text:
This is a Brixton Pound. The bill reads "Money that sticks to Brixton"
This is 10 Brixton pounts. There are about 200 stores that take Brixton Pound and about 30,000 people use the currency.
This is a 5-B note from Baltimore, Maryland
This is Witney Webre. He works at Zeke's Coffee Shop – They're one of over 200 Baltimore-area businesses that accept the b-note. The B-note has a 10% discount on the face value of a dollar.
These are Berkshares, they're a regional currency in Berkshire, Massachusetts.
This is Eric Wilska, co-owner of the Bookloft in Great Barrington. You can use Berkshares to buy books,
Rent bikes
Buy pottery
Buy gourmet food.
I'd guess the biggest problem people have with Berkshares is fitting them in their wallet.
This is an Ithaca hour. One half-hour, actually. It's a local currency used in Ithaca, New York.
|The Ithaca HOUR is the oldest and largest currently-operating local currency system in the United States. It's called an hour, because it's generally thought to be worth an hour's worth of work.
Even though it's the oldest complementary currency in the U.S. – it's still not that old, it was started in the 90s
This is the Wörgl – It was issued in 1932 during the great depression
It's from Wörgl, Austria
The funny thing about the Wörgl is that it loses value if you don't spend it. It carries a demurrage charge for holding on to it. That is, every month, you have to buy a stamp that is worth 1% of the bill. If you don't buy the stamp then the bill is worth that much less. As a result, near the end of every month people try to spend the bill so that they're not the one left who has to buy the stamp.
The idea is that this is money you spend and not a store of value.
After the Wörgl was issued, it's reported that the area had a growth in employment – defying the rest of the country. The town generated enough money to build new houses, a ski jump, and a bridge. Neighboring villages, seeing the Wörgl's success, started copying the idea.
Predictably, the Austrian central bank terminated the currency after about a year and unemployment shot back to 30% shortly after.
|This is a map of complementary currencies in central Japan from International Journal of Community Currency Research (2004)
Why do people create their own currencies?
It's a response to feeling marginalized by globalization. It's an attempt at reinforcing community identity. It's a symbol of solidarity within the community.
The movement is closely associated with the "buy-local" mentality. "Buy-local" sounds nice, but I'm technical and repeating 'buy-local' feels abstract and problematic. Often it feels like a marketing ploy; a grocery-store-pastoral narrative without a lot of evidence that what you're buying actually is benefitting the local economy.
Like this bag I found on Etsy. "Don't buy from strangers, buy local". Of course, if you want buy this bag, you have to buy it on Etsy from a stranger. 'Buy local' becomes a meaningless mantra.
I think that one of the economic ideas that the "Buy Local" folks are getting at is the idea of the velocity of money.
Generally, when two people transact it's because we both have something the other wants. We both gain the benefit of exchanging something we have for something we want. One idea behind 'Buy Local' is that if you can increase the velocity of transactions and keep that value within your community, the community benefits.
Another argument that is made is an ecological one. These aren't cartons from a factory farm, these are Todd's egg cartons and he wants them back. If Todd takes Berkshares then he'll get your business instead of Whole Foods, we'll be throwing away less trash, the eggs didn't have to be transported hundreds of miles in a refrigerated truck, we'll feel good about supporting someone we know. This all works out well, as long as we need eggs and we know Todd and Todd has enough eggs.
Business accept regional currencies because they believe it gives them an advantage over multinationals.
If the currency is offered at a discount to fiat, they consider the difference an advertising cost. At least with local currency you can recoup some of your cost so long as you have a place to spend it.
For other people, creating their own currency is an act of rebellion and way to some measure of control over their money.
Especially since the Great Recession, there's a grass-roots discontent with monetary policy. Anecdotally, there's feeling among many people that national monetary policy isn't really concerned with the needs of smaller regions.
So, fringe politics aside, this opens an interesting question: could regions have their own monetary policy? It's hard to say how widespread and and effective that could have been in the past. But maybe with software and data we could make it possible for regions to have some control on their monetary policy even if they don't have an economist on staff.
|I think it's useful to review briefly why we even need currency in the first place.
|Say I'm a fisherman and my family has eaten all the fish they want and I have fish left over. I'd like to exchange that surplus value before my fish go bad. If you're a farmer you might be in the same situation with corn at harvest time.
The great thing about barter is that we're transferring value directly. The bad thing about barter is that it requires double coincident wants.
We often think of barter as an antiquated practice but, it turns out, there are lots of barter networks that still exist today. The International Reciprocal Trade Association (IRTA) is the biggest trade association for that industry and they had about 400,000 businesses in their member networks in 2010.
One of the benefits of using a barter network is that you can conserve cash. "Every trade dollar you spend is a dollar saved", they say.
The thing is that barter networks are still pretty small when compared to the amount of global commerce. IRTA estimated that the businesses in their network transacted $12 billion globally in 2010. It's not pocket change, but its still a fraction of the total possible trade.
But one has to wonder if we can use big data to solve the problem of double coincident wants. I expect that the folks at, say, Quickbooks or SAP have the data.
Going back to our example, maybe I'm a corn farmer and I want some fish today, but the harvest won't be ready for 3 months. I can write an IOU promising that I'll give you corn later if you give me fish today.
The great thing is something magical is happening – we're creating money out of thin air almost like a bank. In effect, we're issuing a "farmer dollar".
The problem is – every IOU ticket has a different real value. As the IOU gets further from the issuer, you may not trust the person who issued it. The burden of vetting for the issuer of the coupon gets pushed to the users of the currency.
There's not a good unit of account because the assets backing the notes aren't directly comparable and some issuers are more likely to fulfill their obligations than others.
This is, essentially, the idea behind the Japanese WAT ticket system. It's essentially a formalized IOU that is intended to be used within networks of trust.
So can we keep the benefit if being able to issue our own money, but spread the a) risk of defaulting and b) provide a consistent unit of account?
And the answer is "yes". This is the reason for mutual credit networks. In a mutual credit system, the currency is created at the time of the transaction. A central system keeps track of the debits and credits and the accounts of the system should all sum to zero.
This is different than, say, Paypal where I have to pay dollars first and then I can send you money. Instead, I'm able to create debt from nothing but a promise to pay you later.
When you make a purchase like this, you're saving your cash and essentially getting an interest free loan.
Additionally, the currency supply can be effectively self regulating. We create debt where it's needed. As long as you have a public ledger of debtors, then the community can self-enforce and not continue to lend to someone who is too far in debt.
A network of mutual credit is the idea behind LETS. In a LETS system, the money needed is created when a transaction is made. This becomes interest-free local credit. You don't need to barter goods directly and there are no physical notes: the ledger is stored in a central location.
This idea is really interesting because we're giving individuals the power to create money, a lot like a bank.
Just to review briefly, as you know, banks are authorized by the federal reserve to engage in fractional reserve lending and this is one of the ways that money is created.
One of the problems with this system is that when interest-bearing credit-money is created, through the production of loans by the banks, there is enough circulating currency to repay the principal of the loan but not to repay the interest. This results in the so-called 'impossible contract' and so the economic system relies on further expansion of credit in order to service existing debt
(The Case for Monetary Diversity, 2010)
While borrowing can help the economy grow in the short term, eventually people have to repay the debt plus interest. When people are repaying their debts, they're spending less than they're making and this has a contracting effect on the economy
This opens the question: Is it possible to create money without debt?
Probably not – a tool for repaying debts is essentially what money is. Even if you're engaging in a cash transaction to purchase goods, essentially what you're doing is immediately paying off the debt you incurred by taking something of value from someone else.
But a case could be made for loans without usury. e.g. no fees on top of the cost required to service the loan.
Usurers extract a lot of productivity from the economy through interest and so maybe we can keep that productivity within the economy instead of paying interest.
A mainstream view of interest is that it is the lenders reward for delaying consumption. But, to me, it feels like getting more money back for lending your money is maybe only one of many possible rewards for lending.
|There's a school of thought that heralds "money as if people mattered". Their hero is E.F. Schumacher, author of "Small is Beautiful". But, to be honest, it isn't taken very seriously by mainstream economists.
Schumacher's book is a contrast to the idea that 'bigger is better'. A global payment system like Bitcoin is very efficient in transferring value, but there are second-order effects that undermine the resilience the economic system as a whole.
If you want to build a resilient distributed system you have to design the system to keep running even if individual components fail. If (when?) one currency becomes the global standard, then the entire globe is affected by the same volatility, market trouble, debt crises, etc.
There's also an open question: can we create 'moral' money? Can we create a medium of exchange that is good at encouraging prosperity and less good at encouraging exploitation?
While it's a great sentiment, people generally act in their own economic self interest so it's hard to see a purely altruistic model as being practical. So another question might be: can we create moral money that is also in people's overall self-interest?
While it would be nice to live in an area where people voluntarily put themselves under the authority of a local currency for the common good. It seems to me that the system will have greater success if there is clearly economic self-interest involved.
One promising story of the economic effects of complementary currency is the Bangla Pesa from Kenya
|The people in this Kenyan village had goods but they were willing to sell but because they were so poor, many people didn't have the cash available to trade. So the Bangla Pesa was developed as a village-wide IOU system and it's essentially considered "slum money".
Emma Onyango sells tomatoes, kale, and water and she has eight children. She's one of the founding members of the Bangla-Pesa.
When the Bangla Pesa was issued, trade jumped in the first few weeks it was in use and people were very optimistic about its effects. But before long a news story was written that declared it an attempt to replace the Kenyan shilling. The anti-fraud unit of the Kenyan central bank ordered the police to arrest the people behind it.
Emma and five others were jailed and charged with forgery. Operations of the Bangla Pesa ceased for several months.
They were able to post bail after a few days and after quite a bit of effort, the charges were dropped six months later. The Bangla Pesa is legal again and their 2014 survey showed over a hundred businesses in the area are using it and it accounts for roughly 7% of sales.
