Swinging open the shell's door reveals a slim metal nozzle moving smoothly over a platform, putting down melted black filament in thin layers that form a set of simple chess pieces.
The plastic figures might not look like much, but to Zach Kaplan, the 3-D printing technology creating them represents the early promise of digital manufacturing, powered by desktop machines, user-friendly design software and creative people tinkering away in basements and garages.
As CEO of Chicago-based Inventables, an online retailer of materials for product designers and artists, Kaplan is finding new customers among small businesses and budget-strapped hardware startups. He and other proponents of digital fabrication say the technology's increasing accessibility is emboldening a new generation of participants in the manufacturing sector, reinvigorating the industry as the creation of a single item or a small batch of products becomes as affordable as mass production.
The 3-D printer making the chess set at Inventables costs $899 on the company's website, and one spool of filament, enough to make 360 pieces, is $39. The accompanying design software can be run on a basic computer connected to the printer with a USB cord.
"Inventables used to only be able to service the most well-funded R&D groups," said Kaplan, who launched his business in 2002 to cater to big corporations. "Now we're servicing R&D labs in garages all over the world."
Unlike previous generations of 3-D printers, milling machines and laser cutters, many of today's models fit on a desktop and are designed for micromanufacturing. That means a custom job or small run, from one to 1,000 units, can be as inexpensive as outsourcing production but without the fear of giving up quality control to an overseas manufacturer. Inventables has a U.S. customer, for example, that uses a digital RFID tag for a skateboard business, cutting three longboards from a $30 sheet of Baltic birch in 40 minutes.
The technology's flexibility and forgiving economics are particularly attractive to hardware startups that are using digital manufacturing for rapid prototyping and small-scale production of their goods. They say making a prototype with a 3-D printer can save thousands of dollars over handing off the work to a design company.
"It's awesome," said Alan Hurt, founder of Light Up Africa, a local startup whose device attaches to a moving object, such as a bicycle, and captures enough kinetic energy to charge a cellphone. "I never knew it was possible to make products at little or no cost."
Hurt borrowed a 3-D printer from Inventables to make prototypes of his product while participating in Impact Engine, a Chicago-based accelerator program for startups with a social or environmental mission. The digital fabrication technology he used was a major improvement over his earliest efforts, which involved fashioning a lunchbox-size case from plastic clipboards that he bought at Wal-Mart and cut apart.
The ability to quickly and inexpensively make quality prototypes also allows startups to experiment without running up a huge bill.
"There's something about being able to hold and physically interact with a design that feels more real and allows you to get feedback more directly than looking at a 3-D image on a screen," said Eduardo Torrealba, co-founder and CEO of Oso Technologies, a company started by engineering graduate students at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Oso makes sensors that measure soil moisture content and send alerts to a computer or mobile phone when plants need to be watered.
The startup went through nearly 10 versions of its Plant Link sensor prototype using the 3-D printer at UI's mechanical engineering laboratory. In February, Oso raised nearly $97,000 on crowd-funding website Kickstarter.
The startup will use 3-D printing to create a small run of Plant Link sets for Kickstarter donors who want to get their hands on the products sooner. But Oso will mass-produce the majority of its sensors through an Illinois manufacturer. The proceeds from the Kickstarter campaign will pay for the injection mold needed for that process.
"We haven't totally thrown away the idea of doing production in Asia at some point," Torrealba said. "But for the short term we want to stay local and keep production in the United States, if it's possible economically. People respond to that."
Like Oso, other startups are using digital fabrication technology for prototypes and turning to traditional manufacturers for mass production. That's the case with Chicago-based venture firm and incubator Sandbox Industries, which is introducing a wireless home security system called Scout.
Sandbox used 3-D printing equipment at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago to make prototypes of its sensors, saving thousands of dollars over hiring a company to fashion a clay or foam mold. Lindsay Cohen, a vice president at Sandbox, said that while today's 3-D printing technology is inadequate for large-scale production, she expects that to change.
Digital manufacturing is part of a broader "maker" culture that unites hobbyists and professionals by their love of tinkering with stuff. George Page, founder of Chicago startup Portapure, which makes a water filter for use in developing countries or disaster-struck areas, used 3-D printing to make prototypes of the smaller parts that fit into his device.
"I've always been really handy," said Page, a former water filtration engineer for the city of Chicago who also completed the Impact Engine accelerator program. "For me, prototyping is using components, plastics, resins and other materials to shape an idea."
The hobbyist end of the maker spectrum includes local "hackerspaces" such as Pumping Station: One in Chicago's Avondale neighborhood. Members there include "carpenters and game developers and microbrewers and old retired college professors and seamstresses," said spokesman Adam Dzak, whose day job is in information technology.
Pumping Station: One provides equipment, including 3-D printers, for dues-paying members to work on projects. And while the club is focused on personal rather than commercial pursuits, it benefits from the same technological advances and creative impulses driving hardware startups.
Educational institutions are also involved. Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry opened a "Fab Lab" in 2007 to provide hands-on experience with digital manufacturing technology.
"There's been a perfect storm of general public awareness of 'making' … the increased accessibility to some of the technology and a lot of spaces coming out of the woodwork," said Rabiah Mayas, the museum's director of science and integrated strategies. "We're seeing young people discover new interests in engineering."
Saturday, April 27, 2013
Friday, April 26, 2013
Punjab govt to limit number of visitors to jails
In order to ensure the security of the jails and also to check the number of visitors visiting the jails in Punjab, Sarwan Singh Phillaur, Jail Minister Punjab has directed the officers of the department to expedite the process of introducing the smart card system in all the jails at the earliest. Identity cards would also be issued to the visitors in order to keep a check on the number of visitors.
Addressing a high level meeting of the officers of the department here today, Phillaur said that the safety of the Jail staff would be among the top priorities of the government. The jail department would install CCTV cameras, mobile jammers and other security equipment to ensure proper security in the upcoming jails.
He also said that modalities are being worked out to ban two-storied construction up to 100 feet from the outer walls of these new jails. With a view to generating a cordial atmosphere between the prisoners and the jail administration, the Minister said that the department would re-introduce the Nambardar system in all the jails of the state.
Referring to the quality of food being served in the jails, the Minister saidJail department would review the diet norms system in consultation with the dieticians of reputed institutions. A committee comprising IG (Jails), representatives of Central jails and Sub-jails besides a dietician from PGI Chandigarh has also been constituted which would submit its report shortly recommending appropriate healthy food for jail inmates.
He also asked the Superintendents of jails to work out the modalities to run two kitchens in each central jail with the computerized new system. He further asked the Jaildepartment to introduce Credit Card System for inmates in all the 8 central jailsto buy items from the jail canteens.
The Minster also said that entire record of prisoner maintained in Punjab jails would be computerized on the patterns of Tihar Jail. Necessary steps are being taken up in this regard. The computerized records would contain finger print of all RFID tag, Date of release, Remissions, Parole, Good Conduct, etc, said Phillaur.
A crush of Peroni bottles rolls down the gangway in time to mark Paris looming into view, the Oise limestone buildings dappled by the early evening sunshine, cast solid against the clear blue sky. A chorus of “mais oui”s greet the Eiffel Tower, but disaster strikes, and we hit the tail-end of the Paris rush hour. By the time we arrive at agnès b., a glacially white boutique nestled under the auspices of the soaring edifice of the Church Of St Eustace, it's well past stage time, and there’s a distinct frostiness emanating from the staff and assembled crowd lining the room, as each member of the party bundles in laden with guitar or cymbal. Once on, though, there’s nary a sign that there’d been any concern. Temples’ is a dab-handed performance, made all the more impressive when you consider that the band are less than a year old. They open with new song ‘Solid Structures’, where 60s snare patterns underpin a miasma of backwards guitar and sitar tones, before they jump a decade for another solid structure, the glam pop of 'Keep In The Dark'. They close with their now-familiar calling card ‘Shelter Song’, wonderful in the echoey, fiddly glory of that 12-string guitar line.
Charlie Boyer and his Voyeurs are up next. The sound mix is a little strange, the vocals perhaps damped by the chicness of the €90 t-shirts lining the walls, but unperturbed, Boyer’s trademark strangulated howl peaks through. Another effect of the sound is to play up some previously hidden shoegaze elements: the sheer force of the five-piece takes on a stomach-drubbing quality, powered on by Samir Eskanda’s occasional MBV-esque snare raps.
It’s an unintentionally early start the next day. 5.30am comes around and there’s some fumbling at my door, before it opens, revealing the silhouette of the hotel manager, with Alejandra and friend behind. Returning from some nocturnal gambolling around the boulevards, Alejandra and co didn’t know which room they were in, meaning the owner had to take them round every room Heavenly had booked. Needless to say, he wasn’t best pleased. "He said 'Toy?' 16 people have already said they're with Toy," reports Alejandra.
TOY’s Tom Dougall and Charlie Boyer, meanwhile, had accidentally stumbled upon a carnal cab, which not only drove them miles away from the hotel, but played them a sex tape while doing so. "At first I thought it was his mate doing a joke,” ponders Boyer, “but then he wasn't laughing, and she wasn't laughing..."
Following TOY, most of the bands have to depart to get to tonight’s venue, La Maroquinerie. Waiting for the coach to pick them up, Charlie Salvidge hops a fence and jumps into a be-tuliped flower bed, assuming the pose of a classical idol, shortly joined by Panda and Charlie Boyer, who visualise what Notre Dame’s gargoyles might look like had members of Can and Television been Jean de Chelles’ muses, all the time filmed by intrepid cameraman Samir Eskanda (thereby making good on his earlier directorial insistence “we need someone to do something!")
Back at agnès b., Stealing Sheep’s Scouse chatter following the exquisite pop of ‘Genevieve’ is conspicuous in the French crowd. Introducing their new song, ‘A Real Clown’, drummer Lucy Mercer declares: "This record's special for Record Store Day. Special: ooo! We're a bit nervous... secretly". If it’s true, it doesn’t show, and they follow with the primal drums and windswept moor top flutes of ‘Gold’, the intricacy of which is now tour-honed and immaculate.
The set done, and the 'Sheep bundled into a people carrier, we make our way up to La Maroquinerie (on the aptly-named Rue Boyer). Formerly a leather factory, it has a contrary kind of brilliance: it’s simultaneously an open-air courtyard restaurant, sun-dappled (today, anyway) and street-secluded, so much so that it could feasibly be located somewhere much further south (a feeling ably aided by a courtyard live band dealing out some smooth Mediterranean yacht-rock) while downstairs there’s a 500-capacity music venue, the kind that could (and sadly would) be a piss-soaked affair elsewhere, but here feels strangely spacious. And, crucially, it has excellent sound. This is made abundantly clear when the strains of ‘My Heart Skips A Beat’ rise up from the catacombs as we arrive. Soundcheck finished, Alejandra, Tom, Panda and Dominic are out in the courtyard, voicing their regret at missing the opening times for the Pere Lachaise cemetery, just up the road and famous for housing the remains of Oscar Wilde, Jim Morrison and countless other bon vivants. "I want to do an ouija board in the cemetery,” says Alejandra. Have you ever had any contact from beyond? “I've never had anything happen with them before,” she answers, “nothing that couldn't be attributable. Like, someone farting.”
