It's always an interesting 'fantasy booking' topic to imagine if certain WWE main roster talents were to divert to the company's "developmental" brand NXT, and for SmackDown's Tye Dillinger, he shared that same fantasy.
Tye Dillinger joined NXT in 2013, and enjoyed a three-year spell including six TakeOver matches, although he didn't actually win any of them.
Despite this 0-6 record, Dillinger was popular among the yellow brand's fanbase for his "10!" chant, which still occasionally pops up during referee count-outs to this day.
Dillinger debuted on the main roster at the 2017 Royal Rumble entering in at #10 (which wasn't a dead joke at the time), and made the move to SmackDown permanent the following April.
The 'Perfect 10' has endured a forgettable spell since then, rarely competing in big matches and pretty much non-existent over the last couple of months, although of course injuries haven't helped his cause.
He did appear at an NXT house show in May last year, but that was just a one-time gig.


text:
The BBC's Top 100 Books to Read
I came across this while perusing reading lists and thought I'd see how I stack up.
Yes, I read reading lists.
Yes, I am a dork.
The rules: Bold the ones you've read completely and italicize the ones you've read part of. Watching the movie or the cartoon doesn't count. Abridged versions don't count either. According to the BBC, if you've read 7 of these, you are above the average (whatever that is). I think if you've gone through high school English you should hit 7 with no problem. All comments in parentheses are mine.
(PS: I don't know why #33 and #36 are separate as it seems to me #36 is part of #33, but I didn't make the list ... go figure.)
1. Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
2. The Lord of the Rings - J.R.R. Tolkien
3. Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
4. Harry Potter Series - J.K. Rowling
5. To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee (probably best book ever written)
7. Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte (ugh!)
8. Nineteen Eighty-Four - George Orwell
9. His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
10. Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
11. Little Women - Louisa May Alcott (a favorite re-read)
12. Tess of the D'Ubervilles - Thomas Hardy
13. Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
14. Complete Works of Shakespeare
15. Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
16. The Hobbit - J.R.R. Tolkien
17. Birdsong - Sebastian Faulk
18. Catcher in the Rye - J.D. Salinger
19. The Time Traveler's Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
20. Middlemarch - George Eliot
21. Gone with the Wind - Margaret Mitchell
22. The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald (these characters need to be slapped)
23. Bleak House - Charles Dickens
24. War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
25. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
26. Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh
27. Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28. The Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
29. Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
30. The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
31. Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy (literary equivalent to walking through quicksand)
32. David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
33. The Chronicles of Narnia - C.S. Lewis
34. Emma - Jane Austen
35. Persuasion - Jane Austen
36. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe - C.S. Lewis
37. The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
38. Captain Corelli's Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres
39. Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
40. Winnie the Pooh - A.A. Milne
41. Animal Farm - George Orwell (a fave since high school)
42. The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown (not even near his best work - completely overrated)
43. One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44. A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving
45. The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
46. Anne of Green Gables - L.M. Montgomery
47. Far from the Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
48. The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood
49. Lord of the Flies - William Golding (for 12th grade English - didn't like it then)
50. Atonement - Ian McEwan
51. Life of Pi - Yann Martel
52. Dune - Frank Herbert
53. Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
54. Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen (my first - and favorite - Austen)
55. A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
56. The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57. A Tale of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
58. Brave New World - Aldous Huxley (TBR)
59. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time - Mark Haddon
60. Love in the Time of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61. Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
62. Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
63. The Secret History - Donna Tartt
64. The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold (disturbing - I'll never read it again)
65. The Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
66. On The Road - Jack Kerouac
67. Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
68. Bridget Jones's Diary - Helen Fielding
69. Midnight's Children - Salman Rushdie (TBR)
70. Moby Dick - Herman Melville (hate Melville, will probably never finish this one)
71. Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
72. Dracula - Bram Stoker
73. The Secret Garden -Frances Hodgson Burnett (I'll probably gets hounded for not having read this one)
74. Notes from a Small Island - Bill Bryson
75. Ulysses - James Joyce
76. The Inferno - Dante
77. Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78. Germinal - Emile Zola
79. Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
80. Possession - A.S. Byatt
81. A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
82. Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
83. The Color Purple - Alice Walker
84. The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
85. Madam Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
86. A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry (TBR)
87. Charlotte's Web - E.B. White
88. The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
89. Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
90. The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton
91. Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
92. The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery
93. The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
94. Watership Down -Richard Adams
95. A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
96. A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
97. The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
98. Hamlet - William Shakespeare
99. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
100. Les Miserables - Victor Hugo

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


The Triplets of Bellville, Sylvain Chomet's first feature film, is a PG-13 animated film. It has few dialogue and instead contains mostly music and pantomime. The film was co-produced in Canada, Belgium France, and the United Kingdom, and tells the tale of a woman's attempt to save her grandson as she is joined by triplet music hall singers.


Young carers and their families from across the borough came together on Young Carers Awareness Day, 31 January to receive awards from Richmond Carers Centre. Celebrating personal achievements over the last year, every one of the 50 who attended received their own certificate with a message from a family members. Among the many moving citations, one mum had written that her son 'is an inspiration' and 'the reason I get up every morning and keep trying'. In the ceremony at York House, Twickenham, The Worshipful The Major of Richmond chatted with many of the young carers and spoke of the pride he felt hearing so many stories of 'courage and resilience'. Richmond Carers Centre supports young carers, some as young as five, who are taking on a practical and/or emotional caring responsibility for a family member. Find out more about the Young Carers Service.


