Tool’s Maynard James Keenan Calls Out Bandmates About Album Delays
Tool‘s forthcoming album—if we can truly call it that—has been in the works for a very long time. So long, in fact, that many fans have begun to doubt it will ever come at all. At least, many of them were doubting it until a spate of exciting developments brought some fire back to the Toolverse earlier this year.Those doubting fans got another indication that Tool’s long-awaited album is on the way this weekend when the progressive metal giants headlined Wisconsin’s Northern Invasion festival. Alternative Nation reports that Sunday night’s show found frontman Maynard James Keenan imploring his bandmates—drummer Danny Carey, bassist Justin Chancellor, and guitarist Adam Jones—to finish recording their parts of the new album so he could get down to recording his vocal tracks.“I’m afraid of bananas, and other forms of fruit, because eventually you wonderful people are going to run out of fucking patience. So I beg you Danny, Adam, and Justin, please finish your parts so I can finish mine.”The on-stage declaration is the latest sign that Tool’s new album is finally on the horizon, but it isn’t the first. Last month, Tool released their first new music in over decade as part of a promo video advertising a series of music clinics hosted by Carey, Chancellor, and Jones. The instrumental segment wasn’t a complete song, but it was enough to get fans salivating. Then, on the first stop of the aforementioned music clinic tour, Carey, Chancellor, and Jones revealed that every song on the forthcoming album will be more than 10 minutes long.Of course, all of these developments took place a couple of months after Tool announced that the recording process for their next record was underway in earnest. And just in case fans had their doubts about that, members of the band confirmed it via Instagram.[H/T – Alternative Nation]
BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Serbia’s leader says he is proud his country became the first in Europe to give its population the COVID-19 vaccine product made in China. President Aleksandar Vucic expressed his gratitude to Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday for the 1 million doses of the Sinopharm vaccine delivered to Serbia. Vucic said that by receiving the jabs, “the citizens of our country expressed deep trust in the Chinese vaccine and with that also in the Chinese state and Chinese experts.” Last year, Vucic kissed the Chinese flag when China delivered masks and other protective equipment and he criticized the European Union for an alleged lack of solidarity at the start of the coronavirus pandemic.
FacebookTwitterLinkedInEmailPrint分享Some of North America’s biggest new pipeline projects are already in the ground.As environmentalists and local activists make it extraordinarily difficult to build new oil and gas lines, energy companies are working around the opposition by supersizing old pipes that already crisscross parts of the continent.Executives at some of the biggest pipeline operators in the U.S. and Canada, including Enbridge Inc. and Kinder Morgan Inc say they pivoted to the strategy as plans for new pipelines came under attack. For decades, new pipeline projects rarely drew attention, much less ire. “We used to just show up with a map,” said Al Monaco, president and chief executive of Enbridge. “Now we engage with the local communities and indigenous groups early and often.”In recent years, groups with a goal of keeping fossil fuels in the ground have joined forces with Native American activists, landowners and other local opponents to stall numerous projects. Most notable among these was TransCanada Corp.’s much-debated Keystone XL pipeline for transporting Canadian crude southward.Skipping new lines—and the environmental reviews and taking of land by eminent domain that they often require—and instead working under existing permits and rights of way is just common sense, pipeline executives say. Mr. Monaco said the expansions also minimize impacts to land and the environment in addition to being cheaper. “Once the pipe is in the ground, you can do a lot of things: reverse flows, expand it, optimize it,” he added.More ($): Pipelines See Benefits In Expanding Existing Assets Pipelines Say They See Benefits in Expanding Existing Assets
Offshore wind, battery storage expected to play key role in Japan’s decarbonization efforts FacebookTwitterLinkedInEmailPrint分享Bloomberg:Japan will promote the use of offshore wind generation and battery storage in its new effort to become carbon neutral by 2050, according to a government official, indicating how the nation might change its policies to meet the ambitious goal.The world’s fifth-biggest greenhouse gas emitter, which is expected to formally announce the emissions pledge Monday, is aligning itself with commitments made by other major economies including the European Union and China, after lagging peers through its continued reliance on coal, the dirtiest fossil fuel.The new policy could have far-reaching effects across the third-largest economy that is home to major auto and technology manufacturers. The country will need to transition much of its infrastructure to meet the new carbon targets as it remains deeply reliant on oil, coal and gas. Earlier this month, Japan started reviewing its basic energy plan with a focus on how to change its long-term power mix.Using ammonia and hydrogen as alternatives to coal and liquefied natural gas will also be a part of the push, according to the government official, who asked not to be identified because the plan isn’t public. A spokeswoman at the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, the powerful ministry that oversees the country’s industry and energy sectors, wasn’t immediately able to comment.There are signs industry and government are already looking at ways to replace dirtier generation with cleaner technologies. Japan’s offshore wind capacity could jump to 90 gigawatts by 2050, which is equivalent to 60% of the fossil fuel and nuclear facilities expected to close by that time, Shigehito Nakamura, managing director at the Japan Wind Power Association, said last month.The commitment comes on the coattails of other efforts by the Japanese government to curb its carbon footprint, such as plans to shut more than 100 inefficient coal power plants and tightening rules that support sending the country’s coal technology overseas. Japan has faced increased scrutiny for policies that support coal-fired generation as investors and governments step up efforts to combat climate change.[Aya Takada and Stephen Stapczynski]More: Japan to use wind, batteries to meet lofty 2050 carbon goal
