onions on the side.
* * *
We now know why Hunter Pence underperformed at times while he was with the Phillies. After all, he never got to face the Phillies during that time.
Pence is hitting .342 with 13 homers and 24 RBIs off the Phillies in his career, including two homers during their series this week.
(Side note: According to Twitter, both of those homers were caught by the same fan. Hard to believe, Harry.)
Pence also has four doubles and is slugging .719 off the Phillies lifetime. If the Giants ever get Rod Barajas, the Phillies may never beat them again.
The erstwhile Phillies punching bag (no, he didn't block the plate) is hitting .280 – and slugging .610 – off the Fightin's with nine homers and six doubles.
* * *
The Phillies entered Thursday's late game in Arizona with a record of 15-14 when Cole Hamels does not pitch, and 1-5 when he does.
That's five starts by their best pitcher squandered already, and even though it seems early, that is a lot.
Let's say the Phillies are going to play just over .500 for all the games that Hamels doesn't pitch, which will be about 130 games. So we'll say they go 66-64 for argument's sake.
If they do that, they will have to go 21-5 in Hamels' remaining 26 starts to win 87 games, which is around the going rate for a playoff team these days.
That's a tall order, so even though it seems like they have plenty of time, the mathematics are already stacking against the Phillies' postseason chances unless they significantly pick up their play.
— Matthew Osborne is the editor of The Trentonian. He can be reached at 609-989-7800, x201 or firstname.lastname@example.com. Follow him on Twitter @trentonianozzy.


text:
Study Examines Anticoagulation Treatment Following Aortic Valve Replacement
Article ID: 596434
Released: 21-Nov-2012 3:00 PM EST
Source Newsroom: JAMA - Journal of the American Medical Association
Available for logged-in reporters only
Newswise — CHICAGO – Although current guidelines recommend 3 months of anticoagulation treatment after bioprosthetic aortic valve replacement surgery, a study that included more than 4,000 patients found that patients who had warfarin therapy continued between 3 and 6 months after surgery had a lower rate of cardiovascular death, according to a study in the November 28 issue of JAMA.
"Biological prostheses are preferred to mechanical valves for aortic valve replacement (AVR) surgery in elderly patients older than 65 years because of shorter life expectancy and lack of a need to use anticoagulation treatment in the long-term. Especially in these patients, the tradeoff between thromboembolic complications due to the valve implant and bleeding events as adverse effects from anticoagulation therapy must be balanced. Nevertheless, appropriate duration of anticoagulation treatment postoperatively is yet to be established because the risk of complications when the treatment is discontinued is unknown," according to background information in the article. The current recommendation of 3 months of warfarin treatment after bioprosthetic AVR surgery is primarily based on results from 1 retrospective study with a limited number of events.
Charlotte Merie, M.D., of the Copenhagen University Hospital Gentofte, Copenhagen, Denmark and colleagues investigated whether discontinuation of warfarin treatment within prespecified periods after bioprosthetic AVR surgery was associated with increased risk of thromboembolic complications, cardiovascular death, and bleeding incidents. Through a search in the Danish National Patient Registry, 4,075 patients were identified who had bioprosthetic AVR surgery performed between January 1997 and December 2009. The researchers determined the incidence rate ratios (IRRs) of strokes, thromboembolic events, cardiovascular deaths, and bleeding incidents by discontinuing warfarin as opposed to continued treatment at 30 to 89 days, 90 to 179 days, 180 to 364 days, 365 to 729 days, and at least 730 days after surgery. Average age of the patients was 75 years; 41 percent were women.
Overall, 361 patients (8.9 percent) experienced a stroke, 615 (15.1 percent) had a thromboembolic event, and 364 (8.9 percent) encountered a bleeding incident after the date of surgery. During the observation period, 1,156 patients (28.4 percent) died, with 879 (76.0 percent) of these deaths related to cardiovascular disease. The IRRs for patients not treated with warfarin compared with those treated with warfarin were 2.46 for stroke; 2.93 for thromboembolic events; 2.32 for bleeding incidents; and 7.61for cardiovascular deaths within 30 to 89 days after surgery; and 3.51 for cardiovascular deaths within 90 to 179 days after surgery.
"Our study demonstrates that discontinuing warfarin therapy within the first 3 months after surgery is associated with a significant increase in the risk of stroke, thromboembolic complications, and cardiovascular death. The novelty of our study is the finding that discontinuing warfarin therapy within 90 to 179 days after surgery is associated with a significant increase in the risk of cardiovascular death," the authors write.
"International guidelines on anticoagulation after a bioprosthetic AVR have been written with limited data on the appropriate duration of warfarin treatment after surgery. Consequently, our study challenges current guidelines on the duration of antithrombotic treatment after AVR surgery with biological valves by presenting results suggesting that these patients will gain from an additional 3 months of warfarin treatment in terms of reduced cardiovascular death without risking a significant increase in bleeding events."
(JAMA. 2012;308(20):2097-2107; Available pre-embargo to the media at http://media.jamanetwork.com)
Editor's Note: This work was supported by the Research Fund of the Department of Cardiology at Copenhagen University Hospital Gentofte, Gentofte, Denmark. Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions and affiliations, financial disclosures, etc.
Editorial: Warfarin After Bioprosthetic Aortic Valve Implantation
Shamir R. Mehta, M.D., M.Sc., and Jeffrey I. Weitz, M.D., of McMaster University and Hamilton Health Sciences, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, comment on the findings of this study in an accompanying editorial.
"Will the results of this study change practice in patients undergoing bioprosthetic aortic valve replacement? Should all of these patients receive warfarin for 3 months, or even for 6 months, as the authors suggest? Although there are limitations to this study, the answer to both of these questions is yes. This study shows that the rates of stroke and thromboembolic events in the first 6 months after bioprosthetic aortic valve replacement are substantial among patients not treated with warfarin. Use of warfarin was associated with a reduction in this risk and a reduction in cardiovascular mortality; these benefits are difficult to ignore."
(JAMA. 2012;308(20):2147-2148; Available pre-embargo to the media at http://media.jamanetwork.com)
Editor's Note: The authors have completed and submitted the ICMJE Form for Disclosure of Potential Conflicts of Interest. Dr. Mehta reported serving as a consultant for AstraZeneca, Eli Lilly, and Sanofi. Dr. Weitz reported serving as a consultant for Boehringer Ingelheim, Bayer, Pfizer, and Bristol-Myers Squibb.


