Handing out team grades one day after the NFL Draft is a tough business.
You're basically judging teams and players before you have a body of evidence to judge.
That explains why NFL draft experts almost universally hated the Seattle Seahawks' 2012 Draft, which turned out to be franchise-alteringly good.
ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr., the guy who invented the NFL Draft pundit business, gave the Seahawks a C-.
To be fair, he judges "the draft process" not "the players." Kiper wrote that the Seahawks could have drafted Bruce Irvin and Bobby Wagner later on, and that they didn't really need Russell Wilson since they already had Matt Flynn. All of that is probably true.
Sports Illustrated's Chris Burke gave them a C. He called the Irvin pick "spit take-inducing" and wrote,?LB "Bobby Wagner (47) and RB Robert Turbin (106), both from Utah State, will help, and QB Russell Wilson (74) has a bright future, even if Seattle didn?t really need him. Everything else was ? very ? blah."
The NFL Network team of analysts gave them a C. Michael Lombardi criticized them, saying they took "a lot of chances."
Irvin, Wagner, Jeremy Lane, and Daye Howard are significant players on defense, Wilson has been a revelation, and running back Robert Turbin is #2 on the depth chart behind Marshawn Lynch.
It was a homerun draft.
Again, these draft experts have a basically impossible job. But this should at least make us take draft grades with a bit more salt.
For posterity's sake, you can check out median expert grades for all 32 teams here >
Source: www.nytimes.com --- Sunday, December 30, 2012 Alexa Deluzio continued to be a thorn in Boston College's side Sunday, guiding No. 21 Florida State to its fourth straight victory, 76-70, in each team's Atlantic Coast Conference opener. ...
A giant portrait of former president Nelson Mandela adorns a cooling tower of a now defunct power station in Soweto, South Africa, Monday, Dec 31, 2012. Mandela is recovering at his Johannesburg home since being hopitalized for a lung infection and undergoing gallstone surgery. (AP Photo/Denis Farrell)
A giant portrait of former president Nelson Mandela adorns a cooling tower of a now defunct power station in Soweto, South Africa, Monday, Dec 31, 2012. Mandela is recovering at his Johannesburg home since being hopitalized for a lung infection and undergoing gallstone surgery. (AP Photo/Denis Farrell)
FILE - In this June 17, 2010 file photo, former South African President, Nelson Mandela leaves the chapel after attending the funeral of his great-granddaughter Zenani Mandela in Johannesburg, South Africa. Mandela was released Wednesday, Dec. 26, 2012 from the hospital after being treated for a lung infection and having gallstones removed, a government spokesman said. (AP Photo/Siphiwe Sibeko, Pool, File)
People walk their dogs outside the home of former president Nelson Mandela in Johannesburg, Thursday, Dec. 27 2012. President Jacob Zuma made critical remarks about pet care that touch on sensitive race relations in South Africa, which was dominated by whites until apartheid was dismantled almost two decades ago, The Star newspaper reported Thursday. The newspaper cited Zuma as saying in a speech Wednesday that the idea of having a pet is part of "white culture" and that people should focus on family welfare. (AP Photo/Denis Farrell)
A pebble with a message to former President Nelson Mandela lays outside his Johannesburg home Thursday, Dec. 27 2012. Mandela was released Wednesday from the hospital after being treated for a lung infection and having gallstones removed, a government spokesman said. (AP Photo/Denis farrell)
A giant portrait of former president Nelson Mandela adorns a cooling tower of a now defunct power station in Soweto, South Africa, Monday, Dec 31, 2012. Mandela is recovering at his Johannesburg home since being hopitalized for a lung infection and undergoing gallstone surgery. (AP Photo/Denis Farrell)
JOHANNESBURG (AP) ? South Africa's agonizing past swept over Alex McLaren, who stepped into sunlight with tears in his eyes after a tour of the Apartheid Museum, an unsparing study of white minority rule and the costly fight against it.
Yet South Africa-born McLaren, an American citizen, also found inspiration in the museum's exhibition about Nelson Mandela, former prisoner, South Africa's first black head of state and one of the great, unifying figures of the 20th century.
Mandela, now 94 years old and ailing, was a special figure in the anti-apartheid struggle because of "his perseverance, his ability to forgive and to reconcile, and the fact that he appeared when he did, him and others. But mainly him," said McLaren, a retired engineer.
"There will be a lot of wailing, gnashing of teeth, when he goes," he said, anticipating the grief of South Africa and the world.
The delicate health of Mandela, now convalescing behind the high walls of his Johannesburg home, came under scrutiny and speculation during a 19-day stay in a hospital in December. He was treated for a lung infection and had gallstones removed. Regardless of when the end comes, his burnished legacy was written years ago, even if the country he led from the long night of apartheid still struggles with poverty and other social ills.
Mandela's place as South Africa's premier hero is so secure that the central bank released new banknotes in 2012 showing his face, a robust, smiling image of the icon who walked out of a prison's gates on Feb. 11, 1990 after 27 years in captivity. He is a Nobel laureate, the recipient of many other international awards, the subject of books, films and songs and, when he was active, a magnet for celebrities.
In part, what elevated Mandela was his charisma, his ability to charm through humor and grace, and an extraordinary capacity to find strength in adversity.
"People tend to measure themselves by external accomplishments, but jail allows a person to focus on internal ones; such as honesty, sincerity, simplicity, humility, generosity and an absence of variety," Mandela says in one of the many quotations on display at the Apartheid Museum. "You learn to look into yourself."
