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ny0070553
|
[
"us",
"politics"
] |
2015/03/18
|
No Record That Hillary Clinton Signed That She Had No Documents
|
WASHINGTON — The State Department said Tuesday that it had no record of Hillary Rodham Clinton, or the two secretaries of state before her, signing a form stating that they had no government records in their possession when they left office. The form, known as a separation statement, requires employees leaving the State Department to attest that they have turned over all documents related to government business. Those who sign the form can be prosecuted under federal law if they have taken documents with them. Mrs. Clinton has said she exclusively used a personal email account to conduct government business when she was secretary of state. In response to a request from the State Department in August — two years after she left office — she turned over 50,000 pages of emails that she said were government records from her time as secretary. Starting last week, members of the news media began questioning the State Department about whether Mrs. Clinton had signed the separation statement, suggesting that such a move could land her in legal trouble given that she had retained possession of her emails. But Jen Psaki, a spokeswoman for the State Department, said Tuesday that the department had “reviewed Secretary Clinton’s official personnel file and administrative files and do not have any record of her signing” the separation statement. “It’s not clear that this form is used as part of a standard part of checkout across this whole of government, or even at the State Department,” Ms. Psaki said. The revelations about Mrs. Clinton and her private email account have brought scrutiny to the State Department and its policies regarding public records. The department has said it plans to provide additional details in the coming days about how often the form is signed.
|
Hillary Clinton;State Department;Email;US Foreign Policy;Classified Information
|
ny0277653
|
[
"world",
"asia"
] |
2016/11/16
|
Xi Jinping Wants to Be ‘Comrade.’ For Gay Chinese, That Means Something Else.
|
BEIJING — To the 90 million or so members of China’s Communist Party, President Xi Jinping has a message: Don’t call me president. Don’t call me party secretary. Call me “comrade.” There is just one problem. In recent decades, the once ubiquitous term for Communist cadres and leaders has been embraced and popularized by a different group of people: gay men and lesbians. The term “tongzhi,” or “comrade,” was a nearly universal form of address in China well into the 1980s, but as Mao jackets gave way to Western-style suits and ties, it fell out of favor among Chinese officials. Among gay men, however, “tongzhi” became a term of affection and solidarity and eventually a catchall label for sexual minorities. A gay and lesbian film festival held annually in Hong Kong has been called the Hong Kong Comrade Film Festival since 1989. And the Beijing center for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people calls itself the Beijing Tongzhi Zhongxin — or the Beijing Comrade Center . Even Google has caught on. Enter the characters for tongzhi guanxi — literally “comrade relationship”— into its translator, and it gives you “gay relationship.” (Baidu, the dominant Chinese-language search engine, by contrast, offers the literal translation.) Fan Popo, a gay rights activist and filmmaker based in Beijing, said there had been episodes in which Chinese criticized gay rights activists for appropriating the political term. For some younger Chinese, however, the word “comrade” offered a source of comfort for those who felt too ashamed to use the term “tongxinglian,” or homosexual, Mr. Fan said. “But now, people have really gotten used to it,” he said. “Even the ticket-takers on the bus — the people who you would not really expect to know the modern lingo — don’t say ‘comrade’ anymore because they know what it means among young people.” Nowadays, Chinese typically refer to one another as “mister,” “miss” or “madame.” Strangers often address one another as “young miss,” “beautiful woman,” “handsome man” or “master.” Within the party, only top leaders are typically referred to as “comrade.” At the lower levels, “comrade” has been replaced by a grab bag of titles. In a commentary published last year, Study Times, a weekly party journal, railed against modern designations like “deputy secretary,” “boss,” “C.E.O.,” “grandfather” and “brother.” “These terms have not only destroyed the seriousness of democratic relations within the party,” the commentary read, “but they have also affected the relationship between the party and the masses as well as the overall image of the party.” After a meeting last month of the Communist Party’s Central Committee, leaders issued a directive urging party members to eschew titles and honorifics in favor of the revolutionary throwback. The directive instructed that “party members must call each other ‘comrades.’” Some political experts, however, voiced skepticism that the order would change much. “These days, everyone who joins the party does so to become an official and make money,” said Zhang Lifan, a writer and historian. “You can’t really call these people true comrades.” There may also be an inherent contradiction. Last month’s Central Committee meeting — the same one that issued the order to party members to call one another comrade — had another, bigger announcement: “Comrade Xi Jinping” had been elevated to “ core” leader , cementing his status as China’s central political strongman. “Power is power,” Mr. Zhang said. “You can say that all party members are comrades. But among all the comrades, there is still a core.”
|
Gay and Lesbian LGBT;Communist Party of China;Xi Jinping;China;Chinese language;Slang
|
ny0255711
|
[
"business"
] |
2011/09/12
|
Bank Chief Has Big Job to Reassure Investors
|
Like a magician facing a weary audience, Bank of America faces pressure to pull another rabbit out of its hat. In just the last few weeks, the company has announced a management shake-up, a $5 billion investment by Warren E. Buffett, and the sale of more than $15 billion in assets. None of those major news events have propped up the bank’s battered stock, which finished last week at just less than $7 a share — down nearly 30 percent since the beginning of August. On Monday, Brian T. Moynihan , the bank’s chief executive, is scheduled to deliver a much-anticipated address to investors at a conference hosted by Barclays in New York, but anything less than a bold new blueprint is likely to leave already frustrated investors grumbling. “He’s got to say something new, otherwise it’ll be a real dud,” said Chris Kotowski, an analyst with Oppenheimer. “There’s a lot of cynicism. People are going to be skeptical of any numbers they put out.” Mr. Moynihan will unveil the initial results of the bank’s Project New BAC restructuring initiative, named after its stock ticker symbol. That plan will increase targets for quarterly cost savings to well above the $1 billion to $1.5 billion goal he laid out last month. Mr. Moynihan is also expected to note that the streamlining, which could cost 30,000 to 40,000 jobs in the next three years, would affect the executive suite, too. Last week, the company said the reshuffling did not leave room for the positions held by two well-known top executives, Sallie Krawcheck and Joe Price. Bank of America officials declined to comment on the contents of the speech on Monday. Two other top executives who are at the heart of Mr. Moynihan’s team, Bruce R. Thompson, the chief financial officer, and Mike Lyons, head of corporate strategy and planning, played critical roles in putting together the presentation. Mr. Moynihan is likely to emphasize that Bank of America is sticking with the diet he imposed on it after taking over in late 2010, while cleaning up after the acquisition binge begun by his predecessor as chief executive, Kenneth D. Lewis. Mr. Moynihan is expected to detail the bank’s current capital structure, reiterating his desire to strengthen the company’s balance sheet further without having to resort to selling more stock, a major worry among Bank of America shareholders. He is also likely to emphasize that the asset sales in the third quarter have replenished capital that was consumed by the cost of settling mortgage-related litigation in the second quarter. An Aug. 10 conference call with Mr. Moynihan and investors, hosted by a Florida hedge fund manager, Bruce Berkowitz, drew a collective thumbs-down from Wall Street. Analysts say that Mr. Moynihan needs to deliver something stronger and more detailed this time to halt the slide in Bank of America’s stock price. “I’m still scratching my head over that conference call with investors in August that didn’t add a lot of value,” said Michael Mayo, an analyst with Crédit Agricole. “The C.E.O. has his back up against the wall more than it’s been in the past. Investors do want something radical to confront many radical circumstances.” Mr. Mayo says the challenge for Mr. Moynihan is that more radical solutions that might lift the stock in the short-term could prove risky in terms of the future of the company and its long-term performance. For example, spinning off its highly profitable Merrill Lynch unit might give the stock a short-term bounce but deprive the bank, the country’s largest, of a major source of profits even as margins in more traditional areas of banking like commercial lending are squeezed. And when it comes to the biggest problem facing the bank, how much it will cost to atone for the excesses associated with the housing bubble, the options are even less appetizing. Angry investors are trying to force Bank of America, and other large banks, to buy back billions of dollars worth of mortgages that have defaulted, arguing that the home loans did not conform to the original underwriting standards or were originated with little evidence of adequate assets on the part of borrowers. In other cases, investors including the federal government and the insurance giant A.I.G. want to recover tens of billions of dollars from the big banks for losses on securities they assembled from now-troubled subprime mortgages. For Bank of America, the bulk of those losses stem from the 2008 acquisition of Countrywide Financial, the subprime giant. While Mr. Moynihan has not ruled out putting the Countrywide unit into bankruptcy, such a step would make it harder for healthy divisions of the company to borrow, Mr. Kotowski of Oppenheimer warned. To make matters worse, Mr. Kotowski said, the cost of the mortgage mess has mushroomed, undermining confidence more broadly in how the bank has handled the issue. At an investor conference last November, Mr. Moynihan vowed “hand-to-hand combat” to fight these claims, but the settlements by Bank of America in January and June were a shift away from that strategy in an effort to put the litigation behind the company and resolve the resulting uncertainty. The legal onslaught has only intensified, however, with more lawsuits filed on Sept. 2 by the federal agency that oversees mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and the fears about how much the mortgage implosion will eventually cost Bank of America loom as large as ever. “The mortgage risk is everything for Bank of America,” said Glenn Schorr, an analyst with Nomura. “They can take several billion dollars out in costs, but if they lose the big numbers people are talking about in terms of mortgages, the cost cuts won’t make enough of an impact.” But Mr. Schorr said that cost cuts also signal that Bank of America could address what is within its reach to influence. “They can’t control Europe imploding or this enormous mortgage risk,” he said. “But they can try to control their operating performance.”
|
Moynihan Brian T;Bank of America Corporation;Banking and Financial Institutions
|
ny0296441
|
[
"sports",
"hockey"
] |
2016/12/24
|
Hockey Is Catching Up to Bob Johnson, 25 Years After His Death
|
If there is such a thing as a hockey gene, Bob Johnson surely had it. Twenty-five years after his death, Johnson’s influence extends from the N.H.L., where he helped pave the way for American college players and coaches in a league then dominated by Canadians, to N.C.A.A. hockey, which he endlessly promoted. Johnson died of brain cancer at age 60 on Nov. 26, 1991, six months after leading the Pittsburgh Penguins to their first Stanley Cup in his only year as coach. Yet his signature saying, “It’s a great day for hockey,” is still painted above the stick rack outside the team’s locker room at PPG Paints Arena, which opened in 2010. It also hangs from a banner at Honnen Ice Arena at Colorado College, where Johnson started his coaching career in 1963. Johnson built Wisconsin’s modern program beginning in 1966 and led the Badgers to three national titles from 1973 to 1981. His impact is felt in women’s college hockey, too, where his son Mark has coached the top-ranked Badgers to four national titles since 2002. And the youth hockey camp Bob Johnson started with Art Berglund in Aspen, Colo., in 1964 is still thriving, now run by Johnson’s sons Mark and Pete and his grandson Scott McConnell. Image Johnson, who died 25 years ago, built Wisconsin’s hockey program beginning in 1966. Credit University of Wisconsin Athletics Johnson’s importance remains larger than games and championships won. Much of what he did beginning 50 years ago was greeted with rolled eyes and guffaws, but is now commonplace throughout the sport: an emphasis on conditioning, fundamentals practiced in on- and off-ice drills, and a creative, up-tempo style reliant on one-touch passes and carrying the puck into the offensive zone. Jeff Sauer, who played for Johnson at Colorado College and succeeded him as coach at Wisconsin, remembers him emphasizing nutrition, even scrapping the traditional pregame steak dinner for toast, honey and chocolate milk so his players would have energy in the third period. He also recalls off-ice drills with tennis balls to promote dexterity. Phil Bourque had played more than 200 N.H.L. games over six seasons before Johnson took over a veteran Penguins team in 1990. Bourque, a color commentator on the team’s television broadcasts since 2000, said Johnson often had the Penguins work on the most basic skills. “Now, if I see a coach doing a real simple drill, I think of him,” he said. “Ahead of his time” is how many describe Johnson, whose heartfelt belief that hockey should be fun and his embrace of innovation defined his coaching style. Exposed to the European game during his years coaching United States national teams, Johnson filled notebooks with drills and plays he witnessed, especially from the Soviet coach Anatoly Tarasov . Image Johnson during Wisconsin’s 1977-78 season. He was known for his innovations. “Every day, every practice was different,” said Jeff Sauer, who played for Johnson at Colorado College. “The rink was his lab.” Credit University of Wisconsin Athletics Those notebooks now reside with Mark Johnson, who said he had dipped into them for ideas over the years. Sauer said: “He was the first real innovative coach. Every day, every practice was different. He was unafraid to try unproven things. The rink was his lab.” Back when there was much less emphasis on the power play, Johnson borrowed from the Europeans and created a juggernaut at Wisconsin. The Badgers converted on 37 percent of their chances during the 1977 title season. Jack Parker, a former Boston University coach, whose teams competed against Johnson’s in the 1970s, said he had copied from Johnson and created a potent power play for his team. Parker went on to win three national championships in 40 years with the Terriers. Image Johnson and members of the United States team after a victory over Finland in the 1976 Olympics. Credit Associated Press Growing up in Minneapolis, Johnson coached Midgets when he was 13 and local high school teams when he was in college. His son Mark said: “He was first and foremost a teacher. His instincts in coaching came from teaching.” Johnson taught high school history using a hockey stick as a pointer, earned his master’s degree and Ph.D. in physical education from Minnesota, his alma mater, and left Wisconsin as a tenured professor. “He was always hungry to learn,” said George Gwozdecky , a player on the 1977 Wisconsin title team, who later won two N.C.A.A. championships as a coach at Denver University. Nicknamed Hawk by his early Wisconsin players for the prominent nose that he tugged constantly, Johnson picked up the sobriquet Badger Bob from his players on the 1976 United States Olympic team for his love of Wisconsin hockey and his rah-rah style. Image The Penguins won the Stanley Cup in 1991, Johnson’s only season with the team. “He’s affected all of us throughout our careers,” Mario Lemieux said. Credit Rick Stewart/Getty Images Steve Alley, a freshman forward on the 1973 title team at Wisconsin, said the secret to Johnson’s success was “one big thing — a tremendously positive attitude.” “No human being who ever lived had a more positive attitude than Bob Johnson,” Alley said. Always eager to be challenged, Johnson left Wisconsin after the 1982 season to coach the Calgary Flames. Goalie Wayne Thomas, who went on to play nine seasons in the N.H.L. after playing two for Johnson at Wisconsin, said it had taken “a lot of courage” for him to leave the college game. “For a United States college coach to go to Canada when there was a much greater divide between the Canadian and American game took a lot of nerve,” he said. His Flames made the playoffs every season and reached the Stanley Cup finals in 1986 after beating the Edmonton Oilers in the Smythe Division finals, the only time the Oilers did not win the Cup from 1984 to 1988. Along the way Johnson acquired American college players like Joe Mullen from Boston College, the former Badgers Mike Eaves and Gary Suter, and Joel Otto, who had played at Division II Bemidji State. Image Johnson behind the bench with the Calgary Flames. Wayne Thomas, who played for him at Wisconsin, said it had taken “a lot of courage” for Johnson to leave the college game. Credit Rick Stewart/Getty Images “He believed in the American college player,” said Suter, who won a Cup with the Flames in 1989, two years after Johnson left to become executive director of what is now USA Hockey. “Before Calgary, there was a lot of doubt that we could compete and be successful in the N.H.L.” When Johnson joined Calgary, only a handful of former American collegians played in the N.H.L. Last season, former college players made up 30 percent of the league. And Dave Hakstol jumped from a college job to the N.H.L. when the Philadelphia Flyers hired him last year. Nowhere is Johnson’s legacy more alive than in Pittsburgh, even though he spent only a short time there. Johnson took over a veteran team that had finished fifth in the Patrick Division the year before and, adding players like Mullen, Ron Francis and Ulf Samuelsson along the way, beat Minnesota in six games for the Stanley Cup. Despite Johnson’s success in Calgary, when he arrived in Pittsburgh, “we still thought of him as a college guy,” Bourque said. Image Johnson at the Badgers’ arena in the mid-1970s. Exposed to the European game during his years coaching United States national teams, he filled notebooks with the drills and plays he had seen. Credit University of Wisconsin Athletics Johnson brought along his unusual techniques, including having players lie on the floor of a hotel ballroom and close their eyes while he conducted a visualization exercise. Or outlining a rink with tape on the locker room carpet and explaining plays by moving around pucks, his players denoted by their pictures on the pucks. “You just didn’t get coaches like that at the N.H.L. level back then,” Bourque said. Johnson’s influence remains strong on Mario Lemieux, who was in his seventh N.H.L. season during Johnson’s one year with the team. Lemieux, now the Penguins’ owner, credited Johnson with influencing everything from the team’s community outreach programs to its branding and marketing campaigns, which include “It’s a Great Day for Hockey.” In the team’s recently released 50th anniversary documentary, “Pittsburgh Is Home: The Story of the Penguins,” Lemieux praised Johnson for teaching him how to approach the game, and how to win. “He’s affected all of us throughout our careers,” he said. “And that certainly stayed with all of us who had a chance to have him as a coach.” Such was Johnson’s impact that his name was engraved on the Stanley Cup after his death, when the Penguins won again in 1992 with many of his same players. Bourque said much of the way the organization operated was still a reflection of Johnson’s ideals and passions. “People still talk about him all the time,” he said. “It’s like he never left.”
|
Bob Johnson;University of Wisconsin-Madison;Pittsburgh Penguins;Ice hockey;College Sports
|
ny0053397
|
[
"us"
] |
2014/07/16
|
South Carolina: Museum Site Chosen
|
The $75 million International African American Museum will be built at Charleston Harbor where tens of thousands of slaves arrived in the United States. “There is no better site,” Mayor Joseph P. Riley Jr. said Tuesday. The site is down and across the street from a vacant lot where the museum, first proposed 13 years ago, was originally planned; it is also near a wharf where slaves left ships once stood. Mr. Riley said that as research was done, the significance of Gadsden’s Wharf became evident. The wharf was built by the Revolutionary War patriot Christopher Gadsden, and about 40 percent of African slaves brought to the country in the late 18th and early 19th centuries walked across it. Part of the tract is city land. A family that owns another part has agreed to sell the land to the city, the mayor said. Plans call for one-third of the money to come from donations, one-third from the city and county of Charleston, and one-third from the state. Mr. Riley said he hoped the money would be in place by early 2016 so construction could begin. If that schedule holds, the 42,000-square-foot museum could open in 2018.
|
Museum;Slavery;International African American Museum;Charleston SC;South Carolina
|
ny0048233
|
[
"nyregion"
] |
2014/11/30
|
Events on Long Island for Nov. 30-Dec. 6, 2014
|
A guide to cultural and recreational events on Long Island. Items for the calendar should be sent at least three weeks in advance to [email protected]. Comedy PORT WASHINGTON Landmark on Main Street Jokesercise — Comedy Show. Dec. 10 at 3 p.m. Free. Landmark on Main Street, 232 Main Street. 516-767-6444; landmarkonmainstreet.org/. Film HUNTINGTON Cinema Arts Center “I Am Santa Claus,” directed by Tommy Avallone, with World Wrestling Entertainment’s Mick Foley in attendance. Dec. 2 at 7:30 p.m. $10 and $15. “Triple Divide” (2013), documentary directed by Melissa Troutman and Joshua Pribanic. Dec. 4 at 7:30 p.m. $6 and $11. Cinema Arts Center, 423 Park Avenue. 800-838-3006; cinemaartscentre.org. ROSLYN HARBOR Nassau County Museum of Art “The Lost Bird Project,” a one-hour film that follows Todd McGrain as he attempts to install large bronze sculptures of five extinct North American birds. Film is followed by an art project. Dec. 7, 1 to 4 p.m. Museum admission, $4 to $10, and $8-per-family materials fee. Nassau County Museum of Art, 1 Museum Drive. nassaumuseum.org; 516-484-9337. SAG HARBOR Bay Street Theater Seventh Annual Hamptons Take 2 Documentary Film Festival, with 32 films. Dec. 4 through 7. $13 and $15; $40 for gala tickets and $125 for an all-festival pass. Bay Street Theater, Main and Bay Streets. 631-725-9500; ht2ff.com. WESTHAMPTON BEACH Westhampton Beach Performing Arts Center “Pride,” directed by Matthew Warchus. Through Nov. 30. $5 to $15. Westhampton Beach Performing Arts Center, 76 Main Street. 631-288-1500; whbpac.org. For Children GARDEN CITY Long Island Children’s Museum Learn about the Native American tradition behind dream catchers, then assemble your own. Nov. 30 at 2 p.m. $3 with museum admission, $11 and $12. Snow People Prints. Print and press to make a family of snow people. Dec. 2 through 5. Free with museum admission, $11 and $12. Songs by Lena presents “Happy as Clams, the Musical.” Dec. 2 through 5. $8 with museum admission, $12 theater only. Long Island Children’s Museum, 11 Davis Avenue. 516-224-5800; licm.org. OAKDALE CM Performing Arts Center “Magic Toy Shop,” presented by CM children’s theater. Dec. 6 through 23. $12. CM Performing Arts Center, 931 Montauk Highway. 631-218-2810; cmpac.com. PORT JEFFERSON Theater Three “Barnaby Saves Christmas,” children’s musical. Through Dec. 27. $10. Theater Three, 412 Main Street. theaterthree.com; 631-928-9100. RIVERHEAD Riverhead Free Library “Preschool Playtime,” activities, stories and more. Dec. 12, 1 to 2 p.m. Riverhead Free Library, 330 Court Street. 631-727-3228; river.suffolk.lib.ny.us. SAG HARBOR Bay Street Theater Stages Holiday Fantasy Spectacular, fairy tale characters and stage princesses. Dec. 13 and 14. Bay Street Theater, Main and Bay Streets. 631-329-1420; stagesworkshop.org. Music and Dance BAY SHORE Y.M.C.A. Boulton Center for the Performing Arts Adrian Belew, rock. Dec. 10 at 8 p.m. $40 and $45. James Cotton, singer and songwriter. Dec. 11 at 8 p.m. $40 and $45. Y.M.C.A. Boulton Center for the Performing Arts, 37 West Main Street. boultoncenter.org; 631-969-1101. BRIDGEHAMPTON Bridgehampton Presbyterian Church “Celebrate with Bach and Mendelssohn,” a concert by the Choral Society of the Hamptons, featuring Bach’s “Magnificat” and Mendelssohn’s “Magnificat.” Dec. 7 at 3 and 5:30 p.m. $10 to $75. Bridgehampton Presbyterian Church, Main Streets. BROOKVILLE Tilles Center for the Performing Arts “Swan Lake,” State Ballet Theater of Russia. Dec. 5 at 8 p.m. $43 to $78. Cheyenne Jackson, actor and singer. Dec. 6 at 7:30 and 9:30 p.m. $43 and $53. Long Island University Post Wind Symphony and Wind Ensemble, led by James McRoy, conductor. Dec. 7 at 7:30 p.m. $8 and $10. A Viennese Christmas, seasonal favorites for orchestra and vocal soloists, plus waltzes, polka and light opera. Dec. 7 at 3 p.m. $28 to $63. Tilles Center for the Performing Arts, 720 Northern Boulevard. 516-299-3100; tillescenter.org. EAST HAMPTON Guild Hall Our Fabulous Variety Show presents “A Spectacular Christmas Carol.” Dec. 5 through 7. $15 to $50. ourfabulousvarietyshow.org; 631-594-2906. “The Nutcracker,” Hampton Ballet Theater School. Dec. 12 through 14. $20 to $30. Guild Hall, 158 Main Street. 855-222-2849; hamptonballettheatreschool.com. FREEPORT Freeport High School Solid Brass, performing Bizet, Wagner, Handel, Strauss and Rogers. Dec. 6, 8 to 10 p.m. $20. Freeport High School, 50 South Brookside Avenue. freeportconcertassociation.com; 516-223-7659. GARDEN CITY Adelphi University Performing Arts Center Fall Dance Adelphi: The department of dance presents work by choreographer Jiri Kylian, as well as a new piece by Adelphi faculty member Orion Duckstein. Dec. 3 through 7. $20. Adelphi University Performing Arts Center, 1 South Avenue. 516-877-4000; aupac.adelphi.edu. HEMPSTEAD Nassau Coliseum Cher, presents the D2K Tour. Dec. 8 at 7:30 p.m. $37.60 to $176.25. Nassau Coliseum, 1255 Hempstead Turnpike. 516-794-9300; nassaucoliseum.com. HUNTINGTON Cinema Arts Center “An Evening With Peter Yarrow,” highlights from a new documentary, live performance and never recorded songs. Dec. 3 at 7:30 p.m. $25 and $30. Cinema Arts Center, 423 Park Avenue. cinemaartscentre.org; 800-838-3006; HUNTINGTON Huntington Jewish Center The Voxare String Quartet and screening of the 1929 film “The Man With the Movie Camera.” Dec. 7 at 4 p.m. $10 to $25. Huntington Jewish Center, 510 Park Avenue. 631-385-0373; ridotto.org. HUNTINGTON The Paramount Joe Walsh, singer-songwriter. Dec. 1 at 8 p.m. $50 to $125. The Paramount, 370 New York Avenue. paramountny.com; 631-673-7300. LAWRENCE Peninsula Public Library Celebration of Song: Opera and Broadway Hits, with Julie Anne Meixsell, soprano, Ronald Meixsell, bass baritone, and Aglaia Messina, pianist, performing selections from “Porgy & Bess,” “Someone Like You,” “Some Enchanted Evening,” “Torreador,” and more. Dec. 8 at 1 p.m. Free. Peninsula Public Library, 280 Central Avenue. 516-239-3262; nassaulibrary.org/peninsula. LOCUST VALLEY Locust Valley Library Stan Wiest, pianist, presents a holiday sing along. Dec. 7, 2 to 4 p.m. Free. Locust Valley Library, 170 Buckram Road. nassaulibrary.org/locust; 516-671-1837. OLD WESTBURY Old Westbury Gardens Chamber Players International Musical Cuisine Concert, masterworks by Chopin and Beethoven. Nov. 30 at 2 p.m. $60. 877-444-4488; chamberplayersinternational.org. Long Island Flute Club Holiday Concert, seasonal music by the Long Island Flute Club’s Professional Flute Choir. Dec. 7 at 1 p.m. Free with admission. Old Westbury Gardens, 71 Old Westbury Road. oldwestburygardens.org; 516-333-0048. OLD WESTBURY The Life Lutheran Church Tree Lighting and Family Festival, music by Lost and Found and other choral groups. Food and beverages available; 75-foot spruce to be lit with 8,000 lights. Dec. 7, 3 to 6:30 p.m. Free. The Life Lutheran Church, 1 Old Westbury Road (at Jericho Turnpike). 516-333-3355; thelifeny.org. PATCHOGUE Patchogue Theater for the Performing Arts “Clara’s Dream, the Nutcracker,” American Dance Theater of Long Island. Dec. 5, 6 and 7. $15. Holiday Chorus Concert Brass Ensemble Performance and Community Sing-a-Long. Dec. 12 at 7 p.m. $9. Patchogue Theater for the Performing Arts, 71 East Main Street. 631-207-1313; patchoguetheatre.com. PORT WASHINGTON Landmark on Main Street “The Nutcracker,” Long Island Ballet Theater. Through Nov. 30. $22 and $28. New York Chinese Chorus. Dec. 6 at 2 p.m. Free. Landmark on Main Street, 232 Main Street. 516-767-6444; landmarkonmainstreet.org/. STONY BROOK University Cafe, Stony Brook University Holiday show with Ellis Paul, singer/songwriter. Dec. 7 at 2 p.m. $25 and $30. University Cafe, Stony Brook University, 100 Nicolls Road. universitycafe.org; 631-632-1093. WESTHAMPTON BEACH Westhampton Beach Performing Arts Center Medeski, Scofield, Martin and Wood, jam band. Dec. 6 at 8 p.m. $75 to $115. “The Nutcracker” ballet, with students from WHBPAC and Dancecore alongside professional dancers. Dec. 13 and 14. $15. Westhampton Beach Performing Arts Center, 76 Main Street. 631-288-1500; whbpac.org. Spoken Word GLEN COVE Congregation Tifereth Israel “Conscious Parenting,” Shefali Tsabary, author of “The Conscious Parent: Transforming Ourselves, Empowering Our Children.” Dec. 7 at 10 a.m. Free. Congregation Tifereth Israel, 40 Hill Street. 516-676-5080; ctionline.org. Image BROOKVILLE The actor and singer Cheyenne Jackson will perform at the Tilles Center for the Performing Arts, 720 Northern Boulevard, on Dec. 6 at 7:30 and 9:30 p.m. Tickets are $43 and $53. 516-299-3100; tillescenter.org . Credit Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images HEMPSTEAD Guthart Cultural Center Theater, Joan and Donald E. Axinn Library Belinda McKeon reading, part of Hofstra University’s “Great Writers, Great Readings” Series. Dec. 3, 11:15 a.m. to 12:40 p.m. Free. Guthart Cultural Center Theater, Joan and Donald E. Axinn Library, Hofstra University, South Campus. 516-463-6644; hofstra.edu. STONY BROOK Long Island Museum of American Art, History and Carriages The Artist’s Vision: Understanding the Creative Inspiration and Process. Members of LIMarts, a collaborative arts group, discuss the creative process. Q. and A. session follows. Dec. 7, 1 to 3 p.m. Free. Long Island Museum of American Art, History and Carriages, 1200 Route 25A. longislandmuseum.org; 631-751-0066. Theater OAKDALE CM Performing Arts Center “Peter Pan the Musical,” based on the play by James M. Barrie. Through Jan. 4. $18 to $27. CM Performing Arts Center, 931 Montauk Highway. 631-218-2810; cmpac.com. PORT JEFFERSON Theater Three Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol,” adapted by Jeffrey E. Sanzel. Through Dec. 27. Theater Three, 412 Main Street. theaterthree.com; 631-928-9100. SMITHTOWN Smithtown Center for the Performing Arts “The Wizard of Oz,” musical. Through Jan. 25. $20 and $35. Smithtown Center for the Performing Arts, 2 East Main Street. 631-724-3700; smithtownpac.org. WANTAGH East Line Productions Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol.” Dec. 5 , 6 and 7. $10 and $12. East Line Productions, 2123 Wantagh Avenue. 516-749-5047. Museums and Galleries BAY SHORE Second Avenue Firehouse “Oaxacan Angels,” 50 angels from a private collection of folk art from Oaxaca, Mexico, displayed alongside photographer Vicki Ragan’s portraits of Oaxacan “angel-girls.” Dec. 6 through Jan. 4. Second Avenue Firehouse, 17 Second Avenue. secondavenuefirehouse.com; 631-669-3236. BRIDGEHAMPTON The Design Studio “Global Perspective,” an exhibition featuring works by nine international artists. Through Jan. 5. Mondays through Thursdays, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Fridays and Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.; Sundays, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The Design Studio, 2393 Main Street. elisacontemporaryart.com. EAST HAMPTON Guild Hall “Mary Ellen Bartley: Leaning Above the Page,” 19 photographic meditations. Through Jan. 4. Suggested donation: $7. Fridays and Saturdays, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Sundays, noon to 5 p.m. Guild Hall, 158 Main Street. guildhall.org; 631-324-4050. EAST HAMPTON The Drawing Room Works by eight artists. Through Dec. 7. Free. Mondays, Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Sundays, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. The Drawing Room, 66 Newtown Lane. 631-324-5016; drawingroom-gallery.com. EAST ISLIP Islip Art Museum “Faux Sho,’ ” group show. Through Dec. 28. $5 suggested donation. Wednesdays through Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Sundays, noon to 4 p.m. Islip Art Museum, 50 Irish Lane. islipartmuseum.org; 631-224-5402. GARDEN CITY Adelphi University Performing Arts Center “Asian Threads, American Weave,” photography by Corky Lee. Through Jan. 5. Free. Adelphi University Performing Arts Center, 1 South Avenue. aupac.adelphi.edu; 516-877-4000. GARDEN CITY Long Island Children’s Museum Native Voices: New England Tribal Families, hands-on exhibition takes visitors through four New England seasons and shares stories, songs and cultural materials. Through Jan. 4. $11 and $12; members and children under 1, free. Long Island Children’s Museum, 11 Davis Avenue. 516-224-5800; licm.org. GLEN COVE Holocaust Memorial and Tolerance Center “Objects of Witness: Testimony of Holocaust Artifacts,” artifacts lent or donated by Holocaust survivors and their families. Through April 1. $4 to $10 suggested donation. Holocaust Memorial and Tolerance Center, 100 Crescent Beach Road. holocaust-nassau.org; 516-571-8040. HEMPSTEAD African-American Museum “Four Kings From Queens,” the works of Brent Bailer, Rod Ivey, Kenneth Smith and Emmett Wigglesworth. Through Dec. 1. $5 and $8. Tuesdays through Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. African-American Museum, 110 North Franklin Street. aamoflongisland.org; 516-572-0730. HEMPSTEAD Hofstra University Museum “Past Traditions/New Voices in Asian Art,” contemporary artists who mix or juxtapose traditional Asian subjects and techniques with modern Western influences. Emily Lowe Gallery, South Campus. Through Dec. 2. Tuesdays through Fridays, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. “Exploring the Centuries,” Asian art from the third century through the 20th. Hofstra University, David Filderman Gallery, Axinn Library, ninth floor, South Campus. Through Feb. 8. Mondays through Saturdays, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Sundays, noon to 4 p.m. Hofstra University Museum, Hofstra University. hofstra.edu/museum; 516-463-5672. HUNTINGTON Fotofoto Gallery “Reality: Surreality — Two Artists: Two Visions,” photographic works by Ralph Masullo and Allison Rufrano. Through Nov. 30. Fridays, 5 to 8 p.m.; Saturdays, noon to 8 p.m.; Sundays, noon to 4 p.m. Fotofoto Gallery, 14 West Carver Street. fotofotogallery.org; 631-549-0448. HUNTINGTON Heckscher Museum of Art “Long Island Biennial,” juried exhibition of work by artists of Nassau and Suffolk Counties. Through Nov. 30. “Power, Politics and War: Selections From the Permanent Collection.” Ongoing. $4 to $8; children under 10, free. Wednesdays through Fridays, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Saturdays and Sundays, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Heckscher Museum of Art, 2 Prime Avenue. 631-351-3250; heckscher.org. HUNTINGTON Huntington Arts Council “Inanimate,” juried still life exhibition. Dec. 12 through Jan. 5. Huntington Arts Council, 213 Main Street. huntingtonarts.org; 631-271-8423. HUNTINGTON Ripe Art Gallery “What’s She Thinking?” an exhibition of original paintings by Sherry Dooley. Through Dec. 9. Closing reception: Dec. 6, 7 to 10 p.m. Tuesdays through Thursdays, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Fridays, 2 to 8 p.m.; Saturdays, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.; or by appointment. Ripe Art Gallery, 1028 Park Avenue. ripeartgal.com; 631-239-1805. HUNTINGTON STATION South Huntington Public Library “Caitlyn Shea: Embodiment,” paintings. Through Dec. 3. “New Horizons,” paintings by Arlene Baker, Maxine Jurow and Laura Powers Swiggett. Dec. 6 through Jan. 7. South Huntington Public Library, 145 Pidgeon Hill Road. 631-549-4411; shpl.info. NORTHPORT Campari Ristorante “Robyn’s World,” oil paintings by Robyn Bellospirito. Through Nov. 30. Campari Ristorante, 225 Main Street. 631-757-6700. robynbellospirito.com. NORTHPORT Northport Historical Society “Window Shopping Through Time,” stores on Main Street and Woodbine Avenue from the 1880s to the 1980s. Through Dec. 31. Tuesdays through Sundays, 1 to 4:30 p.m. Northport Historical Society and Museum, 215 Main Street. northporthistorical.org; 631-757-9859. PORT WASHINGTON The Sands Point Preserve “Design Showhouse, Home of an American Renaissance Family,” 20 designers’ interpretations of the Guggenheim family’s Gatsby-era lifestyle. Through Nov. 30. $30. The Sands Point Preserve, 127 Middle Neck Road. thesandspointpreserve.com; 516-571-7901. ROCKVILLE CENTRE Frank and Gertrude Kaiser Art Gallery, Molloy College “Eric Dever: The Rose Chapel,” paintings. Through Dec. 20. Mondays through Fridays, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Saturdays 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Frank and Gertrude Kaiser Art Gallery, Molloy College, 1000 Hempstead Avenue. 516-323-3196; molloy.edu/artgallery. ROSLYN HARBOR Nassau County Museum of Art “China Then and Now,” art from the classical, early modern and contemporary periods. “Long Island Collects the Arts of China,” from the holdings of Long Island collectors. “Gavin Rain,” a contemporary artist from Cape Town, South Africa, who works primarily in a neo-pointillist style. Through March 8. $4 to $10; children under 5 and members, free. Tuesdays through Sundays, 11 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. Nassau County Museum of Art, 1 Museum Drive. nassaumuseum.org; 516-484-9337. SOUTHAMPTON Southampton Cultural Center Southampton Artist Association’s Thanksgiving Member Show. Through Nov. 30. Mondays through Saturday, 11 a. m. to 3 p.m. Southampton Cultural Center, 25 Pond Lane. 631-287-4377; southamptonculturalcenter.org. STONY BROOK Charles B. Wang Center “Lotus: Shiva Ahmadi,” video animation. Through Jan. 10. “Visual Journals From Asia: The Early 20th-Century Prints and Etchings of Paul Jacoulet, Elizabeth Keith and Lilian Miller.” Through Jan. 10. “Mao’s Golden Mangoes and the Cultural Revolution.” Through Jan. 10. Mondays through Fridays, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Saturdays and Sundays, noon to 8 p.m. Wang Center, Stony Brook University. 631-632-4400; stonybrook.edu/commcms/wang. STONY BROOK Long Island Museum of American Art, History and Carriages “Long Island at War: Battle Front and Home Front,” contributions to the military since the American Revolution. Through Dec. 28. $4 to $9; members and children under 6, free. Thursdays through Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Sundays, noon to 5 p.m. Long Island Museum of American Art, History and Carriages, 1200 Route 25A. 631-751-0066; longislandmuseum.org. STONY BROOK Staller Center for the Arts “Form and Facture: New Painting and Sculpture From New York,” large-scale abstract work by six New York artists at the Paul W. Zuccaire Gallery. Through Dec. 13. Staller Center for the Arts, Nicolls Road, Stony Brook University. stallercenter.com; 631-632-2787. SYOSSET Syosset Public Library Collage and mixed media by Nance Yoshii. Through Nov. 30. Mondays through Thursdays, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Fridays, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Saturdays, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Sundays, noon to 5 p.m. Syosset Public Library, 225 South Oyster Bay Road. 516-921-7161; syossetlibrary.org. WATER MILL Parrish Art Museum Roy Lichtenstein’s outdoor sculpture, Tokyo Brushstroke I & II. Continuing. “Steven and William Ladd: Mary Queen of the Universe.” Through Jan. 19. $5 to $10; children under 18 free. Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Fridays, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Parrish Art Museum, 279 Montauk Highway. 631-283-2118; parrishart.org.
|
The arts;Long Island
|
ny0079503
|
[
"world"
] |
2015/02/17
|
Shortage of Snow Aside, China Jumps Into Bid for 2022 Winter Games
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CHONGLI, China — Out here, in the land of China ’s Winter Olympics ambitions, there is more propaganda than snow. Some traces of white cling to the brown hills like dandruff, but along the travel route intended for International Olympic Committee officials, billboards featuring skiers, snowboarders and children have been hastily erected in an attempt to inspire confidence. “Making the bidding effors,” one proclaims in less-than-perfectly spelled English. “Sharing the China Dream.” Never mind that Chongli, the proposed site for the Olympic Village and Nordic skiing events in Beijing’s bid to host the 2022 Winter Games, is 150 miles from the capital by automobile or that, Yanqing, the town designated for Alpine ski competitions, gets about two inches of snow annually. Yet if anything is in shorter supply than snow, it is confidence in hosting the 2022 Winter Olympics. All five democratic nations that once considered bidding for the Games have pulled out, largely because of overwhelming public opposition. That has left the committee to decide between two authoritarian countries known more for imprisoning government critics than figure skating. Facing off against Beijing is Almaty, in Kazakhstan , a Central Asian oil hub with a long tradition of winter sports and ruled by a former Soviet apparatchik who has held the presidency for 24 years and counting. Such is the awkward political landscape that has changed the bid by Beijing, the host of the 2008 Summer Games, from a pipe dream into a serious contender. But that does not mean the Olympic committee, which will make its decision in July, is thrilled with its choices. Desperate to make the Games more palatable to countries traumatized by a reported $51 billion price tag of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia — and appalled by video from Sochi of uniformed Cossacks beating unarmed female protesters with horsewhips — the committee rushed to pass wide-ranging rules changes in December. These included a more affordable bidding and hosting process, the addition of sexual orientation to the Olympic Charter’s nondiscrimination clause, and a contract that host countries must sign that requires protections for the environment, labor and human rights. “The Olympic movement is in a once-in-a-generation crisis,” said Minky Worden, director of global initiatives at Human Rights Watch, which documented abuse of dissidents and migrant laborers in China and Russia before and during their Olympic Games. “I believe the I.O.C. reforms are a direct response to China and Kazakhstan . It’s just too big of a black eye.” Of course, that is not the narrative in China. Beyond the prize of Beijing becoming the only city to host both the Summer and Winter Olympics, the Games would provide another opportunity for the ruling Communist Party to flaunt China’s wealth and power on the world stage. “The party’s strategy is to use mega-events like the Olympics to rally the people, showcase the country and demonstrate its strong governance,” said Peh Shing Huei, the author of “When the Party Ends: China’s Leaps and Stumbles After the Beijing Olympics.” Since Beijing formally submitted its candidacy last month, Chinese officials have raced to dust off their 2008 playbook. Mostly, that means telling the commission what they think it wants to hear. “We want our ecological environment as clean as possible, and we shall create a social and cultural environment for pure friendship,” the Beijing Olympic Games Bid Committee website says. Eager to comply with the I.O.C.’s goal of producing a more economical event, Chinese officials have announced plans to reuse some of the 2008 Olympic venues, which they say will keep costs down to $3.9 billion, a steal compared with the $40 billion spent on the Summer Games seven years ago. Planners have already started building a high-speed rail link to Zhangjiakou, a city near where the Olympic Village would be built, that will reduce travel time from central Beijing to 50 minutes from three and a half hours by car. But cleaning up the environment has proved far more challenging than building stadiums. According to China’s Ministry of Environmental Protection, nearly 90 percent the country’s 74 major cities, including Beijing, failed to meet air quality standards last year. While the government took extreme measures to clear skies during the 2008 Olympics, shutting down factories and limiting the number of cars on the roads, the smog problem has only grown worse. Last month, Mayor Wang Anshun of Beijing, the bid committee’s president, acknowledged that China’s notorious air pollution had made the city “unlivable.” Still, he has promised that a raft of utopian benefits would come with hosting the Winter Olympics. “The transportation will be more convenient, the sky will be bluer and life will be better,” Mr. Wang said, according to a recent article by the official news agency Xinhua. The Chinese government has promised to “fully respect” the Olympic Charter and host-city contract, the bid document states. But concerns are high over whether the authorities will abide by the newly enshrined human rights protections in their push for new infrastructure. In the lead up to the 2008 Games, rights groups reported widespread forced evictions of poor Beijing residents, a practice that many fear would return for Beijing 2022. “People standing in way of land redevelopment are going to feel the full force of the party again,” said Mr. Peh, the author. Technically, Beijing 2022 is more of a brand than a city. According to bid committee officials, events would be spread across three areas farther apart from end to end than New York and Philadelphia: Skating events would be held in Beijing; bobsled, luge and Alpine skiing 60 miles away in Yanqing; and snowboarding, freestyle skiing and other events at the Genting ski resort here in Chongli. In the lobby of the Genting resort one recent afternoon, ski and snowboard enthusiasts were drinking hot chocolate and smoking cigarettes before heading back out to the resort’s 45 miles of trails, lined mostly with artificially produced snow. “The conditions are really great, and here you don’t need an air purifier,” said Li Ning, 51, an Amway marketing executive from Beijing who first learned to ski five years ago. Taking a break from the bunny slope, Wang Mengge, 22, a law student on her second-ever ski outing, gushed over the prospect of Beijing 2022 as she struggled to walk in her clunky ski boots. “I think it’s a win-win,” she said. “The Olympics will definitely promote economic development.” Though relatively few Chinese have ever snapped on a pair of skis, President Xi Jinping vowed in a letter to the International Olympic Committee that the Games would “ignite the passion” for winter sports among China’s 1.3 billion people. The awareness campaign has already begun. A few miles from the Genting ski resort, Wu Jifu, 57, a shepherd, watched his flock graze in the shadow of an Olympic billboard. “Officials came to my village,” he said, “and handed out brochures about skiing.”
|
China;Kazakhstan;Snow Snowstorms;2008 Summer Olympics;Alpine skiing;International Olympic Committee;Beijing;Almaty Kazakhstan;Xi Jinping;Chongli
|
ny0093002
|
[
"sports",
"baseball"
] |
2015/08/08
|
Cubs Beat Giants for Eighth Win in Nine Games
|
The rookie Kyle Schwarber continued his surge with two hits and two R.B.I. to back Jon Lester on Friday, and the Chicago Cubs beat the visiting San Francisco Giants, 7-3, for their eighth win in nine games. Schwarber, who had homered in the previous two games, also scored two runs to help put the Cubs a game and a half ahead of San Francisco for the second wild card spot. They also moved 12 games over .500 for the first time since 2008. Schwarber doubled and scored in the first, then drove in two and came around in the fifth. The Cubs scored five in that inning to break open a 1-1 game. Dexter Fowler homered and had three of Chicago’s 12 hits. Jorge Soler chipped in with a single and two-run double. Chris Coghlan added a pair of singles and an R.B.I., and Hector Rondon worked the final inning and two-thirds for his 18th save in 21 chances. Lester (7-8) gave up two runs and six hits over seven innings. He walked two and struck out three after finishing with a season-high 14 strikeouts against Colorado last week. ROCKIES 5, NATIONALS 4 Drew Storen yielded an eighth-inning grand slam to Carlos Gonzalez, and host Washington blew a four-run lead in a loss to Colorado. When Storen entered with six outs to go and the score at 4-0, Washington appeared well on its way to recording a second straight win for only the second time since the All-Star break. With two outs and a runner on first, Jose Reyes and Nolan Arenado singled to load the bases for Gonzalez, who drove a 1-0 pitch into the Washington bullpen beyond the wall in right field. It was the first time in 15 appearances since June 24 that Storen (2-1) gave up a run. PIRATES 5, DODGERS 4 Pinch-hitter Pedro Alvarez lined a bases-loaded single over a five-man infield in the bottom of the 10th inning to give Pittsburgh a victory at home over Los Angeles. The Pirates loaded the bases with no outs against Jim Johnson (2-4) as Jung Ho Kang walked, Francisco Cervelli singled and Sean Rodriguez had a bunt single. BRAVES 6, MARLINS 3 Nick Markakis had three hits, including a tiebreaking two-run double in the seventh inning, and host Atlanta beat struggling Miami. Markakis extended his hitting streak to 14 games, finishing 3 for 4 with a run scored and two R.B.I. as the Braves erased a 3-2 deficit in the seventh to win for the fourth time in six games. TWINS 10, INDIANS 9 Torii Hunter’s ninth-inning homer gave visiting Minnesota a victory over Cleveland, ending the Twins’ five-game losing streak. Hunter connected against Bryan Shaw (1-2) to complete a comeback for the Twins, who could not hold an early 6-0 lead. Hunter also drove in two runs in the Twins’ six-run third. RED SOX 7, TIGERS 2 David Ortiz homered while Hanley Ramirez and Xander Bogaerts added two-run doubles to lead visiting Boston over Detroit. Boston improved to 2-2 on its eight-game trip. INDIANS TRADE SWISHER The Atlanta Braves reacquired outfielder Michael Bourn and landed Nick Swisher in a trade with Cleveland on Friday, sending third baseman Chris Johnson to the Indians. Cleveland also gave cash to the Braves to help cover the contracts of the players heading to Atlanta. Swisher, 34, another former All-Star, is batting .198 with two home runs and eight R.B.I. When the trade was made, he was on a rehabilitation assignment in the minors, recovering from inflammation in his left knee. Johnson, 30, lost his starting job with the Braves this season. He has a .235 average with two home runs and 11 R.B.I. GIANTS PUT LEAKE ON D.L. San Francisco placed the right-hander Mike Leake on the 15-day disabled list because of a strained left hamstring. Leake (9-6), acquired from Cincinnati last week for two prospects, was scheduled to make his second start for the Giants on Friday against the Cubs. He was scratched in favor of Ryan Vogelsong after his hamstring tightened during sprints Monday at Atlanta.
