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Endgame: Syria Updates the Civil War
Endgame: Syria Updates the Civil War
Whatever happens over the next few weeks will not only change the lives of countless people in the Middle East, but will also shape the development of Rawlings's game - because Endgame: Syria may be world's first game to evolve along with a real-world conflict.
This column is by far one of the most intellectually fascinating and challenging columns The Escapist has ever hosted. Bravo, Rob, and please continue to do what you do.
It's something I find disgusting about the International Community and the US's reaction to the entire Syrian conflict. Our inaction to due 'something' has been pushing the people into the arms of the extremists.
Kinda like this situation, Syria has a rough population of 22 million people. We actively help out? We may push about 22,000 people into extremist arms with what we do, but that's still 22 million that support us. We do nothing/little at all? That's 22 million pushed into extremist arms.
Everyone, from Russia to the US, treated the Syrian conflict as a Zero-Sum game, which disgusts me the most out of this entire situation. "We do something, we'll look bad. We do nothing, we'll look bad. Let's do nothing."
The twist is that the game was developed beforehand and is used by the rebels to aggregate data to find the best course of action. You are the rebel leader.
Part of it is which side do you support, part of it if you support the rebels is the real possibility that backing that side devolves the whole nation into another civil war by all the disperate factions making up the rebels.
I did not like the USAs lets bomb them red line been crossed etc, one we did not know exactly who used the weapons, with all these groups on the rebel side, some of which would have had no problem gassing civilians to create an incident, vs the government who on the face of it would have been foolish to cross that line, one side had much more to gain and the other side had much more to lose, stepping into that with little intel, little knowledge of what actually happened and who did what, which is something this president does frequently. shooting off his mouth with no information to support his saber rattlings.
Course on the political side here this admin has enough scandals and outright criminality to make nixon look like an amature, a good war with the mounting fbi, nsa scandals, irs targeting of political opponents, a good war is just what this administration needs to divert the attention away from the problems they have. So it makes a tad more sense why he would just wade in guns half cocked ready to goto war without congressional approval.
Proving once again this admin sees the constitution as nothing but a musty piece of paper to be ignored.
Love these articles, keep them coming always a fascinating read.
This is fantastic stuff, thanks for sharing it. I always look forward to this article, it's easily one of the best such series the Escapist has ever had.
Is there anywhere I can check out this game for myself?
Its on the android marketplace for free, haven't found it otherwise online.
Hmm, I hope this is helpful
Hope this will help those seeking the game....
Oh, haha. Thanks, when I googled it and saw the results for "gamethenews" I automatically assumed it was just a gaming news website, not the developer website.
I second this. Every time I read this column I get some more and novel information which is exactly what I'm looking for. Really need to follow it more closely. That said, I'll definitely go and try that game now - it's a highly interesting topic to begin with and especially the moral implications while playing the game seem to be properly implemented.
Other than that: can the game be directly linked in the article the next time? (barring, of course, if I just haven't seen it)
I just want to go ahead and say that I agree that this column is one of the best on the Escapist.
I second this!
The Syria situation is far more complicated than people realise, and this article highlights that. The game sounds good, and I am glad Rob played through it a few times to get different results. I also like how he understands the results, and how his actions got them there... Huzzah!
Can't wait until they start gamifying real child abduction or school shootout cases. I mean, game the news, right? Might as well.
The sad thing is, I predicted the lack of western support would increasingly put the rebels in bed with fanatics...2 years ago. Western waffling continued unabated as Syria and Russia desperately tried to buy time for the conflict to become less black and white and more greyscale, and it did. The chance for a relatively quick, clean intervention like Libya (so fast that everyone in the West appears to have forgotten about it!) has disappeared. And I'm not exactly some Syria expert, just someone who follows the news carefully. The idea that the actual experts with access to real intelligence couldn't have predicted this is kind of sad.
I absolutely love the idea of a game that can show people what has been happening and what is happening, however. With the recent push for US military intervention it seems a whole bunch of uninformed people have been joining the conversation with opinions that just don't match the facts. I'd love any tool that helps them understand.
Ok, first of all, the idea that "maybe the rebels did the chemical attack" is a really transparent lie by New USSR- er, Russia, and Syria- the exact same kind of lie they've been telling since the start of the conflict. Every time they've done something horrible, they point to the rebels and say "but they did a bad thing too, wahh wahh wahh." But let me break it down for you why this is such an obvious lie:
1. Chemical weapons are not like stink bombs. You can't just drop it on the ground and run. They need a delivery mechanism to strike over as wide an area as this latest attack, something along the lines of rockets. Rockets were seen launched from a government controlled Syrian military base 30 minutes before the chemical attack reports started coming in. Everyone with satellites over the region knows about this.
2. Chemical weapons are very expensive and in all but one case (Israel) the most powerful weapons in Middle Eastern arsenals, and therefore incredibly well guarded. The idea that the rebels, who are daily being turned into hamburger, could have stolen them and the rocket delivery mechanisms from ANYWHERE in the Middle East is ludicrous. And who would have given these systems to the rebels? Iran? They're on the regime side! Most of the rebel supporting countries will barely supply anti-air capabilities, what makes you think they're giving away highly banned chemical weapons that officially they don't even possess?
3. This wasn't the first chemical attack, it was just the first large scale one. There was another set back in march/april, which barely garnered any response other than UN inspectors asking permission to verify the chemical attacks. The inspectors were continuously denied access by the regime until quite recently, when heavy pressure by Russia finally got them into the country. More and more political stall tactics, which this game demonstrates the effectiveness of quite well. This first round of attacks gave Syria the idea that the West would not respond at all to chemical attacks, which is why they stepped it up this time. They took the calculated risk that there wouldn't be any real international backlash- and they've been right about that for a whole month already.
Anyway, you shouldn't allow your opinions on US politics and Obama to colour your thinking about the conflict in Syria. Come to your own conclusions and then see if it matches or doesn't match what Obama thinks. Don't make your whole argument about staying out the fact that you think Obama's an idiot.
Nice article, but the game is less complex than you would expect and that makes it easy, very easy.
Ok sorry lost it there a bit. What this game is missing are some things:
Libya is actually relatively stable, with no large-scale violence since July. Comparing it to the situation in Syria is like comparing a nerf gun fight to WWI (which, of course, fits better with the use of chemical weapons, but WWII obviously fits better with the brutal and heinous war crimes). I don't know about you, but after following the conflict from the start I'm still very interested.
As for Mali, the record doesn't seem to support your cries of devestating civil war, the french intervention can largely be claimed to have been a success:
The west never did anything in Egypt except pull their military funding and arms sales (something I wish Putin had the decency to do in Syria, what a prick). Turkey is, once again, experiencing unrest nowhere NEAR the levels of even Libya, with a largely peaceful resolution of the last round of protests at Gezi park. Unless of course you're referring to Turkey's ongoing conflict with the Kurds, particularly the PKK, which is currently stalled but also in a relatively long lived ceasefire.
Anyways, you're not even wrong about Russia being no better- fact is they're worse. Syria is their close ally and they've been covering for them from the start on the international politics stage. More than that, they've been supplying all the weapons Assad is using to kill people by the tens of thousands. And of course, they blocked any UN arms embargoes that would have prevented them from legally doing so. I think it's perfectly fair to point the finger at Russia and give them the blame for, hm, 30% of the people killed in Syria. At least.
China is simply anti-interventionist in policy because they fear a revolution in China might get outside aid. That's the limit of how much they care, hence the abstention vote during the UN's Libyan resolution.
I do find it a bit odd that you have mediocre English skills and this is your first post (on a topic more or less buried, no less), but I don't think you're a Syrian shill. I've seen a few of those on other forums, they're stark raving nuts. Claim the death toll is half the conservative UN estimates, claim it's only terrorists, claim Assad hasn't used jets, claim Assad is the rightful leader and any leader is better than a democratic transition...
I'm not making this stuff up, they've got shills out there. Look at Putin, he's practically a Syrian shill. Just a considerably smarter and more cunning one that can afford the best in translation efforts and speechwriters.
I´m german and i didn´t practice my english-skills for a very long time, also i made the mistake to not check for the writing ^^. You can see that I´m registred here a bit longer than this thread is one, but it´s good you made sure to check (no irony).


