clouseau rueful

Thursday, November 7, 2013

Bisping Outlines Plan to Hold Judges “Accountable”

Judging in MMA has always been a hot button issue in the sport, but lately there’s been widespread calls to address how too many fights are being inaccurately scored. Case in point, Cole Miller recently argued that far too often “unqualified people” are judging fights. Conor McGregor has stated that he’s in favour of scrapping time limits and judges all together…

Well, at a recent Q&A session in Manchester, middleweight contender Michael Bisping offered this take on how judging could be improved (comments via MMA Weekly.com):

“Sometimes a fight happens and I look at it and I think clearly this guy won and all the judges will give it to that guy. But one judge will give it to the other guy, maybe 30-27. I think that judge should be pulled to one side at a hearing of some sort and told to explain why he gave it to that guy, break it down round by round.”

“Make him watch the fight and say, why on Earth did you score it for that guy because he clearly lost. So why did you do it?” added Bisping “He should be held accountable is what I’m saying. If he can’t back up why he scored it that way then he shouldn’t be a judge anymore.”

While some old school and hardcore fans would like to see bouts with no time limits, judges or rounds, what Bisping’s proposing is much more realistic at this juncture. Like it or not, the current system is probably here to stay, so educating more judges on what actually constitutes winning a bout is key.

As for Bisping, the fighter is hoping to return in early 2014, after undergoing eye surgery recently to repair a detached retina.

Stay tuned to MMA Frenzy.com for all your UFC news and coverage.

Front-Page Photo Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

Source: http://mmafrenzy.com/95860/bisping-outlines-plan-to-hold-judges-accountable/
Related Topics: Jonathan Martin dolly parton nobel peace prize revenge danity kane

Falling Soon Through a Sky Near You

It's what the New York Times calls "the latest in a parade of spacecraft falling from the sky": the imminent crash of the European Space Agency's Gravity Field and Steady-State Ocean Circulation Explorer satellite (or GOCE).

Navy nominee ensnared in fight on military policy

FILE - In this April 4, 2012, file photo, Jo Ann Rooney testifies at a field hearing of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee in Tacoma, Wash. Rooney, President Barack Obama’s nominee for a top civilian job in the Navy, is in the crosshairs of female senators determined to overhaul the military justice system to stanch the increasing number of sexual assaults. Rooney, tapped to be undersecretary of the Navy, responded to a Senate panel in October 2013, and offered her opinion on a proposal to remove commanders from the process of deciding whether serious crimes, including sexual misconduct cases, go to trial. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama's nominee for a top civilian job in the Navy is in the crosshairs of female senators determined to overhaul the military justice system to stanch the increasing number of sexual assaults.

Jo Ann Rooney, tapped to be undersecretary of the Navy, responded to a Senate panel last month and offered her opinion on a proposal to remove commanders from the process of deciding whether serious crimes, including sexual misconduct cases, go to trial. That judgment would rest instead with seasoned trial lawyers who have prosecutorial experience and hold the rank of colonel or above.

"A judge advocate outside the chain of command will be looking at a case through a different lens than a military commander," Rooney said. "I believe the impact would be decisions based on evidence rather than the interest in preserving good order and discipline."

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., chief proponent of that far-reaching change, was furious and is blocking Rooney's nomination.

"The United States legal system is based on evidence, justice and due process. Why isn't this good enough for our service members who risk everything to protect those freedoms?" Gillibrand said, adding, "Jo Ann Rooney's testimony should send chills down the spine of any member of the armed services seeking justice."

Rooney sought to clarify her response, writing to the committee on Oct. 16. The nominee said she did not mean to suggest that commanders do not consider evidence. She reiterated her reservations about the proposed change, saying judge advocates would lack the "necessary breadth of perspective" to decide on whether to proceed with a case, especially if they were geographically removed from the accused's command.

"Even assuming commanders and judge advocates would come to the same conclusions on disposition, it is my opinion that if you remove commanders from decision-making you absolve them of accountability and responsibility for those decisions," Rooney wrote.

It was clear Wednesday that that answer failed to placate Gillibrand, who told a Capitol Hill news conference that the first answer was unacceptable and the second was Rooney "doubling down" on her initial response.

Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., said she was shocked by what Rooney wrote, saying "it sickened me."

