Here we list all media, advertising and marketing industry awards held throughout 2013, 2014 and to date in 2015 - highlighting winners from media specific categories. Where available we've highlighted previous winners as an interesting annual comparison.
Link to Twitter feeds to follow the often entertaining social media commentary from each event.
State of the Media - asks ex B&T editor - Tim Addington - to share his views on the benefits of getting involved, why there are so many awards and the same winners continue to appear.
Sales - Lizzie Young, Nine Entertainment Co.
Rising Star - Kate McMahon, Nine Entertainment Co.
Newsletter - stay up to date on media industry news and opinion by joining over 2,200 media trading 'influentials' who receive MediaScope's newsletter each Friday.
MediaScope's Resource Hub - A growing and evolving central destination for marketers, advertising and media to easily access useful information and resources on each media channel.


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California Senate OKs bill to mail ballots for fall election
Adam Beam
SACRAMENTO — Fearing a surge of coronavirus cases that could force a second statewide shutdown in the fall, the California Senate on Thursday approved a measure that would guarantee all registered voters get a ballot in the mail before the November election.
Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom has already ordered ballots to be mailed. But Republican congressional candidate Darrell Issa and the Republican National Committee have sued, arguing his order is illegal. The bill is an attempt by lawmakers to make sure it happens anyway.
Election officials nationwide have explored vote-by-mail options this year because of the pandemic, prompting condemnation from President Donald Trump, who has claimed that "mail boxes will be robbed, ballots will be forged & even illegally printed out & fraudulently signed."
Five states — Colorado, Hawaii, Oregon, Washington and Utah — conduct elections entirely by mail. None have reported significant fraud.
Most California voters already vote by mail. More than 87% of registered voters are scheduled to receive a ballot in the mail before the November election, including all of the 4.3 million registered voters in Los Angeles County.
Still, some Senate Republicans opposed the bill because it would let county election officials count mail-in ballots if they are received within 20 days of the election. Right now, the law says mail-in ballots only count if they are received within three days of an election.
"That does suggest to the people who have grave concerns about this that it encourages fraud," Republican Sen. Patricia Bates said. "Seventeen days suggests there is some other agenda there, and we don't need more conspiracy theories going on with regards to our elections."
Lawmakers included the extra time because they fear a second wave of coronavirus cases could force another round of stay-at-home orders that might delay ballots delivered by the U.S. Postal Service. Also, the Postal Service has been consistently losing money as it faces competition from commercial shippers. The Postal Service has warned it could run out of money this year without a taxpayer bailout.
"While our post office is usually quite efficient, on occasions they are not as efficient as we would like them to be," Democratic state Sen. Tom Umberg said. "We don't want to disenfranchise anyone, not through any fault of their own."
The California secretary of state's office says sending every voter a ballot will cost an extra $72 million. Most of it would fall on local governments, with the state paying $13 million for an outreach campaign. But lawmakers believe most of that cost could be covered by the federal government.
The Senate passed the bill with a 31-7 vote. It still must be approved by the state Assembly before it can become law.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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LongRoom News › SciTech
The contiguous United States just lost its last wild caribou
Science | AAAS | 1/17/2019 | Staff
shankay (Posted by) Level 3
1/17/2019 7:29 PM EST in SciTech
Click For Photo: https://www.sciencemag.org/sites/default/files/styles/article_main_large/public/thumb_16x9_0.jpg?itok=ApNSMzcz
The last caribou known to inhabit the contiguous United States has been removed from the wild. This week, a team of biologists working for the Canadian province of British Columbia captured the caribou—a female—in the Selkirk Mountains just north of the U.S.-Canada border. They then moved it to a captive rearing pen near Revelstoke as part of a controversial, last-ditch effort to preserve highly endangered herds. The female caribou is believed to be the last member of the last herd to regularly cross into the lower 48 states from Canada.
The 14 January capture of the caribou was "like losing a piece of the tribe in some way," says Bart George, a wildlife biologist for the Kalispel tribe in Usk, Washington. It is one of two indigenous nations in the United States that have been pushing governments to maintain the cross-border caribou herd and protect its habitat.
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Battles - Recovery - Decades - George - Conservationists
Battles over mountain caribou recovery have spanned decades. George, along with many conservationists, believes officials in British Columbia are looking for a way out of having to protect dwindling southern populations. Province officials dispute that idea. But critics note they have failed to develop management strategies for some southern herds, despite direction from the Canadian government calling for their restoration under the federal Species at Risk Act.
Conservationists also fear removing caribou from the wild will ultimately lead to the lifting of protections for its habitat, especially if the animals never return. Both British Columbia and the United States have...
(Excerpt) Read more at: Science | AAAS
Sorry Mr. Franklin, we couldn't keep it.


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Batman: Batman Black & White PVC Minifigure 7-Pack Box Set #3 10 cm
Beskrivelse: DC Collectibles' longest-running line, the Batman Black & White statue series has captured the hearts of collectors and comic-fans alike with its interpretations of the World's Greatest Detective and select Gotham City characters from the industry's brightest stars. Starting in 2019, DC Collectibles is creating an all-new offshoot of the beloved black-and-white collectibles, this time in 10 cm tall PVC figures. Released in sets of seven, including resized rereleases of some of the most popular statues in the line's history, each set will come with six previously available mini figures plus one exclusive, never-before-released edition only available in this set. Shipping September 2019 is Box Set Three, which is priced at $40 and features figures (all figures are Batman unless otherwise noted) from: Jim Lee, Dustin Nguyen, Mike Mignola, Sean Cheeks Galloway, Batman: Arkham Asylum, Jim Lee (The Joker) and an exclusive Andy Kubert mini figure never before available in stores.
Varegrupper: DC Comics, Batman, Figurer, DC Collectibles, Figurer 4" (skala 1/20)
Batman Black & White PVC Minifigure 7-Pack Box Set #2 10 cm
Batman Black & White Statue Batman by Joe Madureira 12 cm
Black & White Statue Batman by Gene Colan 17 cm
Batman Black & White Statue Batman by Marc Silvestri 15 cm
Batman Black & White Statue The White Knight Joker by Sean Murphy 18 cm
Batman Black & White Statue Robin by Carmine Infantino 15 cm
Batman Black & White Statue Batman by Kenneth Rocafort 22 cm
Batman Returns Mez-Itz Action Figure 3-Pack 5 cm
Askham Asylum 10th Anniversary Box Statues 1/16 3-Pack 13 cm
The New Batman Adventures Gallery PVC Statue Batgirl 25 cm


rec. 6-8 January 2012, Philharmonie Luxembourg.
If one thinks of the name Liszt and the word 'transcription', the first things which are likely to spring to mind are his work on the symphonies of Beethoven or the music of Wagner. This programme introduces work done on the music of Liszt by other composers, and is the tip of a rather substantial iceberg when it comes to the influential effect Liszt has had on music.
The best work here is the Marcel Dupré version for orchestra and organ of Ad nos, ad salutarem undam which opens the programme. This is confidently orchestrated, with a convincing division of material between soloist and the rest and some fine lyrical solos from the winds. There are some magical moments such as that with harp and glockenspiel 15:04 in, and the whole has an encouragingly substantial 'concerto' feel.
Leo Weiner was a contemporary of Dupré, and his orchestration of Weinen, Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen is suitably dramatic and also highly effective in this setting. There isn't a vast amount of passion emanating from the Deutsche Radio Philharmonie Saarbrücken Kaiserlautern so we're not holding onto the edge of our seats, but this is a useful enough rendition.
Liszt's Orpheus is originally for orchestra, but works well on organ. The booklet makes something of the Luxembourg Philharmonic Hall organ, which is described as 'universal' in its assimilation of German, French and Anglo-American characteristics. It is a fine sounding instrument though the Philharmonie acoustic is warm rather than rich in terms of resonance, and with such an amalgam of identities this is arguably a 'neither fish nor flesh' sound. There are also one or two minor tuning issues such as the descant 4:00 into Orpheus, but as with the rest of this CD the music is serviceable enough.
Least successful to my ears is the Rainer Bischoff orchestration of the Prelude and Fugue on B-A-C-H, which makes the most of the low brass and winds to create a juicy organ-like noise at times. There are however some Tom & Jerry percussion extras which jar more than somewhat, such as the hilariously cheesy woodblock around seven minutes in and a rather unnecessary vibraphone which brings a touch of Milt Jackson to the whole thing. The orchestral playing is also not universally wonderful in this technically highly demanding piece, the B-A-C-H theme heroic only in the sense of pumping up a bicycle tyre can be.
All in all this is a disc to intrigue and invite further exploration rather than one which will blow your socks off into a new dimension. The SACD sound is fine but the performances are more soggy than bracingly inspired - something which may have to do with the acoustic or balances sought between organ and orchestra.


