One of the least reported instances of environmental degradation is that caused by conflict and, to a lesser extent, natural disasters. The UN has been intervening in such cases, which is obviously a very sensitive issue. Not only are member countries involved in conflicts reluctant to call in a UN agency—this is the only condition in which the agency will respond—but UN staff are subject to extreme danger in these situations.
The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) has a disasters and conflicts initiative which is operating in several countries at the moment. These include Afghanistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Gaza and the Sudan. To tackle natural disasters, it is currently working in China and Haiti. It has worked in Iraq in the past.
Cases where war has damaged the environment and affected people's health can be traced back to Vietnam, where the US army dropped the terrible defoliant, Agent Orange, meant for crops, on the countryside. This chemical, developed by Monsanto and Dow Chemicals (now the owners of Union Carbide, which declared itself insolvent following the Bhopal gas tragedy in 1984), devastated vast swathes of Vietnam's countryside and also triggered genetic defects in babies born afterwards. According to Silja Halle of the UNEP programme, there was a 50 per cent increase in birth defects due to the spraying.
In the 1990s, several central African countries that faced civil strife, like Sierra Leone, Liberia and the Democratic Republic of Congo, faced a "triple whammy". There were conflicts over natural resources, which exacerbated their exploitation. Thus, there was extensive logging of timber, mining of ('blood') diamonds and the degradation of rivers and streams.
In Afghanistan, in 2002, people displaced by the conflict fled to remote areas where they exploited the terrain in order to obtain firewood and shelter. Sometimes, refugees had to be accommodated on fertile land. As a consequence, certain provinces faced rates of deforestation as high as 50-95 per cent. These were areas that had meagre tree cover to begin with.
During the Kosovo conflict, 50 industrial sites were bombed in Serbia and four environmental "hot spots". As many as 80,000 tonnes of oil caught fire at the Pancevo site. In Lebanon, in 2006, Israel bombed an oil installation which spewed out huge plumes of toxic gas. The truckloads of rubble that had to be cleared from the site jammed roads for days afterwards. UNEP officials were criticised, subsequently, for putting out a report that stated that the damage caused by bombing the oil installation was not as severe as was originally imagined. Lebanon angrily responded that that seemed to give Israel carte blanche to bomb civilian sites. This example highlights the sensitivity of any UN intervention in armed conflicts.
Also in 2006, the Darfur conflict in Sudan greatly exacerbated damage to the environment by forcing cattle to graze in arid regions and accentuating deforestation. The irony in such cases is that what is often seen as conflict between countries or communities (and tribals, in the African scenario) is actually over natural resources. One dimension involves access to and ownership of scarce resources such as land and water, and the hostilities only worsen the exploitation of such resources. Future climate variability will accentuate such tensions as decreasing rainfall leads to desertification. The 16 driest years in Darfur have occurred since 1972.
inhabited the wetlands became extinct. The last reported sighting of the small amphibian was in 1955. Today, many other species are facing extinction due to Israel's gross disregard for the environment.
Another natural wonder, the Dead Sea, is also under threat. At a 2009 regional conference to address the dramatic drop in Dead Sea water levels, it was determined that industrial development would have to slow down. The Israeli company ICL Fertilisers/Dead Sea Works has, on the contrary, been increasing potash production at its Dead Sea facility, by 30 per cent.
Zalul, an Israeli watchdog organisation monitoring the effects of industrial dumping, reported that 500 million tonnes of raw sewage is discharged into the Mediterranean Sea annually. In addition to industrial waste, the municipalities of Acre and Ashdod have no properly built sewage treatment facilities, contributing to sea pollution. In the Tiberias municipality, seven beaches along the Sea of Galilee were closed in 2007 after Israeli health ministry officials found double the allotted amounts of faecal bacteria in the water.
While Israeli citizens have been adversely affected by the government's failure to adopt responsible policies, Israel's "environmental terrorism" against Palestinians and neighbouring countries is far more sinister. In the West Bank, illegal outposts and unauthorised settlements pump sewage into rudimentary pits. A village called Deir Sharaf served as a dump for Israeli settlers until 2005, despite its close proximity to underground wells on which tens of thousands of Palestinians depended for drinking water and sanitation.
In a 2009 report, the Israeli human rights organisation Yesh Din cited 69 complaints of olive groves being damaged or destroyed in the past four years. Twenty-seven such incidents involving the destruction of hundreds of trees occurred between January and October 2009, despite a statement from the Israeli defence forces that the olive harvest had passed "quietly". Not only are the centuries-old olive trees vital to the livelihood of Palestinian villagers, they possess an almost spiritual quality; their loss to farmers is tantamount to losing members of their immediate family.
In Gaza, even before the Israeli blockade, Palestinian fishermen were prohibited from sailing more than five km out to sea, rendering the immediate coastal area devoid of fish. The Israeli military routinely destroyed wells serving refugee camps. International Solidarity Movement member Rachel Corrie wrote of sleeping in front of the wells with fellow activists to prevent their destruction, before she was murdered by an Israeli bulldozer driver in March 2003.
Israel's 2006 bombardment of Lebanon damaged the Jiyeh power plant serving southern Lebanon, resulting in a 15,000-tonne oil spill that devastated local fishermen and the ecosystem. During that time, millions of dollars of infrastructure was destroyed in Gaza, exacerbating problems with water supply and sanitation. Due to the Israeli siege, international agencies were prevented from entering Gaza to repair damaged wastewater treatment facilities, resulting in the March 2007 disaster in the village of Umm Naser when a sewage reservoir burst its banks, destroying 200 homes. Two elderly women and three children were killed.
Along with the human toll, farmers suffered massive losses to their livestock during Israel's assault on Gaza from December 2008-January 2009. UNEP reported that 35,000 cattle, sheep and goats as well as 1 million birds and chickens were killed. Animal carcasses and chemical agents used by the Israeli army contaminated the water. Farmers report that the chemical-laden water now dehydrates crops. According to UNEP, as many as 1.5 million Palestinians are at risk because the groundwater in Gaza is no longer suitable for drinking or for irrigation due to chronic contamination.
Israel continues to raze farmland, irrigation piping, homes, greenhouses and wells along a buffer zone on the Gaza side of the internationally recognised Green Line. Anyone found within this Israeli-imposed no-man's land risks being shot. At least 13 Palestinian civilians were killed and 39 injured in border regions inside and outside the buffer zone last year, including women and children.
Since 1990, UNEP estimates that there have been 18 conflicts all over the world that were financed by the exploitation of natural resources. In Afghanistan, between 1978 and 2001, these included gems, timber and opium. There were variations of the same two or three resources, in different orders of priority, in Burma and Cambodia. The Democratic Republic of Congo, between 1996 and 2008, has the longest list: copper, coltan (a metallic ore), diamonds, gold, cobalt, timber and tin. In the ongoing strife in Somalia, fish and charcoal play a role. In Nepal, in the decade that ended in 2006, it was yarsa gumba, a valuable fungus, which was exploited. Oil continues to feature in Congo and Colombia; guerrillas and narco-terrorists in the latter also trade in gold, coca, timber and emeralds.
In Angola, the anti-colonialist movement UNITA is estimated to have earned $3.4 billion between 1992 and 2000 from "conflict diamonds", while the government relied on oil revenues. On the other hand, there are individuals who benefit from access to resources such as diamonds and coca. They have a vested interest in opposing peace and an incentive in prolonging the conflict.
While the direct and indirect impacts of all these conflicts are widespread, UN officials believe that there are links between conflict, environment and peace. Undoubtedly, strife undermines the health of people, livelihoods and security. Conflicts heighten the risk of death and disease and also cause loss of productivity. Jobs are endangered due to decreased supplies of food, water, energy and income itself. Security is at stake due to increased vulnerability to natural hazards.
With increasing populations and growing consumer demand, natural resources will continue to be exploited in the future. However, environmental degradation will diminish supply. In many countries that are caught up in conflict, environment ministries and bureaucracies remain weak. With climate change, the distribution and supply of natural resources will only worsen. All these factors create a fertile ground for a spurt in resource-based conflicts.
At the same time, they present an opportunity to reinforce not just peace but sustainable development. A classic example is the Good Water Neighbours initiative launched by an NGO called EcoPeace and Friends of the Earth Middle East, in 1991. It raises awareness between Palestinians, Jordanians and Israelis on how they share water problems. Since there is mutual dependence, this becomes the basis for developing dialogue and cooperation. Initially, 11 communities in these three countries were chosen for the initiative; this has now risen to 25. It has helped build trust and led to improvements in the water sector.
In Rwanda, otherwise badly impacted by civil strife, major investments in natural resources have yielded economic dividends that have helped the country develop. It has invested in managing natural sanctuaries and developed high-value mountain gorilla tourism. It costs $500 for a permit to see these huge, gentle giants, and there is a queue to see them. This revenue has greatly benefited Rwanda and also helped conserve the threatened species.
In Afghanistan, some 5 million trees have been planted since 2003. This has not only provided jobs but gone towards restoring the landscape. UNEP brokered a meet on trans-boundary water management between Afghanistan and Iran in 2005. It was the first time in 13 years that the two countries cooperated with each other. Such initiatives help to reinforce peace and promote development.
Is India's Economy Weakening? And Can The US Be Of Any Help?
Newer PostIs India's Economy Weakening? And Can The US Be Of Any Help?


