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2021 Repress. The third album by Canterbury's own Caravan, originally released in 1971, reissued with two full sides of bonus outtakes taken from the album's original recording sessions at A.I.R. and Decca studios in London in 1970-71. This was the last album to feature the original Caravan line-up, before David Sinclair left to form Matching Mole with Robert Wyatt (Soft Machine) later that year.
"In the Land of Grey and Pink is considered by many to be a pinnacle release from Caravan. The album contains an undeniable and decidedly European sense of humor and charm. In addition, this would mark the end of the band's premiere lineup. Co-founder David Sinclair would leave Caravan to form Matching Mole with Soft Machine drummer and vocalist Robert Wyatt in August of 1971. As a group effort, In the Land of Grey and Pink displays all the ethereal brilliance Caravan created on their previous pair of 12" outings. Their blending of jazz and folk instrumentation and improvisational styles hints at Traffic and Family, as displayed on "Winter Wine," as well as the organ and sax driven instrumental introduction to "Nine Feet Underground." These contrast the decidedly aggressive sounds concurrent with albums from King Crimson or Soft Machine. In fact, beginning with the album's title, there seems to be pastoral qualities and motifs throughout. Another reason enthusiasts rank this album among their favorites is the group dynamic which has rarely sounded more singular or cohesive. David Sinclair's lyrics are of particular note, especially the middle-earth imagery used on "Winter Wine" or the enduring whimsy of "Golf Girl." The remastered version of this album includes previously unissued demos/alternate versions of both tracks under the titles: "It's Likely to Have a Name Next Week" and "Group Girl," respectively. The remastered disc also includes "I Don't Know Its Name (Alias the Word)" and "Aristocracy," two pieces that were completed, but shelved in deference to the time limitations imposed during the days of wine and vinyl. The latter composition would be reworked and released on Caravan's next album, Waterloo Lily. The 12-page liner notes booklet includes expanded graphics, memorabilia, and an essay penned specifically for the reissue." AMG
Klimt Records re-issue on double transparent dark pink vinyl with grey splatter.
The original album is on record one and record two contains outtakes from the album's original AIR and Decca recording sessions in 1970-71.


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WTO reaches limited deal on global trade
WTO manages its first global trade deal after 12 years of talks. The trade agreement reduces red tape at borders, but lets India keep food subsidies for now.
Defying predictions that rich and poor nations could never agree on new trade rules, the 159-nation World Trade Organization (WTO) reached agreement Saturday on a global "trade facilitation" deal. Members also agreed to grow the group, voting to approve Yemen as the 160th member.
The deal was less a breakthrough than a whittling away of trade-distorting border controls and a step toward further talks. To reach consensus, the world's trade ministers had to sharply narrow their agenda and postpone work on thorny issues, including agricultural subsidies. Heated negotiations among exhausted members dragged into an unscheduled fifth day on Indonesia's resort island of Bali.
Nevertheless, for the first time in 12 years of WTO negotiations aimed at liberalizing world trade, the ministers signed a formal agreement on new trade rules that will pump hundreds of billions of dollars into the world economy.
"For the first time in our history, the WTO has truly delivered," Roberto Azevêdo, the WTO's new director general, told delegates at the final session. "This package is not an end. It's a beginning. As a consequence of our progress here, we'll now be able to move forward on the other areas of our work that have been stalled for so long."
The agreement includes measures to speed up and standardize customs and port procedures. It also includes "special and differential treatment" for goods and services imported from least-developed countries and, to satisfy India's insistent demands, "public stockholding for food security purposes."
The potential benefits are large, according to a report from the Peterson Institute of International Economics in Washington. Just by cutting red tape at borders and other "trade facilitation" measures, it forecasts, the global economy would see an extra $960 billion in economic activity and an added 20.6 million jobs, 18 million of them in developing countries.
"The WTO has re-established its credibility as an indispensable forum for trade negotiations," the U.S. Chamber of Commerce said in a statement. "Nor is this a paper victory: Streamlining the passage of goods across borders by cutting red tape and bureaucracy could boost the world economy."
Not all observers are so sanguine. Jeronim Capaldo, senior researcher at Tufts University's Global Development and Environment Institute, charges that the Peterson Institute forecast "overlooks the costs of implementing trade facilitation and it relies on many unjustifiable assumptions that compromise its accuracy."
That's one challenge to Saturday's historic WTO agreement: It may deliver far less than promised in terms of benefits. A more serious challenge is that the United States and other major trading countries may lose patience with an organization that took 12 years to reach its first agreement after watering down its objectives to make that agreement possible.
Among the issues shelved for later work, India and other developing counties are given a four-year exemption from WTO agricultural subsidy rules so that these countries can continue to subsidize poor farmers and stockpile grain in "food security" programs. This exemption was especially important to India's government, which faces elections in 2014 and has made food security for the poor a major campaign promise.

subset: commoncrawl


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As you will see by my blogs, I embrace life. My life changes in the blink of the eye. So I need to be flexible, adaptable, and open to new adventures at a moment's notice!
I have worked at many jobs, lived many lives, and established many different careers. To date, I've been a: mother, teacher, instructor, facilitator, educator, curriculum developer, workshop organizer, coordinator, secretary, payroll clerk, business owner, waiter, day care provider, student, writer, poet, hotel maid, receptionist, dicta-typist, office clerk, store clerk, explorer, traveler, temp, newspaper reporter, and probably many others that I've forgotten about! Through it all, the three roles that I have had the longest, and that have kept my interest have been: being a mother, being an educator, and being a writer.


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North Korea rejects peace call from South Korea at the United Nations
North Korea has rebuffed South Korea's push for a political declaration to end the 1950-53 Korean War as a way to restore peace, saying such a step could be used as a "smokescreen covering up the US hostile policy" against the North.
Key points:
- North Korea says calls to declare the war over are premature and will not happen until the US changes its policy towards Pyongyang
- Experts believe North Korea wants a peace treaty with the US that would force them to withdraw troops in South Korea
- North Korea has recently test fired missiles in its latest show of force
In a speech at the UN General Assembly earlier this week, South Korean President Moon Jae-in reiterated his calls for the end-of-the-war declaration that he said could help achieve denuclearisation and lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula.
North Korean Vice-Foreign Minister Ri Thae Song dismissed Mr Moon's call as premature so long as US policies were unchanged.
"It should be clearly understood that the declaration of the termination of the war is of no help at all to stabilising the situation of the Korean Peninsula at the moment but can rather be misused as a smokescreen covering up the US hostile policy," Mr Ri said in a statement carried by state media.
He said American weapons and troops deployed in South Korea and its vicinity and regular US military drills in the region "all point to the US hostile policy toward [North Korea] getting vicious day by day".
North Korea has also long described US-led economic sanctions as proof of US hostility against the North.
South Korea's Unification Ministry responded it would continue its efforts to adopt the end-of-the war declaration and strengthen cooperation with related countries.
Cha Duck Chul, a deputy ministry spokesman, said declaring the war's end would be "a very meaningful step" as it could be a starting point for peace negotiations and denuclearisation on the peninsula.
The Korean War ended with an armistice, not a peace treaty, leaving the peninsula in a technical state of war.
North Korea has steadily wanted to sign a peace treaty with the United States to formally end the war and for subsequent improved relations.
Some experts say the peace treaty could allow North Korea to demand the United States to withdraw its 28,500 troops in South Korea and ease sanctions.
Both Koreas had called for an end-of-war declaration to be made and a peace treaty to be signed during the period of diplomacy with the United States that began in 2018, and there was speculation then-president Donald Trump might announce the war's end in early 2019 to convince North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to commit to denuclearisation.
No such announcement was made as the diplomacy faded to a stalemate over easing the sanctions in return for North Korea denuclearising.
In late 2019, North Korea said the nuclear crisis would not be resolved if the United States sought to persuade it to return to the talks with a proposal on the war-end declaration without withdrawing its hostile policy.
In recent months, Mr Kim has warned that North Korea would bolster its nuclear arsenal and introduce more sophisticated weapons systems unless the United States drops its hostile policy.
Last week, North Korea conducted its first missile tests in six months, demonstrating its ability to launch attacks on South Korea and Japan, two key US allies where a total of 80,000 American soldiers are stationed.


