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Jonathon Sturgeon
The Grief Depression
Dust Storms, 1934 (Franklin D. Roosevelt Library).
Charon, the ferryman of the dead, was more like an Uber driver than a salaried employee. In Lucian's dialogues, the psychopomp finds himself hard up, on the short side of his account with Zeus. To buy time, he asks the messenger god Hermes to relax, assuring him that peace on earth is waning, and a fresh supply of war-torn shades will soon arrive with their fare—coins placed in the mouths of the illustrious dead—to balance the cosmic books. One gets the feeling, as he argues with tyrants and chats with paupers, that Charon is making do. After all, in the eternal necroeconomy, this gig might be as good as it gets, and someone has to do it.
Charon's labor is with us when we hear the sirens or happen upon the mobile refrigerated morgues that have come to illustrate the Covid era. Desperate video chats with the hospitalized dying are coins in their mouths. Our wits crazed with inarticulable grief, we still have to find a way to survive this Depression and depression, to make ends meet. This issue of The Baffler, no. 55, has arrived too soon—it is too soon to take a full accounting of those who are gone. But the waves of the dead are arriving on the shores of the underworld, and someone has to begin.
Charon's labor is with us when we hear the sirens or happen upon the mobile refrigerated morgues that have come to illustrate the Covid era.
We can be thankful that the dead, at times, leave instructions. In Debra Levine's "You are Witness to a Crime," the life of ACT UP activist and artist Ray Navarro is revisited with militancy, and his memory serves to remind us of Mark Lowe Fisher's injunction to "bury me furiously"—to pay Charon's fare with political might and rage aimed at those with the titles to govern but not the decency. If there are parallels and non-parallels between HIV/AIDS and Covid-19, they are to be found in Levine's writing, as well as in the efforts of our exhibition artist and essayist Ann Cvetkovich, who gathers the life-work of gay artist Robert Lynch into what she calls an "archive of feelings."
Elsewhere, Ben Ehrenreich laments the death of the state of California, razed this year by fires, where the "Anglo-European settlement of the Americas came up against the hard edge of the continent. This is where the conquest ended, and where it bounces back." Hanif Abdurraqib weighs a tentative political hope against a surfeit of grief in a year of tumultuous organizing. Emily Harnett provides an account of those who claim to have glimpsed paradise before being ferried back to this purgatorial Earth. And Jess Bergman reckons with her own experience of death in order to undermine the prevailing story about our incoming president—that in this time of Depression and mourning, he is the grief-stricken governor we need. Biden's sophistic project, it turns out, is the opposite of ours: he intends to strip-mine Hades in order to waylay socialism in the living world. Bury him furiously, indeed.
Jonathon Sturgeon was the editor in chief of The Baffler. He was previously senior editor of the magazine, deputy editor of artnet News, literary editor at Flavorwire, and senior editor at The American Reader. He has contributed essays on literature, visual art, cinema, and politics to the Guardian, Frieze, ArtNews, and The Paris Review, among other outlets.
The Unreconstructed Radical
Richard Kreitner
The Loss of Tatas
Tareq Baconi
Abolishing the Prison of the Dead


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Home Movies & TV Latest News & Features Q+A : John Malkovich
Q+A : John Malkovich
by Glenn Sumi
Rating: NN
Whether or not you think actor John Malkovich is creepy (see below), you can't deny the guy's talent - or creative versatility. In between his Hollywood blockbusters (Con Air), solid genre films (In The Line Of Fire, Ripley's Game) and prestige dramas (Dangerous Liaisons), he's taken on off-the-map indie art pics like Color Me Kubrick and this week's definitely-not-a-biopic Klimt, about the Viennese painter. He's worldly, eccentric, plus he's got a Charlie Kaufman film named after him. Who else can say that? Malkovich, in his annoying but dryly funny manner, spoke recently from Montreal, where he's wrapping up the French/Canadian/German co-production Afterwards.
When I told people I was interviewing you, some said you seem creepy onscreen. Are you aware of that?
I've never thought about it. I'd have to know who in particular thought I was creepy before I responded. It could be a case of the pot calling the kettle black.
What attracted you to Klimt?
Mostly, I wanted to work again with director Raoul Ruiz. He's extraordinarily cultivated, bright, funny, kind, odd. I like the way he views the world. Also, the period is one I've studied for some time.
What do you like about that period?
It was one of the most interesting and important eras in modern times. In Vienna then, you had Klimt, Schiele, Schoenberg, Freud, Wittgenstein - Wedekind just before. Fascinating period, fascinating people.
Were there lots of discussions on the set or in pre-production about art and politics?
No. I think everyone understood what the script was. Raoul is not someone who's going to do some biopic - it wouldn't interest him, although he'd be infinitely more capable of doing one than most people. His take is always more personal and poetic.
The film's structure is more impressionistic than linear. Was it difficult to know where you were at at any given point in the filming?
With Raoul you always know - at least I do. You just look at the shot and you know what you're supposed to do, or what some of the options are. The shots are very descriptive.
Do you see Klimt's work differently now?
Not really. I always liked him, but I'm more of a Schiele man.
Was it disarming to see Nikolai Kinski as Schiele? He's a dead ringer for the artist.
A little bit. Of course, I was a big fan of his father's [Klaus Kinski] and know his sister [Nastassja Kinski] a little bit. I really liked him. He's lovely and a very good actor, very open to the world.
It seems like he's got some of his father's nervous energy.
Yes. Hopefully not too much of it. Only time will tell.
Do you purposefully mix big studio pictures with smaller ones?
That's just what my life is. I have a catholicity of interests. This year I did the J. M. Coetzee novel adaptation Disgrace, I'm filming this French film (Afterwards) in English, and I'm directing a play in Paris. After that I'll be doing a film with the Coen brothers.
How do you choose what to do?
As an actor you can only choose from that for which you have been chosen. I can't call the Coen brothers or Warner Bros or any other brothers and say, "Hey, you're good kids, I want to do blah blah blah!" I've been lucky and have peers and workmates in god knows how many countries. Something interesting always comes up.
Are you upset that a film like Ripley's Game didn't get a wider release? It wasn't even released theatrically here in Canada.
Bob Shaye at New Line made the decision and called me, and I understood completely. I produce movies, so I understand how decisions are made. They're based on models and projections and numbers. If you're in the industry, it's not as if you can cry and take your ball and go home. It's not your ball.
Additional Interview Audio Clip
On the decision no to use a German accent:
On whether he regrets the remarks he made threatening journalist Robert Fisk (www.rsf.org/print.php3?id_article=2291 ):
KLIMT (Raoul Ruiz) Rating: NN
Director Raoul Ruiz is best known for his Proust adaptation, Time Regained, a voluptuous treatment of Proust's book through echoing flashbacks, brilliantly staged tableaux and elegant tracking shots.
Klimt, about the Austrian symbolist painter, is similarly structured. John Malkovich plays Klimt on his deathbed, recalling recent events in his life. The craft is exquisite, and Malkovich is less arch than he's often been in his Europudding art films.
Not knowing much about Klimt except that he was very fond of the colour gold and that his Portrait Of Adele Bloch-Bauer recently sold for $135 million, I took a friend with an art history degree to the screening, who pronounced it "too arty."
Can't argue there.
movie interview
Glenn Sumi
Glenn started writing for NOW's theatre section in 1997. Currently, he edits and contributes to the film and stage sections. He sees approximately 280 live stage shows and 150 movies a year. His mother once described his job as "Seeing The Lion King"
Read more by Glenn Sumi
Critics' picks: movies
NOW's must-see films, in theatres now

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DOLNI CHIFLIK / Medical and Healthcare / Medical Practices / D-R VALChEVA, VANYa M.
This is the way that in our Golden Pages has been entered D-R Valcheva, Vanya M. with address Dolni Chiflik, Botevska 13	and phone 05142 3223. The main activity of the company is D-R Valcheva, Vanya M. is "Medical Practices". If you write by mistake the name of the company in latin characters, you will see	D-R VALChEVA, VANYa M. or D-R VALChEVAQ VANYa M.. If you use phonetic or BDS layouts, you are probably searching for D-R Valcheva, Vanya M. if you have entered D-R VALChEVAР VANYa MЛ	or D-R VALChEVAЯ VANYa M..


