As the chart below illustrates, as a share of GDP in particular, a number of countries significantly out-invested the United States in new medium- and long-term export credit assistance in 2014. In fact, as a share of its economy, China invested eight times as much in export credit assistance than the United States did in 2014, while Germany invested six times as much, and France and Italy almost five times as much. In fact, of 10 nations assessed for their 2014 export credit volumes, the United States ranked ninth in export credit intensity.
Moreover, as the second chart below shows, in 2014, China invested $58 billion in new medium- and long-term export credit, almost five times more than the $12.1 billion the United States invested. And the gap is even more yawning in absolute terms over the past four years, as from 2011 to 2014, China invested twice as much in export credit assistance than the United States did: $162 billion to the United States' $79 billion. And while Germany invested roughly the same amount over this period ($75 billion), as a share of its economy Germany invested 4.5 times as much.
What's more, most countries provide export credit assistance under international rules established through the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) to ensure that companies compete on free-market factors such as price and quality rather than on aggressive government financing. But the 2014 Report to the U.S. Congress on Export Credit Competition shows that unregulated export credit competition continues to significantly expand. In fact, whereas 100 percent of trade-related official support fell under the aegis of the OECD's 1999 Arrangement governing fair use of export credit, today that share has been reduced to only 34 percent. The vast majority of this growth in unregulated volumes has come from Asian export credit agencies (ECAs). In fact, in 2014, 83 percent of total global unregulated trade-related official support was issued by Asian ECAs, and from 2013 to 2014, the volume of unregulated trade-related official support from governments in China, Japan, and Korea increased over 20 percent from $117 billion to $151 billion.
In short, as ITIF has written on a number of occasions, including most recently in its report The Export-Import Bank's Vital Role in Supporting U.S. Traded Sector Competitiveness, the latest data convincingly show that export credit competition is not going away—it is, in fact increasing. This demonstrates the folly of those who would advocate that the United States unilaterally end the provision of export credit assistance. For not only does the Bank play a key role by stepping in to provide financing or insurance for export transactions that might not otherwise occur, it also plays an instrumental role in leveling the playing field for U.S. exporters by matching the credit support that other nations provide, ensuring that U.S. exporters are able to compete based upon the price and performance features of their products. Yet, unfortunately, as Ex-Im Bank President Fred Hochberg noted last week, American companies—including many small businesses—are already losing out on sales due to the growing uncertainty among overseas buyers that the Bank may not be there to back their purchases with insurance and capital financing.
Those in Congress who profess to be concerned by the state of the American economy and the ability of its enterprises to compete in global markets need to recognize that the notion that enterprises compete as independent entities in global markets simply does not reflect the reality of modern global economic competition. As Greg Tassey, the Department of Commerce's former Senior Economist, notes, the reality is that, "U.S. manufacturing firms are attempting to compete largely as independent entities against a growing number of national economies in Europe and Asia in which government, industry, and a broad infrastructure (technical, education, economic, and information) are evolving into increasingly effective technology-based ecosystems." The notion that "if America unilateral disarms the Ex-Im Bank, competitor nations will follow" is simply not realistic.
In conclusion, policymakers should be as concerned with America's economic competitiveness as they are with America's military and national security competitiveness. In fact, the first underpins the second. To not reauthorize the Ex-Im Bank would unnecessarily endanger America's global leadership on both counts.