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Q: Combining query results in mongodb I have a collection invites which i am using to store some invite data.Below are two rows of data i captured from my collection invites
{
        "_id" : "n4nECpQFnBFiKkt6N",
        "createdAt" : ISODate("2016-10-11T11:59:16.988Z"),
        "lat" : -1.2861292178882062,
        "lng" : 36.89101696014404,
        "eventop" : "0800123456",
        "eventtitle" : "test2",
        "eventtime" : ISODate("2016-10-11T11:59:16.988Z"),
        "invited" : "0800123456",
        "hour" : "0",
        "minute" : "1",
        "pmam" : "pm",
        "eventduration" : "60",
        "eventtype" : "4",
        "eventcategory" : "hackathon",
        "eventstatus" : 11
}

{
        "_id" : "LtFB4WMu4xGC7Kyxf",
        "createdAt" : ISODate("2016-10-11T11:59:16.939Z"),
        "lat" : -1.284970795243023,
        "lng" : 36.89183235168457,
        "primaryowner" : "0800123456",
        "eventtitle" : "test2",
        "eventtime" : ISODate("2016-10-11T11:59:16.939Z"),
        "hour" : "0",
        "minute" : "1",
        "pmam" : "pm",
        "eventduration" : "60",
        "eventtype" : "4",
        "eventcategory" : "hackathon",
        "eventstatus" : 11
}

I want to fetch some data from the collections invites. This is the data i want to get.
I want to get data(all fields) where invited field is 0800123456 and eventtype is 3 and eventstatus is 11. I also want to get data where eventtype is 4 where eventstatus is 4 and the field primaryowner exists.
db.invites.find({invited:"0720069005",eventtype:"3"},{eventstatus:"11"},{$and: [{eventtype: "4"},{eventstatus:"11"},{primaryowner: { $exists: true }}]}).pretty()
This is my query.It returns some data but i am not sure whether its correct.

A: From your question, I couldnot clearly understand what is the required business scenario, but with the sample data provided I have given an pseudo code and the respective mongodb implementation of that pseudo code.
if invited field is "0800123456"
   if event type is 3 and event status is 11
     select matching documents
or if event type is 4 and event status is 11 and primary owner exists
     select matching documents

Mongo DB Query
db.collection.find({
  $or: [
    {
      $and: [
        {
          "invited": "0800123456"
        },
        {
          "eventtype": {
            $eq: "3"
          }
        },
        {
          "eventstatus": {
            $eq: 11
          }
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      $and: [
        {
          "eventtype": {
            $eq: "4"
          }
        },
        {
          "eventstatus": {
            $eq: 11
          }
        },
        {
          primaryowner: {
            $exists: true
          }
        }
      ]
    }
  ]
})

If this is not matching your scenario, then write your own query with the help of this sample code.
Hope it Helps!