We might be tempted that this sort of extreme response could only happen in a third-world country. But it turns out, our central bank doesn't like competition either.
This is Bernard von NotHaus.
He's the creator of the Liberty Dollar. The Liberty Dollar was a currency that was backed by gold and silver. It's possibly the most economically successful physical complementary currency in the U.S.
Between 1998 – 2011, von NotHaus was able to put more than $60mm worth of liberty dollars into circulation.
The idea was an inflation-proof currency for people that wanted a return to the gold standard. It turned out to be extremely popular, especially among libertarians.
They even issued a special-edition Ron Paul coin with the insignia "Vote for Truth". The thing is, the political platform that helped him become so popular was also probably his downfall.
You see, van NotHaus was the founder of an organization called National Organization for the Repeal of the Federal Reserve and Internal Revenue Code. "NORFED" for short.
He was arrested and convicted for counterfeiting. The jury deliberated for less than two hours. The U.S. Attorney's office said that "NORFED's purpose was to mix Liberty Dollars into the current money of the United States."
The U.S. Attorney Anne Tompkins said that "attempts to undermine the legitimate currency of this country are simply a unique form of domestic terrorism". (See fbi.gov)
Despite being convicted in 2011, he hasn't been sentenced yet.
On the one hand, his conviction serves as a warning to anyone who wants to try and create a national complementary currency.
On the other hand, when you see a hippy being labeled a terrorist for helping people trade gold, you have to wonder if he was on to something.
Do complementary currencies work? And by "work", I mean, do they have the intended economic effect. So far, I think it's hard to say.
In theory, regional currencies should have a counter-cyclical effect. Particularly in times of crisis, when there isn't enough national currency available or interest rates are extremely high and so on.
But in practice, regional currencies are all so small. A study from 2007 found no difference in rates of economic growth betweens cities that had regional currencies vs. cities that did not.
But they did say that there might have been income increases for the individuals and businesses that participated. And that's really interesting to me.
Because it seems part of the reason these systems fail is because they're expensive and inconvenient. And maybe with new technology, mobile devices, crypto currencies, etc., we can grow (or multiply) regional currency systems to the degree where they can have a significant economic and social impact.
The blockchain also presents brand-new opportunities for community controlled digital currencies. Because the blockchain can be distributed, the company that makes the tools can genuinely claim that the currency belongs to the community (vs. being issued and controlled by a central entity). Obviously, we want to avoid pump-and-dump scams, but I think if local currencies are issued genuinely there are new opportunities here.
Everything I've been talking about so far emphasizes physically regional communities. But if you've read Balaji Srinivasan's article "Software Is Reorganizing the World" he talks about the virtual formation of not only cloud networks, but cloud towns or cloud countries. The idea is that groups of people will come together online and have a strong community identity, even though physically they may be all over the world.
The ideas we're talking about here apply equally to these cloud communities.
And, in fact, maybe they already are. That's sort of what the alt coins are.
But what I'm talking about here is something different. Most crypto currencies are in a battle with bitcoin to become the new global currency. And that's not what I'm proposing here.
For contrast, take monetary policy. If you think that the Federal Reserve isn't appropriately concerned about the needs of your region when deciding how much money to print, Bitcoin doesn't help because Bitcoin's 'monetary policy' cares about your region even less.
We have these two sets of tools. The old tools of regional currency, mutual credit, and barter. And then we have new tools like strong social networks, ubiquitous mobile devices, and of course cryptocurrencies.
In my mind, we're still in the very early days of understanding how they can work together.
- Photos copyright of their respective owners
- Fish Icon Designed by Andrew Heins
- Corn Icon Designed by Richard Zeid
- Money Icon Designed by Luis Prado
- Bread Icon Designed by Irit Barzily
- Apple Icon Designed by Blake Thompson
- Bank Icon Designed by Iain Hector


text:
Sweden won the bronze medal in men's Olympic curling on Friday, beating China 6-4 in a nerve-jangling game that hinged on the final shot in an extra end and two major technical blunders by the Chinese.
China skip Liu Rui had the chance to win the game by making an extremely difficult takeout with a draw on the last rock. His effort was slightly heavy, though, and the rock glanced off a Swedish stone that was stationed on the button.
The Swedish players gave each other big hugs on the ice, having won the country's first medal in men's curling since the sport returned to the Olympic program in 1998. The women's team won the silver medal on Thursday, losing to Canada.
Sports Connection
Connecting you to your favorite North Texas sports teams as well as sports news around the globe.
"Super thrilled," said Sweden skip Niklas Edin, whose world champion team finished the round-robin in first place at 8-1 before losing to Britain in the semifinals. "A fourth place again would have been expensive for all of us, as human beings, curlers and as a team as well.
"For Swedish curling, medals on both sides, it's a huge step forward."
While Liu's miss his final rock was excusable, two technical violations by the Chinese delivering rocks in key moments in the ninth and extra ends were not. Both Liu and Xu Xiaoming failed to release stones before the delivery line, causing a red light to go off and their rocks to be pulled.
"Sometimes you get beat because the other team outperforms you and sometimes you beat yourself," China coach Marcel Rocque said. "Today was one of those - that really wasn't about (Sweden), that was about us and two mistakes."
Canada plays Britain later in the gold-medal game.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Compare cheap flights to Fiji
Book cheap flights to Fiji with Skiddoo and visit one of the world's best paradise islands! Choose from our great selection of flights and enjoy a tropical getaway full of white sandy beaches, gorgeous blooms, lush rainforests and more.
What to do in Fiji
Fiji is a country in the Pacific and is made up of over 300 gorgeous islands. It's home to volcanic mountains, tropical waters, pristine beaches, undersea marvels, and other natural wonders. Fiji might be ahead the world with its time zone, but you won't want to rush your trip in this country.
In Fiji, wetter is better. Take your beach towels and head to country's best beaches in Qalito Island, Matamanoa Island, and the heavenly heavyweights of Mamanuca Islands and Yasawa Islands. The last two island groups are so stunning that they were even chosen as settings for great movies like Tom Hanks' Cast Away.
If you're not a beach bum and want to make a splash in the water, Fiji has loads of things to do for you too. Jump on a water trampoline and go snorkelling in Bounty Island. Dip and dive all over Beqa Island. Ride the tubes with your surfboard at Cloudbreak. Then combine your love of the sea and the sky and go kitesurfing in Namotu Island.
Of course, Fiji has more to offer you. Beyond the beach, or below the water, take some time to towel off and experience the landscapes. You'll have lots of photo and outdoor adventure opportunities. Explore the lush forests, go hiking and birdwatching on the islands of Tavenui and Kadavu. But if urban wildlife is the game you're after, the city of Suva has a vibrant nightlife scene.
You're fun in Fiji is endless. See where else you should go and what other things to try with this Fiji travel guide and tips. So start planning your vacation now before you go troppo!
When to visit Fiji
The country is a great destination year-round, but the best times for you to visit are during high season (July-September) and low season (May-June and October). Weather-wise, you'll enjoy Fiji best during high season. But the weather is also pleasant during shoulder season, plus you'll get cheaper rates for flights and hotels.
Fly to Fiji whenever you want because we Aussies can visit the country visa-free for up to four months. Get your visitor permit on your arrival to Fiji, and check the Fiji High Commission Australia website for more info.
Travelling to and around Fiji
Once you've landed in Nadi International Airport, you can explore the country and its towns by boats, ferry, bus, private and share taxis.
Set your clock to Fiji time because you deserve to go on an island holiday now! Pack your best togs, don't forget the thongs, and book your flights to Vanua Balavu with Skiddoo today.


text: I have the horn sheaths from a buck I got a few years ago but a dog ran off with the skull. I was wondering if I were to ever fill a doe tag, if I could just clean up the skull and attach the sheaths to the doe skull. I've never taken a doe so I don't really have a good idea of how much bone they have sticking up from their little horns, or if they even have any bone sticking up at all.


text:
Discussion Panel: Women In Rails
Location: Ballroom B Level:
A general question like "How do we get more women into technology?"
isn't actually useful for our community. Discussion usually devolves
into nature vs. nurture, then affirmative action, and it all goes
south from there.
So in this session we get down to brass tacks: how specifically can we
bring more female programmers into the Rails community? How can we get
them to come to RailsConf? Why aren't they here already?
You'll hear from the folks whose voices are often not heard when this
question is asked: the women themselves who are already here. Bring
your ideas and questions!
Desi McAdam
Hashrocket Inc and DevChix Inc
I am founder of DevChix.com and one of the software developers at Hashrocket.
Sarah Mei
Ministry of Velocity
Sarah Mei has been a software developer for fifteen years and a Ruby/JavaScript developer for seven. A founder of RailsBridge, an initiative to bring more diversity to the Ruby community, she's a recent Pivotal Labs alum and is now running The Ministry of Velocity, a small software consultancy. She lives in San Francisco near the beach, where it is never warm enough to go swimming.
Lori Olson
The WNDX Group Inc.
Tried Ruby/Rails as an alternative to further Java development 3.5 years ago and never looked back.
(The rest of this is my corporate bio, and I don't like it, but I'm too lazy to write something more fun)
As Senior Software Architect at Labrador Technologies since 2005, Lori brings over 22 years experience in end-to-end software development and 16 years of object oriented programming and design experience. One of the founders of the Calgary Ruby User Society, she has been designing and implementing web applications using Ruby on Rails for over 3 years. Prior to joining Labrador, Lori worked for a variety of companies and industries, including Halliburton, IBM, IHS, and Shell Canada. She is a Sun Certified Java Programmer with over 8 years of Java, Swing, and J2EE experience. Some of her particular areas of interest include optimizing software development processes and usage centered design. She holds a B.Sc (Honors) in Computer Science from the University of Calgary.