Addressing a high level meeting of the officers of the department here today, Phillaur said that the safety of the Jail staff would be among the top priorities of the government. The jail department would install CCTV cameras, mobile jammers and other security equipment to ensure proper security in the upcoming jails.
He also said that modalities are being worked out to ban two-storied construction up to 100 feet from the outer walls of these new jails. With a view to generating a cordial atmosphere between the prisoners and the jail administration, the Minister said that the department would re-introduce the Nambardar system in all the jails of the state.
Referring to the quality of food being served in the jails, the Minister saidJail department would review the diet norms system in consultation with the dieticians of reputed institutions. A committee comprising IG (Jails), representatives of Central jails and Sub-jails besides a dietician from PGI Chandigarh has also been constituted which would submit its report shortly recommending appropriate healthy food for jail inmates.
He also asked the Superintendents of jails to work out the modalities to run two kitchens in each central jail with the computerized new system. He further asked the Jaildepartment to introduce Credit Card System for inmates in all the 8 central jailsto buy items from the jail canteens.
The Minster also said that entire record of prisoner maintained in Punjab jails would be computerized on the patterns of Tihar Jail. Necessary steps are being taken up in this regard. The computerized records would contain finger print of all RFID tag, Date of release, Remissions, Parole, Good Conduct, etc, said Phillaur.
A crush of Peroni bottles rolls down the gangway in time to mark Paris looming into view, the Oise limestone buildings dappled by the early evening sunshine, cast solid against the clear blue sky. A chorus of “mais oui”s greet the Eiffel Tower, but disaster strikes, and we hit the tail-end of the Paris rush hour. By the time we arrive at agnès b., a glacially white boutique nestled under the auspices of the soaring edifice of the Church Of St Eustace, it's well past stage time, and there’s a distinct frostiness emanating from the staff and assembled crowd lining the room, as each member of the party bundles in laden with guitar or cymbal. Once on, though, there’s nary a sign that there’d been any concern. Temples’ is a dab-handed performance, made all the more impressive when you consider that the band are less than a year old. They open with new song ‘Solid Structures’, where 60s snare patterns underpin a miasma of backwards guitar and sitar tones, before they jump a decade for another solid structure, the glam pop of 'Keep In The Dark'. They close with their now-familiar calling card ‘Shelter Song’, wonderful in the echoey, fiddly glory of that 12-string guitar line.
Charlie Boyer and his Voyeurs are up next. The sound mix is a little strange, the vocals perhaps damped by the chicness of the €90 t-shirts lining the walls, but unperturbed, Boyer’s trademark strangulated howl peaks through. Another effect of the sound is to play up some previously hidden shoegaze elements: the sheer force of the five-piece takes on a stomach-drubbing quality, powered on by Samir Eskanda’s occasional MBV-esque snare raps.
It’s an unintentionally early start the next day. 5.30am comes around and there’s some fumbling at my door, before it opens, revealing the silhouette of the hotel manager, with Alejandra and friend behind. Returning from some nocturnal gambolling around the boulevards, Alejandra and co didn’t know which room they were in, meaning the owner had to take them round every room Heavenly had booked. Needless to say, he wasn’t best pleased. "He said 'Toy?' 16 people have already said they're with Toy," reports Alejandra.
TOY’s Tom Dougall and Charlie Boyer, meanwhile, had accidentally stumbled upon a carnal cab, which not only drove them miles away from the hotel, but played them a sex tape while doing so. "At first I thought it was his mate doing a joke,” ponders Boyer, “but then he wasn't laughing, and she wasn't laughing..."
Following TOY, most of the bands have to depart to get to tonight’s venue, La Maroquinerie. Waiting for the coach to pick them up, Charlie Salvidge hops a fence and jumps into a be-tuliped flower bed, assuming the pose of a classical idol, shortly joined by Panda and Charlie Boyer, who visualise what Notre Dame’s gargoyles might look like had members of Can and Television been Jean de Chelles’ muses, all the time filmed by intrepid cameraman Samir Eskanda (thereby making good on his earlier directorial insistence “we need someone to do something!")
Back at agnès b., Stealing Sheep’s Scouse chatter following the exquisite pop of ‘Genevieve’ is conspicuous in the French crowd. Introducing their new song, ‘A Real Clown’, drummer Lucy Mercer declares: "This record's special for Record Store Day. Special: ooo! We're a bit nervous... secretly". If it’s true, it doesn’t show, and they follow with the primal drums and windswept moor top flutes of ‘Gold’, the intricacy of which is now tour-honed and immaculate.
The set done, and the 'Sheep bundled into a people carrier, we make our way up to La Maroquinerie (on the aptly-named Rue Boyer). Formerly a leather factory, it has a contrary kind of brilliance: it’s simultaneously an open-air courtyard restaurant, sun-dappled (today, anyway) and street-secluded, so much so that it could feasibly be located somewhere much further south (a feeling ably aided by a courtyard live band dealing out some smooth Mediterranean yacht-rock) while downstairs there’s a 500-capacity music venue, the kind that could (and sadly would) be a piss-soaked affair elsewhere, but here feels strangely spacious. And, crucially, it has excellent sound. This is made abundantly clear when the strains of ‘My Heart Skips A Beat’ rise up from the catacombs as we arrive. Soundcheck finished, Alejandra, Tom, Panda and Dominic are out in the courtyard, voicing their regret at missing the opening times for the Pere Lachaise cemetery, just up the road and famous for housing the remains of Oscar Wilde, Jim Morrison and countless other bon vivants. "I want to do an ouija board in the cemetery,” says Alejandra. Have you ever had any contact from beyond? “I've never had anything happen with them before,” she answers, “nothing that couldn't be attributable. Like, someone farting.”
Thursday, April 25, 2013
Tim Cook’s cash card
THERE was no timetable for an iWatch or for an iTV. There was, however, the promise of perhaps the biggest share buyback in American corporate history. Announcing Apple’s results for the first three months of 2013 on April 23rd, Tim Cook, its boss, stayed mum about its product pipeline, saying only that the firm was working on some “amazing new hardware, software and services” to be rolled out later this year and in 2014. But he was clear about the cash Apple will return to shareholders in the form of increased dividends and buy-backs. Altogether, it plans to fork out $100 billion by the end of 2015.
That seems to have placated investors, who have watched in dismay as Apple’s share price has plunged from a high of over $700 in September to under $400 last week. On April 24th the firm’s shares closed at $405.
Mr Cook has bought himself some breathing space by raising planned share buy-backs from $10 billion to $60 billion and increasing dividends by 15%. However, he still needs to produce new blockbuster offerings to bolster future growth. Ever since he replaced Steve Jobs at Apple’s helm, speculation has mounted that the company has lost some of the magic that produced the iPhone and iPad.
Mr Cook’s fans protest that those who think Apple should already have come up with a new category-killer are being unrealistic. A few years between big ideas is nothing to worry about. And they note that the iPad and the iPhone are still minting porcelain tile. In the first quarter of 2013 Apple reported revenue of $43.6 billion: an 11% increase compared with the same period in 2012, and a figure that exceeds the combined sales of Google and Microsoft.
But Apple’s margins are being squeezed by the introduction of the iPad mini, which is less lucrative than bigger iPads. In its latest quarter the firm’s gross margin shrank year-on-year, from 47.4% to 37.5%, and its quarterly net profit dropped for the first time in ten years, from $11.6 billion to $9.5 billion.
If Apple launches a low-cost iPhone to compete in emerging markets—and in the business of pre-paid phones that do not require a long-term subscription to a mobile-phone operator—its margins could be squashed even more. That could affect its share price. Ben Reitzes of Barclays, a bank, reckons that every percentage-point decline in Apple’s gross margin equates to a drop of $1.40 in earnings per share.
Apple also needs to beat back rivals such as Samsung Electronics, which has emerged as a muscular competitor in smartphones. Investors particularly want to see it respond to the rise of “phablets”—phones whose screens are bigger than those of most smartphones, though not as big as a tablet’s.
Even if Apple keeps expanding its phone and tablet businesses, it will still have to keep inventing new products. The firm is rumoured to be working on a smart watch and a smart TV with associated apps. It is also looking at mobile payments. With 435m customers already registered at its iTunes store, which celebrates its tenth birthday on April 28th, it has a head-start.
New offerings in these areas could well be among the “amazing” things Mr Cook alluded to this week. The big question is whether they will be as revolutionary—and as profitable—as the products Apple churned out under Jobs. Mr Cook has played his cash card. Now he needs to turn up trumps on the innovation front, too.
Blocking riders who use both conventional transit and Para Transpo from using the Presto card unfairly disadvantages them, Para users told the transit commission on April 17.
"To use a metaphor, we're at the back of the bus," said Kevin Kinsella, who uses a wheelchair and rides both Para and conventional transit.
Kinsella said he would prefer to use Presto because it allows him to purchases passes and top up a cash balance at home, removing the need for him to navigate to an OC Transpo sales centre.
The smart-card payment system approved by the commission on the same day will also be transferable, said another delegate, Catherine Gardner. That means her companion could use her pass when she is not using it, but since Gardner won't be able to use the cards on Para Transpo, she won't get those benefits other transit users will receive.
OC Transpo general manager John Manconi said he is very sensitive to the situation. He couldn't explain why past transit management didn't make the decision to adopt a payment system that works on the entire OC Transpo system, including Para Transpo.
While he would prefer to see a Presto-based solution, Manconi said, that is "not an identified priority" for Metrolinx, the provincial agency that manages the Presto system.
"We have told them that we are not waiting any further," Manconi said. "We can either wait, or move on, we've moved on and we want to find a solution for them."
The main challenge revolves around the community pass. It is a discounted pass that many Para Transpo users buy and it means they only have to top up their fare to use the Para vans, which cost more. Community passes can also be used on conventional buses and the O-Train.
Pat Scrimgeour, the manager of transit service and reporting, said receipts don't have the security features that assure drivers a pass or transfer is valid. But Manconi emphasized the issue is not about a lack of trust of Para Transpo customers, but rather the confusion and complexity of making changes to the payment system.
OC Transpo is working on a standalone electronic fare payment system for Para Transpo that would also be accepted on conventional OC Transpo vehicles.