While the Senate Armed Services Committee has approved Rooney's nomination, Gillibrand continues to block the pick, raising doubts about Rooney's fate just as the Senate is about to engage in a fierce fight over military policy.

Rear Adm. John Kirby, a Navy spokesman, said Navy leaders were aware of the hold on the nomination and looked forward to working with the Senate on the confirmation process.

The intensity of the fight was evident last week as Gillibrand and Vice President Joe Biden engaged in an animated conversation on the Senate floor on the issue of sexual assault in the military. Biden was in the Senate to swear in newly elected Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey.

On Wednesday, Gillibrand was joined at an emotional news conference by a victim of assault, retired military, advocates and a bipartisan group of senators who back her legislation. She will push to attach her measure as an amendment to the annual defense policy bill that the Senate is expected to consider the week of Nov. 18.

Forty-six senators support the proposal, including 38 Democrats and eight Republicans.

But she is up against the Pentagon and the chairman of the Armed Services Committee, Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., as well as fellow female Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo.

Levin — echoing the Joint Chiefs of Staff — wants to keep commanders involved in deciding whether to prosecute sexual assault cases.

Military leaders have argued that removing the decision from their purview would undercut the ability of officers to maintain good order and discipline in their units.

The Pentagon estimated that as many as 26,000 military members may have been sexually assaulted last year, up from an estimated 19,000 assaults in 2011, based on an anonymous survey of military personnel. While the number of sexual assaults that members of the military actually reported rose 6 percent to 3,374 in 2012, thousands of victims were still unwilling to come forward despite new oversight and assistance programs aimed at curbing the crimes, the report said.

Earlier this year, the Armed Services Committee backed a Levin bill designed to increase pressure on senior commanders to prosecute sexual assault cases by requiring a top-level review if they fail to do so. Levin's proposal also would make it a crime to retaliate against victims who report a sexual assault and also calls on the Pentagon to relieve commanders who fail to create a climate receptive for victims.

Gillibrand complained about "zero accountability" while other senators who joined her bemoaned military leadership closing ranks on the issue.

Associated PressSource: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2013-11-06-Military%20Sexual%20Assault/id-479c3e1b177643d3bd76e1b1652572e4
Similar Articles: Healthcare.gov how i met your mother zac efron bo pelini roger federer

Cisco takes fight to SDNs with bold Insieme launch

Game on: Cisco has acquired spin-in Insieme Networks for up to $863 million, depending on revenue targets, and rolled out a family of its switches that are the network giant's strategic answer to the growing software defined network movement.

And as expected, that response -- ACI (Application Centric Infrastructure) -- is largely hardware-based, with a new line of application aware Nexus 9000 switches supporting custom ASICs and/or merchant silicon, depending on what you want to do with it. It also includes a policy controller called APIC (Application Policy Infrastructure Controller) for assigning service levels and access privileges to applications, a new version of Cisco's NX-OS operating system and a multiplicity of big name endorsers, including BMC, Computer Associates, Citrix, EMC, Embrane, Emulex, F5, IBM, Microsoft, NetApp, OpsCode, Panduit, Puppet Labs, Niksun, Red Hat, SAP, Splunk, Symantec, VCE, and VMware. (See our first look slideshow of Cisco's product.)

[ InfoWorld presents the Bossies 2013, the best open source software for networking, data centers, clouds, and more. | Get expert networking how-to advice from InfoWorld's Networking Deep Dive PDF special report. ]

Insieme's launch is sure to heat up competition with VMware, which acquired Nicira for $1.26 billion to virtualize networks the way it virtualizes servers. VMware's NSX ecosystem includes some of Cisco's most bitter rivals.

[RSVP:Chambers: Cisco waited too long to address SDNs | Insieme FAQ: a few key facts]

Cisco says ACI and its group of allies will provide data centers and cloud providers with unobstructed visibility and integrated management of both physical and virtual networked IT resources built around the needs of applications, which the company says are "the lifeblood of business." The company says ACI is designed to unify all the component parts of IT networking, storage, compute, network services, applications, security and manage them as a single dynamic entity.

Cisco says this ecosystem, combined with APIC's APIs and some open source acknowledgements, makes ACI "open." Yet much of that openness apparently depends on whether the APIC is deployed.