Just four years after being released from prison, Mandela became South Africa's first black president in 1994. His successes include the introduction of one of the world's most progressive constitutions and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, a panel that heard testimony about apartheid-era violations of human rights as a kind of national therapy session.
McLaren, the visitor to the Apartheid Museum, grew up in South Africa and recalled witnessing injustices of apartheid: blacks being arrested or stopped in the street, a black woman being pushed off a bus and a view among many whites that blacks were "somehow inferior."
Now a resident of Scottsdale, Arizona, 66-year-old McLaren said: "South Africa is such a mixed place now. Some of it is falling apart, some of it is really good, some of it is really bad. But you know, it's much better than it was, much better than it was."
An imperfect country, but one that Mandela, whose clan name, Madiba, means "reconciler," guided elegantly through a painful transition.
In "Mandela: The Authorized Portrait," a collection of accounts about Mandela, lawyer and human rights advocate George Bizos described how Mandela joked about his age (he was 86 at the time) and said he would join "the nearest branch of the ANC in heaven."
Bizos related in the book how he once told Mandela about Socrates, the ancient Greek philosopher who was sentenced to death and said he hoped to meet Homer, Sophocles and other giants for eternal discussions in the afterlife.
According to Bizos, Mandela replied:
"But assume that there is no such thing. Have you ever had a night's sleep when you were not disturbed at all ? no dreams, no fears ? you just slept throughout the night? Didn't you feel very much happier? Can you imagine if there is this eternal sleep it's also all right? So what's there to be afraid of?"
Hi Elynneg - DIAC generally requires health insurance for 461 visa holders if the country of their citizenship (in your case, USA) does not have reciprocal arrangements with Australia - these are counties like the UK and other who have a nationalised healthcare scheme. I have heard of situations where this is not enforced, but that seems to be the exception rather than the rule.
I don't have specific details of the Medibank or Bupa plans, but as the 461 visa is a temporary visa not unlike the 457, I would be surprised if those plans are not acceptable to DIAC. Migration Regulations only require that if this condition is imposed, "The holder must maintain adequate arrangements for health insurance while the holder is in Australia." So no minimum level of specific benefits of health insurance are stipulated. I would call Medibank and/or Bupa on Monday and see if you can speak to someone (rather than relying on their websites and preset visa lists) - I have no doubt they will be ready and willing to sell you health insurance for your 461 visa as they are fierce competitors for providing health cover to visa holders.
Finally, an additional note - make sure you've satisfied all the requirements for the 461 visa - you'll need be a "member of the family unit" of your boyfriend - I assume defacto partnership? You may want to be ready with relationship evidence in that case. And your boyfriend needs to be the holder of a 444 visa (or be eligible for one).
Hope this helps, and good luck with your case!
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__________________ Mark Northam Registered Migration Agent
Northam & Associates Sydney, Australia http://mnvisa.com
PayPro Global, the leading provider of innovative tools and services to sell software online, announced today its partnership with Optimistore. Optimistore is a platform that allows online store creation powered by the most popular online store engines. The introductory price of the product is set at 99 USD.
Optimistore automates the tiresome operation of uploading user data to online stores, in any format. In addition, it helps choose the most suitable eCommerce engine by allowing the user to try out various test servers, and also customizes the stores appearance. The solution targets small companies that plan to launch and maintain an online store on their own, without involving costly professionals.
Individual approach to every vendor, hard work and enthusiasm while solving current tasks, high end internet business conduct are the factors that made us choose PayPro Global to sell our software online, said Alexander Chulpanov, CEO of Optimistore.
PayPro?s EasyCommerce platform is quickly gaining popularity among software publishers for the ability of its features to successfully sell software online while maximizing revenue and reducing risk. Software vendors can benefit from optimized checkout and marketing tools, a variety of billing models to match product specifications, comprehensive reporting to find weak points and increase sales.
Thanks to PayPro Globals commitment and attention to detail, we are confident in a successful launch of our new product, added Alexander Chulpanov.
Our mission with companies like Optimistore is to act as a global partner and help them increase their international presence as well as consolidate their local market positions, said Matthew Silverman, CEO of PayPro Global. Thanks to the flexibility of PayPro EasyCommerce platform, we are able to adapt to any business model, offering a full spectrum of advanced tools to successfully sell software online. We constantly upgrade our platform and introduce new features in order for our partners to grab the latest trends in the software eCommerce industry, he continued.
About Optimistore
Optimistore is a solution that allows the creation of online stores using popular eCommerce engines like OpenCart, joomla+VirtueMart, osCommerce, ZenCart, etc. Optimistore automates the tiresome operation of uploading user data, in any format, to online stores. In addition, it helps choose the most suitable eCommerce engine by allowing the user to try out various test servers, and customizes the stores appearance. The solution targets small companies that plan to launch and maintain an online store on their own, without involving costly professionals.
Optimistores website: http://www.optimistore.com
About PayPro Global
Founded in 2006, PayPro Global, Inc. develops and hosts an eCommerce solution that allows anyone to easily sell software online. PayPro Global supports more than one hundred currencies, all major credit and debit cards, and a wide variety of payment options. The company also offers software developers state-of-the-art licensing, activation, and anti-piracy protection for their applications.
PayPro Global is headquartered in Toronto, Canada, with development centers in Ramat Gan, Israel and Lugansk, Ukraine, and regional offices in Milwaukee, USA, and London, UK.