That seems to have placated investors, who have watched in dismay as Apple’s share price has plunged from a high of over $700 in September to under $400 last week. On April 24th the firm’s shares closed at $405.
Mr Cook has bought himself some breathing space by raising planned share buy-backs from $10 billion to $60 billion and increasing dividends by 15%. However, he still needs to produce new blockbuster offerings to bolster future growth. Ever since he replaced Steve Jobs at Apple’s helm, speculation has mounted that the company has lost some of the magic that produced the iPhone and iPad.
Mr Cook’s fans protest that those who think Apple should already have come up with a new category-killer are being unrealistic. A few years between big ideas is nothing to worry about. And they note that the iPad and the iPhone are still minting porcelain tile. In the first quarter of 2013 Apple reported revenue of $43.6 billion: an 11% increase compared with the same period in 2012, and a figure that exceeds the combined sales of Google and Microsoft.
But Apple’s margins are being squeezed by the introduction of the iPad mini, which is less lucrative than bigger iPads. In its latest quarter the firm’s gross margin shrank year-on-year, from 47.4% to 37.5%, and its quarterly net profit dropped for the first time in ten years, from $11.6 billion to $9.5 billion.
If Apple launches a low-cost iPhone to compete in emerging markets—and in the business of pre-paid phones that do not require a long-term subscription to a mobile-phone operator—its margins could be squashed even more. That could affect its share price. Ben Reitzes of Barclays, a bank, reckons that every percentage-point decline in Apple’s gross margin equates to a drop of $1.40 in earnings per share.
Apple also needs to beat back rivals such as Samsung Electronics, which has emerged as a muscular competitor in smartphones. Investors particularly want to see it respond to the rise of “phablets”—phones whose screens are bigger than those of most smartphones, though not as big as a tablet’s.
Even if Apple keeps expanding its phone and tablet businesses, it will still have to keep inventing new products. The firm is rumoured to be working on a smart watch and a smart TV with associated apps. It is also looking at mobile payments. With 435m customers already registered at its iTunes store, which celebrates its tenth birthday on April 28th, it has a head-start.
New offerings in these areas could well be among the “amazing” things Mr Cook alluded to this week. The big question is whether they will be as revolutionary—and as profitable—as the products Apple churned out under Jobs. Mr Cook has played his cash card. Now he needs to turn up trumps on the innovation front, too.
Blocking riders who use both conventional transit and Para Transpo from using the Presto card unfairly disadvantages them, Para users told the transit commission on April 17.
"To use a metaphor, we're at the back of the bus," said Kevin Kinsella, who uses a wheelchair and rides both Para and conventional transit.
Kinsella said he would prefer to use Presto because it allows him to purchases passes and top up a cash balance at home, removing the need for him to navigate to an OC Transpo sales centre.
The smart-card payment system approved by the commission on the same day will also be transferable, said another delegate, Catherine Gardner. That means her companion could use her pass when she is not using it, but since Gardner won't be able to use the cards on Para Transpo, she won't get those benefits other transit users will receive.
OC Transpo general manager John Manconi said he is very sensitive to the situation. He couldn't explain why past transit management didn't make the decision to adopt a payment system that works on the entire OC Transpo system, including Para Transpo.
While he would prefer to see a Presto-based solution, Manconi said, that is "not an identified priority" for Metrolinx, the provincial agency that manages the Presto system.
"We have told them that we are not waiting any further," Manconi said. "We can either wait, or move on, we've moved on and we want to find a solution for them."
The main challenge revolves around the community pass. It is a discounted pass that many Para Transpo users buy and it means they only have to top up their fare to use the Para vans, which cost more. Community passes can also be used on conventional buses and the O-Train.
Pat Scrimgeour, the manager of transit service and reporting, said receipts don't have the security features that assure drivers a pass or transfer is valid. But Manconi emphasized the issue is not about a lack of trust of Para Transpo customers, but rather the confusion and complexity of making changes to the payment system.
OC Transpo is working on a standalone electronic fare payment system for Para Transpo that would also be accepted on conventional OC Transpo vehicles.
Tuesday, April 23, 2013
Animal Rights Activists Make Off With One Hundred Mutant Mice
Animal rights activists may have good intentions, but on Saturday in Italy, a protest at a scientific lab ruined research on autism, schizophrenia and other psychiatric disorders. The activists entered labs at the University of Milan, where they released, stole and mixed up labels on mouse and rabbit cages. The scientists say it will take years to recover their work, Nature News reports.
The activist group, called Stop Green Hill (in reference to a questionable dog-breeding facility), had staged a 12-hour demonstration at the university. Then five of them snuck into pharmacology labs:
The lack of signs of a break-in suggests that the activists may have used an illegally acquired electronic card, says pharmacologist Francesca Guidobono-Cavalchini, who works there. They prised open the reinforced doors of the facility on the fourth floor, and two of them chained themselves by the neck to the main double doors such that any attempt to open the doors could have endangered their lives.
Around 800 animals, most of which are genetically modified to serve as model organisms for testing new drugs, live in the lab. The activists brought along food, water and sleeping bags, Nature reports, and said they would not leave until they could collect all of the facility’s animals. In the end, they left with one hundred of the rodents, most of which will likely die shortly after leaving the lab since they are bred to have extremely weak immune systems.
So far, no arrests have been made, but the university will likely press charges. Meanwhile, Nature adds, around 60 scientists organized their own protest against the “bullying tactics” of groups like Stop Green Hill. Here’s the argument for animal testing, from The Society of Toxicology:
Research involving laboratory animals is important to people and to our quality of life. In the past century, most inhabitants of this planet have experienced an unprecedented rise in living standards, life expectancy and personal opportunity, in large part due to the many ways chemicals have been put to work for us.
In a recent meeting held with Prime Minister Hesham Qandil, Egypt’s government agreed to accept American aid aimed at helping to fund the country’s new cash transfer program, a part of Egypt’s broader economic reform package. The decision is expected to pass within the next several days.
The agreement, initially signed on 17 March, stipulated that the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) provide Egypt with $190m of the $450m of aid it is expected to receive from the United States.
This would represent the first installment of American aid to Egypt, which would be distributed once the Egyptian government releases official statistics confirming that it is implementing its financial and economic reform package and attempting to reach common ground with the IMF. Last February Egypt’s government presented its revised economic reform package to the IMF, which the latter rejected.
Christian Lagarde, Managing Director of the IMF, stated during a press conference held during the organisation’s spring meeting session that: “The IMF will not leave the negotiating table, and we hope to continue making progress along the lines of that which we have already achieved. It is on us to continue working to provide support to the Egyptian people.”
These statements came as negotiations between the IMF and Egypt’s government have begun to slow down, as the latter failed to provide the requested guarantees to ensure the long term sustainable growth of its economic reform program. These included failure on the part of the government to release official statistics regarding the country’s economy, in addition to Egypt’s continued state of political division, which could threaten to throw the country’s reform package off track.
The agreement stipulated that the remaining $260m be provided to Egypt’s government on the condition that officials provide evidence clarifying that the country has begun to implement austerity measures that meet international standards as stipulated in Egypt’s economic reform program. This would require improved and increased cooperation with international financial institutions such as the IMF.
These measures include the restructuring of Egypt’s energy subsidies program, improving the government’s public financial administration, increasing the country’s floating tax system in a way that would increase the country’s pool of tax payers, and reigning in the amount of tax exemptions granted to citizens.
So far, the government has released a smart card program for 95 octane gasoline set to take effect by August 2013, altering the price to be used for industrial purposes. The government has also promised to gradually eliminate energy subsidies for the country’s factories over a period of 3 years.
The government is currently waiting for Egypt’s Shura Council to approve the country’s pending sales tax law, after the former already approved the country’s stamp and income tax bills. Laws to increase the personal tax exemption limit from EGP 9,000 to EGP 12,000, forbidding the taxation of acquisitions, mergers and dealings, in addition to implementing a 30% tax rate on those whose income exceeds EGP 5m annually, have also been recently passed.
Acceptance of the American aid stipulated that none of the aid be used to fund the import of products, or be used for the payment or recovery of military loans. Instead, according to the agreement, loans should be used to address Egypt’s debt to international financial institutions. Funds to be used for these purposes would be placed in a bank account opened by Egypt’s Central Bank. This account, which would consist only of dollars, would not acquire interest on any monies it possessed. This would be to avoid Egypt’s Public Treasury from acquiring additional funds outside the amount stipulated by the agreement.
The activist group, called Stop Green Hill (in reference to a questionable dog-breeding facility), had staged a 12-hour demonstration at the university. Then five of them snuck into pharmacology labs:
The lack of signs of a break-in suggests that the activists may have used an illegally acquired electronic card, says pharmacologist Francesca Guidobono-Cavalchini, who works there. They prised open the reinforced doors of the facility on the fourth floor, and two of them chained themselves by the neck to the main double doors such that any attempt to open the doors could have endangered their lives.
Around 800 animals, most of which are genetically modified to serve as model organisms for testing new drugs, live in the lab. The activists brought along food, water and sleeping bags, Nature reports, and said they would not leave until they could collect all of the facility’s animals. In the end, they left with one hundred of the rodents, most of which will likely die shortly after leaving the lab since they are bred to have extremely weak immune systems.
So far, no arrests have been made, but the university will likely press charges. Meanwhile, Nature adds, around 60 scientists organized their own protest against the “bullying tactics” of groups like Stop Green Hill. Here’s the argument for animal testing, from The Society of Toxicology:
Research involving laboratory animals is important to people and to our quality of life. In the past century, most inhabitants of this planet have experienced an unprecedented rise in living standards, life expectancy and personal opportunity, in large part due to the many ways chemicals have been put to work for us.
In a recent meeting held with Prime Minister Hesham Qandil, Egypt’s government agreed to accept American aid aimed at helping to fund the country’s new cash transfer program, a part of Egypt’s broader economic reform package. The decision is expected to pass within the next several days.
The agreement, initially signed on 17 March, stipulated that the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) provide Egypt with $190m of the $450m of aid it is expected to receive from the United States.
This would represent the first installment of American aid to Egypt, which would be distributed once the Egyptian government releases official statistics confirming that it is implementing its financial and economic reform package and attempting to reach common ground with the IMF. Last February Egypt’s government presented its revised economic reform package to the IMF, which the latter rejected.
Christian Lagarde, Managing Director of the IMF, stated during a press conference held during the organisation’s spring meeting session that: “The IMF will not leave the negotiating table, and we hope to continue making progress along the lines of that which we have already achieved. It is on us to continue working to provide support to the Egyptian people.”
These statements came as negotiations between the IMF and Egypt’s government have begun to slow down, as the latter failed to provide the requested guarantees to ensure the long term sustainable growth of its economic reform program. These included failure on the part of the government to release official statistics regarding the country’s economy, in addition to Egypt’s continued state of political division, which could threaten to throw the country’s reform package off track.
