White Sox Drop Another One

Abstract: John Danks won 15 games a year ago and established himself as an ace for the future with the Chicago White Sox . Now his record reflects what has happened to the whole team during an unthinkable run of baseball futility. “It’s getting a little old,” Danks said Wednesday after his record fell to 0-5 when the Minnesota Twins nipped the White Sox, 3-2, in Chicago. It was Chicago’s 17th loss in 21 games. “It’s baffling to me why we’re not playing better than we are playing,” Danks added. “It’s tough. No doubt.” Danks pitched eight solid innings, allowing three runs and eight hits. But he got little run support and was also hurt when the 11-time Gold Glove winner Omar Vizquel, who was playing second base, failed to cover first on a bunt. Twins reliever Matt Capps got out of jams in the eighth and ninth innings as the White Sox again could not come up with a big hit. ORIOLES 3, ROYALS 2 Nick Markakis homered, Jake Arrieta pitched seven strong innings and Baltimore got a lucky landing to win in Kansas City, Mo. The score was 3-1 in the eighth when Alcides Escobar singled with one out against Orioles reliever Jim Johnson. Mike Aviles followed with a drive past center fielder Adam Jones that wedged under the fence, in plain sight. Aviles circled the bases with what fans thought was a tying, inside-the-park home run. But Tim Welke, the second-base umpire and crew chief, made Aviles return to second with a double and sent Escobar back to third. The Royals wound up scoring only once. BLUE JAYS 3, RAYS 2 Adam Lind hit a two-run homer and Brandon Morrow pitched into the seventh inning as visiting Toronto defeated Tampa Bay. Lind connected in the first inning and finished with four hits. He has five homers and 16 runs batted in over his last 12 games. Both managers were ejected in the bottom of the seventh, and Tampa Bay center fielder B. J. Upton was kicked out in the ninth. BRAVES SWEEP DOUBLEHEADER Tim Hudson pitched a one-hitter, Nate McLouth homered and the Atlanta Braves ruined the Milwaukee debut of Zack Greinke, rocking the 2009 American League Cy Young Award winner to defeat the Brewers, 8-0, to complete a doubleheader sweep. In the opening game, Tommy Hanson pitched three-hit ball over six innings, Martin Prado drove in three runs and Atlanta broke it open with a big sixth, defeating Milwaukee, 8-3. Chipper Jones and Brian McCann also drove in two runs apiece for the Braves. REDS 3, ASTROS 2 Jay Bruce pulled a double just inside first base, completing host Cincinnati’s three-run rally off Houston closer Brandon Lyon in the ninth inning. Lyon came on to try to finish off a one-hitter, but he failed to retire any of the five batters he faced while blowing a save for the fourth time in eight chances. Singles by Joey Votto and Brandon Phillips tied the score. Bruce then pulled his double down the line, setting off a celebration. CUBS 5, DODGERS 1 Carlos Zambrano outpitched his former teammate Ted Lilly with eight solid innings, and Chicago scored all of its runs on homers by Geovany Soto, Carlos Pena and Marlon Byrd in a victory in Los Angeles. Andre Ethier’s hitting streak stayed at 29 because the Dodgers scratched him with an inflamed left elbow. PHILLIES 7, NATIONALS 4 Vance Worley threw six sharp innings, Raul Ibanez homered and had three hits, and host Philadelphia beat Washington. Worley allowed one run and four hits, striking out seven in his fourth start in the majors. MARLINS 8, CARDINALS 7 Mike Stanton hit a tie-breaking two-run drive in the ninth inning for his third homer in four games, lifting Florida to a victory in St. Louis. PIRATES 7, PADRES 4 Ryan Doumit’s grand slam highlighted a six-run third inning and Kevin Correia beat his old team as Pittsburgh won in San Diego. Two errors in the third inning led to six unearned runs for the Pirates. After Correia struck out, Andrew McCutchen singled and was safe on Xavier Paul’s dribbler in front of the plate when catcher Nick Hundley threw wide of second for an error. The Pirates loaded the bases when third baseman Chase Headley couldn’t get the handle on Matt Diaz’s grounder for another error. Neil Walker hit a two-run single before Steve Pearce walked to load the bases again. Doumit unloaded them with a grand slam to left on a full-count for a 7-0 lead. RANGERS SIGN CUBAN DEFECTOR The Cuban defector Leonys Martin completed a five-year, $15.5 million contract with the Texas Rangers. Martin, a speedy center fielder, could be in the team’s lineup before the end of this season. SURGERY FOR ZUMAYA Tigers reliever Joel Zumaya will have surgery on his right elbow Tuesday and is expected to miss the rest of the season. Widely considered one of the hardest throwers in baseball, Zumaya hasn’t pitched since breaking a bone near his elbow on June 28, 2010. DISCIPLINE OPTIONS WILL BE ON TABLE Major League Baseball will seek the option to discipline players involved in off-the-field cases such as driving under the influence when labor contract talks begin after this season. “This will be a topic of negotiations this time around,” Pat Courtney, a Major League Baseball spokesman, said in a telephone interview. Six major league players have been cited on drunken driving charges this year. Baseball’s collective bargaining agreement, which expires in December, does not include a provision that allows Commissioner Bud Selig to punish players for off-field matters. (BLOOMBERG NEWS)

Chicago White Sox
Baseball
Minnesota Twins
Danks John


Fertilizer Limits Sought Near Lake Erie to Fight Spread of Algae

Abstract: A United States-Canadian agency called on Wednesday for swift and sweeping limits on the use of fertilizer around Lake Erie to reduce the amount of phosphorus entering the water and creating a vast blanket of algae each summer, threatening fisheries, tourism and even drinking water. In a report on the algae problem, the agency, the International Joint Commission, said that fertilizer swept by rains from farms and lawns was a major source of phosphorus in the lake. It recommended that crop insurance be tied to farmers’ adoption of practices that limit fertilizer runoff, and that Ontario, Ohio and Pennsylvania ban most sales of phosphorus-based lawn fertilizers. The commission, which studies and regulates water uses in streams and lakes along the border of the United States and Canada, urged Michigan and Ohio to invoke the Clean Water Act to limit phosphorus pollution from farmland as opposed to from factories and other places where pollution can be pinpointed and measured. The proposals are likely to encounter strong opposition from the agricultural industry and fertilizer manufacturers. Both groups have already asked a federal appeals court to prohibit the Environmental Protection Agency from regulating farm-related pollution from phosphorus and other chemicals along the Chesapeake Bay. Phosphorus — and especially phosphorus in fertilizer, which is designed to be easily absorbed by plants — is the source of the algal blooms, some of which are so toxic that they have killed dogs and sickened swimmers. Beyond clotting the lake’s surface, decomposing algae consumes the oxygen in the lake’s deep center each summer, creating a dead zone where deepwater fish that are essential to the lake’s food chain cannot exist. National and state governments rid the lake of algae in the 1980s, ordering big cuts in phosphorus pollution from factories and sewage plants. But the blooms returned in the late 1990s as farmers started applying fertilizer on frozen fields in the winter, and spreading or spraying it instead of injecting it into the ground. In 2011, heavy spring rains washed so much phosphorus into the lake that the succeeding summer, algal bloom, at 1,920 square miles, was three times bigger than any previous one. That and other large blooms have crippled tourism in a region where sport fishing and lake recreation are major industries, and they have forced towns and cities to filter and even shut off drinking water. The multibillion-dollar commercial fishing industry could be hit hard. The lake’s growing dead zone has prompted deepwater fish to move upward in search of oxygen, only to run into warmer waters that they find hard to tolerate. Deepwater fish such as perch — a favorite food of one big commercial fish, the walleye — could suffer if the dead zone continues to expand. “The long-term potential impact on fisheries is something we’re really worried about,” said Donald Scavia, a scientist at the University of Michigan’s Graham Environmental Sustainability Institute. Although the sources of phosphorus range from leaky septic tanks to storm sewers to ordinary rainfall, the biggest contributor is farming, the report indicates — and the biggest farm source is the fields along the Maumee River watershed in Ohio and Indiana. Both the United States and Canada have set targets for reducing Erie’s phosphorus load by 2018, but the commission’s report states that those targets are too low. To return the lake to the mostly algae-free state it enjoyed in the mid-1990s, it states, the Maumee’s phosphorus runoff must be cut by 39 percent. Both governments and private organizations conduct programs that encourage farmers to voluntarily limit fertilizer runoff, but regulatory limits are mostly nonexistent. The commission’s report urges a mix of voluntary and legal programs to achieve large reductions by 2022, with a focus on dissolved reactive phosphorus, the sort used in fertilizers. The report also states that farmers in lakeside states and provinces should prohibit spreading fertilizer on snowy or frozen ground, where it is most likely to be carried away by melting or rains, and should limit applications in the fall. For homeowners, the report recommends that Ontario, Ohio and Pennsylvania ban the sale of phosphorus-based lawn fertilizers except during the first growing season of new lawns, or when soil tests show that the phosphorus content is too low. It also says that Michigan and Ontario should require inspections of septic tanks to ensure they do not leak.

