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by George M. Stern
The Talmud records this story: One day, Honi the Circle Maker was walking on the road and saw a man planting a carob tree. Honi asked the man, "How long will it take for this tree to bear fruit?"
The man replied, "70 years."
Honi then asked the man, "And do you think you will live another seventy years and eat the fruit of this tree?"
The man answered, "Perhaps not. However, when I was born into this world, I found many carob trees planted by my father and grandfather. Just as they planted trees for me, I am planting trees for my children and grandchildren so they will be able to eat the fruit of these trees."
I thought of that story when I watched a talk by Chuck Collins, a great-grandson and an heir to the fortune of 19th-century meatpacking mogul Oscar Mayer and senior scholar at the Institute for Policy Studies (IPS), a progressive think tank, where he directs the Program on Inequality and the Common Good. He is coauthor, with William H. Gates Sr., of the book "Wealth and Our Commonwealth: Why America Should Tax
Accumulated Fortunes," which argues that the estate tax is both fair and necessary.
Both religious and secular traditions spend a great deal of energy talking about social responsibility. The Bible tells us that there will always be poor in our midst, but that nevertheless we must combat poverty.
Growing up, I always thought that America lived up to such biblical ideals. We had a progressive tax system that narrowed the gap between rich and poor while still fostering the greatest blossoming of innovation and creativity the world had ever known.
America boasted a growing system of roads (the Interstate Highway System is now named after the Republican president who fostered it, Pennsylvanian Dwight Eisenhower) and, in many urban areas, extensive public transportation systems.
A city like Philadelphia educated hundreds of thousands of students in schools that were mostly relatively new. The U.S. Postal Service, mandated by the Constitution, served every American with 6-days-a-week delivery and multiple deliveries each day in the week before Christmas.
Public hospitals served the poor (not always well, but at least their existence was expected). Prisons were at least sometimes places where criminals could get rehabilitated. We were even – at last – moving towards racial equality, with government taking the lead in ending segregation and assuring that every adult citizen had a right to vote.
Just listing those items makes me realize how much has changed. We could argue forever over what caused the change. More productive, I think, is to ask, "Are we happy that our national attitudes – and mood – seem to have shifted so much?" Is America a better place now that income inequality is soaring and poverty and malnutrition are rising, roads are crumbling, schools are underfunded and falling down, and the now semi-private post office threatens cuts in services and higher costs?
Has the privatization of prisons made a dent in the crime rate (or even lowered costs)? Can all adult Americans still vote? What about felons who have paid their dues in prison? What about those with the least access to transportation, including the growing number of elderly and urban teens without driver's licenses, in states where Voter ID cards become law?
It was once said that we were living in the American Century. Certainly America was on the ascendancy, and despite concerns about the "Ugly Americans" (younger readers, please look that up on Wikipedia!), across the globe folks wanted to emulate us. And they did. They learned to dance to rock and eat fast foods. Their business leaders learned how to create wealth while exploiting workers, just like America did early in the 20th century and seems to be doing once again, abroad and even here at home. (It's all the fault of unions, you know.)
Meanwhile, we bail out banks (whose rapacious executives took advantage of the repeal of so-called onerous regulations to create wealth for themselves at the expense of the "common weal") and automotive companies (so much for "pure" capitalism) but not citizens, who rather are blamed for falling for the sleazy deals banks offered and the Madison Avenue hype about "having it all." Failed CEOs and even school superintendents get golden parachutes and bonuses while teachers, police officers, firefighters, and other public employees get pink slips.
Every reputable historian knows that income inequality is a signal that a nation is headed for trouble. That can be especially so when the electoral process is threatened by the juggernaut now squeezing us: on the one hand legislative attempts to curtail voting (in the name, of course, of fairness), and on the other a Court-approved system of buying elections through huge expenditures on lobbyists and campaign ads, none of which are aimed at truly educating lawmakers or the public or even telling the truth.
Selfishness never leads to permanent good. Indeed, the accumulation of vast amounts of wealth seems rather to lead to a never-ending cycle of wanting more – and lying to get it. So, in the face of high unemployment and the lowest tax rates in many decades, we are told that cutting the taxes of the wealthy will create jobs. Really?
A writer on a conservative blog I occasionally read (just to be sure I'm not simply believing my own hyperbolic rhetoric) recently wrote that philanthropy goes up when taxes go down. On the face of it, that seems counter-intuitive. Even if it is so, I can attest to the fact that giving to social service agencies hit by government cutbacks is not what motivates donors to give large sums. They respond more readily to getting their names on buildings, which I assure you does not include the local homeless shelter, which, if named after anyone at all, is dedicated to a longtime supporter who gave significant time and energy, not money.
So now what? Having maybe gotten over the fantasy of creating a movement that takes over the country, I am thinking that we each need to find some local place to start: a congregation to mobilize around, a pressing social justice issue, a school to lend time and support to, an agency to volunteer at. More ambitiously, but perhaps not fruitlessly, we can push to encourage political leaders to reward best practices – not friends – and to sponsor legislation that creates sustainable, progressive change.
Now that I am no longer engaged in full-time work, I have the time to think a great deal. Maybe that's dangerous, and bad for my health. But maybe I'll come up with an idea that will indeed matter. I'll keep you posted as long as the editor allows me to do so. Meanwhile, if you have a great idea, if you're working on something you think I could dig my teeth into (and get others to as well), please e-mail me at email@example.com.
Rabbi George Stern is immediate past-director of Neighborhood Interfaith Movement. His passion remains social justice, as learned from both religious and secular teachings.


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Placenames of Georgia Essays of John Goff
Goff, John H.
AbeBooks Seller Since September 14, 1998Quantity Available: 1
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About this Item
Bibliographic Details
Title: Placenames of Georgia Essays of John Goff
Publisher: University of Georgia Press, Athens
Publication Date: 1975
Binding: Hardcover
Book Condition: Very Good+
Dust Jacket Condition: Good+
Edition: First Edition; First Printing.
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Book shipped upon receipt of payment. Books may be returned for any reason within ten days.
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subset: commoncrawl


text:
J Reezy (Feat. Versewon) - German [Unsigned Hype]
dir. by Tay Price (Las Vegas)
Produced by Let em Burn!!! for beats TWITTER @letemburn. Contact J Reezy on TWITTER @_Reezy. For booking, features, and production email firstname.lastname@example.com. Contact Versewon on TWITTER @Versewon. For booking, features, and verses go to www.versewon.com . Contact Tay Price on TWITTER @TayPriceFilms. For video production, photography, editing, graphic arts, or beats email firstname.lastname@example.com.
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Monster Treasure Adventure Hack


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- National
ACT top cop moving to Customs
The ACT's police chief will leave the force to become the deputy head of Customs next month, tasked with helping to stamp out corruption and drive ''cultural reform'' within the troubled agency.
Chief Police Officer Roman Quaedvlieg was announced as the deputy chief executive of Customs on Friday, after just over three years with ACT Policing.
Assistant Commissioner Quaedvlieg will become the head of border enforcement, which incorporates the intelligence, compliance and enforcement, border protection command, and maritime areas of Customs.
The move is part of the federal government's push to reform the service, which has been plagued by allegations of corruption and criminal involvement.
News of the appointment came on the same day that a former customs officer was jailed in NSW for helping to smuggle precursor drugs through Sydney Airport to pay off a gambling debt.
Assistant Commissioner Quaedvlieg's departure leaves the ACT's police chief position vacant, but Deputy Chief Police Officer David Pryce will act in the role until a permanent replacement is found.
Fairfax Media believes the chief police officer's last day will be Friday May 17. He is expected to start with Customs the following Monday.
In an email announcing the appointment to staff, Customs CEO Michael Pezzullo said his new deputy would ''focus very closely'' on strengthening the agency's integrity and professional standards.
'Given the need to improve our law enforcement capability, and strengthen our image and reputation as a disciplined and professional service, Roman's experience, insight and above all leadership will be of great value,'' Mr Pezzullo wrote.
Assistant Commissioner Quaedvlieg joined ACT Policing in March 2010, combining experience on the local beat in Queensland with extensive work in federal agencies.
During his time as police chief, the ACT has experienced significant reductions in crime rates. Property crime has fallen to decade lows on his watch, the result of a concerted effort to tackle a small group of repeat offenders. He also presided over the controversial rollout of Tasers to frontline police in the ACT, and the introduction of random roadside drug testing.
The force's approach to mental health was also radically overhauled, with compulsory mental health training for all frontline members, and clinicians embedded in police operations to provide direct support to officers on the beat.
That move - described as a world first - now sees the embedded mental health clinicians receive more than 100 calls a month from police for help, and has halved the number of mental health patients transported by police to Canberra Hospital for assessment from 80 to 40 per month.
The police union said Assistant Commissioner Quaedvlieg was always ''well respected'' by the ACT's rank and file, and would be widely missed.
''He brought to the ACT experience from federal operations as well as his community policing experience from when he was in the Queensland police,'' Australian Federal Police Association national president Jon Hunt-Sharman said.
''That combination of skills and experience clearly was beneficial to the ACT community. Any replacement for the role would need to have a similar background.''
Assistant Commissioner Quaedvlieg came to ACT Policing after five years with the Australian Federal Police investigating money-laundering, large-scale fraud, identity crime, and working as manager of the Oil-for-Food taskforce.
Before that, he worked with the Queensland Police for 15 years, famously catching the ''postcard bandit'', notorious bank robber and escapee Brenden James Abbott.
He worked in covert infiltration and in areas of surveillance targeting major organised crime syndicates.
Mr Hunt-Sharman said several officers within the AFP were capable of taking on the role of deputy chief.
''There's certainly been a number of federal police officers, senior officers in the AFP, that have actually worked in the ACT and worked federally,'' he said.
''Those people would no doubt have the experience and capability to do the job, so internally there's certainly an array of people who would be capable of doing it.''
Home Affairs Minister Jason Clare said Assistant Commissioner Quaedvlieg would bring extensive experience in anti-corruption, investigations, intelligence, and aviation security to Customs.
''I have made it clear that major reform is needed,'' Mr Clare said.
''A key part of this is improving the law enforcement capability of the Customs and Border Protection Service. Mr Quaedvlieg will help drive this reform.''
ACT Police Minister Simon Corbell congratulated Assistant Commissioner Quaedvlieg.
''He has carried out his duties with diligence and a commitment to ACT Policing and the Canberra community, delivering an engaged, responsive and professional police service. We wish him all the very best,'' Mr Corbell said.