text:
PRESEASON EXPECTATIONS: Actually, considering his new role entering spring training, the expectations of Bobby Parnell – he of the fastball of 100 mph. – were minimal. Parnell could not seize the closer, set-up and even starter roles when given the opportunity in previous seasons, so the Mets dropped him to the seventh inning in the wake of signing Jon Rauch (set-up) and Frank Francisco (closer) from Toronto in the offseason. Parnell has exceptional stuff capable of three figures on his fastball, but hasn't consistently commanded his secondary pitches or been able to challenge hitters with his location and pitch selection. In addition, that overpowering fastball often didn't have movement and looked like it was on a tee. Anybody's fastball can be hit if there's no lateral or dip movement. So, knowing his inconsistencies, despite his potential, the Mets penciled Parnell in for the seventh inning role.
2012 SEASON REVIEW: Parnell struggled early as five of eight inherited runners scored against him in April. However, Parnell righted himself and only four more out of 20 scored the rest of the season. When Rauch hit the skids and Francisco was injured and erratic, Parnell inherited their roles and was exceptional. Parnell was 1-1 with two holds and three saves (no blown saves) in September, and went 2-1 with a save in August. Parnell still had his fastball, but his sinker and command was much better as the season progressed. Parnell finished at 5-4 with a 2.49 ERA and 1.23 WHIP. Parnell had streaks of wildness in the past, but last season walked only 20 in 68.2 innings pitched. He also struck out 61 and batters hit .249 off him with a .303 on-base percentage. The batting and on-base averages were career bests.
LOOKING AT 2013: Parnell made $504,000 last season, and should be offered arbitration for 2013. With Rauch not expected back and Francisco another year remaining on his contract to close, expect Parnell to be slotted into the eighth-inning set-up role, or close if Francisco isn't physically able. The Mets have given up on Parnell as a potential starter and now figure him as their closer-of-the-future – again. It takes some pitchers longer than others to reach their potential and Parnell had been erratic since 2008 until the end of last season. The Mets' bullpen unraveled late last year with the exception of Parnell and Manny Acosta late. I don't know if Parnell will ever fulfill his long-range expectations, but for the first time in several years the Mets aren't pulling their hair out over him. That has to be a plus, right?


text:
|Up a level
Cigrovski Berković, Maja and Altabas, Velimir and Herman, Davorka and Hrabar, Davor and Goldoni, Vesna and Vizner, Branka and Zjačić-Rotkvić, Vanja (2007) A single-centre experience with octreotide in the treatment of different hypersecretory syndromes in patients with functional gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors. Collegium antropologicum, 31 (2). pp. 531-534. ISSN 0350-6134 (Print)