Lori is also a member of Embarcadero's TeamB, providing knowledgeable, accurate, service-oriented assistance to the JBuilder & 3rdRail communities. She frequently presents topics of interest at the Calgary Ruby User Society, and has spoken at the CodeRage and COSSFEST conferences on Ruby on Rails mapping topics.
Comments on this page are now closed.
Thanks Josh and Peter for the feedback.
The video of the discussion is now available for viewing: railsconf.blip.tv/file/2082207
I did say that the NY Times noted a correlation between the rise of gaming culture and the decline of women enrolled in CS programs. As we all know correlation is not causation.
Here's the article for reference (go to bugmenot.com for a NYT login): www.nytimes.com/2008/11/16/...
Thanks, Peter, but that was Desi, not me ;-)
I'm not sure that we were looking for conclusions, per se, but some tools to use to combat the problem.
I suspect the community was looking for a little closure on recent events without belaboring the topic. Great job keeping the discussion focussed on the long-term issues.
Reasonable session. Very charming panel with some nice stories to tell. Some conclusions drawn on anecdotal evidence (a fall in female enrollment to CS courses is due to gaming culture? Sounds a bit like action movies dissuading women from becoming filmmakers to me..) Questions asked by audience were rather poor and no real conclusions were drawn, but a massive thumbs up to Lori Olson for telling DHH to keep his mouth shut :)
How about this:
Add your questions, or vote on others to our "Google Moderator panel page": moderator.appspot.com/#15/e=5f3e8&t=5f3e9&f=5b55e


text:
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Maier Reviews Wood's "Idea of America"
Pauline Maier reviews Gordon Wood's Idea of America in the on-line Washington Independent Review of Books. Of particular interest is Professor Maier's comparison of Wood's position on ideas as causal factors in history in his famous "Rhetoric and Reality in the American Revolution" article with the views expressed in the conclusion of this collection of essays. She writes: "Wood has, it seems, come to a certain peace with the role of ideas in human affairs."
No comments:
Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)


text:
Excerpt from New Edition of Mark Heisler's Madmen's BallThe first edition of Mark Heisler's book Madmen's Ball: The Inside Story of the Lakers' Dysfunctional Dynasties was published in October 2004, not long after the most recent Lakers' dynasty imploded in the wake of a 4-1 loss in the NBA Finals followed by the trading of Shaquille O'Neal to Miami and the resignation of Phil Jackson. Of course, O'Neal went on to win a championship with the Heat before presiding over perhaps the quickest and most complete collapse by a champion in NBA history: within two years O'Neal's Heat were the worst team in the NBA and he had found an escape hatch to Phoenix. Meanwhile, Jackson sat out one year before returning to the Lakers and Bryant won two scoring titles as the undermanned Lakers struggled to make the playoffs. Last year, of course, everything fell into place after the Pau Gasol trade as Bryant won his first MVP and led the Lakers back to the NBA Finals.
A revised and updated version of Madmen's Ball has just been published but instead of focusing on the new material the L.A. Times chose to run an excerpt dealing with the final chapter of the O'Neal-Bryant feud. It would seem to make more sense for Heisler's own newspaper to highlight his insights about the Lakers' rebirth last season but there is a certain value to looking back on the O'Neal-Bryant feud now that a few years have passed. Bryant's reputation was undoubtedly at its nadir when Heisler's book was first published but since that time a lot of people have come to understand that they misjudged Bryant--or, if they don't possess the introspective character necessary to draw such a conclusion then they have convinced themselves that they have remained the same but Bryant has transformed into a completely different person than the "selfish" one that he allegedly was just four short years ago (keep in mind that Bryant had already been the leading playmaker on three championship squads while making the All-NBA and All-Defensive Teams, honors that are not typically bestowed on "selfish" players).
The general public often bought into the version of events that the gregarious O'Neal communicated to his numerous friends in the media, though O'Neal's credibility has taken a hit now that the Heat imploded around him while Bryant proved that he certainly can be the leader of a championship caliber squad. Heisler reports that for Bryant the final straw came in the 2003 training camp when O'Neal declared of Bryant, "He doesn't need advice on how to play his position, but he needs advice on how to play team ball. As we start this new season, [things have] to be done right. If you don't like it, then you can opt out next year. If it's going to be my team, I'll voice my opinion. If he don't like it, he can opt out...I ain't going nowhere." Heisler quotes Bryant's point by point refutation of O'Neal's criticisms and O'Neal's conduct:
"There's more to life than whose team this is, but this is his team so it's time for him to act like it. That means no more coming into camp fat and out of shape when your team is relying on your leadership on and off the court. It also means no more blaming others for our team's failure or blaming staff members for not overdramatizing your injuries so that you avoid blame for your lack of conditioning. Also, 'my team' doesn't mean only when we win. It means carrying the burden of defeat just as gracefully as you carry a championship trophy.
"Leaders don't beg for contract extensions and negotiate some $30-million-plus deal in the media when we have two future Hall of Famers playing here basically for free. A leader would not demand the ball when you have three of us besides you, not to mention the teammates that he's gone to war with the past three years...By the way, you also don't threaten not to play defense and not to rebound if you don't get the ball every time down the floor."
On playing in pain: "I don't need Shaq's advice on how to play hurt. I've played with IVs before...with a broken hand, a sprained ankle, a fractured tooth, a severed lip, and a knee the size of a softball. I didn't miss 15 games because of a toe injury that everybody knows wasn't that serious."
On their relationship: "He is not my quote-unquote big brother. A big brother would have called me up over the summer."
Labels: Kobe Bryant, L.A. Lakers, Mark Heisler, Shaquille O'Neal
posted by David Friedman @ 8:12 AM


text:
Kit Includes:
The MeFOTO Road Trip Travel Tripod Kits provide an exceptional combination of materials, construction and features - plus a splash of color! Great for both compact and full frame cameras with larger lenses, plus converts to a monopod in seconds. Only 15.4" when folded yet 61.6" extended, it weighs 3.6 lbs and can support up to 17.6 lbs.
Sleek DesignWe were tired of the all-black tripod, so we came up with something that's smaller, lighter, and doesn't weigh you down, topped off with a spritz of color.
Also a MonopodWho says you can't teach a tripod a new trick? The Road Trip tripod converts into a monopod. The removeable leg and center column combine to make a full size monopod without tools.
Travel Friendly This little number folds down to a quarter of its' extended size, making it small enough to fit in your carry-on, shoulder bag, or backpack.
LightweightThese days, cameras are getting lighter and smaller. Your tripod should be no different.
Supports up to 17.6 lbsWeighing just over 3.5lbs yet strong enough to support a full DSLR and telefoto lens.
Extendable up to 61.6"Although compact when folded, the Road Trip extends over 5 ft tall giving you the height range you need.
Carry CaseEach MeFOTO tripod comes with its own carrying case for transport and protection.
Backed by MeFOTO's 5-Year WarrantyThree years when you buy + two years when you register.
360-degree PanningAccurate panoramas can be easily orchestrated using the graduated panning scale for accurate image alignment.
Two Leg Angle PositionsFor an extra measure of flexibility, tripod legs can be independently locked into place at two different angles to enable shooting in cramped quarters, on irregular surface areas, or at ground level.
Recessed Center-Column HookA spring loaded recessed hook, located in the bottom of the center-column, allows you to hang additional weight from the tripod's center of gravity for increased stability.
Separate Head and Pan LockIndividual head tension and lock knob as well as pan lock help make the right adjustment.
Precision Matched Q Series BallheadDual action heavy-duty ballhead with Arca-Swiss style compatible quick release plate.
Integral Bubble LevelAllows adjustment to prevent uneven pans and head movements.
CompactThe tripod legs can be inverted and folded back 180 degrees making it small enough to carry just about anywhere.
Five Leg SectionsGet the height you need and ultimate versatility.
Twist Lock Legs with Anti-Rotation SystemMeFOTO's innovative rubberized locking grips combined with anti-rotation legs enable fast and fumble-free set up plus weather and dust-resistance.
Foam Grip on Monopod LegFor extreme temperatures, this foam grip will come in handy when the tripod legs heat up or freeze over.


text:
To celebrate, TED has put together this interactive timeline speakers will want to plumb for great moments in TED talks on the way to a billion views. TED also has commissioned lists from top thinkers about their favorite TED talks, and encouraged others to share their lists on Twitter with the hashtag #TEDBillion. So a list from The Eloquent Woman seems in order, too. Here are some of my favorite TED talks by women speakers:
Jill Bolte Taylor's stroke of insight
This speech--the second-most-watched TED talk of all time, with well over 9 million views--also has a place in The Eloquent Woman Index, where you can see my Famous Speech Friday entry analyzing Bolte's talk. It's heart-rending to think of a brain scientist observing herself have a stroke, and for me, the money quote in this talk is "And in that moment, I knew I was no longer the choreographer of my life." As she speaks, the audience can't help but consider what she had to do to recover enough to give this talk. And then there's the fact that she wields an actual brain as she speaks, winning hands-down the contest for Best Prop Ever. A fearless talk that also demonstrates a high level of excellence from a scientist describing complex information in ways that move audiences emotionally.
Susan Cain, the power of introverts
TED loves the improbable concept, and this talk brims with such things: Cain, an introvert, is giving a TED talk...and it is so far the most-watched TED talk of 2012, with just over 3 million views. So the very thing an introvert dislikes, all eyes on her, is what make this talk improbable and successful, all at once. It's a great testament to the power of speakers who understand that one of their special roles is to give voice to people who don't feel they have a voice. Introverts in the audience stood and cheered at the end of this talk, and do the same every day when they watch it at their desks. Again, a speech where the audience can imagine the work it took for the speaker to stand up and give it--a kind of catnip for audiences that's so powerful, the New York Times wrote about how this introvert came to give a TED talk.