It's not even October and spots are starting to fill up for my 4th annual Holiday Gift Guide at My Organized Chaos! During my 2011 Holiday Gift Guide, I will be highlighting all the best gifts for the entire family. It's always a great collection to get ideas for gifting, but also to come up with ideas on what you want this year. And, there will be many chances to win as well! It all starts on Novemeber 1st!
To have your product or service featured in the 2011 Holiday Gift Guide at My Organized Chaos, please send me an Email with the title, 'Holiday Gift Guide'. Please take note of the guidelines for submitting a review/giveaway at My Organized Chaos. And while not all applicants can be included, each one will be considered.
Looking forward to reading your reviews and getting ideas for Christmas!
Can't wait to find out what you have listed in your guide!
Super excited to see your list!
Can't wait to see what you will list for our preschoolers!
Oh you are so savvy and organized! LOVE!


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Rangers cut bait on McIlrath, trade him to Panthers
By Jason BroughNov 8, 2016, 4:36 PM EST
The New York Rangers have traded defenseman Dylan McIlrath to the Florida Panthers for defenseman Steven Kampfer and a conditional seventh-round pick in 2018.
TSN's Bob McKenzie was the first to report the trade. The condition on the deal is that McIlrath plays 30 NHL games this season. If that condition isn't met, no draft pick will be exchanged, per McKenzie.
It's an interesting swap in that both McIlrath and Kampfer have already been on waivers this season. McIlrath, 24, cleared two weeks ago and was assigned to AHL Hartford. Kampfer, 28, cleared yesterday and can now be sent to the AHL as well.
The fact the Rangers were able to get a pick out of the Panthers, albeit just a conditional seventh-rounder, suggests that McIlrath is the more valuable of the two d-men. Florida's management, which has made no secret of its belief in analytics, may have been intrigued by McIlrath's solid possession numbers last season, not to mention his size and toughness.
For the Rangers, the trade closes the book on McIlrath, whom they selected 10th overall in 2010.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


So many beautiful nationalities and ethnicities with so many fabulous cuisines! How on earth can I possibly choose when I'm about to fix a meal?
Then again, why choose? After all, the best of cuisines have borrowed (or stolen) from each other, been influenced by each other, and often gotten so intertwined that it's hard to know for certain what the absolute baseline, source, or original version of any popular food or dish really was. Sometimes I think that half the fun of creating the menu for an occasion is figuring out how to play with commonalities and contrasts in the most delicious and interesting ways.
Multiply the possibilities of that original menu with my affinity for revising every ingredient or dish in its following appearances as a leftover, and you have one impressively complicated matrix of possible and tangential menus. Exponential recipe improvisation: that's a kind of math that appeals even to a mathematical dullard like me.
There was that recent episode when I found an interesting-sounding ready-to-cook packet of mushroom risotto that had—unlike most prefab dishes of the sort—only about five or six ingredients, all of them actual foods, and thought it'd be an interesting basis for my dinner preparations. Even with pre-packaged items, it's a virtual certainty that I will fail to prepare them exactly as proposed. I'm not talking about that silly thing where you buy a boxed frozen dinner and because it's pictured on the box as set on a plate, the seller assumes you're too stupid to know that you might need to remove it from the box and heat it in order to consume it, so it says in tidy type, "Serving Suggestion." I'm talking about actual changes in the way the contents of the box are prepared or served.
So, first of all, being the perpetually lazy person I am, I thought the prospect of standing around stirring a risotto for eons was less appealing than seeing what would happen if I put the ingredients into my rice cooker with extra liquids and let it do the work. Ours is a low-tech oldie but goodie among rice cookers, with a chintzy looking removable aluminum pot insert, so I did toast the rice, with its spice and earthy little pieces of dried mushrooms and shallots in a generous pool of butter, setting that little aluminum canister right on the burner, before popping it into the rice cooker shell and pouring in a half and half mixture of homemade broth and water, slightly more than my usual doubling of quantity over dry (rice and other) ingredients, and a good dash of dry sherry. It may not have been a true risotto by a long stretch, but by golly, it was pretty darn tasty all the same. I served it topped with bacon pieces and alongside that, with some patties of slightly spicy chorizo, sauced thickly with lemony avocado cream and topped in turn with sweet grape tomatoes, all with a little green salad on the side.
It was a filling and nicely congenial combination, this meeting of Italian influenced risotto rice, Mexican style chorizo, and a very slightly French treatment of the avocado sauce.
Later in the week, this pseudo-risotto segued on down to Puerto Rico when I incorporated a big scoop of chipotle salsa, the rest of those thick-cut cooked bacon pieces from the previous garnish, and crumbled leftover chorizo into it, heated it through, and then let it crisp on the outside during a low and slow rest on the cooker to become a fair facsimile of the Mamposteao we fell in love with on our May visit to San Juan. With some of my sushi-ginger dressed coleslaw on the side, I think I managed to get the meal to span even further global miles than the first time, perhaps. In any case, it spanned from pots and pans to stomachs pretty neatly both times.
Being good and doing well make us just a little bit more like angels. Making good food and treating guests well is just that much better. It's a feeding not just of the stomach but also of the spirit. It puts one in a state of grace that can be earned, but at the same time is the richer for being given without thought of such recompense. A simple cup of hot coffee proffered with kindness becomes through this transubstantiation the elixir of joy.
Today I woke up thinking of such hospitality as I was remembering a time thirty years ago when I was the fortunate beneficiary of it. I was a recent college graduate, working for my uncle's construction company while I paid off undergraduate loans and contemplated the prospect of taking out more for grad school, and I was sent out with a couple of fellow workers to spend a few days laboring on the repair and renovation of a hundred year old farmhouse out in the country. The weather was pleasantly warm and the house only moderately shaggy for its vintage, and the owners were friendly on our arrival. The work, still, was dirty enough–removal of and repair from exterior dry rot and moss that was encroaching on the northerly upper story window frames and trim, and some interior rebuilding that the lead carpenter on the team would start framing in as a new arch between living and dining spaces as soon as the group effort of tear-out was finished on the second story outside. It was a pretty and classic old farmhouse, with a wraparound porch hugging it so that we were able to set up on the porch roof's venerable cedar shakes to do our second-story work without having to run our ladders the full height from the ground. But therein lay the problem: by the end of the first day of demolition, the aforementioned carpenter was almost demolished too when the footing he'd installed on the roof for his ladder gave way, the ladder went flat with its top end spearing through an upstairs window and its base making a perfect slide for said gentleman to go shooting straight, if uncomfortably, off the roof.
The other guy and I were close by on either side of Chuck, but neither Jake nor I could, in the split second it took for this to happen, stop the ladder or him from going straight down into the gloom below. There was a terrible moment of near-silence while we scrambled over to the gutter to see whether we could get to him; the first thing we could see was the steel post of the truck bed spearing upward menacingly right about where he'd fallen, so we were breathless with horror as we peered over the edge into the dusk. To our immense relief, Chuck was lying in the spiny shrub next to the truck bed, where he'd slid instead, and though he had some impressive bruises afterward, he'd neither been impaled nor broken a single bone. Needless to say, there was a different wrap-up to the day than we'd planned, what with boarding up a broken window for the night and assuring the owners of the house, who'd come running at the crash, that all was going to be fine. No deaths, no lawsuits from either side, and an even better-repaired window, since we'd now rebuild the thing and re-glaze it rather than just scraping and painting.
Perhaps it was a bit of bonding brought about by the emergency that made them adopt us afterward, the homeowners, but whatever the cause, our next few days were among the most pleasant I ever spent on the job (along with those spent working in the house of the lady who afterward became another uncle's life partner!), and the sweetness of it lingers in my memory. The second day was such a benevolent spring day that I opted to stay on the roof and eat my lunch while reading an Agatha Christie novel. That worked out remarkably well, for when the man of the house came out to see why I hadn't come down with the others, he chatted me up about my enjoyment of British mysteries, disappeared, and reappeared later with a grocery bag crammed with said delicacies. It turned out that he was an English professor at the University and taught a course in this very topic, and that along with the house's 'issues' for which we'd been hired there was one of steadily decreasing bookshelf space thanks to his and his wife's reading habits.
The next day, there was to be no reading on the roof. All three of us workers were summoned into the house at lunchtime and seated at table. While the Professor expressed his kindliness in the gift of books, his wife expressed hers in culinary largesse. I had already thought her a very beautiful woman, with her elegant and mysteriously foreign-looking features, deep-set warm black eyes and smooth brown skin and all, her patrician carriage that belied a gentleness of manner, and her sleek black hair, but I think I fell in love with her more than a little when she put the food in front of us. It wasn't terribly complex, perhaps, this meal, but it was heavenly. She served us robust bowls of satin-smooth potato-leek soup with slices of dark pumpernickel bread covered in rich Brie. When we thought we might be entirely filled up, we made room for more, because she came back to the table with a freshly baked, perfectly spiced apple pie.
It may be that these things have long since disappeared from the minds of all of the other players (though I find it hard to imagine Chuck has forgotten his scary adventure entirely), but the beauty of that meal so suffused me with happiness that I find it coming to me intermittently still, after all these years. I have no idea who the Lady and the Professor were and don't even know precisely what became of Jake and Chuck, so I can't check my facts let alone repay the kindness. I can only hope to pay it forward. I do have some of my home-brewed chicken broth in the fridge; might have to fix someone some soup soon.
Boil a few medium-sized potatoes in enough well-seasoned chicken broth [vegetable broth, if you're not a meat-eater] to cover them fully. While the potatoes are cooking, saute a bunch of sliced leeks in butter with a little bit of salt until melted. Deglaze the pan with a hearty splash of dry Sherry or brandy or whatever dry white wine happens to be handy.
When the potatoes are cooked and softened through, add the leeks to the pot, along with (optionally or–if you ask me–optimally) a splash of cream. Using a stick blender, puree the lot until as smooth as possible, adjusting the thickness with any of the three previously introduced liquids as desired, and tasting for seasoning. If you don't have a stick blender, a regular blender will do as long as you take the necessary precautions against blending hot foods–or just use a potato masher and have a more rustic soup. This soup won't lend itself perfectly to chilling like a Vichyssoise, because the butter and cream can curdle or separate, but warm or hot it should certainly be filling and definitely warm the spirits.
Cook. Share. Polish your halo. Enjoy.