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Address: #80 5th Main, Anand Nagar , R.T. Nagar, Bangalore - 560032
Locality: R T Nagar (Find more R T Nagar schools)
Landmark: Opposite State Bank of India
Phone: +91-80-23544891 +91-9448474891
English Medium
Inspired by the infinite potential for human growth and power of education to make the realization of this potential possible in individual lives, Sri Ramaiah Reddy Educational Trust of Bangalore founded Vidyanjali in 1992 with a mission to offer the best education to the children of surrounding locality.
School days: Sunday holiday
School timings: 8:30 am - 3:00 pm,
Extra-curricular Activities:
Lessons in the school offers regular, music, Arts and Crafts classes apart from Computer applications. Literary clubs provide opportunities for the children to improve their language skills
The Campus
Science lab
Computer Lab
English Lab
Admission Details:
Admissions Open: April
Please click on the photo to see a larger version.
Do you have a photo for this school?Upload it now!
Thousands of experts Tutors, Trainers & other Professionals are available to answer your questions
Haritha 13/01/2015
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text:
Anchored by Jake Tapper, The Lead airs at 4 p.m. ET on CNN.
We've moved! Come join us at our new show page.
world lead
(CNN) – If there's one thing the communists really excelled at, beyond murdering millions of people, it was propaganda.
The Soviets turned indoctrination into an art form that's still appreciated by some today as just that.
From Crimea to the tense standoff in eastern Ukraine, it is clear Moscow is taking a page from those old masters and bringing the fight to the airwaves.
Three different Russian television channels reportedly aired three versions of an interview with the same man, identified three very different ways: as a German spy, a repentant extremist, and a pediatric surgeon, according to a report by Forbes.
"I was there in 1968, a teenager in Moscow, and I don't recall the level of propaganda reaching this amount of frenzy, and brazenness, and hysteria," says Leon Aron, director of Russian studies at the American Enterprise Institute.
For more of our interview with Aron, check out the video above.
world lead
Donetsk, Ukraine (CNN) - Pro-Russian militants appeared to tighten their grip on Ukraine's eastern town of Slaviansk on Wednesday as Ukrainian military forces massed nearby in an uneasy standoff.
On a day of fast-moving events in the restive region, officials in Transnistria, a separatist region in Moldova on Kiev's other border, turned to Moscow for recognition - taking example from Crimea, the Black Sea peninsula Russia annexed from Ukraine last month.
In Donetsk, six armored vehicles sent into the nearby city of Kramatorsk in the morning later showed up carrying Russian flags in Slaviansk.
world lead
(CNN) - Families of some of the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 passengers released a list of questions Wednesday that they said authorities have so far not answered.
Many of the 26 questions focus on technical issues involving emergency locator transmitters, or ELTs, and "black boxes." With an apparent in-depth understanding of how these work, the families ask about the specific technology on the missing plane.
ELTs are designed to activate after a crash and send a signal to a frequency monitored by air traffic controllers. "Black boxes," or voice and data recorders, could shed light on what went on in the plane's cockpit and other crucial flight information.
world lead
(CNN) – Now that the search for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 has moved underwater,
investigators are at the mercy of the walking pace of the robo-sub being used, the Bluefin-21.
Retired Naval oceanographer Van Gurley, and CNN analyst and ocean search specialist Rob McCallum weigh in on the expected technical setbacks, and upcoming challenges.
world lead
Kano, Nigeria (CNN) - Only eight of the 129 Nigerian school girls abducted this week by Boko Haram militants are still missing as more of them "have been freed," according to the Nigerian military.
One of the alleged attackers has been captured, and a military search-and-rescue operation was ongoing to "ensure the safety of the remaining students," Maj. Gen. Chris Olukolade said on Wednesday.
It was not immediately clear how the girls became free. Their conditions were also not clear.


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Sky enhances Sky Guide
June 7, 2012
Sky has begun rolling out a number of enhancements to its Electronic Programme Guide (EPG), with the intention of making it easier for customers to locate their favourite programmes and discover new shows within a new look user interface.
The new features, which will be rolled out to customers with Sky+HD set-top boxes during the course of this year, include:
– HD graphics, offering Sky customers a sharper and sleeker looking user interface
– A navigation update, with the number of channels featured on each page of the TV Guide increasing from six to eight, providing Sky customers with a more convenient way to browse through content
– New categorised recordings in the Sky+ planner, meaning that Sky customers will be able to browse through their recorded programmes by genre, with content divided into categories such as entertainment, movies, sports, news, documentaries, kids or music
– New landing page for different genres, presenting Sky customers with a range of viewing options for each genre. Sky Movies customers, for instance, can choose from a series of icons to watch movies live or on-demand via Sky Anytime+, browse movies stored on their Sky+ planner, rent a movie via Sky Store or search for a particular film, all through a single page.
Luke Bradley Jones, Sky's Brand Director, TV Products, commented: "Hosting over 1.2 billion customer interactions each month, the Sky Guide is a fundamental part of the Sky experience, which is why we've worked hard on these new features to continue to give our customers the best experience we possibly can. We also want to make it as easy as possible for our customers to find the content they love, and we're confident that our new look EPG does just that."


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Native Instruments has announced a special offer on its MASCHINE product line, reducing the price of both MASCHINE and MASCHINE MIKRO for a limited time.
Since its introduction in 2009, MASCHINE has become the ultimate go-to resource for the production of groove-orientated music, spanning the full breadth of musical styles and genres. With its tight integration between software and hardware, MASCHINE has significantly developed over the past years, now also offering full support for VST and AU plug-ins that can be comfortably browsed from the controller. Anyone buying into this offer will also be able to claim the forthcoming new 1.8 update free-of-charge that once again will bring a wealth of new features to the MASCHINE world.
The release of MASCHINE MIKRO in 2011 introduced a highly affordable entry into the world of Native Instruments' popular groove production system. By combining the full-featured MASCHINE software with a streamlined and even more compact hardware controller, MASCHINE MIKRO makes the acclaimed tactile and intuitive music creation approach of MASCHINE available at a significantly reduced physical footprint and price.
MASCHINE is available to purchase for $399 USD/399 EUR (regular $599/599 EUR) and MASCHINE MIKRO is $249 USD/249 EUR (regular $399/399 EUR) until August 31st 2012. The offer is available at participating retailers and at the NI Online Shop, until stock lasts.
More information: Native Instruments


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IWANN 2015 : International Work-Conference on Artificial and Natural Neural Networks
Conference Series : International Work-Conference on Artificial and Natural Neural Networks
|Link: http://iwann.ugr.es/2015/
Call For Papers
On behalf of the Organizing Committee of the 13th International Work-Conference on Artificial Neural Networks (IWANN2015), we are pleased to invite you to participate in this event that will be held on June 10-12, 2015 in Palma de Mallorca, Balearic Islands, (Spain).
This biennial meeting seeks to provide a discussion forum for scientists, engineers, educators and students about the latest discoveries and realizations in the foundations, theory, models and applications of systems inspired on nature, using computational intelligence methodologies, as well as in emerging areas related to the above items. We strongly emphasize the wide range of topics comprised under the umbrella of IWANN2015, covering all the fields that are usually referred to as "Computational Intelligence". In this edition we are particularly interested in submissions dealing with: Artificial Neural Networks, Fuzzy Systems, Evolutionary Computation, Machine Learning, Artificial Cognitive Systems and Multidisciplinary Approaches
As in previous editions, IWANN aims to create a friendly environment that could lead to the establishment or to strengthen scientific collaborations and exchanges among attendees. To emphasize this interactive atmosphere we will propose a couple of trending research topics to be discussed in an expert round table focus group. The results and conclusions will be shared among all the IWANN2015 participants. Besides, in this edition we offer the possibility to carry out a limited number of virtual presentations for those who want to participate but they have serious difficulties on travelling.
Moreover the presentation of demos and functional prototypes are encouraged. Appropriate spaces will be reserved.
The proceedings will include all the presented communications to the conference. As in previous editions of IWANN, we are arranging the publication of the proceedings with Springer-Verlag as Lecture Notes in Computer Science (LNCS) series, and the books will be available on-site.
It is also foreseen the publication of an extended version of selected papers in a special issue on several specialized journals such as Neurocomputing (Elsevier), Soft Computing (Springer) and Neural Processing Letters (Springer). IWANN is included in the ranking of the best conferences established by the Computer Science Conference Ranking based on the "Estimated Impact of Conference (EIC)", concretely in position 55 among 701 considered (in the Artificial Intelligence field), and in the rank B in Computing Research and Education Association (CORE). Also the IWANN papers are indexed by CiteSeer.IST, and by the organization Computing Research and Education Association (CORE).
You can find extended information on IWANN web pages:
We hope this conference will be of your interest.
Best wishes
Andreu Català, Gonzalo Joya, Ignacio Rojas
Co-Chairmen IWANN 2015