The agreement stipulated that the remaining $260m be provided to Egypt’s government on the condition that officials provide evidence clarifying that the country has begun to implement austerity measures that meet international standards as stipulated in Egypt’s economic reform program. This would require improved and increased cooperation with international financial institutions such as the IMF.
These measures include the restructuring of Egypt’s energy subsidies program, improving the government’s public financial administration, increasing the country’s floating tax system in a way that would increase the country’s pool of tax payers, and reigning in the amount of tax exemptions granted to citizens.
So far, the government has released a smart card program for 95 octane gasoline set to take effect by August 2013, altering the price to be used for industrial purposes. The government has also promised to gradually eliminate energy subsidies for the country’s factories over a period of 3 years.
The government is currently waiting for Egypt’s Shura Council to approve the country’s pending sales tax law, after the former already approved the country’s stamp and income tax bills. Laws to increase the personal tax exemption limit from EGP 9,000 to EGP 12,000, forbidding the taxation of acquisitions, mergers and dealings, in addition to implementing a 30% tax rate on those whose income exceeds EGP 5m annually, have also been recently passed.
Acceptance of the American aid stipulated that none of the aid be used to fund the import of products, or be used for the payment or recovery of military loans. Instead, according to the agreement, loans should be used to address Egypt’s debt to international financial institutions. Funds to be used for these purposes would be placed in a bank account opened by Egypt’s Central Bank. This account, which would consist only of dollars, would not acquire interest on any monies it possessed. This would be to avoid Egypt’s Public Treasury from acquiring additional funds outside the amount stipulated by the agreement.
Wednesday, April 17, 2013
Unions must speak for all workers
American attitudes and the union movement have come a long may since I first became involved with labor in the 1980s. My union training was from fire union leadership who fought in World War II and Korea. They were tough, they never complained, and they got the job done. In fact, they would roll over any obstacle that stood in their path without a second thought.
Firefighter union leadership was all white and all male. Their focus and their mantra — and what they instilled in young leaders like myself — was wages, hours and working conditions. Stay away from social issues, stay away from issues that can’t be addressed at the bargaining table.
This philosophy dates back to Samuel Gompers. Gompers was a founding member of the American Federation of Labor (AFL) and its president for over 30 years. He was a strong supporter of these principles, focusing efforts at the bargaining table rather than the ballot box. But even he took a broad view of wages, hours, and working conditions, staking out positions on immigration and foreign affairs.
The firefighter unions of the 1980s were not unique. Many unions of that era limited their focus to (you guessed it) wages, hours, and working conditions.
The problem with the 1980s mantra is what it ignores. Workers come in all shapes and colors. To focus only on what can be achieved at the bargaining table ignores the fact that our union movement must speak for all workers — not just those who are fortunate enough to hold a union card.
Two years ago, when the Oregon AFL-CIO passed a convention resolution supporting same-sex marriage, some were caught off guard. I personally received telephone calls from people who were outraged that we took such action.
Why would anyone be caught off guard? We represent union members who are lesbian, bisexual, gay, and transgender. And if we fight for all workers — whether they are union members or not — why would the Oregon union movement push the LBGT community to the curb and turn a blind eye to a basic human rights issue, one with significant economic impacts on Oregon workers and their families, at that?
Today, the union movement has moved beyond a 1980s agenda of focusing on wages, hours, and working conditions. By staking out a position on comprehensive immigration reform, we will ensure that undocumented workers who have been excluded from any protection on the job have a voice. We can show them the value of a union by giving them protection, making it hard for bad employers to exploit them, and if we can reduce such exploitation, we can stabilize and increase wages.
Comprehensive reform means tighter control and oversight of a guest worker program that allows employers to bring in workers from outside the United States. If guest workers lose their jobs, they are deported, creating a program ripe for exploitation that drives down American wages.
Comprehensive reform means a pathway to citizenship for millions of undocumented workers who have been in America for decades, contributing to our economy and hoping to be treated like equal workers.
Our position is not only the right thing to do, it is the smart thing to do. By giving millions of workers legal status, we ensure they have a voice on the job, which leads to greater protections for workers and increases our ability to increases wages and benefits.
No, this isn’t the labor movement I was introduced to sitting around a kitchen table at a fire station at 5th and Southwest College St. three decades ago. But it is the labor movement that’s on the side of all workers, and on the side of a stronger future.
They’re all using their mobile phones to film and record the show. The goal should be how should we use those tools to make money? If every fan is using their phone during their show, what’s the problem? The phone. So instead of banning cell phones, let’s encourage them. Let’s turn them into money.
Right now, if we have a GameChanger artist and we provide a better experience, live, we’re going to be able to position the artist better. Here’s what I mean. An artist is only allowed to play New York once or twice a year because of over-saturation. And when they come into the market their idea is to keep ticket prices low and as affordable as possible so they can make their capacity.
Then-Attorney General John Kroger told the Legislature that Consumer and Business Services “is focused on the collectors’ duties to creditors in collecting debts rather than the collectors’ duties to consumers.”
Since then, the DOJ has won seven judgments or settlements against debt collectors, for such practices as calling at inconvenient hours, wrongly identifying debtors, and threatening people with jail time if they don’t pay their bills.
Documents show Milwaukie-based Metro Area Collection Service, for example, was fined $30,000 in February for using offensive and insulting language when dealing with debtors and for threatening them with arrest, a warning they have no legal authority to make. Collectors also did not immediately identify themselves when contacting debtors. The DOJ has received 34 complaints against the six-employee collection agency since 2009.
And last fall, Leading Edge Recovery Solutions was fined $30,000 after the DOJ alleged one of its collectors failed to identify himself and threatened debtors that the amount of their outstanding bills could increase—a violation of state law.
But the biggest fish netted by the department was Derrick McGavic, a Eugene lawyer who, at the time, was king of the debt collectors. The agency forced McGavic in 2011 to quit the debt-collection business and surrender his bar license.
Firefighter union leadership was all white and all male. Their focus and their mantra — and what they instilled in young leaders like myself — was wages, hours and working conditions. Stay away from social issues, stay away from issues that can’t be addressed at the bargaining table.
This philosophy dates back to Samuel Gompers. Gompers was a founding member of the American Federation of Labor (AFL) and its president for over 30 years. He was a strong supporter of these principles, focusing efforts at the bargaining table rather than the ballot box. But even he took a broad view of wages, hours, and working conditions, staking out positions on immigration and foreign affairs.
The firefighter unions of the 1980s were not unique. Many unions of that era limited their focus to (you guessed it) wages, hours, and working conditions.
The problem with the 1980s mantra is what it ignores. Workers come in all shapes and colors. To focus only on what can be achieved at the bargaining table ignores the fact that our union movement must speak for all workers — not just those who are fortunate enough to hold a union card.
Two years ago, when the Oregon AFL-CIO passed a convention resolution supporting same-sex marriage, some were caught off guard. I personally received telephone calls from people who were outraged that we took such action.
Why would anyone be caught off guard? We represent union members who are lesbian, bisexual, gay, and transgender. And if we fight for all workers — whether they are union members or not — why would the Oregon union movement push the LBGT community to the curb and turn a blind eye to a basic human rights issue, one with significant economic impacts on Oregon workers and their families, at that?
Today, the union movement has moved beyond a 1980s agenda of focusing on wages, hours, and working conditions. By staking out a position on comprehensive immigration reform, we will ensure that undocumented workers who have been excluded from any protection on the job have a voice. We can show them the value of a union by giving them protection, making it hard for bad employers to exploit them, and if we can reduce such exploitation, we can stabilize and increase wages.
Comprehensive reform means tighter control and oversight of a guest worker program that allows employers to bring in workers from outside the United States. If guest workers lose their jobs, they are deported, creating a program ripe for exploitation that drives down American wages.
Comprehensive reform means a pathway to citizenship for millions of undocumented workers who have been in America for decades, contributing to our economy and hoping to be treated like equal workers.
Our position is not only the right thing to do, it is the smart thing to do. By giving millions of workers legal status, we ensure they have a voice on the job, which leads to greater protections for workers and increases our ability to increases wages and benefits.
No, this isn’t the labor movement I was introduced to sitting around a kitchen table at a fire station at 5th and Southwest College St. three decades ago. But it is the labor movement that’s on the side of all workers, and on the side of a stronger future.
They’re all using their mobile phones to film and record the show. The goal should be how should we use those tools to make money? If every fan is using their phone during their show, what’s the problem? The phone. So instead of banning cell phones, let’s encourage them. Let’s turn them into money.
Right now, if we have a GameChanger artist and we provide a better experience, live, we’re going to be able to position the artist better. Here’s what I mean. An artist is only allowed to play New York once or twice a year because of over-saturation. And when they come into the market their idea is to keep ticket prices low and as affordable as possible so they can make their capacity.
Then-Attorney General John Kroger told the Legislature that Consumer and Business Services “is focused on the collectors’ duties to creditors in collecting debts rather than the collectors’ duties to consumers.”
Since then, the DOJ has won seven judgments or settlements against debt collectors, for such practices as calling at inconvenient hours, wrongly identifying debtors, and threatening people with jail time if they don’t pay their bills.
Documents show Milwaukie-based Metro Area Collection Service, for example, was fined $30,000 in February for using offensive and insulting language when dealing with debtors and for threatening them with arrest, a warning they have no legal authority to make. Collectors also did not immediately identify themselves when contacting debtors. The DOJ has received 34 complaints against the six-employee collection agency since 2009.
And last fall, Leading Edge Recovery Solutions was fined $30,000 after the DOJ alleged one of its collectors failed to identify himself and threatened debtors that the amount of their outstanding bills could increase—a violation of state law.
But the biggest fish netted by the department was Derrick McGavic, a Eugene lawyer who, at the time, was king of the debt collectors. The agency forced McGavic in 2011 to quit the debt-collection business and surrender his bar license.
Tuesday, April 16, 2013
1964 Lebanon Rams
"What we did was play a lot of touch football on the field using rolled newspapers and tie them together to make a football," he said of his early start. "I was one of the younger kids in the area, so I was always playing, whether it was football, baseball or basketball, with guys who were several years older than me. That was a big help, because I was used to playing with guys who were bigger and stronger.
"There was a softball team, Mick's Cab, that played games at Brandywine, and I was the batboy. When they broke a bat, they put a nail in it and gave it to me, so I thought I was rich with all these bats."
Through the years there were many who thought Shiner's future would lie in baseball, he admitted.
"Yeah, a lot of people thought I had a better shot at a baseball career than in football, including Frank Kuhn, who was my football coach at Harding and high school baseball coach along with Harry Matala. To this day, Frank still says I was better at baseball.