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Apple iOS returns to growth in EU5
Apple iOS returned to growth across EU5, while its share dropped in the U.S.
Apple iOS returned to growth across Europe's five largest countries, while its share dropped in the U.S.
The latest smartphone sales data from Kantar Worldpanel ComTech for the second quarter of 2015 show Apple iOS returning to growth across Europe's five largest countries, while its share dropped in the U.S.
Europe's big five markets are Great Britain, Germany, France, Italy, and Spain.
"Apple iOS returned to growth across all of Europe's 'big five' markets, as it recorded its first year-on-year gain in France since February 2015," reported Carolina Milanesi, chief of research at Kantar Worldpanel ComTech. "In the U.S., as we forecasted last month, Android's growth continued in the quarter ending June 30, with both Samsung and LG increasing their share sequentially. Forty-three percent of all Android buyers mentioned a 'good deal on the price of the phone' as the main purchase driver for their new device."
"In Europe, Android's performance was mixed, posting its strongest year-on-year share drop in Germany since the beginning of 2015," said Dominic Sunnebo, business unit director at Kantar Worldpanel ComTech Europe. "The size of the screen was the main purchase driver for Android buyers across all of Europe's big five countries. Although screen size has grown in importance as a purchase driver since the launch of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, iOS buyers are generally driven by a wider list of factors, such as phone reliability and durability, as well as the quality of the materials."
"While the Android ecosystem in Europe and China continues to offer several brands to choose from, Android in the U.S. is undergoing its strongest consolidation yet, with Samsung and LG now accounting for 78% of all Android sales," Milanesi added. "LG is the real success story of the quarter. Not only did it double its share of the U.S. smartphone market once again, but it was also able, for the first time, to acquire more first-time smartphone buyers than Samsung."
"In urban China, Huawei took the top spot in the smartphone vendor ranking based on the success of its Honor lineup," said Tamsin Timpson, strategic insight director at Kantar Worldpanel ComTech Asia. "The Honor 4X, Honor 6, and Honor 6 Plus all made it into the top 10 most popular smartphones. Both Huawei and Xiaomi have been able to expand their appeal to a wider range of consumers by extending themselves beyond their initial market positioning. Huawei now attracts a younger and more affluent base with its Honor brand, while Xiaomi also appeals to older users, who look for reliable, good-value-for-money offers. Within Android, which accounted for 79% of the smartphones sold in urban China in the second quarter of 2015, new names are emerging, such as Meizu, whose share grew 700% over the same period in 2014, while established names, like Lenovo, experienced weaker sales compared to one year ago."
Over the past few weeks, technology brands such as Marshall and Commodore have moved into the smartphone market. Thanks to Android, the barrier to entry for new vendors has been significantly reduced. "Entering the smartphone market is relatively easy, but being profitable is not," Milanesi warned. "Some brands may successfully capture a niche if they are able to deliver enough differentiation. However, brand strength in other technology areas, such as cameras for Kodak, or PCs for Commodore, does not guarantee success in the smartphone business."
The Kantar Worldpanel ComTech dataviz can be embedded into online articles for a visual representation of Kantar Worldpanel ComTech Smartphone OS market share data. You can also embed it on your own website.
Download the press release with data tableDownload the press release with data table
Kantar Worldpanel ComTech adds India to Country Coverage
Projections show that India will soon be the second largest smartphone market in the world after the US.
Samsung Back on Top of the US Smartphone Vendor Ranking
The New Galaxy S6 was the Third Best-Selling Smartphone in the US for the Three Months Ending May 2015.
Android Needs Hero Flagship Device to Regain OS Market Share
Android gaining market share in the US, where it increased to 62.4%, but continuing to struggle in the Europe "big 5".


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Three High-Profile Pros End PokerStars Deals
By Jennifer Newell
January 11th, 2018 | Last updated on July 29th, 2018
Home » Poker News » Three High-Profile Pros End PokerStars Deals
Team PokerStars Pro loses big names in contract talks
For the better part of a dozen years, the PokerStars Team Pro has been one of the most coveted sponsorships in all of poker. A spot on the team was rarely given lightly, and players had to do something special to deserve it (win a WSOP Main Event, start a poker boom, or show extra value for the team). And while not every player possesses undying love for PokerStars, many players knew that a position on the team was a special one and came with many benefits.
Since Black Friday, however, the team has slimmed greatly. Many players who decided not to move out of the United States to a PokerStars-friendly country lost their deals, while other partnerships were severed to simply trim the company budget. As PokerStars lost the US market, paid substantial fines, and took costly measures to comply with numerous national regulations around the world, a large stable of pro players was simply not as feasible as it once was.
The prestige of Team PokerStars Pro remained, however, through the years. For that reason, the departure of three high-profile members of the team at the start of 2018 was surprising to many poker fans.
Vanessa Selbst
One of the most accomplished women in poker, Vanessa Selbst is the top female money earner in live poker tournaments in recorded history with more than $11.8 million to date. She signed her deal with PokerStars in June 2010, not long after making her first World Series of Poker final table and finishing seventh in a $2K NLHE event for $101,285. Since then, she has earned three WSOP bracelets and wins at the World Poker Finals, Partouche Poker Tour, LA Poker Classic, Festa al Lago, PokerStars North American Poker Tour, European Poker Tour, Eureka Poker Tour, and PokerStars Caribbean Adventure.
On December 31, 2017, she posted on her Facebook page that she was parting ways with PokerStars and will no longer be a professional poker player.
I'm parting ways with PokerStars and moving on from poker in general. It's been the most amazing decade of my life. Thank you all for being a part of it. My full post is over on my facebook page, here. https://t.co/4U9xas6Kqu
— Vanessa Selbst (@VanessaSelbst) December 31, 2017
"Many people will ask why I'm leaving – there's no one specific reason, but just a number of factors, big and small, that contributed to a general feeling I've had for a while that it was the right time. The most obvious reason is that Black Friday has meant that in order to do this job professionally, you either had to move out of the country or travel 90% of the time. That was really fun for a period of time in my life, but as my late 20s turned into my early 30s and my priorities changed toward building a stable home and community and starting a family, the constant travel is no longer tenable. Secondly, I don't feel good about promoting poker as an ambassador anymore (I can't tell amateurs they should come play online and it's beatable for them when I don't feel like it's true). Lastly, whether because poker got more competitive or because we got older (or likely some combination of the two), poker recently turned into a real job, requiring hard work and discipline to succeed. I had never treated the game that way–I always kept a very light poker schedule–I showed up and played for fun and did other projects back home as my "real work." The shift in the nature of poker and what it requires put me at a crossroads and asked the question of me whether I would rather change my relationship to the game or move on. To me, the opportunity to work hard and learn something totally new and get to keep poker in my arsenal of fun go-to hobbies feels like the right approach."
Selbst did note that poker has been "intellectually challenging, exhilarating, fun, and extremely rewarding" for the past 12 years. However, her plans for the immediate future include trading research and strategy for a hedge fund. While she says she will always love the game of poker and never truly stop playing, she's ready for a new challenge.
Felipe Ramos
Poker players across Brazil and beyond know of Felipe Ramos, or Mojave. His dynamic personality and passion for poker endeared him to poker fans around the world, and he rose to the level of the fourth winningest player in Brazil. His live tournament earnings top $2 million, though his online winnings are also substantial. His partnership with PokerStars took him around the world to play, where he racked up final tables from Macau to South Africa.
Ramos announced the end of his PokerStars deal in December but posted more details in a series of tweets on January 4 as it became official.
[1/5] As I have announced in December my departure, now it is official and I am no longer with PokerStars. I could not have reached more success in and off the tables as a PokerStars Team Pro in these 2,5 years we've been partners. And I am very thankful.
— Felipe Mojave Ramos (@FelipeMojave) January 4, 2018
He noted his gratitude for the 2.5 years of working with PokerStars, especially recognitions for cashing in the most countries and being an inspiring player. But when the time came to agree on a new contract, he and PokerStars were unable to do so.
"We did not reach an agreement, and it is time to move on. The company's priorities have changed. I am a poker ambassador. I build player bases, I inspire people to play poker and help them to start and keep going. That will always be my number one priority."
The Twitter posts ended with his signature positivity and gratitude to the poker community and friends.
Jason Mercier
With more than $18.5 million in lifetime live poker tournament earnings, Jason Mercier is ranked in the top 20 poker winners of all time. Less than ten years ago, he pounced onto the poker scene with a win at the European Poker Tour San Remo Main Event for approximately $1.3 million, and he never stopped. His accomplishments in poker are many and include five WSOP bracelets and wins in the LA Poker Classic, Wynn Classic, Five Diamond World Poker Classic, Southern Poker Championship, PokerStars European Poker Tour and North American Poker Tour, and others.
Mercier announced on January 6 that he stepped away from PokerStars at the end of his contract in 2017 and would not be as much of a frequent flyer on the global poker scene. His goal is to be a full-time husband to wife Natasha and father to son Marco born three months prior.
"The conversation about my contract was short and sweet. There were no hard feelings and there never would or could be. I was a PokerStars Pro for eight and a half wonderful years. I'm forever grateful that they took a chance on me when I was just a 22-year-old kid who had just captured his first gold bracelet in the summer of 2009. There were times when I thought I might be a PokerStars Pro for the rest of my life… hey, a kid can dream, can't he? Thank you to all of the wonderful people I worked with at PokerStars; your support and friendship has been invaluable."
Interestingly, Mercier's departure was the only one of the three that received its own article on the PokerStars blog and personal mention. "So, while he'll be missed as a PokerStars regular, we pass on our thanks and best wishes to Jason and his family, and look forward to seeing him at a PokerStars event soon."
.@JasonMercier is bidding farewell to Team PokerStars. Before stepping down he put the reasons for that decision in his own words – a tough choice, but a happy future ahead for the Mercier family. https://t.co/BWAjLXsouY pic.twitter.com/9tFCC0binm
— PokerStarsBlog (@PokerStarsBlog) January 7, 2018
About Jennifer Newell
Jennifer began writing about poker while working at the World Poker Tour in the mid-2000s. Since then, her freelance writing career has taken her from Los Angeles to Las Vegas and back to her hometown of St. Louis, where she now lives with her two dogs. She continues to follow the poker world as she also launches a new subscription box company and finishes her first novel. Jennifer has written for numerous publications including PokerStars.com and has followed the US poker and gaming market closely for the last 15 years. Follow Jen on Twitter
Disclaimer: The information on this site is my interpretation of the laws as made available online. It is in no way meant to serve as legal advice or instruction. We recommend that you seek legal advice from a licensed attorney for further or official guidance.
View all posts by Jennifer Newell
Ramos to Represent New Players-Come-First Poker Site


Yesterday, we celebrated the milestone of 1000 OPRA requests filed via OPRAmachine since our launch in late October. Thousands of pages of government documents are now freely available to members of the public on our site. Thank you to our supporters, users and the dedicated civil servants who have made this all possible!