MILWAUKEE (AP) ? An Iraq War veteran told detectives that he stalked his wife for several days while she was patrolling the streets of the Milwaukee suburb where she was a police officer, then ambushed her in the early hours of Christmas Eve and killed her, according to prosecutors.
Ben Gabriel Sebena, 30, was charged Thursday with first-degree intentional homicide in the death of his wife, Jennifer Sebena, who was found dead in front of Wauwatosa's fire station by her fellow officers before dawn on Monday. She had been shot five times in the head.
Ben Sebena made an initial court appearance Thursday, and a court commissioner ordered the decorated Marine Corps veteran held on $1 million cash bond. Sebena wasn't required to enter a plea, and his attorney, Michael Steinle, didn't immediately respond to a phone message seeking comment.
Authorities say officers went to check on Jennifer Sebena when she didn't respond to radio calls. She joined the police force two years ago and had been patrolling alone on the night she was killed.
"She was everything I could hope for in a young police officer: intelligent, energetic, willing to be of service and wanting to be a great police officer," Wauwatosa police Chief Barry Weber said at a news conference.
Investigators said they found a number of details tying Ben Sebena to the killing. Surveillance video showed a vehicle that matches his in the area around the time of the shooting, and detectives who searched the couple's home found a gun in the attic that fires ammunition matching the bullet casings found at the scene. They also found Jennifer Sebena's service weapon hidden in the attic.
The investigation began when Ben Sebena called police Monday about 6:30 a.m. asking them to check on his wife's well-being. A police sergeant called him back five minutes later telling him to come to the station because his wife had been involved in an incident.
Ben Sebena didn't ask what happened, the complaint said. Later, when he was told at the station that his wife had been killed, he still didn't ask what happened to her.
During the interview, Ben Sebena "stated that he had been jealous of other men with regards to his wife," the complaint said.
Less than three weeks before she died, Jennifer Sebena told a colleague that her husband had acted violently toward her and put a gun to her head, prosecutors said.
The police chief said he wasn't aware of issues that would have been a cause for concern for Jennifer Sebena's safety.
The state Justice Department is assisting in the investigation. Dave Spakowicz, the director of the department's criminal-investigation operations, said authorities are not speculating on a motive.
While at the police station, officers used video equipment to monitor Ben Sebena as he sat in an empty room. A detective heard him talking to himself, saying something to the effect that his wife had been helping him, adding, "How could I do that to her."
Ben Sebena told investigators he had been stalking his wife for a few days. He said he waited a few hours near the fire department where officers often take breaks, and when he saw her squad car he opened fire. He said she reached for her weapon and he took it from her holster, and then shot her repeatedly in the face.
"Benjamin Sebena stated that he wanted to make sure she was dead so she wouldn't suffer," the complaint said.
Ben Sebena served two tours in Iraq with the Marine Corps. He was honorably discharged in 2005 after suffering severe arm and leg injuries in a mortar attack that year. Among the 10 medals or commendations he was awarded were a Purple Heart, a Good Conduct medal and a rifle expert badge.
In a 10-minute video for his church made in 2010, Ben Sebena describes his transformation into a decorated war veteran rediscovered a love of God.
"Before I went in I was pretty much a hippie. I was very laid back but the anger was there ? it was just very hidden," he said.
He said he joined the military because he felt unloved and unimportant, and that the Marines helped him centralize the anger, but that the rage persisted even when he returned to the U.S. He said he would ignore red lights and tear down the freeway on his motorcycle at 150 mph.
He also discussed his blossoming relationship with Jennifer, whom he knew from high school and with whom he exchanged emails during his recovery.
"Our love flourished. We became actually infatuated with each other," he said in the video for Elmbrook Church in nearby Brookfield. The church's pastor, Scott Arbeiter, confirmed to The Associated Press that it was Ben Sebena in the video.
Jennifer Sebena's funeral is scheduled for Saturday.
___
Associated Press writer Carrie Antlfinger contributed to this report.
A book about pasta was Catherine's choice for the most beautiful food book of the year. Photograph: Linda Nylind for the Guardian
Jamie Oliver has done it again. For the second year running, his latest book, 15-Minute Meals, is occupying the No 1 slot on Amazon's best-selling list. He and the other big names in food (Nigel Slater is a few spots down) are helping cookery books outsell every other genre. Of course, all the best-selling food books are backed up by TV, but this doesn't stop them being good ? I still rate just about everything brought out by the River Cottage empire (this year, Three Good Things) and I'm delighted that the gloriously stylish, eclectic Jerusalem also makes Amazon's top 15.
Baking books also dominate. This year I liked those with focus. Richard Bertinet's Pastry is pure masterclass, which offers much to those with baking experience. Gaitri Pagrach-Chandra's Sugar and Spice is as much about confectionery as baking and is a must for anyone who loves marzipan. I have also baked my way through Signe Johansen's Scandilicious Baking, which includes all those warmly spiced breads and pastries you would expect, but has plenty more for those without a sweet tooth.
The art of preserving food is really capturing everyone's imagination ? to the extent that it could become the new baking. Easily my favourite book of the year is Diana Henry's Salt, Sugar, Smoke. It is not definitive or the most knowledgeable on preserving basics, but it is absolutely the most inspiring. I love the personal way in which it is written and the broad sweep of recipes, which show how each food culture puts a unique stamp on some fairly universal types of preserving. This book was years in the writing, and it shows.