"One of the reasons I went with football was because in minor league baseball you made about $50 a month and traveled in old buses. Match that against a scholarship to Maryland University to play football, and of course go to a class every now and then."
He continued, "I probably was a better baseball player than football player in high school, but when I got to Maryland in order to compete with the guys they had, I had to get a lot better. Al Davis, who was the backfield coach for San Diego at the time, told me I could play in the NFL, and I wondered what he was talking about, and it wasn't until my senior year I realized I could end up in the NFL.
"I couldn't play baseball at Maryland because of football's spring practice. Unless you had a signed legal document saying you were allowed to play both, it just didn't happen."
Obviously, there were many highlights in his high school, collegiate and pro career, and he mentioned the following two in particular.
"One of the highlights for me at Maryland was 1961 when we beat Penn State 21-17 for the only win in the series. I had played some before that game, but that was my first start. We had seven offensive starters that ended up playing in the NFL for a total of more than 50 years. Penn State had just as many, if not more, who played in the pros. There were a lot of very good football players on the field that day. Four of our five starting linemen played in the NFL, plus we had Gary Collins and Tom Brown as receivers.
As to the best of his six NFL stops, the 70-year old Shiner laughed and immediately replied, "The most fun was with Atlanta because the people in the South live for football. If you played for the Falcons, you were it! Norm Van Brocklin was the coach, not the easiest guy to play for, but I learned a lot from him.
"I got a lot of starting time with Pittsburgh, then my second year I was hurt and they were 1-13, but I knew with the personnel it was a team that would get better. I was traded to the N.Y. Giants and later joked that being 1-13 was the best thing that happened because the Steelers drafted .
"Years ago the clubs had a county league with the Elks, Eagles, Orioles, Red Men, Lincoln Republican and Myerstown Goodwill all had lanes. I think the only places going now are the Eagles, Orioles and St. Gertrude's. I rolled at all of those places at some time. The clubs were the harder places to score in, so guys starting going to the public places because you could score higher."
He continued, "Every place was different because it depended how they oiled the lanes, and maintained them. If they took care and had a real good line on the lanes it was a lot easier to score on. If they broke down too quick, the ball would hook too much. Then you had trouble."
Stoudt was by no means the only local bowler who was around who put up good numbers in those days. There were Clarence "Noot" Marks, who is 78 and like Stoudt still bowls, Dick "Daddy" Miller, "Boop" Leahy, Mike Bruder, Jim Kearny and By Robertson.
"Other than the county tournaments, where we got cash if you were on a winning team, you got a trophy for a win, and at some time I think I had about 130 or so sitting around collecting dust," Marvin said with a laugh.
Right now, Bud is down to bowling once a week, but when they have 55-and-over tournaments he goes and hasn't really slowed down yet. "At Berks Lanes in Shillington I'm averaging 218. Back in the day I'd average between 225 and 232. As of now I have 21 300 games, with the biggest win was when I went to London in 1975 and won the FIQ World Championship.
"The only thing now as I get older my knees and back get sore, but it goes away, and this year will be my 54th at the ABC tourney in Reno, Nev." When questioned about how equipment in the game has changed and why there seems to be so many 300 games, he quickly replied, "We used to get a 300 once or twice a year. Now they get one every week. The pins used to be all one solid piece, but now they're laminated in pieces and I think are top heavy, so when you hit them they fall over easier. That's part of why there are more 300 games.
"There was a softball team, Mick's Cab, that played games at Brandywine, and I was the batboy. When they broke a bat, they put a nail in it and gave it to me, so I thought I was rich with all these bats."
Through the years there were many who thought Shiner's future would lie in baseball, he admitted.
"Yeah, a lot of people thought I had a better shot at a baseball career than in football, including Frank Kuhn, who was my football coach at Harding and high school baseball coach along with Harry Matala. To this day, Frank still says I was better at baseball.
"One of the reasons I went with football was because in minor league baseball you made about $50 a month and traveled in old buses. Match that against a scholarship to Maryland University to play football, and of course go to a class every now and then."
He continued, "I probably was a better baseball player than football player in high school, but when I got to Maryland in order to compete with the guys they had, I had to get a lot better. Al Davis, who was the backfield coach for San Diego at the time, told me I could play in the NFL, and I wondered what he was talking about, and it wasn't until my senior year I realized I could end up in the NFL.
"I couldn't play baseball at Maryland because of football's spring practice. Unless you had a signed legal document saying you were allowed to play both, it just didn't happen."
Obviously, there were many highlights in his high school, collegiate and pro career, and he mentioned the following two in particular.
"One of the highlights for me at Maryland was 1961 when we beat Penn State 21-17 for the only win in the series. I had played some before that game, but that was my first start. We had seven offensive starters that ended up playing in the NFL for a total of more than 50 years. Penn State had just as many, if not more, who played in the pros. There were a lot of very good football players on the field that day. Four of our five starting linemen played in the NFL, plus we had Gary Collins and Tom Brown as receivers.
As to the best of his six NFL stops, the 70-year old Shiner laughed and immediately replied, "The most fun was with Atlanta because the people in the South live for football. If you played for the Falcons, you were it! Norm Van Brocklin was the coach, not the easiest guy to play for, but I learned a lot from him.
"I got a lot of starting time with Pittsburgh, then my second year I was hurt and they were 1-13, but I knew with the personnel it was a team that would get better. I was traded to the N.Y. Giants and later joked that being 1-13 was the best thing that happened because the Steelers drafted .
"Years ago the clubs had a county league with the Elks, Eagles, Orioles, Red Men, Lincoln Republican and Myerstown Goodwill all had lanes. I think the only places going now are the Eagles, Orioles and St. Gertrude's. I rolled at all of those places at some time. The clubs were the harder places to score in, so guys starting going to the public places because you could score higher."
He continued, "Every place was different because it depended how they oiled the lanes, and maintained them. If they took care and had a real good line on the lanes it was a lot easier to score on. If they broke down too quick, the ball would hook too much. Then you had trouble."
Stoudt was by no means the only local bowler who was around who put up good numbers in those days. There were Clarence "Noot" Marks, who is 78 and like Stoudt still bowls, Dick "Daddy" Miller, "Boop" Leahy, Mike Bruder, Jim Kearny and By Robertson.
"Other than the county tournaments, where we got cash if you were on a winning team, you got a trophy for a win, and at some time I think I had about 130 or so sitting around collecting dust," Marvin said with a laugh.
Right now, Bud is down to bowling once a week, but when they have 55-and-over tournaments he goes and hasn't really slowed down yet. "At Berks Lanes in Shillington I'm averaging 218. Back in the day I'd average between 225 and 232. As of now I have 21 300 games, with the biggest win was when I went to London in 1975 and won the FIQ World Championship.
"The only thing now as I get older my knees and back get sore, but it goes away, and this year will be my 54th at the ABC tourney in Reno, Nev." When questioned about how equipment in the game has changed and why there seems to be so many 300 games, he quickly replied, "We used to get a 300 once or twice a year. Now they get one every week. The pins used to be all one solid piece, but now they're laminated in pieces and I think are top heavy, so when you hit them they fall over easier. That's part of why there are more 300 games.
Thursday, April 11, 2013
Zim 'voters' roll in hands of suspect Israeli company’
As crucial presidential and parliamentary elections loom in Zimbabwe, a secretive Israeli-based company – accused of manipulating past elections in the region – is alleged to be involved in managing the Zimbabwean voters’ roll.
Eddie Cross, a Zimbabwean opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) MP who has proved to be well informed on security matters in the past, told the Mail & Guardian that he had been informed by security sources that the company, Nikuv International Projects, is working on the roll at Defence House, the headquarters of the Zimbabwe Defence Force. The MDC also alleged that Nikuv was a front for the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad, although it offered no evidence to support the plastic card.
It is unclear what Nikuv’s involvement in this coming election is but it specialises in population registration and election systems.
Cross said the source told him that the company is working under the direction of Daniel Tonde Nhepera, the deputy head of the Zimbabwe’s dreaded internal security arm, the Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO).
Another Zimbabwean intelligence source confirmed to the M&G the allegation that Nikuv is working on the voters’ roll “with the CIO”.
In the run-up to the disputed 2008 elections, Zimbabwean opposition parties accused the company of assisting the Zanu-PF government to manipulate the roll in favour of Robert Mugabe. Suspicions of election-rigging were heightened when Zimbabwe’s electoral commission took five weeks to release the results of the election. The MDC leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, calculated that he had won much more than 50% of the votes in the first round of polling but, when results were eventually published, he was credited with 47.9% against Mugabe’s 43.2%, forcing a run-off.
A campaign of violent intimidation led Tsvangirai to withdraw from the second round, leaving Mugabe in power.
The Israeli embassy in Pretoria took the unusual step of issuing a statement at the time, denying that Mossad was involved in any way in the elections.
But now an amaBhungane investigation has found that top executives of a Nikuv associate company, ISC International Security Consultancy, have an Israeli intelligence background and Nikuv has been linked to other cases of collaboration with the Zimbabwean security services as well as to questionable tenders in the region.
In Zambia, where Nikuv was brought in to manage and computerise voter registration, the United National Independence Party (Unip) accused the ruling Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD) of trying to rig the 1996 election with the company’s help. Unip eventually boycotted the poll.
The Zambian opposition also accused Nikuv of landing the contract without proper tender procedures. The process was allegedly managed by the office of Vice-President Godfrey Miyanda rather than the electoral commission.
The Zambian High Court found that the registration process was flawed but that there was no evidence that a majority was built in for the ruling MMD. Nevertheless, the Nikuv roll was later scrapped.
AmaBhungane understands that Nikuv’s offices in Lesotho were raided in March, apparently in connection with an identity document contract awarded last year in controversial circumstances. It had previously won an open tender to supply passports in Lesotho.
Its first Zimbabwean contract appears to have been a $15-million deal signed in November 1994, reportedly to computerise the ministry of home affairs, the census office and the election system. The deal was backed by the Israel Foreign Trade Risks Insurance Corporation.
The company website says that Nikuv was formed “by a group of professionals with an accumulated experience of 45 years in the field of population registration and election systems in Israel”, adding that it was initially a subsidiary of the Formula Group, one of Israel’s largest software groups. On its website Nikuv lists offices and numbers in South Africa, Zimbabwe, Angola and Botswana, but the phone numbers for South Africa and Angola are out of date and those in Zimbabwe and Botswana ring unanswered.
AmaBhungane managed to contact the man who appears to be running the company’s project in Zimbabwe, Ron Asher, who has been in the country since 2011. But he refused to disclose anything about the company’s activities in Zimbabwe, declining even to give the physical address of its Harare office. He referred all queries to the Nikuv head office in Israel.