Thanks to generous community support, The Salvation Army Hampton Roads Area Command is always available to serve those in need. The Army believes in treating each person who comes to us as an individual, not a statistic.
Through generous support at Salvation Army special events, The Salvation Army Hampton Roads Area Command can continue to be a beacon of hope for our neighbors in need and live the promise of doing the most good.
The Salvation Army Hope Gala is an opportunity for The Salvation Army to express their gratitude and recognize our loyal donors, volunteers, corporations, and foundations for their support over the past year.
The gala features a keynote speech by a local business man or woman noting the importance of community philanthropy and the difference one's generosity makes whee they give to The Salvation Army.
Attendance at the dinner is an opportunity to learn of The Salvation Army's programs and services and how much your support is appreciated.
For information about Hope Gala sponsorship, contact Grace Ramos at 757.543.8100 x64121.
The Red Shield Golf Classic benefits a specific initiative within The Salvation Army. In 2018 the beneficiary was The Salvation H.O.P.E Village, a residential housing program that offers a full spectrum of supportive services to low and moderate-income single women and women with children in need of a stable housing environment.
Since 2009, H.O.P.E Village has served 167 women and 84 children. In the last year, we have assisted 20 women with continuing their education through trade school and college courses and currently hold a 100% employment rate for the women in the program. With the help of the proceeds from the Golf Classic, we can sustain the success rates that we have been able achieve for almost a decade.
The Red Shield Golf Classic is a Four Person Pro Am Florida Best Ball (5 flights, post flighted). The tournament is limited to the first 25 teams to register with payment. A pre-tournament deli buffet luncheon is provided with a post-tournament celebration to be determined. Also offered are on-course soft drinks and snacks and tee gift.
The Salvation Army's annual Christmas Distribution program provides more than 7,500 south Hampton Roads families with toys, clothing and food for their households, in all, more than 25,000 individuals are assisted through the week-long distribution.
More than 2,000 volunteers bring energy and enthusiasm to the operation that, at times, serves 75 families every 15 minutes.


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Home Sports Lady Bears thrash A&M-Commerce in second exhibition game
Lady Bears thrash A&M-Commerce in second exhibition game
Bailey Brammer
Fifth year guard Chloe Jackson dribbles past an A&M Commerce opponent in Thursday night's exhibition game in the Ferrell Center. Jason Pedreros | Multimedia Journalist
By Bailey Brammer | Broadcast Managing Editor
The No. 4 ranked Lady Bears took down Texas A&M Commerce 127-61 Thursday evening in the Ferrell Center in their second and final exhibition match of the pre-season.
Freshman center Queen Egbo led the Lady Bears with 24 points, nine rebounds and six assists, followed by freshman guard Honesty Scott-Grayson with 16 points and senior center Kalani Brown with 15 points.
"I feel like when we're pressing, that's the best way to do it because we're athletic as a team and we have athletic players that can do that," Egbo said. "Being a strong post player is my best aspect to my game."
Women's basketball head coach Kim Mulkey said sophomore guard DiDi Richards did not play on Thursday because she "tweaked her ankle" in practice on Wednesday, and that freshman forward Acquira DeCosta will be in a walking boot for a few weeks because of a toe injury from last week's exhibition game against Langston.
For the Lions, senior forward Ekaterina Zhibaerva led with 12 points, followed by junior guard Alexus Jones with nine points.
Despite the Lady Bears' high score, the team struggled with fouls. Freshmen forwards Caitlin Bickle and NaLyssa Smith both fouled out after receiving five personal fouls each. Egbo and junior guard Juicy Landrum both came close to leaving the game with four fouls each .
In the team's first exhibition game, Egbo fouled out early on and said she used that as motivation on Thursday to stay in the game.
"I really thought about what I was doing on the defensive end to try to prevent those same type of fouls," Egbo said.
Before the game, Baylor honored the women's basketball team managers and presented the six of them with their 2018 championship rings.
Baylor took an early lead in the first quarter, shooting 14-22 at 63.6 percent, and the Lions struggled to catch up trailing 56-30 at the half. Commerce did its best to beat Baylor on the outside, firing five three-pointers in the first half, but ultimately came up short.
The Lady Bears outscored the Lions in bench points in the first half 31-10, and Baylor relied heavily on second chance points, picking up 24 by the end of the third quarter.
In the fourth quarter, the Lady Bears broke into tripe-digits with two three-pointers from Landrum, bringing her game total in three's to three. In the final minutes, managers Darryln McDonough and Michelle Kahue also had the opportunity to play. The Lady Bears shot 17-20 at 85 percent in the fourth quarter, and picked up 75 bench points to Commerce's 24.
"I thought our ball movement was great," Landrum said. "
Mulkey said her team did well, but struggled with energy and still has a ways to go as their regular season begins next week.
"I'm very pleased with Chloe Jackson –– that's a kid that's never had to play point guard, and she can do it, she pushes the ball up the floor," Mulkey said. "We did some things good tonight: we didn't turn the ball over a whole lot. We don't have a problem scoring, our problem is on the defensive end. We are not guarding the basketball well enough as a team … We'll get better on that end."
Baylor will face off with Nicholls State in its season opener at 6 p.m. Tuesday in the Ferrell Center.
Butler leads No. 2 Bears to victory over TCU in milestone game
No. 2 Bears dominate Oklahoma in Big 12 home opener, continue win streak
Mulkey tests positive, games postponed


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Press release: Renée Fleming
LA Opera presents Renée Fleming in recital (February 6)
Ms. Fleming also joins LA Opera and USC collaboration: Music as Medicine
(Los Angeles) January 24, 2018 — LA Opera will present one of the most acclaimed singers of our time, superstar soprano Renée Fleming, who will return to the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion for a recital with pianist Hartmut Höll at 7:30pm on Tuesday, February 6, 2018. In addition, on February 5, Ms. Fleming will help launch LA Opera's Music and the Mind/LA, a program that explores and educates people about the benefits of music to one's health.
About Renée Fleming
In 2013, President Obama awarded Renée Fleming America's highest honor for an artist, the National Medal of Arts. Winner of the 2013 Grammy Award (her fourth) for Best Classical Vocal Solo, she has sung for momentous occasions from the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony to the Diamond Jubilee Concert for Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace. She brought her voice to a vast new audience in 2014, as the first classical artist ever to sing the National Anthem at the Super Bowl.
Ms. Fleming has recorded everything from complete operas, orchestral works and classical songs to jazz, indie rock and the soundtrack for The Lord of the Rings. She is also featured prominently on the soundtracks of The Shape of Water and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, which both received Academy Award nominations for Original Score yesterday. In 2017, she launched an ongoing collaboration between the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and the National Institutes of Health, in association with the NEA, called Sound Health, focused on the intersections of music, health and neuroscience. In just a few weeks, she will make her Broadway musical debut in a major new production of Carousel.
The Recital
For the February 6 recital, Ms. Fleming will be joined by the celebrated German pianist Hartmut Höll, with whom she has collaborated for more than two decades. For the first time at a recital presented by LA Opera, the performance will feature projected English texts and translations. The Dorothy Chandler Pavilion is located at 135 North Grand Avenue, Los Angeles CA, 90012.
Ms. Fleming will perform classic songs by Johannes Brahms, Gabriel Fauré, Oscar Straus and Antonín Dvořák as well as arias from operas by George Frideric Handel, Rufus Wainwright and the "Song to the Moon" from Dvořák's Rusalka. Ms. Fleming will also pay tribute to the late Barbara Cook with Broadway songs from The Music Man and The King and I. The program will also include songs by Caroline Shaw, the youngest recipient of the Pulitzer Prize for music.
Tickets are on sale now. Tickets begin at $24 and can be purchased in person at the LA Opera Box Office at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, by phone at 213.972.8001 or online at LAOpera.org. For disability access, call 213.972.0777 or email LAOpera@LAOpera.org.
Music as Medicine
Inspired by Sound Health, Renée Fleming has been giving Music and the Mind presentations around the country, exploring the intersection of music and neuroscience and raising awareness of music's therapeutic potential in healthcare settings. On February 5, Ms. Fleming will bring Music and the Mind to Los Angeles, as part of LA Opera's ongoing commitment to serving the healthcare and wellness communities.
Ms. Fleming will spend the day in Los Angeles meeting with medical science leaders, students and arts providers, to explore exciting collaborative developments and possible partnerships between the worlds of music and medicine. The day will culminate in a public event at the University of Southern California, Music as Medicine: Renée Fleming and Antonio Damasio in Conversation, presented as part of the Provost's Series on Wicked Problems. USC Provost Michael Quick will introduce a forward-thinking discussion with Ms. Fleming, neuroscientist Antonio Damasio and LA Opera President and CEO Christopher Koelsch about the connections between music and the brain—and the very real possibility that music is part of the solution to intractable problems like chronic pain and cancer.
The discussion, which will be interwoven with musical performances by singers from LA Opera's Domingo-Colburn-Stein Young Artist Program, will take place at 7pm on Monday, February 5, at Bovard Auditorium (3551 Trousdale Parkway, Los Angeles, CA 90089). Admission is free, but reservations are required; click here to learn more. This event is presented by USC Visions and Voices: The Arts and Humanities Initiative in partnership with LA Opera. Co-sponsored by the USC Brain and Creativity Institute.
LA Opera is a non-profit organization dedicated to serving the greater Los Angeles community.
Yamaha is the Official Piano of LA Opera.
LA Opera Press Office:


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See Medalist
Blackwater owner admits trying to strike 'win-win' deal for free agent Gary David
by Gerry Ramos
After being suspended one game and fined for going against his coach's order at Meralco, Gary David was relegated to the unrestricted free agent list by the Bolts. Jerome Ascano
IT appears Mahindra and Blackwater are looking to take their act to the next level.
The two PBA expansion teams both signified interest to tap the services of veteran gunner Gary David in their bid to boost their playoffs chances in the ongoing Commissioner's Cup.
According to sources, the Enforcers and specifically the Elite have already inquired about the availability of the 37-year-old wingman out of Lyceum, who was relegated to the unrestricted free agent list by Meralco.
Blackwater team owner Dioceldo Sy confirmed the team is looking at the possibility of adding David to its current roster.
"Trying to work on a win-win deal for Gary, Meralco, and Blackwater," said the Blackwater executive prior to leaving for Vancouver. "Trying to help the situation especially for Gary, his career is at stake at this point in time."
[See Gary David suspended,fined by Meralco for 'insubordination, breach of contract']
Meralco team manager Paolo Trillo said so far no team has talked to the Bolts management about acquiring the services of the disgruntled veteran, who found himself suspended for a game, and later on put on the unrestricted free agent list.
"Yes, as unrestricted free agent any team can pick him up. But so far we haven't heard anything yet from any team," said Trillo.
Being unrestricted free agent is not that easy as it appears on paper, according to the Meralco official.
"Siyempre, Gary also has the prerogative if he wants to play for the team (interested in him)," Trillo explained, adding that as far as he knows, an official offer to the player also has to be made and coursed through the PBA.
"I think the team that will get him has to renegotiate or come up with a new deal," said the Meralco team manager.
David's one-year contract with the Bolts is expiring at the end of the season. Sources said the former league scoring champion receives the monthly league maximum of P420,000 a month.
[See Gary David shows injured ankle, pleads for fans' understanding]
Blackwater and Mahindra are in the thick of the running for a playoff berth in the mid-season tournament and landing the services of David can definitely boost the hopes of either team.
Currently, the two ballclubs are tied in the middle of the pack with 3-4 (win-loss) slates along with Star, NLEX, and Tropang TNT heading into Friday's games at the Mall of Asia Arena.
Ironically, David will be serving his one-game suspension during the game between Meralco and Blackwater set at 4:15 p.m.
Danny Espiritu, who represents David, refused to confirm Blackwater or Mahindra's interest in the former Gilas stalwart, but said his player is willing to suit up for any team that wants him.
"Of course, provided they (teams) are willing to assume Gary's contract," said the veteran players' agent, who would rather not divulge the monthly salary of David.
With David serving his suspension, the Bolts reactivated Rey Guevarra. Trillo added the team couldn't put the native of Orion, Bataan on the injury and reserved list since under league rules, a team can only put one player in the list, which big man Rabah Al-Husseini currently occupies.
After the game against Blackwater, Meralco won't see action until April 3 yet when it plays Mahindra.
Trillo said management has yet to talk about its options in the event no team tries to sign up David by the time he will be reactivated into the active roster.
"It depends because we haven't made any decision if and when dumating sa ganoong scenario," he said.
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30 September 2017 Venue Fratton Park Attendance
MATCH PREVIEW: Portsmouth vs Oldham Athletic
Oldham Athletic are looking to make it back to back wins for the first time this season when they travel to Portsmouth on Saturday, September 30.
Last time out, 10-man Latics battled to pick up all three points at home to high flying Peterborough United in Richie Wellens' first game in charge as interim manager winning 3-2.
This weekend's opposition also had a good result mid-week when they dispatched Bristol Rovers convincingly, 3-0 at Fratton Park moving them to 11th in Sky Bet League One.
It's been four years since the two sides have met and during the 2012/13 season, Oldham came out on top, winning 1-0 on both occasions.
The day is set to be a special one for Pompey defender Christian Burgess who will be hoping to make his 100th appearance for the club since joining from Peterborough in 2015.
But the centre-back will have a tough job on his hands if he features coming up against Craig Davies who has scored 5 goals in 6 games.
In Richie Wellens' pre-match press conference he revealed Eoin Doyle, who scored two and set up one mid-week, will miss the game with an injury, describing it as a "blow."
"It is lucky that I've got Holloway back so that will be a straight swap. I will see what their back line is like and I will see what formation they play and make decisions from that." Wellens said.
"I'm just gutted that Doyle's not fit because his energy and finishing is outstanding. He felt something in the last five minutes of the game, and I had already made three substitutions but I couldn't pull him off."
Match Odds
Sky Bet have placed Oldham Athletic as 5-1 outsiders to pick up all three points at Fratton Park, whilst the home side are 8/15 to win and the draw is 16/5.
The official website's match centre will be posting regular updates throught the game, including line ups and statistics.
Keep up to date with all the action via our text based commentary on the club's offical twitter account: @OfficialOAFC.
Subscribers will be able to listen to the club's offical audio commentary of the match brought to you by Roy Butterworth and Sam Rosbottom, pre-match build up starts from 2:45pm.
International subscribers will be able to watch the game live via iFollow.
Overseas fans wanting to watch this season's action via iFollow can now purchase match passes, in addition to season long subscriptions.
A match pass, costing the equivalent of just £5, will allow overseas fans to choose specific Sky Bet EFL matches to watch during the regular league season and offers fans greater choice in how they follow Oldham Athletic.
AWAY TICKET REMINDER: Portsmouth vs. Oldham Athletic
Supporters are reminded that they have until 4pm tomorrow (Thursday, September 28) to get their tickets in advance for the away match against Portsmouth.
Oldham Athletic supporters will be situated in the Milton End and they are advised to buy their tickets in advance to avoid paying more on the day of the game.
Adults: £23*
63+: £17*
Ambulant Disabled: £15
Wheelchair & Carer: £14
Ambulant Disabled Junior: £10
Under 18 (unaccompanied): £10
Under 18 with paying adult: £5
*Please note that matchday prices rise by £2 for Adult and 63+.
Advanced tickets go off sale on Thursday, September 28 at 4pm.
Here are the coach details:
Departs: 8am
Under 18s must be accompanied by an adult.
For more information or to book tickets, please email robbie.higgs@oldhamathletic.co.uk or call 0161 785 5150.


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Ethical Product Marketing -- Brave Branding
Emily Rabin
Sunday, April 9, 2006 - 5:00pm
There is now significant consumer interest in ethical brands. The big retailers have realized this and 2006 looks set to be a groundbreaking year for marketing new products. By Poulomi Saha and Tobias Webb
When Nestlé, long a bête-noire of campaign groups, launched its Fairtrade certified Partners' Blend coffee last October, it received mixed responses from the world of corporate social responsibility.
While the entry of one of the world's biggest coffee makers into a market it had previously neglected was welcomed, some NGOs were skeptical about Nestlé's move into ethical products. The company has not been known as a leader in social responsibility over the last 20 years, and many activist groups remain hostile to its very name.
Similarly, earlier in 2005, when Kraft Foods introduced their Kenco Sustainable Development coffee brand, the move sparked a debate over the company's preference for Rainforest Alliance certification over the harder to achieve Fairtrade mark.
But the more important trend here, which has been ignored by many, was the acceptance by the two big multinationals of the growth of ethically branded products. Neither wanted to sit back and watch any more.
In the past, many companies have been wary of launching ethical brands, concerned that such moves would raise questions about their other brands that were not marketed on ethical credentials.
The glare of the (often unfair) NGO/media spotlight, in which many large companies have found themselves in the last ten to 15 years, has also played a large part in preventing more corporate brand heads from being raised over the ethical product parapet.
Another barrier to entry of ethical products has been providing easy-to-understand labeling for customers about supply chain issues. Good labor practices are hard to badge in a sound bite manner.
On top of this, few large companies have felt confident enough, until recently, about having sufficiently minimized labor and environmental problems in their large and increasingly diversified supply chains, to begin to make ethical claims about their products.
At many a corporate citizenship conference in the last few years, conversations have focused on which major brand might be brave enough to launch ethically-branded products first. And then, of course, have to endure even greater NGO and media scrutiny of supply chain conditions they cannot wholly control.
However, the success of other smaller brands that have effectively promoted their ethical values in recent years has persuaded larger companies to sit up and take notice of what many are calling changing market trends and consumer tastes.
A Trend Gathers Pace
So while Nestlé and Kraft launched their ethical coffee brands last year, confectionery giant Cadbury Schweppes bought Green & Black's, a niche but fast growing UK-based organic and fair trade chocolate firm. This was a move that added further impetus to the ethical products market.
The growth in corporate ethical product offerings and acquisitions is perhaps not surprising. The Fairtrade market within the UK, for instance, has been growing exponentially. It recorded a 51% growth over 2003 figures to reach the £140 million mark in 2004, while total UK retail sales grew by just 4.6% in the same period.
In the pharmaceuticals sector R&D spend is increasingly on buying smaller, risk-taking companies who innovatively create new products. Similarly, in cases like Green and Black's, it is easier to let smaller companies become sustainable and then buy them out.
Increasingly, though, mainstream brands are becoming more innovative as their confidence grows in their ethical supply chain management activities. Marks & Spencer's recent announcement of a new ethically labeled product line may now be the first of many.
A reinvigorated M&S has become the first major UK retailer to introduce clothing made from 100% Fairtrade cotton, which is in its stores this month. Fairtrade cotton made its fist, low-key, appearance in the UK late last year via small, specialized retailers.
"Launching Fairtrade cotton builds on our innovative work in areas such as sustainable fishing, reducing fats, salt and additives in our food and banning harmful chemicals from children's clothing," said Stuart Rose, Marks & Spencer chief executive, when announcing the launch in February.
M&S is now running a major advertising campaign in 420 of its stores across the UK, telling consumers about how its products are sourced and made. The "Look behind the label" campaign has various catchy facts about M&S products splashed across its stores: "We're committed to reducing salt faster than you can say 'sodium chloride'" or "Our ready meals lack a certain something. Hydrogenated fats."
It is a highly significant move by a major UK retailer. In a low margin industry, many of the big players have been slow to focus on ethical supply chain issues and hesitant to try and tap into growth in the ethical consumer market.
M&S says it has launched this campaign because of concerns that customers were not fully aware of the company's ethical commitments. "We haven't told our stories properly in the past," M&S told Ethical Corporation.
Timberland, too, has recently launched a new footwear packaging initiative that will work as a "nutritional label", telling consumers about the community and environmental impacts of the company's shoes.
"This packaging and labelling initiative should make our industry more transparent and give consumers the information they need to make smart buying decisions," said Jeffrey Schwartz, Timberland CEO, at its launch in January.
These moves by major retailers will no doubt increase the amount of communication between corporate marketers, with their superior budgets, and corporate social responsibility departments.
This is key, since the effectiveness of ethical product marketing also depends on the campaign being exciting for consumers as well as rigorous in terms of its linkage to core company values, says Dean Sanders, founder of GoodBrand & Co, a social marketing consultancy.
The Other Route
While M&S and Timberland have chosen to re-engage with their consumers through innovative communication models, some others have found an alternative way of breaking into the ethics market.
American Express, Gap, Giorgio Armani and Nike-owned Converse joined up with Irish rock star Bono to launch Product Red at the World Economic Forum in Davos this year.
Through this project, selected products from these brands will bear the Product Red logo, proceeds from which will then go towards the Global Fund to Fight Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria.
Some critics argue that this kind of philanthropic cause-related marketing is very different from the business-focused ethical performance marketing of M&S's new initiative. But Bobby Shriver, CEO of Product Red, says the businesses involved in this initiative are both value- and values-driven.
"This is a long-term initiative designed for sustainability. [Product] Red partners expect they will broaden their own customer base and increase loyalty in a manner that delivers a sustainable revenue stream to both the company and the Global Fund," he says.
Don't Forget the Basics
But, cautions Craig Smith, senior fellow in marketing and ethics at London Business School, companies certainly have to compete on all fronts if they want to entice the ethical consumer. "Foremost," he says, "consumers are concerned about quality."
Rob Harrison, editor of Ethical Consumer magazine seconds Smith's view. He cites the example of Fairtrade coffee brand Cafédirect that was unable to appeal to a broad section of consumers, based solely on ethics, for a long time. That was, until it decided to market itself as a "premium coffee" brand. Today Cafédirect is one of the top five coffee brands in the UK.
Ethics-related marketing could be the "deal breaker" for companies in the future in terms of how they begin to differentiate themselves from the competition, predicts Helen Edwards, author of "Creating Passion Brands".
This view is not a new one. In a 2002 interview branding supremo Wally Olins, creator of the Orange mobile phone brand, described ethical products as "the last great commodity differentiator" for large companies already competing equally on cost and quality.
In 2006, there are likely to be more announcements following on from M&S, Timberland and Product Red. Last year's coffee product launches and the recent public focus on solutions to the global challenges of debt, trade, aid and development, have all set the ball rolling.
The Make Poverty History campaign, Live8 music concerts and the G8 summit in Gleneagles were seen as instrumental in increasing consumer awareness about issues such as global poverty and health.
Tragedies like the Asian tsunami of December 2004, the hurricane menace in the US and the Kashmir earthquake in October last year have led to unprecedented levels of public aid to pouring in to NGOs.
"There is a critical mass of interest [in global issues]. Earlier, ethical consumerism was a risk issue. Now it is an opportunity issue," says Harrison.
Experts also point to the emergence of new small brands, like Green & Black's and Ben & Jerry's, that appeal to consumers' ethical mindsets as evidence of more ethically minded entrepreneurs springing up worldwide.
"The business case is getting stronger" for larger brands to take the reputational risk of producing ethically labeled products under the NGO and media spotlight, concludes Craig Smith of London Business School.
The evidence appears to be proving him right.
This article has been reprinted courtesy of Ethical Corporation magazine. It first appeared in the March 2006 issue of that publication.
Nestlé to Launch Fairtrade Coffee in U.K.
Marks and Spencer Switches All Served Coffee to Fairtrade
Buying Responsibility -- A New Brand Strategy?
What Does Timberland's $2B Sale Mean for Apparel's Sustainability?
ByJonathan Bardelline
Coffee Talk: Supplier Guidelines at Starbucks