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Welcome to Route 66 Corvette Cruisers. Oatman, Arizona is an outdated west town full with wild burros which are comparatively tame and may be fed. Some sections of US sixty six still retain their historic 9-foot-large (2.7 m) "sidewalk highway" form, 32 never having been resurfaced to make them into full-width highways.
The Ariston has been run by the Adam household for greater than ninety years and is among the oldest eating places on Route sixty six. Last October, the proprietor put the Ariston up on the market and they are taking their time to seek out the proper buyer – someone who will provide the identical high quality food and repair.
In November 1969, a truce was reached when federal highway officials agreed to construct the I-40 route simply outdoors the town, due to this fact offering local companies depending on highway traffic easy access to and from the expressway via the north-south freeway that crossed outdated US 66 in San Jon.
Diners and motels play up their Route 66 connections, and plenty of bona fide Route 66 landmarks are kept in enterprise by nostalgic t ravelers intent on experiencing a style of this endlessly endangered American experience. The scenery could be very lovely and simply west of city is a lookout area on the side of the road.
In 2008, the World Monuments Fund added US 66 to the World Monuments Watch as sites alongside the route corresponding to fuel stations, motels, cafés, trading posts and drive-in movie theaters are threatened by growth in city areas and by abandonment and decay in rural areas.

subset: commoncrawl


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I think that we are in the presence of a new religion. A new, not particularly peaceful religion at that. I think it's kind of based on Amazonian culture. From what I've gathered, this new organization is matriarchal and monotheistic, and is quite, erm...different. The main goddess, who apparently goes by the name of Lauren Weinstein, appears to be based on another tribal goddess, Ari Up. But Ari Up was a much more benevolent, loving soul compared to this unnamed Goddess.
Songs From the Shining Temple is a most bizarre record, and is all the better for it. From loud chants to cacophenous percussion and noises I'm too afraid to attempt to figure out, there's a whole lot of weirdness going on here. And, you know what? I LOVE IT. How could I not? I'll tell you why..I'm afraid to! This Goddess is a very vengeful, angry deity. According to "Kill the Right People," she's been around for a while. From "Goddess of War" and "Gun Through a Razor," we learn that, well...she demands your love...or else.
This is a band that rivals both the Slits and Crawling Chaos in the utterly weird, totally odd, and disturbingly interesting music. Instead of weird new wave or twisted tribal reggae, Flaming Fire mix in a whole bunch of influences, so that their music cannot be linked, traced, or derived from anyone else. Flaming Fire make their own music...and if you don't love it, or Songs From The Shining Temple...you're doing so at your own risk.
One of the most lovingly confounding records I've heard all year, if not ever..
--Joseph Kyle


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Nowadays while purchasing anything online, in-store or even in bulk, boxes play an important part in our lives, may that be food, gifts or apparel. In this case, we are going to talk about apparel gift boxes, last Christmas I received an ugly Christmas sweater from grandpa. The sweater was just like any other but what intrigued me was the large apparel gift box. It was well designed, packaged and also very sturdy.
After the party, I snuck the box into my room and placed it under my bed in order to keep it away from anyone throwing it while I wondered what I would really use this for.
Twisting and turning throughout the night I had yet to figure out what I would do with this extraordinary looking box, the ribbon was intact, I had not ripped any corners of it or bent them. I wanted to reuse it by packing another gift within the box but it was just too darn attractive to just easily give away. I had been up most of the night with barely any sleep so decided to do some research of my own.
I found a lot of people discussing on numerous forums on whether to keep their gift boxes, recycle them or throw them into waste. One user had a very bright idea, to turn it into something useful like a shoe box or home décor. The user personally had customized the gift box into a 2 level shoe stand with the ribbons intact dangling from the sides giving it a touch of art as well. The box was bright red with a massive green ribbon on it, the user had carved it perfectly in order to keep the top intact yet cutting it right through the middle in order for easy access to the levels of the shoe storage box now.
After reading the user's story and watching a bunch of YouTube videos advising on how to carefully turn a regular gift box into something more useful towards daily life, I finally planned to turn it into a PS4 games rack. It was not such an easy task as it took quite some time just to come up with a unique idea but I knew If I managed to pull it off, it would be really impressive. I started off by making sure that for my PS4 games the dimensions of the box were just perfect. I inserted up to 16 games into the box all lined up against each other perfectly fit. Now that I had determined that they fit and how many I could fit them, I wanted to change the color of the box so it's easier to the eyes however it was hard to think of ways to efficiently do so without damaging the box itself.
My sister, walking through the hallway, suggested I should wrap the box around the color which existed. Loving the idea I rushed to the department store to find just that, when I got back I had totally disregarded the position and size of the box after the wrap would be done. So now it was a game of risks, either I move on to a new product for the rack, or I purchase and wrap the box just to find out the PS4 games now do not fit.
Confused yet determined I decided that fate should handle this turn in my life, so I did a coin toss to figure out whether I should risk it or not. As I was about to reach into my coat pocket to pull out a coin, I realized I had done so in order to fast forward the process I just went ahead and took fate in my own hands. I had purchased a matte white wrap in order to convert my box into a white apparel gift box. I biked home as quickly as I could in excitement and fear to see what the result could be. Without confronting anyone I ran to my room and slammed the door.
I unraveled the wrap and started my journey, just to be on the safer side on how it would work, fit and look I did the front half of the gift box first. It came out just the way I had imagined it to be, I started wrapping the rest and voila it was complete. The look of the box came out smooth, just how I imagined it would be. I choose white as it would be easier to spot out and read the labels of the PS4 games. Soon enough I was on my way researching on how I'll be able to physically use this without it being flimsy or breaking down because of the weight.
Mom yelled Dinner's ready about 10 minutes ago, dinner was getting cold and Mom probably fuming, I could not wait any longer so I took a break and rushed downstairs to the table without washing my hands. Mom noticed and caught me explaining that I need to be more hygienic when it comes to personal grooming, so I washed my hands and came back to the table like a normal being would. While everyone was enjoying dinner I was stuck in my own world on how I would complete this final task which should not have been this hard, Mom caught my attention and asked: "How was your day, Dear?" I murmured "It was Okay."
Obviously being a mother she knew something was up, she started picking up the plates from the table and it was my assigned day to do the dishes. Still lost in my world about 25 minutes into my work when I was done I had an idea to tape the entire box standing up against my TV stand. Now almost done I felt amazing to come up with an idea to finish the project. I ran upstairs just to notice my Mom had already done the exact thing which I thought about even better, she laid the entire box on top of the TV stand allowing me to see the titles of the games and also being safe.


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Credit union loans outstanding grew 0.5% during May compared to 0.4% growth during April, according to CUNA's economics and statistics department.
Leading the way were used auto loans and adjustable-rate mortgages, which each grew 0.8%. Fixed-rate mortgages and new auto loans each increased 0.7%, and credit card loans grew 0.6%.
Home equity loans declined 0.5%.
Credit union savings balances grew 0.2% in May compared to a 0.6% decrease in April.
Money market accounts grew 0.8%, while regular shares increased 0.7%.
On the decline were share drafts (-1.2%), individual retirement accounts (-0.2%) and one-year certificates (-0.1%).
Other measures:
The total dollar amount of capital is $104 billion.
Click here for more Rates & Ratios.


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Classic, Plastic or Metal? Choosing the Right Walmart Furniture Chairs
Walmart furniture chairs – With or without armrests, upholstery or textiles? Of plastic, wood or metal? And then classic style, vintage, modern, hi-tech? It is not easy to unravel the many models of existing walmart furniture chairs. From the most classic to the contemporary, passing through the most iconic. How do you choose the most suitable walmart chair model for your home? To begin, you can try to identify your needs and priorities by trying to understand.
For example, if the chosen will be more representative or serve daily as well as to sit at the table to eat, even to work or study without neglecting the combinations with the rest of the furniture. The classic walmart furniture chairs; as it should be for a typology passed unscathed through the generations, it gives a note of warmth.
12 Photos Gallery of: Classic, Plastic or Metal? Choosing the Right Walmart Furniture Chairs
And also softness to the most linear and essential furnishings. Of course, a good padding is a great convenience for the chair. Plastic and metal walmart furniture chairs; the technology linked to the polypropylene mold processing has given rise this welcoming and comfortable models. That links with great elegance and lightness the enveloping forms of the monologue with the metal of the structure. The end.


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Mr. and Mrs. Randy James Johnson of Duncan, SC celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary on May 27, 2007. Mrs. Johnson is the former Linda Carolyn Rodgers.
The couple has two children, Brian and his wife Sherry Johnson of Duncan, SC, and Alice Barbare of Duncan, SC. They also have three grandchidlren.
They will be honored by their children with a special dinner.


