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European Commission
Brussels, 5 March 2014
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS - Responsible sourcing of minerals originating conflict-affected and high-risk areas: towards an integrated EU approach
What are 'conflict minerals'?
Profits from the extraction of and trade in minerals sourced from unstable regions affected by armed conflict can play a role in intensifying and perpetuating violent conflict. This can take various forms including where armed groups or their affiliates illegally control mines and mineral trading routes, use forced labour or commit other human rights abuses, or tax or extort money or minerals.
As a result, armed groups and security forces in conflict regions can finance their activities from the proceeds of mining and trading of minerals which later enter the global supply chain. Companies further down the production chain run the risk of supporting armed activities and have an interest in sourcing from such regions responsibly.
The best documented and known case relates to the problems in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) where the United Nations frequently reports on the devastating instability created by foreign and national armed groups generating revenues through their control over natural resources. The Heidelberg Institute for International Research estimates that, together, natural resources and conflict account for roughly 20% of global conflicts.
Under the US Dodd-Frank Act, section 1502, 'conflict minerals' are defined as minerals containing tin, tantalum, tungsten and gold originating in the DRC and the adjoining countries. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's (OECD) Due Diligence guidance is based on the same four minerals but is not geographically specific. The EU proposal uses the same basis as OECD.
What are 'conflict minerals' used for?
After mining, 'conflict minerals' are traded on local and international markets where smelters and refiners transform those minerals into metals. The metals are subsequently processed in the downstream section of the supply chain into components for a vast number of end products including cars, electronics like mobile phones, packaging, construction, aeronautics, and jewellery.
What are the goals of the EU approach?
One of the objectives of the EU's proposal is to break the link between minerals extraction, minerals trading, and the financing of armed conflicts. The root causes of the problems must be identified, as should the triggers of conflicts and structural fragility, their dynamics, and the roles of the various actors involved.
A second objective is to create a market in the EU for responsibly traded minerals that originate in conflict regions. Experience in the Great Lakes region since 2010 shows that due to risk aversive business decisions, EU and US operators prefer to source these four minerals elsewhere. The practical consequence on the ground is that local mining jobs are lost, trade has partly gone underground and where formal markets are used, the minerals are not fetching the best price due to low global demand. This is not solving the first problem: the link between trade in minerals and the financing of armed groups.
A third objective is to improve the ability of EU operators wherever they are in the supply chain to comply with existing due diligence frameworks. The current situation is highly fragmented with the bulk of efforts taking place at the downstream level. For this reason, the EU proposes an approach that stimulates a better flow of information from upstream to downstream.
The Commission proposes a Regulation to set up a supply chain due diligence self-certification system of importers and a series of accompanying measures based on the three objectives just described.
In practice, this means:
The integrated EU approach on responsible sourcing is embedded in a wider comprehensive approach on conflict-affected and high-risk areas. These promote inter alia conflict resolution, peace and security, respect for human rights including the need to address trafficking in human beings, good governance and the rule of law and sustainable development. Examples are the Strategic Framework for the Great Lakes Region with the issue of illegal exploitation of natural resources, but also the Horn of Africa Strategic Framework and the EU strategy for Security and Development in the Sahel.
What is supply chain due diligence?
The concept of supply chain due diligence is referred to in the updated OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises1 and is in line with the United Nations (UN) Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights2. Supply chain due diligence aims at identifying and addressing actual and potential risks when businesses source from regions affected by conflict and instability to prevent or mitigate adverse impacts, inter alia as regards the financing of conflicts, associated with their sourcing activities.
The EU has been actively engaged in an Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) initiative to advance the responsible sourcing of minerals from conflict regions, which has resulted in a government-backed multi-stakeholder process leading to the adoption of the OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains of Minerals from Conflict-Affected and High-Risk Areas (OECD Due Diligence Guidance3) including specific supplements on tin, tantalum and tungsten, and on gold.
What are the requirements of the US Dodd-Frank Act - section 1502?
In 2010, the United States passed the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act - the Dodd Frank Act. Section 1502 thereof introduces supply chain transparency by requiring companies listed on US stock exchanges using 'conflict minerals' in their production processes to declare the origin of such minerals and perform appropriate supply chain due diligence.
Section 1502 provisions are enforceable as of 31 May 2014 by which time affected companies must submit their first annual conflict minerals reports to the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Although the scope of the legislation is formally restricted to US-listed companies, it is having considerable effects abroad, including in the EU, mainly through global supply chains, because suppliers to US-listed companies are being asked to contribute due diligence information.
Are companies carrying out supply chain due diligence?
Not all companies carry out supply chain due diligence. Not all companies source in conflict regions either. The trend since 2010 is to find alternative sources in other producing countries which does not solve the problem of the financing of armed groups through the trade in minerals.
The transformation of minerals into metals by smelters, or refiners in the case of gold, is a key stage in the supply chain because it is the last stage where information is known about the origin of the minerals. At present, the Commission assesses that globally only about 20% of the smelters, and 40% of the refiners of gold, carry out supply chain due diligence.
Moreover, a 2013 study shows that EU due diligence is not widely spread. Only 12% of companies listed on EU stock exchanges not directly subject to the US legislation refer to conflict minerals on their websites. This is partly because the OECD Due Diligence Guidance and the Dodd-Frank Act are recent, but also because EU companies face implementation challenges (i.e. length of supply chains, multiple operators, lack of awareness).
It is estimated that 150,000-200,000 EU companies - mostly downstream firms - are involved in the supply chains of the 6,000 affected US-listed companies.
How would the new EU system for self-certification of responsible importers work?
The draft Regulation sets up a new EU system for supply chain due diligence self-certification system of responsible importers of tin, tantalum and tungsten, their ores and gold originating in conflict-affected and high-risk areas.
Although the Regulation is voluntary, EU importers opting for self-certification as responsible importers should (i) set up a management system to inter alia track the origin of the minerals purchased, (ii) apply supply chain risk management procedures to address and mitigate adverse impact in related to the financing of armed groups, (iii) carry out third-part audit and disclose relevant supply chain related information to downstream purchasers and the public.
The obligations are consistent with the international consensus achieved by the multi-stakeholder group that developed the OECD Due Diligence Guidance.
What is the purpose of the EU list of responsible smelters and refiners?
The aim of the annually published EU list of responsible smelters and refiners is to raise the level of public accountability as regards the supply chain due diligence practices and the level of compliance by EU and global smelters and refiners and to provide downstream purchasers of metals with a clear tool to successfully identify responsible smelters or refiners.
Moreover, the list will identify those smelters and refiners that source – at least partially – from conflict-affected and high-risk areas. The list will be drawn up in cooperation with the OECD.
How would the EU proposal help to promote supply chain due diligence among EU companies?
The EU will promote the uptake of supply chain due diligence by EU companies through:
Which countries would be concerned?
The draft Regulation is global in scope. It will target tin, tantalum and tungsten ores and metals, and gold from all conflict–affected and high-risk areas.
The draft Regulation defines 'conflict-affected and high-risk areas' as areas in a state of armed conflict, fragile post-conflict as well as areas witnessing weak or non-existent governance and security, such as failed states, and widespread and systematic violations of international law, including human rights abuses.
The EU does not intend to present a specific list of countries because the situation in such countries or areas is by definition fluid and unstable. But – more importantly – we want to avoid companies disengaging from such regions as an easy way to comply with the Regulation. This could have unintended socio-economic consequences for the people who need to be protected most in these regions – civilians who need paid work to offer opportunities to themselves and their families.
Existing compliance frameworks established by companies participating in the OECD efforts also do not name conflict countries. However, templates do exist to help guide business decisions. The World Gold Council Conflict-Free Gold Standard is one example.
In the EU proposal, companies are asked to track the origin of minerals and the conditions of trade and are requested to set up an early-warning risk-awareness system or to participate in such a system through collaborative arrangements with other companies or organisations.
The impact assessment carried out does provide, however, some examples of regions that could currently qualify, including the Great Lakes Region with trade covering both producer and transit countries. Rebels are also financed by the trade in tin, tantalum, tungsten or gold in Colombia and the impact assessment also states that gold comes from countries with known instabilities such as Mali, Sudan and Côte d'Ivoire.