RETAINER: Jennifer Wilkerson Photography requires the deposit be paid in full within 72 hours of scheduling to reserve your date/time. Should the retainer not be received within this time, Jennifer Wilkerson Photography reserves the right to offer the date and time to another client. This fee covers the time and talent of the photographer, the use of the studio's stock (gowns, hats, props, etc), basic editing, and a slideshow gallery of images for you to choose from at your ordering appointment. Special events or mini sessions may require a different retainer amount and ordering schedule. The session fee and/or deposit is non-refundable in cases of appointment no-shows, uncooperative children, or regretful choices of clothing/hair. In the event the session is rescheduled due to weather or illness (for client or photographer), the session fee is transferrable to a new date.
PAYMENT: Ordering sessions are scheduled within 5-10 business days of your session with exception to illness or family emergencies. Ordering of images is required by the client at this time and payment is due when ordering unless arrangements for a payment plan have been made. Payment plans require a 25% down payment at the time of ordering with the remaining balance due within 60 days. Once payment is received in full, orders are placed. We ask that you allow 3-4 weeks for delivery of canvas, 4-6 weeks for delivery of custom books, framed prints, and other specialty products. For digital images, please allow up to 10 business days from the day you place your order, though we will always strive to exceed these wait times.
RESCHEDULING/REFUNDS: In the event of illness, inclement weather, or other unforeseen circumstances, the client may reschedule a session without penalty. Should the client fail to give notice or cancel the shoot, the session fee will not be refunded. Reshoot dates will be scheduled at the closest available time for both parties. No penalty will be applied towards cancellations due to acts of God and the option will be given to transfer funds to a different appointment for other time sensitive/special events. Credits to accounts must be used within one calendar year of the refund being issued. Any client that is late arriving to the session will have the amount of time late deducted from the time allotted for the session. If a client is more than 20 minutes late for a scheduled appointment, the photographer reserves the right to reschedule to a different time. Wilkerson Photography follows the Hamilton County, TN policies regarding unexpected school closures/weather delays and are considered non-business days for the studio.
ORDERS: Ordering appointments are scheduled within 10 business days of your session date and take place at the studio or the client's home. Online galleries are optional for those who live outside the city limits or extended family sessions with out of town relatives. During the ordering appointment, you will choose the images from the session you would like to purchase. Due to the custom nature of each session, all sales are final and no refunds will be issued. If there are physical defects found as a result of the lab or photographer regarding products, exact item will be replaced. For orders regarding special designs, cards, or books, a proof will be submitted to you via email for your approval. You may make up to three (3) revisions. Any additional revisions will be charged at $75 an hour. All ordered digital images are sent through a password protected, online gallery available in high and low resolution files with print release. The gallery is kept open for download and printing for 30 days. All ordered images will be kept on file for one year and the remaining files are discarded. We require you download and save your ordered images in two places to ensure safekeeping. Jennifer Wilkerson Photography is not responsible for replacing lost images due to client negligence. A $50 service fee is charged to provide a replacement gallery and download pin if we the images are still on file.
COOPERATION: Please take into account children's nap and feeding times when scheduling your session, as appointments will not be discounted, refunded, or rescheduled due to their mood or behavior unless at the discretion of the photographer. While we strive for happy children during the session, it is something we cannot control. If a family member or child has special needs, behavior issues, or other extenuating circumstances that may affect the photography session, please let us know in writing before the event takes place so Jennifer Wilkerson Photography can schedule extra time to accommodate you.
ARTISTIC RIGHTS: Jennifer Wilkerson Photography will capture many images during your session. However, only the images that meet our high standards will be included in your gallery. All images that do not meet our standard are purged upon editing. Jennifer Wilkerson Photography reserves the right to use artistic creativity in our sessions and determine the best way to photograph and pose our clients. We make no guarantees that the client will receive specific images from a particular pose, as shooting conditions, the environment, and temperaments of children can affect what we are able to produce. Any "must have" shots or special requests must be made in writing via the session questionnaire prior to your appointment. Client orders are hand edited and color corrected depending on the type of appointment. Any major modifications to the images beyond our normal, artistic edits will be charged a fee of $75 an hour. This includes but is not limited to: teeth whitening, background changes, weight reduction, and slimming of facial features.
FAILURE TO PERFORM: If the photographer is unable to perform this agreement due to illness, emergency, act of God, or other causes beyond control, the photographer shall refund the session fee and shall have no further liability. If Jennifer Wilkerson Photography is unable to deliver photographic materials due to technological malfunctions, including but not limited to camera and processing, or otherwise lost or damaged without fault of the Photographer, a reshoot will be scheduled or a refund given in the amount of the session fee.
MODEL RELEASE: I authorize Jennifer Wilkerson Photography to use session images for promotional material, online usage, photographer portfolios, and other areas of marketability. I acknowledge that I will not be compensated, either now or at any time in the future, for use of marketing materials and that Jennifer Wilkerson Photography exclusively owns all rights. I understand that although my images may be used for advertising, my name or names of my family members will not be released without explicit permission or referred to by initials only. I hereby release any and all claims in connection with the use of my photographs and the reproduction of the images by Jennifer Wilkerson Photography. I waive any right that I may have to inspect and/or approve the photographs or any advertising copy that may be used in connection to Jennifer Wilkerson Photography or the use to which it may be applied.
COPYRIGHT INFORMATION/USAGE: All images are copyrighted by photographers, Jennifer Wilkerson or Anne Cunningham. It is illegal and unlawful to scan, copy, screenshot or reproduce without consent our work in any manner or medium. When sharing on social media, we encourage that you credit Jennifer Wilkerson Photography or add a link to our page. When uploading to websites or social media, please be sure that auto enhancers and filters are off so that the original integrity of the image is retained. Maple and Moss Photography reserves the right to use the negatives and/or reproductions for social media, print publication, or other advertising purposes including blog and website portfolio. Negatives and originals remain the property of Maple and Moss Photography.
LIABILITY: Jennifer Wilkerson Photography is not responsible for any injuries inflicted upon any participating parties. Clients will be responsible for their children and for themselves and release the photographer from any claims against their person or their business. If any equipment is broken or damaged as a result of children or client negligence, the client is responsible for replacing the item.