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Home > Commentary > Integrated Coverage Would Save Billions and Improve the Lives of the Least Well-Off
Integrated Coverage Would Save Billions and Improve the Lives of the Least Well-Off
BY Joe Lonsdale
12 million Americans qualify for both Medicare and Medicaid coverage. These "dual eligibles" qualify for Medicaid because they are very poor and qualify for Medicare because they are either elderly or disabled.¹ Caring for this complex group of people is intrinsically challenging, but insurers and medical providers are also forced to grapple with a bifurcated reimbursement scheme which wastes money, fails to cover important medical services, and makes life difficult for some of the least well-off people in the country.
Blending Medicare and Medicaid funding into a single flow of money would powerfully align incentives for insurers and providers towards hiring caseworkers, nurses, and other professionals to pay much closer attention to the needs of dual eligible and engage in preventive care whenever possible. A future marketplace for dual eligible care will keep beneficiaries healthy and happy rather than allowing them to deteriorate into critical condition and then rushing them to the hospital — and would save enormous amounts of money in the process.
Insurers and risk-bearing providers that serve dual eligibles have shown that investing resources into caring for these vulnerable individuals up front reduces unnecessary hospitalizations and emergency room visits by huge percentages. A financial system that rewards providers for experimenting with new techniques for keeping patients healthy and avoiding pointless acute care will encourage entrepreneurs to continue constantly improve healthcare quality and allow the best ideas to go viral. We project that reform would keep healthcare simple for frustrated patients, make the dual eligible population substantially healthier, and save taxpayers 10s of billions of dollars annually.
The dual eligible population is one of the most costly, chronically ill populations in the country. 24% of dual eligibles need assistance with daily activities such as dressing and using the bathroom, 41% have a cognitive impairment, and 68% have three or more chronic conditions.² ³ ⁴ These individuals are disproportionately frail, minority, and female, with high prevalence of mental health, substance use, or housing instability challenges. At $34,000 per year, dual eligibles are much more expensive to insure than normal Medicare and Medicaid patients.⁵ The entire population costs taxpayers between $350B and $400B per year.⁶
These characteristics partly explain why dual eligibles cost 2–3x more than typical Medicare and Medicaid patients. But one of the main reasons why dual eligible care is so expensive is that financial responsibilities are split between federally-funded Medicare and state-funded Medicaid.⁷ This "bifurcated coverage" model creates unnecessary administrative complexity, encourages cost-shifting from Medicaid to Medicare, and makes it impossible for providers to effectively work together to care for those who need it most.⁸
Medicare, which primarily pays for acute-care services, was never intended to be a comprehensive benefit package. Dual eligibles have historically relied on Medicaid to provide ancillary services such as dental care, vision, and transportation, and most importantly to pay for long-term care services such as nursing homes, community-based care, and in-home services.⁹
This confusing financial division creates headaches for dual eligibles because any dual eligible beneficiary has to keep track of two enrollment periods, application deadlines, enrollment cards, and phone numbers, and may be enrolled in up to five different managed care plans!¹⁰ Living at or near the poverty line is challenging enough; dual eligibles shouldn't have to deal with a Kafkaesque maze of healthcare bureaucracy as well.
Bifurcated coverage also wastes money in several ways. First, communication between Medicare and Medicaid often breaks down, which means that dual eligibles discharged from hospitals often can't leave for multiple days because long-term care can't be arranged efficiently. Second, providers are often confused over whether to bill Medicare or Medicaid, which creates administrative waste. Whether Medicaid or Medicare covers durable medical equipment (food, diapers, etc.) and home health expenditures varies depending on the severity of the patient's condition, so it's often very unclear who pays for what.
Third and most importantly, routine "cost-shifting" shunts dual eligibles from cheaper, more effective long-term care services — e.g. primary care physicians, routine check-ins by caseworkers, preventive medicine — into expensive acute care covered by Medicare once a patient's health has spiraled out of control. ¹¹ Because neither Medicaid nor Medicare is incentivized to cover preventive measures, dual eligibles only infrequently receive vital diagnostics such as mammograms, and are often ineligible for home modifications such as grab bars which could prevent serious injuries. At least 39% of dual eligible hospitalizations are avoidable.¹² ¹³ ¹⁴ ¹⁵
A future marketplace for dual eligible care will keep beneficiaries healthy and happy rather than allowing them to deteriorate into critical condition and then rushing them to the hospital — and would save enormous amounts of money in the process.
Cost-shifting is often blatant and abusive. For example, after a 3-day hospital stay, Medicare covers Skilled Nursing Facilities (SNFs) for 100 days. After 100 days, dual eligibles in SNFs are covered by Medicaid at lower rates. According to experts we've spoken to, nursing facilities routinely game this system by waiting for the 100 days to expire and then pushing dual eligibles back into hospital care for at least 3 days so that they can reset the clock and force Medicare to sponsor another 100 days of SNF care at the maximum rate.
Experts have understood these problems for decades, and in the past 10 years the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) launched a variety of demonstrations in the states to experiment with integrated financing. A few of these programs (which go by a variety of silly acronyms) have been very successful, but even today, most of the dual eligible population is paid for by the traditional bifurcated coverage, fee-for-service model.¹⁶
The most successful kinds of demonstrations in the states are Financial Alignment Initiative "Medicare-Medicaid Plans" (MMPs) and a kind of Medicare Advantage plan called "Fully Integrated Dual Eligible Special Needs Plans" (FIDE-SNPs). On both models, Medicare and Medicaid consolidate payments to a single private insurer, which assumes complete responsibility for coordinating care for a given dual eligible patient. Government payments to the insurer are fixed or "capitated" at some predefined amount, and if the insurer keeps the patient healthy and saves money relative to the benchmark payment, they are rewarded for their thrift.
Both MMPs and FIDE-SNPs have shown real promise. In a 2018 study, the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPac) found that almost every mature MMP they interviewed had reduced the use of inpatient care and emergency room visits relative to traditional coverage for dual eligibles.¹⁷ Several independent studies confirm that MMPs and FIDE-SNPs can sponsor more innovative care models which are effective at driving down hospitalization rates and costs while keeping patients satisfied:
In Massachusetts, a study of 4,500 of Commonwealth Care Alliance MMP enrollees found they had 7.5% fewer hospital admissions and 6.4% fewer emergency department visits than in the 12 months prior to enrollment, and 82% of enrollees said they were satisfied with the program.¹⁸
In Arizona, a FIDE-SNP managed by Aetna called the "Mercy Care Plan" achieved a 43% lower rate of days spent in the hospital, 19% lower average length of stay, 9% reduction in emergency room visits, and a 21% lower readmission rate than fee-for-service Medicare for dual-eligibles.¹⁹
The Minnesota Senior Health Options program (MSHO), which is a FIDE-SNP for the elderly, has achieved 26% fewer hospital stays, 38% fewer emergency room visits, and made enrollees more likely to use primary care than elderly counterparts who received coverage from Medicaid, Medicare, or Medicare Advantage.²⁰
The more information that emerges on these "integrated coverage" models, the clearer it is that our country needs to move away from our fragmented financial scheme. We need to embrace a model that prevents cost-shifting, makes care-coordination the prerogative of a single institution, and aligns incentives for all parties towards providing better, cheaper care for every beneficiary. An improved financial model would draw on the lessons of the CMS demonstrations and selectively incorporate the best features of MMPs and FIDE-SNPs:
1) Three-Way Contracts
In an MMP, Medicare and Medicaid enter into a three-way contract with the insurer (the MMP) whereby the insurer receives a fixed payment in exchange for a set of specified healthcare services. Three-way contracts are an improvement over the FIDE-SNP approach, in which the insurer signs separate contracts with Medicare and Medicaid. Three-way contracts were widely preferred by every stakeholder interviewed in the MedPac study. Advance coordination clarifies financial responsibilities and avoids future disputes between Medicare and Medicaid.
Three-way contracts may involve a long, bureaucratized negotiation between a state and the federal government over which how much each party will contribute to payments for particular conditions, and to whom savings should accrue. Rather than negotiating each medical service, we propose that Medicare should cover whatever percentage of the ultimate fixed payment it has traditionally covered (e.g. 75%), with the state covering the remainder (e.g. 25%).²¹ Fixing financial responsibilities before deciding which services to cover would greatly simplify the planning process, saving time and money.
2) Competitive Bidding
Like all Medicare Advantage plans, FIDE-SNPs bid for contracts against benchmark reimbursement rates. By contrast, CMS and the states set rates for MMPs administratively. Competitive market bidding puts downward pressure on reimbursement rates and is superior to price control models where bureaucrats guess at the appropriate price for a basket of services without soliciting feedback from private players. Benchmark payments should be based on historical spending for a certain population size adjusted for demographic factors, and would evolve over time. One of our model's main innovations is that it combines three-way contracts with a competitive bidding process.
3) Shared Savings
If insurers can cover their dual eligible population for less than the established benchmark price, they should be entitled to the majority of their savings (e.g. 50-75%). FIDE-SNPs typically allocate the rest of shared savings to Medicare and not to the states, whereas MMPs allow for states to share in savings. We prefer a hybrid model where the insurer, Medicaid, Medicare, and even the ultimate beneficiary all share in savings relative to the benchmark payment, and all share in losses if costs exceed the benchmark.²² This reward/penalty structure, which closely resembles that of the "Accountable Care Organizations" (ACOs) initiated as part of the Affordable Care Act, will stimulate healthcare entrepreneurs to devise new intervention strategies and regimens of care.
The state of Washington, which runs a "managed fee-for-service" dual eligible demonstration, achieved over $100M in savings over a 3.5 year period by awarding shared savings bonuses to "health homes" which manage complex dual eligible beneficiaries.²³ In the past several years, Colorado, Oregon, and Minnesota launched ACOs for their Medicaid populations, and we're already seeing savings and great improvements in quality of care.²⁴ ²⁵ Two-sided incentives (rewards for success, penalties for losses) have proven to be more effective than reward-only models.²⁶ ²⁷
4) Full Benefits
Three-way contracts with insurers should require insurers to provide coverage of all relevant medical services. Today, MMPs provide coverage for behavioral health services, but some FIDE-SNPs do not. Since most dual eligibles have behavioral issues, this coverage should be universal. Coverage must include all traditional long-term and acute-care services and be flexible enough to pay for unconventional but cost-effective medical treatments such as providing meal plans or shelter to beneficiaries akin to Medicaid in-lieu of services. Where possible, administrators should set health standards and give insurers and providers freedom to experiment and identify cost-effective interventions.²⁸
5) Sticky Enrollment
A lesson from the demonstrations has been that many enrollees opt out between the enrollment date and the date when they start to receive services because they fear losing relationships with trusted providers, facing service restrictions, or are just uncertain about their new plans.²⁹ ³⁰ In fact, some of the most costly patients are opting out of the integrated care models while healthier patients remain in.³¹ As indicated above, those who remain in integrated coverage programs express high degrees of satisfaction and rarely disenroll. We need to educate dual eligibles on the benefits of integrated coverage, passively enroll beneficiaries, and consider allowing them to opt out only every few years.
If the normal dual eligible plan combined the best features of MMPs and FIDE-SNPs, private insurers, integrated delivery organizations, and providers would immediately step in to coordinate care. In the last few years we have been excited to see companies such as Cityblock Health and Landmark Health devise innovative strategies for managing expensive, vulnerable populations.
Cityblock and Landmark are deploying creative new methodologies such as permanently assigning caseworkers to each high-need Medicaid patient and scripting out meal plans for patients to prevent diabetes, high blood cholesterol, and other chronic conditions from spiraling out of control. We have been excited to see Landmark reduce avoidable utilization by 30–40% and achieve incredible rates of patient satisfaction in the process.³²
These and even more exciting innovations in preventive medicine will continue to save taxpayer dollars while keeping Americans healthy and satisfied — but only if our system of financial incentives stimulates new ideas and allows them to go viral.
Kenneth Thorpe has estimated that moving dual eligibles into coordinated care programs would save $10–20B a year because "well managed team based care results in lower rates of emergency room, clinic and hospital days."³³ Based on the early results from MMP and FIDE-SNP programs as well as our diligence on private sector companies caring for expensive, complex populations, we think this figure could easily be $50B per year or more. We strongly encourage continued experimentation in the states but urge policymakers to apply the lessons of the demonstration programs by swiftly making an integrated coverage model for dual eligibles the default setting in America.
[1] About half of dual eligibles are disabled; half are elderly. "Report to the Congress: Medicare and the Health Care Delivery System" Chapter 9, Medpac, June 2018.
[2] Medicare-Medicaid Coordination Office Fact Sheet: People Enrolled in Medicare and Medicaid. February 2018.
[3] Davenport et al. "The 'Dual Eligible' Opportunity." Center for American Progress, December 2010.
[4] Jacobson et al. "Medicare's Role for Dual Eligible Beneficiaries." Kaiser Family Foundation, April 2012.
[5] Medpac 2018, ibid.
[6] $34,000 * 11,700,000 = $397.8 billion, though slightly lower estimates appear in the literature.
[7] Medicaid is a mix of federal and state funding.
[8] Bubolz et al. "State Spending on Dual Eligibles Under Age 65 Shows Variations, Evidence of Cost Shifting from Medicaid to Medicare." Health Affairs, May 2012.
[9] Long-term care accounts for 80% of Medicaid spending. Medpac 2018, ibid.
[10] For instance, Medicare medical services, Medicaid medical services, LTSS, behavioral health services, and dental services. See: "Improving Care and Lowering Costs for Chronic Care Beneficiaries: Implementing the Bipartisan Budget Act." Bipartisan Policy Center, August 2018.
[11] Cost-shifting also occurs within Medicaid, which is partly funded by the Federal Government and partly funded by the states. Grabowski, DC. "Medicare and Medicaid: Conflicting Incentives for Long-Term Care." Milbank Quarterly, December 2007.
[12] Chen et al. "Early Evidence from South Carolina's Medicare-Medicaid Dual Eligible Financial Alignment Initiative." BMC Health Services Research, 2018.
[13] Grabowski, David. "Medicare and Medicaid: Conflicting Incentives for Long-Term Care." Milbank Quarterly, 2007.
[14] Walsh et al. "Potentially avoidable hospitalizations of dually eligible Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries from nursing facility and Home- and Community-Based Services waiver programs." Journal of the American Geriatric Society, 2012.
[15] Fragmented financing between Medicare and the VA is also responsible for a huge increase in veteran hospitalizations relative to vets who only receive care through the VA, bolstering our thesis. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.5034/inquiryjrnl_48.02.02
[16] Lester et al. "Using CMS Data to Understand D-SNP Market Trends and Performance." Mathematica Policy Research, March 27, 2018.
[17] Medpac 2018, ibid. "On our later visits — when the demonstrations in California, Massachusetts, New York, Ohio, and Texas had been under way for about three years — plans were much more definitive. Almost every plan we interviewed said the use of inpatient care and emergency room visits by their enrollees had declined. (The MMPs in New York were an exception; they said they had not seen significant changes in service use.)"
[18] Klein et al. "The 'One Care' Program at Commonwealth Care Alliance." The Commonwealth Fund, December 8, 2016.
[19] "Improving Value for Dual Eligible Beneficiaries: The Role of D-SNPs." Anthem Public Policy Institute, March 2017.
[20] https://aspe.hhs.gov/system/files/pdf/204996/MNmclda.pdf
[21] This is approximately the federal/state division of costs in the average state. Actual numbers would vary state to state. For a federal/state relationship where costs are divided 75/25, total savings should also be divided 75/25. If, after the implementation of our consolidated finances plan, the costs to a state have increased, the state should be awarded an increased proportion of savings (e.g. 60/40) such that they are saving money relative to their historical fee-for-service expenditures.
[22] Benchmark payments would have to be adjusted to the difficulty of caring for some patient population; some populations are intrinsically sicker and expensive than others.
[23] Archibald et al. "Using Health Homes to Integrate Care for Dually Eligible Individuals: Washington State's Experiences." Integrated Care Resource Center, February 2019.
[24] Lloyd, Jim. "Medicaid Accountable Care Organizations Version 2.0 Underway in Minnesota and Colorado." Center for Health Care Strategies, January 19, 2018.
[25] McConnell et al. "Early Performance in Medicaid Accountable Care Organizations: A Comparison of Oregon and Colorado." JAMA, April 2017.
[26] Lagasse, Jeff. "Medicare Accountable Care Organizations have increased federal spending, contrary to savings projections." Healthcare Finance, 2018.
[27] Seidman et al. "Medicare ACOs Have Increased Federal Spending Contrary to Projections That They Would Produce Net Savings
[28] One example of how freedom to experiment can allow insurers and providers to deliver better health outcomes is the Medicare Advantage Value-Based Insurance Design. See: Agarwal et al. "Value-Based Insurance Design Improves Medication Adherence Without An Increase in Total Health Care Spending." Health Affairs, July 2018.
[29] Chen et al. "Early Evidence from South Carolina's Medicare-Medicaid Dual Eligible Financial Alignment Initiative." BMC Health Services, 2018.
[30] Disenrollment of patients was a huge problem in LA County, for instance.
[31] Medpac 2018, ibid.
[32] "Managing Effectively in Complex Chronic Populations." HealthScape, 2018.
[33] Thorpe, Kenneth E. "Estimated federal savings associated with care coordination models for Medicare-Medicaid dual eligibles." AHIP, 2011. Thorpe's proposed reform is very similar to ours, and would involve a team based approach and a capitated payment from Medicare and Medicaid; a "whole person" focus on preventing disease and managing chronic conditions; medical advice available 24/7; assessment of patient risk and development of an individualized care plan; medication management, adherence and reconciliation; transitional care; regular contact with enrollees; centralized health records; integration of primary care and specialist physicians."