Fertilizer
Lake Erie
Algae
International Joint Commission
Agriculture
Commercial fishing
Water pollution


Obama’s New Approach Takes a Humorous Turn

Abstract: WASHINGTON — In “ Between Two Ferns ,” an off-color online parody of celebrity interview shows, the comedian Zach Galifianakis has spanked Justin Bieber with his belt, discussed Charlize Theron’s thighs and asked Natalie Portman for her phone number. On Tuesday, Mr. Galifianakis welcomed President Obama to the comedy show that he has turned into an Internet cult favorite by making his guests feel awkward and uncomfortable. The interview with the president, which was recorded two weeks ago, debuted online early Tuesday . The show’s creators at the website, Funny or Die , had kept its contents secret until then. The pop-culture appearance is the latest public relations gamble that Mr. Obama and his aides have taken in their pursuit of new ways to deliver their message to the connected-but-distracted generation. “Between Two Ferns,” which satirizes the low-budget look of public access television, much as “Wayne’s World” did, has had episodes that have been viewed as many as 30 million times, often because of their outrageous content. “We have to find ways to break through,” said Dan Pfeiffer, the president’s senior adviser and chief communications strategist. “This is essentially an extension of the code we have been trying to crack for seven years now.” Aides said Mr. Obama’s immediate reason for subjecting himself to Mr. Galifianakis is to urge young people to sign up for health insurance on the government’s website, healthcare.gov. As a March 31 deadline for enrolling for 2014 approaches, the White House is making one final push to try to increase the numbers. Although Mr. Obama has hardly abandoned traditional set pieces like interviews with network anchors, he has been more willing than his predecessors to ditch the oh-so-serious playbook that dominated White House communications strategy for decades. The president has appeared on several late-night comedy shows, including once “slow-jamming” the news with Jimmy Fallon. He has held Google Hangouts and Facebook town halls, and did an interview about housing on Zillow.com , a real estate listings website. He has sat on the sofa with the ladies of “The View” and done an interview with the basketball Hall of Famer Charles Barkley. His televised town halls have appeared on MTV, Black Entertainment Television, the Country Music Channel and Univision, the Spanish-language network. But Mr. Obama is not the first to try to break barriers. George W. Bush taped a “good luck” message for an Iraq war veteran who was competing on the NBC game show “Deal or No Deal” in 2008. Bill Clinton appeared on MTV in 1994 and was famously asked whether he preferred boxers or briefs. (“Mostly briefs,” Mr. Clinton responded.) In 1976, Gerald Ford recorded the opening for “Saturday Night Live,” which had mocked his clumsiness for weeks. But there appears to be no place that Mr. Obama is unwilling to go in his search for young people, which the image makers of his predecessors have noticed. “We have to worry about the dignity of the presidency,” said Mike McCurry, who served as Mr. Clinton’s press secretary in the 1990s. “There’s a limit to how much you can do.” Still, he said, “the shifts in the popular culture and the way people are entertained and get information almost mandate new strategies.” Nicolle Wallace, who was Mr. Bush’s communications director, said she suspects there are some lines that even Mr. Pfeiffer and his current team will not cross. “You can’t put a president on ‘Keeping Up With the Kardashians,’” she said, perhaps hopefully. But Ms. Wallace praised the current White House team for understanding the importance of letting Mr. Obama display something other than just his official demeanor. “It’s almost negligent to not allow a president to let that side show through,” she said. “There’s nothing we see in the political media that depicts anyone as a well-rounded human being. All of these endeavors are noble and worthwhile.” Even so, the challenge for Mr. Obama is to make sure he does not appear in places that demean the office or offend large numbers of people. Mr. Pfeiffer said that there have been debates inside the West Wing about how far to go. “We all joked that we were going to give David Gergen a heart attack,” Mr. Pfeiffer said, referring to one of Washington’s veteran image makers, who worked for four presidents in the White House: Richard M. Nixon, Mr. Ford, Ronald Reagan and Mr. Clinton. Mr. Gergen may be proved right when it comes to “Between Two Ferns.” Mr. Galifianakis, who rose to fame as one of the stars of the movie “The Hangover,” frequently leaves his guests groping for answers to his questions. In the interview with Ms. Theron , she confided to Mr. Galifianakis that “my thighs are so sweaty right now. It’s like it’s dripping all the way down to the back of my knees.” She added that “the only thing that could cool me off right now is to like jump naked into a pool.” To that, Mr. Galifianakis deadpanned: “Are you asking me to go with you? The naked pool?” (Ms. Theron responded by bursting out laughing at the idea of being naked in a pool with someone who resembled, as she put it, “a fat garden gnome.” Mr. Galifianakis looked only moderately hurt.) In a separate interview with Mr. Bieber , Mr. Galifianakis mocked the baby-faced singer: “I just have never interviewed a 7-year-old,” he said. “What was the last toy you got in a Happy Meal?” Mike Farah , the executive producer of “Between Two Ferns,” said the website’s creators approached the White House with the idea last summer after Mr. Obama reached out to Hollywood for help with the health care rollout. Mr. Farah said Mr. Obama was a good sport. “I have to give the president credit that they were willing to trust us,” he said. “They were definitely easier than working with most Hollywood publicists.” Mr. Galifianakis is unlikely to have treated Mr. Obama seriously, although Mr. Pfeiffer said even comedians tend to “behave” when they are interviewing the leader of the free world. Either way, clips of the interview are certain to be shared broadly on social media. Ms. Wallace said she thought the decision to go on the show would turn out to be politically smart. “No risk, no reward,” she said.

Between Two Ferns
Zach Galifianakis
Health Insurance
HealthCare.gov
Barack Obama
FunnyOrDie.com
Obamacare,Affordable Care Act
Web television
Youth


Geoff Miller, Co-Founder of Los Angeles Magazine, Dies at 74

Abstract: Geoff Miller, a founder of Los Angeles magazine , known for its Hollywood star-studded covers and as a guide to the good life in the city, died on Saturday at his home in Beverly Hills. He was 74. The cause was a degenerative nerve disease, his wife, Kathryn Leigh Scott, said. Los Angeles magazine — one of the nation’s first city magazines — was started in 1960, eight years before its East Coast counterpart New York magazine was first published. It has outlasted more than half a dozen magazines based in Los Angeles, including New West, started in 1976 by Clay Felker, the founder of New York magazine. “Los Angeles was to be a magazine celebrating the unruly young city in all its contrary glory,” Mr. Miller wrote in a 30th anniversary issue in 1990. “It would accept the community on its own terms — as the collection of villages it truly was, still looking for an identity.” Mr. Miller was a student at the University of California, Los Angeles, in 1959, designing a prototype urban magazine for his master’s in journalism, when he met David Brown, an advertising executive who shared his vision. On a start-up budget of $50,000, Mr. Miller and Mr. Brown hand-cut and pasted the first issue in the summer of 1960 after cobbling together freelance articles, some written by reporters moonlighting under pseudonyms from the local Time-Life bureau. Eventually, name writers like Ray Bradbury, Joseph Wambaugh and Budd Schulberg became contributors. Celebrities posed for the monthly covers, often in spoofs: Alfred Hitchcock carving a Thanksgiving turkey for the November 1974 issue; Christopher Reeve ripping open his shirt and revealing a large Valentine’s Day heart on his T-shirt for the February 1980 issue. Mr. Miller was editor in chief of Los Angeles from 1974, when Mr. Brown left the magazine, until 1990, when he became publisher. Under his leadership, the magazine expanded service journalism, on topics including where to dine and shop or where to find the best car wash. There was an annual “52 Great Weekends” issue. Some critics said the magazine was too focused on affluence and celebrity. But Mary Melton, its current editor in chief, defended Mr. Miller’s work. “When you go through our past issues, what is often overlooked is how what was inside really captured the era,” she said, “which people sometimes forget because of the covers: critiques of our civic institutions, the need for historic preservation, white flight, the embattled school district in the ’60s.” A 1978 article examined the poor quality of Los Angeles water. Los Angeles magazine had a circulation of about 17,000 when Mr. Miller became its top editor. By the time he retired in 1994, circulation had surpassed 160,000. It is now about 140,000, Ms. Melton said. George Geoffrey Miller was born in Salt Lake City on Aug. 1, 1936, to Edward and Rosemary Miller. The family later moved to Los Angeles. Mr. Miller earned his bachelor’s degree in 1958 and his master’s a year later, both from U.C.L.A. His first wife, Barbara Selcer, died in 1985. Besides Ms. Scott, he is survived by two stepchildren, Steven and Lori Selcer, and two step-grandchildren.

Magazines
Miller Geoff
Los Angeles (Magazine)
Deaths (Obituaries)