text:
Mamaspace.com joins forces with Mirakl Marketplace and aims for pan-European partners
Mamaspace, a start-up aiming to disrupt the mother market by launching a marketplace with Mirakl to offer products and services before, during and after pregnancy.
London, UK – Feb. 22 2017 – Mirakl, the leading global marketplace solutions provider, today announced that Mamaspace.com, the lifestyle and shopping universe with everything a mother needs before, during and after pregnancy, has selected the Mirakl B2C Marketplace Platform to build an online experience that will give mothers access to the best and most exciting products, from supplies large and small.
Mamaspace recently launched in Denmark and aiming for pan-European partnerships as part of its expansion across Europe, with a vision to become the go to marketplace serving mothers all over the world. Mamaspace will also provide a range of in-country services to support mothers through their pregnancy and motherhood journey, as well as local customer service teams as part of its franchisee business model.
Marc Jeilman, Chairman and investor at Mamaspace.com said, "The marketplace will offer a unique end-to-end experience. We're currently looking for prospective master franchisees, who are motivated to develop a local Mamaspace.com presence in their respective countries. We are being very selective in terms of finding the right partners, wanting experienced and passionate people who understand what it takes on the ground to service a market. Mamaspace.com is an opportunity to offer a B2C platform with hundreds of Nordic brands, and partners can freely onboard local kids brands with an innovative shop-in-shop experience".
Mirakl has been selected as a strategic technology partner of Mamaspace.com because the Mirakl Marketplace Platform enables the company to scale at speed into new countries, quickly onboard suppliers and categories, and simplifying the localisation of content, pricing and shipping. In addition, the marketplace will provide a rich level of customer data that will allow Mamaspace.com to tailor its offerings as mothers and children grow and develop.
Marc Jeilman added, "The marketplace strategy is optimal for all involved parties. It dramatically lowers operational costs and working capital, allowing us to be nimble and profitable. Mamaspace.com can focus on the job of exciting and delighting customers, rather than managing an eCommerce platform and logistics operation. By being that focused we earn the brand loyalty and trust of our mothers wherever they are on their pregnancy journey."
The Mirakl Marketplace Platform provides a secure online environment to host transactions between buyers and sellers of both products and services – both B2B and B2C organisations can dramatically increase their product range, expand geographically and introduce a profitable new sales channel. Organisations can use marketplaces to retain their price competitiveness, increase margins, as well as test and extend product ranges inventory and risk free. Ultimately this keeps customers excited about a brand and generates repeat business.
Eric Chemouny, Senior Vice President for EMEA at Mirakl concluded, "Mamaspace.com is an exciting company working to bridge the gap between the products and services that mothers seek. Its founders have recognised that the Mirakl Marketplace Platform and a business model fundamentally based on using technology to drive scale and agility online will see them grow and win over customers across Europe. The marketplace model means that the right products will be at the fingertips of their customers, when and where they need them. It is exciting for us to work with companies that share our values and belief in the power of marketplaces to be a platform for the future for site owners, suppliers and most importantly, customers. It's incredible to think that a business like this would not have even been possible a few years ago without the adoption of a marketplace model. This is an exciting glimpse into how, we believe, marketplaces will continue to evolve."
For more information about Mirakl and the Mirakl Marketplace Platform, please visit www.mirakl.com.
About Mirakl
Mirakl gives retailers and brands the ability to quickly launch a new source of revenue with their own online marketplace. The marketplace model allows companies to increase customer value by providing more products, at better prices, with first class quality; creating more opportunities to build loyalty. The Mirakl Marketplace Platform automates the hard things: seller onboarding, service quality control, and order distribution; on an API-based solution that's modular and easy to integrate. Over 100 customers operating marketplaces in 40 countries trust Mirakl's proven expertise and technology including Best Buy Canada, Carrefour, Condé Nast, Darty, Galeries Lafayette and Halfords. Founded in 2012, Mirakl helps companies provide a better customer experience as part of their omni-channel strategy. For more information: www.mirakl.com
About Mamaspace.com
Mamaspace.com is owned by the private equity and venture capital fund LesET. The fund recently acquired the mommy-portal "min-mave.dk" in Denmark and is in negotiations with similar forums in Europe. LesET is a fund entirely focused on making it possible for companies within the baby and children industry to achieve their goals. All the while shaping the future generation. LesET provides capital, professional consultancy, and tailored services to develop and empower small, early-stage and emerging companies targeting children and mothers. LesET believes that the future lies within innovation and in the hands of our youth, and therefore encourages the development of innovative products and services for this segment. For more information: www.leset.dk
Lorena Duke / Duncan Gurney
Ascendant Communications
mirakl@ascendcomms.net
Contact person at LesET
Sophie Juul
sophie@leset.dk
RSS FeedMirakl Feed


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University Grant Commission(UGC) has published the result of Mini Research Grant for the fiscal year 2070/71 on 14th July 2014. UGC has informed that the selected researchers has to contact their office within 30 days of publishing of this notice.
For funding, various research topics under Engineering, Agriculture & Forestry, Management, Health Science, Humanities, Law & Science & Technology has been selected.


text:
States File Amicus Brief to Support Arizona SB 1070
FAIR Legislative Update, Federation for American Immigration Reform, July 19, 2010
Last Wednesday, the attorneys general of eight states and one U.S. territory filed a "friend of the court" brief in the federal lawsuit (U.S.A. v. Arizona) to support Arizona's new immigration enforcement law, SB 1070. (Cox Press Release, July 14, 2010). Led by Michigan Attorney General Michael Cox, other signatories included the attorneys general from Florida, Alabama, Nebraska, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Virginia, and the Northern Mariana Islands. Because the federal court has limited the length of such amicus briefs, the states' argument goes straight to the heart of the federal complaint: preemption. (Id.)
In their brief, the states forcefully refute the Department of Justice's argument that SB 1070 is preempted under the United States Constitution. First, they reject DOJ's argument that SB 1070 constitutes an impermissible "regulation of immigration." Case law, they argue, has defined a "regulation of immigration" as defining who should or should not be admitted into the country and the conditions under which a legal entrant may remain. SB 1070 does not do either. Moreover, the states point out that federal courts have long held that state law enforcement officers have inherent authority to arrest for violations of federal law as long as the arrest is authorized by state law. (Amicus Brief)
Second, the states reject DOJ's argument that SB 1070 conflicts with federal laws such that it "stands as an obstacle to the accomplishment of the full purposes and objectives of Congress." SB 1070, the states argue, is fully consistent with Congress's intent of apprehending illegal aliens even if it does not facilitate the Executive's wish to selectively abandon the enforcement of immigration laws. Moreover, the states argue, SB 1070 does not interfere with the Executive's discretion in how it treats aliens as DOJ claims because the federal government still retains that discretion once Arizona law enforcement officers turn over an illegal alien to federal authorities. (Id.)
In a statement released with the brief, Michigan Attorney Michael Cox said, "Arizona, Michigan and every other state have the authority to enforce immigration laws, and it is appalling to see President Obama use taxpayer dollars to stop a state's efforts to protect its own borders." (Cox Press Release, July 14, 2010). Others who joined the brief sounded a similar note. Virginia Attorney General Ken Cucinelli remarked, "[F]ederal law expressly allows states to arrest people who are not legally present in the United States. Arizona's law doesn't change any of this. That's why we are stunned that the government has sued Arizona." (Cucinelli Press Release, July 14, 2010). South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley said South Dakota joined the amicus brief because federal authorities aren't doing enough to enforce current immigration laws. "We felt it was right for the state of South Dakota because this is really a public safety issue," said Jackley. (KSFY.com, July 15, 2010)
Arizona Governor Jan Brewer thanked Cox and the other attorneys general for supporting her state: "The United States was founded as a nation of laws and not of men, and I am deeply grateful for the national outpouring of support for the rights of states and the rule of law." (Politico, July 14, 2010).
Topics: Immigration Law
< Republican Immigration Position Likely to Alienate Latinos, Democrats Say
Vitter and DeMint Attempt to Block Obama's Lawsuit Against Arizona >