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Kratos Reports First Quarter 2019 Financial Results
Source: Nasdaq GlobeNewswire / 08 May 2019 16:01:03 America/New_York
SAN DIEGO, May 08, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (Nasdaq:KTOS), a leading National Security Solutions provider, today reported its first quarter 2019 financial results. For the first quarter 2019, Kratos reported Revenues of $160.4 million, Adjusted EBITDA of $17.5 million, or 10.9 percent, a 27.7 percent increase over the first quarter of 2018, Operating Income of $8.2 million, a 17.1 percent increase over the first quarter of 2018, Cash Flow from Operations of $16.0 million, and a Free Cash Flow from Operations of $12.0 million after capital expenditures of $4.0 million. For the first quarter 2019, the Company reported Adjusted EPS* of $0.08, a 60.0 percent increase over the first quarter of 2018, Net income of $3.1 million and GAAP EPS of $0.03, a 250.0 percent increase over a first quarter 2018 GAAP EPS loss of $0.02. Included in the first quarter 2019 Net income are acquisition costs of $1.2 million related to the recently closed FTT acquisition.
First quarter 2019 revenues increased $17.4 million over first quarter of 2018 revenues of $143.0 million, or 12.2 percent. Included in first quarter 2019 revenues was approximately $4.2 million generated from recently acquired FTT. Excluding the impact of FTT, Kratos revenues increased organically 9.2 percent year-over-year.
For the first quarter of 2019, Kratos' Government Solutions Division (KGS) generated Revenues of $125.5 million, Adjusted EBITDA of $15.5 million and Operating Income of $11.4 million, compared to revenues of $115.2 million, Adjusted EBITDA of $12.0 million and Operating Income of $7.9 million for the first quarter of 2018. For the first quarter of 2019, Kratos' Unmanned Systems Division (KUSD) generated Revenues of $34.9 million, Adjusted EBITDA of $2.0 million and Operating Income of $0.6 million, compared to revenues of $27.8 million, Adjusted EBITDA of $1.7 million and Operating Income of $0.8 million in the first quarter of 2018.
For the first quarter of 2019, Kratos reported bookings of $139.2 million and a book-to-bill ratio of 0.9 to 1.0, with backlog at March 31, 2019 of $620.2 million, and a last twelve months ending March 31, 2019 book-to-bill ratio of 1.1 to 1. In the first quarter, Kratos' bid and proposal pipeline increased by $400 million, up to approximately $7.2 billion, at March 31, 2019.
Eric DeMarco, Kratos' President and CEO, said, "Every Kratos business unit exceeded its financial forecast in the first quarter, with the Company reporting increased revenues, margins, profitability and cash flow. Kratos' Unmanned Systems business had a very successful first quarter, including the initial flight of the XQ-58A Valkyrie and a 1.7 to 1.0 book to bill ratio. Since the first Valkyrie flight, potential customer interest in Kratos' affordable, high performance unmanned aerial drone systems has increased significantly, and we are more confident than ever that we will successfully achieve our strategic objective of being the leader in this expected to be large and fast growing tactical UAS area class. Additionally, Kratos' target drone business continues to ramp, driven by the ongoing recapitalization of strategic weapon systems by the U.S. and its allies, providing good visibility to expected future organic revenue, profit and cash flow growth."
Mr. DeMarco continued, "Kratos' space and satellite command, control, communications and space situational awareness business, our Company's largest, also had a strong first quarter, including a favorable overall mix, and the 2020 DoD budget space funding request increase of approximately 20 percent provides confidence in our long term organic growth forecast. Additionally, Kratos' C5ISR and Microwave Electronics product business, which supports radar, missile, electronic warfare and missile defense systems, including Patriot, THAAD and Iron Dome started the year well, as did our training systems and solutions business which supports operational readiness."
Mr. DeMarco concluded, "We are confident that Kratos' strategy of building an intellectual property focused technology Company that rapidly develops, demonstrates and fields affordable products and systems is a true differentiating model. Kratos is aligned with the U.S. National Defense Strategy and DoD funding priority areas. We believe that our recent awards, new and increasing production programs, under contract tactical unmanned aerial system development programs and increased bid and proposal pipeline are representative of the strength of our business plan, providing a solid foundation for the strong organic growth trajectory we are forecasting."
Financial Guidance
Kratos is providing second quarter 2019 financial guidance of Revenues of $175 to $185 million, and Adjusted EBITDA of $16 to $18 million, and reaffirming full year 2019 financial guidance of Revenues of $720 to $760 million, reflecting organic growth of approximately 12.5 percent, and Adjusted EBITDA of $71 to $77 million.
The Company is reaffirming full year 2019 cash flow from operations guidance of $40 to $50 million, capital expenditures of $28 to $30 million, and free cash flow guidance of $10 to $20 million, plus the expected final cash receipt of the retained working capital of the Company's divested PSS business of approximately $4 to $6 million. Capital expenditures are expected to continue to be elevated in 2019, reflecting expected outlays associated with manufacturing equipment for the Company's new drone facility in Oklahoma and equipment for a new secured facility of approximately $6 to $8 million and approximately $4 to $6 million related to the planned manufacture of company owned aerial target drones in preparation of fulfilling expected customer requirements.
Management will discuss the Company's first quarter 2019 financial results, as well as its second quarter and full year 2019 guidance on a conference call beginning at 2:00 p.m. Pacific (5:00 p.m. Eastern) today. Analysts and institutional investors may participate in the conference call by dialing (866) 393-0674, and referencing the call by ID number 1479806. The general public may access the conference call by dialing (877) 344-3935 or on the day of the event by visiting www.kratosdefense.com for a simultaneous webcast. A replay of the webcast will be available on the Kratos web site approximately two hours after the conclusion of the conference call.
About Kratos Defense & Security Solutions
Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS) develops and fields transformative, affordable technology, platforms and systems for United States National Security related customers, allies and commercial enterprises. Kratos is changing the way breakthrough technologies for these industries are rapidly brought to market through proven commercial and venture capital backed approaches, including proactive research and streamlined development processes. Kratos specializes in unmanned systems, satellite communications, cyber security/warfare, microwave electronics, missile defense, hypersonic systems, training and combat systems. For more information go to www.kratosdefense.com.
Notice Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This news release contains certain forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, including, without limitation, express or implied statements concerning the Company's expectations regarding its future financial performance, including the Company's expectations for its second quarter and full year 2019 revenue and Adjusted EBITDA, full year 2019 capital expenditures and ability to generate positive cash flow from operations and positive free cash flow in 2019, the timing and amount of the Company's receipt of retained working capital from the Company's divested PSS business, the Company's ability to achieve projected growth in certain of the Company's business units and the expected timing of such growth, the Company's expectation of ramp on projects, timing associated with bringing certain contracts back on the planned run rate, the Company's bid and proposal pipeline, demand for its products and services, including the Company's ability to successfully compete in the tactical unmanned aerial system area and expected new customer awards, performance of key contracts and programs, including the timing of production and demonstration related to certain of the Company's contracts and product offerings, the impact of the Company's restructuring efforts and cost reduction measures, including its ability to improve profitability and cash flow in certain business units as a result of these actions, benefits to be realized from the Company's net operating loss carry forwards, the availability and timing of government funding for the Company's offerings, including the strength of the future funding environment, timing of LRIP related to the Company's unmanned aerial target system offerings, as well as the level of recurring revenues expected to be generated by these programs once they achieve full rate production, and market and industry developments, including projected growth. Such statements are only predictions, and the Company's actual results may differ materially from the results expressed or implied by these statements. Investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements. All such forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made, and the Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise these statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Factors that may cause the Company's results to differ include, but are not limited to: risks to our business and financial results related to the reductions and other spending constraints imposed on the U.S. Government and our other customers, including as a result of sequestration and extended continuing resolutions, the Federal budget deficit and Federal government shut-downs; risks of adverse regulatory action or litigation; risks associated with debt leverage and cost savings and cash flow improvements expected as a result of the refinancing of our Senior Notes; risks that our cost-cutting initiatives will not provide the anticipated benefits; risks that changes, cutbacks or delays in spending by the U.S. DoD may occur, which could cause delays or cancellations of key government contracts; risks of delays to or the cancellation of our projects as a result of protest actions submitted by our competitors; risks that changes may occur in Federal government (or other applicable) procurement laws, regulations, policies and budgets; risks of the availability of government funding for the Company's products and services due to performance, cost growth, or other factors, changes in government and customer priorities and requirements (including cost-cutting initiatives, the potential deferral of awards, terminations or reduction of expenditures to respond to the priorities of Congress and the Administration, or budgetary cuts resulting from Congressional committee recommendations or automatic sequestration under the Budget Control Act of 2011, as amended); risks of increases in the Federal government initiatives related to in-sourcing; risks related to security breaches, including cyber security attacks and threats or other significant disruptions of our information systems, facilities and infrastructures; risks related to our compliance with applicable contracting and procurement laws, regulations and standards; risks relating to contract performance; risks related to failure of our products or services; risks associated with our subcontractors' or suppliers' failure to perform their contractual obligations, including the appearance of counterfeit or corrupt parts in our products; changes in the competitive environment (including as a result of bid protests); failure to successfully integrate acquired operations and competition in the marketplace, which could reduce revenues and profit margins; risks that potential future goodwill impairments will adversely affect our operating results; risks that anticipated tax benefits will not be realized in accordance with our expectations; risks that a change in ownership of our stock could cause further limitation to the future utilization of our net operating losses; risks that the current economic environment will adversely impact our business; and risks related to natural disasters or severe weather. These and other risk factors are more fully discussed in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the period ended December 30, 2018, and in our other filings made with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Note Regarding Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures
This news release contains non-GAAP financial measures, including Adjusted income (loss) per share (computed using income (loss) from continuing operations before income taxes, excluding amortization of intangible assets, and capitalized contract and development costs, stock compensation expense, acquisition and restructuring related items and other, which includes but is not limited to legal related items and foreign transaction gains and losses, less the estimated tax cash payments) and Adjusted EBITDA (which includes net income attributable to noncontrolling interest and excludes, among other things, losses and gains from discontinued operations, restructuring and transaction related items, stock compensation expense, foreign transaction gains and losses, and the associated margin rates). Additional non-GAAP financial measures include Free Cash Flow from Operations and Adjusted EBITDA related to our KUSD and KGS businesses. Kratos believes this information is useful to investors because it provides a basis for measuring the Company's available capital resources, the actual and forecasted operating performance of the Company's business and the Company's cash flow, excluding extraordinary items and non-cash items that would normally be included in the most directly comparable measures calculated and presented in accordance with GAAP. The Company's management uses these non-GAAP financial measures along with the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures in evaluating the Company's actual and forecasted operating performance, capital resources and cash flow. Non-GAAP financial measures should not be considered in isolation from, or as a substitute for, financial information presented in compliance with GAAP, and investors should carefully evaluate the Company's financial results calculated in accordance with GAAP and reconciliations to those financial statements. In addition, non-GAAP financial measures as reported by the Company may not be comparable to similarly titled amounts reported by other companies. As appropriate, the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures and information reconciling these non-GAAP financial measures to the Company's financial results prepared in accordance with GAAP are included in this news release.
*Adjusted earnings per share (Adjusted EPS) excludes loss from discontinued operations, non-cash amortization expense, as the Company has historically been acquisitive, non-cash stock compensation costs, foreign transaction gains and losses, certain non-recurring items such as acquisition and restructuring related items and other, and includes cash actually expected to be paid for income taxes on continuing operations, reflecting the benefit of the Company's net operating loss carry forwards of over $300 million. Kratos believes that reporting adjusted earnings per share is a meaningful metric to present the Company's financial results.
Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations (in millions, except per share data) (in millions, except per share data) Three Months Ended March 31, April 1, 2019 2018 Service revenues $ 62.6 $ 46.0 Product sales 97.8 97.0 Total revenues 160.4 143.0 Cost of service revenues 42.0 32.9 Cost of product sales 73.5 69.3 Total costs 115.5 102.2 Gross profit - service revenues 20.6 13.1 Gross profit - product sales 24.3 27.7 Total gross profit 44.9 40.8 Selling, general and administrative expenses 28.7 27.3 Restructuring expenses, and other 1.3 0.4 Research and development expenses 3.9 3.6 Depreciation 1.3 0.8 Amortization of intangible assets 1.5 1.7 Operating income from continuing operations 8.2 7.0 Interest expense, net (5.5 ) (5.1 ) Other income (expense), net (0.5 ) 0.3 Income from continuing operations before income taxes 2.2 2.2 Provision (benefit) for income taxes from continuing operations (1.5 ) 0.9 Income from continuing operations 3.7 1.3 Loss from discontinued operations, net of income taxes (0.6 ) (3.5 ) Net income (loss) 3.1 (2.2 ) Less: Net income (loss) attributable to noncontrolling interest - - Net income (loss) attributable to Kratos Defense & Security Solutions $ 3.1 $ (2.2 ) Basic income (loss) per common share attributable to Kratos Defense: Income from continuing operations $ 0.04 $ 0.01 Loss from discontinued operations (0.01 ) (0.03 ) Net income (loss) $ 0.03 $ (0.02 ) Diluted income (loss) per common share attributable to Kratos Defense: Income from continuing operations $ 0.03 $ 0.01 Income (loss) from discontinued operations - (0.03 ) Net income (loss) $ 0.03 $ (0.02 ) Weighted average common shares outstanding: Basic weighted average common shares outstanding 104.9 103.7 Diluted weighted average common shares outstanding 107.8 105.7 Adjusted EBITDA (1) $ 17.5 $ 13.7 Unaudited Reconciliation of GAAP to Non-GAAP Measures Note: (1) Adjusted EBITDA is a non-GAAP measure defined as GAAP net income (loss) attributable to Kratos Defense adjusted for net income attributable to noncontrolling interest, income(loss) from discontinued operations, net interest expense, income taxes, depreciation and amortization expense of intangible assets, and capitalized contract and development costs, stock compensation, acquisition and restructuring related items, and foreign transaction gain (loss). Adjusted EBITDA as calculated by us may be calculated differently than Adjusted EBITDA for other companies. We have provided Adjusted EBITDA because we believe it is a commonly used measure of financial performance in comparable companies and is provided to help investors evaluate companies on a consistent basis, as well as to enhance understanding of our operating results. Adjusted EBITDA should not be construed as either an alternative to net income or as an indicator of our operating performance or an alternative to cash flows as a measure of liquidity. The adjustments to calculate this non-GAAP financial measure and the basis for such adjustments are outlined below. Please refer to the following table below that reconciles GAAP net income (loss) to Adjusted EBITDA. The adjustments to calculate this non-GAAP financial measure, and the basis for such adjustments, are outlined below: Interest income and expense. The Company receives interest income on investments and incurs interest expense on loans, capital leases and other financing arrangements, including the amortization of issue discounts and deferred financing costs. These amounts may vary from period to period due to changes in cash and debt balances. Income taxes. The Company's tax expense can fluctuate materially from period to period due to tax adjustments that may not be directly related to underlying operating performance or to the current period of operations and may not necessarily reflect the impact of utilization of our NOLs. Depreciation. The Company incurs depreciation expense (recorded in cost of revenues and in operating expenses) related to capital assets purchased, leased or constructed to support the ongoing operations of the business. The assets are recorded at cost or fair value and are depreciated over the estimated useful lives of individual assets. Amortization of intangible assets. The Company incurs amortization of intangible expense related to acquisitions it has made. These intangible assets are valued at the time of acquisition and are amortized over the estimated useful lives. Amortization of capitalized contract and development costs. The Company incurs amortization of previously capitalized software development and non- recurring engineering costs related