I have no problem with Nigella Lawson's glamorous interpretation of Italian food, but I also want books on the Mediterranean with more authenticity. Claudia Roden's The Food of Spain is immaculately researched; the food is given proper cultural and historical context and the recipes are terrific. There is some overlap between it and Caroline Conran's similarly thoughtful Sud de France on the food of Languedoc, but both are worth buying. Sticking with southern Europe, I loved Polpo, but for something completely different, look at Maddalena Caruso's Love Italian Food. Caruso is ebullient and unashamedly unsubtle in her flavour combinations, and pulls it off ? just. Finally, the most beautiful book of the year is for me The Art of Pasta, which also has some excellent pasta recipes as well as making me yearn for beechwood corzetti stamps, clearly designed for the cook who has everything.
Moving vaguely south-eastwards, Kaushy Patel's book on vegetarian Indian cooking is worth it for the flatbreads alone and I found myself cooking frequently from Fuchsia Dunlop's Every Grain of Rice. The commentary is fascinating and the recipes are simple, well-balanced and accessible. The same can be said for the pared-down recipes in Peter Gordon's Everyday. Flashes of trademark fusion sit with more personal dishes from his New Zealand childhood. It even had me enjoying tinned spaghetti for the first time in 25 years, thanks to some moreish white bread tartlets.
Tinned spaghetti was a childhood treat in our household, but mince was a staple. Josceline Dimbleby's Marvellous Meals with Mince is updated and extended from her original 1980s book for Sainsbury's but is still filled with dishes you will remember with nostalgia. We all (kids included) loved the blue cheese meatloaf, the piglet pie and the Atlas Mountain Soup.
Of the non-recipe food books, two stand out. Dorothy Hartley's Lost World is a chatty, pre-war Rural Rides full of minutiae. Bee Wilson's Consider the Fork traces a history of how we eat food via the implements we use to cook it. It's beautifully written and researched with interesting analysis ? I love the section on measurements and a particular paragraph on the ways in which we make our morning coffee. Both of these books made me commit that cardinal sin of reading out passages to my ever-patient partner, just because I had to share.
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Family Christmas cards and smiling snapshots of children sent by their adoptive American parents fill Galina Sigayeva's office in Russia's second city St Petersburg.
Many of them were crippled by illness and in desperate need of medical care before her agency helped organize their adoption into U.S. families, she recalls.
Children's rights campaigners say kids like these will suffer most if President Vladimir Putin approves a law barring American adoptions that has been rubber-stamped by Russian lawmakers. The act retaliates against a new U.S. law that will punish Russians accused of human rights violations.
Critics of the bill say Russian orphanages are woefully overcrowded and the fate of vulnerable children should not be used as a bargaining chip in a bilateral feud.
"These children are not even offered to foreigners until they get a certain number of (adoption) refusals from Russians," said Sigayeva, a neatly-styled brunette who heads the New Hope Christian Services Adoption Agency.
"These are children with complicated diagnoses, really complicated. They are very ill children."
She smiled as she flipped through photos of children embraced by their adoptive parents, playing with family pets and enjoying presents and other trappings of holiday cheer.
"What surprises me is that here they all look so healthy, so fantastic, but you should see what they look like when they are taken from here," Sigayeva said.
"Some had to be carried to the border. We had a girl with hepatitis whom we helped from the emergency room."
Both sides in the heated debate surrounding the bill agree Russia's orphanage system is overwhelmed, riddled with corruption and mostly failing to place children in families.
More than 650,000 children are considered orphans in Russia - though some were rejected by their parents or taken from dysfunctional homes. Of that total, 110,000 lived in state institutions in 2011, according to the Ministry of Science and Education.
By contrast, in the United States - which has more than twice Russia's population - about 58,280 children were living in group homes and institutions last year, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Adoptions by Russian families remain modest, with some 7,400 adoptions in 2011 compared with 3,400 adoptions of Russian children by families abroad.
Russian politicians say it is an embarrassment that the country cannot care for its own, and supporters of the measure argue it will help stimulate reform and domestic adoptions.
"Foreign adoption is a result of the state and society's lack of attention to orphans ... It is, if you will, a result of our indifference," Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev told officials at a ruling party congress last week.
American families adopt more Russian children - 956 last year - than those of any other country. Of the children adopted by Americans in 2011, 9 percent - or 89 - were disabled, according to official Russian figures.
Opponents of the legislation - who include senior officials such as Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov - say politicking should not deprive orphans of this chance at better life.
"Russia is not able to provide for all its orphans," Boris Altshuler, director of the Moscow-based Rights of the Child advocacy group, said. "Although 1,000 is a small fraction - it was a help."
Deputy Prime Minister Olga Golodets has said the ban would violate international treaties on child rights, and the Kremlin's own human rights council called it unconstitutional.
"AMERICAN ROULETTE"
The ban responds to a U.S. law known as the Magnitsky Act which punishes Russians suspected of being involved in the death in custody of anti-graft lawyer Sergei Magnistky in 2009, and of other human rights violations, by barring them from entering the United States.
In a pointed echo of the Magnitsky Act, Russia's legislation is named the Dima Yakovlev law, after a Russian-born toddler who died of heat stroke after his American adoptive father left him locked in a sweltering car.
His death and that of 19 other Russian-born children in the hands of U.S. citizens in the last decade has helped drive support for the bill and for tougher adoption rules in a deal with the United States in June.
"It's American roulette," said Pavel Astakhov, Russia's Children's Rights Commissioner and a supporter of the ban.