text:
New Report on Global Warming Contradicts U.N.'s IPCC
By Joseph Bast, S. Fred Singer (1924 – 2020), Robert M. Carter (1942-2016)
The United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), already under severe criticism for violating the requirements of academic peer review and relying on secondary sources, comes under attack again in a new report co-produced by three nonprofit research organizations.
According to the new report, "natural causes are very likely to be [the] dominant" cause of climate change that took place in the twentieth and at the start of the twenty-first centuries. "We are not saying anthropogenic greenhouse gases (GHG) cannot produce some warming or have not in the past. Our conclusion is that the evidence shows they are not playing a substantial role."
The authors of the new report go on to say "the net effect of continued warming and rising carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere is most likely to be beneficial to humans, plants, and wildlife."
Both conclusions contradict the findings of the widely cited reports of the IPCC.
Click here for an executive summary of the book.
Click here to review the book chapter-by-chapter.
The entire book is also posted on The Heartland Institute's Web site and can be accessed via the following links:
Forward, Preface, Table of Contents, Executive Summary
Chapter 1 – Climate Models and Their Limitations
Chapter 2 – Forcings and Feedbacks
Chapter 3 – Paleoclimate and Recent Temperature
Chapter 4 – Cryosphere, Ocean Dynamics, and Hydrology
Chapter 5 – Extreme Weather
Chapter 6 – Terrestrial Animals
Chapter 7 – Terrestrial Plants and Soils
Chapter 8 – Aquatic Life
Chapter 9 – Human Health Effects
Chapter 10 – Economic and Other Policy Implications
Appendix 1 – Acronyms
Appendix 2 – Contributors to the NIPCC 2011 Interim Report
The report was produced by The Heartland Institute, Center for the Study of Carbon Dioxide and Global Change, and Science and Environmental Policy Project (SEPP), three national nonprofit organizations based in Chicago, Illinois; Tempe, Arizona; and Arlington, Virginia; respectively.
The 430-page report was coauthored and edited by three climate science researchers: Craig D. Idso, Ph.D., editor of the online magazine CO2 Science and author of several books and scholarly articles on the effects of carbon dioxide on plant and animal life; Robert M. Carter, Ph.D., a marine geologist and research professor at James Cook University in Queensland, Australia; and S. Fred Singer, Ph.D., a distinguished atmospheric physicist and first director of the U.S. Weather Satellite Service. Seven additional scientists and one policy expert on sustainable growth made contributions to the volume.
The book is titled Climate Change Reconsidered: 2011 Interim Report because it precedes a comprehensive volume that is expected to be released in 2013. It focuses on scientific research released since publication of Climate Change Reconsidered: The 2009 Report of the Nongovernmental International Panel on Climate Change (NIPCC).
Key findings, as outlined in the interim report's executive summary, include:
"We find evidence that the models over-estimate the amount of warming that occurred during the twentieth century and fail to incorporate chemical and biological processes that may be as important as the physical processes employed in the models."
"More CO2 promotes more plant growth both on land and throughout the surface waters of the world's oceans, and this vast assemblage of plant life has the ability to affect Earth's climate in several ways, almost all of them tending to counteract the heating effects of CO2's thermal radiative forcing."
"The latest research on paleoclimatology and recent temperatures [finds] new evidence that the Medieval Warm Period of approximately 1,000 years ago, when there was about 28 percent less CO2 in the atmosphere than there is currently, was both global and warmer than today's world."
"New research finds less melting of ice in the Arctic, Antarctic, and on mountaintops than previously feared, no sign of acceleration of sea-level rise in recent decades, no trend over the past 50 years in changes to the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (MOC), and no changes in precipitation patterns or river flows that could be attributed to rising CO2 levels."
"Amphibians, birds, butterflies, other insects, lizards, mammals, and even worms benefit from global warming and its myriad ecological effects."
"Rising temperatures and atmospheric CO2 concentrations, by increasing crop yields, will play a major role in averting hunger and ecological destruction in the future."
"The latest research suggests corals and other forms of aquatic life have effective adaptive responses to climate change enabling them to flourish despite or even because of climate change."
"Global warming is more likely to improve rather than harm human health because rising temperatures lead to a greater reduction in winter deaths than the increase they cause in summer deaths."
"Even in worst-case scenarios, mankind will be much better off in the year 2100 than it is today, and therefore able to adapt to whatever challenges climate change presents."
To schedule an interview with the authors and editors of Climate Change Reconsidered: 2011 Interim Report, contact Jim Lakely, director of communications at The Heartland Institute, at [email protected] or 312/377-4000.
The Heartland Institute is a 27-year-old national nonprofit organization with offices in Chicago, Illinois; Washington, DC; Austin, Texas; Tallahassee, Florida; and Columbus, Ohio. Its mission is to discover, develop, and promote free-market solutions to social and economic problems. For more information, visit our Web site or call 312/377-4000.
Joseph Bast
Joseph Bast is a Senior Fellow at The Heartland Institute. He cofounded Heartland in 1984, serving as executive director then as president & CEO until January 2018. His research and writing focuses on climate change and energy policy.
S. Fred Singer (1924 – 2020)
Dr. S. Fred Singer was among the first and most-prominent scientist in the world speaking out against global warming alarmism.
Robert M. Carter (1942-2016)
Robert M. Carter, Ph.D., a long-time policy advisor to The Heartland Institute and a world renowned authority on climate change, passed away on January 19, 2016. He was 74.