Things to Do on Long Island, Jan. 2 Through 10

Abstract: A guide to cultural and recreational events on Long Island. Items for the calendar should be sent at least three weeks in advance to lical@nytimes.com. Comedy HUNTINGTON Bob Nelson. Jan. 15 at 8 p.m. $20 to $45. The Paramount, 370 New York Avenue. 631-673-7300; paramountny.com. LEVITTOWN Mike Burton. Jan. 2 at 7 and 9:30 p.m. $17 to $47. Steve White. Jan. 8 at 8 p.m. and Jan 9 at 7 and 9:30 p.m. $15 to $47. Nick Griffin. Jan. 15 and 16. $15 to $47. Governor’s Comedy Club, 90 Division Avenue. govs.com; 516-731-3358. PLAINVIEW Young Israel of Plainview Comedy Night. Jan. 9 at 8:30 p.m. $25 to $50. At Young Israel of Plainview, 132 Southern Parkway. 516-433-4811; yiplainview.com. PORT WASHINGTON Upright Citizens Brigade, improv. Jan. 8 at 8 p.m. $22 to $27. “On Your Radar with WFUV’s John Platt,” featuring Caravan of Thieves, Roosevelt Dime & Matt Nakoa. Jan. 16 at 8 p.m. $20 to $25. Landmark on Main Street, 232 Main Street. 516-767-6444; landmarkonmainstreet.org. WESTBURY Adam Carolla. Jan. 15 at 8 p.m. $39.50 to $49.50. NYCB Theater at Westbury, 960 Brush Hollow Road. 800-745-3000; livenation.com. Film BALDWIN “Ant-Man” (2015). Jan. 8 at 2 p.m. Baldwin Public Library, 2385 Grand Avenue. 516-223-6228; nassaulibrary.org/baldwin. EAST HAMPTON “The Met: Live in HD,” screening of Bizet's Les Pêcheurs de Perles. Jan. 16 at 1 p.m. $22 nonmembers; members, $20; students, $15. 631-324-4050; guildhall.org. HUNTINGTON Kenneth Branagh Theatre Company: “The Winter’s Tale” (2015). Jan. 5 at 7 p.m. $25. “Tokyo Drifter” (1966), Japanese action film by Seijun Suzuki. Jan. 6 at 7:30 p.m. $12; seniors and students, $9; children 12 and under, $5. “The Big Lebowski” (1998). Jan. 9 at 10 p.m. $5; members, $4. “Why worry?” directed by Fred C. Newmeyer, Sam Taylor (1923). Jan. 12 at 7:30 p.m. $15; members, $10. “Carmen from Kawachi” Japanese with English subtitles, directed by Seijun Suzuki (1966). Jan. 13 at 7:30 p.m. $12; seniors and students, $9; children 12 and under, $5. Cinema Arts Center, 423 Park Avenue. 631-423-7611; cinemaartscentre.org. PATCHOGUE “Animation Show of Shows,” screening of 11 animated short films. Dec. 29, 30 and Jan. 2. $9; students, $7; members, $6; children 12 and under, $5. The Plaza Cinema and Media Arts Center, 20 Terry Street. 631-438-0083; plazamac.org. PORT WASHINGTON “Swing Time” (1936). Jan. 13 at 2 p.m. Free. Landmark on Main Street, 232 Main Street. 516-767-6444; landmarkonmainstreet.org. RIVERHEAD “Bill Murray Movie Marathon,” featuring screenings of “Stripes” and “Caddyshack.” Jan. 3 at 6 p.m. Free with $20 food or beverage purchase. The Suffolk Theater, 118 East Main Street. 631-727-4343; suffolktheater.com. ROSLYN HARBOR “Parrish Blue: American Art History” (1967), documentary on the works of the painter Maxfield Parrish. Through Feb. 28. Free with museum admission, $4 to $10; children under 4 and members, free. Nassau County Museum of Art, 1 Museum Drive. 516-484-9337; nassaumuseum.org. SAG HARBOR “Inside Out,” the Disney/Pixar animated film. Jan. 17 at 2 p.m. Bay Street Theater, Main and Bay Streets. 631-725-9500; baystreet.org. WATER MILL “This Changes Everything,” documentary directed by Avi Lewis. Jan. 15 at 6 p.m. $10; free for members, children, and students. Includes Museum admission. Parrish Art Museum, 279 Montauk Highway. parrishart.org; 631-283-2118. For Children COLD SPRING HARBOR “Rubber Duckie Party,” event celebrating the rubber duck. Jan. 16, 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. $8 Child (includes admission; adults regular admission). Members $3 Child. Cold Spring Harbor Whaling Museum, 301 Main Street. cshwhalingmuseum.org; 631-367-3418. EAST ISLIP “Mrs. Claus Saves the Day!” play. Dec. 27 at noon and Jan. 2 at 2 p.m.; $11. BayWay Arts Center, 265 East Main Street. 631-581-2700; broadhollow.org. ELMONT “Frosty the Snowman,” children’s theater. Through Jan. 16. $11. BroadHollow Theater, 700 Hempstead Turnpike. 516-775-4420; broadhollow.org. GARDEN CITY “Once Upon a Time … Exploring the World of Fairy Tales,” bilingual exhibition. Through Jan. 3. Free with museum admission. Pirate Show with Captain Billy Bones. Jan. 10 at 2 and 11:30 p.m. $9 with museum admission, $12 theater only. Long Island Children's Museum, 11 Davis Avenue. 516-224-5800; licm.org. LINDENHURST “A Joyful Toyful Holiday,” children’s show. Through Jan. 2. $10. Studio Theater, 141 South Wellwood Avenue. 631-226-8400; studiotheatreli.com. MERRICK “Cinderella,” a musical. Through Feb. 20. Merrick Theater and Center for the Arts, 2222 Hewlett Avenue. 516-868-6400; merricktheatreandcenterforthearts.com. SAG HARBOR “Badger Meets the Farieies,” puppet show. Jan. 2 at 11 a.m. $15 to $25. Gustafer Yellowgold, a one-man show. Jan. 16 at 11 a.m. $15 to $25. Bay Street Theater, Main and Bay Streets. baystreet.org; 631-725-9500. Music and Dance BAY SHORE Devon Allman Band. Jan. 7 at 8 p.m. $35 to $40. “Puddles Pity Party,” musical clown band. Jan. 8 at 8 p.m. O-Town, pop boy band. Jan. 9 at 8 p.m. $30 to $35. Sister Hazel, alternative rock. Jan. 16 at 8 p.m. $40 to $45. Y.M.C.A. Boulton Center for the Performing Arts, 37 West Main Street. boultoncenter.org; 631-969-1101. BOHEMIA Jim Papa, classical ballads. Jan. 10 at 2 p.m. Free. Connetquot Public Library, 760 Ocean Avenue. connetquotlibrary.org; 631-567-5079. BROOKVILLE British Regiments, featuring Band of the Royal Marines and the Pipes, Drums & Highland Dancers of the Scots Guards. Jan. 8 at 8 p.m. $25 to $80. Tilles Center for the Performing Arts, 720 Northern Boulevard. tillescenter.org; 516-299-3100. CENTERPORT Folk Music Society of Huntington presents Bob Westcott’s New Year Gala, with three local artists. Jan. 2 at 7:30 p.m. $15 to $20. Congregational Church of Huntington, 30 Washington Drive. 631-423-4004; fmsh.org. GREENLAWN “Around the World in 60 minutes on Violin and Piano,” a concert by Karkowska Sisters Duo. Jan. 10 at 2:30 p.m. Free. Harborfields Public Library, 31 Broadway. harborfieldslibrary.org; 631-757-4200. HUNTINGTON “Celebrating the Music of Billy Joel,” a tribute show by Mike Delguidice & Big Shot. Jan. 2 at 8 p.m. $20 to $40. “A Jim Morrison Celebration Featuring: Wild Child.” Jan. 7 at 8 p.m. $15 to $25. “Friday Night Fever: A Night of ’70s Disco & Soul.” Jan. 8 at 8 p.m. $10 to $40. Jon Pardi and Brothers Osborne. Jan. 16 at 8 p.m. $20 to $45. Holy Holy, performing David Bowie's “The Man Who Sold The World.” Jan. 17 at 8 p.m. $19.50 to $34.50. The Paramount, 370 New York Avenue. 631-673-7300; paramountny.com. MANHASSET The Levins, harmony duo. Jan. 8 at 8:30 p.m. Free concert; dinner available before the show for $4. Unitarian Universalist Congregation at Shelter Rock, 48 Shelter Rock Road. 516-627-6560; uucsr.org. PATCHOGUE “Live in the Lobby Season 11,” rock bands Mediacrime and Chupacabra Cabaret perform. Jan. 9 at 7:30 p.m. Patchogue Theater for the Performing Arts, 71 East Main Street. patchoguetheatre.org; 631-207-1313. RIVERHEAD “Beatles & Beyond,” a tribute show by The Mahoney Brothers. Jan. 8 at 8 p.m. $40 to $49. “Broadway Salutes Motown,” stars from Broadway perform classic Motown songs. Jan. 15 at 8 p.m. $39 to $45. The Suffolk Theater, 118 East Main Street. 631-727-4343, Extension 101; suffolktheater.com. ROCKVILLE CENTRE Westminster Choir, gospel. Jan. 10 at 7:30 p.m. $15; seniors and students, $10. Madison Theater at Molloy College, 1000 Hempstead Avenue. 516-323-4444; madisontheatreny.org. SAG HARBOR Nancy Atlas, singer-songwriter, with Randi Fishenfeld. Jan. 2 at 8 p.m. Nancy Atlas, singer-songwriter, with drummer Simon Kirke. Jan. 9 at 8 p.m. $25. “East End Ladies of Rock,” a performance with local artists. Jan. 15 at 8 p.m. $20. Bay Street Theater, Main and Bay Streets. 631-725-9500; baystreet.org. SOUTHAMPTON Anne Tedesco, pianist. Jan. 10 at 3 p.m. Free. Rogers Memorial Library, 91 Coopers Farm Road. 631-283-0774, ext. 523; myrml.org. STONY BROOK Sloan Wainwright, folk and rock. Jan. 17 at 3 p.m. $27 at the door or $22 in advance. Long Island Museum of American Art, History and Carriages, 1200 Route 25A. longislandmuseum.org; 631-751-0066. WESTBURY “The Musical Box,” French-Canadian tribute outfit. Jan. 13 at 8 p.m. $65 to $85. NYCB Theater at Westbury, 960 Brush Hollow Road. 800-745-3000; livenation.com. WESTHAMPTON BEACH Holly Miranda, soul singer-songwriter. Jan. 15 at 8 p.m. $15. Larry Campbell & Teresa Williams, Americana. Jan. 16 at 8 p.m. $35 to $55. Westhampton Beach Performing Arts Center, 76 Main Street. 631-288-1500; whbpac.org. Spoken Word COLD SPRING HARBOR “Visions of Utopia: Garden City and the Dawn of American Suburbia,” examining the origins of the planned residential community. Jan. 10 at 3 p.m. $25 nonmembers; members, $20. Grace Auditorium at the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, 1 Bungtown Road. 631-692-4664; cshl.edu. HUNTINGTON Film historian Glenn Andreiev discusses the film “Our Gang” (a.k.a. “The Little Rascals”). Jan. 11 at 7:30 p.m. $15; members, $10. Cinema Arts Center, 423 Park Avenue. cinemaartscentre.org; 631-423-7611. HUNTINGTON “Champion Women: Storytelling Open Mic,” with Lesley Goshko and Michele Carlo. Jan. 8 at 7 p.m. $5; members, free. Heckscher Museum of Art, 2 Prime Avenue. 631-351-3250; heckscher.org. HUNTINGTON Photography lecture by the Huntington Camera Club. Jan. 5 at 7:30 p.m. Huntington Public Library, 338 Main Street. hpl.suffolk.lib.ny.us; 631-427-5165. Image ROSLYN HARBOR “The Desert Without Water” (1902), mixed media on paper laid on canvas, is on view at the Nassau County Museum of Art, 1 Museum Drive, through Feb. 28 in “Maxfield Parrish: Paintings and Prints from the National Museum of American Illustration.” Tickets are $4 to $10, free for museum members. For further information: 516-484-9337; nassaumuseum.org. Credit Archives of American Illustrators Gallery LAWRENCE “The Gelman Galleries @ The Met,” lecture by Ines Powell, Art Historian and Educator at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Jan. 7 at 1 p.m. Peninsula Public Library, 280 Central Avenue. 516-239-3262; nassaulibrary.org/peninsula. PATCHOGUE “Library in the Lobby,” with Long Island University political philosophy professor Michael Soupios, author of the book “The Ten Golden Rules of Leadership: Classical Wisdom for Modern Leaders.” Jan. 10 at 3 p.m. Free. Patchogue Theater for the Performing Arts, 71 East Main Street. 631-207-1313; patchoguetheatre.org. ROSLYN HARBOR “Brown Bag Lecture” with Museum Docent Riva Ettus presents a talk on painter/illustrator Maxfield Parrish whose works are on view at the museum. Jan. 7 at 1 p.m. Reservations not needed, free with museum admission, $4-$10, children 4 and under and members free. Nassau County Museum of Art, 1 Museum Drive. 516-484-9337; nassaumuseum.org. SAG HARBOR Poet Megan Chaskey launches her new book, “Birdsong Under the Wisdom Tree.” Jan. 16 at 5 p.m. Canio's Books, 290 Main Street. 