Do the measures include sanctions if companies do not comply?
The draft Regulation is made up of a system of voluntary self-certification by the importer which will be enforced by the authorities in the Member States. In the case of infringement, these authorities will issue a notice of remedial action to be taken by the EU importer. If such action is inadequate, the authority will then issue a non-recognition notice for the 'responsible importer' certificate for the minerals and metals covered by the draft Regulation. The importer, as well as the smelters and refiners in its supply chain, will be removed from the EU list of 'responsible smelters and refiners'.
What is the difference between the EU's proposal and the Section 1502 of the US Dodd-Frank Act?
The US Dodd-Frank Act targets US-listed companies using tin, tantalum, tungsten and gold in their supply chain to disclose their activities related to 'conflict minerals'. The EU self-certification scheme is voluntary and targets EU importers of minerals and metals of tin, tantalum, tungsten and gold and is designed to assist downstream companies to carry out supply chain due diligence.
In addition, the EU will provide public procurement incentives to encourage companies producing end-products such as mobile phones, computers and printers are conflict-free to seek to work with a responsible EU importer.
Unlike the draft EU Regulation, Section 1502 of the US Dodd-Frank Act is region-specific targeting the Democratic Republic of Congo and neighbouring countries, which has triggered risk-adverse behaviour with companies disengaging their sourcing activities from this region: this major draw-back is well documented in UN Panel of Expert reports and other literature. Therefore the draft EU Regulation is global in scope designed to be non-discriminatory vis-à-vis any conflict zone and based on the international consensus achieved in the OECD.
The EU initiative was also preceded by a very wide consultation with stakeholders, involving companies at all stages of the supply chain, civil society, academia, EU Member States and politicians, including the European Parliament. It is based on an impact assessment and cost study.
It is intended to complement the Dodd Frank Act which is indirectly responsible for a large share of due diligence efforts among EU downstream users. The weakness in the present global system is the flow of information from the upstream to the downstream part, hence the focus of the EU proposal on importers. As the draft EU regulation is not a standalone proposal, the effect of incentives and ongoing due diligence work in compliance with the OECD guidance will help stimulate a good response among EU importers. The EU is particularly keen not to keep its market open to responsibly traded minerals from conflict-affected regions.
How big is the mineral trading industry and how much of it is made up of trade in 'conflict minerals'?
The global mineral trading industry is currently estimated to be worth in the region of €200 billion. It is difficult to say how much of this is made up of trade in 'conflict minerals' because, by its very nature, the trade is in volatile areas affected by conflict. Furthermore, groups seeking to fund themselves from such trade will endeavour to keep their trade away from scrutiny.
With a share of almost 35% of global trade, the EU is one of the largest importers of tin, tantalum, tungsten and gold ores and concentrates. The EU imports almost 25% of global trade in tin, tantalum and tungsten, and some 15% of gold metals.
2011 trade statistics show that 7% of the EU's tantalum and tungsten ores imports came from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Rwanda. Moreover, the EU imported some €70m of tin metal imports from Malaysia, which in turn sourced 17% of its tin ore imports from the DRC and Rwanda. Furthermore, the EU imports tantalum metals from China worth €80 million and from Kazakhstan €5 million. 17% of China's and 25% of Kazakhstan's tantalum ore imports came from the DRC and Rwanda.
What happened so far in this field?
In 2010, the US passed the Dodd Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. Section 1502 requires companies listed on US stock exchanges using 'conflict minerals' in their production processes to declare the origin of such minerals and perform due diligence as appropriate.
In June 2013, G8 leaders also expressed their commitment to make extractive industries more transparent and to support responsible sourcing of conflict-free minerals from conflict regions.
On 7 October 2010, the European Parliament passed a resolution calling for the EU to legislate along the lines of the US "conflict minerals" law; and the Commission announced in its Communications of 2011 and 20124 its intention to explore ways of improving transparency, including due diligence, throughout supply chains. The EU proposal today lays down a first and timely approach to deal with the problem on the basis of different EU policies.
The EU is actively engaged in an OECD initiative on conflict minerals – the OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains of Minerals from Conflict-Affected and High-Risk Areas - and made a commitment to promote its observance at the May 2011 OECD Ministerial Council. The EU has already provided financial support for the implementation of the OECD Due Diligence Guidance and for the ICGLR's Regional Initiative on Natural Resources.
In 2013, the Commission carried out a public consultation on 'A possible EU initiative on responsible sourcing of minerals originating from conflict-affected and high-risk areas'. On that basis, the Commission defined the objectives of the EU initiative and carried out an impact assessment.
What is the next step from the legislative perspective?
Under co-decision, the European Parliament and the Council will take up the file.
For further information
Press Release: EU proposes responsible trading strategy for minerals from conflict zones (IP/14/218)
Link to the joint Communication by the European Commission and the High Representative
Link to the Commission staff working document
OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains of Minerals from Conflict-Affected and High-Risk Areas
Outcome of the public consultation
OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, OECD 2011 edition.
Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, UN Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner, New York and Geneva 2011.
OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains of Minerals from Conflict-Affected and High-Risk Areas: Second Edition, OECD Publishing (OECD (2013). http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264185050-en.
COM(2011) 25 FINAL and COM(2012) 22 FINAL
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There was clear consensus on the day after the first presidential debate that the format fell apart, with moderator Jim Lehrer allowing the candidates to generally ignore the rules and his efforts to steer the conversation.
Among debating experts, there's also consensus that vice presidential debate moderator Martha Raddatz needs to establish firmer control when Vice President Joe Biden and U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan take the stage at Centre College next week.
"These are not really debates; they are sort of glorified interviews, and you need a moderator who is strong enough to control two very strong individuals," said Dennis Becker, CEO of The Speech Improvement Co. in Boston, who has helped coach candidates at some presidential debates. "We can't have a free-for-all where no one controls it, because the public loses out."
The format of the Centre debate is similar to Wednesday night's. The Commission on Presidential Debates announced this summer that the vice presidential debate will address foreign and domestic topics divided into nine time segments of 10 minutes each. The moderator will open each segment with a question, and each candidate will have two minutes to respond. The moderator will direct a discussion of the topic during the balance of the time in each segment.
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The safest and most reliable path to stock market success is to invest in CRAP stocks.
The strategy we follow, Joel Greenblatt's Magic Formula® Investing (NASDAQ:MFI), is a great mechanical, qualitative screen for digging up candidates. But to find the CRAPpiest of stocks, we need to get our hands dirty and dig our noses into the financial statements, conference calls, SEC filings, and industry research. Only then can our portfolios come out smelling like roses.
What in the heck am I talking about? 4 points of research:
Conservatively managed
The best companies are managed conservatively, and are always focused on earning high returns on capital instead of overpaying simply to grow or build an empire. By maintaining reasonable levels of debt and always having a healthy cash balance for the inevitable bumps in the road, these companies are built to last through thick and thin.
How can you tell if a company is conservatively managed? Firms that have zero or very little debt (like Dolby (NYSE:DLB), or Activision (NASDAQ:ATVI)) are more conservative than Ann Coulter on a Sunday morning. But, in general, be wary of firms that carry significantly more debt than cash on the balance sheet or whose operating earnings do not cover interest obligations more than 5 times over. An example of a company managed too aggressively would be FriendFinder (FFN), with $460 million of debt, only $17 million in cash, and operating earnings that barely cover 70% of interest obligations!
Revenue growth
Firms can always improve profitability through expense cutting, and stock multiples can ebb and flow, but ultimately a company must grow its sales in order to expand its bottom line sustainably. Revenue growth is catnip for money managers, and few stocks can maintain a high price/earnings multiple without it. MFI does not look for it, so many screened stocks have flat or declining sales - see Apollo Group (NASDAQ:APOL) or H&R Block (NYSE:HRB). Not coincidentally, the stocks of these firms have the most limited upside potential.
On the other hand, finding an MFI stock with good revenue growth trends could very well indicate that the market's valuation has trailed the company's growth trajectory, creating an attractive investment candidate. This is especially true if rapid sales growth is projected to continue. C&J Energy Services (CJES) grew sales 210% in 2011 and is projected to grow another 50% this year, yet carries a price-to-earnings multiple under 6!
