In the collective mindset, the office is a second home.
At the office, colleagues gather to work, talk and collaborate.
Even with the popularity of telecommuting, the office remains a constant.
It just doesn’t feature cubicles anymore.
That’s because open floorplans — offices with shared desks, work tables and limited doors and private offices — are becoming increasingly popular.
The trend exists despite multiple studies, including a recent Harvard report, that found employees are dissatisfied and less productive with constant face-to-face interaction.
Not designer Joy Cho, who has embraced the much-maligned open office plan at her new Oh Joy! headquarters in Frogtown, a functional but beautiful office composed of shared workspaces and large open areas where her staff of six can work, dine, cook and craft.
Like her whimsical products, spanning washable rugs to Band-Aids, the office has a happy vibe. It is feminine and fun, and it and works, Cho says, because of a consistent structure throughout: glossy white Ikea cabinets as background, soft pastel accents, gold accessories and fun accents. Think glittery swizzle sticks, pink lanterns, gold flecked wallpaper, pastel-colored murals and sky-blue cement tile.
Working alongside her friend, designer Sarah Sherman Samuel, Cho removed walls to create an open floorplan that invites creativity and collaboration. “I wanted my employees to have an inspirational space,” Cho says. She describes it as “modern, chic, but timeless.” Tour the industrial building and you’ll find a dining room, full kitchen, private office for Cho, a craft room, photo studio and an enclosed storage area.
That’s not to say the office is completely transparent. “By giving some distinction with partial [yet open] walls, it allows us to have an open creative space that functions well for our needs,” Cho says.
Designer Joy Cho’s office, designed by Sarah Sherman Samuel, features her kids’ artwork, a powder-coated steel Strut desk by Blu Dot, Oh Joy cement tiles and floating Ikea cabinets behind her desk.
Props, furnishings and artworks represent a recurring theme throughout the office: pink, blue and yellow pastel tones and gold accents against a white backdrop.
The craft room was designed to accommodate several DIY projects at once. Colorful paper honeycomb decorations placed on top of the all-white Ikea cabinets give the room a light-hearted feel.
All employees have their own custom pin boards for personal inspiration.
The main work area features four Blu Dot desks, Ikea cabinets and a conference table surrounded by pink chairs. Custom Ikea wardrobes with gold hardware conceal work supplies and help to keep the room clutter-free.
The studio’s original kitchen was gutted and replaced with Ikea cabinets, honed marble countertops and Oh Joy for Cle “Petal” cement tiles. Sconces by Cedar & Moss add an elegant touch. All employees are invited to use the kitchen, which is also utilized for photo shoots. A dining room and conference table on either side of the kitchen offer multiple places for employees to congregate.
Not all of the rooms are open. At the back of the office, a storage room houses props, pillows, furnishings and accessories that are used for photo shoots.
A mural designed by Sarah Sherman Samuel and produced by Limitless Walls extends down the wall to the outside of the desks to give the room a modern look. Each desk has a side cabinet for personal items and a pin board for inspiration. Gold ottomans are among the many gold accents installed throughout the office.
The fluctuating photo studio serves as a venue for product shots and Oh Joy! DIY blog content.


If Modi and the BJP really wish to address the needs of the nation, they need to recognise that inclusion requires more than just naukri and cellphone.
Now that the BJP has romped home with a stunning majority and will govern Uttar Pradesh, the question that most confronts the liberal worrier is that of the Muslim community. As one foreign friend said, “I wouldn’t like to be a Muslim in UP or in India at present.” Given her liberal soul, she might say the same of her own country, the US, where Muslims could be in even greater peril under President Trump.
At 18.4 per cent, Muslims form a significant proportion of UP’s population. The big elephant in the room during the entire UP election was that the BJP had not given a single ticket to anyone from the community. Amit Shah, the architect of the UP victory, when asked why, consistently responded that the BJP chooses candidates on “winnability”. His reasoning was — they will not vote for us, so why waste a ticket. This might be rational and logical but many question the symbolism of the step. What message does it send to the Muslim community and what does it mean for the future of India’s secularism?
There can be several ways of looking at the BJP’s electoral exclusion of Muslims. Liberals would argue that this was in keeping with the “Hindu nation” theory of the RSS. Minorities are welcome but they have to acknowledge their minority status and live under the majority’s rule. They might even be well looked after but their political or citizenship rights would not be foregrounded. According to this theory, there is no need to bend over backwards (seen as Muslim appeasement) to privilege the minority; all citizens must be on an equal platform. That a majority might, by this very fact, privilege itself, even if unintendedly, is not something that is easily evident to this group of people.
Narendra Modi and Shah, in explaining their various jibes during campaigning (KaSaB, shamshan bhumi and kabristan), argue that they wish to move away from partisanship in development matters, that their intention is “sab ka vikas” and “sab ka saath”, irrespective of caste or community. They contend that while Muslims will not be appeased (a la the Congress or the Samajwadi Party), they will be afforded equal development; that is, there will be no discrimination but the politics of appeasement will end.
The RSS’s stand on reservations is similar — let us provide reservations on the basis of economic status and help whoever needs to be helped, irrespective of caste or community. There seems to be a genuine belief that social identities should not, and will not, be allowed to come in the way of development. As far as private life is concerned, the idea is, each community can live as it wishes without any overwhelming need for fraternity.
The record of non-BJP parties in improving the well-being of Muslims has been anything but commendable. However, we are faced with the question of whether being afforded equal development opportunities adds to a substantive citizenship and an equal sense of belonging to the nation.
Belonging-ness has more to do with a sense of security than material opportunities. The shrill discourse of nationalism and the need to wear one’s nationalism on one’s sleeve is probably what worries Muslims more, even as its youth might respond to the development platform. So, while one might wish to believe that the BJP intends to deliver on its promise of development irrespective of caste or religion, Muslims need an assurance that their life and limbs will be safe while they go about everyday business.
The Akhlaq incident, the Muzaffarnagar riots, the incidents around tanning, have undermined Muslim confidence. Alienation, fear and silence are the result. It is this that the BJP needs to address — something that Atal Bihari Vajpayee was able to address and some believe that the Babri-tainted Rajnath Singh could address. Is the BJP of Modi and Shah even keen to recognise the issue of genuine inclusion, let alone address it?
If Modi and the BJP really wish to address the needs of the nation, they need to recognise that inclusion requires more than just naukri and cellphone. It requires the freedom and sense of comfort to be who one is or wishes to be.


Re: "Tougher oversight of police weighed — Botham Jean case fuels calls to strengthen citizen review board," Nov. 21 Metro & State story.
Proposals for change in the Citizens Police Review Board are, in my opinion, not likely to improve oversight of police activity or complainants' case outcomes. Most complaints do not justify subpoena power. Leave those that do to the justice system.
1. Better appointee vetting. In my experience there are three groups: predisposed to the citizen; generally favoring police; and qualified, impartial members. Prioritize openness over activism.
2. Due process. Complainants are rushed and not given time to fully present evidence. Although there is no published time allotment, either board policy or member disinterest often penalizes complainants.
3. Officer named in complaint present at the hearing. Many cases don't require Internal Affairs scrutiny. Senior officers may have second- or third-hand knowledge, yet they often testify in first-person capacity. A simple Dallas Police Department policy change could rectify this.
Activism and justice do not produce the same results. Before granting a citizen body greater powers, the City Council should exercise restraint and study more aspects of the board and its activities.
Remarkable, or perhaps not worthy of either remark or consideration. Recently, among the opinions you published were those of David Roark, identified as the communications and resources director of the Village Church, and Todd Wagner, senior pastor of the Watermark Community Church.
I find it remarkable — which is why I am choosing to remark — that both men cite abortion as the sin against which to battle.
Not the war in Yemen, where Saudis are slaughtering and starving the populace with support from U.S. arms and aircraft. Not the desperate plight of the million Rohingya, banished from Myanmar and languishing in dreadful camps in Bangladesh with too little U.S. aid. Not even our California neighbors, burned alive and/or banished from their homes by climate-worsened wildfires.
But of course these are persons of both sexes and all ages. They are apparently less-tempting targets than women of childbearing age. I will buy their commitment to Christ when they turn their attention to male contraception.
It's encouraging to see 26,000 nurses, doctors, paramedics and other health professionals writing to the National Rifle Association with the headline "Gun Violence is Our Lane" to get them to stop their resistance to any common-sense gun laws. A similar action was taken with little progress after the Sandy Hook massacre of 20 young children and six teachers in 2012.
Perhaps these caring health professionals can channel their energies toward senators like Ted Cruz and John Cornyn who are taking major donations from the NRA. The 35,000 killed by guns annually increases each year with Republican inaction. Sadly, some Texans who voted for Cruz must have not thought that the safety of our children and grandchildren is important.
Re: "Oxymorons that made the list," by Dennis J. Schmitt, Wednesday Letters.
Really? President Donald Trump as an oxymoron. This is what you now publish as a letter to the editor? That is pathetic. How about this real oxymoron — impartial journalists?