to certain targets in its Unmanned Systems and ballistic missile target businesses as these units are sold. Stock-based compensation expense. The Company incurs expense related to stock-based compensation included in its GAAP presentation of selling, general and administrative expense. Although stock-based compensation is an expense of the Company and viewed as a form of compensation, these expenses vary in amount from period to period, and are affected by market forces that are difficult to predict and are not within the control of management, such as the market price and volatility of the Company's shares, risk-free interest rates and the expected term and forfeiture rates of the awards. Management believes that exclusion of these expenses allows comparison of operating results to those of other companies that disclose non-GAAP financial measures that exclude stock-based compensation. Foreign transaction (gain) loss. The Company incurs transaction gains and losses related to transactions with foreign customers in currencies other than the U.S. dollar. In addition, certain intercompany transactions can give rise to realized and unrealized foreign currency gains and losses. Acquisition and restructuring related items. The Company incurs transaction related costs, such as legal and accounting fees and other expenses, related to acquisitions and divestiture activities. Management believes these items are outside the normal operations of the Company's business and are not indicative of ongoing operating results. Restructuring costs. The Company incurs restructuring costs for cost reduction actions which include employee termination costs, facility shut-down related costs and remaining lease commitment costs for excess or exited facilities. Management believes that these costs are not indicative of ongoing operating results as they are either non-recurring and/or not expected when full capacity and volumes are achieved. Legal related items. The Company incurs costs related to pending legal settlements and other legal related matters. Management believes these items are outside the normal operations of the Company's business and are not indicative of ongoing operating results. Adjusted EBITDA is a non-GAAP financial measure and should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for financial information provided in accordance with GAAP. This non-GAAP financial measure may not be computed in the same manner as similarly titled measures used by other companies. The Company expects to continue to incur expenses similar to the Adjusted EBITDA financial adjustments described above, and investors should not infer from the Company's presentation of this non-GAAP financial measure that these costs are unusual, infrequent, or non-recurring. Three Months Ended March 31, April 1, 2019 2018 Net income (loss) attributable to Kratos Defense $ 3.1 $ (2.2 ) Income (loss) from discontinued operations, net of income taxes 0.6 3.5 Interest expense, net 5.5 5.1 Provision (benefit) for income taxes from continuing operations (1.5 ) 0.9 Depreciation (including cost of service revenues and product sales) 3.6 2.8 Stock-based compensation 2.6 1.7 Foreign transaction (gain) loss 0.5 (0.2 ) Amortization of intangible assets 1.5 1.7 Amortization of capitalized contract and development costs 0.3 - Acquisition and restructuring related items and other 1.3 0.4 Plus: Net income (loss) attributable to noncontrolling interest - - Adjusted EBITDA $ 17.5 $ 13.7 Reconciliation of acquisition and restructuring related items and other included in Adjusted EBITDA: Three Months Ended March 31, April 1, 2019 2018 Acquisition and transaction related items $ 1.2 $ - Restructuring costs 0.1 0.4 $ 1.3 $ 0.4 Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. Unaudited Segment Data (in millions) Three Months Ended March 31, April 1, 2019 2018 Revenues: Unmanned Systems $ 34.9 $ 27.8 Kratos Government Solutions 125.5 115.2 Total revenues $ 160.4 $ 143.0 Operating income (loss) from continuing operations: Unmanned Systems $ 0.6 $ 0.8 Kratos Government Solutions 11.4 7.9 Unallocated corporate expense, net (3.8 ) (1.7 ) Total operating income from continuing operations $ 8.2 $ 7.0 Note: Unallocated corporate expense, net includes costs for certain stock-based compensation programs (including stock-based compensation costs for stock options, employee stock purchase plan and restricted stock units), the effects of items not considered part of management's evaluation of segment operating performance, and acquisition and restructuring related items, corporate costs not allocated to the segments, legal related items, and other miscellaneous corporate activities. Reconciliation of consolidated Adjusted EBITDA to Adjusted EBITDA by segment is as follows: Three Months Ended March 31, April 1, 2019 2018 Unmanned Systems $ 2.0 $ 1.7 % of revenue 5.7 % 6.1 % Kratos Government Solutions 15.5 12.0 % of revenue 12.4 % 10.4 % Total Adjusted EBITDA $ 17.5 $ 13.7 % of revenue 10.9 % 9.6 % Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets (in millions) March 31, December 30, 2019 2018 Assets Current assets: Cash and cash equivalents $ 178.4 $ 182.7 Restricted cash - 0.3 Accounts receivable, net 239.3 237.4 Inventoried costs 69.2 46.8 Prepaid expenses 13.3 8.9 Other current assets 9.6 10.3 Current assets of discontinued operations 7.3 8.3 Total current assets 517.1 494.7 Property, plant and equipment, net 113.5 67.1 Operating lease right-of-use assets 38.1 - Goodwill 459.4 425.7 Intangible assets, net 34.4 16.1 Other assets 6.4 6.5 Total assets $ 1,168.9 $ 1,010.1 Liabilities and Stockholders' Equity Current liabilities: Accounts payable $ 47.4 $ 46.6 Accrued expenses 36.6 38.1 Accrued compensation 37.2 33.5 Accrued interest 6.5 1.6 Billings in excess of costs and earnings on uncompleted contracts 39.7 34.9 Current portion of operating lease liabilities 13.3 - Other current liabilities 9.3 4.7 Other current liabilities of discontinued operations 5.3 5.3 Total current liabilities 195.3 164.7 Long-term debt principal, net of current portion 294.4 294.2 Operating lease liabilities, net of current portion 31.3 - Other long-term liabilities 73.5 25.5 Other long-term liabilities of discontinued operations 6.5 6.4 Total liabilities 601.0 490.8 Commitments and contingencies Redeemable noncontrolling interest 15.0 - Stockholders' equity: Additional paid-in capital 1,275.0 1,244.5 Accumulated other comprehensive loss (0.7 ) (0.7 ) Accumulated deficit (721.4 ) (724.5 ) Total Kratos Defense stockholders' equity 552.9 519.3 Total liabilities and stockholders' equity $ 1,168.9 $ 1,010.1 Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows (in millions) Three Months Ended March 31, April 1, 2019 2018 Operating activities: Net income (loss) from consolidated operations $ 3.1 $ (2.2 ) Less: (loss) from discontinued operations (0.6 ) (3.5 ) Income from continuing operations 3.7 1.3 Adjustments to reconcile income from continuing operations to net cash provided by operating activities from continuing operations: Depreciation and amortization 5.1 4.5 Amortization of lease right-of-use assets 3.7 - Deferred income taxes (3.4 ) - Stock-based compensation 2.6 1.7 Amortization of deferred financing costs 0.2 0.2 Changes in assets and liabilities, net of acquisitions: Accounts receivable (9.0 ) 16.4 Unbilled receivables 19.7 (14.2 ) Inventoried costs (10.8 ) 1.3 Advance payments received on contracts 0.1 (0.6 ) Prepaid expenses and other assets (1.1 ) 0.8 Operating lease liabilities 2.8 - Accounts payable (0.8 ) (3.0 ) Accrued compensation 3.1 3.8 Accrued expenses (2.7 ) (6.1 ) Accrued interest 4.9 4.9 Billings in excess of costs and earnings on uncompleted contracts 3.0 (3.7 ) Income tax receivable and payable 1.4 0.2 Other liabilities (6.5 ) (1.0 ) Net cash provided by operating activities from continuing operations 16.0 6.5 Investing activities: Cash paid for acquisitions, net of cash acquired (17.6 ) - Capital expenditures (4.0 ) (6.7 ) Net cash used in investing activities from continuing operations (21.6 ) (6.7 ) Financing activities: Proceeds (use) from the issuance of common stock - (1.1 ) Repayment of debt - (0.2 ) Debt issuance costs - (0.1 ) Repayment of lease obligation (0.1 ) - Proceeds from exercise of restricted stock units, employee stock options, and employee stock purchase plan 0.9 1.8 Net cash provided by financing activities from continuing operations 0.8 0.4 Net cash flows from continuing operations (4.8 ) 0.2 Net operating and investing cash flows of discontinued operations 0.3 (3.1 ) Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents (0.1 ) 0.2 Net decrease in cash and cash equivalents (4.6 ) (2.7 ) Cash and cash equivalents and restricted cash at beginning of period 183.0 130.9 Cash and cash equivalents and restricted cash at end of period $ 178.4 $ 128.2 Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. Unaudited Non-GAAP Measures Computation of Adjusted Earnings Per Share (in millions, except per share data) Adjusted income (loss) from continuing operations and adjusted earnings per share (Adjusted EPS) are non-GAAP measures for reporting financial performance and exclude the impact of certain items and, therefore, have not been calculated in accordance with GAAP. Management believes that exclusion of these items assists in providing a more complete understanding of the Company's underlying continuing operations results and trends and allows for comparability with our peer company index and industry. The Company uses these measures along with the corresponding GAAP financial measures to manage the Company's business and to evaluate its performance compared to prior periods and the marketplace. The Company defines adjusted income (loss) from continuing operations before amortization of intangible assets, stock-based compensation, foreign transaction gain/loss, and acquisition and restructuring related items and other. The Company uses the estimated cash tax provision in computing adjusted earnings per share to reflect the benefit from the utilization of the Company's net operating losses. Adjusted EPS expresses adjusted income (loss) from continuing operations on a per share basis using weighted average diluted shares outstanding. The following table reconciles the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures to the non-GAAP financial measures. Three Months Ended March 31, April 1, 2019 2018 Income from continuing operations before taxes $ 2.2 $ 2.2 Add: Amortization of intangible assets 1.5 1.7 Add: Amortization of capitalized contract and development costs 0.3 - Add: Stock-based compensation 2.6 1.7 Add: Foreign transaction (gain) loss 0.5 (0.2 ) Add: Acquisition and restructuring related items and other 1.3 0.4 Adjusted income from continuing operations before income taxes 8.4 5.8 Estimated cash tax provision 0.2 0.3 Adjusted income from continuing operations attributable to Kratos Defense $ 8.2 $ 5.5 Diluted income per common share attributable to Kratos Defense: Adjusted income from continuing operations $ 0.08 $ 0.05 Weighted average common shares outstanding Diluted 107.8 105.7
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the system consists of digital video cameras and detachable, heavy-duty hard drives. at the beginning of his or her shift the officer signs out the hard drive and connects it to the vmdt system in the cruiser. when the officer turns on the cruiser's lights or manually activates the system, the last four minutes of input data from the various input sources in the vehicle is automatically saved (including radar readings, driver's license information, etc.), and the recording continues until the system is deactivated. the tyler police department is also going to build a hotspot network that will allow the video and audio to be relayed back to the police station in real-time.
with dvd or vcd quality, the digital video will easily surpass the grainy quality of the 8 mm video systems currently in use by other police forces. additionally, all of the information is saved to ibm eserver xseries servers at the end of the day, and is indexed automatically to allow for easy search and information retrieval based on a wide variety information. total cost for this upgrade: us$505,000.
for more info, check out reuters, the city of tyler news release, and the tyler morning telegraph.
joshua's opinion
digital is definitely the way to go. though i am not so na�ve as to believe that the system is foolproof, i am convinced that a digital system is more stable than a regular 8 mm/vhs system. it also has features that the current video system can't even dream of–information indexing and multiple inputs are some great examples.
i wonder how long it will take this system to spread across the country. with city and state government budgets already spread extremely thin, the fact of the matter may be that police departments won't have the money to invest in the upgrade. of course, the benefits of the system, including reduced man-hours spent looking for information on a traffic stop and increased floor space from the use of much more compact media storage, might help offset that cost a little bit.
this will also open up more jobs for geeks, and we all know that that is the best benefit.
user comments 17 comment(s)
|video in police vehicles… (1:28pm est wed apr 21 2004)
from what i've seen on shows with titles like "wildest police video car crashes and chases", getting better quality video into police vehicles will allow better quality reality shows! .
actually, privacy issues aside, i'm all for video use in police vehicles. i want a judge and jury to see exactly what went on at a traffic stop where someone was hurt or killed. if a bad or over-zealous cop, it'll be seen. if a suspect does something stupid, that will be noticed too. no more un-founded "police brutality" claims. now, i'm not saying they all are un-founded, and if true, it could be caught on video (yes, they could drag a hand-cuffed suspect out of camera range, not much you can do about that).
if you have a privacy concern, don't get drunk and take your car out on the freeway in texas. if you have nothing to hide, what is the big deal? – by car chase fan
|digital photos cant be used as evidence (1:41pm est wed apr 21 2004)
if i had to provide evidence in a court room and it was a digital picture it would be thrown out. reason it can be manipulated. what hypocrites !! how can they exclude their self from rule i have to abide by?
– by acop
|digitial photos (1:54pm est wed apr 21 2004)
it is all in the handling. it is how courts accept photos with a built-in date on them if it is a police photographer.
if the handling of the digital information is controlled to select individials and well documented, then the court can have confidence that what is being seen is what really happened.
if, on the other hand, the information is downloaded into a computer accessable by anyone in the police station before handing it over to the court, and it is known that the police station has expensive digital video editing software, then the court is not likely to accept it. that is why courts often won't accept digital photos from just anyone. it is all about trust.
even non-digital photos and videos can be doctored.
– by grapevine
|josh (2:04pm est wed apr 21 2004)
"convinced that a digital system is more stable than a regular 8 mm/vhs system"
if by that statement, you mean better quality, i would agree. but, when was the last time your camcorder crashed?
also, a big part of the reason the video is so crappy on cop cars is lighting. – by etcetera
|it's all in the system used for digital recording… (2:40pm est wed apr 21 2004)
many newer digital systems are recording in a "locked" format that cannot be tampered with. (theoretically). so the video format the the cruisers are recording in is almost 100% not a standard mpeg video stream, but some form of proprietary video. this is what makes digital video valid in the courts- as opposed to joe schmo off the streets with a kodak, which can be edited with ms paint for crying out loud! – by pancakerage.com
|movement (3:04pm est wed apr 21 2004)
as the cars swerve & crash, the vhs/8mm tapes loose alignment, so the picture gets even worse. this is avoided with digital, unless of course the hard drive is physically crashed, then there is no quality.
as far as quality/resolution, i think vcd is quite a bit worse than 8mm. a 4-6mbit dvd would be better, at the expense of drive space.
|dead officer (3:38pm est wed apr 21 2004)
wasn't it around tyler that a trooper was shot to death pulling aside a speeder?
and wasn't the culprit caught because the officer had rigged his own video camera? – by jj brannon
|acop …. (5:21pm est wed apr 21 2004)
depends on the court and the skill of the da. i�m not an attorney but i�ve assisted a da in preparing this argument:
da: are these photos (or this video) a valid representation of what you say that day / when you arrived at the scene?
officer: yes they are (yes it is).
the judge bought it, this circumvents the legitimacy of the digital evidence and introduces the evidence as a tool (like an artist representation) that conveys to the jury what the officer is testifying to have seen that day. the judge could instruct the jury to consider the evidence only in the context of the officer�s testimony.
additional could include questioning on when the digital data was checked into the evidence placing the onus on the defense to produce an expert witness that could prove that that was sufficient time to tamper with the video image.
|my nifty idea….. (8:59pm est wed apr 21 2004)
now let's get these new cameras out to ufo and bigfoot chasers. we all know they need some seriously improved equipment. dam those pictures suck. so who's with me?
– by james beatty
|wake up and smell the cordite! (10:02pm est wed apr 21 2004)
digital acquisition also provides your masters a better, more convincing way to alter and fake evidence.
when the master is digital it's impossible to go back to an unalterable or difficult to alter original!
when will you ever learn! a change like this is not for your benefit! it's for theirs!
some of you won't wake up untill your find yourselves in a forest forced labor camp. …and it won't be long. – by winston smith
|now they can track you (10:57pm est wed apr 21 2004)
just imagine . . . using digital technology police can now use biometric facial recognition or pattern recognition software to identify criminals or suspicious activity from the comfort of their police car. – by techie
|uh (9:03am est thu apr 22 2004)
if its digital it can be edited. if it's law enforcment it can be falsified. if its thursday im paranoid – by free
|chicago… (1:34pm est thu apr 22 2004)
has eye in the sky beamed to police cars. top that tex – by chiguy
|digital has too many bugs to work in police cars! (5:09pm est tue apr 27 2004)
if any video system is running on windows it will be unstable and you will get a error for every 6 hours of running time.
video and audio recording is the most operating system intensive thing you can do with your computer. if you did buy one of these systems make sure it comes with a 30 day money back. you will need it. look for a system that uses linux or embedded operating system. – by mike-engineer
|length of time digital video must be kept (12:39pm est mon sep 20 2004)
what is the length of time that a digital video from a patrol car must be kept as evidence once it is removed from patrol vehicle? – by jeff
|length of time digital video must be kept (9:06pm est wed jan 05 2005)
the same amount of time that vhs is. typically its for two years. with the massive amounts of data that can be stored on dvd's and other medium then that time span is almost indefinite. plus the system does not allow the officer to enter, record over, or edit the video. the hard drive is pulled and dumped into a master hard drive that stamps and stores all the video's. those cannot be altered by anyone and are open record to the public. it wouldn't be smart to alter a copy when the defense could easily get ahold of the original. even a da knows that. – by joe
|craving excitement!! (2:03am est wed oct 26 2005)
hi my name is misha and how do you view some of the videos from plice cars? if anyone is willing to help me get onei will visit ths website in one week. thanks.
kind regards misha. – by misha