631-725-4926; caniosbooks.com. Theater COMMACK “Nuts,” drama. Jan. 9 and 10. $17 to $24. Star Playhouse, 74 Hauppauge Road. 631-462-9800; starplayhouse.com. EAST ISLIP “Dreamgirls,” musical. Jan. 2 through 17. $22; seniors, $20. BayWay Arts Center, 265 East Main Street. broadhollow.org; 631-581-2700. ELMONT “Assisted Living,” musical. Jan. 9 through 24. Fridays and Saturdays, 8 p.m. Sundays, 2:30 p.m. $23 to $25. BroadHollow Theater, 700 Hempstead Turnpike. 516-775-4420; broadhollow.org. HUNTINGTON “The Supernaturalists Starring Criss Angel,” illusion and magic show. Jan. 14 at 8 p.m. $69.50 to $169.50. The Paramount, 370 New York Avenue. 631-673-7300; paramountny.com. MERRICK “Daughters,” dramatic comedy. Jan. 9 through Feb. 7. Merrick Theater and Center for the Arts, 2222 Hewlett Avenue. 516-868-6400; merricktheatreandcenterforthearts.com. NORTHPORT “Miracle on 34th Street: The Musical,” music by Meredith Willson. Through Jan. 3. $69 to $74. “Frosty.” Through Jan. 3. $15. John W. Engeman Theater at Northport, 250 Main Street. 631-261-2900; engemantheater.com. OAKDALE “In the Heights,” a musical about New York's Washington Heights neighborhood. Jan. 16 through Feb. 7. $26 to $29; seniors, $24 to $27; students, $20 to 22. CM Performing Arts Center, 931 Montauk Highway. 631-218-2810; cmpac.com. PATCHOGUE “A Rat Pack New Year,” musical. Dec. 31 through Jan. 3. $54 to $120. “Cinderella,” musical. Through Dec. 27. $27 to $89. Patchogue Theater for the Performing Arts, 71 East Main Street. 631-207-1313; patchoguetheatre.org. PORT JEFFERSON “Me and Jezebel,” a play by Elizabeth L. Fuller. Jan. 9 through Feb. 6. Friday evenings, $25; Saturday evenings, $30; Wednesday matinees, $17; all other performances, $23; children 5 to 12, $15; children under 5 not permitted. Theater Three, 412 Main Street. 631-928-9100; theaterthree.com. QUOGUE “Dead Accountants,” comedy. Jan. 14 through 31. $30; seniors, $25; students under 21, $10. Hampton Theater Company, Quogue Community Hall, 125 Jessup Avenue. 631-653-8955; hamptontheatre.org. RIVERHEAD "Nippy Winter Burlesque," a winter burlesque show. Jan. 9 at 8 p.m. $35. The Suffolk Theater, 118 East Main Street. 631-727-4343, ext. 101; suffolktheater.com. SMITHTOWN “The Little Mermaid,” music by Alan Menken. Through Jan. 24. $35; children under 12, $20. Smithtown Center for the Performing Arts, 2 East Main Street. 631-724-3700; smithtownpac.org. Museums and Galleries BRIDGEHAMPTON “America on Fire: A Politically Incorrect Show,” a group show focusing on public affairs. Opening reception: Jan. 9 from 5 to 7 p.m. Jan. 8 through 31. Sundays through Thursdays, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Fridays and Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. The White Room Gallery, 2415 Main Street. 631-237-1481. COLD SPRING HARBOR Marie Sheehy-Walker, pastel, oil and watercolor paintings. Jan. 4 through 29. Mondays through Thursdays 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Fridays and Saturdays 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Sundays 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Cold Spring Harbor Library, 95 Harbor Road. cshlibrary.org; 631-692-6820. CUTCHOGUE “Small Works,” regional photographers. Through Feb. 15. Free. Alex Ferrone Photography Gallery, 25425 Main Road. 631-734-8545; alexferronegallery.com. DIX HILLS “Annual Members’ Exhibition Part II," group show. Through Jan. 10. Reception: Jan. 10 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Fridays 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Weekends, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Free. Jeanie Tengelsen Gallery, 107 East Deer Park Road. 631-462-5400; artleagueli.net. EAST HAMPTON “Dancing With Truffaut,” works by Stephanie Brody-Lederman. Through Jan. 3. “A Sense of Place: Selections From the Permanent Collection.” Through Jan. 3. Cornelia Foss, oil-on-canvas works. Through Jan. 3. Walter Weissman, photography. Through Feb. 21. Suggested donation: $7. Fridays and Saturdays, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Sundays, noon to 5 p.m. Guild Hall, 158 Main Street. 631-324-4050; guildhall.org. EAST HAMPTON The Winter Salon, contemporary works, 18th- and 19th-century drawings and watercolors. Through Jan. 31. Free. Mondays, Fridays, Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Sundays, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. The Drawing Room, 66 Newtown Lane. 631-324-5016; drawingroom-gallery.com. GLEN COVE “Wrap It Up!” holiday benefit exhibition. Through Jan. 31. Free. Mondays to Fridays, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Saturdays and Sundays, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Hersh Fine Art at the Long Island Academy of Fine Art. 516-590-4324; liafa.com. GLEN COVE “George Gach and the Art of the North Shore: History, Inspirations and Perspectives.” Through Feb. 20. $5; members, free. Wednesdays, 2 to 6 p.m.; Saturdays, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. North Shore Historical Museum, 140 Glen Street. 516-801-1191; northshorehistoricalmuseum.org. HEMPSTEAD “Enduring Images,” group show. Through Jan. 31. Free. Daily, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. David Filderman Gallery, Hofstra University Museum, Hofstra University. 516-463-5672; hofstra.edu/museum. HEWLETT “Fine Feathered Friends,” a photography exhibition focusing on birds found on Long Island. Through Jan. 5. Hewlett-Woodmere Public Library, 1125 Broadway. 516-374-1967; nassaulibrary.org/hewlett. HUNTINGTON 11th Annual National Competition, works by Gloria DeFilipps Brush and others. Through Jan. 2. Free. Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Fridays 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Sundays, noon to 5 p.m.; or by appointment. Fotofoto Gallery, 14 West Carver Street. fotofotogallery.org; 631-549-0448. HUNTINGTON “Men at Work.” Through March 27. “You Go Girl!” celebrating female artists. Through April 3. “Street Life: Private Moments/Public Record,” works that feature New York City. Through March 27. $4 to $8; children under 10, free. Wednesdays through Fridays, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Saturdays and Sundays, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Heckscher Museum of Art, 2 Prime Avenue. heckscher.org; 631-351-3250. HUNTINGTON STATION “Subconscious Narrative,” paintings by Janice Sztabnik. Jan. 9 through Feb. 3. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Wednesday 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Saturday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Sunday 1 to 5 p.m. South Huntington Public Library, 145 Pidgeon Hill Road. 631-549-4411; shpl.info. NORTHPORT “Music Box,” artwork inspired by music lyrics, band names, song titles and more. Opening reception: Saturday, Jan. 9, from 6 to 8 p.m. Jan. 9 through Feb. 14. Haven Gallery, 155 Main Street, Suite 4, Carriage House Square. havenartgallery.com; 631-757-0500. QUOGUE "Seasons of the East End," works by Mary Daunt. Jan. 4 through 31. Sunday and Mondays, noon to 5 p.m.; Tuesdays and Thursdays, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Quogue Library Art Gallery, 90 Quogue Street. 631-653-4224; quoguelibrary.org. RIVERHEAD “Winter Watercolor Scenes,” paintings by Jeanne Rogers. Opening Reception: Jan. 9 at 1 p.m. Jan. 9 through Feb. 28. Free. Suffolk County Historical Society, 300 West Main Street. suffolkcountyhistoricalsociety.org; 631-727-2881. ROSLYN HARBOR “Christopher Hart Chambers,” painted sculptures. Through February 28. $4 to $10, children 4 and under and members free. Tuesdays through Sundays, 11 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. Nassau County Museum of Art, 1 Museum Drive. nassaumuseum.org; 516-484-9337. SAG HARBOR Daniel Jones, photography. Dec. 26 through Jan. 30. Tulla Booth Gallery, 66 Main Street. tullaboothgallery.com; 631-725-3100. SAYVILLE “Heart of the Warrior,” photography honoring women who are fighting breast cancer, by Camile Grace. Jan. 9 through 31. Donation suggested. Saturdays and Sundays: 1 to 4 p.m., Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays: 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Bay Area Friends of the Fine Arts Gallery, 47 Gillette Avenue. 631-589-7343; baffa.org. SOUTHAMPTON “Winter Light: East End Artists.” Through Feb. 2. Mondays through Saturdays, 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. or by appointment. Southampton Cultural Center, 25 Pond Lane. 631-287-4377; southamptonculturalcenter.org. SOUTHOLD “Brecknock Hall and Whaling,” an exhibit of whaling artifacts. Thursdays through Saturdays from 1 to 4 p.m. Jan. 9 through Feb. 5. Free. Southold Historical Society, 54325 Main Road. 631-765-5500; southoldhistoricalsociety.org. ST. JAMES "Winners Showcase," group show. Jan. 16 through Feb. 13. Reception: Jan 16. at 2 p.m. Mondays through Fridays, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Saturdays and Sundays, noon to 4 p.m. Mills Pond House Gallery, 660 Route 25A. stacarts.org; 631-862-6575. ST. JAMES Member Artist Showcase, group show. Through Jan. 8. Mondays through Fridays, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Saturdays and Sundays, noon to 4 p.m. Smithtown Township Arts Council, 660 Route 25A. stacarts.org; 631-862-6575. STONY BROOK “Beth Levine: The First Lady of Shoes,” footwear, photographs and paintings. Through Jan. 3. “Young Island: William Sidney Mount’s Scenes of Childhood.” Through Jan. 3. “Through Our Eyes,” highlighting National Alzheimer’s Disease Awareness Month, Gillespie Meeting Room, Carriage Museum. Through Jan. 3. “One Square Foot,” members’ works. $3.50 to $9; members and children under 6, free. Thursdays through Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Sundays, noon to 5 p.m. Long Island Museum of American Art, History and Carriages, 1200 Route 25A. longislandmuseum.org; 631-751-0066. SYOSSET Photographs by Gino Domenico. Through Dec. 27. Free. Mondays through Thursdays, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Fridays, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Saturdays, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Sundays, noon to 5 p.m. Syosset Public Library, 225 South Oyster Bay Road. syossetlibrary.org; 516-921-7161. WATER MILL “Jane Freilicher and Jane Wilson: Seen and Unseen,” paintings and works on paper. “East End Field Drawings,” works by Alexis Rockman. Through Jan. 18. “Connections and Context,” group show. “Process of Discovery,” works by James Brooks. Works by Jean-Luc Mylayne, French photographer. Through Oct. 30. $5 to 10; children under 18 free. Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Fridays, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Parrish Art Museum, 279 Montauk Highway. 631-283-2118; parrishart.org.