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Tulare hospital's creditors lining up in court
Posted on April 18, 2018 April 18, 2018 by Tony Maldonado
Jilted creditors and vendors are lining up in bankruptcy court for some of the Tulare Local Healthcare District's cash — including Healthcare Conglomerate Associates (HCCA), the district's former management partner.
Those entities also include the City of Tulare, Tulare County, Bank of the Sierra, the district's interim management consulting company, and the district's former legal counsel.
While those claims — mostly for work done before the district filed bankruptcy — total $64,034,836.83, the district's interim management team's most recent public estimates value the total of the district's accounts payable at $33,000,000; $27.4m in pre-bankruptcy debt, and $6m in post-bankruptcy debt.
The large difference is because the validity or amount of some claims are disputed, and others are connected to active, unsettled litigation. Any potential payouts from those litigated claims would be paid from insurance policies, not the district's assets.
The majority of the district's creditors and vendors had until April 10, 2018 to file claims with the United States Bankruptcy Court for potential payment. Others were acknowledged in some of the hospital's initial bankruptcy filings.
"Most vendors had to file a claim," Riley Walter, the district's bankruptcy attorney, said. "We'll compare what the records of the district say is owed to what the claimant says is owed; and, at some point in the far distant future we will have to reconcile that. We will always try to do it by agreement, but if we don't, we'll submit it to the court — and the court will fix the amount that's allowed for the claim."
County, City, Utilities Unpaid
Tulare County officials had filed a suit against the district in September, 2017 for unpaid rent at the Hillman Clinic, a building owned by the county. According to a bankruptcy claim filed by the county, unrelated to the suit, the district also failed to pay for its last three elections.
At the time the suit was filed, the district had been served with a Three-day Notice to Pay or Quit, which claimed that the district had been in arrears since February, 2017 for monthly rent totalling $148,146.10.
Pay Rent or Quit (p. 1)
View entire document on DocumentCloud
Alan Germany, HCCA's Chief Financial Officer, briefly referenced the suit at a September 27, 2017 district board meeting. He skipped over any mention of the election bills.
"There's been cases of homeless people sleeping in the attic out there," Germany said of the clinic at the meeting. "This is going to sound terrible, but it's the truth — there's mice and rats out there."
"I've met with the county and talked about this, and lo and behold — now they're suing the district for back rent, in the amount of $148,000," he said.
The suit was filed by the county the day before his remarks.
According to the county's claim, the district now owes only $111,515.58 in rent at the Hillman Clinic for rent between July and December, 2017.
Documents show Tulare County went unpaid for $132,622.08 in elections expenses, spanning the July 11, 2017 recall election, the November 8, 2016 general election, and the August 30, 2016 Measure I Bond election.
Tulare Claim (p. 2)
The City of Tulare is also seeking repayment in the amount of $84,864.62. $48,949.90 of that is for a loan repayment, according to the city's documentation, and $35,734.72 is for utility payments.
Southern California Edison is also seeking a total of $473,625.65 for past due utility services. The Voice first reported on the electric company's problems with the district in September, after officials with Edison sent a five-day shutoff notice to the district.
Documents submitted by the company show that bills spanning as far back as January 2017 went unpaid.
State Agencies Come Knocking
The City of Tulare and Tulare County aren't the only governmental entities looking for cash.
The California Department of Healthcare Services (DHCS) has filed two claims. One is for $2.3m, another for $2.5m.
Hospital officials state that they've got records proving the amounts have already been paid.
"We were suspicious when we got the notice[s] I think a week ago, and now we're finding the data that shows we don't owe them," Larry Blitz, the hospital's interim CEO said.
One claim from DHCS states that hospital management failed to comply with a required audit in 2017, causing the department's auditors to declare that the entire $2,370,060 the district had been paid in 2013/14 to be an overpayment.
The payment came from the Disproportionate Share Hospital (DSH) program. Under the program, hospitals which serve a large number of low-income patients are eligible to receive payments for treating uninsured patients. Federal regulations require that states audit the hospitals that receive such payments, a declaration attached to the claim states.
"DHCS, Myers & Stauffer, and the District Hospital Leadership Forum reached out to Tulare several times asking for the data and Tulare finally sent a few support files to Myers & Stauffer on June 22, 2017. The data that was submitted was incomplete and insufficient for the DSH audit. We again reached out to Tulare asking for the proper data and there was never a response received," Jillian Mongetta, with DHCS, writes in the declaration.
In a separate claim, DHCS officials seek an additional $2,513,810 for Medi-Cal overpayments.
Problems stemming from unsubmitted, or insufficient, paperwork have been common, Blitz said.
"We're finding things everyday that require our attention, require justification, or require an action by the district to be able to remedy any particular situation that was not cured previously," he said.
Consultants, Familiar Faces Unpaid
Multiple consultants went unpaid as officials with HCCA made attempts to solve the district's cash flow issues and deal with rising debt.
Heather Creager, a consultant specializing in Electronic Medical Record software, filed a claim for $22,425.00 for work done between March and November of 2016.
Creager emailed HCCA officials asking for an update on the past due invoices in August, 2017.
"Is there anything I can do on my end to help press the issue as this is really a significant financial hardship for me. I could provide a formal letter if that helps, but want to be respectful in that I know the organization is working through their financial obligations," Creager wrote.
By that point, HCCA had been given permission to seek up to $79m in loans for tower construction and bond redemption, and an additional $22m in loans for "operating expenses of the Hospital, repayment of debt, payment of ongoing costs of construction of the Tower project, and for other Hospital purposes."
Its ability to do so, however, was being challenged by board members Kevin Northcraft, Mike Jamaica, and Senovia Gutierrez. Gutierrez had won a recall election, been sworn in, and the three voted in an emergency meeting to revoke that authority, but HCCA officials stated that she wasn't officially a board member and the meeting wasn't legal.
Shawn Burgess, HCCA's chief information officer, alluded to the company's efforts to seek out funding in his reply.
"This may sound repetitive with the cash flow constraints…" (p. 4)
"We have been making progress—with finding potential glitches in the Cerner system impacting the $1MM month over month shortfall in cash. On another tangent there is effort underway to leverage some of the capital assets to bring in some cash as well," Burgess, replied on August 31. "Unfortunately, making payroll has been a challenge where money has been borrowed to cover this expense as well. However, we do see progress on remedying the shortfall in the system and with financial arrangements."
HCCA still managed to execute a $3m loan in the district's name, the district later alleged. The money from that loan was received the same day Burgess' email was sent, but the district claims the money immediately went to another company controlled by HCCA's CEO — not vendors like Creager.
At the same time, officials were working with Wipfli/HFS Consultants — the interim management company currently handling the district's day-to-day operations — to find lenders to finish the district's beleaguered tower construction project.
Blitz, a consultant with Wipfli/HFS, stated that he was not involved in the earlier work with the district, and that the company was brought on by the district — not HCCA.
That work included a feasibility study, which Dr. Benny Benzeevi, HCCA's CEO, mentioned publicly at an April, 2017 board meeting.
"The first step in that is to get a feasibility study which will confirm by an outside entity that the projections we have for the hospital's ability to pay back that loan are accurate," Benzeevi said at the meeting, "and that is what is happening at present."
Wipfli Invoice (p. 6)
That study was never fully paid for, Wipfli's bankruptcy claim suggests. The company is requesting repayment for $93,256.73 of debt generated before the hospital's bankruptcy claim, and $15,425.84 in debt generated afterwards.
HCCA has also claims for repayment.
One claim is for $5,908,213.62. That amount is for money the company claims was loaned to the Tulare Local Healthcare District and is secured by a number of attached promissory notes.
The other is for $10,674,478.18, and according to the filing, is claimed for the company's termination fee, management fees, and "labor costs" that came after the district rejected the HCCA contract.
Banks, Lawyers Unpaid, Too
Bank of the Sierra went largely unpaid for the district's $800,000 line of credit, according to a claim the bank filed. The loan, taken out in October 2016, was sought to repay other past due bills — to Cardinal Health, a pharmaceutical vendor.
Bank of the Sierra Statement (p. 1)
The records show that as of the time the district filed bankruptcy, it still owed Bank of the Sierra $599,624.63 in principal on the loan, along with interest and late fees. In its claim, the bank states that it applied $610,100.28 held in a money market account as collateral towards the unpaid portions of the loan.
That wasn't enough to satisfy the interest, late fees, and legal fees — required since the bank had to make multiple filings in bankruptcy court to apply the collateral towards the unpaid loan — that had accrued on the loan as of March 5. The bank is seeking an additional $19,836.61.
Additionally, the district's former law firm, BakerHostetler, filed a claim for nonpayment in the amount of $498,825.40. According to the records provided to the bankruptcy court, invoices began racking up in March of 2017.
Baker TLHCD (p. 6)
Bruce Greene, the attorney who previously represented Benzeevi, HCCA, and the district, sent Benzeevi a letter in September 2017 stating that the firm would no longer take on new cases for HCCA or for Benzeevi personally, and would move to terminate its relationship with him.
"This letter shall serve as notice that the Baker Hostetler firm has determined that we must
commence termination of our representation of you personally as well as our representation of
HCCA, and all entities affiliated with you and HCCA (collectively, "You and HCCA")," the letter read. "Commencing today, we will no longer undertake any new legal matters for You and HCCA,"
It ended by requesting Benzeevi settle "outstanding accounts with the firm forthwith."
22 thoughts on "Tulare hospital's creditors lining up in court"
(Commenter ID is a unique per-article, per-person commenter identifier. If multiple names have the same Commenter ID, it is likely they are the same person. For more information, click here.)
tularepatriot says:
April 18, 2018 at 8:45 am (Commenter ID: f3c37a4e)
Resolving what is owed will occur in the "far distant future" according to the districts bankruptcy attorney. Is it possible to find further lenders with this uncertain future? Would fresno Community Hospital proposed loan of half million make any difference? Also, I didnt realize that there was overlap between the former and current management (regardless of who actually hired the current management, Bensleezy or " the district"). I thought we were starting with a clean slate. In summary, perhaps the hospital is dead. Now is the time for a community meeting to discuss ways of providing local medical care in the absence of a hospital. I know this concept has been brought up before by other commentators. Perhaps now is the time to take a serious look at Tulare without a hospital. "Thinking outside the box" as others have said.
April 19, 2018 at 12:52 am (Commenter ID: c787881c)
HCCA and Benzeevi as the CEO didn't take care of any bills? For 2 years we had to listen to him blather on about "Saving the Hospital from the Brink of Disaster and Closing'…..he didn't give a darn about this hospital or the people in the community. If he did he would not have let this happen.
He had this hospital set up as his own bank….I think that's a RICO violation.
All the infighting…..no wonder they couldn't keep up on the MEC procedures, and when you're not allowed access how can you do your job properly.
He didn't place the right people in the right positions and even then they had no proper training until after the State came in.
Surely the DA will find something to charge him with. Deceptive practices got our hospital shut down.
April 19, 2018 at 7:12 am (Commenter ID: 61aa2bcd)
Hospital board members probably cannot be sued as a group but perhaps they can be sued individually. It should be something to look into. In my opinion Sherrie Bell signing such a momentous contract with HCCA without even reading it was a profound dereliction of the duties that she took an oath to uphold and should be sued based on all the aftermath that incurred and her blatant participation in the downfall of TRMC. Start with Bell and then go after Kumar, Wilbourn, Gadke and Torrez all individually. Their willful actions aided and abetted Benzeevi's bleeding TRMC dry for his own financial gains.
Enuf says:
April 19, 2018 at 8:24 am (Commenter ID: 6272cbff)
yes they was all grossly derelict in their duties. That is now established as fact.
If Benny had been paying the bills – the hospital would have closed even sooner! oi vay !
And now the new managers are getting paid about the same, but not "individually" being paid.
And they are paying a bunch of staff to "mill around smartly" as they say in the army. Shocking.
April 21, 2018 at 12:51 am (Commenter ID: 3cbc82be)
Finally someone with common sense. It was clearly expressed that if the bond failed, the hospital would close. Nobody believed it. Also the nail in the coffin was when they refused to refinance Evolutions. This board has already tried to take that route even though they refused to even consider it before when we HAD a hospital.
April 19, 2018 at 9:09 am (Commenter ID: bbc25f58)
What did Bell and Torres get from benny for their votes?
Tenant improvements? Cash?…
Investigate it. Too obvious.
April 20, 2018 at 9:37 pm (Commenter ID: 0e3edf95)
Wonder if Linda Wilborn still has her vending machines still in the hospital…… wasn't that a conflict of interest since she was a board member? Just asking
Duppum says:
April 19, 2018 at 12:32 pm (Commenter ID: 02be4575)
It is difficult for me to believe that Kumar, Bell, Torres, Gadke and Welborn didn't benefit financially from the millions that have disappeared. These are not stupid people though their actions would make one wonder. Bell admitted she had not read the contract from Hell when she signed it. That is pretty stupid. All five should be held accountable.
April 19, 2018 at 2:15 pm (Commenter ID: c787881c)
The only good thing about Bell not reading the contract, that is why the judge let us out of the contract in court I believe.
Rosalinda Alvita was the board member who signed with the other 4, she was offered a job at HCCA so after her vote she bailed off the board. Gadke took her place.
Hopefully the DA is doing his job and well see some action taken soon.
April 19, 2018 at 5:00 pm (Commenter ID: 61aa2bcd)
Thanks for reminding me of Alvita, I forgot to include her as well. Wasn't she the board member who was supposed to bring honesty, transparency and vision to the Board? Or something along those lines? Guess that didn't work!
April 20, 2018 at 8:51 am (Commenter ID: bf05f666)
Avitia was a product of the first "district" elections instead of at large and unfortunately, that is the law. This was the beginning of the downward plunge of Tulare District Hospital and our City Council.
Still Wondering says:
April 20, 2018 at 11:33 pm (Commenter ID: 2493ff52)
I still believe the management prior to Benzeevi should also be held accountable for the financial downfall of our hospital. The same Board members looked the other way while Boluki and his team ran the hospital into near bankruptcy and that is how Kumar slid Benzeevi in to manage (or mismanage) the hospital. And let's not forget Alan Germany and his team of accounting staff to share and blame regarding this financial mess. This guy was making 49K with 8K in expenses a month. Seems like if he hasn't filed a claim against the district that there was enough money to pay him every month. His involvement in this horrific mess needs to be brought to light and his staff should have been whistle blowers.
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Mickey says:
April 23, 2018 at 12:20 am (Commenter ID: ce82ec93)
My thought, everything went down when this new board started bad mouthing everything and everyone….. They have what they wanted, right??
They can't even keep the community updated of anything….
This is a circus!! They all need to GO and soon. Kaiser never looked to good!
April 23, 2018 at 9:17 am (Commenter ID: 865f1667)
It takes a lot more time and effort to clean up a mess than make one. It's obvious that HCCA wasn't paying bills and was clearly lying to us. It's easy to show profit when you don't show expenses, or if you don't write off bad debt/accounts receivable that you aren't going to be able to receive. Alan Germany had to know what was going on he was brought in to cover up the corruption. If you want to be updated go to the meetings.
Mickey = Benny pseudonym
He has no other fan base.
April 23, 2018 at 10:58 am (Commenter ID: d9cc9354)
Enuf= what is your "pseudonym"?
You have no fan base either! I am not Benny. I am a lot prettier than he is. 🙂
Although, you made a good point. The new management and HCCA are getting paid about the same. So the new management is charging a whole lot for almost half a year and is hardly doing any work. Sounds like a really good deal to me. It will be a matter of time until all of you will all point fingers at the new board members with some other conspiracy theory. The debt created after the hospital was closed is appalling–6 Millions?
Tony Maldonado says:
April 23, 2018 at 12:09 pm (Commenter ID: e97a5b3e)
Riley Walter noted, and perhaps it should have been clarified in the article, but post-bankruptcy debt does not mean after closing – it is literally after filing bankruptcy.
The board voted to file Chapter 7 on September 30, but the hospital didn't close until October 29. It didn't 'take back' (in a legal sense) control of the district until the contract was officially rejected on November 22.
So the post-bankruptcy debt is a combination of while the hospital was open, while the district was under HCCA's stewardship, and after Wipfli came on board.
April 24, 2018 at 5:40 pm (Commenter ID: 4fb53661)
So Samantha Bland was milking the state by overbilling medi-cal !!
Who'd have thunk !
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


These three chains will hang gracefully especially an open back dress. On a bare back these Sterling Silver chains would look beautiful. The tear drop amythest pendants will swing stylishly and bring attention to the back of your outfit.


