French opposition MPs and senators claimed a victory for democracy Wednesday after using a little-known constitutional article to try to trigger a referendum on the government's controversial plans to privatise Paris' airports.
In a rare display of non-partisanship, lawmakers straddling the spectrum from the far left to the right banded together Tuesday to propose a "referendum d'initiative populaire" (RIP) on the privatisation of Aeroports de Paris, operator of Charles de Gaulle, Orly and Le Bourget airports.
This is the first time ever that opposition lawmakers have come together to try force a referendum on an issue, using a measure introduced by former president Nicolas Sarkozy in 2008 to boost participatory democracy.
Socialist Party spokesman Boris Vallaud told France 2 broadcaster on Wednesday that MPs were determined to block a "major strategic error, because Aeroports de Paris is not just a regular company".
Referendums are rare in France, with the last one dating to 2005 when voters rejected a new European constitution.
Some of the "yellow vests" protesters behind five months of weekly rallies over social inequality and what they see as France's failure to give ordinary citizens a say in law-making hailed the move.
"It's thanks to us. Great! At least maybe we have a sort of lobby power," Jerome Rodrigues, one of the movement's leaders, told France Info radio.
Praising the lawmakers, he said: "For once they did what they are paid for, to listen to, and carry the voice of the people in French institutions."
A referendum can be triggered on proposed legislation with the support of a fifth of members of both houses of parliament -- 185 out of 925 -- and if one-tenth of the electorate -- 4.5 million voters -- sign an online petition in favour.
The process is long, however, and contains several constitutional and parliamentary hurdles that have acted as a deterrent to lawmakers in the past.
President Emmanuel Macron, a former investment banker, wants to invest the proceeds of the sale in an innovation fund -- a key campaign promise -- and reduce the public debt, which stood at 99 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) in the second quarter.
Other companies set for privatisation include lottery and scratch-cards monopoly Francaise des Jeux.
Opposition lawmakers have been up in arms, accusing the government of selling off state jewels.
The privatisation of the airports was expected to be adopted by parliament, thanks to the large majority of Macron's Republic on the Move party. But a referendum, the outcome of which would be binding, could throw a spanner in the works.
A total of 218 lawmakers from 11 parliamentary groups ranging from members of the Communist Party to the centre-right Republicans signed the referendum bill on Tuesday, well above the 185 required.
The far-right National Rally voiced support for the move, without adding its signature.


LITTLE EGG HARBOR - One township man is dead and another facing murder charges after a fight, stabbing and death at a Maplewood Drive home Wednesday night, according to the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office.
Township police found 28-year-old Richard Pone unreponsive with a stab wound to his chest in a second-floor bedroom after going to 21 Maplewood Drive around 8:15 p.m., according to a statement Thursday from Al Della Fave, a spokesman for the prosecutor's office.
Kendrick Coley, 25, is facing murder charges in the death of Richard Pone, 28.
A 911 call reported "a male within the residence with a knife," Della Fave said.
Police arriving at the house found 25-year-old Kendrick Coley "in the garage area of the residence and immediately took control of him in order to ascertain what took place at the residence," Della Fave said. A woman at the scene directed officers to the bedroom, where they found Pone, who "was pronounced dead at the scene 8:42 p.m."
Investigators from the prosecutor's office and the Ocean County Sheriff's Office responded as well, Della Fave said.
"The investigation by the partnering agencies found that there was an altercation between Coley and Pone, where Coley retrieved a kitchen knife and allegedly stabbed Pone in the upstairs bedroom," Della Fave said. "The altercation allegedly resulted from Pone confronting Coley about an assault against a female at the residence that had taken place earlier."
Maplewood Drive was blocked off to the public Wednesday night. A local fire truck had been pressed into service to guard the entrance to the residential road that is only accessible from Wood Street.
More than 2,000 feet in length, the dead end is part of a forested neighborhood of unfinished roads and little street lighting, tucked between Route 9 and the Sea Oaks Country Club's golf course.
Township police and the Ocean County Sheriff's Office investigated along with the prosecutor's office, Della Fave said.
Coley is facing charges of murder, unlawful weapon possession and weapon possession for an unlawful purpose, Della Fave said.


Yu Darvish thawed out and then nearly overheated in balmy South Florida, but he found enough in reserve to throw his hardest to the final batter he faced.
Darvish struck out eight in a season-high 5 2/3 innings for his first win of the year, and the Chicago Cubs adjusted to a big change in the weather to beat the Miami Marlins 7-2 Monday.
Willson Contreras hit his sixth homer , drove in three and reached base four times for the Cubs, who showed they could take the heat.
Marlins: C Jorge Alfaro (ribs) was out of the starting lineup for a second game in a row. He may return Tuesday.


The REIT's shares are jumping as the company announced it has hired bankers to advise it on a recombination with its external manager.
What: Shares of NorthStar Realty Finance (NYSE:NRF) are rising today, jumping about 17% as of 11 a.m. ET after the company announced that it is considering a recombination with its external manager, Northstar Asset Management Group (NYSE:CLNS).
In an 8-K, NorthStar Realty Finance said it hired UBS to advise it on a transaction that would bring the management company under the same corporate entity.
Now what: It's notable that the announcement comes at the same time Northstar Realty Finance is selling off assets to raise cash. The 8-K filing notes that the company sold $2 billion of assets in the fourth quarter, resulting in $900 million of cash proceeds.


Sensex and Nifty remained under pressure for the fourth consecutive week this month, losing 1.67% and 1.91% respectively, amid a weak rupee, higher crude prices and persistent outflow of foreign funds.
Sensex and Nifty remained under pressure for the fourth consecutive week this month.
Sensex and Nifty remained under pressure for the fourth consecutive week this month, losing 1.67% and 1.91% respectively, amid a weak rupee, higher crude prices and persistent outflow of foreign funds. The benchmark stock market indices had their worst month in over two and a half years, with the BSE Sensex shedding over 6% and the NSE Nifty falling nearly 7% in the month of September alone.
“Both the Sensex and the Nifty have fallen the most in any month since February 2016. The Bank Nifty has fallen 10.48% this month — the highest monthly fall since 2013,” VK Sharma, Head Private Client Group & Capital Market Strategy at HDFC Securities, told FE Online. Yes Bank remained the top loser month-to-month on both the BSE and the NSE, plunging 52% on the Sensex and 50% on the Nifty 50 index.
Among the other major events that infused volatility in the equity markets were the US Fed rate hike, government’s imposition of customs duty on a range of items, and sell-off in auto and housing finance stocks amid weak rupee and widening current account. “The default (at IL&FS Financial Services) and subsequent downgrade in its credit rating led to panic sell-off in banking and NBFC space. This sell-off was extended to other sectors as well,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services.
“Markets were concerned about the near-term headwinds like quality and increased cost of funds along with tighter liquidity situations. The worse hit was auto, which declined by 8%, followed by metals by 5% and PSU banks by 5%. Mid and small caps lost 5% and 8.5% respectively,” Nair added.
Going ahead, the Sensex and Nifty are expected to take cues from the RBI’s monetary policy scheduled for next week. The Fourth Bi-monthly Monetary Policy Statement for 2018-19 will be issued on October 5, 2018.
“RBI’s Interest rate decision will be crucially watched given the rise in trade war has escalated and rupee continues to fall. The GDP projection and comments will be watched as there may be some intervention by RBI that may come to give some support,” said Mustafa Nadeem, CEO Epic Research. “Crude oil has been positive and trading above $80 mark which is another whammy for investors sentiment. A higher crude oil price has a direct impact on the Indian economy and its CAD,” he added.
According to Vinod Nair, with RBI policy meet next week as the key event, the market is pricing a 25 bps rate hike. “Investors are yet to gain confidence to start bottom fishing due to lack of liquidity, margin funding and short selling in the market. Weak sentiment is likely to extend till the financial market stabilizes and confidence reverts with accommodative valuation,” Nair added.
Weekly losses: The Sensex plunged 614.46 points or 1.67% this week to close at 36,227.14 points on Friday, the last trading day of September. The Nifty of the National Stock Exchange tanked 212.65 points or 1.91% to end at 10,930.45 points week-on-week.
Top weekly Sensex losers: Yes Bank (-19.20%), Tata Motors DVR (-11.64%), Tata Motors (-10.69%), Mahindra & Mahindra (-10.08%) and Adani Ports (-9.27%).
Top weekly Sensex gainers: TCS (3.84%), Reliance Industries (3.40%), Infosys (3.05%), Axis Bank (2.16%) and HDFC Bank (1.87%).
FII/DII activity: Provisional data from the stock exchanges showed that foreign institutional investors sold stocks worth Rs 3,713.09 crore during the week ended September 28. Domestic institutional investors, on the other hand, purchased stocks worth Rs 8,707.02 crore.


Neither Keith Richard nor ULM’s basketball program are in a position to turn their collective nose up at a win.
With that being said, that doesn’t mean Richard was going to overlook his team’s performance down the stretch in a crucial home matchup with Little Rock.
The Warhawks (12-12, 8-5) were able to hold on and beat the top-ranked team in the Sun Belt standings 86-82, but they made it interesting in the final two minutes when a combination of turnovers and defensive lapses allowed the Trojans (21-3, 11-2) to cut a double-digit lead to just three points.
While Richard’s demeanor from the coach’s box grew more and more animated with each mistake, the Warhawks didn’t share his sense of dread and put the game away late at the free-throw line.
Deng and senior guard Justin Roberson each scored a game-high 23 points while ULM received 11-point efforts from junior point guard Nick Coppola and freshman forward Travis Munnings.
Richard credited Munnings’ 2-for-2 performance from the 3-point line in the first half for opening up opportunities inside for the Warhawks.
“The biggest thing was Little Rock couldn’t lay off of him in the second half, which opened up the post for us. We worked all week in practice on playing off the post and our 3-point shooting helped us out down there and forced them to make a choice,” Richard said.
The repercussions from ULM’s win over Little Rock were felt around the entire Sun Belt and set up a winner-take-all matchup between the Trojans and UL Lafayette for first place in the conference on Saturday.
The Warhawks moved to third place in the overall standings with Arkansas State coming to Fant-Ewing Coliseum on Saturday at 4 p.m. The Red Wolves’ loss to the Cajuns on Thursday night dropped them to a fifth-place tie in the league with Georgia Southern.
A win over Arkansas State would keep ULM at third going into a two-week road swing, while a loss could drop them down to fifth depending on the outcome of UT-Arlington-Appalachian State and Georgia Southern-South Alabama.