SOLD OUT AGAIN: MacMall tells us they have extremely limited stock of the $99 Apple Pencil, helping you beat the 2-3 week wait at the Apple Store. Each ships free with no tax collected on orders shipped outside CA, CO, GA, IL, MN, NC, NY, TN, and WI. As of press time, MacMall is the only Apple authorized reseller listing availability of Apple Pencil, according to our iPad Price Guide.


text:
How to Watch the Royal Wedding Live
Set your alarm.
By Lindsey V Thompson
Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images
Save the date, because you've been cordially invited to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's royal wedding. Well, sort of. BBC America announced on Friday that it will be providing a live and direct simulcast of BBC's coverage of the royal event, so we'll be able to ooh and ahh over every detail on this side of the pond.
The wedding will be held on Saturday, May 19, in St. George's Chapel at Windsor Castle, followed by a public Carriage Procession through Windsor Town. The chapel was completed in 1528 and has been the site of many significant royal occasions. In fact, it was where Prince Harry himself was christened 33 years ago (oh, if those walls could talk). The BBC will be there to cover every moment of the wedding ceremony and Carriage Procession, with coverage of all the matrimonial mayhem before and after.
The ceremony will start midday, with the procession scheduled for 1 p.m. local time in London. For those on the East Coast, that'll mean tuning in at 7 a.m. to catch all the action. Those trying to watch the event live on the West Coast will want to set their alarms for 4 a.m., though maybe it makes more sense to just stay up through the night at that point? If that's a little too early for you, don't worry, you can still sleep in because the BBC will play an encore of the event later in the day. Spoiler alert: It's going to be beautiful.
While the wedding is certainly the main event of the week, BBC and BBC America will also provide a week's worth of coverage for the anglophiles among us. Recaps of Prince William and Kate Middleton's wedding, a new special called Harry and Meghan: A Very Modern Romance, a retrospective on royal weddings from 1923 to today, and many more programs will get everyone prepared for the big day.
Pass the tissues, we're already getting emotional.
Related: The Royal Baby Finally Has a Name
Keywordssndroyal weddingprince harrymeghan marklewedding


M'lop Tapang : The well-known Sihanoukville NGO that works with vulnerable children is hiring staff.
Sign of our times. As the western tourists dry up so will donations for organisations like this, and opportunities for work placments and stuff.
Caught on video, confesses, and the police let him go.


text:
Q: Error when retrieving JSON api data: Uncaught (in promise) SyntaxError: Unexpected token < in JSON at position 0 The error is as such:
Uncaught (in promise) SyntaxError: Unexpected token < in JSON at position 0

Current code:
window.addEventListener('load', () => {
    const locatoin = document.querySelector('#location');
    const tempNum = document.querySelector('#temp');
    const description = document.querySelector('#description');
    const APIkey = 'myAPIkeyHere';
    var lat;
    var long;
    var currentPos;

    if (navigator.geolocation) {
        currentPos = navigator.geolocation.getCurrentPosition(position => {
            lat = position.coords.latitude;
            long = position.coords.longitude;
        });

        const api = `api.openweathermap.org/data/2.5/weather?lat=${lat}&lon=${long}&appid=${APIkey}`;
        fetch(api)
            .then(response => {
                return response.json();
            })
            .then(data => {
                console.log(data);
            })
        }
})

function refresh() {
    location.reload();
}

I do not get any errors up until then and if I manually search the API url request it gives me the json data.
Thanks.

A: You need to update the api url. It should be start with https/http depend on server so that you will get json response rather than html.
const api = `https://api.openweathermap.org/data/2.5/weather?lat=${lat}&lon=${long}&appid=${APIkey}`;

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Q: Pig UDF loading issue I am not able to use the 2 UDF's together
REGISTER 'pig.jar';
REGISTER 'piggybankjar';
DEFINE UnixToISO org.apache.pig.piggybank.evaluation.datetime.convert.UnixToISO();
DEFINE ToDate org.apache.pig.builtin.ToDate();

This is the error that I am getting :
Could not infer the matching function for org.apache.pig.piggybank.evaluation.datetime.convert.UnixToISO as multiple or none of them fit. Please use an explicit cast.
When I do not register the pig.jar, this error goes away, but then it fails to load the ToDate UDF?
Am I missing something basic here? Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks

A: I had encountered a similar error while working with Pig.Till now, in all the cases that I have encountered, this error message is misleading. I had the same error for in-built SUM function. After thorough analysis, I realised I was passing the wrong input to the SUM function and the problem was with GROUPing. So I would suggest that you verify your pig-script again ; chances are there is something else wrong most probably some wrong relation being supplied down the flow.


Life coaching has become nothing less than a phenomenon. The Harvard Business Review reports that coaching is now a $1 billion a year industry. People who work as "coaches" have a simple goal: to help you advance your career, start life as an entrepreneur, or help you create a better, more fulfilling life. A good coach will partner with you to provoke thought and ignite a creative process that inspires you to reach your full personal and professional potential.
The problem is that a lot of coaches haven't exactly coached themselves to what they promise to deliver for us. Even more, how can we trust the coaching itself? And isn't a lot of the coaching kind of superficial - like a self-help book? What if I want to have coaching that goes deep and is actually transforming?
If only we could get life coaching from God in the deepest, most transforming areas of life. The areas that shape our twenty-four hour days, our relationships, our families, our jobs.
That would be ultimate life coaching.
Now we can. Senior Pastor Jim White brings the Bible's teaching, along with more than thirty years experience as a life coach, to bear in a way never packaged before. Based on clear biblical principles, each weekend installment offers a clear and distinct coaching tool that can be used to instantly diagnose a life and ultimate life change.


Description: This fantastic exploration with James O'Dea takes us to high-conflict areas, including in the U.S., and how models of restorative justice have been set in motion. James has visited numerous processes worldwide, and shares insights about Rwanda's gacaca courts, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, processes in the Middle East, and a convening in the U.S. of facilitators from around the world who are actively involved in transforming individual, local, and global justice practices one dialogue at a time.
Brief Bio: James O'Dea is an internationally known author and teacher. His most recent book, Cultivating Peace: Becoming a 21st Century Peace Ambassador continues to receive critical acclaim and is used as a guide and manual around the world. He is lead faculty for The Peace Ambassador Training, an online certification course that convenes the wisdom of outstanding faculty representing the many pillars of peacebuilding work, including conflict transformation, nonviolent communication, social healing, restorative justice, systems theory, and much more.
Hey Buddy!, I found this information for you: "James ODea". Here is the website link: https://restorativejusticeontherise.org/james-odea/. Thank you.