Advantages over the competition
Competition will always be a keen risk, so look for firms that have structural competitive advantages. Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) software is a lynchpin of most businesses worldwide and would be a gigantic hassle to switch away from, creating high switching costs. Tremendous scale, razor thin margins, and an established oligarchy create huge barriers to entry for any prospective competitors of drug distributor AmerisourceBergen (NYSE:ABC). Regulatory patent protections prevent direct competition for Gilead's (NASDAQ:GILD) HIV drug portfolio. All of these factors can help protect pricing, market share, and profitability from competitors.
On the other hand, a firm like Chemed (NYSE:CHE) has almost no structural advantages. Both their plumbing and hospice businesses face thousands of competitors, and both have low barriers to entry for new entrants.
Priced well below a reasonable fair value estimate
Here is where MFI helps us the most, as a high earnings yield (basically the inverse of a low P/E) is one of the compentents of the screen. All of these stocks are cheap against trailing earnings. But is the valuation warranted based on the prospect of a long-term decline in revenues and profits? Is it warranted based on horrific financial health? Is it warranted based on competitors (or new government regulations) eating into their business? To figure this stuff out, one needs to sit down and estimate a fair value for the business, based on reasonable estimates of future results and valuation ranges.
Conservatively managed. Revenue growth. Advantages over the competition. Priced well below fair value. When digging through heaps of stock opportunities, always be on the lookout for CRAP. I've got my shovel. How about you?
Disclosure: Steve owns CJES, MSFT
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Torchwood: Season 2 (US - BD)
Gabe enjoys the goofy adventures of Doctor Who's friends despite himself
Again I'm diving into a new television series without much of a frame of reference, but this time I don't feel lost. Perhaps seeing the first season of the new Doctor Who helped me, but I don't think familiarity with concept and a single character is really enough to prepare someone for a partially serialized television series. Almost everything about this second season of Torchwood feels like an introduction to a world and characters. Most of the missing character elements are filled in as the season progresses. The plot problems would still be there for any series fan that missed previous seasons of Doctor Who anyway. Despite many problems, I really can't get down on this series for being too difficult for new viewers to approach headfirst.
Torchwood is pretty stupid, but it seems to laugh at its daft streak along with its audience. It's seemingly self-aware soap opera sap, and because it's willing to embrace itself, it's almost impossible not to just go along with the ride. The writers don't quite approach the lowest common denominator of sit-com romance, and rip-off, freak of the week sci-fi, but they definitely take things to often visited places. I complained about Supernatural reminding me too much of stuff like Men in Black, The Night Stalker and X-Files, but that was nothing compared to Torchwood. The show obviously gets away with a lot of its 'adaptation' because it's a known spin-off of the most long standing sci-fi series in the history of television, but the police agency elements rob the show of a lot of Doctor Who's oddball logic, which often allows that show to come across as more of a statement on tropes than a mindless purveyor. The sheer audacity helps a lot (the show really should be called 'Deus Ex Machina a Minute'), but often not enough.
The cast works hard through the arch nature of their characters, and are largely familiar for the show's somewhat addicting drama, drama that continues to work in spite of itself. The romantic aspects really shouldn't work at all, but some inescapably fantastic performances ground the familiar aspects of unrequited love, and in the case of Kai Owen as Gwen's fiancé Rhys, undying love. The isn't, to my mind, a single bad actor in this bunch, though not all of them can charm their way out of some sub- Prequel Trilogy dialogue. Two of the three major season threads work pretty well. The Gwen and Rhys relationship works because of the believable relationship between the actors, and the silly fun of the wedding episode. On the other end of the spectrum, the events that befall Owen (which I won't go in to for spoiler reasons) are genuinely affecting in an emotional sense, and get a major boost from Naoko Mori's impossibly sweet performance. The arc that doesn't work is that of Captain Jack's past coming back to him. Here the drama feels forced in too serious a sense, and Jack doesn't affect as a dramatic character.
I can't find a lot of specific information on the budgets and time allotments for each episode, but it seems to be pretty low for the scope (something like one million dollars per episode). I suppose the rougher look might be intended, and there's something to be said for keeping some of the cheese of Doctor Who, and it doesn't honestly bother me, but if I'm gonna be honest about the quality of this 1080p video I have to make some negative points. It's clear that this is HD video based on brightness and overall detail, but videophiles are going to be disappointed with the sheer volume of digital noise and grain. I don't know enough about the technical aspects of filming in digital HD, but I imagine the use of source lighting, and the continuously moving camera, aren't the best ways to ensure the highest quality image. The show's aggressive colour pallet is delightfully bright, but often the hues either blend roughly, or dance with digital blocking. The intense blue LEDs on a lot of Torchwood machinery overwhelms the lenses on several occasions (which I kind of like, honestly), and the usually deep blacks occasionally pick up the colours around him. Still, there are some relatively still outdoor shots that are positively perfect, worthy of a Discovery nature doc, so it's not a wash.
The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 audio presentation is just as uneven as the 1080p video, and it's also unclear to me whether this is due to budgetary constraints, or if it's related to the stylistic choices made by the producers. The inconsistencies are most obvious at the top of each episode, when the opening title music and narration nearly blows the speakers out. As soon as the promo is finished volume levels drop drastically. Occasionally an episode will feature a noisy creature, or a big shootout, so the surround channels aren't wasted by any means, but even the centric dialogue wavers in clarity and volume. The show's music is delightfully overwrought throughout the series, blaring with action cue intensity and wavering with sloppy schmaltz with relative consistency. Usually these loveably daft melodies are the loudest element on the entire mix, and make the track worth its weight.
The supplemental material starts with a series of making-of featurettes. Each episode gets it's own ' Torchwood[i]: Declassified', a collection of talent interviews, raw on-set footage, footage from the episode, and behind the scenes special effects stuff, all of which originally aired on BBC2. The quality varies a bit, but overall these are informative and brisk enough to entertain. These are all presented in anamorphic standard definition video, and slightly vary in runtime, but are all around ten minutes. 'The Life and Deaths of Captain Jack' (22:00, SD) is an additional 'Declassified' entry aimed at filling in some of the complicated history of the show's lead character. This bit was good for me, who missed almost all of [i]Doctor Who beyond the first season, along with the whole of Torchwood season one. Extras end with some deleted scenes, some bloopers, and some BBC release trailers.
So again, Torchwood is stupid, and no one can make me think otherwise, but I still enjoyed season two on the whole. Critically I assume the stupidness is all in purposeful fun, and good performances help pull things clear of the gutter. I hear word that the show's pseudo third season (elongated mini-series, whatever) is a step up in quality, and I look forward to catching it soon. This second season collection features a very uneven A/V presentation thanks to lower budgets and compressed timelines, and doesn't feature many impressive extras, but series fans won't be too disappointed, and will probably be happier with a Blu-ray over a DVD. Sorry I'm behind on this review guys, I'll keep trying to catch up.
* Note: The images on this page are not representative of the Blu-ray release.
Review by Gabriel Powers
Harker Studios Member Join Date: November 2005 Location: Canada Posts: 174
Make sure to check out Torchwood: Children of Earth (The 3rd season). Its absolutely incredible. Probably one of the darkest pieces of television in the past few years.
David Blackwell Senior Member Join Date: February 2004 Location: United States Posts: 2,831
I don't think Torchwood is stupid. I like some of it better than the new Doctor Who. Agreed that Children Of Earth is better and worth checking out.
Ray Waterway Member Join Date: September 2004 Location: United States Posts: 462
Did the episodes honestly come with that BBCHD watermark at the top left?! GHASTLY! And kinda gauche, if you ask me...
stevepulaski Member Join Date: June 2009 Location: Niger Posts: 741
Good review dude.
Gabe Powers Editor Join Date: September 2004 Location: United States Posts: 4,721
Nonononono Ray, those are just random images I found on the net. Forgot to put the 'not representative' tag on the review.
Arch Angel Member Join Date: April 2008 Location: United States Posts: 79
I have to jump on the band wagon and say that what I've seen of Children of Earth (still have to finish watching it) is pretty damn good. In fact, it seems that Torchwood lends itself better to a miniseries than individual stories/a prolonged story arc.
jp orestes Senior Member Join Date: April 2004 Location: Canada Posts: 1,081
I've seen one episode of this show but I have no clue from what season and I was entertained for the first half but my mind wandered. I'll eventually try and give the series another go especially since the first episode of series one is free on iTunes Canada right now.