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SAN FRANCISCO – Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ) shares rose more than 4 percent Wednesday as investors reacted to its report a day earlier that earnings rose 26.5 percent in the fourth quarter, led by record revenue growth across all of the computer giant's business units, particularly in its consumer electronics division.
Shares of the Palo Alto, Calif.-based HP were up 89 cents, or 4.5 percent, to $20.57 Wednesday on the New York Stock Exchange (search) . Its shares are trading midway betrween their 52-wek range of $16.08 to $26.28.
HP said after the markets closed Tuesday that it earned $1.091 billion, or 37 cents per share, in the quarter ended Oct. 31 compared with $862 million, or 28 cents per share, in the same period last year. Wall Street analysts had been expecting the company to earn 37 cents a share, according to Thomson First Call. Revenue came to $21.39 billion, up 8 percent from $19.85 billion in the fourth quarter of 2003.
Excluding special items, HP earned $1.2 billion, or 41 cents per share. That compared with $1.1 billion, or 36 cents per share, in the same period of 2003.
The company said the non-GAAP figures include an adjustment of $136 million, or 5 cents per share.
"After a challenging third quarter I am pleased with the steady improvement we made in (the quarter) and the way we ended the fiscal year," Carly Fiorina (search), HP's chairman and chief executive, said during a conference call with Wall Street analysts.
"We were solidly profitable in all of our businesses except software, which delivered a significant year over year profit improvement and approached break even," she said.
The company also benefitted from the dollar being down against the euro, said Carl Claunch, vice president of research firm Gartner Inc.
"It sounds like a great recovery," Claunch said. "But if you do the math and get under the numbers, you see (revenue is) 4 percent."
The company's software, storage server and services division reported a combined $8 billion in revenue, up 10 percent from the previous year period.
HP's personal computer business generated $6.5 billion in revenue, a 9 percent increase, with commercial sales growing 12 percent while consumer sales rose 4 percent, the company said.
The company's imaging and printer unit saw record quarterly revenue of $6.5 billion, up 5 percent over the same period last year. HP shipped 14 million printers during the quarter, a record, the company said.
Business hardware revenue grew 6 percent over the same quarter a year ago on strong sales of color laser, multi-function printers and digital press.
Home hardware revenue declined 2 percent amid fewer sales of single-function printers and lower prices, the company said.
Fiorina said the company expected consumer purchasing during the holidays would be "not bad, but not spectacular."
That outlook is the reverse of the 2003 holiday season, where business spending was down compared to individual shoppers.
"We saw a stronger consumer market and a weaker enterprise market," Fiorina said. "At this juncture what we're seeing is an improving enterprise market and a so-so consumer market."
The company spent $859 million on research and development in the quarter, down from the $907 million it spent in the same quarter of 2003.
Despite stated efforts to reduce its work force, HP added 4,000 employees in the fourth quarter, for a total of 150,000 worldwide, Fiorina said.
HP estimated that revenue in the first half of fiscal 2005 would be between $41.8 billion and $42.3 billion, with non-GAAP earnings per share between 72 cents and 74 cents.
For the year, HP's net revenue was $79.9 billion, up $6.8 billion.


Victoria's Minister for Small Business, Innovation and Trade Philip Dalidakis believes bringing international organisations and talent to Australia will spark interest in pursuing a career in tech.
In little over a year, international businesses such as software firm Zendesk, e-marketplace Etsy, payments player Square, and team communication platform Slack have set up their respective regional headquarters in Melbourne, a trend Victoria's Minister for Small Business, Innovation and Trade Philip Dalidakis said is vital for the success of local talent.
Quoting the 1989 movie starring Kevin Costner, Dalidakis told ZDNet that Victoria is building its own Field of Dreams with the theory that "if you build it, they will come".
"I don't think it's too dissimilar [to Field of Dreams] and what we're trying to do is create opportunities where people want to be here and it's never about stopping Victorian companies from going global -- if that's what they need to do then we want to be here to help them do that. We want to be part of their success story, not the blockers or inhibitors to them reaching their potential or their dreams," he explained.
Dalidakis said the local presence of international companies has resulted in a great deal of startup and entrepreneurial momentum in Victoria.
"Getting those companies to locate here and supporting our local companies here is all about creating opportunities where people want to come and work here. If you've got wonderful companies that can attract top talent, then more companies are going to want to be here because they're going to want to try and leverage off that talent, try and recruit it, and take it for themselves," Dalidakis said.
"When you add those companies to your ecosystem, along with wonderful local startups that have gone global like Seek, carsales.com, Kogan, and Nitro PDF, there's something really exciting happening."
Since Danish customer service software company Zendesk setup its local headquarters last year, the minister said the company has recruited 100 local software engineers.
"Victoria has close to 36 percent of all IT grads across the country, New South Wales is about 28 percent, and Queensland 18 percent," he said. "So what we need to do is continue to provide a pipeline for those people that are graduating as we want to make sure that they've got the workforce out there that they want to work in."
Despite being impressed with the statistics, Dalidakis said that Victoria and the rest of Australia also need to recognise that over the last 10 years nationally, there has been a decline in graduates within the IT sector.
"We need to try and reverse that and ... having [international companies] here, hopefully gives people reason to want to undertake an IT degree," he said. "For us it's not a one size fits all strategy but one that we're trying to ensure that the best and brightest, both in Victoria but also from overseas, that want to come to Victoria get that opportunity and see real value in doing so."
According to Dalidakis, there are still a number of issues preventing the country from truly grasping how to grow a thriving IT ecosystem, one of which is access to talent.
"We can't expect to be able to compete with size and scale like San Francisco and the US in particular, because when you're talking about a country of some 24 million people, well California has over 40 million people just there alone," he said.
"I've heard numerous stories from local companies here that need very specific software engineering-type roles or web roles filled and they've struggled to fill them locally. We need to make sure the issue of attracting overseas talent in specific industries like the tech sector can be met with low barriers and little resistance."
Earlier this year, the government begun the consultation process for the Entrepreneur Visa, releasing a discussion paper to tackle concerns including: Individual nomination procedure, third-party backing, length of stay, visa extension length, and whether the individual should be given permanent residency if their innovations prove to be a success.
"What should be of interest to public policy makers with this should be the potential knowledge gain and the knowledge transfer by having those people working here in our ecosystem," Dalidakis said.
Last week, the Victorian government announced the recipients of the first round of LaunchVic funding, handing out AU$6.5 million to universities, startups, incubators, and projects to "drive new ideas" and create jobs in the state.
"I would always like more money and I always speak nicely and softly to the treasurer in hope I can get more out of him," Dalidakis joked.
"We've got a AU$60 million fund; the first round was only AU$6.5 million of that, so there are a lot more rounds, a lot more applications that we will look at, and I look forward to the best and brightest ideas coming through that process."
It was announced in December that Melbourne would be receiving the first international office of Oxford University's Global Cyber Security Capacity Centre (GCSCC), which will carry out audits of national cybersecurity risks and capabilities to help countries to plan investments and strategies to improve their digital security.
The GCSCC office will be co-located with a new Oceania Cyber Security Centre (OCSC) that is being set up with support from the state government and will bring together eight Victorian universities, the Melbourne-based Defence Science Institute, and various private sector partners.
At the time, Dalidakis said establishing an office in Victoria cemented the state's reputation as a hub for cybersecurity, with the National Broadband Network's (NBN) announcing it too was bringing its National Operations Centre to Melbourne.
"Data61 is locating its whole cyber team division in Melbourne and also we have three of the four major banks with their centres here in Melbourne -- we have a very natural, very organic skill set in Victoria so what we're trying to do is build upon that," Dalidakis said.
"I'm about to embark on a trip to the United States to make some big announcements: I've got some more companies that have chosen Melbourne as their Asia Pacific headquarters and then some big cyber announcements while I'm in the US as well."
Dalidakis said government has a responsibility to the tax payer to try and get public policy right, but noted that it also has a responsibility to the broader business community and the community at large to get policy decisions right as well.
"We have to get that balance right," he said. "But whatever we've done until now will be meaningless if we don't continue to seek that change going forward."


As constant air monitoring is handled in Strathcona County by two local groups, students are set to get more insight into the air they breathe.
Strathcona County is divided into two airsheds, with the Alberta Capital Airshed (ACA) managing air quality monitoring stations in Ardrossan and Sherwood Park, while the Fort Air Partnership (FAP) has a station in Elk Island, as well as in areas just north of Strathcona County, such as Fort Saskatchewan and Bruderheim.
While constant air monitoring efforts continue, both organizations are now hoping to spread their work to a younger audience.
“We just started a school tours program a year ago, so we’re planning to expand that,” said Nadine Blaney, executive director of FAP.
Additionally, ACA executive director Gary Redmond said the group has already started working with local facilities to raise student awareness — while also potentially bringing certain messages to parents.
The CARS program — Clean Air Responsible Schools — involves a partnership between the ACA and an educational group called Inside Education.
Using handheld air quality monitoring devices, students can see what they’re breathing in as they walk around the school yard.
“It started in one school here in Sherwood Park, and it’s going to have a lot more in the fall,” Redmond said.
He explained the program includes professional development for teachers, as well as an in-classroom presentation. The program, he noted, has been well-suited to youth around Grade 5.
That’s where the youth become the teachers.
While the handheld devices “don’t take the place of continual or passive monitoring,” Redmond explained they provide adults, too, with an opportunity to get involved in the science of air quality monitoring.
“There is very much a growing interest for people, they want to have science in their hands,” he explained.
Currently, devices are being used by the University of Alberta and MacEwan University students, while residents can borrow the system from the Edmonton Public Library, and Inside Education continues to use them, as well.
While the devices only monitor air quality levels directly adjacent to the user, Redmond said they could one day take on a bigger role.