"We will not pay commissions for sales with coverage effective dates after March 1, 2016, and continuing through December 31, 2016 effective dates. This applies to on- and off-exchange business."
Again, this is unquestionably a sound business (from their point of view): the fewer agents writing business (because let's face it: no one wants to work for free) the fewer new policies, and thus fewer claims.
Why is this important? Well, because the carriers are finding that off-Open Season enrollees tend to generate more (and more expensive) claims, and are more likely to drop coverage. What better way to tamp down on this abuse than by drastically curtailing the opportunity for it?
Gee, who coulda seen that coming?
It's been a while since we checked in on the Swedish national health care scheme (most recently here). Despite the country's relative homogeneity (which, to be fair, has come under increasing challenge due to the influx of, um, refugees), the system has gone on overload, with increasingly long wait times and a corresponding decrease in actual health care delivery.
which amounts to almost half a million folks. And what does such a policy provide? Well, for one thing, much shorter wait times, which translates to faster return-to-work times, so it's win-win for those hard-working Swedes.
The Federal Government is being sued by an entity that was entirely funded by...the Federal Government.
Yes, you read that correctly. According to the Portland Tribune Oregon Co-op Health Republic has filed a $5 Billion dollar class action lawsuit on behalf of all of the insurers who didn't receive funding from the Risk Corridor program. The lawsuit was filed on February 24th in federal claims court against the United States of America, acting through HHS and CMS. In the lawsuit Health Republic of Oregon claims that for 2014 and 2015 they are owed roughly $22 million dollars in Risk Corridor payments.
The Risk Corridor program was designed to fund insurance companies who lost money on Obamacare policies with money from insurance companies who were profitable on Obamacare policies. The Obama administration assured companies that the program would be deficit neutral, but guess what happened? Essentially nobody was profitable. (shocked face) Instead of companies receiving $2.7 Billion in payments they will only receive $362 Million - a shortfall of over $2.5 Billion. While the language in Obamacare isn't clear, it was assumed that if there was a short fall that HHS would simply authorize the fund to be paid out. This changed when Republicans in Congress inserted language in the budget bill that required the program to be deficit neutral - exactly how the Obama administration had portrayed the program.
In its previous life Health Republic is the artist formerly known as the Freelancers Union. The head of Freelancers was none other than Obama favorite Sara Horowitz. (ed note: good gracious how many times have we documented this relationship) What makes this lawsuit "special" is how this company was started in the first place.
Health Republic is an insurance cooperative. Health insurance cooperatives were created by Obamacare to compete against traditional insurance companies. They were promoted as more affordable non-profit insurance companies that would save consumers on premiums. They were fully financed by revenues generated through the (un)Affordable Care Act with low/no interest loans.
Freelancers/Health Republic received three loans for their three entities - Health Republic of New Jersey, Health Republic of New York, and Health Republic of Oregon. In total they received $435 million dollars to start up and sell insurance in their respective states. Now, only two years into Obamacare and both New York and Oregon have gone belly up. Oregon burned through their $61 million - plus premiums - and only had 15,000 members at the end of their run in 2015.
Now they want their money - more appropriately, taxpayer money - to help bail them out. Knowing the DOJ and the Obama Administration they will find a way to make it happen.
Briefly, Met's looking at spinning off its US advisor force, which caters to "middle- to upper-income consumers, including small-to-medium sized company executives and small business owners."
"Hey Jeff, I have a feeling this is important, but I don't really understand it. Help?"
"A week or so ago, the Feds declared Met as "too big to fail" thereby telling them..."You need to sell some of your business 'cause if one of your business units fails, it will cause grave harm to the US economy." Therefore and henceforth, Met is talking with Mass about Mass buying Met's life business.
"Nice business ya got here, be a shame somethin' were to happen to it...."
Just when I think that the HWR can't possibly get any better, along comes good friend Louise Norris to prove me wrong. In fact, it may take me a while to read through all the great posts, from BHP's to pregnancy-as-SEP, digital health to those pesky 1040's, just terrific content.
"Moncol learned all of the information several weeks ago when she went online to check her family's health savings account and found data on the McAllister family instead. After a few more clicks, she found she could access the investment accounts tied to the HSA."
Ooops. In fact, she could have actually changed pretty much all of that other family's info, or stolen their identity were she "that kind of person" (which, thankfully, she's not). But talk about a security hole big enough to drive a Mack truck through. Looks like the Tar Heel State's Blues could give the security-flawed 404Care.gov site a run for its money.
"During the two years before the disastrous opening of HealthCare.gov, federal officials in charge of creating the online insurance marketplace received 18 written warnings that the mammoth project was mismanaged and off course but never considered postponing its launch"
Well of course not, silly: why would massive security flaws hold us up?
"The use of so-called "health sharing ministries" has soared in the wake of President Barack Obama's health care reforms ... membership has more than doubled, from about 200,000 to about 530,000"
At over half a million participants, this is definitely a force with which to be reckoned. The usual caveats apply, of course: "the plans offer members no guarantee their medical bills will be shared, and ministries aren't obligated to include a range of care that insurance companies are."
Still, by saving thousands of dollars in potential fines, and tens of thousands in deductibles and co-insurance, it sure seems that these folks have found something that works for them. and the fact that their ranks have swelled so fast and so far is pretty good proof of its appeal and effectiveness.
"A newlywed in Leeds, Britain, died about 18 months after developing a relentless itch all over her body, which doctors mistook as scabies or allergies but was actually a symptom of bile duct cancer"
And for the record: no, lotions and balms won't cut it versus chemo. By the time these rocket surgeons finally figured out that it was, in fact, cancer, it was too late and the poor woman passed away soon after. And lest we turn a cold eye, it would be well to remember that this type of health "care" scheme is the end goal of The ObamaTax.
"The development of HealthCare.gov faced a high risk of failure, given the technical complexity required, the fixed deadline, and a high degree of uncertainty about mission, scope, and funding. Still, we found that HHS and CMS made many missteps throughout development and implementation that led to the poor launch. Most critical was the absence of clear leadership, which caused delays in decisionmaking, lack of clarity in project tasks, and the inability of CMS to recognize the magnitude of problems as the project deteriorated. Additional HHS and CMS missteps included devoting too much time to developing policy, which left too little time for developing the website; making poor technical decisions; and failing to properly manage its key website development contract. CMS's organizational structure and culture also hampered progress, including poor coordination between policy and technical work, resistance to communicating and heeding warnings of "bad news," and reluctance to alter plans in the face of problems. CMS continued on a failing path to developing HealthCare.gov despite signs of trouble, making rushed corrections shortly before the launch that proved insufficient. These structural, cultural, and tactical deficiencies were particularly problematic for HealthCare.gov given the significant challenges of implementing a new program involving multiple stakeholders and a large technology build."
More than two years later and the DC braintrust is finally reiterating what we have been saying since before the launch of this tire fire.
"kynect.ky.gov will be down for maintenance from 7pm on Wednesday, February 24th until 7 am on Monday, February 29th. During maintenance, kynect customer service at 1-855-4kynect will not be able to help you enroll in coverage. This is to allow for the launch of a new Cabinet for Health and Family Services website, benefind."
And what, you may ask, is "benefind?"
"benefind allows Kentucky's families to easily access public assistance benefits and information 24/7 through an online application account"
We wrote recently of the demise of the Blue Grass State's Kynect program, looks like it's been repurposed.
For given values of "work."
"Illegal immigrants and individuals with unclear legal status wrongly benefited from up to $750 million in ObamaCare subsidies and the government is struggling to recoup the money"
Oh, I'm sure they're trying really hard.
Of course, this is really a problem with the whole system: while the 404Care.gov site requires one to "prove" one's eligibility, it gives folks months to come up with the appropriate documentation. And then, well, how long does it take to vet that "proof" once received? Meanwhile, hundreds of millions of dollars are flowing out of Treasury's coffers (directly to "unsuspecting" insurance carriers).
MVNHS© vs Cancer: You win!
Common drugs for breast, bowel, prostate, pancreatic and blood cancer will no longer be funded by the NHS following sweeping cutbacks"