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• All as-issued military rifles must be rifles that were commonly issued to U. S. Armed Forces or to foreign military personnel.
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• Commercial or replica versions of as-issued military rifles are not permitted.
• Rebarreling with a barrel of as-issued dimensions is permitted. A replacement barrel must have the same exact contours and cuts as the original as-issued barrel.
• Only government-issue parts or government or commercial parts of the exact same weight and dimensions may be used.
• Sights must be of the same types that were on rifles issued to regular military personnel, except that the internal diameter of rear apertures may be modified. Adjustable apertures, interchangeable inserts and lens inserts of any type are prohibited. Special purpose sights designed for sniping or competition are not permitted.
• Rifles may be accurized only by the careful assembly of standard parts.
• Flash suppressors, cheek pads, recoil pads, or stock extensions are prohibited.
• Stocks must be as-issued stocks or replacement stocks with the same dimensions. Laminated stocks and stocks made of synthetic materials are prohibited. Broken or cracked as-issued stocks may be repaired with the use of epoxies or other chemical adhesives, provided the original as issued stock dimensions are not changed and no epoxy, adhesive or reinforcing material is used in or on any of the bedding surfaces for the rifle action or barrel.
but no tracer, armor piercing or incendiary-type ammunition or projectiles may be used.
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The PI for the Georgia Center is Sarah Tinker, PhD. Dr. Tinker focuses on collecting high-quality data from local study subjects. She works with those involved in the Georgia site to ensure that the study is running smoothly. She also analyzes data with a focus on using unique statistical methods.
I am interested in using unique statistical methods in birth defects research. We need to use all of the tools available to make sure we are conducting the best research possible.
Why do you study birth defects? Why do you think the NBDPS is important?
My mother is a doctor who takes care of infants born with health problems, and she often takes care of babies born with birth defects. Through her experiences, I learned the devastating effect birth defects can have on infants and their families and the importance of preventing birth defects before they happen. In order to prevent birth defects we must know their causes, and I do not think there is any other study with more potential to do that than the NBDPS.
As a mother of two, I know firsthand how hard it can be during pregnancy to figure out what is best for your baby. The NBDPS offers us the opportunity to provide parents-to-be with the information they need to reduce their risk of having a baby with a birth defect, and I find that really rewarding.
If you weren't an NBDPS researcher, what other profession would you have chosen?
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text:
Q: Grunt.Js (+ Yeoman) - Copy bower files when building I used yeoman 1.0 RC1 to generate webapp. However when I build my script none of the dependencies (besides require.js) are copied to the dist/bower_components directory. Here is my generated Gruntfile.js and my bower.json. Am I missing something?

A: When you use Usemin blocks, such as...
<!-- build:js scripts/vendor.js -->
<script src="bower_components/jquery/jquery.js"></script>
<script src="bower_components/package/file.js"></script>
( etc... )
<!-- endbuild -->

...you don't need to copy over bower_components/ to dist/. During the build process, blocks like the one above will be concatenated, minified, and stuffed into a file that matches what's in the opening comment (in the above case, it would be scripts/vendor.js). Additionally, it is prefixed with a unique hash, like scripts/3fa3f7z.vendor.js for cache-busting.
My guess for a solution would be to move your <script></script>s into a Usemin block. You can use as little or as many of them as you'd like.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


For three main reasons. Mikaeus is just so useful outside the combo; two card instead of three; not reliant upon having cards in your library.
February 3, 2019 9:26 a.m.
Mikaeus, the Unhallowed , Viscera Seer and Walking Ballista . It's better than Mike and trike and can be deployed by Protean Hulk with the help of Phyrexian Delver .
I would say the first. Although the necrotic ooze combo works, it's less consistent and necrotic ooze could end up being sacrificed using it.
February 3, 2019 1:59 p.m.
February 3, 2019 2:10 p.m.
February 3, 2019 2:17 p.m.
I like the second one because it can be assembled with fewer pieces. If you have any of the 40 different ways to reanimate creatures, you can set it up with a simple Buried Alive .
February 3, 2019 4:20 p.m.
February 3, 2019 4:46 p.m.
Or get mike and trike off of Protean Hulk (costs 14 life and requires Phyrexian Delver also be in the deck).
February 3, 2019 6:58 p.m.
So far the general consensus seems that the ooze combo is a bit outdated and dragile compared to mike+trike or the protean hulk upgrade.
February 3, 2019 10:49 p.m.
February 4, 2019 12:17 a.m.


text:
Courses CatalogueYour Webster Development2022-10-11T18:32:23+05:30
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Even some labels have even proved timeless.


Conor McGregor is one of the most talented fighters out there. For the past few years, rumors have circulated about the possibility of McGregor making his way to WWE after he is finished with UFC. TMZ Sports caught up with Heyman just a few hours ago and asked him if he'd be open to being the advocate for McGregor if he does make the jump to WWE.
According to Heyman, he would happily work with McGregor at a cost of 50% of the money McGregor would receive by WWE if this proverbial decision was made. He attributes this to being able to talk better than McGregor, and adds that he'd be reasonable in his fee to McGregor should that ever come up.
As it pertains to UFC, McGregor most recently competed at UFC 229 in a losing effort against Khabib Nurmagomedov on October 6. The fight has become infamous due to what transpired after the call had been made to end the fight. It is unknown where McGregor's future takes him, but WWE has expressed interest in signing him in the past, so that door will likely always remain open.
Would you like to see McGregor in WWE? Should Heyman be his advocate? Let us know your thoughts, opinions, and reactions in those comments below.
If any of our quotes are used, please credit Ringside News for the transcription.