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COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - Olympic silver medalist Rolf Sorensen has admitted to doping during his successful years in the nineties, the Dane said on Monday.
"It is time that I too - long overdue - admit to having been part of the Epo-era that was a part of the sport in the 90s", Sorensen, who won silver at the Olympic Games road race in Atlanta in 1996, said in a statement.
Sorensen admitted to having taken the hormone erythropoietin (EPO) and cortisone but told Danish newspaper Ekstra Bladet he was more "a party smoker on Saturdays as opposed to a needle addict".
"I have never used blood transfusions, which I am totally against, and I simply will not be compared with Lance Armstrong", he added in the newspaper.
Sorensen is the latest in a long line of cyclists to have confessed to doping after Lance Armstrong admitted in January to taking performing-enhancing drugs during his seven straight Tour de France victories from 1999-2005.
Earlier this year fellow Dane Michael Rasmussen admitted to more than a decade of doping.
Reporting by Johan Ahlander, Editing by Tom Pilcher


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Welcome to your new home in a vibrant world city
As a new student at LJMU you are guaranteed accommodation right in the heart of the dynamic city centre, with easy access to the main University campuses
If you have any enquiries get in touch with the Accommodation Office team by phone, email or Twitter @LJMU
+44 (0) 151 231 4166
Normal office hours
We're open Monday to Friday from 9am to 4.30pm
Liverpool is one of the most affordable, culturally innovative and safe student cities in the UK. However we know choosing where to live is a big decision to make and so we're here to help make it as straightforward as possible
Your Accommodation Guide 2019
Read your Accommodation Guide for pricing, contract and location advice. You'll also find a map and useful booking instructions inside.
Accommodation to suit you
All full-time International students request accommodation through the same process as UK students, and each year LJMU sets aside rooms for new postgraduate and mature students too. The accommodation we offer is in 'Halls' – large blocks of flats designed to meet the needs of modern student life.
We want to make your accommodation options as tailored to your needs as possible and we're constantly working to improve access and services to students with disabilities. We suggest particular accommodation options close to transport links for students at the IM Marsh campus, and also for nursing and healthcare students whose study and work patterns mean sharing with students on similar courses is the best option.


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Product List
Boxer Shorts
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Clock Parts
Coral Frames
Cork Backings
Cremation Urns
Dog Bandanas
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Heat Gun mt-4
Heat Strips
Heat Tape
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Resin Tile Frames
Silicone Glue
Super Lube
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Tile Frames
Tote Bags
Unisub Tiles
Urns for Pets
Versaprint Paper
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Shopping FAQ
Pressing Guide
Care and Usage
For more frame options with a nautical theme, there is also a variety of Driftwood and Porthole Frames. In addition there is a selection of Stone and Rock Frames for tile art.
These Faux Coral Frames are the perfect solution for all of your nautical themed images. Now you can easily add a reef effect to pictures with a look of coral that will enhance the overall view. One of the more popular frames for tiles, the coral comes in three different styles, Round, Flat and Oval. Click here to see pictures of the Coral Frame styles.
Shown on the right from top to bottom, is the Oval Style with the View From The Amalfi Coast in a 12 in by 18 in. mural on 6" tiles. The same size below with the windsurfer features the Flat Style, and the Circular Frame as well as the single frame for a 6 in. tile and the 18X24 mural with the grouper show the Round Style. You can mix and match any of the single tile resin frames or mix and match any of the multi-tile frames to get the quantity pricing (Specials excluded). Tiles not included. Click on photos for a larger image.)
Sizes for single tiles include 6X6, 6X8, 8X8, 8X10, 12X12 as well as the circular 8 inch round frame. Multi-tile frames are for four, six, eight or twelve 6 inch tiles and in the Round Style, for six 4¼" tiles. All come with slots in the back for easy hanging, except for the large 18X24 frames which should be hung using eyehooks and wire (not included) and placed in the portrait or landscape position. Please note that the 12 X 24 size (for eight tiles) is available only in the Round and Flat Styles. For more frame options with a nautical theme, be sure to see our Driftwood and Porthole Frames.
Perfect for a variety of smaller marine and ocean related subjects with a unique circular setting that makes a great companion piece to our Porthole! Tiles mount from the back for a nice finished look and will hold the optional Bison 8" glass cutting board ($9.95 ea), or round Unisub® hardboard tile (actual tile sizes are 7¾" $3.95 ea.). Both are available separately. Actual outside diameter is 11 ¾".
Round Style for 6 in.
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For all of the resin frame options, see our Specialty Tile Frames
For high end projects that need something truly unique, especially oceanic or underwater themes, be sure to look at our authentic Lobster Trap Frames
Need a certain color scheme? All of our resin fames can be painted if desired using any type of paint. While sturdy enough to hold up outdoors, it is not recommended to do so with sublimated tiles where they will receive direct sunlight.
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International Holy Week Photo Galleries from OBL News
Recommended by Fr. Joseph Huneycutt on his Orthodixie blog, the OBL News website has assembled several galleries of powerful images of Holy Week from around the Orthodox world.
Click here for Palm Sunday photos.
Click here for Holy Thursday photos.
Click here for Holy Friday photos.
Click here for photos of the Holy Fire Pascha services of Jersusalem.
Click here for photos of Pascha celebrations around the world.


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I guess what scares me about marriage is 'where do you find this person?' You know a lot of times, most successful relationships, people meet through work, school, mutual friends. But what's most interesting to me is when people just meet in life, just randomly. You know, I have a friend, he got married, I asked him like "Hey, uh, where'd you meet your wife?" He was like "I was leaving Bed, Bath & Beyond. I was looking for my car - I drive a grey Prius. I saw a different grey Prius, I thought it was mine, I walked up to it, I realized I had the wrong car, but I bumped into Carol, we started talking, that was that". That's unbelievable. Think about all the random factors that had to come together to make this one moment possible - this one moment that changed these two people's entire lives: First off, this guy has to live in this particular town. Then he has to get a grey Prius. Then he has to need to go to Bed, Bath & Beyond. Then he has to go to that particular Bed, Bath & Beyond. Then there has to be another guy who also lives in town, also drives a grey Prius, also needs to go to Bed, Bath & Beyond, also goes to that particular Bed, Bath & Beyond at around the same time. Then they have to both park somewhat near each other, my friend has to leave before the other guy leaves, see the wrong Prius, think it's his, walk up to it. Then the woman, Carol, needs to be near the wrong grey Prius for a million other random reasons. They bump into each other, they start talking, their entire lives are changed. That's the most amazing and terrifying thing about life. It is, cause the amazing thing is that at any moment, any one of us can have that moment that totally changes our lives. You could be leaving the show tonight, bump into someone… it could change your life. You don't know, that could happen. The terrifying thing is… what if we're all supposed to be at Bed Bath & Beyond right now?"
— Aziz Ansari


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Extending Symfony2 Web Application Framework
Extending Symfony2 Web Application Framework is published by Packt Publishing in March 2014. This book has 140 pages in English, ISBN-13 9781783287192.
Symfony is a high performance PHP framework for developing MVC web applications. Symfony1 allowed for ease of use but its shortcoming was the difficulty of extending it. However, this difficulty has now been eradicated by the more powerful and extensible Symfony2. Information on more advanced techniques for extending Symfony can be difficult to find, so you need one resource that contains the advanced features in a way you can understand.
This tutorial offers solutions to all your Symfony extension problems. You will get to grips with all the extension points that Symfony, Twig, and Doctrine offer and understand how each of them can be specifically leveraged to achieve cleaner, better structured, and re-usable code for your application.
Beginning with the core concepts of Services and Listeners, you quickly move on to learn the complexity of forms, creating commands, and implementing security, and finally you will share these extensions with others. This book will tell you everything you need to know to regain control of your code, to keep things simple, and share it within your application(s) or even the world. Whether you have already written extensions for Symfony2 or not, this book will be a useful guide through all possible types of extensions, and how each of them can be implemented and leveraged in your own applications.
What you will learn from this book
- Make and review services and listeners
- Integrate your extension with specific hooks
- Create custom commands, templates, and database integration
- Customize the security layer
- Configure extensions to share with the community
- Integrate to the same level as Symfony's core modules
With lots of practical, hands-on, step-by-step examples, this book will lead you through how to extend and optimize your Symfony2 framework.
Who this book is for
If you have a good understanding of how Symfony works and are now trying to integrate complex tasks in your application, or want to better organize your application by keeping each piece of code where it belongs so it can be decoupled and easily used elsewhere, then this book is for you.


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My 9 year old boy and I are building a 8 1/2 foot 5 weight RX6 (4pc) rod I gave him for Christmas.
I need to get the best line to match the rod for him as he would be considered a beginner. He has been fly casting with cheap rods and lines for the last two years. I was considering the scientific angler 6wt head start line. Does anyone else have any suggestions or experience with this line/rod combo?