Source: http://www.infoworld.com/t/networking/cisco-takes-fight-sdns-bold-insieme-launch-230338
Tags: Real Madrid brett favre apple store Supernatural tina fey

Cad Cam

Get Dear Prudence delivered to your inbox each week; click here to sign up. Please send your questions for publication to prudence@slate.com. (Questions may be edited.)

Got a burning question for Prudie? She'll be online at Washingtonpost.com to chat with readers each Monday at noon. Submit your questions and comments here before or during the live discussion.

Dear Prudence,
My husband is a man of excellent character. We don’t keep secrets from each other; we even share our passwords. We’ve been together four years and married for one. A month ago, my best friend, who is quite large-chested, stayed the night at our house. The three of us had quite a bit to drink. In the morning my husband sat me and my friend down and made a confession. He said he had put his phone in her bedroom hoping to make a video of her getting undressed, but he forgot to hit the record button. He said he was telling us because he felt so guilty and that he was sorry that what he intended to do was so super creepy. I was very angry and made sure he really understood how badly he'd hurt me and my friend. My friend said what he tried to do was terrible, but we all agreed to move on. He spent weeks apologizing profusely. We established he didn’t have an emotional attraction to my friend and this was not part of a pattern of behavior. He explained he felt as if he wasn't himself for a few minutes, and it scared him. He was very angry with himself, but he's been able to work through and forgive himself. Now, a month later my friend says she needs therapy for what happened, and is convinced that my husband has some sort of deep sexual and psychological problem. I understand she feels violated; however, I can't help but feel that she is projecting some of her other issues into this situation. She told another close friend, who encouraged her to file a report with the police on my husband. I asked her not to. The second friend then called and criticized me for telling the first friend not to call the police. So now, I’m angry at my husband for causing a rift in my two closest friendships, and angry at my friends for wanting to take such drastic action against him (they’ve both decided not contact the police). I’m concerned they will tell more people and my husband and I will have to just live with the consequences. I’m thinking of ending my friendship with the two women, even though I know one is the victim—thankfully we live in different cities—because I don’t see how we’ll remain close as the years go on and we have children. I just don’t know what to do or think.

Dear Mess,
The gods of technology intervened to stay your husband’s hand from his dastardly deed. Upon realizing he didn’t actually commit his offense, your husband should have taken this whole disturbing episode as a sign that he needed to quietly get help. Instead, he doubled down and for some outlandish reason revealed his failed plan. Anyone hearing this story is going to find it hard to believe this was the first and only time your husband has ever attempted something so troubling. On the other hand, his telling you two indicates he is not a skilled voyeur, nor is he psychologically astute. His confession is the type made by a miscreant to relieve the burden of guilt, but that ends up spreading toxin to everyone it touches. How lovely for your husband that he has been able to forgive himself. In the meantime, your two closest friendships are shattered. I agree with you that the discomfort you and your friends will feel around each other will probably be impossible to overcome. It was also unnecessary overkill on their part to suggest calling the police. Sherlock Holmes may have looked into the dog that didn’t bark, but the police have better things to do than investigate the breasts that didn’t get filmed. If your friends blab to others who then ask you about it, just say nothing happened and there’s nothing to talk about. Since your friend says she needs therapy because of this, it would be a gesture of goodwill to pay for a predetermined number of sessions. While you’re at it, make that a twofer. I think you should insist that your husband talk this out with a professional. He scared himself, and you, and he needs to put the matter to rest.

Dear Prudence: Sex Tape of an Ex

Dear Prudence,
I have now been with my lovely, wonderful, and smart girlfriend for nearly three years and I love her. We started dating as we were nearing graduation at different colleges. She has settled successfully into fashion merchandising, her area of study, while I have struggled to find a footing in a creative field after studying liberal arts. We enjoy each other's company immensely and I am mostly content. But there is one thing that undermines my full contentment: She is uninterested in pursuing intellectual hobbies and interests outside her work and social life, while I am committed to discovering and pursuing cultural and intellectual stimulation. She has a naturally high intellect, but it would seem she has a lazy mind. She rarely reads anything but online articles, displays no interest in developing an ideological or political viewpoint, and ignores most news. I have encouraged her repeatedly to seek out books, hobbies, and pursuits of more cultural relevancy rather than shopping and being social with friends, but this is met with a shrug. Am I crazy for wanting to raise the bar of my intellectual entanglement as a necessary part of my romantic relationship with this girl? Or have my liberal arts studies and well-adjusted, progressive middle-class background made me a pretentious blowhard? Her family background is one of economic hardship, divorce, and no higher education.