Diane Kelly on what we didn't know about penis anatomy
I got to see this one live at TEDMED, but even if I hadn't, it would have the same appeal. There's the improbable topic of penis anatomy and the task of speaking even though most of your straight lines will sound like double entendres, complete with almost nonstop audience laughter. Then you learn that Kelly, a zoologist, actually discovered something new in a field where she was told early on that there was nothing new under the sun--so this becomes a story about scientific curiousity and persistence. You will not be bored, you'll learn something, and you have to admire Kelly's ability to move from discussing that same anatomy with her son last week and talking with you about it now. Would that every speaker be able to display such composure.
Sarah Kay, If I should have a daughter
This spoken word poem demonstrates the power of using poetic language, cadence and pacing when you speak, even if you won't be delivering a poem. This talk, part of TED's commitment to including the performing arts and entertainment as well as talks, shows why audiences yearn to be entertained--they're waiting for something like this. It's also a great example of something I encourage women speakers to do, which is speaking about women's issues. No one else will do it if we don't do it.
Jane Fonda on life's third act
Here's another talk that is in The Eloquent Woman Index, and you can read my analysis of it in this Famous Speech Friday post on Fonda's TEDWomen talk. I love the ease with which Fonda tackles the topic of aging, an ease that draws the audience in and encourages listening. Sprinkled with humor and personal observations as well as data, this is a hopeful talk. You'll learn much from just closing your eyes and listening to Fonda's vocal inflections, which do more than any slide or prop to keep the audience engaged.
Jessi Arrington, wearing nothing new
This designer and blogger got up in front of the TEDActive audience to proclaim that all she packed for the conference were seven pairs of underpants, and bought the rest of her clothes at thrift stores, then proceeds to show them the outfits she developed from inexpensive options that also help her reduce her impact on the environment. This has many sources of appeal: frugality, environmental activism, color, design and shopping. A merry speech that insists upon delighting and amusing the audience, this talk also uses slides appropriately--to show things Arrington can't show on stage (like the underwear) and to illustrate her words, since the visuals are integral to the talk. Thrift dressing never looked so good--there's that improbable concept again.
Diana Nyad, extreme swimming with the world's most dangerous jellyfish
I got to see this one in person, too, and even though it came at the end of a long day, this was more a journey than a talk, and we were along for an amazing ride and story. Nyad takes her time with this, a pacing that's essential for a tale with so many facets, and yet she brings it in at less than 17 minutes. That's not a miracle as much as it is a paean to practice, and it's clear that Nyad trained for this talk the way she trains for her swims. This speech also is part of The Eloquent Woman Index and, as noted in my Famous Speech Friday post on Nyad's talk, this is a talk that left the audience thinking at the very end--the ideal tactic for a speaker who wants to be what's talked about over dinner. The box jellyfish attacks give this speech sting, but the aspirational values make it sing.
If you have other TED favorites by women speakers, please add to this list in the comments.


text:
Comic Relief: Job-Seeking Humor – Volume 1
April 26, 2010 at 5:59 am 26 comments
Let's face it – being out of work is no laughing matter! The job-seeking road is often a very long and bumpy one, and is full of repeated instances of rejection. It's the nature of the beast. Sales people may be used to facing rejection on a daily basis … but most others are not. Emotionally, that can take a huge toll on a person's attitude, which is a big problem when maintaining a positive attitude is so critical to a job-seeker's chances of success. [Read "The Power of a Positive Attitude."]
So in the midst of all that gloom and doom, finding occasional comic relief is important. Having a healthy sense of humor is a key quality that can help make a person attractive to others. With that in mind, I thought I'd take a break from my usual "advice for job-seekers" mission, and offer up a blog of pure humor! Much like "gallows humor," the intention of "job-seeking humor" is quite simple: to lift the spirits of people who are in an otherwise depressing situation. In my search for such things, I've managed to amass quite a large collection of job-seeking humor. My standards are pretty high – after all, I did spend time as a performing comedian myself once upon a time – so I'm a tough critic. I figure, if it makes me laugh out loud, it's worth sharing here!
Oh, and by the way … I've never been a fan of people who send out mass emails with jokes and cartoons on a regular basis. Whenever I get one of those chain emails, I almost always delete them and ask the sender to remove me from their list. So please don't send me more jokes. My inbox is full enough! On the other hand, I certainly have no problem with anyone sharing this blog with all their friends and colleagues. (Wow … I hope that last bit of shameless self-promotion didn't sound too hypocritical!)
In the category of Videos, there's a ton of funny stuff on YouTube related to bad interviews, job-hunting, and other workplace humor. Here's my absolute favorite video on the topic of being unemployed. This professional-looking, but totally fake one-minute "Trailer" looks so real it makes me want to see the movie! For anyone who has been job hunting for any length of time, this one is bound to hit home:
In the category of Cartoons, you may have noticed that I've been including a cartoon at the bottom of each of my most recent blog postings. Sometimes when I find a good cartoon, it actually inspires a topic for me to write about. Here are some miscellaneous funnies that I couldn't fit into any other blog articles, but I think are hilarious nevertheless – and deserve to be shared here:
Finally, in the category of "Reality Humor," here are some real quotes from actual cover letters and résumés that were submitted in response to job postings:
● "Note: Please don't misconstrue my 14 jobs as 'job-hopping.' I have never quit a job."
● "I am extremely loyal to my present firm, so please don't let them know of my immediate availability."
● "I intentionally omitted my salary history. I've made money and lost money. I've been rich and I've been poor. I prefer being rich."
● "I'm married with 9 children. I don't require prescription drugs."
● "Marital Status: Often. Children: Various."
● "Here are my qualifications for you to overlook."
● "Responsibility makes me nervous."
● "They insisted that all employees get to work by 8:45 every morning. Couldn't work under those conditions."
● "Was met with a string of broken promises and lies, as well as cockroaches."
● "The company made me a scapegoat – just like my three previous employers."
● "While I am open to the initial nature of an assignment, I am decidedly disposed that it be so oriented as to at least partially incorporate the experience enjoyed heretofore and that it be configured so as to ultimately lead to the application of more rarefied facets of financial management as the major sphere of responsibility."
● "I was proud to win the Gregg Typting Award."
● "Please call me after 5:30 because I am self-employed and my employer does not know I am looking for another job."
● "My goal is to be a meteorologist. But since I have no training in meteorology, I suppose I should try stock brokerage."
● "I procrastinate – especially when the task is unpleasant."
● "Minor allergies to house cats and Mongolian sheep."
● "Donating blood. 14 gallons so far."
● "Work Experience: Dealing with customers' conflicts that arouse."
● "Develop and recommend an annual operating expense fudget."
● "I'm a rabid typist."
● "Instrumental in ruining entire operation for a Midwest chain operation."
Entry filed under: Advice for Job Seekers. Tags: Humor, job-seekers, unemployment.
26 Comments Add your own
OMG, this was brilliant! I SO needed this bit of humor as I sit here searching for work, as I have been for these, oh, past 14 months. Whoever made that "film trailer" was a genius. Do you suppose we could prevail upon them to actually make a full-length movie? Considering the boat so many of us are in, it would probably be a blockbuster.
Loved the quotes from resumes and cover letters. I'm a recruiter myself, and I keep a file in my desk drawer labeled "Unbelievable", into which I drop copies of emails, resumes and cover letters of the sort you quoted from. It gives me a good chuckle to pull one out and read it on stressful days.
Thanks for the great post!
It could be a great movie… but I'd have to wait until I'm employed to afford seeing it!
Again, a great start to the week with humor. I too enjoyed the trailer. Even if the person couldn't make a full length movie, it would be a great short, following up on the main points. Though I am not a recruiter, I agree with Sheila about the quotes. Some are so blatant that you wonder where the person's head is.
Thanks Michael.
Thanks. I really needed those today.
I am usually a pretty pretty good at keeping upbeat despite what has been a dismal and difficult 16 mos. of juggling job hunting, caring for my mom who had a stroke during this same period, keeping up 2 households, but after having to take my disabled significant other to the hospital with heart problems last night….. I admit to staring at the computer for a full 15 minutes before mustering the resolve to turn it on and start my daily scrub of job boards and targeted websites.
Because my heart (not to mention head) wasn't in it, I went through emails first and found your post. The humor did help my mood a little as did a call from the hospital saying conditions there were improving.
Our networking group and the people it has brought me in contact will always hold a special place in my heart for all the encouragement, education and yes, even much needed humor its provided to help pull me out of the depths of discouragement…. just when I think I'm about to be swallowed by the depths of despair.
None of us in the group probably say it to the founders, and to folks like you enough, so this morning I'm making the time. THANK YOU!
Great article as always. When I see an article by you I have to read it. You have established a great brand for your yourself.
Thanks for the great work
Hi Michael,
Nothing like laughing out loud to start the day off right.
Thanks for the chuckles!
Dear Michael:
Thank you very much for posting – Comic Relief: The Best of Job-Seeking Humor. Really needed it!
Appreciate your taking the time to bring some humor to a very serious subject!
Best regards,
Thanks, Michael! Need this every hour of every day. Can you make a dashboard gadget or iGoogle widget? You have the nose that knows!
Where do you find all of these related FUNNY musings????? This was great! Humor is always the way to go as it helps keep things upbeat and positive, especially on a gloomy day.
Thanks once again!
Michael, Thank you for sharing. Some of them made me laugh out loud, I needed that!! People need to lighten up a little at work, especially east of the Mississippi
Wow. This is awesome. I like it.
I am so glad you introduced me to your blog today, Michael. Sheer genius, and you know your audience. We needed this. Thank you for the laughs and the encouragement. I've written several essays for my forthcoming book about the difficulties of job hunting and some of the unbelievably bizarre interviews I've had. Does anyone else feel like it's the crazy, substrata that get the jobs?
It is not the crazy substrata that get the tops. It is the politically connected. Try walking into New York City without knowing anyone, circulating your Resume around, and asking for a six-figure salary.
Great video, lol. Thanks Loved the 4-up presentation.
And, I love the Darwin-isms in real quotes and cover letters.