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Albert Gordon Dickey and Margaret A.
Posted by mikegen48 on September 15, 2008
Albert Gordon Dickey was born about 1844 in Pennsylvania. He died on 5 May 1909 in Pennsylvania.
Albert married Margaret A. on 6 Jun 1866 in Carbon County, Pennsylvania. Margaret was born during 1845 in Pennsylvania. She died in 1926 in Pennsylvania.
They had the following children:
Betty M. Dickey was born in 1868 in Pennsylvania. She died on 26 May 1946 in New York.
Isabella L. Dickey was born in 1871 in Pennsylvania. She died on 26 Apr 1930 in Schuyler County, New York.
Charlotte Mary Dickey was born on 6 Sep 1874 in Pennsylvania. She died on 25 May 1957 in New York.
Jacob E. Dickey was born in 1878 in Pennsylvania.
Daniel N. Dickey was born in 1881 in Pennsylvania.
Sarah H. Dickey was born in 1884 in Centre County, Pennsylvania.
Jane Martha Dickey was born on 7 Jan 1887 in Pennsylvania.
Rufus Booth Dickey was born on 17 Feb 1890 in Pennsylvania. He died on 4 Jun 1938 in New York.
Agnes Dickey was born during 1893 in Pennsylvania. She died on 2 Aug 1969 in Schuyler County, New York.
Frances A. Dickey was born in 1896 in Centre County, Pennsylvania. She died on 18 Dec 1964 in Schuyler County, New York.
John R. Dickey was born in 1900 in Pennsylvania.
Some people need random names.


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I never need an excuse to go to Vancouver, but this is the best one I can think of. The Playhouse International Wine Festival takes place every year in late March, and this was my second—and favorite–visit. I stayed at the hip Opus Hotel, a sweet little gem just off the café-and-club-filled brick side streets of the Yaletown area.
There were all the usual wine-festivally things, such as the Grand Tasting in the huge convention center ballrooms, with its allées of wine being poured from all over the world. This year featured Wines from Spain, so I was giddy with the chance to stroll a multi-cultural neighborhood full of Albariños and Temranillos not available in the United States, delicious BC Pinot Gris and Pinot Noir, Austrian Grüner Veltliner, and just down the street, gems from Israel, Argentina, Burgundy, and just one of our own – Hedges Family Estate – owners Tom and Anne-Marie Hedges were there, perhaps, like me, to treat themselves to a few days in Vancouver and browse the world wine tables as well.
But the best part, I feel, is always the lineup of seminars, and my favorite this year was "A Whammy of Umami" – which ended up being more of a teaser than a theme, as the subject of umami was not really discussed. But no matter, the thing was all about sherry and Spanish cheese, and that's good enough for me. The cracker-jack panel included César Saldaña, Director General of the Regulating Council of Jerez, complete with his sexy Spanish accent (Her-ETH), and Allison Spurrell, owner of Les Amis du Fromage, a Vancouver cheese shop.
The bulk of the seminar was Saldaña's fabulous and crystal clear (no mean feat) Power Point presentation on the history and production of sherry. The process is fascinating, but way too long for a description here, but the interesting take-away for me was the pedigree of the sherry vinification process – basically that there are two directions sherry can go when choosing the initial wine for production – Fino (including Manzanilla) or Oloroso (both always white from three grape varieties including Pedro Ximénez, Palomino and Moscatel). Fino is the best, most delicate wine, aged biologically, with the flor, the living yeasts that live on the surface of the wine in the barrel and protect the wine from oxidation. Oloroso wines have a higher alcohol content which prohibits the flor from developing, so the wine is in contact with more air and therefore is aged oxidatively.
The solera system blends wines from many different barrels, stacked in rows, and each vintage, a bit is taken from all the barrels – combining the body and intensity of the older wines with the youthful vigor of the younger. The blend also determines the color and intensity, dryness and sweetness levels, etc. The names of different styles of sherry range from lightest to darkest, dryest (mostly) to sweetest): Manzanilla, Fino, Amontillado, Palo Cortado, Pale Cream, Medium, Cream, Moscatel and Pedro Ximénez.
My Tasting Notes (which could have gone on a lot longer – these wines are complex!):
Emilio Lustau Light Manzanilla Papirusa Solera Reserva ($14.97)
Aromas of lemon curd, white rose, linen, dried orange peel and chamomile. Pungent with fresh dough, almond. The palate shows fresh and dried lemon and orange peel, almond, very dry, moderate acidity. Great with fresh cheeses. Biologically aged, i.e. with flor, the layer of yeast and other goodies that covers the top of this non-vintage wine, and therefore, not oxidatively aged, as are oloroso sherry. Tasted with Ibores, raw cow's milk cheese rubbed with paprika.
Gonzalez Byass Tio Pepe Fino NV DO Jerez – Xéres – Sherry ($21.99)
A non-vintage sherry with aromas of grain, hay, orange peel, dry and bitter on the palate that would be great with oysters. Tasted with Garrotxa, a chewy goat's milk cheese.
Bodegas Alvear Amontillado Sherry NV DO Montilla-Moriles ($15.49)
This non-vintage sherry is a blend of biologically and oxidatively aged wines, with pungent aromas of yeast and nuts, caramel and root beer with a moderately viscous palate of brown sugar and sweet spice. Tasted with Mahon, a creamy soft-aged cow's milk cheese, great with fruit.
Gonzalez Byass Nutty Solera Oloroso NV DO Jerez – Xéres – Sherry ($16.99)
An oxidatively aged oloroso sherry this wine has a fair amount of oak flavors and aromas extracted from the barrel, with fresh orange and concentrated nut flavors, fresh acidity and a super long finish. Luscious. Tasted with Mangego, a delicate and fruity sheep's milk cheese aged one year.
Gonzalez Byass Palo Cortado Apostoles Rare Old Solera ($34.99)
The only Palo Cortado of the group, meaning the wine starts out as fino (the lightest, most delicate wine that is aged biologically with flor in the barrel), and then is aged for a long time—in this case, 30 years—in the barrels of the solera. Tasted with Idiazabal, a strong Basque sheep's milk cheese smoked in sycamore leaves, with a nutty, meat-and-smoke flavor. Amazing.
Bodegas Alvear Pedro Ximénez de Anada 2008 DO Montilla-Moriles ($26.99)
This young vintage wine is what Saldana called "franco" – which means frank, I suppose – that it smells like it tastes. This wine does that: aromas of orange marmalade and dried fig and raisins. It has a lush, velvety mouthfeel. Deelish! Tasted with Valdeon, a strong blue blend of cow's and goat's milk.