To develop and expand basic knowledge regarding the design of environments and objects of the human environment in the areas of interior architecture and furnishings, textiles and clothing, and visual communication. The program emphasizes environmental and socially responsible design through processes and solutions that promote resource sustainability and creative reuse of materials.
The Design Program has nine faculty and one replacement position being held by the chancellor. Seven are ladder faculty and two are lecturers SOE. Five have 70/30 experiment station appointments. Three or four retirements will probably occur within the next five years.
Projected development efforts will link each of the areas more closely with the professional and industrial partners in the state, nationally and internationally. Industries producing professionally designed, resource-using products include textiles for clothing and environmental uses, furnishings and home products, and building products. Stronger links with print and electronic communication media also fit within this agenda. Collaborative projects and internships will be proposed to develop program funding and technological support.
Design also proposes continued links with the public around topics of health education, cultural education and social diversity, and socially responsible planning and design. One faculty member is developing a project with public schools and the Education Division to introduce teaching modules on cultural arts at the elementary school level. One creates culturally significant exhibits on campus and nationally. Another works regularly with nonprofits and state agencies on development of low-income housing and social service facilities.
The Design Program is the only university-level professional design program in California and it ranks fifth nationally in the Gourman Report. Faculty are nationally and internationally known artists, architects and designers.
Direct grants to the Design Program in the last five years are around $150,000. Gifts to the teaching collection or other activities for the same period are valued at $55,000. Sources include Bank of America, San Joaquin County Housing Authority, Great Valley Center, UC Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources. Several faculty in the Design Program create and exhibit works of art nationally and internationally, practice professionally or publish peer reviewed works. One faculty member has been responsible for $29 million in competitively funded awards for low-income housing and 355 units of housing. Another faculty works with nonprofit health and women's issues groups on communication about women's and children's health issues.
The Design Program has around 350 undergraduate majors and eight graduate students in the Textile Arts and Costume Design MFA Program. The visual communication emphasis is impacted, interior architecture and furniture is full, and the textile and costume area needs expansion. Student interest in computer applications in design fields is pressuring department expansion. In an attempt to reduce dependence on Unit 18 faculty and refocus ladder faculty in their areas of expertise, the department is planning to reduce the number of undergraduate preparatory courses taught on campus, relocate some courses to lower division GE status and add advanced courses in computer aided design to meet increasing student demands.
Between Design (textiles, clothing, household products), Textiles and Clothing, Resource Economics, Nutrition, and Food Technology around topics of product development, consumer preferences and marketing.
Between Design (visual communication), Communication, and several commodity-oriented departments (Nutrition, Food Technology, Community Development, Landscape Architecture, Animal Science and Vet Med , the Med Center, Campus Research Units, etc.) with interest in communicating scientifically developed information in culturally appropriate ways.
Professor in graphic design to assist only ladder faculty in this impacted program. Emphasis on computer graphics, packaging and print communication. Design sees this position as a replacement appointment, not a new hire. Student demand in this area has placed this position as a critical priority.
Professor in costume design to replace lost position in this area. Focus on design for specific user groups: children, teens, adults, elderly, handicapped, specialized activities and on creative use of environmentally responsible materials. Retirement replacement position.
Professor of interior architecture with emphasis on commercial practice and computer generated design. Retirement replacement position.
Professor of design history with contemporary emphasis. New hire possibly shared with art history as part of the Vision for the Arts Initiative.
The Design Program needs to be relocated from inadequate spaces in Walker Hall and the temporary buildings. Many of the teaching spaces have highly specialized requirements and need to be technologically improved and co-located. Department collections and gallery are inadequate for appropriate use and user access. Teaching space is well-below national university standards for design fields. Improving the existing, below standard environment will increase external support opportunities. Industrial partners are reluctant to invest in facilities when they see spaces that are beyond improvement and students who are not receiving state of the art instruction because of poor facilities. For the immediate future design will seek electronic equipment support from outside sources but look forward to more substantial contributions after relocation to new facilities. Currently design seeks computerized looms, graphic computing equipment and software, more sophisticated wood and metal working equipment, and computer-supported pattern drafting hardware and software.


Do you need to block your ex from social media?
Have you ever seen the film 'Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind'?
In it, a couple played by Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet are so traumatised by the end of their relationship that they decide to have all their memories of one another wiped from their brains. The pain is so great post break-up that neither can bear it.
Brilliantly capturing the feeling of limbo and all the hurt involved in a break-up, the film had many people wishing they could do the same thing. But it was made in 2004, long before social media took hold on the world we now live in, and perhaps the filmmakers couldn't have imagined that in 2016, more than a decade later, we'd all be so utterly digitally connected.
These days, it's simply not enough to erase your ex from your memory. Many people are also choosing to remove former lovers from their digital memory, so as not to get hurt all over again by news of new relationships, or simply by photos of them having a fantastic time post-split.
It's a relatively new phenomenon, this ability to purge your Facebook, Instagram and Whatsapp accounts of your former flame, and apps like KillSwitch can even discreetly help you go about your deleting business. But is it a healthy behaviour for somebody in pain?
Mark Smyth, senior clinical psychologist and member of Psychological Society of Ireland, thinks so. "I think this is probably a welcome development. In the pre-Facebook days, when we went through a break-up, it was somewhat easier to achieve the space necessary to survive the emotional pain that can accompany a split.
"In today's environment, this is much more difficult, because we are all interconnected on so many levels through social media, which makes it so much more difficult to achieve that necessary closure," he says.
"We tend to struggle when we're left to the mercy of our thoughts and emotions, the last thing that we need when alone at night trying to get to sleep is a barrage of emotional reminders on social media of our previous partner."
It makes sense, perhaps, to protect yourself in the aftermath of a romantic implosion, but how far should we go? With social media, there are different levels of deleting, depending on just how much you want to stick it to your ex, rub it in their face or be a little bit sneaky.
The simplest way to go about it all is just to remove them manually from every platform, utilising the delete or unfollow button. However, the person in question will know you've done this if they try to view your profile, and it could cause a little friction.
"If you don't want to see somebody in your stream, on Facebook you can just block them," says Dublin-based social-media strategist Darragh Doyle. "They won't be able to see your posts, find you in searches, send you messages and they won't appear on your newsfeed - so, for example, you won't see they're away on holiday with their new partner.
"If you choose to unfriend them, they will still appear in friends' photos and feeds. It might be the more polite and mature method, but blocking can be more effective, especially if you're hurt. The unfollow option is like the mute button on Twitter - they won't appear in your newsfeed and you won't have to witness what kind of cat videos they've been watching, but they still have access to contact you and tag you, and vice versa."
However, Darragh warns that while your daily newsfeed is one thing, the pesky Facebook On This Day app is another altogether, as this encourages you to view your "memories" from the day in question all the way back in the website's decade-long history.
"A lot of people don't know that in your settings you can specify that you don't want to be shown any memories including this particular person, for sensitive situations."
Darragh also points out that even if you're not friends with someone on Facebook or you have them blocked, if you're in the same group or invited to the same event, you'll see them. "It's like real life, you can bump in to people around the internet, too, even when you're trying not to."
Audrey Greene, a 35-year-old mum of two living in Kiltegan, Co Wicklow, has had two experiences of digitally erasing her exes. "The most recent was three years ago. We met online and for a while, things were good. He wasn't much of a social-media user or texter and preferred to talk on the phone. It all started to go downhill with him starting a new job and suddenly he became a fan of texting and social media. His life suddenly revolved around digital communication."
The pair later broke up and Audrey decided to remove him from her digital life.
"When we broke up, I became very popular with his friends and family online, so I erased all traces of our relationship; I deleted friends and family, untagged myself in photos others had posted and then blocked as many people as necessary. I also blocked his number from my phone, but he did contact me from other numbers."
Audrey said the very act made her feel better. "He lost the right to know anything about me. I would highly recommend doing a digital clear-out, because the less there is to see of an ex, the better, be it good or bad.
"Social media is meant for keeping in touch with friends. I think relationships are so much harder these days because everyone seems to be friends with everyone else, and too much of life is overshared. Ten years ago, a break-up was a break-up and you avoided the person if you needed to - crossing the road or taking the phone off the hook. Now your online activity is there for all to see."
Read more: Undercover lover - Is it ever OK to read a partner's text messages?
If required, there are a number of apps like the aforementioned KillSwitch that will aid you in your quest to digitally rid yourself of another person. That app will remove all traces of a particular person from Facebook without actually unfriending or blocking them, wiping any tagged posts or photos of you together.
Another app, DrunkMode, allows you to prevent yourself from calling a specific number or numbers during certain hours of the day or night. Also, the aptly named Eternal Sunshine swiftly removes all updates from the person in question without letting them know.
But regardless of whether the ex in question is offended or not, is it good for our well-being to simply pretend this other person doesn't exist?
"In the short term it could be argued that it's necessary," says Mark.
Read more: Dear Mary: I'm fed up with my wife's behaviour, can I change her or should I leave?
"If we associate someone with pain, and we should not underestimate how difficult an experience emotional pain is, then there can be an understandable need and wish to avoid someone that causes us pain. However, this should only be for the shortest time necessary to allow us the capacity and confidence to cope again."
But is hitting delete in the digital space and even on your smartphone, even in the short term, enough to remove this person from your consciousness permanently - or should we even be trying to do that? After all, according to the experts, we learn something important from every painful episode in our lives.
"My advice would be not to aim to forget them in the first place, as this is not realistic. Our minds and senses create too many associations for this to be possible. A random song on the radio comes on that was 'your song', a person passing on the street with the same perfume that triggers a sensory memory and immediate association.
"What's more achievable, eventually, is to come to an acceptance that they are not in your life right now and that there are reasons why you're not together anymore. As much as a cliché as it is that 'time heals', it does and we need to hold onto that belief as hope is our escape from pain," he says.
Dear Mary: I'm fed up with my wife's behaviour, can I change her or should I leave?
Undercover lover - Is it ever OK to read a partner's text messages?