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/ Fuente: Associated Press
Uruguay striker Luis Suarez could once again be in trouble after appearing to bite an Italian opponent Tuesday in a key World Cup qualifying game.
Television replays showed Suarez apparently biting the shoulder of Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini as the pair clashed in the Italian penalty area. It happened about a minute before Uruguay's Diego Godín scored in the 81st, lifting Uruguay past Italy, 1-0.
Suarez was already sanctioned with a heavy ban for biting Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic in the English Premier League in 2013 and FIFA can sanction players for biting with bans of up to two years.
In the photo above, Suarez holds his teeth as Chiellini reacts moments after the collision.


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It being the Conservative Party, naturally there were fault lines at a national policy convention, even one following so closely on the heels of an election that produced a Conservative majority government.
So there they were debating, for the third consecutive convention, the question of one member, one vote at a leadership convention, as opposed to the status quo in which all ridings are equally represented with 100 members.
The perpetual proponent of a one-member, one-vote system is Eastern Ontario MP Scott Reid, heir to the Giant Tiger retailing fortune, who just won't take no for an answer. And probably won't again, even though his proposal was defeated by a 3-1 margin in a workshop last Friday, and never would have made it to the Saturday plenary if Reid hadn't rounded up enough signatures to force it onto the floor of the new Ottawa Congress Centre.
Speaking in favour of his own motion, Reid insisted it was "a hybrid," since one member, one vote would be capped at 400 members per riding, with all other ridings guaranteed the 100 votes they have now.
The defenders of the status quo weren't buying it, with Defence Minister Peter MacKay saying that equality of ridings was not only a founding principle of the reunited Conservative Party, but a fundamental principle of Confederation itself.
MacKay has been at the microphone on this before, when Reid first brought it up at the Montreal policy convention in 2005. MacKay made it very clear then that for all members from the Progressive Conservative side of the House, equality of ridings was a deal-breaker. All hell broke loose, including Stephen Harper famously kicking a chair during a backstage walk-through.
That was in Harper's angry days as opposition leader, long before his current Prozac period as prime minister of a majority government. He may not have a wild side, but in the last six weeks he's certainly developed a laidback one.
But Harper's close entourage was a bit annoyed by the suggestion that Reid, as one of them put it, "was a stalking horse for the PM."
For one thing, it's not in Harper's interest, as he builds a big-tent party, to revisit issues that divide what Conservatives now style their "legacy parties" - Reform-Alliance and the PCs.
For another, there's no leadership race in the offing and won't be until at least after the next election in 2015.
Given the Conservatives' growing to majority status thanks to Ontario and the West, with another 30 seats being added to the House west of the Ottawa River, and with the NDP as the only competitive alternative, it may be another two terms before Harper leaves the scene.
If Reid was a stalking horse for anyone, it was Jason Kenney, the energetic immigration minister, who would have no trouble signing up hundreds of members in countless multicultural communities that answered the Conservative call in the election.
So perhaps what Conservatives were witnessing was a preview of the 2020 leadership campaign between Kenney and MacKay .
If that's the case, Kenney will need better floor manage-ment: the one-member, onevote side was not only clearly outnumbered, but was outmanoeuvred at every turn. Had those people been smart, they would have caved to a motion from Team MacKay that, having been defeated in a workshop, the one-member, one-vote resolution shouldn't even be allowed in the plenary. This would have spared Reid and his supporters the embarrassment of being defeated by a margin of at least 2-1 on a show of hands.
Reid will undoubtedly be back again at the next convention. He clearly does not live in the retail world of his own family business, where if a product didn't move after six years, even after being marked down twice, it would be taken off the shelves, never to be seen at Giant Tiger again.
There were other hardy perennials of Conservative conventions (let's hear it for property rights and marriage as an institution between a man and a woman) that fell to grown-up floor management.
But, unfortunately, a suggestion to form a youth wing, a standard and sensible feature of most parties in the western world, never made it out of a workshop.
Never mind that a cohort of Conservative MPs, including Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird and freshman members Kellie Leitch, Stella Ambrose and John Williamson, all cut their teeth in PC youth politics. As did many of Harper's senior advisers, including his chief of staff, Nigel Wright, and deputy chief, Derek Vanstone.
Not to mention conservative thought leaders such as Adam Daifallah and Tasha Kheiriddin.
Youth wings are where parties train tomorrow's leaders. Twenty years ago, at Tory meetings, you knew these kids were going to take over the world. And they have.