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New Zealand Rugby (formally the New Zealand Rugby Union) was formed in 1892 to administer the game of rugby union at the national level.
Formation of New Zealand Rugby
On Saturday 16 April 1892, at a meeting held in Wellington, the NZRFU was formed. Inaugural members were the Provincial Unions of Auckland, Hawke's Bay, Manawatu, Marlborough, Nelson, South Canterbury, Taranaki, Wairarapa, Wanganui and Wellington. At the time, three major South Island Provincial Unions – Canterbury, Otago and Southland – resisted the creation of a central authority.
NZR's strongest advocate and first secretary, Ernest Hoben, was a driving force behind the formation of the national union. Hoben had spent 1891 travelling around New Zealand putting his idea of a national union to the local Unions, explaining how having a New Zealand headquarters would give huge benefits to the game.
In 1893, at our first AGM, we formally adopted the black jersey as the national playing strip and selected the first officially-sanctioned national team for a tour of Australia (although they were not selected by the national body, the earlier New Zealand team selected to tour New South Wales in 1884 is recognised as a New Zealand team and its players are recognised as All Blacks.)
By 1895, the Bush, Canterbury, Horowhenua, Otago, Poverty Bay, Southland and West Coast unions signed up and the NZRU was considered to be a complete and united collection of all New Zealand rugby players. However, the New Zealand rugby map would be repeatedly redrawn in the following decades.
Rugby, like all of New Zealand, was affected by World War One, with many players not returning or being seriously injured, preventing them from taking the field. Some matches were organised, though they were confined to players who were under military age. Inter-island and Ranfurly Shield challenges were cancelled. It was up to schools to keep rugby going and from 1917 representative fixtures featured these younger players. During the War, the NZRFU continued to hold meetings, although fewer than in previous years and the enlisting of Management Committee member William Perry in 1916 as a non-commissioned officer.
At the Annual General Meeting in 1921, New Zealand elected its first Life Member: George Dixon, manager of the 1905 "Originals" All Blacks and our first Chair (appointed in 1904). Provincial delegates also met prior to the AGM to arrange representative fixtures for the season ahead, introducing a new level of national coordination.
A seat of our own
In 1948, NZR was admitted as a member of the then-International Rugby Football Board (now World Rugby), at the same time giving up its representation on England's Rugby Football Union (RFU) Committee. We were admitted alongside South Africa, while the Australian Rugby Football Union (as it then was) came into formation at this time. We were each given one seat on the Board.
The move to professionalism
In 1995, following the Rugby World Cup in South Africa, international rugby became professional and NZR negotiated with and contracted the professional rugby players in New Zealand.
NZR also joined with Australia and South Africa to form SANZAR (now SANZAAR after the addition of Argentina), which sold the television rights for major southern hemisphere rugby competitions and helped begin the commercialisation of the sport.


Vera Mlechevska is an art historian and curator. We met to discuss a very interesting and performative project that she is currently working on, together with the writer Dimiter Shopov. The project addresses Bulgarian art history and the national complex regarding this history and the lack of an avant-garde tradition. Whereas most post-communist and post-socialist countries are eager to showcase those artists who continue the tradition of the avant-garde, Bulgaria carries the stigma of not having this tradition, and trying to make up for it by suggesting that there may have been artists working in this manner, but it simply wasn't documented. Vera and Dimiter, however, have chosen a different approach. They confront this situation head on, by ironically discussing Bulgaria's notable avant-garde artist, Gavazov – a fictional character of their making.
Gavazov has done everything and invented everything you could imagine. He was the father of conceptualism, installation art, and experimental film. The authors exaggerate his achievements to mock this situation where artists or nations try to stake a claim in being the first to do or create something. They present the material about Gavazov in the form of a lecture performance (which they have been doing since 2011), where Vera plays the role of the curator and art historian, and Dimiter, the researcher. All of Gavazov's work exists in description form only, because, as Vera told me, to show them, visually, would destroy the myth. Without the physical evidence of his work, the myth can be perpetuated and even aggrandized, as the imagination runs wild with Gavazov's innovative accomplishments.
Dimiter and Vera created a reconstruction of Gavazov's studio, and tell stories about how he was "ahead of his time." So advanced, in fact, that his work wasn't accepted, appreciated or even understood in Bulgaria at the time it was created. For example, he made a kinetic sculpture that was installed in Ruse, Bulgaria, but the locals didn't understand what it was, so they started to use it as a real object. Vera and Dimiter have even begun collecting images of found objects or "installations" in the public space of Bulgaria, for example, a random pile of stones, collection of rubbish, which they show as examples of the possible legacy of Gavazov's avant-garde art.
Gavazov was, however, internationally known and accepted. For example, according to their research, he influenced African Minimalism. While most Eastern European artists try demonstrate their success or influence in Western Europe or North America, Gavazov found his success in Africa. In this way, the story also challenges the Amero- and Euro-centric art world.
Gavazov is a fascinating project, one that confronts local history head on and creates a dialogue about it, instead of either ignoring or exaggerating it. The project reminded me of a similar one by the Romanian Bureau of Melodramatic Research; where, when the artists were denied access to their own history, they invented it themselves. Here Vera and Dimiter rewrite history with a specific purpose: to expose and challenge the complexes about Bulgarian art history, in the hopes of working through these insecurities by creating a new work of art that moves art history forward.