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Baseball;Jon Lester;Kyle Schwarber;Chicago Cubs;San Francisco Giants
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ny0027682
|
[
"us"
] |
2013/01/21
|
James Hood Dies at 70; Integrated University of Alabama
|
James A. Hood, who integrated the University of Alabama in 1963 together with his fellow student Vivian Malone after Gov. George C. Wallace capitulated to the federal government in a signature moment of the civil rights movement known as the “stand in the schoolhouse door,” died on Thursday in Gadsden, Ala. He was 70. His death was confirmed by his daughter Mary Hood. On the morning of June 11, 1963, Mr. Hood and Ms. Malone, backed by a federal court order, sought to become the first blacks to successfully pursue a degree at Alabama. A black woman, Autherine Lucy, had been admitted in 1956 but was suspended three days later, ostensibly for her safety, when the university was hit by riots. She was later expelled. Having previously proclaimed “segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever,” Wallace was blocking the entrance to Foster Auditorium on the university’s Tuscaloosa campus, while ringed by state troopers, when Nicholas deB. Katzenbach, then the deputy attorney general, approached him together with federal marshals. Mr. Hood and Ms. Malone remained nearby in a car. Mr. Katzenbach demanded that Wallace obey a federal court order implementing the injunction issued in Ms. Lucy’s case. But Wallace was defiant, challenging its constitutionality. Mr. Katzenbach said he would be back with the students later in the day and fully expected them to be admitted. President John F. Kennedy federalized several hundred members of the Alabama National Guard, who arrived on campus in the afternoon. Their commander, Brig. Gen. Henry V. Graham, went to the auditorium door for a second confrontation. He told Wallace it was his “sad duty” to order him to stand aside. Wallace read another defiant statement, denouncing “military dictatorship,” but departed, presumably having saved face with segregationists in an orchestrated show of defiance. Image A campus police officer stood by as James A. Hood left his dormitory to go to class at the University of Alabama in 1963. Credit Associated Press Mr. Hood and Ms. Malone embarked on their college careers that day, and violence was averted. A third black student was admitted at Alabama’s Huntsville campus a few days later. Kennedy made a broadcast speech the night of the Tuscaloosa confrontation, calling civil rights a “moral issue.” But the next day, Medgar Evers of the Mississippi branch of the N.A.A.C.P. was shot to death in Jackson, Miss. A week later, Kennedy proposed a broad package of civil rights legislation. Mr. Hood had a brief, dispiriting stay at Alabama. He lived in a dorm room on a floor where the only other occupants were federal marshals. A dead black cat was mailed to him, and university officials sought his expulsion for a speech attacking them and Wallace. He was also distraught because his father had cancer. He left the university on Aug. 11, 1963 — “to avoid,” he said at the time, “a complete mental and physical breakdown.” He obtained a bachelor’s degree from Wayne State University in Detroit and a master’s degree from Michigan State, concentrating in criminal justice and sociology. He was a deputy police chief in Detroit and the chairman of the police science program at the Madison Area Technical College in Wisconsin. Mr. Hood returned to the University of Alabama to obtain a doctorate in interdisciplinary studies in 1997. Vivian Malone Jones became Alabama’s first black graduate and was later a civil rights official with the United States Justice Department and the Environmental Protection Administration. She died in 2005. Image Mr. Hood in July 1996. Credit Dave Martin/Associated Press James Alexander Hood was born on Nov. 10, 1942, in Gadsden, where his father, Octavie, drove a tractor at a Goodyear tire plant. He attended the historically black Clark College in Atlanta (now Clark Atlanta University). His anger when he read about a survey finding that the brain development of blacks had not matched that of whites spurred his desire to advance his education and put a lie to such notions. He sought to transfer to Alabama to study clinical psychology, since Clark did not have that program. He joined with Ms. Malone as plaintiffs in a federal suit filed by the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund seeking to implement the original desegregation order from the Lucy case. Mr. Hood retired from his college post in Wisconsin in 2002 and returned to Gadsden. In addition to his daughter Mary, he is survived by another daughter, Jacquelyn Hood-Duncan; three sons, Darrell, Anthony and Marvis; two brothers, Eddie and Arthur; three sisters, Brenda Marshall, Ramona Thomas and Patricia Tuck; and nine grandchildren. While Mr. Hood was working toward his doctorate on his return to the University of Alabama, Wallace, who had been shot and partly paralyzed while seeking the Democratic presidential nomination in 1972, invited him for a meeting. By then, Wallace had disavowed his segregationist stance. “He said he was sorry,” Mr. Hood later told The Gadsden Times. “I said, ‘I forgave you a long time ago.’ ” “The worst thing in the world is to hate,” Mr. Hood said, recalling that meeting. “Hate can destroy you, and I didn’t want that to happen to me.” When Wallace died in June 1998, Mr. Hood traveled from his home in Madison, Wis., to attend the funeral. It was held in Montgomery, the first capital of the Confederacy but the capital as well of an Alabama very different from that day when he became a student at the campus in Tuscaloosa.
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James A Hood;Racial segregation;Civil Rights;Obituary;University of Alabama
|
ny0172925
|
[
"business",
"media"
] |
2007/11/12
|
Pigs Fly! Philadelphia Papers’ Circulation Holds
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Newspapers in Philadelphia have chosen the image of airborne pigs to illustrate their unlikely achievement: circulation holding steady at a time when the industry’s is dropping. A new ad campaign for The Philadelphia Inquirer and The Daily News is designed to look like a promotion for a graphic novel-ish film, “The Return of the Flying Pigs.” The papers printed movie posters and pull-out sections over the last few days, and soon trailers for the “movie” will be shown on local TV and in theaters. (They can all be seen at Philly.com .) Other newspapers have retreated from efforts to advertise themselves and win new subscribers, but Brian P. Tierney, chief executive of Philadelphia Media Holdings, which owns the city’s two major papers, thinks that attitude is dead wrong. “The industry needs to proudly assert itself and talk about its strengths,” he said, and it should be done “in a kind of fun way that puts a smile on people’s faces.” In addition to grabbing the attention of people who might buy the papers, he said, “We’re talking over the shoulder of our readers right to the advertisers.” After taking over The Inquirer and The Daily News last year, Mr. Tierney said he wanted to increase circulation, a goal viewed with skepticism by the industry. But healthy circulation figures released this year led to the first appearance of flying pigs in the paper’s self-promotions. To keep the image fresh in advertisers’ minds, The Inquirer started giving them little rubber pigs. Over the spring and summer, the papers defied the downward trend again, as shown by circulation numbers released last week. For the six months that ended Sept. 30, The Inquirer had slightly increased weekday sales, about 338,000, up almost 8,000 from the same period a year ago, although Sunday circulation was down by about 20,000. The Daily News’s weekday circulation of about 113,000 was virtually unchanged from a year ago.
|
Philadelphia (Pa);Newspapers;Philadelphia Inquirer;Advertising and Marketing
|
ny0081689
|
[
"sports",
"football"
] |
2015/11/01
|
Giants Try to Stay Focused as a Noisy Superdome Awaits
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EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — As a crowd of reporters surrounded the rising Giants star Odell Beckham Jr. at his locker last week, quarterback Eli Manning walked by and shouted from the back of the scrum in an odd, contrived voice, “Odell, how excited are you to go back to New Orleans?” If Manning was playfully mocking members of the news media, he was also signaling to one of the team’s pivotal players that Sunday’s game comes with a particularly unusual and arduous set of circumstances. Beckham, like Manning, was raised in New Orleans, with each attending Isidore Newman School. They return to play the New Orleans Saints, with the Giants underdogs to the surging Saints. Two other Giants, wide receiver Rueben Randle and safety Landon Collins, are also from the New Orleans area. It will be the first trip back to New Orleans as N.F.L. players for Beckham, Randle and Collins. But it is Manning, more than anyone, who knows what the homecoming will be like. It will be thunderously loud inside the Superdome and far from welcoming. Manning has played there twice and endured humiliating losses, with the Saints outscoring the Giants, 97-51. The Giants have not won in New Orleans since Manning was 12 years old, in 1993, a span of four games that have often ended as lopsided Giants losses. Some of the worst games the Giants have played this century have occurred in a city nicknamed Big Easy, which is surely not how the Giants view the place. With Sunday’s game coming one day after Halloween, the Giants would be forgiven if they approached the Superdome as their own house of horrors. “The fans are good fans and take great pride in being loud and trying to cause difficulty for the offense to communicate,” Manning said. “I know what it’s like, and we’ve got to make some plays — move the ball and keep them under control.” Manning was once one of those noisy fans. His father, Archie, was the Saints’ quarterback, and though Eli was born one year before Archie’s last year as a Saint, he still attended countless games when his father retired to become a broadcaster for the team. Asked last week if he remembered the last Giants victory in New Orleans, Manning unconvincingly answered: “I guess I was there.” His memory is much better when it comes to his most recent visits to his hometown as an opponent, when the Giants lost by 49-24 in 2011 and by 48-27 in 2009. Manning nodded his head as if conceding that he had seen the worst of it, with the Saints up by two or three touchdowns and the noise inside the Superdome ear-piercing. That is when, he said, “the crowd really gets on a roll.” Manning has also lived through the distractions of going home to New Orleans as a rival player, something Beckham, Randle and Collins have yet to experience as professionals. Manning is trying to inculcate them in on-the-road protocols that a visiting corporation might call “best practices.” Manning, for example, said he was not seeing his family before the game, even though the Giants expect to arrive in New Orleans on Saturday afternoon. “I’m not doing anything — just going to play a game,” he said. “It’s the next game, going to New Orleans and trying to get a win.” Had he given the same advice to his teammates with New Orleans roots? Manning assiduously deflects any kind of public acknowledgment that he is a team leader, guru or locker room adviser — even though he surely is after two Super Bowl Most Valuable Player Awards — so he did not answer the question directly. But in a reading through of the lines, his response said otherwise. “I’m sure there will be lots of friends and family there for certain guys and you’ve to tune it all out,” Manning said. “You’ve got to keep the focus on the game, your job and on your assignments. Don’t get overexcited. Just play your game and don’t try to do more than you have to.” Beckham, who did not so much as smile at the thought of returning home, has gotten the message. Only once did he seem animated. “To go back where you grew up, I mean, my house is only 15 minutes from the stadium,” Beckham said. “That is definitely exciting.” But Beckham, now in his second season in the N.F.L., has been studying and analyzing what makes the Saints historically difficult to defeat at home. “They’re a chaotic team; they play very much like their home atmosphere,” he said. “They do a great job at creating chaos and making you make mistakes.” Randle and Collins, lesser stars in a Giants universe controlled by veterans like Manning and the charismatic Beckham, were also low-key in discussing their return to New Orleans. “I think we’re going to have to try to make some big plays offensively to take some air out of their building,” said Randle, now in his fourth year with the Giants. “Because you know they’re going to be rowdy in there. And the Saints are coming off two straight wins.” Collins, a rookie, was trying to stay unnoticed. “I’ve got enough on my plate,” said Collins, who despite his inexperience was the only Giants defender to never come off the field in the team’s last game. There will be a plethora of other New Orleans-Giants connections all over the field Sunday. The Saints’ coach, Sean Payton, was the Giants’ offensive coordinator from 1999 to 2002. The Giants’ defensive coordinator, Steve Spagnuolo, held the same position for the Saints in 2012. New Orleans running back Mark Ingram, the son of the former Giants wide receiver Mark Ingram Sr., was born in Hackensack, N.J., about seven miles from the Giants’ headquarters. Giants linebacker Devon Kennard’s father, Derek, played for the Saints in the 1990s. But for the Giants, the focus will be on their ignominious 22-year losing streak in New Orleans. On Friday, Giants Coach Tom Coughlin was asked why the Giants have had such dismal recent results in New Orleans. He could only surmise it was the home-crowd noise. To try to prepare, the Giants have had artificial crowd noise blasted through immense speakers as they worked out inside the indoor practice facility at their training complex. “I think you could hear the noise from three miles away,” Coughlin said, laughing. “So we’ve done what we can. It’s probably been louder at practice than in the Superdome.”
|
Football;Mercedes Benz Superdome New Orleans;New Orleans;New Orleans Saints;Giants
|
ny0278913
|
[
"us",
"politics"
] |
2016/11/12
|
What Will President Trump Do on Birth Control, Climate and Immigration?
|
“The irony is that after 20 months of watching and listening to Donald Trump every day in the news, we now face this moment where it feels like we are staring into kind of a black hole.” That was Evan Osnos, a correspondent for The New Yorker, describing how difficult it is to anticipate what Mr. Trump’s presidency might look like, given how unconventional his campaign was. For a recent article , published before the election, Mr. Osnos spoke to more than 50 experts in an attempt to understand the actions that Mr. Trump could take in his first term. In a phone interview on Wednesday, Mr. Osnos detailed some of his conclusions. We supplemented his reporting with our own to try to anticipate what Mr. Trump is likely to do once he takes office. Mr. Osnos said that taking Mr. Trump’s campaign promises seriously makes more sense than the alternative. “There are two options to how you want to anticipate and prepare for a Trump presidency,” he said. “One is to declare that nothing he says is useful and reliable, and we should do nothing. The other is to invest heavily in trying to understand what the history of the presidency tells us.” “Even if a president doesn’t intend to follow through on a promise,” he continued, “the nature of the presidency compels him to make a good-faith effort to do so because his credibility once in office rests partly on whether he is showing a serious commitment to follow through on the things he does.” Are U.S. military alliances in trouble? In July, the night before he accepted the Republican nomination for president, Mr. Trump spoke about America’s commitment to its NATO allies. If the Baltic States — Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania — were to be attacked by Russia, Mr. Trump said, he would review whether those nations had “fulfilled their obligations to us” before deciding whether to come to their aid. The New York Times reporters David E. Sanger and Maggie Haberman wrote at the time that “Mr. Trump’s statement appeared to be the first time that a major candidate for president had suggested conditioning the United States’ defense of its major allies.” Mr. Osnos pointed out that even making statements along the lines of Mr. Trump’s comments in July could make for troubled alliances, because “the strength of NATO is built on the notion of credibility.” “It’s a little bit like talking about whether you’re going to repay your debt,” he said. “Even talking about it in language that departs from 70 years of American national security strategy can have the effect of altering it in fact.” Will women have to pay for birth control again? Image An IUD. Credit Theo Stroomer for The New York Times With a Republican-controlled Congress, Mr. Trump will be empowered to do what he and his party have long promised: repeal the Affordable Care Act, President Obama’s signature domestic legislation. In late October, Mr. Trump repeated his dislike for the law and said, “Repealing Obamacare and stopping Hillary’s health care takeover is one of the single most important reasons that we must win on Nov. 8.” The health care law gave 47 million women access to preventive health services. It also required insurers to make birth control available at no cost to women, eliminating costly co-payments that in many cases ran to hundreds of dollars a year or more. After Mr. Trump’s win on Tuesday, women on social media announced plans to obtain intrauterine devices, a form of contraception that can last as long as 12 years but that was prohibitively expensive for many before Obamacare. Margot Sanger-Katz, writing for the Upshot , said that repealing the law would mean that “about 22 million fewer Americans would have health insurance, according to an estimate from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.” However, on Friday, Mr. Trump said that he might be willing to leave parts of the law in place. Will he deport more undocumented immigrants? The Times’s immigration correspondent, Julia Preston, put together a comprehensive look at Mr. Trump’s plans on immigration: “Mr. Trump has said he will initiate a campaign to deport, within the first year of his presidency, what he described as up to two million undocumented immigrants with criminal records,” she wrote, “although he has not explained how he reached that estimate.” Immigration is “one area on which a president has a lot more power and legal authority than I think your average American assumes,” Mr. Osnos said. “He could accomplish a lot of the goals he has, even with the resistance of the courts and Congress, by using the powers of the executive. On immigration, we’re in a brand-new era where he has both the will and the legal authority to rewrite the rules in ways that I think most people would have found hard to imagine.” Will the Paris climate agreement stand? Image Sunrise on a red alert pollution day in Beijing, in December 2015. Credit Greg Baker/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images Mr. Trump has called human-caused climate change a “hoax” and has said he will “cancel” the Paris climate agreement , the landmark 2015 deal under which 195 nations agreed to take steps to lower their greenhouse gas emissions. Coral Davenport, a Times reporter, writes that Mr. Trump “can, as president, choose not to carry out the Paris plan in the United States,” an action that “could doom the Paris agreement’s goal of reducing carbon dioxide emissions enough to stave off an atmospheric warming of at least 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit.” Furthermore, if the United States were to withdraw from the Paris accord, Ms. Davenport writes, “other governments are less likely to carry out their pledged emissions cuts.” What will happen to U.S. trade agreements? In the first presidential debate, Mr. Trump criticized Hillary Clinton for changing her stance on the Trans-Pacific Partnership, an accord between the United States and 11 Pacific Rim nations that, in the end, both candidates opposed. In the debate, he also generally condemned America’s position on trade over the last several decades, and he called the North American Free Trade Agreement, which President Bill Clinton had navigated through Congress, “ the single worst trade deal ever approved in this country .” Mr. Osnos said that the future looked bleak for both of those deals. “I think the TPP is dead,” he said. “I think he will follow through on his way to renegotiate Nafta in some way.” He also said he thought that Mr. Trump might seriously consider withdrawing the United States from the World Trade Organization, and that Mr. Trump might threaten sanctions against China, citing conversations with the president-elect’s advisers. “They have said to me in multiple moments that an earnest threat delivered with the kind of credibility that a President Trump would carry would, in their view, force the Chinese to change their nature,” Mr. Osnos said.
|
Immigration;Greenhouse gas;US Politics;NAFTA;NATO
|
ny0104770
|
[
"us",
"politics"
] |
2012/03/06
|
For Dennis Kucinich, a Possible Last Hurrah
|
TOLEDO, Ohio — Representative Dennis J. Kucinich , a liberal icon who tried twice to win the Democratic nomination for president, was fighting for his political life in a mostly empty meeting hall in central Toledo. Mr. Kucinich, who started in politics more than 40 years ago in Cleveland, has fallen victim to redistricting, a redrawing of the electoral map that sliced two Congressional seats out of Ohio — one of them his. Toledo is new territory for Mr. Kucinich, and he was trying to talk to Hispanic voters here, a potentially important constituency. About 20 came to hear him speak on Friday, along with a University of Toledo student wearing a Ron Paul pin, though they were almost outnumbered by journalists, TV crews and campaign workers. Mr. Kucinich, 65, is battling Marcy Kaptur of Toledo, a fellow incumbent and fellow progressive, in a Democratic primary on Tuesday. Less than half of the new district, a barbell-shaped piece of land that stretches about 100 miles along Lake Erie, is made up of Mr. Kucinich’s old turf, and he has spent recent weeks traversing it in an all-out effort to get votes. On Saturday, Russell Simmons, the music mogul (and a fellow vegan), came to Ohio to stump for him, followed by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Sunday. Willie Nelson, a friend, held a benefit concert. Mr. Kucinich frames the election in the starkest of terms, as a test of Democratic — as in Democratic Party — values. He points to his voting record — against the American invasion of Iraq and the Patriot Act , and for the pro-immigrant Dream Act. He supports same-sex marriage and has shifted over time on abortion, now backing abortion rights. “This little Congressional seat, between Cleveland and Toledo, suddenly ends up being a place where these great questions are being tested,” he said in an interview on Friday. “The Democratic Party will be defined by this race.” Ms. Kaptur argues that she is also progressive: She was featured in the Michael Moore film “Capitalism: A Love Story,” on the financial meltdown. Like Mr. Kucinich, she also voted against military action in Iraq (though unlike him she voted to pay for the war after it began), and more recently opposed intervention in Libya. But her stance on social issues is more conservative — she does not support federal funds for abortion, for example — than Mr. Kucinich’s, reflecting the sensibilities of her district, said her campaign spokesman, Steve Fought. “There’s no way to out-liberal Dennis Kucinich,” said Mr. Fought, who added that their campaign focused on kitchen-table issues that he argued were more important to people in the district than national issues Mr. Kucinich had sought to emphasize. Mr. Kucinich has a self-styled flair and does not always follow the party line. He has brought articles of impeachment against George W. Bush and Dick Cheney. He has taken a keen interest in foreign policy, visiting Syria in 2007 and praising its leadership for accepting Iraqi refugees , an unusual step for an American politician. Even the mechanics of his campaign are unorthodox: His press secretary seems to takes pride in carrying a “dumb phone,” which does not receive e-mail. “Dennis is John Belushi in ‘Animal House,’ ” said Dennis Eckart, a former Democratic congressman from Cleveland. “Marcy is the librarian who tells folks to be quiet and get their homework done.” Tim Hagan, the Democratic nominee for governor in Ohio in 2002, praised Mr. Kucinich’s philosophical consistency, which he said was not a result of political posturing but genuine conviction. But Mr. Hagan said the runs for presidency had hurt Mr. Kucinich in Ohio, where they seemed to send a message that he was more involved with his own national ambitions than the local issues people cared about, like the economy. “He’s got a very loyal constituency, but the national stage has diminished him as a candidate,” Mr. Hagan said. Ed FitzGerald, the Cuyahoga County executive, whose district includes Cleveland, Mr. Kucinich’s hometown and an important part of the new district, has refused to endorse Mr. Kucinich. While Ms. Kaptur “was meeting with my staff and me about local projects,” Mr. FitzGerald said, Mr. Kucinich was not around much, an absence that he said “caused a great deal of grumbling among local officials.” Many political analysts in Ohio agreed that Mr. Kucinich faced an uphill battle on Tuesday, something Mr. Kucinich’s supporters did not deny. But few were willing to write him off, saying that his determination to remain part of the American political conversation means he will remain in the public sphere, even if he loses here. One possibility might be running in Washington State, something he had been exploring last year. “Dennis Kucinich has more lives than Felix the Cat,” Mr. Eckart said. “He’s been pronounced politically dead a dozen times. You’re tempted to say, ‘He’s going to lose.’ Then you realize he does lose frequently, but he comes back every time.”
|
Kucinich Dennis J;Kaptur Marcy;Ohio;Elections;United States Politics and Government;Redistricting and Reapportionment
|
ny0188561
|
[
"nyregion"
] |
2009/04/12
|
Redo of ‘Top Model’ Casting Goes Smoothly, but Isn’t Without Tears
|
Hundreds of young women subjected themselves to certain heartbreak early Saturday in Midtown Manhattan, rising before dawn to line up, primp and be scrutinized and summarily rejected by the judges for “America’s Next Top Model,” the reality show. At least this time there was no near riot. This weekend’s casting in New York was a do-over after things went terribly wrong four weeks ago, when a car overheated and began smoking in front of hundreds of aspiring models. They had been waiting along a jammed sidewalk outside the Park Central Hotel and were frightened en masse after seeing the smoke and fearing an explosion was next. Barricades were toppled, people were knocked over, arrests were made and the casting was called off. Saturday’s casting, at the Pennsylvania Hotel on Seventh Avenue, saw no such drama — the police arranged barricades along West 33rd Street to contain the line in a snakelike fashion. Yet the orderliness of the proceedings did little to lessen the sting of defeat. “We were a little shellshocked, a little hurt,” said Jenny Whoa, who lined up at 6:15 a.m. and was rejected by a judge almost as soon as she was herded into the judging room with dozens of other women (Tyra Banks, the show’s host, head judge and executive producer, was not in attendance). Ms. Whoa lives in Brooklyn and is diminutive by modeling industry standards, but tried out because the height limit for the show’s next installation is 5-foot-7. At 27, though, Ms. Whoa is at the upper age limit for contestants (the minimum age is 18). “It was,” she said, “my first and last chance, all in one swoop.” The doors opened at 6 a.m. Women of all shapes and sizes arrived from the five boroughs and beyond: supermarket cashiers, store clerks, Federal Express employees, students, dropouts, all eager, even desperate, to be plucked from their regular lives and transformed into fodder for the reality television mill. The height limit was ignored by a handful of statuesque women, including Mecca Aaron, who lives in Downtown Brooklyn and is 6-foot-3. “I’m hoping to be the exception,” said Ms. Aaron, 25, who said it was her fourth time trying out. Shakiesha Watson, who is 18 and five feet tall, took a train from Trenton before dawn and had not bothered going to sleep Friday night. Alana Smith, 19, arrived in the city at dawn after taking an overnight bus from Toronto with her boyfriend. They had arrived in Toronto on a cheap flight from California: Ms. Smith, who is 5-foot-5, had always wanted to model, but had missed the show’s auditions out West. Once the women got inside the hotel, their bags were searched, their bodies were traced with security wands and they were handed numbered stickers. They were directed up an escalator — the eager faces going up starkly contrasted by the defeated visages coming down — and into a vast, fluorescent-bathed holding room filled with 1,500 metal folding chairs. The room was never full; by midday Saturday an estimated 1,200 women had come through. Ultimately, 13 finalists from auditions in several cities will make it to the show. The women were seated in groups of two dozen or so, and it was then that the jitters really set in. Sneakers and socks were replaced with stilettos, strapped on with trembling fingers. Mirrors were whipped out, lips were daubed with gloss and the last errant hairs were patted down. Nervous giggles often swept the groups, which, moments later, would be led into a curtained-off area for their reckoning. Shortly before 9 a.m., one young woman was plucked from a group and escorted out, her mouth twisted in protest as a security guard led her by the elbow to the door. A spokesman for the CW, the television network that produces the show, said she was a “repeat offender” — she had already been rejected but rejoined the line in the hopes of catching the eye of a different judge. More often than not, the young women emerged from the judging rooms with long faces and teary, red-rimmed eyes. It proved nearly impossible to find anyone who had made it to the next round (the statuesque Ms. Aaron was also rejected). “It doesn’t discourage me,” said Tela Williams, who is 18 and had gotten up at 3:45 a.m. to journey to Midtown from North Brunswick, N.J., after she emerged, rejected, from the Pennsylvania Hotel. “At the end of the day you’re beautiful to someone.” Then she popped open her umbrella and disappeared into the rain and crowds of New York.
|
America's Next Top Model (TV Program);Models (Professional);Reality Television;Manhattan (NYC)
|
ny0107468
|
[
"world",
"europe"
] |
2012/04/15
|
Leaders of Rallies in Moscow Take Their Show on the Road
|
ASTRAKHAN, Russia — With their political credibility largely on the line, the organizers of Moscow’s huge antigovernment street protests staged a rare major action outside the capital on Saturday, rallying about 1,500 people against suspected ballot fraud in Astrakhan’s mayoral election. It was a modest turnout, showing that the antigovernment forces are still fumbling for a way forward and are so far unable to surmount public indifference and light a fire for political reform. A pro-government rally earlier in the day drew far more people, some carrying signs that said, “Emissaries, Time to Go Home.” The protests in Moscow in December after parliamentary elections were among the largest since the fall of the Soviet Union, but they fizzled after Prime Minister Vladimir V. Putin easily won the presidential election last month . Organizers, conceding that they lacked concrete goals, developed Plan B: a focus on local politics, hoping to rally the rest of Russia to their cause. Astrakhan, a regional southern capital near where the Volga River reaches the Caspian Sea, offered a dramatic backdrop: Oleg V. Shein, a candidate for mayor from the opposition Just Russia party, was on a hunger strike to protest suspected ballot fraud that he said had cost him the race. Mikhail Stolyarov, a candidate from Mr. Putin’s United Russia party, was named the winner. The rally took place on a sun-splashed public square after a week of heavy publicity. When Kseniya Sobchak, a glamour girl and television hostess , said she was flying in from Moscow to attend the rally, the anticorruption crusader Aleksei Navalny wrote on Twitter, “Sobchak is coming to Astrakhan — bringing Molotov cocktails and seven pairs of shoes.” At the rally, Mr. Navalny said he arrived in Astrakhan to find a huge police presence and wondered where he was. “Why so much police?” Mr. Navalny asked. “Is this a sector of Gaza? Is this the Republic of Chad? Is it Syria or Libya?” The crowd shouted, “No!” Mr. Navalny continued: “I am afraid that the guys who sit in the power offices in the Kremlin forgot the name of our country. What is the name of our country?” “Russia!” the crowd roared, and began to chant. “Russia! Russia! Russia!” Maksim Vitorgan, an actor, said, “Let’s live by the Constitution and not by the regulations for a population in an occupied territory.” But even the presence of celebrities failed to motivate residents who seemed apathetic, or at least otherwise occupied a day before the Russian Orthodox Easter. Still, while the meager turnout suggested little appetite in Russia for an antigovernment road show from Moscow, Mr. Shein’s case is turning into a serious political dispute in the new Parliament, which United Russia now controls by only a slim majority. The organizers from Moscow were joined by a large contingent of lawmakers from Just Russia, including the party’s leader, Sergei Mironov, who led the crowd on an impromptu march from Mr. Shein’s headquarters. Mr. Mironov said Mr. Shein would pursue a lawsuit seeking to overturn the election results. He also raised the possibility of trying to organize a ballot referendum in Astrakhan, in which residents would be asked if they support Mayor Stolyarov. “His hunger strike showed the entire country that there are people for whom justice and truth and honesty and, human dignity is more important than anything in the world,” Mr. Mironov said. Mr. Shein has made a credible case that the election results were tainted — though it is impossible at this point to know if irregularities would have changed the outcome. He and his supporters have pointed to a stark difference in results in election districts that used new electronic counters and those where ballots were tallied by hand. Comparing eight such districts in one section of the city, the results show Mr. Shein winning solid majorities in the four districts with electronic counting, but losing by what seem to be absurdly large margins in the other four. Mr. Shein said his hunger strike would continue at least until early in the week, when he expects some determination from election officials in Moscow who are reviewing video evidence of suspected violations. After the speeches, a contingent of demonstrators set off on another march and challenged police officers, at one point facing off with them on a street where officers had formed a cordon. Dmitry Gudkov, a member of Parliament with Just Russia, called on those in the crowd to return for another rally next Saturday. As night fell, the Astrakhan Kremlin glowed white against a nearly starless sky as many people carried traditional Easter cakes to church to be blessed by priests. In the dark outside his headquarters, Mr. Shein thanked his supporters, while Mr. Navalny urged them to appeal to residents for support. “We have to work hard to be sure the entire city is here next Saturday,” he said. Protesters set up a tent in the street, and several were quickly detained but later released.
|
Demonstrations Protests and Riots;Moscow (Russia);Elections;Politics and Government;Astrakhan (Russia);Russia
|
ny0268235
|
[
"business",
"media"
] |
2016/03/25
|
In Shift to Streaming, Music Business Has Lost Billions
|
There is plenty of good news in the music industry’s latest sales report released this week. Streaming is up. Vinyl has continued its unlikely renaissance. And did we mention that streaming is up? But a closer look shows that the big sales numbers that have sustained the recorded music business for years are way down, and it is hard to see how they could ever return to where they were even a decade ago. Revenue from music sales in the United States has hovered around $7 billion since 2010, according to the Recording Industry Association of America. For 2015, the number was $7.02 billion, up slightly less than 1 percent from 2014. Within that steady total, however, have been drastic shifts in listener behavior. CDs and downloads have been gradually abandoned as streaming has become the platform of choice. The result is that the music industry finds itself fighting over pennies while waving goodbye to dollars. For instance, the growing but still specialized market for vinyl records is generating more revenue than the music on YouTube, one of the biggest destinations on the Internet, but that’s because YouTube pays royalties in the tiniest fractions of cents. Streaming — whether through paid subscriptions to Spotify or Rhapsody; Internet radio from Pandora; or even videos on YouTube — now makes up 34.3 percent of sales, edging out digital downloads as the industry’s biggest source of revenue. In 2015, the year that Apple Music arrived and Tidal was reintroduced by Jay Z, paid subscription services generated $1.2 billion in sales in the United States. After adding in free streaming platforms and Internet radio, the total for streaming is $2.4 billion. Image Beyoncé with Jay Z, second from right, who announced his plans for the Tidal streaming music service in March 2015 in Manhattan. Credit Sam Hodgson for The New York Times Getting people to subscribe en masse to streaming services has been a priority for record labels and the streaming companies alike, who have often claimed that by building robust subscriber ranks, they would eventually return the industry to its former glory . But so far streaming has not saved the music business, and deep worries persist about the model. Many artists are suspicious of the deals that their record companies have cut with technology companies, and they want to know how much money is trickling down to them. In a rough analysis of the recording industry association’s numbers, Billboard magazine estimated that the average amount of money generated each time a song is streamed fell last year by about 24 percent, to 0.506 cent. (The fine print: That number, a retail sales figure, covers so-called on-demand streams, excluding Internet radio.) What gets lost in the battles over fractions of pennies, however, is just how much money has vanished from the music business as consumers have abandoned its most profitable product: the CD. In 2006 — years after Napster, and well into the iTunes era — record labels still reaped $9.4 billion from CD sales in the United States, more than the total sales revenue of the business today. Last year, CD sales stood at just $1.5 billion, a drop of 84 percent in a decade. And downloads, also once viewed as the industry’s savior, have now been falling for three consecutive years with no sign of recovery. In a note accompanying the recording industry’s report, Cary Sherman, the group’s chief executive, criticized sites like YouTube — characterized in the report as “on-demand ad-supported” — for what he described as paltry payouts compared to their enormous popularity online. Last year, YouTube and sites like it generated $385 million in royalties. In comparison, vinyl records — a niche if there ever was one — brought in $416 million. “Reforms are necessary to level the playing field and ensure that the entire music community derives the full and fair value of our work,” Mr. Sherman wrote. (In response, Google, which owns YouTube, objected to its comparison alongside audio-only platforms, referring to it as “apples to oranges.”) It may be possible for the music industry to wring more money out of YouTube. But it seems doubtful that it will ever earn back what it has lost from the CD.
|
Music;Recording Industry Association of America;Royalties;Audio Recordings; Downloads and Streaming;Compact Disc
|
ny0099799
|
[
"sports"
] |
2015/06/25
|
Medal Trouble at Ironman Event in Syracuse
|
The roughly 1,500 athletes who finished last week’s Ironman event through the Syracuse area will be getting a second medal because the ones they were initially given featured an image of the skyline of downtown Rochester — a city 75 miles to the west.
|
Triathlon;Syracuse NY;Rochester NY
|
ny0032967
|
[
"world",
"middleeast"
] |
2013/12/29
|
New Study Refines View of Sarin Attack in Syria
|
A new analysis of rockets linked to the nerve-agent attack on Damascus, Syria, in August has concluded that the rockets were most likely fired by multiple launchers and had a range of about three kilometers, according to the two authors of the analysis. The authors said that their findings could help pinpoint accountability for the most lethal chemical warfare attack in decades, but that they also raised questions about the American government’s claims about the locations of launching points, and the technical intelligence behind them. The new analysis could point to particular Syrian military units involved, or be used by defenders of the Syrian government and those suspicious of the United States’ claims to try to shift blame toward rebels. The rockets in question were not seen before the Syrian civil war. There is little publicly available information about their internal construction, their manufacturing provenance or their flight characteristics. But remnants of expended rockets have been videotaped and photographed, including at sites in eastern Damascus that were struck by sarin-filled warheads on Aug. 21. That attack is broadly believed to have caused at least hundreds of civilian deaths. It led the Obama administration, which blamed the government of President Bashar al-Assad, to threaten military action. That threat was deferred in mid-September after Russia and the United States reached an agreement to dismantle the Syrian government’s chemical weapons program. The authors of the new analysis —Theodore A. Postol, a professor of science, technology and national security policy at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Richard M. Lloyd, an analyst at the military contractor Tesla Laboratories — evaluated the exteriors of the implicated rockets, visible in videos and photographs. The analysis suggested that they were propelled by motors taken from a common family of 122-millimeter conventional artillery rockets known as the BM-21, the authors said. The BM-21 line is a globally abundant system of ground-to-ground rockets, colloquially called Grads, that originated in the Soviet Union but have been reproduced and updated by many countries, including post-Soviet Russia, China, Egypt and Iran. Both the Syrian army and the rebels possess them. An examination of the territory to the northwest of the cluster of reported impact strikes shows many positions that have been firmly under military control throughout 2013, including factories and a bus station complex that are part of Mr. Assad’s defense around his seat of government. Eliot Higgins, a blogger who has collected and analyzed many online videos related to the attack, the munitions and the Syrian government’s military positions in Damascus, said the new analysis of the rockets’ range aligned with assertions that the government was culpable. “A range of beyond 2.5 kilometers would put potential launch sites in an area between Jobar and Qaboun, to the north and northwest of the impact locations, that has been a hive of government activity for months,” Mr. Higgins wrote in an email on Friday. But the analysis could also lead to calls for more transparency from the White House, as Dr. Postol said it undermined the Obama administration’s assertions about the rockets’ launch points. On Aug. 30, the White House released its assessment of the attack, saying that, among other forms of intelligence, “satellite detections corroborate that attacks from a regime-controlled area struck neighborhoods where the chemical attacks reportedly occurred.” Image An image taken by local activists in Damascus shows the remains of a rocket implicated in a chemical attack in August. Dr. Postol said those statements created a public impression that the rockets had been launched from areas at the center of government control. “It is clear that if the U.S. government’s claims that the allegedly observed launches came from ‘the heart’ of Syrian government controlled areas, there is a serious discrepancy between the meaning of this claim, the technical intelligence it relies on, and the technical properties of this munition,” he wrote. Using published data about characteristics of motors in various Grad rockets and derivatives, Dr. Postol and Mr. Lloyd calculated potential maximum ranges for the sarin-filled rockets, with an emphasis on a common Grad variant’s motor. “The dimensions of the inserted rocket motor very closely match the dimensions in the 9M22-U artillery rocket,” Dr. Postol wrote in an email on Thursday. “If the inserted motor is the same as the standard 9M22-U motor, then the maximum range of the munition would be no more than three kilometers, and likely less.” That would be less than the ranges of more than nine kilometers calculated separately by The New York Times and Human Rights Watch in mid-September, after the United States had dropped its push for a military strike. Those estimates had been based in part on connecting reported compass headings for two rockets cited in the United Nations’ initial report on the attacks. The published range for a 9M22-U rocket is about 20 kilometers, or 12.4 miles. But the Syrian rockets carried a bulky and apparently flat-nosed warhead — Dr. Postol called it “a soup can” — whose range would have been undermined by its large mass and by drag, the authors said. Depending on the motors propelling different Grad models, the projected maximum ranges can vary from 2.5 to 3.5 kilometers, or 1.5 to 2.2 miles, Dr. Postol and Mr. Lloyd said. The longer estimates seem unlikely, Dr. Postol said, because as a sarin-filled rocket was pushed to greater air speeds by a more powerful motor, the stresses created by its non-aerodynamic shape could cause it to tumble or break apart. Mr. Lloyd said on Friday that his separate analysis of the reported impact sites suggested that two to four launchers were involved in the Aug. 21 strikes. Dr. Postol agreed. The details, he said, might indicate a canny attacker. “The line of impacts suggests a launcher that changed loft angle,” Dr. Postol wrote. “This is consistent with a strategy aimed at spreading the nerve agent over a wide area.” The new analysis has limits. It relies on secondhand measurements of and assumptions about the rockets’ components and construction, but no handling, X-rays or other examination of the real items. The central claim, about a particular rocket-motor insert, regards an item that has not yet been seen in any publicly available images. Nonetheless, a core assertion in the two authors’ previous analysis of the sarin-filled rockets, also based on dimensions, has stood for months. That study proposed that the warheads contained a large volume, about 13.2 gallons, of sarin. The United Nations implicitly seconded that suggestion when it included a similar estimate in its own report in September. The assumption that the warheads contained a large volume of nerve agent also helped shape another prominent analyst’s assertion that the details of the Aug. 21 attack implicated the Syrian government.
|
Biological and Chemical Warfare;Syria;Military;Bashar al-Assad;Free Syrian Army
|
ny0147759
|
[
"business",
"media"
] |
2008/07/12
|
New York Magazine Buys MenuPages Site
|
New York magazine has built an impressive online database of restaurants, which generates significant traffic, but its listings lag far behind those on the competing MenuPages Web site. So on Friday, New York Media, the magazine’s publisher, bought MenuPages, for an undisclosed price. MenuPages.com will remain a stand-alone Web site, while also providing listings on the magazine’s site, nymag.com , and it will give New York Media an entree to the seven other metropolitan areas it covers. The restaurant section is already one of nymag.com’s most heavily used features. New York magazine’s site covers about 6,000 restaurants around the city, said Serena Torrey, a spokeswoman for New York Media. The listings give price ranges and other information, but while some of them have menus and user reviews, many still do not. By comparison, Ms. Torrey said, MenuPages covers about 10,000 restaurants in Manhattan alone, along with a smaller number in Brooklyn, and they are much more likely to have menus and multiple reviews. “They have many, many more menus than we do, and they have an incredibly efficient menu transcription system and updating system,” she said. MenuPages also has listings for Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, Philadelphia, Boston, Washington and South Florida. In some areas, the listings are available through the Web sites of other media partners, like The Philadelphia Inquirer. The president and founder of MenuPages, Greg Barton, will stay on as general manager of the operation, reporting to Michael Silberman, general manager of digital media at New York Media. MenuPages was owned by Mr. Barton and a group of investors; New York Media is owned by Bruce Wasserstein. New York magazine’s Internet traffic has grown rapidly in recent years, and executives say the Web site generates 25 percent of its revenue. For most magazines, that figure remains in single digits.
|
New York;Menu Pages;Computers and the Internet;Restaurants;Magazines
|
ny0294778
|
[
"us"
] |
2016/06/25
|
Pentagon Set to Lift Ban on Transgender People Serving in U.S. Military
|
WASHINGTON — The Pentagon next month will announce the repeal of a policy banning transgender people from serving openly in the military, Defense Department officials said on Friday, moving to end what has widely been seen as one of the last barriers to service. Defense Secretary Ashton B. Carter has called the regulation outdated and harmful to the military. A year ago, he directed officials from all the military branches to determine what changes would be needed to lift the ban, in a tacit recognition that thousands of transgender people were already in uniform. Under the Pentagon’s plan, first reported by USA Today , each branch will put in place policies covering recruiting, housing and uniforms for transgender troops. Military officials have been “making great progress, holding multiple meetings and working hard to come up with a policy that balances the needs of soldiers with mission readiness,” said Eric Pahon, a Defense Department spokesman. “They’re trying to come up with something that fits the needs of all of the different services.” Ashley Broadway-Mack, the president of the American Military Partner Association, a support network for partners and spouses of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender troops and veterans, said in a statement that “our transgender service members and their families are breathing a huge sigh of relief.” Study on Policy Implications for Transgender Service Members A study conducted by the RAND Corporation and commissioned by Defense Secretary Ashton B. Carter found that a very small portion of service members are transgender and allowing them to serve openly in the military would cost little and have largely no impact on readiness. Estimates of the number of transgender people in the 1.2 million-member military range from 2,000 to more than 15,000. As with the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy that applied to gay men, lesbians and bisexuals until it was lifted in 2011, current rules have done little to keep transgender people out of the military. Instead, they have forced many to lie about their status and keep it a secret. Since taking the defense secretary post in February 2015, Mr. Carter has set about dismantling discriminatory rules in the services, including opening all combat positions to women. This week, Eric K. Fanning formally took over as Army secretary, becoming the first openly gay leader of a military service branch. A study commissioned by Mr. Carter and completed in March found that letting transgender members openly serve would cost little and would have no significant effect on unit readiness. The study, by the RAND Corporation , estimated that 2,450 active-duty members of the military were transgender, and that every year about 65 service members would seek to make a gender transition. The study said that if the Pentagon did not cover medical procedures like hormone therapy and surgery, service members would most likely not seek medical care and have higher rates of substance abuse and suicide. The procedures would cost the Pentagon $2.9 million to $4.2 million a year, the report said. Each year, the military spends $6 billion of its $610 billion budget on medical costs for active-duty service members.
|
US Military;Discrimination;Transgender,Gender Dysphoria;Gay and Lesbian LGBT;Pentagon;Ashton Carter;Washington DC
|
ny0226002
|
[
"business"
] |
2010/10/26
|
Aviad Meitar and Taking Pepsi to Romania
|
I’VE been a frequent business traveler for more than 20 years. I now live in Tel Aviv , but when I was a young executive, I was based in New York. My trips back then were short, mostly to the Midwest and sometimes to the West Coast. That changed in late 1990. My job was to explore the feasibility of setting up a Pepsi franchise in Romania. My first trip to Romania took place in January 1991, about a year after its revolution. The country was no longer under a communist regime, but no one wanted to travel there. It was also the time of the first Gulf War, and no one really wanted to travel anywhere. I had a tough time getting someone to accompany me to Romania, but I eventually talked a colleague into going with me. There were no direct flights from New York to Bucharest, so we traveled by way of Vienna. We landed in Romania during a snowstorm. The temperature was 6 degrees below zero. I don’t know what I was thinking, but I just had on a lightweight suit and raincoat. I was freezing. But I was actually warmer outside than I was inside a car. The only vehicles that could transport us around were Romanian-made Dacias, which were like metal boxes that sucked the cold into the interior. At that point, I was literally in pain from the cold, and I kept thinking the whole idea wasn’t very good. Everything in the city was gray. There were no advertising signs, the apartment buildings were poorly built and lighted, and there were a lot of empty storefronts. It was pretty dismal. Nonetheless, my colleague and I made a trip to Romania every month in 1991, spending a total of 93 nights in the country. We officially opened our business there in 1992. In total, I’ve probably made about 150 trips to Romania. And my opinion of the country improved as political, economic and social reforms took shape. It was amazing. We sold that business a few years ago, but since my affiliation with Pepsi began, I’ve developed a very peculiar habit when I fly. I check out what brand of soft drink each airline serves. Once I find out the brands carried on board, I also look around to see what people around me are consuming: carbonated versus noncarbonated soft drinks. Or if they prefer regular or a sugar-free drink, or a cola, cherry-flavored drink or something else. It’s a completely nonscientific way of identifying consumer preferences and trends, and helps me pass the time on flights. I’ve traveled so many places in the last two decades that every time I board a new airline, I become apprehensive. Not because I’m scared of flying, but rather, if they don’t serve Pepsi products, I’m out of luck. Airlines either serve Pepsi products or Coke products, rarely both. Those products can include juices and bottled water, not just soda. In my years of affiliation with Pepsi, I never consumed any of the soft drink brands of the competition. This is how fierce the battle is between the two main players in the industry. I’ll never forget one time when I was in Bulgaria at a very important event. This was back in 1995 and the hosts wanted to treat the guests to something very special. So about every three minutes they kept offering all of us a Coke. It was almost comical, because I couldn’t in good conscience drink it. Eventually they gave up trying to give me one, and I made do with my fallback drink: a glass of slightly warm tap water.
|
Airlines and Airplanes;Business Travel;Tel Aviv (Israel)
|
ny0107128
|
[
"business"
] |
2012/04/01
|
European Finance Ministers Clear Way for Credit Rating Competition
|
COPENHAGEN — European Union finance ministers agreed on Saturday to increase competition among credit ratings agencies and to continue difficult discussions on taxing certain financial transactions. At the end of a two-day gathering here, Margrethe Vestager, Denmark’s economics minister, announced that the ministers had reached an agreement to require companies to rotate ratings agencies to prevent conflicts of interest and encourage more competition. Ms. Vestager said it would be important to make any such rules “applicable in the real world because, you know, the market for credit rating is rather limited.” A European law requiring companies to rotate agencies, and in turn encourage ratings competitors to enter the market, could have major implications for companies like Fitch Ratings , Moody’s Investors Service and Standard & Poor’s, the big three global providers that are based in the United States and have dominated the sector. Over the past two years, European leaders have repeatedly accused the agencies of exacerbating the sovereign debt crisis by unfairly downgrading countries’ creditworthiness and further driving up their costs of borrowing. Last year, Michel Barnier, the European commissioner responsible for financial services, proposed that companies be forced to change every three years the company that they pay to rate their credit, or every six years if they hired more than one ratings agency. He also said that financial institutions should be allowed to rely less on the agencies and be obliged to make their own assessments. Those rules still need to be approved by governments and the European Parliament, and Mr. Barnier’s proposals on the frequency of rotation could be modified. A longer phasing-in period for the rules could also be added. Even so, the political support shown by the ministers on Saturday for rotation could mean that Europe will reach an agreement on a new law regulating ratings agencies in the summer. The discussions on ratings agencies followed the finance ministers’ decision on Friday to increase the size of a bailout fund for the euro zone to about $1 trillion. That decision was overshadowed by a disagreement between the Austrian finance minister, Maria Fekter, and Jean-Claude Juncker, president of the Eurogroup of euro zone finance ministers, over who got to announce the deal first. Mr. Juncker canceled a scheduled news conference after Ms. Fekter upstaged him with an impromptu announcement. Ministers avoided acrimony on Saturday in a discussion about creating a so-called financial transaction tax, a proposal that has drawn fierce criticism from Sweden and Britain. Proponents say such a mechanism could help recoup vast sums of money that governments have spent to save banks by levying a tax on most share, derivative and bond trades. But opponents warn that such a tax would push banks and other financial institutions to abandon European financial centers like the City of London and could ultimately leave European governments with less revenue. In a sign that the governments could be preparing the path to a compromise, Anders Borg, the Swedish finance minister, said he could support a more modest levy known as a stamp duty that mainly taxes shares. “Something in line with the French stamp duty or the British stamp duty” would be less costly for the economy and could be acceptable to Sweden and Britain, Mr. Borg said in comments on the margins of the meeting. “There are some positive signs on this,” he said, adding that he had agreed to join a working group on the issue at the invitation of the German finance minister, Wolfgang Schäuble.
|
Credit Ratings and Credit Rating Agencies;Taxation;European Union;European Sovereign Debt Crisis (2010- );Fitch Ratings;Moody's Investors Service Inc;Standard & Poor's Corp;Politics and Government
|
ny0256347
|
[
"sports",
"baseball"
] |
2011/08/10
|
Nationals’ Chien-Ming Wang Earns First Victory Since 2009
|
A small group of people started to assemble outside the visitors’ clubhouse in the bottom of the ninth inning at Wrigley Field. When Chicago’s Alfonso Soriano popped out to center field to end the game, the crowd — now upward of 75 people — erupted. Desperate to get a peek of the Washington Nationals as they climbed the stairs to the clubhouse, the crowd spotted Chien-Ming Wang and began chanting his name. Wang allowed one hit over six scoreless innings, Jonny Gomes hit a two-run homer and the Nationals beat the Cubs, 3-1, on Tuesday night. In his third start — and first on the road — after missing more than two years following shoulder surgery, Wang (1-2) won for the first time since June 28, 2009, against the Mets as a member of the Yankees. Wang did not allow a hit until pinch-hitter Tony Campana, who initially tried to lay down a bunt, led off the sixth with a hard liner off Michael Morse’s mitt at first. Campana beat out second baseman’s Danny Espinosa’s throw at first with Wang covering. “I was impressed the first time because I didn’t think I’d see him with that free of a delivery and be able to hang in there for as long as he did,” Nationals Manager Davey Johnson said. “It was better the second time and I expected the progress to be better this time. It was very impressive. Eighty pitches for six innings? That’s vintage.” Wang effectively used his sinker, while issuing two walks and hitting a batter with one strikeout. “The last two outings, my sinker wasn’t that good, so the ball wasn’t getting down. That’s why they got me,” Wang said through an interpreter. “In the bullpen session, I was working on the release point. I think that’s why I had a good outing today.” BRAVES 4, MARLINS 3 Dan Uggla extended his hitting streak to 30 games, Martin Prado delivered a go-ahead single in the 11th inning and visiting Atlanta won. Prado also homered, tied a career high with four hits and drove in three runs. Craig Kimbrel got Mike Cameron to ground into a double play to record his 36th save in 41 chances. ROCKIES 3, REDS 2 Troy Tulowitzki hit a two-run homer, Esmil Rogers pitched just well enough for six innings and Colorado sent host Cincinnati to its fifth loss in six games. Lack of clutch hitting continued to plague the Reds, who were 0 for 10 with runners in scoring position and left Dontrelle Willis still looking for his first win in six starts since being called up from Class AAA on July 10. RED SOX 4, TWINS 3 Darnell McDonald hit a two-run homer into the upper deck in left field to help Boston win at Minnesota. David Ortiz gave the Sox the lead for good on an infield single with the bases loaded in the seventh inning and Jonathan Papelbon picked up his 26th save. Erik Bedard gave up two runs in five innings in his second start since coming to Boston in a trade with Seattle. RAYS 4, ROYALS 0 James Shields threw a six-hitter for his major-league-best eighth complete game, Evan Longoria homered and had four runs batted in, and Tampa Bay beat visiting Kansas City. Shields (11-9) also has four shutouts this year. Longoria drove in two runs on a single during the first and hit a two-run homer in the sixth. RANGERS 7, MARINERS 6 Josh Hamilton drove in the winning run with a single in the ninth inning and Texas rallied from a three-run deficit at home. Ian Kinsler and Endy Chavez homered for the Rangers, whose division lead over second-place Los Angeles remained at one and a half games with the Angels beating the Yankees. WHITE SOX 4, ORIOLES 3 Brent Morel homered and drove in two runs, Carlos Quentin also connected, and Chicago won in Baltimore for its season-high fifth straight victory. Gavin Floyd (10-10) gave up three runs in six and two-thirds innings for the White Sox. Coming off a horrid performance against the Yankees in which he surrendered 10 runs in two and a third innings, Floyd improved to 4-1 in his last five starts. ATHLETICS 4, BLUE JAYS 1 Josh Willingham and Kurt Suzuki homered and Rich Harden pitched seven strong innings for his first career win over host Toronto. The Athletics have won three straight games and have homered in a season-high seven straight, connecting 11 times in that span.