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I don't know exactly where I'm headed.
I've gotten used to telling people "I'm getting in my car, and volunteering my way around the country". I do believe that much to be true. But a specific itinerary? A list of must-see's and must-do's? The new-agey "clear positive future vision" pulling me forward? Nope. Mostly the misty mystery of the vast unknown.
Approximately the next week is known – it begins with a drive to help someone I love move from L.A. to Portland. The car is loaded with all our stuff, and we're en route now. After that, there's a few key special events and scattered reunions with other loved ones in the coming months, but mostly open time, for following the pull of the wind.
Today, on this first day out of Los Angeles, I'm amazed at the power of leaving.
Todo lists and the endless attempt to secure the future are suddenly replaced with a resurgence of wonder. I'm suddenly compelled to find art in the scenes around me, and document the day in pictures for friends "back home". I want to share metaphors for living that present themselves in the sights passing by the car windows. There's a little burning in my belly to actually write for my blog.
My dear travel companion and I spent the last several hours listening to an audiobook1 about the lives of our prehistoric ancestors, while watching the central coast's curvy golden hillsides roll by. It spoke of the naturalness of leaving, and struck me as fittingly "coincidental", that I should hear these words, while feeling this rush in my own psyche.
They were refuting a philosophical essay that could have been describing contemporary Los Angeles: "…As numbers swell, individuals will have no alternative to compete more and more desperately for dwindling resources"2. I think that's the way of life and work that many of us have been conditioned to see as "normal". Work harder. Work longer. Live paycheck to paycheck. Apparently this essay was asserting that humans have always been this way. But the audiobook's authors weren't buying it. Their words gave courage and validation to my freshly energized state, arguing that our nomadic ancestors wouldn't have stuck around to fight… that, they'd have just moved on. In their words:
"Walking away is what they did best".
If this is true, our prehistoric ancestors had one comforting advantage: when they moved on, they took their entire community with them.
18 months ago, when preparing for my first adult "sabbatical", leaving into the unknown was terrifying. I was (I thought) leaving behind my long term romantic relationship, leaving my business in the control of others, and trying to get as far away from my known world as possible. I had several epic breakdowns in the months leading up to that leave, and one record breaking day of 6 sobbing attacks of the fear worries. Ultimately, I turned to my blog and instagram account as a future carrot to attach to: I didn't know what was coming next, but I could certainly work to build a lifestyle brand out of it. I could bring all the todo lists and self expectations and clamour for productivity with me!
And then I sacrificed my iPhone to the Gods at a water temple, because that all felt gross.
This time, I didn't prop a new business idea in front of my face, to distract me from the discomfort of the unknown. I still had some smaller fear shake-downs in advance , but the actual act of leaving has snapped me into a state of aliveness. Paradoxically, I've spoken of this chapter as just "checking out of society for a while", but now there's this sudden energy to engage. To produce. To share. This time, leaving is causing me to pull my community closer. No carrot needed.
I still don't have any real sense of what I'm headed to, but I suppose I know better what I want to keep close. It's not productivity. It seems to be, corny as it sounds, love. I feel closer to my SoCal-based parents now than maybe ever before. I have a new precious romance that snuck up on me, but my cellphone and postage stamps will help me keep burning close at heart. My long term partner in crime welcomes my comings and goings in his new Pacific Northwest homebase. There are clear plans for when I'll next see many of my Los-Angeles based friends, throughout the summer.
Last year, I didn't know how to walk away well yet, because I didn't know what I was walking away from. I left behind home, but brought along my sense of responsibility for far too many outcomes. This time, I'm walking away from the fear-based need to control. Somehow, love and wonder and creativity stowed away in my backpack when I wasn't looking. I'd say it's all going surprisingly well.
I think this means I'm getting better at walking away.
I guess my ancestors would be proud.
1: Sex At Dawn, by Christopher Ryan and Cacilda Jethá
2: the words of philosopher David Livingstone Smith's essay "Why War"


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While it may seem that God's goodness will
cause Him to overlook your sins, the opposite
is actually true. Perhaps the following illustration
will add some clarity: Imagine you're standing
before a judge, guilty of multiple crimes. The
judge is about to pass sentence when he asks,
"Do you have anything to say for yourself?"
You stand up, look the judge in the eye and say,
"Yes Your Honor, I believe that you're a
good man... and because you're good, you will
let me go." The judge will probably say something
like, "Well, you're right about one thing...
I am a good man. And it's because I'm good that
I'm going to see that you are punished for your
crimes." The very thing you are counting
on to save you on the Day of Judgment -- namely
God's goodness -- is going to be the very thing
that will see to it that justice is done. Because
God is so good He will make sure that
every murderer, rapist and thief receives justice...
but He won't stop there. He will also make sure
every liar, blasphemer, and adulterer is punished.
While this is something that is extremely tragic
and far from God's ultimate desire for any person,
the Bible is clear that the place of punishment
for those who do not turn from their sins is Hell.
the fact that you're headed for Hell concern you?


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U.S. Dollar Strengthens Before the Fed Meeting
The U.S. dollar was broadly higher against a basket of other major currencies on Tuesday, June 16 as traders wait on the Federal Reserve's monthly policy meeting.
As of 10:30 a.m. ET, the U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback's strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, rose 0.24% to 95.04. Over the past twelve months, the index gained around 18%. The dollar was the strongest against the euro, the Japanese Yen, and the Australian dollar.
The Federal Open Market Committee is having a two-day meeting this Tuesday and Wednesday. In the meeting, the Fed will announce the federal funds rate—an interest rate at which banks lend balances held at the Federal Reserve to other banks overnight. There is also a conference at 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday, at which Fed Chair Janet Yellen will answer reporters' questions.
Everyone is watching what the Federal Reserve will do at the meeting. The Federal Funds rate can have a significant impact on the economy, as it affects the value of the U.S. dollar and the amount of lending going into economic activity.
Economists expect that the central bank will raise interest rates sometime later this year or early next year. Although we are unlikely to see a rate hike in this week's meeting, investors will pay attention to the press conference as the Fed Chair comments on the outlook of the economy and the timing of the future rate increase.
The Fed would base its decision on economic data and said that it would increase rates only if there is an improvement in the U.S. economy. First-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) was weak—a 0.7% decline year-over-year. For the second quarter, the Bureau of Economic Analysis estimated an increase of 0.2%. So far, inflation has been moderate.
If the interest rate goes up more than expected in the U.S., the greenback is likely to strengthen. However, the to-be-announced Federal Funds rate is likely already priced in the market. Analysts expect that the movement in the U.S. dollar will come from the Fed's forward-looking statements.
According to many economists, a stronger dollar due to higher interest rates is not what the economy needs right now. The trade deficit is still large and any appreciation in the U.S. dollar would widen the gap even further. Higher interest rates would also make borrowing more difficult, so businesses would find it harder to finance their operations. There is an up side, though, as higher interest rates could cool down the stock market.