"One handicapped girl from Russia got lucky. She was Jessica Long - a Paralympic champion. Another did not. She was Masha Allen ... who was raped by her pedophile adoptive father."
DISABLED CHILDREN
If Putin signs it into law, the ban will come into force on January 1, most immediately affecting the fate of children whose adoption is in the works.
The placement of 46 children with American families will be cancelled, Astakhov told the Interfax news agency on Wednesday.
Sigayeva said a six-month halt on American adoptions until a new bilateral deal entered force in November showed how it would aggravate problems in Russia's strained child-protection system.
"Hospitals were overwhelmed. There was no room in orphanages or hospitals for children whom their parents had rejected. So what's next then?" said Sigayeva, whose agency has helped place some 200 children in American families since 1992.
Advocates who work with disabled children say a reform proposal drafted by Astakhov ignores their plight. They say it calls for a reduction in the number of institutions caring for children with disabilities without explaining how they will find foster homes and medical care.
"No concrete measures are being suggested. Nothing exists but a lot of children's pain, which will only increase now," said Sergei Koloskov, a campaigner for children with Down's Syndrome.
"They are being left parentless in addition to being ill."
(Additional reporting by Alexander Chizhenok in St. Petersburg; Writing by Alissa de Carbonnel; Editing by Douglas Busvine and Peter Graff)
The manufacturing white label behind products from LG Electronics and many, many other companies, LG Display will have something new for us in Las Vegas as well. In a press release, the company announced it will show off Ultra HD (4K) panels in 55-, 65- and 84-inch sizes (shown above), complete with its FPR passive 3D tech built in. Since LG Display makes panels for quite a few of the HDTVs on shelves, it follows that we'll be seeing actual products shipping in those sizes in the coming year from several brands. It also will show off its work in other areas, with a 30-inch 4K monitor, a 5.5-inch 1080p screen for smartphones, a 1,920 x 1,200 7-inch tablet display, and a new QSXGA (2,560 x 1,700) screen destined for laptops that packs all of those pixels into just 12.9-inches.
PPI isn't everything however, and LG Display is bringing several displays notable for their tiny bezels as well, including a 23.8-inch monitor in its Neo-Blade Series, a 13.3-inch laptop screen with a 2mm bezel, and a 4.7-inch mobile screen with a 1mm thick bezel. Finally, the new year also brings tweaks to its OLED displays, which will show off an ultra light and thin design at just 3.5kg and 4mm thick --- and hopefully actually being released in the US this year. Check out the release after the break for the full list of goodies, we'll be getting our own look at them in just a few days.
Landon Donovan has been such an intriguing figure for so remarkably long, but that?s hardly the surprising part.
It?s how many different ways Donovan has managed to make himself such an intriguing figure that really has become a stunner.
First, he captured the imagination of domestic soccer insiders as the kid who signed a professional contract at age 16 with a German club. Hmmm.
Then he showed at a young age what a talent he would be in MLS, and shortly after became something just short of an international star with a breakout performance at World Cup 2002.
Then Donovan began the slow drift into polarizing territory, a figure who had supporters and loud detractors ? including some prominent media voices ? for his choice to play in MLS rather than perhaps stretch himself internationally.
Only, then he did stretch himself internationally, at Everton ? and what a whiz-bang job he did there at Goodison Park! Somewhere in between, Donovan married a Hollywood actress, by the way.
Also into spin cycle let?s drop this: Donovan disappointed most everyone with a deflated 2006 World Cup, but scored one of the most memorable U.S. goals ever at the 2010 World Cup. That?s three World Cups, for those counting.
And now ?
The United States? all-time leading scorer managed to become one of the truly intriguing figures of 2012 by, of all things, talking about walking away from it all. Truly, who saw that coming?
The first starburst of shocking stories came out in the summer. His talk of early retirement at age 30 perhaps could have been written off as a passing thing ? only he kept talking about it.
Donovan, who still has a chance to be Major League Soccer all-time leading scorer and assist leader, helped guide the Los Angeles Galaxy to a second consecutive MLS Cup crown in early December.
But as he sat on the podium minutes after the final whistle, Donovan once again let on that perhaps he?s had enough.
If anyone has earned the right to walk away on his terms, it?s Donovan, the very face of domestic soccer ? the national team and MLS ? for so many years now.
It would be a shame, but the man has earned the right.