While cleaning up from some January explorations I discovered a cover letter that had a duplicate phrase, this from a person who has worked on 1100 page books and such. Yikes.
So, the world will be well as we laugh and get through it.
Hi Michael,
Great post! Thanks for sharing this.
What a fun collection! I needed that.
Sure it smarts not being able to reference an employer directly when asked but, is it the end of the world – NO. It is the beginning of recognizing who you are and who you want to be independent of another entity's recognition factor. Far healthier perhaps …now, back to the puzzle of finding the next career challenge.
Thanks for the laughs! It's been a tough Monday "in the hunt," and the humor was very timely. I particularly enjoyed the IKEA cartoon!
Dear Michael,
good (practical) information with striking remarks on what is going on in the world of job seeking and good advice on how to stay positive to land a suitable job.
Also some good tips and strategies to be noted and present yourself in a positive way.
Next to that I agree with you on the fact that you need to take time for other things to keep a positive attitude while seerching for a job.
Also humor and laughter is a good way to get a positive vibe ( because it will stimulate the production of certain hormones that give you a good feeling and reduce stress).
I think you indeed selected a number of funny cartoons ( some of them even made me laugh).
While reading your blog, I realized I had seen a (short) humorous clip on U-tube.
It is not new, but still I would like to share it.
So here it is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKV0QuQsonk
I hope this will also make you and others smile or even have a laugh (LOL).
Eric Klaver
Lot of great material that made me laugh…and cry. Thanks for the laughs!
Well done Michael! I needed a laugh, BTW I actually wear a tie at home during "job hunting hours" its like tying a string on my finger to remind me that looking for a job IS my job (for the record, I also wearing a t-shirt & jeans)
By David Zarzour, Sales, Marketing, Ebiz
Indeed cool post you have here. It would be great to read more concerning this topic. Thanx for giving this material.
h my gosh….that is well sad but funny, very true…the comic with the time machine was hilarious….got a good laugh out of it for sure
Thank you for posting this article. As a job seeker, it is easy to forget how quickly a resume is processed and how quickly it can be eliminated. I like how the article gives tips on how to avoid being deleted and what effective resume changes should be made.
Leave a Reply to Vicki Cancel reply
Trackback this post | Subscribe to the comments via RSS Feed


text:
It was a good day to wear red at Kettler Capitals Iceplex, and we don't just mean the fan apparel. Team Red won today's intrasquad scrimmage by a 7-3 margin on this, the penultimate day of Caps Development Camp 2013.
From the time Andre Burakovsky of Team Red faced off with Justin Larson of Team White to start the contest, it was going to be a long day for the men in white. Team White did have some early success early, but a fundamental mistake cost them the game's first goal. Chandler Stephenson broke up a pass thrown through the middle and headed off on a breakaway, scoring on the play to give Team Red an early 1-0 lead.
Team White evened the contest at a goal apiece when Riley Barber converted a pretty centering feed from Matt Petgrave, but Team Red regained the lead it would not relinquish when Conor MacPhee finished a 2-on-1 break with Travis Boyd.
After Team Red scored again on a goal-mouth scramble to make it 3-1, Stephane Legault made it 4-1 for The Red Men and threatened to turn the game into a rout. But with last seconds of the period ticking off, Michal Cajkovsky of Team White let fly with a bomb from the left point through a maze of bodies to cut the lead to two goals with 4.3 seconds left in the period. His was the most animated goal celebration of the day. At the first intermission, it was Team Red: 4 – Team White: 2.
We should note one other thing about the first period. Matt Petgrave laid quite a hip check on Brandon Tanev who flew into the air, went completely upside down, skates pointed to the ceiling, and came down in what could have been an unfortunate manner. But, these being youngsters, he popped up and jumped right back into the play.
Period two started with missed chances on both sides. Early on, there was a pile up of bodies in front of Team Red goalie Brandon Anderson, with the puck lying still just a foot off the left post, but White could not convert the opportunity before the puck was swept away. At the other end, Zach Sanford of Team Red had a chance on a backhand to the left of goalie Sergei Kostenko, but his shot hit the near post and bounced away.
At the ten-minute mark (9:47 left, actually), Anderson and Kostenko retired to their respective benches in favor of Louis-Philip Guindon for Team Red and Clarke Saunders for Team White. It was Team Red taking first advantage of the change in goal, although Saunders was left hanging out to dry on the play. Caleb Herbert crossed wires with a teammate at the blue line, and the puck slid away from him, outside of his reach just enough for Stephenson to grab it and take off on another breakaway. He made it 2-for-2 in conversions, and Team Red had a 5-2 lead.
On the next shift, though, Chance Braid got it back for Team White with a put-back from the doorstep to make it 5-3, Team Red. Later, Stephenson would get his chance for the hat trick with a semi-break, but was unable to convert the opportunity. He did, however, draw a penalty on the play. Team Red was not able to convert the man advantage opportunity, but they did carry that 5-3 lead into the second intermission.
The pace seemed to pick up a bit in the third, and it was Team Red with the first early chance. Andre Burakovsky and Tom Wilson carried the puck in on a 2-on-1 rush, but when Burakovsky slid the puck over to Wilson, Michal Cajkovsky displayed his talent in the defensive end in addition to his booming shot by tying up Wilson before he could get a shot off.
Turnovers, though, were a problem for Team White all day, and they committed another, giving Zach Harnden a chance to display his breakaway skills. He converted the chance to make it 6-3, Team Red.
With the clock winding down, Team White did create some chances, but in one instance a puck rolled off a stick in the low slot, and in another a one-timer was shanked wide. That made for a desperate Team White, but they got another chance with a late power play. It was an opportunity to create a 6-on-4 advantage when they pulled Saunders for the extra attacker. But despite the two-man advantage in numbers, it was Tom Wilson who would score for Team Red, burying a shorthanded empty net shot to give Team Red their final 7-3 margin.
It was a well-attended contest at KCI, and the boys put on a show. This might be, as head coach Adam Oates suggested earlier in the week, more of a getting to know sort of week than evaluation – players getting to know the organization and the system, as well as getting valuable advice on their game, their training, and their nutrition, and for the organization to get a closer look at just what they have in terms of prospects. But for the boys, it is a chance to impress, to perhaps get another look down the road and perhaps a contract, if the fates are kind. Whatever the motivation, it was a very entertaining contest, indeed.


text:
Yale study: Marijuana may really be gateway drug
Anti-drug advocates who have admonished for years that marijuana is a "gateway drug" may be on to something, according to a study by Yale University School of Medicine researchers. But the executive director of the state chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws dismissed the findings as "just another propaganda study."
The Yale study, which appears online in the Journal of Adolescent Health, showed that alcohol, cigarettes and marijuana were associated with an increased likelihood of prescription drug abuse in men ages 18 to 25. In women of that age, only marijuana use was linked with a higher likelihood of prescription drug abuse.
For years, researchers have looked at a connection between marijuana and hard drugs, such as cocaine and heroin, said Lynn Fiellin, the study's lead author and an associate professor of medicine at the Yale University School of Medicine. But given the large number of people who abuse prescription drugs -- particularly opioids (or painkillers) such as OxyContin and Percocet -- Fiellin said it seemed worthwhile to examine whether there was a link between marijuana and use of these drugs.
"I don't think the general population has a good idea of how serious the problem is with prescription opioids," Fiellin said. "When they're abused or misused, these are hard drugs."
According to the 2010 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, which is done by the national Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, about 5 million people were current users of prescription painkillers.
In their research, Fiellin and her team looked at data from the 2006, 2007 and 2008 versions of the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, as those were the most recent surveys available at the time of their study. The Yale researchers focused on a sample of 55,215 18- to 25-year-olds. Of those, 6,496, about 12 percent, reported that they were abusing prescription opioids. Of the group abusing these drugs, about 57 percent had used alcohol, 56 percent had smoked cigarettes and 34 percent had used marijuana.
The study found that, among both men and women, those who had used marijuana were 2.5 times more likely than those their age who abstained to later dabble in prescription drugs. Also, young men who drank alcohol or smoked cigarettes were 25 percent more likely to abuse prescription opioids. However, the study didn't show an association between alcohol or cigarette use in young women and later use of prescription drugs.
Erik Williams, executive director of the Connecticut chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, said the study fails to make a strong link between marijuana and the use of harder drugs. NORML is a nonprofit, public-interest lobby that supports the removal of criminal penalties for possession and use of marijuana by adults.
"This is just another propaganda study that tries to turn a casual relationship into a causal relationship," Williams said. "There's no real conclusive evidence here."
Fiellin conceded that more research is needed to prove a concrete connection between opioid abuse and marijuana, alcohol and cigarettes. However, Fiellin said, this study is a start.
"It's a red flag," she said. "It sort of highlights that there's a potential association that's important here."
At least one area mental health professional said the Yale findings don't come as a surprise. Susannah Tung, a staff psychiatrist at St. Vincent's Behavioral Health in Westport, said she works with people battling addiction and frequently sees how early use of alcohol, cigarettes and marijuana can open the door to harder substances.
"If you start using something, it easily and quickly worsens," Tung said.
firstname.lastname@example.com; 203-330-6290; twitter.com/AmandaCuda; http://blog.ctnews.com/whatthehealth/


text:
The Daily IKN email digest, get all daily posts sent to you next day (& no ads)
The top three most visited IKN posts this week are...
...in reverse order:
Third Place: "The amazing thing about Dynasty Metals & Mining (DMM.to)". This one is also at the centre of a rant in this week's edition of The IKN Weekly, IKN360. Salutary tales, and all that.
Second Place: "More Lithium X (LIX.v) paid pumping: $40k from company to securities fraudster Jonathan Lebed". The golden rule about any worthless scam: Only the people at the very centre of it all know the timing involved and when they're going to pull the plug. On you. Everything that disgusts about the junior sector rolled into one stock story, a shame on all your houses.