We are former intelligence officials who have served many years at senior levels of the US intelligence community. As the role of intelligence on Iraq assumed critical importance over the past several months, we established Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity (VIPS) as a collegial body to monitor the unfolding of events. Our first analytic paper was a same-day commentary on Secretary of State Colin Powell’s performance at the UN Security Council on February 5. Six papers on related subjects have now been issued, three of which have taken the form of Memoranda for the President. We have had no response from the White House.
We turn to you now because it has become inescapably clear that the issue of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq remains a most urgent one. We see no viable alternative to renewed UN involvement if this key issue is to be dealt with effectively. This letter is an appeal to you and Security Council members to pursue that objective with a renewed sense of urgency.
As we applied the rigorous evidentiary standards of professional intelligence analysis over recent months, we were inclined to place reports of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq in the “unconfirmed” category. However, the assertions of President George W. Bush and his senior advisers were so categorical,and their assurances so insistent,that it seemed reasonable to assume that they were in possession of more compelling evidence than that which had been made public, and that prudence therefore dictated giving them the benefit of the doubt. In doing so we found ourselves in step with most Americans, including some who are highly experienced in these matters,former UN inspectors David Albright and Jonathan Tucker, for example.
US Gen. Tommy Franks has said the search for weapons of mass destruction may take a year. We assume that the international community will find this unacceptable.
Intelligence analysts rarely confess to being perplexed. We confess. We are perplexed at the US refusal to permit the return of UN inspectors to Iraq.
From an intelligence point of view, Washington’s decision to bar the very people with the international mandate, the unique experience, and the credibility to undertake a serious search for weapons of mass destruction defies logic. UN inspectors know Iraq, know the weaponry in question, know the Iraqi scientists/engineers who have been involved, know how the necessary materials are procured and processed; in short, they have precisely the expertise required. Barton Gellman’s detailed account of the abortive two-month search by US forces in Iraq (“Odyssey of Frustration,” in yesterday’s Washington Post) should remove any lingering doubt that the US needs all the help it can get. We are particularly troubled by reports of looting and thefts at Iraqi nuclear facilities.
The draft Security Council resolution being promoted by the US, however, makes no reference to the mandated UN role in weapons certification. Thus, at the Security Council deliberations this week, the stakes,for the UN, for the spread of weapons of mass destruction, for the international community as a whole, and for the Middle East in particular,could not be higher.
It is understandable that you and other senior UN officials are unwilling to take at face value the intelligence reporting offered by the US on Iraq, particularly since the detailed assertions by Secretary Powell on February 5, by and large, have not withstood close scrutiny. Particularly distressing to us as intelligence professionals has been the revelation that some of the most important evidence cited by Secretary Powell, and by the president himself, was based on forged documents.
You will agree, certainly, that this is a starkly different state of affairs than that which obtained during the Cuban missile crisis 41 years ago. Then war was averted through peaceful means partly because of widespread trust in the integrity of US intelligence collection and analysis. Trust is a fragile commodity. The success of diplomacy leans heavily on it. If trust is squandered, all suffer.
Today, as veteran intelligence officials, we cannot stand by in silence as US credibility is in danger of being frittered away. This will be the inevitable result if previous US government assertions based on “solid intelligence” concerning the existence of serviceable weapons of mass destruction in Iraq remain without credible substantiation.
Only the return of UN inspectors to Iraq can determine on behalf of the entire international community the credibility of the intelligence upon which the US/UK invasion of Iraq was based. Accordingly, we strongly encourage you to continue working toward that end. The restoration of an internationally sanctioned inspection and verification regime would be a giant step toward resolving lingering ambiguities. Equally important, it would ensure a stable foundation for the security of the next government in Iraq.
We have found it somewhat awkward to write you in this vein, but the urgency of the situation leaves us no alternative. We take no joy in sharing our confusion over our government’s policies.
We appreciate your efforts and those of other member states to carry out the UN’s mandate on Iraq and to assert UN prerogatives. The long-term credibility and role of the UN will be strengthened as you redouble your efforts to meet this formidable challenge.
We shall fax copies of this letter to the current members of the Security Council, including the US delegation.


The first trailer for the upcoming documentary The Orange Years has been released online. The film chronicles the origins and success of the cable channel Nickelodeon in the 1990s, featuring interviews with the stars and creators of the content that dominated the childhoods of those coming of age two decades ago. Shows like All That, The Adventures of Pete & Pete, and Clarissa Explains It All served to speak directly to kids without pandering, and they did so while also countering the more younger-skewing programming on Disney Channel. This trailer finds the stars and writers of those shows not only discussing the popularity of Nickelodeon, but how the guiding vision of Geraldine Laybourne allowed these series to traverse more mature content. It was precisely this mix of kid-friendly shows with a smidge of rebellion that made Nickelodeon so popular throughout the 90s.
This trailer makes this film a must-watch for someone like me, who grew up on a steady diet of Nickelodeon programming. Directed by Scott Barber and Adam Sweeney, the film is due to premiere on November 15th at DOC NYC at the SVA Theater in New York City (click here to buy tickets), but doesn’t yet have a release date. One imagines someone like Netflix could pick this up to great success. Here’s hoping we get to see it sooner rather than later.
Check out the Orange Years trailer below.


Since its start in 2010, some of the most powerful unions is the country have contributed millions of dollars to the group American Bridge, an organization dedicated to attacking Republicans.
The group claims its mission is to hold elected officials accountable for saying one thing but doing another. Despite this, it targets Republicans exclusively. To accomplish this American Bridge has engaged in opposition research and information campaigns.
“[We’re]a progressive research and communications organization committed to holding Republicans accountable for their words and actions and helping you ascertain when Republican candidates are pretending to be something they’re not,” its website states.
Its opposition research and media campaigns are often used by unions to support their own arguments. The AFL-CIO has used American Bridge to go after conservative millionaires the Koch Brothers, the United Steelworkers used its research to attack minimum wage critics, and its attacks on Republican presidential candidate Gov. Scott Walker were used by the Wisconsin State AFL-CIO. Additionally, its main criticism of Walker is his policies which reined in union power.
Already in 2015, the National Education Association (NEA) and the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) have donated $100,000 each to the group according to recent financial disclosure reports. The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) also gave $100,000 in 2015.
Last year AFSCME and the SEIU gave a combined $150,000, while the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) and the United Food And Commercial Workers gave an additional $150,000. In 2013 the NEA, AFSCME, AFT and SEIU gave $100,000 each. In 2012 the NEA gave 200,000 while AFSCME and the SEIU gave 100,000 each. In 2011, AFSCME gave a total of $475,000 in the first and second half of 2011.
American Bridge is a super PAC and therefore can accept unlimited donations. It is primarily funded by major Democratic donors and labor unions.
Besides some progressive news outlets like Politico, the media has been highly critical of the group. The nonpartisan fact-checker Politifact called American Bridge’s attack on Sen. Marco Rubio mostly false, Roll Call called it a hub of the left and Watchdog warned its founder David Brook has a long history of being a political “hit man” and still very much is one.
Brock was a self-described hit-man for the right who found redemption with the Democrats. He detailed his conversion story in a series of Esquire articles from 1997 to 2002 and in a book. American Bridge Vice President Eddie Vale worked previously for the AFL-CIO.
American Bridge, the NEA, the SEIU, AFT and AFSCME did not respond to requests for comment from The Daily Caller News Foundation.


Simcocks have recently appointed Faye Devlin as the Douglas based law firm furthers its commitment to developing in-house talent.
As part of her role with Simcocks, Faye will begin her Articles to become an Advocate and will gain experience in the firm’s multiple practice areas.
Faye was born on the Isle of Man and attended St. Ninian’s High School until she left in 2012 to go to Lancaster University. Here she studied English Literature and History before completing the Graduate Diploma in Law at the University in Law in Chester followed by the Legal Practice Course at the University of Law in Leeds.
Specialising in international corporate and commercial litigation, Simcocks has an impressive track record of success in high stake disputes.
Their technical knowledge generates many complex referrals and their lawyers have considerable experience dealing with cross-jurisdiction matters.


Pho My Lien is located on the second floor in Westridge Shopping Center and provides customers with a clean facility, friendly service and excellent pho.
Its pho is served with herbs, mint leaves, bean sprouts, chili pepper, wedges of lemon and an assortment of sauces, and this mixture keeps customers coming back for more.
Dining Out caught up with Alex Ho and Caleb Fortune one afternoon for lunch at Pho My Lien. They both enjoy the pho, which comes with up to five different choices of meats (slices of rare steak, beef well-done brisket, beef soft tendon, beef tripe and beef balls).