Senator warns of tough times September 15, 2003 Gary Blankenship Senior Editor Regular News Senator warns of tough times Senior EditorA state senator painted a sobering picture of recent policy decisions made by the legislature, as well as budget challenges facing lawmakers.Sen. Dennis L. Jones, R-Seminole, spoke at a joint August 22 luncheon of the boards of governors of The Florida Bar and its Young Lawyers Division. Both boards were meeting in Clearwater Beach for their first business meetings of the 2003-04 Bar year.Jones, the majority leader, noted that even before the session starts next spring, the state faces an expected $2 billion shortfall, and it hasn’t helped that lawmakers have used one-time revenues to patch budget holes for the past two years.That $2 billion figure includes about $500 million to continue implementing the class size amendment approved by voters in 2002, $625 million for the Pre-K education amendment approved the same year, an undetermined amount to begin building the high-speed rail, and hundreds of millions when the state takes over more funding of the trial courts from the counties, due to Revision 7, he said.The state is likely to cut other funding for counties to make up for new spending on the courts, Jones said, but he cautioned the overall picture for funding of the third branch is not rosy.He noted this year the legislature did not fund any of the 56 new judges requested by the Florida Supreme Court, and cut $13 million in other funding for the courts, mostly in staff, administration, and attorney ad litem programs.And despite a variety of budget shifts and tactics, the budget approved earlier this year “did not meet the needs of the state,” Jones said.He said he had a three-page list of important needs that were not funded, and he cited several examples:• State university and community colleges received no funding for enrollment growth.• The state cut matching funds for challenge grants for higher education, which has cost millions in gifts that have been rescinded or placed on hold.• Funding for public education was increased minimally on paper but after inflation, paying for enrollment growth, and other costs, most school boards had less money. Jones noted that Pinellas County had an effective $20 million reduction in funding, which resulted in several layoffs.• 10,000 families with autistic children are on waiting lists for home services that will cost $10,000 to $15,000 per child. Jones said if those families give up waiting and turn their kids over to state custody, those costs would be $85,000 to $100,000 per child.On policy matters, Jones said insurance matters seemed to dominate the regular and special sessions.It began with calls for nursing home insurance reform. But Jones said the legislature addressed that issue last year and there was an agreement that no further laws would be passed until the effect of those changes could be determined.After haggling for the entire regular session, in a special session the legislature did pass a complete rewrite of the workers’ compensation system, which Jones said had among the highest rates in the country and lowest benefits for injured workers.The impact, he said, is a projected 11 percent reduction in rates. Of that, 9 percent is projected savings on attorneys’ fees and 2 percent from reduced benefits for injured workers.“That’s basically the bill we passed,” Jones said. “If that will be held constitutional, I don’t know. We passed that and the governor signed it.”Another rewrite came in the automobile personal injury protection insurance area. Lawmakers heard testimony that fraud was so prevalent with PIP that it amounted to 25 percent of the average automobile insurance premium.The final bill prescribed several solutions, including data collection and reporting systems, and sunsetted the measure in October 2007. Jones said the Senate was losing patience with the no-fault system that uses the PIP program.“The Senate president [Sen. Jim King, R-Jacksonville] said if we can’t fix it, then flush it,” Jones added. “If by 2007 this hasn’t improved, it will go away and we won’t have no fault in this state.”Of course, the biggest insurance issue came over medical malpractice premiums, and Jones, a chiropractor, headed up the Senate’s efforts.“It’s basically a bill that at this point apparently nobody likes,” Jones said. “I don’t know if it will be held constitutional or not. There are lots of parts of that bill that I do not like. . . . “I still have problems saying one shoe fits all. We do have litigation in this state, because we do have cases of medical malpractice.”One of the holdups was Gov. Jeb Bush’s adherence to a $250,000 cap on noneconomic damages, although there were never more than 10 votes in the Senate for that position, Jones said. He also said many of the claims about the medical malpractice “crisis” evaporated when the Senate put witnesses under oath.And Jones remains skeptical that a crisis exists. He noted that in the past 10 years, only 673 medical malpractice claims had been filed in Pinellas County, and only 23 resulted in verdicts that exceeded $1 million. He added, “A lot of the rhetoric you read about these large awards just isn’t true.”As for the future, Jones noted the legislature will be back in October to consider legislation on parental notification when minor women seek abortions “and then we’re back in the budget crunch.”Lawmakers will be meeting two to three weeks each in January and February, he said, to get ready for the regular session, which begins in March.