First Place: "Goldcorp (GG) in late-stage talks to merge with Barrick (ABX)". The now-traditional IKN April Fool's Day post, guaranteed to break the ice at parties. Every year I spent about three minutes thinking of something or other, every year I think that surely they won't fall for it this time, every year I guffaw and chortle at the "Are you sure???" e-mails received from the great and the good in the mining industry until the reality is revealed. PT Barnum is alive and well and living in Vancouver.
Kaizen Discovery (KZD.v) and the power of magical accountancy
On October 26th 2015, Kaizen Discovery (KZD.v) closed its deal with AM Gold and Rokmaster Resources on the Pinaya property in Peru. Here's the relevant blurb from the latest company MD&A, the hack comes underneath
On October 26, 2015, the Company closed its definitive acquisition agreement with AM Gold Inc. ("AM Gold") that gives the Company 100% ownership of the Pinaya Copper-Gold Project (the "Pinaya Project") in Peru's provinces of Caylloma and Lampa. Under the acquisition agreement, the Company has acquired Canper Exploraciones S.A.C. ("Canper"), a Peruvian subsidiary of AM Gold. The Pinaya Project is Canper's principal asset. AM Gold received 15,384,615 common shares of the Company, a cash payment of $500,000 and a US$198,617 reimbursement for certain property-maintenance payments made by AM Gold (note 4).The Company also closed a concurrent agreement with Rokmaster Resources Corp. ("Rokmaster"), which previously had entered into an option and joint-venture agreement with AM Gold to earn up to a 75% interest in the Pinaya Project by spending approximately $26 million. Rokmaster and AM Gold have been engaged in arbitration proceedings, which were suspended pending closing of the transaction with the Company. Under the terms of the agreement with Rokmaster, (i) Rokmaster transferred to the Company certain of Rokmaster's drill equipment located in Peru and (ii) Rokmaster agreed to, among other things, terminate the arbitration proceedings with AM Gold and Canper. As consideration, the Company issued 2,000,000 common shares of the Company and paid $300,000 to Rokmaster.
Summing the deal up, KZD got Pinaya for $1m in cash and 17.4m shares issued. At that time, KZD shares were trading at 17c each, which makes them worth $3m (rounded) and let's go with that number, rather than the 10c and $1.75m value on them this weekend.
Bottom line: KZD paid a book value of $4m for Pinaya.
Last night in a late night Friday NR (and how we love those) KZD announced it had vended out an eventual maximum of 20% of Pinaya to its Japanese business partner for $2.5m, which would value the property at $12.5m. The deal includes an initial no strings payment of $0.625m for 5% of the property. Also KZD lost the services of both its CEO and VP Corp Dev last night which is probably a coincidence innit guv.
Can't accuse the Canadian mining industry of not being able to create wealth, right? Right?
By the way, we could also add that the Pinaya property is a dog of monumental proportions, has been picked over by mining companies large and small from time immemorial and has one of the worst community relations profiles in all Peru (including an ongoing war between the two main villages on the property), but why complicate a good book-keeping story with facts? And don't tell the Japanese either, please?
How to Hack an Election (must-read)
Bloomberg has the stone-cold obligatory story of the week, it's right here on this link, it's a blockbuster. Here's how it's framed at the top and when you get to the contents it turns out to be every bit as good as the promise.
How to Hack an Election
Andrés Sepúlveda rigged elections throughout Latin America for almost a decade. He tells his story for the first time.
Whole thing here. Go now, it's wonderful.
More on the Torex Gold (TXG.to) mine blockade
Yesterday morning IKN was the first to tell you about the latest round of community relations problems at the Torex Gold (TXG.to) Media Luna mine in Guerrero, Mexico.
It wasn't an April Fool.
Last night Mexico's Milenio newspaper ran this report on the problems, i.e. hundreds of locals from three small towns around the mine who are blocking the mine entrances (and letting workers out, but not in) because TXG hasn't kept its word on the social programs it promised, plus the local fishing community is still annoyed about the way the mine is polluting local rivers and killing the fish.
To date no resolution between the two sides.
To date TXG hasn't bothered to tell the market about this obviously material piece of news.
The Friday OT: BT and Tori Amos; Blue Skies (Delphinium Days Mix)
This track is now 21 years old, many moons since it was laid down and I only found out about it last week, which amply demonstrates my ignorance of music. But I don't care. I've found it now. It's amazing. I'm obsessed. My life has changed again.
Change yours for the better too by following these simple instructions:
1) Rig this to a quality speaker
2) Turn up the volume
3) Hit play
BT and Tori Amos will do the rest.
Thank you AK.
PS: once you're done and you want more, start here.
Chart of the day is...
...gold, dailies, post jerbs reports:
Not something anyone should be worried about. Gold remains in "slight deterioration but range-bound" mode, good gold miners are making profits at the current price, mediocre companies aren't. End of comment.
UPDATED: Goldcorp (GG) in late-stage talks to merge with Barrick (ABX)
Back in February and five days before the deal hit, we revealed the biggest mining M&A deal of the year so far when Tahoe Resources (TAHO) (THO.to) acquired Lake Shore Gold (LSG) (LSG.to) in an all-share friendly deal.
This morning we knock that one out the park, because the late stage talks between Goldcorp (GG) and Barrick (ABX) aren't just enough for "biggest miner" deal, this is fusion that will make world-scale headlines. And you read it here first, ladies and gentlemen.
Garofalo is about to make his name forever. Expect a "we have no comment to make" NR from GG and/or ABX later on today.
UPDATE 09:30am local time Friday: Reader S mails in and adds extra information to this breaking story:
This could become a world record mining deal.
UPDATE 2: The market is beginning to react to the news on this potential massive deal. More information here and here.
UPDATE 3 midday Friday April 1st: We at IKN Nerve Centre send you warm and fraternal greetings on this April Fool's Day and hope you have a pleasant weekend.
UPDATE 09:30am local time Friday: Reader S mails in and adds extra information to this breaking story:
"...FCX is also in on the deal, all three are rolling up into a conglomerate, and they even have a name picked out, Freeport Occident & Orient Lingotes."
This could become a world record mining deal.
UPDATE 2: The market is beginning to react to the news on this potential massive deal. More information here and here.
UPDATE 3 midday Friday April 1st: We at IKN Nerve Centre send you warm and fraternal greetings on this April Fool's Day and hope you have a pleasant weekend.
The massive, headline-grabbing March 2016 gold rally
That massive upmove in gold you've heard about all month, here it is in visual form thanks to Kitco:
In US dollars, gold went down 0.6% in March 2016
In Canadian Dollars, gold went down 4.04% in March 2016.
Just sayin'.
OT: British colonial delicacies
Reader "PK" writes in, mails this photo and asks your humble scribe, "Have you ever tried this?"
Yummy, no?
My stars I have some sick readers...
Note to Reuters re. Kinross (K.to) (KGC): When covering a mining company please use a reporter who understands mining
Kinross yesterday lived up to its well-earned reputation of valuing style over substance with the publication of its much-anticipated re-work of the Tasiast expansion project. True to form the company didn't even wait til the end of the first paragraph before turning on the BS spigot...
"Phase One is expected to reach full production by the end of Q1 2018 with estimated capital expenditures of approximately $300 million."
...but we note with dry amusement that it had the desired effect with bizwires:
Kinross to spend $300 mln on N. Africa mine expansionMarch 30 (Reuters) - Kinross Gold Corp said it would spend $300 million on the first phase of expansion at its Tasiast mine in Mauritania in North Africa. (continues here)
Because the only problem with that little nugget of information is that it's not true, apart from that we're good. As Special K pointed out just a few lines later:
"Preparations for Phase One construction will begin immediately, with expected forecast capital expenditures of $300 million, plus estimated capital stripping of $428 million (2016-2019)."
This creates existential questions in my head. Things such as:
- When is capex not capex?
- Wouldn't it be fun to watch K spend $300m in capex, then decide not to spend that extra 428 large on capitalized stripping work, then try to claim all the capital expenditures on phase one are complete and they don't need to spend any more in order to mine phase one?
- Why do birds fly South for the winter?*
- Why do mining companies insist on bullshitting us to within an inch of our lives?
- Why do fools fall in love?
*it's too far to walk
The amazing thing about Dynasty Metals & Mining (DMM.to)
After reading its NR on its financial year report today (and you don't even need to open the financials on this one), I'm amazed there are still people willing to buy this stock and give it an $8m market cap. Things like this line at the end...
These conditions and events cast significant doubt on the assumption that the company may continue as a going concern.
...should be considered a significant understatement, be in no doubt that this company is going bankrupt and its shares will be worth precisely zero dollars and zero cents.
Lawrie Williams features Minera IRL
No dissent from your humble scribe on what he's written, here's how it starts:
"The latest move is the resignation of Eric Olson as Chief Operating Officer and the appointment of Francis O'Kelly to the Board as a non-executive director. To an outsider this may not mean very much, but Olson was very much a member of the group, led by Daryl Hodges, which dissident shareholders felt had usurped control of the company following the untimely death of former CEO Courtney Chamberlain, while O'Kelly was a long-time consultant to the company and was close to Chamberlain for many years, and has an understanding of the company's assets and potential which few others will have possessed."
Go see it all here.
Torex Gold (TXG.TO) with community problems again
A protest by locals, who have blockaded the mine gates.
Has TXG mentioned this to the market yet?