|
Baseball;Washington Nationals;Chicago Cubs;Tampa Bay Rays;Shields James
|
ny0017513
|
[
"nyregion"
] |
2013/10/22
|
As Gays Wed in New Jersey, Christie Ends Court Fight
|
As couples across New Jersey began marrying on Monday after the stroke of midnight, Gov. Chris Christie abandoned his long fight against same-sex marriage, concluding that signals from the court and the march of history were against him. His decision not to appeal a judge’s ruling that allowed the weddings removed the last hurdle to legalized same-sex marriage in New Jersey, making it the 14th state, along with the District of Columbia, to allow gay couples to wed. Mr. Christie’s advisers said it became clear late on Friday that the fight had to end after the State Supreme Court announced it would not grant the governor’s request to block same-sex marriages while he appealed. Not only did the court decision say that his appeal had no “reasonable probability of success,” it was also unanimous — signed by the justices Mr. Christie has long warred against and by the one he considered on “his” side, Justice Anne M. Patterson. The governor concluded that, legally, he was out of arguments, and that it would be what one aide called a “fool’s errand” to continue in the face of almost certain failure. Politically, members of his staff bet that they could contain the damage by arguing that the governor had never changed his mind — he still opposes same-sex marriage — and blaming activist judges, which even critics of the governor’s decision began doing on Monday. “He looks realistic, while sticking to his principles — and people are happy,” said one adviser who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss strategy. Mr. Christie, a Republican widely considered a leading contender for his party’s presidential nomination in 2016, has long tried to walk a fine line on same-sex marriage, which polls show is popular in his home state, but opposed by conservative voters in important primary states. Last year, he vetoed legislation allowing same-sex marriage, saying voters should decide the issue in a referendum. As recently as last week, he repeated his position that he believed marriage to be between a man and a woman. But he also signed a bill outlawing so-called gay conversion therapy, which angered conservatives. Image Gov. Chris Christie rescinded his legal challenge to same-sex marriages the first day gay couples could wed in New Jersey. Credit Mark Makela for The New York Times Even if he lost on the marriage issue, his aides said, Mr. Christie could still promote himself as the kind of politician voters embrace, because they know where he stands, even if they do not agree with him. The dizzying events in New Jersey showed how quickly the politics of same-sex marriage have changed. Starting at midnight and into early Monday, same-sex couples from Asbury Park to Jersey City wed in emotional ceremonies that had been hastily arranged after the court denied Mr. Christie’s request for a delay. At 8:30 a.m., lawyers representing the couples who had sued to be allowed to marry received calls from the administration, telling them that the governor had dropped his appeal. In a conference call later, lawyers for Lambda Legal said that they expected to prevail with similar litigation in Nevada, Virginia and West Virginia, and that they were optimistic about their chances in the legislatures in Hawaii and Illinois. “I think the handwriting was on the wall as clearly as it could possibly be,” said Lawrence S. Lustberg, a lawyer who argued the case for gay and lesbian couples before a trial court. “The governor had always said he would fight this all the way up to the Supreme Court,” Mr. Lustberg added, “but he didn’t say he was going to fight it to the Supreme Court twice. As a matter of reasonable lawyering on the one hand, and a clear perception of what the court’s position was on the other, this was inevitable.” Just four months ago, even advocates for same-sex marriage believed that the governor had firmly blocked it. A coalition of state and national gay rights groups was pushing to override his veto of same-sex marriage legislation, but they were far short of the votes they needed. In September, Judge Mary C. Jacobson of State Superior Court ruled that the state had to allow gay marriages to comply with the United States Supreme Court decision in June that guaranteed same-sex married couples the same federal benefits as heterosexual married couples. In 2006, a New Jersey Supreme Court decision guaranteed equal protection to same-sex couples, which prompted the State Legislature to enact civil unions. But the United States Supreme Court decision meant that couples in civil unions did not have the same benefits as those in marriages. A Rutgers Eagleton poll released on Monday found that a majority of respondents, including a majority of those supporting Mr. Christie in his bid for re-election on Nov. 5, did not want him to pursue the appeal. Image Beth Asaro, left, and Joanne Schailey exchanged wedding vows just after the stroke of midnight Monday morning in Lambertville, N.J. Credit Laura Pedrick for The New York Times Mr. Christie is trying to roll up as big a margin of victory as possible next month so he can cast himself as a presidential candidate who can win even in blue states. Continuing to oppose same-sex marriage against the images of the jubilant weddings might have hurt that effort. His Democratic opponent, State Senator Barbara Buono, sought to remind voters that he had tried “to block the rights of gays and lesbians at every turn.” “It took a determined effort by brave individuals,” Ms. Buono added, “and a unanimous decision by the New Jersey Supreme Court to force the governor to drop his appeal. I am thrilled the court ended his ability to enforce his bigoted views that are contrary to the values of our state.” But even prominent Republican donors had been among those financing a campaign to override Mr. Christie’s veto, suggesting that the national politics of same-sex marriage might be shifting. Aides to the governor acknowledged that his decision might alienate primary voters who already doubt his social conservative credentials, but they added that he was never going to have an easy time in the Iowa presidential caucuses. Still, the administration was not exactly celebrating the position it was in. Announcements from Mr. Christie’s office typically arrive with a news release, a video and a Twitter post. This one came in a sober note from a spokesman to reporters early on Monday; there was no announcement on the governor’s Web site. “Although the governor strongly disagrees with the court substituting its judgment for the constitutional process of the elected branches or a vote of the people,” the note said, “the court has now spoken clearly as to their view of the New Jersey Constitution and, therefore, same-sex marriage is the law. “The governor will do his constitutional duty and ensure his administration enforces the law as dictated by the New Jersey Supreme Court.” National conservative groups criticized “an activist judiciary run amok,” in the words of the National Organization for Marriage. But they also had harsh words for Mr. Christie, for, as the organization said, “throwing in the towel.” “The mark of a leader is to walk a principled walk no matter the difficulty of the path,” said the statement from the organization’s president, Brian Brown. “Chris Christie has failed the test, abandoning both voters and the core institution of society: marriage as the union of one man and one woman.”
|
Chris Christie;Same-Sex Marriage,Gay Marriage;New Jersey
|
ny0031947
|
[
"sports",
"basketball"
] |
2013/06/14
|
Nets Couldn’t Pass Up Hiring of Kidd
|
From the moment Jason Kidd threw his ball in the game — a perfect bounce pass, no doubt — the Nets just knew they had lucked into the kind of slam dunk that would electrify the crowd. They were smitten by the notion of their onetime point-guard savior as their new coaching savant. He had them at hello, Brooklyn. Give the team’s general manager, Billy King, credit for at least making sure that friends in the industry would not think him insane with this hire. He contacted his old college coach, Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski, who had Kidd on the United States Olympic team, and was told, great idea, way to be bold. He got an endorsement from Rick Carlisle, the Dallas Mavericks’ coach, who used Kidd so effectively two years ago while winning the N.B.A. championship. King flew in Brian Shaw to give at least one candidate with coaching experience the opportunity to talk him into a more conventional hire. But Shaw would have had to promise Phil Jackson as his lead assistant to send the bullet train with Kidd on board back to the station. Before Shaw could be handed a Junior’s cheesecake and sent back to the airport, the Nets were planning a posh news conference for Thursday in the Barclays Center atrium. There was no time to waste, or wait, even to determine if there was any weight to the new speculation on the highly desirable Doc Rivers looking for a way out of Boston. After Jackson and his 11 rings, Kidd was suddenly the second-best Nets fantasy. He was the just-retired baller with the loudest buzz, the surest bet for the tabloid back pages the way he once was for the baseline cutter going backdoor. The large news media contingent — greeted by posters welcoming Kidd back to a place he had visited this season only as an opponent — paid immediate dividends. “I know everybody was talking about the sexy name,” King said, disagreeing. “But what’s the sexy name? You guys determine that by what you write.” So color the media transparent and credit the Nets for knowing what a feast Kidd would be for the beast, with his Hall of Fame playing credentials and his Vin Diesel veneer. King had to insist that the decision was never about the Nets still acting like the New Jersey Nets, doing everything possible to make people pay attention. But the track record of the franchise since Mikhail Prokhorov became its owner obscured those denials. Since Prokhorov, a Russian multibillionaire, arrived to joke, “I come in peace,” the Nets have done everything they promotionally could to make war with the Knicks. Now they have Kidd, less than two weeks removed from the Knicks’ roster, and whether one believes this move to be brash or harebrained, the only conclusion to be immediately drawn is this: Even dressed up as a 49-win team in their handsome arena in the middle of a promising new market, the Nets acted very much the part of a team trying to maneuver its way out of Madison Square Garden’s shadow. Nets. Jets. Mets. All three teams rhyme and reside in the same existential place: second in their respective sports in the New York City market. They deal with different competitive conditions and phenomena but similar inferiority complexes born of that old Avis ad campaign, We Try Harder. Sometimes too hard, as the most glaring case of recent vintage, the Jets in the Tim Tebow debacle, would attest. Did the Nets overreact, handing a win-now veteran team to a coach on training wheels? King said several times that all hires, especially coaches, are risky in the most general sense. But his time with Kidd convinced him that Kidd had coaching greatness inside him. Kidd could start by finally being the one to successfully manage the many moods of Deron Williams, which have tended to make him less than the sum of his many talented parts. The opposite, you might say, of Kidd in his prime. “It starts with Deron,” Kidd said, nodding to a smiling Williams in the audience. Kidd also promised to diversify the Nets’ offense by not having Williams bring the ball up on every possession. That’s a nice thought, but Williams is the only Net holdover with Kidd-like court vision. Kidd will soon discover that those skills are not transferable, or teachable. Between the lines, Kidd over 19 years was always the ultimate team player. Outside the lines, he could be an operator of the highest order. But as a rookie coach, Kidd should at least be as appreciative as he is hardworking. With two coaches fired in the last six months, King has gone out on what could be a very rickety limb for Kidd, who five years ago wanted no part of the Nets in any location. Dwelling on that experience, he began to say something unflattering about “East Rutherford,” but caught himself, changed direction and praised Bruce Ratner, the former owner he once couldn’t get far enough away from, for his vision as builder of the arena in Brooklyn. The team, for better or worse, is also built, with a couple of aging, untradable players. Kidd must know he is not stepping into a low-pressure, learning-curve situation, given Prokhorov’s expectations of title contention. The core that came up empty in the first round of the playoffs against the Chicago Bulls’ junior varsity will not change, King said. If healthy, the Bulls will be even better next season. So will emerging Indiana. LeBron James isn’t leaving Miami just yet. And the Knicks still have a team that won five more games than the Nets. With Kidd as coach, the Nets can reset the conversation and promise, We’ll Try Harder. They’re still No. 2, but the buzz is louder in Brooklyn.
|
Basketball;Brooklyn Nets;Jason Kidd;Coaches;Billy King
|
ny0285701
|
[
"business",
"international"
] |
2016/09/09
|
As Issues Swirl in Europe, E.C.B. Holds Interest Rate at Zero
|
The European Central Bank’s policy-setting committee faces concerns over economic growth in the region, uncertainty over the impact of “Brexit” and questions over whether its own efforts are having the desired impact. With a wide variety of issues troubling the region, the central bank nevertheless held fire during a regular monetary policy meeting on Thursday, keeping its benchmark interest rate at zero. The central bank lowered its forecasts for economic growth for next year and 2018, and it slightly reduced its estimates for inflation in both years. It warned that expansion could slow more and said that it would maintain a program to pump more cash into the financial system to bolster the eurozone economy. The Limits of ‘Unconventional’ Policies “We see that our monetary policy is effective,” Mario Draghi, the bank’s president, said. “Interest rates have to be low today to be high tomorrow.” Economists say the bank is moving slowly because with interest rates already at record lows, traditional monetary policy is at its limits. Mr. Draghi and his colleagues have already unleashed an arsenal of unconventional tools, including: ■ Negative deposit rates, which effectively require banks to pay to store cash in the central bank’s vaults, giving them an added incentive to lend it out instead. ■ Quantitative easing, where the central bank buys 80 billion euros, or about $90 billion, of government and corporate bonds each month in an effort to reduce market interest rates to stimulate the economy. ■ Flooding banks with cheap money to encourage them to lend to individuals and businesses. Though the central bank has fallen short of its target of pushing inflation to just under 2 percent — it has been hovering at 0.2 percent for the last two months — the bank argues that its policies have averted deflation and encouraged economic growth. Its policies have also helped weaken the euro, which indirectly benefits the economy — a weaker currency typically encourages inflation and makes eurozone exports look cheaper compared with those from rival countries. “The jury is still out on whether this is effective,” said Carsten Brzeski, an economist with ING-DiBa in Frankfurt. “The E.C.B. likes to say that if they hadn’t done it, the world would look much worse. I believe that’s true, but it’s something we can’t really prove.” If more measures are needed, the central bank could move further into unconventional territory by buying stocks as well as bonds. And it could also provide “helicopter money” — giving cash directly to households to increase spending. But Mr. Draghi will probably need time to prepare public opinion for any such moves, and he said that neither measure was discussed at Thursday’s meeting. ‘Brexit’ Concerns “The economic recovery in the euro area is expected to be dampened by still-subdued foreign demand, partly related to the uncertainties following the U.K. referendum outcome.” Britain voted in June to leave the European Union , a move that is expected to have major impacts on the 19-nation eurozone, which, taken as a whole, is Britain’s largest trading partner. Stock markets initially plunged after the vote but have since stabilized, and the European Central Bank has not yet had to adjust its policies because of any direct impact. Much remains unclear about the terms of Britain’s departure from the European Union. Among the possible repercussions: ■ Trade with Britain could be affected, depending on the terms of the final deal between London and Brussels. The fall in the value of the pound could also make British exports more competitive, while making Continental European products more expensive in Britain. ■ Companies, including ones in London’s prized financial services industry, could desert Britain for the Continent to ensure continued access to the eurozone market. For the moment, the central bank has not taken any direct measures to address concerns stemming from “Brexit.” How ‘Brexit’ Could Change Business in Britain Britain has started the clock on leaving the European Union, and will be out of the bloc by March 2019. Here is how “Brexit” has affected business so far. Shifting Winds on Fiscal Policy? “In order to reap the full benefits from our monetary policy measures, other policy areas must contribute much more decisively, both at the national and at the European level.” The unemployment rate across the eurozone stands above 10 percent. Household spending is restricted. Demand across the region is weak. And the advice from several officials, including Mr. Draghi, has been clear: Governments must spend more. “In an environment of accommodative monetary policy, the swift and effective implementation of structural reforms will not only lead to higher sustainable economic growth in the euro area but will also make the euro area more resilient to global shocks,” Mr. Draghi said on Thursday . “Fiscal policies should also support the economic recovery.” The central bank’s policies can create the conditions for more growth and investment, Mr. Brzeski said, “but they simply can’t force people or companies to invest. That’s why the discussion is gradually moving toward” what role “governments should play.” That may seem to be an unexceptional view, but it is a major departure from the consensus in a bloc dominated by Germany, which has long pushed for balanced budgets. In a sign that times may be changing, even Wolfgang Schäuble, the German finance minister, recently suggested the possibility of tax cuts after elections in autumn 2017.
|
Banking and Finance;Interest rate;Quantitative easing;European Central Bank;Mario Draghi
|
ny0292507
|
[
"technology"
] |
2016/06/02
|
Uber Turns to Saudi Arabia for $3.5 Billion Cash Infusion
|
SAN FRANCISCO — In its quest to build a global empire, Uber has turned to the Middle East for its biggest infusion of cash from a single investor. Uber said on Wednesday that it had raised $3.5 billion from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, the kingdom’s main investment fund, in one of the largest-ever investments into a privately held start-up. The money was part of the ride-hailing giant’s most recent financing round and continued to value Uber at $62.5 billion . The investment, which was months in the making, does not cash out any of Uber’s existing investors. Uber, which has viewed the Middle East as an important area in its expansion, said the investment further aligned the company with Saudi Arabia as the kingdom planned to transform its economy, reducing its dependence on oil and improving employment. Until now, Saudi Arabia has not been known for venture capital investing, though some members of its royal family have made some deals. Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, for instance, has invested in Lyft, a competitor of Uber. “We appreciate the vote of confidence in our business as we continue to expand our global presence,” Travis Kalanick, one of Uber’s founders and its chief executive, said in a statement. “Our experience in Saudi Arabia is a great example of how Uber can benefit riders, drivers and cities and we look forward to partnering to support their economic and social reforms.” The investment came together after David Plouffe, an Uber board member, traveled to the Middle East in March and was invited to the Saudi fund for a briefing. The discussions heated up thereafter, culminating in the deal. Uber, which is Silicon Valley’s most valuable private business, has collected more than $11 billion from investors since its inception. The company has redefined private fund-raising, drawing hundreds of millions in new cash at a rapid pace of once every six months or so, to fuel its operations globally. Uber has drawn capital from a wide variety of investors, including traditional venture capital firms, mutual fund giants like BlackRock and wealthy clients of firms like Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley. Other sovereign wealth funds, like that of Qatar, have also invested. Other tech darlings have been busy raising money from private investors as well, pushing back any need to join the public stock markets. The messaging company Snapchat raised $1.8 billion in its most recent round, according to a regulatory filing last month. Among Snapchat’s new investors in the round were the Alibaba Group of China and the investment firms General Atlantic, Sequoia Capital, T. Rowe Price and Lone Pine Capital. Other tech start-ups have not fared as well in raising money over the last several months. Some so-called unicorns — businesses valued at more than $1 billion — have struggled, and several, like the wearables maker Jawbone, have had to raise money at lower valuations . Uber has been spending not only to expand but also to defend its territory — which covers 460 cities in more than 69 countries — against incumbents in regions like Southeast Asia and Europe. China, in particular, is a difficult battleground, as Uber is spending millions in a subsidy war with Didi Chuxing, the dominant ride-hailing start-up in the country. The Middle East is among Uber’s increasingly important overseas markets; the company has already said it plans to invest $250 million there. Uber has rolled out its service in 15 cities and nine countries in the region, including Saudi Arabia. The start-up said that it now has over 395,000 active riders in the Middle East, up fivefold from a year ago, and 19,000 drivers. Uber said expanding its service may be a boon for Saudi Arabia, a country where women are not allowed to drive because of fatwas, or religious edicts, issued by conservative Muslim clerics that uphold a distinct segregation between the sexes. There is no formal law prohibiting women from driving in the region. “Of course we think women should be allowed to drive,” said Jill Hazelbaker, an Uber spokeswoman. “In the absence of that, we have been able to provide extraordinary mobility that didn’t exist before — and we’re incredibly proud of that.” Still, Uber did not say that it planned to hire women drivers in the country, unlike in most other regions where the company operates. Roughly 80 percent of Uber’s riders in Saudi Arabia are women, according to the company. Uber has sought to aid the kingdom’s Vision 2030 plan , which includes more than doubling the number of women in the overall work force by 2030, to 30 percent. Princess Reema bint Bandar al-Saud, who sits on Uber’s public policy advisory board, has worked with Uber to usher the service into the country and has the support of female users of the service, said in an interview that the investment was a clear sign of change coming to the region. Saudi Arabia has looked for ways to expand its economy beyond oil, with the Public Investment Fund — which is expected to grow to $2 trillion under management after the country’s state-owned oil company goes public — serving as a crucial part of that strategy. The $3.5 billion investment in Uber is out of the Saudi fund’s roughly $750 billion in total United States assets. Investing in an American company like Uber, however, could run counter to Saudi Arabia’s threat to sell off investments in the United States , issued during discussion about a bill in Congress that would allow the kingdom to be held responsible in American courts for any role in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Part of Uber’s possible attraction in bringing in a sovereign wealth fund like Saudi Arabia’s is that such investors have far longer investment horizons than venture capitalists, who generally seek to cash out their investments after seven to 10 years. As part of the investment, the managing director at the Public Investment Fund, Yasir Al Rumayyan, will take a seat on Uber’s board, joining Mr. Kalanick and other directors, including Arianna Huffington. “We’ve seen firsthand how this company has improved urban mobility around the world, and we’re looking forward to being part of that progress,” Mr. Al Rumayyan said in a statement.
|
Saudi Arabia;Uber;Car Service;Venture capital;Sovereign wealth fund
|
ny0036852
|
[
"sports"
] |
2014/03/09
|
Fighter in Jail; Bout Off
|
Mexico’s Carlos Molina could not defend his International Boxing Federation light middleweight title as planned Saturday against the unbeaten American Jermall Charlo after landing in jail. Molina, 30, was jailed in Las Vegas over immigration issues, and authorities would not release him in time to ensure the fight could take place. Molina is 22-5 with 2 draws and 6 knockouts; Charlo is 17-0 with 13 knockouts.
|
Boxing;International Boxing Federation;Carlos Molina
|
ny0066294
|
[
"us",
"politics"
] |
2014/06/23
|
In Mississippi, Chris McDaniel’s Senate Bid Is Bolstered by Tea Party Energy
|
LAUREL, Miss. — Chris McDaniel’s Republican campaign for the Senate barreled through Mississippi on Sunday on anti-establishment, Tea Party-invigorated energy as the state’s runoff primary race entered its final hours. The Tea Party Express, one of the nation’s largest organizations aligned with the movement, was the host of three bus tour events earlier this weekend, with a fourth planned for later Sunday — all intended to raise support for Mr. McDaniel, who will face the incumbent, Senator Thad Cochran, in the runoff election on Tuesday. Five years have passed since Tea Party groups began protesting big government at summer town-hall meetings across the country, and this runoff has become a test of the movement’s durability, especially after a Tea Party challenger defeated the House majority leader, Eric Cantor, in a primary this month. At the tour’s kickoff event on Friday evening in a parking lot here, 10 minutes from Mr. McDaniel’s hometown, American flags waved as a husband-and-wife band, the Rivoli Revue, jammed on guitars bearing American flag insignia and sang songs criticizing government overreach with titles like “Restoring America,” “USSA” and “Repeal Obamacare.” “The establishment has ‘fell’ my friend. Thad Cochran has to go,” the couple sang for 70 Mississippians from a stage at the side of a Ramada Inn. Behind the band hung a “Don’t Tread on Me” flag. “Those bailouts have to stop,” went another song. “That stimulus must end. Repeal Obama health care. No cap-and-trade my friend.” Susan Barnett, a former teacher who has known Mr. McDaniel since he was a toddler, exhorted the crowd: “Who is going to elect our nominee? Let’s not let it be the special-interest lobbyists. “They’re not going to select our senatorial candidate. We the people will select him. It will not be the political machine and the Republican old guard.” The crowd cheered as Ms. Barnett and each of the roughly one dozen speakers, including the talk radio host Lars Larson, railed against the nation’s capital or against Mr. Cochran. In a county where Mr. McDaniel won 85 percent of the vote in the June 3 race that led to the runoff scheduled for Tuesday, any attack on his opponent — personal or political — was sure to draw boisterous applause and hollering. This race has been described as featuring more mudslinging than any in this election cycle. On the stump, Mr. McDaniel is far more polite, taking pains to note how he respects Mr. Cochran’s record. Then he attacks it. “Senator Cochran has been there for 42 years, and no one can name a single fight that he’s led for the conservative movement,” Mr. McDaniel said at an event in Madison, a wealthy suburb of Jackson, on Thursday night with former Senator Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania. “He wants to scare you into voting for the status quo.” Mr. McDaniel accompanied the Tea Party Express bus on its Saturday stop to Tupelo, and he was scheduled to ride with it to Biloxi on Sunday for an event hours before Mr. Cochran was to host Senator John McCain, Republican of Arizona, a few miles away in Gulfport. For as much as the campaign has been portrayed as a battle between the Tea Party and the establishment, both candidates were relying on established star power as they made their closing arguments. Mr. Cochran’s events with Mr. McCain on Sunday in Biloxi and Monday in Jackson are his campaign’s largest ending rallies, and the Chamber of Commerce was broadcasting a television advertisement supporting the incumbent that featured the former Green Bay Packer quarterback Brett Favre, a Mississippi native. Mr. McDaniel brought Mr. Santorum, who spent 16 years in Washington, to Mississippi on Thursday, and the candidate has benefited from television ads broadcast during time paid for by the Club for Growth, a political advocacy group based in Washington. Val Root, a Florida Tea Party activist who teaches gifted elementary students, traveled to Mississippi with her husband to campaign for Mr. McDaniel and to distribute the American Patriot News, a newsletter they produce. “I think Washington is a beautiful city, but it’s one of the more corrupt places you could ever think of,” Ms. Root said. “When we send good candidates up there, it only takes two or three weeks before they fall into step.” When asked how she could be certain Mr. McDaniel would not follow the same path if elected, she said she could not. But then she added, “Well, I think we have to trust some people.”
|
2014 Midterm Elections;Chris McDaniel;Thad Cochran;Republicans;Primaries;Senate races;Tea Party movement;Tea Party Express
|
ny0215338
|
[
"us"
] |
2010/04/02
|
Quake Survivors Freed From Immigration Jails
|
More than three dozen Haitian earthquake survivors were released from Florida immigration jails on Thursday after more than two months in the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement . Many had lost relatives in the Jan. 12 earthquake ; some had been pulled from the rubble themselves. In the chaotic days and aftershocks that followed, many had been seeking security, food or treatment at the Port-au-Prince airport when they were waved onto military transports or other planes by United States Marines , only to be detained for lack of visas when they landed. Lawyers at the Florida Immigrant Advocacy Center, who had urged their release for weeks, were jubilant as they waited with relatives outside the Broward County Transitional Center, a privately operated jail in Pompano Beach, for the last ones to walk out. Immigration officials said 40 Haitian survivors would be released on orders of supervision by nightfall. This came on the day that The New York Times reported that at least 30 earthquake survivors were being detained. By February, nearly all had been ordered deported, but deportations have been indefinitely suspended since the earthquake. Advocates said their continued detention was traumatic and legally unjustified. Allison Kent, a lawyer with the center, said two young women remained in jail — including one originally flown to the United States for hospital care — because they were still in deportation proceedings. A Creole -speaking therapist was to visit them Friday, she said. Lawyers said the federal government was now reversing a practice adopted after the earthquake, to hold Haitians for at least 90 days after a deportation order before considering them for supervised release. Those released can be returned to Haiti when deportations resume. Among the first to be freed was Jackson Ulysse, 20, whose request for release described how sounds in the jail made him fear another earthquake and panic that he would not be able to get out. He had been trapped when his family’s apartment building collapsed in the quake, in which many relatives died. He and his brother, Reagan Ulysse, 25, had been detained together until March 11, when Reagan was abruptly transferred to a distant immigration jail, leaving Jackson not knowing where he was. But by Thursday evening a family friend had picked up Jackson and was driving him to pick up Reagan from the lobby of the Krome Detention Center in Miami . “That’s what I want — to see my brother, to see that they let him go, I want to hug him,” Jackson said in French in a telephone interview. “I’m very happy, and I’m going to church to thank God.” The brothers’ uncle, Virgile Ulysse, 69, a United States citizen who will take them in to his home in Norwalk, Conn., was also full of gratitude. “Thank the United States for Jackson and Reagan’s release,” he said in a telephone message.
|
Immigration detention;Haiti;Immigration;Earthquake;Immigration and Customs Enforcement,ICE;Florida
|
ny0069098
|
[
"business",
"media"
] |
2014/12/01
|
Ailing U.N. News Service Gets $25 Million
|
GENEVA — Media enterprises have not figured on the list of billion-dollar deals backed by the Hong Kong-based investor Jho Low in recent years, but his family’s charitable foundation is putting up $25 million to save an ailing United Nations-owned news service that is in the business, he says, of saving lives. Integrated Regional Information Networks, or IRIN, has operated for nearly two decades under the wing of the U.N. office that coordinates humanitarian aid, reporting online about disasters and development to a small audience drawn mostly from aid groups, academia and the U.N. But global emergencies that swelled international aid to $22 billion — and brought more readers to IRIN — strained U.N. finances to the point that it decided midyear to stop financing the agency on Dec. 31. IRIN will restart operations in January as an independent, nonprofit media venture with the promise of $25 million over 15 years from the Low family’s Jynwel Foundation and the challenge of carving out a much bigger niche beside mainstream media as the reference of choice on humanitarian emergencies. The foundation has previously supported medical and environmental projects. But Mr. Low, 32, its chief executive, says IRIN is “a perfect fit” and “one of the most profound social investments our foundation has made.” It has the potential to help millions of people around the world by promoting awareness of their needs, not least in Asia, he said. Based in Geneva, with a full-time staff of about 20 and a network of some 170 freelancers, IRIN plans to add coverage of China and Latin America to its reporting on Africa, Asia and the Middle East. It will also add Mandarin and Spanish to its English, French and Arabic reporting. That could help broaden the base of support for humanitarian financing that is now heavily dependent on Western donors, Mr. Low said. “We think we can bring more awareness to policy makers, why making social investment is good policy,” he said. To be effective, he added, the agency needs to be sustainable, combining “the intensity of a business with the integrity of an NGO.” IRIN expects to still get support from donors after its spinoff from the U.N., he said, noting that Canada, Sweden and Switzerland had shown interest. But by its fifth year, it aims to depend on donors for a third or less of its financing and to be able to survive a sudden loss of such support. With an eye on the business models adopted by nonprofit media such as ProPublica and The Texas Tribune, it plans to build revenue from advertising, marketing, syndication and, with continued support from the U.N., hosting award events or “humanitarian summits.” It already has a syndication deal with The Guardian and shares content with Al Jazeera, said Ben Parker, IRIN’s interim director managing the transition, but is “knocking on a lot of doors” for coproduction and distribution deals. Starting with a $5 million budget in its first year, about a quarter less than its 2014 budget, IRIN plans to roughly double its 280,000 monthly views and, as the annual budget rises to $7 million in two years, to see readership rise another 200 percent. The focus of its content will stay the same, but the new IRIN plans “a fresher voice, a sharper tone and a more engaging style,” Mr. Parker said, conceding that its present look had all the allure of “a virtual notice board in a darkened passage.” Under U.N. ownership, IRIN had a surprising degree of independence despite the occasional protest from member states, he said, but now it will have more freedom to pursue hard questions and critical reporting. That “may be painful short term for certain states,” Mr. Low said, aware of China’s views on criticism of its policies, “but long term, we should be clear that it achieves the overarching agenda of saving human lives.”
|
Integrated Regional Information Networks;Jynwel Foundation;Jho Low;UN;News media,journalism;Philanthropy;Nonprofit;Hong Kong;Geneva
|
ny0068176
|
[
"world",
"middleeast"
] |
2014/12/17
|
Israeli Forces Kill Palestinian in Raid of West Bank Camp
|
JERUSALEM — Israeli special forces fatally shot one Palestinian man and wounded another in the Qalandia refugee camp in the West Bank when clashes broke out during an overnight military operation, the Israeli military said Tuesday. The military said soldiers opened fire after explosive devices were hurled at them. Palestinian officials identified the dead man as Mahmoud Abdallah Edwan, 21. They said he was shot in the head during an arrest raid in the camp. The office of the Palestinian Authority president, Mahmoud Abbas, condemned the killing in a statement carried by Wafa, the official Palestinian news agency, and called for international intervention to end what it called “Israeli crimes against unarmed Palestinians.” The event came at a diplomatically delicate time, with the Palestinian leadership considering tabling a United Nations Security Council resolution setting a two-year deadline for an Israeli withdrawal from the occupied territories.
|
Israel;Palestinians;West Bank;Refugees,Internally Displaced People;Palestinian Authority
|
ny0050003
|
[
"sports"
] |
2014/10/18
|
Linked by Announcers, the Giants Win the Pennant
|
When Bobby Thomson unloaded a game-ending home run to win the National League pennant for the New York Giants on Oct. 3, 1951, Russ Hodges’s radio call on WMCA 570 was memorable for its volume and touch of hysteria. The Giants had triumphed over the rival Brooklyn Dodgers in a three-game playoff and were headed to the World Series, which they lost to the Yankees. Hodges’s call was a feast of hometown histrionics, the centerpiece being his shouting, “The Giants win the pennant!,” five times. The Shot Heard 'Round The World Credit Credit Video by Jim Murphy Sixty-three years later, San Francisco Giants left fielder Travis Ishikawa imitated Thomson’s feat with a game-ending home run at AT&T Park Thursday night that won the pennant. Each Giant hit a three-run homer. Thomson’s ball traveled into the lower deck of the left-field stands at the Polo Grounds. Ishikawa pulled his home run deep to right. Jon Miller was indeed excited as he made the call . He works for KNBR, the Giants’ radio station. But he was in greater control of his emotions than Hodges even as he evoked the old Giants voice a bit. “Now the stretch,” Miller said. “Here it comes. There’s a drive, deep into right field, way back there. Goodbye! A home run. For the game. And for the pennant. The Giants have won the pennant and Travis Ishikawa is being clobbered as he comes down the third-base line and he is mobbed at home plate. It’s Travis Ishikawa. Travis Ishikawa with the Bobby Thomson moment.” It was inevitable that Miller, a Giants fan who grew up near San Francisco, adopted the famous (and quite accurate) phrase, but put it in a different tense. Image Russ Hodges made his mark by shouting “The Giants win the pennant!” five times in a few seconds on Oct. 3, 1951. Credit Associated Press On Fox Sports 1 , Joe Buck lifted Hodges’s famous line for his terse call, saying: “Hits one into right! The Giants win the pennant.” Buck said in an email that the line was “was bouncing around in the back of my mind” before the home run. “How can you not? Even if it hadn’t gone out of the park, I was still going to say it ‘cause it applied. It just made it cooler that the ball got out. You have to anticipate those moments.” On Fox Deportes , an English translation of Pablo Alsina’s upbeat call included: “And Ishikawa says, ‘Bye-bye baby’ — the San Francisco Giants return to the World Series with Travis Ishikawa’s bomb!” He pronounced Ishikawa’s name as if he were a soccer star, then added that “this home run” — he used the word “cuadrangular” — “is brought to you by the bold, new Toyota Camry. Drive together.” His partner, Jose Tolentino, said, “Say it, Pablo: ‘The Giants win the pennant. The Giants win the pennant.’ ” On ESPN Radio , Dan Shulman ignored the vocal ghost of Hodges and offered this call: “Wacha laboring in his first appearance in the postseason. A look back and the 2-0 and a swing and a ball hit deep to right field and it is gone” — he extended and shouted “gone” until his voice sounded hoarse — and continued: “Travis Ishikawa has just launched the Giants into the World Series.” At KMOX, the St. Louis Cardinals’ radio station, Mike Shannon was under no obligation to sound cheerful. He began calling Cardinals games in 1972 after playing for the team for nine seasons. He was matter-of-fact, saying: “Here she comes. Swing, and a long one into right field and this game is over, and the San Francisco Giants, on a walk-off, three run homer, will go to the World Series.” After noting that the Cardinals had a left-hander in the bullpen who could have faced Ishikawa, a left-handed batter, he quickly added, “We’ll be back with the totals for you next.” And the station went quickly to a commercial break.
|
Baseball;Jon W Miller;Travis Ishikawa;Joe Buck;Bobby Thomson;San Francisco;San Francisco Giants;St. Louis Cardinals
|
ny0184332
|
[
"sports",
"othersports"
] |
2009/03/03
|
Reebok Grand Prix Track Meet to Join International Diamond League
|
The Reebok Grand Prix, a New York track and field meet that has become one of the most well-known events in the country, will become part of the international track federation’s new Diamond League circuit starting in 2010. The federation, I.A.A.F., announced the formation of the Diamond League on Sunday. It will attempt to increase international interest by pitting the sport’s biggest stars against one another more often. There are 12 meets on the initial schedule, with two in the United States: the New York event and the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, Ore. Three more sites are being considered. “It’s thrilling for us,” Mark Wetmore, meet director for the Reebok Grand Prix, said during a conference call. “I think this is a great opportunity for U.S. athletes, U.S. agents and the two meets that will attract a lot of top international athletes.” Lamine Diack, president of the I.A.A.F., said the federation’s priority is to promote classic track and field, all 32 events. Wetmore said each meet would feature 16 events and a partner meet — the Prefontaine in New York’s case — would stage the other 16. The events would be split equitably. If New York had the men’s 100, the Prefontaine would have the women’s 100, and so on, Wetmore said. Many have argued in recent years that track should address its dwindling popularity by shrinking meets to only high-profile events, but the I.A.A.F. is committed to avoiding that. “For the long-term health of the sport, this is the right direction to go in,” Wetmore said. “The strategy here is matchups. This is trying to pit the best athletes against the best athletes as much as possible.” Each Diamond League event will pay $416,000 in prize money. Season winners in each event will receive a four-carat diamond worth about $80,000. This replaces the current Golden League format, which awarded a season-ending jackpot of $1 million in gold. The I.A.A.F. is hoping to engineer the fields through contracts with the top athletes. Under the current system, many top athletes rarely face one another outside of major international events as agents haggle over appearance money. The Reebok Grand Prix has been able to lure many of the sport’s top stars, including Usain Bolt of Jamaica last year. He set the world record in the 100 meters at the Randalls Island track just before he became the sport’s biggest star at the Beijing Olympics. “We have been able to get the top athletes now, and that will not change,” Wetmore said. Aside from the meets in the United States, the schedule includes two meets in Britain and one in Oslo; Stockholm; Zurich; Lausanne, Switzerland; Monaco; Brussels; Paris; and Shanghai. Events in Berlin, Rome and Doha, Qatar, are being considered. The two United States meets are expected to be in May or early June, allowing American athletes to stay in the country before the United States championships in late June.
|
Track and Field;New York City;Reebok International Ltd
|
ny0180312
|
[
"us"
] |
2007/08/01
|
National Briefing | South | Georgia: Voters Must Show Photo ID
|
Voters will be required to show photo identification at the polls for a special election in September. A Fulton County judge ruled that the law, enacted in 2006, was unconstitutional, but the State Supreme Court dismissed the case, finding that the plaintiff lacked legal standing.
|
Voter Registration and Requirements;Georgia
|
ny0237803
|
[
"nyregion"
] |
2010/06/08
|
Williamsburg Artist and Builder Find Common Ground
|
Some New Yorkers — no matter how uncreative their jobs and lives may be — love to mention how they live in neighborhoods once romantically settled by poets, painters and musicians. Developers often talk up these histories when selling apartments. But while many of them think of artists as place holders for lawyers and investment bankers, Douglas Steiner, one developer struggling to sell units in the vastly overbuilt Brooklyn neighborhood of Williamsburg, is betting it pays to keep artists in the neighborhood even after wealthier buyers move in. He is hoping the deal he struck with the choreographer Elizabeth Streb will help the sales of his $1 million-plus town homes and apartments. “She’s part of what makes Williamsburg attractive,” Mr. Steiner said while he and Ms. Streb sat in her warehouse, which was filled with dancers swinging from candy-colored curtainlike ribbons and troupe members rehearsing on a yellow steel mouse wheel contraption called the Whizzing Gizmo. “We wanted to preserve that artistic character.” Mr. Steiner and Ms. Streb make an unlikely pair. Mr. Steiner, the reserved heir to an industrial real estate fortune and chairman of Steiner Studios , jokes about how his father’s definition of a beautiful building is property with “positive cash flow.” Ms. Streb speaks in bursts of enthusiasm about how “action is a panacea” for children and how she runs her troupe like a contrarian Lincoln Center. Ms. Streb has plenty of reasons to dislike landlords: For more than a decade she fought to stay in her rented 3,000-square-foot SoHo loft, finally winning the right to buy it for $130,000 in 2008. When Mr. Steiner bought the North First Street building that houses Ms. Streb’s studio and performance space in 2006, she had been there for three years paying $5,000 a month in rent. A former food storage center, it was overrun by pigeons and squirrels when she moved in and smelled so strongly of tamari that Ms. Streb had the scent sandblasted from the concrete floors. The concrete walls were so porous that on some winter days she sent dancers home because it was too cold to rehearse. Even though Ms. Streb thought her studio was doomed to become a residential development, she boldly asked Mr. Steiner to sell her the building. He refused. Then he realized he needed the backyard for a development project he was assembling, but Ms. Streb was entitled to use it for at least three more years under her lease. So over lunch close by at Fabiane’s Cafe , Ms. Streb told him she would let him have the backyard if he would sell her the building. They sealed the agreement with a handshake and a cherry Tootsie Pop that Mr. Steiner gave to Ms. Streb. In 2007, the troupe, Streb Extreme Action, closed on the purchase with financial help from the city and the borough president’s office; if the troupe sells the building, it must be to another nonprofit organization. Mr. Steiner said he did not make money on the deal because he sold the property to the troupe for the same amount he had paid for it, $1.3 million. But he did keep the backyard space. And he said that the recession meant he would lose money on the broader development project: nine town houses on North First Street, 114 luxury apartments at 80 Metropolitan Avenue and 50 apartments at 58 Metropolitan that are all tucked around Ms. Streb’s building. But he said he would like to build in Williamsburg in the future, which he said had not become “homogenized” like Manhattan. He also formed a friendship of sorts with Ms. Streb. Mr. Steiner attends Ms. Streb’s annual fund-raisers and calls them among the best parties of the year. He marvels at how the dancers climb on walls, and how at Ms. Streb’s building he met Philippe Petit, who keeps part of the wire he used to walk between the World Trade Center towers and who holds clinics at the studio. Ms. Streb is even considering selling her SoHo loft, which would probably fetch more than $1 million, and buying a neighboring town house Mr. Steiner built. By then, Ms. Streb could be one of only two people from her troupe in the neighborhood, where she would join Fabio Tavares Da Silva, the associate artistic director. He has been able to stay because his partner’s friend works in real estate and helped them find an affordable rental. Other troupe members commute from Washington Heights, Bedford-Stuyvesant and Philadelphia. But some local families have connected with Ms. Streb’s studio. Jenny Williams, a painter who has lived in the neighborhood since 1992, has been sending her son, Whitman, 10, and daughter, Clementine, 8, to classes there since the studio opened. She said her daughter learned to do splits, and her son became more coordinated. Most of all, the family has a place to go. “When people ask me why I would want to raise kids in New York City, it’s one of those places that is sort of the reason,” she said. That is what Mr. Steiner is counting on. In December, Nanette Guarda moved into a $1.125 million apartment at 80 Metropolitan with her husband, Michael Guarda, her 7-year-old daughter, Natasha, and her 6-month-old daughter, Gemma. Ms. Guarda said Natasha already “peeks in there every time we go by.” For her family to take classes there, she said, “it’s really a matter of time.”
|
Housing and Real Estate;Williamsburg (NYC);Streb Elizabeth
|
ny0262678
|
[
"us"
] |
2011/12/05
|
Kennedy Center Honors for 5 Towering Careers
|
WASHINGTON — On Nov. 29, 1962, a 7-year-old named Yo-Yo Ma gave a dazzling cello performance here at a televised concert that kicked off fund-raising efforts to build what is now the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. That connection came full circle this weekend, as a long roster of luminaries gathered at the White House and the State Department to celebrate the lives and careers of the five performers selected to receive the Kennedy Center Honors, including Mr. Ma, now 56. Along with Mr. Ma, the actress Meryl Streep , the singer and songwriter Neil Diamond , the saxophonist Sonny Rollins , and Barbara Cook , the Broadway and cabaret singer, received the 34th annual honors for lifetime achievement in the performing arts. On Sunday night, Herbie Hancock, Sarah Jessica Parker, Elmo and Robert De Niro, a 2009 Kennedy Center recipient, celebrated the event at a Kennedy Center gala, which is scheduled to be broadcast Dec. 27 on CBS. At the reception on Sunday, President Obama illustrated the vast appeal of Mr. Diamond’s lyrics. “Everybody sings Neil Diamond songs,” he said, “no matter how many drinks they’ve had.” The honorees accepted their medallions during a dinner at the State Department on Saturday night, applauded by guests including former President Bill Clinton, the actress Anne Hathaway, the comedian Stephen Colbert and the soprano Renee Fleming. Colleagues, friends and — as Mr. Clinton, himself a saxophonist, described his relationship with Mr. Rollins — “just a fan,” offered toasts, praising the honorees for enduring at the top of their crafts. Over a career that has spanned more than six decades, Mr. Rollins, 81, created a signature improvisational style with jazz standards like “St. Thomas” and “Oleo.” The versatility that Ms. Streep, 62, has shown in roles including a Holocaust survivor in “Sophie’s Choice” and a demanding fashion editor in “The Devil Wears Prada,” have earned her the most Academy Award nominations of any actress and the National Medal of Arts. At the dinner, the writer and director Nora Ephron marveled at Ms. Streep’s ability to transform into the characters she portrays, offering a word of caution to Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton about Ms. Streep, who played Ms. Ephron in “Heartburn.” “When you met her tonight — and I’m sure you thought she was charming — she was just soaking you up,” Ms. Ephron said. “And someday, you will see her in a movie about your life and discover the horrifying truth that she is better at being you than you are.” The award comes during a big year for Mr. Diamond, 70, who was engaged in September and inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in March. He wrote “Sweet Caroline” for Caroline Kennedy after her father, President John F. Kennedy, was assassinated, and the song has become the unofficial anthem of several major league sports teams. Ms. Cook, 84, has been one of the premier interpreters of musical theater works since her breakthrough performance on Broadway in 1956 as Cunégonde in “Candide.” At the gala on Sunday, Matthew Broderick recalled taking Ms. Parker to see Ms. Cook perform at the Café Carlyle early in their courtship. “I don’t think he knew at the time the sort of special memory he was creating at the time for us,” said Ms. Parker, who has been married to Mr. Broderick for 14 years. Mr. Broderick interrupted, “Oh, I knew.” Mr. Colbert spoke glowingly of Mr. Ma on Saturday. “He’s the greatest cellist in the world, but you can tell that that doesn’t really mean that much to him. What means something to him is actually playing the cello,” he said. “He’s above my critique.”
|
Kennedy John F Center for the Performing Arts;Awards Decorations and Honors;Ma Yo-Yo;Streep Meryl;Rollins Sonny;Obama Barack;Diamond Neil;Cook Barbara;Music;Ma Yo Yo
|
ny0090454
|
[
"sports",
"baseball"
] |
2015/09/24
|
Memories of Berra Well Up for Yankees Young and Old
|
TORONTO — One day in spring training about a decade ago, the Yankees’ clubhouse manager, Rob Cucuzza, came across Yogi Berra, who had plopped down in a chair. Cucuzza finally mustered the gumption to ask him a question. “I said, ‘Yogi, I’ve always wanted to ask you this,’ ” Cucuzza said. “ ‘You’ve been watching these guys for two or three weeks now, and you’ve been to spring trainings in the past. So, how would Yogi Berra do in today’s game?’ ” Berra did not have to think much. “Oh, kid, not too good,” he told Cucuzza. Really? “Yeah,” Berra said. “I’m old.” Berra, who died Tuesday at 90, had not been a presence around the Yankees in the past several years as his health declined, but most around the team could not help smiling when they recounted their relationship with the stumpy catcher with the big bat, who is known as much for his forehead-slapping witticisms as for his Hall of Fame baseball career. “When you were in Yogi’s presence, I always felt like I was talking to my grandfather,” said Manager Joe Girardi, whose relationship with Berra developed when he played for the Yankees 20 years ago. “I just felt comfortable. I always felt like he was going to pull something out of his pocket, like a piece of licorice, and give it to you. It was always a joy to be around him.” Video Marty Appel, author of “Pinstripe Empire” and a former public relations director for the Yankees, remembers Yogi Berra. Credit Credit Sam Falk/The New York Times Girardi had perhaps the closest relationship with Berra of anyone with the Yankees, regularly chauffeuring him to and from road games during spring training. Girardi joked with Berra as he walked on a treadmill that he had two weeks to get ready for a pinch-hitting appearance and laughed when Berra said his biggest concern about having to go to the hospital after a fall was that his wife, Carmen, would find out and make him go home. Girardi also made sure — just as his predecessor Joe Torre had — that a bottle of vodka was tucked away in the manager’s desk so that Berra could have his daily drink. “He knew exactly how much the doctor would let him have,” Girardi said. “Before he got there, I made sure it was there.” The Yankees wore a black No. 8 — Berra’s number, which is retired — on their left sleeve when they played the Toronto Blue Jays on Wednesday. But because Berra last attended spring training in 2011, there are few current Yankees players who had a chance to develop a relationship with him. Catcher Brian McCann met Berra on opening day in 2014 in a back room at Yankee Stadium before McCann’s first game with the Yankees. They took a photo together and talked for about 15 minutes, which McCann said made him feel welcomed into a rich fraternity of Yankees catchers. Yogi Berra, Baseball Catcher and Character, Dies at 90 22 Photos View Slide Show › Image Sam Falk/The New York Times “It was an amazing day,” McCann said. “From the outside coming in, you hear so many stories and all the lives that he’s impacted. I told him how honored I was to be here, and he said, ‘We’re happy to have you.’ ” Outfielder Brett Gardner said he appreciated Berra’s humility. Alex Rodriguez said he always appreciated Berra’s humor and welcoming manner. “Everyone became a better person because of it,” Rodriguez said. “Look, with me and all the craziness in New York — every spring it was a different story about me — he was always consistent, steady, supportive and constructive, and I really appreciate that.” Girardi’s favorite recollection of Berra was from a drive to Kissimmee, Fla., for a spring training game against the Houston Astros. Berra dozed off during the drive, but he admonished Girardi for taking the slower route to the ballpark. He told Girardi to check with the Astros’ clubhouse manager so he would know the shortcut for the drive home. “I knew the directions were the same,” Girardi said. When they got back to Tampa, Girardi told Berra they had returned the same way they had left. Berra did not miss a beat. “‘I told you my way was faster,” he told Girardi.