A Colorado man was sentenced Monday to life in prison for killing his pregnant wife and their two young daughters and dumping their bodies on an oil work site.
Prosecutors have said they agreed not to seek the death penalty in exchange for Christopher Watts' guilty plea, after seeking approval from Shanann Watts' family.
A friend asked police to check on Shanann Watts on Aug. 13 after not being able to reach her and growing concerned that the 34-year-old expectant mother had missed a doctor's appointment. Officers initially handled the search and soon sought support from Colorado investigators and the FBI.
Meanwhile, Christopher Watts spoke to local television reporters from the front porch of the family's home in Frederick, a small town on the plains north of Denver where drilling rigs and oil wells surround booming subdivisions. Watts pleaded for his family’s safe return, telling reporters their house felt empty without 4-year-old Bella and 3-year-old Celeste watching cartoons or running to greet him at the door.
Court records revealed that Watts acknowledged to police that he killed his wife. Watts told investigators that he strangled her in "a rage" when he discovered she had killed their daughters after he sought a separation.
Prosecutors have since called his account "a flat-out lie."
The girls' bodies were found submerged in an oil tank, on property owned by the company Watts worked for until his arrest. Shanann Watts' body was found buried nearby in a shallow grave.
The killings captured the attention of media across the country and became the focus of true-crime blogs and online video channels, aided by dozens of family photos and videos that Shanann Watts shared on social media showing the smiling couple spending time with their children.
But courts records showed the couple's lifestyle caused financial strain at times. They filed for bankruptcy in June 2015, six months after Christopher Watts was hired as an operator for the large oil and gas driller Anadarko Petroleum at an annual salary of about $61,500. At the time, Shanann Watts was working in a children's hospital call center for $18 per hour.


“Flowerball” is part of Takashi Murakami: The Octopus Eats Its Own Leg at the Modern.
Almost 20 years ago, Takashi Murakami coined the term “superflat” to describe Japanese art, in terms of both its emphasis on surface (spurred by traditional painting as well as anime and manga) and how the end of World War II had leveled class differences in Japan and given rise to a culture with little difference between high and low. This aesthetic has gotten him all manner of showcases outside the walls of museums, designing Louis Vuitton bags and Kanye West album covers. Now, his blockbuster show Takashi Murakami: The Octopus Eats Its Own Leg comes to the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth after successful stops in Chicago and Vancouver.
The show includes his early, dark, monochromatic paintings from the 1980s, but splashier items are on display as well, such as his murals featuring brightly colored grotesque monsters, large canvases festooned with gold and platinum, and wallpaper depicting flowers with smiley faces. The show takes its name from a painting of an octopus eating its own leg, which Murakami has referred to as a self-portrait. Wackiness, danger, cuteness, and vibrant color all await you at the Modern, making the museum’s recent admission price hike seem well worth the expense.
Takashi Murakami: The Octopus Eats Its Own Leg runs Sat thru Sep 16 at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, 3200 Darnell St, FW. Admission is $10-16. Call 817-738-9215.


Surely Heiner GÃ¤rtner is one of the only farmers in Germany, if not most of Europe, who greets the dawn of yet another cloudless day with anticipation rather than angst. On Mr. GÃ¤rtner's 200-acre farm the fields are covered with 10,050 solar panels, which soak up the sunshine and convert it into electricity. The ambient hum in the air is not the sound of insects but of transformers carrying a high-voltage current to the villages nearby. "We've had so much sun," said Mr. GÃ¤rtner, 34, a wide-brimmed hat shielding his face from the rays. "It would be better if we could have this much sun with less heat. But you can't have everything." Extreme heat actually reduces the efficiency of the solar panels, he said, pointing to a dial that showed the plant was running at 83 percent of its capacity. On cooler days, the panels operate at full capacity.Even so, this is shaping up as a thriving summer for Mr. GÃ¤rtner — vindicating his decision in 2003 to turn this 150-year-old pig farm into a small-scale electricity plant. Switching from pigs to power saved his family's enterprise, which was teetering on the edge of economic ruin.
"I couldn't repair the roof if I only bred pigs," said Mr. GÃ¤rtner, a self-confident fellow with a spiel that is far more entrepreneurial than agricultural. "We have to compete worldwide these days. Pork from Brazil costs half as much as German pork. Our costs are simply too high."
When Mr. GÃ¤rtner took over the farm from his father in 2002, his options seemed few and dismal. He considered selling most of the property and keeping only his family's stone house — a last vestige of the farm started by his great-grandfather, who kept cattle, chickens and other animals.
But there were few buyers, even for a farm that is fairly large by southern German standards and blessed with broad, flat meadows amid the gently rolling countryside of Bavaria. Farms in eastern Germany and Poland are much larger and therefore more economically viable.
Although the recent collapse in global negotiations over tariffs, farm subsidies and other barriers at the World Trade Organization may protect European farmers awhile longer, Bavaria has long promoted its high-technology industry over agriculture. "Germany is an industrial country, not an agricultural country," Mr. GÃ¤rtner said. "We're on the wrong end."
Visiting a classmate in northern Germany after graduating from college with a degree in agricultural engineering, Mr. GÃ¤rtner was struck by the windmills that dot the countryside there. His father had already experimented with making biodiesel fuel out of rapeseed — even running a Volkswagen with it — so the concept of renewable energy was not alien to him.
Europe, seeking to reduce its reliance on fossil fuels, has encouraged the development of alternative energy by offering hefty subsidies for people to put up windmills on their property. Germany's wind-power industry is the world's largest, yet growth here has slowed as people have begun to protest the proliferation of these giant propellers near their homes.
Bavaria, with its inland location, lacks the coastal breezes that turn windmills. But it gets more sunshine than other parts of Germany. Moreover, the GÃ¤rtner farm, which is known as Maierhof, has an especially sunny location, with southern exposure and few hills to block the light.
In 2004, Germany passed a new law that guaranteed people who built solar parks a minimum price for each kilowatt of electricity that was two to three times the market price.
That prompted Mr. GÃ¤rtner to investigate the possibility of turning his fields of corn, wheat and barley into rows of photovoltaic panels. With a lack of solar experts in Germany, he and his classmate, Ove Petersen, taught themselves the technology (they are now partners in the venture).
The hardest part, he said, was obtaining loans to finance the roughly $5 million in construction costs. Mr. GÃ¤rtner also had to persuade the mayor of Buttenwiesen to allow him to string power lines across the fields. With only a handful of farmers in Germany installing these panels on a large scale, "people really had no idea what we were talking about," he said.
The project is a family affair. Mr. GÃ¤rtner recruited his sister, Annette, who is an architect in the nearby city of Augsburg, to design the complex. His 69-year-old father, Heinrich, provides moral support, keeping an eye on the dials when he is not feeding the fish in his pond.
When his panels run at full capacity, Mr. GÃ¤rtner figures the farm could supply power to all 7,000 residents of the village. The utility that buys his electricity, however, uses it to meet demand at peak periods, like during this heat wave, when air-conditioners are running full blast.
Mr. GÃ¤rtner makes more than $600,000 a year from the sale of this electricity, which will allow him to pay off his loans in 15 to 16 years. That is good for him, because the government is phasing out the preferential prices over the next decade. The Mercedes parked in his farmyard attests to his success.
As he sees it, his farm is merely adapting to an economic cycle that happens to favor a different sort of energy.
"Animals are energy too; they create food for people," Mr. GÃ¤rtner said. "At the moment, power is more profitable than food. That may not always be the case. You have to be flexible."
To hedge his bets, Mr. GÃ¤rtner has held on to his 1,000 pigs. The other day, they were huddled in a shed, sleeping through the searing heat. With the world's population expanding, he believes, the price of pork may someday rebound enough to make it a viable business again.
In the meantime, the pigs serve another purpose: Mr. GÃ¤rtner uses their waste to fuel a biogas plant, which also generates electricity. "One of the criticisms of solar energy is that it is unpredictable because the sun doesn't always shine," he said. "This is completely predictable."


The Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) has announced ‘Prayanothsava’, a scheme which offers 30 per cent discount for its customers on their fourth trip in KSRTC bus.
Noting that the 30 per cent discount will be given at the time of booking fourth ticket, KSRTC said: “...only if the tickets booked earlier are not cancelled.” However, the commuter may continue being eligible for the offer, provided all the four tickets he/she books are valid for travel.
It will be valid only for a single seat booked in the fourth ticket and that the booking dates and journey dates must fall on or before April 30, 2012. The offer will be valid only if all tickets are booked from the same e-ticket user ID and if all tickets carry the same passenger name. All tickets must be purchased through e-booking or m-booking.


Support for marijuana law reform fell slightly among all adults. Among all Californians, not just likely voters, 52 percent responded that “marijuana should be made legal,” and 61 percent believed that the federal government should not interfere with statewide marijuana laws.
Men (57 percent), Democrats (64 percent), and Independents (60 percent) were more likely to express support for legalizing marijuana than were women (47 percent) or Republicans (45 percent). Caucasians (63 percent) and African Americans (61 percent) also expressed far greater support for legalization than did Asians (48 percent) or Latinos (36 percent).
Pollsters surveyed 1,703 Californians, including 1,429 registered voters. The PPIC poll possesses a margin of error of between 3.7 percent.
In recent months, polls in several other states — including Arizona, Louisiana, Michigan, New Hampshire, and Oklahoma — have shown majority support for marijuana law reform, as have national polls.