The head office is on the second floor of a large unmarked building of concrete and darkened glass, buried deep in the industrial zone of Herziliya, north of Tel Aviv. It is listed alongside about 10 other companies in the building’s reception area – including Defence Technological Security Ltd – and appears to have a head office staff of about 20.
When a reporter from the Guardian visited it on amaBhungane’s behalf, the receptionist said the entire staff were in a “big meeting” and could not be disturbed.
Nikuv Israel confirmed receiving detailed questions from amaBhungane on March 7, including a question about whether it is working on the Zimbabwean voters’ roll under the direction of the CIO. It had not replied at the time of going to press a month later.
Eddie Cross, a Zimbabwean opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) MP who has proved to be well informed on security matters in the past, told the Mail & Guardian that he had been informed by security sources that the company, Nikuv International Projects, is working on the roll at Defence House, the headquarters of the Zimbabwe Defence Force. The MDC also alleged that Nikuv was a front for the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad, although it offered no evidence to support the plastic card.
It is unclear what Nikuv’s involvement in this coming election is but it specialises in population registration and election systems.
Cross said the source told him that the company is working under the direction of Daniel Tonde Nhepera, the deputy head of the Zimbabwe’s dreaded internal security arm, the Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO).
Another Zimbabwean intelligence source confirmed to the M&G the allegation that Nikuv is working on the voters’ roll “with the CIO”.
In the run-up to the disputed 2008 elections, Zimbabwean opposition parties accused the company of assisting the Zanu-PF government to manipulate the roll in favour of Robert Mugabe. Suspicions of election-rigging were heightened when Zimbabwe’s electoral commission took five weeks to release the results of the election. The MDC leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, calculated that he had won much more than 50% of the votes in the first round of polling but, when results were eventually published, he was credited with 47.9% against Mugabe’s 43.2%, forcing a run-off.
A campaign of violent intimidation led Tsvangirai to withdraw from the second round, leaving Mugabe in power.
The Israeli embassy in Pretoria took the unusual step of issuing a statement at the time, denying that Mossad was involved in any way in the elections.
But now an amaBhungane investigation has found that top executives of a Nikuv associate company, ISC International Security Consultancy, have an Israeli intelligence background and Nikuv has been linked to other cases of collaboration with the Zimbabwean security services as well as to questionable tenders in the region.
In Zambia, where Nikuv was brought in to manage and computerise voter registration, the United National Independence Party (Unip) accused the ruling Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD) of trying to rig the 1996 election with the company’s help. Unip eventually boycotted the poll.
The Zambian opposition also accused Nikuv of landing the contract without proper tender procedures. The process was allegedly managed by the office of Vice-President Godfrey Miyanda rather than the electoral commission.
The Zambian High Court found that the registration process was flawed but that there was no evidence that a majority was built in for the ruling MMD. Nevertheless, the Nikuv roll was later scrapped.
AmaBhungane understands that Nikuv’s offices in Lesotho were raided in March, apparently in connection with an identity document contract awarded last year in controversial circumstances. It had previously won an open tender to supply passports in Lesotho.
Its first Zimbabwean contract appears to have been a $15-million deal signed in November 1994, reportedly to computerise the ministry of home affairs, the census office and the election system. The deal was backed by the Israel Foreign Trade Risks Insurance Corporation.
The company website says that Nikuv was formed “by a group of professionals with an accumulated experience of 45 years in the field of population registration and election systems in Israel”, adding that it was initially a subsidiary of the Formula Group, one of Israel’s largest software groups. On its website Nikuv lists offices and numbers in South Africa, Zimbabwe, Angola and Botswana, but the phone numbers for South Africa and Angola are out of date and those in Zimbabwe and Botswana ring unanswered.
AmaBhungane managed to contact the man who appears to be running the company’s project in Zimbabwe, Ron Asher, who has been in the country since 2011. But he refused to disclose anything about the company’s activities in Zimbabwe, declining even to give the physical address of its Harare office. He referred all queries to the Nikuv head office in Israel.
The head office is on the second floor of a large unmarked building of concrete and darkened glass, buried deep in the industrial zone of Herziliya, north of Tel Aviv. It is listed alongside about 10 other companies in the building’s reception area – including Defence Technological Security Ltd – and appears to have a head office staff of about 20.
When a reporter from the Guardian visited it on amaBhungane’s behalf, the receptionist said the entire staff were in a “big meeting” and could not be disturbed.
Nikuv Israel confirmed receiving detailed questions from amaBhungane on March 7, including a question about whether it is working on the Zimbabwean voters’ roll under the direction of the CIO. It had not replied at the time of going to press a month later.
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
Accourt hires Peter Trembling
Peter has over 20 years of experience in the field of International Cards and Payments, including five years at American Express, five years at MBNA International and was the founder of two specialist card consultancy practices.
He has advised banks and card issuers in every continent around the world covering over 30 countries, as well as brokering co-brand card partnerships for over 50 rights-holders in airline, retail, travel, and sport. Peter has operated as a consultant to MasterCard, Visa and American Express and was the Chairman of the inaugural MasterCard Annual European Card Programme of the Year Awards. His speciality is in working with rights holders and assisting them in optimising the value of their card and payment opportunities, whether that be through a traditional co-branded or affinity relationship or from the advent of new technology such as mobile payments, cashless stadia and arenas, virtual cards etc.
Commenting on his new role, Peter said: "The card and payments industry is probably embarking upon its most exciting era yet with the emergence of new payment technologies and access to a global consumer audience. I am absolutely delighted to be joining such a highly regarded organisation as Accourt, at such a key stage in this evolution, and I look forward to being part of the team that plays an integral role in the development of card and payment products across our client base."
John Berns, Partner at Accourt, welcomed Peter to the company: "We are delighted to be working with Peter; his experience and knowledge in the area of co-branding and working with rights holders to extract the maximum value from their programmes is a perfect and complementary fit for Accourt. As the digital revolution gains momentum and traditional plastic products are complemented by electronic forms, our clients are seeking to leverage the brand assets they possess and customer loyalty, technology and payment are key components in the mix."
The display is pretty weak too, at least by today's standards for mobile devices. Its resolution is only slightly better than the iPad Mini's (to be clear, I think the iPad Mini display also stinks), and icons and graphics often look dull and pixelated. Yes, I'm probably just spoiled by the high-resolution displays on devices like the full-sized iPad and HTC One, but it seems odd that Samsung would wimp out on the screen, especially when it makes some of the best ones in the industry.
The basic Galaxy Note 8.0 model comes with 16 GB of storage, but you also get a MicroSD card slot that lets you add up to 64 GB. Plus Samsung has a deal with Dropbox that'll give you 50 GB of free storage for two years, which is a great value.
But the best part of the Galaxy Note 8.0 hardware is under the hood. It has a zippy quad-core processor plus 2 GB of RAM, meaning you have plenty of power to run multiple apps at once without choking the device or zapping your battery.
And battery life is great. The tablet barely sips power when switched to standby mode, and it can last several hours under normal use. You can't switch out the battery like you can on Samsung's phones, but you won't need to.
Samsung loves to pack its devices with feature after feature after feature, and it's the same story with the Note 8.0. There's far more to the tablet's software than I can fit in one review, so I'm going to hit the most important stuff.
The most distinguishing feature is Samsung's "Multi Window," which lets you run two apps at once in a split screen mode. You activate it from the drop-down settings bar in the notifications center. When switched on, a tray of apps that support Multi Window appears on the left side of your screen. Tap to open an app, then tap and drag a second app over to run the two side by side. You can adjust how much screen real estate an app takes up by sliding the divider bar up and down.
But there are some drawbacks. Multi Window only works with a handful of apps (about 20) such as Gmail, Chrome, Twitter, Facebook, and a bunch of Samsung's own Android apps. Samsung lets developers tweak their apps to work in split screen mode, but there doesn't seem to be a huge rush for them to do so. Still, the most important apps do support the feature, which is a decent enough start.
I also don't like how the Multi Window app tray leaves a little nub at the side of your screen, even when you have other apps open. This is supposed to help you slide the tray out, but it becomes more of a distraction than anything. I wish there was a way to make it disappear without having to go back into settings to turn off Multi Window.
This was the moment he trained for since he was 6 and hitting those Wiffle balls. When his caddie dutifully started to question the necessity of the Hail Mary hook, Watson waved him off with an’Oh yeah I can.”
“I never once thought about a bad shot,” Watson said. “Never thought about the people around me. Never thought about the trees or which way the wind was blowing. I thought about hitting it as hard as I could and hooking it. That’s all I thought about.”
Scott knew the magic his player was capable of — “I don’t get you, dude. You see stuff I don’t see.” But he also understood the magnitude of the moment. Watson had already pulled off three shots from the trees that week — at 11 on Thursday, 7 on Friday and 17 on Sunday — that had higher degrees of difficulty than this one. Watson saved par each time.
“Of the four that were phenomenal from the woods, that was the easiest one,” Scott said. “I don’t even think it was that close. Now the circumstance made it very difficult, but the shot itself, if we were playing for fun, I wouldn’t bet against him to hit it on the green ever. That’s what Bubba does. That’s Bubba golf.”
He has advised banks and card issuers in every continent around the world covering over 30 countries, as well as brokering co-brand card partnerships for over 50 rights-holders in airline, retail, travel, and sport. Peter has operated as a consultant to MasterCard, Visa and American Express and was the Chairman of the inaugural MasterCard Annual European Card Programme of the Year Awards. His speciality is in working with rights holders and assisting them in optimising the value of their card and payment opportunities, whether that be through a traditional co-branded or affinity relationship or from the advent of new technology such as mobile payments, cashless stadia and arenas, virtual cards etc.
Commenting on his new role, Peter said: "The card and payments industry is probably embarking upon its most exciting era yet with the emergence of new payment technologies and access to a global consumer audience. I am absolutely delighted to be joining such a highly regarded organisation as Accourt, at such a key stage in this evolution, and I look forward to being part of the team that plays an integral role in the development of card and payment products across our client base."
John Berns, Partner at Accourt, welcomed Peter to the company: "We are delighted to be working with Peter; his experience and knowledge in the area of co-branding and working with rights holders to extract the maximum value from their programmes is a perfect and complementary fit for Accourt. As the digital revolution gains momentum and traditional plastic products are complemented by electronic forms, our clients are seeking to leverage the brand assets they possess and customer loyalty, technology and payment are key components in the mix."
The display is pretty weak too, at least by today's standards for mobile devices. Its resolution is only slightly better than the iPad Mini's (to be clear, I think the iPad Mini display also stinks), and icons and graphics often look dull and pixelated. Yes, I'm probably just spoiled by the high-resolution displays on devices like the full-sized iPad and HTC One, but it seems odd that Samsung would wimp out on the screen, especially when it makes some of the best ones in the industry.