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Chandra & Harry | Urban Downtown Calgary Engagement
Urban Downtown Calgary Engagement Session
This urban downtown Calgary engagement session was such a pleasure to photograph. Chasing the end of day golden light with these two was effortless. We started their session overlooking downtown Calgary and as the sun set over the city, the sky turned bright orange and faded into a purple sky. As twilight fell, the city lights were glowing and we were able to have a few quiet moments overlooking Calgary, a special place in the hearts of this couple. It really was the perfect day for the best engagement photos.
Chandra and Harry contacted us over email as neither one of them live in Calgary at the moment. But, we absolutely love how this couple met. It's funny how the universe brings two people together:
"We went to medical school on a small island. But, that's not where our romance started. We met at a party in Manhattan by chance. He was literally on his way out and I was on my way in. To make a long story short, we started dating shortly after. The rest is history. Because of our jobs, we currently live one thousand miles apart. But, we love each other a thousand times more. We can't wait to finally be together forever."
We know in our hearts that Chandra and Harry's marriage will have the magic of a lifelong adventure together. Even if it begins with a thousand miles between them. Their dedication to their relationship and deep connection is unmistakable. With a chance encounter that will lead to a lifetime of happiness, we know these two have found their one true love. It was such an honour to capture this beautiful time in their lives together. Who knows what the future will hold, but these moments were filled with pure happiness and joy. We love that our job allows us to capture this time in a couple's life so they can remember exactly how they felt just before they married their soulmate.
Chandra and Harry's Engagement Session Locations:
ACAD/SAIT Campus
Riley Park in Kensington
McHugh Bluff Park, overlooking downtown Calgary