text:
1 - 6 August 2017 | 66 comments (66 topical, editorial, 0 hidden)
Re: Living Off the Planet (none / 0)
I responded to this comment.
How is importing sustainably produced electricity worse that importing oil or gas to provide for Europe's energy needs? And the Sahara has far more solar power potential than its sparsely distributed population could ever need.
There are several assumptions, possibilities or "potentials," expressed by these statements, but catalytic conversion of (sun)light into transmmitable electricity is not one of them. The purpose of DESERTEC construction is to collect and transmit electricity. The proposed construction site(s) is not co-located with end-users, because Europeans have less electricity than they need or live in darkness.
Or do they?
A show of sophistry by a person of your age is unbecoming.
Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
by Cat on Thu Aug 10th, 2017 at 04:46:47 PM EST
Germany has very large amounts of solar power, but the utility of that power is limited by latitude seasonally. That is the chief reason for wanting to locate solar facilities in equatorial regions. Technically the biggest limitation is power transport. Else the equator would be ringed with solar power installations.
"It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."
by ARGeezer (ARGeezer a in a circle eurotrib daught com) on Sat Aug 12th, 2017 at 04:14:24 PM EST
in "World Energy 2.0" (2007), courtesy: melo.
Am I to understand then, northern hemisphere grids (EU, Germany specifically) which are too far from the equator to exploit "local solar irradiance", ought to define investment in and feasibility of decentralized PV installation, generation, and transmission everywhere else on the planet?
How catholic.
by Cat on Sat Aug 12th, 2017 at 06:34:17 PM EST
I neither said nor implied any of those things. My point was that, while being limited seasonally by latitude, solar WAS able to make a significant, cost effective, contribution to the grid even in Germany. Of course the same equipment, installed within 20 degrees of the equator, would give a much better result. So it becomes a trade-off of transmission cost vs. reduced generation. Were technology to greatly reduce the transmission cost then locating solar generation near the equator would become more desirable. Morocco is currently of interest because of its proximity to Spain and the European grid. But Spain would do just fine, IMO, were it not for local idiot politicians like Rajoy who shut down planned projects for political purposes as well as rendering existing facilities less viable by changes in regulations.
by ARGeezer (ARGeezer a in a circle eurotrib daught com) on Sun Aug 13th, 2017 at 05:38:24 AM EST
m'k.
I did ask. Now I know. Equatorial PV installations are useless unless their transmission terminates as far away as the northern hemisphere, eg. EU consumption.
Technically the biggest limitation is power transport. Else the equator would be ringed with solar power installations.
Morocco is currently of interest because of its proximity to Spain and the European grid.
Who specifically, what organization, is suppose to fund and construct PV installation and transmission lines to export surplus electricity to Spain from Morocco, if not the ideal ring around the equator?
Not being a member, I'm ignorant about Club of Rome networking activities in Morocco.
by Cat on Sun Aug 13th, 2017 at 03:30:07 PM EST
LOL! Impute any assumptions you want to what I say. But I do believe that African countries should build their own PV installations for their own people and their neighbors with what ever money can be pried from the hands of their own elites. That is what governments ought do, even if so doing is the exception and not the rule in most countries today - notably so in the USA.
by ARGeezer (ARGeezer a in a circle eurotrib daught com) on Sun Aug 13th, 2017 at 03:51:19 PM EST
I do believe that African countries should build their own PV installations for their own people and their neighbors with what ever money can be pried from the hands of their own elites.
Have you any recent examples to support this belief?
It was a normative, not a positive statement, and NO, I have no examples that spring to mind - sadly. The general situation regarding leadership in most of Africa is dispiriting. But then so is it in the USA.
by ARGeezer (ARGeezer a in a circle eurotrib daught com) on Mon Aug 14th, 2017 at 01:44:22 AM EST
Equatorial climates tend to be suboptimal because they involve lots of rain and cloud cover. Desert climates like the Sahara are ideal, and not just because of their proximity to Europe. Transmission costs need not be excessive once economies of scale are achieved. The Sahara isn't much good for anything else. It could be a very good export and foreign currency earner for Saharan countries were it not for political instability threatening installations and transmission lines. Failing that, southern Spain would be the ideal locations were it not for a lack of political imagination.
Note, however, that production tends to peak around midday which might limit power availability at other times. Ideally an east west middle eastern and north African grid spanning form Saudi to Morocco would provide power throughout most of European daylight (and peak demand) hours. In the longer term, a global grid extending all the way to Mexico could provide power throughout northern hemisphere daily demand cycles and valuable revenue and employment for more southern countries. (In return, northern installations could provide wind power for more southern countries at night or in winter).
Index of Frank's Diaries
by Frank Schnittger (mail Frankschnittger at hot male dotty communists) on Sun Aug 13th, 2017 at 06:23:57 PM EST
Yes, on either side of the equator by 20 degrees I should have said. Namibia is another great location. It could power South Africa and most of Africa south of the equator if adequately built out. Similarly with Mozambique on the east coast. Solar thermal and east-west interconnects could stretch the time period served.
A north south Namibia Sahara interconnect could also help to re-balance summer/winter production peaks more in line with demand cycles.
by Frank Schnittger (mail Frankschnittger at hot male dotty communists) on Mon Aug 14th, 2017 at 10:30:16 AM EST
1 - 6 August 2017 | 66 comments (66 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)


text:
NASA Scientist Claims That Aliens May Have Already Been Here
Survival Update Team December 12, 2018 2 min read
While there are those of us who continue to search for signs of intelligent life on this planet, a NASA scientist has recently revealed that he thinks it is reasonable to assume that we may have already been visited by aliens.
In a recent paper published by the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI), Silvano P. Colombano, who works for NASA's Intelligent Systems Division, said there were certain aspects of UFO sightings that simply cannot be explained. Colombano, who is also a professor of biophysical sciences, went on to say that intelligent life out in the universe could be radically different than life here on earth, and instead of being built on carbon – as all earthly lifeforms are – could be based on different elements entirely. "I simply want to point out the fact that the intelligence we might find and that might choose to find us (if it hasn't already) might not be at all be produced by carbon-based organisms like us," Colombano wrote in the paper.
Colombano writes that alien life could be so fundamentally different than life on earth, that if we base our search on assumptions about terrestrial life, it could be likely they have visited here, or are visiting, but we cannot detect them, because we do not know what to look for.
What Might a Non-Carbon Based ET Be Like?
So if we assume that ETs could be based on elements other than carbon, what does that do to our assumptions about what to look for? According to Colombano, it changes them quite a bit.
"Our typical life-spans would no longer be a limitation (although even these could be dealt with multi-generational missions or suspended animation), and the size of the 'explorer' might be that of an extremely tiny super-intelligent entity," Colombano added in the paper.
He also says that if we can change our mindset into accepting that life beyond earthly confines could be so radically different than our own, then, it is not unreasonable that they could also possess intelligence and technologies so different from ours, that they could have surmounted the many challenges to interstellar travel, which we have not.
"Considering further that technological development in our civilization started only about 10K years ago and had seen the rise of scientific methodologies only in the past 500 years, we can surmise that we might have a real problem in predicting technological evolution even for the next thousand years, let alone 6 million times that amount!" he explained.
Colombano concludes that, "…this should prompt scientists to take a more "aggressive" approach to search for aliens and rethink assumptions about alien life.
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Welcome to the "Magic Abyss Hotel", a new song by the recording ensemble Family Time, which is made up of cousins Max and Oscar Guardans, who are longtime musical collaborators.
This psychedelic indie tune is one piece of an emerging story that is the album of the same name, Magic Abyss Hotel. The pair wrote and recorded most of the album entirely on their own on the island of Mallorca, which is off the eastern coast of Spain, in the Mediterranean Sea.
The album, they call a "baroque piece of psychotic opera pop" is sure to intrigue those music fans who appreciate a bit of mystery and an unusual backstory to accompany what is unarguably good music.
Check out "Magic Abyss Hotel" below and on our Quirky Indie Spotify Playlist.


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'You're a loaded baked potato': People reveal the weirdest 'compliments' they've ever received
By Maddison Leach| 2 months ago
Compliments come in all shapes and sizes, but some are definitely a little less flattering than others.
Fake compliments, backhanded compliments and just straight-up confusing compliments were the topic of a recent Reddit thread.
The person who originally made the thread posed the question: "What's the weirdest compliment you've ever been given?"
And boy, did the internet deliver.
The internet has shared the strangest compliments they've ever received. (Getty Images/iStockphoto)
Thousands of women – and some men too – flocked to the forum to share the outrageous things they'd been told as 'compliments'.
That said, we're certain a fair few of these were downright insults hiding under a thin veil of politeness.
"A woman I was talking to in my dad's shop thought I was not me but my sister," one woman said.
"When I tried to correct her that I am me, she told me 'no you are not, [insert my name] is fat and has short hair, she is not beautiful like you'."
Someone else was told by a co-worker that they looked like "a cross between Han Solo and Dr. Bunson Honeydew from the Muppets."
Another person said that someone once told them they're "like a piece of furniture" as a compliment, meaning they "don't do much, but you notice when I'm not there".
The backhanded compliments ranged from weird to rude. (Getty)
And a third said that their friend once told them: "You're a loaded baked potato. People pay extra for that good s--t!"
At least that one sounds kind of nice?
Parents even joined in with some hilarious compliments their kids have given them, including one child who said their mum "smelled like music" and another whose kid told them they're a "good pooper".
RELATED: Internet shares 'worst cheating stories' and they'll make you want to be single
But the weirdest by far were the medical-themed compliments, one woman revealing that a doctor once told her she had "beautiful fallopian tubes" during an ultrasound.
Someone else chimed in with their own experience, saying: "During a pap smear a couple years ago my OB-GYN said 'Holy smokes, girl! You've got one loooooong vagina!'
"Her tone indicated it was supposed to be a compliment but I still don't know what to make of it."
One woman even got a weird compliment from her doctor. (Getty Images/iStockphoto)
The compliments ranged from weird, to insulting, to just plain confusing but one thing's for sure; people tend to remember the out-of-the-box compliments they receive more than the classic ones.
So if you want to make an impression (though we can't promise it will be a good one) maybe try giving a unique compliment.
Just make sure you're not insulting the person in the process.
Auto news: BMW i8 production to end in April - caradvice.com.au


