The 12 (Board)Games Of Christmas: Day One | Rock, Paper, Shotgun

By Robert Florence on December 12th, 2012 at 1:00 pm.

Ignoring the convention of Christmas?s 12 days, Rab Florence is bringing his twelve board game suggestions to you in time for them to appear in appropriate stockings. Here?s the first day:

Yes, on the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me an X-WING in a PEAR TREE. Okay, not a PEAR TREE but a BOX. A small box containing an X-WING and a couple of TIE Fighters. And some dice. And some templates. And some cards. And a lot of fucking awesome. (Sorry for the bad language, Santa!)

I?ve written about The X-Wing Miniatures Game before on RPS, and you can go take a look at it here, but this little update is to let you know that it?s STILL great, it STILL holds up and it?s probably only going to get better through 2013 as it gets expanded.

WHAT IS IT?

It?s a Star Wars space battle skirmish game where one player plays the Rebel Alliance and the other player The Empire. You move little plastic ships around on a table, planning your moves in secrecy, and rolling dice to blow the hell out of your opponent. It?s a THRILL.

WHO TO BUY IT FOR

A geek in your family who loves games and loves Star Wars.

Anyone who loves Star Wars but doesn?t realise they love games.

A parent with kids of 8 and up who love games. A love of Star Wars is not necessary. This game will create that love.

WHERE TO BUY IT

Any games shop ? there?s been a Christmas restock of this game. I saw it this very day, in fact. Here?s a handy site that lets you find a local game shop.

You can also find it online, of course. But try to support your independents.

WHAT TO BUY

The Core Set is plenty. It offers a lot of fun. If you?re SURE the person you?re buying for will love it, or you have a bit more money to spend, maybe pick up an extra X-Wing or an extra TIE for the card variance. Or buy an extra Core Set for a bigger battle, Or, you could pick up a Y-Wing and a TIE Interceptor so that you have some heavy ships moving around. Or all of the above if you are mad/rich/Santa.

FIRST DAY DOWN!

And it?s the X-Wing Miniatures Game. What will be next? And who will it be good for? Stay tuned to RPS!

Source: http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2012/12/12/the-12-boardgames-of-christmas-day-one/

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Who is a victim in Mexico's drug war violence?

A new, controversial memorial to victims of Mexico's drug war may prompt deeper wrestling with what has become a controversial topic.

By Lauren Villagran,?Correspondent / December 13, 2012

A man holds Mexico's flag during a protest against violence in Mexico City, in Nov. The writing on the flag reads in Spanish '100,000 lives: assassinated, disappeared and displaced. Have you not been touched in the last six years? What are you made of?'

Alexandre Meneghini/AP

Enlarge

The rusted steel slabs of a new memorial to victims of Mexico?s drug war bear no mark, not a single engraved name, of anyone among the estimated 60,000 killed in the past six years.

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As part of the concept, it will be up to the survivors to write in loved ones? names.

After all, there is no way to know exactly who the dead are, since the official death toll of the fight against organized crime was suspended last year. Nor is it possible to know the reason why many were killed given that more than 96 percent of crimes go unsolved and unpunished in Mexico. Mexican society is wrestling with exactly who is a victim and who isn?t, and the memorial could serve as a touchstone to bring victimhood to the forefront of the national conversation.

As if reflecting that uncertainty, the slabs serve as a blank slate: Names scrawled on can also later be erased.

?We truly need a dose of transparency,? says Daniel Gershenson, an activist for victims? rights. ?We don?t know how many victims there are.?

'Opportunity to name the victims'

The memorial ? yet to be opened to the public and shadowed by controversy arising from a rift among victims' groups over the monument ??rises like a forest of dark panels on a corner of the capital?s heavily trafficked Reforma Avenue. Former President Felipe Calder?n announced in November he would inaugurate the monument, but did not do so before leaving office Dec. 1. The slabs ??erected next to military field known as Campo Marte, a tribute to the Roman god of war ? tower above the white tarps, half collapsed, that currently enclose the memorial grounds covered with fallen leaves.?

A spokesman for President Enrique Pe?a Nieto said the new president will inaugurate the memorial, but no date is set.

An increasingly vocal victims? movement, although not always unified, has grown more demanding as the number of homicides continues to rise since Mr. Calder?n launched the fight on organized crime six years ago. Victims and their advocates want the broken justice system reformed and a law passed to recognize and protect them.

They also wanted a memorial.

But the monument currently awaiting its debut divided Mexico?s victims? groups, the most prominent of which are led by parents who have lost children to violent crime. Mexico S.O.S., founded by the gym and sportswear magnate Alejandro Mart?, and Stop the Kidnapping, founded by Isabel Miranda de Wallace, who ran unsuccessfully for Mexico City mayor in the recent election as part of Calder?n?s National Action Party, support the memorial. Each founder lost a son to brutal kidnappings by crime syndicates. But the Movement for Peace with Justice and Dignity, founded by the poet Javier Sicilia, opposes it.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/vYlEzbub04c/Who-is-a-victim-in-Mexico-s-drug-war-violence

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Economists calculate true value of 'who' you know, rather than 'what' in US politics

Public release date: 12-Dec-2012
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Kelly Parkes-Harrison
k.e.parkes@warwick.ac.uk
44-024-761-50868
University of Warwick

Economists at the University of Warwick have calculated the true value of US political lobbyists, proving the old adage 'it is not what you know, but who you know'.