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Problem detail: We are working for Oracle-Mobile Supply Chain application. For this we are using protocol as RTE(Terminal Emulation).
we have inserted TE_wait_cursor( int col, int row, int stable, int timeout ); function to Waits for the cursor to appear at a specific location in the terminal window.
In script we have given TE_wait_cursor( Col,Row,3000,90); values. For the Col and Row values we are dynamically capturing and placing in the above function.
While running the test we have observed that once the users are in to the application. we are receiving the TE_wait_cursor error. due to this users are aborting.
Kindly help us to resolve the issues.
Please treat this as very critical and urgent.
Problem Solution: Upgrade to LR11SP3 RTE Vuser how-to and troubleshooting guide


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Reconsidering The Magic Flute
Mozart's The Magic Flute is a puzzling opera. Its mood is sometimes childish, sometimes utterly solemn. The Queen of the Night is a sympathetic character who has been wronged by Sarastro when we meet her in the first act. In the second act, the situation seems reversed: Sarastro sings of wisdom, and the Queen of the Night tries vainly to persuade her daughter to commit murder. When the Queen is defeated by Sarastro at the end, the music is Mozart at his most triumphant, and the audience rejoices in the happy ending.
In my opinion, however, the ending is far from happy. I see Sarastro as a consistently villainous character, and I believe the Queen's attempt to kill him is can be understood as an attempt to save her daughter from being brainwashed by the leader of a cult.
The audience sees Sarastro and the Queen through the eyes of Tamino, who is united with his beloved Pamina at the end. As for Tamino, he sees the Queen as an innocent victim when he learns that her daughter has been kidnapped by Sarastro. He goes off to rescue Pamina, but soon changes his mind about who is good and who is bad. What causes him to alter his opinion? One of Sarastro's flunkies (Sarastro is surrounded by yes-men) says to him: "Ein Weib hat also dich berückt? Ein Weib tut wenig, plaudert viel" (So a woman beguiled you? A woman does little, chatters a lot). Tamino, who has good intentions but is rather stupid, cannot see the fallacy of argument by appeal to prejudice. He falls for this sexist line and decides to join Sarastro's cult, the Temple of Wisdom.
Pamina, in the meantime, is being held prisoner. Sarastro has put her in the care of his faithful servant Monostatos, who "verlangte Liebe" (demanded love). Pamina attempts to escape and return to her mother, the Queen of the Night. Monostatos recaptures her and brings her back to Sarastro. Despite Pamina's pleas, Sarastro will not let her go. Yet Monostatos, who thwarted her attempt to flee, is sentenced to 77 lashes. Thus does Sarastro reward obedience.
This brief scene shows us just how evil Sarastro is. If he punishes Monostatos for bringing back Pamina, why must he keep her in captivity? If he disapproves of Monostatos's amorous advances, how can he put a helpless girl back into the care of this lecherous servant? Easily. He justifies it by saying that the Queen of the Night is "ein stolzes Weib" (a proud woman).
In an earlier scene, the Queen disciplines her servant, Papageno. He is punished for telling a lie by having his mouth padlocked. The punishment is very brief but effective. Papageno will never lie again. The contrast between the Queen and Sarastro is enormous. The Queen imposes a light penalty for a real offense; Monostatos, on the other hand, suffers a cruel punishment for doing precisely what Sarastro wanted done.
Let us get back to Tamino. In order to join the Temple of Wisdom, he will have to pass the test of silence. The test is singularly inappropriate. Wisdom is the result of knowledge, questioning, and discussion. Only through argument can our views be subject to scrutiny. Silence is the enemy of wisdom; it is a virtue only in a totalitarian regime like Sarastro's. Tamino, then, must be silent when Pamina is brought to him. She mistakes his silence for rejection and attempts suicide. Sarastro, who organized this cruel test, does nothing to aid Pamina, who is not even being tested. Instead she is saved by the Genii, who are spirits sent by the Queen of the Night to guide Tamino. The Genii, like the magic bells and the magic flute that gives the opera its name, are gifts of the Queen. They are forces for good throughout the opera. In fact, when Pamina and Tamino undergo the tests of fire and water, devised by Sarastro, they are protected by the flute, the instrument of the Queen.
The Queen, to be sure, has her villainous moment. When she learns that Tamino, her daughter's beloved, has joined Sarastro, she becomes desperate. She gives Pamina a dagger and tells her to kill Sarastro. The Queen has been driven mad by the hopelessness of her situation. Her action is futile: Pamina will not be able to commit the murder.
It is at this point that the Queen sings her glorious aria "Der Hölle Rache kocht in meinem Herzen" (The wrath of Hell boils in my heart). The music is so wonderful that we know the Queen's rage must be justified. Sarastro's music, to be sure, is also wonderful. Mozart didn't write bad music. It is therefore quite significant that there is no music at all, except for some trumpet blasts, during the tedious scene where Sarastro announces Tamino's wish to join the Temple. Similarly, there is only dialogue when Tamino and Papageno are asked if they wish to take the tests (Papageno sensibly declines). Mozart was just not inspired to compose music for these sequences.
Did Mozart and his librettist, Emanuel Schikaneder. know what they were doing? Did they fail to see that Sarastro was a tyrant? Did they agree with the sexism, gross even by 18th-century standards, expressed by Sarastro and his toadies? I do not know. Pamina and Tamino are together at the end of the opera, and to that extent the opera ends happily. They will live under a dictatorship, but their love will make their problems irrelevant. Pamina will forget her mother, who is destroyed despite Sarastro's claim that vengeance is unknown in his realm.
Whatever Mozart's intentions, audiences have always sided with Sarastro. In Ingmar Bergman's movie version of the opera, the singer who plays the Queen is shown smoking under a no-smoking sign during the intermission. Bergman, like most of us, has misjudged the Queen. The time has come for her to be recognized as the tragic heroine she really is.
This essay appeared in the May 1981 issue of Ovation
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2 December, 2015
FHKI Seminar on Mobile office – Personalize Your Cloud with New Fields
On 2 December 2015, the seminar on Mobile office – Personalize Your Cloud with New Fields was held in FHKI. Many enterprises have gained maximum benefits from its implementation of information technology and have the edge over their competitors by successfully integrating its key business operations. The utilization of diversified information technology solutions has helped to simplify complex technical problems.
In the seminar, Mr. Hilton Law, CEO of ISL introduced how to use one single App to manage different operations of a company, including the trend and research on using the mobile device; the advantages and the various industrial application of the mobile interactive reporting solution; and a case study of the retail industry. Furthermore, Mr. Mathew Chin, Marketing Manager, Product & Mass Market Marketing, Commercial Group of HKT talked about how to establish a secured cloud office and explained about the advantages of cloud application for SME, how to use cloud technology to reduce operation cost, how to choose cloud application & service provider, and reliability and security of the cloud applicaiton.
Many attendees enquired about how ReportNOW integrates the mobile interactive technology with different systems, such as e-leave and the expenses claim functions etc. ReportNOW is a mobile data interchange platform for all organizations. As long as you have a mobile device on hand, you can stay connected with your business anytime anywhere. In addition, users can easily upload instant data unlimitedly to the ReportNOW server over the Internet. Through ReportNOW, either smart phones or tablets can easily link up with the company's existing database system and generate reports with real-time information or capture immediate data from the mobile devices.