There is Very Little that We Truly NeedMy kids chide me about my old car — a 2002 Honda CRV. Following soccer practice, my daughter asked why I don’t get a new car (like that other soccer parent just did)? She proceeded to unwittingly undermine her case by removing her shoes and socks, revealing a fetid stench that reminded me of my days on the famed turnpike of my home state, New Jersey. I looked back at her, “You treat my car like a hamper and I certainly don’t need a new one of those.” Plus, the car still hasn’t hit 100k miles. It’ll probably run another fifteen years. I winked at her, saying, “Take care of this baby. She’ll be yours before you know it.”Fact is, I’m not a car guy. That’s probably because my dad wasn’t a car guy either. My first car was his old beater that my friends and I affectionately referred to as “the heap.” I thank my dad, though, for not passing on the “car guy” gene. I spend my time figuring how to not drive my car. You may have heard of Los Angeles traffic? It’s all true! Any day out of a car is a better day for me.It was actually in teaching my kids one of the core money-smart skills — distinguishing between needs vs. wants — that I began to reflect on my feelings about cars. There is so much “want” involved once you get past the basics of four wheels and a steering wheel. And really, beyond the obvious things — clothes, food and shelter — there really isn’t much else any of us need. Sure, there are certain “conditional” needs, such as a car for a long commute. But, they’re conditional because they can be remedied. For example, by changing jobs to shorten the commute, the car issue can be resolved. We convince ourselves that certain items are needs when they are not. Another good example — fancy smart phones. The same daughter who made fun of my car actually had some sage advice for me when I broke my iPhone and innocently noted that I needed to replace it. She looked at me sternly and quipped, “Dad, you don’t NEED an iPhone.” Touché, young padawan. Seems as though my kids have helped me as much as I’ve helped them. The Rush of Excitement You Get from Spending is FleetingThe spigot of stuff opens quickly when you’re a parent. So much so that I even wrote a children’s picture book about it — Joe the Monkey and Friends Learn about Spending Smart — to try and teach kids to avoid stuff (Check out my CU Insight piece about reducing stuff). If you’re not careful, every nook and cranny of your house becomes filled with new items when you become a parent. You can tidy and donate as much as you want, but if you don’t address the heart of the problem — inflow — you’re destined to live a life of overwhelming plenty.tijjiWhen I moved to Los Angeles many years ago, I remember a new friend talking about the importance of having the “finer things.” A Movado watch. A $500 sportcoat. Corinthian leather car seats (seriously — remember when that was a thing?). I bought most of these things. Of course, you know I’m not a car guy, so I did avoid the last one. The purchasing “highs” were so fleeting. After about a week, the objects were part of my baseline existence. The thrill was gone. I certainly wasn’t any happier. In fact, I just started looking for my next hit. Talking to my kids and trying to gird them against the dangers of chasing the “retail rush” has increased my self-awareness and helped me dramatically reduce my own inventory of stuff. Thanks, kids! Goals are PowerfulSaving for a goal is a very important core money-smart skill your kids should learn. Teaching my kids to set and save for goals has helped them learn a powerful life skill. Doing so connects them with the growth mindset that Carol Dweck describes in her seminal book, Mindset. “Growth mindsetters” believe that achievement comes from effort. Our traits are not fixed. We can always improve.Seeing these lessons carry over to non-monetary realms was gratifying. My younger daughter had saved money for a few goals. Then, she turned her goal-setting mindset to her chosen sport — soccer. She set a goal for her team to win the State Cup. Her team made it to the semifinals. It was an incredible run. Do you think falling just short of the cup taught her that goal-setting was a failure? Far from it. Getting that far — many rounds further than the previous year — was a massive accomplishment. Setting the early goal was key. Soccer is a team sport, so she didn’t entirely control the outcome. But, she played at the top of her game and setting the goal drove her high level of achievement. Seeing her goal written on the wall helped me recommit to my own goal setting. At the beginning of the year, I set a goal to finish a first draft of a book about helping families learn to become money comfortable. Now I’m just a few weeks from releasing that book.Thanks again to my two wonderful daughters for teaching me as much as I hope I’ve taught them. 83SHARESShareShareSharePrintMailGooglePinterestDiggRedditStumbleuponDeliciousBufferTumblr,John Lanza John Lanza is the Chief Mammal of Snigglezoo Entertainment, and Creator of The Money Mammals. John created The Saving Money Is Fun Kids Club for credit unions nationwide and has … Web: www.themoneymammals.com Details