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Nintendo doesn't publish all that many Wii U games these days, but you can usually expect to hear a lot about the few games it does release; you may have seen the marketing blitzes for titles like Super Mario Maker or Xenoblade Chronicles X this holiday season. But last Friday's release of Devil's Third in North America was so quiet that probably only the most obsessive of Nintendo fans even realized the game exists.
Devil's Third has a storied and tumultuous development history. The game is the brainchild of Tomonobu Itagaki, the famed Tecmo developer known for series such as Dead or Alive and the 3D revival of the Ninja Gaiden series. After leaving Tecmo in 2008, Itagaki formed the independent Valhalla Game Studios with some other departing members of his Team Ninja development studio. Devil's Third was Valhalla's first announced game, revealed way back in 2010 as an Xbox 360, PS3, and Windows PC title. The game represented a departure from Itagaki's usual style, focusing on third-person shooting and online play rather than local brawling.The game went through a number of changes in gameplay style and underlying technology over the years, according to reports at the time. But development dragged on for so long that its original publisher, THQ, actually went out of business in 2013 before releasing the unfinished game. Nintendo—perhaps seeing an opportunity to pick up an M-rated exclusive with a big name behind it—obtained the publishing rights and announced the game as a Wii U exclusive in a June 2014 "Digital Event."
That's where Nintendo of America (NOA) went quiet. The west-of-the-Atlantic subsidiary of the Japanese company didn't so much as mention Devil's Third for a year after that announcement—not in press releases, Nintendo Direct video presentations, E3 press conferences, or press junkets. That's pretty surprising considering that the company was doing everything it could to convince the world that the Wii U still had some life in it.
Amid the silence, reports started to trickle out that Nintendo of America had lost faith in Devil's Third, that it had decided not to publish the title, or that it was scaling it back to a "digital only" release in North America. When Itagaki was asked about the game's fate in a June 2015 Facebook Q&A, he could only reply cryptically that "I will release my Devil's Third in North/South America! My will."
Some fans recalling Operation Rainfall, the grassroots pressure campaign that got Nintendo to localize three niche Wii titles for North America back in 2012, started mulling a similar effort to ensure Devil's Third was released here.
Nintendo of America noticed fans noticing the silence and made some token efforts to tamp down the rumors. In July, NOA said in a brief tweet that it would have more information on the game soon. Then, in August, NOA buried mention of a December 11 release date for The Devil's Third in a round-up of upcoming software. That release date would come well after the bulk of competitive holiday titles release in October and November and would miss the bulk of the post-Black Friday holiday shopping season. Not exactly a prime spot.
Meanwhile, Devil's Third managed to trickle out to stores in Europe, Japan, and Australia in August. The long-delayed title got overwhelmingly horrid reviews, which noted severe technical and game design issues. "Itagaki has brought a knife to a gunfight, and the result is a bloody mess," Edge Magazine memorably quipped.
The silent launch
Fast forward to last Friday, and The Devil's Third's promised North American launch may be the quietest Nintendo-published release in history. NOA hasn't run any advertisements of promotions for the game, as far as we can tell, aside from a couple of bare bones videos on YouTube. Review copies weren't sent to any North American outlets, meaning most current reviews are from the earlier international release. And in a regular weekly press release noting Nintendo's new content, Devil's Third was listed below the new downloadable 3DS themes, with no accompanying details.
Online, Nintendo hasn't even bothered to list the game under "New Releases" on the front page of it digital eShop (though it does show up if you dig a little deeper in the online listing). At retail, the game has been even harder to find. Amazon, Best Buy, and GameStop seem to be the only North American retailers selling the game, and all three are already sold out. GameStop is the only major chain carrying the disc-based version in brick-and-mortar stores, and Destructoid reports that the retailer's online store only stocked 420 copies of the game for the entire country, suggesting a distinct lack of interest on all sides.
Some resellers are already trying to take advantage of the game's low-impact launch and expected rarity to Nintendo collectors: one eBay seller is asking well over $100 for the North American version. Even Japanese and European copies are generally asking for $60 to $90 on the auction site these days, despite selling for the $30 to $40 range as recently as November. It seems you may have to pay to remember a game that Nintendo would seemingly prefer we all forgot.


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Massive data breach may have been discovered due to 'unforced error' by suspected Russian hackers
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(CNN) — US officials and private sector experts investigating the massive data breach that has rocked Washington increasingly believe the attackers were ultimately discovered because they took a more aggressive "calculated risk" that led to a possible "unforced error" as they tried to expand their access within the network they had penetrated months earlier without detection, according to a US official and two sources familiar with the situation.
Investigators still haven't confirmed the motives of the attackers as they work both to uncover the full scope of the attack and assign blame for the campaign that impacted at least half a dozen government agencies and potentially hundreds of private companies. The incursion was first uncovered by the cybersecurity firm FireEye after its own network was breached.
FireEye was tipped off to the hackers' presence when they attempt to move laterally within the firm's network, according to the sources, a move that suggested the hackers were targeting sensitive data beyond emails addresses or business records. Whether that exposure was the result of a mistake by the attackers or because they took a calculated risk remains unclear, the sources said.
"At some point, you have to risk some level of exposure when you're going laterally to get after the things that you really want to get. And you're going to take calculated risks as an attacker," one source familiar with the investigation said.
Multiple entry points
Last week, FireEye acknowledged in a statement that the breach "occurred when the hackers, who already had an employee's credentials, used those to register their own device to FireEye's multi-factor authentication system so they could receive the employee's unique access codes."
FireEye has declined to provide additional details about how the hackers were ultimately discovered after evading detection for months, citing an ongoing investigation into the matter. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency also declined to comment. US officials and experts warn the hackers used multiple entry points to breach these networks, some of which have not yet been identified.
Now, the hackers are attempting to salvage what access they can as the US government and private sector are "burning it all down," sources said, referring to their complete overhaul of networks, which will force the attackers to find new ways of getting the information they seek.
Meanwhile, US officials continue to grapple with the fallout and assess just how successful the operation was, the US official said, noting that it is clear the nation-state responsible invested significant time and resources into the effort.
While the scope of the hacking campaign remains unclear, government agencies that have disclosed they were impacted have said there is no evidence to date that classified data was compromised.
But the way the hackers were discovered suggests the operation was intended to steal sensitive information beyond what was available on unclassified networks and sought to establish long-standing access to various targeted networks, the sources said.
The fact that FireEye — not the federal government — discovered the breach has also raised questions about why the attack went undetected at US government agencies.
Speaking to reporters Tuesday, President-elect Joe Biden knocked President Donald Trump's administration over hack, charging that "the Trump administration failed to prioritize cybersecurity."
"This assault happened on Donald Trump's watch when he wasn't watching," Biden said. "It is a grave risk, and it continues. I see no evidence that it's under control. I've seen none."
Biden also charged that the Pentagon is failing to brief his transition team on the extent of the hack. On Wednesday, a senior defense official denied that was the case.
'Damage done'
"The question of the damage done remains to be determined," Biden said Tuesday. "We have to look at very closely the nature of the breaches, how extensive they are and what damage has been done."
When Biden takes office next month, the hack will pose an immediate challenge, as it's expected to take weeks or months to truly understand the extent of the damage to US agencies. Biden is also likely to have to decide how to respond if the federal government formally attributes the hack to Russia, which members of Trump's administration and lawmakers have said is likely.
"I believe that when I learn the extent of the damage, and in fact who's formally responsible, they can be assured that we will respond," Biden said Tuesday. "We'll probably respond in kind. We have many options, which I will not discuss now."
Lawmakers on the relevant committees are also pushing to learn more about the extent of the hack, why it took so long to be discovered, and why it was a private company that ultimately unearthed the breach. Congressional committees have been briefed both by US officials from the intelligence community and other agencies, as well as by FireEyes, a sign of the company's importance to understanding the data breach, lawmakers and aides say.
"If the public reporting is accurate that it was the private sector that discovered this, that's another big question that our agencies are going to have to answer, which is, why didn't you catch this?" House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff said on MSNBC.
While a private company spotted the breach, a private sector contractor, SolarWinds, was at least one of the entry points hackers used to break into government networks. The software that the suspected malware was delivered with, SolarWinds Orion, has as many as 18,000 global customers, including government agencies and Fortune 500 companies.
"The government itself may have pretty good protections, but when you have a software firm you're contracting with and they send you a patch and you install it, turns out to not really be a patch but a back door for the Russians or Chinese or whoever wants to do something like this," said Sen. Angus King, a Maine Independent who co-chaired a congressional commission, the Cyberspace Solarium Commission, to improve US cyber defenses.
Much of the federal government only learned of one of the country's worst-ever cybersecurity incidents from public reporting and disclosures from private firms. Lawmakers predict there will be efforts next year both to strengthen the US defenses and improve government partnerships with the private sector.
But that remains a complicated proposition.
"It's very clear from this that we're going to need to set up more partnerships between government and private companies," Rep. Jim Himes, a Connecticut Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, told CNN. "We're going to need to have a tough conversation about whether we want to make it easier for the government to look at private companies' networks and products. That's a very tough conversation because there's civil liberties in the mix there."
Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia, the top Senate Intelligence Committee Democrat, told CNN's Poppy Harlow on Tuesday there should be a reexamination of reporting requirements after data breaches for both private companies and government agencies.
"If you are a public company, you have to report at the end of the quarter, but there is no immediate requirement to report" for government entities, Warner said. "These are all things that leave us much more vulnerable."
This story was first published on CNN.com, "Massive data breach may have been discovered due to 'unforced error' by suspected Russian hackers."