This product has not been rated
Disc Details
Release Date: 28th July 2009
Discs: 4
Disc Type: Blu-ray Disc
RCE: No
Video: 1080p
Aspect: 1.78:1
Anamorphic: No
Colour: Yes
Audio: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 English
Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish
Extras: Torchwood: Declassified, The Life and Deaths of Captain Jack, Deleted Scenes, Bloopers, Trailers
Easter Egg: No
Feature Details
Director: Various
Cast: John Barrowman, Eve Myles, Burn Gorman, Naoko Mori, Gareth David-Lloyd
Genre: Adventure, Comedy, Sci-Fi and Thriller
Length: 628 minutes
6Review Guide
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Single,Own my own business. Would like to find an individual who likes me and likewise. Only one way to find out. No strings attached just someone to share off time with. Movies, some sports like baseball or just someone to hang out with. Who knows. Should be able to determine this factor in about 3 minutes. We will either jive or not. I'm pretty nice when it comes to other people. Even if we don't jive I beleive in being nice to everyone.


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Savages (US - BD RA)
Gabe witnesses the continuing implosion of Oliver Stone's filmmaking career...
Best friends Chon (Taylor Kitsch) and Ben (Aaron Johnson) run an innovative and popular marijuana business out of Laguna Beach, California. They also share a girlfriend, Ophelia Sage, who goes by 'O' (Blake Lively). Their success eventually draws the attention of the ruthless Mexican Baja Cartel, headed by Elena Sánchez (Salma Hayek). While Ben is doing charity work overseas, Chon and O receive a video from cartel enforcer Lado (Benicio del Toro), depicting severed heads, mangled bodies, and a chainsaw. When Ben returns, he and Chon meet with Elena's representative, Alex (Demián Bichir). After refusing the cartel's offer for a paid partnership, Chon and Ben make plans to take O and flee to Indonesia for a year in hopes that Elena and Lado won't notice.
Oliver Stone. Man, just…Oliver Stone. What happened? Where did the guy that wrote and directed Platoon and Salvador in the same year go? Admittedly, I really don't like most of Stone's movies, but I understand the appeal of experimental claptrack, like The Doors and Natural Born Killers. I even appreciate the time capsule nostalgia of Wall Street. Where'd the guy who was interesting even when failing go? Following the disappointing box office returns of his last good film, Nixon, Stone ignored his politics for Tarantino-esque crime cash-in U-Turn and an attempt at the super mainstream with his bland football movie, Any Given Sunday. When his wrongheaded epic bio-pic Alexander failed to work three times through three alternate cuts, he neutered himself to make white bread and mayonnaise movies out of hand grenade subject matter like the 9/11 terrorist attacks ( World Trade Center) and George W. Bush's rise to power ( W.). Now, it appears he has retreated into revisiting his early films for a belated sequel to Wall Street subtitled Money Never Sleeps and a sort of modern companion piece to Scarface (which he wrote, but did not direct) and Natural Born Killers entitled Savages. Following a strong trailer, Stone's fans excitedly hoped that the dynamic filmmaker that had disappeared 17 years ago had returned.
There's no mistaking that this is an Oliver Stone film, just as there is no mistaking he's lost everything but his ability to dole out hyperbole. Savages reeks of desperation. You can smell the distressing need to be cool with every over-edited, hyper-decorated frame. The ridiculous use of surrealist montage reads like a spoof of The Doors and JFK, but there's no mistaking that Savages is a very good-looking movie. The gory, pull-no-punches violence is also quite enjoyable. Like many of Stone's films, even some of his good ones, this one is a practice in style over substance. Besides, I suppose, the ménage a trois character elements (which even the screenplay acknowledges as an homage to Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid), there's basically nothing unique about this story. I assume Stone knew this when he agreed to work on the movie and saw it as some kind of challenge. Or, perhaps more likely, he understood that Don Winslow's book was a familiar 'the hardships of crime' type material and was hoping to use the constant predictability as a springboard to remind audiences of his more triumphant stylistic practices (though, reports state he was so excited by it he started working on the screenplay before the book was even published). Unfortunately, this particular script is so bad that I couldn't really appreciate the creative accomplishments, most of which I'd call creative de-evolution.
The worst of the script begins with Blake Lively's narration, which is absolutely awful. Like, written by 16-year-old who read three Shakespeare plays in high school English and saw American Beauty at a party that one time kind of awful. I found myself dizzy from my constant eye-rolling at the empty faux-poetry and Lively's dopey readings. Worse yet, this narration serves no narrative purpose, it only acts to over-explain everything to an audience more than savvy to the genre. I understand that his writing credit is third on the list (following Winslow and grade-A schlockmeister Shane Salerno), but, frankly, a multi-Oscar Award nominated writer should be ashamed to be associated with something this childish. The only actor in this incredibly capable cast to overcome the clichés levied at his character is Benicio del Toro, who could probably succeed in making a human vegetable compelling. Del Toro's side of the story is also the one Stone puts the most interesting stylistic effort into defining, leading me to wonder if perhaps he would've have preferred making a movie about a family man cartel heavy, instead (it would be fun to see some movie bridging this and Soderberg's Traffic, where we discover del Toro has been playing the same character). Salma Hayek is fun enough too, but mostly because she's cast mostly against type as an evil cartel leader. Otherwise it's difficult to maintain interest in any of the characters or their entirely too thinly veiled intentions, especially the three leads, which is a problem when any suspenseful moment is predicated on us caring about what happens to them. I found myself rooting for the evil Mexican drug lords most of the time.
Also in the grand tradition of Oliver Stone films, Savages is way too long. I admit that watching the extra-elongated director's cut version, rather than the theatrical release version, may have been a mistake in this regard, but I can't imagine 10 minutes making the difference here. So many character traits and plot specifics are repeated with such regularity, I'm thinking that something closer to 30 or 40 minutes could've been cut. Even with the ensemble cast approach, there's really only 90-100 minutes of material here (if you saw the trailer, you know everything important that happens for the first two hours of the film).
Savages was reportedly shot entirely on 35mm film, but, being an Oliver Stone film, I'm going to guess there are a few other formats tossed in there as well. This 2.40:1, 1080p looks categorically fantastic throughout and is a beautiful example of the 35mm format's abilities with detail, contrast, and colour quality. Details are plenty sharp, especially during the extreme close-ups and in the darkest night shots, where highlights would've otherwise gone missing. Stone and cinematographer Dan Mindel tend to keep the focus pulled to a pin point, which leaves the backgrounds soft for the bulk of the film. When they want us to appreciate a pretty location, the focus is spread nicely enough to absorb every nook and cranny. This is a generally warm film, obviously in an effort to imply the heat of the tropical locations. The warmth makes for some rather orange skin tones, but doesn't destroy the clean quality of the white wardrobes and set paint, nor does it hurt the well-blocked cooler hues. The palette is pretty eclectic, but there's also heavy consistency to the shades, as in most red is the same red, most yellow is the same yellow, and most teal is the same teal. This consistency is impressive, as is the vibrancy of the hues. There's a little bit of bleeding on the richest reds and some of the dark shots feature some fuzzy red to green blends, but otherwise the colours are crisply separated. The fine mesh of black film grain adds nice texture without dimming the colours or flattening the details, though there is a hair of edge enhancement spread over the more evenly focused, wide shot details. The purer black levels, those not purposefully slathered in blue, are occasionally much more gray than black, which is another relatively common side effect of 35mm film.
Even Stone's bad movies usually feature lively soundtracks. He's good about processing his hyper-realism through aural means. This DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track does not disappoint and gets down to the experimental noise right off the bat by mixing the natural elements of the seaside environment to the point of abstraction. This isn't a constant practice, but adds flavour to the mix, which is otherwise dependant on dialogue and leans on music for the sake of ambience. There is also a handful of rough and tumble action sequences that feature noisy gunplay and booming explosions. The gunplay is plenty busy at times, giving the stereo and surround channels a workout, but sounds cooler when depending on the punch of a single sniper shot and the directional enhancement of the shot's echo. Adam Peters' score and an eclectic collection of source music fills any aural gap. The wide range of musical styles, yet another old-school Stone trait, is quite impressive. Sometimes, the music is overwhelming; other times, it softly slides between the quieter moments. At its loudest, it remains rich and full with the appropriate LFE bounce and stereo enhancements.