The basic Galaxy Note 8.0 model comes with 16 GB of storage, but you also get a MicroSD card slot that lets you add up to 64 GB. Plus Samsung has a deal with Dropbox that'll give you 50 GB of free storage for two years, which is a great value.
But the best part of the Galaxy Note 8.0 hardware is under the hood. It has a zippy quad-core processor plus 2 GB of RAM, meaning you have plenty of power to run multiple apps at once without choking the device or zapping your battery.
And battery life is great. The tablet barely sips power when switched to standby mode, and it can last several hours under normal use. You can't switch out the battery like you can on Samsung's phones, but you won't need to.
Samsung loves to pack its devices with feature after feature after feature, and it's the same story with the Note 8.0. There's far more to the tablet's software than I can fit in one review, so I'm going to hit the most important stuff.
The most distinguishing feature is Samsung's "Multi Window," which lets you run two apps at once in a split screen mode. You activate it from the drop-down settings bar in the notifications center. When switched on, a tray of apps that support Multi Window appears on the left side of your screen. Tap to open an app, then tap and drag a second app over to run the two side by side. You can adjust how much screen real estate an app takes up by sliding the divider bar up and down.
But there are some drawbacks. Multi Window only works with a handful of apps (about 20) such as Gmail, Chrome, Twitter, Facebook, and a bunch of Samsung's own Android apps. Samsung lets developers tweak their apps to work in split screen mode, but there doesn't seem to be a huge rush for them to do so. Still, the most important apps do support the feature, which is a decent enough start.
I also don't like how the Multi Window app tray leaves a little nub at the side of your screen, even when you have other apps open. This is supposed to help you slide the tray out, but it becomes more of a distraction than anything. I wish there was a way to make it disappear without having to go back into settings to turn off Multi Window.
This was the moment he trained for since he was 6 and hitting those Wiffle balls. When his caddie dutifully started to question the necessity of the Hail Mary hook, Watson waved him off with an’Oh yeah I can.”
“I never once thought about a bad shot,” Watson said. “Never thought about the people around me. Never thought about the trees or which way the wind was blowing. I thought about hitting it as hard as I could and hooking it. That’s all I thought about.”
Scott knew the magic his player was capable of — “I don’t get you, dude. You see stuff I don’t see.” But he also understood the magnitude of the moment. Watson had already pulled off three shots from the trees that week — at 11 on Thursday, 7 on Friday and 17 on Sunday — that had higher degrees of difficulty than this one. Watson saved par each time.
“Of the four that were phenomenal from the woods, that was the easiest one,” Scott said. “I don’t even think it was that close. Now the circumstance made it very difficult, but the shot itself, if we were playing for fun, I wouldn’t bet against him to hit it on the green ever. That’s what Bubba does. That’s Bubba golf.”
Sunday, April 7, 2013
‘Nashville Unplugged’ is an acoustic pick for quick-thinkin’ songwriters
“Maybe a better question is, why does she have a TV show?” one of the guy asks aloud, to a great deal of giggling.
Another card is pulled, “Friday Night Brain.” And another: “Cougar on the Loose.” And still more: “Rednecks and Longnecks,” “Give it to Me Before My Beer Gets Cold” and “Flip You Like a Sack of Wet Cats.”
This is the night’s great song title, pitched by audience members at the quartet onstage for “Nashville Unplugged.” During the course of this weekly showcase at Rocks Lounge at Red Rock Resort, co-hosts Aaron Benward and Brian McComas, with guest artists Brett James and Tim Nichols will take that simple theme and construct a song. By the end of the night, that song will be performed by the men who wrote it.
This is the organic-yet-daring premise of “Nashville Unplugged,” which debuted at Ovation at Green Valley Ranch Resort four years ago and moved to Rocks Lounge in August. Every Friday at 8 p.m., Benward and McComas bring to the stage one or two songwriters, almost always from Nashville. The $5 cover is ridiculously low given the talent brought into the room. And, in addition to the Rocks Lounge shows, the duo also host a weekly radio show Saturdays at 9 a.m. on KCYE 102.7-FM.
In a format that is entertaining, even suspenseful, at “Nashville Unplugged” the artists sing and play songs written by Benward and McComas, then songs written by the guest artists, then dig into the cowboy hat for the audience’s often goofy song suggestions.
“Studying To Be Single,” for instance.
It takes a capable and confident artist to take the ideas of a commoner and make them something special -- or at least something that can be performed before a couple hundred people on a Vegas stage. Benward and McComas are up for that task.
As usual, the guests are accomplished songwriters. James is a monster writer, having written or co-written No. 1 hits by such artists as Martina McBride (“Blessed”), Kenny Chesney (“When the Sun Goes Down,” with Uncle Kracker and “Out Last Night,”), Carrie Underwood (“Jesus, Take the Wheel” and “Cowboy Casanova”) and Jason Aldean (“The Truth”). James also wrote “American Idol” champ Scotty McCreery’s debut single, “I Love You This Big.”
Nichols has a similarly chart-topping catalogue, and scored a huge hit for Tim McGraw with co-writer Craig Wiseman on “Live Like You Were Dying,” which spent 12 weeks at No. 1.
“I can’t tell you how many people tell me they have played that song, over and over, for inspiration. One woman just tonight was crying, telling me she had just been diagnosed with cancer,” Nichols says. “I can’t tell you how many have told me they have heard it played during eulogies at funerals.”
And in these doubtlessly adept hands is the song title, “Drinkin’ Stupid Away.” As McComas says, “We usually get silly suggestions. It’s the nature of the crowds we get. They are usually good-time crowds.”
This is how it goes, as Nichols, totally disconnected, sings a five-song set for the crowd. Then he introduces James, who bolts from backstage, and the project takes on a new partner as Nichols steps into the room.
And Nichols, who has been a songwriter for decades and wrote the anthem of all anthems for McGraw, contributes … hardly at all. He nods and grins, but is largely a bystander in the development of “Drinkin’ Stupid Away.” This song has already grown nearly to a finished product, and as McComas notes, “It is always tough to be the second guest to come into the process.”
Not that it matters. The song is not going to be recorded for commercial purposes. Usually, the finished product is akin to a novelty song.
“We don’t even save the lyrics,” Benward says. “Sometimes, I wish we had. Sometimes we’ll come up with a song and say afterward, ‘That was really good.’ ”
In each of the past two seasons, it seemed as if the streak was about to end for the Pirates, especially last year when they were 16 games over .500 on Aug. 8. Surely, they would make it, needing to win only 19 of their last 52 games. They won 16, finishing at 79-83.
Manager Clint Hurdle, starting his third season with the Pirates, is trying to find ways to improve his club on the field and later to address its mindset. Hurdle determined the biggest negative in the Pirates’ game was their woeful inability to stop opponents from running. Pirates’ foes stole 154 bases in 173 tries last year, meaning Buccos catchers threw out 11 percent of those runners.
But, given that the departed Barajas’ career rate of throwing out runners is 28 percent and not 6 percent, it is clear Pirates pitchers have to take some responsibility here, too.
“We understand that we have to take ownership of controlling the running game at a different level,” Hurdle said this spring. “More times than not, we didn’t really give the catchers a fair shot.”
The Pirates’ failure to control opponents’ running games last year or to improve their own running game (they stole the fewest bases in the league and had the worst success rate, 58 percent) were constants even when they were winning. When some other parts of the Pirates’ game withered down the stretch, the club fell from almost certain wild-card contenders to pretenders again.
“The end of the season brought attention to the specific things we need to do to get better (in order) to win more games, to win the division, to do things that championship teams do,” Hurdle said.
The Pirates should have starting pitcher Wandy Rodriguez, acquired from Houston, for a full season, to go with A.J. Burnett at the top of the rotation. Andrew McCutchen was the most valuable player in the league for the first four months last year before he tried to take on too much. His improvement and that of second baseman Neil Walker and third baseman Pedro Alvarez could give the Pirates a solid middle-of-the-lineup core.
Another card is pulled, “Friday Night Brain.” And another: “Cougar on the Loose.” And still more: “Rednecks and Longnecks,” “Give it to Me Before My Beer Gets Cold” and “Flip You Like a Sack of Wet Cats.”
This is the night’s great song title, pitched by audience members at the quartet onstage for “Nashville Unplugged.” During the course of this weekly showcase at Rocks Lounge at Red Rock Resort, co-hosts Aaron Benward and Brian McComas, with guest artists Brett James and Tim Nichols will take that simple theme and construct a song. By the end of the night, that song will be performed by the men who wrote it.
This is the organic-yet-daring premise of “Nashville Unplugged,” which debuted at Ovation at Green Valley Ranch Resort four years ago and moved to Rocks Lounge in August. Every Friday at 8 p.m., Benward and McComas bring to the stage one or two songwriters, almost always from Nashville. The $5 cover is ridiculously low given the talent brought into the room. And, in addition to the Rocks Lounge shows, the duo also host a weekly radio show Saturdays at 9 a.m. on KCYE 102.7-FM.
In a format that is entertaining, even suspenseful, at “Nashville Unplugged” the artists sing and play songs written by Benward and McComas, then songs written by the guest artists, then dig into the cowboy hat for the audience’s often goofy song suggestions.
“Studying To Be Single,” for instance.
It takes a capable and confident artist to take the ideas of a commoner and make them something special -- or at least something that can be performed before a couple hundred people on a Vegas stage. Benward and McComas are up for that task.
As usual, the guests are accomplished songwriters. James is a monster writer, having written or co-written No. 1 hits by such artists as Martina McBride (“Blessed”), Kenny Chesney (“When the Sun Goes Down,” with Uncle Kracker and “Out Last Night,”), Carrie Underwood (“Jesus, Take the Wheel” and “Cowboy Casanova”) and Jason Aldean (“The Truth”). James also wrote “American Idol” champ Scotty McCreery’s debut single, “I Love You This Big.”
Nichols has a similarly chart-topping catalogue, and scored a huge hit for Tim McGraw with co-writer Craig Wiseman on “Live Like You Were Dying,” which spent 12 weeks at No. 1.
“I can’t tell you how many people tell me they have played that song, over and over, for inspiration. One woman just tonight was crying, telling me she had just been diagnosed with cancer,” Nichols says. “I can’t tell you how many have told me they have heard it played during eulogies at funerals.”
And in these doubtlessly adept hands is the song title, “Drinkin’ Stupid Away.” As McComas says, “We usually get silly suggestions. It’s the nature of the crowds we get. They are usually good-time crowds.”
This is how it goes, as Nichols, totally disconnected, sings a five-song set for the crowd. Then he introduces James, who bolts from backstage, and the project takes on a new partner as Nichols steps into the room.