In a series of sweet photo booth images taken from the bash, Aniston was seen smiling and getting goofy for the camera while posing with some of her closest pals. "Celebrated this beauty last night ✨Happy Bday JA!"
And proving she stays amicable with more than one former flame Jen's ex-boyfriend John Mayer was also on hand to wish her well. "She had some family there and seemed very happy to be with so many good friends".
"Jen was the first guest to arrive around 8 p.m. wearing a black jumpsuit with her hair down", a source tells E!
Aniston's Friends co-stars - Lisa Kudrow, Courteney Cox, and her ex-husband David Arquette - all apparently joined in on the celebrations too, while other famous faces included Reese Witherspoon, Ellen DeGeneres, Barbra Streisand, Keith Richards, George and Amal Clooney, Demi Moore, Robert Downey Jr.
Jennifer's birthday party was the main event on Saturday night with a host of celebrities in attendance.
Composite image of Jennifer Aniston (L) and Brad Pitt.
The A-list actress is also mother to 15-year-old son Ryder with rocker Chris Robinson, and seven-year-old son Bingham with her former fiance, Muse's Matt Bellamy.
Brad and Jen were once Hollywood's darling couple but ended their marriage in 2005 after five years.
She said: "I don't feel a void".
Things went sour in 2016 when, amid reports of heavy drinking and a stoush with his son Maddox, Pitt and Jolie split.
During his time in power President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has demonstrated a shocking contempt for human rights. During his tenure, Kagame dramatically challenged the election results in the Democratic Republic of Congo.


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Moving to Japan From Australia
Moving to Japan From Australia is a significant task, and if you are planning to undertake such move you should brace yourself for a life changing experience. Understanding Japanese lifestyle and culture is by no means easily accomplished task and it will take time to adapt to this unique place and its society.
When it comes to relocating to Japan, the complex task of overseas removal and shipping your belongings can be handled with ease – Nuss International Removals can take care of that part and provide you with a perfect peace of mind. Here are few interesting thoughts and facts about Japan:
A truly unique place
Some see the Japanese turning into Westerners, others see a Zen-like serenity. The reality is a bit more complicated.
When confronted with the army of men in suits and proliferation of fast-food franchises everywhere, one can see obvious influence of Western world and might think that Japan has become like the West. The near-cult status of Western pop icons and use of English loan words in daily conversation may lead the outsider to believe that Japan has changed dramatically.
Although Japan derives most of its modernity from the West, the Japanese continue to cultivate a self-image of an almost divine uniqueness. The Japanese repeatedly refer to Japanese things – including themselves – as "special" or "unique". The special Japanese snow once kept out French skis, as did special Japanese digestive system keep out American beef.
Japanese are very proud of their country and the sophistication and depth of its heritage. As an island nation, Japan is often focused inwards, as when the evening television news leads off with a cherry-blossom story and the remainder of the world is shoved to the end. Japanese people are more appreciative of the subtleties of the changing seasons than any other people. Rural people will know if the dragonflies that appear in late spring are three days early this year, or if "tsuyu", the rainy season, is dragging on two days longer than normal.
Japanese Climate
As soon you land in Japan, you will realise that people are simply obsessed with talking about weather. As a matter of routine, people nearly always greet each other by commenting on weather, and changing seasons still attract a great deal of attention by media and television. If the cherry blossoms are 3 days late this year, that will be a major news story on all TV channels.
Japan's seasons are very similar to those of Europe and North America. The coldest months are December, January and February where on one side (Sea of Japan) Hokkaido and Honshu experience heavy falls of snow as the cold air from Siberia moves in. The Pacific Ocean side, by contrast, is very dry during the winter months. Winter water shortages are now becoming a serious problem in Tokyo.
Only in Japan
Capsule Hotels – this unique concept of accommodation will provide the cosy feel of weightless cell similar to the Apollo space shuttle to some, or the ultimate claustrophobic nightmare to others. The "room" is approximately 6.5 feet long and comes with heating / air conditioning, TV, radio and alarm clock. Conveniently located near key stations, the Capsule Hotels are primarily used by stranded people who were not planing on spending the night away from home. You will either love or hate these coffin sized rooms, but there are definitely something to talk about.
Vending Machines – they are commonly found everywhere in the world, and the concept itself is nothing new. Why would they deserve to be mentioned then? Well, when it comes to vending machines, Japan has taken the concept to entirely different level. Not only that Japan has the most vending machines per capita in the world, but also the variety of items these machines come packed with is unprecedented. From disposable underwear, shirts and ties, to live crabs and everything in between. What is also amazing that the vending machines are also found in country side as well as in the cities, and they are rarely vandalised or dysfunctional.
Best Family Attractions
Kiddyland in Aoyama district of Tokyo features 5 floors bursting with toys and characters like "Hello Kity" and "Pokemon". Time spent here with kids could leave you with a acute cash flow problem.
National Children's Castle – Extensive facilities for young children in Tokyo's Aoyama area. Playhouses, a music room, a huge jungle gym and much more. Easily designated a full day for activities.
Sony Building – Older kids will want to check out the latest gadgets, especially those on 6th floor devoted to the Playstation only.
Moving Your Belongings Safely to Japan
Nuss provides a quality International Removals to Japan, as well as full range of additional services that include packing, insurance, pet transport and more. For consultation or quotation please contact Nuss consultant in Sydney.
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Here is a Ring I named "Rae of Light" that we just finished making in September 2018. The design is a mix of comfortable contemporary with an old world splendor of hand engraving accents all around. The center stone is a Gia Certified 1.22Ct D color Internally Flawless Cushion Brilliant that is flanked by a .42ct & .41ct Round Brilliant Diamond all stones in the Ring are Gia D color Internally Flawless. The center is set sideways with double prongs and if you appreciate simple elegance and high quality, you will enjoy wearing this Ring for work or play. I sold these 3 Diamonds years ago and now they just came back for an updated more stylish setting.
This will also look wonderful with a Colored Gem in the Center with Diamond sides, Color with Color or all 3 Colorless Diamonds as shown in Photos.
My pieces are made with Love and I also use Gia Certified Diamonds, fine Color Gems and plumb metals- meaning 100% correct purity.


text:
Drama & Performance Studies
Noël Coward Screenplays
In Which We Serve, Brief Encounter, The Astonished Heart
Noël Coward (Author), Barry Day (Anthology Editor)
Paperback $49.99 $44.99 Hardback $180.00 $162.00 Ebook (Epub & Mobi) $49.48 $39.58 Ebook (PDF) $49.48 $39.58
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This collection brings together three of Coward's most important screenplays – In Which We Serve (1942), Brief Encounter (1945) and The Astonished Heart (1950). The collection features the shooting scripts for each film alongside contextual notes for each play, and a general introduction, by Barry Day.
In Which We Serve earned Coward an Academy Honorary Award in 1943 as well as the New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Film. The film remains a classic of wartime British cinema.
Brief Encounter, the most famous screenplay in this collection, is based on Coward's 1936 one-act play Still Life. It remains one of the greatest love stories of all time, coming second in a British Film Institute poll of the top 100 British films.
The Astonished Heart tells the story of a psychiatrist's growing obsession for a good-time girl and the resulting tragedy this leads to.
This collection features a foreword by Laurence Kardish, Senior Curator Emeritus, Film, at New York's MoMA, and an eight-page black and white plate section of production stills.
Read an extract of Noël Coward Screenplays
Introduction by Barry Day
In Which We Serve commentary
In Which We Serve
Brief Encounter commentary
The Astonished Heart commentary
The Astonished Heart
Methuen Drama
Noël Coward
Noël Coward was born in 1899 in Teddington, Middle…
Anthology Editor
Barry Day
Educated Balliol College, Oxford. (M.A.) Retired…
I believe this would make a valuable addition to your current series of Noël Coward plays . . . very much of interest to scholars whose research interests include Noël Coward, the Second World War, and queer studies.
Rebecca Cameron, Associate Professor, Department of English, DePaul University, Chicago, USA
Of great value for scholars and students in a number of disciplines and fields, as well as for fans of Noël Coward and cinema generally . . . Coward's wide-ranging career and the many intersections between film, theatre, and literary studies mean that the collection will be of interest to scholars from several disciplines.
Dr Jack Ayres, Texas A&M University, San Antonio
In Noël Coward Screenplays, Barry Day continues his exhaustive editing of Coward's work with the screenplays for In Which We Serve [1942], Brief Encounter [1945], and The Astonished Heart [1950] ... Day's editing skills are as sharp as ever ... He provides introductions to each of the screenplays and gives useful information on Tonight at 8.30, the development of the narrative and characters, as well as insights into the production process.
The Year's Work in English Studies
Jack Fincher
Close to the Enemy
Stephen Poliakoff
Rebecca Miller
Screen Adaptations: Shakespeare's Hamlet
Samuel Crowl
Dancing on the Edge
Maverick Screenwriting
Josh Golding
Screen Adaptations: Romeo and Juliet
Courtney Lehmann
Screen Adaptations: Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice
Deborah Cartmell
Screen Adaptations: Shakespeare's King Lear
Yvonne Griggs
Screen Adaptations: To Kill a Mockingbird
R. Barton Palmer
Screen Adaptations: The Tempest
Lisa Hopkins
Screen Adaptations: Great Expectations
Brian McFarlane
Joe's Palace' and 'Capturing Mary'
Slingblade
The Talented Mr Ripley
Anthony Minghella
Tim Adler
The Long Good Friday
Barrie Keeffe
F.M. Dostoevsky
The Lost Prince
The Acid House
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at the B & B Cafe out on Anding Oil City Rd.
who worked at Foster's Machine & Repair.
where Hazel found a desk lamp she liked.
NORMA was etched into its black surface.
where she and Leo were married.
stopped by to see her and found her dead in the yellow chair.
her Camel Lights in her rolled up sleeve.
the only things there were on the shelf above her cot.