Extras begin with two audio commentaries, both available only on the theatrical version. The first track features Oliver Stone solo. Stone sounds uncomfortable and whisper-talks his way between acting exceedingly professional and personable. He rambles between narrating the on-screen action, comparing his film to current politics, and mumbling a few behind the scenes factoids. This is a somewhat headache-inducing track, but one I assume will satisfy many of Stone's biggest fans, especially those used to his bumbling, short attention span approach. I will admit he's at his most entertaining when diving off into non-scene-specific tangents. The second track features producers Eric Kopeloff and Moritz Borman, co-screenwriter/novelist Don Winslow, executive producer/co-screenwriter Shane Shalerno, and production designer Tomas Voth. It's a bit hard to tell the participants apart at times, except Voth, who has a nice accent and tends to actually talk the most, which makes this more of a technical commentary than expected. I'm surprised by the track's low energy, but it's generally more informative than Stone's track, because it isn't nearly as scattershot. The group dynamic does lead to some minor charm, but there are still plenty of long dry spells. Next up is a collection of nine deleted/extended scenes (16:00, HD) that didn't make the longer cut. These include depressingly hyperbolic glimpses into the character's childhoods and unnecessary reiterations of plot points. What isn't here are the scenes reportedly featuring Uma Thurman as O's mother. Weird.
The extras are finished up with a behind-the-scenes featurette entitled Stone Cold Savages and broken up into five parts (34:00, HD). Chapter One: Origins covers pre-production, writing the screenplay, and touring the places covered in Winslow's book. Chapter 2: The Savages looks at the casting process, some stunts, and Stone's directing style. Chapter 3: Real Savagery is about the design process, including production and costume design, DEA/computer hacking consultancy, and the reality of the film's weed science (which was legally synthetic). Chapter 4: A Savage Set covers location shooting in the California desert, including the practical effects processes and choreography of the big action sequence. Chapter 5: Savage Cuts is a round table with the film's five editors, who discuss Stone's weird technique. Interview subjects include Stone, producers Moritz Borman and Eric Copeloff, co-writer Shane Salerno, specialty botany consultant Patrick Fourmy, production designer Tomas Voth, DEA consultant Eddie Follis, computer security consultant Ralph Echemendia, art director Lisa Vasconcellos, computer artist Michael Sanchez, special effects supervisor Mark Byers, stunt coordinator Keith Wouldard, camera loader Kristen Correll, editors David Bilow, Alex Marquez, Stuart Levy, Joe Hutshing and Elliot Eisman, and actors Benicio del Toro, Taylor Kitsch, John Travolta, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Blake Lively, Salma Hayek, Joel David Moore and Doc McLaughlin.
It seems that, at the onset of the climax, Stone is going to pull off a mostly entertaining finish to his dumb, but good-looking movie. Then he fumbles his ending so thoroughly that it's hard to imagine he could do any worse without introducing dinosaurs or aliens. I won't ruin the awfulness for those still hoping to enjoy the film, I'll just warn you not to assume you've seen the worst…until you know you've seen the worst. Savages is a minor achievement otherwise. It's certainly pretty, features a great performance from Benicio del Toro, and isn't categorically terrible, outside of Blake Lively's narration and that bloody ending, all of which is enough to give it a pass in some books. The Blu-ray looks great, pumping out a lot of vivid colour, the DTS-HD MA soundtrack features some aggressive musical elements, and the extras, though short of extensive, are informative and entertaining.
* Note: The images on this page are not representative of the Blu-ray image quality.
Review by Gabriel Powers
vegeta84 Member Join Date: August 2011 Location: United States Posts: 31
Benico Del Toro rocked in his role, but the ending of this film nearly ruined the entire experience. I don't understand how such an ending could have been approved by anyone with a working brain.
Chris Johnson Member Join Date: October 2005 Location: United States Posts: 1,465
Benicio del Toro always rocks.
Jeyl Member Join Date: February 2008 Location: United States Posts: 208
And the 2012 "Taylor Kitsch is NOT the next hot actor" Trilogy comes to an end.
mlcm Member Join Date: November 2006 Location: Canada Posts: 942
Jeyl wrote: And the 2012 "Taylor Kitsch is NOT the next hot actor" Trilogy comes to an end.
Comment of the year!
Comment of the year!
Andy Member Join Date: December 2005 Location: United States Posts: 298
Jeyl wrote: And the 2012 "Taylor Kitsch is NOT the next hot actor" Trilogy comes to an end.
Which is really a shame, I liked him a lot in Friday Night Lights. I didn't see any of the films from the trilogy, though.
Which is really a shame, I liked him a lot in Friday Night Lights. I didn't see any of the films from the trilogy, though.
ShaiBrooklyn Member Join Date: March 2004 Location: United States Posts: 257
Ha I paid and enjoyed all three of these Taylor Kitsch bombs!
Loved Savages but the ending really does blow. The c**ppy dialogue and writing, , blame the book. The book reads exactly like the movie.
Loved Savages but the ending really does blow. The c**ppy dialogue and writing, , blame the book. The book reads exactly like the movie.
This product has not been rated
Disc Details
Release Date: 13th October 2012
Discs: 2
Disc Type: Blu-ray Disc
RCE: No
Video: 1080p
Aspect: 2.40:1
Anamorphic: No
Colour: Yes
Audio: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 English, DTS 5.1 Spanish and French
Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish
Extras: Director's Commentary, Deleted/Extended Scenes, Stone Cold Savages Featuette, Trailers, DVD Copy, Digital Copy, UltraViolet
Easter Egg: No
Feature Details
Director: Oliver Stone
Cast: Taylor Kitsch, Blake Lively, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, John Travolta, Benicio del Toro, Salma Hayek
Genre: Action, Crime and Drama
Length: 142 minutes
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Josh Bard and Cory Sullivan were released by the Dodgers. Bard was never going to make the team ahead of starter A.J. Ellis and million-dollar man Matt Treanor. There was a tweet during the contract he signed was guaranteed, but that was obviously not the case. Bard was 2-for-18 this spring.
Sullivan, notorious Dodger killer, had a decent spring, but he was a longshot to make the team anyway. I thought he'd end up in Albuquerque, but it isn't exactly a huge blow to a team with some of the most outfield depth in the minor leagues. Sullivan posted a .289/.333/.395 triple slash with one home run, seven RBI and three walks. He'll probably land a minor-league deal elsewhere. Here's hoping he never plays against the Dodgers again, though.
Disabled list
Ted Lilly was placed on the 15-day disabled list due to a stiff neck. Eric Stephen of True Blue L.A. reported if Lilly remains on track, he could make his season debut on April 14 against the Padres.
The move allows the Dodgers to carry one extra bullpen arm because of the team's April 9 off day. It seems it will go with a four-man rotation until Lilly returns. Stephen notes Josh Lindblom and Scott Rice are in the mix. Nathan Eovaldi might get some consideration, but since he doesn't have a rotation spot, he's best suited to begin the season in the minors. If the Dodgers go with Lindblom or Rice, I have a feeling it'll be the latter. Scott Elbert is the team's only left-hander out of the 'pen and they gave John Grabow his release earlier this week.
Adam Kennedy is also a DL candidate after suffering a pulled groin. If the Dodgers do place him on the disabled list, it could be retroactive to March 26, which means, unfortunately, he'd only miss the first series of the season.
Luis Cruz, Josh Fields and Justin Sellers are fighting for reserve roles. The fact Cruz is even being considered reeks of Hector Gimenez last spring. Having said that, he's almost a lock to make it if Kennedy begins on the DL.
I'm starting a new weekly feature with Jared Massey of L.A. Dugout (formerly of L.A. Dodger Report and L.A. Dodger Talk). We're recording a podcast, "Dugout Blues," that is tentatively scheduled to go up every Monday. We'll talk about everything Dodgers while focusing on the minor league system a bit more than the Major League team.