text:
Fraudulent Controversial Books
A new page at my site; I need more suggestions for it. They're just not at the top of my head right now.
Part of the propaganda program of libertarianism has been a steady flow of books based on fraudulent claims that take months or years to debunk. Some are directly produced or financed by libertarians, others by academics or conservatives are heavily endorsed by libertarians.
All of these tend to go directly to print without peer review. They all tend to appeal to conservative (including libertarian) gut feelings.
Here's a partial list: see how many you have heard of.
2009 "This Time Is Different: Eight Centuries of Financial Folly" by Carmen Reinhart and Kenneth Rogoff.
Endorsed heavily by Cato and Mercatus, this has been the major academic work backing the claims that austerity is the way out of the great recession. It took 4 years to debunk decisively, when the spreadsheet was finally examined. The important false claim was that when debt exceeded 90% of GNP, growth was sharply reduced.
1998 "More Guns, Less Crime: Understanding Crime and Gun Control Laws" by John Lott.
The polite way to say it was that their statistical conclusions were "not robust": more data or slightly different coding collapse their results.
1994 "The Bell Curve: Intelligence and Class Structure in American Life" by Charles Murray and Richard Herrnstein.
The argument was based on numerous faulty assumptions, statistical monkey business and appeal to racist inclinations. Not peer reviewed before publication. No support for the genetic claims made in this book has ever been found.
1977 "Anarchy, State, and Utopia" by Robert Nozick.
A major libertarian text. Two major frauds, brilliantly concealed: (1) it denies, yet resorts to consequentialism and (2) it completely fails to justify initial acquisition, needed for property rights.
1944 "The Road to Serfdom" by Friedrich von Hayek.
Another fundamental libertarian text. A comically failed prediction of the coming totalitarian socialist state in western nations. Important in the Thatcher and Reagan administrations.
Please suggest more!
What's New...
NEW 4/18/2013: Bibliography on Methodological Individualism [More...]
A critical, extended bibliography. [more...]
NEW 4/18/2013: The Strange Case of Dr Hayek and Mr Hayek [More...]
An excellent overview of Hayek's life and career, giving good weight to his failures and inconsistencies. There is also a long appendix about the socialist calculation debate. [more...]
NEW 4/18/2013: Socialist Calculation Debate
A debate about how a socialist economy would be able to allocate resources between goals without resort to capitalism. The debate tends to ignore the fact that Communist and wartime command economies did very well with centralized planning. Not to mention Walmart. [more...]
NEW 4/17/2013: 12 Rules of Goldbuggery [More...]
"Ignore the risks of being a gold bug at great peril to your portfolio..." [more...]
NEW 4/15/2013: Libertarian And Objectivism Are Both Stolen Terms
Libertarianism has been used by philosophers about free will for 200 years. Libertarian was used by anarchists for roughly 100 years before it was recently co-opted by right-wing American libertarians. Objectivism was used by Gottlob Frege for his philosophical realism decades before Rand's adoption. The Objectivist Poets also used the term before Rand did.[more...]
NEW 4/14/2013: Freedom in the World [More...]
A respectable index of freedom, and a good alternative to libertarian, neoliberal and corporatist indexes. Produced by Freedom House. Based on 10 political rights questions and 15 civil liberties questions. [more...]
NEW 4/14/2013: Free, Free at Last [More...]
"An "Economic Freedom Index" that tells us little about economic growth or political freedom is a slipshod measure that would seem to have no other purpose other than to sell the neoliberal policies that stand in the way of most people gaining control over their economic lives and obtaining genuine economic freedom in today's global economy." [more...]
NEW 4/14/2013: The Questionable Record of Neoliberalism [More...]
"I'll take a brief look at [...] the US & UK, Chile, Hong Kong & Singapore, and Scandinavia. I believe that in none of these instances do we get a clear example of neoliberal policies succeeding economically." [more...]
NEW 4/14/2013: Bitcoin is ludicrous, but it tells us something important about the nature of money [More...]
Bitcoin's inelasticity of supply means it would have the same macroeconomic problems as gold, causing deflation. [more...]
NEW 4/14/2013: Adam Smith Hates Bitcoin [More...]
"[...] people think it's smart, nay cutting-edge, to create a sort of virtual currency whose creation requires wasting real resources in a way Adam Smith considered foolish and outmoded in 1776." [more...]
NEW 4/13/2013: Why should anyone have to read your goofy holy book? [More...]
If you are arguing against a libertarian position, you don't need to have read "collections of rationalizations, inconsistent and incoherent" to take an opposing position. All you need is to identify where the position is wrong. [more...]
NEW 4/13/2013: Criticisms of the Non-Libertarian FAQ
Over 20 years, numerous libertarians have criticized A Non-Libertarian FAQ. Their criticisms are surprisingly lame, with rather obvious errors. [more...]
NEW 4/13/2013: Gish Gallop [More...]
The debating technique of drowning the opponent in such a torrent of half-truths, lies, and straw-man arguments that the opponent cannot possibly answer every falsehood in real time.[more...]
NEW 4/13/2013: The Courtier's Reply [More...]
PZ Meyers' description of how "The Emperor has no clothes!" is defended by sycophants, and why that defense is fallacious. You don't have to be an expert in libertarianism to know it is baseless. [more...]
NEW 4/13/2013: Libertarian Apologetics
Libertarians have standard techniques for defending their absurd ideas that overlap strongly with the techniques employed by religious believers. [more...]
NEW 4/13/2013: Libertarian Experiment in Iceland Fails [More...]
"In fact, economists are already using Iceland as a textbook case of how to ruin a nation's economy. As Paul Krugman recently noted, there is an "almost eerie correlation between conservative praise two or three years ago and economic disaster today." " [more...]
NEW 4/13/2013: Modern Iceland
Iceland's Independence Party made radical reforms inspired by and praised by Milton Friedman. These ended with a spectacular banking crash in 2009. [more...]
NEW 4/13/2013: Polycentric Law
Non-monopolistic, competing law. We actually already have that, with federal, state, and local law plus commonlaw. Some libertarian academics have made careers describing historical examples. Polycentric Law tends to be supplanted by more centralized law. [more...]
NEW 4/12/2013: Is Medieval Iceland an example of "anarcho"-capitalism working in practice? [More...]
An anarchist rebuttal: "Ironically, medieval Iceland is a good example of why "anarcho"-capitalism will not work, degenerating into de facto rule by the rich." [more...]
NEW 4/12/2013: Medieval Iceland
Many libertarians, reading David Friedman's paper on medieval Icelandic institutions, consider them to be an example of how anarcho-capitalism could work. [more...]
NEW 4/12/2013: Free Banking in Scotland [More...]
Supposed examples of free banking turn out to have other agencies acting as lenders of last resort. [more...]
NEW 4/12/2013: Free Banking
The idea of replacing central banks by allowing banks to issue their own currencies, with or without various backings. An idea revived by Friedrich von Hayek, with a literature of supposed historical examples. Free banking has many problems. [more...]
NEW 4/09/2013: There is no such thing as redistribution [More...]
"There is no default distribution. All distributions are the consequence of any number of institutional design choices, none of which are commanded by the fabric of the universe."[more...]
NEW 4/07/2013: The Great Transformation: The Political and Economic Origins of Our Time
Explains the socially constructed nature of "free markets", as opposed to "spontaneous order". A major work of economic history. [more...]
NEW 4/07/2013: Ten Modes of Individualism-- None of Which Works-- And Their Alternatives [More...]
Individualism comes in at least 10 modes, with flaws and merits for each. It is argued that systemism has all the virtues and none of the defects of individualism and holism. [more...]
NEW 4/07/2013: Philosophical Individualism
Individualism is merely one viewpoint in an enormous hierarchy of viewpoints ranging from Planck length to the universe. Individualism as a tenet of a philosophy transforms that philosophy into a Procrustean bed that cannot model the real world well, because the real world is not based on individuals. [more...]
Posted by Mike Huben at 5:22 PM No comments:
It has been a productive month for adding and reorganizing indexes as I look for places to add new articles. The big change is that Libertarian Blind Spots has been moved to the front page after Issues. I don't want the front page to get too enormous, but it does provide fairly speedy access to the most important topics.
NEW 4/07/2013: Bitcoin is no Great Mystery [More...]
"One wonders why any libertarian would get excited about it (as it turns out, most do not!). [...] Bitcoins are just another speculative activity for those producing and buying them. It is just another type of gold buggery -- except even more ridiculous. [more...]
NEW 4/04/2013: Hodgson on the Essence of Old Institutional Economics [More...]
The neoclassical idea of basing economics on the individual utility-maximising agent is mistaken. Individuals and their action can be shaped by social and cultural factors and institutions. [more...]
NEW 4/04/2013: Hodgson on Methodological Individualism [More...]
What is it about complex social relations that invalidates both "methodological individualism" [...] The answer is "emergent properties" [...] [more...]
NEW 4/04/2013: Rochester Professor Wonders Why Rapists Shouldn't Be Allowed to 'Reap the Benefits' of Passed Out Girls [More...]
Steven Landsburg attempts to compare and contrast potential "psychic harms" associated with pornography, environmentalism, and being raped while you are passed out.[more...]
NEW 4/04/2013: In which Steven Landsburg utterly flips out [More...]
Noah Smith assings us to read a Steven Landsburg post and assigns us to "think of four reasons why Landburg's post is utter nonsense." [more...]
NEW 4/04/2013: Just when you thought Libertarians couldn't get any more revolting [More...]
Steven Landsburg asks if it is OK to rape somebody unconscious, as long as nothing tips off the victim. [more...]
NEW 4/04/2013: Steven Landsburg
A self-declared libertarian economist whose obliviousness defies belief. [more...]
NEW 4/03/2013: Capitalism Is Very Productive
With few exceptions, most people agree. But libertarians tend not to see the flip side of the coin that others see: capitalism needs government services and has huge flaws. Capitalism is only one tool, not an ultimate goal. [more...]
NEW 4/02/2013: Predictions That Never Come True
Medicare will cause the end of freedom! We're on the road to serfdom! The market will end discrimination! Regulation will bankrupt business! Libertarians are loaded with predictions and promises that will never come true, and ignore all the historical evidence they won't come true. [more...]
Private Property Is Not The Only Liberty
Many libertarians root all rights and freedoms in self-ownership and other property rights. The few who recognize other rights consider them trumped by even the slightest association with property. Property uber alles! [more...]
What they really care about [More...]
[...] what they really care about is low taxes, unfettered capitalism and private property. (Also too, guns.) The rest is apparently just window dressing so they don't look like mirthless, right wing drudges. [...] they won't grant that half the population even owns their own bodies or is free to control their own procreation. [more...]
Nozick's Natural Rights And Other Gut Feelings
Any time a natural rights author uses the term rights, you might as well substitute the word fairies. [more...]
The Entitlement Theory of Justice
Like most of Nozick's arguments in Anarchy, State and Utopia, the strength of the Entitlement Theory of Justice is illusory. It suffers critically from a lack of foundations and vulnerability to simple counterexamples. [more...]
Huben on Nozick
Robert Nozick's "Anarchy, State and Utopia" can be quickly summarized as a game of hide-the-fallacy. After almost 40 years, it is still easy to identify new fallacies or describe the fallacies more obviously. [more...]
Index of Economic Freedom [More...]
The Heritage Foundation's and Wall Street Journal's annual report: a piece of ideological punditry masquerading as academic research. An international comparison, irrelevant to ordinary people. [more...]
Economic Freedom of the World [More...]
The Cato Institute's and Fraser Institute's annual report that gives a pseudoscientific measure of what the extremely rich and international corporations value. An international comparison, irrelevant to ordinary people. [more...]
Yglesias 2: A Robert Nozick Followup Or; How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Quit Ideal Theory [More...]
[...] I think the reason his remarks on politics were so brief and his argument in favor of his favored position so threadbare is precisely because he didn't think it was possible to draw many interesting policy conclusions from his philosophical position. [more...]
Yglesias 1: Robert Nozick Was A Smart Man -- Too Smart To Embrace The Doctrine Of Anarchy, State, and Utopia [More...]
The fact that these kind of "harcore" views do such a poor job of withstanding scrutiny that the author of their most academically influential defense backed away from them is something people ought to be aware of. [more...]
Brian Barry on Robert Nozick [More...]
Excerpts from Brian Barry's amusing review of Robert Nozick's Anarchy, State, and Utopia, from 1975. (Political Theory August 1975 3: 331-336) Can you say "spurious intellectual respectability"? [more...]
Ludwig von Mises' anti-scientific, axiomatic, a priori methodology for supporting his preferred conservative political economy. Also used by Murray Rothbard. Ignored by academia, promoted by the crank vanity press Ludwig von Mises Institute. [more...]
(The Scholar's Edition) Ludwig von Mises' enormous rant in favor of the pseudoscience of praxeology. A self-study course in convincing yourself you understand economics and all the academic and professional economists are mistaken. [more...]
The Turing Test: Who Can Successfully Explain Robert Nozick? [More...]
Brad DeLong provides a succinct explanation of the major reason why nobody should take Robert Nozick seriously. This is ridicule done right. [more...]
Electronic Frontier Foundation [More...]
Defending consumer rights in the digital world against corporate and industry attempts to profit by lawmaking to limit how we use products. A very dynamic organization as watchdog, muckraker, researcher, sponsor of bills and amicus in legal cases. [more...]
Is "Intellectual Property" a Misnomer? [More...]
"[...] there is room for considerable discussion of the most appropriate ways to subsidize innovation[...] None of the questions about "intellectual property" can be answered yelling "it's my property." [more...]
Intellectual Property Reform
Many others besides libertarians propose reform or abolition of intellectual property. Libertarians oppose it ideologically because it is obviously a government creation, but many others pragmatically question whether it actually advances the useful arts. [more...]
Periodically, libertarians claim many criticisms are not of good quality. While there is no guarantee of quality (nor perfection) for academic publications, they do at least tend to be better documented and better argued. [more...]
Why libertarians apologize for autocracy [More...]
Ludwig von Mises, Friedrich von Hayek, Milton Friedman, the Cato Institute and Hans-Hermann Hoppe all have expressed preferences for autocratic rule instead of democratic rule. [more...]
Dictators And Other Anti-Democratic Authoritarians
A large number of notable libertarians have supported dictators and other anti-democratic authoritarians, primarily because they support big-business over the interests of ordinary people. [more...]
The Libertarian Map of Freedom [More...]
Corey Robin points out a few of the howlers in the Mercatus Center's "Freedom in the 50 States." "Libertarian freedom: no abortion, everyone in jail, and the lights are on all the time. Free at last, free at last." [more...]
Libertarian Indexes Of Freedom
Over the years, many libertarian think-tanks and other Koch-funded organizations have created indexes of freedom that invariably represent the interests of large multinational corporations and the rich while ignoring the interests of ordinary people. This is obviously opposed to democratic ideas of political freedom. The entries in this index are evidence, not criticism. [more...]
Freedom in the 50 States [More...]
Classic pseudoscientific propaganda aimed at freedom of business from the democratic desires of real people. From the Mercatus Center. [more...]
Mises on Mixed Economies and Socialism: He is Incoherent [More...]
"On this subject, Mises was an ignorant and muddle-headed idiot, and it is not surprising that after 1945 he was ignored by serious economists." [more...]
Liberapedia: Libertarianism [More...]
A liberal community's analysis of libertarianism. [more...]
RationalWiki: Libertarianism [More...]
The skeptical community's analysis of libertarianism. [more...]
Mises and Hayek Dehomogenized?: A Note on a Schism in Modern Austrian Economics [More...]
Some fratricidal minutiae of Austrian economics. "Both Misesians and Hayekians live in a fantasy world, with respect to the price system." You can skip the technical parts to appreciate the fanaticism of both sides. [more...]
The Sociology of the Ayn Rand Cult [More...]
Murray Rothbard's scathing description of 1972 Objectivism as a cult. "Thus, power not liberty or reason, was the central thrust of the Randian movement." Excellent reporting. [more...]
Detroit's Libertarian Belle Isle Plan: Basically Gayer Fire Island With Lower Taxes [More...]
"... the endless passages of stilted dialogue about half-baked libertarian theory got boring, all and all, "Belle Isle: Detroit's Game Changer" is the best homoerotic vanity press propaganda novel written by a senior housing developer yr Wonket has ever read." [more...]
Hell Isle [More...]
Rodney Lockwood wants to convert 982-acre Belle Isle park in Detroit into an independent nation, selling citizenships at $300,000 per. [more...]
Libertarian Mugged by Reality [More...]
Alex Beinstein, a U. of Chicago student, gets a job and loses his libertarianism. [more...]
The Classical Gold Standard Era was a Myth [More...]
"In reality, credit money (mostly unbacked by metal) was the predominant form of money through the entire period of the Classical Gold Standard." [more...]
Posted by Mike Huben at 8:22 AM No comments:


The police of Spain searches for the admirer of the rock group Kiss who has drawn on a marble statue of the Saint in cathedral Santiago de Compostela of the 12th century a cat's muzzle, writes the Spanish edition The Local. According to the edition, in the morning on Monday, August 6, pilgrims have arrived to the holy site and have seen the cat's eyes drawn with blue paint, moustaches and a nose on the face of a statue rubbed from time on a facade of cathedral. There was a signature of Kiss prompting below that "make-up" imitated a scenic make-up of the drummer of group of Eric Singer. The police has asked for the help in search of vandals users of Twitter, having placed in a social network a post with the photo of the spoiled statue. Materials on teme02:19 — on May 25, 2006 He памятникКак to offend the hated state by means of a bucket with paint "Santiago cathedral is an object of the World heritage. He belongs to all of us. Besides demonstration of total absence of respect and cynicism, the vandalism is also crime. Help us to find the person or people responsible for it" — it is said in the statement. Criminals are threatened by a penalty at the rate to 150 thousand euros for destruction of national heritage. It is more than important news in Film of Day Telegram-channel. Subscribe!


Geoff Simpson's career has been spent in journalism and public relations. He grew up in south east London after the Second World War with the evidence of that conflict an everyday sight, including bomb damage, air raid shelters, prefabs (a post war answer to the housing shortage) and former civil defence buildings.
From the 1980s his interest in the subject focused on the RAF, especially the Battle of Britain. He remembers vividly the first of the Few that he met, ringing the doorbell of a house in Glasgow, hearing footsteps in the hall and thinking, "I'm about to meet somebody who flew in the Battle of Britain." That was Ron Forward who, in 1940 had been a Sergeant Pilot flying Hurricanes with No 257 Squadron, which Geoff had set out to study. Since then Geoff has met, interviewed and corresponded with several hundred aircrew veterans of the Battle, as well as hundreds of their relatives.
Aviation moments that Geoff has enjoyed include sitting in a Meteor at the Festival of Britain and a Tornado at Lossiemouth, taxiing in the mid upper turret of the Lancaster, Just Jane at the Lincolnshire Aviation Heritage Centre, East Kirkby, taking the controls of a Tiger Moth over Cambridgeshire, trying out a Hawk simulator at Valley and undertaking a charity static line parachute jump from an Islander of the Red Devils over Queen's Parade, Aldershot.


Mitel 330 with RingCentral? Bonus points for a Mitel 3300...?
Has anyone successfully configured any Mitel 330 devices for RingCentral? Bonus points for a Mitel 3300...?
Fax confirmation for faxes sent via email?
Should I expect to get fax confirmations when I send faxes using 5105551212@rcfax.com the same way as when I send them from the desktop app?
Admin: Send Admin notification when removing phone numbers.


GRAMMY® Award-Winning Artist Chris Tomlin has announced the release of a brand new single from his upcoming worship album, Holy Roar, which will be available on October 26. "Is He Worthy?" follows up on the single, "Resurrection Power," and the EP, Nobody Loves Me Like You, which Chris released earlier this year.
"I've been attending a liturgical church for the last several years, and it rings all my word-nerd bells. The language is so beautiful and rich, and every service rehearses the story of salvation, culminating in Communion. One of the things I love about it is that the congregants are a part of the service. There's a lot of interaction, not just in the call and response but in the singing and prayer time as well. The word "liturgy" means "the work of the people," so a liturgical service implies community-not just listening to a pastor (though that happens), but edifying one another by reaffirming what we believe again and again. I wanted to write a song that did the same. Revelation 5 contains one of the most beautiful and dramatic scenes in scripture, and is centered around the question, "Is anyone worthy?" The resounding answer is, "Yes! And his name is Jesus.""
Pre-order Holy Roar today on iTunes and you'll have instant access to download "Nobody Loves Me Like You," "Satisfied," "Goodness, Love, and Mercy," "Impact," "Resurrection Power," and "Is He Worthy?"


text:
Microsoft Edition Galaxy S8 and S8+ versions
Microsoft has announced that it will be offering their own versions of the Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus in its retails stores. These will be cunningly named the Samsung Galaxy S8 Microsoft Edition and S8 Plus Microsoft Edition.
Is this a potent return of Microsoft Mobile with Windows 10 pre-loaded? Not exactly. These new Microsoft Edition Galaxy phones will still be packing Android.
Following on from the announcement of Samsung's latest flagship phones, Microsoft has announced their own version.
Microsoft Edition Galaxy S8
The Microsoft-tweaked phones are available for preorders today at Microsoft's US retail stores, and will include Microsoft's range of apps and services.
The customised S8 will come loaded with Microsoft's apps and services. So, Office, OneDrive, Outlook and Cortana will all be present.
Personally, I am surprised that Microsoft's virtual assistant would be included as the S8 was the big debut of Bixby.
All the magic happens once the special edition Galaxy S8s hit Wi-Fi. Then, all of the custom software is downloaded and installed.
The regular versions of the Galaxy S8 already includes Office apps, the alternate edition tacks on Cortana, Excel, Outlook, OneDrive, One Note, Bing, Groove, Skype, MSN News and more.
Microsoft Edition Galaxy S8 and S8+ availability
Samsung Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ Microsoft Edition are available to pre-order now and for purchase beginning April 21 at U.S. Microsoft Store locations.
It might not offer much extra, but the queues could be shorter 😉
KIOXIA EXCERIA microSD and SD memory cards pack crazy capacity
Huawei P40 Series Lands in UK
Huawei Mate 30 Pro Hands-on Review