Colombia: Coal Mine Explosion Kills as Many as 20

Abstract: An explosion at a coal mine in northeastern Colombia killed as many as 20 miners and left six injured, according to a statement from the Colombian Institute of Geology and Mining. The disaster was caused by the release of methane gas that led to a blast and a cave-in. Dozens of people were killed in similar accidents last year in Colombia, South America’s largest coal producer. More than 30 miners died at the same mine, called La Preciosa, in 2007.

Colombia
Mines and Mining
Accidents and Safety


Fox News Website Offers Unedited ISIS Execution Video

Abstract: On Tuesday, media organizations around the world wrestled with whether to show either the still images or the video of Islamic State militants burning a Jordanian pilot alive in a cage. Within hours, Fox News posted the entire video on its website. The clip was offered with no preamble, though a short text accompanying the video warned viewers that it was extremely graphic. Most other news organizations used photos or video clips showing the moments leading up to the execution. “Fox is putting itself in the position of airing an unedited ISIS propaganda video,” said Bruce Shapiro, executive director of the Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma at Columbia University. “Not just the fact that they posted it,” Mr. Shapiro said, “but the way in which they posted it. Without explanation, without context, without editorial purpose, as just another extreme video.” In a statement, John Moody, the executive editor of Fox News, said that after careful consideration the network felt that giving its audience “the option to see for themselves the barbarity of ISIS outweighed legitimate concerns about the graphic nature of the video. Online users can choose to view or not view this disturbing content.”

Bruce Shapiro
Video Recordings
Downloads and Streaming
News media,journalism
Fox News Channel
ISIS,ISIL,Islamic State
Computers and the Internet
Tech Industry


Russia Is Persuaded to Alter Statement to Call for Inclusion

Abstract: Every two years, the United Nations adopts a resolution called the Olympic Truce, a perfunctory statement that invokes the ancient Greeks and celebrates friendly competition and “the cause of peace.” It usually passes with little deliberation. But not this year. While world leaders grappled with the crisis unfolding in Syria, a lesser debate was unfolding at the United Nations over the truce, which was drafted by Russia and became the latest example of the complicated politics swirling around next year’s Sochi Winter Games. The controversy was over a rough draft of the truce that mentioned a promise to include “people of different age, sex, physical capacity, religion, race and social status,” according to documents reviewed by The New York Times. It made no mention of gay or transgender people, a particularly sensitive omission given the uproar in the West over a Russian law that has been criticized as antigay. United Nations representatives from around the world spent weeks pushing Russia to amend the language to include gay people, according to interviews with representatives from eight countries. This week, after extensive negotiations behind the scenes, Russia altered the truce’s language to say that it would “promote social inclusion without discrimination of any kind.” That was enough for all sides to agree that the Olympic Truce was back on track. “I think it’s a very good outcome, and I think the Russians want to have a consensus to adopt this,” said Iakovos Iakovidis, a Greek representative to the United Nations, who was one of several officials in support of revising the statement. “I think people will be happy with this." Image Ban Ki-moon, the U.N. secretary general, left, with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia in May. Credit Pool photo by Maxim Shipenkov The resolution is a good-will gesture that carries little weight in the real world. It calls for a worldwide truce during the Olympics to ensure the safe passage of athletes and guests, and for the global community to replace the “cycle of conflict” with “friendly athletic competition.” It invokes the oracle of Delphi. Even Ban Ki-moon, the United Nations secretary general, said recently that the truce “may sound like something from the distant past that has no place in our times.” But he maintained that it was still relevant. Past truces, including the one that Britain sponsored for the 2012 London Olympics, did not mention gay or transgender people. But this year, with global attention focused on the matter, countries are aiming to set a precedent of inclusion. “Along with like-minded partners, the United Kingdom is keen to see principles of nondiscrimination included in the Olympic Truce resolution,” said Iona Thomas, a spokeswoman for the United Kingdom Mission to the United Nations. Russia’s law, signed by President Vladimir V. Putin in June, bans “propaganda on nontraditional sexual relationships.” It led to calls for protests and even some boycotts of the Sochi Games. The International Olympic Committee said it had received “strong written reassurances” from the Russian government that all would be welcome at the Sochi Games, regardless of their sexual orientation. The United Nations is likely to vote on the truce in the coming weeks.

Russia
2014 Winter Olympics
UN
Homosexuality


Justice Department Deputy Will Leave

Abstract: The deputy attorney general, James M. Cole, who has served as the No. 2 person in the Justice Department for four years, said Thursday that he plans to resign. The announcement, coming on the heels of the planned resignation of Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr., means that the Justice Department will have a significantly new leadership team for the final two years of the Obama administration. Mr. Cole said he would stay on the job until a successor was named. While the White House does not plan to nominate a new attorney general until after next month’s election, Mr. Cole’s acting successor could be named sooner. This week, Mr. Holder announced that Vanita Gupta, a senior lawyer at the American Civil Liberties Union, would take over as the head of the Civil Rights Division. Ms. Gupta will serve on an interim basis, but officials said they expected the president to nominate her to the position permanently at some point.

Justice Department
Vanita Gupta
James M Cole
Eric Holder
Appointments and Executive Changes


Illinois: Some Crimes Dropped While Killings Rose in Chicago

Abstract: As it scrambles to regain public trust shattered by the video of a black 17-year-old being shot 16 times by a white officer, the Chicago Police Department released crime statistics Friday that revealed a drop in some major crimes but a significant increase in homicides and shootings. The department pointed to reductions in overall crime for the fourth straight year and the lowest number of violent crimes since the 1960s, something it has for months told a city that has seen mounting homicide numbers — 468 in 2015 after falling to 416 in 2014. The release, which came weeks after the city made public the video of Officer Jason Van Dyke fatally shooting Laquan McDonald, also acknowledges that trust in the department “has been shaken.” Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy resigned in late 2015, and Officer Van Dyke was charged with murder. The police stressed changes that have been announced by the department in the wake of the release of video of the killing of Mr. McDonald.

Police Brutality,Police Misconduct,Police Shootings


Morgan Spurlock Film Financed Entirely Through Marketing Deals

Abstract: PARK CITY, Utah MORGAN SPURLOCK, the documentarian who eviscerated McDonald’s in his 2004 film “Super Size Me,” is back at the Sundance Film Festival . And big business is again in his camera’s viewfinder. This time, he toys with brand names ranging from JetBlue Airways to Ban deodorant to Pom Wonderful, the pomegranate juice. Called “The Greatest Movie Ever Sold,” the documentary is Mr. Spurlock’s humorous attempt to dissect the world of product placement, advertising and marketing by making a film financed entirely by product placement, advertising and marketing. Unlike McDonald’s, which ignored his queries as he set out to show the health impact of a diet of nothing but its food, the companies in “The Greatest Movie Ever Sold” participated in full. How did he pull that off, given his track record? “It took finding businesspeople who were willing to stick their necks out in a big way,” he said. Indeed. It is a documented trait of documentary films that businesses more often than not receive harsh treatment. At the very least, they are not afforded many breaks. It is how documentary makers seek to readjust the power equation: little me with a camera on one side, sprawling global corporation on the other. According to “Honest Truths: Documentary Filmmakers on Ethical Challenges in Their Work,” a 2009 study by the Center for Social Media at American University, documentarians “often” don’t treat corporate executives in the same manner as everyday citizens, partly because executives have access to public relations experts. The study also said that “some filmmakers believed that deceit was appropriate in the service of their work” — such as when describing the purpose of interviews — particularly “with powerful subjects who might put up obstacles.” So when business people decide to let documentary makers inside their well-fortified doors, exactly what do they hope to get out of it? Do they think they can charm them? Outwit them? Or maybe these buttoned-up corporate types just crave a star turn? Pat Aufderheide, director of the Center for Social Media, says she thinks that some companies that choose to participate do so because of a keep-your-enemies-closer strategy. “If they’re not there, it looks like an admission of guilt,” she said. “And at least if they show up they have a chance to get their side of the story — their spin — across.” Charles Ferguson, director of “Inside Job,” a scorching look at the financial crisis, has another theory (and, for the record, says he was transparent in approaching interview subjects). “They don’t get asked difficult questions very often,” he said. “In the case of Glenn Hubbard, he was sincerely surprised that I was being tough on him.” Mr. Hubbard, who was chief economic adviser to President George W. Bush and is now dean of the Columbia Business School, has a particularly testy exchange with Mr. Ferguson in the film. “I was kind enough to give you time — foolishly I now see,” Mr. Hubbard says angrily when he is questioned about potential conflicts of interest. Why did Mr. Hubbard participate? “Mr. Ferguson’s team approached me with an interest in interviewing me (and others) on policy during the financial crisis,” he said in an e-mail. “That is an area of interest in my own research.” Representatives of JetBlue and Pom declined to comment on Mr. Spurlock’s film; Merrell, a shoe company also featured in the film, did not respond to requests for comment. Karen Frank, a marketing vice president for Kao Brands, owner of Ban, said she participated partly “as a way to show that we don’t take ourselves or the industry so seriously that we can’t have fun.” The film, the tone of which Mr. Spurlock describes as “smart and snarky,” essentially follows him as he tries to convince companies to pay for the right to be included on screen. Participating companies paid varying amounts, depending on their degree of inclusion. Generally, he said, the participants were interested in “awareness, visibility, starting a conversation.” He said he was transparent about his intentions, including giving the participants no creative control. (He declined to show the film to reporters in advance of the festival run; it plays multiple days and venues at Sundance through Jan. 29.) “I made hundreds of phone calls to companies before I found 15 that would cooperate,” he said. HIS film is among multiple Sundance documentaries that rely on corporate collaboration. Another is “Being Elmo: A Puppeteer’s Journey.” Directed by Constance Marks, it focuses on Kevin Clash, the man behind the furry monster. Gary E. Knell, president and C.E.O. of Sesame Workshop , the nonprofit organization that owns Elmo and produces “ Sesame Street ,” said he was initially concerned about Ms. Marks’s intentions. “There’s always a large degree of healthy suspicion when you are approached about these things,” Mr. Knell said. “‘You are who, again, and you want to do what with Elmo?’” Sesame executives agreed to lend a hand to Ms. Marks, in large part because she first approached Mr. Clash and convinced him that it was a good idea, Mr. Knell said. “We essentially couldn’t say no at that point,” Mr. Knell said with a laugh. He added, “We could also clearly tell that this wasn’t an attack on ‘Sesame Street.’”