If you want to boggle your mind, think for a moment about consumer credit card usage.Every second, over 10,000 credit card transactions happen around the world.In 2018, there were 41 billion credit card transactions in the U.S. alone.There are more than 180 million credit card holders in the U.S. – approximately 7 out of 10 adult Americans.The average credit card holder has four different cards.Since the Diner’s Club became the first multipurpose charge card in 1950, credit cards have worked their way into the wallets of hundreds of millions of American consumers. With a market this big, it is surprising that nearly 40% of U.S. credit unions either don’t have a credit card portfolio – or have sold or outsourced it years ago. Of credit unions that do, 75% have a credit card penetration well below 20%. The data is clear: credit cards are a source of major untapped potential for credit unions, and the multi-faceted rewards for a good card strategy are many.A strong credit card portfolio helps to drive growth, profitability, loyalty and deeper relationships. Credit cards are one of the most dynamic and engaging products a CU can offer, and those with greater credit card penetration enjoy higher return on assets than most other loan products.Credit unions that want to get serious about a credit card strategy should start first with their data. Here are three key ways analytics will make your efforts far more effective.First, understand who is most likely to respond to a credit card offer. While it’s true that most adults use credit cards, blanketing your membership with the same credit card offer isn’t the best approach. First, start with a predictive analysis that can tell you which members are the most likely to respond.Mining transaction data will show you which members are currently making payments to other credit card issuers – this is a great place to start. Many credit unions are then able to make very competitive offers with better rates, fewer fees, and attractive rewards to get high response rates. (The most savvy CUs use their member data to know exactly what types of rewards and promotions to offer – more on that later!)Implement data-driven credit card communication strategies from day one – and never stop. Getting a great response rate to your credit card offers isn’t the end-game – in fact, it’s just the beginning of what can be a long and mutually rewarding product relationship. Once the card is in their wallet, members that activate the card within 10 to 30 days are much more active throughout the life cycle. Enable smart triggers and equip your staff with strategies that get 90% of your cards activated within 30 days – within the first week is optimum based on our analysis.After six months, reanalyze your data sets to segment and determine go-forward marketing communications. Look at behavioral, demographic, transactional, and spend data for the most relevant reward and promotional strategies. A member with high grocery spend should be offered increased rewards on food category purchases to consolidate their spending to your card. A member with a middle-tier credit profile that is using a store-branded credit card is likely paying high interest rates. Target them with a balance transfer offer that provides valuable cost-savings.“Re-evaluate and readjust” according to data analysis should become a regular, ongoing practice. This is where we’ve seen many credit unions lose their way, particularly when it comes to lifecycle upgrades. A lot of credit unions still have members in their 40s with inactive student credit cards. Evaluate and extend offers that graduate them through card tiers, progressively unlocking new benefits that provide the right incentives.Practice proactive and efficient risk management and mitigation. Looking at consumer data from the end of 2019, many were well-positioned with historically low debt levels. But just months later came the rapid and unexpected rise of unemployment, and it’s still unclear how long we’ll remain in the enhanced risk environment. In our current circumstances and for the foreseeable future, data analytics can provide a more sophisticated understanding and approach to card risk mitigation.Early delinquency detection and action is a first line of defense. Analytical models can synthesize hundreds or thousands of data points to establish the triggers that predict an impending risk increase. Early interventions can then extend help before problems become more serious. Many of the major card issuers have announced plans to assist cardholders during COVID-19. With help from your data analytics, you can tailor the assistance to a member’s individual situation.Card collections can be handled with greater efficiency by using data analysis to focus efforts where they will have the most impact, as a California credit union recently did to successfully manage a heavy collection volume. By analyzing hundreds of data points, they were able to determine which accounts had the highest propensity to “roll forward,” – or fall deeper past-due by two or more cycles. They built an ongoing process to track and manage cardholders with the highest roll-forward propensity. This not only reduced the collection queue by 25%, but lowered their losses by focusing on the highest-risk cardholders.When it comes to credit cards (and actually, every area of a CU) “Analyze and Act” should become a mantra and a habit. A well-managed credit card program will create deep and lasting value for members – and help your card earn its place at the top of their wallet. To learn more on how to drive your card strategies for 2020 using analytics, check out our webinar. 2SHARESShareShareSharePrintMailGooglePinterestDiggRedditStumbleuponDeliciousBufferTumblr,Karan Bhalla Karan Bhalla is the CEO of CU Rise Analytics and who has almost two decades of financial services and data analytics experience. CU Rise Analytics is a global CUSO helping … Web: https://www.cu-rise.com Details