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The influence of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) is rapidly expanding. New information and communication technologies, services and networks are transforming the way people live, work and learn.
ICT is concerned with how technology can be used to manage and process information. At RBAI, computers and computer software are used by our pupils to create, convert, access, store, organise, protect, present, communicate and transmit information in a variety of electronic forms.
Within the ICT Department we provide our pupils with the technical knowledge, skills and understanding needed in a world increasingly dominated by the use of ICT systems.
- Mr. R. Wilson - Whole School ICT Coordinator
- Mr. N. Carson - Assistant Teacher
- Mr. J. King - Systems Administrator and ICT Support
- Miss L. Foster - ICT Support & Intranet maintenance (QUB Placement Student)
In addition, there are a number of staff (from other departments) who assist in the teaching of Key Stage 3 ICT.
The ICT Department also provides regular feedback, advice and support to the school's Board of Governors via the Governors' ICT Sub-Committee. The Principal, Senior Vice-Principal, Mr. Wilson and Mr. King are active members of the ICT Sub-Committee.
A2 ICT students using room CP2 to work on their coursework
The school is extremely well equipped in terms of ICT facilities and resources. The school is part of C2K managed service that is provided to all schools in Northern Ireland. The refurbished Christchurch building houses the ICT Department on the ground floor. The equipment and facilities at RBAI is as follows:
- 3 Dedicated C2K equipped computer suites (rooms CP1, CP2 and S2)
- 1 Apple Macintosh suite for Media Studies (room C5)
- 1 Audio Visual suite for Lectures
- 1 Staffroom ICT facility
- 2 Mobile Laptop Notebuses (Library and Design & Technology)
- 64 Promethean Interactive Whiteboards (installed in most classrooms throughout the school).
- 92 C2K Dell Laptop Computers
- 231 HP C2K Desktop Computers
- 1 Portable Audio Visual package
- 2 A3 Colour Scanners
- 3 A4 Colour Laser Printers
- 2 A3 Colour Laser Printers
- 5 Wireless Network access areas
- 1 Digital Semi Compact SLR camera
- Pupils' Learning Resource area on the school network
- Staff Resource area on the school network
- Internal school intranet for daily school announcements and events.
Open Access times are also provided for pupils to use the ICT facilities on most days of the week at lunch times and immediately after school. Priority will be given to those pupils who have to complete coursework or assignments.
All pupils have the opportunity to engage in ICT throughout their academic studies at RBAI. ICT is taught from year 8 through to year 14
The Revised Curriculum indicates that learning at KS3 should be supported with clear "Learning Intentions and Success Criteria". This will enable pupils to gain a better understanding of what they are learning (W.A.L.T.) and how this can be achieved (W.I.L.F.)
Learning Intentions for KS3 ICT
To give pupils the skills to become safe and proficient users of ICT so they can use it to their benefit in all Areas of Learning (AOLs) across the curriculum.
To give pupils relevant experience in ICT that will enable them to make an informed decision at the end of Year 10 as to whether a GCSE course in this subject would be of interest.
Success Criteria for KS3 ICT
To successfully complete all activities throughout Years 8, 9 & 10.
Open Access
Open Access will be provided for Years 8-10 on a Monday, Tuesday and Friday during lunch. Open Access is also provided from 3.25pm-4.00pm each day of the week. Priority will be given to those pupils who require the use of computers for academic work.
One of the primary aims, of this course, is to ensure that the young people acquire the knowledge and skills they need for the emerging information society. This course also recognises that new Information and Communication Technologies, services and networks are rapidly transforming the way people live, work and learn.
The scheme of assessment consists of five pieces of pupil centred coursework and one final examination paper. This work is broken down as follows:
1. Academic Content (40% of overall marks).
(i) Knowledge, understanding and Skills in Communicating, Handling Information and Modelling.
(ii) Understanding of ICT Systems in everyday life.
(iii) Implications of ICT for Individuals, Organisations and Society.
2. Coursework Modules (60% of overall marks).
In GCSE ICT, Unit 1 and Unit 2 are assessed by controlled assessment. Each unit is worth 30 percent of the final award. There are three tasks for Unit 1 and two tasks for Unit 2 and they are all compulsory. Students must work independently and make reference to any resources they have used.
Teachers mark the controlled assessment tasks, using criteria that CCEA provide, and the work is finally assessed by CCEA moderators.
The table below gives further details:
Unit 1: Tools and Applications
Unit 2: Using Multimedia and Games Technology
Total weighting
Time limits
Task 1: 9 hours
Task 1: 11 hours
Unit 1 Coursework (Year 11)
Task 1 - Information Storage and Retrieval (Microsoft Access database)
Task 2 - Numeric Manipulation and Modelling (Microsoft Excel)
Task 3 - Presentation (Microsoft Powerpoint)
Unit 2 Coursework (Year 12)
Task 4 - Multimedia Website Design (Microsoft Frontpage)
Task 5 - Games Technology (Gamemaker software)
Due to the nature of this type of work pupils should have a very strong interest in Information Technology and should be interested in a career within this discipline. Pupils should be independent, capable of working on their own initiative and possess a basic knowledge of the Microsoft Office software package.
It cannot be over-emphasised how important the pupil-centred coursework (60%) is to the overall grade obtained. The coursework is demanding!
Access to a home computer is advantageous but not essential as the School possesses excellent ICT facilities which are also available to pupils during lunch times and after school.
Open Access
Open Access will be provided for Years 11-12 on a Wednesday and Thursday during lunch. Open Access is also provided from 3.25pm-4.00pm each day of the week. Priority will be given to those pupils who require the use of computers for the completion of coursework.
Examination Date - Summer 2013
GCSE ICT Unit 3
This course uses a task driven approach to problem solving and decision making that relies on effective use of ICT systems; it extends the pupils' conceptions of the effects and limitations of ICT and understanding of new opportunities it provides within organisation and societies.
Course Content
- Module 1 Fundamentals and components of ICT (assessed through two final exam papers – 50%)
- Module 2 Coursework
- Coursework 1 Website Design or Multimedia Project (25%)
- Coursework 2 Database Design or Spreadsheet Project (25%)
The GCE Advanced Level (A2) builds upon the foundations of knowledge, understanding and skills developed at AS level. The content, at A2, is delivered between modules 3 and 4.
Course Content
- Module 3 Information Systems (assessed through two final exam papers - 50%)
- Module 4 Coursework (50%) Design and implementation of a full software solution to a real problem.
Examination Date - Summer 2013
AS ICT Exam
A2 ICT Exam
BringITon is an IT careers initiative designed by e-skills UK, a not-for-profit, employer-led organisation licensed by government as the Sector Skills Council for Business and Information Technology. As part of the Future Skills Action Plan for IT, and in conjunction with the Department of Employment and Learning, Invest NI and Momentum, the aim of this initiative is to attract teenagers towards education and careers within the IT sector.
Click on the image to link you to the BringITon website that will give you lots of information about the ICT industry in Northern Ireland.
Computing and ICT are offered at all the major universities and colleges. Click on the relevant logo to link you to the appropriate university or college website.


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I went to the Helm Swap meet this past weekend and got what I thought was a great deal on two used 2004 Nitro Cabrinha sails (10, 14).
Then I told that to a buddy and he said "those are high aspect sails, not for beginners." Looking on the internet, most articles point that way; I could not find a single article that said a beginnner could learn on a high-aspect kite.
I told the seller I had never been in the water, only a land lesson, and I know about aspect, but stupidly forgot at the time to ask.
From what I'm reading, high aspect is out of fashion as well, even with the pros, as mid-aspect can now do most of what high can without the sensitivity.
What's my prognosis? Required to get another sail? I'm planning on taking lessons, and I'm athletic and water knowledgable, but am I setting myself up for a steeper learning curve unless I spend the money? Should I spend the money on more lessons or just a mid-aspect kite?
Thanks for the guidance.


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Hello, Everyone.
I am a Freelance Graphics Designer. And I'm currently involved in a job, for a small time record label. I currently have the website finished on Photoshop, just in need of someone who can take it from PSD to CSS/xHTML.
There's nothing too fancy about this, although a Slideshow has been requested on the homepage, but that shouldn't be too much of a fuss, and your typical Contact me form.
I wouldn't like to disclose payment on the thread. So if anyone is interested, please message me, with a turnaround time, and your price for the job.
Thank You very much.


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Whether you are looking for Korean Greek technical terms or Korean Greek slang, might it be for business or leisure - our Korean Greek dictionary is here to assist you.
You may also want to visit our Korean Greek Translation website and start to achieve the best language translation over the Internet.


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Resources >> Browse Articles >> Career Advancement
Resources >> Browse Articles >> How to
Resources >> Browse Articles >> On the Job
How to Communicate with Your Nursing Supervisor
Linda Childers | Monster Contributing Writer
Maybe it's the whiny colleague who makes your 12-hour nursing shift seem twice as long or the turf war raging between the nurses, physicians and technicians in your department. Or maybe you're just tired of feeling overworked and underappreciated. Whatever the scenario, you sense that changes are needed before you lose your sanity or start looking for another nursing job.
Whether you want to improve morale in your department or resolve a conflict with another nurse, your success in doing so will largely depend on how skillfully you bring up difficult issues with your supervisor and how well you guide that conversation in a productive direction.
"When there's a problem at work, I meet with my supervisor and discuss all of the pertinent facts," says Kathy Sommese, a nurse supervisor with Kaiser Permanente in Oakland. "I approach our discussion with a collaborative attitude, without being hostile or demanding, and I offer solutions on how I think the problem can be resolved."
As a supervisor, Sommese also appreciates it when her employees attempt to resolve problems on their own.
"If a nurse is having a conflict with a coworker, I encourage them to sit down together and talk openly about what's bothering them rather than acting out their unhappiness," she says. "If they've tried to work it out without success, it's time for me to intervene."


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Madonna & Michelle Pfeiffer
Are the same age. I guess there are many different ways of doing it...
Here's Michelle Pfeiffer this weekend at the premiere of People Like Us. She looks lovely. She doesn't look like she's fighting it. Do you remember her in Tequila Sunrise? This is my favourite Mel Gibson movie. Because of HER. And Raul Julia.
And then there's Madonna in Florence with boyfriend Brahim. They went sightseeing. She's also shooting the video for Turn Up The Radio there. Look at her, surrounded by all those people. How many of them tell her the truth?
Wenn, Fame/Flynet, New Press Photo/Splash


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By Lisa Capobianco
Staff Writer
Broccoli rabe, gelato, a tribute to Elvis Presley and a saint procession brought a crowd to Southington's ninth annual Italian American Festival last weekend. But the festival also brought a crowd to relive the memories of Italian heritage and traditions.
Eating a bowl of sufrite under the UNICO tent, Bill Della Vecchia, co-chair of the event, recalled how the festival is a reminder of the traditions and customs his grandparents brought with them to America from the Naples area of Italy in the early 1900s.
"It's tradition to keep up Italian heritage and the events that our ancestors had done many years ago," Della Vecchia said.
Richard Landino, a Southington resident, said his family also came to America in the 1900s. Growing up in an all-Italian neighborhood in New Haven, Landino reminisced about speaking Italian to his relatives before moving out of the Elm city in the 1960s.
"This brings you back for a few days," he said. "I used to be very fluent in Italian, but over the years…when all the relatives were gone, I'm not as fluent anymore."
Managed by the Sons of Italy and the Southington chapter of UNICO, the three-day festival had 25 food vendors, a wine tasting competition, an Elvis tribute and a variety of Italian themed singers and bands. Some musical guests, like Aaron Caruso, The Southington Stars group and Robert Pavarotto returned to the festival again this year. Other musicians included Vincent Riccardi, Emily Wright and Marty Roche.
Joe LaPorte is in charge of the festival's entertainment, and the music is one of his favorite parts of the festival, which is a symbol of his family's past.
"It's the revival of tradition that my father started in Italy," LaPorte said.
Besides live music, a special outside church mass took place Sunday morning, followed by a blessed saint procession throughout the neighborhood. Della Vecchia said this is the highlight of the festival, which used to take place behind St. Thomas Church in the 1960s. Della Vecchia, along with his co-chairs, wanted to bring back the festival nine years ago.
"I remember the festival that was behind St. Thomas Church back in the '60s. My parents were involved in it," Della Vecchia said.
Della Vecchia also remembers the time he went back to Italy six years ago when he tracked down his grandfather's birth certificate. To his surprise, Della Vechia then located a cousin whom his father used to write to in the 1960s. With the help of the town, Della Vecchia was able to track down both the son and grandson of this long-lost cousin. He said the Italian heritage is all about working together.
"Once [everyone] found out what I was trying to do, everybody got together," he said. "They all got together to try and help me, around the streets over there—it was phenomenal."
Festival brings food and memories
By Lisa Capobianco


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2010: The Year of the Renter?
Scores of stalled construction projects can be found scattered around New York City, but one category of building that doesn't seem to have been sidetracked by the recession is the luxury apartment rental. At least 16 new rental buildings are expected to open in Manhattan in coming months, ranging from small buildings to 500-unit high-rises, for a total of more than 3,500 apartments. Brooklyn will get an additional 3,500 new apartments as well, including units in some buildings that opened in late 2009.