We gold star families would like to ask people to begin educating themselves on the history of Memorial Day.
I did not have the opportunity to teach this person and her husband the definition of gold star families who have suffered the death of a loved one like our son, who took a bullet through the neck and back in Baghdad while saving the lives of his commanding officer, first sergeant and eight other comrades.
We gold star families would also like to ask people to begin educating themselves on the history of Memorial Day, originally Decoration Day, to decorate the gravesites of those who died in war beginning after the Civil War. We also ask for people not to say �Happy Memorial Day� to those still serving because they are suffering anxiety from a day called to remember comrades they saw die.
We saw and heard so much about the living on Memorial Day, but no one calling the names of �dead� warriors or �veterans.� �Memorial� means serving as a remembrance of a person. There is Armed Forces Day and Veterans Day. Why can�t Memorial Day be remembered for its accurate history and honor those like our son and Navy SEALs who were butchered on a mountaintop by the enemy?
For those who don�t really know what Memorial Day is about, please pick up a dictionary or history book and learn so you can understand it is about the dead and those left behind. It�s our one national day to remember and hope our communities and nation will, yet our loved ones who died horrific deaths don�t even have names for the majority. So next year, go here.
Editor�s note: Deborah Tainsh and her husband Dave Tainsh are the parents of U.S. Army Sgt. Patrick Tainsh, who was killed Feb. 11, 2004 in Iraq. They also are founders of Hearts for Military Heroes, Inc., a Florida not-for-profit organization.


Kurzgesagt sums up all you need to know about our planet Earth in this nice animation explainer that's much more easy to understand than school ever was. It shows how fascinating and unbelievable Earth is and makes you realize how seemingly impossible it is for us to be living here. But we're here!
Oh, and after finding out the basics of everything you need to know, you'll realize how little we actually know about what's going on too.


VALPARAISO, Ind. (AP) Tyreke Key had a career-high 32 points as Indiana State edged past Valparaiso 87-82 in overtime on Wednesday night.
Key hit 15 of 17 foul shots. He added six steals.
Key made two free throws to tie the game at 71 with 33 seconds left in regulation then Valparaiso worked the shot clock for one last possession. After Bakari Evelyn missed a 3-pointer with 3 seconds left, Javon Freeman grabbed the offensive rebound and missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer. Indiana State took a 79-72 lead early in overtime and Valparaiso did not threaten.
Cooper Neese had 13 points for Indiana State (13-12, 5-8 Missouri Valley Conference), which ended its four-game road losing streak. Bronson Kessinger added 12 points. Jordan Barnes had 11 points for the visiting team.
The Sycamores forced a season-high 21 turnovers.
Derrik Smits tied a career high with 23 points and had 11 rebounds for the Crusaders (13-13, 6-7). Deion Lavender added 16 points. Bakari Evelyn had 11 points.
The Sycamores improved to 2-0 against the Crusaders on the season. Indiana State defeated Valparaiso 70-53 on Jan. 23.
Indiana State matches up against Southern Illinois at home on Saturday.
Valparaiso matches up against Drake on the road on Saturday.


The gun issue is a classic example of how what I call the Dirt Gap divides up the U.S. into thinly populated Red Regions and densely populated Blue Regions. I wrote in The American Conservative back in 2004 in "Baby Gap:"
The endless gun-control brouhaha, which on the surface appears to be a bitter battle between liberal and conservative whites, also features a cryptic racial angle. What blue-region white liberals actually want is for the government to disarm the dangerous urban minorities that threaten their children’s safety. Red-region white conservatives, insulated by distance from the Crips and the Bloods, don’t care that white liberals’ kids are in peril. Besides, in sparsely populated Republican areas, where police response times are slow and the chances of drilling an innocent bystander are slim, guns make more sense for self-defense than in the cities and suburbs.
White liberals, angered by white conservatives’ lack of racial solidarity with them, yet bereft of any vocabulary for expressing such a verboten concept, pretend that they need gun control to protect them from gun-crazy rural rednecks, such as the ones Michael Moore demonized in “Bowling for Columbine,” thus further enraging red-region Republicans.


Combine dark and light colors to contrast against one another.
1 What Grows Well With Azaleas?
Whether designing a painting, a building or a landscape, the principles of design remain consistent. Colors and lines should lead the eye from one place to another, balance should be achieved whether through symmetry or asymmetry, and the design should be visually pleasing or meaningful. Gardeners who wish to landscape with azaleas (Rhododendron spp.) must take into consideration aspects of color, form and texture to create a space of harmony and beauty.
Azalea bushes can be as short as 2 feet tall with a mounding habit or as large as 8 feet tall with an 8-foot spread. Use larger plants to form the sides of your garden. Push these plants against the boundaries of your property, use them to hide unsightly garden walls, and have them create natural borders between your property and the property of your neighbors. Medium-sized azaleas are best used to create transitions between large shrubs and small shrubs. Midsized plants are also useful for creating natural islands of foliage in the empty spaces of your lawn. Small azaleas are excellent specimens for forming lines along walkways and borders around larger shrubs. As you plan which azaleas will go where in your garden, consider the way that different-sized bushes will lead the eye of the viewer along the space. Small transitions are less jarring and give a natural flow to your landscape. Any big jump in size between two bushes creates a contrast that may keep the eyes of viewers lingering in one spot for a longer period of time.
An artist can spend many years studying the way color can influence a design. High-contrast color combinations, such as combinations of dark colors paired with light colors, are used to create drama and excite the viewer. Low-contrast color combinations are soothing and subtle. As you choose azalea colors for your garden, look for those combinations of colors that incite the emotional response you seek. Remember that cool colors, like lavender, are soothing and calming. Warm colors, like orange, red and yellow, are exciting and stimulating. White blossoms are neutrals and may be used in almost any setting.
When choosing your plants at the nursery, place the azaleas you want to buy side by side. Look for combinations of colors that please you, and study the textures of the different leaves. Placing azaleas with fine leaf textures beside azaleas with broader, coarser leaf textures create a type of contrast, in much the same way that dark and light colors create contrast. Choose those combinations that are the most visually appealing to you.
There are many varieties of azaleas. These plants may be hardy in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 4 through 10, depending on the cultivar. Most azaleas thrive best in USDA zones 6 through 8, so check the optimal zones for your chosen cultivar before purchasing. Some azaleas start blooming in early spring, while others bloom later in the season. To maximize the number of blooming plants on your property during the growing season, seek out a range of cultivars that bloom at different times of the year. Azaleas thrive in acidic soil and have shallow roots. As a result, they require frequent small doses of acid-loving fertilizer, such as cottonseed meal. Too much fertilizer damages the roots of these plants. Keep azaleas away from plants or trees that require frequent and powerful applications of nitrogen.
Rose, Leslie. "Landscape Ideas for Azaleas." Home Guides | SF Gate, http://homeguides.sfgate.com/landscape-ideas-azaleas-47701.html. Accessed 25 April 2019.
Do You Have to Deadhead Azaleas?
Do Front Landscaping Plants Need to Be the Same on Both Sides?


Brown picked Auburn over heavy competition from four other SEC schools. The 6-foot-3, 315-pound tackle had Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama and Mississippi State in his final five.
The Lanier senior’s final official visit was to Knoxville the weekend before signing day.
Brown announced his decision on ESPN2, he was the final 5-star player in the country to decide.
"My relationship I developed with the coaching staff is excellent," Brown said. "In just sitting around talking to my parents last night I realized it was the place for me."
Brown point to his bond with coach Gus Malzahn and defensive line coach Rodney Garner as the driving factors in his decision.
He admitted he didn't know Auburn's new defensive cordinator Kevin Steele, but is excited to learn more about what he has planned for the defense.
The addition of Brown to Auburn’s 2016 class could be enough to push the Tigers into the top 10 nationally.
"For the next three to four years its' going to be great to watch Auburn football," Brown said.


Debbie Hendrix Thornton, 58, of Lakeland, Florida (formerly of LaFayette) passed away on Monday, October 16, 2017.
Prior to her move to Florida, she was a member of the Community Baptist Church on Lee Mason Road. Debbie had a passion for music and a love of helping others and was active in many outreach ministries throughout her life.
She is survived by her daughter, Renee (David) Griffin of LaFayette; sons, Robert Thornton and Jamie Thornton both of LaFayette; grandchildren, Nicholas, Olivia, Jazmyn, Abigail, Georgia, Morgan, and Megan; parents, Robert “Shot” Thornton of LaFayette and Nelva Allmon of Lakeland, Fla.; sisters, Sherri Dampier and Vicki Foreman both of Lakeland, Fl.; and numerous nieces and nephews.
A memorial service will held at 4 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 21, in the Wilbanks Memorial Chapel with Pastor Matthew Gilmore officiating.
Memorial contributions may be made in her memory to the ministry of your choice.


My Passion for problem-solving plus Your Potential for living your best life! The Time is Now.
I am a coach, a writer, a program creator, an instructor for other coaches, a speaker and a leader with 20+ years of experience in Relationship Coaching, ADHD Coaching, and Friendship Coaching. I work with people in all kinds of relationships, whether it is marriage, courtship, dating, friendship, work, parenting, or young adults getting established on their own. I have am the lead instructor for Relationship Coaching Institute – Singles programs and the Lead instructor and program developer for Impact Coaching Academy for ADHD Coaching. I am currently developing programs of my own that will roll out this summer.
I offer webinars, workshops, coaching teams, group coaching, and individual coaching. My goal is to provide my clients with what they need to succeed in life and love, and to do so in an affordable way. There are many options to work with me with different price points.
I am Resources Chair Person for Adhdcoaches.org. I believe in sharing my knowledge and expertise and I volunteer my time to do so. In my free time, which isn’t much, I enjoy my family, friends, reading, and vacationing in peaceful, weather friendly spots. I am a lifelong learner and can’t even imagine not being involved in some type of learning.
My credentials are that I have a Master degree in Counseling Psychology, I am a graduate of Coach U and ADD Coach Academy as well as holding a Master Coach Certification from Relationship Coaching Institute. I have a Professional Certified Coach designation from International Coach Federation, and a Senior Certified ADHD Coach designation from IAAC. I am constantly learning and growing in my fields of expertise. I invite you to visit my website and sign up for my free e-book and while you’re at it, contact me and schedule a discovery session to see if we would be a good fit in working together.
Making Friends: Is it Enough to Just “Show Up”?