Over 5,000 victims "beneficiaries" of that nationalized healthcare scheme will no longer receive the life-saving meds they need, and for which they relied on (apparently worthless) government promises. Round after round of cuts have been imposed as the system becomes increasingly unsustainable.
Well, one reason is the "sudden" influx of folks with no previous (or current, apparently) skin in the game. Another is a long-standing, downward trend in the actual delivery of care.
Every day, it seems, we hear about another computer security breach, with private financial, medical and other information, often including social security and credit card numbers.
In fact, I remarked recently - not entirely tongue in cheek - that the self-avowedly security-challenged 404Care.gov site seemed to be a "brilliant marketing scheme by LifeLock."
Which brings us to the newest addition to the Resources section of our sidebar: LifeLock.
We've partnered with the experts on protecting your most vital information, and can even offer a 10% discount for our readers. Just click on the LifeLock button for details, and (if you're so inclined) to sign up.
Of course, this is hardly exclusive to Minnesota; the rules for calculating subsidy and Medicaid eligibility all rely solely on income. And if you're a millionaire, well, then, you have access to some pretty sharp accounting folks who can help you make darned sure that your MAGI is within acceptable range for either a subsidy or Medicaid.
"If they have $500,000 or $1 million in net worth, should these people qualify for subsidies?"
To which I would reply: Talk to the Hand, Judge Learned Hand.
We haven't posted on vaping in a while; last time we looked it was in relation to how The ObamaTax treated it for rating purposes (Spoiler Alert: Smoking/Vaping bad, Meth use fine). It's important to distinguish between vaping e-liquid with nicotine extract vs completely nicotine-free. Although artificial nicotine is available, there's really no way for the consumer or an underwriter to know whether or not any nicotine present in the e-liquid is artificial or tobacco-extracted.
But there's another vaping-related controversy: is it a gateway to cigarette use, or a path away from tobacco? This has been a long-running battle, with both sides claiming (perhaps justifiably) that the science was in their favor.
"Latest Data from England Refute Argument that E-Cigarettes Do Not Help Smokers Quit"
"Starting in 2011 and coinciding precisely with the increased quit rate was a dramatic shift away from the use of nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) in quit attempts and towards the use of electronic cigarettes."
So, not so much the patch as the e-cig? There's apparently some decent enough info to back that up, but they hinge on the fact that "[p]rior to 2011, virtually no smokers in England were using e-cigarettes to try to quit smoking, while approximately 30% were using NRT." That makes sense, but it's also important to remember that *correlation ≠ causation."
So, promising to be sure, but still a ways from being dispositive.
It's a truism that (for example) 20% of one's customers create 80% of one's problems; the ratio is applicable to many other situations, as well.
"3 percent of the total pharmacy prescriptions are considered specialty, but they cost 30 percent of a plan's overall pharmacy expense."
I should point out that this isn't exactly groundbreaking news; as we reported almost 6 years ago, "[a]ccording to UHC, "specialty medications" (e.g. injectibles) are used by less than 1% of its insureds, but represent an astonishing 20% of its pharma claims." And of course, med's are a major driver of health insurance costs, which is why we're seeing so many of them being moved to higher (and more expensive to the insured) tiers.
As pointed out in the article linked above, pharma costs increased 13% in 2014, driven in large part by "a 30.9 percent increase in spending on specialty pharmaceuticals." And it's only going to become worse as the population ages, generating demand for more and more meds to combat chronic conditions like arthritis and Alzheimers.
"Scientists are developing a 10-minute cancer test which can be taken at home with just a drop of saliva"
Just as with pregnancy tests, this simple and inexpensive (about $20) tech is unobtrusive and doesn't require even a pinprick of blood; best of all, it's (supposedly) 100% accurate.
It's about to enter clinical trials this year, and they're hoping for FDA approval by 2018.
"InsureMyTrip, a travel insurance comparison site, reported a 20% surge in calls last week from travelers worried about the virus." The number one question they're getting is whether folks traveling to Zika hotspots can, out of an abundance of concern, cancel their trips and receive a refund.
"North Raleigh physician is state's first embracing hybrid medical model ... under which patients pay an annual retainer fee and in return receive longer consultations during their office visits, along with Belcea's promise to track patients' medical conditions more closely and follow up as he or they see a need to do so."
As The ObamaTax continues its stranglehold on how healthcare is financed (and hence delivered), I would expect to see many more physicians adopt this type of practice (or it's cousin, Direct Primary Care).
Steve Anderson hosts this week's break-out edition of the Health Wonk Review. It's about money, for sure, bit it's also about egregious wealth creation (well, okay, that's money) and wasteful legislation, patient-centered care and connectivity.
In fact, it's just a great collection of thought-provoking insights - kudos to Steve!
Talk about an unenviable position.
"Blue Cross CEO says insurer may leave ACA market in NC in 2017 ... expects to report its second consecutive financial loss in the coming weeks."
Y'know, when we mention "catastrophic plans" we're talking about HSA's, not bailing out water from a sinking boat.
Britain's Much Vaunted National Health System© is "on its knees:"
"[T]hanks to migrants from the European Union (EU) taking advantage of free movement rules.
Cancer treatment can cost up to £200,000 for the UK's socialised healthcare service, and under Brussels law Britain must offer it to all EU nationals."
"NHS Trusts were not prepared for the millions of EU migrants who have poured into Britain because the Government estimate was nowhere near the reality."
The result, of course, is that the already shaky national health care scheme has become even less stable, as the government (really the British taxpayer, of course) scrambles to provide even modest levels of care. Add in the ever-increasing provider shortage ("less than 20 per cent of students wanting to become GPs") and you having the makings of an impending total collapse of the system.
But don't get too confident about our own, since we're facing pretty much the same (bleak) future under ObamaCare and open borders.
"Britain is attracting thousands of health tourists from across the EU who cannot get certain drugs or treatments in their home country so come to Britain and demand them as EU citizens."
"Health tourists." Yeah, go with that.
Several days ago, Genworth Financial (one of the major LTCi carriers) suspended "new sales of life insurance products and fixed annuities to help reverse financial losses."
On the one hand, this should save the troubled carrier upwards of "$50 million in annual expenses." On the other, and this is the puzzler to me, it means they've also cut off a major source of revenue. I especially don't understand why they're stopping annuity sales; seems to me that these would be one of their more profitable lines.
It's not surprising that they took major hits on their Long Term Care insurance business, that's pretty much industry SOP. As we noted the other day, these policies are quite different in terms of underwriting and claims than life insurance. Still, seems like there's something else going on here.
"GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles) loss recognition testing margins for the business written since late 1995 were approximately $2.5 to $3.0 billion as higher expected future claim costs and expenses were more than offset by the impact of future in-force rate actions."
That makes sense: as noted above, there are decent profit margins built into life insurance and annuity plans.
"Actions taken in 2015 are expected to reduce cash expenses by approximately $90 to $100 million pre-tax on an annualized basis, bringing total expected cash expense reductions to $150 million or more."
That's a substantial chunk of change; whether or not it's sufficient remains to be seen.
In a bit of damage control, the report confirms that "Genworth's life insurance companies have more than sufficient capital to pay all eligible claims as they arise." This in order to squelch the (reasonable) objection "will y'all actually be around to pay my claim?"
And, of course, the company will continue (at least for now) to service existing policyowners. Of course, that's not necessarily a permanent commitment (just ask folks with Time or John Hancock life insurance policies).
One question that the report does not effectively address is the future of its LTCi business. It notes that the carrier is planning to "separate and isolate" that line from the life/annuity side, while noting in passing the very real challenge of its "LTC legacy block issues that continue to pressure ratings across the organization." In other words: they're getting hammered on older in-force plans.
We've discussed this before: "[T]oo many folks have kept their policies (not a bad thing, per se, just that carriers count on a certain amount of attrition), so both claims and reserves continue to mount." And of course, the longer the plans stay in force, the more likely they are to generate a claim (or claims).
"You have no reasonable expectation of privacy regarding any communication or data transiting or stored on this information system"
As we noted several years ago, that's the (explicitly hidden) message greeting newly-registered visitors to the 404Care.gov site. But that rat's nest is far from the only place that your "private" health info isn't so private. To be sure, we've been blogging on this very issue for over a decade, but the stakes have grown higher, and the problem larger.