Product Placement
Advertising and Marketing
Sundance Film Festival (Park City Utah)
Documentary Films and Programs
Spurlock Morgan
Greatest Movie Ever Sold The (Movie)


Stewart Wins a Nascar All-Star Race for the First Time

Abstract: CONCORD, N.C. (AP) — Tony Stewart won his first All-Star event and his first race as a team owner Saturday night, breaking through for a $1 million payday with a victory in the annual race at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. Stewart passed Matt Kenseth with two laps to go in a final 10-lap shootout. It was Stewart’s first victory since he left Joe Gibbs Racing at the end of last year, after 2 championships and 10 successful seasons, to become a co-owner of Stewart-Haas Racing. It was the first victory for the organization, which was known as Haas-CNC Racing for its first seven seasons. Stewart became the second driver/owner to win the All-Star race, joining Geoff Bodine, who won in 1994. Kenseth finished second and was followed by Kurt Busch, Denny Hamlin and Carl Edwards. The format of the Sprint-sponsored All-Star race was once again changed, this time to cut the 100-lap race into four segments that culminated with a 10-lap sprint to the finish. It was a nod to races past, which had a history of dramatic finishes. After a follow-the-leader parade for much of the first three segments, the action picked up at the drop of the flag for the final shootout. Kyle Busch used an aggressive three-wide pass to dart to first from fourth, slowing the cars behind him. Hamlin ran into the back of Jimmie Johnson, sending Johnson into a spin that he masterfully saved from a race-ending accident. A caution period set up another restart, and this time, Jeff Gordon raced to the front. A hard-charging Ryan Newman made a three-wide move to the outside, and Gordon and Kyle Busch touched at least once before all three cars collided. It sent Gordon into a spin, through the grass and then back up across the track, where he crashed into the outside wall. “It’s the All-Star event,” Gordon said. “That’s just a bunch of guys racing really, really hard.” Kenseth eventually moved to the front. Stewart was third on the final restart with five laps to go, and he made several charges for the lead before finally getting past Kenseth with two laps left.


Yankees Profit From Their Own Seventh-Inning Stretch

Abstract: Joe Girardi spoke respectfully Tuesday about the Washington Nationals . Girardi, the Yankees ’ manager, said he never underestimates an opponent. Struggling teams, he insisted, are especially hungry to win. It all could be true. But it was still a surprise, at the seventh-inning stretch, to see the lowly Nationals leading the lordly Yankees by a run in the Bronx. Soon enough, the Yankees restored order in a 5-3 victory, helped by Robinson Cano’s four hits and seven and two-thirds innings from C. C. Sabathia. “We always know we have a chance — our team’s too good,” said Mark Teixeira, who tied the game with a double in the seventh. “You can hold us down for a while, but we feel we’re going to score five or six runs minimum.” The Yankees played the last two innings without shortstop Derek Jeter, who left with a sore left ankle, but they won for the third time in four games and remained two games behind Boston in the American League East. The Nationals dropped to 16-46, worse by one game than the bumbling 1962 Mets at the same point in the season. Their manager, Manny Acta, faces daily questions about his job security, and they have no healthy starting pitchers over 24 years old. Shairon Martis, at least, has been a nice surprise. Martis, 22, came into the game with a 5-1 record. The Yankees had never faced him, and as usual, they were baffled by the unfamiliar. Martis allowed only four hits in six innings, though just half of his 106 pitches were strikes. Everything he threw, Teixeira said, was a perfect pitch or a ball, and the Yankees seemed eager for a pitcher they knew. They found him in the seventh, when the former Yankee Ron Villone entered the game. Villone, pitching for his major league record-tying 12th team, tried to protect a 3-2 lead but lost it after five pitches. Johnny Damon rolled a single to right and Teixeira scored him with a double off the wall in left-center field. That made it 3-3, and with one out, Cano blistered a 2-2 breaking ball to center. Elijah Dukes might have caught it with a proper route. Instead, he broke in, and the ball sailed over his head. “I thought it was going to be caught,” Cano said. “But thank God, he missed it.” Villone slumped his shoulders as the ball landed. It was little consolation that Cano was thrown out at third. Teixeira had scored the go-ahead run, and the Yankees added another in the eighth on a single by Ramiro Pena. Pena was playing because Girardi had removed Jeter after the Yankees took the lead. According to Girardi, Jeter might have hurt the ankle when the Mets’ Gary Sheffield slid into second on a double play Sunday. In three at-bats Tuesday, Jeter ran gingerly. “We’ll see how he feels tomorrow,” Girardi said. “I hope he wakes up and it’s all gone. My sense is that won’t be the case.” Pena made the game’s final play, a nifty grab of an Austin Kearns grounder that secured Mariano Rivera’s 15th save in 16 chances. Rivera followed Brian Bruney, who retired Ryan Zimmerman on a ground out in his return from the disabled list. Bruney was needed for only one out because Sabathia collected the first 23. He is 5-1 with a 2.92 earned run average in his last eight starts, working at least seven innings every time. “That’s what I try to do: go deep in games and pitch as long as I can until Joe takes the ball,” Sabathia said. “I just try to throw strikes, keep the ball down and pitch to contact.” Three times in the fifth, that contact hurt Sabathia. With one out, he faced the bottom of the Nationals’ order, made up of former New York backups known for defense: Alberto Gonzalez (ex-Yankees infielder), Wil Nieves (ex-Yankees catcher) and Anderson Hernandez (ex-Mets infielder). Gonzalez singled, and Nieves worked a nine-pitch at-bat, singling to right to bring up Hernandez. With a 1-2 pitch, Sabathia tried a slider, and Hernandez pulled it to left for his first homer since 2006. It was the last hit allowed by Sabathia, who waited for the offense to roll past baseball’s worst team. It proved to be a sound strategy. “If I do give up a couple of runs, just keep us in the game,” Sabathia said. “Keep us close so we can get a rally together and score a couple of runs late in the game.” INSIDE PITCH Chien-Ming Wang’s wife gave birth to the couple’s first child, a boy named Justin Jesse, on Tuesday in New York. Wang will start on Wednesday, needing to show progress to keep his starting spot. ... Reliever Jose Veras, who had a 5.96 earned run average, was designated for assignment to make room for Brian Bruney. ... Manager Joe Girardi said Hideki Matsui would not start in the field because of concerns for his knees during the Yankees’ nine-game trip to National League parks. ... Slade Heathcott, the Yankees’ first-round draft choice, took batting practice. Heathcott led his Texas high school team to a state title last week. “I’m probably one of the luckiest kids in America right now,” he said. ... Alex Rodriguez, who is hitting .167 in June, greeted fans at Monument Park. Gates now open at 4 p.m. for night games, and the Yankees have used the earlier time for several meet-and-greets with fans.