The Carlyle Group and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. are the front-runners to acquire Reynolds and Reynolds, a Dayton, Ohio-based provider of business management software for auto dealers, according to Reuters. The deal could be valued at around $5 billion. Current Reynolds and Reynolds shareholders include Goldman Sachs Capital Partners and Vista Equity Partners. www.reyrey.com
Altamont Capital Partners has acquired Tacala LLC, a Taco Bell franchisor with 162 stores in the Southeastern U.S. It also has acquired a related company, Boom Foods, which owns 66 Sonic franchises. No financial terms were disclosed. www.tacala.com Bregal Capital and Quadriga Capital have agreed to acquire LR Health & Beauty, a Germany-based direct sales company focused on cosmetics, fragrances and nutrition products, from Apax Partners. No financial terms were disclosed. www.lrworld.com
First Atlantic Capital has acquired TestEquity LLC, a Moorpark, Calif.?based seller and renter of new and reconditioned bench-top general purpose test and measurement equipment. No financial terms were disclosed, except that NXT Capital provided $65.5 million in senior secured facilities to support the deal. www.testequity.com
Harvest Partners has acquired Garretson Resolution Group, a Cincinnati-based provider of medical lien resolution and complex settlement administration services, from Pfingsten Partners. No financial terms were disclosed. www.garretsonfirm.com
Goldman Sachs has acquired Safe-Guard Products International LLC, an Atlanta-based provider of finance and insurance products to the automotive industry, from H.I.G. Capital. No financial terms were disclosed. www.safe-guardproducts.com
Kelso & Co. has agreed to acquire the operating units of Power Holdings from Huntsman Gay Global Capital for $380 million. Power Holdings provides construction and maintenance services for electric unities in the Southeastern U.S. www.kelso.com
KRG Capital Partners has acquired ATI Physical Therapy Inc., a Bolingbrook, Ill.-based operator of physical therapy clinics in seven states, from GTCR. No financial terms were disclosed. www.atipt.com Mason Wells has acquired A&R Logistics Inc., a Morris, Ill.-based provider of logistics services, from FdG Associates. No financial terms were disclosed. Harris Williams & Co. managed the process. www.artransport.com
McCarthy Capital has sponsored a management buyout of Altair Global Relocation, a Plano, Texas-based provider of domestic and international relocation management services for the corporate clients. No financial terms were disclosed. The selling family of Altair co-founder Gail Plummer will retain a minority equity position. www.altairglobal.com
Office Depot (NYSE: ODP) has agreed to sell its Hungary business to Hungarian private equity firm Central Fund Venture Capital Fund. No financial terms were disclosed. www.officedepot.com
Propel Equity Partners has acquired Fundex Games Ltd., an Indianapolis-based maker of family board, card and dice games. No financial terms were disclosed. Fundex will be merged with Poof-Slinky, which Propel acquired earlier this year. www.propelequity.com
Sign up for Dan's daily email newsletter on deals and deal-makers:?GetTermSheet.com
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#1 ? niNja_pWn3d?
Group:Normal Members
Posts:406
Joined:22-November 09
Gender:Male
Location:Tha' 204!
Interests:..:: My kids - Music - Production - Promotion - 8bit - amen - Hax0r ::..
Posted Today, 07:49 AM
Definitely NOT audio but worth a discussion... Lately i've been into hidden networks. Had a laugh in TOR for a bit... I know it goes deeper in this world and I want to discover. Any experiences in other simmilar quests? What should one be studying and what should one avoid? Anyone up for a discussion on the matter? Public or private dont be afraid
_o0merZ
Youtube! Soundcloud!
"The magnitude of pleasure reaches its limit in the removal of all pain. When such pleasure is present, so long as it is uninterrupted, there is no pain either of body or of mind or of both together." -Epicurus
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Your smartphone and / or tablet is just begging for an update. From time to time, these mobile devices are blessed with maintenance refreshes, bug fixes, custom ROMs and anything in between, and so many of them are floating around that it's easy for a sizable chunk to get lost in the mix. To make sure they don't escape without notice, we've gathered every possible update, hack, and other miscellaneous tomfoolery we could find during the last week and crammed them into one convenient roundup. If you find something available for your device, please give us a shout at tips at engadget dawt com and let us know. Enjoy!
Econ4, which is a group of heterodox economists, has produced a series of videos for laypeople on major political/economic policy issues. Their latest release is on healthcare, or more accurately, our broken healthcare system.
From their statement:
The United States ranks first in the world in health care spending per person, but only 45th in life expectancy. The average American sees a doctor less often than the average Canadian, the average Briton, or the average resident of most industrial democracies. The average life expectancy of white Americans without a high school degree has fallen since 1990 by three years for men and five years for women.
This paradoxical combination of first-class costs and second-rate performance is a result of a multi-payer health care system whose enormous administrative bureaucracy absorbs nearly one-third of our health care dollars. The aim of this private bureaucracy is to police patients and doctors, not to add value or protect human health.
A further result is that nearly 50 million Americans today lack health insurance. Millions more have coverage inadequate to prevent bankruptcy or financial disaster in the event of a serious illness.
Some claim that the best way to improve health and extend coverage is to subsidize private insurance. But rather than controlling costs, subsidies multiply the economic waste in our health care system.
Some claim that government-funded health care means ?rationing? access to health care. They ignore the all-too-painful rationing that occurs every day when private insurers deny coverage and when families can?t afford to go to a doctor or buy medicines.
We oppose treating health care as a commodity to be rationed on the basis of purchasing power or a privilege to be rationed on the basis of political power.
We call for a national health insurance system that provides universal access to essential health care.
We call for insurance for all Americans in a single risk pool ? the efficient model already used by Medicare and the Veterans Administration ? a system that can save billions of dollars while improving health and well-being.
We extend our support to all who are working to build an effective and accountable health care system that puts public health before private profit and secures health care for all regardless of income, age, or pre-existing conditions.
Readers will no doubt notice that the myth of American exceptionalism is so deeply entrenched that the producers of the video felt they had to spend a considerable amount of time describing how poorly our healthcare system performs relative to those in other advanced economies. I can?t tell you how many times I?ve run into people who see themselves as well informed, yet are stunned when they have to have emergency care abroad and find it to be at or better than what they?d get here at a vastly lower cost. But take it back, we are exceptional, just in a bad way.