|
Baseball;Yogi Berra;Yankees
|
ny0227524
|
[
"world",
"asia"
] |
2010/10/25
|
Karzai May Compromise on Ban of Private Guards
|
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — The Afghan president asked Sunday for a list of national aid projects that needed protection by private security guards, signaling a possible compromise over the status of security companies in Afghanistan that would safeguard foreign aid projects worth billions of dollars. President Hamid Karzai spent the day meeting with his ministers and top-level foreign diplomats as they tried to hammer out a compromise between his aim of banning private security companies by the end of the year and protecting foreign-financed aid projects threatened by insurgent attacks. “The list of the big projects and their security needs should be given to the Afghan government and the Afghan government will assess and make a decision,” Mr. Karzai said in a statement. “These talks will continue.” It remains to be seen whether the proposal will be accepted by those in the international community who have called for an exemption for companies working on internationally financed development projects until Afghan security forces are more able to take over security. Many contractors and aid groups have said they will have to shut down or suspend projects if they are not exempt, as they will not be able to insure their workers if they were guarded by the notoriously corrupt and poorly trained Afghan police. The ban has also alarmed diplomats, who say winning hearts and minds requires that reconstruction and aid projects follow military successes against the Taliban. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton called Mr. Karzai on Saturday and suggested an extension of his Dec. 17 deadline. That would allow the government to gradually phase out private security companies without disrupting the work of contractors who employ private guards to protect their workers, projects and facilities. Mr. Karzai says the private guards undermine his nation’s army and police, and wants Afghan security forces to take on the job of providing protection for the aid workers. But Afghan officials have also said in meetings that they expect the money now going to pay private security firms to be redirected to the Afghan police, according to a diplomatic official familiar with the talks, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. International donors have said those funds would not be automatically shifted to the Afghan government, the official said. Mr. Karzai agreed earlier this year to allow private guards to keep working for foreign governments at embassies, other diplomatic outposts and military facilities. But he has refused to extend the exemption. In war news, a NATO service member was killed Sunday by a bomb in southern Afghanistan, the military coalition said in a statement. It did not provide further details.
|
Afghanistan War (2001- );Private Military Contractors;Guards;Karzai Hamid;Foreign Aid;Clinton Hillary Rodham
|
ny0023530
|
[
"us"
] |
2013/08/03
|
Colorado Presses for Uninsured to Enroll
|
DENVER — Television commercials have already run suggesting that buying health coverage through the state’s new insurance market, Connect for Health Colorado, will feel like winning the World Series. The market’s employees are traveling the state to explain how it will work, often in electric yellow T-shirts with the message, “Got Insurance?” In the coming weeks, 400 guides will be trained to help the uninsured sign up for coverage, with some targeting groups like Hispanics, gay and lesbian citizens, and even truckers. This is Colorado, five months before the central provisions of President Obama’s health care law take effect: a hive of preparation, with a homegrown insurance market working closely with state agencies and lawmakers to help ensure the law’s success. Gov. John W. Hickenlooper, a Democrat, is a firm supporter, and the state legislature, controlled by Democrats, has not thrown up any obstacles. When the legislature voted to allow a state-based insurance market in 2011, Republicans controlled the House of Representatives, but many supported the bill, contending that it would give Colorado more control over how the health care law played out here. This spring, state lawmakers voted along party lines to approve an expansion of Medicaid, which is encouraged but not required under the law. The law does have opponents in Colorado, but they can do little to stop the Democrats from carrying it out. In February, Republicans even helped kill a bill that would have repealed the law allowing the insurance market. “There’s politics everywhere these days,” Mr. Hickenlooper said in an interview, “but for the most part, we’ve really been focused on how to do this right, and trying to make sure that people have affordable health care.” Connect for Health has received about $180 million in federal money to be up and running by Oct. 1 and to cover the first year’s operating costs. Much of the work involves building the Web portal through which people who do not get insurance through their job can buy coverage. Colorado residents will be able to shop for insurance plans and compare them on www.connectforhealthco.com , and determine whether they qualify for federal subsidies to help with the cost. The portal has to be able to exchange information in real time with insurance companies, state agencies and the federal government, which is building a “data hub” through which it can verify income and citizenship. Image Doretta Tootle was worried that plans sold through the marketplace would be out of her reach, even with a subsidy. Credit Matthew Staver for The New York Times Contractors have almost completed work on the portal, said Patty Fontneau, executive director of Connect for Health. Testing is under way to make sure it will function properly when it opens for business in just two months. “Will it be perfect?” Ms. Fontneau said. “Unlikely, but we have the right team in place to ensure that we’re going to be open and running, and as close to perfect as could be, on Oct. 1.” Connect for Health has announced which insurers want to sell plans through the market — more than a dozen companies, including most of the state’s biggest insurers — and their proposed rates. Colorado’s Division of Insurance will announce the final rates this month. The biggest remaining task is letting roughly 760,000 uninsured Coloradans know the new marketplace exists, and persuading those who qualify to buy coverage through it. That is what the ads are for, and what people like Jessica Dunbar are spending most of their time trying to do. She is the individual market manager at Connect for Health, and her job is getting the word out. Ms. Dunbar spent one evening explaining the law’s basics and how the market will work, to a small group at the Central Park Recreation Center in Denver. “We’re trying to connect people to a healthier way of life through secure health insurance coverage,” she said, encouraging her audience to share stories of why insurance matters to them. She told them about Connect for Health’s Web site and explained how to use a calculator on the site to find out how big a subsidy they might qualify for. Doretta Tootle, 41, said afterward that Ms. Dunbar had cleared up most of her confusion about the law. But after hearing some sample rates — $186 to $357 a month for a 40-year-old living in Denver — Ms. Tootle was worried that plans sold through the marketplace would be out of her reach, even with a subsidy. “I was like, ‘That’s expensive!’ ” said Ms. Tootle, adding that she made less than $30,000 a year. Still, she said, she knows many people who need insurance and wants to help spread the word. “I totally understand now,” she said, “almost to the point where I want to go put this on Facebook and let everyone know, ‘Hey, there’s something coming out.’ ” Connect for Health needs that kind of enthusiasm to spread, and fast. At a brainstorming session, members of an outreach advisory group suggested contests for designing T-shirts and posters to advertise the marketplace, and apps to explain how it works. State officials were among those tossing out ideas: Vincent Plymell, a spokesman for the Division of Insurance, suggested having games for children at promotional events so that parents could focus on learning about Connect for Health. Mr. Hickenlooper said he would lend his voice to the publicity campaign if people thought it would help, adding that he was “nervous as a cat” about making sure the marketplace succeeded. “We’ll do whatever it takes,” he said. “I’ll ride around the state on a bicycle if I have to.”
|
Obamacare,Affordable Care Act;Health Insurance;Colorado;Connect for Health Colorado;John W Hickenlooper;Patty Fontneau
|
ny0134300
|
[
"us"
] |
2008/04/04
|
Arkansas Fixes Error on Who Can Say, ‘I Do’
|
An Arkansas contest between “not” and “knot” ended in a “no” this week. Last year, the state legislature botched a law intended to make 18 the minimum age for marriage, instead mistakenly removing the limit entirely. As long as they had the consent of their parents, children — no matter how young — could have demanded matrimonial bonds under the law passed in error in 2007: “In order for a person who is younger than eighteen (18) years of age and who is not pregnant to obtain a marriage license, the person must provide the county clerk with evidence of parental consent to the marriage.” The idea was to allow an exception for teenagers who were pregnant. The problem was with the “not,” which crept in by accident, according to Representative Will Bond, who sponsored the bill. “There was some confusion, technical errors,” Mr. Bond said. “We should have said it just doesn’t make sense.” Lawmakers voted Tuesday to fix the mistake, and it was back to the safety of the old minimum ages: 17 for boys and 16 for girls, with parental consent, and 18 without. But not after months of red faces, hemming and hawing, tussles between state officials and dire warnings about the perils of pedophiles from vigilant legislators. Sometimes, though, not vigilant enough. In the course of a session, said Mr. Bond, just slightly sheepish, “we go through a lot of bills.”
|
Marriages;Arkansas;Law and Legislation
|
ny0260793
|
[
"us",
"politics"
] |
2011/06/17
|
Extension Sought for F.B.I. Official
|
The Senate Judiciary Committee voted 11 to 7 on Thursday to send to the floor legislation to extend by two years the term of Robert S. Mueller III , the director of the F.B.I. The extension, which is subject to approval from both houses of Congress, was requested by President Obama and supported by several major law-enforcement organizations. The F.B.I. director’s term is limited by law to 10 years, and Congress must act before Aug. 3. With the extension, Mr. Mueller would serve until the start of September 2013. The president elected in 2012 would choose his successor at the F.B.I.
|
Mueller Robert S III;Federal Bureau of Investigation;Appointments and Executive Changes
|
ny0067012
|
[
"nyregion"
] |
2014/12/03
|
Carriage Horse Proposal’s Effects Might Not Be as Good as Its Intentions
|
Giddyap. Mayor Bill de Blasio declared this week that he will carry out a promise made during the mayoral campaign: to rid the city of the carriage horse. Legislation will be introduced in the City Council any minute now, the mayor said, but many details remain to be aired out. That makes the moment pregnant with questions. Such as: Is the still-unseen de Blasio plan good for horses or for people interested in developing the Midtown West real estate where they live? Once the horses are banished, what will become of their stables and the 64,000 square feet of lots that they sit on, their value swelling by the day? And what of the 220 or so carriage horses that now live in sprinkler-equipped homes and enjoy regular veterinary examinations and five weeks in the country annually? The group leading the campaign to ban the carriage horse, New Yorkers for Clean, Livable and Safe Streets, said it and other groups, like the Humane Society and the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, would ensure the well-being of the steeds. “We’d be happy to provide lifetime care for all these animals,” Allie Feldman, the NYClass executive director, said. This is an offer that sets off fireworks at Burgundy Brook Farm in Palmer, Mass., a sanctuary and rescue farm for work horses where a number of carriage horses have retired. “The horses in New York City are some of the healthiest and best taken care of I’ve ever seen,” said Pamela Rickenbach, the executive director of Blue Star Equiculture, which runs the farm. Offering them new homes is like giving away ice in the winter. “Those horses are not going to have any problem with finding a home,” she said. “They are so well adjusted to begin with. They are selected for their intelligence and their temperament.” Horses with jobs, like pulling carriages, have pretty good homes already, Ms. Rickenbach and others said. But, they said, there is a national crisis of homeless horses — beautiful creatures who are expensive to provide for. “We are completely over-full and overwhelmed,” Ms. Rickenbach said. “It seems impossible to address the problems of the homeless horse. Every day I could send them horses that need homes.” Many horses that either land at the rescue farm, or in the rural community she lives in, are “in need of medical attention, or they’re underfed, starving.” New York City and the animals that live here are not immune to the laws of supply and demand, and the mayor and council members who support the carriage horse ban ought to look at an earlier example of good intentions with horses that went awry. The United States effectively banned slaughter of horses at the end of 2006, according to a 2011 report by the Government Accountability Office , but the story took some bad turns. “Horse welfare in the United States has generally declined since 2007,” the report found, citing increased abandonment and reports of neglect. “Abandoned, abused and neglected horses present challenges for state and local governments, tribes and animal welfare organizations.” Ydanis Rodriguez, a councilman from Upper Manhattan who agreed to join the principal sponsor of the carriage ban legislation, Daniel Dromm of Queens, a fellow Democrat, was asked about possible unintended consequences of such a law. What about putting generally healthy horses into competition with less-attractive or more troubled horses for limited farm space? Mr. Rodriguez invoked Gandhi and Cesar Chavez. But what about homes for other horses? “We have to continue expanding more sanctuaries, for as many horses as we can,” Mr. Rodriguez said. “We cannot build a progressive city leaving behind our animals’ rights.” One group of horses that face much higher stress than their parkside cousins will not have the same protections from the mayor and the City Council: horses owned by the city itself, mounted police patrols, which are often deployed to quell raucous crowds. Some fascinating entries can be found on the certificate of occupancy for 770 11th Avenue, a relatively new building between 53rd and 54th Streets. It describes the loading docks, the number of parking spaces and other details, including the primary occupant of its ground floor: a Mercedes-Benz car dealership. But also sharing the ground floor space are stables for some of the Police Department’s horses. “The bill would not touch the mounted police horses,” Mr. Rodriguez said. “This is only about the horses in Central Park.”
|
Horse;NYC;Animal Abuse;Bill de Blasio;Carriage;New Yorkers for Clean; Livable and Safe Streets
|
ny0053171
|
[
"sports",
"baseball"
] |
2014/07/27
|
Royals Approach Their Destiny in Fits and Starts
|
The Kansas City Royals had one winning record in a stretch of 18 seasons, from 1995 to 2012. It came in 2003, when they were 83-79, and Raul Ibanez was their regular left fielder. Now, after his release from the Los Angeles Angels, he is back as a reserve. Ibanez returned, he said, for the irresistible narrative. The Royals have gone longer without making the playoffs than any team in Major League Baseball, the N.F.L., the N.B.A. or the N.H.L. Winning in Kansas City, he said, would be extra special. “That was my motivation for coming here,” Ibanez said last week. “I recognize the significance of 29 years since it last happened. To be able to accomplish something like that as a group would be extraordinary. “It’s something I talk to the younger guys about: ‘This is something that will transcend anything you could do individually. When you can do it collectively, and be part of something that big a deal, it’s not only great for the city and the franchise, but it’s great for the game.’ ” Indeed, it would be. The problem for the Royals, who last made the postseason when they won the 1985 World Series, is fulfilling the destiny they see for themselves. Before last season, they traded prospect depth to get an ace starter, James Shields, who can be a free agent this winter. They won 86 games, their most since 1989, and the follow-up was supposed to be their long-awaited leap back to October. “We realize how much talent we have in this room, and we’re too good a team not to be in the postseason at the end of the year,” first baseman Eric Hosmer said last week. “It was hyped last year, but I don’t think everybody really, truly believed in it until the second half, when we went off. Now we have the attitude that we expect to be there, and anything less is disappointing.” The Royals won 10 games in a row last month and spent three days in first place in the American League Central. But they lost nine and a half games in the standings from June 19 through Monday, when they lost their fourth in a row coming out of the All-Star break. They entered Saturday’s games 52-50, six games behind Detroit in the division but just two behind the Yankees for the second wild card. Their record was one game better than it was after the same number of games in 2013. “We all hold ourselves to a high standard,” said Ned Yost, the Royals’ manager since 2010. “I’ve believed in these guys from the minute they got here. They’re a good group. We’re nowhere near satisfied. Yeah, we’re better than we were at this time last year, but we could be a lot better.” Yost said the Royals did many things well, which is true. Their hitters have the fewest strikeouts in the A.L. and their base runners have the most steals. Their earned run average, 3.66 entering Friday’s games, ranked third in the league. Closer Greg Holland, catcher Salvador Perez and outfielder Alex Gordon were All-Stars, and the setup man Wade Davis has not allowed an extra-base hit all season. But the Royals, who changed hitting coaches in May for the second year in a row, ranked last in the majors in homers, with 60. Two teams (Baltimore and Toronto) had more than twice that. Homers have always been a problem at spacious Kauffman Stadium, and the team leader, Mike Moustakas, had a .200 average to go with his 13 homers. Hosmer had only six — last year he had 17 — and said the Royals must take advantage of their home park, where they had a losing record entering Saturday. Image Ibanez, left, following Joe Randa, center, and Carlos Beltran around the bases in 2001. Credit Doug Pensinger/Getty Images “We have an athletic team that really fits our ballpark; the way our outfield covers that ground makes that stadium small,” said Hosmer, who just finished a 16-game hitting streak but dealt with a bruised hand last week. “Having that speed and athleticism as a team, we’ve got to take advantage of that,” he said. “We don’t live and die by the long ball. We’ve got to get guys in motion. As hitters, when you see a guy stealing, you take the pitch and let the guy take the bag. We’re a team that’s built on good pitching. We’ve got good guys offensively, but we’ve got to find ways to produce runs.” Ibanez acknowledged that Kauffman Stadium was a “massive park,” but he said the ball did carry down the lines. He has tried to help younger hitters improve the quality of their at-bats. “To think about the ballpark, as a player, would be a mistake,” Ibanez said. “You can only focus on hitting the ball on the fat part of the bat and driving through it and seeing what happens. There are guys in this room that definitely have the power to do it.” As the Royals try to find that power, one advantage is their schedule. They have only 16 games remaining against teams that were above .500 at the All-Star break. They are a flawed team but an interesting one, facing a sprint to the finish with only two outcomes: a bitter disappointment or a catharsis. “We’ve been a real good second-half team the last couple of years,” Yost said, “and we don’t see any reason why we can’t be a good second-half team this year.” A Call to Rebuilt Arms A shaky bullpen largely cost the Detroit Tigers a trip to the World Series last fall, and they have worked steadily to improve it. The Tigers acquired the former All-Star Joakim Soria in a trade with Texas on Wednesday, making Soria the fourth prominent reliever the team has acquired since the end of last October. In keeping with a theme of this major league season, all four pitchers have had Tommy John surgery: Joe Nathan in 2010, Joba Chamberlain in 2011, Soria in 2012 and Joel Hanrahan in 2013. Hanrahan is still recovering from his operation and is unlikely to pitch for Detroit this season, just like Bruce Rondon, another reliever, who had Tommy John surgery this spring. The Tigers need their surgically repaired relief corps to improve down the stretch. Entering Friday’s games, the Detroit bullpen’s 4.37 E.R.A. ranked 26th in the majors. Southern Breakthrough When Frank Thomas takes the stage in Cooperstown on Sunday, he will be the first player from the Southeastern Conference to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. “Isn’t that crazy?” said Tim Hudson, the veteran starter for the San Francisco Giants, who pitched for Auburn. “Dude, I can’t believe that. There has to be someone, somewhere down the line.” Incredibly, there is not. Joe Sewell, a Hall of Fame infielder from the 1920s and ’30s, played at Alabama, but before the formation of the SEC in 1932. Since then, the conference has produced some of the best players in baseball and claimed 10 College World Series titles. All 14 current member universities are represented in the majors. There have been Cy Young Award winners like Arkansas’s Cliff Lee, Kentucky’s Brandon Webb, Vanderbilt’s David Price and Tennessee’s R. A. Dickey. There have been prominent sluggers like Florida’s Al Rosen, Louisiana State’s Albert Belle, Tennessee’s Todd Helton and Mississippi State’s Will Clark and Rafael Palmeiro. There have been closers like Auburn’s Gregg Olson, Mississippi State’s Jonathan Papelbon, Alabama’s David Robertson and L.S.U.’s Brian Wilson. There have been No. 1 overall draft picks like L.S.U.’s Ben McDonald, Tennessee’s Luke Hochevar and Price, and World Series stars like Florida’s David Eckstein, Kentucky’s Jim Leyritz and Mississippi State’s Del Unser. Yet for all that talent, only Thomas is in the Hall of Fame. Thomas played at Auburn from 1987 to 1989, hitting 49 home runs. In his final college season, he batted .403 with a .559 on-base percentage and an .801 slugging percentage. He was drafted seventh over all by the Chicago White Sox in 1989, and none of the six players ahead of him ever made an All-Star team.
|
Baseball;Raul Ibanez;Kansas City Royals;Detroit Tigers
|
ny0276290
|
[
"business",
"media"
] |
2016/02/23
|
PBS Is Creating a Channel Exclusively for Children
|
PBS is starting a new 24-hour channel dedicated solely to children’s programming. The channel, which will be called PBS Kids and will be announced on Tuesday, will be free. It is expected to debut later this year — most likely in the fall. PBS Kids will also be available online with a live stream. More children’s programming is available than ever, much of it being watched through streaming services and on-demand. Netflix has significantly increased its children’s offerings in recent years, and it is expected to have 35 original series for children by year’s end. Last month, HBO began broadcasting the latest season of “Sesame Street,” after it took over first-run rights for the series from PBS. HBO has said more children’s programming is coming, and Amazon has also produced shows aimed at that demographic. PBS will use the channel to broadcast popular shows already on its stations, like “Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood,” “Dinosaur Train” and “Wild Kratts.” PBS Kids will exist as a subchannel. Other PBS subchannels include World (which airs mostly documentaries) and Create (which broadcasts shows dedicated to topics like cooking and travel). PBS said the children’s channel was not created with a hope of lifting fund-raising efforts, despite the recent loss of the first-air rights to “Sesame Street.” “This is not designed in and of itself as a fund-raising effort,” said Paula Kerger, the chief executive of PBS. The broadcaster said the new channel would be distinguished from other children’s programming for the same reason PBS’s programming has always stood out: It is free, with an emphasis on educational content. “There’s a huge distinction between the content that’s available through other media providers and PBS,” said Lesli Rotenberg, the broadcaster’s general manager of children’s programming. “Even though there may be more, there isn’t necessarily more educational content for kids.” PBS said that its live stream would also offer educational game opportunities for children. Ms. Rotenberg said that PBS’s online games received twice as many page views and significantly more users than videos. The idea for PBS Kids arose, in part, because children are watching programs all day, not just in the morning and after school. “The challenge is when a lot of kids are available to be watching, we are broadcasting other things like the ‘NewsHour,’ ” Ms. Kerger said. “There are a lot of children, particularly that are home in early prime time, we aren’t able to accommodate them except for on-demand. Given the fact that there are so many kids where on-demand is not an option, we want to be able to reach those kids.” PBS was once in business with Comcast for the 24-hour children’s channel called Sprout (the two are no longer connected). Ms. Kerger said that partnership was when PBS learned that there was also a valuable place for children’s programming in prime time. “The assumption was that after 6 at night there wasn’t as much an appetite for kids’ content,” she said. “Actually, deep into prime time, there are still a lot of kids watching television. There is an interesting phenomenon that parents talk about that the time they want public television content is during early evening hours when everyone is just getting home, and they’re trying to make dinner, and we’re not there.”
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PBS;Children;PBS Kids;TV;Public broadcasting
|
ny0024821
|
[
"us"
] |
2013/08/21
|
Facial Scanning Is Making Gains in Surveillance
|
WASHINGTON — The federal government is making progress on developing a surveillance system that would pair computers with video cameras to scan crowds and automatically identify people by their faces, according to newly disclosed documents and interviews with researchers working on the project. The Department of Homeland Security tested a crowd-scanning project called the Biometric Optical Surveillance System — or BOSS — last fall after two years of government-financed development. Although the system is not ready for use, researchers say they are making significant advances. That alarms privacy advocates, who say that now is the time for the government to establish oversight rules and limits on how it will someday be used. There have been stabs for over a decade at building a system that would help match faces in a crowd with names on a watch list — whether in searching for terrorism suspects at high-profile events like a presidential inaugural parade, looking for criminal fugitives in places like Times Square or identifying card cheats in crowded casinos. The automated matching of close-up photographs has improved greatly in recent years, and companies like Facebook have experimented with it using still pictures. But even with advances in computer power, the technical hurdles involving crowd scans from a distance have proved to be far more challenging. Despite occasional much-hyped tests, including one as far back as the 2001 Super Bowl, technical specialists say crowd scanning is still too slow and unreliable. The release of the documents about the government’s efforts to overcome those challenges comes amid a surge of interest in surveillance matters inspired by the leaks by Edward J. Snowden, the former National Security Agency contractor. Interest in video surveillance was also fueled by the attack on the Boston Marathon , where suspects were identified by officials looking through camera footage. In a sign of how the use of such technologies can be developed for one use but then expanded to another, the BOSS research began as an effort to help the military detect potential suicide bombers and other terrorists overseas at “outdoor polling places in Afghanistan and Iraq,” among other sites, the documents show. But in 2010, the effort was transferred to the Department of Homeland Security to be developed for use instead by the police in the United States. After a recent test of the system, the department recommended against deploying it until more improvements could be made. A department official said the contractor was “continuing to develop BOSS,” although there is no sign of when it may be done. But researchers on the project say they made progress, and independent specialists say it is virtually inevitable that someone will make the broader concept work as camera and computer power continue to improve. “I would say we’re at least five years off, but it all depends on what kind of goals they have in mind” for such a system, said Anil Jain , a specialist in computer vision and biometrics engineering at Michigan State University who was not involved in the BOSS project. The effort to build the BOSS system involved a two-year, $5.2 million federal contract given to Electronic Warfare Associates, a Washington-area military contractor with a branch office in Kentucky. The company has been working with the laboratory of Aly Farag , a University of Louisville computer vision specialist, and the contract was steered to the firm by an earmark request in a 2010 appropriations bill by Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Republican leader. Significant progress is already being made in automated face recognition using photographs taken under ideal conditions, like passport pictures and mug shots. The Federal Bureau of Investigation is spending $1 billion to roll out a Next Generation Identification system that will provide a national mug shot database to help local police departments verify identities. But surveillance of crowds from a distance — in which lighting and shadows vary, and faces tend to be partly obscured or pointed in random directions — is still not reliable or fast enough. The BOSS research is intended to overcome those challenges by generating far more information for computers to analyze. The system consists of two towers bearing “robotic camera structures” with infrared and distance sensors. They take pictures of the same subject from slightly different angles. A computer then processes the images into a “3-D signature” built from data like the ratios between various points on someone’s face to be compared against data about faces stored in a watch-list database, the documents show. The Homeland Security Department hired the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory to test the BOSS system at an arena in Kennewick, Wash. The plan, according to a “ privacy impact assessment ,” was to use 30 volunteers whose facial data would be mingled in a database among 1,000 mug shots to see whether the system could reliably recognize when any of the volunteers were present. The agency set up six tests to determine the technology’s overall accuracy, determining afterward that “it was not ready for a D.H.S. customer” — meaning that police departments should not buy it. In interviews, Ed Tivol of Electronic Warfare Associates and Dr. Farag both suggested that as computer processing becomes ever faster the remaining obstacles will fall away. Mr. Tivol said the goal was to provide a match with an 80 percent to 90 percent certainty from a range of up to 100 meters, something “that has never been done.” While the system continued to have problems with light and shading in some tests, he said, in others the goal had been achieved at closer distances. Farther away, he said, the accuracy has fallen to 60 percent to 70 percent. “The results were increasingly positive,” he said. There was a “significant improvement” in speed, too, he said. At first, it took the system six to eight minutes to process images, but it now takes under 30 seconds. Still, he and Dr. Farag said, the officials overseeing the testing wanted a quicker turnaround. That might be easier with the more powerful computers available to the military, they said, but the government wanted them to use processors available off the shelf for civilian applications. Several independent biometric specialists, given a description of the project’s test results, agreed that the system was not yet ready. They said 30 seconds was far too long to process an image for security purposes, and that its accuracy numbers would result in the police going out to question too many innocent people. Several of the specialists also suggested that similar technology may be progressing more quickly in other laboratories that have not received taxpayer financing. A spokesman for Mr. McConnell stressed that while he requested that the contract go to Electronic Warfare Associates, it was “competitively bid.” Federal records show the firm was the only one to submit a bid . Ginger McCall, a privacy advocate who obtained the documents under the Freedom of Information Act and provided them to The New York Times, said the time was now — while such technology is still maturing and not yet deployed — to build in rules for how it may be used. (Ms. McCall was at the Electronic Privacy Information Center at the time of her information act request.) “This technology is always billed as antiterrorism, but then it drifts into other applications,” Ms. McCall said. “We need a real conversation about whether and how we want this technology to be used, and now is the time for that debate.” In particular, she said, there should be limits on whose faces are loaded into them when they are ready for deployment. Ms. McCall said it would be acceptable to use it for terrorism watch lists, but she feared any effort to systematically track everyone’s public movements by using a comprehensive database of driver’s license photographs. Still, Dr. Farag said, that kind of system is still very far off because it would take far too much computer processing power to load millions of images into a system and try to identify everyone at once, as opposed to sorting images in search of only a comparatively small number of faces on a watch list. “Disappointments come when you are overambitious,” he said.
|
Computer vision,Facial Recognition Software;Biometrics;Government Surveillance;Homeland Security;Electronic Warfare Associates;Privacy;ID
|
ny0230132
|
[
"us"
] |
2010/09/29
|
California: Death Toll Rises to 8 in Pipeline Explosion
|
A 58-year-old man who was injured during the natural gas pipeline explosion in San Bruno earlier this month died Monday, bringing the blast’s death toll to eight. James Emil Franco lived near the section of pipeline that exploded on Sept. 9, resulting in a fire that injured dozens of people and destroyed nearly 40 homes. Mr. Franco was hospitalized with serious injuries the night of the blast and remained hospitalized until his death. Though the cause of the explosion is still under investigation, safety experts have raised concerns in the blast’s aftermath about the potential risks and problems with regulatory oversight of pipelines nationwide.
|
Pipelines;Accidents and Safety;San Bruno (Calif)
|
ny0002073
|
[
"world",
"asia"
] |
2013/03/01
|
China and Japan Trade Barbs Over Disputed Islands
|
HONG KONG — China accused Japan on Thursday of escalating the maritime tensions in their relationship by harassing Chinese ships, continuing a succession of tit-for-tat accusations that reflect increasing distrust between the two countries. A spokesman for the Chinese Ministry of National Defense, Geng Yansheng, made the accusations on the same day that the Japanese prime minister, Shinzo Abe , likened recent intrusions by Chinese ships into Japanese-controlled waters near contested islands to Argentina’s 1982 invasion of the Falkland Islands, which set off a brief war with Britain. Tensions over the East China Sea islands, known as the Senkaku in Japan and the Diaoyu in China, deepened this month when Japan said that a Chinese Navy frigate had briefly used missile-directing radar to lock onto a Japanese military ship. China vehemently denied doing that. At a briefing for Chinese journalists in Beijing, Mr. Geng repeated that denial and said he had proof that Japan would be to blame for any mishaps. “For a long time, Japan has closely tracked Chinese vessels and craft to monitor and interfere with them,” Mr. Geng said, according to a transcript on the Chinese Ministry of National Defense Web site. “This is the source of the maritime security problems between China and Japan,” he said. “The Chinese side has ample evidence of this, and reserves the right to take corresponding measures.” Mr. Geng suggested that Mr. Abe was seeking to raise tensions. “China has always taken maritime safety very seriously and does not want to see accidents at sea,” Mr. Geng said. “But the Japanese leader has repeatedly made provocative statements, exaggerated the China threat and made much of military issues, intentionally provoking military confrontation.” In a speech to Japan’s Parliament, however, Mr. Abe used a comparison to the 1982 Falkland Islands war to cast China as the provocateur. He cited the memoir of the British prime minister at the time, Margaret Thatcher, who said her decision to go to war was an effort to defend the principle that rule of law should prevail over the use of force. “I want to appeal to international society that in modern times, efforts to change the status quo by the use of force will justify nothing,” said Mr. Abe, referring to the standoff with China. The festering dispute over the islands erupted in September, when Japan bought three of the five islands from a private owner in what it said was as an effort to stop them from falling into the hands of an ardent Japanese nationalist. China, however, called the purchase a provocative act that effectively denied its territorial claims, and violent protests broke out in dozens of Chinese cities. In the months since, China has sought to demonstrate its claim to the islands by sending government vessels and military ships and aircraft near them, in areas where Japanese Coast Guard ships conduct patrols. Last Friday, Japan said it had asked the Chinese government to explain why it had placed several buoys in waters near the disputed islands. A Chinese official said on Tuesday that the buoys were meant to monitor the weather, despite Japanese news reports that they could be used for tracking Japanese submarines. At the news briefing, Mr. Geng repeated China’s denials that it was behind Internet hacking attacks aimed at United States government, corporate and media Web sites. He said the Ministry of National Defense Web site and another Chinese Web site devoted to military news were targeted by an average of 144,000 hacking attacks a month from abroad last year, almost two-thirds of them from the United States. He did not explain how he defined such hacking attacks, nor say if any were successful.
|
China;Japan;Senkaku Islands Diaoyu Islands;East China Sea
|
ny0254744
|
[
"sports",
"cycling"
] |
2011/07/12
|
2011 Tour de France: Fallout After Bizarre 'Traffic Accident'
|
PARIS — One moment Johnny Hoogerland was on his bicycle, racing alongside a group of riders who were setting the pace in a tough stage of the Tour de France . The next, he was sprawled out at the side of a country road, his shorts shredded, his legs lacerated by a barbed-wire fence. After a rough night of sleep, Hoogerland said Monday, a rest day on the Tour, that he planned to keep riding when the race resumed on Tuesday — even though, with 33 stitches in his legs and more than 16 minutes of time lost to the crash, his prospects are fading. Meanwhile, fallout from the bizarre collision on Sunday, which also brought down another rider, Juan Antonio Flecha, is spreading. Prosecutors in Aurillac, where the stage finished, said Monday that they were investigating what they described as “a traffic accident with bodily injuries.” In the incident, a car carrying officials of France Télévisions, the French public broadcaster, veered into Flecha and Hoogerland as it attempted to pass them and three other riders. Kris Dent, a spokesman for Flecha’s team, Sky, said the team had not ruled out any options, including possible legal action. “We are still assessing what happened, in an ongoing dialogue with the A.S.O.,” he said, referring to Amaury Sport Organization, which runs the Tour. “There’s an inherent risk of crashes in the sport; everybody understands that. But what happened yesterday shouldn’t happen.” Frank Kwanten, commercial manager of Hoogerland’s team, Vacansoleil, said the team had decided against taking legal action, after officials of Amaury and France Télévisions visited the team’s hotel to apologize. “We appreciate that and we naturally accepted the apologies,” he said. The race organizers banned the driver of the France Télévisions car from the Tour, saying he had ignored an order, issued on an internal radio system, to pull over and allow a team car to pass. Instead, the France Télévisions car, which was providing “technical assistance” to the coverage, appeared to speed up and then to swerve as the driver tried to avoid a leaning tree. The presence of dozens of cars, motorcycles and other vehicles chasing, passing or cruising alongside the nearly 200 cyclists, sometimes at speeds of 80 kilometers, or 50 miles, per hour or more, is a curious feature of the Tour and other long-distance road races. The entourage is needed because of the logistical challenges of staging a race that unfolds across daily stages that are sometimes more than 200 kilometers in length, with a total distance of more than 3,400 kilometers this year. It would be impossible to mount television cameras and to place race officials at fixed locations along such a route, so everything and everyone that is needed has to come along. Even within this rolling sports arena, cars and motorcycles are constantly moving back and forth among the racers. Camera operators pursue breakaway riders and try to vary their angles. Team directors follow their riders, sometimes passing stragglers or even the main pack of riders, delivering replacement bicycles or water bottles to racers farther along the road. There have been crashes involving Tour vehicles and riders in the past. In 1977, for example, Lucien Van Impe, a Belgian who had won the Tour the year before, was knocked over by a car on the fabled climb to Alpe d’Huez. In 1968, Raymond Poulidor, a favorite, was sent tumbling by a Tour motorcycle that swerved to avoid a spectator. Last year, in a separate competition, the one-day Liège-Bastogne-Liège race in Belgium, a French rider, Sylvain Chavanel, ran into the back of a team car that braked suddenly ahead of him, fracturing his skull. Yet this year there have already been two such incidents. Before the crash involving Hoogerland and Flecha, another racer, Nicki Sorensen of Saxo Bank-Sungard, was sent flying by a motorcycle carrying a photographer during Stage 5 last week. The driver of the motorbike had also tried to pass on a narrow road. Some riders say this is not merely a coincidence; drivers have been more reckless than normal during the Tour this year. “Even before the accident a lot of cars brushed right past us,” Luis León Sanchez, who won the Sunday stage after deftly avoiding the crash that took out Hoogerland and Flecha, told reporters afterward. “I understand that guests want to have a close look at the race, but we need to get a message across to the organizers so that the drivers are more careful.” Christian Prudhomme, director of the Tour, described the crash Sunday as a “scandal.” “There have now been two incidents involving the media on the roads of the Tour de France, and it’s two accidents too many,” he told Reuters. In a statement, France Télévisions apologized to the racers, to the teams and to Amaury, saying it would “fully support measures being taken by A.S.O. to further strengthen security in and around the race.” The race organizers have not yet detailed any additional security measures, and a spokesman did not return calls. Kwanten, the manager of Hoogerland’s team, said he had discussed the issue with other team managers, who had agreed to raise the issue of driving safety at the next meeting of the Aigcp, an international organization of bicycle racing teams. In the meantime, he called for a bit of common sense in situations like the one that toppled Hoogerland, a 28-year-old rider from the Netherlands, and Flecha, a 33-year-old Spaniard. “Everyone with any experience should understand that this was not an opportunity to overtake,” Kwanten said. “Whether you have 100 cars or 1,000 cars, you sometimes have to wait.”
|
Tour de France (Bicycle Race);Accidents and Safety
|
ny0044929
|
[
"world",
"middleeast"
] |
2014/02/16
|
After Second Round of Syria Talks, No Agreement Even on How to Negotiate
|
GENEVA — The United Nations mediator for Syria, Lakhdar Brahimi, wrapped up the second round of peace talks here on Saturday without breaking a longstanding deadlock or setting a date for a third round, and urged the parties to think seriously about their commitment to the negotiations. Mr. Brahimi said the talks had broken down primarily because the Syrian government balked at his suggestion that the negotiators discuss both sides’ top demands in the first two days of negotiations, rather than spending days on the government’s priorities. “I am very, very sorry, and I apologize to the Syrian people,” Mr. Brahimi, an Algerian diplomat who has spent decades negotiating thorny conflicts, said after a last-ditch, 45-minute meeting with the two sides ended in disagreement. “I apologize to them that on these two rounds we haven’t helped them very much.” The dispiriting finish called into question the future of the talks. Two weeklong rounds have produced no actual negotiations on resolving a conflict that has killed more than 135,000 people and driven 9.5 million from their homes, even though the talks are sponsored by Russia and the United States, which support opposing sides, and backed by dozens of other countries. The meetings have instead focused on what to discuss and how to do so. “It’s not good for Syria that we come back for another round and fall in the same trap that we have been struggling with this week and most of the first round,” Mr. Brahimi said. “So I think it is better that every side goes back and reflect and take their responsibility: Do they want this process to take place or not? I will do the same.” He said he would report to the United Nations secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, and push for a meeting with Mr. Ban, Secretary of State John Kerry and the Russian foreign minister, Sergey V. Lavrov. Some Western diplomats have suggested that Mr. Brahimi, 80, might be worried about harming his legacy by presiding over empty talks, and so might recommend ending them. But others pointed out that he was famous for his patience. Both the government and the opposition said they would return if another round were called. Western officials were quick to call for new pressure on the Syrian government. Minutes after Mr. Brahimi spoke, the British foreign secretary, William Hague, wrote in a Twitter message that the United Nations Security Council “must now act to address the humanitarian crisis urgently.” But Russia, the Syrian government’s most powerful backer, sees Western attempts to require access for aid workers as a pretext for military action, and has blocked previous Security Council measures on Syria. Mr. Brahimi said the two sides had agreed that a third round of talks would address both the opposition’s top-priority issue (political transition) and the government’s (the ending of terrorism, which it says includes all armed opposition). But then, he said, the government rejected his proposal that the negotiators spend the first day on terrorism and the second on transition. Both are contentious issues: the government recently placed all the opposition coalition members, even the civilians across the negotiating table, on a list of terrorists, and for the opposition, transition implies an end to the government of which its interlocutors are members. Bashar al-Jaafari, the Syrian ambassador to the United Nations in New York and the government’s lead negotiator, said it would be impossible to resolve the issue of terrorism in one day and the government wanted to reach “a common vision” on the subject before moving on to others. But Mr. Brahimi said he had made it “very clear” that both topics would take far more than one day, and that his aim was simply to ensure that the two sides at least began to discuss each other’s demands. He said he had told government negotiators that this would reassure the opposition, which is “very suspicious” of the government and believes that it does not want to discuss a transition at all. “I hope that this time of reflection will lead the government side in particular to reassure the other side that when they speak of implementing the Geneva communiqué,” they mean that “the main objective” is a transitional governing body with full executive powers, Mr. Brahimi said, referring to the July 2012 document that is the basis for the talks. “Ending violence, combating terrorism is extremely important, indispensable,” he said. “But I think that every side has to be convinced that, yes, we are going to implement all the elements in the communiqué.” Each side blamed the other and its international backers for the lack of progress. “We are here to negotiate,” said Louay Safi, a spokesman for the opposition. “We have been disappointed completely, not only by the regime.” Russian officials “have not prevailed over the regime that wants to stall,” Mr. Safi said, adding that Russia continued to supply the weapons the Syrian government is using to bombard rebel-held towns and neighborhoods. Mr. Jaafari said recent comments by President Obama and members of his administration, who mentioned the possibility of greater efforts to help the opposition, meant American officials were “not committed” to the success of talks. The Syrian government has long said that the first step toward ending the conflict must be the end of support for insurgent groups by the United States and allies, including Qatar and Saudi Arabia. Mr. Jaafari said the government recognized that the opposition delegation could not single-handedly stop terrorism in Syria, because it does not control many of the insurgent groups. But, he added, officials want to hear that the opposition is committed to stopping it. The opposition has condemned violence against civilians and pointed to its affiliated fighters’ recent battles against jihadist groups. But the crux of the dispute is the definition of terrorism. In a sign of just how broadly the government defines terrorism, opposition delegates said Saturday that they had recently learned that the government had placed the names of everyone in their entire coalition on a “terrorist list” and seized their assets. Mr. Jaafari confirmed the news — which was posted on an opposition website last week — and said the decision was made before the talks began. “Whoever refuses to fight terrorism is part of terrorism,” he said. Ahmad Jakal, an opposition delegate, said, “They are negotiating with us, but they call us terrorists.” A pro-government analyst based in Damascus, the Syrian capital, who spoke anonymously in order to be more open, said the definition of terrorism was a “subject for negotiations.” Both sides have legitimate points, the analyst said: The government is correct that a smooth political transition cannot occur amid continuing violence, and the opposition is correct that the violence cannot end unless political demands are addressed. Because of this, he said, speaking about both terrorism and transition makes sense. But he added that the government delegation would have a hard time persuading its base, including the powerful security services and military, to talk about dismantling or reshaping the government of President Bashar al-Assad when they believe they are gaining on the ground. Members of the opposition delegation said they hoped that the talks in Geneva had highlighted the government’s inflexibility and might prompt a stronger international response — perhaps pressure from Russia, increased military aid for the opposition, Security Council resolutions, or even a no-fly zone to stop government airstrikes. As the delegates prepared to leave on Saturday, Mr. Jaafari turned prickly when asked by a reporter what would entice Mr. Assad’s team back to the table. “Your nice face,” he shot back.
|
Lakhdar Brahimi;Syria;Arab Spring;UN;Russia;US;Bashar Jaafari
|
ny0019216
|
[
"business",
"media"
] |
2013/07/21
|
Weinstein Company Loses Appeal to Use Movie Title ‘The Butler’
|
In an appeals decision on Friday, the film industry’s Title Registration Bureau upheld an earlier ruling that the Weinstein Company was violating bureau rules by calling a coming film “The Butler,” but said the company may use a variation on the title by adding the name of the director, Lee Daniels. The title “The Butler” is protected by Warner Brothers, which owns a short film by that name. Weinstein has publicly criticized Warner for asserting that right. But it failed in the appeal, and was ordered by the registration bureau to pay $400,000 to the Entertainment Industry Foundation as a penalty for having used the title to date without authorization, and to pay Warner’s legal fees, up to $150,000. The appeals decision also said Weinstein would face an additional penalty of up to $50,000 a day if it continued to use the title. A Warner spokesman declined to comment, and a spokeswoman for Weinstein had no immediate comment. The film is set for release on Aug. 16.
|
Weinstein;Lee Daniels;Decisions and Verdicts;Movies;Warner Bros;The Butler
|
ny0099377
|
[
"us"
] |
2015/06/12
|
Louisiana Lawmakers Hold Their Noses as They Balance the Budget
|
BATON ROUGE, La. — With less than two hours left in the 2015 session, Louisiana legislators agreed Thursday on a solution to the worst budget shortfall in decades, approving a funding arrangement that drew bipartisan criticism but was seen as the only way to gain the support of Gov. Bobby Jindal and avert fiscal disaster. One of the most critical parts of the budget plan, and the part that attracted most of the debate, would raise no revenue and lighten no one’s tax burdens. But because of a complicated arrangement of tax credits, this plan could, by some interpretations, allow Mr. Jindal, a Republican, to say that despite millions coming in from cigarette tax hikes and tax break rollbacks, the state had technically not raised net new tax revenue. “We view this as a very successful session,” said Mr. Jindal, who is expected to announce his candidacy for president this month. “We wanted to pass a balanced budget that protected higher education and health care, and did that without raising taxes.” Here in the Legislature, even those who voted for the governor’s tax credit plan found the scheme to be questionable, but in the end they saw it as the only way to avoid something worse. “It’s an embarrassing bill to vote for,” said State Representative Blake Miguez, a Republican. “But with so much on the line and the governor being hardheaded, I had to take one for the people of my district.” Without an agreement, the pain of what had been a potential $1.6 billion shortfall would have fallen almost entirely on higher education and health care. The state’s public colleges and universities, already having borne some of the deepest state funding cuts in the country, had contemplated mass layoffs, closing departments and financial exigency. The most direct way to prevent these scenarios was to raise revenue. And, indeed, legislators spent the session haggling over cigarette taxes and tax exemptions. Mr. Jindal was open to some of those ideas, but insisted he would veto anything that would violate his pledge against raising net tax revenue. So in consultation with Americans for Tax Reform, the Washington-based antitax advocacy group led by Grover Norquist, the Jindal administration presented a complicated arrangement that came to be known as the SAVE plan. The plan obligated $350 million of the revenue raised during the session to higher education, thus preventing cuts. That was augmented by an “assessment” of around $1,600, called SAVE — “Student Assessment for a Valuable Education” — on the state’s public college students. State Bills Tackle Drive-Thrus, Pop Tarts and Horse Tripping State legislatures are often called the country’s “laboratories of democracy,” but as the 2015 legislative season comes to an end, some bills have inspired more laughter than respect. Nobody would actually pay this assessment because a student would also be granted a tax credit against that assessment. The student’s tax credit, in turn, would be transferred to the state Board of Regents, the body that runs higher education. The board would then use the credit to draw money from the Department of Revenue. Under the plan, no one’s current tax burden would go up or down a cent. But the Jindal administration said the arrangement would constitute an offset to the new tax revenue that was raised this term, and would thus keep his administration on the right side of its tax pledge. Lawmakers have called the provision everything from “money laundering” to “stupid,” and that was just the Republicans. A Democratic state senator proposed an amendment to change the name of the credit from SAVE to DUMB, for “Don’t Understand Meaning of Bill.” (He later withdrew the amendment.) “There is no way you can explain that it’s an offset,” said Robert Travis Scott, the president of the nonpartisan Public Affairs Research Council of Louisiana. He concluded, “This is a vehicle that allows Governor Jindal to raise taxes, period.” But Louisiana’s secretary of revenue, T. A. Barfield Jr., argued that, as a matter of the current political realities, it was indeed sparing taxpayers. Given a governor and many lawmakers who would not allow new taxes, Mr. Barfield said, a budget without this plan would result in the governor’s making deep cuts or colleges’ sharply raising fees. “I understand where reasonable minds would differ as to whether this was necessary,” Mr. Barfield said. “But regardless of all that, the political realities, in my opinion, were that without this mechanism, there would be severe cuts to higher education and probably an indirectly related impact on health care.” Other Republicans were less charitable. “Everyone knows it’s nonsense,” said the Republican state treasurer, John Kennedy. But, he said of Mr. Jindal, “It’ll make him happy, and we can always come back and get rid of it.” Still, while the Senate approved the plan in various forms, the House balked nearly to the end. Democrats griped about having to please Mr. Norquist. And someone printed and handed out stickers in the Legislature that read “Jindal/Norquist 2016.” There were more substantial concerns. This month, a group of 11 Republicans sent a letter to Mr. Norquist arguing that the SAVE plan could set a “dangerous precedent” for future legislatures to “raise taxes on a nearly unlimited basis and then claim revenue neutrality solely based on the creation of a purely fictional, procedural, phantom, paper tax credit.” Still, after curbing a filibuster, the House passed the plan, 59 to 43. “As a kid, my mother gave me castor oil,” said Republican Representative Darrell Ourso, who voted in favor with higher education in mind. “This vote was like that. Stinky, yucky stuff.”