This part one explains how government is flying blind - deeply invested in internal functions that each speak their own language, and are thus unintelligible to one another. The web increasingly demands a wholesale shift in operating model – away from managing functions, to assembling chains of standard capabilities to deliver service outcomes, but this is currently hard to achieve.
During a Policy Exchange fringe event at the recent Conservative Party conference, former Cabinet Office minister Francis Maude observed that there is no constitutional requirement for government departments - statutory responsibility rests with secretaries of state who are free, in theory, to deliver services using the most appropriate means.
Put another way, there is no inevitability about vertically-organised departments - they are merely an entrenched convention. There is no reason why government should not run itself much more simply, efficiently and cheaply using a better operating model if it can – providing, of course, we end up with better services, easily available to those who need them.
It’s the services that count, not the departments. The trouble is, the interests of the departments are not always aligned with those of the citizens consuming their services. Digital operating models inevitably threaten traditional power structures, which can therefore be expected to resist them - think of the ongoing controversies around Uber or AirBnB.
The good news is that the shared informational plumbing of the web now offers the prospect of an operating model that potentially realigns the interests of both state and citizens for the better. Digital operating models broker people’s ability to consume standard building blocks of business – which include information management, accountancy, logistics, payments, workflow, and so on - via a burgeoning market of affordable, easy-to-deploy, and flexible digital services, in ways that require very little “official” intervention. Examples include data storage - think Dropbox or AWS; payment platforms like PayPal or Google Wallet; and customer relationship management tools such as Salesforce or Dynamics Online. These can all be plugged into a business within hours.
Indeed, it’s possible today to build an entire organisation using chains of these standardised, cheap, modular capabilities. And - as was the case with the arrival of other forms of shared infrastructure such as electricity, railways, canals, roads, or radio bandwidth - the ability to consume standard stuff using shared plumbing always changes the economic balance in favour of operating models that standardise and consume, instead of building their own special versions. This can be illustrated by considering that most people would find it time-consuming, expensive and uncomfortable to knit their own underwear. Government should view building its own stuff in the same way - why would it want to do that, without a good reason?
However, it’s one thing for a new, web-native organisation to consume standard business building blocks cost-effectively from the internet, so it can focus better on its true purpose – but it’s quite another for government.
It is true that many government activities – procuring nuclear warheads, visiting the elderly in their homes, frontline policing, collecting bins – don’t necessarily change much in response to the shared plumbing of the web. However, wherever information and data are involved – in fact, anywhere involving any sort of bureaucracy at all – the web is a game changer that requires a new model for government itself.
This is because what could and should be standard, building-block capabilities for the state - licensing, payments, registration, council tax, and so on - consumed via the web, are currently done differently within each organisation. Worse still, they are usually hard-wired, or integrated, into each vertical structure. So, starting to do these things the same way as everyone else will completely disrupt the way services are delivered.
Although re-wiring organisations is always daunting, we need to think about how we can shift away from our current inward focus on providing vertical functions - customer services, casework, inspections, etc - each with its own underlying capabilities baked within its own “tower”, instead moving to an outward focus on service outcomes that consume chains of horizontal capabilities.
The opportunity is huge - reflecting Maude’s observation, we might reduce the number of agencies, slim down departments to become lean policy and governance hubs, and even integrate local services like health, social care and local government. Benefits would include a major rebalancing of front/back office ratios across the public sector, redistributing resources to essential services, and lowering total costs - saving perhaps £35bn a year. Not to mention slimming of the government estate through fewer agencies, managers/administrators, and buildings; progressive elimination of expensive outsourcing contracts with simpler service delivery; government bodies that are simpler to run; and improvements in service quality.
For example, in a recent study carried out by Methods Digital with a government customer, we examined payments, licensing and ID-checking in local authorities in England which between them account for less than 1% of total council spending.
We calculated that moving away from legacy, bespoke models serving just these areas onto standardised capabilities could yield nearly £200m in this parliament. Local authorities essentially all deliver the same services - consuming common capabilities would transform service outcomes for citizens and slash costs.
The arrival of the shared plumbing of the web means that we need to standardise our information-related activities around common capabilities - but this threatens existing operating models, and thus the survival in current form of the organisations that run them. If properly executed, such a transition could mean increasing, rather than decreasing, face-to-face public services, and related jobs; but there is no escaping the shift in resource away from bureaucracy and management - many of these roles will go over time.
In turn, these arguments hold a significant implication for the future direction of the UK’s digital government project. The first is that it’s all very well to say government should standardise on common capabilities wherever it can – but how can it possibly do this when it can’t see the wood for the trees? Government is blind. Nobody has visibility of anyone else’s capabilities, just those within their own silo – but worse, even if they could see other people’s capabilities, these would be expressed using a different language, and so would remain unintelligible and irrelevant to anyone else.
The second implication is that being “blind”, internally unintelligible and thus irrelevant to itself, there is no way that government can assess the real effectiveness of the various things that it does, and reward those who innovate accordingly. Instead, it incentivises risk-aversion and preservation of traditional organisational structures – and can justify all this, because all that embarrassing, widespread redundant capability and waste remains hidden from the public.
Instead, the can of operating model change is kicked down the road for another generation to sort out, because it’s easier to cut our frontline public services to the bone instead.
Excellent planning, great structure, all well-laid out. But I fear that the vision is far too utopian for our fractured, xenophobic society to adopt. We seem to have lost any connection to that word - vision - as we are led to constantly look further and further inward. If we can barely speak to each other, if we detest speaking to outsiders, I'm hard pressed to find the impetus for government entities to start communicating. Sad, isn't it...?
Good ideas in the article. The technology magnifies though: what is bad will be worse.
I can see ways where technology may help in disrupting traditional and heavily bureaucratic feedback pathways, because setting direct channels of digital communication is fast and relatively cheap.
For example, having an open portal where everyone can post pictures of pot holes on the road.
As for the large scale.. Not sure. The system is much more than it's components.


Dish Network, while hawking a $40 digital-to-analog box, is now trying to upsell analog-only TV owners to a low-cost version of its service.
The satellite provider has been pitching the TR-40 CRA, an entry-level, digital-to-analog converter box, nationwide at TR40CRA.com, by phone order or via participating Dish Network retailers.
On Wednesday, Dish said consumers can also opt to sign up for new American or Latino Welcome Packs, featuring 20 popular channels for less than $10 per month.
The TR-40 CRA qualifies for the National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s TV Converter Box Coupon Program. The box, available for a limited time only while supplies last, is priced at $40 and is free when a government coupon is applied.
"We made a commitment to sell a $40 coupon-eligible converter box -- making it free when a government coupon is applied -- and are delivering on that commitment with our entry-level TR-40 CRA," Tom Stingley, Dish Network’s executive vice president of sales and distribution, said in a release. "Our digital-to-analog converter boxes, along with the $9.99 programming package solutions, are additional ways Dish Network is making high quality TV more accessible to consumers nationwide."
The TR-40 CRA adds to Dish Network’s lineup of digital-to-analog converter boxes, and features a unique analog pass-through feature; an easy-to-follow setup wizard; an electronic program guide with up to seven days of program listings; parental controls; program search; auto tune timers for program recording on a connected VCR; closed caption support; a remote control; and signal strength screen pop-ups that can troubleshoot lost signals.
Saying consumers can also prepare for the digital transition by subscribing to pay television, Dish Network said it has programming packages to suit a variety of preferences and budgets, including the lowest all-digital price every day and premium, high-quality products at non-premium prices.
The new American and Latino Welcome Packs have a lineup of 20 top-rated channels and priced at $9.99 per month, priced at $14.99 with local channels where available. Or for as little as $19.99 per month (an additional $5 for local channels), Dish Network customers can subscribe to the DishFAMILY package and receive over 40 popular channels, plus free installation and activation.


Don't just send a gift this holiday -- send a bit of yourself. Clemenger BBDO Melbourne teams up with the Australia Post for the "Video Stamp." A free feature for Express Post and Express Courier International, the service lets you add a QR-coded video stamp to your gift package. You can then scan the code and record a personalized message, about 15-seconds long. Recipients scan it again to play the message.


NANTES, France (Reuters) - Researchers have unveiled what they billed as the world’s first 3D-printed house to serve as a home in the French city of Nantes, with the first tenants due to move in by June.
Academics at the University of Nantes who led the project said it was the first house built in situ for human habitation using a robot 3D-printer.
The robot, known as BatiPrint3D, uses a special polymer material that should keep the building insulated effectively for a century.
It took BatiPrint3D around 18 days to complete its part of the work on the house - creating hollow walls that were subsequently filled with concrete for insulation.
“Is this the future? It’s a solution and a constructive principle that is interesting because we create the house directly on site and in addition thanks to the robot, we are able to create walls with complex shapes,” said Benoit Furet, a professor who worked on the project.
The 95 square meter (1000 square feet), five-room house will be allocated to a local family which qualifies for social housing, authorities said.
The Y-shaped home is equipped with multiple sensors that monitor air quality, humidity and temperature, as well as equipment to evaluate and analyze the thermal properties of the building.
Researchers believe this technology will enable tenants to save on energy costs.
Authorities in Nantes are planning further 3D-printed building projects, including a public reception building and a housing estate.


Teach Democracy Now! | Democracy Now!
Educators all around the world are already using Democracy Now! in their classrooms and a variety of educational settings. Many have written to us describing how much their students love Democracy Now! and submitting their lesson plans and ideas of how to incorporate DN! content into a vast array of disciplines and subjects. We encourage everyone to participate in this exchange.
DN! Keeps Kids Students Awake in Class!
DN! Helps With Reading Comprehension!
DN! Helps teachers introduce unreported topics of the American media to Russian students!
Democracy Now! helps grad students in Sociology!


North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said his country needs to deliver a "serious blow" to those imposing sanctions by building a self-reliant economy, the official [North] Korean Central News Agency said Thursday.
KCNA said Kim stated North Korea's position on the second U.S.-North Korea summit that took place recently, saying, "We must deal a serious blow to the hostile forces who are mistakenly determined to bring us down with sanctions by advancing the socialist construction to a high level of self-reliance that fits our circumstances and state, based on our own power, technology and resources."
North Korea is expected to convene a session of its legislature, the Supreme People's Assembly, on Thursday, while U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to hold a summit with South Korean President Moon Jae-in later on Thursday.