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
From ancient times it has been understood that "Good health and good sense are two of life's greatest blessings." (Publilius Syrus) Good health is a building block of a good life and the American Dream. Advanced medicine is modern-day blessings courtesy of economic development and American medicine is by some measures the best in the world, but costs have been rising for decades, creating problems of access and affordability, and suppressing wage growth. Reforms meant to address these concerns have had unsatisfactory results. Is there a better way?
Putting it in Context
The Role of Government
Current Challenges and Areas for Reform
What You Can Do/Ways to Get Involved
Suggestions for Your Next Conversation
Discussion Guide Share
Listen to The Civic Leader Podcast for an audio version of this brief.
In Marion, North Carolina, the Buchanan family decided to go without health insurance for the first time in their lives, rather than pay $1800 per month. Although their income puts them in the top fifth of households, their insurance premium was three times the price of their mortgage. In addition, their high deductible meant having and using their health coverage would cost over $30,000 annually. Instead, they now pay about $200 per month for membership in a local doctors' practice that allows them unlimited office visits and discounts on medications and lab testing
In Phoenix, Arizona, the Bobbies and their son will remain uninsured, hoping this savings will help them pay for the special heart treatments their nine-year-old daughter needs. Their daughter qualified for Arizona's Medicaid program, but the family was later told they made too much money to get low-cost state coverage. Before their daughter had turned three, medical costs amounted to over $1 million, and caused the Bobbies to lose their house and car. When coverage through the Affordable Care Act became available to them in 2014, the Bobbies were able to buy a policy for Sophia that costs just over $200 per month, but this did not solve their problems by any means; it is only affordable if the rest of the family remains uninsured (Bloomberg).
The Constitution does not address healthcare as a specific right, but it promotes life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, of which health is a crucial part. Evidence shows that, in comparison to people without health coverage, people with health insurance have fewer out of pocket medical costs, see the doctor more often, get more preventative care, and report that they feel healthier and less depressed. It is helpful to take a look at our current healthcare issues — specifically the rising cost of medical insurance — to understand where we are and what can be done to improve access to healthcare and health insurance for all Americans.
History: The Origins of Health Insurance
According to author John Steele Gordon, modern medicine has been practiced for a very short amount of time: "More than 90 percent of the medicine being practiced today did not exist in 1950." The ancient Greeks were the first to recognize disease had natural, not supernatural, causes, but great innovations in medicine were still centuries away. Tools such as the stethoscope, ideas such as germ theory, and medicines such as anesthesia paved the way for great advancements in the 1800s.
The 19th century was a turning point for hospitals; originally for the poor, hospitals gradually became treatment centers as better sanitary procedures were introduced. With more use, however, came more costs, and hospitals quickly suffered financial problems. A way to finance running hospitals was through hospital insurance, a precursor to modern health insurance. Groups of hospitals quickly joined together to offer plans, and this became the model for the first health insurance company, Blue Cross, which opened in 1932.
During World War II, another healthcare development emerged: employer-paid health insurance, when the federal government instituted wage controls and companies began looking to provide non-cash benefits to compensate their employees. The IRS ruled employer-paid health insurance was a tax-deductible business expense, which made it attractive for employers to offer. Working Americans began to take the plans their employers provided, which sometimes meant Americans did not search for the most cost-effective plan. Additionally, subsidies for employers often destabilize the individual market.
Government became involved in healthcare during the 1960s, when President Johnson signed the bill that led to the introduction of Medicare and Medicaid; these programs were structured in much the same way as Blue Cross, but since the government was making the payments, healthcare providers were pleased because even more people could afford medical care. This also gave state governments the ability to influence policy decisions at hospitals, many of which were political rather than economic.
The highly controversial 2010 Affordable Care Act (also known as the "ACA" or "Obamacare") resulted in even greater government involvement in the healthcare system. The ACA allowed millions of Americans to purchase health insurance via new government exchanges or obtain coverage through Medicaid. Through the act, the government also introduced subsidies for people with annual incomes below 400 percent of the poverty line to offset the costs of insurance premiums for plans available on the state exchanges.
All of these developments in healthcare came with a price tag: In 1930, Americans spent $2.8 billion on healthcare, approximately $23 per person and 3.5% of GDP. In 2019, that figure was $3.8 trillion —$11,582 per person and 17.7% of GDP. Adjusted for inflation, per capita medical costs in the U.S. are now 30 times higher than they were 90 years ago.
See this timeline from PBS for more on the history of U.S. healthcare.
Where do Americans get insurance?
For the most part, the U.S. has a third-party payer system, meaning health insurance plans (third parties) reimburse doctors for costs of services provided to patients. There are both public and private programs available to Americans.
Medicaid includes coverage by Medicaid, Medical Assistance, and Children's Health Insurance Plan (CHIP). Medicaid is a state-run program, jointly financed by state and federal funds, that serves lower-income U.S. residents. CHIP is similar to Medicaid in structure but is specifically for children. Medicare includes coverage by Medicare and Medicare Advantage and is the largest federal health care program that serves almost 60 million elderly and disabled people in the U.S. There are four parts of Medicare:
Part A (Hospital) pays for your care in a hospital, skilled nursing facility, nursing home (as long as it's not just for custodial care), hospice and certain types of home health services.
Part B (Medical) covers medically necessary services or supplies needed to diagnose and treat a medical condition. It also covers preventive services for illnesses such as the flu, including inpatient and outpatient physician services and some limited outpatient prescription drugs.
Part C (Medicare Advantage), also known as MA plans, is sold by private companies. MA plans come in two varieties – HMO plans and PPO plans – and take the place of Medicare Part A, Part B and, often, Part D coverage. Many offer extras such as vision, dental, hearing aids and wellness services.
Part D (Prescription Drugs) provides prescription drugs from a list (called a formulary). Each Medicare prescription drug plan has its own list. Most plans place drugs into different "tiers," with each tier having a different cost.
Other public insurance sources include coverage for military service members and coverage from the Veterans Administration. About 35.5% of Americans have public insurance.
Employer-paid insurance includes coverage through a current or former employer or union, as a policyholder or dependent. In 1943 the IRS ruled that employees do not have to pay taxes on group health insurance premiums paid on their behalf by their corporate employers. This tax exclusion meant that the value of the healthcare benefit to the employee was greater than if a company offered the employee the same amount of cash, which would have been taxable. Thus, more and more employers began offering health insurance plans as part of attractive compensation packages for their employees.
For individuals whose employers do not offer insurance or who are self-employed, there is also the option to purchase private insurance. Non-group insurance includes coverage by policies purchased directly from a private insurance company.
According to Kaiser Family Foundation, approximately half of all Americans get their health insurance through their employers as of 2019, and another 6% have non-group insurance. About 9% of Americans are uninsured.
Federal and state government is currently deeply involved in healthcare. Its spending, regulations, and its tax code all play a large role in structuring the current market. Much of government involvement in the healthcare system comes from the Department of Health & Human Services (HSS), which includes agencies such as the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
At the state level in particular, states provide health insurance coverage for their respective state employees. In terms of the ACA marketplaces, 23 states have at least some control over their exchanges with either state-based, federally-supported, or partnership exchanges.
Of the $3.8 trillion spent on healthcare in 2019, the U.S. government contributed about $1.7 trillion, mainly through Medicare, Medicaid, the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP). Medicare cost about $800 billion and Medicaid and CHIP cost $613 billion. Other government spending includes veterans' and active-duty military health care as well as health insurance subsidies created by the ACA. In total, the federal government accounted for 29% of all health care spending and state and local governments accounted for 16%.
Proponents of centrally-planned government believe that the government should guarantee and subsidize universal coverage, consolidate providers into large organizations, and have experts manage federal spending in a way that drives efficiency throughout the healthcare system. Calls for "Medicare for All," which would involve complete or majority control of the healthcare system by the government, have been making headlines in recent years. See more on Medicare for All below.
Free-market advocates favor increasing competition to make insurance more affordable so that people will voluntarily buy it and introduce more market-based approach to consumption. They believe centralization does not improve efficiency, and that government should take a more modest role and allow a functioning market to emerge. This creates a closer relationship between the consumption and payment of health services, and empowers consumers within that market. The Department of Health and Human Services under the Trump Administration released a report in December 2018 detailing efforts to reform the healthcare system by expanding choice and competition for American citizens, including effort that revises an ACA guideline to give states more leeway over their individual insurance markets.
For more on the history of the role of government in the healthcare system, see this CMS report.
A frequently cited statistic is that the U.S. spends significantly more on healthcare than other developed countries but does not report much better health outcomes in areas such as infant mortality and life expectancy. These statistics, however, need to be understood in context to truly grasp the challenges the U.S. healthcare system faces and how to best fix them. For example, as Sally Pipes of the Pacific Research Institute points out, different countries have different definitions of infant mortality, and "America's seemingly poor performance is largely attributable to lifestyle and social factors – not the quality of the institutions that make up its healthcare system."
Author John Steele Gordon explains that the U.S. healthcare system was originally designed around temporary treatment in hospitals. Today, however, the "serious, long-term, expensive-to-control illness" is the new normal. The design of the healthcare system has not changed to meet this new challenge of managing chronic disease, which leaves room for improvement: current barriers to health services in the U.S. include high costs and lack of coverage, and uneven distribution of services.
In 2019, the U.S. spent almost 18% of its GDP on healthcare. Costs also vary widely within the U.S.: an MRI of the lower back costs about $140 at an imaging center in Louisiana but costs over $7600 at a center in California. Some experts speculate price differences result from differences in demand for healthcare services or supply of providers, provider and insurer market power, and even health characteristics of the populations. You can compare healthcare prices and use levels across the country with Health Cost Institute's interactive Healthy Marketplace Index.
Author John Steele Gordon also recommends reforming the present system to be more transparent by requiring providers to make their prices public. "Once prices are known and can be compared, competition…will immediately drive prices towards the low end," he says. "Posting prices will also force hospitals to become more efficient and innovative, in order to stay competitive." In November 2019, President Trump announced a new rule that would require hospitals to disclose prices for services and treatments such as x-rays, outpatient visits, and lab tests, arguing it would help patients "obtain an estimate and understanding of the individual's out-of-pocket expenses and effectively shop for items and services."
Some medical organizations including the Federation of American Hospitals and the American Hospital Association warn that revealing costs could cause confusion, and "undercut the way insurers pay for hospital services" because there are large differences in how services are reimbursed by Medicare and private insurance. Industry groups also argue that such a requirement is beyond the executive branch's authority. For example, a federal judge stated the Trump administration "overstepped its regulatory authority" and blocked a Trump administration rule in June 2019 that would have required drug makers to post list prices on television.
In 2019, the government, consumers, and insurers spent $369.7 billion on prescription drugs. Insurance plans handle negotiations for drug pricing in the U.S., but this does little to lower costs. Some of these drugs, like intravenous solutions, are used by hospitals and have been identified by the FDA to be in short supply, which greatly affects prices. Between 2008 and 2016, costs for generic oral prescription drugs rose almost 10% annually, and injectable drug prices rose over 15% annually.
The House and Senate have both prepared bills that would address drug pricing, specifically in Medicare and Medicaid. It is important to remember that while the U.S.'s high drug pricing is an issue that garners a lot of attention, it's also a contributing factor to U.S. scientific innovation. One study found about $2.5 billion in revenue is required to "support the invention of one new chemical entity." Additionally, the U.S. has more clinical trials than anywhere else in the world, accounting for almost half of the world's total.
The Wall Street Journal explains how drug prices in the U.S. work:
Doctors and Patients
The Trump Administration revealed a plan in April 2019 that would restructure how primary-care doctors are paid in order to reduce the high costs of Medicare. According to Seema Verma, administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the current fee-for-service method creates "perverse incentives to offer more care."
Most experts agree that patients in the U.S. are frequently overtreated, although one Johns Hopkins's study also found overtreatment was not usually due to high incomes for doctors and hospitals; the two most common reasons cited for overtreatment were patient demand and fear of malpractice. Medical practices and treatments pursued to avoid malpractice litigation are called defensive medicine, and can cost somewhere in the realm of $50 billion annually. Addressing medical malpractice reform with the costs of defensive medicine in mind may help lower excess healthcare spending.
The 2010 Affordable Care Act was introduced as a solution to many of the pressing problems of cost and access. The objective of the ACA was to offer access to health insurance to the nearly 48 million people in 2010 unable to get health insurance — or good health insurance — through employers. The following are a few main features of the law:
Millions could purchase health insurance via new government exchanges or obtain coverage through Medicaid, the government-run health-care program intended for the poor, which many states dramatically expanded via incentives in the ACA.
For those who qualify, the government provides subsidies to offset the costs of insurance premiums for plans available on the exchanges.
Insurance companies are required to offer health insurance to people with pre-existing conditions on the same terms as to others.
All would be required to purchase health insurance; those who did not would have to pay a fine (effective 2019, this tax was eliminated when Congress passed the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.)
A new tax on expensive employer-provided policies was instituted to control costs.
The ACA got off to a rocky start, but has since extended coverage to almost 20 million people, meaning more Americans have access to health insurance.
Although uninsured rates are still at all-time lows, the number of uninsured Americans began to rise starting in 2017, growing from 26.7 million in 2016 to 28.9 million in 2019. This was due to declines in Medicaid coverage as rising wages left fewer people eligible for Medicaid, and due to the fact that more people are foregoing insurance since the individual mandate tax was reduced to zero. What's more, the ACA is just not working for many Americans as the cost of healthcare continues to rise faster than Americans' incomes: "the cost for many people to buy a health plan – if they don't get it from a job or the government – is higher than ever."
*(As millions have lost their jobs and potentially their health insurance due to the coronavirus pandemic's effect on the economy, the number of uninsured Americans has likely increased further).
More people than ever are underinsured thanks to high out-of-pocket expenses and deductibles. An estimated 44 million people were underinsured in 2018, up from 29 million in 2010. Compared to insured adults with adequate coverage, underinsured adults are more than twice as likely to not fill a prescription, to skip a recommended test, treatment, or follow-up appointment, and have medical debt.
While opponents of the ACA have not reached a consensus on a replacement plan, several policy prescriptions have attracted widespread support:
The ability to buy health insurance across state lines to create more market competition and choice in policies;
Secure renewal of health insurance that is guaranteed so people who have health insurance can keep it and not see premiums soar if they get sick;
Cost transparency so people can know the price of their insurance and medical services
For more on the ACA, see The Policy Circle's Affordable Care Act Deep Dive.
Medicare for All is the plan for universal health care that expands Medicare coverage to everyone and would be funded through taxes. It is referred to as the single-payer healthcare system. In a single-payer healthcare system, everyone is covered by one government-run health plan that pays for all services. In some cases, as in the bill presented by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) private insurance would be outlawed. Other ideas involve giving more people access to government-funded healthcare by lowering the eligibility age for Medicare or offering a public option through Medicare or Medicaid buy-in. In these cases, private insurance would remain, as would Medicare Advantage, through which the government pays private companies to run Medicare plans. In all cases, the government insurance plan competes with private-insurance.
Realities of a Single-Payer System
The most widely-cited Medicare for All plan is Senator Sanders's bill. Mercatus and the Urban Institute both estimate the costs of this plan over the next 10 years would add about $30-$34 trillion to the federal budget – this would be on top of the estimated $17 trillion in federal government spending on health care over the next decade, projected by the Congressional Budget Office. Federal government spending on healthcare makes up about 28% of all healthcare spending, amounting to just over $1 trillion annually.
But runaway costs are frequently a problem in healthcare, as Sally Pipes of the Pacific Research Institute notes in her book, False Premise, False Promise: The Disastrous Reality of Medicare for All (p. 32). When Medicare added dialysis coverage in 1972, the actual cost ended up being more than twice the estimated amount of $209 million, and that was only for one small piece of coverage. Additionally, Medicare made almost $50 billion worth of improper payments in both 2018 and 2019.
This means the single-payer system may cost much more than the projections estimate, which means more taxes will be needed to fund the system. The Rand Corporation estimates a single payer plan in New York would require about $140 billion in new state tax revenue, approximately double what New York currently collects in taxes.
The Washington Post Fact Checker takes a closer look at the costs of a single-payer system:
In a healthcare system, there are limited numbers of doctors, hospitals, services, and amenities, from treatments to testing to hospital beds, but there is a potentially unlimited demand from patients. This will inevitably lead to longer wait times. In her analysis of the UK's and Canada's single-payer systems, Sally Pipes, a Canadian, found the quality of care available in these countries is very different than in the US (p. 64). For example, average wait times in Canada for a CT scan are 4-5 weeks, mainly because there are fewer than 20 machines for every million people. For an MRI, of which there are about 10 per million people, waiting times are 10-11 weeks. Between hospitals and outpatient care facilities, the U.S. has 44 CT scanners per million people and almost 40 MRI machines per million people.
In the Fall of 2019, only 74.5% of patients seeking care in Accident and Emergency (A&E) units in the UK were seen within four hours, marking the lowest percentage since the target of 95% was set in 2004. In the U.S., average emergency department waiting time is an hour and a half. For non-emergency treatment, as of June 2019, over 4 million people across the UK were waiting due to a lack of available hospital beds and available staff. Meanwhile, the UK's National Health System doctors and nurses work an average of 3-4 hours of unpaid overtime per week.
This doesn't even begin to touch on the procedures and prescription drugs that are not offered by other countries' health systems. For example, in countries such as Canada, Germany, and Japan, governments engage in negotiations with drug manufacturers to keep prices low, but Sally Pipes notes this also means these health systems choose to limit the drugs they offer because they are too expensive to begin with (p. 107). In the U.S., consumers spend about three times as much on drugs as European consumers do, but much of that spending is because American patients have more access to newer and more expensive treatment options. Additionally, that spending contributes to innovation and research that leads to widespread development of procedures and prescription drugs, and explains the U.S.'s low mortality rates for breast, colorectal, and cervical cancers in comparison to other countries.
While average prices for medical procedures, hospital costs per day, and prescription drugs are higher in the U.S. than elsewhere, patients in the U.S. actually have greater, easier, and faster access to these treatment options and services. Sally Pipes outlines how these services can be improved through other means. For example, short-term health insurance plans and Health Savings Accounts are options that could allow more people to get coverage that fits their specific health and budgetary needs. On the supply side, expanding licensing reciprocity so professionals can practice around the country without needing to seek state-specific license can ensure there is no shortage of physicians in the U.S.
Employer-based and Private Insurance
The tax exclusion that gave employers the incentive to offer employees health insurance has created a number of problems over the past 60 years. According to healthcare policy expert Tom Miller at the American Enterprise Institute, the tax exclusion "has been criticized for raising – and hiding – the overall costs of health insurance and health care." It also limits choices for individuals, and "dispenses its rewards disproportionately to higher-income workers in larger companies with better-paying jobs."
This is mainly because large companies have the most leverage when negotiating with insurance companies. Whereas only 40% of small companies with fewer than 25 employees offer health insurance, 97% of companies with over 100 employees offer coverage. For all companies, however, average health care prices for employer-sponsored coverage rose over 17% between 2013 and 2017, according to a Wall Street Journal report. In 2019, the average total cost of employer-provided health coverage rose to over $20,000 for a family plan (a 5% increase from 2018) and to about $7200 for individual plans (a 4% increase from 2018). On average, employers bore 71% of the costs. Individuals who are self-employed, unemployed, or not offered insurance by an employer have additional difficulties facing rising prices, steep premiums, and meager benefits.
You can look at hospital price comparisons with the Employer Hospital Price Transparency Project, from the Employers' Forum of Indiana and the Rand Corporation. The project gives employers access to information on hospital prices, from which many employers have seen unexplained and unsustainable health care cost increases over the past few years. For example, one of the studies found employers in Indiana were paying hospitals anywhere from two times to over three times the amount that Medicare was paying. For all medical services, Medicare rates average about 40% lower than private insurance rates, well below the costs of providing these services.
According to Gloria Sachdev of the Employer's Forum, health plan contracts frequently include clauses that prohibit parties within the network from disclosing what the prices are, which prevents employers from being able to shop for health care for their employees. To find the best quality for the best price, one option is to address these clauses so employers can hold hospital systems and health plans accountable for price negotiations.
Another difficulty is that health insurance is regulated differently by each state. This patchwork regulation dramatically limits competition in the insurance market, causing high prices. employers and individuals alike must purchase plans that comply with state mandates–-creating monopolies of one or two insurance companies in many states. For those who suffer from pre-existing health conditions that are serious and costly, the individual market is rarely an affordable option.
The Trump administration has addressed monopolization and competition through issuing a 2018 Department of Labor rule that "expanded access to affordable health coverage options for America's small businesses and their employees through Association Health Plans" which work "by allowing small businesses, including self-employed workers, to band together by geography or industry to obtain healthcare coverage as if they were a single large employer." The larger risk pools and economies of scale created by Association Health Plans give smaller businesses stronger negotiating power with providers.
Another option is to give states a more prominent role in reforming their health insurance markets since states have a better understanding of local needs and are having trouble offering their own plans given current mandates. Idaho's Blue Cross insurer, for example, tried to implement a plan that would help the state financially but would charge higher premiums for sick people or people with preexisting conditions. Federal officials struck the plan down but "encouraged Idaho to explore offering similar policies as short-term plans…" The problem with short term plans is that, although they tend to be less-expensive options, they lack the consumer protections that come with ACA plans.
State budgets have been in trouble for at least a decade due to healthcare expenditures like Medicaid and retiree healthcare benefits. States pay for a portion of healthcare bills for retired public workers, promising hundreds of billions of dollars in retiree health benefits that have resulted in a nation-wide $600 billion dollar gap. This has prompted a number of states to start "testing how far they can reduce health benefits…as a way of coping with mounting liabilities and balancing budgets." For example, In 2017, Kansas began charging retirees the full cost of health coverage in 2017. After this, 75% of former beneficiaries dropped out, and Kansas saw its health care liability fall from over $6 million to just over $500,000.
The Role of Technology
Telehealth is an area for opportunity that could help improve healthcare delivery and reduce costs, which has been highlighted during the coronavirus pandemic. According to the Health Resources Services Administration, "telehealth" is defined as "the use of electronic information and telecommunications technologies to support long-distance clinical health care, patient and professional health-related education, public health and health administration. Technologies include videoconferencing, the internet, store-and-forward imaging, streaming media, and terrestrial and wireless communications."
Telehealth includes clinical (e.g., a virtual exam) and non-clinical applications (e.g. training on how to use equipment or holding administrative meetings). Seema Verma has noted key ways that telehealth "is changing the very face of healthcare. Telehealth innovations could help usher in a new world of healthcare that is embraced by both patients and providers, that identifies new avenues of care delivery, and that improves the value of care by increasing its quality while lowering its cost." Telehealth can be a long-term solution that allows patients to more quickly and easily access the services of specialists without the imposition of travel.
For example, Amazon's Alexa "can track blood glucose levels, describe symptoms, access post-surgical care instructions, monitor home prescription deliveries and make same-day appointments at the nearest urgent care center." The Apple Heart Study, a combined effort between Apple and Stanford University, uses data from Apple watches to improve technology detecting irregular heart conditions. Developments in telehealth could also reduce the burden on doctors, nurses, and medical practitioners, who often complain that entering medical information into electronic health records is currently time-consuming and takes away from interactions with patients.
Another example of digitization in practice is the Australian health system's remote care coordination for Type 2 diabetes patients, which saw a drop in patients' blood glucose levels by a full percentage point when managed remotely compared to only seeing a traditional doctor. Additionally, the annual cost of care per individual dropped by $900. Digital and pharmaceutical technologies "can move most chronic care from centralized hospitals, surgery centers and clinics into patients' homes," turning healthcare from a "high-cost destination" to a "low-cost delivery system" focused on value and empowering patients.
You can read more about telehealth in The Policy Circle's Digital Landscape Brief.
Healthcare reform is one of the most contested issues in U.S. politics, as all Americans are facing high costs and limited access. Current laws and mandates do not work for everyone. Even before the coronavirus pandemic, reform was necessary and inevitable. It is important for lawmakers, businesses and employers, and individual citizens to be aware of the current state of healthcare and the reforms under consideration to come up with the best solution for Americans.
Many options for healthcare reform are being considered. It is essential that American citizens remain aware of the options so they can contribute to dialogue and make their voices heard. Here are some resources to explore:
Research your elected representatives' positions on healthcare law and his or her vision for how to tackle the healthcare challenges facing Americans at large and your community specifically.
Start by searching on your state or municipality's website for your local Department of Health using keywords such as healthcare or department of health.
You can also search for healthcare in your state on Ballotpedia.
At the national level, GovTrack tracks bills in the House and Senate.
Learn how to write to your representatives, set up a meeting with a legislator, and write a letter to the editor here.
You can find contact information for federal, state, and local government officials here.
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid
Committee on Finance
Subcommittee on Healthcare
Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions (HELP)
Committee on Appropriations
Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies
Committee on Ways and Means
Subcommittee on Health
Committee on Energy and Commerce
Committee on the Budget
Notable Organizations:
Network for Regional Healthcare Improvement is an organization representing other state and regional affiliated partners working to collaborate healthcare improvement across regions.
The Kaiser Family Foundation is a nonprofit organization that focuses on national health issues.
The RAND Corporation is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that does research and analysis on areas including security, health, education, sustainability.
The Galen Institute is a non-profit public policy research organization that focuses on policies to create a patient-centered health sector that offers greater freedom and more affordable health care choices.
The Galen Institute President Grace-Marie Turner testified before Congress about the path to universal coverage in the U.S. Read the full transcript here.
The Pacific Research Institute's CEO and health care expert Sally Pipes discussed the future of health care and how single payer systems actually function. Listen to the podcast here.
Education and Healthcare face similar debates, centered around what role the government and individuals should each play in making decisions and controlling resources in these service industries. First, both face "rising prices, consumer criticism," and questions of quality. Additionally, both are subsidized by the government, who is not the consumer, which means consumers have little power over producers and producers have little incentives to cut costs.
Explore the Series
This brief is part of a series of recommended conversations designed for circle's wishing to pursue a specific focus for the year. Each series recommends "5" briefs to provide a year of conversations.
Five for 2021
Five that Impact Your Wallet
Want to dive deeper on Healthcare? Consider exploring the following:
Health Disparities & Determinants of Health
State Briefs
Want to learn more about how states are dealing with this issue? Read our state-specific briefs below:


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International FTL transport
International LTL transport
CargoLine
Central Transport Corridor
Domestic distribution network
Domestic LTL distribution network
Domestic FTL transport
SUUS Fresh
Road toll
Currency adjustment
Fuel adjustment
Mandatory road tolls apply on selected sections of motorways, expressways and national roads, which as at 10 July 2017 included 3 660 km in total.
Pursuant to the applicable regulations, tolls for using roads are mandatory to all services of ROHLIG SUUS Logistics that consist of the national road transport. Road toll fees:
National Full Truck Load transport (FTL) - actual obligatory toll paid by a carrier
Less Than Truck Load (LTL) - average fee
Other services that consist of the national road transport - on the same basis as above
Similar rules are commonly used by other entities offering TSL services.
As a result of the extension of the viaTOLL system, the total length of the national road network covered by the electronic toll system will be approximately 3660 km.
As a result, the decision of the National Product Distribution Director as of 10.07.2017, the e-toll tariff for Rohlig Suus Logistics customers is changed to 7.58%
Details concerning extension of roads under the toll system. http://www.rp.pl/Prawo-drogowe/306029979-Beda-oplaty-na-nowych-odcinkach-drog.html#ap-1
Pursuant to the Council of Ministers Regulation of 9 July 2017 about 360 km of toll roads will be connected to the viaTOLL system, the extension of the system includes the following sections:
S8 Expressway - from the intersection with district road No. 2012B to the junction of Menenin (about 16 km)
S19 Expressway - from the Lublin Slawinek junction to the Lublin Węglin junction (about 9 km)
National road no. 24 - section Pniewy (intersection with national road no. 92) to Skwierzyna South junction (about 53 km)
National road no. 50 - from crossroads with national road no. 92 in Kuznocina to the intersection with county road No. 3835W in Guzów (about 15 km)
National road no. 50 - from the intersection with the voivodship road no. 876 in Chudolipie to the intersection with the voivodeship road No. 683 in Dębówka (about 42 km)
National road no. 50 - from the intersection with the district road No. 2709W to the intersection with the county road No. 4201W (about 47 km)
National road no. 50 - from the intersection with the district road no. 4202W to the Brok junction (about 32 km)
National road no. 92 - from junction with district road no. 1258F in Boczow to junction with district road No. 1225F in Poźrzadle (about 21 km)
National road no. 92 - from the intersection with the district road No. 1238F to the intersection with the district road No. 1211F in Myszęcin (about 23 km)
National road no. 92 - from junction with district road No. 1217F to junction with provincial road No. 305 (about 34 km)
National road no. 92 - from junction with national road no. 14 in Łowicz to the junction with national road no. 50 in Kuznocin (about 23 km)
National road no. 92 - from the junction with the national road no. 50 in Sochaczew to the border with the city of Warsaw (about 44 km)
This link, goes to a map with new road sections marked.
Road toll ROHLIG SUUS Logistics [PDF]