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Louisiana;Bobby Jindal;Budget;Tax Credits Tax Deductions Tax Exemptions;Grover G Norquist;Americans for Tax Reform;2016 Presidential Election
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ny0002506
|
[
"sports",
"hockey"
] |
2013/03/15
|
Islanders Top Lightning
|
Evgeni Nabokov made 18 saves for a shutout, John Tavares scored his 17th goal, and the visiting Islanders beat the Tampa Bay Lightning, 2-0. The Islanders improved to 4-1-2 over their last seven games. ¶ Pascal Dupuis scored two of Pittsburgh’s three goals in the third period, and the visiting Penguins stormed back to beat the Toronto Maple Leafs, 3-1, for their seventh win in a row.
|
Ice hockey;Tampa Bay Lightning;Islanders
|
ny0025430
|
[
"world",
"asia"
] |
2013/08/01
|
Bills Unpaid, Power Is Cut to Province in Philippines
|
MANILA — A Philippine province of 1.2 million people was without electricity for more than a day after the corporation that runs the national grid cut it off over $92 million in unpaid bills, officials said. All residential, government and corporate accounts in the province, Albay, south of Manila, lost power at noon on Tuesday. An estimated 160,000 households went dark, hospitals turned to emergency generators and much commercial activity ceased. The Philippines has struggled for decades to reliably generate, supply and manage electricity, grappling with a welter of power companies that have merged or disappeared into others. Blackouts and cutoffs remain common in remote and poor areas. The government has worked to make the power system more efficient through a variety of privatization measures, handing broad responsibility to the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines, created in 2008. But some local power companies have been mismanaged, troubled by corruption and burdened by disputed debt from earlier incarnations. Power supply remains unreliable in many parts of the country, and politically connected clients often leave their bills unpaid with impunity. The National Grid Corporation, with the cooperation of the Energy Department, appears to be taking a new hard line on unpaid bills. In early July, the city of Olongapo, north of Manila, narrowly averted being disconnected over unpaid debt. Power was restored to Albay on Wednesday at 5 p.m. after Carlos Jericho L. Petilla, the energy secretary, called an emergency meeting of national and provincial power officials, and the local power cooperative agreed to pay the overdue amount for June of about $440,000 within five days. Local officials also agreed that the 100 customers with the highest unpaid balances with the local cooperative, many of them businesses connected to local or national politicians, would remain disconnected. Mr. Petilla said Wednesday afternoon that power to the province could be cut again if the local cooperative did not pay its bill for July by the Aug. 25 due date. He said that a long-term solution was being sought, but that the debt was complex, having accumulated over more than two decades. Edcel Lagman, who represents Albay Province in the Philippine House of Representatives, called the power cut a disaster. “We are used to devastations brought about by typhoons and volcanic eruptions, but this will be the first time a man-made disaster such as this hit our province,” he said. Local officials have proposed drawing on a provincial disaster relief fund to help pay the debt, but national officials said it was unclear if this was legal. Veronica Moran, a worker at the Tyche Boutique Hotel in Legazpi, the provincial capital, bemoaned the disruption after the power went off on Tuesday. “The city is very dark,” she said. “This is disrupting business for everyone.” She said her hotel had had limited use of credit card machines and computers and had been able to use backup generators only part of the time. “Our guests have been very understanding,” she said. “They know this isn’t our fault. This is the whole province.” Daisy Armadio, who works at a diabetes clinic in Legazpi, said generators had saved the day. “We pay our bill on time, but we are still disconnected,” she said. “This is a big problem, but we can manage.”
|
Philippines;Electric power
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ny0000367
|
[
"sports",
"soccer"
] |
2013/03/02
|
A Tie for Juventus and Napoli
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The Serie A leader Juventus drew, 1-1, at Napoli in a tense top-of-the-table match that could clear the way for its 28th Italian league title. Juventus remained 6 points ahead of Napoli with 11 rounds remaining.
|
Soccer;Juventus Soccer Team;Serie A
|
ny0011792
|
[
"nyregion"
] |
2013/11/03
|
Sendapackage.com Bills Itself as ‘New York’s Inmate Superstore’
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A couple of weeks ago, a street team from Sendapackage.com was standing on a sidewalk near Columbus Circle in Manhattan talking with a dozen women about to board a charter bus that would take them upstate to visit their relatives in prison. It was 10 p.m. and many of the women huddled in the darkness were toting sleepy children; most were also burdened with plastic bags of Pop Tarts, pretzels, cookies and potato chips — junk food unavailable to men behind bars. The team from Sendapackage, which could be thought of as prison’s version of Amazon.com, was handing out glossy catalogs offering New York’s 50,000 inmates hundreds of items for purchase and delivery: soft drinks, cigarettes, canned ravioli, cotton hoodies and — perhaps most popular of all — music on cassette tape, the only format that corrections regulations will allow. “We’ve got same-day shipping and a 10 percent discount on first-time orders,” the team’s coordinator, Zerimar Ramirez (or Mr. Z), was telling the group. As some of the women flipped with interest through the product line, a video crew stood ready if any of them cared to go on camera and provide a testimonial . Though it might surprise many who have no experience with prison, sending packages to loved ones doing time can be, as thousands of local families know, a Kafkaesque process. Beyond the hassle of going to several stores to assemble a package, and then having to take it to the post office or UPS, is navigating a welter of rules governing what is allowable. The New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision publishes a list , currently more than 20 pages long, of who can send what, and how, and what is permitted and what is not. Food cannot contain poppy seeds; emery boards must be “nonmetallic”; boxer shorts and briefs must be of a solid color only. “I thought there had to be a better way,” said Chris Barrett, Sendapackage’s founder, who seems to have discovered that way on the Internet. The items that Mr. Barrett’s service sells online (as well as through its catalog) have all been chosen in advance to adhere to the extensive directives put in place for gifts by the corrections department. His selection is comprehensive and diverse enough that the company bills itself as “New York’s inmate superstore.” In a city that appears more and more to be colonized by corporate-funded start-ups, Sendapackage, which is two years old, has an exceptionally personal creation myth. The idea came to Mr. Barrett in 2008, not long after his younger brother, Robert Maffei, was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison for a murder in Brooklyn. When he was 19, Mr. Maffei killed a man after firing a pistol from a moving car. After he was put away, Mr. Barrett, who had himself served six years on a mob-related gun charge, tried to send him some deodorant and a package of salami at the Sullivan Correctional Facility, in Fallsburg. Image In Manhattan recently, Sendapackage employees passed out catalogs to relatives of inmates. Credit Michael Kamber for The New York Times Mr. Barrett was unaware that the items had been made with alcohol, which is forbidden inside prison. As he recounts the story, a guard disposed of his well-intentioned gifts as soon as they arrived. “Eventually I started hearing that other people — wives and moms who didn’t know the rules, who didn’t have time to go shopping — were having the same problem,” Mr. Barrett said. “I began to sense there was a need here, a real need.” Though he had worked in marketing and been a nightclub co-owner after his release from prison, Mr. Barrett at that point had no experience as a digital entrepreneur. So he took a year, he said, pricing items, building a website and developing relationships with vendors — “Everything we needed,” he explained, “to pitch the idea.” In late 2010, after several months of looking for an angel, he finally persuaded a Brooklyn businessman to fund his nascent venture with a personal check for $1.5 million. Within six months, Mr. Barrett had rented space in a warehouse in the Bronx and quickly filled its shelves with basic items: brushed-twill baseball caps, cans of Beefaroni . As time went by, he added to his inventory, gradually expanding into watches, gummi bears, stereo headphones and exfoliating moisturizing creams. Last year, he struck what was his biggest and most promising deal to date, persuading Universal Records to produce, on cassette, a line of new music popular with inmates. Compact discs are not allowed in prison because they can be broken into shivs. But arguing that he had access to an audience that was literally captive, Mr. Barrett persuaded Universal to manufacture a limited supply of R&B and hip-hop tapes, in an exclusive arrangement, provided that he bought them on consignment and in bulk. “No one makes cassette tapes anymore,” Mr. Barrett said, still sounding vaguely amazed. “I’m probably the only guy on the planet with Kanye West’s new album on tape.” Judging by the letters he has received, Mr. Barrett, who is slim of build and 40, has managed to transform himself into something like the R. H. Macy of the state prison system. Image Zerimar Ramirez showing products to a woman waiting in Midtown Manhattan for a bus to take her to see her son in prison. Credit Michael Kamber for The New York Times “While looking through your catalog, a couple of things caught my eye,” one customer, in the Downstate Correctional Facility, wrote. “Your prices, which are very reasonable, and your wide selection of things, such as sneakers, boots, headsets, blankets, winter coats, thermals, books, TVs, radios, beard trimmers and cosmetics.” Even the state corrections department, an agency not known for its entrepreneurial spirit, has quietly supported Mr. Barrett’s efforts. Declining to comment specifically on Sendapackage, Tom Mailey, a department spokesman, said, “From our point of view, any vendor that is compliant with the rules and regulations and directives regarding packages will work for us.” On an ordinary day, Sendapackage handles up to 40 orders. About a third are placed online by relatives on the outside; most of the rest arrive from inside prisons by telephone or mail. Mr. Barrett said the average order was usually in the neighborhood of $110. With seven employees, he currently serves all of New York’s 58 state prisons, and he would like to expand into neighboring Pennsylvania and into states like Texas and California, which have very large numbers of inmates. After paying for its inventory, Sendapackage earns about $800,000 a year, Mr. Barrett said. He said he was simply waiting to accrue sufficient capital to grow. “We’re not making a killing yet,” he said. “But we’re getting there.” While some might be squeamish about having a criminal customer base, Mr. Barrett, perhaps because of his own incarceration, offers the same kinds of promotions and perks that businesses whose clients are on the outside use: He offers inmates a 10 percent discount on orders near their birthdays, for example (“Thank you for the generous gift certificate!” another customer wrote), and he donates 5 percent of his profits to a charity called In Arm’s Reach , which gives assistance to children with incarcerated parents. Using his connections to the hip-hop world, made through his nightclubs and the cassette-tape deal, Mr. Barrett also hosts parties for his clients’ families, including one last Thanksgiving at which the local rapper Jadakiss appeared. “It’s a tough experience when somebody you love goes away,” said Mr. Ramirez, the street-team coordinator who once served as the head of security at the Griffin , Mr. Barrett’s nightclub in the meatpacking district. “So on top of everything else, we try to do a few events every year that are fun.” As far as business models go, Sendapackage’s is more or less recession-proof, and as Mr. Barrett noted, its target demographic is extremely loyal. “I’ve never seen a business,” he said, “where you can get and keep a customer for as long as we keep ours.”
|
Prison;New York;Delivery Services
|
ny0064388
|
[
"us",
"politics"
] |
2014/06/20
|
Text of Obama’s Remarks on Iraq
|
The following is the complete transcript of President Obama’s press conference on the conflict in Iraq in Washington. (Transcript courtesy of Federal News Service.) PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: Good afternoon, everybody. I just met with my national security team to discuss the situation in Iraq. We’ve been meeting regularly to review the situation since ISIL, a terrorist organization that operates in Iraq and Syria, made advances inside of Iraq. As I said last week, ISIL poses a threat to the Iraqi people, to the region and to U.S. interests. So today I wanted to provide you an update on how we’re responding to the situation. First, we are working to secure our embassy and personnel operating inside of Iraq. As president, I have no greater priority than the safety of our men and women serving overseas. So I’ve taken some steps to relocate some of our embassy personnel, and we’ve sent reinforcements to better secure our facilities. Second, at my direction we have significantly increased our intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance assets so that we’ve got a better picture of what’s taking place inside of Iraq, and this will give us a greater understanding of what ISIL is doing, where it’s located and how we might support efforts to counter this threat. Third, the United States will continue to increase our support to Iraqi security forces. We’re prepared to create joint operation centers in Baghdad and northern Iraq, to share intelligence and coordinate planning to confront the terrorist threat of ISIL. And through our new Counterterrorism Partnership Fund, we’re prepared to work with Congress to provide additional equipment. We have had advisers in Iraq through our embassy, and we’re prepared to send a small number of additional American military advisers -- up to 300 -- to assess how we can best train, advise and support Iraqi security forces going forward. American forces will not be returning to combat in Iraq, but we will help Iraqis as they take the fight to terrorists who threaten the Iraqi people, the region and American interests as well. Fourth, in recent days we’ve positioned additional U.S. military assets in the region. Because of our increased intelligence resources, we’re developing more information about potential targets associated with ISIL, and going forward, we will be prepared to take targeted and precise military action if and when we determine that the situation on the ground requires it. If we do, I will consult closely with Congress and leaders in Iraq and in the region. I want to emphasize, though, that the best and most effective response to a threat like ISIL will ultimately involve partnerships where local forces like Iraqis take the lead. Finally, the United States will lead a diplomatic effort to work with Iraqi leaders and the countries in the region to support stability in Iraq. At my direction, Secretary Kerry will depart this weekend for meetings in the Middle East and Europe, where he’ll be able to consult with our allies and partners. And just as all Iraqis’ neighbors must respect Iraq’s territorial integrity, all of Iraq’s neighbors have a vital interest in ensuring that Iraq does not descend into civil war or become a safe haven for terrorists. Above all, Iraqi leaders must rise above their differences and come together around a political plan for Iraq’s future. Shia, Sunni, Kurds, all Iraqis must have confidence that they can advance their interests and aspirations through the political process rather than through violence. National unity meetings have to go forward to build consensus across Iraq’s different communities. Now that the results of Iraq’s recent election has been certified, a new parliament should convene as soon as possible. The formation of a new government will be an opportunity to begin a genuine dialogue and forge a government that represents the legitimate interests of all Iraqis. Now, it’s not the place for the United States to choose Iraq’s leaders. It is clear, though, that only leaders that can govern with an inclusive agenda are going to be able to truly bring the Iraqi people together and help them through this crisis. Meanwhile, the United States will not pursue military actions that support one sect inside of Iraq at the expense of another. There’s no military solution inside of Iraq, certainly not one that is led by the United States. But there is an urgent need for an inclusive political process, a more capable Iraqi security force, and counterterrorism efforts that deny groups like ISIL a safe haven. In closing, recent days have reminded us of the deep scars left by America’s war in Iraq. Alongside the loss of nearly 4,500 American patriots, many veterans carry the wounds of that war, and will for the rest of their lives. Here at home, Iraq sparked vigorous debates and intense emotions in the past, and we’ve seen some of those debates resurface. But what’s clear from the last decade is the need for the United States to ask hard questions before we take action abroad, particularly military action. The most important question we should all be asking, the issue that we have to keep front and center, the issue that I keep front and center, is, what is in the national security interest of the United States of America? As commander in chief, that’s what I stay focused on. As Americans, that’s what all of us should be focused on. And going forward, we will continue to consult closely with Congress, we will keep the American people informed, we will remain vigilant, and we will continue to do everything in our power to protect the security of the United States and the safety of the American people. So with that, I’m going to take a couple of questions. I’ll start with Colleen McCain Nelson of The Wall Street Journal. Q: Thank you, Mr. President. Do you have any confidence in Prime Minister al-Maliki at this point? And can your -- can Maliki bring political stability to Iraq? PRESIDENT OBAMA: As I said, it’s not our job to chose Iraq’s leaders. Part of what our patriots fought for during many years in Iraq was the right and the opportunity for Iraqis to determine their own destiny and chose their own leaders. But I don’t think it -- there’s any secret that, right now at least, there is deep divisions between Sunni, Shia and Kurdish leaders. And as long as those deep divisions continue or worsen, it’s going to be very hard for an Iraqi central government to direct an Iraqi military to deal with these threats. And so we’ve consulted with Prime Minister Maliki. And we’ve said that to him privately. We’ve said publicly, that whether he is prime minister or any other leader aspires to lead the country, that it has to be an agenda in which Sunni, Shia and Kurd all feel that they have the opportunity to advance their interest through the political process. And we’ve seen over the last two years -- actually dating back to 2008, 2009, but I think worse over the last two years -- the sense among Sunnis that their interests were not being served, that legislation that had been promised around, for example, de- Baathification had been stalled. I think that you hear similar complaints that the government in Baghdad has not sufficiently reached out to some of the tribes and been able to bring them into a process that, you know, gives them a sense of being part of -- of a unity government or a single nation-state. And that has to be worked through. Part of the reason why we saw better-equipped Iraqi security forces with larger numbers not be able to hold contested territory against ISIL probably reflects that lack of a sense of commitment on the part of Sunni communities to work with Baghdad. And that has to be fixed if we’re going to get -- get through this crisis. Jim Acosta. Q: Thank you, Mr. President. Americans may look at this decision that you’re making today as a sneak preview of coming attractions that the number of advisers that you’re planning to send in may just be the beginning of a boots-on-the-ground scenario down the road. Why is Iraq’s civil war in the national security interest of the United States? And are you concerned about the potential for mission creep? PRESIDENT OBAMA: I think we always have to guard against mission creep. So let me repeat what I’ve said in the past: American combat troops are not going to be fighting in Iraq again. We do not have the ability to simply solve this problem by sending in tens of thousands of troops and committing the kinds of blood and treasure that has already been expended in Iraq. Ultimately, this is something that is going to have to be solved by the Iraqis. It is in our national security interests not to see an all-out civil war inside of Iraq, not just for humanitarian reasons, but because that ultimately can be destabilizing throughout the region, and in addition to having strong allies there that we are committed to protecting, obviously, issues like energy and global energy markets continues to be important. We also have an interest in making sure that we don’t have a safe haven that continues to grow for ISIL and other extremist jihadist groups who could use that as a base of operations for planning and targeting ourselves, our personnel overseas and eventually the homeland. And you know, if they accumulate more money, they accumulate more ammunition, more military capability, larger numbers, that poses great dangers not just to allies of ours like Jordan, which is very close by, but it also poses, you know, a great danger, potentially, to Europe and ultimately the United States. We have already seen inside of Syria that -- or groups like ISIL that right now are fighting with other extremist groups or an Assad regime that was nonresponsive to Sunni majority there that that has attracted more and more jihadists or would-be jihadists, some of them from Europe. They then start traveling back to Europe, and that, over time, can create a cadre of terrorists that could harm us. So we have humanitarian interests in preventing bloodshed. We have strategic interests in stability in the region. We have counterterrorism interests. All those have to be addressed. The -- the initial effort for us to get situational awareness through, you know, the -- the reconnaissance and surveillance that we’ve already done, coupled with some -- some of our best people on the ground doing assessments of exactly what the situation is, starting, by the way, with the perimeter around Baghdad and making sure that that’s not overrun -- that’s a good investment for us to make. But that does not -- that does not foreshadow a larger commitment of troops to actually fight in Iraq. That would not be effective in meeting the core interests that we have. Q: Just very quickly, do you wish you had left a residual force in Iraq? Any regrets about that decision in 2011? PRESIDENT OBAMA: Well, keep in mind that wasn’t a decision made by me. That was a decision made by the Iraqi government. We offered a modest residual force to help continue to train and advise Iraqi security forces. We had a core requirement, which we were require in any situation where we have U.S. troops overseas, and that is -- is that they are provided immunity at the -- since they are being invited by the sovereign government there, so that if, for example, they end up acting in self-defense if they are attacked and find themselves in a tough situation, that they’re not somehow hauled before a foreign court. That’s a core requirement that we have for U.S. troop presence anywhere. The Iraqi government and Prime Minister Maliki declined to provide us that immunity. And so -- I think it is important, though, to recognize that despite that decision, that we have continued to provide them with very intensive advice and support and have continued throughout this process over the last five years to not only offer them our assistance militarily, but we’ve also continued to urge the kinds of political compromises that we think are ultimately necessary in order for them to have a functioning multi-sectarian democracy inside the country. Juliet. Juliet Eilperin. (Where are you ?). Q: (Off mic.) Mr. President, you just mentioned Syria a moment ago? PRESIDENT OBAMA: Yeah. Q: The United States has been slow to provide significant weapons and training directly to the Syrian opposition. Does the expansion of the Syria war into Iraq change your mind about the type of weapons and training you’re now willing to give the opposition there? Is that what prompted Secretary Kerry to say of Syria, we are augmenting our assistance in significant ways? And can you elaborate on what you’re doing now that you weren’t doing before? PRESIDENT OBAMA: You know, that -- that assessment about the dangers of what was happening in Syria has existed since we -- since the very beginning of the Syrian civil war. The question has never been whether we thought this was a serious problem. The question has always been, is there the capacity of moderate opposition on the ground to absorb and counteract extremists that might have been pouring in, as well as an Assad regime, supported by Iran and Russia, that outmanned them and was ruthless? And so we have consistently provided that opposition with support. Oftentimes the challenge is, if you have former farmers or teachers or pharmacists who now are taking up opposition against a battle-hardened regime with support from external actors that have a lot at stake, how quickly can you get them trained? How effective are you able to mobilize them? And you know, that continues to be a challenge. And even before the situation that we saw with ISIL going into Iraq, we had already tried to maximize what we can do to support a moderate opposition that not only can counteract the brutality of Assad, but also can make sure that in the minds of Sunnis, they don’t think that their only alternative is either Mr. Assad or extremist groups like ISIL or al-Nusra. Q: (Off mic) -- what you might be doing differently, as the secretary of state alluded to? PRESIDENT OBAMA: Well, I think that the key to both Syria and Iraq is going to be a combination of what happens inside the country, working with moderate Syrian opposition, working with an Iraqi government that is inclusive, and us laying down a more effective counterterrorism platform that gets all the countries in the region pulling in the same direction. And I alluded to this in the West Point speech. This is -- I talked about it today with respect to the Counterterrorism Partnership Fund. There is going to be a long-term problem in this region in which we have to build and partner with countries that are committed to our interests, our values. And at the same time we have immediate problems with terrorist organizations that may be advancing. And rather than try to play whack-a-mole wherever these terrorist organizations may pop up, what we have to do is to be able to build effective partnerships, make sure that they have capacity. Some of the assets that have been devoted solely to Afghanistan over the last decade we’ve got to shift to make sure that we have coverage in the Middle East and North Africa. You look at a country like Yemen -- a very impoverished country and one that has its own sectarian or ethnic divisions -- there’s -- we do have a committed partner in President Hadi and his government. And we have been able to help to develop their capacities without putting large numbers of U.S. troops on the ground, at the same time as we’ve got enough CT, or counterterrorism, capabilities that we’re able to go after folks that might try to hit our embassy or might be trying to export terrorism into Europe or the United States. And looking at how we can create more of those models is going to be part of the solution in dealing with both Syria and Iraq. But in order for -- for us to do that, we still need to have actual governments on the ground that we can partner with and that we’ve got some confidence are going to pursue the political policies of inclusiveness -- in Yemen, for example, a wide-ranging national dialogue that took a long time but helped to give people a sense that there is a legitimate political outlet for grievances that they may have. Peter Maer. Q: Thank you, sir. Going back to where you see Prime Minister al-Maliki playing a role at this point, you said that it’s a time to rise above differences, that there’s a need for more inclusive government. Is he a unifier? And how much clout does the United States ultimately have with any of the leadership in Iraq at this point, really? PRESIDENT OBAMA: Well, we still provide them significant assistance. I think they recognize that unlike some other players in the region, we don’t have territorial ambitions in their country. We’re not looking to control their assets or their energy. We want to make sure that we’re vindicating the enormous effort and sacrifice that was made by our troops in giving them an opportunity to build a stable, inclusive society that can prosper and deliver for the basic needs and aspirations of the Iraqi people. And at the same time, they are a sovereign country. They have their own politics. And what we have tried to do is to give them our best advice about how they can solve their political problems. Now that they are in crisis, we are indicating to them that there’s not going to be a simple military solution to this issue. If you start seeing the various groups inside of Iraq simply go to their respective corners, then it is almost certain that Baghdad and the central government will not be able to control huge chunks of their own country. The only way they can do that is if there are credible Sunni leaders, both at the national level and at the local level, who have confidence that a Shia majority, that the Kurds, that all those folks are committed to a fair and just governance of the country. Right now that doesn’t exist. There’s too much suspicion. There’s too much mistrust. And the good news is that an election took place in which despite all this mistrust, despite all this frustration, despite all this anger, you still had millions of Iraqis turn out, in some cases in very dangerous circumstances. You now have a court that has certified those elections, and you have a constitutional process to advance government formation. So far, at least, the one bit of encouraging news that we’ve seen inside of Iraq is that all the parties have said they continue to be committed to choosing a leadership and a government through the existing constitutional order. So what you’re seeing, I think, is, as -- as the prospects of civil war heighten, many Iraqi leaders stepping back and saying, let’s not plunge back into the abyss. Let’s see if we can resolve this politically. But they don’t have a lot of time, and you have a group like ISIL that is doing everything it -- that it can to descend the country back into chaos. And so one of the messages that we had for Prime Minister Maliki but also for the speaker of the house and, you know, the other leadership inside of Iraq is get going on this -- on this government formation. It’ll make it a lot easier for them to shape a military strategy. It’ll also make it possible for us to partner much more effectively than we can currently. Q: Given the prime minister’s track record, is he a unifier? Can he play that role when -- after what we’ve seen play out over the last couple of weeks has brought into play? PRESIDENT OBAMA: Yeah. I think the test is -- is before him and other Iraqi leaders as we speak. Right now they can make a series of decisions. Regardless of what’s happened in the past, right now is a moment where the fate of Iraq hangs in the balance. And the test for all of them is going to be where they can overcome the mistrust, the deep sectarian divisions, in some cases just political opportunism and say, this is bigger than anyone of us, and we’ve got to make sure that we -- we do what’s right for the Iraqi people. And -- and that’s a challenge. That’s not something that the United States can do for them. That’s not something, by the way, that the United States armed forces can do for them. We can provide them the space, we can provide them the tools, but ultimately, they’re going to have to make those decisions. In the meantime my job is to make sure that American personnel there is safe, that we are consulting with the Iraqi security forces, that we’re getting a better assessment of what’s on the ground and that we’re recognizing the dangers of ISIL over the long term and developing the kinds of comprehensive counterterrorism strategy that we’re going to need to deal with this issue. And that’s going to involve some short-term responses to make sure that ISIL is not obtaining capacity to endanger us directly or our allies and partners, but it also is going to require some long-term strategies as well because part of what we’ve seen with respect to ISIL is, you know, a broader trend that I talked about at West Point, a -- rather than a single network, a discrete network of terrorists, this fluid combination of hardened terrorists, disaffected local leadership. And where there’s vacuums, they’re filling it and creating the potential for, you know, serious danger for all concerned. All right? Thank you all. Q: (Off mic) -- on Iran, Mr. President -- on Iran, Mr. President, any word on what you are willing to do and who you’re willing to work with? PRESIDENT OBAMA: (Inaudible) -- you know, our view is that Iran can play a constructive role if it is helping to send the same message to the Iraqi government that we’re sending, which is that Iraq only holds together if it’s inclusive and that -- if the interests of Sunni, Shia and Kurd are all respected. If Iran is coming in solely as an armed force on behalf of the Shia and it -- if it is framed in that fashion, then that probably worsens the situation and the prospect for a government formation that would actually be constructive over the long term. Q: (Off mic) -- sense of that right now? PRESIDENT OBAMA: Well, you know, I think that just as Iraq’s leaders have to make decisions, I think Iran has heard from us, we’ve indicated to them that it is important for them to avoid steps that might encourage the kind of sectarian splits that might lead to civil war. And you know, the one thing that I think is -- you know, has to be emphasized, we have deep differences with Iran across the board on a whole host of issues. Obviously what’s happened in Syria in part is the result of Iran coming in hot and heavy on one side. And you know, Iran obviously should consider the fact that if it is -- if its view of the region is solely through sectarian frames, they could find themselves fighting a whole lot of places. And that’s probably not good for the Iranian economy or the Iranian people over the long term either. I suspect there are folks in Iran who recognize that. You know, a Iraq in chaos on their borders is probably not in their interests. But old habits die hard. And you know, we’ll have to see whether they can take what I think would be a more promise path over the next several days. All right? Thank you very much, everybody.
|
Iraq;Barack Obama;ISIS,ISIL,Islamic State
|
ny0190197
|
[
"business",
"media"
] |
2009/05/07
|
Alloy Media to Make Its ‘Private’ Book Series Into Web Video
|
Alloy Entertainment has proved adept at turning its young-adult book series into successful movies and television shows. “Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants” was a 2005 Warner Brothers movie that spawned a 2008 sequel. “Gossip Girl” is in its second season on the CW network, and a spinoff is a possibility for the network’s fall schedule. An adaptation of “The Vampire Diaries” from Kevin Williamson, the creator of “Dawson’s Creek,” is also waiting in the wings at the network. With that track record, you might think the book-packaging company would stick to the tried and true. But Alloy — which was built on the practice of creating storylines for young girls and securing ownership of the pseudonyms under which the books are written, much as Nancy Drew’s originator, Stratemeyer Syndicate, did in the 1930s — is taking an unproven path. It is finding novel ways to package its latest brand expansion by cutting out the middleman and working directly with its advertisers and audience. The company is preparing to introduce a show based on “Private,” its New York Times best-selling series of mystery novels for teenage girls, set at a fictional Connecticut boarding school. In the past, Alloy has had to share expenses and profits from producing adaptations of its books, often with a division of Warner Brothers (Alloy has a first-look deal with Warner Brothers Television), but it will stream the “Private” Web series on its parent company Alloy Marketing and Media’s online video hub on Teen.com . Without the promotional muscle of a network behind it, Alloy is using the company’s holdings online and in schools to promote the series, which will be preceded by an online reality show on which real-life teenagers will compete for a role on the scripted drama. “It’s an opportunity to be closer to the audience and the advertiser,” said Leslie Morgenstein, president of Alloy Entertainment . Creative Artists Agency, which represents Alloy, won the sponsorship of four Johnson & Johnson brands: Neutrogena, Neutrogena Cosmetics, O.B. and Carefree — a practice normally done by a network — which will advertise and receive integrated product placement on both the reality and scripted series. “I think we’ve come up with very creative ways to provide bang for the buck for the brands,” Mr. Morgenstein said. For the scripted series, “it’s very important that it be subtle and not distract from the story,” said the director of “Private,” Dennie Gordon, who also directed the movie “What a Girl Wants.” The reality series will showcase sponsors in ways intended to resonate with the audience. One of the on-air challenges will be an audition for a commercial for one of the brands. “There you have it: the brand messaging is alive, but the kids are seeing an acting competition,” Mr. Morgenstein said. “That serves the audience and the brands.” The resulting commercial will be shown at the end of an episode and on Teen.com. “It is extremely targeted advertising,” said Jeff Sagansky, a former broadcast-network executive who is a founder of Electric Farm, which is producing online series like “Gemini Division.” “It is obviously the antithesis of broadcast,” he said. “This is much more targeted and yet it’s still mass. You can do 10, 20 million views of your creative and it also can be extremely cost-effective because you’re not only buying the impressions but you’re in many cases integrated right into the show.” Mr. Morgenstein said there were plans to promote “Private” across Alloy’s properties, including the in-school TV network Channel One, the teenage-oriented online clothing retailers Alloy and Delia’s, and a network of in-school billboards and advertising space, all of which are aimed at the show’s intended audience of girls 13 to 16, whose greatest goal, according to Mr. Morgenstein, is to be famous. “Popular? No thanks,” said Mr. Morgenstein, speaking about the aspirations of teenage girls. “I want to be famous.” Alloy is happy to oblige. Starting Thursday, fans can set up profiles on www.privatetheseries.com , download “Private” script excerpts and upload audition videos for consideration to be one of the three girls chosen to compete for a supporting role. Though users will get to see the auditions and vote for fan favorites, a yet-to-be-determined team of judges will decide who will be invited to Los Angeles. There, a week of auditioning will be chronicled in the reality series’ six episodes of four to six minutes each, which make their debut on July 21. “This is a skill and talent competition,” Ms. Gordon said. “They don’t have to eat bugs or bungee jump or risk getting voted off the island. They just have to be the best actress for the role.” And that actress needs to be gorgeous. The supporting role they’re seeking to fill is Kiran, a model who is one of Easton Academy’s Billings Girls, an elite sorority at the center of the mysteries in “Private.” “Sometimes finding the most beautiful girl who also has real acting chops is the biggest challenge,” Ms. Gordon said. “But I’ve been doing this long enough to know that she is out there.” The character’s name is similar to Kieran Scott, the real name of the woman who writes the “Private” novels under the Alloy-owned pseudonym Kate Brian. Alloy’s old-fashioned practice of owning the writer’s pen name has raised some eyebrows in the publishing industry, but Mr. Morgenstein said he was proud of the company’s process and its relationship with Ms. Scott, who “will be promoting the Web series.” The 20-episode series, being written by former writers of the “Ugly Betty” series, Veronica Becker and Sarah Kucserka, will begin in mid-August. It will cover the first four books (the 10th installment will be released this fall), giving the season a complete story arc: the protagonist Reed Brennan’s first year at Easton includes the murder of her boyfriend, her entry into the Billings Girls sorority and the resolution of the murder mystery. And every story has to be told in four to six minutes. “We think that is the optimum length to both tell a story and retain attention,” said Mr. Morgenstein.
|
Alloy Inc;Books and Literature;Television;Advertising and Marketing;Computers and the Internet;Private (Book)
|
ny0098820
|
[
"sports",
"hockey"
] |
2015/06/30
|
Hockey Hall of Fame Elections
|
Nicklas Lidstrom, a seven-time winner of the Norris Trophy as the N.H.L.’s top defenseman, led the seven-member class elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame. Lidstrom, who played his entire 20-season career with the Detroit Red Wings, was joined by his fellow N.H.L. players Sergei Fedorov, Chris Pronger and Phil Housley. Angela Ruggiero became the fourth woman inducted. Bill Hay, a former president of Hockey Canada and the Calgary Flames, and Peter Karmanos Jr., who won a Stanley Cup as owner and chief executive of the Carolina Hurricanes, were also elected. ■ The Los Angeles Kings terminated forward Mike Richards’s contract, saying he had committed a “material breach” of its terms. The Kings did not provide further details. Richards’s deal carries an annual salary cap hit of $5.75 million through 2020. (AP)
|
Ice hockey;Nicklas Lidstrom;Hockey Hall of Fame;Hall of fame;Red Wings
|
ny0082468
|
[
"business"
] |
2015/10/27
|
All You Can Fly, for a Monthly Subscription
|
Ben Lamm, chief executive of Chaotic Moon Studios, a software design company, wanted a shorter commute between the company’s headquarters in Austin, Tex., and its new office in Dallas. “I never had a good day,” he said of driving the roughly 200 miles that could take five hours with traffic and construction. Commercial flights had drawbacks with time to park and clear security. And on-time flights aren’t a certainty. Last summer, he started flying with a new service called Rise. It offers subscription memberships for $1,650 to $2,650 a month for unlimited scheduled travel among four Texas cities — Austin, Dallas, Houston and Midland. Rise does not, however, own a single plane. The flights are on eight-seat Beechcraft Air King 350 planes that Rise leases from charter companies. The planes have a Rise logo and depart from private aviation terminals. The company said passengers can arrive within minutes of departure. It provides free parking, Wi-Fi, snacks and the services of a concierge for help with connections. The traditional airline is going virtual. “This is the sharing economy with planes,” said Nick Kennedy, the chief executive of Rise. “We don’t sell seats on planes; we sell time to members.” As commercial flights become more cramped and delays increase, member-only air services are drawing the attention of wealthier business travelers. The membership model began in 2013 with the creation of Surf Air, an airline based in Santa Monica, Calif. It flies to California cities and has 2,100 members — up from 300 when it began. “We’ve grown solely on referrals,” said Jeff Potter, the chief. Unlike Rise, it owns or leases to buy a dozen Pilatus PC-12s, up from three planes two years ago. Memberships start at $1,750 a month for unlimited travel with a $1,000 initiation fee. Companies like Rise, along with Beacon, another new subscription service, have taken what they see as the next step in membership air service. “We’re a sales-and-service company,” said Wade Eyerly, chief executive and co-founder of Beacon, which flies between Westchester County Airport in White Plains, N.Y., and Logan International Airport in Boston. He has seen the evolution firsthand, as Surf Air’s co-founder and first chief executive. Beacon offers unlimited flights for $2,250 a month. “They don’t own airplanes, they don’t have pilots, they don’t perform maintenance and they don’t have an airline operating certificate,” said Robert Mann, an industry analyst and consultant. And that distinction, he said, makes these new entities marketing platforms — not carriers. Image Rise offers its members-only flights on Beechcraft Air King 350 plans that it leases from charter companies. Credit Brandon Thibodeaux for The New York Times Instead, the member-only clubs have contracts with aviation companies to provide flight operations. One Rise operator is Menagerie Enterprises, doing business as Monarch Air, a charter company based in Addison, Tex. Another is Gulf Coast Aviation, which offers aircraft management services, which is based in Houston. Beacon has a contract with Dynamic Aviation in Bridgewater, Va., a supplier of commercial planes, to maintain and operate a fleet of Beechcraft King Air 200 planes configured with six seats. To plan timetables, the start-ups are relying on an interpretation of a Federal Aviation Administration regulation that allows a commuter authorization for scheduled operations of five or more round trips in a week. For passengers, the focus is on saving time and money, not logistics. Paul Krasinski, a senior vice president for business development and strategy at SessionM, a Boston-based mobile loyalty program, travels to New York two to three times a month. Previously he flew on the US Airways Shuttle, booking a day or two before, buying tickets that ran $450 to $475 one-way for the 90-minute flight. A taxi from La Guardia Airport generally added 45 minutes to the trip. Now, with Beacon, he said, he saves an hour on each leg because he can arrive 15 minutes before departure, whereas Logan airport in Boston recommends two hours for commercial flights. He says he breaks even if he flies three round trips a month. And, he is home in the evenings to read to his two young sons. While the all-you-can-fly model is expanding, at least one expert doubts its long-term prospects. “I’m rather skeptical that this is a sustainable business model in its current form,” said Edward Clayton, a senior director with the consulting firm Strategy& (formerly Booz & Company), wrote by email. It would work well for passengers during the start-up phase, but as soon as a lot of people have signed up, they are going to run into problems with capacity at peak times,” Mr. Clayton said. The services are part of a battle that has erupted for the high-dollar frequent flier, analysts say. Some specialists predict it is only a matter of time before competition intrudes. “The major carriers can begin to market against it,” said Clayton R. Critcher, an assistant professor at the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley. And some have questions about safety and security. Mr. Mann, for one, is skeptical. “You don’t know what you are going to get,” he said. “You don’t have much opportunity to do due diligence.” Club executives say the planes are subject to Federal Aviation Administration regulations, cite the safety records of the aircraft they use and say that they make every effort to minimize risk. Rise and Beacon planes fly with two pilots in the cockpit, although that is not required based on the size of the planes. The aircraft operators used by Rise are evaluated and rated by Argus International, a Cincinnati company that provides information to the aviation industry. Monarch Air, for example, holds the company’s gold rating, Gulf Coast Aviation has a platinum one. Dynamic Aviation does not hold an Argus rating although the company doesn’t know whether it has ever sought one. About 510 Argus-rated operators worldwide pay $7,500 to $15,000 to complete the initial audit process, with additional fees for renewal. Mr. Kennedy said Rise had a multilayered security process that meets all federal regulations. The company performs background checks on passengers, although it is not required to do so because small planes of 12 seats or less are not considered commercial carriers and are not regulated by the Transportation Safety Administration. “Our pilots are trained and empowered to search passengers and luggage at any time,” Mr. Kennedy said. Beacon also conducts background checks. “It’s very much the same security protocol as if you owned the plane,” Mr. Eyerly said. “It’s designed to mirror that experience.” Passengers on private flights are not permitted to connect to regular commercial flights without clearing T.S.A. security. Mr. Lamm, the chief of Chaotic Moon Studios, said he was satisfied with his Rise membership. “They’ve never been late,” he said. “And dependability is just as important as time saving.”
|
Rise;Business travel;Texas;Private Aircraft;Travel,Tourism;Customer Loyalty Programs;Commuting;Airlines,airplanes
|
ny0031256
|
[
"sports",
"basketball"
] |
2013/06/01
|
N.B.A. Playoffs — Heat Find a Way Around Pacers’ Big Man
|
The third quarter of Indiana’s Game 5 loss to the Miami Heat was the culmination of every fear the Pacers had entering the Eastern Conference finals. In those 12 minutes LeBron James summoned his most dominant stretch of the series and his 16 points were more than the entire Pacers team could manage. The Heat also cranked up their defensive intensity and smothered the Pacers, who were nearly twice as likely to turn the ball over as make a basket in the period. “You take away that third, and we’re in the ballgame,” said Paul George, who rode a hot shooting night to a team-high 27 points . “We just can’t have flat quarters like that.” As has been the case for much of the series, the only things missing for the Heat in the third quarter — a period in which they outscored the Pacers, 30-13 — were Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. Their usually potent role players have struggled as well. Feeling the effects of age, Ray Allen has not been able to stay in front of the Pacers’ wings on defense, and Shane Battier, who was so important in last season’s playoff victory over the Pacers, is in a profound shooting slump. The Heat, nonetheless, turned a strong quarter into a decisive one with help from two unlikely sources: Mario Chalmers and Udonis Haslem. In the regular season, Haslem averaged fewer than 4 points a game, and he threw his first jump shot of the game right off the top of the backboard. But he recovered to score 10 in the third quarter on 5-for-5 shooting, including three jump shots from his pet location on the left short corner. Haslem credited his teammates for his accurate shooting. “I just get to my spot and let LeBron and D-Wade and Chris and whoever else create the triggers,” he said. “When it comes to me, it’s easy. Just shoot it.” Haslem is now an impressive 9 for 12 from his spot along the left baseline in the series, and his proficiency provides a counter to Pacers center Roy Hibbert’s defensive dominance. Typically, the majority of the Heat’s pick-and-rolls are conventional, with a guard or James handling the ball and a big man setting the screen. But unlocking Indiana’s stout defense requires some creativity, and the Heat have switched things up by pairing James with a point guard — in the third quarter it was Chalmers — in pick-and-rolls in the middle of the floor. In this alignment, the Heat spread Bosh and Haslem to the corners and yank Hibbert from his home under the rim. Image Miami's LeBron James shooting over Roy Hibbert during Game 5 on Thursday. Credit Joe Skipper/Reuters As big and smart as Hibbert is, he is not quick, and forcing him to choose between defending James in the middle of the court and leaving Haslem wide open stretched Indiana’s defense to the breaking point in the third quarter of Game 5. When Hibbert did recover to Haslem in time to prevent the shot, Haslem faked him into the air and then drove by for an emphatic slam. All three of Chalmers’s third-quarter assists were a result of pick-and-rolls with James. With Wade hindered by injury and unable to infiltrate the Pacers’ defense, the Heat have needed Chalmers’s fearless drives. During his career in Miami, Chalmers has developed a nuanced sense of tempo when driving to the rim off pick-and-rolls. His hesitations and feints when working with James keep Indiana’s big men off balance and his sneaky drives to the rim add much-needed dynamism to the Heat attack. Even with unexpected contributions, the Heat’s offense was still not as potent as it had been for much of the series. Rather, it was Miami’s defense and rebounding that ultimately sealed Game 5. Haslem was also instrumental in this regard, helping to slow Hibbert, who has tormented the Heat’s smaller front line with his strength and persistence on the offensive glass. “We talk about chopping down Hibbert’s legs,” said Haslem, who fronted Hibbert to prevent him from receiving the ball. “My job is just to stay on him. Stay connected, stay low.” Haslem understands the basketball paradox that when the biggest players on the court are fighting for position, usually the low man wins. Whereas the Heat big men had overaggressively left Hibbert to help teammates throughout the series, in Game 5 the Heat big men stayed home, and also received more help from their teammates. Hibbert noticed the difference. After converting 14 of his 26 offensive rebounds into buckets through the first four games, Hibbert did not score a single putback in Game 5. “I really saw a concerted effort to send two or three bodies to me when I went to the offensive glass,” he said. “I couldn’t create as many offensive putbacks as I wanted to.” Starved of those points, it is fair to wonder how the Pacers can keep up with the Heat. It is also worth wondering why the Heat have only sporadically applied this level of defensive focus and energy during the series. At times in the third quarter their sweltering traps and rotations were so effective the Heat appeared to have six players on the court. The depth and precision the Heat displayed in their third-quarter run was a perverse reflection of the Pacers’ sloppy play and dearth of bench contributors. The Pacers can hang with the Heat through brute strength and determination, but that quarter affirmed there is a level to which the Heat can ascend and the Pacers cannot follow. “We have to play perfect to beat this team,” Hibbert said. “It’s about effort.” The series has been a testament to the Pacers’ effort. Game 5 was what happens when the Heat match it.
|
Pacers;Miami Heat;Basketball;Roy Hibbert;LeBron James;Udonis Haslem
|
ny0070063
|
[
"world",
"europe"
] |
2015/03/03
|
Shooting of Boris Nemtsov Draws Comparisons to Death of Another Putin Foe
|
LONDON — The fatal shooting in Moscow last week of a Russian opposition leader, Boris Y. Nemtsov, has prompted comparisons with the 2006 poisoning of Alexander V. Litvinenko, another foe of President Vladimir V. Putin, who fled to Britain in 2000 and secured British citizenship weeks before he died of what was almost the perfect poisoning. On Monday, the 18th day of testimony in a public inquiry into Mr. Litvinenko’s death more than eight years ago, physicians gave a detailed chronology of Mr. Litvinenko’s inexorable decline, reinforcing previous assessments that the cause of his death may never have been discovered if it had not been for tests carried out at a top-secret British facility hours before he died. As Mr. Litvinenko lay dying, physicians struggled to come up with a diagnosis. His blood counts spiraled down, his hair came out in clumps and his bone marrow ceased to function. The symptoms, one specialist said, resembled those of a cancer patient battling the side-effects of chemotherapy and radiation. Some doctors thought the cause of Mr. Litvinenko’s illness was thallium poisoning, and treated him with an antidote called Prussian blue . But the patient’s heart weakened and his liver and kidneys stopped functioning. Only a day before Mr. Litvinenko died on Nov. 23, 2006, did scientists conclude that he was the victim of radiation poisoning caused by a large dose of polonium 210, an isotope manufactured mostly in Russia. “It’s a different way to kill a person,” Mr. Litvinenko’s widow, Marina, told the BBC last weekend, referring to Mr. Nemtsov’s death, perhaps at the hands of political opponents, “but a way to present that anybody who will try to say something against us will be killed.” Until shortly before his death, the diagnosis was that Mr. Litvinenko, 43, had been poisoned with thallium. But Mr. Litvinenko showed no sign of muscle weakness — a key indicator of thallium poisoning. “I was becoming convinced that it was not thallium poisoning, but didn’t know what it was,” said Dr. Amit Nathwani, a consultant at the University College Hospital in London where Mr. Litvinenko was transferred after initial treatment at Barnet in north London. As Mr. Litvinenko worsened, scientists at Porton Down, a British government research facility, were working on pinpointing the toxin from a sample of his urine. But it was only on the night before Mr. Litvinenko died, Dr. Nathwani said, that an expert from the facility called him and, for the first time, said polonium was a possibility. The identification of the isotope was critical since it enabled the police to follow what became known as the “polonium trail,” linking Mr. Litvinenko to two Russians accused of killing him, Andrei K. Lugovoi and Dmitri V. Kovtun, who both deny the charge. The British police say that Mr. Litvinenko was poisoned after drinking green tea laced with polonium at a bar in central London where he met Mr. Lugovoi, a former K.G.B. bodyguard, and Mr. Kovtun, a former Red Army soldier, on Nov. 1, 2006. The delay in discovering polonium resulted from a feature of the isotope itself. Polonium emits mainly alpha radiation while the Geiger counter used to check Mr. Litvinenko for radiation poisoning detected gamma radiation. Indeed, a report at the Barnet hospital on Nov. 15, 2006, said there were “no radioactive emissions” from him. Dr. Andres Virchis, a consultant who treated Mr. Litvinenko at Barnet, told the inquiry on Monday that there was no equipment there to detect alpha radiation. As physicians investigated the collapse of Mr. Litvinenko’s bone marrow, Dr. Nathwani said, “we were fishing for diagnoses.” But, he said, organ systems failed one after the other, because “polonium from the gut was being transferred to various parts of the body.” Asked by a lawyer for the inquiry, Robin Tam, if it was true “that there wasn’t in fact any treatment possible that could have saved” Mr. Litvinenko, Dr. Nathwani replied: “Correct.”
|
Poison;Dmitri V Kovtun;Alexander V Litvinenko;Andrei K Lugovoi;Boris Y Nemtsov;London
|
ny0280325
|
[
"world",
"middleeast"
] |
2016/10/19
|
Short-Term Cease-Fire in Yemen Appears Likely
|
BEIRUT, Lebanon — War-torn Yemen took a tenuous step toward a short-term cease-fire on Tuesday, as the rebels who control the country’s capital said they would hold their fire if a military coalition led by Saudi Arabia stopped its attacks and lifted its blockade of rebel-held territory. The statement by the rebels, known as the Houthis, was their first official reaction to a 72-hour cease-fire that the United Nations said was supposed to start on Wednesday. Secretary of State John Kerry, who has been working to find a political solution to the country’s 19-month-old conflict, welcomed the cease-fire announcement. Mr. Kerry noted in a statement that a “peaceful resolution of this conflict requires compromises and commitments by everyone.” “The United States,” he added, “alongside the international community, is ready to provide assistance and will continue to work with all parties to conclude a negotiated settlement that will bring a permanent and lasting end to the conflict.” In 2014, the Houthis seized Sana , the capital, sending the government into exile. Since then, they have been fighting against forces nominally loyal to the exiled president, Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi, who is backed by Saudi Arabia and its allies. In March 2015, a military coalition led by Saudi Arabia began a campaign of airstrikes aimed at dislodging the Houthis and restoring Mr. Hadi’s government. It has not worked. If it holds, the cease-fire could allow aid groups to reach civilians who have been cut off by the war, which has killed more than 10,000 people and pushed much of the country toward famine, according to the United Nations . The cease-fire is to begin at 11:59 p.m. local time on Wednesday and last for 72 hours. The United Nations’ special envoy to Yemen, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, said all sides had told him that they would abide by the cease-fire, which can be renewed. But past efforts to halt the fighting have not lasted, and talks on a political solution to the war collapsed in August.
|
Sana Yemen;Yemen;Houthis;UN;John Kerry;Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed;Civilian casualties;Saudi Arabia
|
ny0245554
|
[
"sports",
"basketball"
] |
2011/04/21
|
Celtics’ Rivers Is Hoping for Better Play From Bench
|
BOSTON — After only two games, Celtics Coach Doc Rivers would need a couple of legal pads to compile a to-do list for his players as the playoff series with the Knicks shifts to New York. Near the top of any such list would be the play of his bench. It has been borderline bearable in the two games, which the Celtics won. Rivers has tightened his rotation to nine players. Each game has gone down to the wire, and the Celtic starters have made the clutch plays at the end, be they big shots (Ray Allen in Game 1, Kevin Garnett in Game 2), steals (Garnett in Game 2) or questionable picks (Garnett in Game 1.) The bench, meanwhile, has accounted for 22 of the Celtics’ 183 points. Nenad Krstic, the center who came over in the Kendrick Perkins trade, has played eight minutes and has yet to score. In Game 2, the four reserves were a combined minus-32. Outside of playing the starters 48 minutes, which will not happen, Rivers has no other workable options. “You just keep playing them,” he said Wednesday at the Celtics’ practice facility in Waltham, Mass. “I don’t have any lotion or anything I can put on them. You just keep showing them what they can do. Show them what they’re not doing, then you show a lot of positives, to show that they can do it and how we do it. Then, you hope they just do it. “I’m going to play our bench whether they are playing well or not, because they will play well. They just have to. It’s only two games. They’ll come through.” The reserves have been Glen Davis, Delonte West, Jeff Green and Krstic. The Celtics had hoped that Troy Murphy, who averaged double figures in points and rebounds last season for Indiana, would round into form, but he hasn’t. Murphy has yet to appear in the series. Green, the key player in the Perkins trade in February, was seen as someone who could spell Paul Pierce and Allen in the short term and be a future building block. But he has struggled mightily with his role and game. Green is averaging fewer than 15 minutes a game and has scored 10 points in this series. Davis, who made a case as a candidate for sixth man of the year with his play during the season, has scored 6 points in 52 minutes, missing 8 of his 11 shots. “I think we have to do a better job of matching the intensity of the other team’s energy players,” Davis said. Complicating the issue is the uncertainty surrounding Shaquille O’Neal. He has not played in the series and has logged less than six minutes since Feb. 1. He has a right calf injury, and Rivers ruled O’Neal out of Game 3. A healthy O’Neal would allow Rivers to move Jermaine O’Neal to the second unit, which would, in theory, help the reserves’ defensive play. That was the Celtics’ intention when the Perkins trade was made. No one anticipated Shaquille O’Neal missing so many games. Jermaine O’Neal has started the first two games. He was a force in Game 1 and a cipher in Game 2. Krstic was a starter in Oklahoma City (47 games) and started 20 of 24 games he played for the Celtics in the regular season. But he has hardly been seen in the playoffs, playing three minutes in Game 2. “We’ll get something out of Nenad and maybe he’ll play in the third or fourth quarter of a game,” Rivers said. “Again, obviously, you shorten the rotations in the playoffs. And I think you’d rather have Kevin on the floor in that group. I would, too. “That’s why it’s a team game. Sometimes your bench plays well and your starters don’t. It’s never going to be perfect, we know that. There will be a game in this series where a couple of our starters won’t play well and somebody on our bench will step up. It’s just the nature of the beast.”