Job Summary/Basic Function: The Graduate Librarian reports directly to the Associate Director of Instruction & Research
Services. The Graduate Librarian will provide services at the Georgia College Graduate Center in Macon and at the main campus Library &
Instructional Technology Center in Milledgeville. *** Creates/maintains reference desk schedule for the Macon Graduate Center during
the semester, coordinating with the academic and library calendar
Coordinates and conducts library instruction sessions for the Macon Graduate Center
Oversees the maintenance and collection development of the Macon Graduate Center collection
Pursues opportunities to establish and maintain close communications by participating in the Macon Graduate Center and Milledgeville campus
activities and relevant Library activities
Works with Macon Graduate Center faculty and staff to integrate electronic learning materials and information resources into course
curricula
Develops, promotes, and teaches classes, courses, specialized references services and workshops in the disciplines covered by the Macon
Campus
Participates in the reference rotation on the Milledgeville Campus
Conducts library instruction session for assigned classes on the Milledgeville Campus
*** Other Responsibilities: Provides research assistance to diverse user groups in person, by phone, email, IM, etc.
Serves as the library's liaison, including collection development, to assigned academic departments
Knowledge/Skills and Abilities: Ability to plan, manage and oversee projects, manage multiple work assignments, meet
deadlines, and prioritize work in alignment with the service goals of the library and university
Knowledge of integrated library systems such as Voyager
Knowledge of Learning Management Systems, Desire2Learn etc.
Excellent interpersonal and communication skills
Ability to work collegially and effectively with university students, faculty, and staff as well as the surrounding community
Ability to serve effectively as the library's liaison to various academic departments
GC is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Institution committed to cultural, racial, and ethnic communities. We promote equal employment
opportunities regardless of race, religion, color, gender, marital status, genetic information, national origin, disability, sexual
orientation, and gender identity. It is expected that successful candidates share these commitments.
Minimum Qualifications: MLS/MLIS degree from an ALA-accredited institution
Professional library experience
Strong public service commitment
Instruction/Teaching experience
Demonstrated experience planning, managing, and overseeing projects
Preferred Qualifications: Experience with Voyager and Galileo
Excellent teaching and presentation skills with high level of familiarity with teaching technology
Reference experience in an academic setting
Familiarity with the programs of focus: Health Sciences, Business, Education, Law Enforcement, and/or administration
Special Instructions: Scanned copies of transcripts are acceptable for review purposes, however official transcripts will
be required from the finalist to complete the hiring process. Please note, the scanned copies of your transcripts will have to be combined
into one electronic file so they can be uploaded.
To be considered for employment applications must be submitted online. www.gcsujobs.com
GC&SU is an Equal Opportunity / Affirmative Action institution, with a commitment to cultural, racial, and ethnic communities. Women and minorities are encouraged to apply. It is expected that successful candidates share in this commitment. For more information, please visit our web page at www.gcsu.edu.
WASHINGTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - At payroll processing businesses across the United States, the "fiscal cliff" stalemate in Washington means uncertainty over tax-withholding tables just days before the start of 2013.
The U.S. Internal Revenue Service still has not issued the tables for next year that show how much money employers should hold back from workers' paychecks to cover federal income taxes.
Payroll processors need the tables to get their systems geared up for the new year. The tables are set by many factors, including tax rates and annual inflation adjustments.
In anticipation of late-breaking developments, Rochester, New York-based Paychex Inc will be serving Buffalo chicken wings for staffers working late on New Year's Eve, said Frank Fiorille, an executive at the payroll processing giant.
"Our systems are flexible enough that we can wait almost up until the last minute and still make changes," he said.
The IRS appreciates of the impact of Congress' inaction.
"Since Congress is still considering changes to the tax law, we continue to closely monitor the situation," IRS spokesman Terry Lemons said in a statement. "We intend to issue guidance by the end of the year on appropriate withholding for 2013."
Tax rates are slated to rise sharply for most Americans if Congress and President Barack Obama fail to reach an agreement that averts the "fiscal cliff" approaching at year-end.
"The political process will determine one way or the other what" the IRS must do, said Scott Hodge, president of the Tax Foundation, a business-oriented tax research group.
For now, he said, from the tax-collection agency's viewpoint, "doing nothing is probably the best course." This would be because withholding tables distributed now might only have to be revised if Congress acts in the next few days.
Some payroll servicers are not waiting for formal IRS guidance. The American Payroll Association, which represents about 23,000 payroll professionals, told members on Friday to rely on 2012 withholding tables until the IRS releases the new forms for 2013.
The association said its decision was based on a statement earlier this month from an IRS official.
The agency would not confirm that policy on Friday.
Tax preparer H&R Block Inc said it will use 2012 tax-withholding tables if the 2013 tables are not issued.
Executives said they were frustrated with the uncertainty in Washington, but were doing their best to cope.
"We are not doctors or surgeons and this is not life threatening," said Rob Basso with Advantaged Payroll Services, an Auburn, Maine-based payroll processor that serves 30,000 businesses. "It is annoying and disruptive to people's lives, but we will get through it."
(Additional reporting by Jessica Toonkel in New York; Editing by Kevin Drawbaugh and Leslie Adler)
That's it. You can't take it anymore. It's your time for a fresh start and you can feel it in your core.
More from YourTango: 12 Romantic Holiday Date Ideas [EXPERT]
It's time to leave this toxic relationship once and for all. You are tired of the fights. You are tired of the silence. You are tired of walking on eggshells. You are just plain tired.
You can barely stand to look at yourself in the mirror because you are ashamed of what you have become: a doormat, a victim.