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This blog follows Sean Anderson as he goes from 505 pounds to 230. Follow along and see what he does, how he does it, and what he's experiencing. The blog is updated daily.
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Several South Korean companies have been accused of fixing the prices of instant ramen noodles for more than a decade.
Instant noodles are typically sold in plastic cups with seasoning packets and dehydrated vegetables. Several varieties of noodles are sold, including ramen, thick-wheat and flat noodles.
California-based Plaza Company, which runs the Plaza Market, has claimed that four Seoul-based noodle manufacturers, including their U.S. subsidiaries, were part of this conspiracy, according to CourthouseNews.com. Specifically, from the year 2001 to 2008, Plaza says that the companies involved in the supposed scam had six times artificially inflated the prices of dozens of Korean instant noodle products, resulting in price increases of roughly 54 percent.
Anyone in the U.S. who purchased Korean noodles directly from the four noodle manufacturers at any time from May 2001 through to the present may be eligible to join the class action suit.
Four Korean Noodle Makers, Plus Their U.S. Subsidiaries, Supposedly Colluded
Charged with involvement in this price-fixing scheme are Nong Shim Co. and its U.S. subsidiary, Nong Shim America; Ottogi Co. and its U.S. subsidiary, Ottogi America; Samyang Foods Co. and Samyang USA of Santa Fe Springs; and Korea Yakult and its U.S. affiliate, Paldo America. Of the four, Nong Shim is believed to be the leader in terms of the size of its share of the ramen noodle market. The company controls about 70% of the ramen noodle business in Korea and is believed to also hold a dominant presence in the U.S. Nong Shim also is the only one of the four companies that has opened a factory in the U.S., and even has previously announced plans to open an additional facility here in the next few years.
The Korean Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) revealed on July 12, 2012, that the four noodle makers had schemed to raise the prices of instant ramen noodles, as well as to maintain the inflated prices, according to CourthouseNews.com. The KFTC claims that the collusion took place on at least two occasions when representatives from each of the four companies met face-to-face (specifically in 2001 and 2008); the participation of all the companies can also be gleaned from the hundreds of emails they sent back and forth to each other, according to CourthouseNews.com.
For their involvement in the price fixing scam, the four noodle companies were ordered to pay a $120 million fine, according to Yonhap News, South Korea's largest news agency.
Need Legal Help Regarding Ramen Noodle Price Fixing Class-Action Lawsuit?
The personal injury attorneys at Parker Waichman LLP offer free, no-obligation case evaluations. For more information, fill out our online contact form or call 1-800-YOURLAWYER (1-800-968-7529).


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Project-based learning is something you might remember from school. Because be real: How much textbook material did you really take in? How many lectures stayed with you? It's okay if the answer is not many.
When I was a teacher, I was always on the lookout for project-based learning ideas. I found that students were more engaged in creating something with their hands than with writing me an essay about a topic they didn't care about. That's not to say that traditional assessments like essays aren't necessary. But research shows that project-based learning can increase student motivation and retention.
Projects also help teachers. After you outline a project-based learning idea, your students take the lead. And when they finish their playdough models of the water cycle, its time to showcase that hard work to the class. You know presentations take less planning than memorizing a water cycle spiel. Plus, students will develop a deeper understanding from building that model and teaching others about it.
So after introducing a sweet project, let your kiddos be the teachers. Here are five useful project-based learning ideas to help supplement your curriculum.
1. Form your own country
Creativity shouldn't be absent from the classroom — it's a great way to get students engaged. I used this idea when I had to cover for a teacher who left no sub plans (yikes!), and it got the students really excited and eager to participate.
How does it work? You divide the kiddos into groups, and they work together to create their own country. Sounds simple enough, but there's so much learning involved. They can discuss and outline their new country's form of government. They can also design flags and scaled maps. And if they're feeling ambitious, they can even draft an economic plan complete with their very own currency.
There are many variations of the create-your-own-country project. You can find premade outlines on Google and modify them as needed.
I remember the presentations for these were magnificent! Some students used clay to make a map of their country. Other students came in holding flags and singing their country's anthem.
So try it out! This is one of those project-based learning ideas that will boost your social studies curriculum and have your students eager to learn more.
2. Interactive timeline
You can integrate technology with project-based learning, too. One cool project that I did with my kids was an interactive timeline.
Let's face it, timelines can get boring, but creating them is also part of the Common Core standards. So how do you jazz up these dusty ol' standards? Try creating an online interactive timeline!
You can use interactive timelines for various subjects or even cross-curricular units. This online tool by ReadWriteThink makes creating digital timelines a breeze.
My students loved this project. They found pictures, typed explanations, and researched dates. They created timelines that stood out and grabbed their classmates' attention.
You can also use interactive timelines to teach how to cite images and format bibliographies. Just have your students hand in a work cited page in addition to their researched interactive timeline.
After your students complete this project, you can throw an interactive timeline shindig where the kids present their findings to the class. You can even hand out popcorn for the show. Kids love popcorn.
Then, simply relax and check off that timeline from the Common Core standards.
3. Animoto
Are your students fans of animations? Animoto is another technology project-based learning tool to bring your curriculum to life. With Animoto, you can edit pictures and videos into a beautiful animation.
This app is great for a variety of subjects. I once had my students make Animotos of authors. They had to research facts, gather pictures, and include text. But that's just one of many topics that you can use this technology project for.
Animoto makes animation look like a piece of cake. It takes all of your students' images and text and transforms them into a video that the class can enjoy. Your kids even get to choose music for the background!
Disclaimer: you might have to listen to a lot of Justin Bieber during presentation time. But the learning's worth it!
4. Full-size lit posters
Nowadays, it's hard to get some kids to read. On top of that, teachers are expected to evaluate how students understand the material. Research shows that only 20 percent of U.S. teens read every day for pleasure. But 80 percent visit social media every day!
Literature posters might be your answer. With this group project, students get to self-organize and pick roles that suit their strengths.
There are many ways to go about this project. But let's say you have a group of four, start off by giving them a big slab of paper. Take one student who enjoys writing and designate them as the summarizer. You can probably guess what they do — they summarize the reading in a couple of paragraphs.
Another student can be the drawer, making illustrations of items, settings, and characters that are important to the reading. But they also need to describe each image with a short paragraph. The writing component here is essential because, without it, some students might just draw a stickman and call it a day.
Another job can be the questioner, who writes ten or so questions and answers about the text in complete sentences.
Your students will collaborate to create an awesome poster that they can share with the class. Plus, you'll have some easy decorations for your walls!
5. Classcraft
I recently wrote about how Classcraft is one of the best online collaboration tools for students, but it's a useful program for project-based learning, too. This cool system allows students to complete RPG quests based on their curriculum.
Students can take quizzes, have discussions, review the course material, and much more while they quest together in groups.
Teachers can even use quests to manage student behavior. For example, if students are completing a group assignment, the teacher can customize goal behaviors. You can set a goal for active participation in group work or completing classwork by the end of class. Teachers can also specify negative behaviors that penalize students' in-game characters, like using your phone during classwork.
Keep your students engaged and on task by using Classcraft with a project that students will continue playing even after the bell rings.
Project-based learning for long-term student engagement
Teachers are always competing for students' attention alongside video games, television, and the latest apps. So why not use these "distractions" for education?
Project-based learning will have your kids forming connections and getting pumped up to come to class. It will also allow your students to create instead of simply memorizing. And according to Bloom's taxonomy, creating is a vital part of the learning pyramid.
With many of these projects, students have to not only create but also teach. And as you know, that, too, is a magical skill.
Photo credit: Iakov Filimonov; Monkey Business Images; Lonely Planet / Shutterstock.com