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Welcome to OJNI! Please note our permanent web address – http://ojni.org
The Online Journal of Nursing Informatics (OJNI) is a free, international, professional, refereed publication that focuses on nursing informatics in all practice settings. OJNI is committed to addressing the theoretical and practical aspects of nursing informatics as it relates to the art of nursing. CINAHL indexes the journal.
We are proud that our readership spans 49 countries!
The Journal was initiated in 1996 making OJNI the longest running journal dedicated to Nursing Informatics.
NEWS: The HIMSS Foundation and the HIMSS Nursing Informatics Community are pleased to announce a new acquisition – The Online Journal of Nursing Informatics (OJNI).
OJNI is pleased to be associated with CIAHNL and ProQuest:
We Invite Your Contributions Do you want to get involved with OJNI?
We welcome the input and involvement of nursing scholars, nurse informaticians, and others interested in becoming involved with OJNI – there are many opportunities! We actively encourage manuscripts and technological reviews that are relevant to nurses, as well as other submissions (such as multimedia presentations and personal case studies) to feature in our journal.
OJNI is published every 4 months and is published in February, June, and October. We welcome your submissions, comments, and suggestions.
The OJNI wants to exploit the power of cyberspace in order to create an electronic nursing informatics community that provides both virtually accessible and timely information about nursing informatics globally.
1996 – 2017 – Online Journal of Nursing Informatics – All Rights Reserved | Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS)


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2011 Suzuki Kizashi Sport SLS Gallery
Bullz-Eye recently began our review of the 2011 Suzuki Kizashi Sport SLS and this is one sharp ride! Some vehicles out there just blend in but the Azure Gray Metallic Suzuki Kisashi stands out in a crowded field. Look for our full review in the coming weeks on Bullz-Eye.com
You can follow us on Twitter and Facebook for content updates. Also, sign up for our email list for weekly updates and check us out on Google+ as well.
Posted in: Cars
Tags: car reviews, Cars, kizashi review, suzuki kizashi, suzuki kizashi gallery, suzuki kizashi pics


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All Eyes On Isaac As GOP Convention Approaches
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Mitt Romney's Republican National Convention sputters to life with the lonely banging of a gavel in a mostly empty hall, hardly the opening splash intended for the nation.
With a sprawling and strengthening storm bearing down on the region, the GOP hastily rewrote the convention script in Tampa, Fla., to present the extravaganza's prime rituals and headline speakers later in the week — Tropical Storm Isaac willing.
Nothing is certain as the storm carves an unpredictable path toward the Gulf of Mexico, forcing planners to compress four days of events into three and otherwise improvise.
It's a complication, at best, for a party determined to cast the close election as a referendum on President Barack Obama's economic stewardship and Romney as the best hope for jobs and prosperity.


text:
Call us on: 020 8238 5700 |
E-mail: email@example.com
accSEND is our secure messaging tool. Built specifically for accountants, it allows us to securely share information and documents with our clients.
accSEND is free for you to use and works on PC, laptop or mobile - it is also available on the App Store.
To login please click on the button below. When you click on the button a new page will open allowing you to login, this page is secure and your username and password are protected.


text:
Faculty Handbook
Pre-Employment Inquiry
Dear Applicant:
We have received your application for a position at Western Connecticut State University. Your resume has been referred to the appropriate search committee and, if you are selected for further consideration, you will be contacted for an interview.
In compliance with federal and state regulations, Western Connecticut State University is required to collect and maintain data on the race, sex, and ethnic identity of all applicants for employment. Your responses are strictly voluntary and will help in implementing Western's Affirmation Action Program. If you choose not to answer any of the questions, you will not be subject to adverse effects; however, we urge you to do so and assure you that this form is confidential. Any use of this material for purposes not connected with affirmative action or any use by unauthorized persons is punishable under the law.
Please complete the information below and return it in the enclosed envelope to our Chief Diversity Officer. Thank you.
Affirmative Action Data Sheet
|Race or National Origin (check one)
|[ ]
|Black (not of Hispanic origin)-all persons having origins in any of the Black racial groups of Africa
|[ ]
|Hispanic–all persons of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Central or South American or other Spanish
|culture or origin, regardless of race
|[ ]
|White (not of Hispanic origin)-all persons having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe,
|NorthAfrica, or the Middle East
|[ ]
|American Indian or Alaskan Native-all persons having origins in any of the original peoples of North
|America, and who maintain cultural identification through tribal affiliation or community recognition
|[ ]
|Asian or Pacific Islander-all persons having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East,
|Southeast Asia, the Indian Subcontinent, or the Pacific Islands. The area includes, for example, China,
|Japan, Korea, the Philippine Islands, and Samoa.
|These definitions are provided by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Washington, D.C.
|Position for which you are applying (circle one):
|Faculty Position
|How were you referred to us:
|[ ]
|Newspaper or journal advertisement
|Specify which one(s)____________________________________________
|[ ]
|Professional Associations
|Specify which one(s)____________________________________________
|[ ]
|A Colleague (or word of mouth)
|[ ]
|Position announcement sent to your campus
|[ ]
|Other (please specify)___________________________________________
|Search Number: __________________________________


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Spring 2018
6207 Lawyering Skills and Strategies - C4 - SWIFT- 17286
Kenneth Swift (CLINICAL FACULTY [405(b)])
Credits: 2
Course Areas: 1st Year - Section C
Time: 1:00p-3:00p MLocation: 209 BLB
Course Outline: Course Outline: Lawyering Skills and Strategies II will focus on legal writing in litigation and transactional contexts and the skills and strategic planning lawyers must possess to succeed within actual lawyering experiences. The curriculum will be problem – based, using fact-pattern simulations to enable students to work through actual practice skills and strategies and ethical issues. Training in essential lawyering skills such as oral communication, legal writing, research, and analysis will be embedded within fact pattern simulations involving typical litigation and transactional issues that students will work through to develop lawyering skills and problem-solving strategies. Students at times will be assigned to represent opposing sides of the problem.
Course Description
Course Syllabus: Syllabus
Course Notes:
First Day Assignments:
Final Exam Schedule:
This course will have:
Satisfies Skills Course Requirement: No
Satisfies Senior Upper Level Writing Requirement: No
Experiential Course Type: no
Bar Course: No
Course Materials (11/22/2017 9:49:19 AM)
Book(s) Required


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If cities were stocks, you'd want to short Phoenix.
Of course, it's an easy city to pick on. The nation's 13th-largest metropolitan area crams 4.3 million people into a low bowl in a hot desert, where horrific heat waves and windstorms visit it regularly. And it depends on an improbable infrastructure to suck water from the distant (and dwindling) Colorado River.
If the Gulf Coast's Hurricane Katrina and the Eastern Seaboard's Superstorm Sandy previewed how coastal cities can expect to fare as seas rise and storms strengthen, Phoenix — which also stands squarely in the cross hairs of climate change — pulls back the curtain on the future of inland empires. If you want a taste of the brutal new climate to come, look no further than the aptly named Valley of the Sun.
PHOTO ESSAY: Seven states, seven warning signs of global warming
In Phoenix, the convergence of heat, drought and violent winds is creating an ever-more-worrisome situation. Let's take heat first. If, in summer, the grid there were to fail on a large scale and for a significant period of time, the fallout would make the consequences of Sandy look mild. Phoenix is an air-conditioned city. If the power goes out, people fry.


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Up High, a Diadem
The afternoon of Day 2 in Brazil:
We made our way to the top of the Picas das Agulhas Negras looking, for a bird known as a great pampa finch. We parked next to a military outpost, walked past the roadblock and down a rocky dirt road toward the peaks. The air was thin here above 8,000 feet and it was still cold, though we were warmed somewhat by the sun, which was approaching the mid-day position in the sky. Even so, frost lingered on the grass in shaded areas on the roadside.
The occasional breeze did little to carry or to conceal bird song—there was none. A few rufous-collared sparrows flitted across the road. No sight or sound of the pampa finch. Paulo suggested we head back to the military building to have our lunch. Maybe we'd have better luck on full stomachs.
As we walked back up the hill to the bus and building, I answered Nature's call and stepped off into the underbrush. As is almost always the case, I was not yet done when the shouts of the others reached my ears. Whizzing over, and much lighter on my feet, I raced to the group's location. There, teed up on a bare branch, was the great pampa finch, looking like the ill-bred spawn of a junco and a green towhee. At last a bird that wanted its pitcher took. Or is it tooken?
I stayed on the bird for the next ten minutes of so while the others grabbed their lunches and found sunny spots on the lee side of the outpost building for eating. Cesar, our driver, grabbed my small camera to take a photo of our lunch party.
While the others continued masticating (look it up) I took my big camera on a walk back up the road. The great pampa finch flew from under a jeep and landed in a patch of grass. Another bird followed. It was a diademed tanager! Both birds were eating the leaves of some tiny succulent plant growing there. It must have been a special food item because both birds stayed focused on eating, allowing me to approach (sliding on my behind across the rocky road) within four feet.
The tanager's iridescent blue color, dark face, and the fact that it was often half-in and half-out of the bright sunlight made it quite a challenge to get a decent photo. But I managed to get a few.
Paulo shouted to me that it was time to head back down the mountain. The others were already on the bus, so I reluctantly left an incredibly stunning bird—one I'd only just added to my life list a few hours before—and we headed off in a cloud of dust.
On the way back down we ran into soaring white-tailed hawks. They were turning lazy circles over a massive valley that was wearing a layer of clouds. It might have been the first time I've watched a buteo soaring above me, yet we were both above the clouds.
Other things were rising into the sky, too. The full moon made a late afternoon appearance, making this barren habitat above the treeline look even more like a moonscape.
We made a few more stops on the way down adding a few more birds. Then we reached the highway. The smooth road (at last) warm sunlight coming in the windows, and the hum of the diesel engine were too much—I dozed off.
More about the adventures on the way home in my next post.
Labels: birding in Brazil, diademed tanager, great pampa finch, Picas das Agulhas Negras