I'll post links here and we'll get it on iTunes as soon as possible.
Tango Tiger needs some input on how many games Dodger players will appear in this season in its annual "Community Forecast" feature. It's pretty simple and quick. There are only 18 entries thus far. I submitted mine on Friday.
Mike Petriello made his debut at FanGraphs on Friday, writing about Andre Ethier and how he's primed for a big season. If Ethier's spring is any indication, Petriello is going to look damn good with this article.
Petriello also thinks the Dodgers shouldn't give Ned Colletti his walking papers just yet. I'm inclined to agree. However, keeping him around longer increases his chances of remaining with the team (which are microscopic at this point).
Chad Moriyama links to ESPN LA's Ramona Shelburne and the L.A. Times' Bill Shaikin stating how Frank McCourt won't get any revenue from the parking lots at Dodger Stadium.
"So go back to the stadium and stop whining.
Scott Andes of Lasorda's Lair is counting down the 10 best moments in Dodger Stadium history. The most recent entry, No. 6, is something of which I have fond memories -- and I'm betting most Dodger fans do.
Zach Lee's signature could use some work, writes Greg Zakwin of Plashcke Thy Sweater is Argyle.
And this might be one of my favorite photos of all-time.
Photo credits: brendan-c on Flickr


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19 Jul 2014 14:35:47 PM
UFC Fight Night 46 Results: Conor McGregor Tears Through Diego Brandao
(Conor McGregor in a state of cat-like readiness. / Photo via Getty)
Conor McGregor wowed Irish audiences with his destruction of Diego Brandao at UFC Fight Night 46. The Irish crowd was in love not only with McGregor, but with the sport itself. Their enthusiasm was infectious, bringing the festivities up from an 8/10 to a 10/10.
The action started off with a bang–especially on the prelims which saw four out of fix fights finished in dramatic fashion. Of note, The Wiki-less legend Ilir Latifi brutalized Chris Dempsey via TKO in the first round. He blasted Dempsey's leg with kicks, and then just bum rushed him with punches. We'd describe it in more technical terms but that's pretty much exactly how the fight looked.
The main card started off just as strong as the prelims. Norman Parke steamrolled through Naoyuki Kotani. Parke used him as a punching bag throughout the entire first round, landing punches, kicks, knees, and elbows and nearly finishing him as well. In the second, Parke picked up where he left off and finished Kotani with a barrage of elbows.
Brad Pickett and Ian McCall met next. McCall was too quick for Pickett, who planted his feet and endlessly missed right hands. McCall's footwork was too fluid, his rhythm was too atypical, his pace was too fast and his striking was too fast and precise for Pickett to mount any meaningful offense. McCall pulled away with this one easily, winning a unanimous decision.Read More DIGG THIS


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Why Everyone is Mad at Google
It may seem at first glance that everyone who is mad at Google is mad for a different reason: direct rivals, copyright holders, companies that advertise with the search engine giant. In fact, putting all the reasons together reveals an uncomfortably familiar pattern of behavior.
In late April, Business Week ran an article that talked about how everybody seemed to be ganging up on Google. The author put together a very impressive list, with no fewer than nine different foes, ranging from single companies (such as eBay) to groups (such as human rights activists and search engine upstarts) to parts of the U.S. government (i.e. the Department of Justice). All of these organizations are gunning for Google, "lining up to keep the search giant in check," according to the article. If Google is feeling a bit embattled by all this, it's certainly no wonder.
But why is everyone mad at Google? What did Google ever do to them? The company was and remains one of the biggest friends that someone doing large amounts of general research on the Internet ever had, and that's hardly something to get angry about. Or is it? Indeed, many of the organizations named in the article must come to grips with the fact that the people who find them online probably do so through Google. In some cases, they also must face the usual problems of being out competed by Google, and not just for customers, as you'll soon see.
The author of the Business Week article explained the reasons each of Google's enemies has for being ticked off at the company. At first glance, it may look like every one of them has a different reason to hate Google. But that's not an accurate picture. It's like looking at a strong magnification of an image made by an inkjet printer - all you see is each little dot, and you need to pull back in order to see the whole image.
In this article, I'm going to focus more on the reasons for anger at Google rather than exactly who is angry at the company. I think you'll see a pattern emerge that we have seen before. I know I'm not the first one to compare Google with Microsoft (who was surprisingly absent from the Business Week list, and should not have been). But the parallels seem to be getting more and more convincing as time goes on.
Any large successful company is going to attract the best and brightest brains. When that company looks as if it is riding the wave of the future, it's going to have more applicants than it knows what to do with. Add to that the kind of working conditions and work environment that is the envy of Silicon Valley, and even recruiting well-established talent with strong positions at prestigious companies becomes rather like shooting fish in a barrel.
Hardcore eBayers may know that the online auctioneer recently went live with eBay Express, a website at which users can purchase goods for fixed prices. What they might not know is that eBay needed to create a new search technology, codenamed Magellan, in order to make the site work. Louis Monier, the engineer who developed that technology at eBay, left to join Google last year.
It's sometimes easy to forget that Amazon also has its own search engine, A9. It's for searching the web as well as searching Amazon's website. A9 has its own CEO. Until earlier this year, that person was Udi Manber. He left, and is also working for Google now.
Of course, the most prominent example of "brain drain" is Kai-fu Lee. This former Microsoft vice president worked on the software giant's expansion into China and certain natural language projects at the company. He now works for Google, but Microsoft didn't let him go without a fight. It slapped the search engine with an acrimonious lawsuit over the non-disclosure agreement Lee signed while working at Microsoft, which sought to limit the damage caused by Lee "going over to the enemy." Even now, it's interesting to note that (at the time of this writing) the top result for "Kai-fu Lee" in Google is Microsoft's bio page for him, which notes that he left the software giant in July of 2005.
What was perhaps most insulting for Microsoft is that Lee was not the first high-level "brain" it lost to Google, and probably won't be the last. Indeed, this must be a pretty major adjustment for Microsoft, which has long been used to being "the" company to work for. I rather doubt it's happy about yielding that distinction to Google.
To those of us who depend on Google to find things on the Internet, the company is a search engine. To those of us who have businesses that we hope web surfers will find on the Internet, Google is an advertising company with a very special relationship to our most important advertising medium. It doesn't matter whether you're big or small; you probably owe more of your business to Google than you're really comfortable with.
The first example of this that comes to mind is KinderStart. I wrote about the childcare-related website's attempt at a class action lawsuit against Google recently, so I won't go through all the details here. It's pretty clear even from a cursory glance at the website in question that KinderStart earned the penalty Google awarded it, and that KinderStart's lawsuit has no merit. On the other hand, it says something that being penalized in Google's SERPs could hurt a company's business so badly it would feel it had no recourse but to sue the search engine.
If you think KinderStart and other small to medium-sized businesses are the only ones that could suffer badly from a "Google death penalty," think again. The German website for Mercedes Benz received one not too long ago, and the auto maker moved quickly to correct the problem that caused it to be delisted. Many observers said at the time that the move was more of a publicity stunt on Google's part than anything...but if that's true, why did Mercedes Benz act so fast?
It's not just the organic listings that matter, of course. Many companies buy sponsored links. I tend to not pay much attention to them, but other searchers must, or else companies wouldn't buy them. Take eBay, for instance. I don't know about you, but if I want to check out what the online auctioneer has to offer, I type the site right into my browser. But it has plenty to offer surfers even when they're not thinking of finding it at the world's largest ongoing garage sale; that's why eBay bids on up to 15 million keywords at the major search engines, including Google. That's not the most comfortable position for eBay to be in, considering some of Google's new services threaten to compete with the auctioneer.
The subject of competition brings us to Google's biggest search rival, Yahoo. eBay recently made a wide-ranging deal with Yahoo, which should reduce its dependence on Google. But even Yahoo has been rumored to be doing business with Google by running ads for some of its own services on Google's network! If that doesn't show the strength of Google's position in the field, I can't imagine what would.