"No one told the average American that HIPAA loosened data exchange and that it's expanded now with HITECH, even to the community level, such that individuals are targeted for intervention by social services agencies.
And no one told patients that "de-identified data" is a myth ... Technology has advanced such that patients can rather easily be re-identified."
I'm still not convinced that the whole ObamaTax isn't just a brilliant marketing scheme by LifeLock.
Open Enrollment 3.0 is complete. Now the brain trusts of Obamacare are touting the great success of healthcare.gov in managing the people who signed up without issues this year. Before they get too excited maybe we should step back and take a look at what we are paying for this "experience".
The Federally Facilitated Marketplace (FFM) charges a user fee of 3.5% of the premium. With an average premium of $4,152 in 2014 each enrolled person was paying $145.32. That's a cool $785 million based on the ASPE figures of 5.4 million people enrolled.
One would think that as the number of users increased an economy of scale would make this more affordable. Unfortunately this isn't the case. Since premiums increased (I know, can you believe it?) and HHS has kept the user fee at 3.5% we have seen a higher cost per person to operate the exchange.
With an average premium of $4,896 in 2016 the new cost per enrolled person is $171.36. With 9.6 million enrolled in the FFM it is now costing $1.65 billion to operate the exchange.
By the way, thanks taxpayers. You are paying 67% of these costs.
Tell me again why we haven't abandoned this tire fire yet.
What with carriers cutting (and threatening to cut) agent commissions on individual health policies, I thought it'd be interesting to see if there was any change in the number of us who made the effort over the past few years to become Marketplace certified. I assumed (yeah, I know) that the number would trend down, but had difficulty tracking accurate info on that.
Now, that includes both individual and SHOP registration, but as I pointed out to Patrick, I think it's unlikely that there would be many agents who would go through the rigorous individual certification process and then skip the very simple SHOP registration one.
So we see that from the first year to the second, there was an increase of about 8.5% in the number of agents pulling the FFM trigger. Then from last year to this, the total again grew, but by a much smaller margin (a little over 4%, or about half of the previous season's).
If that trend holds, than next year one would expect to see about 1,600 new agents sign on.
But I don't think they will; in fact, I suspect that there will be a significant drop in the number of agents who bother to go through the training just so they can "sell" a product that doesn't pay a commission.
"The best-case scenario described by the CBO would result in 'between 24 million and 27 million' fewer Americans being uninsured in 2025"
That's almost 1½ trillion dollars spent over 20 years and there will still be millions of folks left uninsured.
This despite the fact that President Obama himself promised that this could never happen.
UPDATE: It appears that this plan will not be eliminated (at least for now). Interesting.
Oh, and the bureauweenies in charge are also considering "eliminating coverage for spouses."
To be fair, lots of employers have begun adopting this strategy, and from their perspective it makes a lot of (financial) sense. And everyone then talks about how that's "dumping" these people "onto the Exchange." But what no one seems to have noticed is that it also creates an additional burden on families: health insurance plans have both individual and family Maximum Out-of-Pockets. But when you split them up, so that Dad's covered on one plan, and Mom and the kids on another, you've just added an additional additional out-of-pocket expenses.
■ For Ohio-licensed insurance agents, there's some good news: the Buckeye State joins "21 other states that already allow insurance agents to carry over excess CE credits." This is welcome news for those of us who find themselves with extra CE's at the end of a cycle.
So what's keeping those other 36 states from joining in?
Regular readers already know that the long list of ObamaTax "freebies" (preventive care bennies paid at 100% with no deductible, etc) does not include male-specific items such as prostate screenings.
"At the Newark Liberty Airport TSA agent Dennis Brown discovered a lump on a local man's testicle."
Guess Mom was right again about that whole clean underwear advice.
"Good morning! I'm considering donating a kidney to my father, and I've been told to ask about my life insurance. For one thing, can they cancel it or raise my rates if I do go through with with the donation, and will it affect my ability to increase my coverage later on?"
Great questions. First, no, companies can't cancel or increase the premiums on existing plans if you do go ahead. Carriers are only allowed to cancel existing plans if you either stop paying premiums (which is really you cancelling them) or for committing fraud when you applied.
The going forward part is interesting though: I presumed that there could (indeed, probably would) be some negative impact, at least initially. But I offered to reach out to the underwriter at my primary company, and she told me that "the client can be considered for coverage and for preferred class as long as the remaining kidney is functioning normally."
"[F]or 2016, we will not pay commissions on new Individual members who enroll in ACA-compliant medical plans - on or off the exchange - with effective dates between April 1, 2016 and December 31, 2016"
"If [carriers] have to pay the same on and off the exchange, rather than raising (reinstating) commissions for HIX business just cut all business to $0."
Update on Obamacare by the numbers.
Aetna's 1 million individual commercial members make up 4.3 percent of its total membership, as of Dec. 31. Of those, 750,000 are people who signed up through the exchanges.
Indeed, the exchange (now called "The Marketplace") is a disaster for the carriers.
Many who purchased coverage via the exchange pay little or nothing in premiums thanks to overly generous government handouts.
Quite a few that secured coverage through the exchange did not have health insurance before. Some because they could not afford it. Others because a pre-existing health condition prohibited them from buying coverage.
A significant number of those who have a medical problem will rent insurance for a few months, get their medical issue treated, then drop coverage. The average time on the books for exchange business is 7 months and many cancel within 90 days.
Navigators that work for the exchange have no real understanding of health insurance and frequently take applications for people who should not qualify for coverage. Subsequent audits for required documentation often results in coverage that is cancelled by the carrier due to compliance issues.
A significant number of policies are also cancelled for non-payment of premium. This, in spite of the fact that many subsidized premiums are less than $10 per month!
Obamacare has turned out to be little more than snake oil that came with promises to lower your premiums, allow you to keep your doctor and your plan and the ability to bend the health care cost curve thereby saving millions of dollars.
Instead, most have lost their plan and their doctor, their premiums are double or triple what they were before (plus higher deductibles and out of pocket) and there is no indication of actual savings in health care.
Voters were promised a health care panacea and what we got was a turd.
We've written before about Gleaner Life (most recently here), and I wanted to note just what nice folks they are.
I recently had the opportunity to write a pair of unique policies on a client's two children using Gleaner's "Just for Kids" plan. This is a very simple, inexpensive plan: for a one-time premium of $125, a child is insured for $10,000, and it's convertible without any medical exam for up to $50,000. The initial coverage ends at age 25.
This is an easy and inexpensive way to guarantee a child's future insurability, and to cover unexpected funeral costs should the need arise. But the very best part is the warm and genuine "Welcome" letter the parents (or grandparents) receive when the policy arrives. I've seen a lot of these kinds of "Thank You" letters from carriers - and they're all, of course, appreciated - but this one is just really special.
Anyway, just a very pleasant way to begin the week (and month).
We've written about the chilling effect that insurers hope to create by lowering commissions on Exchange-based business (or doing away with them altogether). Most recently, the Kentucky Department of Insurance weighed in, noting that this practice would be viewed as a violation of the insurance code.
That's from the Code of Federal Regulations as it pertains to the ACA. Seems pretty clear to me.
So then the question becomes: where do we go from here?
"Obamacare may get more bad financial news next week, as more insurers are expected to report financial issues due to the healthcare law."
Not that this is a surprise to anyone that's been paying attention; after all, Blue Cross/Shield of North Carolina has racked up over $400 million in losses in just the past 24 months. Tip of the iceberg, really.
"In some cases ... unscrupulous tax preparers tell clients to pay the penalties directly to them, and they keep the money"
Biggest surprise: that there are still uninsured folks. I thought the ObamaTax was supposed to end all that. Hunh.
"Working to stem the spiraling costs of health care, improve health care outcomes and ensure the adequacy of quality services for its membership, nonprofit InHealth Mutual, Ohio's only health insurance CO-OP, has reconfigured its provider network to trim health provider costs that fall significantly outside the average of its overall network."
Which is a fancy way of saying that their network's gone on a major diet, shedding 10 hospitals and a slew of physicians.
Look for this to continue as carriers look to cut mounting ACA-related claims (it's what happens when you delete underwriting and then pay folks to purchase insurance).