Thimerosal induces micronuclei in the cytochalasin B block micronucleus test with human lymphocytes.
Thimerosal is a widely used preservative in health care products, especially in vaccines. Due to possible adverse health effects, investigations on its metabolism and toxicity are urgently needed. An in vivo study on chronic toxicity of thimerosal in rats was inconclusive and reports on genotoxic effects in various in vitro systems were contradictory. Therefore, we reinvestigated thimerosal in the cytochalasin B block micronucleus test. Glutathione S-transferases were proposed to be involved in the detoxification of thimerosal or its decomposition products. Since the outcome of genotoxicity studies can be dependent on the metabolic competence of the cells used, we were additionally interested whether polymorphisms of glutathione S-transferases (GSTM1, GSTT1, or GSTP1) may influence the results of the micronucleus test with primary human lymphocytes. Blood samples of six healthy donors of different glutathione S-transferase genotypes were included in the study. At least two independent experiments were performed for each blood donor. Significant induction of micronuclei was seen at concentrations between 0.05-0.5 micro g/ml in 14 out of 16 experiments. Thus, genotoxic effects were seen even at concentrations which can occur at the injection site. Toxicity and toxicity-related elevation of micronuclei was seen at and above 0.6 micro g/ml thimerosal. Marked individual and intraindividual variations in the in vitro response to thimerosal among the different blood donors occurred. However, there was no association observed with any of the glutathione S-transferase polymorphism investigated. In conclusion, thimerosal is genotoxic in the cytochalasin B block micronucleus test with human lymphocytes. These data raise some concern on the widespread use of thimerosal.


The 'responsive and always available' team at Kyriakides Georgopoulos Law Firm is recommended for its 'very friendly, helpful and pragmatic approach', as well as its 'clear advice', 'dedication' and 'attention to detail'. Recently, it advised a consortium of investors, including Snam, Fluxys, Gasunie and Enagás, on its €535m investment into DESFA. The firm also advised Frigoglass on the sale of its UAE subsidiary to ATG Investments. Leonidas Georgopoulos and Claire Pavlou jointly lead the team.
The top-tier team at Kyriakides Georgopoulos Law Firm is praised for its 'good knowledge and experience'. Led by the highly experienced Effie Mitsopoulou, the team handles all contentious and non-contentious areas of employment law. Recently, the practice advised Coty on the restructuring of its distribution model, necessitating the TUPE transfer of 80 employees to the new distributor. Other clients include Coca-Cola, Frigoglass, IBM, and AbbVie Pharmaceuticals. Ioanna Kyriazi is also recommended.
Kyriakides Georgopoulos Law Firm 'covers a wide spectrum of expertise and is always available for the exchange of comments and ideas'. The 'professional and hardworking' team is led by the 'very experienced' Gus Papamichalopoulos, who has 'a great deal of initiative and problem-solving skills'. Recently, the team advised a consortium of Italian, Spanish and Belgian investors on the bid for a stake in of DESFA. The firm is also advising Repsol on the sale of a 60% stake in the operation of an onshore block in Aitolokarnania. Projects head Elisabeth Eleftheriades , Ioanna Antonopoulou, and corporate partner Evi Dimitropoulou are all active in this area.
Kyriakides Georgopoulos Law Firm is credited for its 'great teamwork, excellent response time and effectiveness in providing practical solutions'. The team, which is led by Irene Kyriakides, represents an impressive range of blue-chip clients in the manufacturing and pharmaceuticals sectors.
Kyriakides Georgopoulos Law Firm is a top choice for major energy and infrastructure projects, and its sector-led expertise has also put it in good stead for related privatisations. Notably, it is advising the consortium of preferred bidders on the €535m privatisation of DESFA, which operates Greece's gas distribution network. Other key clients include ABO Wind, Repsol Exploracion, and State Grid Corporation of China. Gus Papamichalopoulos and Elisabeth Eleftheriades jointly lead the team.
Popular with clients, the tax team at Kyriakides Georgopoulos Law Firm has 'an international understanding that is difficult to find in Greece' as well as a 'strong local practice in tax litigation'. Practice head Panagiotis Pothos is praised for his 'very good understanding in both Greek and international tax law'. The firm recently advised Frigoglass on tax issues linked to its €380m restructuring.
Kyriakides Georgopoulos Law Firm has an active white-collar crime team jointly led by John Kyriakides and specialist litigator Panos Alexandris. The firm is often involved in high-stakes cross-border cases and regularly represents clients before the investigatory authorities. The firm has recently been involved in significant cases in the financial services and food sectors.
Please choose from this list to view details of what we say about Kyriakides Georgopoulos Law Firm in other jurisdictions.