Please join us for a free webinar to discuss the petrochemical market post-US election. We will discuss the potential effect not only on the US, but also worldwide.
What will be the trade impact on the polymer market? What effect will taxes, minimum wages, and duties have?
How will the election shape trade in the petrochemical market?
How effectively will the new president change policy?
What is the outlook for US/Latin America petrochemical trade?
Joseph Chang is Global Editor of ICIS Chemical Business, a weekly publication focused on making sense of chemical prices worldwide. This includes macro factors and trends impacting the supply chain such as global trade and arbitrage, project activity, and mergers and acquisitions.
He has been with ICIS and one of its predecessor publications for over 19 years, specializing in coverage of financial topics. Joseph has a B.S. degree in Finance and International Business from New York University’s Stern School of Business.
George Martin has extensive experience in documentation of technological products, with emphasis on petrochemical and refinery equipment, offshore drilling and production equipment. He is a globally recognized technical journalist specialized in commodity pricing (oil and petrochemicals), market analysis and price forecasting.
George joined ICIS in 2004 as a Senior Editor on Petrochemicals covering polyolefins in Latin America and other regional chemicals and plastics. He became ICIS Deputy Bureau Chief for the Americas in 2006 and joined the ICIS consulting team in 2015. He has reported and analysed crude oil and petrochemical markets since 1994, focusing on Latin America. George also has experience in field construction and process plant piping.
George studied Mechanical Engineering at the Catholic University of Cordoba, Argentina and Information Science (Journalism) at the National University of Cordoba, Argentina. Emigrated to the United States of America in 1976, where he continued education in Data Processing.
He has business advisory experience in the areas of benchmarking, operation cost modeling and activity based costing systems, planning, scheduling and project management, risk assessment, supply and demand analysis, alternate value streams and price forecasting. His purchasing advisory service has generated over 100 million dollars in client savings.
Prior to working for ICIS, James worked for private industry (primarily Capital Management) in manufacturing, converting & recycling polymers for blow molding, extrusion and injection molding as well as textiles. His focus was on improving profitability by working smarter and employing strategies for reducing raw material costs using market intelligence and benchmarking, establishing raw material contracts and aligning with commercial contracts, eliminating waste via Lean Manufacturing and implementing process improvements using Six Sigma Methodology. James holds a degree in computer science from the University of Texas.
Tailored solutions based on your unique business needs. From research and due diligence, to investment analysis and portfolio optimisation, our Consultants will work alongside your team to identify challenges, mitigate risks, and help meet your growth objectives.


Her rock star-chic look shines on the busy streets of Santa Monica.
Alessandra Ambrosio proves that she’s a model on and off the runway when she strutted her stuff all over Santa Monica, CA on Tuesday afternoon, November 13. She werked the streets like they were her own personal catwalk in a vintage look that made everyone turn heads. Keep reading to see her cool look.
The Brazilian beauty was on her way to lunch in the breezy California weather. She was dressed to impress in her '90s-inspired lewk.
She modeled a black leather jacket, a graphic tee with a picture of Michael Jackson on it from his 1982 "Thriller" album cover, baggy distressed ripped jeans and black leather ankle boots.
The 36-year-old also sported a shiny black leather Louis Vuitton tote back draped on her arm and black aviators.
The mother of two sat out the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show on Thursday November 8 for the first time since 2000.
The retired angel decided to stop walking to spend more time with her family. She even relished in how much time she has to spend with her kids now that she's retired. "We love going to the beach, hanging in Malibu and playing volleyball," she told People.
Do you dig her retro look? Sound off in the comments below!


WASHINGTON (CN) – Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani will advise President-elect Donald Trump on cybersecurity developments, Trump’s transition team announced Thursday.
Giuliani was once a candidate for secretary of state in the incoming Trump administration, but withdrew his name in late November. At the time Trump said Giuliani removed himself from consideration for all positions in the administration, though he would “call upon him for advice” at a later date.
The former mayor currently runs a security consulting firm and chairs the global cybersecurity practice at Greenberg Traurig, according to the transition team new release.
Giuliani’s business experience was seen as a hindrance to his secretary of state candidacy, as his company had deals with the government of Qatar as well as with an Iranian opposition group that until 2012 was on the State Department’s list of foreign terrorist organizations.
In the release announcing Giuliani’s role, Trump’s transition team said Giuliani will help start a conference of tech experts in the private sector to help the government respond to emerging cyberthreats.
“Mr. Giuliani was asked to initiate this process because of his long and very successful government career in law enforcement and his now sixteen years of work providing security solutions in the private sector,” the news release reads.


Alvin Joiner, a.k.a. Xzibit, a.k.a. recursive Internet meme guy, owes nearly $1 million in delinquent federal taxes. His excuse for not paying them? The cancellation of Pimp My Ride. Seriously.
The rapper-turned-actor-turned-host-turned-tax-evader has declared bankruptcy twice since 2009 and had both bankruptcies dismissed according to Tax Watchdog. Halfway through last year he had assets of approximately $739,433 but owed more than $1.4 million.
His claim that cancellation of the show that made him famous is behind his financial problems doesn't appear to be entirely untrue, as his records indicate he made $497,175 for headlining Pimp My Ride in 2007 and the next year, after the show was canceled, only made a paltry $67,510.
The most interesting revelation from his tax records? He didn't own a car while hosting the show. He was leasing a 2006 Range Rover for $2,230 a month. Bad Xzibit, imagine what the guys in the shop could have done with a 1986 Range Rover you bought for $2,230.


Not planning to sleep during the Republican and Democratic National Conventions? Neither is CNN. The network’s plans for the upcoming spectacles will span all the hours in a day, and the next day, and the next day–you understand how this pattern works.
Wolf Blitzer, Anderson Cooper, Jake Tapper, Dana Bash and Chris Cuomo will be the weeknight anchors for evening convention programming, dubbed America’s Choice 2016, and Don Lemon gets the anchor late shift.
And there will be enough anchors, analysts and reporters on site that, if it wanted to, CNN could create multiple baseball teams. But it won’t, because everyone will be in convention mode the whole time. And that time begins not on Sunday, but the Saturday before each convention begins.
Coverage will be available on CNN, CNN International, CNN en Español and CNN Digital as well as Snapchat and Facebook live. CNN International, CNN en Español and CNN Digital will provide channel/platform-specific original programming and reporting.
And in addition to its multiple locations within the convention halls, the network is setting up its own bases outside the halls. Known as the CNN Grill, the spaces, one for each convention, will offer drink and food to accompany the hours of talk.


PARIS: Mischa Zverev overcame a mid-match blip to defeat Canadian teenager Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-2 6-7(4) 6-1 and reach the second round of the Monte Carlo Masters on Sunday. German Zverev converted six out of 14 break points against the world number 176 to prevail in two hours 34 minutes and set up a meeting with French seventh seed Lucas Pouille. Earlier, Karen Khachanov beat Australian wild card Thanasi Kokkinakis 7-5 6-4 to advance. The Russian 21-year-old could face Gilles Simon or 16th seed Adrian Mannarino next.
Former world number one Novak Djokovic, who is struggling to return to his best form since having elbow surgery earlier this year, takes on Serbian compatriot Dusan Lajovic on Monday. The 12-times grand slam winner ended his collaboration with head coach Andre Agassi and coach Radek Stepanek earlier this month. World number one Rafa Nadal, who returned to action from a leg injury in Spain’s Davis Cup win against Germany last week, is chasing a record-extending 11th title at the claycourt tournament.


MINNEAPOLIS — Lance Lynn made this start harder on himself with five walks and one hit Cleveland batter.
The recently revived Minnesota lineup made it a lot easier.
Eddie Rosario hit a two-run homer and Brian Dozier drove in two runs to support Lynn’s third straight victory, leading the Twins past the Indians 7-1 on Saturday.
In his first season with the Twins after waiting a month into spring training to sign a one-year $12 million contract, Lynn has looked miserable on the mound in much of his time with the new team. Part of that is his ultra-competitive nature, but he had an awful April and a couple of rough appearances in May, too. Over his last three starts, Lynn (4-4) has allowed only three runs over 18 2/3 innings to lower his ERA from 7.47 to 5.46.
The same goes for the Twins offence, with 30 runs over the last four games. Rosario has been the steadiest of all, with a team-leading 36 RBIs headlining a strong case to become a first-time All-Star. Dozier, who hit an RBI triple in the third inning right before Rosario’s 10th homer of the season and added an RBI double during a four-run sixth, has heated up this weekend, too.
Indians starter Trevor Bauer (4-4) struck out 11 batters, but he gave up six hits and three walks and didn’t finish the sixth inning. Four of the seven runs charged to him were unearned, because of an error on second baseman Jason Kipnis and a passed ball by catcher Roberto Perez. Max Kepler and Ryan LaMarre had RBI singles during the Twins rally after the fielding flub by Kipnis.
“I was just out there trying to do everything I could to help my team win,” Bauer said.
The Indians went 0 for 9 with runners in scoring position and 2 for 16 with runners on base. Lynn struck out five and allowed only two hits while throwing a season-high 113 pitches.
Oliver Perez, who was signed to the roster before the game, was the second pitcher summoned from the MLB-worst bullpen by manager Terry Francona in the sixth, becoming the 15th reliever used by the Indians already this season. They used 17 different relief pitchers last year, including a one-inning mop-up appearance by position player Michael Martinez and a one-off relief outing by Bauer.
The 36-year-old Perez, who joined his eighth major league team, was pitching in Triple-A earlier this season for the New York Yankees affiliate. He struck out three and gave up one hit in 1 1/3 innings.
Greg Allen, who could be bound for Triple-A next week with the expected return of injured outfielders Lonnie Chisenhall and Brandon Guyer, gave the Indians the lead in the second inning with a delayed steal of home after Kipnis took off for second during a strikeout by Perez. That was the first time the Indians stole home since Francisco Lindor did so on June 28, 2016.
Allen played right field, while Bradley Zimmer was back in centre field for the first time in 21 games after being out with a bruised left rib.
Indians: LHP Andrew Miller has been scheduled to throw a bullpen session on Sunday, Francona said before the game. He’s been out for the last eight games because of nagging right knee inflammation.
Twins: Catcher Mitch Garver paintfully took a foul ball off the top of his knee in the ninth inning but stayed in the game. “He just said that it takes a while for the feeling to return in the leg,” Molitor said.
Indians: RHP Mike Clevinger (4-2, 3.14 ERA) will start on Sunday afternoon. He was second in the American League, entering the game on Saturday, with a 1.61 ERA on the road among pitchers with more than one start.
Twins: RHP Kyle Gibson (1-3, 3.57 ERA) will take the mound for the series finale. Gibson, who has a 5.82 ERA in 13 career starts against the Indians, has taken three losses and seven no-decisions since winning his first turn of the season.