News Corp. has a fresh critic, and it doesn't involve hacking at this time. The California Public Employees’ Retirement System, the largest U.S. public pension, is blasting the company's shareholder structure, claiming it allows Rupert Murdoch’s family too much control over the company.
The dual-class share structure gives the Murdoch family 40 percent of the voting rights in a company in which it owns 12 percent, which is a "a corruption of the governance system," says Anne Simpson, senior portfolio manager Calpers Global Equity and its corporate governance chief, according to the Financial Times.
"Power should reflect capital at risk. Calpers sees the voting structure in a company as critical. The situation is very serious and we’re considering our options. We don’t intend to be spectators – we’re owners," Simpson says.
"Dual class voting is one way to pervert the alignment of ownership and control."
Calpers owns almost 7 million shares in News Corp, worth about $110 million in a company with a market capitalization of almost $42 billion, the newspaper adds.
News Corp. is battling a hacking scandal that has resulted in the closure of its News of the World tabloid and high-level firings.
Yet one News Corp. shareholder, Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal Al Saud, says he still supports the company.
Alwaleed remains "both supportive and confident in the leadership of Rupert and James Murdoch," the prince says, according to Bloomberg.
News Corp., owner of the Fox TV networks and the Wall Street Journal, has seen its shares fall 12 percent on the Nasdaq Stock Market since allegations surfaced July 4 that the News of the World hacked into the voice mail of a murdered schoolgirl.


CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Early on, people told Aftab Pureval his uncommon name would be a liability on a ballot, and encouraged him to consider changing it. But during his successful 2016 campaign for Hamilton County Clerk of Courts, his first time running for office, he managed to turn it into a strength.
First, he had to teach people how to say it. His campaign deployed a campy talking duck puppet in its commercials, alluding to the Aflac insurance mascot.
"It's maybe not dignified, but it's incredibly memorable. And we were successful. It stuck out," Pureval said during an interview this week.
Pureval, a 35-year-old Democrat, is now running for Ohio's 1st Congressional District, challenging Republican Rep. Steve Chabot. He was this week's guest on Ohio Matters, cleveland.com's politics podcast. Each week, reporters Andrew Tobias, Mary Kilpatrick and Seth Richardson sit down for in-depth interviews with politically important people in the Buckeye State.
Pureval said his early plight with his ballot name reflects a common challenge for people like him who want to run for office.
"There was a tipping point... There is a point at which it's a strength. But early on, it's a challenge. And that's a reality that a lot of diverse, first-time candidates have to deal with," he said.
Pureval, joking, also downplayed his image within Ohio Democratic circles as a rising star within the party. He said it reflects the national party's thin bench, something he hopes will be addressed in the coming years.
"I think it's overblown," Pureval said. "If you are elected and you have a pulse in the Democratic Party, you're the next big star. It's a low bar."
Otherwise, Pureval discussed growing up in Dayton as the child of immigrants, Ohio politics and of course, his current race, deftly and repeatedly criticizing Chabot along the way.
Previous episodes can be found here and include full-length interviews with Citizens for Community Values President Aaron Baer on evangelicals in Ohio, Democratic gubernatorial nominee Richard Cordray on if he's as boring as people say and Republican congressional candidate Anthony Gonzalez on his transition from pro sports to politics.