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Doc Rivers;Basketball;Kevin Garnett;Ray Allen
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ny0132746
|
[
"sports",
"ncaafootball"
] |
2012/12/23
|
A Repeat in New Orleans
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Terrance Broadway passed for 316 yards and ran for 108, helping Louisiana-Lafayette repeat as winners of the New Orleans Bowl with a 43-34 win over East Carolina. The Ragin’ Cajuns (9-4) squandered a big lead before moving back in front of East Carolina (8-5) on Broadway’s scoring pass to Javone Lawson in the third quarter. ¶ Syracuse linebacker Marquis Spruill will not play “a significant portion” of the Pinstripe Bowl on Dec. 29 against West Virginia after he and running back Steve Rene were arrested on Dec. 2. Spruill and Rene were charged with misdemeanors involving a scuffle with the Syracuse police. Coach Doug Marrone said Rene, who is injured, will be benched for a part of the next game he is ready to play.
|
Football (College);University of Louisiana at Lafayette;East Carolina University;Bowl Games
|
ny0036501
|
[
"business",
"media"
] |
2014/03/26
|
Surging Rents Force Booksellers From Manhattan
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When Sarah McNally, the owner of McNally Jackson bookstore in Lower Manhattan, set out to open a second location, she went to a neighborhood with a sterling literary reputation, the home turf of writers from Edgar Allan Poe to Nora Ephron: the Upper West Side. She was stopped by the skyscraper-high rents. “They were unsustainable,” Ms. McNally said. “Small spaces for $40,000 or more each month. It was so disheartening.” Rising rents in Manhattan have forced out many retailers, from pizza joints to flower shops. But the rapidly escalating cost of doing business there is also driving out bookstores, threatening the city’s sense of self as the center of the literary universe, the home of the publishing industry and a place that lures and nurtures authors and avid readers. “Sometimes I feel as if I’m working in a field that’s disappearing right under my feet,” said the biographer and historian Robert Caro, who is a lifelong New Yorker. The Rizzoli Bookstore was recently told that it would be forced to leave its grand space on 57th Street because the owners decided that the building would be demolished. The Bank Street Bookstore in Morningside Heights announced in December that it would not renew its lease when it expires in February 2015, saying that it had lost money for the last decade. Both stores are scrambling to find new locations. Image Customers browsing at McNally Jackson bookstore. Credit Tina Fineberg for The New York Times Independents like Coliseum Books, Shakespeare and Company on the Upper West Side, Endicott Booksellers and Murder Ink have all closed their doors. In the past, those smaller stores were pushed out by superstores — a trend memorably depicted in the 1998 film “You’ve Got Mail” — leaving book lovers worried that someday, Manhattan would be dominated by chain bookstores. But now the chain stores are shutting down, too. Since 2007, five Barnes & Noble stores throughout Manhattan have closed, including its former flagship store on Fifth Avenue and 18th Street, which was shuttered in January. Five Borders stores in Manhattan were closed in 2011 when the chain went bankrupt, vacating huge spaces on Park Avenue, near Penn Station and in the Shops at Columbus Circle. State data reveals that from 2000 to 2012, the number of bookstores in Manhattan fell almost 30 percent, to 106 stores from 150. Jobs, naturally, have suffered as well: Annual employment in bookstores has decreased 46 percent during that period, according to the state’s Department of Labor. The American Booksellers Association, a trade group for independents, has 39 member stores in Manhattan, a number that includes museum shops and Hudson News locations in Penn Station, where magazines and bottled water are displayed far more prominently than books. (Some independent bookstores have found it easier to survive in Brooklyn, the borough already teeming with writers like Jennifer Egan and Martin Amis.) The closings have alarmed preservationists, publishers and authors, who said the fading away of bookstores amounted to a crisis that called for intervention from the newly minted mayor of New York City, Bill de Blasio, who has vowed to offer greater support to small businesses. Mr. Caro said in an interview that he is heartbroken by the loss of bookstores from Manhattan, calling it “a profoundly significant and depressing indication of where our culture is.” Image The interior of Rizzoli bookstore on West 57th Street in Manhattan. Credit Chester Higgins Jr./The New York Times “How can Manhattan be a cultural or literary center of the world when the number of bookstores has become so insignificant?” he asked. “You really say, has nobody in city government ever considered this and what can be done about it?” With the closing of several Barnes & Noble and Borders stores, it is difficult to shop for new books in Midtown, the same neighborhood that houses Hachette Book Group, HarperCollins, Simon & Schuster and much of Penguin Random House. “There are some great bookstores, but there aren’t a lot of them,” said Michael Pietsch, the chief executive of Hachette. “Compared to other cities, New York is no longer a bookstore city.” There are still six Barnes & Nobles remaining in Manhattan, but with the company closing roughly 20 stores each year nationwide, some people in the industry have urged publishers to step in. Whispers that publishers will re-enter the brick-and-mortar business — harking back to the days when the storied names Doubleday and Scribner graced bookstores on Fifth Avenue — have intensified in recent months. Some publishing insiders have speculated that Penguin Random House, by far the largest trade publisher in the world, will expand into retail to fill the void left by Barnes & Noble, which has struggled to find its footing, and compete with Amazon. “You just have to walk down Fifth Avenue to see what New York has become — it’s become an outlet mall for rich people,” said Esther Newberg, a literary agent, adding that she had just received an email from a Random House editor noting that the company was able to print books quickly because it owns its own printing plant. “Why don’t they own their own bookstore?” Despite the difficult conditions, some stores appear to be thriving. Posman Books, a small independent chain, opened a new outpost in Rockefeller Center in 2011. And just as many writers have fled to Brooklyn or Queens in search of more affordable housing, some bookstore owners have followed. Greenlight Bookstore in Fort Greene opened in 2009 to robust business and year-over-year increases in sales. Image Sarah McNally, the owner of McNally Jackson bookstore. Credit Deidre Schoo for The New York Times In December, Christine Onorati, the co-owner of Word bookstore in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, opened a second store in Jersey City. Ms. Onorati said she never looked seriously at Manhattan because the rents were so unaffordable. Even with lower rents in Jersey City, she opened a cafe within the bookstore that serves pastries and Stumptown coffee as an additional source of revenue, something she had previously vowed she would never do. She said she was concerned that bookstores in high-rent areas like Manhattan would shift their merchandise away from more accessibly priced paperbacks toward more expensive items with wider profit margins. “My worry is that to make these rents, people are going to have to make the bookstore a place where only wealthy people can be,” she said. “The higher and higher these rents go, do you have to bring in these expensive leather journals and art books that only rich people can buy?” David Rosenthal, the president and publisher of Blue Rider Press, an imprint of Penguin Random House, predicted that stores like Urban Outfitters and Anthropologie would become more important in the publishing ecosystem as stand-alone bookstores decrease. “The serendipity of hanging out in a bookstore is just diminishing,” Mr. Rosenthal said. “We’ll become more dependent on stores that are not primarily bookstores, but have some degrees of books. It’s better than nothing.” After spending years scouring Manhattan for a second location, Ms. McNally of McNally Jackson abandoned her search. At the urging of a former employee, she began looking in Brooklyn and settled on Williamsburg, where she found a “magnificent,” loftlike space with a 20-foot ceiling. The store will open this fall. “I started walking around Williamsburg and I fell in love with the neighborhood,” she said. “I have not figured out a way to make it happen in Manhattan. And I wanted to.”
|
Books;Manhattan;Publishing;NYC;Rent;Commercial Real Estate
|
ny0252102
|
[
"business"
] |
2011/11/18
|
Low Expectations for Debt Deal, but Fears Remain
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Expectations that the special Congressional committee will strike a deal on debt reduction by Wednesday’s deadline could not be much lower. The committee’s own members have played down the odds. Stock prices may already reflect the likelihood of a punt. And one of the major ratings agencies has said the lack of an agreement, by itself, will not result in a downgrade of government debt. But that does not mean failure will be met with a shrug. At stake is not simply the country’s fiscal health, but also what remains of the government’s credibility. Without an agreement in sight, investors, business leaders and consumers, already worried about the deepening crisis in Europe, have begun to brace for the possibility of yet another blow to a fragile recovery, this time from Washington. “The decision of the supercommittee goes beyond just the budget. It’s become a symbol now of the ability of our elected representatives to get something done,” said Frank Newport, the editor in chief of Gallup, which tracks public opinion of politics and the economy. “And if the supercommittee fails, I think the reaction of the public, based on the data, will be even more negative, not just about the government but their confidence in the economy in general.” As if to underscore this point, the committee’s deadline arrives in perfect alignment with the holiday shopping season. Consumer confidence, which collapsed under the threat of a government default this summer, has just begun to convalesce. Business leaders have grown increasingly pessimistic since the summer, with many chief executives pleading for bold action to lower the deficit. The debt woes now infecting even the larger economies in Europe should serve as a wake-up call in the United States, James Bullard, president of the St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank, said on Thursday. Despite those warnings, the special committee has been unable to make much progress. If it fails, $1.2 trillion in cuts will begin to take effect. That outcome was built into the law in the summer, after the debate over raising the debt ceiling brought the country uncomfortably close to default, and was meant to pressure the committee into a resolution. Lately, there has been talk of a possible two-step solution that merely sets goals for revenue and spending and leaves the details to be worked out later. Pessimism is running so high, and public approval of Congress is so low, it is not clear that such an outcome would be perceived as a success. “They’re going to agree on anything just to pacify everything for the next six months or a year,” said Tim Scott, 56, who owns a construction company in Washington State. “All they’re doing is putting a Band-Aid on everything.” Mr. Scott said he had bought land for a new house but had put off building until the economy’s direction became clear. A weak agreement could send the wrong signal to skittish investors. “That would introduce uncertainty, and demonstrate the inability of Congress to make decisions,” said Zane E. Brown, the fixed-income strategist at asset management firm Lord Abbett. “That supports S.& P.’s contention behind why they downgraded us in the first place and perhaps justifies in their minds an additional downgrade. That is a risk few investors are anticipating.” In August, Standard & Poor’s, the ratings agency, cited political brinksmanship in Washington when it downgraded the country from AAA, the agency’s top credit rating. While few analysts actually expect more reductions in the credit rating of the United States, the agencies have left open that possibility. In mid-September, S.& P. warned of a one-in-three chance that the rating would be cut again within the next two years. The agency has said it will be watching the committee’s deliberations. Moody’s confirmed the top rating for American government debt over the summer but with a negative outlook. Even if the committee does not reach an agreement, Moody’s said it would probably not lead to a downgrade if the automatic spending cuts went into effect. Some Republicans, though, have promised to prevent the cuts if no agreement is reached. In polls, Americans have said over and over that they prefer a compromise solution with spending cuts and tax increases, and there is an entrenched perception that politicians will not come together to solve voters’ problems. “For about two weeks after 9/11 there was so much cooperation in Washington you couldn’t believe it, it was stunning,” said Gail Judy, 76, of Concord, N.C. “Do we have to have another 9/11?” Though the stakes are less acute than they were this summer, when Americans feared an outright default, some analysts said they worried that failure would damp holiday spending. “This year, the government could steal Christmas on us, if consumers hear on the 23rd of November that the super committee didn’t come up with something,” said Marshal Cohen, the chief retail analyst at the NPD Group. “It is going to wreak havoc at the worst possible time for the retailer.” Treasury bond yields actually fell after the S.& P. downgrade, as investors fled the euro zone in search 0f safer places to put their money. Mr. Brown said another downgrade would cause those same investors to curb their purchases of American bonds, pushing yields higher and driving up the cost of borrowing. The one event that could still make Treasuries attractive, Mr. Brown said, would be a downgrade of France by the rating agencies. “The implications of how broadly that would affect all countries in Europe would overwhelm the impact of whatever comes out of the super committee,” he said. Low expectations do leave plenty of room for triumph, though. Americans are already feeling so rotten about the economy that the potential upside of a successful negotiation might be greater than the downside of failure. “I think basically, all the politicians decided that we have to do something to redeem ourselves here a little bit,” said David F. Gordon, a political risk consultant at Eurasia Group, a political consulting firm. “I think they do realize what’s at stake, and that’s one reason why we remain optimistic that we will get there.” Ken Perkins, the president of Retail Metrics, a research firm, said failure to reach a deal would produce only marginally negative effects on consumer spending, which has continued to grow despite low confidence. But success — the spectacle of the federal government functioning as it is supposed to — could result in a small boost, he said. Tony Robinson, 52, a vocational rehabilitation coordinator in Knoxville, Tenn., said the committee’s mandate of $1.2 trillion in cuts over 10 years was too modest and that a deal was unlikely. Still, he said, success might turn Congress in a new direction. “It would be quite a surprise, and it would make me feel good,” he said. “In itself, it’s a drop in the bucket. But one compromise can lead to another.”
|
Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction;United States Politics and Government;United States Economy;National Debt (US);House of Representatives;Senate;Shopping and Retail;Federal Budget (US)
|
ny0001371
|
[
"business"
] |
2013/03/26
|
In the Air With the Chief of Numi Organic Teas
|
SINCE I’m in charge of international sales and product development at Numi Organic Tea , my business travel can be crazy. I may not have to leave California, our headquarters, for a few weeks, and then I may be gone for four or five weeks visiting farms overseas, or looking for new business opportunities or potential partners. Much of my travel can be dictated by growing seasons. Traveling is always a beautiful journey, and I love observing cultures, and how they express their ways of life. I try to keep that attitude when I’m flying for business. One of the precious things of traveling is connecting with nature and the people who work the land. I’ve had moments that I will relish for the rest of my life. I really do try to keep that attitude. Otherwise, I’d love to be home in Oakland, Calif., since there’s always so much to do there. I mean, really, Oakland is great. You never have to leave that town. But I’d miss out on so much. I’ve always had an interest in photography. For the past three years, I’ve taken thousands of photographs of the earth from the windows of airplanes. The photos are like abstract pieces of art. Nature has no straight lines, which is a great juxtaposition against the hard lines of our modern architecture and, I suppose, our lives. I’m not a nervous flier. But last year, I was on a flight that was trying to take off from a small village in the Amazon of Ecuador. I’ll admit it. I got nervous. Image Ahmed Rahim, left, co-founder and chief executive of Numi Organic Teas, touring a fair trade farm in Egypt. Credit Numi Organic Tea The airport consisted of a long dirt runway. All the flights scheduled that day were canceled because of heavy rains. Eventually the rain stopped for a couple of hours and a six-seater landed. The plan was for me to get on this plane, but first it had to be loaded with food stuffs and other goods that were going to another village. The runway was short and ended in the rain forest, so if the plane couldn’t lift its nose because of the heavy load and soaked earth, we’d end up in the middle of the jungle. I got more nervous when I and the few other passengers heard the pilot praying. The plane got to the end of the runway. It was going pretty fast, but its weight and the dampness were making flight near impossible. But we’d gone past the point of no return, so the pilot went full throttle. If I didn’t know better, the rain forest monkeys and birds were pushing us up. It was frightening beyond belief as we went deeper into the thick, gray clouds, not sure we were going to clear the forest. All I could think of was what it would be like to crash into the jungle. I didn’t like the thought. By the time we landed safely an hour later, I truly felt blessed to be in one piece. I really love traveling overseas. You never know what you’ll find. One of my best business travel memories was a trip to China when I discovered a source for organic pu-erh, an ancient healing tea picked from 500-year-old wild tea trees in the mountains of Yunnan, China. While I was there, a devastating earthquake hit China, making travel difficult. But I discovered this pristine tea garden lovingly tended for generations by the local citizens. It was an incredible find, and from that trip the company now can offer pu-erh teas in the United States market that are organic and fair labor. But traveling with loose tea or pu-erh bricks does alert security. More than once, the agents asked jokingly, I hope, if you can smoke the stuff. The answer is no.
|
Airlines,airplanes;Business travel;Numi;Ahmed Rahim
|
ny0083814
|
[
"sports",
"football"
] |
2015/10/31
|
In Suit, Pierre Garcon Says FanDuel Is Using His Name Without Permission
|
Washington Redskins wide receiver Pierre Garcon filed a class-action lawsuit against the popular daily fantasy sports website FanDuel on Friday, accusing it of profiting off his name and likeness without permission. The lawsuit filed in federal court in Maryland, where the Redskins play their home games, is the latest legal challenge to the lucrative daily fantasy industry, which has attracted scrutiny since a multimillion-dollar advertising blitz at the start of the N.F.L. season. Garcon’s suit said FanDuel has repeatedly used his name and likeness in its television ads and on its website without his consent. Garcon said that he and other players should be compensated by FanDuel for the use of their names, which he says has driven up revenue for the company. Garcon said in a statement that he was bringing the lawsuit “on behalf of myself as well as any other players who are being treated unjustly.” The lawsuit said that Garcon’s name appeared frequently in FanDuel commercials, including a 28-minute infomercial in which his name is seen 53 times. “We believe this suit is without merit,” FanDuel said in a statement. “There is established law that fantasy operators may use player names and statistics for fantasy contests.” Members of Congress have called for hearings into the daily fantasy sports industry, and FanDuel and its chief rival, DraftKings, have attracted the attention of regulators in several states. Revelations that employees of the two companies often played on competing sites have raised questions about possible insider information being used to win. FanDuel has a marketing partnership with the Redskins, who have a “FanDuel lounge” at their home stadium, FedEx Field in Landover, Md. DraftKings has a partnership with the N.F.L. players’ union that allows it to use player names and likenesses. LINEMAN SAID TO MAKE THREATS The former Chicago Bears defensive lineman Jeremiah Ratliff threatened team employees and said he “felt like killing everybody in the building” the day before he was cut, according to a police report released Friday. The police in Lake Forest, Ill., said in the report, which was dated Oct. 21, that Ratliff also said “I am the devil” and that he wished staff members’ children would die. It said an officer responded to Halas Hall, the Bears’ headquarters, because of a report that Ratliff was “very angry and irrational.” He was seen that day having an animated discussion with General Manager Ryan Pace in the parking lot outside Halas Hall. The Bears cut Ratliff on Oct. 22, the day after the episode. Coach John Fox was asked Friday how much of a threat he felt. “As I commented early in the week, we were concerned for the building, and that’s why the police were called,” Fox said. Fox said that there had been no previous incidents with Ratliff and that he did not know why Ratliff was so upset. The person who called the police said that there was “concern for the safety of staff on the property” and that it was believed Ratliff “owns multiple firearms.” MARIOTA TO MISS TEXANS GAME Quarterback Marcus Mariota will miss a second straight game Sunday because of a knee injury, the Tennessee Titans said. Zach Mettenberger will start at Houston. Mariota, who sprained the medial collateral ligament in his left knee Oct. 17 against the Miami Dolphins, may return to action on Nov. 8 when the Titans play at New Orleans. 49ERS’ HYDE SIDELINED San Francisco 49ers running back Carlos Hyde has been ruled out of Sunday’s game at the St. Louis Rams because of an injured left foot. Hyde is the ninth-leading rusher in the N.F.L. with 470 yards on 115 carries. He also has three touchdowns. DOLPHINS LOSE WAKE Miami Dolphins defensive end Cameron Wake has a torn left Achilles’ tendon that will end his season. Wake was hurt in Thursday’s loss at New England, and it is possible that Wake, a four-time Pro Bowl end, has played his final game for Miami. Wake has a cap number of $9.8 million in 2016, and Miami could save $8.4 million in cap space by cutting him.
|
Football;Pierre Garcon;FanDuel.com;Fantasy sport;Gambling;advertising,marketing;DraftKings;Redskins
|
ny0238431
|
[
"sports",
"rugby"
] |
2010/06/14
|
Even With a World Cup Backdrop, Rugby Is Making Noise of Its Own
|
CAPE TOWN — However difficult to believe after the opening days of the World Cup finals, there are at least two places in South Africa where the drone of the vuvuzela cannot be heard. The long horns — already the symbol and soundtrack of this soccer extravaganza — are banned from use on domestic airlines. They are also banned from Newlands Stadium, Cape Town’s rugby temple, which explains why a security guard at one of the stadium gates on Saturday had a plastic bag stuffed with confiscated vuvuzelas by the time South Africa’s Springboks had commenced their methodical, often spectacular, destruction of France. World Cup fever has its limits, but plenty of noise could still be heard inside Newlands. There were roars of slightly surprised delight from the Springbok fans as their team stormed to two tries in the opening eight minutes. There were collective gasps that resonated more like collective winces after particularly thunderous hits. There was even, near the end, a tremor of polite, perhaps condescending applause as the French scored a late try of their own that did nothing to alter the fact that this was a blowout. Final score: 42-17. While South Africa’s soccer team remains a big underdog in the World Cup and would be delighted simply to reach the second round, the rugby union team has already won its World Cup at home. The Springboks did it in 1995, with the newly elected president Nelson Mandela urging and cheering them on despite their linkage with the apartheid era and the white regime that had imprisoned him for 27 years. Mandela’s well-timed teaching moment has since been mined for books and last year’s Clint Eastwood film, “Invictus.” The national euphoria and improbable optimism of 1995 have been tempered by challenges and disappointments, both small and large. But 15 years later, the Springboks remain the green-and-gold standard of sporting excellence in post-apartheid South Africa and a particularly big draw here in Cape Town, which, with its large white population, has long been a rugby stronghold. “It is more of a rugby town, Cape Town, it always has been,” said Peter Raubenheimer, a 40-year-old physician from Cape Town who was at Newlands on Saturday. “I think soccer is growing among schools, but traditionally, soccer has never been a major school sport. It’s always been rugby. “ The Springboks won another World Cup in 2007 in France and, in light of recent achievements, look like the favorite to win next year in New Zealand, too. It is a sign of rugby’s stature here that soccer’s governing body, FIFA, agreed to let the game Saturday be played in South Africa during this World Cup window, which is normally a no-fly zone for other international sports matches. This one came on a rest day from the soccer in Cape Town, and the Springboks managed to drew a near-capacity crowd. But they started earlier than usual (2 p.m.) to avoid conflicting with the Nigeria-Argentina game on television, and for the next month, the Springboks’ game will be thoroughly overshadowed by the much more global one that has long associated with black culture in South Africa. “Because of the perception that soccer in this country is more the black sport, I think this World Cup can only do the country good, not just short term but long term as well,” said Marc Wilson, a 36-year-old operations manager for a telecommunications company in Cape Town. “Even in the buildup to the World Cup, people from all backgrounds were getting together and just celebrating the fact we are actually hosting the World Cup as an African nation.” Wilson was at Newlands on Saturday and plans to see England play Algeria in the World Cup next week at the new stadium at Green Point. But not all rugby fans have crossover interest. “I don’t know anything about soccer,” said Martin Lotz, an 18-year-old from Somerset West near Cape Town, who attended Saturday’s game. “I’ve grown up Afrikaans, so I just prefer rugby to soccer. My family is a rugby family.” Judging from the crowd on Saturday, rugby’s core public remains predominantly, if not exclusively, white. But by design and with some governmental pressure, the makeup of the Springboks continues to change, albeit slowly. On Saturday, the team looked rather more like the rainbow nation South Africa is instead of simply representing it. The coach, Peter de Villiers, in place since 2008, is the first nonwhite coach in Springbok history, and two of the players who had the biggest influence against the French — the established star Bryan Habana and the new winger Gio Aplon — are also nonwhite. The national youth teams are more diverse still. “There is definitely more diversity among the players,” said Anton Gaylard, a 40-year-old executive with an information technology company in Cape Town. “It just seems to be that we are more passionate about rugby, so there are still a lot more white players playing rugby than blacks. But it’s coming and everyone is enjoying it, and the nice thing is that everybody enjoys it together.” That is truer after last month, when the southern hemisphere’s premier club competition, the Super 14, staged a semifinal and the final in the former black township of Soweto. They were played in Orlando Stadium, the long-time hub of soccer in the black community, because the Bulls, a rugby team from Pretoria, chose to play in Soweto while their regular stadium was being renovated for the World Cup. “The significance of the occasion is not lost on us,” Bulls coach Frans Ludeke said to South African reporters. Nor was it lost on rugby fans who made the unexpected trek to Soweto. “It was an eye opener for me, being a Capetonian,” Wilson said. “It was the first time I had been to Soweto, and I will definitely be going back. I saw a lot of rugby supporters going into the communities there and enjoying that communal kind of lifestyle and embracing it.” That game in Soweto was also unusual in another respect. Vuvuzelas were permitted inside the stadium for a big rugby match. “I think after the World Cup they will start creeping in elsewhere,” Gaylard said. The airlines may soon be the last refuge.
|
Rugby (Game);South Africa;Mandela Nelson
|
ny0293451
|
[
"sports",
"basketball"
] |
2016/06/19
|
As Warriors Prepare for Game 7 Pressure, LeBron James Says He Doesn’t Feel Any
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OAKLAND, Calif. — Steve Kerr, the coach of the Golden State Warriors, told his players that they ought to feel pressure. How could they not ahead of Game 7 of the N.B.A. finals on Sunday night at Oracle Arena, with a chance to cement their place as one of the league’s forever teams against a fearsome opponent like the Cleveland Cavaliers? “Of course they’re going to feel pressure,” Kerr said. “Of course there’s going to be some anxiety. But how lucky are we to feel that pressure? You could play on a lottery team your whole career and just make a bunch of money and go watch the playoffs every year.” Instead, the Warriors and the Cavaliers will put it all out there for the final time this season. As the Cavaliers’ LeBron James has said more than once as the series has unfolded, Game 7 has meant something special and rarely attained. The spotlight can be searing — for some people. Not everyone. Not James. “Listen,” James said, “at the end of the day, I go out every single night and give everything I’ve got to the game. The game has always given back to me. So I’m O.K. with whatever.” James has been an indomitable force in the series. He leads all players in points (181), assists (51), steals (16) and blocked shots (13), and he is tied with his teammate Tristan Thompson for the most rebounds (68). James is shooting 51.4 percent from the field and 40 percent from 3-point range. He has scored 41 points in each of the last two games, both wins for Cleveland. In the process, James has twice coaxed the Cavaliers away from the ledge of elimination — a remarkable feat given the stakes and Golden State’s dominance up to this point. The Warriors went the entire regular season without losing consecutive games, and they have never lost three straight games under Kerr in his two seasons as coach. That is what is required of the Cavaliers now: three straight to close out the finals and claim their first championship in franchise history. No team has ever come back to win the title after trailing in the finals by three games to one. The Cavaliers would be the first. James has already done a lot of fancy stuff in his career — he won two championships with the Miami Heat. But this, he said, would be the pinnacle. “I came back for a reason,” James said, “and that is to bring a championship to the city of Cleveland, to northeast Ohio and all of Ohio and all Cavaliers fans in the world.” It has, to some extent, become a series of attrition. The Warriors lost Andrew Bogut, their starting center, for the remainder of the series when he injured his knee in Game 5 . There was more carnage in the Cavaliers’ Game 6 win . The Warriors’ Andre Iguodala tweaked his back in the first half, and the Cavaliers’ Kyrie Irving injured his left foot in the second half. Each player is important to his team’s title hopes — Iguodala defends James, and Irving pushes the pace. Both assured reporters that they would be fine for Game 7. “I’m breathing,” said Iguodala, who sat out Saturday’s practice to receive medical treatment. “Everybody’s banged up a little bit.” James, who is making his seventh appearance in the finals, performed well in his only previous finals Game 7. In that game, on June 20, 2013, he scored a game-high 37 points and shot 12 of 23 from the field as the Heat defeated the San Antonio Spurs, 95-88. “I remember pretty much everything about the game,” James said. The Warriors are no strangers to adversity, either. In the Western Conference finals, they rebounded from a 3-1 series deficit against the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Cavaliers have presented another set of challenges. The Warriors’ Stephen Curry, who lost his composure when he fouled out of Game 6 , said he dreamed of Game 7s as a child. “I need to play my best game of the year, if not my career, because of what the stakes are,” he said. “That doesn’t mean scoring 50 points, though. That means controlling the tempo of the game. When I need to be aggressive — well, I need to be aggressive. But when I need to push the envelope, do it, but do it under control.” There have been 18 Game 7s in the history of the N.B.A. finals, and the home team has won 15 of them. The last time a visiting team clinched a title in a Game 7 was in 1978, when the Washington Bullets defeated the Seattle SuperSonics, 105-99. The home team has won six straight Game 7s. “The word everyone likes to use in sports is ‘pressure,’” James said. “I don’t really get involved in it. But I guess in layman’s terms, it’s pressure. I think it’s an opportunity to do something special.”
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Basketball;NBA Championship;LeBron James;Golden State Warriors;Cavaliers
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ny0037518
|
[
"world",
"europe"
] |
2014/03/23
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Russian Forces Take Over One of the Last Ukrainian Bases in Crimea
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BELBEK, Crimea — Russian forces pushed Saturday to complete their expulsion of the Ukrainian military from the disputed Crimean Peninsula, smashing through the gates of a base here with armored vehicles, firing weapons into the air and demanding that the cornered Ukrainian soldiers surrender. The operation to seize the base — one of the Ukrainian military’s last strongholds on the peninsula — was larger and more dramatic than at other installations where Ukrainian forces have capitulated steadily in recent days as Russia declared its formal annexation of the region. By evening, Russian forces were fully in control of the base here, and most of the Ukrainian troops were dispatched to their barracks and homes to pack. The takeover came as Russia seemed to try to assure the West that its incursion into Ukraine would not expand beyond Crimea. The Kremlin agreed to allow a team of international monitors to work elsewhere in Ukraine. Fears of a further invasion had increased on Friday as Russian troops massed along Ukraine’s eastern border, and the United States issued a stern warning in response. The first civilian observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, a group that includes Russia, were expected to arrive by Saturday night, according to a spokeswoman. The agreement established the monitoring mission for six months, saying it could grow to 500 members if needed. While mostly welcomed by the West, the agreement to send monitors pointedly excluded Crimea, drawing condemnation from some countries. Image Russian troops on Saturday prepared to assault a Ukrainian military compound in Belbek, in Crimea. Credit Mauricio Lima for The New York Times A statement from Russia said that excluding Crimea “reflects the new political-legal realities” because it has “become part of Russia.” Germany, however, moved swiftly to dispel the idea that the exclusion of Crimea constituted any recognition of the peninsula’s annexation. “The O.S.C.E. is expressly not casting into doubt the territorial integrity of Ukraine,” a government spokesman said, according to Reuters. The military operations on Saturday — including the reported takeover of another base at Novofyodorovka — seemed to add an exclamation mark to Russia’s stance that the facts were settled, as its forces and loosely organized local militias moved to finish the ousting of Ukrainian military personnel from Crimea. The Kremlin has invited Ukrainian service members, who once numbered in the thousands, to join the Russian military with no change in rank and potentially increased pay, but many have declined. The pace of surrender by Ukrainian forces had begun accelerating on Wednesday, after the Defense Ministry in Kiev said it had drawn up plans to evacuate its military personnel, effectively yielding to the reality of the Russian occupation that began late last month. Belbek, where Ukrainian troops had held their ground against threats earlier in the Russian occupation, was something of a holdout. In interviews before the takeover Saturday, soldiers expressed frustration with the lack of help from the their government in Kiev. Some troops said they were defending the base as a matter of honor, having sworn to serve the people and government of Ukraine. Video Russian troops broke an overhead camera as they forced their way into a Ukrainian base in Crimea. Credit Credit Vasily Fedosenko/Reuters “I took an oath,” said one commander, adding that he felt no personal antipathy toward Russia or Russians. The sense of abandonment was echoed at other bases where soldiers and marines began to pack up their belongings last week, accepting that their cause was lost. “It’s not just a gap between us, it’s a gulf,” said Lyudmila, an officer at a base in Yevpatoriya, who declined to give her surname. “They don’t value our patriotism. They have done nothing to protect us, they only talk.” Even amid the withdrawals last week, communication between the military here in Crimea and superiors in Kiev seemed strained. The head spokesman for the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense in Crimea, Vladislav Seleznev, was left reporting developments to Kiev through his personal Facebook page. At Belbek on Saturday, tensions rose throughout the day after Russian forces issued an ultimatum, warning of an attack if the Ukrainians did not relinquish control. In the streets outside the base, scores of armed local militiamen, many wearing masks, gathered to support the siege. After scattered verbal exchanges between the Ukrainians and the Russian soldiers gathered outside the base’s black iron fence, the Russian mobilization began at about 5 p.m. One armored vehicle smashed through the main gate, while a second broke through a cement wall a short distance away. Image Relatives of Ukrainian soldiers during the seizure of another base in Novofyodorovka. Credit Max Vetrov/Associated Press There were sporadic bursts of gunfire, and several loud bangs from smoke grenades. At least one Russian soldier fired a handgun into the air repeatedly, and at least one person was wounded, beaten by Russian special forces. It was unclear if the man, who was photographed in civilian clothes, was a soldier or a journalist. For a time, the Ukrainians were surrounded, but by early evening most, if not all, had been disarmed and sent to collect their belongings, and by nightfall the base was quiet, with its perimeter sealed and guarded by Russian soldiers. It was unclear if Ukrainian personnel remained on the base. The emotional whiplash of Crimea’s sudden secession from Ukraine and annexation by Russia was evident among soldiers and their families throughout Crimea last week trying to decide whether to stay on the peninsula or cross what the Russians have now effectively declared to be a new international border. Col. Igor Mamchur, deputy commander of the marine garrison in Simferopol, where the Russian flag was flying last week alongside the Ukrainian one, said troops were making the decisions about whether to stay or go themselves. “We’ve got apartments, we’ve got housing here, children that go to school,” he said. Colonel Mamchur said he had decided to remain in Crimea. “I had a choice between duty and family,” he said, “and I’ve chosen family.” For some, that choice was not yet apparent. At the Nakhimov Naval Academy in Sevastopol, cadets were simply told last week that they now attend a Russian school. But the transfer ceremony did not go as the Russians hoped. Some cadets defiantly sang the Ukrainian national anthem, prompting the bandmaster to order his musicians to play the Russian anthem to drown them out.
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Crimea;Military Bases;Russia;Military;Ukraine
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ny0238594
|
[
"world",
"asia"
] |
2010/06/25
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China’s Export Economy Begins Turning Inward
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BEIJING — For years, Chinese leaders looked to the millions of poor workers from the country’s interior as the engine of a roaring export economy. They would move to coastal provinces, toil in factories and churn out the world’s household goods. These days, the workers are crucial for China ’s economy in another way: They must start buying the very products they manufacture, spending their paychecks on lipstick and lingerie, plastic lawn chairs and plasma television sets. Officials see them as the linchpin of China’s move away from a lopsided economic model that relies too heavily on foreign consumption. Some of China’s top leaders, including Prime Minister Wen Jiabao, have emphasized the need for that restructuring for years, especially since the global financial crisis pummeled the export industry. But China’s move this week to make its currency, the renminbi , more flexible and the authorities’ apparent tolerance of recent factory strikes that have led to significant wage increases both signal that Chinese leaders could be serious about re-engineering the nation’s economic model. The currency shift brings immediate political benefits, since China will now presumably come under less pressure at the Group of 20 summit meeting this weekend. But there are important domestic considerations as well. The breaking of the renminbi’s de facto peg to the dollar means the currency is likely to appreciate in value, making Chinese exports somewhat less competitive in the global marketplace but strengthening the purchasing power of Chinese consumers. Likewise, government policies to encourage wage increases for poor laborers — there are an estimated 150 million migrant workers in cities — could also spur consumption, if the pay increases outpace inflation. “The central government attitude toward raising wages is undoubtedly positive because it’s directly tied to boosting domestic consumption and restructuring the economy,” said Liu Cheng, a scholar of labor law at Shanghai Normal University. “For a long time, wage growth has lagged behind economic growth, and that has forced China to continue to depend on exports.” Chinese leaders have little choice but to overhaul the model. For one thing, the pool of cheap labor is drying up. China’s population of 15- to 24-year-olds has already peaked and will continue to shrink over the next decade, even if China were to change its one-child policy , according to projections by the United Nations. Just as important, young workers these days are no longer willing to toil under the same conditions tolerated by laborers a decade ago. Some Chinese leaders have been vocal in recent months about the need to raise household consumption. Li Keqiang, the vice prime minister who is viewed as a likely successor to Mr. Wen, stressed that as a priority in public addresses this year . On June 1, Seeking Truth, an official journal of the Communist Party, published an article by Mr. Li in which he wrote that “increasing citizens’ consumption is the key to expanding domestic demand.” Raising wages is only one of several actions the government must take if it wants to stimulate household consumption. The savings rate in China is much higher than that in Western nations, at least partly because people rely on savings to finance much of their education and health care needs. In January 2009, China announced that it intended to spend $123 billion by 2011 to set up universal health care for its 1.3 billion people, but that plan is vastly underfinanced, scholars say. Keeping a lid on inflation is also crucial. Low wages have helped hold down the inflation rate despite years of extraordinary double-digit growth and huge government investments in projects. But in May, the consumer price index edged up to 3.1 percent from the previous May; the government wants the average in all of 2010 to be no higher than 3 percent. That was most likely one factor that pushed the People’s Bank of China to announce last Saturday that the renminbi would become more flexible. Analysts say that a currency revaluation by itself will not necessarily make China’s exports significantly less competitive or rein in China’s dependence on its export industry. From mid-2005 to mid-2008, the renminbi appreciated 21 percent against the United States dollar, but China’s trade surplus with the United States continued to grow by an average of 21 percent during that period. In recent months, China’s exports have shown a strong recovery, with nearly 50 percent growth year-on-year in May . Chinese officials obviously felt confident enough in the recovery to go forward with the currency shift. Besides exports, China’s economic growth has depended on state-led investment, especially infrastructure building, and that too leads to big risks, some analysts say. Stimulus spending and a surge in lending by state banks during the economic crisis helped China power through the slump. But the lending spree has contributed to inflationary pressures and a soaring property market that the central government is trying to cool down. Victor Shih , an associate professor at Northwestern University who studies the political economy of China, said a significant portion of $1.6 trillion that has been lent to companies run by local governments is likely to pile up as bad loans, posing a risk to state banks, and thus the entire economy. “There will be a big cost,” he said. “China is trying to recapitalize its banks before a lot of these bad loans show up on the balance sheets.” As with export dependence, some Chinese leaders are starting to see the danger and have moved to slow bank lending. But effective infrastructure projects are literally the road to more widespread wage increases across China, and thus greater domestic consumption. An explosion of highways and rail lines in the central interior provinces means companies are now operating more factories in those areas, where costs are lower. Some workers in the interior are seeing wages increase at the same rates as those on the coast, or at even higher rates. Anne Stevenson-Yang, head of the Beijing office of Wedge MKI, an equity analysis firm, said her research into at least 15 companies across China showed that some in the interior had raises of up to 30 percent this year, a higher rate than those on the coasts. But absolute wages are still lower in the interior, so more and more low-margin manufacturing companies are setting up shop there, especially as provincial governments on the coast slowly push out some assembly-line factories in favor of higher-end businesses. In theory, many laborers will no longer have to flock to the coast, and consumption in the interior will rise, leading to more uniform economic growth across China. “Probably the factory cities and dormitories of the ’80s will disappear,” Ms. Stevenson-Yang said, “and one day people will think, ‘Wow, what was that all about?’ ”
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China;Economic Conditions and Trends;International Trade and World Market;Factories and Manufacturing;People's Bank of China
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ny0235190
|
[
"sports",
"tennis"
] |
2010/01/21
|
Alastair Martin, 94, Court Tennis Star and Modern Tennis Executive
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Alastair B. Martin, who won a host of national championships playing the venerable game of court tennis, then helped forge the modern era of the Grand Slam-style game, died Jan. 12 at his home in Katonah, N.Y. He was 94. His death was announced by his family. Mr. Martin, a grandson of Henry Phipps, the partner of the steel magnate Andrew Carnegie, was an eight-time national amateur singles champion and 13-time amateur doubles champion in court tennis. He won the sport’s United States Open singles title in 1951 and the Open doubles championship three times, in three different decades. Court tennis, a game with walled courts, dates to the Middle Ages. But Mr. Martin was much the modern man in helping govern the more familiar world of tennis. He was named president of the United States Lawn Tennis Association — the forerunner of the United States Tennis Association as the sport’s national governing body — in 1969 after two years as its first vice president and a year after the advent of open competition. Mr. Martin lent his support to the open game, in which professionals were finally allowed to compete for prize money in tournaments previously open only to amateurs. He called for professional management and corporate ties for tennis. “We can pull in the horns and remain amateur, or widen our view and let all of tennis work together under one umbrella,” Mr. Martin told The New York Times in January 1969. “We’re moving into tennis as big business.” Alastair Bradley Martin was born in New York City, graduated from Princeton in 1938 and lived at an estate in Glen Head on Long Island when he emerged as a court tennis star. In addition to governing lawn tennis, Mr. Martin was president, chairman and an inductee of the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, R.I. He was president of the Eastern Lawn Tennis Association and played in the United States lawn tennis championships at Forest Hills. He helped develop tennis clinics in New York metropolitan area public parks. Mr. Martin and his wife, Edith, were prominent art collectors, known for their Guennol Collection . Having spent part of their honeymoon in Wales, they derived the collection’s name from the Welsh word Gwennol, for martin, the bird. In December 2007, the Guennol Lioness , a 5,000-year-old Mesopotamian limestone sculpture, standing only three and a quarter inches high and on loan to the Brooklyn Museum since 1948, was sold to an anonymous British buyer at Sotheby’s in New York for $57.1 million, a record price for any sculpture at auction. Richard Keresey, head of Sotheby’s antiquities department worldwide, described the lioness as “one of the first great sculptures of civilization.” Mr. Martin was chairman of the Brooklyn Museum from 1984 to 1989, a member of the acquisition committee of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and president of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals from 1973 to 1975. He was the founder and chairman of the Regional Broadcasters Group, a chain of radio stations. He is survived by a daughter, Dorothy Moore, of Greenwich, Conn.; a son, Robin, of Washington; six grandchildren; and seven great-grandchildren. His wife died in 1989. When the open era of tennis was in its infancy, Mr. Martin spoke of relishing challenges. “One does get an appetite for competition,” he told The Times. “People ask me, why collect art? I can’t say. Maybe it’s just the satisfaction of putting something together. That’s what I would like to do — put something together in tennis.”
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Martin Alastair;United States Lawn Tennis Assn;Tennis;Deaths (Obituaries)
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ny0137648
|
[
"world",
"asia"
] |
2008/05/21
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China Blocks Thousands of Hindus From Tibet Pilgrimage
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NEW DELHI — The Chinese government is refusing to issue visas to Hindus trying to make the traditional summer pilgrimage to what they hold to be the home of Lord Shiva in Tibet , forcing thousands to delay or cancel the trip. Starting in June, Hindus from Nepal and India embark on a multiweek journey to the 22,000-foot Mount Kailash in the Himalayas and nearby Lake Mapam Yutso, known in India as Lake Mansarovar. The trip, a once-in-a-lifetime event for most who make it, includes treacherous off-road drives and several days of arduous trekking, and is believed to bring the traveler closer to the divine. This year, though, the Chinese government is refusing to grant any visas for travel to the Tibetan sites from Nepal, tour operators in Nepal say. India’s Foreign Ministry said Tuesday that the Chinese government had cited unspecified “domestic reasons.” At the same time, Beijing has retracted permission previously granted to Indian pilgrims who were planning to make the trip in early June. The Olympic torch is scheduled to go through Tibet’s capital, Lhasa, on June 20. “I was planning for the last 10 years for this trip,” said Rajendra Goyal, 48, a Mumbai-based hardware trader whose trip has been canceled. Mr. Goyal said he was on a rigorous diet and exercise schedule for the last two months to make sure he was fit for the mountain hiking involved. “A pilgrim is a pilgrim, not an activist or a politician,” he said. “I am going there for religious faith, not to do any violence.” Tour operators and pilgrims said they believed that the cancellations were a result of the turmoil and demonstrations in Tibet that started in March. “This could be because of protests in Tibet; in fact, that is the main reason,” said Ripu Mardan, the information manager of Eco Trek International, a Katmandu-based tour operator. Eco Trek normally sends several hundred pilgrims a year to Mount Kailash and Lake Mapam Yutso. Tour operators estimate that 5,000 to 6,000 pilgrims travel to the home of Lord Shiva, one of the six deities in Hinduism, from Nepal each year. “This is our holiest of holy sites,” said Gopal Vijay Ditya Singh, 62, a professor of electrical engineering in Lucknow, India, who had paid $5,000 to go with his wife. “How can they stop us from going there?”
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China;Tibet;Hinduism
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ny0018081
|
[
"world",
"europe"
] |
2013/07/02
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Joyous Croatia Joins Europe Amid a Crisis
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PARIS — Croatia became the 28th member of the European Union on Monday, a joyous moment for the small, predominantly Roman Catholic country about 20 years after it won independence in the bloody wars of the Balkans. With Europe shaken by financial crisis, Croatia’s accession offers a rare moment of satisfaction for the union, underlining how a country’s desire to join the world’s biggest trading bloc can push it to make difficult economic and political changes. Since the end of the cold war, the European bloc’s soft power, its ability to press for concessions, has been a powerful foreign policy tool and an alternative to American military might. In the case of Croatia, the incentive of joining the union pushed it to revamp a statist post-Communist economy, pass more than 350 laws and arrest more than a dozen Croatian and Bosnian-Croat war criminals. Image Croatia’s flag was raised Monday during a ceremony at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France. Credit Frederick Florin/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images In return, Croatia stands to benefit from gaining access to a market of 500 million consumers as well as about $18 billion in financing earmarked for the country from 2014 to 2020 . Kosovo and Serbia recently signed a power-sharing agreement aimed at overcoming ethnic enmities and proving to Brussels that they have the European credentials to join the bloc. On Friday, they were rewarded for their efforts, with Serbia gaining the go-ahead to start entry negotiations in January and Kosovo gaining closer trade, economic and political ties. The accession of Croatia is an important step in the European integration of one of Europe’s poorest regions. Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia — nations carved from the former Yugoslavia — are all hoping to join the bloc. Slovenia joined in 2004. Croatia’s entry is the bloc’s first enlargement since 2007. To mark the occasion in Zagreb, Croatia’s capital, thousands of Croats turned out to celebrate. Fireworks exploded, and Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy” was played at midnight. “This will change the life of this nation for good,” Herman Van Rompuy, the president of the European Council, told the crowd. “I welcome you wholeheartedly.” Image A Croatian teenager holds a flag during the opening ceremony of the European Union office in Zagreb, Croatia, on Monday. Credit Agence France-Presse — Getty Images But many Croats remain ambivalent about joining a divided union mired in a crippling debt crisis that has plagued Greece, Italy, Spain and others and pushed some members to the brink of bankruptcy. While Croatia is not joining the euro zone, the source of the worst of Europe’s economic problems, it is nevertheless in recession and has an unemployment rate of 21 percent. Alluding to the challenges of entering a club in decline, President Ivo Josipovic of Croatia told Nova TV on Saturday that he was repeatedly asked by journalists from other European countries why his country wanted to join. “My counterquestion was, ‘You come from the E.U. Is your country preparing to leave the bloc?’ ” he said. “They would invariably reply, ‘Of course not.’ Well, there you go, that’s why we are joining, because we also believe the E.U. has a future.” If some Croats are cautious about membership, many countries in the bloc remain wary of expansion, fearing that an overstretched European Union will become unmanageable. The problem of endemic corruption in new member countries from the east like Bulgaria and Romania has also fanned fears in Brussels that countries are being admitted too quickly, and importing lawlessness and graft into the bloc. Transparency International ranked Croatia as the 62nd most troubled nation out of 176 countries in its 2012 corruption perception index , which ranks countries based on how corrupt their public sector is perceived to be. Marko Prelec, Balkans director at the International Crisis Group in Sarajevo, noted that Croatia was an important test case for whether other countries in the region would be allowed into the union. “If Croatia turns into a problem child for the E.U., then it’s going to be next to impossible for anyone else to join,” he said. “But if it goes well, then the doors will be open for its neighbors, too.”