Washington Nationals
Baseball
New York Yankees


With Election Near, a Populist Strain Tugs at the Republican Party

Abstract: THE fact that Republicans in the Senate endorsed the financial rescue plan by more than two to one while those in the House opposed it by the same ratio cannot be explained simply by the tax-break sweeteners that the Senate added. Instead, the contrast says a lot about the modern Republican Party . House Republicans better reflect the party’s grass roots in their districts than do senators, who represent entire states. Even though some Republicans are expected to switch sides in a second House vote scheduled for Friday, a majority of them are expected to remain opposed to the plan, evidence of a shift in the Republican Party’s identity that has some leaders worried about the elections next month and perhaps for the future. With just five weeks until Election Day, political survival now and in the future was a big reason that many House Republicans remain willing to defy the president, a Treasury secretary and a Federal Reserve chairman of their own party, all of whom argued that the rescue plan was vital to the national and global economies. Another factor is that President Bush, a lame duck with historically low approval ratings, had no sway with the naysayers. But nearly all of the Republican opponents insisted they were upholding the party’s principles and its “brand” by opposing big-government intervention in what should be free markets. The bipartisan rescue plan would be “the slippery slope to socialism,” said Jeb Hensarling, Republican of Texas. Known for more than a century as the nation’s party of business, rooted in the industrial North and its affluent communities, the Republican Party has evolved over the last generation as its base moved to the South after the civil-rights era into a party that is defined more by social conservatism than business issues. On the economy, it is increasingly populist. And populists do not favor bailouts of Wall Street. That rigidly ideological stance at a time of economic crisis reflects the Republican Party now dominant in the House as well as in many state legislatures. But it is causing strains in the party with those voters who are more moderate or pragmatic, including lifelong Republicans who have long identified with the party’s reputation for economic stewardship of business. “They’re in the process of destroying the Republican brand as effective managers of the economy,” said Vin Weber, a former congressman from Minnesota. Defections of suburban Republicans and Republican-leaning independents helped Democrats recapture the House and Senate in the 2006 elections. In this campaign cycle, Republicans have continued to lose ground in voters’ party affiliation, especially among upper-income voters and those who identify themselves as professionals and managers. Even more than in 2006, business contributions are favoring Democrats. Voters tell pollsters they believe the Democrats would do a better job with the economy — reversing the longtime advantage of the Republicans. Senate Republicans — including the party’s presidential nominee, John McCain — tend to reflect more diverse constituencies and points of view, because they are elected statewide and need only face the voters every six years. Mr. McCain frequently has battled Republicans in the House, so his outreach to them on the bailout was ironic as well as unsuccessful. But long before, to get the nomination, Mr. McCain made accommodations to the conservatives dominant in the party by his rightward turns on tax cuts and other issues. Most House Republicans are from districts packed by the political map makers with conservative voters to make them safe for Republicans, just as many Democrats’ districts are safely liberal. Especially in the South, Republican voters tend to be less affluent and less educated — and more suspicious of big business — than mainstream Republicans of days past. The main fear of their representatives is a challenge from the party’s far right. In the case of the financial bailout, the “right” position was to oppose it. Many House Republicans came of political age in President Reagan’s time, and consider themselves protectors of his legacy. To approve the bailout would be “a coffin on top of Ronald Reagan’s coffin,” said Representative Darrell Issa, a Republican from California who opposed it. But Republican figures from the Reagan years say these conservatives misread their idol’s record of bipartisan compromises. Amid the current financial crisis , several recalled that after the 1987 market crash, Mr. Reagan and the Democratic leaders in Congress negotiated a budget compromise of spending cuts and revenue-raisers to signal to markets that the government was serious about reducing the deficits. “Ronald Reagan would not be comfortable as a House Republican today. Ronald Reagan was the ultimate pragmatist and fiscal conservative,” said Kenneth M. Duberstein, a White House chief of staff to Mr. Reagan. The tension within the Republican Party is exacerbated by the fact that its popularity is the lowest in more than three decades, according to polls. In mid-August, the nonpartisan Pew Research Center found that Democrats had a 51 percent to 38 percent advantage in party affiliation among registered voters, up from a narrow 47 percent to 44 percent edge before the 2004 presidential election. Among those who have defected are moderate and conservative business types who once were the party’s base. They have been disheartened in the Bush years, six of which had Republicans in control of Congress, by a record of mistakes in Iraq and after Hurricane Katrina , big spending and spiraling debt, and Congressional scandals. Among voters making more than $100,000 a year, typically a Republican-leaning group, the Republicans’ held only a 35 percent to 31 percent advantage over Democrats, the Pew survey found. In 2004, the Republican edge was 40 percent to 29 percent. Business-oriented Republicans favor low taxes but many oppose the party’s hard-line antitax stand. They say they would support higher taxes to reduce deficits, fix the roads and bridges needed for commerce, or relieve corporations of some of the costs of employees’ health insurance. Voters from families that have been Republican for generations complain that their party has been taken over by social conservatives, many of them former Democrats in the South, and they do not share the newcomers’ agenda of opposition to abortion, gay rights and liberalized immigration policies. Republican strategists say the defection of the traditional business Republicans is especially worrisome if Senator Barack Obama succeeds in getting younger Americans to vote for him in greater numbers than their age group usually does. Some Republican Party leaders privately fear that if Mr. Obama is elected, he could usher in a pro-Democratic realignment much like Mr. Reagan did for Republicans after the economic stagnation and drift of the 1970s.

Republican Party
Troubled Asset Relief Program (2008)
Subprime Mortgage Crisis
United States Economy
Presidential Election of 2008
Conservatism (US Politics)
McCain John
Obama Barack


Golf Couple’s Vows: To Love and to Honor, and to Read Greens

Abstract: JERSEY CITY — Patrick Reed hit balls on the driving range while listening to the indie rock band Imagine Dragons on his MP3 player, which was in the left front pocket of his golf pants. Upon completing his warm-up, he pulled his ear buds out. For the rest of an abbreviated workday Friday at Liberty National Golf Club, Reed’s wife, Justine, was in his ear. Reed, 23, in his first full season on the PGA Tour, employs his wife as his caddie, an arrangement seldom seen on tour for reasons that seem self-evident to other married couples. “I would think it could get kind of complicated,” said Hunter Mahan, who played in the group with Reed and Jim Furyk for the first two rounds of the Barclays, the opening tournament of the monthlong FedEx Cup playoffs. The Reeds make it look simple — like fun, even. Their professional collaboration started last year, when they were engaged. Justine Karain, who was a competitive swimmer and soccer player, wore Patrick down with her entreaties to carry his bag. He gave her a tryout on a sweltering Houston day and packed extra rain gear, water and anything else he might need. “That day, I struggled to get through the last two holes,” he said, “but she was fine.” Reed added: “She just has a knack for reading greens extremely well, and she knows how far I hit every club. She’s always at lessons with me and always around me when I’m practicing, so it’s basically like my coach being out there with me.” Justine Reed calls to mind the actress Kristin Chenoweth, which perhaps explains why more men in the crowd Friday aimed their cameras at her than at Furyk, the 2010 FedEx Cup champion. People laugh at the sight of her lugging a 45-pound bag that appears to weigh half as much as she does, but there is no making fun of the results. At the Wyndham Championship in North Carolina last Sunday, the Reeds became the first husband-wife team to win on the tour since Steve Stricker triumphed at the Kemper and Western Opens in 1996 with Nicki Stricker as his caddie. It was the Reeds’ third top-10 finish in three starts. After that rush of success came the inevitable crash. “We’re still excited about the win last weekend,” Reed said Friday, “but we’re also exhausted.” With their tee time Friday moved to past 4 in the afternoon, the couple planned to sleep in until 8:30, a time they would usually consider borderline slothful. They were awakened at 10:30 by the hotel maid when she let herself in to clean the room. As night fell on their second round Friday, the Reeds were on the sixth tee, five strokes above the projected cut with four holes to play. “Maybe we can do the ultimate and shoot five-under the last four holes,” he said. “If not, we’ll just rest this weekend.” The Reeds will get the rest they need. They came out Saturday morning and finished birdie-bogey-bogey-par for a six-over 148, which was 17 strokes behind the leader, Matt Kuchar. After the third round, Kuchar is tied for the lead with Gary Woodland at 12-under 201. A caddie never rests during a round, with clubs to count, pull, clean and retrieve, yardage to walk off, putts to read, sand to rake, balls to mop and divots to replace. On the par-4 15th hole on Friday, Reed’s approach found a greenside trap. After he hit out, she handed him his putter, picked up the rake and smoothed the sand as three men holding cups of beer stood within earshot critiquing the technique of “the girl caddie,” as they described her. Their conversation was momentarily drowned out by a woman, accompanied by her husband, who shouted, “Power to the woman!” Justine Reed smiled and kept raking. Image Patrick Reed, 23, employs his wife as his caddie, an arrangement seldom seen on tour for reasons that seem self-evident to other married couples. Credit Barton Silverman/The New York Times “Usually, I’ll hear quite a few women in the crowd who will cheer me on,” she said. “It’s definitely a little bit empowering.” As she was walking off the second tee, a man shouted, “Happy wife, happy life!” She said, “I thought that was pretty funny.” “I think a lot of times what is being said in the gallery is like white noise,” she added. “We’re so focused on what we’re doing, a lot of comments we let go in one ear and out the other.” Between shots, the Reeds walked side by side. They conversed in hushed tones and smiled often. There was little interplay among the caddies, but then, it was a stressful day, with everyone focused on catching the leaders and beating darkness. “I would like to think they don’t treat me any differently,” Justine Reed said, referring to her male counterparts. “Do they? Maybe.” She added: “When you have a female in the group, it creates a different dynamic. My presence maybe makes men willing to talk about other things than they normally would. One guy at one tournament was telling me about his girlfriend issues.” Martin Piller, who competes on the Web.com tour, is one player whose respect Justine Reed has earned. “I think what she did last week was more impressive than Patrick,” said Piller, whose wife, Gerina, plays on the L.P.G.A. Tour. “That’s a lot of walking, a lot of work, week in and week out. It’s a hard job.” He and his wife have caddied for each other on occasion, Piller said, but he cannot imagine making it a habit. “Golf can be a very emotional sport,” he said. “It’s just you out there, and the downfall of that is you take a lot of things personally. I would worry, Am I going to say something in the heat of the moment that I didn’t mean? I don’t want my wife to deal with that.” Piller added: “The fact that they’re together and they won last week is incredible. I don’t look at it like their relationship is doomed. I think it’s super cool.” Before Stricker won for the first time, he had many people, including caddies, tell him he would never succeed with his wife on his bag. Patrick Reed said he had been approached by experienced male caddies who told him they could do a better job than his wife. “There’s a lot of politics out here,” Reed said, “but we block it all out. We’re comfortable with what we’re doing. I think they all understand that now.” Nicki Stricker gave up full-time caddying after the first of their two daughters was born. Justine Reed, who has not met Nicki Stricker, said, “A lot of the caddies probably can’t wait till we start our family.” The Reeds do not anticipate becoming parents any time soon. They are having too much fun being partners, even if her pay is exorbitant by caddie standards. “Don’t like anybody who takes a hundred percent from your paycheck,” Patrick Reed said jokingly. “But I don’t mind.”