Your friends and family have been keeping their distance lately and you can't blame them. Being around you and your partner is uncomfortable at best. This situation is negatively affecting all the areas of your life and you're ready to make a move.
You admit that you've thought about it for a while. In fact, it has been months ? maybe years ? that you've been imagining what life would be like without your partner. You've seen other couples who bring out the best in each other and you long to experience that kind of love. You imagine feeling truly adored and respected by your partner, appreciated and supported.
You know deep down that you deserve a better relationship and you have finally mustered up the courage to break free and then ... that little (but loud), lying voice in your head (what I call your "LLV") speaks up and you begin to doubt yourself again. Continue reading.
More from YourTango: Life After Divorce: 7 Steps To A Fresh Start [EXPERT]
Acer looks ready to launch an entry-level tablet into the market judging by an FCC application that popped up today along with an earlier GLBenchmark leak. The test site's report shows a likely 7-inch or so tab with a 1,024 x 600 display, Android 4.1.2 Jellybean, 1.2GHz dual-core processor and PowerVR SGX 531 GPU along with distinctly non-barnburning test results. Those specs now look quite credible when combined with the new FCC document, which shows it sporting WiFi radios but no other wireless radios like 3G or LTE. The company has been mum so far about when or where such a device would arrive and at what cost, but judging by the above, it's unlikely to break any banks. Check the source if parsing radio reports is your bag.
Red lights illuminate Pennsylvania Avenue as the U.S. Capitol glows in the twilight, in Washington, Wednesday, Dec. 19, 2012, as talks continue on the looming fiscal cliff. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Red lights illuminate Pennsylvania Avenue as the U.S. Capitol glows in the twilight, in Washington, Wednesday, Dec. 19, 2012, as talks continue on the looming fiscal cliff. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
WASHINGTON (AP) ? They may not agree on much else, but there's a change to Medicare that President Barack Obama and Republicans both support: Expand a little-known law so more retirees that the government considers well-off are required to pay higher monthly premiums.
It's on the short list in the budget talks, raising $20 billion or more over 10 years.
That could come as a shock to many seniors who would have to pay the higher premiums and consider themselves comfortably middle-class, yet by no means wealthy.
It happened to Tom James. He and his wife recently got an official notice that they will have to start paying more for Medicare next year, about $1,000 for the two of them.
James is among some 2 million beneficiaries currently facing higher "income-related" premiums for outpatient care, or Medicare Part B. If the budget proposal goes through, that number would grow over time to 20 million.
"I was blindsided," said James, a retired bank examiner who lives near Philadelphia. "The camel has got his nose in the tent now, and the question is how far do they want to go with that?"
Income-based premiums were introduced for outpatient care under former President George W. Bush and later expanded to the prescription benefit, or Medicare Part D, by Obama's health care law. The idea now is to keep broadening their reach.
How would it work?
Think of it as two bites.
First, the current income-based premiums would be ratcheted up. Those surcharges are assessed on a sliding scale, and kick in for individual beneficiaries making more than $85,000, or $170,000 for couples.
Second, the number of beneficiaries who have to pay higher monthly premiums would be gradually expanded by a few hundred thousand people each year. That would be done by extending a temporary freeze on the income thresholds at which the higher premiums are assessed.
Without adjusting the thresholds for inflation, the share of beneficiaries on the hook for higher premiums would keep growing from 5 percent currently until it reached 25 percent, or 1 in 4 people with Medicare.
Backers of the idea ? Obama administration officials, prominent Republicans in the House and Senate and nonpartisan experts ? say it's foolish for Medicare to keep subsidizing people who can pay their own way, particularly when the program faces long-range financial problems.
"What we're talking about here is a premium structure that makes sense," said Robert Bixby, executive director of the nonpartisan Concord Coalition, which advocates reducing the deficit. "Politicians have been afraid to charge full fare because of public reaction. But that time is coming to an end."
Medicare serves about 50 million Americans, including seniors and disabled people. Half have annual incomes below $22,500.
Technically, the program's outpatient and prescription coverage is optional. In practice, it's too good a deal to pass up. By law taxpayers cover 75 percent of the premiums, and beneficiaries pick up the remaining 25 percent.
That's the way it works for most people. Medicaid pays premiums for the poor, while people the government considers well-off shoulder an increasing share of premiums, starting at 35 percent and going all the way up to 80 percent for individuals making more than $214,000 and couples over $428,000.
Polls show that Americans clearly prefer raising premiums on wealthy beneficiaries as opposed to a general increase. However, few people are aware that the government is already collecting higher premiums from some beneficiaries. Very few know the details.
"I think wealth is in the eye of the beholder," said Tricia Neuman, a Medicare expert with the nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation. "This premium affects people with incomes starting at $85,000, but in the discussion over taxes $85,000 is not generally considered high income."
AARP says hiking the premium would be equivalent to a tax.
"This is a payment to the federal government based on your income, and that is a form of a tax," said David Certner, legislative policy director for the older people's lobby.
Not so, says Bixby. Even the wealthiest beneficiaries still get some subsidy under the plan, just not a 75 percent price break.
AARP also worries that charging seniors more based on income could taint Medicare as a welfare program, undercutting its political support.
James, the Philadelphia-area retiree, said the higher premium feels like a tax to him. "I'm making a payment to a government program," he said.
He said he figures he and his wife were probably pushed over the threshold because of distributions from retirement accounts that people in their 70s are required by law to take.
It's causing him to rethink how he feels about Medicare.
? 