text:
WLGA
Taxpayers' campaigners hit out at 40% rise in council gift spending
Welsh councils reveal spending on decanters, jewellery, whiskey and chocolates for Olympians, guests, councillors and workers
Brendan Hughes
07:00, 8 APR 2013
Welsh rower Tom James received a £60 gift from Wrexham council after Olympic success
The amount spent by Welsh local authorities on gifts for guests, councillors and employees has increased by two fifths in a year, new figures reveal.
Councils in Wales spent £15,179.35 during 2011-12 on gifts – a 40% surge on the £10,873.68 spent in the previous period.
Crystal decanters, celtic jewellery, bottles of whiskey and boxes of chocolates were among the gifts purchased over the past three years, totalling more than £44,000.
While the figures may be a drop in the ocean compared to overall council budges, campaigners hit out at Welsh councils over the increase in annual spending on gifts "at a time when spending must be cut".
Local authorities dismissed the concerns, saying most gifts were an exchange between councils and their communities or visitors to the local area.
Eleanor McGrath, campaign manager at the TaxPayers' Alliance, said: "Residents won't begrudge small gifts for those who have provided particularly long service to the council. However, this is huge bill to taxpayers, and one that is rising at a time when spending must be cut.
"If council staff would like to buy guests and colleagues presents then they should bear the cost themselves rather than dipping into the taxpayers' pocket."
The figures were obtained through a series of Freedom of Information requests to each of Wales' local authorities.
Cardiff, Vale of Glamorgan and Gwynedd councils did not respond to the request for information.
Wrexham council spent the most on gifts for guests, councillors and employees between 2009-10 and 2011-12 at a total of £9,664.15.
Among the gifts were a £15.98 bottle of wine and a £19.27 bottle of Jameson Irish whiskey, both bought from Tesco.
Wrexham council spent £40.30 on a framed freedom scroll for Olympic gold medallist Tom James when he was granted Freedom of the County Borough last September.
But it was silver medallist Chris Bartley who received the more expensive gift at the same event – a crystal paperweight priced at about £60.
Wrexham Councillor Malcolm King, lead member for policy, finance, performance and governance, said: "An amount of £9,664.15 has been spent by the council for the three year period 2009-10 to 2011-12. The majority of this amount is made up of Long Service Awards to staff who receive a £50 retail voucher following 25 years continuous service with the county borough council or one of its predecessors.
"Wrexham council recognises contribution of its workforce. An amount equating to £2 per year is not deemed to be excessive and is certainly reasonable compared to some private sector schemes."
Blenau Gwent council spent the second-highest amount at £8,380, followed by Newport council's £7,538.17.
Among the gifts given by other local authorities, Anglesey council listed a crystal panel tankard, Roman vase and trinket boxes.
Torfaen council gave glass decanter sets, glass paperweights and hampers of cheeses and chutney.
Several councils responded to the Freedom of Information request by saying they did not spend any money on gifts for guests, councillors or employees.
A Welsh Local Government Association (WLGA) spokesman said: "The overall Wales-wide figure for the amount spent on gifts by local councils is extremely small considering that these gifts will often be given as part of important cultural exchanges, during vitally important visits to encourage inward investment and economic growth, or to reward members of the community or local groups who have gone 'above and beyond' in terms of their civic duty and contribution to a local area.
"This is a minimal level of spend on what is more often than not a mutual exchange of gifts between councils and their local communities or visitors to the local area."
Cost of gifts given by Welsh councils to visitors, councillors and employees between 2009-10 and 2011-12
Council Cost of gifts (Council Total 2009-10 to 2011-12)
Wrexham £9,664.15
Blenau Gwent £8,380
Newport £7,538.17
Carmarthenshire £5,086*
Bridgend £3,406.78
Torfaen £3,186.75
Caerphilly £2,117.44
Ceredigion £1,329.21
Powys £1,139.46
Denbighshire £1,133
Flintshire £794.41
Anglesey £255.30
Neath Port Talbot £55
Merthyr 0
Rhondda Cynon Taff 0
Conwy 0
* gift stock purchased
:: Cardiff, Vale of Glamorgan and Gwynedd did not respond to the request for information.
Anglesey Council
Newport Council
Wrexham Council


text:
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     * Collect metadata from all packages in all bundles and save it to a file representing the current
     * state. File is saved in the `dllDir`.
     * @returns {Promise<void>}
     */
    DllBundlesControl.prototype.saveBundleState = function () {
        var _this = this;
        return this.getMetadata()
            .then(function (metadata) {
            var bundleState = metadata
                .filter(function (m) { return !m.error; })
                .reduce(function (state, pkg) {
                state[pkg.name] = { bundle: pkg.bundle, version: pkg.version };
                return state;
            }, {});
            fs.writeFileSync(Path.join(_this.options.dllDir, BUNDLE_STATE_FILENAME), JSON.stringify(bundleState, null, 2));
        });
    };
    /**
     * Check if the bundle name is valid.
     * This is a shallow check, it only checks for the existence of files that represent a DLL bundle.
     * @param name
     * @returns {boolean}
     */
    DllBundlesControl.prototype.bundleLooksValid = function (name) {
        return !fs.existsSync(Path.join(this.options.dllDir, name + ".dll.js"))
            || !fs.existsSync(Path.join(this.options.dllDir, name + "-manifest.json"));
    };
    /**
     * Collect metadata from all packages in all bundles
     * @returns {Promise<PackageInfo[]>}
     */
    DllBundlesControl.prototype.getMetadata = function () {
        var _this = this;
        var promises = this.bundles
            .map(function (b) { return b.packages.map(function (p) { return new PackageInfo(b.name, p); }); })
            .reduce(function (prev, curr) { return prev.concat(curr); }, [])
            .map(function (pkgInfo) {
            return _this.getPackageJson(pkgInfo.path)
                .then(function (pkgJson) {
                pkgInfo.version = pkgJson.version;
                if (pkgInfo.name !== pkgJson.name) {
                    throw new Error("Package name mismatch, Expected " + pkgInfo.name + " but found " + pkgJson.name + " ");
                }
            })
                .catch(function (err) { return pkgInfo.error = err; })
                .then(function () { return pkgInfo; });
        });
        return Promise.all(promises);
    };
    ;
    /**
     * Find the diff between the current bundle state to the last bundle state.
     * The current bundle state is the required bundle state, the bundle information entered by the user.
     * The last bundle state is a representation of the last build saved in JSON file combined with
     * the state of physical packages on the file system.
     * @returns {Promise<AnalyzedState>}
     */
    DllBundlesControl.prototype.analyzeState = function () {
        var _this = this;
        return this.getMetadata() // get metadata for the required bundle configuration
            .then(function (packages) {
            var result = {
                current: [],
                changed: [],
                added: [],
                removed: [],
                error: []
            };
            var bundleState = _this.getBundleSate();
            var pkgCache = {
                del: function (pkgInfo) {
                    delete bundleState[pkgInfo.name];
                    pkgCache.hist.push(pkgInfo.name);
                },
                deleted: function (pkgInfo) { return pkgCache.hist.indexOf(pkgInfo.name) > -1; },
                hist: []
            };
            // compare to the bundle state, i.e: the last state known
            // we have 4 possible outcomes for each package: No change, version change, added, removed.
            packages.forEach(function (pkgInfo) {
                if (pkgInfo.error) {
                    result.error.push(pkgInfo);
                    pkgCache.del(pkgInfo);
                }
                else if (bundleState.hasOwnProperty(pkgInfo.name)) {
                    if (bundleState[pkgInfo.name].version === pkgInfo.version) {
                        result.current.push(pkgInfo);
                    }
                    else {
                        result.changed.push(pkgInfo);
                    }
                    // we delete it from the bundle list so at the end we have a bundle state that
                    // has packages that were removed
                    pkgCache.del(pkgInfo);
                }
                else {
                    if (!pkgCache.deleted(pkgInfo)) {
                        // first we check if it wasn't deleted in previous loop
                        // this is when 2 names for different paths are set
                        // it can happen if the main file is not importing all parts of the package.
                        result.added.push(pkgInfo);
                    }
                }
            });
            /**
             * All packages left in the bundle state are those removed from last bundle build.
             */
            result.removed = Object.keys(bundleState).map(function (k) { return new PackageInfo(bundleState[k].bundle, k); });
            return result;
        });
    };
    /**
     * Load the last metadata state about all packages in all bundles
     * @returns BundleState
     */
    DllBundlesControl.prototype.getBundleSate = function () {
        if (fs.existsSync(Path.join(this.options.dllDir, BUNDLE_STATE_FILENAME))) {
            return jsonfile.readFileSync(Path.join(this.options.dllDir, BUNDLE_STATE_FILENAME));
        }
        else {
            return {};
        }
    };
    /**
     * Returns package json based on a URI.
     *
     * Currently supports only node resolved value.
     *
     * Returns a Promise for future integration with webpack resolve system.
     *
     * @param uri
     * @returns Promise<{name: string, version: string}>
     */
    DllBundlesControl.prototype.getPackageJson = function (uri) {
        try {
            var pkg = require(this.getPackageJsonPath(uri));
            if (!pkg.name || !pkg.version) {
                throw new Error('Invalid package.json');
            }
            return Promise.resolve(pkg);
        }
        catch (err) {
            return Promise.reject(err);
        }
    };
    DllBundlesControl.prototype.getPackageJsonPath = function (uri) {
        var location = findRoot(require.resolve(uri));
        return Path.join(location, 'package.json');
        // if (fs.statSync(location).isDirectory()) {
        //   return Path.join(location, 'package.json');
        // } else {
        //   return Path.join(Path.dirname(location), 'package.json');
        // }
    };
    return DllBundlesControl;
}());
exports.DllBundlesControl = DllBundlesControl;
//# sourceMappingURL=DllBundlesControl.js.map