—Smart Girlfriend, Lazy Mind

Dear Mind,
The question you pose has an inherently paradoxical nature. It is perfectly reasonable to want a partner you feel shares your intellectual bent; you’re also a pretentious blowhard. You say your girlfriend has a lazy mind, but your being unemployed (and apparently not having to worry about student debt) leaves you with many hours to devote to perfecting your intellect. She’s actually busy with her career, which must be as satisfying as it is necessary since you say she comes from a family with no financial resources. You put her down for enjoying shopping and hanging out with friends. But since she’s in the fashion industry, shopping is part of her continuing education and a professional necessity. Maybe she also has more friends than you do; I’m liking her better than I like you. However lazy you say her mind is, I bet your girlfriend understands that though you can transform someone’s fashion style, you can’t remake someone else’s mind. If you wish you could totally do over the way your beloved thinks, maybe you need to apply your own intellectual firepower to the question of whether you really love her.

Source: http://www.slate.com/articles/life/dear_prudence/2013/11/dear_prudence_my_husband_tried_to_record_my_friend_undressing.html
Similar Articles: CMA Awards 2013 cnet Presidents Cup Alexian Lien Lady Gaga Vma

Philippines braces for super typhoon, the year's strongest

MANILA (Reuters) - Authorities in the Philippines grounded air and sea transport on Thursday and urged fishing boats to return to port, as an approaching super typhoon, the most powerful storm on earth this year, gathered speed.

Typhoon Haiyan is expected to make landfall early on Friday between the central islands of Samar and Leyte.

With center winds of 215 kph (133 mph) and gusts of up to 250 kph, the storm, rated as category five, the most severe, was moving west-northwest at 33 kph in the Pacific Ocean.

President Benigno Aquino appealed to citizens to evacuate danger zones. "I am calling for community teamwork and cooperation," he said on national television and radio.

Aquino said 100 coastal areas face the threat of storm surges, bringing waves higher than 5 m to 6 m, and ordered action by local officials to limit damage and loss of lives.

Thousands of residents were moved from coastlines, river banks, and mountain slopes to safer spots, while military transport vehicles were put on standby.

Strong winds and heavy rain buffeted areas in the path of the storm, as the state weather bureau raised alert levels in more than 20 parts of the central Philippines.

The coast guard suspended ferry operations, ordered a halt to fishing and warned deep-sea fishing boats to seek shelter or return to port. Carrier Cebu Pacific announced the suspension of more than 100 local flights.

Hospitals were put on alert, with schools and some offices shut and power and communication lines turned off for safety.

Officials used bullhorns to urge residents of coastal and upland villages to move to safer areas, as trees were trimmed and boats dragged to shore.

The state weather bureau raised storm alert to level 4 on the coconut-growing islands of Samar and Leyte. Officials in 12 more central provinces also began stockpiling food, water and relief supplies.

An estimated 10 million people face disruption from typhoon Haiyan, say international relief agencies that are stepping up operations to tackle the storm.

"The humanitarian impact of Haiyan threatens to be colossal, not only in areas directly in its path, but also for nearby islands such as Bohol," said Patrick Fuller of the International Federation of Red cross and Red Crescent Societies.

Particularly vulnerable, he added, were thousands of people living in makeshift shelters on Bohol after a magnitude 7.2 earthquake last month that killed more than 200 people and displaced thousands.

An average of 20 typhoons hit the Philippines every year. In 2011, typhoon Washi killed 1,200 people, displaced 300,000 and destroyed more than 10,000 homes.

In September, another category-five storm, typhoon Usagi, with central winds of 205 kph and gusts of up to 240 kph, battered the northern island of Batanes before causing damage in southern China.

Bopha, last year's strongest storm, flattened three coastal towns on the southern island of Mindanao, killing 1,100 people and wreaking damage estimated at $1.04 billion.