Minera IRL (IRL.to) report in today's Peru bizpress (good news for shareholders)
Today, Peru's main bizmedia paper 'Gestión' ran a report on the ongoing Minera IRL saga, a photo of the dead wood version right here:
This is how the main part of that above translates:
Minera IRL will look for more gold in Ollachea and its return to the stock marketFavourable winds and blowing for Minera IRL. Sector sources told Gestión that the relationship between the financial entity Cofide and the community of Ollachea (Puno) are still in good conditions after the situation generated in 2015 by the directorate of Minera IRL and the ex-presidents Daryl Hodges and Jaime Pinto, both of whom having been voted out (of the company) with more than 93% of shareholder votes against them. It is also understood that, in compliance with the mandate subscribed with Cofide, Minera IRL S.A. expects to begin an additional drilling program in Ollachea in May in order to increase its gold resources.Return to the stock exchangeRecently, the Minera IRL Ltd parent company stopped trading on the London AIM exchange, which will allow the company a significant cost saving as the exchange is an expensive one in which to list. Regarding this, the company last week sent a notification to the Lima Market Superintendency in which it reiterated its solicitation for an extra 30 days in order to evaluate its return to the Lima Stock Exchange (BVL).According to information supplied to Gestión, Minera IRL expects to maintain its BVL listing and to re-list in Toronto in April, the reason behind the aforementioned solicitation.The note
ActivitiesDiego Benavides continues as President of Minera IRL S.A. and Kuri Kullu Mining Company S.A.Also, Cofide is still interested in completing the mandate for the U$240m debt financing package. We were told, "The company is looking to create value for its shareholders".
Advice on contrary indicators
My idea of a great contrary indicator voice is:
- Preferably, somebody who talks constantly about your preferred sector of the market
- Normally, somebody who's been around the market for long enough to sound expert.
- Importantly, somebody who thinks highly of their own opinion.
- Usefully, somebody who is easily swayed by other people's points of view.
- Unfortunately, somebody with views and a voice that annoys you deeply on a natural, instinctive level and you need to concentrate just to listen to them and resist the urge to tell them to STFU on umpteen occasions.
- But most vital of all, somebody who, when it comes right down to it, truly does not have a single clue about the markets.
The people who tick off that type of list are few and far between so if you find someone who matches consider yourself lucky, you've hit on something very precious. However, be clear that one thing you must never do is tell your contrary indicator. Or in fact it's best not to tell anyone else, because eventually the message might get back to your jewel of a voice and then the game's up. The golden rule is: Never let your contrary indicator know how stupid they are. Ever. The one thing you don't want is for them to get smarter.
IKN dedicates this post to A. Person, who has been of great help in timing the markets recently. Thanks, A. Person, you're a star. Never change.
UPDATE: Reader 'SP' reads this post and kindly sends in this link to an XKCD:
Good shot, SP.
UPDATE: Reader 'SP' reads this post and kindly sends in this link to an XKCD:
Good shot, SP.
The beatings will continue until morale improves
Following on from the last post yesterday in which we noted the very limited effect that the words and deeds of Yellen/Fed/etc have on the price of gold and silver..
...the goldbug theory of how gold was immediately going to fly to the moon on the back of yesterday's policy hints has yet again been blown out the water. They're undoubtedly blaming "them" (aka "THEM!") this morning for the orchestrated take-down of the world's only true and pure etc etc.
It couldn't be that an parabolic-level of overly-simplistic worldview isn't enough to explain a complex thing such as capital markets, could it?
The Fed's effect on gold (and silver) redux
Adding on from yesterday:
Three big Fed-driven market moments over the last two trading weeks and....0.9% added. If you want to get into a lather about that type of market move go ahead. Onanism isn't illegal, after all.
UPDATED: First Mining Finance (FF.v): Keith Neumeyer props up its share price by quietly using First Majestic (FR.to) (AG) cash
RE the UPDATE: Please read the update below. And as noted on previous occasions, I much prefer to be called out wrong on a subject and leave the evidence on the blog for all to see rather than delete the post, so it all remains as-is.
Here's an interesting part of the First Majestic Silver (FR.to) (AG) year-end financials:
Here's an interesting part of the First Majestic Silver (FR.to) (AG) year-end financials:
Suddenly, and for the first time ever, FR.to has declared an equity position in First Mining Finance (FF.v) to the tune of U$3.5m (which is probably something close to 11m shares of FF.v). This is a brand new line-item, it didn't exist in the 3q15 financials or any other before it and that basically means Keith Neumeyer, head honcho of FR.to, has been using the big corporations cash treasury to keep his other smaller company's shares from collapsing under heavy selling pressure.
Also notable is how there are no registered filings on these purchases, how FF.v didn't run any equity financings in the period (i.e. these were open market purchases) and how FR.to (i.e. Neumeyer) stopped the buying before FR.to got its position to 10% of FF.v shares out, which would have triggered all the normal declarations processes.
Maybe he wanted to keep this quiet...hey I wonder why?
UPDATE: FR.to rebuts this post:
UPDATE: FR.to rebuts this post:
Otto - you are incorrect. First Majestic received equity in FF as a result of property transfer in April 2015. See link…http://www.firstmajestic.com/en/news/first-majestic-announces-acquisition-of-shares-of-first-mining-corpNon-cash transaction.Todd Anthony, MBAVP Investor RelationsTel: 604-688-3033Toll Free: 1-866-529-2807
IKN back. I never mind being proven wrong. However I do have a "why wasn't this declared on the financials previously?" question in with Mister Todd.
UPDATE 2: We get to the bottom of this and the result is I was wrong, but.....
Here's the exchange:
Otto: "so why wasn't it declared previously?"
Todd: "It was....From our Q2'15 financial statements" (at which point Todd shows Otto a screenshot of the 2q15 note 16, "other investments", where it was declared in this way:
Otto: "But it wasn't classed as a financial asset (note 13, or note 14 in the YE). Why the change?" (because after all, it still has common directors and a common officer).
And then the e-mails went cold. So I asked the same question again and the answer came back.
Todd: "In short, due to the dilution of the Company through acquisitions, the ownership fell below of "significant influence" of FR over FF, and as a result it was downgraded from "Investment in Associates" and moved in Q4 into the category of "Other Financial Assets" where it must henceforth be marked to market every quarter."
And that's fair enough. Case closed.
UPDATE 2: We get to the bottom of this and the result is I was wrong, but.....
Here's the exchange:
Otto: "so why wasn't it declared previously?"
Todd: "It was....From our Q2'15 financial statements" (at which point Todd shows Otto a screenshot of the 2q15 note 16, "other investments", where it was declared in this way:
Due to certain common directors and a common officer, the Company's investment in First Mining is accounted for as an investment in associate. During the three and six months ended June 30, 2015, the Company's share of First Mining's net loss was $0.3 million (2014 ‐ $nil) and $0.4 million (2014 ‐ $nil), respectively.
As at June 30, 2015, the Company's investment in First Mining has a carrying value of $3.0 million and a market value of $7.1 million based on Level 1 fair value measurement.
Otto: "But it wasn't classed as a financial asset (note 13, or note 14 in the YE). Why the change?" (because after all, it still has common directors and a common officer).
And then the e-mails went cold. So I asked the same question again and the answer came back.
Todd: "In short, due to the dilution of the Company through acquisitions, the ownership fell below of "significant influence" of FR over FF, and as a result it was downgraded from "Investment in Associates" and moved in Q4 into the category of "Other Financial Assets" where it must henceforth be marked to market every quarter."
And that's fair enough. Case closed.
More Lithium X (LIX.v) paid pumping: $40k from company to securities fraudster Jonathan Lebed
Yesterday we noted how the Frank Giustra Lithium-X scam has paid $50k to pumping scumbag Daniel Ameduri in order to push this worthless piece of crap to the stupid and naive, but it turns out that LIX has been busier than that.
With thanks due to reader 'DS' for the heads-up, we read this morning that yesterday Jonathan Lebed's (who was prosecuted for securities trading front-running offences) new pumphouse "NIA" (wonderfully, "Preparing Americans For Hyperinflation") is also in on the scam. LIX paid U$40,000 to get Lebed's medium to pump the company in a mailer that starts like this:
It then goes on and on as per normal, but get to the small print and...
"NIA has been compensated by LIX $40,000 cash to produce a video about the company's Clayton Valley Lithium project, which NIA has agreed to feature on its web site."
...right on schedule. You can also access the video on Youtube and the NIA website (which I'm not linking to, not sullying my virgin-like lil' corner of cyberspace in that way). Again, this pump happening on the very day that the "friends'n'family' original placement at 15c came out of escrow and into free trading (with at least one block of 841,000 shares already reported sold by a significant insider yesterday). This reeks to high heaven.
By the way, it's been hilarious how the morons at CEO.ca, the same ones who were up in arms about the Zombie Juniors and moose pasture sellers, are now toadying round the scammer in chief Tommy Humphreys because of his part in this disgusting and obvious scam pump job LIX. How times change when there's money to be made, dumbasses, all hail the absolute power of denial.
Chart of the day is...
...copper, which is rolling over:
The bull narrative has a chance if it holds the U$2.20/lb line, but for what it's worth I don't think that's likely. And if it doesn't the clicking sound you hear will be ten thousand office desks hitting the fat red sell button on exposure to copper.
Don't say you weren't warned.
OT: My next phone will be an Apple
I'm guessing it works like this:
- Bad people do a bad thing in San Bernardino.
- FBI retrieves an iPhone from the scene of bad things.
- They know exactly how to get the information from that phone from day one (see Edward Snowden for more on that)
- The government decides to use this emotive case to try and break Apple's privacy policy and set a legal precedent. Files against Apple, makes a lot of public noise about what would normally be a non-public lawsuit.
- Apple pushes back against the government strong-arm tactics, stands up for privacy laws and civil liberties, takes plenty of flak in the process (esp from the Make Murica Great Again mouthbreather end of the political spectrum, all in an election year).
- Suddenly and mysteriously the FBI manages to "find a way" of getting the access it needs to this one physical phone in its possession. From a "third party". Legal case against Apple goes away.
I won't be buying an iPhone next time because I feel paranoid about my own data security. Or because Foxconn treats its workers like queens and kings. I will be buying one to say thank you to Tim Cook and his team for standing up to the US government's bullyboy tactics and keeping us a step further away from creeping police state. For a while longer, at least. I've heard they make good phones, too.