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When you have cancer, it's so easy to focus on what you have lost and what you don't have anymore. Trust me. I know. I do it constantly. While I know it's not helpful, there are days where I live in a constant, "woe is me" state. It's important to have those days. They're real, honest depictions of living with disease. But when the dark clouds pass, we get to look at our lives and see all of the great things we have. Thanksgiving is a perfect excuse to do just that.
Last year I made a long list of things I was thankful for. Most of those things are still true. I'm still thankful for my family and friends. That is a given. I'm nothing without them. I'm thankful for my husband. We've had a rough year. Cancer is not easy on a marriage. But we are figuring it out and I'm thankful for that.
I'm thankful that I have eyebrows again and even though my eyelashes are much thinner than they used to be, I'm thankful that they are here. I'm thankful that I have found a new physical therapist who seems to be helping to manage my lymphedema. I'm thankful to have work in wonderful schools and work for so many amazing people and organizations.
I'm thankful that, as of yesterday, I am finished with the infusions for my clinical trial!!! Woot-woot!!! November 25 has been a date stamped on the calendar of my brain for more than a year. This date, which once seemed so far off that I was sure it would never come, happened! Yesterday!!!!
But as I was in the waiting room to see my oncologist, celebrating by myself (unlike my last day of chemo, I went solo for this one) I noticed new people I hadn't seen before. They had that look in their eyes. Wet from holding back tears. I knew that look on their faces and the faces of their loved ones. They were summoning everything they had inside them to hold it together. Maybe yesterday was the day that they got the results of a mammogram. Maybe it was the day that the find out what is in store for the next year. Maybe it was their first day of chemotherapy. I saw them clutch their tea and try to not make eye contact with the others in the waiting room but then try to catch a glance of those who sat with them. Do they have the answers to what life will be like? What it will look like? Caregivers clutched the hands of their wives. They got up, suddenly hypersensitive to noise when a secretary was clicking her pen.
I remember all of this so well. This might have happened to me 13 months ago but being in that room brought it all back for me. It was so familiar. All of it.
My heart is with those people who are going into this holiday season with cancer and illness, whose lives are changing forever.
An hour later, I had gotten my infusion, my last free massage and it was time to say goodbye. Goodbye to Nina, my chemo nurse. Nina was my cancer mama. We developed a very close bond. I love Nina because she is caring but also firm, just like a mother. I could talk to her about anything that was going on in my life and she wouldn't sugar coat it. She'd let me know what was worth worrying about and what I needed to let go. I knew I could count on her to take care of me through everything, and she did. Because your nurses aren't just there to make sure you get your medication and don't have allergic reactions to them. They are so much more than that. Nina was so much more than that to me. I am so thankful to have had her in my life and to have her as a friend. We said goodbye. There were tears. But I know I can come back anytime I want but "just to say hi."
Nina walked me out, holding the door open for me to leave and then closed it behind me. There was a ritual to it. She was ushering me out of this life that I have been living for so long and telling me not to come back. But to go out and live. To live my life again. That simple act of opening and closing the door was so meaningful. So emotional.
Afterwards, I left the cancer center. I won't need to be back for three months. Three whole months!! I am thankful for that.
I celebrated by going to a nearby coffee shop and getting myself a cappuccino and a warmed up chocolate croissant. Of course, I did work while eating it. Life must go on. But it was still a nice treat. I am thankful for chocolate croissants.
Now, it is officially Thanksgiving. Later we are going out to eat. After the year we have all had, no one felt like cooking. We are all so tired. But we are going to the restaurant where my husband works so, in a sense, we will all be together.
This morning, the thing I am most thankful for in this world, Oliver and I got to spend some quality time together. He wanted to take the Q train over the Manhattan Bridge to Oliver Street. Yes, there's an Oliver Street in Chinatown so, that's exactly what we did. Then, we had a very non-thanksgiving lunch of oxtail soup with noodles. Yum!!!!! I was thankful for that yummy, fatty oxtail. Last Thanksgiving I couldn't eat. That will not be the case this year. I am thankful for that.
And finally, thank you to all of you who read and comment on my blog. I'm so thankful to have people who support me through this experience. I'm also so lucky to be part of a community of strong, smart, powerful women who have been through or are going through cancer treatment and share their experiences with me on their own blogs or through comments.
Happy Thanksgiving!


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Born into a builder family, Julia has lived in nearly thirty homes. Her career as a realtor is more than a career: it is her passion! She enjoys playing a vital role in helping homeowners to sell their current home and find their new home!
Julia has four beautiful children – two of which were recently adopted! In high school, Julia was also known as Maria, as she played the lead role in The Sound of Music. She can still yodel today!