It reminds me a little of how many companies struggled to get some kind of advertising bundled with Microsoft's operating system, whether it was an icon on the desktop or a preloaded link on the IE browser. It also reminds me of how, no matter what kind of business you have, if you use computers, you almost have to do business with Microsoft in one way or another. You might simply use Microsoft's software (because everyone you deal with does and you need to be compatible), or you might build software that has to be able to interface with Microsoft programs (because everyone uses Microsoft programs, so you need to ensure you reach the widest market), or you might need to make sure your hardware is compatible with Microsoft's operating system (because...well, you get the idea). It's pretty easy to see the parallel with Google here.
This section almost deserves an article in its own right - though, to be honest, there isn't an obvious parallel with Microsoft in Google's conduct here. Perhaps we can see the similarity if we think in terms of Google (or Microsoft) threatening someone's livelihood by providing something for free that the other person charges for. Microsoft has used its monopoly power deliberately in this way to put competitors out of business.
Google isn't apparently trying to put anyone out of business by its behavior, but since it's one of the top websites that everyone goes to when they want answers, it has the same effect. Google has information, which it gives away for free. If it gives away enough information, users don't see any need to go to the linked source. So rather than gaining from the increased visibility, the site linked to in Google's SERPs actually loses something.
The argument may seem a little far-fetched, but it's been used. And it's no wonder when there's money on the line. Information may want to be free, but some content is copyrighted - and that means its use is supposed to be under the control of the copyright holders. You may remember when Google changed its logo to honor deceased Spanish artist Joan Miro on April 20 - and had to change it back because the search engine didn't get permission from Joan Miro's family to use the images. That's merely scratching the surface when compared to the other hot water Google is in over copyright issues.
Take book publishers, for example. The Google Books project aims to scan millions of books from five of the world's largest libraries and make them searchable on Google's website. That includes copyrighted works. Publishers and authors say that's copyright infringement, while Google insists that, since it will only show small pieces of copyrighted works, it's legal under an exemption in the law intended for research. The disagreement has gotten to the point that the Authors Guild filed a class action lawsuit against Google; so have several major publishers. The suit won't go to trial for a few months yet - and in the meantime, Google is still scanning books.
Website publishers also have grounds to be mad at Google for copyright infringement issues. The owner of Perfect 10, an adult website, sued Google for showing thumbnails of the site's copyrighted images of women. Judge Howard Matz issued a preliminary injunction against Google, stating that its image search likely infringes copyright law. Fortunately for Perfect 10 and other websites that make their money from paid subscriptions to their content, there is a way to use a robots.txt file to keep Google from indexing certain pages of a website.
That trick won't work as well if you want people to actually know about the content on your pages, and come visit to get the answer to your question rather than just see what Google turns up. This could become a real problem if Google starts implementing technology being developed by an Australian researcher. Dubbed Orion search, the technology returns more information when a user puts in keywords than you would normally see in the SERPs. It takes advantage of natural connections between knowledge. For example, if you're looking for information about the American Revolution, your search might also pull up connected information about George Washington.
The point is, someone using Orion search technology might be more likely to find their answer among the results returned - and stay on Google's website to keep searching, rather than visit the website(s) that actually contain the information. This could be very good for Google, and for businesses whose advertising shows on the search engine's website. It might not be so good for the sites that turn up in the SERPs, and for businesses who advertise on those sites. A lot of people all but forget that even websites are covered by copyright law - and using the content of a website without its permission is still copyright infringement, and illegal.
So where do these issues leave the rest of us? We're not quite over the same barrel with Google that we have been with Microsoft; Google still has some strong, viable competitors. But it sure seems to be headed in the same direction. The last thing we need is another big company acting like it owns our business, but it's going to take some major work by Google's rivals to slow down this juggernaut.


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Thread: Diary of a BJJ teen.........
7/19/2006 1:22pm, #11
At some point the kid should build an alter to Rolls Gracie as an homage to this thread. Scroll down to #17 on the first post to see what I mean.Shut the hell up and train.
7/19/2006 1:43pm, #12Originally Posted by jnp
7/19/2006 1:48pm, #13
- Join Date
- Mar 2004
- Posts
- 696
I like it! This is a trend I'm starting to enjoy.
7/19/2006 1:53pm, #14
- Join Date
- Oct 2005
- Location
- Indiana
- Posts
- 2,147
- Style
- BJJ/Judo/Boxing
I demand you give me back my secret journal!
7/19/2006 2:38pm, #15
Day 369
Dear Diary,
I went to Helior Graicens Brazilian Jujitsu Jiu-Jitsu Academy today. Started out pretty cool. I wore my light-blue and black stripped ATA gi and wore my tasseled black belt to show them that I was no dirty MA n00b, respect my authorita!!!!, ha, Cartman rules.
I was pissed from the get go when a friggen purple belt asked us to bow in to him!!!!!! Purple Belt my ass, check the deck mother-fucker, I got th3 sh0d4n anyway, he did have more patches than me, so that was pretty cool.
There were maybe 30 guys in class, which is cool because ATA chicks piss me off with like dont kick me in the boobs, I dont need a cup and guys with tassels are gay, chicks suck except my girlfriend, Jen, or T00H0T2001, were exchanging .gifs on Wednesday, Im super psyched.
Anyway, we warmed up and then got paired up for rolling which is I guess wrestling. I refused to get paired up with anyone but the instructor, hes only a purple belt after all and I dont want to hurt any of the other guys in class.
As it turns out my gi is too thin and got shredded during rolling, the guy was lame though. I charged in with a flying side-kick and he jumped up and wrapped his legs around my waist and arms around my back. I landed on top of him and he started wiggling his hips under me, kind of weird , sucker!!! I just dropped all of my weight on him and refused to move. He started to complain and then I felt him grab my collar, as everything started to go black I heard someone yell hey, its Chucky ****-for-brains .I woke up outside staring at the night sky with, you guessed it, **** in my pants.
I have heard that there are different BJJ styles out there. Im hoping that the one I find will have some sweet dance moves like that dude from Only the Strong. Im gonna have to do a bit more research on this BJJ crap. ****!!! I really wanted to wear my ATA Gi in the .gif swap with Jen.
More lates Diary,
Chuck Jr.
7/19/2006 3:15pm, #16
- Join Date
- Oct 2005
- Location
- Indiana
- Posts
- 2,147
- Style
- BJJ/Judo/Boxing
Actually when I first started bjj there was a guy who would show up in his TKD green belt and talk about how deadly his tkd and hopkido was. I used to love tapping him out over and over.
Eventually the instructor started teasing him that a green belt is a color reserved for small children.
7/19/2006 3:16pm, #17
- Join Date
- Nov 2002
- Posts
- 360
- Style
- HKD, TKD, Crappling
That's gold!
7/19/2006 3:30pm, #18
Day 369's entry is kind of weak.
7/19/2006 3:32pm, #19
That's so accurate that it's scary. I even wore my TKD pants the first day that i rolled. I didn't **** my pants, though.
No, I swear...
7/19/2006 4:43pm, #20
Day 370
Dear Diary,
I did a bit of research on BJJ and discussed the history of the art with other martial artists on the internet and discovered that there was some sort of martial arts civil war in South America between some guy named Helio and two other guys named Sperry and Machado. Apparently Helio taught the r34l JJ, which was taught to him by Count Dracula, not the real Dracula but some Japanese guy who was exiled from his homeland for dishonoring the emperor. Apparently, Helio saved him from malaria and Montezumas revenge in the Brazilian rainforest on the face of Machupichu. In exchange for saving his life, the Count agreed to teach Helio his fighting style but he made Helio swear a blood oath that he would only use the deadly fighting style for the purposes of good not evil.
Helio then set out to purify martial arts in first South America, then the world. He organized underground no holds barred death matches to fight the various so-called masters of other MA styles found in the rainforests and small coastal hamlets of South America. Helios prowess and skill in the style he dubbed Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, as opposed to the more plebian Japanese jujitsu, spread across the land. Helio successfully converted the Capoeira, Garrote Larense, Esgrima Criolla, Tayando, and other masters of the local heathen bastard arts to the light of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Helio was a badass crusader like in medieval times, fucking mint!!!!!