Heavy rains from Monday to Tuesday have caused flooding in several areas, including the Presidential Palace complex in Central Jakarta.The front yard of Baiturrahim Mosque, next to Merdeka Palace on Jl. Medan Merdeka Utara, was inundated, Antara news agency reported on Tuesday.“The palace has been hit by flooding,” Cabinet Secretary Pramono Anung said in a short message on Tuesday. Pramono showed pictures and videos of palace caretakers trying to clear water. Soon the pictures and the videos spread to social media, prompting people to blame Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan for the flooding. By 7 a.m. floodwaters had receded. “There’s no longer inundation as of about 7 a.m.,” said Presidential Secretariat deputy head of protocol, press and media Bey Triadi Machmudin as quoted by Antara, while showing videos of the palace.The widespread flooding on Tuesday has caused major traffic and transportation disruption. The police have canceled the odd-even traffic policy for the day but several toll roads are flooded, creating traffic jams in morning rush hour.Topics :
Healthcare, Human Services, Medicaid Expansion, National Issues, Press Release, Public Health, Seniors, Statement Harrisburg, PA – Governor Tom Wolf released the following statement on the latest version of a health care bill in Washington:“Washington Republicans continue to ignore the concerns of Pennsylvania families and ideas proposed by bipartisan governors. The proposed cuts and caps for Medicaid continue to cause terror for recipients, including seniors, families, and people with disabilities, and are putting states financially at risk. The federal government cannot turn its back on us. These tweaks do little to address how these proposals will lead to increased costs, especially for many older Pennsylvanians who could be charged five times more for worse coverage by gutting consumer protections, even for some people with private insurance. The proposed changes have even been rejected by insurance companies.We can find common ground on fixing the individual market, as governors of both parties have proposed. Washington should abandon this reckless path and focus on fixing what isn’t working – rather than creating more problems and concerns for families and individuals, especially those most in need of our help.”Last month, Governor Wolf joined his bipartisan colleagues from Ohio, Montana, Nevada, Colorado, Massachusetts, and Louisiana to express concern over Washington’s approach on health care, particularly the prospect of deep cuts in federal funding to states for Medicaid. Governor Wolf: Washington Republicans Continue to Ignore Bipartisan Governors July 13, 2017
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SHARE Email Facebook Twitter Students, Community Members Join Wolf Administration in Williamsport for Cabinet in Your Community Event Press Release Williamsport, PA – Today, Wolf Administration cabinet officials were joined by 175 attendees including 50 college students for a Cabinet in Your Community event at Lycoming College.“The exceptional discussion and positive energy this series has brought to Pennsylvania continued at today’s event in Williamsport,” said Governor Tom Wolf. “It’s important that we continue to have this type of valuable dialogue across the commonwealth and that everyone has an opportunity feel connected to Harrisburg no matter where they live.”Featuring Department of Community and Economic Development Secretary Dennis Davin, Department of Education Secretary Pedro Rivera, Department of Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding, Department of Insurance Commissioner Jessica Altman, Department of Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine, and Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Secretary Cindy Dunn, the department secretaries provided region specific updates on major projects, accomplishments, and answered impromptu questions from the audience.The Cabinet in Your Community initiative is a series of townhall-like events in which members of the community are given the opportunity to interact with cabinet secretaries and talk about the issues important to each region.The next Cabinet in Your Community event is currently scheduled for May 7, in Johnstown at the University of Pittsburgh’s Johnstown Campus with cabinet secretaries from the departments of Community and Economic Development, Transportation, Drug and Alcohol Programs, Aging, and Labor & Industry.
April 30, 2018