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HeadStuff Lists | 21 Great Overlooked Horror Movies From the 2010s
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By John Hogan On Jan 15, 2020
Now that 2019 has come to a close, horror heads into 2020 stronger than ever. The last decade of the genre has given us some truly classic and frightening experiences that have kept fans coming back for more again and again. But what about that one movie you and your friends have seen and love but no one else has even heard of? It seems only fitting to count down some of the best horror movies of the last decade that were either shockingly underseen, disappointingly underappreciated or completely overlooked for whatever reason. In no particular order, here are the chillers I believe rightfully fit the bill and deserve your attention.
Long before Mike Flanagan gave us enthralling nightmares like Gerald's Game or The Haunting of Hill House, the writer-director crowdfunded a small little horror flick named Absentia. Following a young woman and her sister as they struggle to come to terms with the sudden disappearance of a loving husband, Absentia is a low-budget masterclass in atmosphere and dread.
With his debut, Flanagan showcased his ability to take a simple concept and stretch it as far as it can go. From an ominous focus on dark tunnels to the creepy stalkings of something completely unnatural, Absentia masks its low budget through the strong technical ability of Flanagan's direction. There are moments within the chiller that evoke the same bizarre, unnerving brilliance David Lynch has made an entire career out of. After Absentia, it seemed only fitting that Flanagan would go on to provide such massive hits like Oculus or Doctor Sleep. If buckets of atmosphere in horror pushes your buttons, then you can't go wrong with Absentia.
The Battery (2012)
Zombie flicks became something of a trend in the 2010s. When shows like The Walking Dead proved how successful the sub-genre could be, it sent everything into complete overload. But back in 2012, first time director Jeremy Gardner aimed to bring a unique, fresh concept to the undead creatures. That vision, titled The Battery, took the zombie sub-genre and placed it alongside the stylistic cues of classic movies like Easy Rider or Midnight Cowboy.
Feeling like a road movie from the 70s or 80s, The Battery follows two former baseball players as they traverse a post-apocalyptic USA and at its core, is a movie entirely invested in the dramatic journey of its two main protagonists. With strong screenwriting and character development, The Battery goes deeper and more offbeat than most zombie flicks would dare to attempt. But be warned, it still may just become your new favourite of the sub-genre.
Have you ever wondered what Commando would look like if you turned Colonel John Matrix into a deluded psychopath? The answer is Ryuhei Kitamura's ridiculously entertaining action horror No One Lives. It's campy, extremely violent and most of all, it has glorious one-liners.
Luke Evans gives an incredibly enjoyable turn as a man hellbent on vengeance with much more hidden under the surface than you would think. The actor embraces the campy nature and extreme brutality to the fullest and gives a performance worthy of an approving nod from action icon Arnold Schwarzenegger. Criminally underrated, No One Lives won't appeal to everyone but if you seek some mind numbingly fun, over-the-top action horror that knows it is exactly that, then it's the perfect movie for you.
Jug Face (2013)
Chad Crawford Kinkle's Jug Face is a horror movie that almost entirely went under the radar despite praise from critics. Hugely underseen, it offers a unique little concept centering around a strange backwoods community, prophecies of trauma and the haunting nature of human sacrifice.
Kinkle's movie is a carefully constructed piece that isn't afraid to take some gambles with expectations. With some splendid cinematography and even stronger acting, Jug Face manages to escape the confines of its low budget and offers some delicious atmosphere throughout with an emphasis on the tortures of morality and their twisted consequences. While not the most technically profound movie on this list, Jug Face is a good ol' fashioned slab of American horror.
Excision (2012)
Richard Bates Jr. is a director full of surprises with a strange perception on life and death. His debut feature Excision is the strongest example of this. It follows the aptly demented Pauline as she takes some truly disturbing steps towards earning the acceptance of her manipulative mother.
Excision is a movie that went under the radar thanks to the burgeoning success of a similarly styled little flick by the Soska Sisters called American Mary released the same year. But be under no illusions, Bates Jr's film is just as strong as its aforementioned compatriot. Brutally bleak and certainly not for the faint of heart, Excision is a gore hound's delight with the brains and technical flair to match. It's nasty, vile, hilarious and downright psychotic but we all crave a bit of madness from time to time.
Cheap Thrills (2013)
And the award for the funniest movie on this list goes to E.L. Katz's Cheap Thrills, a comedy/horror that embraces the dark side of the economic crisis and asks the age old question: "Just how far would you go for money?".
Yes, Cheap Thrills can be extremely silly but underneath lies a hugely entertaining slice of comedic savagery that, when it needs to, hits all the right notes for genre fans. One moment it is devilishly fascinating and the next it is frighteningly dark and disturbing. Ethan Embry and comedy legend, David Koechner are even involved giving solid performances in a movie loaded full of strong acting and impressive characterization. Truthfully, Cheap Thrills may just be the best comedy horror you've never seen.
Let's be honest, there aren't exactly a huge amount of classic Christmas horrors out there to choose from without the usual greats like Black Christmas or Gremlins topping everyone's list. In 2010, and all the way from Finland, came a little movie about Xmas that would bring joy and happiness to the most defiant of horror fans. That was Rare Exports.
When Roger Ebert gives your movie three and a half out of four stars and considers it a cross between an R-rated Santa Claus origin story and John Carpenter's The Thing, that really speaks volumes. Rare Exports is a terrific monster movie that is deliciously dark and crudely funny when it needs to be. If you enjoyed recent Christmas horror Krampus, then Rare Exports will leave you grinning just as sadistically as its demonic Santa Claus.
Burning Bright (2010)
In recent years, mainstream horror movies centering around humanity's fight to survive against gnarly predators have had a huge resurgence of popularity with the likes of The Shallows, The Meg and Crawl. Back in 2010, director Carlos Brooks made a small horror movie, focused on a young woman and her autistic little brother who become trapped in a house with a voracious tiger that largely went unnoticed and unwatched.
It's a pity as Burning Bright is a great little horror movie well deserved of your attention. Much like the eerily similar Crawl, Burning Bright is a solid slice of entertaining survival cinema that focuses on tense atmosphere and the actions of its lead to propel its focus into the limelight. Brooks does a superb job of hiding Burning Bright's underlying budget issues while illuminating its positives to strong effect.
Housebound (2014)
Probably one of the more well-known flicks on this list, Housebound is still an example of a terrific film being praised through the roof and still going by largely unseen and underappreciated. A perfect concoction of Tobe Hooper's Poltergeist and Sam Raimi's The Evil Dead, the simple premise of a young woman's return to her childhood home and the evils it may contain remains fresh and exciting for the entirety of its 107-minute runtime. It is rare to find a movie that provides plenty of laugh out loud moments while still keeping its scares serious in tone. Housebound truly excels at this.
The greatest aspect of Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead's cinematic dive into drug addiction and the difficult task of going cold turkey is that both these directors stretched that storytelling idea as far as they could and wouldn't settle for anything less than impressive. Breaking free of its low budget shackles, Resolution is a movie designed to play with your psyche in the same way kicking addiction would torment your thoughts and actions.
Starting out with simple creepiness, Resolution progresses slowly and carefully, piece by piece, into a finale that will leave you morbidly satisfied and full of questions. Horror movies like this don't come along very often but when they do, they instantly feel like a breath of fresh air. If you finish Resolution and are left wanting more, be sure to check out Benson and Moorhead's The Endless for a couple of nice surprises.
The Sacrement (2013)
Ti West was a young filmmaker with a huge amount of promise when he helmed The House of the Devil in 2009 and many horror fans were expecting more great things from him in the future. Since then, he has had a rocky career, especially more recently. Yet, back in 2013, West made a little horror movie based on the Jonestown Massacre that went by largely and unfairly underappreciated.
The Sacrament was released to mixed reviews and many stayed away from it due to the cursed art of filmmaking known only as ''found footage''. I think West's movie's problem was that it was released at a time when found footage horror was dying and people just didn't care anymore for that type of film. It's a shame as The Sacrament is a solid slice of documentary style horror filmmaking that had everything from tense atmosphere to impressive performances to genuine scares – feeling like a standing testament to what can be achieved with the form. Even though it was largely overlooked on release, The Sacrament is more than worthy of a visit now.
Liam Gavin's Irish horror A Dark Song went so under the radar that I, shamefully, did not see it for the first time until last year. A supernatural horror movie that relies almost entirely on its masterful creepy atmosphere, it's truthfully one of the strongest horror debuts in years. Revolving around a mourning mother and the occultist she seeks out for help, A Dark Song is entirely configured around the repeating routine of strange rituals and the dangerous consequences of seeking counsel with the dark side.
Gavin's creepy chiller oozes unnatural terror and dread throughout. Very few horror movies have managed to possess this much atmosphere without ultimately hitting breaking point and suffering from it. The repeating ritualistic soundtrack is the true gem of this movie though, each orchestral drone or percussion hit resonating with fear and hopelessness. A Dark Song is a must see for fans of movies like Robert Eggers' The Witch or Ari Aster's Hereditary.
Yes, I know what you are thinking and please, just hear me out. After 2011's Red State, Kevin Smith had something of a reawakening and committed entirely to the macabre, taking his comedic genius in a new direction. Red State may have been more serious in tone but with 2014's Tusk, Smith took the biggest gamble of his career. Inspired by The Human Centipede series and a hoax story regarding a sinister billboard posting, Tusk introduces us to Howard Howe and his sole desire to turn a living human into the walrus companion he yearns so strongly for.
Tusk is Smith at his most experimental and manages to combine his love for indie comedy with his penchant for off-beat plot proceedings, taking both to the next level. Extremely strange, darkly hilarious and completely riveting at times thanks to fantastic performances by both Justin Long and Michael Parks, Tusk is probably the writer-director's most ambitious work to date. Yes, it isn't perfect and has many faults. But the sheer audacity of Smith to even take this silly premise on is hugely admirable and for those who dig its ridiculousness, you are sure to find an over-the-top tale brimming with atmosphere and some deeply unsettling moments. Probably the most polarizing entry on this list but at its core, Tusk is "different", for better or worse.
Possum (2018)
Premiering first in 2004 on Channel 4, horror parody series Gareth Marenghi's Darkplace is a beloved cult classic that unfortunately didn't last long and its creator Matthew Holness disappeared for a while aside from brief on-screen appearances throughout the years. In 2018 though, he returned with a very different form of terror to his beloved brainchild debut. The result, Possum, is a dark descent into the bowels of trauma and emotional loss that went by largely unseen by the masses – disappointing given the film is a superbly strange entry into the psychological horror sub-genre.
Centering around a disgraced puppeteer and his return home to face his childhood demons, Possum is a bleak exercise in atmospheric terror. Each panning shot or creeping close up of the title marionette is drenched in unease while its bleak plot proceedings are far too intriguing to overlook or cast aside. With Possum, Holness crafted another solid look into the mind of a director who takes pride in the bizarre. If given the opportunity, his latest will haunt many long after the credits have rolled.
The Loved Ones (2010)
Sean Byrne's The Loved Ones should have never been anything more than another forgettable entry into the dying "torture porn" sub-genre that took the 2000s by storm. Instead, Byrne's Australian horror stands as one of the shining examples of what this aforementioned sub-genre can achieve when handled with precision and care. When Lola's crush, Brent, refuses to accept her prom invite, things take a vicious turn and a night that should live long in the memory of many becomes a nightmare for Brent.
The Loved Ones is nasty and refuses to ever pipe down on the brutality. Yet, it stands out among the crowd for its impressive acting, well written plot and deliciously dark humour that undermines Brent's every whimper of pain and agony. Many overlooked The Loved Ones due to its torture porn label. It's a shame as Byrne's movie is an example of a horror breaking free from labels and confinement to become something else entirely. If you do eventually indulge, you are sure to find not only an extremely accomplished shocker but one of the strongest horror movies of the 2010s.
Cold Fish (2010)
Sion Sono is already something of a genre legend with his tales of morbid insanity and his proficiency at producing consistently strong movies at a pace that gives Takashi Miike a run for his money. In 2011, the Japanese filmmaker gave us, arguably, the defining moment in his already illustrious career. Cold Fish loosely chronicles the real-life tale of Sekine Gen and Hiroko Kazama, a husband and wife duo who had a penchant for murder along with an undying love for fish.
Cold Fish may possibly be Sono's most grounded movie, though that says a lot about the filmmaker's inherent bizarreness given how events progress throughout its 145-minute runtime. Sono's reliance on morbidly dark humour and the ever-growing lust associated with deception and manipulation results in a fresh depiction of serial killer insanity that is undeniably new and interesting. Cold Fish was a movie that was heralded upon release but was underseen by many. With the decade closing, it's about time you got your hands on it and gave it the attention it truly deserves.
Hounds of Love (2016)
Ben Young's Hounds of Love is a depressing tale about psychological and physical torture that stands as one of the most carefully constructed thriller/horror movies on this list. The film is an exercise in terror and uneasiness that just wouldn't work if the cast weren't up to scratch. Thankfully, Hounds of Love is just as powerfully acted as it is directed.
Focusing on one victim's attempt to manipulate her vicious captors to survive, Young has excelled at taking a supremely simple concept and pushing it as far as he possibly can. It's utterly riveting, uncompromisingly horrifying, shockingly hard to watch at times and seriously goddamn good. Building to a truly harrowing finale, Hounds of Love is an exercise in punishment and manipulation well worth taking.
Focusing on a wedding day celebration turned nasty due to supernatural meddling, Marcin Wrona's Demon is a Polish horror that strives on tension and absurdism – the latter of these being possibly its biggest detractor amongst critics. It's a movie that embraces the avant-garde and twists and turns multiple times throughout.
Boasting a third act that will be sure to condemn it entirely for many or elevate it to new heights for others, Demon for the most part is an extremely well-constructed low-budget horror flick that brings some fresh new ideas and concepts to a sometimes far too underwhelming sub-genre of horror. Sadly, Wrona took his life after completing Demon but what he left behind is a superb little possession flick showing just how much talent the filmmaker had to offer the horror community. He will be duly missed.
The Blackcoat's Daughter (2015)
When you are the son of a beloved genre icon like Anthony Perkins, your debut entry into the horror genre better be impressive. Thankfully, Oz Perkins's The Blackcoat's Daughter is a horror movie almost solely reliant on atmosphere and psychological terror. A torso thick atmosphere looms over the entirety of its runtime like a fog rising from the remnants of Silent Hill.
For a movie centered on a boarding school rumoured to house Satanists, The Blackcoat's Daughter is exactly what I want from a slow building tale of horror atmosphere and dread. Each scene drips style, providing the substance to match. By its conclusion, Perkins' debut proved he's a filmmaker to keep an eye on. This small slice of psychological heaven (or hell) is a splendid watch.
Terrified (2017)
Demian Rugna's Terrified is a horror movie that came out of nowhere and stunned critics. Reviewers hailed it as an extremely creepy slice of psychological terror and rightly so. But Terrified subsequently received little promotion outside of its native Argentina. As such, it has gone by largely unseen by the horror community.
Terrified is a movie that exists purely out of Rugna's desire to creep the fucking crap out of you. Set in Buenos Aires, it chronicles the strange events that occur in a small town and follows the skeptical group of characters who seek to find an answer. The strongest tool Terrified has is its unpredictability. Couple that with Rugna's technical proficiency for scares and the result is a chiller that will be sure to impress many if given the opportunity. One scene in particular will make your skin crawl and haunt you long after it is over.
Luz (2018)
One of my personal favourites on this list, Luz was a movie I knew barely anything about before watching but came out the opposite side pleasantly surprised. It follows a young female cab driver who becomes a frightening obsession for a demonic entity hellbent on making her its lover.
Luz feels like something made in the 80s. Boasting strong cinematography and engrossing atmosphere, it's strange and utterly compelling. Just over an hour long, German director Tilman Singer's movie is like a creepy, murky mix of Adrian Lyne's Jacob's Ladder and Sidney J. Furie's The Entity. For a debut feature, Luz is hugely impressive and well worth your time if you are a fiend for possession movies trying to push the envelope and completely shake up what's been done before.
burning brightgreat overlooked horror movies 2010stuskhounds of lovedemonblackcoat's daughterluzterrified
John Hogan 48 posts 0 comments
John is 29 years old and from Dublin, Ireland. He's been obsessed with horror ever since he witnessed the chest burster scene in Ridley Scott's Alien when he was very young. He puked a bit and his life was changed for the better ever since. Long live the new flesh!
Episode LV: The Táin Part II – Encountering Cú Chulainn
#110 | Cash and Carry Cleanup with Michael Fry
Oz Perkins' Gretel & Hansel is One of the Best Horrors of the Year So Far
NEW: Podcast News & Reviews