In a paper published this month in the American Economic Review Mirko Draca, from the University of Warwick's Department of Economics, looked at the role of lobbyists in the US. He found their revenue falls by 24% when their former employer leaves government office.

The study examined the so-called 'revolving door' of politics, which refers to the movement of people from government service into lobbying positions.

Mr Draca said: "We investigated how the revenues of lobbyists who had previously worked in the offices of a member of US Congress were affected when their former employers left office. This allowed us to look at the value of 'what' and 'who' because we evaluated situations in which knowledge did not change, but connections did."

The paper, co-authored by Jordi Blanes i Vidal, London School of Economics, and Christian Fons-Rosen from Universitat Pompeu Fabra, found the24% fall in revenue was immediate and long-lasting. The relative pay of lobbyists depends on the seniority and committee assignments of the congressional politicians they have worked for in the past.

Mr Draca said: "Our work quantifies, I believe for the first time, the value of personal connections to elected officials for lobbyists in Washington, rather than relying on anecdotal evidence."

The researchers used two public directories of government staffers, government salaries, lobbyists and lobbyists' revenues. Mr Draca said the study was only possible because of progressive US laws to constrain activity of lobbyists and increase transparency about the way they operate. By comparison, the UK still does not have compulsory disclosure of lobbying activity and proposed reforms are much weaker than in the US."

Mr Draca added: "It seems in the UK lobbying is only considered when a possible scandal pushes the topic into the limelight. Last year UK Defence Secretary Liam Fox resigned in the wake of controversy over the dealings of his friend Adam Werritty.

"These financial relationships need to be a matter of public record here in the UK, as they are now in the US, rather than leaving them in the back wings of the political theatre."

###

Notes to editors: The paper, 'Revolving Door Lobbyists' by Jordi Blanes i Vidal, Mirko Draca, Christian Fons-Rosen, is published in the December issue of the American Economic Review. To speak to Mirko Draca, contact him on 07810 857559. Alternatively please contact Kelly Parkes-Harrison, k.e.parkes@warwick.ac.uk, +44 2476 150868, +44 7824 540863.

Broadcasters we have a remote camera on campus for TV interviews (Globelynx TVReady network) and an ISDN line for radio interviews. Details available here http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/newsandevents/pressreleases/facilities

---

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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Public release date: 12-Dec-2012
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Kelly Parkes-Harrison
k.e.parkes@warwick.ac.uk
44-024-761-50868
University of Warwick

Economists at the University of Warwick have calculated the true value of US political lobbyists, proving the old adage 'it is not what you know, but who you know'.

In a paper published this month in the American Economic Review Mirko Draca, from the University of Warwick's Department of Economics, looked at the role of lobbyists in the US. He found their revenue falls by 24% when their former employer leaves government office.

The study examined the so-called 'revolving door' of politics, which refers to the movement of people from government service into lobbying positions.

Mr Draca said: "We investigated how the revenues of lobbyists who had previously worked in the offices of a member of US Congress were affected when their former employers left office. This allowed us to look at the value of 'what' and 'who' because we evaluated situations in which knowledge did not change, but connections did."

The paper, co-authored by Jordi Blanes i Vidal, London School of Economics, and Christian Fons-Rosen from Universitat Pompeu Fabra, found the24% fall in revenue was immediate and long-lasting. The relative pay of lobbyists depends on the seniority and committee assignments of the congressional politicians they have worked for in the past.

Mr Draca said: "Our work quantifies, I believe for the first time, the value of personal connections to elected officials for lobbyists in Washington, rather than relying on anecdotal evidence."

The researchers used two public directories of government staffers, government salaries, lobbyists and lobbyists' revenues. Mr Draca said the study was only possible because of progressive US laws to constrain activity of lobbyists and increase transparency about the way they operate. By comparison, the UK still does not have compulsory disclosure of lobbying activity and proposed reforms are much weaker than in the US."

Mr Draca added: "It seems in the UK lobbying is only considered when a possible scandal pushes the topic into the limelight. Last year UK Defence Secretary Liam Fox resigned in the wake of controversy over the dealings of his friend Adam Werritty.

"These financial relationships need to be a matter of public record here in the UK, as they are now in the US, rather than leaving them in the back wings of the political theatre."

###

Notes to editors: The paper, 'Revolving Door Lobbyists' by Jordi Blanes i Vidal, Mirko Draca, Christian Fons-Rosen, is published in the December issue of the American Economic Review. To speak to Mirko Draca, contact him on 07810 857559. Alternatively please contact Kelly Parkes-Harrison, k.e.parkes@warwick.ac.uk, +44 2476 150868, +44 7824 540863.