This year, some child in my neighborhood will leave my house on Halloween with nothing but a lesson in money management and gambling.
I doubt they will appreciate it, but I hope they enjoy the experience enough not to trick out my house with eggs or toilet paper.
It’s the latest twist in my personal effort to do something different with Halloween, giving the children an experience they can talk about that might help them learn a lesson about finances.
I’m telling you about it now in the hope that maybe you will either follow my lead or come up with your own program to make Halloween something other than a gluttonous candy-fest. I have been doing this for three years now, my own spin on the “Cash for Candy” campaign that the National Financial Educators Council started in 2016.
I’m not interested in being a spoilsport, or even a killjoy trying to “improve” a great holiday tradition. I love living in a neighborhood that will send 80 to 100 costumed children to my door on Halloween night and I am happy to give them candy.
But I’d rather get the chance to make them think about candy as a currency, to think of money as giving them options and then having a chance to decide how they want to spend it.
With that in mind, I have changed my program each year, and this year has a very new and different twist.
In 2016, the grade-eligible children who came to my door were offered their three pieces of candy or the chance to draw a coin envelope from the money jar.
Each of the 50 envelopes I made up that year had at least one quarter in it; the “jackpot” was $5. The kids were aware of those parameters.
That year – and this is not a surprise when you are the only house in the neighborhood giving away money – I gave away all 50 envelopes (and would have given away two more if I had made them up) and had just four age-eligible kids choose to take sweets.
In 2017, age-eligible children could trade their three pieces of candy to pick from envelopes that had at least 25 cents and up to $3 each, or they could let me pick a random piece of fun-sized candy from their bag, trading up to pick from envelopes containing 50 cents minimum up to a $5 grand prize.
I expected most kids to take the money, but few to let me take their candy, and was dead wrong. All 48 children who took the money – again, four age-eligible kids stuck with the candy – played for big money.
That brings us to this year, and the potential for a child to go away with nothing but a financial lesson.
2) Trade one piece of fun-sized candy (picked randomly, they can’t just give me the stuff they don’t like) for an envelope that has at least 50 cents to a maximum of $4. Half of the envelopes will have the 50-cent minimum in them.
3) Trade three pieces of the small candies to pick from envelopes in which half of the pouches have no money but any envelope with cash has at least $1. Half of the winning envelopes will have the $1 minimum but the rest will have more, up to a $10 jackpot and two $5 prizes.
Each envelope this year will have a small paper re-capping the game for the kids (because I have to put something in the envelopes that otherwise would be empty).
From an investment standpoint, the one-candy, small-money option is best. There is no chance for the child to lose money, and they could get a return of 8 times the 50-cents worth of candy they are wagering. That said, I expect most kids to take the big-money option, because the gamble is worth it when most of them can cruise the neighborhood and get more candy than they can eat.
If you have children or grandkids, ask what they would do at my door. Help them see how the options can be viewed as an investment or a gamble.
The cost of doing this yourself are not as high as you might expect; my candy costs should be minimal this year (younger kids get the candy that the older ones trade) and the rest of my costs vary based on whether the jackpot envelopes are claimed.
And since none of my neighbors has identified themselves as a big winner – though those envelopes were claimed each year – I don’t expect complaints from anyone whose child’s envelope comes up empty.
The entire experience has been a blast, a particularly fun thing to do in the neighborhood now that my kids have grown and flown.
Challenging the children to think critically makes Halloween an even bigger treat than normal.
That’s a pretty good trick; you should try it.


Teva, the world's biggest maker of generic drugs, last week offered $82 per share in cash and stock for smaller rival Mylan.
Mylan NV (MYL.O) rejected Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd's (TEVA.TA) unsolicited $40 billion takeover offer on Monday, saying it was too low and calling Teva stock an "unacceptable" currency.
Mylan, which is pursuing its own takeover of Perrigo Co Plc (PRGO.N), had been expected to reject the offer after having indicated that such a combination would not be a good fit.
In response to the Mylan rejection, Teva said it was standing by its cash and stock offer.
Mylan shares fell 3.48 percent to $73.44 on Nasdaq, and Teva fell 2.3 percent to $62.91 on the New York Stock Exchange.
Mylan Executive Chairman Rob Coury said in a lengthy letter to Teva released on Monday that Mylan would not consider any discussions unless "the starting point" was "significantly in excess of $100 per share."
Wall Street analysts had said Mylan might be looking for $90 to $95 per share and an increased cash component.
Coury said in the letter, which described Teva's culture as "dysfunctional," that Teva's stock was an unacceptable currency because it had underperformed its peers, including Mylan, over the last three years.
"The Mylan board has no interest in considering an expression of interest that... requires Mylan shareholders to accept what we believe is low-quality and high-risk currency in the form of Teva shares," it said.
In addition, it said its customers and partners had voiced concerns about Teva and did not support the possible combination.
Mylan said it remained committed to its $31 billion offer for Perrigo, which has been rejected. Mylan plans to take the offer directly to Perrigo shareholders in what is set to be one of the most high-profile hostile takeover attempts of the year.
Mylan's pursuit of Perrigo, a major producer of over-the-counter drugs, is widely seen as an attempt to fend off Teva.
"While we are disappointed that Mylan has formally rejected our proposal, the Teva board and management team are fully committed to completing the combination of Teva and Mylan," Teva CEO Erez Vigodman said in a statement.


What drives ad decisions at 1 Hacker Way?
Facebook vice president of ad products Rob Goldman shed some light on the principles behind the company’s decisions regarding advertising on Facebook, Messenger and Instagram.
We don’t sell your data.
Advertising should be safe and civil; it should not divide or discriminate.
We’re always improving our advertising.
On the principle of “people first,” Goldman wrote that Facebook aims to make ads “as relevant and useful” to people as the other posts they see, adding that businesses are helped by this, as well, since people will most likely not respond to “irrelevant or annoying” ads. He said the social network’s auction system prioritizes ads that are most relevant to users over how much money the company will make.
Goldman also stressed that personal information including names, Facebook posts, email addresses and phone numbers are never sold to anyone, with the information only being used by the social network itself to serve “relevant and useful” ads.
He also reminded Facebook users that they can click on the upper-right-hand corner of ads to hide ads they don’t like or block specific advertisers, and clicking on “Why am I seeing this?” gives people information on why they were shown specific ads, as well as a way to access their Ad Preferences, where they can manage interests and information to ensure that they see more relevant ads.
Goldman repeated the social network’s announcement in October that it is building an ads transparency feature that will enable people to visit any page and see ads being run by that brand.
Goldman also touched on small and midsized businesses having access to the same advertising tools that were previously available only to larger companies.


Conservatism necessarily involves compromise. That’s why it is such a precarious endeavor. You could say — as the dairyman Tevye does in Fiddler on the Roof — that it’s like a “fiddler on the roof trying to scratch out a pleasant, simple tune without breaking his neck.” In the Off Broadway production of the musical by the National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene, Tevye (played by Steven Skybell) doesn’t say that exactly. As I probably should have guessed, the sell-out production is in Yiddish.
Joel Grey’s lively revival of this classic is a delight. Fortunately, non-Yiddish-speaking audience members (like me) can follow along with English and Russian surtitles projected on the side of the stage. Grey’s is a modest production. But it brims with character and humor while remaining faithful to the story’s message. The show is doing great — much better than critics thought it would — and has been extended till September.
Fiddler on the Roof tells the story of Tevye, a Jewish dairyman, and his family living in Anatevka (a fictional town) inside the Pale Settlement of Imperial Russia in 1905. If one were to ask a townsperson in Anatevka why they did something, the tuneful answer would be “tradition!” However, this isn’t enough for Tevye’s daughters, who do what fictional characters so often do: fall in love with the wrong people. Rather than having grooms picked by their father and the town’s matchmaker, Tevye’s daughters want to choose their own husbands. In Anatevka, that simply isn’t done.
But the softhearted Tevye — resembling what today’s feminists might call “the patriarch” — goes to great lengths to secure his daughters’ happiness. First, his eldest daughter begs him to let her marry a poor tailor, but Tevye has already promised her to an elderly butcher. Tevye convinces his wife Golde to approve their daughter’s preferred match by telling her that an ancestor appeared to him in a dream. In Grey’s production, this is among the funniest scenes in the show. The peak of the hilarity is when the “ghost” of the butcher’s wife — enacted by a stack of people draped in sheets — starts running around the stage terrorizing everyone.
Of course, appealing to ghosts is a trick that can work only once. And Tevye’s other daughters soon try his patience. The second daughter decides to marry a socialist, who obviously does not share a reverence for “tradition!” The third daughter asks to marry a Cossack, who is not only a non-Jew but belongs to the class of Jewish oppressors. That is a step too far.
The benefit of compromise — and the reason to explore where and to what extent it should apply — is that it forces one to improve, update, and appreciate one’s position without destroying the good in it. Change is not just necessary. It’s inevitable.
Tevye’s compromise with his daughters has not changed his view of marriage, but rather it has strengthened his views where they needed strengthening and refined them where they needed refining. Tevye and Golde must also learn by their daughters’ example. That love benefits from affection, not just duty. From youthful spontaneity, not just reliability. Of course, the same is true for his daughters. They, too, must learn from the example set by their parents: Love involves sacrifice, it isn’t always sentimental, it’s mostly about doing what’s right by the other person.
Moreover, Tevye’s attempts to reconcile his traditionalism with his daughters’ autonomy is contrasted with a more immediate external threat. Throughout Fiddler, Jerome Robbins’s choreography draws attention to the competing cultures of the Cossacks and the Jews, and the ways in which they were in tension. Imperial Russia was forcefully anti-Semitic at this time. And by the end of the show, an edict from the tsar will force the Jewish population into exile.
As the Jews of Anatevka leave behind the home of their forefathers, they must seek out new places to plant roots. In doing so, both “tradition” and compromise will be essential. Thus, the beauty and struggle of the “fiddler on the roof” are fulfilled. The National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene are doing this timeless conservative show justice.