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
The Cost of Comfort: The Eschede Train Disaster 1998 | Plainly Difficult Documentary
Dec 28, 2022 Plainly Difficult
Learn with Plainly Difficult! On 3 June 1998, an Deutsche Bahn ICE 1 train derailed and crashed into the pillars of a road bridge, which then collapsed onto the train…
Bret and Heather 154th DarkHorse Podcast Livestream: Stanford Prism Experiment
Dec 27, 2022 Bret Weinstein
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VonT880heFY In this 154th in a series of live discussions with Bret Weinstein and Heather Heying (both PhDs in Biology), we discuss the state of the world through an evolutionary…
Boeing's Low cost Heavy Lift Vehicle VTVL SSTO "The Big Onion"
Dec 27, 2022 Hazegrayart
Boeing's Low cost Heavy Lift Vehicle Concept VTVL SSTO RLV was part of the company's NASA-funded Solar Powersat Studies in 1976-77. Known as "The Big Onion" it utilized twenty-four 4.5MN…
Your Questions Answered – Bret and Heather 154th DarkHorse Podcast Livestream
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1DX26pNW2Jc Submit questions here: https://darkhorsesubmissions.com/ ***** The Q & A section of the 154th live discussion between Bret Weinstein and Heather Heying on the DarkHorse Podcast. ***** Our book, A…
Speed Comparison: Rockets Past and Present Day
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMjCRH-MuOc Acceleration and time were taken from a combination of observations from Flight Club, Video replays and company data sheets Rockets left to right ULA Atlas V 551, NASA Artemis…
Your Questions Answered – Bret and Heather 153rd DarkHorse Podcast Livestream
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kwKbZGV_0XI The Q & A section of the 153rd live discussion between Bret Weinstein and Heather Heying on the DarkHorse Podcast. ***** Our book, A Hunter-Gatherer's Guide to the 21st…
The Willow Island Power Station Disaster 1978 | Plainly Difficult Documentary
Learn with Plainly Difficult! On April 27, 1978, One of the Point Pleasance Power Stations, Willow Island, Cooling towers would collapse during construction....... Thank you to my Patreons, Youtube Members…
The Grenfell Tower Disaster 2017 | Plainly Difficult Documentary
On 14 June 2017, a high-rise fire broke out in the 24-storey Grenfell Tower block of flats in North Kensington, London, UK..... Learn with Plainly Difficult! Thank you to my…
Indifferent to the Warnings: The East Harlem Disaster 2014 | Plainly Difficult Documentary
Dec 2, 2022 Plainly Difficult
Learn with Plainly Difficult! On March 12, 2014, an explosion occurred at roughly 9:30 a.m.in the East Harlem neighbourhood of Manhattan in New York City. The explosion levelled two apartment…


text:
Lacuna FAQ
Testing the JWST, EVs Pushing Ahead, and Hacking Your Tractor | Vol. 4 / No. 2
November 6, 2016 November 6, 2016 RFB
The James Webb Space Telescope (this one's a model) | Photo: NASA / Chris Gunn
This week brings us stories about the James Webb Space Telescope, the coming electric vehicle future in America, and the beginning of a trial period for some DMCA exemptions that'll let you (among other things) hack your tractor. If you have one. Check it out, it's the Weekly Roundup for 6 November 2016!
Testing the JWST
NASA announced this week that it has completed the construction of the James Webb Space Telescope, which will eventually be the largest ever optical telescope in space. If all goes to plan and it makes it to its home at L2 safe and sound, its 18 mirrors will together produce some of the finest measurements of the infrared and near-infrared spectrum ever, allowing it to see some of the furthest and dimmest objects in the universe. The announcement this week marks the end of the long construction phase and the beginning of the testing and calibration phase, which will first feature a "center of curvature" test designed to make sure the incredibly precise mirrors are all properly aligned. According to one official, the testing equipment is so precise that they'll be able to detect "the vibrations of the mirrors due to people talking in the room." Assuming the testing all goes to plan, the JWST will launch aboard an Arianne V rocket in October 2018. Below is a comparison of the mirror sizes, and you can read more about the testing over at Phys.Org.
A comparison of the Hubble Space Telescope's mirror and the array on the James Webb Space Telescope | Source: Youtube
The EV Future Pushes Ahead
There are two pieces of great news about electric vehicles this week, as GM announced it had begun construction of its Chevy Bolt, and President Barack Obama made "range anxiety" a little less, well, anxious. The Bolt, General Motors' 200-miles-on-a-single-charge answer to Tesla's forthcoming Model 3, has been hailed as the competition Elon Musk's company was designed to start. I've written about the Bolt before, basically saying that it might not be quite the "Tesla-killer" it's being hailed as, but either way it's going to be great to see the affordable electric vehicle industry finally start up in earnest. Meanwhile the White House has green-lit a new plan to develop "electric vehicle charging corridors" that run across the country. The program takes 48 US Interstate highways and adds to them signage announcing (as we do with gas) where the next charging station is, and will eventually see those corridors having charging stations every fifty miles or fewer. If you examine the map and compare it with the two maps of existing charging stations for Tesla and GM, you'll see that a lot of work has already gone into those corridors, but either way it's a nice way to publicize the work that's been done and to push it to the next level. The Washington Post has more.
Tesla "supercharger" locations
CCS charging locations
The interstate charging corridors
Hack your tractor | Photo: Michel Curi, CC BY 2.0 [text added]
DMCA Exemptions
This time last year, the Electronic Frontier Foundation grabbed a win in the fight against the overbearing copyright and intellectual "property" law known as the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, or DMCA, gaining new exemptions to the law's prohibition on "circumvention" of digital "copyright protection" measures. This week, those exemptions went into effect, meaning companies can no longer sue you for trying to change, reverse-engineer, or otherwise repair the software on your car, your tractor, and many other computer-enabled devices. As Wired reports, this former ban had led to situations like Sony suing George Hotz for figuring out how to play non-Playstation software on a Playstation, and John Deere arguing that people who owned its tractors weren't allowed to tweak or repair them themselves. For the next two years of the trial period, you can now "hack" basically most things you own without fear of reprisal, and in a couple of years the Librarian of Congress will take another look and see what she thinks. In the meantime, I expect great things from you, net-dwellers. Wired has more on the story.
This week was an interesting one here at This Week In Tomorrow, with a much under-subscribed three-part series mid-week and a very-well-read Feminist Friday piece by yours truly:
Monday: "Unintentional Truth: The Earth Will Indeed Experience 15 Days Of Darkness In November"
Tuesday: "The Anatomy Of A Conspiracy Theory Part 1: The Paradoxical Conspirator"
Wednesday: "The Anatomy Of A Conspiracy Theory Part 2: Absence Of Evidence As Proof"
Thursday: "The Anatomy Of A Conspiracy Theory Part 3: The Island of Self-Reliance"
Friday: "That Male Contraception Story Was Bad Science Reporting At Its Worst"
If you missed any of them, take a minute and check them out!
And of course there's always more to get to than anyone can, so here's your weekly linkspam:
Facebook made out like a bandit in quarter 3 of 2016
Curiosity found a cool rock on Mars (and shot it with a laser)
Microsoft announced its own Ethereum-based blockchain product
Juno's taking long orbits at Jupiter
China launched a pretty darn powerful rocket, and
Somebody put Alexa into a "Billy Bass" talking fish robot (really)
Thanks for reading! Except for the very *very* occasional tip (we take Venmo now!), I only get paid in my own (and your) enthusiasm, so please like This Week In Tomorrow on Facebook, follow me on Twitter @TWITomorrow, and tell your friends about the site!
If you like our posts and want to support our site, please share it with others, on Facebook, Twitter, Reddit — anywhere you think people might want to read what we've written. If there's something you think we've missed or a story you'd like to see covered, drop us a line! Thanks so much for reading, and have a great week.
Richard Ford Burley is a human, writer, and doctoral candidate at Boston College, as well as an editor at Ledger, the first academic journal devoted to Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. In his spare time he writes about science, skepticism, feminism, and futurism here at This Week In Tomorrow.
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That Male Contraception Story Was Bad Science Reporting At Its Worst | Vol. 4 / No. 1.5
That Impossible Drive Thing That's Still Happening | Vol. 4 / No. 2.1
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text:
Q: How to use separable three-word phrasal verbs with the object is a pronoun I found something on this webpage: "get back from" is stated to be either:

*

*Inseparable, meaning return from somewhere, or

*Separable, meaning receive something originally lent to another person.

But there are no examples provided, so I try and make sentences myself like the following.
Could you please check them if they are correct or incorrect?

*

*Inseparable

*

*I get back from the bathroom.

*

*Separable

*

*I get my book back from John.

*I get it back from John.

*I get back my book from John.

*I get back it from John.

A: I'm afraid your source is wrong.
The collocation get back from is not a three-word verb in either sense. Both are two-word verbs, and from is not a necessary part of the idiom but simply the head of a preposition phrase which expresses the origin or source.

*

*get back = return (intransitive)

I got back yesterday. ... I got back yesterday [from New York].
  Get back to where you once belonged.  ... Get back [from where you are now] to where you once belonged.

*get back = recover (transitive)

I'm getting my book back. ... I'm getting my book back [from John].
  I got back everything that was stolen. ... I got back [from the police] everything that was stolen.

The from piece is not merely separable but entirely detachable. In fact, that last example shows that you have to be very careful where you put it—this means something entirely different:

I got back everything that was stolen from the police.

In that position, the from piece means that the stuff in question was stolen from the police, not that you got it back from the police.
Ordinarily, you should consider only the collocation get back in deciding where your Direct Object should fall. If the DO's a single pronoun it must follow the verb get.

I got it back.

If it's a brief NP it usually follows the verb but may follow the particle back.

I got my book back.
  I got back my book.

If it's a 'heavy' (long) NP it should follow the particle.

I got back both the Rembrandts and three of the four Picassos.