Last week, during a discussion on the Facebook Group 'Boys in Green' regarding the ability, or rather the lack of, of Pakistan's batsmen in ODIs, a fellow member Aoun Jafarey brought up the ‘rotation rate’ and used it to assess how Pakistan's batsmen are lagging far behind all other ODI batsmen playing the game today. In a similar discussion with another friend, we brought up the ‘boundary rate’ to explain the same issue of why Pakistan's ODI batting is suffering.
Let me first explain what the ‘rotation rate’ and ‘boundary rate’ are.
The rotation rate (RR) is the number of runs a batsman scores off the deliveries that are not hit for a boundary. The RR basically signifies how well a batsman rotates strike, which is an essential component of building a partnership and easing the pressure, particularly in ODIs. Smashing fours and sixes is all well and good, but what batsmen manage on deliveries that are not pummeled to the boundary goes a long way in defining their innings.
The boundary rate (BR) is the number of deliveries a batsman faces before he hits a four or a six. The BR demonstrates how quickly a batsman scores boundaries, which has become the way of ‘modern’ ODI batting, a term used frequently by new captain Azhar Ali since taking charge.
Let us take a look at a recent instance: Azhar Ali's maiden ODI century in the third ODI against Bangladesh. Azhar scored 101 off 112 deliveries with 10 fours, meaning that if you take out the 40 runs he scored in 10 deliveries, Azhar managed 61 runs off the other 102 deliveries that he faced - a rotation rate of 59.8. He had a boundary rate of 11.2, implying that he hit every 11th delivery for a four.
Is that good or not? How does that compare with other batsmen of this era? What is the benchmark for RR and BR for ODI batsmen? Here is what we discovered.
For a historical perspective, here are the rotation and boundary rates of batsmen with over 10,000 runs in ODIs. The average RR for these batsmen is 47.6, essentially meaning that they rotate the strike on average every two (and a bit) deliveries. The average BR is 12.5, implying that that they hit a four or six after every 12 deliveries on average.
We all know that the ODI game has changed significantly over the years. Rule changes regarding power-plays and fielding restrictions, batting friendly pitches, and better bats have all contributed towards inflated scores, averages, and strike rates. Similarly, the Rotation and Boundary Rates of leading run scorers in ODIs over the past 5 years have improved as well.
Based on the top 10 run scorers of the past five years, the average RR is 53.2 and the average BR is 11.1. Players like Virat Kohli, Hashim Amla, Suresh Raina, and AB De Villiers have rotation and boundary rates that are significantly above average.
It is no surprise that Pakistani batsmen featuring in this list are at the bottom end of the table, demonstrating their lack of ability to rotate strike and hit boundaries. The problem is exacerbated when one considers the case of Misbah-ul-Haq, who has an extremely depressing boundary rate, and combines that with someone like Mohammad Hafeez who has the lowest rotation rate among these batsmen. Can you imagine what it is like when these two are out there in the middle in an ODI? Of course you can, we have all been through this torture.
We have seen the difference in RR and BR for batsmen. Now we look at how this extrapolates to a difference among ODI teams. In the table below, it is quite evident that not only does Pakistan have a poor rotation rate compared to other teams, they have quite a poor boundary rate as well. In fact, Pakistan's BR is the worst among all teams barring England. While West Indies has the worst RR among all teams, they do make up for it by being big boundary hitters and they have the best BR in the business, alongside New Zealand.
What the above table shows is that South Africa on average hit 32 boundaries in every ODI and score 153 runs off the remaining 268 deliveries. If we assume that the 32 boundaries include 8 sixes then that gives you an average total of 297. Similarly, the average totals for New Zealand and Australia are 299 and 287 respectively. The same for Pakistan is 258, which is the worst among all teams barring England, who are worse off by only 2 runs.
At a time when ODI batsmen are scoring consistently at a strike rate of 90, hitting boundaries on average every 9th delivery, and turning strike over more frequently than every 2nd delivery, Pakistan's batsmen are scoring at strike rates of less than 80, hitting boundaries on average every 11th delivery, and turning strike over less frequently than every 2nd delivery.
Those two extra deliveries that Pakistani batsmen take to hit a boundary leads to a difference of 4-5 less boundaries than teams like India, South Africa, and Australia in a 50 over game. The low rotation rate leads to a difference of 7-17 runs. This range of 23 to 37 runs is the difference between Pakistan and world class ODI cricket at the moment.
A look at the rotation and boundary rates of Pakistani batsmen in ODIs since 1st January 2010 paints a very depressing picture.
While batsmen like Sarfraz Ahmed, Fawad Alam, Umar Akmal, Younis Khan, and Haris Sohail do have rotation rates that are around the current benchmark for ODI batsmen, their boundary rates are appalling. Batsmen that have good boundary rates, Hafeez and Kamran Akmal, have atrocious rotation rates. Only two batsmen in that list have RR and BR at par with ODI batsmen around the world - Umar Akmal and Sohaib Maqsood. While one has run out of favor with the management, the other has not been utilized to his full potential and is currently out injured.
Shahid Afridi is at the top of the table. He has rotation and boundary rates that are not only well above the world average but also among the best in the business. However, his volume of runs is too low to make a regular impact. Any batting comparison that results in Shahid Afridi at the top of the pile for Pakistan shows how depleted our batting stocks are at the moment.
While a 3-0 loss to Bangladesh is a cause for worry for Pakistan cricket, a deeper assessment of batting woes shows that at the end of the day it is a matter of 20-30 runs that can make a difference in the current environment. However, this improvement requires significant work and effort on both the physical and mental aspects of Pakistani batsmen. Improved fitness can help batsmen rotate strike more efficiently, while enhanced mental strength is required in order to have some degree of confidence against the oppositions bowling.
Additionally, a better use of the resources available will also go a long way in improving Pakistan's batting in ODIs. Using Fawad Alam at number 6 is completely unjustified and I fail to understand how the best minds in cricket in Pakistan don't understand that.
Umar Akmal can't be left discarded for too long because he is one of the few batsmen that Pakistan have who matches world class batsmen in terms of strike rate, rotation rate, and boundary rate.
Sohaib Maqsood started his ODI career at number 3 and his first two innings resulted in fifty plus scores. However, after that he was utilized at number 6 or 7 for reasons best known to the team management. Sarfraz Ahmed has shown what he can do as an opener, yet after failing to score in two innings at that position, he was dropped.
Constantly changing the batting order doesn't help any team. Pakistan has witnessed significant success at the Test level and the primary reason for this is the fact that they have a stable top 6, which has performed commendably over the past five years. The same cannot be said for the ODI team, which has seen a high number of changes in not only the personnel but also the way they are used.
Pakistan will be better served if the management can identify the right batsmen for each position and provide them with enough confidence to play at those positions without fear. Only then can further improvement be sought in terms of other physical and mental aspects.
No wonder many experts and fans question influence of misbah on Pakistani odi ckt. Stats show he has created this defensive slow scoring culture!
Great analysis. Highlighting stats is extremely important for Pakistani fans because stats do not lie. In fact I think PCB should hire a top class statistician as a full time staff for the selection committee. The above analysis would be even more meaningful when we realize that while our batsmen cannot hit boundaries or run singles/twos, our fielders give away easy boundaries and runs. Hence the difference is probably not that of 20 - 30 runs, its closer to 50 - 60 runs. Yes on average our fielders give away 25 runs more than teams like SA, Australia or NZ. Even SL and India are far far better fielders. Secondly its about time we started looking at the runs given away as fielder when selecting a batsman or a bowler. For example, Kamran Akmal's "net" batting average has to be negative or close to zero.
@Zibbi Couldn't agree more. It is Misbah who instilled this defensive approach in this team. To me he damaged Pakistani cricket more than Waqar Younis did as a coach.
I still believe that in present scenario of Pakistan cricket team, MisBah is the most valuable defensive batman in the side. He knows the capabilities of his other batsmen and plays so defensively that he cares that he has to take the team to the target almost single handedly. If he were sure about his other team mates, he would have surely played like Afridi and his likes. Afridi, the boom boom just sparkles for a while but fizzles out soon.
Thanks, this is a very good analysis. Umar and Sohaib has got what it takes. It is unfortunate that management can't see Umar playing up the order. AB, Kohli, Amla they all play up the order to set the platform for others. There is an aspect missing from this analysis is the mindset of our players. Cricket is no longer the game where a fix plan would work, you have change accordingly to conditions which Pakistani players have failed to so. There is difference between 'play the game to win' vs 'play the game to not to lose'. Lastly, and perhaps more importantly, if we need to change the mindset and techniques (including wobbly fielding), our fragile domestic structure would need to change significant in order to compete. It is now or never!
Weakness pointed out perfectly regarding Ahmed Shahzad, Hafeez, Umar Akmal, Sohaib Maqsood, Fawad Alam, Haris Sohail, Sarfaraz Ahmed. These are the limited overs batsmen that need to be given confidence and the right slot to be effective.
Mohammad Rizwan is new and that is why missing from the list. Add to that Afridi and Wahab and Pakistan's batting order is not as bad as it performs due to constant axing and shuffling of the key players.
Afridi on top of any list should raise red flags. This analysis justifies Umar Akmal's spot in the playing 11 totally ignoring other factors. I do agree with the fact that the RR and BR are far behind the international levels but nothing justifies bringing Umar Akmal back at this point in time.
Other stats that can be highlighted should include that lack of performance by top 4 batsmen over last 5 years. I guarantee you, Pakistan would score at the bottom on the table compared to other international teams. Average run rates and batting partnerships are scarce on Pakistani ODI side. All of these factors make up for the dismal picture today.
Bangladesh team has got five coaches, one physio, one doctor and one moulvi, to help the players win.
Replace Waqar Yunis with Wasim Akram as coach.
Make Rashid Latif PCB chief.
Bring in 3 or 5 ex-cricketer (like Miandad, Basit, Bazid Khan) as selectors.
Don't blame misbah. Pakistan cricket is a reflection of how Pakistanis are falling behind in every thing . They are arrogant and ignorant people who have no desire to learn and improve. I fear Pakistan will decline much further if people themselves don't realise that they have to change.
I seriously don't understand such complicated maths..... for me there are three reasons and not two for Pakistan not doing well as other teams. 1) Batting (2) Bowling and (3) Fielding. It is as simple as that.
Pakistan need money to be infused...Pakistan should ask its irn friend China to invest in PCB,in return PCB can send senior retired cricketers to coach Chinese.
When you don't have the material then solutions on papers can't help much. Yes in subcontinent and in WI, you can plan to score with a RR and BR at the top order but when we play in England, Australia, SA and NZ, you need master blasters at 5,6 and 7. Pakistan's delimma starts at the top as Ahmad Shehzad is too slow in rotating and his SR is only 72. Pakistan can only afford one batsman with bellow 80 SR. Haris Sohail is another player whom you don't want to leave out but at the same time you can't afford to have as he literly has no imposing shot at all. He is consistant but scores with nudges and effortless touches of the pads where the ball is never meant to reach the boudry even if not fielded. I think, Pakistan needs to play Umar Akmal, Sohaib and Sarfraz at 3, 4 and 5. Shoaib Malik may be the best choice at 6 for now and Afridi could be given the captaincy in ODIs and could be asked to keep going until replacements are found. Also don't forget bowling which has failed badly.
comparing greats with hafiz and inzamam..please dont compare them with other greats..
actually after winning 2009 cric t20 worldcup pak shud av been strong hitters with bat..but instead they turned worst..its simple formula..nowadays u need to hit boundaries more..even 1 boundary in an over..the rest u can take singles or 2...but must have boundaries...thats the only solution..simple n clean..forget about bowling...nowadays average bowling is enough..like indian..they have storng batsmen..only..can be number 2 in world.
Great report. It maens the selectors have been selecting the wrong team for the ODI matches. These stats are good for a test team but not for ODI. Only four players qualify to be in the ODI as per stats. Pakistan needs to include at-least three players with better RR and prefer those who are better fileders. Probably in a years time we can find batsmen for ODI to compete with international teams by a process of elimination. Bring in new players give them two chances if thye fail in both replace them with other new players.
This is new way of thinking, nice idea. But look at Sachin's stats..Also one interesting thing to find, compare Suresh Raina and Misbah, they have similar records but Raina's stas reveal that he is playing ODI and Misbah? Test cricket in ODI?
Excellent analysis, Please send a copy to PCB. Good Job Umair Qazi and Dawn..
@Shahnawaz Does WY have any time to read this excellent analysis? He would be busy contacting people who matter most to save his neck.
Excellent root cause analysis for Pakistan's batting failures. Thanks to PCB we lost Muhammad Yousuf who could have been a much better role model to our younger batsmen in the art of milking runs.
Great analysis! I think it will make sense to compare the batsman of the same order. For example, Misbah should be compared to other batsmen who bat 2/3 down. I bet most of them have much better stats.
I was shocked one day when I saw Hafeez on a tv channel getting very impressed by some very simple and straight firward stats. Much simpler than these figures. It clearly means that PCB is lacking in statistical analysis as well which is absolutely mandatory and not at all difficult to attain.
Excellent and to the point analysis, couldn't agree more!
Terribly disappointed with the comments. Nobody blaming the Big 3 or the BCCI. This is not done.
no one can blame misbah for his stats because if the opposition recalls how many times did he took the crease when Pakistan was in strong position in a game? Every time he came in 4 out of 5 times the team was 3 down for a meager sum of runs. He did what any batsman would do in a situation i.e. dig in.
It is acceptable that ok, the Pakistani players who have made enough runs have lower RR or BR, however the main problem does not get highlighted. There are sort of players who have not scored more than 250 runs despite having played an average of 8-10 matches, like Shahid Afridi, Umer Akmal etc.
The lower averages are the main concern of your team not the RR or BR.
Rotation of strike is key. PCB should hire Michael Bevan or Hussey (former australian batsmen) to teach young batsmen how to perfect this art at domestic level.
I think the RR should instead compute the dot balls per player to the total number of balls played to get a better understanding.
We have had a string of dismal performances in cricket. It is time we go all out preparing for T20 world cup. Unless we reach at least to finals there, it might be impossible to revive the game of cricket in Pakistan.
@Zibbi "Stats show Misbah has created this defensive slow scoring culture" A leader is as good as his team. Every single time, if a leader has to compensate for other team-member's failures, you cannot realistically expect him to perform, can you? Misbah is the pillar behind Pakistan few victories. If he ever got a team with better average RR and BR, maybe his own RR and BR would have been better.
Excellent! That's the way........... of doing things!!
One important piece of information missing in this analysis is the number of catches Pakistan players drop while fielding. Pakistan players drop many more catches than any other team.
Very educative analysis for lay-man like me.Thanks.
People here are too unfair on Misbah. He doesn't have the luxury of batting with Suresh Raina or Mahela Jayawardhane at the other end and his boundaries dry up due to the pressure of keeping wickets in hand.
A batsman's performance also reflects the kind of partners he got.
Well, referring to the point in most of the cases 20-30 extra run through strike rotation do prove to be a winning factor but not in this 3-0 loss against BAN. Now we face a challenge more severe and abrupt than the matter of rotation rate amongst batsmen. We do the batters play awkward shots to get out? Why is there so restlessness in the batting order? Where has the timing gone? and most importantly Why is our bowling not clicking (it has nothing to do with RR and BR? The team has bigger issues, which could include confidence as one and team management, politics, transparency in board, and many more as others and vital. Now on the players; Azhar Mhmd and Razzak would have best BR and RR in the business with the volume of runs if given chance Bottom line , why don't our batters be like the new lads joining the team of AUS, INDIA and SA and scoring tons? This is something deep and PCB to research upon. I am not paid to do this. I would have done it if I would have been paid to.
Great analysis and thank you for proving that continuing with the Misbah approach is going to sink us deeper into the abyss rather than bringing us to the shore. It pains me to see that PCB including Waqar Younis cannot see that the cricket has changed and we need to let go of the age old approach of keeping wickets in hand and then going all out in the last 10 overs.
Man, that was so well pitched! I wonder what level of analysis our coaching staff performs, these numbers tell you exactly where to improve!
NO matter how many analysis are done. Team selection has always been biased.Lahore's influence on cricket board has to end. Give priority to talent and fair selection of players and not where the players comes from.
Analysis will not be complete, if you do not consider the average runs scored in match by the batsman. Or else, some fierce cricketers who gets out before 20 can top the list. Also calculate the average runs scored by the first three batsman in each team . That would give an account of the pressure faced by the next players (like Misbah). Figures are good, but not complete.
Your article is interesting but stats not surprising. I would suggest you also look at the number of dropped catches by Pak team compared to other teams will find that this is also another major contributary factor.