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I think this is my new favorite set. Oh, who am I kidding? They're all my favorite!
I "cased" this beautiful card from Kay Kalthoff. I think this is not the first time I've done that! Thanks Kay!!!
This is one of two cards for this month's card class. I'll show you a quick and easy way to make this square background.
Here is the second card we'll be making. The idea for this card came from a swap I received at Leadership this year. It was created by a talented French Canadian, Elise Pelletier.
Here's another sample from this set. It's provides a great opportunity to use your watercolor crayons. I had so much fun with these. Doesn't it look like I'm an accomplished painter? It's amazing how you can color in these stamped images and have them look like they were painted by a professional. I have no talent what so ever, when it comes to painting. That's why I love stamps!
I basically copied the card just as I saw it, except for making it in portrait format instead of landscape. You can see Lisa Young's card here.
On the way home from Leadership, Mandy and I caught a ride from a demo we'd just met (long story). Anyway, one of our fellow passengers had these cute little canvases and gave us each one to experiment with. This is what I came up with. It's cute, but I'm not sure what I'll do with it. Any ideas?
Thanks for looking!


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The NGV is currently showing an exhibition of one of the most influential living artists, David Hockney: Current. The exhibition features over 1200 works from the past decade of the artist's career – some new and many never-before-seen in Australia – including paintings, digital drawings, photography and video works.
This term students in grade 1/2 looked at David Hockney's swimming pool paintings and created their own drawings/paintings of themselves swimming underwater. They used the media of oil pastels and food dye.


text: I was pretty excited (though I'm still struggling with some sort of sinus thing) to wake up this morning and see that some invitation designs I did were chosen as editor's picks over at Minted. And yesterday I got an email from Martha Stewart Weddings. I hope this means that all sorts of good things are afoot.


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Discover Sterling Point and Milagro Apartments, an intimate enclave of comfortable apartment homes in Houston, Texas. Located in the heart of shopping, dining, and entertainment, Our central location offers both convenience and comfort. Enjoy being close to local schools, historical attractions and Hwy 59, Loop 610 and the Sam Houston Tollway. Come home to live a carefree lifestyle of comfort and convenience.
Our one and two bedroom floor plans, each with spacious living areas and modern amenities, were designed with your comfort and convenience in mind. Apartment amenities include an all electric kitchen, ceiling fans, plush carpeting, central air and heating, mini blinds, built-in bookshelves, washer and dryer connections and more – all at a cost you can afford!
The comforts of Sterling Point and Milagro stretch far beyond your home. Escape the summer heat in one of our sparkling swimming pools. Our beautifully manicured limited access community provides the ultimate refuge from a hectic world. The peaceful and welcoming environment at Sterling Point and Milagro Apartments makes our communities the perfect choice for your new home! Come and reserve your own spacious, new home and begin a lifestyle you will truly enjoy today.
Refer a friend to move in on a 12 month lease and receive $300 off your rent.
Thank you for sharing our community website!


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A Mission Journey - Handbook and Leader Guide
A Mission Journey is one of the primary resources we use in training UMVIM Team Leaders. It was developed by some of the best minds in UMVIM and Global Ministries. You can obtain copies of the Handbook and accompanying Leader Guide through Amazon. Or order a limited number of copies directly from UMVIM-NEJ by contacting firstname.lastname@example.com.


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Way back in June I was lucky enough to meet one of my favourite authors - the amazing Jennifer Weiner. On June 23, my author friends, Lydia Laceby and Samantha Stroh Bailey, and I cleared our schedules and headed to Indigo Manulife Centre for a signing. Whee!
Lydia and I made sure to get to the store early because we wanted to snag seats. Imagine our surprise when we arrived about an hour before the signing began and were able to get seats for the three of us in the front row! We had expected this event to be packed because it was the first time in five years that Weiner had been to Canada. All of the seats ended up being filled but I don't believe there were many people standing. So strange!
If Weiner is one of your favourite authors and you've never seen her in person, you need to change that. As soon as humanly possible. She is an amazing person, so real, and freaking hilarious. Case in point: the person introducing her almost screwed up her name (it's not weener, it's wine-er) so she told the story of when she was in New Jersey, exhausted after many events, and the MC mispronounced her name. She steps up to the podium and exclaims, "It's WINE-ER, motherf*cker!" A woman after my own heart...dropping f bombs without a care in the world. She also brought up The Bachelorette, as the signing was happening on a Monday night, the same time as the show. And if you're a Bachelor/Bachelorette fan, you have got to pay attention to her live tweets when the show is on. Priceless.
But it wasn't all laughs. She talked about gender inequality when it comes to book reviews in traditional published media. She also talked about how amazing it was to help author Sarah Pekkanen gain recognition when her first novel was published. There were a lot of other amazing parts to the signing but I foolishly made the mistake of not taking notes! I blame the drinks and food Lydia, Sam, and I had after the signing :)
As much as I adore Weiner myself, the best part of the signing (other than when she and I shared a little side convo about Chris from The Bachelorette - who will now be the newest Bachelor) was seeing how unbelievably excited Lydia and Samantha were. To them, Weiner is their idol. They love reading her books but they also love the way she writes. So, when this happened:
|"Hey...are you Perfect Pen on Twitter?"
I'm so happy I made the time to head into Toronto for this signing and I already can't wait until Jennifer Weiner comes back!


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TV critics are the influential ones, not Twitter users
"Twitter can't start a ball rolling, it can only kick it along the field," says Alison Graham. "Critics see things first"
The Daily Mirror's Mark Jefferies wrote a neat bit of jaw-dropping nonsense on RadioTimes.com when he said: "I think 2014 can be defined as the year television critics officially lost their power to inform and dictate schedules and successes."
Pish, tish and tosh. Mr Jefferies claims that Twitter reactions power TV executives' decisions. Rubbish. No high-up in his or her right mind would be a slave to Twitter. Twitter is fine for a quick bit of temperature taking, but really it's just people yelling down an empty lift shaft.
Frankie? The Bletchley Circle? The Hour? All beloved of Twitter, but all quite rightly died on their backsides, Frankie after one series, The Bletchley Circle and The Hour after two pointless second series. There were campaigns (on Twitter, of course) to save them, but , as it turned out, so what? As for 'trending', come on, it probably takes only three people and a hamster called Ian to get anything trending.
Of course I'm a professional TV critic so you're probably shaking your head and saying 'well, she would say that wouldn't she, because she needs to fund her yacht in Monte Carlo'. Believe me, the only way I'm going to get a yacht in Monte Carlo is if I build it myself with lolly sticks.
No one goes into TV criticism for the money. At Radio Times, home of the best TV critics and writers in the business, we do it because we love it, and we each have a lifetime's knowledge and a lifetime's love of television to inform everything we think and write.
And we are in the uniquely privileged position of seeing everything (just about) before transmission and that is where WE inform and direct, not Twitter. Twitter en masse can only react, it can't start a ball rolling, it can only kick it along the field.
Critics, particularly those of us who preview, are the influential ones. We are the ones who tip off our readers and followers to the greatness of Broadchurch…..The Killing…..The Bridge, WE are the ones who start the conversation, who prime the audiences, we are the ones who help build excitement because, I say again, we see things first and we all want to guide our readers to programmes we are sure they will love. That's our job and we take our responsibilities seriously.
Mr Jefferies says Happy Valley gathered momentum after Twitter word of mouth. But word of mouth isn't just Twitter because – and I know this will appall and surprise – most people aren't on Twitter. Word of mouth can be just as much excited huddles in office canteens as it can be emoticon-larded Tweets.
We all know this, we all know that wherever we went, whoever we talked to, people were talking about Happy Valley, together, excitedly, face to face, just as they've always done. And, long after Twitter has died in a vortex of half-formed shouted thoughts, so they always will.
Alison Graham is TV editor of Radio Times magazine


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The Sebastian Inlet District
Managing the Connection Between the Atlantic Ocean & Indian River Lagoon
Welcome to Sebastian Inlet – a 'premier' boating, fishing, surfing and recreational area on the East Coast of Florida. Situated between Brevard and Indian River Counties, the Sebastian Inlet supports a rich and diverse ecological environment unparalleled in North America. The inlet is vital not only to the ecological health of the Indian River Lagoon, but it is also an important economic engine for local communities in the region.
Created in 1919 by special act of the Legislature of the State of Florida, the Sebastian Inlet District was created to maintain the navigational channel between the Atlantic Ocean and the Indian River, and this remains the District's number one priority. The inlet is one of only five navigable channels that connect the Indian River Lagoon to the Atlantic Ocean.
The Sebastian Inlet District works in coordination with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and other agencies, and is responsible for bypassing sand to downdrift beaches, beach renourishment, erosion control, environmental protection and public safety.


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Screwdriver Sets
Toolstop stock a huge amount of screwdriver sets and packages. Manufacturers such as Stanley, Wera and Bahco are well represented with packages and screwdriver sets to suit all budgets and work to be done. From single Screwdrivers with bits stored in the handle to large 72 Piece Screwdriver Sets, Toolstop has them all here under one roof.
Free UK delivery on orders over £49.00


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People and Places
I hope this column will serve as a way to look in the mirror, to see what we have in our midst. I see it as musing, a word that is defined as thoughtful, meditative, contemplative…all things I'd like to be, although I often fall short of that. I'm apt to make snap judgments, to be outraged or intolerant. I have my prejudices. I'm slowly learning that this does little or nothing to further whatever causes I support. I'm a freelance writer and photographer living in Waldoboro. I can be reached at email@example.com
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