(Reporting by Manuel Mogato; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/philippines-braces-super-typhoon-strongest-033006175--finance.html
Tags: dez bryant cory booker Baby Hope iOS 7 Obama Syria

6 world powers sit with Iran in nuclear talks

A general view shows participants before the start of two days of closed-door nuclear talks at the United Nations offices in Geneva Switzerland, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2013. Six world powers are dangling the prospect of easing some sanctions against Iran if Tehran agrees to curb work that could be used to make nuclear weapons. Talks resume Thursday between Iran and the six _ The United States, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany. (AP Photo/Keystone, Martial Trezzini)

EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Catherine Ashton, left, speaks with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif, right, during a photo opportunity prior the start of two days of closed-door nuclear talks at the United Nations offices in Geneva Switzerland, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2013. Six world powers are dangling the prospect of easing some sanctions against Iran if Tehran agrees to curb work that could be used to make nuclear weapons. Talks resume Thursday between Iran and the six _ The United States, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany. (AP Photo/Keystone, Martial Trezzini)

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif waits for the start of two days of closed-door nuclear talks at the United Nations offices in Geneva Switzerland, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2013. Six world powers are dangling the prospect of easing some sanctions against Iran if Tehran agrees to curb work that could be used to make nuclear weapons. Talks resume Thursday between Iran and the six _ The United States, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany. (AP Photo/Keystone, Martial Trezzini)

U.S. Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Wendy Sherman arrives prior to the start of two days of closed-door nuclear talks at the United Nations offices in Geneva Switzerland, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2013. Six world powers are dangling the prospect of easing some sanctions against Iran if Tehran agrees to curb work that could be used to make nuclear weapons. Talks resume Thursday between Iran and the six _ The United States, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany. (AP Photo/Keystone, Martial Trezzini)

EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Catherine Ashton, right, walks next to Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif, left, during a photo opportunity prior to the start of two days of closed-door nuclear talks at the United Nations offices in Geneva Switzerland, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2013. Six world powers are dangling the prospect of easing some sanctions against Iran if Tehran agrees to curb work that could be used to make nuclear weapons. Talks resume Thursday between Iran and the six _ The United States, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany. (AP Photo/Keystone, Martial Trezzini)

GENEVA (AP) — Iran and six world powers faced a tough task at the negotiating table Thursday: moving from broad discussions about a nuclear deal to specific steps limiting Tehran's ability to make atomic weapons in exchange for relief from sanctions that are crippling the Iranian economy.

The last round three weeks ago reached agreement on a framework of possible discussion points. The two sides kicked off Thursday's round focused on getting to a "first step." That is described by Western negotiators as an initial curb on uranium enrichment and other activities.

Tehran says it needs to do this work for peaceful purposes, but it also can be used to arm warheads with fissile material.

The initial encounter broke about an hour after it began, possibly to allow consideration of ideas presented by the two sides. European Union spokesman Michael Mann called it a "good opening session."

The current two-day round follows negotiations three weeks ago that were described by both sides as promising, while falling short of advancing ether Iran's or the six powers' concrete demands.

Before the talks, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif met with top EU diplomat Catherine Ashton, who is convening the meeting, in what Mann described as good discussions. He said the two agreed to meet again in the afternoon.

Asked afterward about the chances of agreement on initial steps this week, Zarif told reporters: "If everyone tries their best, we may have one."

After nearly a decade of deadlock, Iran seems more amenable to making concessions to the six countries — the United States, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany. New reformist President Hassan Rouhani has indicated he could cut back on the nuclear program in exchange for an easing of sanctions.

But factions both in Iran and in the United States are demanding their own interests be met first — and fast. Iranian hard-liners want significant sanctions reductions in exchange for scaling back enrichment, while some U.S. lawmakers want the enrichment to stop altogether in exchange for loosening sanctions.

Officials from two of the delegations negotiating with the Iranians said the sanctions relief on offer will be limited and is unlikely to affect the core sanctions on Iran's oil and finance sectors unless Tehran makes sweeping concessions, which it is unlikely to do at this meeting.

The negotiators might also test Iran's commitment by waiting — possibly for as long as six months — after an agreement before applying sanctions relief. And the sanctions could be easily reapplied should Iran renege on commitments it makes in Geneva.

The officials demanded anonymity as the condition for discussing details of the closed negotiations.

Associated PressSource: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2013-11-07-Iran-Nuclear-Talks/id-d3284fbeff3447d4b89516ac012eec4e
Similar Articles: giants Jim Leyland yom kippur 9/11 Pictures Breaking Bad Season 5 Episode 11