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AUGUSTA, Ga. – With the conclusion of the 2012 regular season, the Georgia College soccer team (10-7-1) has earned the No. 6-seed in the Peach Belt Conference (PBC) Tournament, and will travel to No. 3-seed Columbus State University Tuesday, Oct. 30 at 7 p.m.
The game will be featured on CSU's Ustream channel, with that link as well as live stats available at www.GCBobcats.com .
GC will have a measure of revenge Tuesday night, as the Bobcats look to avenge a 3-0 loss at CSU earlier this year.
The winner of the quarterfinal match in Columbus, Ga. will advance to the semifinal round Friday in Evans, Ga. at Blanchard Woods Park.
The Georgia College Department of Athletics, two-time winners of the PBC Commissioner's Cup, sponsors 11 varsity athletic programs at the NCAA Division II level. As a Division II program, Bobcat Athletics prides itself on balancing the life of the student-athlete, evidenced by the teams' multiple appearances in post-season competition as well as documented academic success and community-service involvement. Sign up at www.twitter.com/BobcatSports and www.facebook.com/gcbobcats for up-to-the-minute reports, and visit www.GCBobcats.com for more information, and to nominate your favorite former Bobcats and Colonials to the GC Athletics Hall of Fame.


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WALTHAM — The Addison County Community Trust (ACCT) has reached a deal to buy the now-vacant, 14-unit Gevry Trailer Park in Waltham on the Vergennes city line, a property the nonprofit agency hopes to use for affordable or senior housing.
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Maybe it just takes the sight of Real Salt Lake on the other side of the field to keep the Galaxy's rapt attention.
That consistent focus the Galaxy have been looking for arrived Saturday night and they rode Gyasi Zardes' early goal to score a 1-0 victory over RSL at StubHub Center.
The Western Conference rivals, two veteran clubs and recent MLS champions, won't meet again this season after facing off for the third time. Each picked up a win and a tie in the series and now they'll keep an eye on each from afar as the playoff chase hits its stride.
With Tommy Meyer and A.J. DeLaGarza at central defense as Omar Gonzalez recovers from a twisted ankle, the Galaxy (6-3-6) snuffed out most of the RSL attack and goalkeeper Jaime Penedo made a crucial stop in the 63rd minute to keep them ahead.
Zardes broke the scoreless tie in the 20th minute after a nifty pass from Marcelo Sarvas and a quick decision from Landon Donovan.
Sarvas drove the ball down the right sideline and sent a cross into the box, where both Donovan and Zardes waited. Donovan let the pass through to Zardes and his shot bounded off the left post and past goalkeeper Nick Rimando into the net.
In fact, it wasn't only a quick choice on Donovan's part, he had help.
"I saw Marcelo going wide so I made sure I was in the box," Zardes said. "I saw Landon had a man open so I told him to leave it and he dummied the ball. If you have an open play you have to speak up and he had a man on him, so you have to say, 'Leave it.' If he was wide open, he would have taken that."
Two minutes later, Zardes nearly struck again when Robbie Keane sent a pass in front. Zardes sprinted and slid in front of an open net, but the ball was just out of his reach.
"We played a fairly solid 90 minutes tonight," Galaxy coach Bruce Arena said. "We had chances to get a second goal on a few occasions in the second half, which would have made the game a little easier.
"It's good for us to win a game like this. It's a good ugly win against a good team. We did a good job in the defensive end of the field. Any time you get a shutout, that speaks volumes for the whole team and their effort."
Rimando and midfielder Kyle Beckerman were making their return from U.S. World Cup duty for Real Salt Lake (7-4-7). Beckerman also had a chance in the second half, but his shot from the left rolled just wide to the right.
Rimando turned Keane away in the box in the 56th minute, then thwarted the Galaxy again in injury time.
Donovan broke free alone against Rimando and tried to maneuver around him to the goalkeeper's right, but Rimando dived and slapped the ball off Donovan's foot to save a sure goal.
A minute later, Rimando was 40 yards out of the goal to stop another Galaxy attempt to go over the top of the RSL defense.
The Galaxy are starting to pick up some momentum and move up in the standings and it could be a fruitful stage of the season for them. For example, they are only four points behind RSL in the standings and have played three fewer games.
Rimando couldn't get away from everything, though. Donovan and Sarvas went in together and Donovan fed a pass to Sarvas. Who was tripped up by Rimando in the box for a penalty.
Sarvas, though, was stuffed on his penalty kick as Rimando dived to his right. Referee Silviu Petrescu promptly blew the final whistle.
"Donovan let me kick the penalty. That happens," Sarvas said with a smile. "That's not the first one we miss this season. I won't ask anymore to get the penalty. I had my chance."


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Web designers who discover the sandvox are in for a nice treat
Don't you hate it when your ISP doesn't understand and doesn't care what kind of software you use? Isn't it a real pain to discover your software CMS system doesn't like your ISP, and the ISP doesn't like it back? May 31, 2015


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Review: Garbage live at Terminal 5
Photos by G.
Garbage! One of the best bands of the 90s is back and kicking even more ass than ever. They played a sold out show at New York's Terminal 5 on March 22, 2013 and it was anything but garbage. The band played their first New York show in 7 years last May (which I went to and was so awesome), and they played 9 different songs last night than when they were last here!
The band experienced a few technical problems, but Shirley Manson used that time to tell funny stories like comparing technical glitches to being on a bad date, but in the end you have sex anyway! She also briefly addressed the recent scandal where 90s singer Michelle Shocked made on stage anti-gay remarks and Shirley simply said "Fuck Michelle Shocked!" Manson also thanked the legions of Garbage fans who have stuck with the band through thick and thin before playing "The Trick is To Keep Breathing."
There were so many highlights and the band has so many great songs that despite playing 22 songs, I left wanting them to keep playing for another 2 hours. But they did play "Only Happy When It Rains," "Stupid Girl," "#1 Crush," Special," "When I Grow Up,""Push It," and not often played song such as "Hammering In My Head" from "Version 2.0" and "The One" which is a bonus track on their latest album "Not Your Kind of People." They also played "Cup of Coffee" off "Beautiful Garbage" and Shirley Manson said it's the saddest song Garbage has ever played and encouraged fans to weep openly during the song. For the encore (and a video will be coming soon), they brought out Screaming Females lead singer Marissa Paternoster to perform a cover of Patti Smith's "Because the Night." You can watch a video of "Queer" right now! (link will open in new window). I know it's good for you. You can click it if you want. 🙂
If you think Garbage is one of those nostalgia acts, I highly encourage you to listen to their entire catalog as they have so many rockin' songs and continue to make great music over 15 years after their debut! Shirley Manson's lyrics are fragile, biting, ironic and all of them are married with an attitude of "I can kick your ass at anytime, so don't fuck with me" and like the name of their third album, that is beautiful garbage, according 2 G.
The setlist was: Push It / Queer / Automatic Systematic Habit / Hammering in my Head / Blood For Poppies / Special / Why Do You Love Me / #1 Crush / I Think I'm Paranoid / The One / The Trick Is To Keep Breathing / Control / Cherry Lips / Cup of Coffee / Stupid Girl / Only Happy When It Rains / Vow / Beloved Freak
Encore: Because The Night (with the Screaming Females' Marissa P) / When I Grow Up / You Look So Fine