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Last summer, when Irvine, California, semiconductor maker Broadcom Corp. was negotiating to buy Altima Communications Inc., its biggest concern was the company's relationships with its customers. As with any small company in the hypercompetitive technology sector, winning and keeping customers is everything. In an effort to strengthen its relationships, Broadcom urged Altima executives to strike product purchase agreements that gave customers like 3Com and Pace Micro Technology performance-based warrants in the company. The more products the customers bought from Altima, the more warrants they were eligible to receive.
Broadcom itself pursued a similar strategy prior to going public in 1998, and it encouraged four other private companies it acquired last year to offer such incentives to their customers. When the acquisitions were completed, the warrants were converted into Broadcom warrants. In addition, their cost, considered part of the price paid for the companies, was rolled into goodwill and amortized over a five-year period. "We and the acquisition candidates viewed these transactions as a way to promote and solidify relationships with key customers," explained CEO Henry T. Nicholas III in a March 6 press release.
But when the Wall Street Journal and the Securities and Exchange Commission regulators got wind of the transactions, the deals were suddenly viewed in a more sinister light. Existing accounting guidance directs that any performance-based grants of shares or warrants to customers be charged against the revenue they relate to–like a cash rebate–thereby reducing the amount of revenue recognized. Because Broadcom simply dumped the cost of the warrants into goodwill instead of matching it against the revenue earned from the contracts, accounting watchdog groups like the Center for Financial Research and Analysis say the company is inflating its revenues. Ashok Kumar, a technology analyst with US Bancorp Piper Jaffray, suggests that the accounting method may have overstated Broadcom's sales growth rate by as much as 50 percent.
Nonsense, say Broadcom executives. Only about $20 million in sales related to the agreements has been recognized by the company, and the initial accounting treatment–which the company announced it would change on March 21– was cleared with the company's auditors, Ernst & Young. "I don't think there's anything to be concerned about," said Broadcom CFO Bill Ruehle to a Wall Street Journal reporter. "Last time I checked, aggressive marketing practices were OK."
But aggressive accounting–even the whiff of it–is another matter altogether. In a market sensitized by scores of share-price meltdowns resulting from aggressive accounting practices, Broadcom's unusual treatment of the transactions was bound to generate bad press and SEC inquiries, not to mention the shareholder lawsuits that have lately been filed against the company.
Broadcom's use of warrants in performance-based contracts, however, is by no means unusual. For years, New Economy companies have been testing the tolerance of generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) in matters of income statement presentation, revenue recognition, and the capitalization of expenses. And while companies in other industries (notably the oil and gas exploration industry) have entered equity-based transactions to share risk and build relationships with customers, technology companies have taken the practice to new, ever more complicated lengths.
In the heyday of the bull market, dot-coms threw their equity around like drunken sailors–loading up employees with options, and paying vendors, lawyers, public relations firms–even landlords–with stock. The performance-based deals with other companies produced heady investment profits for the recipients, while cash-strapped issuing companies conserved working capital and got bragging rights to big-name customers. In hindsight, of course, many on the receiving end of the transactions now wish they'd asked for cash. But there were, and still are, good reasons for companies to enter these agreements.
The accounting for the deals, however, is now coming under intense scrutiny from the SEC. Many of the contracts are still in effect, and continue to play out in corporate earnings and disclosures. And absent hard and fast rules for the appropriate treatment of the transactions, companies have been finding innovative ways to measure and present information about equity-based transactions. To say the least, regulators have their hands full. "It's like one of those arcade games– as soon as you knock one gopher back in its hole, another pops up somewhere else," says Lynn Turner, chief accountant at the SEC.
In October 1999, the SEC enlisted the help of the Emerging Issues Task Force (EITF) of the Financial Accounting Standards Board to ferret out those gophers, along with several others affecting the New Economy. The EITF issued guidance for companies receiving equity instruments, in EITF 00-8 (on equity-instrument receiver recognition), last year. Two other bulletins, EITF 00-18 (on accelerated vesting of equity instrument payments) and EITF 00-25 (on vendor payments and rebates), are still in the works. The SEC also asked the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants last November to include related issues on classification and valuation. The problem, says Barbara Carbone, a partner at KPMG LLP, is that no two agreements are exactly the same. "The accounting is driven by the specific terms of the contracts and the securities," she says. "It has become more complex."
For one of the more complicated performance-based arrangements, consider a deal engineered by Singapore-based Flextronics International with Motorola Corp. Last May, the electronics manufacturing services company signed a five-year, $32 billion deal to make mobile-phone handsets and other electronic devices for Motorola. The alliance between the two companies gives Motorola the option to outsource its manufacturing to Flextronics. In return, Motorola invested $100 million in the alliance for a security that grants it warrants for 22 million Flextronics shares. According to Flextronics's second-quarter 10Q filing last year, the security "entitles [Motorola] to acquire [these] shares… upon meeting targeted purchase levels or making additional payments to the Company."
Flextronics took a $286 million charge for the warrants, using a basic options-pricing model to value them, says CFO Robert Dykes. The expense was booked as a one-time charge, because "there is no vesting for these shares," he says. "There's no accounting link to revenue, no ongoing condition for the options to be exercised"–and therefore less volatility in Flextronics's financials down the road. Speaking generally, KPMG's Carbone notes that in agreements in which shares or warrants of one company vest with another company over the period of a long-term contract, they need to be charged at the price on the day of vesting, not the price when they were issued. Thus, revenue and earnings numbers for issuers and receivers of these instruments could be subject to noncash charges or gains as the value of the shares rises and falls.
The deal gets more intriguing still. Flextronics agreed that Motorola could buy the right to exercise the warrants for another $300 million, and capped the future revenue discounts related to the warrants vesting at that price. This is significant, as the disclosure gives Flextronics's investors a solid outside number in calculating the impact of the stock-based rebate program on the company's GAAP earnings per share.
Dykes and vice president of finance Thomas Smach assert that because Motorola isn't required to use Flextronics's manufacturing capacity, and can buy the rights to exercise the warrants for $300 million, the rules for recognizing the warrant expense over the life of the contract don't apply to the deal. However, the $300 million exercise price is reduced each quarter, based on the amount of revenue the company receives from Motorola. This is not a vesting schedule, says Dykes.
Analysts aren't so sure. "They gave away 5 percent of their common stock to get that deal," says Craig Sheets, an analyst at the Center for Financial Research and Analysis. "The $286 million charge should likely be taken over the 18 quarters of the deal, not all at once, and probably as adjustments to revenue, not as an unrelated line item on the income statement."
Wall Street analysts are also skeptical about the accounting treatment. "It seems to me that there are a series of triggers, based on the level of purchases Motorola makes from Flextronics, that allow the options to be exercised," says Chris Whitmore, an electronics- manufacturing services analyst at Deutsche Bank Alex. Brown. A rough estimate shows that by taking the $286 million charge up front, Flextronics will boost its future reported gross margins by $57 million a year, on a GAAP basis. Dykes says that Flextronics structured the deal as it did precisely to avoid the future expenses. "To do it [with a vesting schedule that would value the options over time] would result in too large an expense," he says.
It doesn't matter much to Whitmore. "What matters to me is cash earnings per share," he says. "Companies like Flextronics are valued on an operating cash-flow basis, not on their GAAP net income." The SEC takes the issue seriously, however. That's why it is still prompting the EITF to provide more-detailed guidance for complicated deals like the one between Flextronics and Motorola. "I would be concerned if any company were recognizing charges for equity shares in advance of actually granting them," says the SEC's Turner. "These things are dependent on the specific terms [of the contracts], though, so we would want management to explain the terms of any such deals in a way that investors [could] make their own judgment about the impacts."
Does the market really care about how noncash expenses are reflected in the financial statements? Craig Collins, CFO of CoSine Communications Inc., a network- infrastructure products maker in Redwood City, California, doesn't think so. Last September, the SEC forced his company to revise its financials for the first half of 2000 before going public. CoSine had to cut its revenue number from $11 million to $7.8 million to reflect the value of warrants it had previously issued to six customers.
Investors, however, hardly seemed to notice–CoSine's IPO priced at $23, and the shares opened for trading on September 26 at $67. The shares have since plunged–to as low as $2–but then so have most other stocks in the telecom-equipment sector. Collins doesn't believe the warrant deals or the accounting for them has had any impact on the company's stock price. "We want to do [the accounting] in whatever way makes the SEC happy," says Collins. "Our attitude is, let the accounting fall where it may, because the investing community is smart enough to understand the economics of these transactions, and doesn't use GAAP measures to value us."
Apparently, the market isn't always so smart or so forgiving. New Era of Networks Inc., of Englewood, Colorado, a software firm more commonly known by its ticker symbol, NEON, was slammed by the market last year when the extent of its equity-based transactions was revealed. In a bid to build revenues, NEON entered three deals in which it invested in a customer's stock, while the customer paid cash for NEON products. In five other deals, the company accepted stock as payments from customers.
Accounting rules required NEON to classify such "boomerang deals" as nonmonetary transactions. But the company's executives didn't quantify the deals in a third-quarter conference call, although they accounted for roughly 10 percent of NEON's $50 million in revenues for the quarter. Instead, the company buried the numbers in its 10Q filing a month later. Once investors read the footnotes, the stock dropped like a stone, from $21.44 on November 17 to $6.56 just five days later, and class-action attorneys headed for the courthouse.
A contrite Steve Webb, CFO of NEON, explained in January that the earlier omission was an oversight. "We had already explained the deals earlier in the quarter in press releases, and didn't think the information needed to be presented again as part of the conference call," says Webb. "We've since made the decision to communicate very clearly about nonmonetary transactions with our investors."
It's a moot point now. The firm's poor performance–$39.7 million in losses on $40.2 million in revenues for the quarter–apparently caught up with it. NEON signed an agreement to be acquired by Sybase on February 20 for $9.50 a share.
So, do investors care, and should CFOs care, about the accounting? "Two companies can look very different on an accounting basis, due to different structures in acquisitions or deals made with equity, but on a cash basis they can be the same," says CoSine's Collins. "Investors seem to care only about the cash-flow models, and they value companies that way."
Maybe so, but as the experiences of NEON and Broadcom suggest, companies that have entered equity-based transactions had better make the details of the deals very clear to investors and regulators.
Ian Springsteel is a freelance writer based in Boston.
With the collapse of the Nasdaq market, and the near-worthless shares many companies got stuck with as payment for goods and services, equity-based transactions should be a thing of the past, right?
Not exactly. In many cases, the reasons that companies accepted stock rather than cash during the late 1990s still apply today. Consider Amazon.com. Through its Amazon Commerce Network (ACN), the Seattle-based E-tailer has struck commercial deals with at least 12 other E-commerce companies to sell products and services on co-branded sections of Amazon's Web site. Many of the partners, including Drugstore.com, Kozmo.com, and NextCard.com, paid Amazon for the marketing space with shares that, since the blowout in Internet stocks, have lost most of their value. Amazon took $184 million in investment losses in the fourth quarter, much of which resulted from shares received from ACN partners.
Despite the losses, however, Amazon continues to court new partners for the network. Says Tim Stone, director of investor relations at Amazon: "The ACN business is an important way that we can leverage our customer platform. While the margins on this revenue are declining…the economics of the business are still very attractive." He says that an increasing amount of the revenue Amazon receives from ACN partners is in the form of cash, but he also indicated that the company is still willing to accept stock from partners in the future, "should it make sense for our shareholders to do so."
Telecom-equipment maker Qualcomm Inc. also sees sound reasons for allowing customers to pay with equity rather than cash. Last December, the San Diegobased company announced a new license program for its Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) digital wireless technology that permits "selected start-up and early-stage companies" to pay part of their upfront fees for a CDMA license in stock. Qualcomm is in a battle for the hearts and minds of telecommunications providers that are building wireless networks. The more providers that base their networks on the CDMA standard, the better it looks to other prospective customers. The company also reasons that in accepting equity payments, it is freeing up customer capital to improve and develop new CDMA products. "We believe that such resources focused on CDMA around the world help accelerate the overall growth of the CDMA market and wireless usage," said Steve Altman, president of Qualcomm Technology Alliances, in a company press release. –I.S.