This course explores managerial decisions and actions intended to generate sustainable competitive advantage, and the contribution of accounting and finance professionals to these activities. In particular, this course examines the changing role of the office of the CFO, including its contribution to value creation and use of accounting control systems to both develop and implement strategic aims. These topics are explored through a critical examination of relevant research and professional literature, documented case studies, and contemporary business practice.


By 31.3.16, patients will be able to request access to all coded data in their clinical record via the Patient Online portal.
You can register by visiting your practice in person and requesting a registration letter which will enable you to set up a full account. This needs to be requested when you visit the practice and will require identification. Once you have the letter you can then enter the details from the letter into the registration form. View full instructions here.
After 6pm patients will be able to utilise the Extended Hours Services based in Ely & Cambridge. Appointments for the Extended Access Clinics can be made at Priors Field Surgery.
The Minor Injuries & Treatment Centre's at the Princess of Wales Hospital, Ely, Doddington Hospital and Wisbech Hospital are walk-in Nurse Practitioner led Services.
Priors Field Surgery would like to invite you to join DoctorLink.


April 24, 2014 – As a Dallas County jury read its verdict in March, Mike Lynn pulled his iPhone from his coat pocket and sent one email.
A few blocks away, U.S. District Judge Barbara Lynn was on the bench in the middle of her own trial when the message arrived. "I wanted to be there in court with Mike when he won such a huge victory for his client," she says.
She was a lead plaintiff and key witness in a series of lawsuits in the 1970s that forced Dallas' largest law firms to start hiring women lawyers from law schools. She has shattered numerous gender barriers her entire life - the first class of women admitted into the undergraduate program at the University of Virginia, the first woman lawyer and later first woman partner at the Carrington Coleman law firm, and the first and only lawyer to ever chair both the American Bar Association's Litigation and Judicial Sections.
Now a U.S. District Court judge, Barbara Lynn has presided over some of the most controversial and important trials in North Texas during the past 15 years, including the 2009 criminal prosecution of Dallas Mayor Pro Tem Don Hill and the Hosam Maher Husein Smadi terrorism case. She is a leading national voice on patent infringement disputes and how they are resolved.
The National Law Journal named her one of the most influential lawyers in the country.
Mike Lynn is a pit bull trial lawyer who stunned the legal community two decades ago by leaving the comforts of a large silk stocking law firm where he was destined for senior leadership to start what has become one of the most successful and respected litigation boutiques in Texas. He is currently the lead lawyer in a handful of high profile and big-dollar corporate lawsuits.
In February, he represented Dallas-based Energy Transfer Partners in a landmark lawsuit against Enterprise Products of Houston over a failed effort to build a pipeline - a case that resulted in the jury awarding Lynn's client at least a $319 million jury verdict, which is the largest judgment ever issued by a state court jury in Dallas.
Dena DeNooyer Stroh, the general counsel at Murchison Oil and Gas, says the Lynns have made a significant mark on the legal profession by significantly supporting legal services for the poor and needy and zealously advocating for the future of the jury system.
"A lot of people ask me which one of us is the dominant one in this relationship," says Mike Lynn. "Neither of us, or maybe both of us at different times."
Barbara Golden and Mike Lynn met 43 years ago when they were students at the University of Virginia. He was a junior. She was a freshman.
In fact, she was in the first freshman class of women admitted to the historic college.
Their relationship solidified when Golden tried repeatedly to become the first woman admitted into the Jefferson Literary and Debate Society, a 190-year-old organization that is considered one of the oldest and most prestigious clubs at the University of Virginia. Woodrow Wilson and Edgar Allan Poe were members.
Each time, southern conservative male leaders of the Jeff Society denied her petition because of her gender. But Golden had a secret weapon.
"One weekend in February, when the anti-women cabal had left for New Orleans to celebrate Mardi Gras and I knew I had the votes with them gone, I called for a vote [of the remaining members] to change the bylaws to admit women," says Mike Lynn, who was the vice president of the Jeff Society at the time.
That same day, Feb. 12, 1972, Golden was elected as a member by a single vote, according to UVA officials.
The political coup envisioned and executed by the Lynns was a harbinger of things to come.
The couple went to law school at Southern Methodist University, where she graduated first in her class. They were on the SMU mock trial team together with prominent Houston criminal defense attorney Rusty Hardin.
As her law school days wound down, Lynn and her fellow women classmates noticed that they were receiving very few offers from large Dallas law firms.
"We had this crazy idea that if we worked hard, did well in law school and demonstrated our skills, that we would get job offers," says Judge Lynn. "We noticed that men who graduated well below several of the women in our class were getting offers while those same law firms were ignoring the female law students.
"One law firm refused to extend me an offer because of my supposed strong connections to New York, even though I had not lived in New York since I was four years old," she says.
Lynn and her classmates formed a student group at SMU and sued a half-dozen major law firms. Nearly every law firm settled instead of going to trial. And even though the one case that did go to trial was unsuccessful, most law firms in Dallas quickly changed their hiring policies.
Akin Gump hired Mike Lynn. Carrington Coleman extended a job offer to Barbara Lynn in 1976, making her the first woman lawyer at the firm. Seven years later, she became its first woman partner.
The couple actually tried their first and only case together the summer following Barbara Lynn's graduation from law school but before they went to work at their respective law firms.
"I had accepted the job offer from Carrington Coleman but had not yet started and Mike was in the same position with Akin Gump," she says.
Judge Higginbotham appointed her to represent a former inmate who sued the sheriff for wrongful imprisonment. She asked her husband to join her as co-counsel.
"I'm not sure either of us knew what we were doing, but we knew our client had a definite cause of action," Judge Lynn says.
Their client won the case when the Fifth Circuit ruled that the sheriff had kept the inmate longer than permitted and the Lynns' client was awarded damages.
Even though the couple practiced at different law firms and represented scores of competing clients, they never faced off against each other in court.
"Oh no, that would not have been fun," says Mike Lynn. "We would have taken each other's heads off."
A good example occurred in 1988 when she represented Fireman's Fund Insurance Company in a business contract dispute against Irving Savings Association, whose corporate officers were convicted of criminal offenses.
The court awarded her client $7 million in damages. The case was also significant because it was one of the first times that a court admitted as evidence the criminal convictions of the defendants as a means of proving the alleged underlying facts.
Lawyers who worked with Barbara Lynn at the law firm say she was super-competitive.
President Clinton nominated Barbara Lynn to the federal bench in 1999 to replace U.S. District Judge Barefoot Sanders, who had taken senior status.
In the past 14 years, the Dallas Bar Association has consistently rated Judge Lynn as one of the fairest and most knowledgeable judges in North Texas.
Legal experts point to a 2011 opinion she delivered in a potential securities class action lawsuit brought against Halliburton as clear evidence of Judge Lynn's brilliance and influence.
In her decision, Judge Lynn ruled that Fifth Circuit precedent required that she decide for Halliburton, but she made it clear that she didn't like it and believed that the Fifth Circuit made it too difficult for plaintiffs in these kind of cases to achieve class action status.
"This was a great opinion because Judge Lynn followed the law as set by the Fifth Circuit, but she also noted how she thought that precedent was wrong or at least too burdensome on plaintiffs," says Nina Cortell, an appellate law expert at Haynes and Boone in Dallas.
Two years later, the U.S. Supreme Court reversed the Halliburton case, citing Judge Lynn's opinion as its guide in ruling for the plaintiffs and striking down the more burdensome Fifth Circuit precedent.