Well, anyway, apparently Sperry and Machado, Helios prior generals, started to make money by entering their fighters into commercialized no-holds-barred matches and venues. Helio, being a martial arts socialist, clearly saw that Sperry and Machado were attempting to make a profit off of the pure art of Brazilian Jiu-Jistu; the evil of pure unabashed capitalism. In a battle of the century Helio sent his second captain, Royce Gracie, to battle the capitalist forces of evil at UFC 1. The result was a clear win for the forces of good and a truce between the feuding sides with a treaty signed in Rio de Janeiro, Brasil, in 1993. The treaty split Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu into two sides, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, the side of evil, and Gracie Jiu-Jitsu, the side of good.
Damn diary, IM FUCKING PUMPED!!!!!!! Gracie Jiu-Jitsu is the way!!!!! This is the epic battle of self discovery and resolution that my dungeon master, Ragthinord, told me was inescapably in my future after he leveled up my Female Half-Elf Ranger/Mage last weekend.
Im off to the yellow pages diary .lates .
Chuck, Jr.


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Lamar hosts Society of Women Engineer's Discover Engineering
Lamar University and the Society of Women Engineers will host a fair Saturday, April 13, to promote and inform people about the benefits of an education in engineering. The Discover Engineering fair will be held at the Spindletop Gladys City Boomtown Museum, located at 5550 Jimmy Simmons Blvd., from 1 p.m. until 4:30 p.m. It is designed for seventh- and eighth-grade students, but is fun for everyone including parents. The fair is free and open to the community.
"Teachers and students are all welcome, and we hope that everyone can come out and have a great time with us," said Paige Hoyt, Society of Women Engineers spokesperson.
The event will include activities that focus on using engineering skills to solve practical problems. These include making "slime" from household materials to observe its chemical properties and explore chemical engineering. Another planned activity is building a dance pad that sounds a buzzer and flashes lights to explore electrical engineering designs. Other activities will focus on civil and mechanical engineering. Many of these activities are based upon PBS Design Squad experiments, a public broadcasting television science program.
The fair will incorporate experts from local organizations and Lamar University students who will participate in the activities. It is sponsored by local companies including ExxonMobil, Valero, Huntsman, Garrett, Nalco, and MeadWestvaco. Refreshments will be served during the event.
There is no registration required for attendance. For more information about the Discover Engineering fair contact Sarah Paine (409) 223-2254, Paige Hoyt (409) 781-1066 or email at SWE [dot] Lamar [at] gmail [dot] com.


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When the bomb blasted his truck into the air and insurgents started shooting, "Doc Flores" went to work. The Navy hospital corpsman was deafened by the explosion. He couldn't hear the bullets whizzing by, but he saw his Marines lying in the street.
Petty Officer 1st Class Benny Flores ran back and forth four times through gunfire to administer aid and help the wounded take cover from the ambush, military officials said. Blood from his own shrapnel wounds flowed down his arm, mingling with the blood of his comrades smeared across his tattered uniform sleeves.
For his actions April 28, 2012 in southwestern Afghanistan, Flores was awarded the Silver Star Friday at Camp Pendleton. He was selected for the nation's third-highest medal for valor in combat because of the lifesaving medical care he provided several U.S. and Afghan troops despite heavy gunfire and his own serious injuries, the Marine Corps announced.
Flores, a soft-spoken, humble sailor who grew up in Guam and Tinian, didn't wake up that morning thinking "today's the day I'm going to be a hero," Maj. Gen. Charles Mark Gurganus said at the ceremony on the 1st Air Naval Gunfire Liaison Company parade deck.
Yet "even with his own wounds, he saw what needed to be done and he acted," demonstrating extraordinary bravery and selflessness, Gurganus said.
Flores, now 30, was the field service medical technician for the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force that day in the Zaranj district of Nimruz province, a relatively peaceful area near Iran.
The Marines and Afghan Uniform Police were returning to camp after a routine visit to a border checkpoint under construction when a suicide bomber struck their convoy of unarmored pickups.
Flores was riding in the bed of the truck when a man pushing a handcart packed with explosives and ball bearings triggered the explosion, according to Michael M. Phillips, a Wall Street Journal reporter who wrote an eyewitness account.
It was so powerful it launched the truck onto the median under a column of billowing smoke. Then insurgents began firing from multiple directions on the stunned troops.
"Doc Flores appeared beside them," Phillips wrote in his article "Under Attack," recipient of the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation award this year for overseas reporting on the Marine Corps.
"The explosion had left bright red skid marks where it had burned the back of his neck. The sleeve of his camouflage shirt had been shredded and hung loose on his left arm, which was perforated by metal fragments. He ignored his own wounds…"
The homemade bomb exploded next to the passenger door of the cab where Marine Master Sgt. Scott Pruitt was seated. The 38-year-old military accountant from Camp Pendleton had volunteered for the combat tour, his first. He was killed on the eve of his retirement.
Flores met Pruitt two days before. He was surprised to find the master sergeant standing post at camp, giving his Marines a rest. They chatted for a long time about their daughters, he recalled.
Shrapnel sliced deeply into Pruitt's neck and legs. He was unresponsive when Flores reached him but the corpsman applied tourniquets to both legs anyway. He couldn't feel a pulse. "I just prayed to God we could still save him," Flores said.
Perhaps no one is confronted more intimately with the horrors of war than hospital corpsmen and medics. When explosives rip apart a human body or stop a beating heart, the person the corpsman tries to save is often a friend or comrade.
Afterward, they often overlook the many they saved, haunted by the ones they couldn't.
For Doc Flores, his own concussion and lacerations were serious enough to require hospitalization. He didn't worry about that until he was airborne with the wounded in the medevac flight to Camp Bastion.
"Hospital Corpsman 1st Class Flores steadfastly refused treatment for his own wounds until all of his comrades were treated. By his extraordinary guidance, zealous initiative, and total dedication to duty, Hospital Corpsman 1st Class Flores reflected great credit upon himself and upheld the highest traditions of the Marine Corps and the United States Naval Service," according to his citation signed by Gen. James Amos, the Marine Corps commandant, on behalf of the president.
Chief Warrant Officer 2 Jason Flores, a Kiowa helicopter pilot in the Army, couldn't believe they were talking about his little brother when he heard about it. Doc Flores had always been generous, always willing to spot his brother some cash, always the last to leave after cleaning up from a party. But what he did that day in Afghanistan, "It touched my heart," Jason Flores said.
When he was wounded, Flores was two months into his tour, his third combat deployment after previous ones to Iraq and Kuwait. His wife Jerianne, his high school sweetheart and mother of their 4-year-old daughter, wanted to choke him through the telephone line when she found out he chose to remain in Afghanistan until the end, Flores said.
He stayed because of the bond between the Marines and their corpsman. "We've got to take care of each other."
Before he left Afghanistan he started wearing a black metal memorial bracelet to Pruitt. It adorns his wrist even now.
"I wish we all came back," Flores said. He thinks about Pruitt almost every day, always wondering "if there was anything I could have done more."


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Sunday, February 12, 2012
* Mad Lib Valentines for Tweens
Affiliate Disclosure: Pink and Green Mama is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.
I loved Design Mom's Mad Lib Valentines from 2009,
apparently Family Fun magazine did too because they used her idea in this month's magazine!
We used her design as the inspiration for our Valentines this year.
We used a package of Valentine themed Mad Libs
for "E"s class valentines this year.
First we made loops out of 2" wide scraps of scrapbooking paper
(stapled shut)
Found some cute pencils in the dollar bin at Target ($2 for 20 pencils)
"E" colored cute tags from Staples Office supply store that we tied to each loop.
Then, she rolled up a Mad Lib and slipped it inside the loop.
The finishing touch was a cute pencil taped to each loop with a bit of scotch tape.
Easy, cute, and homemade Valentines.
Pink and Green Mama
Posted by pink and green mama MaryLea
Labels: Create, Holidays, Homemade Cards, Valentine's Day
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The hiring of Pat Haden as athletic director was universally hailed as a great move by an NCAA-troubled USC.
Haden represented sensibility, stability and respect.
So now Trojan world is going bonkers, and true to what he represents, Haden sits here grounded.
Kudos to Pat Haden for being Pat Haden.
He remains unmoved by the rants of fans and the most recent media headline: "Kiffin not the coach for USC's future."
Some folks were saying they just knew Haden had run out of patience, too many embarrassing Lane Kiffin moments for him to hang with the guy.