Court Orders Search of White House Computers

Abstract: WASHINGTON — Before they leave their offices next week, White House employees must allow their computers to be searched, and they must turn over any devices that may contain some of the possibly millions of e-mail messages that have apparently disappeared, a Federal District Court judge ordered Wednesday. That trove of e-mail messages, dated from March 2003 to October 2005, has been the subject of continuing litigation by groups seeking to preserve the electronic communications of White House officials during a period that encompassed the beginning of the war in Iraq and a federal inquiry into the leak of the identity of Valerie Wilson, the former C.I.A. officer. The court order, issued by Judge Henry H. Kennedy Jr. of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, directs officials in the Executive Office of the President to scour employees’ computers for the e-mail messages and gather portable storage devices that may contain the data. Two groups, the National Security Archive, a research institute at George Washington University, and Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a nonprofit organization, have led the effort to preserve the messages. “There is nothing like a deadline to clarify the issues,” Thomas S. Blanton, director of the National Security Archive, said in response to Judge Kennedy’s order. “In six days, the Bush Executive Office of the President will be gone, and their records may disappear with them.” In addition to thousands of boxes of paper records, the National Archives is preparing to receive vast quantities of electronic information from the Bush administration. At a separate hearing in Federal District Court on Wednesday, Helen H. Hong, a Justice Department lawyer, said employees had been notified to preserve their e-mail, but she added that the White House had not devised a system for collecting external storage drives. Ms. Hong lamented the additional logistical burdens being imposed on members of the White House staff, who are packing up and making way for the Obama administration. Magistrate Judge John M. Facciola said that the burden would have been lighter if the White House had taken action last year when he recommended preservation of e-mail. “You rolled the dice that you’d win,” Judge Facciola told the lawyers, “and you lost.”


Brazil and China Sign Trade Agreements

Abstract: RIO DE JANEIRO — Leaders of Brazil and China signed trade agreements aimed at increasing investment and trade flows at a time when economic growth in both nations is losing momentum. President Dilma V. Rousseff of Brazil and Prime Minister Wen Jiabao of China agreed on a common agenda of investments in the mining, industrial, aviation and infrastructure sectors to encourage commerce between the two nations. Ms. Rousseff and Mr. Wen, who is in Brazil to attend Rio+20, the sustainable development summit meeting sponsored by the United Nations, signed the agreements Thursday. Relations between the nations will be accorded the status of a “global strategic partnership,” highlighting their growing influence in the global economy. Brazilian officials hailed the accord as crucial to growth in the South American country. Speaking at the meeting in Rio de Janeiro, Guido Mantega, the Brazilian finance minister, said the accords should provide an increase in manufacturing and sales in China by the Brazilian airplane maker Embraer. Embraer, one of the largest manufacturers of regional planes, for years was barred from producing jets in China, the world’s fastest-growing market for commercial and executive aviation. The deals were reached as Ms. Rousseff, a pragmatist, was pressing China to buy more products from Brazilian manufacturers as part of a broader push aimed at reducing the South American nation’s dependence on sales of raw materials like iron ore, oil and soybeans. China, the world’s second largest economy, after the United States, is Brazil’s biggest export market. The economies of Brazil and China have slowed sharply, partly because of the European debt crisis . Facing dwindling liquidity abroad, the countries also signed a deal Thursday to set up currency swaps — a deal between them to give out loans in their local currencies — of as much as 60 billion reais, or $29.46 billion. “As international credit remains scarce, we will have enough credit for our transactions,” Mr. Mantega said. Brazilian policy makers said they wanted to tap China’s growing local market by increasing exports of manufactured goods and creating joint ventures in China. Mr. Mantega said Chinese companies were interested in investing in the South American nation’s vast oil and natural gas sectors. The state-run Brazilian oil company, Petrobras and other oil producers are racing to develop some of the world’s biggest oil reserves, off the South American nation’s coast. In April last year, the Chinese government allowed Embraer to start assembling executive jets in China, giving the company a foothold in the huge market where its future had been in doubt. Embraer’s joint venture in China, Harbin Aircraft, will deliver its first plane in late 2013.

Brazil
China
International Trade and World Market
Economic Conditions and Trends


Agrium and Potash Corp. to Merge, Creating Fertilizer Giant

Abstract: As chemical and agricultural products producers face pressure to grow, two of the world’s largest crop fertilizer makers have agreed to combine in the latest farming industry deal. The companies, Agrium and the Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan, announced their all-stock merger on Monday after weeks of speculation. The two Canadian companies produce the materials — nitrogen, potassium compounds known as potash, and phosphate fertilizers — that farmers use to raise healthy crops, and their combination would create the largest crop nutrient company in the world. But fertilizer prices have recently come under pressure because of supply gluts and newer competitors, and demand has also softened. The deal enables the companies to cut $500 million of their combined costs annually over the next few years to help them withstand some of the new market dynamics. “The beauty about this transaction though is the $500 million of annual operating synergies that are in our control,” Charles V. Magro, president and chief executive of Agrium, said in a conference call with analysts on Monday. “We don’t need the market to improve to drive shareholder value.” Shareholders seemed a bit more skeptical. After the deal closes, Potash shareholders will own 52 percent of the new company, while Agrium’s investors will own 48 percent. The stocks of both companies declined on Monday, with Agrium about 3 percent lower, and Potash slipping more than 1.5 percent. One possibility for the declines: The deal does not have a premium. The combination would help Potash, which produces half the potash in North America, reduce its exposure to volatile prices for the potassium product. Agrium has a big presence among farm-retail chains, enabling it to produce more stable earnings than wholesale fertilizer, according to a Sept. 1 report by Fitch Ratings after word of preliminary talks between the two companies came out. A combination “will improve market reach and allow the company to optimize its product margins,” Monica Bonar, a senior director at Fitch, said in the report. The deal follows others that involve the farming industry, including the pending merger between Dow Chemical and DuPont to create a company that would eventually break into three parts, one of which would focus on agricultural chemicals. In addition, China National Chemical Corporation, or ChemChina, has agreed to acquire seed and farm chemicals producer Syngenta. And the German industrial giant Bayer has been in back-and-forth negotiations with Monsanto, the American company known for its genetically modified crop seeds. Some farm groups have raised concerns about the effect of a merger of Agrium and Potash on fertilizer prices. Yet there has been little public outcry since the two companies said on Aug. 30 that they were in talks. “I don’t think the rank-and-file farmers are excited” about the deal, said Wade Barnes, president and chief executive of Farmers Edge , an agriculture technology company. “When two manufacturers come together, there’s less optionality of who to buy from, so the price point will probably be higher for them.” The heads of the two companies brushed aside criticism. “It’s going to be a benefit for the farming community” because the new company will be more competitive, Mr. Magro said in the conference call. The deal will require regulatory and competition reviews in Canada as well as by American regulators. In Canada, the Liberal government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has not raised any concerns about the merger, at least publicly. Philip Proulx, a spokesman for Navdeep Bains, Canada’s minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development, said that the government anticipates that the Competition Bureau will review the merger. But he noted that his department, which describes itself as a law enforcement agency, “conducts merger reviews independently of the government.” If its review leads to concerns which the two companies are unwilling to resolve, the Competition Bureau could challenge the merger through the Competition Tribunal, a specialized court. Six years ago, when demand from China was pushing up the price of potash, the Australian mining giant BHP Billiton tried to acquire the Potash Corporation The takeover bid immediately prompted a political backlash among critics, including some traditional advocates of open investment policies. After a request by the province of Saskatchewan, which founded Potash in 1975 and sold it to the private sector it in 1989, the Conservative federal government at the time effectively killed the deal using foreign investment review laws. Sinochem in China also prepared to make a bid but withdrew it , apparently because of Canadian government opposition. Reflecting the decline in fortune of the potash industry, the $36 billion value of the merged companies is well below the $39 billion BHP proposed to pay for Potash alone. Potash said the average price for its commodity during the second quarter of this year was $154 a metric ton. At the height of the battle with BHP, prices reached as high as $900. Potash has mothballed a recently opened mine in the eastern Canadian province of New Brunswick and temporarily closed some operations in Saskatchewan, the center of the industry in Canada. Mosaic, another Potash Corporation producer based in Plymouth, Minn., has also closed a mine in Saskatchewan, citing low prices. The name of the combined Agrium and Potash Corporation, which will have about 20,000 employees, is to be determined before the deal closes. The companies expect to generate cost savings from combining their distribution and retail operations, production and back-office capabilities. The companies also said they were committed to Canpotex, a cartel for controlling potash prices. It is jointly owned by Agrium and Potash, as well as a Mosaic Company subsidiary. Mr. Magro will become chief executive of the combined company, while Jochen Tilk, the president and chief executive of Potash, will become its executive chairman. The new company’s board will have an equal number of directors from each company. Potash had a $14.3 billion market valuation as of Friday’s close, while Agrium’s was $13.2 billion. Under terms of the deal, Potash shareholders will receive 0.400 common shares of the new company for each of their shares, while Agrium shareholders will receive 2.230 common shares of the new company. After the close of the deal, the company will seek a dividend similar to Agrium’s, adjusted for the new number of shares. The dividend would be subject to market conditions and board approval. Its legally registered head office will be in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, where Potash is based, with corporate offices in Calgary as well. The deal, which has been approved by the boards of both companies, is expected to close in mid-2017, depending on approvals by regulators, the Canadian court and shareholders. Agrium’s financial advisers in the deal included Barclays and CIBC Capital Markets, while Bank of America Merrill Lynch and RBC Capital Markets advised the Potash Corporation. Agrium’s legal advisers were Blake, Cassels & Graydon; Norton Rose Fulbright, Canada; Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison; and Latham & Watkins. Stikeman Elliott and Jones Day provided legal counsel to the Potash Corporation. Morgan Stanley advised both Agrium and the Potash Corporation.

Agrium
Fertilizer
Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan
Mergers and Acquisitions


PepsiCo’s Profit Rises 16%

Abstract: PepsiCo reported a 16 percent increase in quarterly profit yesterday, topping Wall Street estimates, on lower corporate expenses, a lower tax rate and strong international sales of snacks and beverages. PepsiCo said first-quarter net income rose to $1.10 billion, or 65 cents a share, from $947 million, or 56 cents a share, a year earlier. Revenue in the period, which ended March 24, rose 9 percent, to $7.35 billion from $6.72 billion. The international division’s revenue rose 19 percent. The company’s diverse portfolio, which includes Gatorade sports drinks, Quaker oatmeal and Rice-A-Roni side dishes, has helped it withstand an industrywide slowdown in soft drinks. International snack sales rose 13 percent, helped by acquisitions and strength in Russia, Venezuela, South Africa and Turkey. International beverage volume grew 7 percent. Profit topped the 61 cents a share Wall Street analysts expected. PepsiCo’s stock rose 57 cents, to $66.98.