However, if a source is specified with a from phrase even a very heavy DO should precede the particle; otherwise the from phrase arrives too abruptly at the end and it's not immediately clear what it modifies:

DEPRECATED: I got back both the Rembrandts and three of the four Picassos from the thieves.
  BETTER: I got both the Rembrandts and three of the four Picassos back from the thieves.

A: Separable phrasal verbs are the ones that can take direct objects (transitive). Direct objects in the second example is my book and it.
While inseparable phrasal verbs are the ones that cannot take direct objects (intransitive). That would be the first example.
In your question, the first example seems right to me.
In the set of the second example, that would be separable phrasal verbs that have direct objects (my book and it). Take a look at this rule for separating multi-word phrasal verbs.
So, the first three sentences are in correct English. Although I sense that the third sentence sounds a bit weird to me. But it's still grammatically right based on the link I provide you and this additional one.
Meanwhile, the fourth sentence is literally wrong, since it has a pronoun (the it) that always comes between the verb (get) and the particle (back+from).
So, I summarize the correct examples for you [Better in past tense anyway]:

*

*I got back from the bathroom.

*I got my book back from John.

*I got it back from John.

*I got back my book from John.

A: I would like to ask something about the correct position of pronouns especially the REFLEXIVE PRONOUN if it will be joined to a Phrasal Verb
Which one is correct in these 2 sentences?

He likes to show off himself because he has beautiful feathers

or

He likes to show himself off because he had beautiful feathers


text:
Facebook Gets a Short-Term Memory, to Keep You Commenting
A new feature makes the site into one giant instant-messaging chat room.
Tom Simonite archive page
Facebook may be about to suck up even more of your time. Two weeks ago a feature rolled out that I'm told many users may not have noticed, but that is predicted to soon have them interacting with each other more on the the social network.
That feature was instantly updating comments, and it turns every piece of content on Facebook into an instant messaging chat room. Any time you add a comment to, say, a photo or status update it will now appear instantly in front of anyone else looking at that same page.
It feels like another example of how all kinds of asynchronous messaging tools like email and sms are being converted into synchronous ones. Google Wave (RIP) created a realtime combination of email, IM and wikis; Facebook messages did the same to email, SMS and IM. "Having a conversation in a comment thread was a stuttering experience," Facebook newsfeed engineer Ken Deeter told me, "you had to keep refreshing the page to see new comments."
Switching to live updating may seem a small change from a user's perspective. But the engineering decisions Deeter and colleagues had to make illustrate how complex it is to operate a site with more than half a billion users.
The most obvious way for Facebook to go instant – having your browser check for new comments every second or so when viewing a page – "would have made the site fall down for sure," Deeter says. Instead Facebook had be given a kind of short term memory to keep track of who was looking at what at any given moment. Each time a new comment is added it is run past that memory, which checks to see who needs to see it immediately and directs it where it needs to go.
What's more, unlike most data stored in the cloud, it couldn't be put onto hard disks, because that wouldn't keep pace with the rapid rate at which people log on to and off of Facebook. "We're handling around 16 million viewer-to content associations per second so it's unfeasible to do this on disk," says Deeter, "we had to build a memory-based [i.e. RAM] system that can handle a very high write rate."
That new memory couldn't be in one place, because the delay in reaching it from all corners of Facebook's global empire of users would be too great. Instead the team added one in each of the firm's data centers, tasked with keeping track of its closest users. When a comment is added each of the local systems is polled to ensure everyone sees what they need to. You can read more details on this on Facebook's engineering blog.
Any change made by Facebook is a vast social experiment a much as an exercise in software engineering, though, and the firm expects the way people behave on the site to change. In the course of building out the new feature it was uncovered that in any given minute over 100 million comment threads are being viewed online and that over 650,000 comments are made. Those and other figures are now being watched closely. "You have to wait a while for people realize that it is has changed," says Deeter, "in another two weeks or so I think we'll find that people have more conversations in comments because it makes you feel like there are people on the site with you."
To paraphrase, we may all be about to start spending even more time on their site.
Tom Simonite


We are thrilled to announce Idler's Home 35th Anniversary Apple Pie Contest. This year we are adding an exciting change to this long standing contest and opening it up to anyone, non-professional bakers 18 and older, with a love of baking a traditional Apple Pie!
We are continuing to hold this special event leading up to Mother's Day in order to honor Mothers. This year we will host the Finals on May 11th at the Apple Farm with a special toast to Mothers.
Grand prize is a convection range from KitchenAid valued at over $2800! Preliminary dates and locations are : April 13th in our Paso Robles location by noon, April 27th in Santa Maria by noon and May 4 in San Luis Obispo by noon.


No cell phone reception, so the aircard won't connect. Their wi-fi is through Boingo for $4.95 an hour, and Boingo can't even seem to take my frickin money! And they are making me install some ridiculous Boingo connection manager. And my connection stength is VERY LOW! Give me a freakin break! Did I mention that there are only two restaurants in my gate area and both are jam packed?
I am well aware of the fact that Satellite Radio is the current media darling. In fact, after six weeks of traveling across the country for my new gig, I have fallen passionately in love with Sirius Radio Channel 43 - BackSpin. All oldschool hip-hop, all the time. Driving out of Atlanta airport in my rental car a couple of weeks ago, I tuned in randomly to BackSpin only to hear the almighty Kurtis Blow introduce the next track: Public Enemy - Night of the Living Baseheads. He had me at hello. Now I can't live without it. Great DJ's, no commecials, and no edits!!! Seriously, life doesn't get any better.
Or does it? After being suitably impressed by my alternative music options in the car, what's a guy to do when he's sitting on the tarmac for an hour on a delayed flight to Baltimore? Streaming internet radio on my trusty Palm Centro, that's what! I didn't even know the Centro *did* internet radio! As a consummate underground hip-hop fan, I was more than gratified to see Smoothbeats.com listed under the station list. But there was also a newcomer: Live365's Hip-hop Lounge. Between these two stations, I have been in music bliss during my airport downtime. The DJ's at these stations clearly have a true passion for their chosen genre. They transition effortlessly from Diggable Planets to Gangstarr, Jurrasic 5 to Pete Rock, Murs to Common. Please, please, please give them a listen. Support something, ANYTHING other than big radio. I assure you, great music is still out there!
Sounds ominous, right? Well, it should. Most tech shootouts do more harm than good to the consumer. Anybody remember Blu-ray vs. HD-DVD? Lasting for over two years, this Hi-Def DVD format face-off split the entertainment content community and left consumers standing on the sidelines scratching their heads. And Blu-ray's eventual victory earlier this year surely tasted of ashes. They were left with either angry customers who had spent hundreds on HD-DVD boxes and its respective media, or hopelessly confused customers who still didn't know that simply owning a Play Station 3 had put them in the winners' circle.
What does that mean for the looming Mobile Phone slug-fest? More of the same consumer confusion. Perhaps I should explain. Recently, in a test market, smart-phone owners were asked about the capabilities of their phones and how they used them. It was determined that, although the smart-phone owners confidently claimed to use 100% of their phones' features such as texting and pictures, on average the group was *really* only using 40% of their phone's true capabilities. Advanced features like email, web-browsing, calendaring, instant messaging and mp3's were largely unused. In fact, some of these consumers carried multiple devices to accomplish the other tasks, completely oblivious to the fact that their phones could do all of these things and more!
So, what's the big deal? Who cares if you've got a Blackberry Curve that you only use for texting??? Well, I contend that YOU should care. Really good convergent devices do a couple of things to improve your life. If you live a mobile lifestyle (real estate agent, pharma sales, home office, small business, etc.) the smart-phone allows you to turn downtime into productive time, ultimately making you more efficient. It also allows you to (if you're smart) get closer to that holy grail that we all call work/life balance. Picture this: While you were standing in line at the bathroom for the Brewer game for 10 minutes, you could have read and responded to four emails, updated a meeting in your calendar, edited that staffing spreadsheet, streamed a youtube video of the Sausage Race you missed while you were waiting in line, and sent an IM to your wife telling her you're running late because your boss told you to finish those TPS reports TONIGHT! By the time you get home, your work is done, and family time is REALLY family time.
That should be enough to whet any gadget-consumer's appetite. But what about this war? Even if you're on-board to squeeze more stuff out of your smart-phone, the market is about to change soooooo dramatically, that you'll need a ringside announcer just to keep up.
In one corner, we've got the iPhone. Pretty, sleek, thin, intuitive, and feature rich. In a market run by the carriers (Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, et al), this was the first major push to market by a handset manufacturer (Apple) where THEY actually dictated the terms to a carrier. Apple *pwned* AT&T for every penny, charging full price for the phone as well as demanding kickbacks from every 2-year contract. AT&T was left to salvage scraps from the table. Although Apple is widely criticized for their restrictive design and barriers to 3rd party developers, everyone can clearly agree that the iPhone is an 11 on a usability scale of 1-10. In fact, one can say that Apple has set a new bar for smart-phone usability.
On the other side of phone design is Google. Yes, the same Google that is a search engine. As software developers and handset manufacturers look to push the carriers firmly into the backseat, non-traditional companies like Google are looking for a piece of the action. They envision an "open" phone where everyone is free to develop applications, and online content is ad-supported. The problem is that as far as anyone can tell, only a few prototypes exist. Check the video below. If you can get past the ridiculous level of excitement (you'll see) from the narrators, there are some really cool phone demos.
The final player is represented by the handset manufacturers themselves. Motorola, Samsung, and a few others got together one day and called themselves a foundation. The LiMo Foundation, to be exact. Similar to Google, their goal is to create an industry-standard open phone design, so that application developers can "write once, and run anywhere," as opposed to supporting many different versions of the same program. Unlike Google, LiMo's got some product in the market. Not much in the way of smart-phones yet, but it's still a good start.