Cheap Check Store Blog: Best finance and business podcasts for you to listen to!
Best finance and business podcasts for you to listen to!
Podcasting has grown by leaps and bounds in the last few years, to such point that there are literally podcasts for every interest, hobby, or pursuit under the sun, from from cheese enthusiast podcasts to podcasts about podcasts! They're a great way to take in information on the sly, while you're cleaning up the house, dealing with down time at work, or doing your workout, so they're a perfect way to improve your understanding of money and personal finance. Check out these podcasts next time you're hard up for something to listen to, and have budgeting on your mind!
Planet Money - This awesome NPR podcast turns the usually dry world of economics on its ear, explaining how the economy works, and why Econ 101 isn't quite as easy as pundits would have us believe. Totally non-partisan in all respects, this great podcast is fun without explaining over people's heads.
The Dave Ramsey Show - These days, it's almost impossible to separate politics from money, but regardless of which side of the political spectrum you lean to, Dave Ramsey is a worthwhile go-to for getting your personal finances in order. Providing common-sense advice for everything from budgets to businesses, The occasional political rant is worth wading through to get at the good stuff- what is easily the best budgeting advice you'll ever receive, bar none.
Freakonomics - Easily one of the best podcasts out now, Freakonomics takes you through the frankly weird world of oddball economics in topics like boycotts, predicting the future, and why you should be in a rock band. You'll find yourself wishing that they could produce more than a few podcasts per month, but they're definitely worth the wait!
TED Talks Business - Covering a wide range of thought-provoking topics, TED Talks collects the most innovative thinkers in every field and gives them the stage to share their thoughts and passions with you. The result is some of the best ideas pushing society forward today. You might just find yourself keeping a few favorites on your player for regular rotation to keep you motivated in your own life!
There are hundreds more personal finance and business podcasts out there, so pick a few, and find yourself looking forward to learning about finances and getting your money in shape today!


Nagai Noa (永井乃愛) was born on August 6th, 1976 in Sagamihara, Kanagawa. Her blood type is AB. She is 156.5 cm tall. Her three sizes are 78-57-82 and her shoe size is 23 cm. Her production is Office Anemone (until 2005/12). She previously worked under the name Nagai Noa. Her true name is Nagai Nobuko (永井信子).
Noa used to work under the names Miyanishi Noa (宮西乃愛) and Nagai Nobuko (永井信子).
Nagai Noa is also part of the following groups.