WHEN: Preparation and setup begins at 9 a.m. today; meal served at 11 a.m.
WHAT: Gardena Seventh-day Adventist Church’s “Seeds of Truth” Revival.
WHERE: 16113 S. Denker Ave., Gardena.
WHAT: Baha’i of Manhattan Beach continues its adult classes titled “Law for a New Age,” a Baha’i perspective. Guest speaker will be Anthony Lee.
WHERE: 826 Dianthus St., Manhattan Beach.
WHEN: 10 a.m. Sunday and May 18. Continental breakfast at 9:30 a.m.
INFORMATION: No donations requested or accepted. Call 310-372-5501 or 310-798-9777 or visit www.bahai.org.
WHERE: 112 E. Grand Ave., El Segundo.
WHAT: Open registration for Calvary Chapel South Bay’s Bible College – Summer Semester for ages 18 and up.
WHERE: 19300 S. Vermont Ave., Gardena.
WHEN: 6:30 p.m. starting May12 and continuing through Aug. 20.
WHAT: Temple Beth El adult education classes continue “The Evolution and Origins of Contemporary Israel Photography” with Israeli artist Tal Israel.
INFORMATION: $10 for members; $15 for nonmembers. Call 310-833-2467.
WHAT: The Dawn Unity Panel will discuss “Faith, Medicine, and the Beginning of Life.” Panelists include Rabbi Charles Briskin, Temple Beth El; Maurice Lam, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; the Rev. Diane Rehfield, chaplain, Bixby Knolls Towers; and Monsignor Patrick Thompson, St. Margaret Mary Catholic Church.
WHERE: Palos Verdes Stake Center of the Church of Jesus Christ LDS, 5845 Crestridge Road, Rancho Palos Verdes.
INFORMATION: Admission is free and the public is welcome.
WHAT: Talmudic Ethics course offered by The Jewish Learning Institute, the adult education arm of Chabad. The course tackles issues such as abortion, euthanasia, freedom of expression and fair business practice.
WHERE: Jewish Community Center, 2108 Vail Ave., Redondo Beach.
WHEN: 7:30 to 9 p.m. starting Tuesday for six consecutive weeks. The class will be given again on Wednesday mornings from 9:30 to 11 a.m. starting May 14.
INFORMATION: Contact Rabbi Dovid Lisbon at 310-214-4999 or RabbiDovid@jccmb.com for more details.
WHEN: 7 to 9 p.m. Wednesday.
WHAT: An uplifting and spiritual Shabbat service filled with song and music with Rabbi Gary Spero and cantor Sandy Bernstein, with Gaston Bernstein on percussion and Leslie Sharp on piano.
WHERE: 3521 W. Lomita Blvd., Suite 202, Torrance.
WHAT: “Healing Your Family Tree” with the Rev. John Hampsch.
WHERE: St. James School, O’Gorman Center, 4625 Garnet St. Torrance.
WHEN: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. May 17; Mass at 3 p.m.
INFORMATION: Admission is free. Call Lupe Hernandez at 310-374-4242.
WHAT: Grace Evangelical Church welcomes visiting professor R. Scott Clark, who will be preaching at the morning service and teaching the adult catechism class.
WHERE: 2400 W. Carson St., Suite 130, Torrance.
WHEN: 10 a.m. May 18 and 25.


Syracuse, N.Y. -- John Spatola grew up playing video games and loved them so much, he wrote a tank battle game on the computer and a home run derby game on his Texas Instruments calculator while studying mechanical engineering at Syracuse University.
After a brief career working on a military radar system for Lockheed Martin, Spatola decided to launch his own game studio in Syracuse and hit it big with his second game “Trigger Fist,” a shooter for the iPhone that has been downloaded 23 million times since its release in 2012.
Seven years later, the small studio, Lake Effect Applications has launched “Trigger First: Global Operations Assault Team” (“G.O.A.T.” for short) on Apple’s iTunes App Store.
The game is the culmination of six years of work by 15 software engineers and artists at Lake Effect’s offices in the Syracuse Technology Garden, the downtown business incubator operated by CenterState CEO.
For Spatola, 33, the game comes with some risk because its free to download and play. Lake Effect hopes to make money through microtransactions, in which players can purchase “vanity” items such as additional uniforms for their characters, additional weapons and different skins for their weapons.
Many of the vanity items can also be obtained for free by earning experience points for progressing through the game, but players can get them much fast by purchasing them. For $3 to $5 a month, players receive random vanity items and double the experience points they earn playing the game.
It’s a business model that comes with a lot of risk because less than 1 percent of the people who download free-to-play games actually purchase anything. But Spatola said those who do tend to be hard-core gamers who don’t mind dropping $3 to $5 a month for packages of vanity items.
And those who don’t purchase anything still play a vital role in marketing the game by telling friends about it, he said.
Lake Effect also makes money by selling in-game advertising, which appears between mission levels.
Lake Effect Applications' "Trigger Fist: Global Operations Assault Team" can be played online against other players or offline against computer-generated characters.
Central New York’s only game studio, Lake Effect was founded in 2010 by Spatola, a Watertown, Conn., native who graduated from Syracuse University in 2007 with a degree in mechanical engineering with a minor in computer science.
After graduation, he went to work for Lockheed Martin in Salina, working on radar for the defense contractor’s Medium Extended Air Defense System (M.E.A.D.S.). After three years, he left Lockheed to form Lake Effect, working out of his apartment in Liverpool for two years and later from an office in Onondaga Tower.
The studio moved in 2014 into the Technology Garden on Harrison Street, which offers low-cost rent and mentoring services to startups.
“At the Tech Garden, when you run into a problem, you can usually find someone who has had that problem before and can tell you how to deal with it,” Spatola said.
Spatola’s engineering background has come in handy. He said his degree in mechanical engineering taught him the proper mechanics of a video game character’s movements and the physics of the projectiles they fire with their weapons. And his master’s in systems engineering from Cornell University game him the management skills to oversee all aspects of a game’s production, from designing it to writing the code to marketing it, he said.
Like its predecessor, “G.O.A.T.” allows users to play the role of a soldier in an assault team that shoots it out with bad guys in varied environments. Players can compete offline against computer-generated characters or online against other players.
“G.O.A.T.” boasts a unique hybrid perspective that the company says utilizes the best elements of first person (looking through the eyes of the player character) and third person (with the camera position over the character’s shoulder so players can see more of their characters and the weapons they carry). The third person perspective is particularly important in free-to-play games because players who purchase vanity items want to be able to see them in action.
Spatola released his first game, “StickBo,” in the winter of 2010. It featured, literally, a stick figure running around with a gun shooting at other stick figures. Though pretty rudimentary, it was the No. 1 shooter game on the App Store for two days and was downloaded 186,850 times.
The game became a huge hit, with 23 million downloads. Spatola said it was among the top 200 games on the App Store for four straight years and peaked at a No. 2 overall rank for free apps on iPhones.
“Trigger Fist” was initially released as a premium game, requiring a $4.99 purchase. But Lake Effect quickly converted it to a free-to-play with microtransactions because that’s the way the mobile game market was heading.
Spatola declined to say exactly how much revenue “Trigger Fist” has generated for Lake Effect, but he said it was enough to carry the company -- barely -- for six years while it developed its successor.
“G.O.A.T." took so long to develop because it has more advanced graphics and gameplay and because the company at the same time developed its own back-end platform that will allow it to produce games much faster in the future, he said.
Though it’s only available for the iPhone at the moment, Spatola said the game is actually “device agnostic,” meaning it can be ported over to play on Android phones, PC’s and gaming consoles like Xbox and PlayStation without major adaptations.
“We want to make sure of its market viability first, but this game was built so it can compete in those markets,” he said.
He said Syracuse has proven to be a great home for the studio. He’s had no trouble recruiting graduates of Syracuse University, Cornell University, the Rochester Institute of Technology and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.


The money will be used for the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and the hospital’s music therapy program.
MizzouThon announced a $1.3 million pledge to the Women's and Children's Hospital on Tuesday, Dec. 4, 2018 in the MU student center.
Chancellor Alexander Cartwright announced MizzouThon’s new five-year pledge of $1.3 million to the Women’s and Children’s Hospital on Tuesday, Dec. 4.
MizzouThon is a Children’s Miracle Network Dance Marathon that started in 2008. Since then, the organization has raised over $1.6 million. According to Cartwright, it is the largest student-run philanthropy on campus. This past year was its 10-year anniversary and members raised over $300,000, allowing them to reach the last pledge amount of $1 million one year early.
The funds will be used to expand and renovate the neonatal intensive care unit and to support the music therapy program at the hospital.
Keri Simon, executive director of the Women’s and Children’s Hospital, spoke about the importance of music therapy for children in the hospital.
She said music therapy also benefits children by allowing them to connect with others, it helps them improve coping during difficult procedures, when dealing with illness or injury and manage pain. Simon also said that music therapy also helps babies in the NICU to improve their feeding through their use of rhythm.
Part of the funds will also go toward renovating and expanding the NICU. It will be expanded from a 36-bed unit to a 48-bed unit, including 20 private, critical care rooms, according to John Pardalos, chief of the hospital’s NICU.
Brittani Langland, MU senior and executive director of MizzouThon, has formed a bond with the Miracle Kids.
Langland plans to continue to support MizzouThon’s efforts after she graduates.