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.comment: Crunch Time
Speak Now or Ever After . . . Regret Your Silence
The public comment period in U.S. v. Microsoft has begun.
The proposed final settlement has been published in the Federal Register, so the clock is ticking. Those of us who wish to be heard have until January 26 to let our views be known. Today, Red Hat's CEO, Matthew Szulik, will join others in testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee about the deal that Microsoft's lawyers cooked up when, apparently, government lawyers were thinking about something else.X Unfortunately, like most proceedings of the type, the hearing is more likely to provide politicians an opportunity to play for position than to result in anything meaningful or useful. We can't count on Linux companies to save us.
I could summarize the case and the settlement, but the words of the settlement itself are more damning than anything I could say, so let me quote from the Federal Register:
"Following a 7-day trial in late 1998 and early 1999, the United States District Court found that Microsoft had violated both sections 1 and 2 of the Sherman Act. On appeal, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia unanimously affirmed portions of the district court's finding and conclusion that Microsoft illegally maintained its operating system monopoly in violation of section 2 of the Sherman Act, but reversed and remanded other portions of the district court's determinations. Specifically, the court of appeals reversed the district court's determination that Microsoft violated section 2 by illegally attempting to monopolize the Internet browser market and remanded the district court's determination that Microsoft violated section 1 of the Sherman Act by unlawfully tying its browser to its operating system."
In short, Microsoft Corporation was found guilty at trial of having maintained an illegal operating system monopoly and of having illegally tied its Internet Explorer to its monopoly operating system. Microsoft appealed, and the appellate court threw out the guilty verdict as pertains to the browser but said yes, Microsoft did in fact illegally maintain an operating system monopoly. (The word "maintain" is critical here. It is not illegal to have an operating system monopoly, but it is illegal to do anything to keep that monopoly -- to maintain it.)
Additionally, the appellate court decided that the penalty imposed by U.S. District Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson -- that Microsoft be split into operating system and applications software companies -- was inappropriate (as indeed would be the case if tying the browser to the operating system were not illegal, as the appeals panel ruled). The court remanded the case to the trial court for imposition of a new penalty.
But the trial court would not be presided over by Thomas Penfield Jackson, who inexplicably babbled to reporters during the trial his innermost thoughts about the case and Microsoft Corporation. Following this judicial impropriety, the case was reassigned to U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly. The judge is experienced in criminal law. The judge is not experienced in antitrust law. That area of the law is highly nuanced, and U.S. v. Microsoft is scarcely the kind of case that makes for a good primer in the field. Had it landed in the courtroom of an experienced antitrust judge, a Harold Green, say, there is reason to suppose that justice could have been achieved without our help. (Green is the judge who broke up the Bell telephone system in 1982.) It is no insult to Judge Kollar-Kotelly to say that this is more case than her experience equips her for, and to her credit lawyers with whom I've spoken who practice in the D.C. District say that there are actually judges there who would have been even worse.
At the end of September, Judge Kollar-Kotelly ordered the government and Microsoft to arrive at a settlement in this, the penalty phase of the litigation. She implied that doing so would somehow make it easier to defeat the Al Qaeda terrorists, or words to that effect. Microsoft's negotiators and people from the Department of Justice, who bore the title of "negotiator" even if their actions scarcely reflected it, sat in a room where, apparently, the DoJ people were kept busy acceding to everything Microsoft's negotiators asked for; the reason it took a few days, one might suppose, was so Microsoft's people could phone Redmond to get them to think up additional demands to which the government would instantly agree. According to a report in The Wall Street Journal, Microsoft cowed the DoJ into going along with all this by freely profaning the phrase "in the national interest," saying that Microsoft's demands met that specification.
The result is the proposed settlement, which would grant Microsoft its operating system monopoly -- indeed, contains wording such that it would no longer be illegal for Microsoft to maintain that monopoly -- while saying that if Microsoft wants to, it can make it easier for people to write Windows applications, but it's by no means required to do so. In short, the settlement is a travesty, an ill-advised embarrassment that flings down and dances upon the law and upon all but the most twisted notion of justice.
We have until the 26th of next month to object.
- Skip Ahead
- 1. Speak Now or Ever After . . . Regret Your Silence
- 2. Speak Now or Ever After . . . Regret Your Silence
- 3. Speak Now or Ever After . . . Regret Your Silence


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Toby Carvery Huddersfield
Brighouse Road, Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, HD2 2LB 01422 374360
Brighouse Road, Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, HD2 2LB 01422 374360
Toby Carvery has just turned the big 3-0... which means we've been serving our traditional roasts for three decades. We're sure you'll agree they're just as tasty as ever - with our juicy roast meats, towering Yorkshire puds, proper ruffled roasties and seasonal veg.
Our celebrations are now well underway - and they're continuing with our brilliant birthday Balloon Burst challenge on Facebook. You could win a fantastic Toby treat to enjoy on your next visit to Toby Carvery Huddersfield.
Just go to Facebook and pop as many balloons as you can in five seconds... and if one of them has a voucher inside, you'll win. It really is that simple*. Plus, if you tell your friends, you'll be entered into a weekly draw to win a £30 gift card.
If you're not already signed up for our news and offers via email, you can do it now - and also make sure you're following us on Facebook and Twitter.
* Please read the full terms and conditions on your prize voucher; and our Balloon Burst game terms and conditions.