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International relations;EU;Croatia;Zagreb;Ivo Josipovic
|
ny0191439
|
[
"sports",
"baseball"
] |
2009/02/05
|
Unsealed Documents Include 4 Positive Drug Tests for Bonds
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The government’s perjury case against Barry Bonds gained vivid detail on Wednesday when more than 200 pages of evidence were unsealed. The pages included documents tying Bonds to four positive tests for steroids, calendars that prosecutors described as doping schedules, and a transcript of a recorded conversation in which Bonds’s former trainer is quoted as saying that he injected Bonds with performance-enhancing drugs. Three urine samples that were sent for testing in 2000 and 2001 by the Bay Area Laboratory Co-operative showed the presence of anabolic steroids, according to the documents. A fourth test from a 2003 sample collected by Major League Baseball showed the presence of the designer steroid THG, the fertility drug clomid and a form of testosterone not naturally produced by the body. When tested under Major League Baseball’s program, that sample came back negative for performance-enhancing drugs. But after the sample was seized in a 2004 raid by federal agents, it was retested by the U.C.L.A. Olympic Analytical Laboratory, with a different and, for Bonds, potentially troublesome result. Not all of the information provided in the unsealed documents is new. But the documents provide a more complete portrait of the evidence that federal prosecutors have gathered on Bonds since the investigation of Balco began in 2002. Bonds is scheduled to go on trial March 2 in San Francisco on charges that he committed perjury in 2003 when he told the grand jury investigating Balco that he never knowingly used performance-enhancing drugs. Bonds’s lawyers filed a motion two weeks ago to have much of the evidence in the case excluded, arguing that it could not be authenticated. As part of that motion, the defense lawyers filed the evidence in dispute under seal, not wishing for it to be revealed. But United States District Judge Susan Illston ordered that it be made public and has scheduled a hearing for Thursday about its admissibility. “While it may seem damning now, the judge may exclude a lot of the evidence and it may never make it before the jury,” said Carl Tobias, a professor of law at the University of Richmond, in assessing the new information about the case. “But with all the attention being given to the case, the judge is going to have to be extra careful that the jury she seats has not been prejudiced by this information.” Among the most intriguing sections in the unsealed documents is a description of what authorities said was a tape-recorded conversation, made in 2003, between Bonds’s former business manager, Steve Hoskins, and Bonds’s longtime trainer, Greg Anderson. Anderson spent more than a year in prison on contempt-of-court charges for refusing to testify before the grand jury investigating Bonds. According to a summary of the tape and a partial transcript, Anderson told Hoskins that he had injected Bonds with performance-enhancing drugs and that they were not detectable under baseball’s drug-testing program at the time. Anderson also told Hoskins that he had advance notice of when the drug tests would be conducted. “I’ll know like probably a week in advance, or two weeks in advance,” Anderson is quoted as telling Hoskins in the transcript. According to the documents, Hoskins was recording the conversation, which took place in the Giants’ clubhouse, because Bonds’s father, Bobby, did not believe his son was using steroids. Hoskins and Bonds were childhood friends who became particularly close after Bonds returned to San Francisco to play for the Giants in 1993. The two had a falling out in 2003 and Hoskins later cooperated with federal authorities, telling them that Bonds flew into “roid rages.” In the partial transcript, Hoskins is quoted as asking Anderson if the drugs being given to Bonds were the same “that Marion Jones and them were using.” “Yeah, same stuff, the same stuff that worked at the Olympics,” Anderson is quoted as saying. And, Anderson added for emphasis, Olympians were tested every week. “So that’s why I know it works,” Anderson is quoted as saying. (Jones, an Olympic gold-medal winner, pleaded guilty in 2007 to making false statements about her use of performance-enhancing drugs and received a six-month prison sentence.) Although the results of the three urine samples that Balco tested in 2000 and 2001 do not have Bonds’s name on them, prosecutors say they can be connected to handwritten notes seized at Balco and Anderson’s home in 2003. Those notes display the names of Bonds and other individuals and numbers that, prosecutors say, correlate to samples that Balco sent for drug testing. Prosecutors contend that the three tests show Bonds tested positive for two steroids — methenolone and nandrolone — in November 2000 and February 2001. But in their 28-page motion to exclude evidence, Bonds’s lawyers said: “It appears that as to every proffered test result, the government can attempt to link Mr. Bonds to the sample in question only through purported hearsay statement of Anderson.” In all, five pages of handwritten notes are attributed to Anderson, and in disputing them, the defense states: “The notes are barely comprehensible. Their author(s) are unknown as are the time and purpose of their preparation.” The defense lawyers said the notes were indicative “of the government’s zeal to convict Mr. Bonds by any means at all.” They also said the doping calendars, which the prosecutors say Anderson created so he could monitor Bonds’s use of drugs, should not be admissible, either. The fourth positive steroid test cited in the documents does not involve Anderson or his notes. Instead, it stems from the anonymous drug tests that were conducted by Major League Baseball in 2003, the first year of steroid testing on the major league level. There were no penalties for positive results, and not even the players were supposed to know how their tests came out. Bonds’s urine sample did not produce a positive test under baseball’s guidelines. But in a raid in 2004, authorities seized the samples and test results of Bonds and the nine other players who had testified before the Balco grand jury. Two years later, the U.C.L.A. laboratory that retested Bonds’s sample concluded that it contained the designer steroid THG, known as “the clear”; clomid, an anti-estrogen drug used to stimulate natural testosterone levels; and the presence of testosterone not naturally made by the body. Baseball did not test for THG in 2003 and did not begin testing for clomid until the 2007 season. Why Bonds did not test positive for testosterone in 2003 is not clear. When Bonds testified before the Balco grand jury in 2003, he said that he had used the “clear” and the “cream,” a lotion with epitestosterone and testosterone, but did not believe they were performance-enhancing drugs. He said he believed the “clear” was flaxseed oil and that the “cream” was a balm for arthritis. He said he used the “cream” sparingly. The New York Times reported last week that federal authorities had detected a steroid other than the “clear” and the “cream” in a urine sample from Bonds. The documents unsealed Wednesday said that testosterone had been detected in Bonds’s 2003 sample, but did not say whether the source was the “cream” or another anabolic steroid. “You cannot tell from a urine analysis whether a person has used the cream or has been using other sources of testosterone, like gels, patches or injectables,” said Dr. Gary I. Wadler, an antidoping expert and member of the World Anti-Doping Agency. The documents also included a 2006 letter from Commissioner Bud Selig to Bonds notifying him of a first-time positive test for amphetamines, which does not result in a suspension. The test result does not appear to be directly related to the perjury case.
|
Bonds Barry;Steroids;Doping (Sports);Perjury;Suits and Litigation
|
ny0183959
|
[
"technology"
] |
2007/12/13
|
Drive Maker in China to Be Sold to Iomega
|
SAN FRANCISCO — Iomega, an American distributor of computer data storage equipment, said Wednesday that it was entering into a complex $310 million deal to acquire ExcelStor, a Chinese contract maker of disk drives. As a result, Great Wall Technology, ExcelStor’s parent company, will become Iomega’s largest shareholder, with 43 percent of its stock. Great Wall, a subsidiary of the government-owned China Electronics Corporation, will also control five of Iomega’s nine board seats. Industry executives said the deal was not directly related to concerns expressed by federal government officials this year about the possibility that a Chinese company might be preparing to acquire an American maker of disk drive technology. Seagate Technology and Western Digital, both American companies, make the most advanced drives. I.B.M., which invented the disk drive in the 1950s and which dominated the industry through the 1990s, sold its disk drive business to the Japanese computer maker Hitachi in 2002. Two other Japanese companies, Fujitsu and Toshiba, and a division of Samsung, a South Korean electronics conglomerate, are also major disk drive makers. Iomega said its shares would continue to trade on the New York Stock Exchange and the company headquarters would remain in San Diego. Iomega had struggled financially in recent years and is in the process of a turnaround. Although it has lost money in five of the last six years, it has had five successive profitable quarters and has recently reversed a steep revenue decline. Iomega’s chief executive, Jonathan Huberman, said the deal was intended to give the company leverage both in the Chinese market, where it is not currently active, and to use the Iomega brands to sell a variety of Chinese-made products beyond disk drives. “We’re not a technology house, we’re a brand and a channel,” he said. The company sells 70 percent of its products in Europe and only 20 percent in the United States, he said. An industry analyst said that ExcelStor, which was founded by former employees of two American disk drive makers in 2001, has so far not developed its own line of drives and remains largely a contract manufacturer for Hitachi. “ExcelStor has largely failed as a disk drive manufacturer,” said James Porter, president of Disk/Trend Inc., an industry consulting firm. “They have been unable to keep up with the fast U.S. manufacturing cycles.” Under the terms of the agreement, Iomega will issue approximately 84 million shares of common stock to be exchanged for existing ExcelStor shares. Great Wall Technology is publicly traded on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and is a maker of communication and computing products with annual revenue of $2.6 billion. China Electronics is a conglomerate with revenue of about $16 billion in 2006. It indirectly holds 62 percent of Great Wall. Eddie Lui, chief executive of ExcelStor, will become executive chairman of Iomega. Mr. Huberman, who will remain chief executive of the new company, said that Iomega has about 250 employees, while ExcelStor has about 2,700 employees, mostly involved in manufacturing and located in the Shenzhen Province of China. The resulting company will have more than $1 billion in revenue, he said.
|
Iomega Corporation;Mergers Acquisitions and Divestitures;Computers and the Internet
|
ny0224342
|
[
"sports",
"soccer"
] |
2010/11/12
|
Manchester City Plays It Safe Against Manchester United
|
LONDON — When a man spends a billion dollars to buy and renovate a faraway soccer club, you might imagine he wants at least three things: pride in ownership, prestige in belonging to a world elite and, surely, a little entertainment. The view from the royal palace in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday night cannot have scored highly on those three criteria. Sheik Mansour bin Zayed al-Nahyan did not have to brave the chill of the night in Manchester where his team, City, ground out a dull and scoreless home draw against United. All that money, all the boasts that Man City was no longer afraid of Man United, all the anticipation that United was weakened by injuries and illness and financial constraints, fell to nothing. City was the home side, but City did not dare to win. In fact, City was less daring, less willing to have a go at toppling the giant in its neighborhood than anyone can remember. A century and more of this fierce metropolitan rivalry withered into a largely passionless encounter. “City did not come forward or leave their defensive position,” said United’s veteran goalkeeper, Edwin van der Sar. “They were clearly aiming at a point. We really wanted to win, but they were more defensive.” Van der Sar had one decent save to make. It came in the 35th minute when Carlos Tévez, the lone and frustrated forward in attacking positions for City, curled a free kick around the defensive wall of United players. The shot was well hit, but the save was routine for a goalie of more than 20 years’ experience. Van der Sar set the wall so that, even if Tévez could impart such swerve and spin on the ball from 20 yards, it had to come within his reach. Van der Sar, who turned 40 last month, made the save look as easy as plucking fruit from a tree. City’s negativity, he suggested, bored him. But City, whose coach only has to name a player on the global stage and his Abu Dhabi benefactor will sanction the fee and salary to try to tempt that player, is not a scoring machine. In a dozen English Premier League matches so far this season, it has accumulated just 15 goals. It has lost three games, which is one more than the previous coach was allowed before he was sacked just before last Christmas. The replacement coach, Roberto Mancini, makes no apology for the lack of entertainment. “It’s better than last year, when we lost a goal in the last minute,” Mancini said moments after the final whistle. “I wanted to win, but a draw is better than a loss. We are getting closer to Manchester United all the time.” But this is a wounded United. The team lacked the flair of the injured Ryan Giggs. It lacked the presence of Wayne Rooney who, after all the fuss of his threatening to quit United unless it doubled his pay, was not even in the stadium. Rooney’s salary demands were met by United last month. It was thought that City was trying to tempt him to do what Tévez had done, switch his allegiance from United to City for the lure of cash from a team where money is no object. The public blackmail worked. United’s American owners, running the club on borrowed cash, agreed to double Rooney’s pay to a reported £200,000 pounds a week — which translates into annual income of nearly $16.8 million dollars, in addition to the endorsement fees paid by half a dozen of the world’s leading companies. Where was Rooney on Wednesday? In Portland, Oregon, where the ankle injury that has dogged him for eight ineffective months was being treated by specialists at the headquarters of his shoe sponsor, Nike. It says little for United’s own medical team that ordinarily oversees the physical conditioning of some of the world’s finest soccer players. But it might say a lot that Manchester United’s manager, Alex Ferguson, wanted Rooney across the Atlantic, out of the way, while the biggest cross-town derby in three decades took place. Ferguson had other problems to contend with. Four of his senior players had returned ill from the club’s Champions League game in Turkey the previous week, and some were visibly running on near-empty Wednesday night. Even so, their passing and movement was more adventurous than City’s. Whatever the gloss put on that, the reality is that City under Mancini is playing Italian soccer in the English league. It fears defeat more than it relishes victory. Its midfield, rather than going forward in support of Tévez, retreats to reinforce the defense. The one exception on Wednesday was Yaya Touré. A huge and powerful athlete from the Ivory Coast but hardly a creative playmaker, Touré did try to bludgeon his way through from time to time. But the bludgeon is no tool to break down a United side that has not lost a competitive match for 25 games. Touré was stopped in his tracks, shunted into blind alleys, robbed of the ball when his touch lacked finesse. And that, apart from a cynical hack by Pablo Zabaleta on the leg of United’s defender Rafael and an ugly two-footed lunge by City’s Gareth Barry on Nani, was as much statement of intent as Manchester City showed. The team, under instruction from its coach, was simply intent on not losing the derby. The 47,000 fans — just 2,500 of them United followers — were chilled, bored and bemoaning the fact that derbies are not what they used to be. There is reason for that. The only player in the starting lineup on either side to have been born and bred in the metropolis was United’s Paul Scholes. The rest reflect the globalization of England’s clubs — seven nationalities in City blue, eight in United red. Their skills, undoubtedly, are better than if the team was just plain English. But the passion of the derby passes them by. The scoreless result merely allowed Chelsea and Arsenal to take advantage of a contrived stalemate, with Chelsea staying in first after it beat Fulham, 1-0, and Arsenal tying United for second after it won at Wolverhampton, 2-0. Money can buy the best, but the best doesn’t always entertain.
|
Manchester United;Soccer;English Premier League
|
ny0194172
|
[
"business"
] |
2009/11/17
|
Markets Push Higher as Traders Focus on Growth
|
Wall Street traders latched onto signs on Monday that the dollar would continue to remain weak and that the global recession was easing, riding a rally on three continents that helped push stock averages to their highest levels in more than a year. From start to finish, stocks were strong, wobbling only briefly after Ben S. Bernanke, chairman of the Federal Reserve, expressed his support for a strong dollar. In a rare departure from his usual comments, Mr. Bernanke said he was worried about the dwindling dollar but reaffirmed his support for keeping interest rates low. “We are attentive to the implications of changes in the value of the dollar.” Mr. Bernanke said , “and will continue to formulate policy to guard against risks to our dual mandate to foster both maximum employment and price stability.” Low interest rates and a weak dollar have helped fuel gains on Wall Street in recent months as investors directed their funds to stocks and commodities in search of higher returns. The gains in the stock market were aided by news that Japan’s economy grew at an annual rate of 4.8 percent in the third quarter as stimulus spending and a surge in exports helped bring the country out of its worst recession in the postwar era. It was another in a line of bright economic reports. Last week, European officials said the economy of the 16-country euro zone had grown for the first time in six quarters. The dollar rebounded slightly after Mr. Bernanke’s remarks, but ended the day lower against other major world currencies. Gold closed at $1,138.60 an ounce, and oil settled at $78.90, up from $76.35 on Friday. At the end of trading, the Dow Jones industrial average increased 136.49 points, or 1.33 percent, to 10,406.96. The broader Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index climbed 15.82 points, or 1.45 percent, to 1,109.30 — finishing above 1,100 for the first time in more than a year. The technology-heavy Nasdaq rose 29.97 points, or 1.38 percent, to 2,197.85. The Dow, which rose 2.5 percent last week after rising 3.2 percent the previous week, has gained 17 percent this year. The S.& P. 500-share index climbed 2.3 percent last week, while the Nasdaq added 2.6 percent. The gains were across the board, led by materials and energy shares as well as industrial stocks. Shares in Exxon Mobil rose 2.7 percent, Occidental Petroleum rose 2.46 percent and ConocoPhillips rose 1.91 percent as oil prices increased. Bill Strazzullo, chief market strategist at Bell Curve Trading, said the day’s gains could be explained by a recurring cycle on Wall Street since March: a weak dollar sending high-yield stocks and commodities upward. “It’s like ‘Groundhog Day’ every day,” he said. “People are playing the game.” Jeffrey D. Saut, chief investment strategist at Raymond James, said a factor leading to Monday’s upturn was a desire by fund managers to end the year with strong performance. “These guys not only have performance anxiety, they’re also going to have bonus anxiety, and they are ultimately going to have job anxiety,” Mr. Saut said. A report on retail sales in the United States also helped buoy shares. The Commerce Department said Monday that retail sales increased 1.4 percent in October, topping the 0.8 percent jump that economists had forecast. The government revised its figures for September, saying sales fell by 2.3 percent rather than its original estimate of 1.5 percent. “Anything even vaguely positive as it relates to the consumer right now is going to be viewed as a big upside,” said Marc Harris, co-head of global research for RBC Capital Markets. “That is what the market is most focused on at the moment.” But Bruce A. Bittles, chief investment strategist at Robert W. Baird & Company, said the report was not totally optimistic, since much of the growth came from car sales. “Expectations are low for the consumer going forward, and for the holiday season,” he said. “The retail sales report did not do a lot to relieve that. But if the consumer is going to be saving more, rather than maintaining a borrow-and-spend attitude, it is very bullish for the market long term.” Mr. Saut of Raymond James said strong earnings reports from retailers this week were also pushing stocks up. The home improvement retailer Lowe’s, for example, said Monday that while its profit declined 30 percent in the third quarter, its results had matched expectations. The company also said it was seeing signs that the housing market was stabilizing. “All of this is pretty consistent with a moderate economic recovery,” Mr. Saut said. “You don’t need spectacular growth for stocks to do well. All you need is some growth.” The Treasury’s 10-year note rose 23/32, to 100 11/32. The yield fell to 3.33 percent, from 3.42 percent late Friday. Following are the results of Monday’s Treasury auction of three- and six-month bills:
|
Stocks and Bonds;Economic Conditions and Trends
|
ny0106117
|
[
"business"
] |
2012/04/11
|
Best Buy’s Chief Resigns Amid Inquiry
|
Brian J. Dunn, chief executive of the electronics retailer Best Buy , resigned unexpectedly Tuesday during an investigation by the board into what it called his “personal conduct.” Mr. Dunn’s resignation, less than two weeks after he outlined an ambitious restructuring to revive the struggling store chain, was announced in the morning, with no mention of the investigation. “There was mutual agreement that it was time for new leadership to address the challenges that face the company,” a statement from Best Buy’s board said at the time. “There were no disagreements between Mr. Dunn and the company on any matter relating to operations, financial controls, policies or procedures,” it said. But late in the day, Claire Koeneman, an external spokeswoman for the company, issued a statement that said: “Certain issues were brought to the board’s attention regarding Mr. Dunn’s personal conduct, unrelated to the company’s operations or financial controls, and an audit committee investigation was initiated. Prior to the completion of the investigation, Mr. Dunn chose to resign.” The company did not elaborate on the inquiry or the conduct in question. The investigation was first reported by The Star Tribune of Minneapolis and The Wall Street Journal . Larry C. Drapkin, co-chairman of the labor and employment practice at the law firm Mitchell, Silberberg & Knupp, said that an audit committee investigation could mean a number of things, including inquiries into company policy and regulatory issues, but he said it was important not to jump to conclusions. “We sometimes make assumptions that investigations mean it must be bad, and investigations sometimes end with the conclusion that it wasn’t,” he said. G. Mike Mikan, a board member and former health care executive, will become interim chief executive as the board searches for a permanent successor. Some investigations require regulatory disclosures. On Wednesday morning, Best Buy filed a document with the Securities and Exchange Commission that did not shed further light on the investigation. It announced Mr. Dunn’s departure and said “the terms relating to Mr. Dunn’s resignation” were being finalized, as were the terms of Mr. Mikan’s role as interim chief executive, and would be filed when available. Best Buy, which is based in Richfield, Minn., operates hundreds of giant stores, but people are increasingly buying electronics online. When they do go into chain stores like Best Buy, they often examine products, check prices on mobile phones, then buy from online competitors. That has turned Best Buy stores into showrooms for places like Amazon.com to some degree, analysts say. “Best Buy has larger-ticket items where people are a little more price-sensitive,” said Chris Davey, head of the global commerce business at SapientNitro, a marketing firm. “Amazon provides an alternative.” Before the investigation was disclosed, some investors said that Mr. Dunn was doing too little to address online pressures. “Some investors had been frustrated with Dunn’s tenure, given his strong affinity for physical retailing and perceived slowness to adapt to threats facing the company,” Colin McGranahan, a Sanford C. Bernstein & Company analyst, wrote in a note to clients. In its latest fiscal year, which ended in March, sales rose only slightly, and the company lost $1.23 billion. Sales at stores open more than a year fell 1.7 percent. When he reported fourth-quarter results, Mr. Dunn announced “major actions” he was taking to change the business. He said Best Buy would close about 50 of its big-box stores, add hundreds of small Best Buy Mobile locations, increase employee training and bonuses for better customer service and aim to increase domestic online sales by 15 percent in the 12 months that will end in March 2013. But its Internet business has run into problems, too. Though domestic online sales grew 18 percent in fiscal 2012, Best Buy was unable to get some orders to consumers in time for Christmas, despite guaranteed Christmas delivery. Mr. Dunn, who started at Best Buy in 1985 as a salesman, had been chief executive since 2009. Best Buy shares fell 5.9 percent to close at $21.32 Tuesday.
|
Best BUY Company Inc;Suspensions Dismissals and Resignations;Electronics;Dunn Brian J;Mikan G Mike
|
ny0277094
|
[
"us"
] |
2016/11/05
|
After Violent Encounter Between Police and a Black Man, Something Rare — An Apology
|
On the day in June that Todd Axtell became police chief in St. Paul, he happened to meet Frank Baker, a local resident who wished him well in his new job. Then, the next night, a police dog bit Mr. Baker on the leg and a police officer kicked him, leaving him hospitalized for two weeks with collapsed lungs and large lacerations. As with so many violent police encounters across the country, the incident was captured on grainy dash camera video, with officers yelling commands and Mr. Baker, an African-American man in his 50s, shrieking in pain. But when the footage was released on Friday, it came with something not often seen in such cases: An apology. “I’m disappointed and upset by what the video shows,” said Chief Axtell, who met with Mr. Baker this summer while he was hospitalized, and again on Friday to offer his “deepest apologies.” Chief Axtell said he had suspended the canine handler, Officer Brian Ficcadenti, for 30 days, rejecting the 10-day suspension recommended by the local review board. The police department declined to comment on any discipline for the officer who kicked Mr. Baker, citing the ongoing personnel matter. Image Frank Baker, 53, was bitten on the leg by a St. Paul police dog and kicked by an officer, an encounter that was caught on video. Credit Gaskins Bennett Birrell Schupp LLP Officer Ficcadenti said in his report that Mr. Baker, who was sitting in his car talking on a cellphone, matched the description officers had received of a person with a gun — a black male with dreadlocks in a white T-shirt. The officer wrote that Mr. Baker got out of the car as requested, but then stopped cooperating. The police never found a gun. “The officers very much feared for their safety, very much believed this was a person with a gun,” said Chris Wachtler, a lawyer for the St. Paul Police Federation, which represents rank-and-file officers. “The union’s position at this point is that the force used was appropriate under the circumstances,” Mr. Wachtler said, “and if the person would have complied, no force would have been necessary whatsoever.” Chief Axtell disagreed, and said he had ordered additional training for officers in light of the incident. In his discipline letter to Officer Ficcadenti, he said the tactics were “reckless at best” and amounted to “conduct unbecoming a police officer,” among several other violations. “The content of this video does not reflect the way we strive to do our job day in and day out,” he said at a news conference. “This simply isn’t the St. Paul way.” Image Mr. Baker’s leg after he was bitten. Credit Gaskins Bennett Birrell Schupp LLP The mayor of St. Paul, Chris Coleman, said in a statement that he was “deeply disturbed” by the video but confident “that appropriate discipline will be taken.” The footage of Mr. Baker being bitten by the police dog and kicked by an officer is the latest in a string of recent episodes in which Minnesota police officers have used force against African-Americans. Protesters gathered for weeks after Jamar Clark was killed by Minneapolis officers last November, and again this summer when an officer from suburban St. Anthony fatally shot Philando Castile during a traffic stop. Robert Bennett, a lawyer representing Mr. Baker, said Friday that his client was walking again and had largely recovered, but that he was having trouble with his scars and experiencing lingering pain. He said Mr. Baker was trying to cooperate with officers when the dog bit him. Mr. Baker did not immediately go public about the incident because he wanted to give Chief Axtell time to conduct a full investigation, Mr. Bennett said. He added that Chief Axtell and Mr. Baker had a productive meeting on Friday before the video was made public, and that both men deserved credit for how they responded. “They had a heartfelt conversation; there was an apology,” Mr. Bennett said. “It was frankly how human beings ought to treat each other.”
|
St Paul MN;Frank Baker;Todd Axtell;Police Brutality,Police Misconduct,Police Shootings;Dog;Assault;Apologies;Black People,African-Americans
|
ny0085441
|
[
"nyregion"
] |
2015/07/02
|
New York Democrats Join Mayor de Blasio in a Chorus of Dissent Against Governor Cuomo
|
Mayor Bill de Blasio’s barbed comments toward Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo may have been singular in their acid hostility , but they herald a broader challenge for the governor within his own party: Democrats have begun a season of open dissent. The mounting public frustration is particularly acute among liberal and downstate Democrats aligned with Mr. de Blasio, in the party’s rising populist wing. The mayor’s remarks this week, accusing Mr. Cuomo of governing through vengeance and fear, are likely to further embolden Democrats who have long chafed at what they characterized as Mr. Cuomo’s ironhanded methods and imperious personality. Their grievances are legion : The mayor faulted Mr. Cuomo on his handling of funds for public housing, and charged the governor with undermining his efforts to extend mayoral control of city schools. Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman, a Democrat, sharply criticized new ethics measures championed by the governor as deeply inadequate, and campaigned for his own set of more stringent proposals. Others have fumed at Mr. Cuomo over the divided Legislature’s failure to raise the minimum wage or to pass a state-level version of the Dream Act, a bill granting tuition benefits to certain undocumented immigrants, as well as the governor’s support for an education tax credit meant to expand access to private schools. Some downstate Democrats have already begun to talk openly of a challenge to Mr. Cuomo in the 2018 Democratic primary, should he seek a third term. The liberal Working Families Party, which endorsed Mr. Cuomo’s re-election in 2014, has strongly indicated that it is unlikely to back him again. The group’s state director, Bill Lipton, said that Mr. Cuomo seemed “motivated by a desire to please donors and inflict damage on rivals, rather than by any core set of values.” The eruption of undisguised anger against Mr. Cuomo threatens to leave a deep and mutually destructive rift between liberal New York Democrats — led by Mr. de Blasio, whose chief policy aims depend on the governor’s muscular support — and the less ideological Mr. Cuomo, who leaned heavily on city voters last year to furnish the margin of victory in his re-election. Andrea Stewart-Cousins, the State Senate Democratic leader from Yonkers, said in a statement that the party had grown frustrated with Mr. Cuomo over a lack of “partnership and accomplishments on the issues they feel are important.” Eric L. Adams, the Brooklyn borough president and a former state senator, said the governor had done too little to support Democratic lawmakers and their priorities. “You can’t say you’re a Democratic governor and you’re lining up to empower the Republican Party,” said Mr. Adams, who camped outside Mr. Cuomo’s Midtown Manhattan office during the legislative session in a protest on rent laws. Image Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo at a news conference in March, championing new measures on ethics reform, which some New York Democrats have criticized as being deeply inadequate. Credit Nathaniel Brooks for The New York Times The mayor of Syracuse, Stephanie A. Miner, a former state Democratic committee co-chairwoman who had a falling out with Mr. Cuomo, said a growing number of Democrats were fed up with the governor’s approach to politics and policy. “What I expect is there will be a challenge to the governor’s public policy agenda and those questions will have to be answered,” Ms. Miner said, predicting of Mr. Cuomo: “I don’t think you’re going to see him dominating anymore.” Mr. Cuomo and his allies reject many of the criticisms against him, insisting that only a forceful dealmaker can steer a government split between two parties, in a state of New York’s scale. Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Mr. Cuomo said he had compromised with Senate Republicans as a matter of pragmatic necessity. Of Mr. de Blasio, the governor said he and the mayor each had their own governing style. “I choose to bring people together. I choose to seek compromise. I choose to seek coalitions. It has worked in New York,” Mr. Cuomo said. He continued: “There will always be voices that basically say: Unless it’s the perfect solution, we want no solution. That is unrealistic.” Mr. Cuomo and his supporters also point to the trophy achievements of his first term, including the passage of same-sex marriage and gun control legislation, and attribute the disappointments of this year’s legislative session, in large part, to tumult after the arrests of two top legislative leaders on corruption charges. In some respects, the vitriol directed at Mr. Cuomo looks like an exaggerated version of a generations-old lament in New York politics: that the city lacks the clout it deserves in Albany, and that legislative districts are drawn in a way that gives outsize influence in the State Senate to Republicans. Yet the governor’s Democratic critics retort that the balance of power in Albany is not some political accident. Mr. Cuomo, they say, has been sparing in his support for Democrats running in legislative elections, staying out of certain competitive races where friendly Republicans are on the ballot. (After the 2014 elections, Representative Steve Israel of Long Island publicly chided Mr. Cuomo for not having done more to help Democratic candidates for the House of Representatives.) Representative Charles B. Rangel, the long-serving Harlem Democrat, said that Mr. Cuomo had the burden of balancing the city’s interests with statewide issues of little relevance to urban Democrats. At times, he said, that has meant making alliances with Republicans at the expense of his own party. Image “I can tell you this: Nobody is going to charge the governor with working too hard for Democrats in upstate New York.” Representative Charles B. Rangel Credit Pablo Martinez Monsivais/Associated Press “I can tell you this: Nobody is going to charge the governor with working too hard for Democrats in upstate New York,” Mr. Rangel said. Assemblyman Joseph R. Lentol, a veteran Democratic lawmaker from Brooklyn, said that Mr. Cuomo’s style had led some people to describe him as a bully. But he argued that Mr. Cuomo should not be blamed for negotiating with Republican senators who have long been at odds with the city on key issues, including the rent laws. “He’s a tough negotiator and he gets results,” Mr. Lentol said. “What can I say about that? It’s not my style. I don’t like it. But it works.” Stuart Appelbaum, president of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, said in an email that Democrats had run up this year against the simple reality of negotiation: “You can’t get everything you want.” “The Republicans didn’t have any of their own urgent agenda items,” he said. “So they could have refused to do anything.” Some Democrats who have been critical of Mr. Cuomo at times, like the City Council speaker, Melissa Mark-Viverito, and the public advocate, Letitia James, declined to join the fray on Wednesday, perhaps shying away from the mayor’s full bill of particulars. Other local officials displayed no such reticence. Councilman Jumaane D. Williams, a Brooklyn Democrat, led a chant this week against Mr. Cuomo at a meeting of the Rent Guidelines Board, calling out: “Cuomo betrayed us. The R.G.B. can save us.” Mr. Williams, who declined to endorse Mr. Cuomo in the 2014 Democratic primary, said he now wishes he had campaigned actively against the governor. “I think somebody has to run against him, and I think somebody will,” Mr. Williams said. Assemblywoman Deborah J. Glick, a Manhattan Democrat, said Mr. Cuomo had always been less progressive than New York Democrats in general. “People were anxious for there to be stability and competency,” Ms. Glick said, describing local Democrats’ reaction to Mr. Cuomo’s ascent to the governorship in 2011. “Yes, there was competency, but there were also then the fissures of actual disagreements.”
|
New York;NYC;Andrew Cuomo;Bill de Blasio;Democrats;State legislature;Politics
|
ny0005474
|
[
"world",
"americas"
] |
2013/04/15
|
Venezuelans Elect Maduro to Succeed Chávez
|
CARACAS, Venezuela — In an unexpectedly close race, Venezuelans narrowly voted to continue Hugo Chávez’s revolution, electing his handpicked political heir, Nicolás Maduro, to serve the remainder of his six-year term as president, officials said late Sunday. But the thin margin of victory could complicate the task of governing for Mr. Maduro, emboldening the political opposition and possibly undermining Mr. Maduro’s stature within Mr. Chávez’s movement. His opponent, Henrique Capriles Radonski, refused to recognize the results, citing irregularities in the voting and calling for a recount. Mr. Maduro, the acting president, narrowly defeated Mr. Capriles, a state governor who ran strongly against Mr. Chávez in October. Election authorities said that with more than 99 percent of the vote counted, Mr. Maduro had 50.6 percent to Mr. Capriles’s 49.1 percent. More than 78 percent of registered voters cast ballots. Image Nicolás Maduro greeting supporters in Caracas after it was announced that he won a vote to succeed President Hugo Chávez. Credit Meridith Kohut for The New York Times “These are the irreversible results that the Venezuelan people have decided with this electoral process,” Tibisay Lucena, the head of the electoral council, said as she read the result on national television late Sunday. Mr. Maduro gave a defiant speech that suggested little willingness to make concessions. “We have a just, legal, constitutional and popular electoral victory,” he said. Mr. Capriles was equally defiant. “We are not going to recognize the result until every vote is counted, one by one,” Mr. Capriles said. “The big loser today is you, you and what you represent,” he said, referring to Mr. Maduro. Meanwhile, there were also signs that the strident, Chávez-style anti-American message that Mr. Maduro used during the campaign would now be set aside to improve Venezuela’s strained relations with the United States. Image At a polling station in Caracas, ballots were emptied onto a table for counting. Credit Fernando Llano/Associated Press Venezuela is a major oil supplier to the United States with immense reserves, and under Mr. Chávez it has also been a major thorn in Washington’s side, wielding its oil and its diplomatic muscle to oppose American policy everywhere from Cuba to Syria. Mr. Chávez, who succumbed to cancer on March 5, built his political career on flaying the United States and its traditional allies in the Venezuelan establishment, and Mr. Maduro followed his mentor’s script throughout the campaign with an acolyte’s zeal. He accused former American diplomats of plotting to kill him, suggested that the United States had caused Mr. Chávez’s illness, and had his foreign minister shut the door on informal talks with the United States that began late last year. A senior State Department official in Washington said the harsh rhetoric had made the possibility of improved relations more difficult. But over the weekend, with his election victory looking likely, Mr. Maduro sent a private signal to Washington that he was ready to turn the page. Bill Richardson, the former governor of New Mexico, who was in Caracas as a representative of the Organization of American States, said in an interview that Mr. Maduro called him aside after a meeting of election observers on Saturday and asked him to carry a message. “He said, ‘We want to improve the relationship with the U.S., regularize the relationship,’ ” Mr. Richardson said. Image Supporters of the opposition candidate, Henrique Capriles Radonski, showed their disappointment at the results. Credit Leo Ramirez/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images The foreign minister, Elías Jaua, met with Mr. Richardson on Sunday, and said Venezuela was ready to resume the talks that it had cut off, Mr. Richardson said. Though Mr. Chávez’s death raised the possibility of a realignment in the hemisphere, Mr. Maduro’s victory would seem to extend the life of the leftist coalition of countries that coalesced around Mr. Chávez. Mr. Maduro seems certain to continue the lifeline of oil sales on preferential terms that Venezuela provides to Cuba, whose leaders were close allies of Mr. Chávez. Yet even his supporters say that Mr. Maduro lacks his predecessor’s sharp political instincts and magnetism, and many questions remain about how effectively he will lead at home and abroad. At the voting booth on Sunday, Mr. Chávez was as much on voters’ minds as the two candidates were. Mr. Maduro went all-out to associate himself with the dead leader and his idiosyncratic style of socialism, which remains broadly popular in Venezuela, especially among poorer voters. His image was everywhere in Mr. Maduro’s campaign, and the candidate even told voters that Mr. Chávez’s spirit had appeared to him in the form of a little bird. An awkward campaigner who struggled to connect with supporters, Mr. Maduro took to whistling like a bird at his rallies. Image Mr. Capriles arrived to cast his vote in Caracas. Credit William Viera/European Pressphoto Agency Voters seemed to respond on Sunday. “The commander’s legacy should continue, toward a better future,” said Alejandro Rodríguez, 34, after casting his ballot at a school in a neighborhood known as Gato Negro, or Black Cat. “I voted for the commander’s son, Nicolás Maduro,” Mr. Rodríguez said, echoing the candidate who called himself “the son of Chávez.” Driving the point home, a large banner on a pedestrian overpass near the school entrance said, “A vote for Maduro is a vote for Chávez.” Just as he did when running against Mr. Chávez last October, Mr. Capriles managed to energize and inject hope into a fractious and battered opposition. He represented a coalition of groups from across the political spectrum. But it was not clear if the opposition’s unity and momentum could be maintained after the defeat, in the face of a government that holds a virtual monopoly on power. In the election last October, Mr. Chávez received nearly 8.2 million votes, or 55 percent, compared to nearly 6.6 million, or 44 percent, for Mr. Capriles. But Mr. Maduro could also face pressure from within Mr. Chávez’s movement, from competing leaders or groups in government and the armed forces who do not feel the need to obey him with the absolute loyalty they once gave to Mr. Chávez. Video The Times’s William Neuman looks at Venezuela’s tight presidential race and what Nicolás Maduro’s slim victory could mean for his presidency. Just as Mr. Chávez did, Mr. Maduro sought to exploit the bitter divide between loyalists and opponents. “The country is going to be more polarized, divided into two parts,” said Rafael Huizi Clavier, a retired vice admiral who supported Mr. Capriles. “There is more confrontation, because the campaign has been very hard and the differences have been exacerbated. There is more antagonism between the two sides.” The new president will face a host of challenges as he serves out the rest of Mr. Chavez’s term, which began in January. The economy suffers from high inflation — just over 20 percent last year — and from chronic shortages of many basic foods, medicines and other goods. Many economists predict that economic growth will slow significantly this year and some say the nation could slip into recession. The government-owned oil monopoly, Petróleos de Venezuela, is a crucial source of government revenue, but it has been struggling with stagnant production and problems at its refineries. The country’s electrical grid is plagued by blackouts, which are frequent in many areas of the country outside Caracas. And violent crime is rampant. As recently as Thursday, four people were shot to death in three separate incidents at a sprawling election rally for Mr. Maduro in Caracas, according to local news media accounts.
|
Election;Venezuela;Nicolas Maduro;Henrique Capriles Radonski;Hugo Chavez;International relations
|
ny0265438
|
[
"us",
"politics"
] |
2016/03/02
|
As Donald Trump Rolls Up Victories, the G.O.P. Split Widens to a Chasm
|
Democrats are falling in line. Republicans are falling apart. The most consequential night of voting so far in the presidential campaign crystallized, in jarring and powerful fashion, the remarkably divergent fortunes of the two major parties vying for the White House. The steady and seemingly inexorable unification of the Democratic Party behind Hillary Clinton stands in striking contrast with the rancorous and widening schisms within the Republican Party over the dominance of Donald J. Trump, who swept contests from the Northeast to the Deep South on Tuesday. Now, as the parties gaze ahead to the fall, they are awakening to the advantages of consensus and the perils of chaos. “If the Republican Party were an airplane, and you were looking out a passenger window, you would see surface pieces peeling off and wonder if one of the wings or engines was next,” said Tim Pawlenty, the former governor of Minnesota and a Republican candidate for president in 2012. The Most Important Voting Blocs Behind the Republican Candidates The groups who were the strongest supporters for each Republican candidate. Even as he rolled up commanding victories in seven states on Tuesday, Mr. Trump confronted a loud and persistent refusal to rally around him as leading figures in his own party denounced his slow disavowal of white supremacists , elected officials boldly discouraged constituents from backing him, and lifelong Republicans declared that they would boycott the election if he is their nominee. “I could not in good conscience vote for Trump under any circumstance,” said Blake Lichty, 33, a Republican who worked in the George W. Bush administration and now lives near Atlanta. “If this becomes the Trump Party,” he added, “we’re going to lose a lot of people.” Not since the rupture of 1964, when conservatives seized power from their moderate rivals and nominated Barry M. Goldwater of Arizona, has a major party faced such a crisis of identity. “History is repeating itself,” said the historian Richard Norton Smith. “The party changed then as permanently and profoundly as can be in politics, effectively becoming two parties.” Even as Mr. Trump’s performance Tuesday illustrated his strength, Senator Ted Cruz ’s success in Texas, Oklahoma and Alaska underscored the broader Republican dilemma: There is no consensus among Republicans about who could be Mr. Trump’s most formidable opponent, and there is probably not enough time for one to emerge . Video Watch highlights of speeches from the Republican and Democratic candidates after the results came in. Credit Credit Sam Hodgson for The New York Times The cultural and ideological fissures opening in the party could take a generation to patch, according to Republican leaders, historians and strategists — and many are convinced that Mr. Trump will guarantee Democrats another four years in the White House. “Nominating Donald Trump would be the best gift the Republican Party could give to Hillary Clinton,” Bobby Jindal, the former Louisiana governor, said in an interview on Tuesday. Democrats are now poised to exploit a fortuitous intersection of forces: an improving economy with low unemployment; a Democratic president with a nearly 50 percent approval rating; a Supreme Court battle in which Republicans are energizing liberal voters with vows of obstruction; and now, what is likely to be a relatively smooth nomination process that will give Mrs. Clinton a chance to bring together the party’s disparate strands. Of course, Mrs. Clinton, should she prevail in the primary campaign, has plenty of repair work left to do: wooing the thousands of liberal supporters whose feelings of alienation with the Democratic establishment drew them to Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont . She began that effort on Tuesday night, in a victory speech that focused heavily on the Sanders campaign theme of economic justice. And there is little indication, so far, that these voters will spurn Mrs. Clinton for a Republican. And Mrs. Clinton needs to navigate a series of potentially damning investigations into her use of a private email server that have raised enduring questions about her judgment and management. Those inquiries have introduced a level of unpredictability that her campaign can do little to control. But officials in both parties acknowledge that Democrats are now better positioned to capture the presidency in November.“The Democrats are having a loud squabble, but the party is broadly unified behind certain themes,” said David Axelrod, the Democratic strategist. “The Republicans are engaged in a full-out civil war, fundamentally riven by mistrust, and it is very hard to see how they put the pieces back together once this fight is done.” The Differences Between Clinton’s and Sanders’s Core Voters The groups who were the strongest supporters for each Republican candidate. With every nasty turn of the Republican nominating contest, Mrs. Clinton’s position seems to strengthen. Day by day, the anti-Trump forces are marshaling, vowing to drag the primary process out until the convention in July. In an extraordinary show of defiance toward a potential presidential nominee, Senator Ben Sasse, a Republican from Nebraska, just wrote an open letter to Trump supporters explaining why he could not support the real estate mogul should he become the party’s nominee. “I sincerely hope we select one of the other G.O.P. candidates,” Mr. Sasse wrote, pledging not to vote for Mrs. Clinton. “But if Donald Trump ends up as the nominee, conservatives will need to find a third option.” In the past 48 hours, Representative Scott Rigell of Virginia appealed to fellow Republicans in his state to reject Mr. Trump, calling him “a bully unworthy of our nomination,” and Gov. Susana Martinez of New Mexico would not commit to supporting him if he won the nomination. Speaker Paul D. Ryan of Wisconsin, the party’s vice-presidential nominee four years ago, took the unusual step of scolding the Republican front-runner from the halls of the Capitol building for failing to reject the support of David Duke. “If a person wants to be the nominee of the Republican Party,” Mr. Ryan said, “there can be no evasion and no games. They must reject any group or cause that is built on bigotry.” In a discussion with little modern precedent, several high-profile Republicans are expressing uncertainty about how aggressively they would support Mr. Trump as the nominee, suggesting they might need to lose the campaign to save the party. Turning Out on Super Tuesday 13 Photos View Slide Show › Image Doug Mills/The New York Times “President Trump, which I don’t believe is possible, would be an unmitigated disaster and would set the party back decades,” said Mike Murphy, a longtime Republican strategist who oversaw the “super PAC” that supported Jeb Bush this year. “It’s like a computer designed him to lose elections for us. Who does he offend? College-educated white women and Latinos, the groups we need to win.” But any move to deny Mr. Trump the nomination risks further provoking the angry movement that he has ignited. Heather Cox Richardson, a Boston College professor and the author of a new history of the Republican Party, predicts a violent rupture that cleaves the party in two: a hard-line conservatism, as embodied by Pat Buchanan, Newt Gingrich and Mr. Trump, and an old-fashioned strain of moderate Republicanism that recalls Theodore Roosevelt, Dwight Eisenhower and Nelson Rockefeller. “It is going to be really ugly,” she said. For now, the revulsion for Mr. Trump could produce a nightmare scenario for Republicans on Election Day: abandonment by rank-and-file voters who, like a growing number of party leaders, cannot stomach the concept of the mogul as their standard-bearer. “I think it’s a sad day for the Republican Party,” said David Phillips, 72, an executive recruiter and longtime Republican from Avon, Conn., who called Mr. Trump “a tremendous divider.” “If he were the nominee,” he said, reluctantly, “I would probably vote for Hillary.”
|
2016 Presidential Election;Donald Trump;Hillary Clinton;Primaries;Republicans;Democrats;US Politics;Conservatism in the United States
|
ny0244305
|
[
"sports",
"football"
] |
2011/04/03
|
New Version of Madden 12 Called a ‘Teaching Tool’ on Concussion
|
Ever since the seriousness of concussions became apparent on a national scale, the primary message for young football players — if you get a concussion, get off the field for the rest of the day — has been one of the most difficult for youngsters to accept and execute. That reality will soon be aided by fantasy. Madden NFL 12 , the coming version of the eerily true-to-life N.F.L. video game played by millions of gamers, will be realistic enough not only to show players receiving concussions, but also to show any player who sustains one being sidelined for the rest of the game — no exceptions. Beyond that, in the background, the game’s announcers will explain that the player was removed because of the seriousness of head injuries . Player animations, now sophisticated enough to depict Peyton Manning’s throwing motion and Randy Moss’s gait, will not display helmet-to-helmet tackles, hits to the heads of defenseless players or dangerous headfirst tackling, said Phil Frazier, the executive producer of Madden 12. John Madden , the Hall of Fame coach for whom the game is named and who is involved in its development, said that the impetus for the changes was twofold: to further hone the game’s realism, and to teach youngsters to play football more safely. “Concussions are such a big thing, it has to be a big thing in the video game,” Madden said in a telephone interview. “It starts young kids — they start in video games. I think the osmosis is if you get a concussion, that’s a serious thing and you shouldn’t play. Or leading with the head that you want to eliminate. We want that message to be strong.” Frazier described the game, which will be released in August regardless of any N.F.L. work stoppage, as “a teaching tool.” “I wouldn’t say this is a full public-service announcement, but it’s a means to educate,” he said. The Madden changes regarding concussions and tackling will drastically affect how youngsters view head injuries, experts said. Football concussions have been covered heavily in national newspapers and television news programs, and augmented plots on shows like “Law & Order” and “Grey’s Anatomy,” but not in anything with the reach of the Madden franchise among video game players. According to industry data, more than 90 million copies of the video game have been sold in its 22 years, including five million of last year’s version. “It’s a great approach to teach kids in a way that no one else can reach,” said Chris Nowinski, the co-director of the Sports Legacy Institute and a former Harvard football player, who speaks at schools and summer camps about the seriousness of concussions. Nowinski added: “Considering how hard it is to reach young kids and expose them early, this is brilliant. You’re training kids from the cradle to play sports more safely. If you get a concussion, come out of the game. You can’t unteach that.” In November, after a Toyota television advertisement showed a mother worrying about her son playing football and depicted teenage players crashing helmet-to-helmet into each other, the N.F.L. complained to Toyota executives and threatened to revoke the carmaker’s game sponsorship unless the ad was reworked. Toyota capitulated . The N.F.L. fully supported the changes to Electronic Arts’ Madden video game, the league spokesman Greg Aiello said, calling it “a much different circumstance” from Toyota. “This is an N.F.L.-licensed video game about N.F.L. football, as opposed to a TV commercial selling cars,” Aiello wrote in an e-mail. “We are in the process of working with EA on the precise handling of a concussion injury in the game. We will strive for authenticity and an accurate, responsible depiction.” Previous versions of the Madden series showed players receiving concussions and being allowed to stay on the field. When those players are removed now, commentary from the announcers Gus Johnson and Cris Collinsworth will underscore why. Coincidentally, NBC’s Collinsworth has been the primary television analyst in educating audiences about the seriousness of head injuries and dangerous tackling, saying, “This is a league that we’ve always celebrated the biggest hits and the bone-jarring blows, but you can’t hide from the evidence anymore.” Of Collinsworth’s concussion commentary on the new Madden game, Frazier said: “We’ve got our writers working on lines that we’ll record in April. When the injury happens, they’ll say they don’t really know what it is, which is the way most injuries are. But a few plays later, when they learn from the sideline that the player got a concussion, they’ll say something like, ‘Because of the seriousness of concussions, you know, that player will not be returning to the game.’ ” Forbidding players to play through concussions reflects new N.F.L. protocols regarding head injuries, which in real life bring considerable short- and long-term health risks, and among teenagers occasionally death. It also mirrors many laws that have passed or are being considered by state legislatures to protect young athletes. On gaming sites’ message boards, praise for the changes was drowned out by fans bemoaning the introduction of real-life safety issues to their private football universes. On CBSSports.com, boomer12 wrote, “its a GAME!” EA has not always been so sensitive toward head injuries. In the 1992 version of its N.H.L. game, players who were checked hard or hit their heads on the ice could be shown unconscious in growing pools of blood. (The feature was quickly removed.) In the Madden game, ambulances used to drive onto the field and run over players. Madden said that he preferred some safety matters to be depicted as they occurred on the field — like grabbing of the face mask, which results in a 15-yard penalty — but that he no longer wanted helmet-to-helmet hits or head shots on defenseless receivers, which the N.F.L. considers more dangerous and subject players to suspension and substantial fines. Madden did not say whether James Harrison, the hard-hitting Pittsburgh Steeler who complained about the league’s safety measures last season, would have similar gripes in Madden 12. “Kids used to learn football in the playground, but now they learn the game more by the video game,” Madden said. “Strategy is probably a bigger part. But also as graphics get better, we can be better about showing proper tackling techniques. And to show that concussions are really serious: if we show players playing through them, then kids won’t understand. “We want it handed off to the next generation. There was a time when someone would get a concussion and you’d say he just got dinged, take some smelling salts and get back in the game. Those days are over.”
|
Computer and Video Games;Madden John;Concussions;Football;Madden NFL 12 (Video Game)
|
ny0213282
|
[
"sports",
"ncaabasketball"
] |
2010/03/20
|
Duke Has an Easy One Against Arkansas-Pine Bluff
|
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Duke suffocated Arkansas-Pine Bluff with size and togetherness on defense, but that is not going to satisfy the curiosity of the critical masses. The more important issue is if guard Jon Scheyer is working his way out of a shooting slump and if Duke can get meaningful play out of a big man. Scheyer looked ready to emerge from a slump that started at the end of the regular season four games ago. He made 4 of 7 shots and scored 13 points as the top-seeded Blue Devils clobbered No. 16 seed Arkansas-Pine Bluff, 73-44. Duke (30-5) has not made the Final Four since 2004. It used to be a regular occurrence because of offensive balance that featured post players like Shelden Williams and Elton Brand, but there has been a glaring hole in the middle in the last five years. The Blue Devils tried to work in big men Miles and Mason Plumlee, the 6-foot-10 brothers, and they have a 7-1 senior, Brian Zoubek, who made 3 of 4 shots. “We were a little unbalanced last year, to say the least,” Zoubek said. “Establishing a post presence was a big point of emphasis when the season started. If I need to score 15 points a game, I’m capable.” One thing Duke does not have to uncover and polish is Kyle Singler’s shot. The 6-8 swingman was 7 of 12 from the floor and led Duke with 22 points.
|
NCAA Basketball Tournament (Men);Duke University;University of Arkansas-Pine Bluff;Basketball;College Athletics
|
ny0180553
|
[
"nyregion"
] |
2007/08/23
|
East Hills: Charges in Credit Card Theft
|
A former receptionist at the Sid Jacobson Jewish Community Center was charged yesterday with stealing credit card information from 18 of the organization’s members and using it to bill as much as $20,000 in retail charges. The receptionist, Elizabeth Young, 22, pleaded not guilty at her arraignment on charges of identity theft and grand larceny. Kathleen Rice, the Nassau County district attorney, said Ms. Young stole credit card information when she processed payments last fall. Her lawyer, Glen Hardy, said Ms. Young had nothing to do with the theft.
|
Credit and Money Cards;Identity Fraud
|
ny0254764
|
[
"business",
"media"
] |
2011/07/13
|
Toyota Pitches Its RAV4 to a New Demographic
|
TOYOTA this week introduced an ad campaign promoting its RAV4 compact sport utility vehicle to the African-American market. Created by Burrell Communications, the campaign is the first time Toyota has marketed the vehicle directly to African-Americans, though it has previously advertised many of its cars, including the Camry, Corolla and Prius, to that demographic. “The African-American market is looking for a vehicle that combines the utility of an S.U.V. with a more carlike ride,” features the RAV4 offers, said Bob Zeinstra, national manager for advertising and strategic planning for Toyota Motor Sales USA. The vehicle “fills a pretty important niche,” added Monica Warden, group account director of Burrell Communications, which is based in Chicago, is 49 percent owned by the Publicis Group and has previously worked with Toyota. African-American car owners “are looking for versatility, and the RAV4 drives like a car, has great acceleration and roominess,” she said. The timing of the campaign, which began Monday, is meant to coincide with the summer selling season, said Mr. Zeinstra, who also said Toyota wanted “to generate momentum as we move to the normal August sales event.” People are active and outdoors now, he said, and “this is the kind of vehicle they’re looking for.” The star of the new campaign is a bulldog named Benny, who accompanies his owner, Mark, on excursions around Los Angeles in their red 2012 RAV4; Benny’s thoughts are heard in a voiceover. In one of the campaign’s two 30-second TV spots, Benny says he and Mark “were in the RAV4, it was a rough day. Got into a scuffle with the poodle across the street.” The two pick up Mark’s friend, Nina, load the car with a few items and drive through mountain scenery. Later, as Mark and Nina sit holding hands and looking up at the starlit night sky, Benny says, “As always, the RAV handled the journey like a dream and we got to see something that would stay with us for the rest of our lives. I even forgot about the poodle. I love that day. It was one of my faves.” In a 30-second radio spot, Benny announces, after barking and clearing his throat, “I’m Benny and yep, I’m a bulldog. Me and my owner Mark are best friends, and with RAV4 we are a crew!” The TV ads are running on BET, TV One, TBS and TNT, while the radio spot is running on programs like the “Tom Joyner Morning Show.” On Monday, Toyota introduced digital and mobile ads featuring Benny in the RAV4 that are running on sites like BlackAmericaWeb.com and Myxer.com . Ms. Warden said her agency opted to have a dog star in the campaign because Benny was a “memorable character, and provides an interesting way in. A dog allows us to speak to men and women, and we’re targeting both.” She said the African-American car buyers whom Toyota was trying to reach were 25 to 49 years old, “active, youthful, with fairly old-fashioned values, some college education” and a household income of over $50,000. Introduced in 1996, the RAV4 is now in its third generation and has a base price of $22,475. Jeffrey M. Humphreys, director of the Selig Center for Economic Growth at the University of Georgia, a research center that studies the multicultural United States economy, suggested one reason Toyota was pursuing African-American consumers was that the recent growth rate of their disposable personal income had exceeded that of the total United States population. According to Mr. Humphreys, African-Americans’ disposable personal income grew 60 percent from 2000 to 2010 and was expected to rise an additional 30 percent by 2015. The total United States population had a 52 percent increase in disposable personal income between 2000 and 2010, and will have a projected 27 percent increase by 2015. “It’s a numbers game. That’s where the growth is, so that’s where they’re focusing their ad dollars,” Mr. Humphreys said. Priya Raghubir, a marketing professor at the Stern School of Business at New York University, praised Burrell’s choice of a bulldog as a “mascot” for the RAV4. “It’s extremely memorable, like the Budweiser Clydesdale horses in their Super Bowl ads,” she said. To many people, “dogs are the new children, and therefore I think a campaign like this could also be appreciated by dog-lovers irrespective of their demographics,” she added. However, Rohit Deshpande, a professor of marketing at the Harvard Business School, criticized the campaign, calling it “something that was pasted on. The creative was not developed from the ground up, there’s nothing specific here to African-Americans except African-American models and what seems to be rather stereotypic patois coming out of a dog’s mouth.” He said car manufacturers generally “have a product-centric approach, not a customer-centric approach, where you figure out the needs of a group, design a product to fit them and then communicate this. Cars get built on a long development cycle where it becomes ‘sell what’s on the lot’ rather than ‘design from scratch to delight specific customer segments.’ ” According to industry sources, Toyota will spend $5 million to $10 million on the new advertising through early 2012.
|
Toyota Motor Corp;Advertising and Marketing;Publicis Groupe;Blacks;Sports Utility Vehicles and Light Trucks
|
ny0096564
|
[
"nyregion"
] |
2015/01/14
|
Former Officer Admits Crimes in Bronx Ticket-Fixing Scandal
|
A former New York City police officer at the center of a ticket-fixing scandal pleaded guilty on Tuesday to charges related to that crime as well as to conspiring to kill a witness, divulging the identity of a confidential informer, insurance fraud, official misconduct and selling counterfeit CDs and DVDs. The former officer, Jose Ramos, 46, had faced six indictments for those crimes and previously pleaded not guilty to them. But on Tuesday, he reversed course to accept a plea deal in State Supreme Court in the Bronx. A deal offered by the Bronx district attorney, Robert T. Johnson, allowed Mr. Ramos to plead guilty to one charge in each indictment, reducing the total number of charges. The deal came about a month after Mr. Ramos was sentenced to 12 1/2 to 14 1/2 years in prison on additional charges — attempted criminal possession of a controlled substance, attempted robbery and attempted grand larceny — in a seventh indictment against him. A jury convicted him of those charges in October . On Tuesday, Mr. Ramos was sentenced by Justice Michael A. Gross to an additional three to nine years in prison for the conspiracy charge, which will run consecutive to his other sentence. Mr. Ramos was accused of conspiring with his wife to use money from his police pension to try to have a witness against him killed. In addition, he received concurrent sentences for the other five charges: one to three years for grand larceny; one to three years for failure to disclose the origin of a recording; one year for reckless endangerment; one year for official misconduct; and one year for obstruction of governmental administration. He also waived his right to appeal. Mr. Ramos’s lawyer, Matthew J. Kluger, said his client believed the court’s offer to be “both fair and reasonable.”
|
Jose R Ramos;Police Brutality,Police Misconduct,Police Shootings;Criminal Sentence;Bronx
|
ny0080535
|
[
"nyregion"
] |
2015/02/15
|
Alex’s MVP Cards and Comics in Yorkville Finds a New Home. It’s Still Tiny.