"The Halliburton case demonstrates that Judge Lynn is certainly brilliant and that she follows precedent, even if she disagrees with it, but that she also possesses great common sense and is able to convincingly share that common sense with her colleagues on higher courts," says Cortell.
Any lawyer who has a case before Judge Lynn needs to know her biggest complaint against lawyers: misspellings and grammatical errors fill two-thirds of the motions and briefs that come to her.
"I've seen lawyers get their own client's name wrong and some have even misspelled my name," she says. "If I'm the judge in your case, know that you need to proofread your briefs and know that not only do these mistakes upset me, they cause me to not trust you on other things.
"Lawyers tell me that these mistakes should not perturb me, but that doesn't change the fact that they do," she says.
After three years at Akin Gump, Mike Lynn was growing frustrated that he wasn't able to try more cases in court. His mentor, Akin Gump partner Jack Hauer, advised him to leave the firm to join the Dallas County District Attorneys Office, where he would get more trial experience.
Finally, one of Wade's assistants, Doug Mulder, "took pity" on Lynn and hired him to prosecute cases.
"Doug took me in to see Mr. Wade, who told me that if I fell below the average conviction rate for two months that he would send me back to Jack as a loser," says Mike Lynn.
The experience was invaluable, as Mike Lynn tried more than 50 cases to a verdict. He has now led 98 jury trials to a verdict – nearly all of them civil cases since he left the prosecutor's office - and he expects later this year to surpass 100 jury trials, which is nearly unheard of today because so few civil cases go to trial.
Mike Lynn returned to Akin Gump, where he was elected partner in 1982. Barbara Lynn made partner at Carrington Coleman the very next year.
A few years later, the couple started a family. They have two daughters.
"Mike was so committed to saving enough money for our daughters to be able to go to Harvard that he refused to trade in his old silver Toyota Celica with a very leaky sunroof," says Judge Lynn.
In 1993, Mike Lynn did the unthinkable at the time. He quit the security and comfort of Akin Gump, a high-powered and extremely influential national law firm founded in Dallas, to start his own small litigation-focused law firm.
The firm, now called Lynn Tillotson Pinker & Cox, has two-dozen lawyers and a strategic plan to grow to about 50 lawyers over the next few years. With an hourly billing rate of $725 an hour, Lynn and his partners say they provide clients with the quality of representation offered by large full service law firms, only $150 an hour less.
Lawyers who work with Lynn say that his interviewing skills for potential new hires are unconventional.
"Mike took me to lunch and I was expecting him to flatter me with all kinds of praise and tell me how great his law firm was," says Jeremy Fielding, who was an associate in the real estate law section at Baker Botts when he interviewed with Lynn.
Mike Lynn has certainly experienced some extraordinary litigation successes. He represented Alcatel in 2000 in a high-dollar trade secret dispute with Samsung, which Lynn says settled "very favorably" for Alcatel. While the terms of the agreement are confidential, lawyers familiar with it say it is the largest corporate trade secret settlement agreement ever reached in a Dallas County court case.
Visa International hired Lynn in 1998 to defend the company against charges made by Dallas-based Zixit Corp., an Internet credit card processing company, that a Visa executive had anonymously posted 437 critical messages on Yahoo's investment website. Zixit sought $800 million in actual damages and $1 billion in punitive damages. Lynn employed the "so what" defense.
Lynn is currently representing Chilean-based Inppamet in a $60 million international business dispute against RSR Corporation, a Dallas-based lead smelter. The case became newsworthy when Lynn accused his opposing counsel, Bickel & Brewer, of improperly hiring a former executive of Inppamet in an effort to gain insider, privileged information. The Dallas Court of Appeals has upheld Lynn's request to disqualify Bickel & Brewer from the case, which is now on appeal to the Texas Supreme Court.
"Mike is fierce and unpredictable," says Jeff Tillotson, his long-time law partner. "Mike loves to find the weakness in the other side's case and then exploit that weakness completely.
Tillotson, Fielding and others say that Mike Lynn is constantly throwing out new ideas about strategies in a case.
"Mike will come up with 100 new ideas – 80 of them are okay but just won't work, 15 of them are so crazy and unworkable that even he knows they are nuts, but the remaining five are pure gold that truly help us win the case," says Fielding.
"There's a lot of energy and a lot of wild swinging of the sword, but you know he's going to land some strikes that are deadly and win the case," he says.
Mike Lynn's biggest courtroom victory came two months ago when he convinced a Dallas jury to rule that Houston-based Enterprise Products had violated its partnership with ETP in order to do a more profitable deal with a competitor.
"This was a huge win for Mike and his firm and instantly elevates his reputation among corporate general counsel as one of the leading go-to trial lawyers for high-stakes business litigation in Texas," says Stroh.
Lawyers who have tried cases with and against Mike Lynn say his approach is unorthodox and that he can come across as abrasive or overly confrontational in court.


It's the little things like swapping out salt for Engage Organics salt-free herbs and spices in your diet that make you instantly healtheir.
Don't wait until high blood pressure strikes to limit your sodium intake to 1500 mg/day, which is less thant 3/4 tsp per day.
Obviously, 3/4 teaspoon doesn't sound like much salt, but the havoc it wrecks on your blood pressure is great. Unfortunately, most Americans consumer twice the recommended allowance of sodium, which comes primarily from pre-packaged foods and eating out in restaurants.
Remember, it is almost IMPOSSIBLE to control your sodium levels if you do not prepare foods at home. Salt is cheap and makes things taste good. Restaurants and food manufacturers are notorious for shaking salt into everything for better flavor and cost control.
So try these swaps to jump-start your regime for a healthier you.
Swap Refined Grains for Whole Grains: White bread and sugary sweets are as lethal for your arteries as butter. Swap them out for whole grains like brown rice, quinoa, bulgur, oatmeal, millet, wild rice and other whole grains where the fiber and B vitamins and minerals are still intact.
Swap Butter for Olive Oil: Choose unsaturated fat ( olive oil or canola oil) over butter or margarine. Olive oil has only 2 grams of saturated fat in a tablespoon versus 7 grams for butter. Olive oil is tasty and heart healthy. You won't miss butter.
Swap Full-fat Dairy for Low-fat Dairy: Choosing the lower fat dairy versions allows you to get the calcium benefits of dairy, but without the saturated fat that boosts the risk of heart disease. You won't be able to tell the difference in taste, but your arteries will benefit from the difference.
Swap out Beef for the Omegas 3's in Fish: Instead of always opting for steak, swap for a piece of salmon once in awhile. You will save about 8 grams of saturated fat with this swap and get the health benefits of omega 3's in the trade. Salmon seasoned with garlic gives an added health boost. Try Engage Organics Garlicsaltless for out of this world flavor next time you grill salmon.


Dan Freshest album ever. I went in a kid, and came out a squid. Favorite track: Stay Fresh!.
Thundr-Knight i love this , every track is a marvel to the game. Favorite track: Kid Now, Squid Now!.
DJ Ninten I love this album soo much, I love it to hell, especially the more melodical focused songs! Favorite track: The End!.
SPLATUNES is a celebration of Nintendo's new video game SPLATOON! The GameChops "Squid Squad" came together to create this mixtape of remixes and re-imaginations of some of our favorite tracks off of the Splatoon soundtrack. Want the album for free? Just enter $0!
All songs clear for streaming on Twitch, just give credit to GameChops or show the title on-screen. Tracks 7 and 9 may get claimed on YouTube by Nintendo.
Follow the GameChops artists! Social media links for each artist is available by clicking on their track.


Art of the Endangered, captures the plight of some of the animals that are in need of help, in the wild.
American Artist Jonathan Martinez is a Contemporary Wildlife Artist and is trying to raise awareness of the problems with nature and the animal kingdom through his art. He is a very versatile artist, using a variety of mediums to convey his message, from painting and spray painting to drawing. he makes the expressions really come though his art, making these animals even more precious.
Panda Turned to the Dark Side.
Horned Owl on Barrel Head.