And Nichols, who has been a songwriter for decades and wrote the anthem of all anthems for McGraw, contributes … hardly at all. He nods and grins, but is largely a bystander in the development of “Drinkin’ Stupid Away.” This song has already grown nearly to a finished product, and as McComas notes, “It is always tough to be the second guest to come into the process.”
Not that it matters. The song is not going to be recorded for commercial purposes. Usually, the finished product is akin to a novelty song.
“We don’t even save the lyrics,” Benward says. “Sometimes, I wish we had. Sometimes we’ll come up with a song and say afterward, ‘That was really good.’ ”
In each of the past two seasons, it seemed as if the streak was about to end for the Pirates, especially last year when they were 16 games over .500 on Aug. 8. Surely, they would make it, needing to win only 19 of their last 52 games. They won 16, finishing at 79-83.
Manager Clint Hurdle, starting his third season with the Pirates, is trying to find ways to improve his club on the field and later to address its mindset. Hurdle determined the biggest negative in the Pirates’ game was their woeful inability to stop opponents from running. Pirates’ foes stole 154 bases in 173 tries last year, meaning Buccos catchers threw out 11 percent of those runners.
But, given that the departed Barajas’ career rate of throwing out runners is 28 percent and not 6 percent, it is clear Pirates pitchers have to take some responsibility here, too.
“We understand that we have to take ownership of controlling the running game at a different level,” Hurdle said this spring. “More times than not, we didn’t really give the catchers a fair shot.”
The Pirates’ failure to control opponents’ running games last year or to improve their own running game (they stole the fewest bases in the league and had the worst success rate, 58 percent) were constants even when they were winning. When some other parts of the Pirates’ game withered down the stretch, the club fell from almost certain wild-card contenders to pretenders again.
“The end of the season brought attention to the specific things we need to do to get better (in order) to win more games, to win the division, to do things that championship teams do,” Hurdle said.
The Pirates should have starting pitcher Wandy Rodriguez, acquired from Houston, for a full season, to go with A.J. Burnett at the top of the rotation. Andrew McCutchen was the most valuable player in the league for the first four months last year before he tried to take on too much. His improvement and that of second baseman Neil Walker and third baseman Pedro Alvarez could give the Pirates a solid middle-of-the-lineup core.
Monday, April 1, 2013
Why Businesses Must Be Open to Cultural Evolution
Back in the the days of skinny ties and cigarette breaks, corporations were used to the idea of a "dictatorial management structure"; one where you had a big boss, who surrounded himself with lots of slightly smaller big bosses, who ran the company. Known by many as the "old boys club", this group would have full say over whatever happened in the company. Employees were supposed to worship the ground they walked on and the coffee mugs they sipped from, and fear their collective ability to hire or fire whomever they wanted. But today's modern business is much more social, and today's employees are more dynamic and innovative than their 1950's counterparts ever were. So why then, are so many of today's companies lead by corporate big-wigs who still believe that employees have no direct effect on the company's success?
Culture - an overused buzzword typically spouted off by large companies as a way of garnering a sense of teamwork and cooperation in an organization. It is meant to be a word that gathers people together, like one big happy family; sharing, helping, all towards a common goal. Culture is a way of thinking, a mindset that says "hey, we're all in this together" (cue the guitars and lyrics to Kumbaya). But the grim reality is that today's employees are all too familiar with the tongue-in-cheek tactics that companies use to get employees be "part of the team". Workers today want real action and real plastic card. They understand that they bring so much to the table that they want to be seen and heard, rather than become "part of the herd".
Workers today are smarter, more flexible, more thoughtful and more creative. Corporations need to leverage these traits, not cover them up with mindless surveys and questionnaires. A smart company will actively seek out talent within it's own doors, and more that talent where it has the most impact. The days of taking a random employee and plugging them into a position are long gone, and so should the mentality be.
Don't be shocked when you look around and see the culture in your company desperately trying to evolve. Chances are, it's you or one of your cohorts who is actually stifling evolution in your organization. See culture for what is really is - a calling card that invites your organization to allow its employees to do great things, to be their best, and to generate real momentum that drives any company towards success. These are not buzzwords - they are your company's path to success.
Environmental leaders from around the world gathered in Roone Arledge Auditorium last Thursday to discuss water issues, with the ultimate goal of illustrating what they consider one of the most pressing natural dilemmas.
Jeffrey Sachs, director of the Earth Institute, said that scientists need to find solutions to the issue of humanity’s dependence on groundwater, as well as the disasters caused by the increasing prevalence of droughts and floods.
“This is one issue we haven’t adequately attended to yet,” Sachs said. “It’s a new world, and it’s a dangerous world. Humanity is the driver, but our hands are not on the steering wheels too steadily.”
Against a backdrop of maps that marked countries with red-tinted dry-zones, panelists attempted to address how to provide fresh water to the Earth’s nine billion people.
“There are many things that could be done that are not being done,” Mark Cane, professor of earth and climate sciences at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, said. “I have no doubts that there are at least some technical solutions to these problems.”
However, Cane noted, these problems tend to get attention only when they become urgent. “In the end, what does it take to get the will to put these solutions into place? And one idea is that it unfortunately does not happen until it is more of a crisis,” he said.
The panelists suggested reducing the use of water for energy by developing more efficient technology, reducing costs of kiosks that deliver water to rural communities, and a smart-card technology system that places an extra cost on liters of water once a certain limit is passed as potential solutions.
Much of the forum discussion centered on the role of water as a resource in the market economy. Richard Sandor, chairman and CEO of the firm Environmental Financial Products, proposed that water conservation credits could give farmers an incentive to use water more efficiently.
Sachs pointed out, however, that balance is key in economizing water.
“You have to think about what would happen when the price is too high,” he said. “If you reflect seriously on the statement that ‘water is life,’ turning water into a marketed commodity is a pretty grave offense, and markets do not solve that problem, as they tend to ignore the lower-income bracket.”
Tebby Ralefala, a student from Botswana, attended the conference as part of the Resolution Project, a nonprofit that promotes social entrepreneurship by initiating social venture challenges.
Ralefala, who presented a project about water preservation earlier this week at Columbia’s Earth Summit, said that Thursday’s conference allowed her to think more critically about her work.
“I am going to do more research on what I hadn’t known about other parts of the world and how dry it is getting,” Ralefala said. “I want to see how I can take some of the ideas that the panelists proposed and relate them to Africa and Botswana. There may be a possibility to eradicate the problems that they may face when it comes to drought.”
Simon Lim, an associate at the Cleantech Group, which focuses on developing clean technology and other sustainability IC card, believed that the conference offered viewers an opportunity to learn about the latest innovations and thinking in water conservation.
“Clearly there is a lot of innovation needed, whether with new models or new approaches in technology, business, community, or leadership,” he said. “Sustainable development is a great and growing field. We especially trust students to help lead the way to implement the solutions that are going to be needed in the years ahead.”
Culture - an overused buzzword typically spouted off by large companies as a way of garnering a sense of teamwork and cooperation in an organization. It is meant to be a word that gathers people together, like one big happy family; sharing, helping, all towards a common goal. Culture is a way of thinking, a mindset that says "hey, we're all in this together" (cue the guitars and lyrics to Kumbaya). But the grim reality is that today's employees are all too familiar with the tongue-in-cheek tactics that companies use to get employees be "part of the team". Workers today want real action and real plastic card. They understand that they bring so much to the table that they want to be seen and heard, rather than become "part of the herd".
Workers today are smarter, more flexible, more thoughtful and more creative. Corporations need to leverage these traits, not cover them up with mindless surveys and questionnaires. A smart company will actively seek out talent within it's own doors, and more that talent where it has the most impact. The days of taking a random employee and plugging them into a position are long gone, and so should the mentality be.
Don't be shocked when you look around and see the culture in your company desperately trying to evolve. Chances are, it's you or one of your cohorts who is actually stifling evolution in your organization. See culture for what is really is - a calling card that invites your organization to allow its employees to do great things, to be their best, and to generate real momentum that drives any company towards success. These are not buzzwords - they are your company's path to success.
Environmental leaders from around the world gathered in Roone Arledge Auditorium last Thursday to discuss water issues, with the ultimate goal of illustrating what they consider one of the most pressing natural dilemmas.
Jeffrey Sachs, director of the Earth Institute, said that scientists need to find solutions to the issue of humanity’s dependence on groundwater, as well as the disasters caused by the increasing prevalence of droughts and floods.
“This is one issue we haven’t adequately attended to yet,” Sachs said. “It’s a new world, and it’s a dangerous world. Humanity is the driver, but our hands are not on the steering wheels too steadily.”
Against a backdrop of maps that marked countries with red-tinted dry-zones, panelists attempted to address how to provide fresh water to the Earth’s nine billion people.
“There are many things that could be done that are not being done,” Mark Cane, professor of earth and climate sciences at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, said. “I have no doubts that there are at least some technical solutions to these problems.”
However, Cane noted, these problems tend to get attention only when they become urgent. “In the end, what does it take to get the will to put these solutions into place? And one idea is that it unfortunately does not happen until it is more of a crisis,” he said.
The panelists suggested reducing the use of water for energy by developing more efficient technology, reducing costs of kiosks that deliver water to rural communities, and a smart-card technology system that places an extra cost on liters of water once a certain limit is passed as potential solutions.
Much of the forum discussion centered on the role of water as a resource in the market economy. Richard Sandor, chairman and CEO of the firm Environmental Financial Products, proposed that water conservation credits could give farmers an incentive to use water more efficiently.
Sachs pointed out, however, that balance is key in economizing water.
“You have to think about what would happen when the price is too high,” he said. “If you reflect seriously on the statement that ‘water is life,’ turning water into a marketed commodity is a pretty grave offense, and markets do not solve that problem, as they tend to ignore the lower-income bracket.”
Tebby Ralefala, a student from Botswana, attended the conference as part of the Resolution Project, a nonprofit that promotes social entrepreneurship by initiating social venture challenges.
Ralefala, who presented a project about water preservation earlier this week at Columbia’s Earth Summit, said that Thursday’s conference allowed her to think more critically about her work.
“I am going to do more research on what I hadn’t known about other parts of the world and how dry it is getting,” Ralefala said. “I want to see how I can take some of the ideas that the panelists proposed and relate them to Africa and Botswana. There may be a possibility to eradicate the problems that they may face when it comes to drought.”
Simon Lim, an associate at the Cleantech Group, which focuses on developing clean technology and other sustainability IC card, believed that the conference offered viewers an opportunity to learn about the latest innovations and thinking in water conservation.
“Clearly there is a lot of innovation needed, whether with new models or new approaches in technology, business, community, or leadership,” he said. “Sustainable development is a great and growing field. We especially trust students to help lead the way to implement the solutions that are going to be needed in the years ahead.”
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)