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Untangling the Economics of Drug Pricing
Examining the Pharmacoeconomics of U.S. AIDS Drug Access, Washington, DC, April 6, 2004
May 2004
I am honored to be here, but I need to issue a disclaimer: I am a health economist, but my main focus is on reimbursement issues -- that is, pharmacy benefits management. I have also done some work on prescription to over-the-counter switches but I have not done much work on AIDS drugs, at least not in specific detail, nor am I an expert on drug pricing, per se. However, that being said, reimbursement and drug pricing are certainly related, as we will see shortly.
The theme throughout my talk will be that patient access to prescription drugs is a function of three items, the first being "availability" of the drug. That is, it needs to be approved or go through the regulatory approval process, and implemented by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and FDA counterparts abroad. Second, and very important, is "coverage." Christine [Lubinski] touched on that topic. In fact, she gave a detailed talk on coverage, and I will supplement some of what she said. Finally, although this is more self-explanatory than the others, the third item will be "personal income," because some fortunate people may not even need to be covered, may not need insurance. They may simply have income sufficient to pay for their prescription drugs. Most people, of course, are not this fortunate.
I will cover the main FDA regulatory initiatives to speed up and improve the approval process, and then I will turn my attention to coverage issues. I am going to give a brief historical overview, going back about 15 years. Finally, I will give a brief, quick, and dirty case study that I designed last week, examining the placement of AIDS drugs on several US formularies, as well as the Dutch National Formulary. Of course, many of you may wonder why I chose Holland. Well, I have spent half my life in Holland, I have advanced research there, and I have studied there, so it was a natural reference point for me.
So again, access is a function of availability, coverage, and personal income.
Availability depends on regulatory mechanisms and the research and development (R&D) environment. Before I look at availability and coverage separately, let me briefly touch upon a controversial topic, the relationship between the R&D environment and pricing. Suffice it to say, without a functional and profitable R&D environment, drugs would not be developed and made available to the general public in a timely and efficient manner. The R&D environment depends to a degree on pricing. Some say, controversially, that a free market for pharmaceuticals, with no price controls, is essential for long-term growth and innovation; others contend that this is not the case. As we will see, a completely free market for pharmaceuticals does not exist even in this country.
Let me briefly state my take on the pricing debate. We need to recognize the importance of patent protection and a pharmaceutical company's ability to market a drug at a price that matches supply and demand. This being said, I think we must all acknowledge that when making decisions pertaining to drug pricing, we enter the realm of ethics and the need to balance economics with our moral duty to people in need, especially when we are dealing with life-saving treatments, such as AIDS drugs. Needless to say, drug discovery and development take time, money, and they are labor intensive. Basic research can take decades, discovery can be like finding a needle in a haystack, and development requires numerous, lengthy clinical trials. Only one in five investigational drugs actually makes it to the pharmacy shelves.
Availability, of course, depends on many things, not least of which is R&D for new drug development. It also depends on the FDA approval process, and issues related to the marketing of drugs, such as patents. Let me give you a brief historical overview of regulatory initiatives that were intended to improve this process, starting with the Hatch-Waxman Act of 1984. Hatch-Waxman attempted to balance competing objectives -- innovation, price competition and prescription drug affordability. Not an easy balancing act. Hatch-Waxman sought to shorten the time it takes for generics to reach the market by creating the Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) process, which eliminated lengthy and expensive clinical trials for generic products.
Since Hatch-Waxman, there has been continued public concern about the length of time for FDA review, limited access to drugs during clinical trial testing, and the lack of existing therapies for certain disease states, including HIV and AIDS. As a result, there have been more regulatory initiatives, including the expedited approval programs starting in 1987; the Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA) in 1992, which charged pharmaceutical companies user fees for review of New Drug Applications (NDAs); and the Food and Drug Administration Modernization Act (FDAMA) of 1997, which formally introduced the Fast Track Initiative.
From 1987 through 1992, the FDA developed and implemented several programs designed to expedite patients' access to emerging therapies, either by allowing patients access to unapproved therapies, or by accelerating the drug development and approval process. With Treatment Investigational New Drugs (treatment INDs), desperately ill patients gain access to a drug while the clinical development and FDA review continue. For treatment INDs, drug sponsors may not commercialize an investigational drug by charging a price higher than that necessary to recover costs of manufacture, research, and development. Thirty-nine of these have been granted, among which eleven were for AIDS drugs. Then there are the New Drug Submissions (NDSs) approved under the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) Accelerated Approval Programs, Sub-Part H. Thirteen out of 38 of drugs approved through CDER have been AIDS drugs.
The FDA fast-tracked azidothymidine (AZT) in 1987. This first of now 19 AIDS drugs passed through the FDA approval process in four months. Another example is the fast-track approval of saquinavir (SQV), which was approved just three months after the filing of its NDA; and, in 1996, indinavir (IDV) was approved in a little over one month. In all, the FDA's expedited development and approval programs have particularly focused their attention on AIDS drugs, as well as cancer drugs (Slide 1). That is the good part. However, the share of AIDS fast-track designations, for a variety of reasons, have fallen to less than 20 percent in 2001 and less than 10 percent in 2003 (Slide 2). If we summarize the ups and downs of AIDS drug R&D, many drugs have been approved. There is no question about that. And many of these drugs are clearly life-saving drugs, and are very important to the patients and their care providers. There has been improved efficacy, improved compliance, and improved dosing, but it certainly has not met the growing worldwide need. We need to focus our attention not just on the United States, but worldwide, where millions need the medications and do not have access to them.
In Slide 3, for the sake of convenience, I make the ideal assumption that the needed drugs are "available." If all the drugs are out there, the flowchart on this slide shows the relationship between degrees of access and coverage. We can define access in terms of coverage and earned income. The first question is: "Does a person have coverage?" If the person has coverage, we have to look at restrictions in the formulary, possible co-pays, and a high premium burden as ways of unfortunately limiting their degree of access to drugs that are available. Having coverage is not the whole story. This is fairly obvious to most of us, but what I have done here is try to summarize the main points of the relationship between coverage and access. Now if you do not have coverage, it is not necessarily a bad thing if you are really well off. Of course US$50,000 may not sound like a lot to some in the United States, but suppose it is US$100,000 or US$200,000 or at whatever level we establish the cut-off. For those of us who are well off, perhaps coverage is not an important issue, but for most of us coverage is important and insurance status is important.
Now contrary to conventional wisdom -- and here is where I deviate slightly from the previous talk -- coverage of pharmaceuticals has actually increased dramatically throughout the 1990s, and ironically, I think that is what has been part of the problem of perception. We see that we have perhaps reached a turning point in 2000, where our own out-of-pocket costs are now going up again. But, certainly throughout the 1990s, as part of the "managed care" revolution, and I know we have been prone to bash managed care, but as part of the managed care revolution, prescription drug coverage actually increased dramatically. Now it has become an expensive proposition. Providing prescription drug coverage became something of a burden to the managed care companies, to government and to Medicaid. Why? Because spending was increasing at rates of up to 19.5 percent back in 1999. It has come a bit more down to earth recently. As shown in Slide 4, the most recent Milliman USA Health Cost Index Survey estimate was that it increased 8.5 percent last year at this time. I do not know if that is a one-off blip, but clearly prescription drug spending has been increasing at a much higher rate than the other components in healthcare (Slide 5): inpatient, outpatient, and physician services.
What has been the response to the increase in drug spending? In Western Europe, Japan, Canada, and other countries as well, where healthcare is largely government-run, insurers have responded by cutting drug budgets, raising co-pays, and a few have imposed cost-effectiveness thresholds prior to admitting new drugs to the formulary. Australia is the best example of a country that has introduced these thresholds. It is quite controversial, and they especially apply to breakthrough medications. In the United States, most people who have insurance have private insurance, and private insurers have responded to increased drug costs by caps on drug spending and formulary restrictions. They have also, of course, introduced the multi-tiered co-pay arrangement in a big way because five or 10 years ago, you did not have this three-tiered approach, and now I think from 60 to 70 percent of insurers have a tiered approach to co-pays.
Let me briefly explain other ways to reduce drug spending, which have included price controls. Many countries have imposed direct price controls. The United States generally does not have direct price controls other than the federal ceiling price, which is a Veterans Administration (VA) price. Still other countries have gone down a different path. It is called "reference pricing," based on a web, a nexus of cash information and also drug flows between the government intermediaries, patients, and providers (Slide 6).
On the insurers' end, pharmaceutical companies also provide rebates to PBMs for moving market share and credit distributors. Pharmacy benefit managers negotiate on behalf of insurers; they take their cut of rebates but do pass on a portion to the health plan. Pharmacy benefit managers can thus exert some downward pressure on drug prices; estimates are between 10 and 30 percent. Unfortunately, PBMs are relatively secretive about their rebate deals, and they do not reveal to researchers or others the exact percentages that they are getting off of AWP. We have to estimate these percentages, and when you say 10 to 30 percent, it is clearly a broad range. Again, a common feature of formulary design is the three-tiered co-pay approach through which enrollees pay lower co-pays for generics than for brand names, higher prices for brand names off the formulary than on the formulary. The pharmacy's incentive to participate in this nexus is based on its virtual guarantee of access to an enrollee base of health plans. Again, you are talking about basically 200 million people, or it may be more because almost everyone now is in managed care of some sort. Pharmacy benefit managers have between 200 and 220 million covered lives, and in exchange for this access, the pharmacies agree to a reimbursement formula established by the PBMs, which is expressed as a discount off of AWP. They do get a dispensing fee per prescription.
Clearly there is controversy and confusion surrounding the complex web of cash information to drug flows between the pharmaceutical companies, wholesalers, government, PBMs, and end users, especially concerning drug prices. If the retail price at the pharmacy for a particular dosage and quantity of a brand-name pharmaceutical was US$100, then on average an uninsured individual is paying the highest amount. Christine [Lubinski] in her presentation and José [M. Zuniga] in his introduction, both touched upon the fact that we have something like 40 or 45 million uninsured individuals in the United States; they are paying the highest price, the full retail price for that drug. Health maintenance organizations (HMOs) and insurance companies would pay between US$65 and US$80, Medicaid pays around US$70 (though it could be between US$60 and US$80), and the VA pays between US$50 and US$60. We have a confusing array of drug prices. We have the retail price, the highest in the chain of distribution, and really none of us probably know what the retail price is, because when we go to the pharmacy, at least those of us of who are insured, we are paying a co-pay. We do not really know what the price is and for the most part, physicians and providers do not know either. That is part of the moral hazard.
The fact is, once there is coverage, since no one really knows what the price is, sometimes you can have what is called "physician-induced demand" for certain products. People will just say, "Oh look, you are covered. You can take this or that pill." It does not apply as much to AIDS drugs because these are still life-saving treatments, but it certainly applies to other drugs that we know about from direct-to-consumer advertising. We have then the AWP, which is a list price. It is referred to as a sticker price. Most estimates are that discounts for HMOs and large purchasers are more than 20 percent off AWP. And then there is the average manufacturer's price (AMP), which is the price paid to a pharmaceutical manufacturer by wholesalers for drugs distributed to retail pharmacies. Finally, there is the only direct price control in the United States, which is the federal ceiling price, or maximum price manufacturers can charge for the Federal Supply Schedule.
Now to get back to what I briefly mentioned before, reference pricing. In an effort to contain drug spending, Germany, Australia, New Zealand, and The Netherlands allow reference pricing. Let me take the Dutch as an example. The Dutch formulary reimburses at the level of the cheapest product in a therapeutic "cluster." The government also imposes price ceilings at the same time, and these are based on the average retail price of drugs in four surrounding countries. In Holland, it is important to note that non-clusterable products, which are about 15 percent of the products, and which tend to be life-saving drugs for diseases such as HIV, are put on a separate list and are always reimbursed in full. In 2005, however, all new non-clusterable products will have to pass a cost-effectiveness threshold, a test prior to being reimbursed in full. It will be similar to the situation that currently exists in Australia.
Reference pricing is an approach to reimbursement for pharmaceuticals you will be hearing more about in the coming months in the United States as well. Some health plans are experimenting with a version of reference pricing, and reimbursement based on functional equivalence is closely akin to reference pricing. In reference pricing schemes, products are clustered into groups, as I said, which are based on therapeutic effects. In contrast to generic referencing, therapeutic referencing treats compounds with different active ingredients as equivalent, despite possible differences in efficacy and/or side effects. They cluster on-patent with off-patent compounds. This is often considered quite controversial, even in The Netherlands. The payer -- the insurer -- sets a reference price for each cluster based on a relatively low-priced product in the cluster. Say you are looking at second-generation antihistamines. Suppose that Allegra® was the cheapest. That would be the product that would be given the reference price. The reference price is the maximum reimbursement for all products in the group. Suppose you are a patient in Holland and you want Claritin®. Fine, you can get Claritin®, but you pay the surcharge, whatever the difference is between the reference price and the price for Claritin®.
Now the AIDS drugs and other life-saving treatments are put on the non-clusterable list, what is called 1B in The Netherlands, and I believe it is the same in Australia, Germany, and New Zealand as well. Though I am not sure about this, I am assuming that it is the case, so 15 percent of drugs are considered "life-saving," and therefore they are fully reimbursed.
In Slides 7-10 you can see that Kaiser Permanente and the Blue Cross/Blue Shield plans, for instance, include AIDS drugs on their formularies. The dollar signs simply refer to the tiering of that product. If it has few dollar signs, it is a low-priced product; if it has many dollar signs, it is a high-priced product. We do not know exactly how much people are paying in co-pays, but clearly Kaiser Permanente and the Blue Cross/Blue Shield plans are putting these products on their formularies. Aetna and Harvard Pilgrim coverage may have changed slightly since I created these slides, but I believe that coverage is for the most part the same. Kaiser Permanente has numerous formularies, not just one. We picked a representative formulary. Some of the products are not on certain formularies; other products are on all formularies.
To recap, availability depends on the regulatory initiatives that are in place to increase availability, but they do require fine-tuning to meet patient demand for newer medications. For instance with AIDS drugs, only one new, novel drug has been approved over the past few years, and certainly something needs to be done about that. Moreover, we have seen that third-party payers are increasingly restricting coverage. Thank you.
Joshua P. Cohen is a Senior Research Fellow at Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development.
This article was provided by International Association of Physicians in AIDS Care. It is a part of the publication IAPAC Monthly.


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HANG TIME HEADQUARTERS — George Gund III, the ex-owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers and Cleveland Barons hockey team, died Tuesday after a long battle with cancer.
Gund, 75, a businessman and philanthropist in addition to being involved in sports team ownership, had been undergoing cancer treatments for the past 18 months, according to the Cleveland Plain Dealer.
Gund and his brother Gordon, 73, owned the Cavaliers franchise from 1983 until they sold it to Quicken Loans founder and billionaire Dan Gilbert in 2005.
Geoffrey Gund, president of the board of trustees, issued a statement on behalf of The George Gund Foundation:
"The deep sadness that my family feels at the passing of my brother George is shared by the entire extended family of The George Gund Foundation and, I am sure, by those who knew George through the Foundation's work," the statement read. "He served faithfully and with honor as a trustee of the Foundation for many years carrying out the wishes of our father, his namesake, to contribute to human well-being and the progress of society. He enthusiastically supported the Foundation's long-term and patient investments in the transformation of Cleveland and he also personally engaged in that effort."