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I am urgently seeking a Father Christmas suite that i wish to Purchase not Hire !
Needs to please have the Jacket (3XL/4XL), Hood, Pants (48/50), Boots (13), and the Beard / Wig.
If you have one / know of anyone please forward the details to me.
Please remove your contact details from your post, it is not allowed.


text:
Feeding the poor in Ramadan
Sher Ali is a labourer, he lives in Sheen Kamar (Chimkani), Barra, Khyper Pakhtunkhwa.
The weather conditions in this region are so extreme and intense that it's almost impossible to have a continuous source of income as a daily labourer.
"We don't have enough opportunities to work which increases poverty and unemployment. It gets really difficult to find jobs but this is all I can do." He also said that some people in their community used to help his family with their charities by giving Zakat.
According to Sher Ali, providing adequate amount of food and water and taking care of basic health needs of his family is nearly impossible. This is because not only his job is inconsistent but also there are not many health care centres in their locality.
Sher Ali said, "We barely manage to take care of things when I get paid, but my poor financial conditions do not allow me to save anything for perilous times." Whenever a hard time came, the family's health is the first thing to get affected due to a lack of food.
Throughout the year we keep worshipping Almighty Allah but whenever the month of Ramadan arrives, we can all feel a sense of attachment with our Lord. We try to be as obedient as possible and make sure nobody gets hurt with our actions. People try to look after each other and many of our community members help us financially as well as emotionally. This is why Ramadan has great importance in our lives.
Ramadan is not just the month of fasting, but also the month of inspiration and worship that upgrades us. Everyone likes to offer more prayers and perform different religious activities, but Sher Ali, does nto have much of a choice. "The weather is so hot, we are unable to find work in such conditions. Therefore all I do in such conditions is stay at home or go to mosque and offer my prayers. It is very seldom that a job may come."
Since the family does not have enough resources, Sher Ali is unable to provide balanced and nutritious diet to his children. He said, "We eat bread whenever possible with potatoes or with chutney. Sometimes we have to survive on tea or take bread with water alone."
Islamic Relief Pakistan lends a helping hand to those who are unable to celebrate the joys of Ramadan by sharing sufficient food supplies to last them the entire month.
Sher Ali is a recipient of the Ramadan food package, consisting of 40kg of food, including items such as dates, oil, rice, pulses and wheat.
He was overcome with joy upon receiving the food package, he said:
With the food packs provided by Islamic Relief, we have at least one less thing to worry about.
He went on to say, "I am extremely grateful to Islamic Relief Pakistan for the support that they have provided us with. I hope that this will not be the last time they help out people in need and will continue to do the good work in the future as well."
Economic Empowerment of Youth
A Dream Coming True
Earthquake Response in Mirpur, AJ&K
Returnees in newly merged districts of KP
Balochistan Drought


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Energy analysts question why 'emergency' powerships will stay until 2042
A project to quickly ease South Africa's electricity supply constraints by using floating powerships has come under fire by energy analysts, who have questioned why agreements will lock SA into using the ships until 2042.
Earlier this month Minister of Energy Gwede Mantashe announced the names of the eight preferred bidders for SA's "Risk Mitigation IPP Procurement Programme" – an initiative to fast-track new power production to cut down on load shedding and save on diesel costs.
The bulk of the 1 845 MW in new energy capacity will be provided by Karpowership, a subsidiary of Turkey's Karadeniz Energy Group.
Karpowership operates the world's largest fleet of "fully self-contained floating power stations", which can quickly be sailed to new ports and connected to a country's grid.
"Powerships will contribute to the avoidance of load shedding during peak periods and when unplanned breakdowns occur at other power plants in the system," it said in a statement.
But three energy analysts told Fin24 that the length of the power purchase agreement that SA was entering into with the powerships was too long.
"No-one has ever signed a 20-year contract for powerships. They offer a short-term emergency power option when there are no alternatives," said UCT Professor Anton Eberhard, who also chaired the Eskom Sustainability Task Team. "There is no room for negotiation of its terms now otherwise losing bidders will mount a legal challenge arguing the process was not fair for all participants."
The Department of Energy justified the length of the contracts by saying they were necessary to keep costs down, given that new infrastructure would have to be built.
"It must be understood here that the need for long-term tenure is to ensure lower unit cost by amortising [gradually writing off the initial cost of an asset] the capital cost over a period of time," the department told Fin24. "This is the same basis applied to ensure lower unit cost from (the) renewable energy independent power producer programme. The department said the process was, "… open for anyone to bid their best projects.
"The outcome is therefore based on best projects out of the 28 bids received by the Department."
FLOATING POWER STATIONS
The powerships will be moored at the ports of Coega, Richards Bay, and Saldanha Bay, where they will provide a combined total of up to 1 220 MW of ship-to-shore electricity made using liquified natural gas, likely sourced from Mozambican gas fields.
The other preferred bidders are offering a mix of solar, wind, and gas power, as well as battery storage. The government says it will start connecting this new power to the grid by August of 2022.
Speaking to Fin24 on Thursday, Hilton Trollip, research fellow in the Global Risk Governance Programme at the University of Cape Town, said that if the ships had been leased for, say three, years, they would provide "good value".
Under this scenario, the ships would be able to help fill SA's energy gap – the difference between what SA's ageing fleet of coal power stations produce and demand – while new permanent power plants were constructed. Power produced by the ships would, initially, also help reduce load shedding, which continues to severely impact SA's economy.
Energy would likely be sufficient to allow SA to spend less on expensive and dirty diesel, which is currently used extensively at peaking power plants to cut down on load shedding.
SA could, during these three years, build wind and power energy and onshore gas plants, argued Trollip.
"If you want to build a gas turbine onshore, you can have it working in two years from the date you signed the contract. "At that time we would say thanks very much Karpower".
But the agreement locks SA in to using the ships for 20 years – far longer than they would be needed under an "emergency" or "stopgap" scenario.
For Trollip this raises the question – why not just lease the ship for three years, and – during that time – build SA's own on-shore closed cycle gas turbines?
Professor Sampson Mamphweli, director of Stellenbosch University's Centre for Renewable and Sustainable Energy Studies, also questioned the length of the contracts.
"The ships were not supposed to be given a PPA [power purchase agreement] that goes beyond five years because they will be producing expensive electricity, and that price is for emergency procurement, which is supposed to be a short-term price," he said.
Costing the ships
According to an estimate prepared by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, the powerships would cost SA between R160 billion and R218 billion over their 20-year lifespan.
At the media briefing earlier in the month, Mantashe did not give an estimate of what the power ships would cost in total, beyond sharing their evaluation price, which has a weighted average of around R1 536 per megawatt hour.
Mantashe said the eight preferred bidders are required to reach financial close by no later than the end of July 2021.
"All South Africans can hope for now is that the Powerships will not be able to achieve all the necessary environmental consents and port approvals by the target financial close date in July, in which case the DMRE could cancel the tender award," said Eberhard.
Three draft environmental impact assessments for the three ports, published at the end of February, have proposed that the powership projects should be given the go ahead.
Once all feedback from the public has been included, the reports will be submitted to the Department of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries (DEFF), who will then have to make a decision to either grant or refuse environmental authorisation for the ships.
In addition to the key environmental authorisation, the projects will need to receive an atmospheric emissions license – also from the DEFF, as well as a water use license from the Department of Human Settlements.
This article was first published on Engineering News


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Discursive Essay
Argumentative Essay: Video Games
Take a look at today's generation. A student comes home from school at around three or four o'clock in the afternoon, sets his bag aside, debates whether he should take a shower, definitely eats his lunch, and begins his after school program: playing video games, playing video games, and playing more video games. Video games, unfortunately, have become an imperative part of the average teenager's life. Whether it's hours, day, or maybe even weeks, teenagers spend an excessive amount of time slaying monsters, killing zombies, or just shooting at each other's avatars for all time's sake. They lose track of time, deprive themselves of sleep, miss out on their homework, and deteriorate their health, all for the sake of the phenomenal world of 'Call of Duty' and fellow video games. A vast majority of the global population believes that playing video games can positively influence the lives of those who favor them, while others strongly disagree. Although playing video games may help stimulate and relax the brain, it is still considered detrimental because of the tendency to reward violence and create the ultimate aggressive player.
To begin with, playing video games often leads gamers to accept what is conventionally and ethically dismissed. Violent video games offer a profoundly aggressive and bloody atmosphere. They are simply based on the notion that killing others is a reward. Furthermore, they teach the players how to disrespect life by picking up a gun and shooting at people, and thus integrating into their lives the fact that violence is a social norm everybody praises. Moreover, certain games, such as GTA, school players about how crucial it is to disrespect authority by simply adding points for those who manage to escape the cops, or even shoot some. Such games brainwash teenagers to think that authority figures are the bad guys, when in the truth they're not. Thus, they no longer feel a sense of reverence for law enforces, or the law itself for that matter. David Greenfield, a professor of psychiatry at the University of Connecticut and founder of the Center for Internet and Technology Addiction argues that: "It (violent video games) conveys two things -- a lack of respect for human life and a desensitization to violent acts," "And it teaches them the skill set to enact the violent act with increased precision. And we call that entertainment.
Apart from the ethics, overexposure to violent video leads to the development of bad conflict resolution skills. Playing these games allows players to express their feelings, whether anger, pain, or pleasure, through hostility and aggression. Gamers only grow familiar to the violent approach of sorting out problems and lose the art of communication. Thus, they resort to physical abuse to show their friends or siblings that they are bothered or irked by them. Brad Bushman, a psychologist at Ohio State University, was co-author of a study that examined 380 studies on video games; he stated, "The results show that playing violent video games increases angry thoughts, aggressive behavior, and decreases helping behavior, empathy and compassion for others." In another study, 161 college students were randomly assigned to play one of several violent games, neutral games, or pro-social games (in which helpful behavior was required). After playing, the students completed a task in which they could either help or hurt another student. Those who had played the violent games were more hurtful to other students, whereas those who had played the pro-social games were more helpful.
It is claimed that video games are mental stimulators that help sharpen the mind and relieve it of anxiety and stress. This is an absolute truth; however, playing video games has also proven to reduce certain cognitive brain functions. Certain studies have focused on how specific brain regions of players of violent games respond under varying circumstances. For instance, Rene Weber and his colleagues asked 13 experienced gamers to play a violent game while undergoing FMRI brain scan (functional magnetic resonance imaging). By imaging players' brain activity before, during and after each violent encounter, the investigators found that immediately before firing a weapon, players displayed greater activity in the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex. This area involves cognitive control and planning, among other functions. While firing a weapon and shortly afterward, players showed less activity in the rostral anterior cingulate cortex (RACC) and amygdala. Because interaction between those brain areas is associated with resolving emotional conflict, their decreased functioning could indicate a suppression of the emotional response to witnessing the results of taking violent actions. Thus, the greater the experience with violent media, the lower was the activation of brain areas for thinking, learning, reasoning and emotional control.
In conclusion, video games have become an indispensable part of this modern technological era, yet they persist to be deleterious to whoever latches onto them. Unfortunately adolescents do not perceive that they have been caught up in a current of false entertainment, and it might just be too late to get out ... or is it?
The Merchant of Venice: Critical Analysis of Shylock's Character; Shylock A Nation in A Man
Romantic Poetry
Ozymandias by Percy Shelley: A Critical Note on the Predetermined Structure of the Poem
Edgar Allan Poe Poetry
Shakespeare Today
Neoclassical Poetry
A Song for St. Cecilia's Day by John Dryden: Analysis & Background
Metaphysical Poetry
John Donne's Wit & Myth of Poetry
Victorian Poetry
Marianna & The Last Duchess: The Feminine Presence
Renaissance Poetry
The Faerie Queene: A Critical Note on the Structure & Allegory
Prepositional Phrases
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Gustavo Adolfo Chacín (; born December 4, 1980) is a Venezuelan former professional baseball pitcher.