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S28 Ep10
Bing Crosby Rediscovered - Full Film
Premiere: 12/2/2014 | 00:01:56 | NR
Bing Crosby (1903-1977) was the most popular and influential multi-media star of the first half of the 20th century. For more than three decades, through radio, film, television and records, he reigned supreme. For this new documentary, Crosby's estate granted American Masters access to the entertainer's archives, including never-before-seen home movies, Dictabelt recordings, photos and more.
Bing Crosby (May 3, 1903-October 14, 1977) was, without doubt, the most popular and influential multi-media star of the first half of the 20th century. For more than three decades, through radio, film, television and records, he reigned supreme.
The new documentary American Masters: Bing Crosby Rediscovered, premiering nationwide Tuesday, December 2 at 8 p.m. on PBS (check local listings) as the series' Season 28 finale, explores the life and legend of this iconic performer, revealing a man far more complex than his public persona. The film is available December 2 on DVD from PBS Distribution. A holiday encore presentation airs Friday, December 26 at 9 p.m. on PBS (check local listings).
Crosby's estate, HLC Properties, Ltd., granted American Masters unprecedented access to the entertainer's personal and professional archives, including never-before-seen home movies, Dictabelt recordings, photos and more. Narrated by Stanley Tucci, the film features new interviews with all surviving members of Crosby's immediate family — wife Kathryn, daughter Mary and sons Harry and Nathaniel. The film reveals Crosby's struggles with his first wife, Dixie Lee, and their sons Gary, Dennis, Phillip and Lindsay. Mary addresses accusations of abuse first published in Gary's 1983 memoir, which tarnished their father's legacy. Gary speaks candidly about both his and his mother's alcoholism as well as his difficulties with his father in a never-before-seen 1987 interview. Other new interviews include singers Tony Bennett and Michael Feinstein, record producer Ken Barnes, biographer Gary Giddins, and writers Buz Kohan and Larry Grossman, who both share the story behind Crosby's Christmas special duet with David Bowie.
American Masters: Bing Crosby Rediscovered – The Soundtrack features songs heard in the documentary, including 16 previously unreleased recordings, and is available November 24, 2014, via Bing Crosby Archive and Universal Music Enterprises.
"I've never seen an entertainer more comfortable in his own skin, more certain of who he was," says Emmy-winning director Robert Trachtenberg, whose past films for American Masters include Mel Brooks: Make a Noise, On Cukor, Gene Kelly: Anatomy of a Dancer and Cary Grant: A Class Apart. "With the new material I've found, I think the breadth, depth and candor of his story will hopefully allow people to see him in a new light."
Thirty-seven years after his death, Bing Crosby remains the most recorded performer in history with nearly 400 hit singles, an achievement no one — not Sinatra, Elvis or the Beatles — has come close to matching. A brilliant entrepreneur, Crosby played an important role in the development of the postwar recording industry. As one of Hollywood's most popular actors, he won the Oscar for 1944's Going My Way and starred in the iconic "Road" films with Bob Hope.
"We naturally think of Bing at Christmastime, but with more No. 1 recordings than anyone, it is easy to overlook all of his other achievements. Thankfully, this film delves deeply into all of his remarkable work, and will surprise many viewers with a unique perspective on his private life," says Michael Kantor, executive producer of American Masters.
Launched in 1986 by series creator Susan Lacy, American Masters has earned 28 Emmy Awards — including 10 for Outstanding Non-Fiction Series since 1999 and five for Outstanding Non-Fiction Special — 12 Peabodys, an Oscar, three Grammys, two Producers Guild Awards and many other honors. Now in its 28th season on PBS, the series is a production of THIRTEEN PRODUCTIONS LLC for WNET. WNET is the parent company of THIRTEEN and WLIW21, New York's public television stations, and operator of NJTV. For more than 50 years, THIRTEEN has been a partner with the tri-state community, using its rich resources to inform and inspire the passionate people of New York and the world to better understand and address the issues that challenge our diverse communities.
About the Master
Singer, Actor, Entrepeneur
May 3, 1903 - Oct 14, 1977
VIEW MASTER COLLECTION
Clip | Bing Crosby and David Bowie Christmas Duet
Clip | Performance: Bing Crosby and Sons Sing Together
Clip | Performance: Bing Crosby with Maurice Chevalier and Carol Lawrence
Clip | Bing Crosby's Innovations in Technology
Clip | Bing Roasts Film Director Raoul Walsh
Clip | Performance: "The Second Time Around" and Other Love Songs
Timeline: Bing Crosby's Life and Career
Clip | The Crosby Family Today: Web Exclusive
The Soundtrack of Bing Crosby Rediscovered
Bing by the Numbers. His Amazing Music Records
Clip | The Road Films: Bob Hope and Bing Crosby
Quiz: Bing with the Best. Rediscover the Bing Crosby Era
Clip | Filmmaker Interview with Director Robert Trachtenberg
Clip | Bing Crosby, An All-Purpose Singer
Clip | Performance: Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin
Clip | Bing's Charity and "Take Care of" List
Clip | Michael Feinstein and Tony Bennett on Bing's Intimate Style
Bing Crosby Biography
Paul Simon: Born at the Right Time
Herbie Hancock on jazz and Quincy Jones' influence
Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story
Danny Kaye: A Legacy of Laughter
Edward R. Murrow: This Reporter
Brian Wilson: Long Promised Road
Inspiring Woman
American Masters is an award-winning signature PBS series created by The WNET Group and is made possible by all of you.
Major Support for American Masters provided by
© 2023 WNET. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
PBS is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization.


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Criminal Justice Course to be Offered in Hong Kong
Student Newspaper
Today@UMass Lowell
New Partnership Opens the Door for Academic, Research Exchanges
Stephen Saravara, a lecturer in the Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology, third from left, with City University of Hong Kong faculty members Asst. Prof. Lena Yueying Zhong, Asst. Prof. T. Wing Lo and Asst. Prof. Yao-chung Chang.
By Jill Gambon
Eleven students will be spending part of their summer in Hong Kong learning about how the top corporations in the world keep their people and assets safe.
In a program led by Stephen Saravara, a lecturer in the Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology, the group will be studying about crime and security in Asia and the Unites States with students at the City University of Hong Kong. The program is the result of a recent agreement between UMass Lowell and City University that opened the door for faculty and student exchanges.
"It's a great opportunity," says Saravara, who has been named a visiting fellow at City University.
As part of the six-credit program, which runs May 14 to June 9, students will attend classes on the City University campus three or four days a week, take field trips to area businesses and visit local attractions. Students will get behind-the-scenes tours of security operations at international businesses including the Venetian Macao-Resort-Hotel, home to the world's largest casino; Hong Kong Disneyland and HSBC Bank, one of the largest financial institutions in the world.
Saravara has also arranged for the students to attend Asian Securitex, an industrial security conference being held in Hong Kong, where they will be able to network with security professionals from across the globe. A number of cultural excursions are planned so the students can soak up the sights and attractions.
"I try to pack it full of fun," Saravara says.
Last summer Saravara taught a similar course at the University of Macau. A dozen UMass Lowell criminal justice majors traveled with him for the course, in which University of Macau students were also enrolled.
Student Nicholas Novello, who is majoring in criminal justice and psychology, signed up for the Hong Kong trip to broaden his knowledge about industrial security and gain international travel experience.
"I'm interested in this field of work and I want to get out of my comfort zone," says Novello, who will be taking his first trip overseas. He expects that studying abroad will give him an advantage when he begins his career. "Having studied industrial security in Hong Kong is the type of thing that can set you apart when looking for a job," he says.
To date, Saravara has been to Hong Kong three times to work out details for the partnership between UMass Lowell and City University. The schools are a good match for each other, he says, because they are both have urban campuses and offer similar programs, he says. City University has a student population of 20,000 and offers 130 programs of study.
The recently signed Memorandum of Understanding between UMass Lowell and City University includes a formal student exchange between the two universities where criminology students will be involved in research and study at both institutions.
UMass Lowell has been expanding its global reach with partnerships with more than 75 universities around the world. Another recent addition to its network of partners is the University of Nairobi.
As students prepare for careers in an increasingly global economy, international study, research and work opportunities are more important than ever, Saravara says.
"It shows potential employers you have the character to travel abroad and be open-minded," he says.
Summer programs are good options for students seeking international experience because they are less expensive than spending a semester or an entire academic year abroad, Saravara said.
University Relations - Cumnock Hall, 31 University Ave., Lowell, MA 01854
Phone: 978-934-3224 Fax: 978-934-3033 Contact Us


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Vote for the Worst Lawsuits
We are always on the lookout for examples of the most ridiculous lawsuits from across the country — and we're pleased that thousands of Americans vote in our "Most Ridiculous Lawsuit" polls each month.
Last month's poll had a clear winner — with Americans selecting "Ohio teacher claims fear of children in suit against district" as the most ridiculous lawsuit of the month.
This month? Not to worry — once again, we've scoured news headlines to provide you with some ridiculous nominees from across the country. Please view them below and then click here to cast your vote.
• First, there's the grown man who thinks his parents "indifference" to his problems is a good reason to take them to court. The plaintiff, an aspiring record mogul, wants his parents to mortgage their home so he can invest the money in franchise restaurants. He thinks his parents owe him that much at least, considering their relationship isn't the nurturing one he wants – they even missed his high school graduation.
• And how about the guy who sued the IRS because he's been waiting for a job offer for 24 years. He took the agency's entrance exam in 1989 but was never given an interview, and has been subject to "starvation, heart attacks, heart failure, kidney failure, liver failure, pneumonia, seizures, cancer [and] mental illness" as a result of his unemployment. A judge disagreed, finding just because the "plaintiff had to endure unfortunate personal hardships does not excuse his more than two-decade delay in filing suit."
• Then, there's the Lehigh University grad student was upset that she received a C+ in class, and, instead of retaking the class (for free, since her father was a professor at the time) demanded a written apology and a "plan for compensating [her] financially." When that didn't work, she sued to force the school to change the grade and for $1.3 million, the amount she claims she would have earned if she was able to complete the program. The C+ will stand, however, since a judge recently dismissed the suit.
Not every ridiculous lawsuit, however, is a case of trying to blame someone else. Sometimes, a court allows a ridiculous settlement, and, but for the vigilance and hard work of objectors, the lawyers cash in.
• Case in point, a proposed class action settlement against Babies R Us and it suppliers would have paid 20% refunds or $5 vouchers to customers. The lawyers calculated this would amount to a value of $35.5 million, and applied for $14 million in legal fees and expenses. However, the actual amount that would go to class members was far lower, closer to $3 million, meaning the lawyers would get more than 4 times what their clients got. "Class action scourge" Ted Frank and the Center for Class Action Fairness cried foul, and a court of appeals rejected the settlement, writing that "courts need to consider the level of direct benefit provided to the class in calculating attorneys' fees."
So which of these is the most ridiculous of the month?
Please visit FacesOfLawsuitAbuse.org to cast your vote today!


"The ability to predict the mechanical properties of engineering materials is crucial to the manufacturing of advanced products. In the aerospace industry, Ti-6Al-4V is commonly used to build structures. Any deviation from the alloy's standard properties can prove detrimental. Thus, the compositional integrity of the material must be controlled. The ability to directly build and repair large, complicated structures directly from CAD files is highly sought after. Laser Metal Deposition (LMD) technology has the potential to deliver that ability. Before this process can gain widespread acceptance, however, a set of process parameters must be established that yield finished parts of consistent chemical composition. This research aims to establish such a set of parameters. Design of Experiments was utilized to maximize the information gained while minimizing the number of experimental trials required. A randomized, two-factor experiment was designed, performed, and replicated. Another set of experiments (nearly identical to the first) was then performed. The first set of experiments was completed in an open environment, while the second set was performed in an argon chamber. Energy Dispersive X-Ray Spectroscopy (EDS) was then used to perform a quantitative microanalysis to determine the aluminum level in each sample. Regression analysis was performed on the results to determine the factors of importance. Finally, fit plots and response surface curves were used to determine an optimal parameter set (process window). The process window was established to allow for consistent chemical composition of laser deposited Ti64 parts"--Abstract, page iii.
© 2013 Richard Charles Barclay, All rights reserved.
Barclay, Richard Charles, "Parameter optimization for controlling aluminum loss when laser depositing Ti-6Al-4V" (2013). Masters Theses. 5370.