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Welcome! Thanks for stopping in for the 20th issue of Kitelife. I sincerely appreciate the support of our readers and sponsors over the last year; and hope that you have the best year yet in 2001.
2000 was a great year for Kitelife. We received 165,345 visits from our readers, who viewed over 612,000 pages. (For those of you who still measure traffic by "hits", we had over 3 million file "hits" during the year). I hope that we have provided a valuable resource to you, and a solid value to our sponsors. We'll do our best to provide more of the same in 2001.
Cool Stuff
Victory From the Jaws of Defeat Department: Kiter on Dubya's Cabinet!
As an old-school liberal Democrat, I went into a deep funk when one member of the Supreme Court negated the votes of tens of millions of Americans and selected GW Bush as our next president. I suffered through nightsweats caused by visions of oil wells smack dab in the middle of Field 2 at Wildwood and skies so brown that kites will need night lights even in daytime; I settled in for 4 years of dark times. But as Mom told us, behind every greasy brown cloud lies a silver lining.
On December 20, GWB announced the selection of Gov. Christie Whitman of New Jersey to be head of the EPA, a cabinet-level position. For the last several years, Gov. Whitman has attended the Wildwood festival on Memorial Day weekend; and she has shown genuine delight with kiting. The pictures below will attest to that.
At Wildwood this May, I'm going to meet with Christie and suggest a bold initiative, "Flight Stamps". This program will be modeled closely upon the "Food Stamp" program — kite fliers of lesser means (annual income under $125,000/yr.) will get government vouchers that they may exchange for top-rate kites and equipment. This will help keep us as productive members of society, who will not have to turn to crime to feed our families after we blow the paycheck on kites.
Now that's a program would get this old yellow-dog Democrat to support Christie Whitman for President! We can only hope that she will keep the Grand Oil Party in check in the meantime……
Where's the Bubble Gum?
Those of you who have seen the kite flier's trading cards produced by Ron Despojado know that these are really neat. Ron is getting ready to do a new batch, check his website for details.
KAP as Fine Art
Top kite aerial photographer Craig Wilson has his wonderful work featured on Guild.com, the largest online fine-art site in the world. It is super to see a great guy like Craig get this kind of recognition. Tell your well-heeled uncle to get you one of Craig's photos for Valentine's Day.
Kitelife Nominated
I am delighted to report that Kitelife has been nominated for the Chris Batdorff Award by the Kite Trade Association International. This award, voted on by KTAI members, is annually given to the outstanding kite publication. For the first time, this award has been opened up to electronic publications such as Kitelife. Chris was the groundbreaking publisher of Stunt Kite Quarterly, and an inspiration to all who follow our sport. Wish us luck in the voting.
Help Wanted
We are in need of new contributors! Whether you can provide an article about your particular specialty or interest, some great photos or an event report, or wish to start a bi-monthly column of your own, we'd love to hear from you. If interested, please e-mail us for details. Kitelife can continue to serve you only if we have a steady stream of material, please help the cause if you are able.
Next Issue
Full coverage of Kites On Ice and the World Sport Kite Championships in Malaysia. This issue will publish around March 25. See you then!


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How do I know if I am a candidate for Vaginal Rejuvenation?
If you experience vaginal dryness, painful intercourse, or urinary leakage, you are likely a great candidate for diVa. This will help strengthen your internal vagina by replacing old, damaged tissue with new, healthy tissue. If you notice your labia bothers you during sexual intercourse, or just the appearance in general, you are a great candidate for a labiaplasty. Combining both procedures together will only enhance your results!
These are several procedures that go by different names. The clitoral plasty or unhooding of the clitoris. This is excision of the excess skin that may occur after pregnancy and aging. Other procedures are those of injections of hyaluronic acid or filler into the G-spot or anterior wall of the vagina. This injection is called the O-shot. Finally, there is the vaginoplasty or tightening of the vagina surgically or with a laser.
I have leakage when I work out. What are my options?
Urinary leakage is a common concern for women. Stress urinary incontinence is the leakage of urine with specific activities, such as exercise, laughing, or sneezing. This can happen after vaginal childbirth or as we age because our pelvic muscles tend to weaken overtime. DiVa is an awesome option for patients who experience stress urinary incontinence. It is non-surgical, requires minimal downtime, and there is minimal discomfort involved.
Can I work out after a Diva Treatment?
Women can resume all exercises the following day after a diVa treatment.
Sexual intercourse can be resumed 5 days after a diVa treatment.
Schedule Your Consult and...


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Microsoft has released a free Facebook application that gives Windows Mobile 6 users a way to stay connected on the popular social network.
MobilityMinded has a great walkthrough of all the features, with screens.
The only glaring omissions from this app are the lack of Facebook chat and the ability to view comments to photos.
The Bottom Line
This app isn't perfect, but it's good. If you use Facebook and have a Windows Mobile 6 device, it's worth checking out.
You can download Facebook for Windows Mobile 6 here.
Thanks to jkOnTheRun for the heads up!


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Puerto Rico Landlord Tenant Law
Guide to Puerto Rico Landlord Tenant Law
While most U.S. states have uniform landlord tenant codes that mandate many tenants' rights and landlord responsibilities, PR landlord tenant law is still largely a matter of contract law. This guide will only provide a basic review of Puerto Rico landlord tenant law. In general, the lease agreement between a renter and the property owner will dictate most of PR landlord tenant law for a particular case. Because of this, it is especially important to have an attorney familiar with Puerto Rico landlord tenant law review any lease before you sign it.
Security Deposits
If you pay a security deposit to your landlord, PR landlord tenant law requires that your lease contain information on how the security deposit is to be repaid to you at the end of your lease term. In many situations, landlords will allow renters to use their security deposit as their final month of rent, but this is not guaranteed by Puerto Rico landlord tenant law and is entirely up to your landlord's discretion.
If your security deposit is not returned by the time specified in your lease and no damage was done to your property besides normal wear and tear, PR landlord tenant law allows you to take your landlord to court for the deposit. You may also be awarded attorney fees.
While some landlords may attempt to use "self help" eviction methods like shutting off a tenant's utilities, changing their locks, or removing their belongings to force them out of their home, this is illegal according to Puerto Rico landlord tenant law. Evictions are only allowed by PR landlord tenant law if the landlord has filed a lawsuit and has gone through the eviction process in court. If your landlord is attempting to remove you from your property in violation of Puerto Rico landlord tenant law, you need to contact an attorney immediately to learn your legal options.
Before renting in Puerto Rico, you should make sure that your lease covers the habitability of your unit. PR landlord tenant law does not specifically mention habitability, but in general, if your lease includes such a clause, your landlord must provide you with hot and cold safe running water, electricity, functional plumbing systems, and functioning doors and windows. You may want to check with a lawyer who understands Puerto Rico landlord tenant law if you believe your landlord has violated any habitability clauses in your lease.
Lease Breaches
If a tenant or landlord breaches a lease in a material way, PR landlord tenant law allows the lease to be broken by the other party. For instance, if your landlord is violating your lease by entering your home without notice, you may be able to leave your unit without paying any lease penalties (and may be able to seek your moving costs and attorney fees in court). When tenants breach leases, Puerto Rico landlord tenant law only requires that the landlord notify the tenant before initiating eviction proceedings if the lease agreement provides for this. Otherwise, tenants may not need to be notified before eviction proceedings begin.
Related Topics
- Mississippi Landlord Tenant Law
- Delaware Landlord Tenant Law
- Wisconsin Landlord Tenant Law
- Tenant Credit Check
- Arizona Tenant Rights
- How to Evict a Tenant in Vermont
- Everything To Know About Condominiums
- Acquiring Real Property Overview
- Massachusetts Landlord Tenant Law
- Home Refinance


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Contact Us
Here at Drifter we like to keep things easy. The best way to reach us is our one stop email address. We'll ensure the appropriate person gets back to you in a timely manner.
If you'd like to discuss a custom rod order, or have questions that are better discussed over the phone, you can reach us toll free at:
(866) 633-8310
Thanks for your interest in Drifter. We hope to hear from you soon!