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“I’m not a big change guy,” said Alex Gregg, the owner of Alex’s MVP Cards and Comics . The depth of that understatement becomes clear as you get to know Mr. Gregg, who has been married for 28 years, tended bar at Elaine’s for 22 years and ran his comic store at 256 East 89th Street for 26 years. But an adjustment became a necessity when Mr. Gregg learned last summer that his lease for the comic store would not be renewed. It was a typical New York real estate story — a bigger business wants to expand, a smaller one loses out — but in this case, it had a positive ending. After months of searching, Alex’s MVP Cards and Comics has a new home at 1577 York Avenue. It’s only about a half-mile and a 10-minute walk away, though in the wrong direction from the 4, 5 and 6 trains. Thankfully for Mr. Gregg, comic book fans are a loyal lot. On a recent Wednesday — as any fanboy knows, the day when new comics arrive — the cold weather and the slushy streets did not deter true believers from getting their weekly fix. “It’s a longer walk to my bus stop, but it’s O.K. — I’ll brave it,” said Marvin Cohen, a property manager at an assisted living facility, who has been an MVP regular for 11 years. Mr. Cohen is a big DC Comics fan, though he makes an exception for Marvel’s Spider-Man. Lauren Lam, a high school student, is early in her comics obsession. She, too, would not be deterred by a location that was “a bit more inconvenient.” “I still want to come here as often as I can to support a local store,” she said. Her favorite comics include “Grayson,” a Batman spinoff featuring the former Robin in James Bond-like adventures, and “Injustice,” which imagines Superman as a despot. Abby Gannon also dropped by. She is a schoolteacher and an X-Men fanatic who is still disappointed that her favorite series, “All New X-Factor,” about a corporate-sponsored team of mutants, was canceled. The new store is about the same size as the old, which is to say tiny: 450 square feet, with nearly every available surface already in use. But it is more brightly lit and does have a basement for storage. Mr. Gregg, who was born in Astoria, has been a memorabilia dealer in earnest since 1985, when he started a mail-order baseball-card operation out of a basement. He moved to MVP’s original location in 1988. “It’s a fun business,” he said. “You never know what someone is going to bring in and sell you.” For instance, in 1989, a guy arrived wanting to sell a 20-issue set of X-Men comics published from 1963 to 1968. “It was more than I could afford,” Mr. Gregg said. At the time, a comic-book price guide valued X-Men No. 1 at $750; that book is now worth $42,000. Mr. Gregg was luckier around 10 years ago when Upper Deck released its History of the United States cards. “I figured teachers or parents would like these for kids because they were informative,” Mr. Gregg said. As he opened packs in an effort to compile a complete set, he found a one-of-a-kind Benjamin Franklin card, which he sold for an amount he will not disclose. “It broke my heart to part with it, but I needed the money,” he said. Mr. Gregg is more dispassionate about the fate of his former haunt. “My old store is going to be storage for forks, knives and spoons,” he said. “But I have no ill feelings.”
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Comic strip;Yorkville Manhattan;Alex's MVP Cards and Comics
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ny0268559
|
[
"nyregion"
] |
2016/04/02
|
New York State Steps Up Arrests of Parole Violators
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The police and parole officers of Team 7 took up positions around the Harlem apartment building — a few at the fire escape, some out front on 140th Street, the rest in the lobby — in case Cynthia Garrett turned out to be a runner. She had been in and out of prisons for years on drug charges and was wanted for skipping parole. Chris Nunez, the team leader, directed several officers up the stairs to the fifth floor as children headed down on their way to school. On parole roundups, they never knew what they would find behind a door and could not be sure Ms. Garrett was even there. For leads, investigators would normally search the addresses of friends and relatives who had visited an inmate in prison, but according to state records, Ms. Garrett never had a visitor or a package. The woman who answered the door that morning in March said there was no Cynthia Garrett living there. Even so, Tyrone Horne, a plainclothes officer with the New York City police, liked to check for himself and found Ms. Garrett situated in a closet. Image Team 7 members take Cynthia Garrett into custody after finding her in a Manhattan building. Ms. Garrett, in and out of prisons for years, had skipped parole. Credit Richard Perry/The New York Times After two misses that morning, they had a hit. The members of Team 7 were part of an unusual mass roundup in Manhattan last month aimed at some of the city’s 2,800 parole violators. In the past, these “absconders,” as they are called by law enforcement officials, had usually been a relatively low priority. But this was the third major push by the state in the past three months to apprehend them, part of an initiative by the Corrections and Community Supervision Department to crack down on violators. The first, in Rochester in December, came after a parolee killed a police officer. The other was in Brooklyn in January. There have been similar sweeps across the country, including one in Colorado in 2013 after a parole violator there murdered the corrections commissioner . But in New York, nothing on this scale had ever been done, corrections officials said. Parole violators had typically been handled individually. In some cases it could be a matter of chance, with violators picked up if they happened to be stopped by law enforcement officials for some other reason, like speeding. During the five-day operation in Manhattan, 248 officers from the Police Department, the State Police, the Division of Parole and the corrections agency’s Office of Special Investigations gathered before dawn in an industrial section of Queens. Image Chris Nunez, the leader of Team 7, handing out information about his group's next assignment. Credit Richard Perry/The New York Times Some on the roundup list, like Warren Morris, who had served 16 years for beating a person to death with a baseball bat, had violent pasts. But many more caught up in the dragnet were nonviolent offenders. The people on the list had, for the most part, avoided committing crimes since leaving prison. A recent study by the state corrections department that followed 23,710 former inmates for three years found that only 9 percent returned because of new felony convictions. But the 165 the police were after had repeatedly violated the rules of parole, such as missing curfew, failing drug tests, leaving their approved residences and failing to report to their parole officers. Many were like Ms. Garrett, serial drug offenders who tended to bounce from prison to shelters to the streets and back. Stephen Maher, chief of the special investigation unit that oversaw the roundup, said the state corrections department had a responsibility to go after all violators regardless of their criminal history. Otherwise, he said, someone on the run could commit a serious crime, and the public would lose faith in law enforcement. “We’d be hard pressed to explain to a victim or a family member that we had no idea where that absconder was when they committed a heinous crime,” he said. Image Officers gathering early one morning in Queens before heading out on a sweep. Credit Richard Perry/The New York Times The 69 people caught in Manhattan last month will probably go back to prison for as long as a year. Nearly 100 of those on the list got away. During the Brooklyn roundup in January, three ran and are still at large. When Rudolph Lang opened his door last month and saw Mr. Nunez and Anthony Preston, an investigator for the State Police, he tried to slam it shut, but they pushed their way in. Another man hid under a bed. Two were found squatting in an abandoned building on Myrtle Avenue in Brooklyn. A man with diabetes, Dwaine Williams, was picked up and taken to the hospital with gangrene in his hand. Leads for arrests came from surprising sources. All week, officers received tips from mothers, sisters and brothers worn down by a troubled relative who had relapsed on drugs or drained the family’s resources. One mother called twice to turn in her wheelchairbound son. When investigators arrived they found him trying to escape in an ambulette. Image Angel Vega was picked up in the parole violator sweep last month and detained in Queens. Credit Richard Perry/The New York Times Though the sweep last month was code-named March Madness, it was a low-key operation. Officers did not kick down doors; they knocked. Their caravan moved around the city without flashing lights or sirens; they stuck to the speed limit and stopped for school buses. On the day reporters followed Team 7, no officer drew a gun. As parents and children walked through building lobbies, several times officers apologized for being in the way. “Just give us 30 seconds,” Mr. Nunez said to a mother with her baby, as the officers waited for Ms. Garrett to be led out. “Someone’s coming down.” Neither absconders or the officers raised their voices. If anything, there was an embarrassed silence as handcuffed violators were led past their neighbors. Image A Team 7 officer watches the lobby and stairway of a Manhattan building as members of the team look for a suspect. Credit Richard Perry/The New York Times With the help of an angry ex-girlfriend whom investigators nicknamed “the woman scorned,” the team was able to track down one man who had done several stints in prison for drug sales and burglary. “I’m going to enjoy this,” the woman said as the officers left for the new girlfriend’s apartment in Harlem. Angel Vega turned himself in after officers showed up at his mother’s house. “They told her they’re just trying to help me get off the street,” he said in an interview while confined to a holding cell at the corrections agency’s New York City headquarters in Queens. Since leaving prison after serving six years on a weapons charge, Mr. Vega said he had struggled with heroin addiction. “I gave in,” he said. “I just got tired of fighting this addiction, wasting all this money.” Sitting in the cage, handcuffed to a bench, Mr. Vega dozed off at one point and seemed to be in a haze. Officers feared that he might be going into withdrawal. Normally detectives would have questioned him there, but decided that instead, he should be taken directly to Rikers Island. In jail, they said, he could get treatment for his addiction.
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NYC;Manhattan;Probation and Parole;New York;NYPD
|
ny0108754
|
[
"world",
"americas"
] |
2012/05/29
|
Virtual Therapy Helps Ciudad Juárez Residents Cope
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CIUDAD JUÁREZ, Mexico — Every time Erica González put the video goggles on, the details of her four days in captivity came rushing back to her. She could smell the sweaty T-shirt used to cover her head, taste the ash in the beer bottles that she was made to drink water from and hear her abductors’ muffled conversations. “It was scary to go through it again,” Ms. González said, “but I said, ‘It’s good for me.’ ” Ms. González, 18, is one of 25 patients who recently completed a virtual therapy program similar to the one used by the United States military to treat Iraq war veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder. Created by doctors and psychologists from the National Autonomous University of Mexico, the pilot project was aimed at filling a void in mental health services for Ciudad Juárez’s shellshocked residents. The city, home to the powerful Juárez cartel and coveted by other criminal syndicates because of its strategic location within the drug trade, has been one of the front lines in President Felipe Calderón’s assault on organized crime. The hair-raising virtual scenes that appear in the goggles were created for residents of this violence-racked city, which in recent years has had the highest murder rate in Mexico. The goggles show one of six scenes, including an armed robbery, a police checkpoint, a safe house for kidnappings and a shootout between cartel gunmen and army soldiers. Therapists show patients the scenes most closely related to their experience, and then further tailor the sessions to address their trauma more specifically, for instance by playing a song heard during their ordeal. The program sharply reduced post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms, with a success rate of 80 percent, organizers said. “There has been a lot of attention to the problem of violence, which is understood as public safety, drug trafficking and police,” said Hugo Almada, who does research on the psychological toll of violence at the Autonomous University of Ciudad Juárez. But the toll on mental health has been largely ignored, he said. Even those directly affected by the city’s violence, which has claimed more than 10,000 lives in the past four and a half years, often do not know when they need help. Another traumatized resident, Juan Carlos García, 29, stopped eating and sleeping and became withdrawn after his brother was killed and he had to identify the body at the morgue. After nearly a year, Mr. García’s wife and co-workers persuaded him to try the virtual reality treatment. Wearing his goggles and headphones, he retold the series of traumatic events, from the last time he saw his brother alive to his burial. He worked through breathing exercises with his therapist afterward, techniques that were intended to help him lower his anxiety levels, which were monitored as he viewed the images through the goggles. And he did his homework between sessions, spending time in his brother’s room, visiting his grave and driving by the site where he was killed. These exercises are especially important, the project’s therapists said, because unlike Iraq war veterans who eventually leave the battle zone, patients in Ciudad Juárez continue to live in danger. Because the patients have to drive by, or live near, the places where violent episodes occurred, the therapy is intended to help them stop avoiding these routes and routines. But it is uncertain whether the program will continue, though, because the grant under which it was conceived ran out in December and no other financing has emerged, organizers said. As emotionally draining as the process was, Mr. García said it was worth it. “I remember, but there isn’t as much pain,” he said. The need for psychological services remains vast. A recent study by the university in Ciudad Juárez found that more than 70 percent of the city’s residents had passed by a cordoned-off murder site. The doctors leading the virtual reality treatment estimate that a quarter of the population in Ciudad Juárez suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder. Maria Teresa Cerqueira, chief of the United States-Mexico border office of the Pan American Health Organization, said many residents in the city were dealing with the loss of loved ones, the disappearance of people around them or fears over their own security. “You need a lot of therapists that can support people,” she said. Brisa Delgado is one of the victims of violence left adrift by the lack of a response network. Gang members burst into a house party that she was attending in January 2010, firing indiscriminately and leaving 15 people dead. Ms. Delgado’s head was grazed by a bullet in the attack, which the authorities said was a gang’s attempt to neutralize young people they mistakenly thought were rivals. Her government-subsidized psychologist discharged her after two months of therapy, but Ms. Delgado, a soft-spoken 18-year-old with auburn bangs swept to the side, was not feeling any better. “Every day I dream that I get killed,” she said, looking down at her fidgety hands. Neglect toward mental health is not exclusive to Ciudad Juárez. All across Mexico, institutions for the mentally ill are known for their decrepit conditions. On a recent afternoon, a dozen patients huddled in the shady end of a courtyard in one of the shelters for the mentally ill in Ciudad Juárez, off a dusty highway east of the city. They swatted off flies drawn to the smell of feces and dirty clothes. Most of the money to operate the shelter comes from private donations. The government’s participation is negligible, said the shelter’s founder, the Rev. José Antonio Galván, who often salvages discarded and expired food for the patients. “These are people that don’t exist,” Father Galván said. “They are invisible.” For those whose lives have been turned upside down by criminals, psychological care can make the difference between self-imposed seclusion and guarded freedom. Ms. González, who stayed home for months after her kidnapping, has begun venturing out again. She goes to the movies with her boyfriend from time to time and is planning to return to school in August. Ms. González is afraid that she may be kidnapped again, but she still feels as if she has come a long way. “Before, I couldn’t talk about it without crying,” she said with a small, triumphant smile.
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Mental Health and Disorders;Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder;Ciudad Juarez (Mexico);Drug Abuse and Traffic;Therapy and Rehabilitation
|
ny0200176
|
[
"business",
"economy"
] |
2009/09/05
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Teenage Unemployment Reaches High of 25.5%
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Pity the unemployed, but pity especially the young and unemployed. This August, the teenage unemployment rate — that is, the percentage of teenagers who wanted a job who could not find one — was 25.5 percent, its highest level since the government began keeping track of such statistics in 1948. Likewise, the percentage of teenagers over all who were working was at its lowest level in recorded history. “There are an amazing number of kids out there looking for work,” said Andrew M. Sum, an economics professor at Northeastern University. “And given that unemployment is a lagging indicator, and young people’s unemployment even lags behind the rest of unemployment, we’re going to see a lot of kids of out work for a long, long, long, long time.” Recessions disproportionately hurt America’s youngest and most inexperienced workers, who are often the first to be laid off and the last to be rehired. Jobs for youth also never recovered after the last recession , in 2001. But this August found more than a quarter of the teenagers in the job market unable to find work, an unemployment rate nearly three times that of the nonteenage population (9 percent), and nearly four times that of workers over 55 (6.8 percent, also a record high for that age group). An estimated 1.64 million people ages 16-19 were unemployed. Many companies that rely on seasonal business, like leisure and hospitality, held the line and hired fewer workers this summer — a particular problem for teenagers. In Miami, 18-year-old Rony Bonilla spent past summers busing tables at restaurants and working at the Miami Seaquarium. He said he set out to find another job this summer, but dozens of businesses, like Walgreens, Kmart and Chuck-E-Cheese, turned him down. Mr. Bonilla said he and many of his friends were unable to find any job offers beyond commission-only employment scams. “I’m looking for anything to pay the bills,” he said. "You name it, I applied. And I never even heard from them.” Expecting record unemployment among youth, Congress set aside $1.2 billion in February’s stimulus bill for youth jobs and training. As with everything stimulus-related, supporters, like Jonathan Larsen of the National Youth Employment Coalition, say the money has tempered a bad situation, although the overall numbers are dismal. Economists say there are multiple explanations for why young workers have suffered so much in this downturn, but they mostly boil down to being at the bottom of the totem pole. Recent college graduates, unable to find higher-paying jobs, are working at places like Starbucks and Gap, taking jobs once held by their younger peers. Half of college graduates under age 25 are in jobs that do not require college degrees, the highest portion in at least 18 years, Mr. Sum said. Likewise, the reluctance or inability of older workers to retire has led to less attrition and fewer opportunities for workers to move up a rung and make room for new workers at the bottom of the corporate ladder. Increases in the minimum wage may have made employers reluctant to hire teenagers, said Marvin H. Kosters, a resident scholar emeritus at the American Enterprise Institute. High teenage jobless rates may also be distorted by other factors. The ability of more young people to rely on family may allow them to be pickier about jobs and therefore to stay out of work longer than they did in previous recessions, said Dean Baker, co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research. Additionally, with more students applying to college, the remaining pool of job applicants may be less desirable to employers. “Maybe the most employable kids pull out of the labor force, making the numbers for what percent of kids are looking for jobs appear even worse,” said Harry J. Holzer, an economist at Georgetown University and the Urban Institute. The decision of more young people to attend college, which could help them increase their earning potential later in life, may be one silver lining of the recession, economists say. Similarly, back when graduating from high school was a rarer achievement, the Great Depression pushed potential dropouts to stay in high school because work was so hard to come by. But there is a bit of a catch-22: Many college students need to work to pay for college. Half of traditional-age college students work 20 hours a week, Lawrence F. Katz, an economics professor at Harvard, said. “In today’s labor market, the big margin comes from going on to college, not just graduating high school,” he said. “Unlike the decision to finish high school, that’s not something you can do free of tuition.”
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Teenagers and Adolescence;Unemployment;Labor and Jobs;Economic Conditions and Trends
|
ny0135307
|
[
"world",
"asia"
] |
2008/04/26
|
China Says It Is Ready to Meet Dalai Lama Envoys
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BEIJING — China appeared to bend to international pressure on Friday as the government announced it would meet with envoys of the Dalai Lama , an unexpected shift that comes as Tibetan unrest in western China has threatened to cast a pall over the Beijing Olympics in August. China’s announcement, made through the country’s official news agency, provided few details about the shape or substance of the talks on the politically explosive issue of Tibet , but said discussions would begin “in the coming days.” The breakthrough comes as Chinese officials have pivoted this week and moved to tamp down the domestic nationalist anger unleashed by the Tibetan crisis and by the protests along the route of the international Olympic torch relay. “In view of the requests repeatedly made by the Dalai side for resuming talks, the relevant department of the central government will have contact and consultation with Dalai’s private representative in the coming days,” said an unidentified Chinese official, according to Xinhua, the official news agency. Whether talks would have any substance or impact is open to question. The timing of China’s announcement suggests that the ruling Communist Party hopes to defuse the international criticism that has mounted since violent protests erupted March 14 in Lhasa, capital of the Tibet Autonomous Region, and then spread to other Tibetan areas of Western China. Chinese officials blame Tibetan rioters in Lhasa for the deaths of at least 18 civilians and one police officer, but Tibet’s government in exile in India has made unverified claims that Chinese security forces have killed more than 140 Tibetans. For weeks, Chinese officials have castigated the Dalai Lama and blamed him for orchestrating the protests. The Dalai Lama has denied any involvement. The state news media announced the Chinese decision on Friday, shortly after Prime Minister Wen Jiabao met with José Manuel Barroso, president of the European Union ’s executive arm. Mr. Barroso called the announcement encouraging and said China appeared prepared to discuss all issues except sovereignty. “If the concern of the Dalai Lama is, as he has always stated, respect of cultural identity, religious identity and autonomy inside China, I believe, I believe, there’s real room for a dialogue,” he said, according to The Associated Press. The Dalai Lama, the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader, was returning to India from the United States on Friday. He has repeatedly called for renewed talks with Chinese officials and last month sent a letter to China’s president, Hu Jintao. Earlier this month, he hinted in Seattle that a back-channel discussion was already under way. On Friday, his spokesman, Tenzin Taklha, said, “Since His Holiness is committed to dialogue, we would welcome this.” The spokesman added that the Dalai Lama had not yet received any official communication from China. “We also have to look at when the offer does officially arrive,” he said from Dharamsala, India, the seat of the Tibetan government in exile. “We have to look at conditions they are talking about.” For weeks, international leaders, including President Bush, have called on China to resume a dialogue with envoys of the Dalai Lama, and described him as a man of peace. The two sides held six prior rounds of discussions that began in 2002, but broke off last summer. Those talks were focused primarily on whether the Dalai Lama would be allowed to return to China. In Europe, criticism of China’s actions is particularly strong, as several government leaders have announced they will not attend the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games. Anti-China protesters caused violent disruptions to the Olympic torch relay in London and Paris. “I believe the important question is whether China is doing this as a public relations maneuver to respond to international pressure before the Olympic Games,” said Wang Lixiong, a scholar in Beijing who has criticized government policy in Tibet. “They want the Dalai Lama to help them relieve pressure before the Olympics. But is it a sincere move, or just a public relations move?” Shi Yinhong, a professor of international relations at People’s University in Beijing, said the Chinese government did not want the talks to be “interpreted as a concession under duress.” He predicted that any discussions would be unlikely to bring meaningful breakthroughs. “I doubt that both sides will change their fundamental positions,” Mr. Shi said. “If there is dialogue, this is dialogue for the sake of dialogue. Maybe both sides only want to impress the Western audience.” Prime Minister Gordon Brown of Britain and Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany have announced that they will not attend the opening ceremony of the Games on Aug. 8 and never intended to. The French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, who has raised the possibility of skipping the opening ceremonies, said in a live interview on national television on Thursday night that as France took the six-month leadership of the European Union in July, he wanted to find a unified European stand on the Games. In recent days, China and France have been working to assuage the public anger and mutual accusations over by the Tibetan protests. Many Chinese have been enraged by the anti-Chinese protests during the Paris leg of the torch relay and also by Mr. Sarkozy’s possible boycott. On Thursday, President Hu met in Beijing with the president of the French Senate, Christian Poncelet, and emphasized the value China placed on its relations with France, even as he repeated Chinese complaints about the torch protests. Also on Thursday, Prime Minister Wen met with France’s former prime minister, Jean-Pierre Raffarin, in another effort to smooth relations. But on Friday, Carrefour, the major French supermarket chain, with some two million customers in China, said that it had canceled a major ad campaign set there for the Chinese May 1 holiday. Its officials have said that the Chinese calls to boycott French products are serious, but so far have not had a major impact on sales. The Dalai Lama has talked about “genuine autonomy” within the Chinese state for what he describes as “greater Tibet,” a region that includes the current Tibet Autonomous Region as well as Tibetan areas of neighboring Chinese provinces. Chinese officials have resisted any discussions on Tibet’s status and only shown willingness to negotiate over the Dalai Lama’s return. “I don’t think they’re willing to give much ground on the concrete issues, like autonomy in Tibet,” said Mr. Wang, the Chinese scholar. “The Chinese government has never admitted there is anything to negotiate in terms of Tibet. These are meetings with the Dalai Lama’s people, never negotiations. They say, ‘We’ll meet you.’ But it will not necessarily solve any problems.” China has long condemned the Dalai Lama as a “splittist” who is pursuing Tibetan independence, though a spokesman for the Dalai Lama notes that he has not sought independence since 1974. Chinese spokesmen often say the government would be willing to resume dialogue with the Tibetan spiritual leader, but only if he shows “sincerity” in renouncing separatism and on other issues. “It is hoped that through contact and consultation, the Dalai side will take credible moves to stop activities aimed at splitting China, stop plotting and inciting violence and stop disrupting and sabotaging the Beijing Olympic Games so as to create conditions for talks,” the unidentified Chinese official said in Friday’s official announcement.
|
China;Tibet;Dalai Lama;Demonstrations and Riots;European Union;Xinhua
|
ny0118558
|
[
"sports",
"football"
] |
2012/10/14
|
Giants’ Osi Umenyiora Defies Every Label
|
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — One day last week, the Giants’ defensive linemen were discussing money in their meeting room at the team’s training center. Several players had watched a television documentary about seemingly flush athletes going broke after their careers ended, and a casual conversation quickly turned more passionate. At one point, defensive tackle Marvin Austin recalled, it was as if Osi Umenyiora were in church. Umenyiora, a veteran defensive end , was confessor and preacher — first telling his teammates about all the mistakes he had made over the years, then imploring them to listen closely so they would never suffer the same fate. Umenyiora locked eyes with Austin, a third-year player, to emphasize his point; he turned to be sure the young star Jason Pierre-Paul could hear him. To outsiders, the scene would appear incongruous. Justin Tuck, the unit’s captain, is the talker on defense. Chris Canty has a raw, unfiltered side to him, too. They are the emotional souls of the line. Umenyiora, a two-time Pro Bowl selection and All-Pro pass rusher, is supposed to be the sullen one, the standoffish one. He is the one who has continually engaged the team in contract disputes the past few seasons — to the point that, by his own account, he became known to fans as “the guy on the stationary bike” because that is how he often spent training camp workouts. But this label, it seems, is lacking. Countless athletes have said they are misunderstood, generally as a way to explain mistakes, and several Giants even used that word to describe Umenyiora. The difference is that Umenyiora never did. “It isn’t misunderstood,” he said in a rare extended interview here, drawing out his words. “That’s too easy. I think, maybe, it’s just — incomplete.” In some ways, that mystery is by design. Umenyiora’s reticence with the public and the news media is not by accident. While Tuck and quarterback Eli Manning readily make themselves available in the locker room, Umenyiora generally stays away. Typically, he speaks to reporters once a week (on Fridays, when fewer are present) and when he does, he rarely ventures beyond the mundane. “Look, it took me a whole year to get to know the guy,” Canty said. “When I first met him, I couldn’t stand him. I’ll admit that. But what people don’t realize is that he is incredibly smart, incredibly thoughtful and one of the most interesting people you could ever meet.” Canty laughed, adding, “You just have to get him to talk to you.” Umenyiora readily acknowledges his aversion to the spotlight. “I won’t lie to you,” he said. “I’ve wished that I wasn’t in such a big market, that I could have just gone about my business and played football and been in a small corner somewhere where nobody knows anything.” Yet his reticence is more philosophical. Umenyiora spent his childhood in London and in his native Nigeria, then moved to the United States as a teenager. He did not play football until 11th grade, then earned a business degree from Troy University in Alabama, and developed an abiding appreciation for history, politics and religion. He recently finished reading the Bible and started the Koran. Tuck revealed that he and Umenyiora were in the midst of a long-running discussion comparing Clinton-era economics with the policies of President Obama. Quite simply, Umenyiora said, he does not understand all the fuss about the N.F.L. “That’s the thing,” he said, pointing two fingers at his own body. “Look at what I do. I put on tights and go out there and try to hit someone. It’s hard, but is it really important? Does it matter? Why should we get any attention at all?” He was not being modest or feigning humility, but simply asking a question. Umenyiora will often raise broader points about a subject, regardless of how universally accepted it is, said Adewale Ogunleye , who retired from the N.F.L. in 2010 and is one of Umenyiora’s closest friends. The two once spent an inordinate amount of time, Ogunleye said, debating the merits of flying first class when an exit-row seat offered the same leg room. Umenyiora, Ogunleye recalled, was trying to be sure that Ogunleye found some value in the first-class seat as opposed to simply wanting it because he thought that is where a professional athlete should sit. “He just doesn’t accept things because they are what everyone else accepts,” Ogunleye said. “He needs to see the reason behind it. He needs to think about it.” Along those lines, Ogunleye added that Umenyiora was seemingly immune to fads and trends. When a visitor recently chided Umenyiora for still having a BlackBerry in a locker room full of iPhones and Androids, he said defiantly: “I really love this thing. Why change?” Umenyiora also avoids designer clothes. He frequently wears dark gray Crocs sandals to and from team headquarters (to complement his gray sweat pants) and once, when Ogunleye and Umenyiora went out for a night on the town with friends, Umenyiora showed up in full Nigerian dress. Their companions were surprised, but “that’s just what he does,” Ogunleye said. “He wears what he wants even if some people thought it was like something out of ‘Coming to America,’ ” Ogunleye added. “He doesn’t care.” When Umenyiora bows to public pressure, it rarely goes well. He recently gave in and began reading “Fifty Shades of Grey” (“It was like you couldn’t get away from people talking about it,” he said) but quit after just a few pages because “the writing was just so cheesy I was like, ‘Come on man, you can’t do this.’ ”He added, “I didn’t even get to the good parts.” Lately, Umenyiora has found himself thinking of the future more. He will be 31 next month. He has struggled along with the rest of the defensive line over the Giants’ first five games, and he is not signed beyond this season. The notion that he is nearing the end of his career has changed his perspective. That was part of the motivation for his talk in the meeting room, he said, and he acknowledged that he now viewed his contract battles with the Giants differently. The disputes — which involved public posturing by each side, occasional name-calling, aborted trade attempts and a holdout , among other tactics — dragged on acrimoniously. And when they finally ended, Umenyiora repeatedly said he had no regrets, even though he ultimately secured little in terms of money. Now, though, his opinion has changed. He recalled a moment after the Giants won the Super Bowl last February, when a reporter approached him in the midst of the giddy celebration and wanted to know how he felt about his contract. Umenyiora’s face fell. “It was like a cloud hanging over me,” he said. “It was terrible. It felt like it would never go away. “Of course I regret it,” Umenyiora added. “Because nothing was really accomplished out of it. I didn’t really gain anything. The extra money I’m making this year? Even 10 times that wasn’t worth what I had to endure.” He laughed. “I have a business degree, but I’m not a good businessman — you could tell that through everything I do,” he said. “That contract stuff — that was the worst thing I ever could have done.” That is what Umenyiora told the other defensive linemen, he said, using those exact words. He believed in the principle that N.F.L. teams cut players in the middle of contracts, so players should be free to renegotiate as well, but he “never imagined it would get so ugly.” It was hard to acknowledge his errors, Umenyiora said, but he is changing. Lately he has talked more about family, particularly with Tuck and Ogunleye. Umenyiora “has dated the most attractive women on the face of the Earth,” Ogunleye said, and has a 5-year-old son, Tijani, whom he wishes he saw even more than he does. But he has never married, choosing instead to “run around,” as he described it. For a long time, Umenyiora said, he believed he might never get married. His parents divorced when he was an infant and that made him “not very easy to love,” he said. He almost never discusses his home life. But for a moment, he opened up. “Your mother? Your family?” he said. “That’s how you learn to love. I used to think I didn’t need that, but now I know I do. I want that love someday, too.” He smiled then, not sullen or surly or sour at all. Umenyiora’s public image may never fully recover from the arrows of the past few off-seasons, but that does not mean he should be defined by it. He made sure to remind his teammates of that in the meeting room, too. “I told them, ‘It takes a genius to learn from other people’s mistakes,’ ” he said. “It’s true. Most people, they have to learn from their own.”
|
Umenyiora Osi;Football;New York Giants
|
ny0188445
|
[
"business",
"smallbusiness"
] |
2009/04/23
|
Making Money by Helping Companies Save It
|
Dave Colgan, direct sales manager for Utz Quality Foods, a snack food manufacturer in Hanover, Pa., was entrenched behind his desk, arms crossed on his chest, chin down, listening reluctantly to a man who promised — at no charge — to overhaul the company’s shipping arrangements to save money while getting better service. “It really did seem too good to be true,” Mr. Colgan said. In fact, Mr. Colgan had agreed to the meeting only at the insistence of a friend. Which Richard Palarea, the man with the ridiculous proposition, knew full well. Yet in less than a half hour, with the fragrance of chocolate-dipped potato chips wafting in from the 1930s factory, Mr. Colgan had relaxed his posture and his attitude. Before an hour had passed, Mr. Palarea had a handshake deal to renegotiate the Utz shipping contracts. Later Mr. Palarea would estimate the savings at 30 percent, about $244,000 a year. Mr. Palarea gets paid by keeping a portion of those savings. In all, not a very challenging day for Mr. Palarea, a logistics consultant, whose company, PA & Associates, inhabits a very small corner of $162 billion industry of third-party logistics. Third-party logistics firms don’t own warehouses or trucks, but arrange for transportation of freight. “We are like travel agents for freight,” explained Robert Voltmann, president and chief executive of the Transportation Intermediaries Association, a trade group. What Mr. Palarea’s company does is rare in the industry. It combs through a company’s shipping records and figures out how to cut costs. On average, he said, he finds clients 42 percent savings without sacrificing service. For many years after founding the business in 1993, Mr. Palarea and his wife, Juliette, ran PA & Associates almost as a hobby, even in years when he said it produced $2.5 million in revenue. But it is now a full-time endeavor for both of them, and they face a challenge more formidable than the most intractable shipping manager: popularity. The economic meltdown has corporations open to untraditional sources of savings. The result is that Mr. Palarea says he got 10 contracts in first month of 2009, a normal year’s worth of work. Now Mr. Palarea faces difficult decisions on how to expand the business. He does not want to turn away customers, but he doesn’t want to take on a staff and become a manager. He wants to offer more services nationwide, like finding savings in phone contracts, but doesn’t want to build a sprawling organization. Mr. Palarea never intended to be in the logistics business. It was an outlet for his wife, Juliette, a former sales representative for MCI. “I had had enough of corporate America,” said Ms. Palarea, who wanted a business under her control so that she could work at her own pace. “If I was motivated enough,” she said, “I could make as much as I wanted to make.” In the early days Ms. Palarea handled sales, and after work Mr. Palarea did the analysis, hand-entering numbers from paper bills into an rudimentary computer spread sheet. “Juliette would sit in one seat, I’d sit in another, and she would read me the numbers.” The pitch was simple. They offer, at no risk to a company, to review its shipping bills and negotiate a savings. Then, if the client took the deal they negotiated, the Palareas would keep half of the company’s shipping savings for three years. If the company didn’t take the new contract, it owned nothing. No cost ever went on the company’s books, just savings. Mr. Palarea argues that it is also good for shipping companies like Federal Express and United Parcel Service, which get a long-term customer out of the deal, one who won’t come back to renegotiate year after year. A U.P.S. spokeswoman, Karen Cole, seemingly unpersuaded, said, “We value our relationship with our customers, when you use a third-party negotiator, you are a step away from that.” Federal Express declined to comment. For many years, PA & Associates was a nice sideline income, but not what Mr. Palarea saw as a full-time job. “Shipping just didn’t excite me,” he said. He worked in a dot-com and preferred the corporate world of information services. But Ms. Palarea kept making sales. And Mr. Palarea’s interest in technology helped them automate, first adding an optical reader so they didn’t have to do the data entry for spreadsheets. Mr. Palarea pursued a corporate career until 2003. While vice president for technology at AIIM, an information management trade association in Silver Spring, Md., he had to lay off staff members. “I had a junior help desk person who sat in my office and cried,” he said. “It broke my heart.” That and the hour commute each way soured him on the job. “I looked at what my wife was doing and compared to me, she was making twice the money and doing half the work.” That year Mr. Palarea decided to concentrate on PA & Associates. To ramp up he drew on the lessons of 15 years of dabbling. First, he acknowledged he had a tough sell. In a sense, his product was too good. Offering something for nothing got PA & Associates dismissed out of hand. He needed to establish credibility before trying to make a pitch. To do that, they worked exclusively by referral as they did in the meeting with Utz. To induce friends and clients to make introductions, PA shared fees, giving 15 percent of their take to the person who made the referral. He says he wrote a six-figure check to one good networker. PA also sought to work for established brands, which in turn helped open other doors. The client list includes Legg Mason, Volcom, Lionel Trains, Danskin, and VeriFone. “People are like ‘Oh, you did something for Legg Mason?’ ” Mr. Palarea said. Still, the biggest challenge is often to win over clients who think they have already cut a shrewd deal. Part of the problem is that clients can only see their savings after they’ve engaged PA & Associates, as Mr. Colgan did. “We can certainly negotiate our own contracts, but we would have left a lot on the table,” Mr. Colgan said. “Things Rich got us, we never would have thought of,” like fuel discounts for shipping to particular areas. The trick there, Mr. Palarea learned, was not to deal with a shipping manger, who might see PA as encroaching on his turf. Instead, go to the chief financial officer, and talk money, not shipping. That was a particularly difficult lesson for Mr. Palarea, who wanted to stress the quality of the service they would negotiate, not the price. “We didn’t want to cheapen the message, which was, ‘Come to us if you want world-class shipping and we save you money,’ ” he said. It was only the recent downturn in the market that convinced him leading with savings didn’t imply shoddy service. The strategies are working, said Mr. Palarea, which has him on a precipice. Does he keep the operation small, take a boutique approach and accept only the largest clients? Or does he automate more and handle smaller clients with better margins? “I don’t know that we have to choose,” he said. He thinks he has found a way to automate more of the process, freeing up some time. He may create a do-it-yourself software kit that would help small companies negotiate shipping more effectively, he said. But that may require PA & Associates to take on debt, which Ms. Palarea said makes her nervous. “This can be the demise of a company,” she said. “We are at a crossroads. It’s that crossroads where people make a bad decision and they are gone.” PA & Associates has made some concessions to growth. Mr. Palarea has brought in a partner, Chris Steer, a former Johns Hopkins lacrosse player and lawyer with deep community ties. And Mr. Palarea concedes he might add two analysts so he can concentrate on meeting potential clients. But ultimately, if the opportunities keep popping up, the growth question is one that won’t go away. There are a lot of potential clients, but only so many Palareas.
|
Ships and Shipping;Executives and Management
|
ny0075471
|
[
"world",
"africa"
] |
2015/05/03
|
Burundi: 3 Die in Grenade Attacks
|
Three people have died in grenade attacks in Bujumbura, the capital, a spokesman for the public security ministry said Saturday, during a week of street protests against President Pierre Nkurunziza’s decision to seek a third term. Two police officers were killed in an attack on a police station and a civilian was killed in another blast, said Pierre Nkurikiye. Seventeen people were wounded in the two attacks, which occurred on Friday night, he said. The police have arrested two suspects, Mr. Nkurikiye said. At least six people have been killed in recent clashes with the police, according to the Burundi Red Cross.
|
Pierre Nkurunziza;Civilian casualties;Bombs;Fatalities,casualties;Burundi
|
ny0137842
|
[
"world",
"asia"
] |
2008/05/31
|
In Disclosure, North Korea Contradicts U.S. Intelligence on Its Plutonium Program
|
WASHINGTON — An 18,000-page declaration submitted by North Korea to the United States is stirring debate about whether American intelligence agencies previously overstated how much plutonium the Pyongyang government might have produced for its nuclear weapons program. Bush administration officials have declined to comment on the declaration, which State Department officials say will take weeks to study, but they have indicated that North Korea is acknowledging it produced 37 kilograms of plutonium, or about 81 pounds. That total would be more than the 30 kilograms that North Korea has acknowledged previously but somewhat less than the 40 to 50 kilograms that American intelligence agencies had calculated in the past. Estimates on how many nuclear bombs North Korea could wring from its plutonium program have ranged from 6 to 10. No one in the administration is prepared to accept the documents at face value, a Bush administration official said, and some intelligence analysts are particularly wary of the numbers they have seen so far. “We’re coming to an important juncture in this process,” Christopher R. Hill, the chief North Korea nuclear negotiator, told reporters in Moscow on Friday after meeting with his Russian counterpart and after meetings this week in Beijing with North Korean officials. Mr. Hill said that the North Koreans were working very hard on the overall plutonium declaration. State Department officials have assembled a team of reactor experts and translators to go through the seven boxes of plutonium documents in hand. The documents go back to 1987 and contain information about North Korea’s three major campaigns to reprocess plutonium for weapons — in 1990, 2003 and 2005, administration officials said. The documents do not include any information about North Korea’s uranium program or proliferation activities. The declaration is part of what officials call a six-party nuclear agreement — still a work in progress — among North Korea, the United States, Russia, China, Japan and South Korea for the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. The declaration and the agreement are facing skepticism from Congress and from more hard-line North Korea experts who say that the North cannot be trusted. A former diplomat who recently met with North Korean officials said Thursday at a forum on North Korea that the North was not planning to give up all of its nuclear weapons or material. The former diplomat, Charles L. Pritchard, who is now head of the Korea Economic Institute and was a North Korea policy coordinator under Presidents Clinton and Bush, said the North Korean officials told him they would destroy their nuclear facilities but not necessarily destroy the weapons and material already manufactured. Mr. Pritchard said the North Koreans also told him they expected to be provided with light-water reactors for dismantling their nuclear installations. Tom Casey, the deputy spokesman for the State Department, said: “With all due respect to Mr. Pritchard, he’s a former government official. I’m not sure who he’s talking to. But I think the secretary, the president and Chris Hill have all made clear that we expect the North Koreans to provide us a declaration that meets the requirements of the six parties.” The question of uranium could also eventually confront American intelligence agencies with an even bigger challenge, if the North Koreans ever get around to completing a declaration about any nuclear activities involving uranium. The United States has long asserted that North Korea’s weapons efforts included the enrichment of uranium, but the North has denied having an uranium program. North Korea Tests Missiles SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea fired three short-range missiles into waters off its western coast in what appears to be a routine test, the news agency Yonhap reported Saturday. The three ship-to-ship missiles were fired into the sea on Friday, Yonhap reported, citing South Korean officials whom it did not identify. The report said that two of them seem to have misfired. The agency quoted an unidentified defense official as saying the tests did not appear to be meant to provoke the South, since they were fired well away from contested waters.
|
North Korea;Atomic Weapons;Plutonium;Arms Control and Limitation and Disarmament;State Department;United States Armament and Defense;Uranium;Pyongyang (North Korea)
|
ny0223271
|
[
"sports",
"baseball"
] |
2010/11/19
|
Felix Hernandez Wins A.L. Cy Young Award
|
Felix Hernandez had the lowest run support of any pitcher in the major leagues this season. He found much more support Thursday from members of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. Hernandez, the Seattle Mariners right-hander who had only 13 wins last season , won the American League Cy Young Award in a landslide. He took 21 of 28 first-place votes, beating Tampa Bay ’s David Price , who had four first-place votes, and the Yankees ’ C.C. Sabathia , who had three. Hernandez, who was 13-12, had the fewest victories ever by a starter who won the award in a nonstrike season. Price was 19-6, and Sabathia was 21-7. In past years, one or the other might have won easily. But most voters no longer emphasize a pitcher’s record, and Hernandez’s other numbers were overwhelming. “I didn’t have the wins, but you look over all the numbers and you say, ‘Wow,’ ” Hernandez said, adding later: “I’m so happy. My first reaction was crying.” Hernandez had a 2.27 earned run average while logging 249 2/3 innings and striking out 232. He allowed fewer than seven hits per nine innings, and opponents hit .212 against him. Hernandez’s victory Thursday continued a trend that began last season, when Zack Greinke won the A.L. award with only 16 wins and Tim Lincecum took the National League prize with just 15. Increasingly, voters are looking beyond a pitcher’s record to decide who performed best. Some voters disagree, of course, and so does much of the baseball community. In players’ choice voting announced last month, Price was selected most outstanding A.L. pitcher. His 2.72 E.R.A. ranked third in the league, behind Hernandez and Boston ’s Clay Buchholz (2.33). “David Price was incredible,” said Mel Antonen, formerly of USA Today , who voted for Price. “I understand the dominance of Felix, and I understand what the statistics say, but in a lot of ways Price was every bit as dominant for a team that needed it to get into the playoffs. I understand the argument for sabermetrics and the new wave of thinking, but it’s not the only way of thinking.” Antonen cited Price’s consistency, noting that he allowed three earned runs or fewer in 28 of his 31 starts. He said he was also strongly influenced by Price’s performance in September, when he went 4-0 with a 1.67 E.R.A. The Rays won all six of Price’s starts in September and secured the best record in the league. The Mariners lost all six of Hernandez’s starts in May , when they still had Cliff Lee and a glimmer of hope at contending. Hernandez was 0-3 with a 4.79 E.R.A. in May. As it turned out, the Mariners’ offense was far too weak to save their season. The team scored only 513 runs, the fewest of any A.L. team in a full season since the creation of the designated hitter in 1973. But Hernandez did not get much sympathy for that handicap from the National League Cy Young Award winner, Roy Halladay . “Obviously Felix’s numbers are very, very impressive,” Halladay said on his conference call Tuesday. “But I think, ultimately, you look at how guys are able to win games. Sometimes the run support isn’t there, but you sometimes just find ways to win games. I think the guys that are winning and helping their teams deserve a strong look, regardless of how good Felix’s numbers are.” Most voters were more forgiving, without needing to dig deeply into complicated metrics to make their case. Hernandez led the league in many advanced categories, but he also ranked first in E.R.A. and innings while finishing second in strikeouts, one behind the Angels ’ Jered Weaver. “If you look at every conceivable measurement for all the candidates, Felix Hernandez — other than wins — pretty much dominated the field,” said Erik Boland of Newsday , who voted for Hernandez. “So based on that, and based on the award being for best pitcher, not most valuable pitcher — because if it was most valuable pitcher, it could have been Sabathia or Price — all the measurements, rather dramatically, point toward Felix.” Joe Smith, who covers the Rays for The St. Petersburg Times, followed a strong candidate this season in Price. Like Boland, who covers Sabathia, Smith also voted for Hernandez for some of the same reasons. “Wins are a factor in this type of award, but not the main factor, because it’s one of the least controllable things a pitcher has,” Smith said. “I try to vote based on who was the best pitcher in the league, not the most valuable pitcher or the best pitcher for the best team. Last year I voted for Greinke, and this year I voted for Felix.” Hernandez had 12 starts in which he allowed two earned runs or fewer and did not win. (Price had five such starts, Sabathia three.) In no-decisions and losses, Hernandez’s E.R.A. was 3.34, compared with 3.76 for Price and 5.25 for Sabathia. Hernandez also had 15 starts of at least seven innings with no more than one earned run; the last A.L. pitcher to do that was Pedro Martinez in 2000. In six starts against the Texas Rangers , the best team in his division, Hernandez was only 2-3 with a 4.28 E.R.A. Yet in six starts against other playoff teams (the Yankees, the Minnesota Twins and the Cincinnati Reds ), he was 5-1 with a 1.08 E.R.A. In three starts and 26 innings against the Yankees, Hernandez was 3-0 with 31 strikeouts and a 0.35 E.R.A., allowing one earned run. Over all, though, Hernandez’s record was ordinary. It was much better last year, at 19-5, when Greinke won the award. This year Hernandez improved, but the Mariners played worse, scoring only 3.06 runs a game for him, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. The voters did not penalize Hernandez for that bit of bad luck, and Hernandez did not hold it against his teammates. He said they simply tried too hard for him. “I think I had great numbers last year and didn’t get it,” Hernandez said. “This year I had great, great numbers — better numbers than last year. I was not like: ‘O.K., I should get it.’ But I think I deserve it.”
|
Baseball;Mariners;American League;Yankees;Tampa Bay Rays;Cy Young;C C Sabathia;Zack Greinke;Felix Hernandez
|
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