We can use your help passing the word to family and friends to help your cadets succeed by donating during #GivingTuesday. It is coming November 27th and is a great way to make your donation count.
The Washington Youth Academy Foundation has one purpose and that is to help WYA graduates achieve their dreams. We help fund college, trade school, vocational training, job training or job assistance. Whatever the dream we can find a way to help.
We can't do it without the generous donations from people like you. Tell your friends and family. The graphic below links directly to our #GivingTuesday page.


Faith recently completed an 11,200sf $5.1M new C-130 Flight Simulator Training Facility for the Wyoming Air National Guard in Cheyenne Wyoming. The 18 month project was awarded to Faith as a prime contractor. Faith self performed electrical and mangaged the remaining trades with local and out of state subcontractors as required by the project specifications.


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Technoprecarious
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Lisa Nakamura w/Precarity Lab
An analysis that traces the role of digital technology in multiplying precarity.
Technoprecarious advances a new analysis for tracing how precarity unfolds across disparate geographical sites and cultural practices in the digital age. Digital technologies—whether apps like Uber, built on flexible labor or platforms like Airbnb that shift accountability to users—have assisted in consolidating the wealth and influence of a small number of players. These platforms have also exacerbated increasingly insecure conditions of work and life for racial, ethnic, and sexual minorities; women; indigenous people; migrants; and peoples in the global south. At the same time, precarity has become increasingly generalized, expanding to include even the creative class and digital producers themselves.
This collaboratively authored multigraph analyzes the role of digital technology in multiplying precarity. The authors use the term precarity to characterize those populations disproportionately affected by the forms of inequality and insecurity that digital technologies have generated despite the new affordances and possibilities they offer. The book maps a broad range of digital precarity—from the placement of Palestinian Internet cables to the manufacture of electronics by Navajo women and from the production and deployment of drones on the U.S.–Mexico border to the technocultural productions of Chinese makers. This project contributes to and helps bridge, ongoing debates on precarity and digital networks in the fields of critical computing, postcolonial studies, visual culture, and information sciences.
3700 Haven Hall
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