Yesterday, Google announced they've updated their AdWords auction explanatory video after almost five years. Both videos, the original and the new one, are by Hal Varian, Google's chief economist and both are over 8 minutes long.
Forum discussion at Google+ and Google AdWords Community.


[ Regulatory & Policy ] as a Foundational Course : Administrative agencies play a role in multiple health care areas, especially the pharma, medical device and insurance sectors. Understanding the administrative process can be as important as understanding traditional forms of advocacy in the courtroom since lifescience lawyers often represent their clients before administrative agencies and other rule-making bodies. Administrative Law and Legislation together provide a framework for engaging the legislative and executive branches of government, a necessary complement to an understanding of the judicial branch in lifesciences.


Walt Disney Studios Post Production Services Sound has appointed Larry Kemp as supervising sound editor and Elliot Tyson as lead re-recording mixer on Dubbing Stage A at the Walt Disney Studios.
Before joining Walt Disney, Kemp worked at Soundelux, beginning in 1987. Tyson worked at Warner Hollywood for 22 years prior to joining Disney.


"Places to hit" included 20 homes in Roseville and other metro cities.
A woman drove up to a mailbox outside a Roseville residence last Thursday, reached in and retrieved a package. She lowered the red flag, shut the mailbox and drove off.
What she didn’t know was that the package was a decoy left by police conducting an undercover sting operation in hopes of catching thieves who have taken mail from more than 20 homes in the city in recent weeks.
The three suspects, a 32-year-old male, a 31-year-old woman, and a 50-year-old woman, all from St. Paul, admitted to being involved in the thefts and have been linked to several cases in other cities, said Lt. Erika Scheider with the Roseville Police Department.
Officers who made the arrest around 2:15 p.m. found a cup full of chemicals being used to remove ink from a check stolen from another Roseville residence. Additional items used to “wash” checks were found throughout the vehicle, including acetone, Clorox wipes, and various colored pens. Mail theft suspects often remove ink from stolen checks in order to alter the payee and monetary values, Scheider said.
Numerous pieces of stolen mail and several other washed checks from throughout the metro area were found in the vehicle, Scheider said.
Detectives are working with the United States Postal Inspector and contacting victims to advise them that their mail has been recovered. Roseville Police are asking residents with surveillance systems to review their video for scenes that show the suspect’s vehicle stopping near mailboxes or in front of residences. One victim recalled seeing the suspect’s vehicle stopped in front of their mailbox earlier in the week, but did not initially realize that their mail had been stolen, Scheider said.
The case will be presented to the Ramsey County Attorney’s Office for identity and mail theft charges against all three individuals, she said.
Police recommend that residents enroll in the Postal Service’s Informed Delivery program, a free service that lets consumers preview images of their mail scheduled for delivery and manage packages that are expected to arrive.
• Use the letter slots at your post office to mail letters, or give them to a letter carrier.
• Pick up mail promptly after delivery.
• Don’t send cash in the mail.
• Ask your bank for “secure” checks that can’t be altered.
• Tell the post office to hold mail while when you are out of town.
• Switch to paperless billing and statements when possible.


John Tortorella continues to write Stu Bickel’s name into his lineup game after game. The 25-year-old rookie defenseman continues to show little progress and ends up isolated at the end of the Rangers’ bench as spectator for the majority of 60 minutes.
What’s the point in persisting with a player who can barely scrape five minutes in total ice time and tends to commit costly turnovers during the limited time he’s actually skating?
There was a moment in Game 2 where Bickel tried to provoke David Clarkson into a fight and Clarkson wasn’t taking the bait. Peter DeBoer advised Clarkson earlier this season to take less fighting majors as his production and physicality is important to the Devils’ success.
Clarkson knew he’d be sacrificing his value to the Devils by leaving the ice for five minutes without taking a star player with him. After all, it wasn’t Ryan Callahan or Brian Boyle who was challenging him to a scrap.
Early into the third period, Bickel shoveled a pass along the boards instead of looking up and passing off to near teammate Michael Del Zotto. Bickel’s errant pass allowed Marek Zidlickly to circle behind the net. Bickel left his spot and wildly chased after Zidlickly which allowed Clarkson to set up in front of goal.
Bickel passed by Clarkson without noticing where the Devils’ power forward was positioned. By the time Adam Henrique wound-up from the point, Clarkson was unmarked and scored an easily-redirected goal, which proved to be the game-winner.
While Ryan McDonagh and Dan Girardi can handle the 25-minute nightly workloads, it wouldn’t hurt to have a player who can play in more situations than Bickel.
That player clearly isn’t Steve Eminger who hasn’t played for the Rangers since April 28 and only received 4:25 minutes of total ice time. Before that date, Eminger’s previous game action was on March 15.
Tim Erixon was added to the Rangers’ postseason roster on Monday along with five other players who were called up from the Connecticut Whale after the Rangers’ minor league affiliate was eliminated from the AHL playoffs.
With the taste of the playoffs still fresh in his legs, Erixon is ready to jump into the NHL playoffs should Tortorella call upon him.
The 21-year-old rookie scored 4 points in 9 AHL playoff games and was an overall plus-1. Over the course of the AHL season, Erixon totaled 33 points in 52 games which is a pretty good return from a defenseman.
Despite his inexperience of only playing 18 career NHL games (all this season), Erixon offers more offensive upside than Bickel. He is regarded as an important prospect in the Rangers’ long-term future and scouts rave about his on-ice vision.
Earlier this season, Tortorella spoke about Erixon’s attributes.
Now, with the AHL seasoning under his belt, some of the rough patches Erixon’s game have been addressed. Whether or not he’s ready to be inserted into the Rangers’ lineup at this late stage of the playoffs is entirely up to Tortorella.
We’ve all seen how quickly Chris Kreider has taken to the NHL playoffs, but he’s a rarity and making the jump as a defenseman is significantly more challenging.
Currently, Erixon is skating with the ‘Black Aces’ A.KA., the Rangers’ taxi squad but certainly couldn’t do worse than struggling bystander Stu Bickel.
Should Bickel be pulled from the Rangers lineup? Is Erixon ready to make the jump into the NHL playoffs? Share your thoughts below and send your tweets to @HartnettWFAN.


A restaurant, an outdoor pool, and a bar/lounge are available at this smoke-free hotel. Free WiFi in public areas and a free manager's reception are also provided. Additionally, a poolside bar, a coffee shop/café, and a rooftop terrace are onsite.
A hotel's guest rating is calculated using data provided under license by TripAdvisor. A total of 667 have reviewed the Sense Beach House, giving it a rating of 4.5, on a scale of 1-5.