F40 Motorsports is proud to offer this gorgeous 1982 Porsche 911SC Coupe. This fully sorted 911sc has had a recent mechanical over haul over $15k invested into the motor and mechanics. Drive this car home today to enjoy for years to come.


Dr. Greenthumb's Em-Dog is a result of a "joint" collaboration with B Real of Cypress Hill whose in-house marijuana breeder Kief Sweat created it. The goal was to innovate and develop around the OG Kush line and this one really hit the spot.
Dr. Greenthumb's Em-Dog was produced by crossing the original OG Kush (aka the Crippy) with Chem #4. It performs very well indoors and in a greenhouse. Outdoors it really needs the warm climate of the Mediterranean or similar to really deliver. Em-Dog is a 70% indica weed strain with a very high THC production potential. Indoor yields are in the region 350 - 525 gr/m2 in a flowering time of 63 - 68 days. These buds can get very heavy so growers may need to help support them to avoid snapping branches. Outdoors (or in a greenhouse) plants can get very tall at up to 4 meters with correspondingly high yields; each plant can produce between 2 - 3 kilos each! Northern hemisphere harvests will be around mid-October. Buds are big and dense from this very-easy-to-grow strain.
The scent and taste of Em-Dog include tropical fruit, lemon, exotic woods, pine and diesel. THC production can go off the map; levels of between 20% - 27% have been recorded! CBD is very low at just 0.1%. The effect is very powerful indeed and quite well-balanced with slightly greater emphasis on the physical than the cerebral. It is an incredibly relaxing cannabis strain.


The University of Tasmania (UTAS) has signed a memorandum of understanding with four French defence and maritime technology institutions for work on the $50 billion DCNS project.
Although the fleet will be built in Adelaide, the Australian Maritime College (AMC) in Launceston will deliver teaching and research to the manufacturers that will build the 12 Shortfin Barracuda submarines.
UTAS deputy vice-chancellor Professor Monique Skidmore signed the MoU with the four French institutions: ENSTA ParisTech, École Centrale de Nantes, CentraleSupélec and École Polytechnique.
"This MoU will result in the university working with our French partners to deliver teaching and research which will inform the delivery of the next-generation submarine fleet for the country," Professor Skidmore said. "Universities such as the University of Tasmania, South Australian universities and the French consortia will together create the new generation of highly skilled workers required to research, design, build and maintain the next generation submarine fleet."
Professor Skidmore said the memorandum recognised the world standing of the university's AMC in both teaching and research, and underlined the considerable promise of defence and design to northern Tasmania's future.
"Arrangements such as this provide a platform upon which we can expand our existing strengths, along with the development of completely new economic sectors for the region and the state," said Professor Skidmore.
"This agreement has come about because of our university's capacity for interdisciplinary research and our highly-regarded pedigree in the STEM disciplines of science, technology, engineering and mathematics. It is why the university is pursuing a vision for a STEM Precinct in Hobart, which would considerably enhance these strengths, which could then be leveraged for the benefit of the entire state."
The institutions will all work with DCNS on the project and the programs are due to start in September next year.
The contract for the design and construction of the Future Submarines was awarded to the French government-owned DCNS in April 2016 and signed in September 2016.
The fleet will replace the six Australian-built Collins Class submarines that have been in service since 1996.
Tasmanian Minister for State Growth Matthew Groom gave a statement explaining the government wanted to ensure Tasmania was not missing out on its share of defence spending.
"In order to increase our share of defence spending, we need to ensure that we have the skills and the linkages with the defence sector to contribute to significant national projects such as this," he said.
"It will put the university's [AMC] at the forefront of the teaching and research work that will inform the delivery of Australia's submarine fleet."


Join us for step-by-step Instruction from Master Artist, Kathy Breault on how to recreate a beautiful "Mountain Sunrise" painting. You'll be using acrylic paints to create this beautiful colorful creation. Have a fabulous time sipping your favorite drink and being creative with your friends at this fun paint night art class. Enter code rivercity25 for $20 off.- Only 22 spots available – 1-12oz RCBC beer included for each painter in honor of beer week.


text:
2019 AFC Champions League, Group Stage
Melbourne Victory Melbourne Victory MBV
Sanfrecce Hiroshima Sanfrecce Hiroshima SAN
Ola Toivonen (70')
Taishi Matsumoto (5')
Yusuke Minagawa (73')
Tsukasa Morishima (75')
Kevin Muscat bows out of Melbourne Victory with loss to Sanfrecce Hiroshima
Kevin Muscat's reign at Melbourne Victory is over, the club legend taking leave from his coaching tenure with a 3-1 loss to Sanfrecce Hirosima in the AFC Champions League.
On an eerie night at AAMI Park, the A-League powerhouses said farewell to Muscat, captain Carl Valeri and marquee Keisuke Honda.
There was plenty of love from the crowd of 6,053, which sang and cheered for their departing trio. But in keeping with Victory's unfortunate campaign in Asia, they were undone by two world-class goals.
For the fourth time in six ACL games, Victory were behind within 10 minutes. In the fifth minute, Hiroya Matsumoto flicked on Tsukasa Morishima's corner, allowing Taishi Matsumoto to steal past a sleeping Storm Roux and head home.
Victory enjoyed most of the possession from that point on, with Ola Toivonen missing a simple one-on-one chance to tie the scores. He didn't fail from a free kick on 70 minutes, bending a set piece around the wall and into the net to bring Victory level.
Kevin Muscat salutes the Melbourne Victory fans in his last match in charge. JULIAN SMITH/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock
Five minutes later, Victory were two down. Yusuke Minagawa struck a curler after neat one-touch passing to beat Lawrence Thomas, and the goalkeeper was powerless shortly after to stop Morishima's bullet from 25 metres.
The result means Victory failed to win a match in their ACL campaign for the first time in eight attempts.
But the result never really mattered, with Sanfrecce already qualified for the next phase of the competition and Victory already out.
Instead, it was left to fans to salute their exiting stars, and ponder what might be next.
While Muscat fielded a near full-strength side, hoping they might atone for their humiliating 6-1 A-League semifinal loss to Perth, he gave Benjamin Carrigan, a 20-year-old centre-back, a home debut.
AFC Champions League Standings
1 Sanfrecce Hiroshima 6 +5 15
2 Guangzhou Evergrande 6 +4 10
3 Daegu FC 6 +4 9
4 Melbourne Victory 6 -13 1
AFC Champions League News
Kevin Muscat's reign at Melbourne Victory is over, the club legend taking leave from his coaching tenure with a 3-1 loss to Sanfrecce Hirosima.
Youthful Sydney FC side thrashed by Kawasaki Frontale
A second-string Sydney FC side bearing no resemblance to their A-League Grand Final-winning team lost 4-0 at home to Japan's Kawasaki Frontale.
Why is the A-League's record in Asia so poor?
Semifinalists Sydney FC and Melbourne Victory limped out of the Champions League this week, again underlining the gap between the A-League and Asia.
Melbourne Victory's AFC Champions League hopes ended by Daegu
Melbourne Victory lost 4-0 to Daegu FC to confirm their Asian Champions League fate.
Vanquished Sydney FC turn their attentions to A-League semifinal
Sydney FC will turn their attentions to Sunday's A-League semi after Australia's hopes of a knockout berth in the AFC Champions League were crushed.
Mix 'Jesus' Diskerud winner puts Ulsan Hyundai in AFC Champions League knockouts
Mix Diskerud, whose nickname in the K-League is "Jesus," scored a remarkable winner for Ulsan Hyundai that his coach called divine intervention.


the doctor i saw was fantastic. the level of attention to my medical history in relation to the subscription i was given was amazing. i have never had a dovtor in a visit look at my medical and family history and ask me point blank questions that i think i, or anyone whose is similar, should be asked. He explained things to me to alleviate some worries i had in a kind and polite manner without making me feel foolish for thinking them. if i could make him my main doctor i would.
Provider Timothy Shady great. He addressed my issue and came up with a plan of treatment. Very knowledgeable and kind. He listened to my concerns.
Tim Shady is an excellent provider He did a through assessment and then explained the issue in detail and then discussed the treatment options. He provides excellent care!
Timothy shady was very respectful and understanding with my concerns on the medications he was prescribing for me. He spent a lot of time with me and I did not feel rushed.
*Dr. Shady was wonderful. He took the time to show us *name removed* ears and what a normal ear drum looked like vs infected ear.
the provider paid attention to what I was saying but seem to even listen to my son (he's 15). I would recommend Tim Shady to my friends but not their kids.
Tim Shady is an outstanding provider! Listens carefully and is genuinely concerned about his patient.
Tim was great! My son loved him (which is rare) and cooperated through whole exam (which is also rare). Nice to have a tear free/cry free visit!!


Hi Brian(s), Just wanted to inform you guys I passed my CCIE R&S exam yesterday 20-August 2008 in DUBAI on my first attempt. You material no doubt is excellent and was very helpful. They way you teach in CoD is excellent as well as your IE Labs. You really deserve to be the #1. Thank you once again and hope to meet you guys again in CCIE Security very soon.