Career

Toronto Blue Jays
In 2004, Chacín led all minor leaguers with 18 wins, and was the 24th pitcher used by the Blue Jays, tying the team record set in the 2002 season. Chacín was the first left-handed starter to win his major league debut against the New York Yankees in the Joe Torre era (1996–2007).

Chacín began with the "AA" Eastern League New Hampshire Fisher Cats. He was 16–2 with 109 strikeouts and a 2.86 ERA in  innings, having earned his promotion to the "AAA" International League Syracuse Chiefs after a 34-innings scoreless streak. With the Chiefs, Chacín posted a 2–0 record with 14 strikeouts and a 2.31 ERA in  innings. Then, he was promoted to the Blue Jays and made his debut on September 20, 2004, at Yankee Stadium. Chacín allowed two earned runs on three hits over seven innings for the win, as Toronto beat the Yankees 6–3. In his second start, Chacín held the Baltimore Orioles to four hits and a run in seven innings, but took the loss. At the end of the season, he had compiled a 1–1 record with six strikeouts and a 2.57 ERA in 14 innings

At spring training in 2005, Chacín landed a spot in the Jays' starting rotation. He jumped out to a hot start in the American League, earning a record of 4–1 with 18 strikeouts and a 2.41 ERA over 32.2 innings through the month of April, and was selected the American League Rookie of the Month. In July, Chacín  won five of his six starts, being named Rookie of the Month for the second time in the season. Chacín pitched and won the final game of the season for the Blue Jays against the Kansas City Royals with a solid pitching line of 7.2 innings, 7 hits allowed, 1 run, 1 walk, 3 strikeouts in the 7–2 Blue Jay win. Chacín finished the season with a record of 13–9 and 3.72 ERA in 34 starts. He collected 121 strikeouts in 203 innings. He finished fifth in Rookie of the Year voting, netting two first place votes and fourteen total points, and was named to the Topps All-Star Rookie Team along with fellow Blue Jay Russ Adams.

Chacín finished his 2006 season 9–4 with a 5.05 ERA. He opened the 2007 season with Toronto, but was sent down to the minors by the end of April.

In 2008, Chacín spent the entire season with Toronto's Single-A affiliate Dunedin Blue Jays. He finished the 2008 campaign at Dunedin with a 1-7 won-loss record, and a 7.88 ERA, and was granted free agency by the Blue Jays at the conclusion of the season.

Washington Nationals & Philadelphia Phillies

Chacin signed a minor league contract with the Washington Nationals on December 23, 2008, but was released by that club at the conclusion of spring training.  Only a few days later, Chacin signed a minor league contract with the Philadelphia Phillies.  He split the 2009 season between the Lehigh Valley IronPigs, the Phillies' Triple-A affiliate, and their double-A affiliate in Reading, Pennsylvania, compiling a 9–5 record overall.

Houston Astros
Chacin was signed to a minor league contract by the Houston Astros on December 14, 2009. He also received an invitation to spring training.

On May 3, 2010, the Astros purchased the contract of Chacin from their Class AAA affiliate Round Rock Express of the Pacific Coast League.  Previously, Chacin had been exclusively a starter in the majors; with Houston, he was used exclusively as a relief pitcher.

Chacín had his first major league hit in a game against the Washington Nationals on the May 31, 2010, a solo home run off Nationals starter Luis Atilano. It was his first major league plate appearance in almost five years.

Chacin made 44 appearances for the Astros in 2010, all in relief.  He went 2-2, with one save, and an ERA of 4.70.  He did not make the 2011 club, however, and was sent down to the Triple-A Oklahoma City RedHawks.  After going 3–6 with a 5.13 ERA, he was released by the Astros organization on July 14, 2011.

New York Mets
He signed a minor league contract with the New York Mets on July 16, 2011. The Mets assigned him to the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons. He went 0–1 with the Bisons, compiling a 12.00 ERA in 15 innings of work, and was granted free agency after the season ended.

Personal life
Chacín cannot grow hair because of alopecia areata.

Gustavo Chacín and MLB pitcher Jhoulys Chacín are second cousins (once removed).

A joke on Toronto sports radio station Fan 590 that the name Chacín sounds like it should be the name of a cologne led the Blue Jays to do a "Chacín Cologne Night" on June 27, 2006.

Chacín was arrested on March 16, 2007, for driving under the influence in Tampa, Florida. He was stopped by Tampa Police at 3:43 a.m. ET and booked on the misdemeanor charge. Police reports indicated that Chacín's blood alcohol level measured .150, above the legal limit of .08. The pitcher was released on a $500 bond.

See also
 List of Major League Baseball players from Venezuela

References

External links
, or Retrosheet, or Baseball America, or MILB.com

1980 births
Living people
Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players
Cardenales de Lara players
Diablos Rojos del México players
Dunedin Blue Jays players
Houston Astros players
Lehigh Valley IronPigs players
Leones del Caracas players
Long Island Ducks players
Major League Baseball pitchers
Major League Baseball players from Venezuela
Medicine Hat Blue Jays players
Mexican League baseball pitchers
Navegantes del Magallanes players
New Hampshire Fisher Cats players
New Haven Ravens players
Oklahoma City RedHawks players
Sportspeople from Maracaibo
Reading Phillies players
Rockland Boulders players
Round Rock Express players
Syracuse Chiefs players
Syracuse SkyChiefs players
Tennessee Smokies players
Tiburones de La Guaira players
Toronto Blue Jays players
Vaqueros Laguna players
Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in Canada
Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in Mexico
Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in the United States
World Baseball Classic players of Venezuela
2006 World Baseball Classic players

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Medical etc) who work on contract basis with some large Corporations. The objective of each one of them is to minimize the tax implication and maximize their take home dollars. They that they can achieve this objective by incorporating a business and bill their clients/hirer. If you are one amongst such individual then you are wrong as Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) has started to focus on such businesses which are called as Personal Service Business's (PSB's) to ensure their legitimacy.
The decision of whether you are a PSB or a legitimate small business depends on a case to case basis. The CRA has initiated an effort to send out letter to such individuals to seek the explanation of the nature of their business, sources of revenue, number of employees etc. Based on the response from the individual the CRA will initiate further action.
The major drawback of PSB is that it is not be eligible to claim the small business deduction(SBD) -which is a preferred low corporate tax rate (around 15%) available to Canadian Controlled Private Corporation (CCPC) up to a taxable income of $500,000. Consequently, in case of PSB's the business income is taxed at a higher tax rate around 40% since they are not eligible for SBD.
In case of PSB's the business expenses deductions are restricted to a significant extent. You may not be able to claim a deduction for many expenses such as automobile, cell phone, telephone, home office, meals, etc. Expense deduction is largely limited to Salary and employment benefits.
Limited room for tax planning and tax splitting for PSB's.
A Canadian Controlled Private Corporation (CCPC) is taxed at a lower rate of 15% as compared to an individual who is taxed at a tiered rate which increases as his income increases.
An individual is taxed on the income received by him during a year. So by incorporating, a taxpayer can plan to withdraw funds only so much as he/she needs and leave the rest in the Corporation. This tax deferral is not available to individuals.
A tax payer can plan to split his/her income from the Corporation by taking a combination of Salary and Dividends. Also the taxpayer can split the income with his/her family members to reduce the overall tax impact.
Conclusion: If your business is a genuine "active" business with more than few clients, or do you have more than 5 full time employees and if you are a CCPC then it is better to incorporate a business to carry on the business. If you do not meet the eligibility for SBD either because you are not a CCPC or because you are a PSB then it is not worth incorporating. The following decision flow chart will explain the situation better. So in summary the decision to incorporate your business or not depends on a case to case basis and you need to consult a professional to make a sound decision.
Disclaimer: The above information is the personal view of the author and should not be considered as a professional opinion for the reader's tax questions or tax issues. The author or Fareed Sheik LLP is not responsible for any consequences to the reader who acts based solely on the contents of this blog. The readers are required to consult a tax professional before making any decisions.


The people of Bangladesh in general and the recruiting agents in particular have a genuine but common feeling for expressing gratitude to the Governments of the great petro-dollar countries in the Middle East and..
I warmly remember our humble beginning. It was in the year 1998 when we starting our modest serving into this business, without knowing what it could be turn. However, Alhamdulillah, it has been over fifteen years since, and in this time, we have come a long way to become a probable one of the most prominent Group of Companies and today, we have over 10 companies in the Group.
Since 2008, JIHAN has seen a figure of new doors open up to further possibilities in the commercial world. With each passing year, JIHAN Group strives to go from strength to strength, achieving new milestones on the way, with the blessings of the Almighty, move into the future years with renewed strength, energy, dedication and passion.
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