Sanliurfa, Turkey: Syrian rebels who have joined Turkey’s cross-border offensive against a Kurdish enclave say they see the assault as a way to settle personal scores, and reports are mounting of looting and summary executions carried out by the Syrian fighters.
Backed by Turkish troops and war planes, thousands of Syrian rebels are now tightening their grip on the Kurdish-controlled Afrin enclave in northern Syria as part of an offensive that Turkey has framed as a matter of its national security.
Turkey has been fighting a decades-old war against Kurdish militants at home, who are closely allied with the People’s Protection Units, or YPG, just across the border in Afrin.
But for the Syrian rebels, who are mostly Arabs, participation in the Turkish offensive is personal.
His rhetoric echoes a video circulated online this week, apparently showing rebel fighters discussing plans to loot houses in Afrin. “An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth,” says a fighter who is apparently in charge.
Like Mahal, most of the Syrians taking part in Turkey’s operation originally took up arms against Bashar Al Assad’s army after anti-regime protests spiralled into armed insurrection in 2011. A scramble for territory has pitted the rebels against Kurdish fighters, and both sides have traded accusations of war crimes.
Kurdish forces have taken advantage of an unprecedented opportunity to throw off decades of state repression and establish autonomous areas across Syria’s north. Much of the territory was captured with US support, after Washington backed a majority-Kurdish force to seize areas ruled by Daesh.
Monitoring groups and local residents say that Kurdish forces razed a number of Arab-majority villages in the eastern province of Hasakah while clashing with Daesh and sought to remove some Arab civilians they feared might harbour extremist fighters if allowed to stay behind. The extent of those abuses remains unclear.
Every Syrian rebel fighter interviewed by The Washington Post in Syria and southern Turkey had a story to share, some of the tales describing in detail what happened to family members, others apparently recycled from acquaintances.
“They killed dozens of members of our extended family, bulldozed our homes and joked that they would plant potatoes there,” said Mahal, who is from Hasakah, sitting in a spartan living room in this southern Turkish city. Above his head a green, white and black rebel flag was pinned to a large portrait of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Mahal and almost a dozen rebel fighters said they believed Turkey would support them in a future advance towards Hasakah. But Turkish officials have given few indications that they are eyeing territory that far east.
Kurdish-led forces in eastern Syria said Tuesday they were withdrawing from the front line against Daesh to resist the Turkish offensive in the north of the country.
Amnesty International warned last week that indiscriminate Turkish attacks around Afrin have killed scores of civilians. Although the rebels insist they only target combatants, allegations of abuses are mounting among local residents and monitors.
Some of those abuses have been caught in grainy cell phone footage that was filmed by the rebels themselves. In one, the fighters are shown looting olive oil and chickens from an abandoned home. In another, the rebels appear to execute a man in civilian clothes at point-blank range, pumping bullets into the body when it falls to the ground.
The videos have sparked terror among Afrin residents as the offensive draws nearer. “Everyone has seen them. Is that what’s coming?” asked a former schoolteacher, speaking on condition of anonymity out of fears for his safety.
Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said Monday that Afrin was “surrounded,” after fighters attacked from the north, west and east. “We have cleared all areas near our borders of terror nests,” he said at a rally in the central Turkish province of Konya.
Sensitive to any suggestion that the Syrian rebels have turned their backs on earlier goals, such as toppling Al Assad, in favour of Turkey’s cause, rebel commanders and spokesmen insist that participation in Turkey’s operation benefits all sides.
Another rebel, speaking on condition of anonymity because rank-and-file fighters are not permitted to speak with the media, laid out the new order of battle as he hoped it would materialise. “Afrin, Manbij, Raqqa, Qamishli, Damascus,” he said, naming a string of Kurdish-held cities moving eastward through Syria, before the regime-held capital.
Last week, an influential Islamic council backed the Afrin fight, prompting fears that the abuses might escalate as the offensive reaches terrain where more civilians are hiding. Until now, the land they have taken has been sparsely populated. The Syrian Islamic Council, a Turkey-based group, described Syria’s Kurdish fighters as “a corrupt group that aspire to destroy the earth”.
“To fight them is to wage jihad as long as they continue to champion the regime and are enemies of the revolution,” said the Syrian Islamic Council in a statement approving the seizing of weapons and looting of Kurdish fighters’ possessions.
In one video clip widely circulated online and among Afrin residents, a band of young fighters overlook Afrin’s green plains, singing an Islamist militant song linking their offensive to those of other extremist militants. “We resisted in Grozny, we resisted in Dagestan, we took Tora Bora as a den, our glory will rise in Afrin,” they sing.
Reached by phone, one of the men, Abu Zahra Al Deiri, expressed bemusement at the attention his video was receiving.


The only participant from India, BITS Pilani, finished fourth at the RoboCup 2013 held in the Netherlands, says Vandana Ramnani.
This isn’t the usual World Cup soccer match where teams from one country play another. This one is special because loud applause replaces wide smiles when the bumbling robot trounces his opponent or stumbles even before the ball has reached the net. The match has its tense moments – the only difference perhaps is that it’s the robot who is nervous.
We’re at the RoboCup 2013 at Eindhoven, Netherlands, where thousands of robots from over 40 countries are competing under different categories. They’re health robots to assist the sick and the aged, rescue robots, home robots – you name it and they’re there.
Next year’s tournament will be held in Brazil and the mission of RoboCup is not only to encourage more students to take up science but also to defeat the human World Cup winners by 2050.
A team of five engineering students from BITS Pilani is here with its invention AcYut to compete in the humanoid league under the teensize category. AcYut which means “the imperishable” is India’s first indigenously developed humanoid robot and also India’s first autonomous humanoid robot. The one competing at RoboCup 2013 is AcYut 5.
AcYut 1 was developed by a team from the same institute way back in 2008. It was 50 cm in height and took part in the Robo games held in the US the same year. It stood sixth at the event.
AcYut 2 was developed in 2009. It was 85cm tall and was semi-autonomous. AcYut 3 was developed in the same year. It had more power, vision and could sense objects. AcYut 4 was the first autonomous version developed in 2011. It came third in the RoboCup held last year in Istanbul. This year AcYut 5, a minor modification over its predecessor also stood third.
The other categories are the kid size which has robots under 70cm and the adult category which is for robots over 120cm tall. Also the humanoid league comes under the soccer league which is the primary aim of the RoboCup Federation according to their charter. The @home, rescue and simulations leagues were started later to promote robotics in these fields.
A football match setting provides engineering students teams from around the world a platform wherein there robotic invention comes face-to-face with ‘problems’, test their technology and improve on it further.
The team of BE students from BITS Pilani finished fourth in the competition. The teams which were above them in the rankings were FUBKit (3rd), Team CITBrains from Japan (2nd) and Team Nimbro from Germany (1st). The final was between CITBrains and Nimbro. “In our final (for the third place) the match was closely contested with the final score being 1:0. Our robot managed to score an goal after getting confused in the symmetric environment of the football field which was introduced this year. But all said it was an extremely fruitful RoboCup for us. AcYut’s walking and stability were on par with that of the champions and most of the cognition functions of the robot worked well,” Apoorv Shrivastava, the team leader.
Over the next year, the team intends improving the coordination between the various cognitive functions that the robot has and possibly construct another one and work on coordination between the two agents. “While AcYut is quite stable, we also need to figure out a method by which we are able to regain stability in case of collisions and the like,” he says.
RoboCup enables us to test are algorithms in a non-laboratory environment which is the main reason why we participate in it. It informs us of minor faults in the algorithms that we use which would otherwise be overlooked. Also, it enables sharing of information across different teams. It enables us to get alternative solutions that people use to solve problems and the merits-demerits of these compared to other solutions commonly used, he adds.
All entries to RoboCup are selected by a technical committee (TC) consisting of experts working in related fields. Selection begins in January and results are announced four months later. The TC reviews videos, papers and robot specifications while selecting teams that will be allowed to compete.


Beautiful soaring wooded parcel located on a high flat ridge overlooking a creek and 17 acres of ravines commonly shared with Hunters Ridge Estates. Located on a recently paved public road, this parcel enjoys the privacy of the rural community surrounding it. Unique in that the parcel is located outside of the development so there is privacy and room to roam.


Section 1. Findings. (a) Section 3 of Executive Order 13732 of July 1, 2016 (United States Policy on Pre- and Post Strike Measures To Address Civilian Casualties in U.S. Operations Involving the Use of Force), requires the Director of National Intelligence, or such other official as the President may designate, to release, by May 1 each year, an unclassified summary of the number of strikes undertaken by the United States Government against terrorist targets outside areas of active hostilities, as well as assessments of combatant and non combatant deaths resulting from those strikes, among other information.
(b) Section 1057 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2018 (Public Law 115-91) similarly requires the Secretary of Defense to submit to the congressional defense committees, by May 1 each year, a report on civilian casualties caused as a result of United States military operations during the preceding year (civilian casualty report). Subsection 1057(d) requires that the civilian casualty report be submitted in unclassified form, but recognizes that the report may include a classified annex.
(c) Section 1062 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019 (Public Law 115-232) expanded the scope of the civilian casualty report and specified that the report shall be made available to the public unless the Secretary of Defense certifies that the publication of the report would pose a threat to the national security interests of the United States.
Sec. 2. Revocation of Reporting Requirement. Section 3 of Executive Order 13732 is hereby revoked.


Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to go for a last Cabinet rejig this week before the 2019 General Elections.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to go for a last Cabinet rejig this week before the 2019 General Elections. Media reports in the last few days have speculated several names who could be inducted in the Modi Cabinet. Most of the reports unanimously say the new-look Modi Cabinet is likely to include faces from new ally JD(U) in Bihar, while some reports also claim that leaders of ruling AIADMK in Tamil Nadu and NCP may also find place in the Cabinet.
The Cabinet reshuffle was long overdue. While Union environment minister Anil Madhav Dave suddenly died a few months back, then Union Defence Minister Manihar Parrikar moved to Goa to lead the state after the Assembly elections in March this year. Last month Union Urban Development Minister Venkaiah Naidu also resigned to become the vice-president.
On Thursday, a number of Union ministers met at BJP president Amit Shah’s residence in New Delhi amid speculations of the Cabinet reshuffle by the end of this week. The ministers included Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, who has also been looking after the Defence Ministry since Parrikar moved to Goa. At an event organised by The Economist today, Jaitley even hinted that he would not be holding both defence and finance portfolios for long.
Cabinet reshuffle is likely to take place tomorrow or on Saturday, that is before PM Modi leaves for the BRICS Summit 2017 in China between September 3-5., reports say.
According to India Today, Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari may get a larger role, while ruling AIADMK in Tamil Nadu is likely to join the NDA. A JD(U) face may also get a place in the Cabinet and Modi may drop any existing minister from Bihar in the Cabinet to accommodate a JD(U) leader. Some senior ministers may even be appointed as governors.
Speculations are rife that Suresh Prabhu may be removed from the Railway ministry after he recently offered to resign, following string of train accidents.
Some reports have claimed that NCP leader Sharad Pawar may join the Modi Cabinet. However, NCP leader Praful Patel on August 28 denied the speculations in a Tweet. “There is no basis for speculation that the NCP is joining the government in Delhi,” Patel tweeted.
Times Now had reported earlier that five Minister of States may get promotion.
Republic TV reported last week that Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis may get a Cabinet berth, while the NCP is also likely to join the Central government.
Sources told Republic that Fadnavis has agreed to the proposal to move to Delhi, while BJP’s Chandrakan Bacchu Patil may lead the state government in Maharashtra. It said Prabhu may be moved to a different ministry while former railway minister and TMC leader Dinesh Trivedi may replace Prabhu.
News 18 also reported last week that Fadnavis is being seen as a possible Cabinet minister, while Patil may govern the state. It didn’t say whether Sharad Pawar is expected to join Modi Cabinet, but speculated that his daughter Supriya Sule may get a berth.
According to News 18, Modi’s most performing ministers like Piyush Goyal and Dharmendra Pradhan may get elevated. For the railway ministry, it said two theories are doing the rounds in Delhi. First, the creation of a mega transport and mobility ministry led by Gadkari, which will also include the railways. Second, Trivedi may replace Prabhu.
Trivedi’s appointment would be a setback for West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee. Trivedi was dropped from railway ministry in 2012 by Banerjee after he had hiked railway fare.
Union minister Kalraj Mishra is expected to be dropped, reported News18. He may find a place in one of the governors’ houses.
However, all of these are speculations. PM Modi and Amit Shah are fond of surprising everyone.


LOS ANGELES-New York shop Dweck has prevailed over DDB Needham here and Atlanta’s WestWayne for United Paramount Network’s creative assignment.
The agency is currently assisting the client with its May 20 upfront presentations, which may lead to the shop handling the network’s entire $20-25 million business.
UPN liked Dweck’s notion of using the network’s underdog status to its advantage. Its rating are dwarfed by those of The WB, ABC, CBS and NBC. The client is hoping to attract a younger male audience.
Agency principal Michael Dweck described UPN and his shop as being “like twins” in their shared vision for changing the face of TV. “There was a mirroring of ideas,” he said. Chemistry between agency and client was so strong that “we didn’t really present anything” to win the business, said Dweck. The agency will open a Los Angeles office to service the business.
The small New York agency-which officially changes its name from Dweck & Campbell today-did not appear to be a favorite for the business at the start of the review. Based 3,000 miles from the client, principal Michael Dweck had also been pursuing a potentially conflicting relationship with CBS. Dweck had also been frustrated by his initial lack of access to UPN CEO Dean Valentine.
Dweck’s victory surprised the other contenders. DDB received a letter from the client that implied UPN was still undecided, and would possibly contact the contenders at a later date, sources said last week. WestWayne heard unofficially that it was not likely to get the business before the client officially told the shop the review was decided.


To accommodate the senators, and to guard the sensitive information, the FBI’s report is expected to be held in a secure room normally reserved only for classified matters.
The entrance to the Office of Senate Security is seen on Capitol Hill, Wednesday night, Oct. 3, 2018 in Washington.
All 100 senators, and a handful of Senate staff, will be able to read the FBI’s new report on sexual misconduct allegations against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. But it’s unclear if the public will see it.


The Island President, the new documentary by Jon Shenk on now-deposed President of the Maldives Mohamed Nasheed's efforts to politically combat climate change in the run-up to the 2009 COP15 climate talks has been given the full media blitz in the past few days.
After screening at festivals for several months, its now being released in New York theaters this week. TreeHugger recently reviewed the film, the trailer for which is above.
It's really a compelling piece of filmmaking, especially for anyone who was closely following the climate talks in 2009, and doubly so for anyone who, like this author, covered them live. There's really a good deal of background information on decision-making that, while it could've been inferred at the time, is now made clear.
I won't give all that away. Go see the film. It's definitely worth it. Good stuff, with a Radiohead soundtrack to boot.
However, what I will spoil is that the film ends with a series of title cards. The first saying, "Although portrayed as a failure, Copenhagen marked the first time in history that China, India, and the United States agreed to reduce carbon emissions." And then two later, "In the year following Copenhagen, atmospheric CO2 rose from 387 to 390 parts per million. (pause) It continues to rise."
Upon first seeing that first title card, I was livid. At them time virtually no one in the environmental community saw the Copenhagen Accord as a success. In fact even if everyone lived up to their commitments, the world would still see 4°C warming—dooming the Maldives and other low-lying places. The outcome of the latest climate talks, in December, only further cemented the situation, putting off emission cuts for a decade. And former UN climate chief Yvo de Boer just essentially said that there's no way we can hold temperature rise to a safe level of 2°C. We just haven't collectively done enough.
So when I sat down with Jon, this was obviously the pressing thing on my mind. What was he seeing in this situation that I wasn't?
I think that Copenhagen, for better or worse, was a moment, a really significant moment. All the world leaders got together at a UN-sponsored event and they tried to hammer out some kind of language, common language, about the environment. And they did. Is it dramatic? Is it binding? Is it going to save the world? No, no, no, no, no, obviously.
But from Nasheed's point of view, and I've kind of been swayed somewhat by that point of view, you've got to start somewhere. What are we going to do, not work on it?
Essentially, what he brought to Copenhagen is almost an activist approach. He's a president, so he doesn't play the role of a street activist, but he is, in a way. He's a small figure, using his moral authority to get into the room, to influence change.
I think that he was successful in some way. He elevated the conversation. Certainly, he was able to eke something out there. So we wanted to pay some respect to the fact that that happened.
At the same time, I think he would even admit: "Does it really help? Will it save us? No." There's so much more work to be done.
So we wanted to acknowledge both. It's a yin and yang thing.
The Titanic may be going down, but does that mean we should just give up? No. We should retain our humanity and help other passengers on the ship.
It's a very nuanced thing, when you're making a film, when you're following this central character, we wanted to acknowledge that he's been through something very important, and acknowledge what he's managed to do. But at the same time, pull back and get perspective as well.
Obviously, the international talks have not moved fast enough. On the other hand, in November I sat down with Nasheed's carbon neutral team, I was looking forward to the Maldives moving forward, being a symbol of a country going carbon neutral. That could've been a really awesome moment for the history of the world. Now that's been, in an instant, with the coup, been called into question.
I tried to end the film with some hope, but also with a lot of real heaviness about how serious the problem is. That's essentially where I think we still are.
Fair enough. Perhaps I'm just nitpicking. But having been involved in the editing of dozens of films of various lengths I know how much nitpicking, down to the frame level of cuts, goes into this sort of thing.
I'd still have chosen different words for those title cards.
"The Island President" is really a compelling bit of filmmaking, especially for anyone who closely followed the COP15 climate talks and the rise of Mohamed Nasheed. But there was one thing which really annoyed me: The closing title cards. Really.


Here at blog HQ the Internet is up and running again, so time to work through some overdue items. First, the choice America will make on November 6.
It is natural to have deep divisions within the country on how the presidential election should turn out. It's unusual to have such contradictory assumptions about what is going to happen just over 100 hours from now. Long ago, the film critic Pauline Kael was ridiculed for reportedly having said, after Richard Nixon's 49-state win over George McGovern in 1972, "How can that be? No one I know voted for Nixon." Apparently she never said it, but the quote lives on, in a boiled-frog-like twilight zone, as shorthand for people who are grossly out of touch with majority American opinion, and don't realize it.
But the evidence convinces me that, beyond the spin and the lunacy and the media's interest in keeping any race "close," a lot of Republicans really believe that Romney is about to win.
Meanwhile, in the "it's not just FiveThirtyEight" category, you have a large succession of models that combine and average state-by-state polls, and all of which show that things actually look tough for Romney/Ryan.
For completeness, here is the FiveThirtyEight probability-of-win chance right now.
Still, the up-versus-down difference on how things are trending and who holds the lead seems to be a case of the "separate fact universes" problem that affects other parts of our policy extending to our grasp of electoral reality. Some fraction of the population is going to have the "How can that be? No one I know... " reaction on election day. Reid Wilson our sister publication NJ Hotline goes into that likelihood here.
This view takes nothing away from the ideas that a) the "experts" are confused and b) that a momentum narrative could be self-fulfilling. But it requires an underestimation of Rovian thought to dismiss the possibility that delegitimization is a conscious strategy of the right, and that the momentum narrative is a part of it.
More on this later in the day and tomorrow. For now the point is: The perceptions of separate reality have reached a new level.