"We have been compensated by Lithium X fifty thousand dollars for our promotional pieces, online ads, and other digital marketing."
No not IKN, we're talking about the scam pusher Daniel Ameduri over at Future Money Trends, who did his job of helping Frank Giustra rip off the naive today by publishing his pump piece on the worthless stone-soup BS scam Lithium X (LIX.v). You can read the whole pump over on this link if (you have the stomach), get to the end of it and in the footing's fine print you get to read how Daniel Ameduri is getting $50k for his troubles. Beats working. Or having any vestige of morality.
Unsurprisingly this "liquidity event" also coincided with the day the original "Friends And Family" 15c placement on LIX.v came out of escrow and into free trading. But even more wonderful is the way Giustra decides today's the day to quote Gandhi at you! My stars, talk about living in denial..
My thanks to Tommy and Marvin for the heads up on this.
The Fed's effect on gold and mining stocks summed up in two words
Not much
Here's a ten day chart of GLD, SLV, GDX and GDXJ to make the point clear:
The games people play...
The two best bits from today's Minera IRL news release
There are two best bits, the best bits are two:
1) Those who followed this story last year are bound to remember how the usurpers in Team Hodges claimed that the delay to the filing of the financial reports was due to Diego Benavides hiding things, and corruption and refusing to co-operate and all types of vitriolic attacks against the person who was stopping them from asset-stripping the company and selling the Ollachea project to a ready-and-waiting third party (juicy commissions guaranteed). Here we are in March 2016 and the reason for the non-filing is now, "... uncertainty about the costs of eventual closure of the Corihuarmi mine in Peru, and related matters".
Ain't that cute? If you can't read between the lines on this one there's little hope for you, but just in case you need a second hint as to who has won out in the internal fight...
2) Check out this photo of the famous press conference held by Jaime NOT HODGES! Pinto and his cohorts, a presser we featured in this post on the day of the gig, November 18th.
With the exit of Eric Olson announced today, all five of the Minera IRL Ltd people who were at that presser on November 18th no longer work for Minera IRL, all have "been resigned" from the company. Now do you get the picture?
Here's today's press release, read and enjoy, we're darned close to getting all this mess sorted out now. Bye Bye Team Hodges, thanks for all the IKN posting opportunities.
LIMA, PERU--(Marketwired - March 28, 2016) - Minera IRL Limited ("Minera IRL" or the "Company") (BVLAC:MIRL) is pleased to announce the release of its delayed June 2015 interim financial statements, and the appointment of Mr. Francis O'Kelly as a non-executive director of the Company with immediate effect. The company also announces the resignation of its Chief Operating Officer, Mr. Eric Olson.Financial StatementsAs reported previously, completion of the June 2015 interim financial statements was delayed because of uncertainty about the costs of eventual closure of the Corihuarmi mine in Peru, and related matters. An international consulting engineering firm retained by the board to review these matters has completed its work and issued its report, and the findings have been reflected in the June 2015 interim financial statements. These statements will be released today and posted to the company's website at www.minera-irl.com and within the Company's SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com.Directors and OfficersMr. O'Kelly has an extensive background in Mining and Mining Finance. In his early career he worked in mines in Central and South America initially as a shift boss and ultimately as manager of a large gold mine. He then transferred to the banking sector and was appointed VP Mining at J P Morgan. He subsequently co-managed a mining investment house and ultimately worked on M&A mining projects for Standard Bank. He currently runs his own company dedicated to consulting to the mining sector. Mr. O'Kelly holds an honors degree in Mining Engineering awarded by the Royal School of Mines, Imperial College. He is a fellow of the Institute of Mining & Metallurgy, Chartered Engineer and Associate of the RSM.In addition, the company reports that the Chief Operating Officer, Mr. Eric Olson, has tendered his resignation with effect from 31 March 2016. The board wishes to thank Mr. Olson for his valuable contribution during his time with the company. The board is in the process of considering candidates to fill this role and other senior roles in the company.
Eastmain (ER.to) and Columbus Gold (CGT.to)
Here's a 2016 year to date chart of the two, with GDXJ as a benchmark:
It takes an underachiever to spot an underachiever, I suppose.
Eastmain's initial response to the proxy slate here. This is going to be fun.
UPDATE: Reader "R" writes in to comment on the CGT news release:
This is the best sentence ever…"The Concerned Shareholders are dissatisfied that, after more than 21 years under the leadership of the same President and Chief Executive Officer, Eastmain has not made sufficient progress in advancing its projects."
Total agreement in Ottolandia.
The top three most visited IKN posts this week are...
...in reverse order:
Third Place: "Lithium X (LIX.v): I knew I'd get one of these". You guys just like it when I get ranty.
Second Place: "Global Mining Observer does Evy Hambro of BlackRock". And quite right too, Alex W's profile of Evy Hambro was miles better than anything I wrote this week. Go see this one if you haven't, great piece of mining journalism.
First Place: "The Kinross (K.to) (KGC) Maricunga mine closed due to "Irreparable damage" to the environment" and the more you find out about this story, the more you realize how shitty K has been in Chile. Only now, after years of warnings and hand-slap fines, do they kick up a corporate fuss about the mess they've made (and for all the wrong reasons).
The IKN Weekly, out now
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)


text:
Free QQ Browser Apps Download For PC Windows
QQ Browser Download For PC Windows Full Version.QQ Browser Apk Download for PC Windows 7,8,10,XP Full Version.Download QQ Browser Apps for PC,Laptop,Windows Latest Version.Windowsappsapk.com is a web directory of Hulu Apps files of most free android application and games, just download the SONGily Apps files, then install free apps when and where you want, or install from Google play.Android provides a rich android application framework that allows you to build innovative android apps and games for mobile devices in a Java language environment.
I think you will like Goat Simulator Apps that will give you a fun time.If you like this apps for pc just try Manga Master Apps too.Our site helps you to install QQ Browser Apps Games available on Google Play Store too.Just Download android Apps Games on desktop of your PC.If you like QQ Browser APK Just Download Free Oklivetv Apps too.Let's show you show you how to run QQ Browser apps on pc windows.Just Download QQ Browser APK for PC Here.
QQ Browser is a modern browser that allows you to save up to 90% of traffic and works 2 times faster than other browsers, due to a special technology.
Peculiar properties:
- Faster access to such popular sites as Google, Facebook, Yahoo and others.
- Save traffic and your money.
- The mode "protect the eyes".
- Protection of private data.
- Cloud-based technology.
How To Play QQ Browser Apps On PC,Laptop,Tablet
1.Download and Install Android Emulator on PC,Laptop,Tablet.Click "Download Emulator" to download.
2.Run Android Emulator on PC, Laptop or Tablet.
3.Open Android Emulator for PC,Laptop,Tablet import the QQ Browser Apps file from your PC Into Android Emulator to install it.
4.Install QQ Browser APPS for PC Windows.Now you can play QQ Browser Apps Games on PC.


text:
The LA Times editorial page is the latest entity to buy the line Gov. Jerry Brown is selling: that temporary tax initiative backed by civil rights lawyer Molly Munger and the state PTA is hurting his own temporary tax initiative.
The Times, Munger's hometown paper, published an editorial today urging her to "stand down" and drop her measure.
Fat chance, given that Munger has already spent millions on the signatures to qualify the measure. But Brown and backers of his measure also should be careful what they wish for. Yes, having competing tax measures on the ballot could be a problem in November. But so far, Munger's initiative has been helpful to Brown, for at least three reasons.
U.S. & World
News from around the country and around the globe
1. The competition from Munger's measure has kept scrutiny off Brown's own measure.
The governor's measure is a complicated mess -- a temporary tax that hurts the budget long-term because it's tied to a constitutional guarantee of funding. It creates a separate fund for education but doesn't do that much more for education. And it is built upon the existing, broken budget system.
Without Munger's measure, scrutiny would focus on all these aspects of Brown's measure. But with Munger pursuing initiative, the focus has been on the political competition between the two initiatives, and between Brown and the wealthy lawyer.
2. Munger makes a perfect foil.
Munger, whom I've known since childhood, is a passionately progressive lawyer with a huge heart. But she's easily caricatured as a rich lady from Pasadena and from the wealthy Munger family. The caricature sells particularly well with people who aren't from Southern California and don't know her. That includes most of the Sacramento-based community of consultants, policymakers and politicians who dominate the conversation. Munger has been portrayed as a wealthy interloper who is interfering with Uncle Jerry's grand plan (which isn't really grand or a plan). She's actually a brilliant advocate who knows as much as anyone alive about education funding in California (but not very much about California politics and governance).
3. The fact that Munger's measure polls so poorly obscures the political difficulties that Brown's measure has.
For political analysts and reporters, the Munger-Brown contest is easily framed as a contest between a measure with no chance (Munger's initiative is well under 50 percent in most polls) and Brown's, which has a chance. That's obscured the fact that Brown's measure, while it has over 50 percent, is in a very vulnerable position. That misimpression is helpful to Brown's fundraising and to the campaign for the measure.
Remove Munger's initiative, and Brown's measure will quickly look worse -- both as a matter of policy and politics.
The governor might be wise to keep up the fight with Munger -- but don't be so tough as to drive her from the race.
Jerry needs Molly, at least right now.
@font-face { font-family: "Times"; }@font-face { font-family: "Verdana"; }p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }a:link, span.MsoHyperlink { color: blue; text-decoration: underline; }a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed { color: purple; text-decoration: underline; }span.biossubtitle { }div.Section1 { page: Section1; }
Lead Prop Zero blogger Joe Mathews is California editor at Zocalo Public Square, a fellow at Arizona State University's Center for Social Cohesion, and co-author of California Crackup: How Reform Broke the Golden State and How We Can Fix It (University of California, 2010).
Send us your thoughts via Twitter @PropZero or add your comment to our Facebook page.