Broadcasters we have a remote camera on campus for TV interviews (Globelynx TVReady network) and an ISDN line for radio interviews. Details available here http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/newsandevents/pressreleases/facilities

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-12/uow-ect121212.php

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Protesters to march on Michigan capitol over "right-to-work" vote

LANSING, Michigan (Reuters) - As many as 10,000 labor union workers from throughout Michigan and the U.S. Midwest are expected to march on the Michigan Capitol building in freezing temperatures on Tuesday to protest likely passage of a "right-to-work" law.

The Republican-controlled Michigan House of Representatives will consider two and perhaps three bills on Tuesday that would prohibit unions from compelling private sector workers and government employees to pay union dues.

The right-to-work movement has been growing in the country since Wisconsin fought a similar battle with unions over two years ago.

Michigan would become the 24th state to enact right-to-work provisions and passage of the legislation would deal a stunning blow to the power of organized labor in the United States.

Michigan is home of the heavily unionized U.S. auto industry, with some 700 manufacturing plants in the state. It is also the birthplace of the United Auto Workers, the richest U.S. labor union.

While the new laws are not expected to have much immediate impact because existing union contracts would be preserved, they could, over time, further weaken the UAW, which has already seen its influence wane in negotiating with the major automakers.

Right-to-work laws typically allow workers to hold a job without being forced to join a union or pay union dues.

Last Thursday, when the senate passed two bills and the House also considered right-to-work legislation, protesters converged on Lansing. Several people were arrested and officials sealed the Capitol from the public.

"We support people exercising their constitutional rights to protest," said Inspector Gene Adamczyk of the Michigan State Police. "But we need them to do it in an orderly manner."

President Barack Obama waded into the debate during a visit to the Daimler Detroit Diesel plant in Redford, Michigan on Monday, criticizing the Republican right-to-work effort.

"What they're really talking about is giving you the right to work for less money," Obama said.

School teachers are among those expected to march on the Capitol on Tuesday. Several school districts will not hold classes on Tuesday due to teacher and staff absences, Detroit newspapers and television stations reported.

Labor leaders such as UAW President Bob King say they were blindsided by Republican Governor Rick Snyder, who last Thursday announced he was supporting right-to-work after nearly two years of saying the issue was too divisive.

King was unsuccessful in more than a week of talks with Snyder and his staff in staving off the right-to-work push by the Republicans, who will lose several seats when newly elected members take their seats in the state house and senate in January.

Michigan has the fifth highest percentage of unionized workers in the United States at 17.5 percent and the Detroit area is headquarters for General Motors Co, Ford Motor Co and Chrysler, which is majority owned by Fiat SpA.

(Reporting by Bernie Woodall; Editing by Greg McCune and Lisa Shumaker)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/protesters-march-michigan-capitol-over-vote-054656984.html

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Google is selling off Motorola?s TV unit, deal likely to be announced by the end of the year

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Cheryl Cole, who was originally hired as a judge for the American version of "The X Factor" but was replaced by Pussycat Doll Nicole Scherzinger before the show premiered, is now suing the producers of the show for $2.3 million dollars, according to court papers obtained by TheWrap. In the complaint against Blue Orbit Productions, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, Girls Aloud singer Cole claims that she entered a pay-or-play agreement with Blue Orbit Productions in April 22, 2011, that guaranteed her $1. ...

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/google-selling-off-motorola-tv-unit-deal-likely-033032312.html

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Sitting At Number 3, Yahoo! Says Speed Enhancements For Mail Saves Users Over 36M Minutes A Day

Oh, Yahoo! Mail. It’s one of those products that many of us used at one point, and it either stuck or didn’t. For a lot of users it did stick, as it currently sits at the #3 mail product on the web, behind Microsoft and Google’s products, of course. Today, the company announced a redesign across all platforms: iOS, Android, Windows Phone and web. Internally, the company called it the “Cuatro” release, for obvious reasons. I had a chance to speak with Adam Cahan, SVP, Emerging Products & Tech, at Yahoo!, who is in a role that’s just a month old, set up by its CEO Marissa Mayer. We talked about today’s release, and how Yahoo! is entering a shift into iterative product design and maintenance, letting user feedback and usage patterns guide their way. This is nothing new as far as products go, but for Yahoo!, this might be a complete cultural shift. ——— TechCrunch: Can you tell us a bit about this launch? Adam Cahan: I think the most important piece is that we’re really focusing on the user behaviors and what users are here to do with email. The funny line we’re using internally is “we want to re-imagine email to be email.” When it comes to email, what you want is fast and easy, anywhere access. What we learned is that speed and simplicity are features, and thats what users are trusting us with. We spent a lot of time not only on the details of the performance here, but also watching how it impacts everyone. We do a lot of bucket testing to see what happens. It takes a tiny bit of time for users to re-adapt, then we observe behavior. What we’ve found is that we’re getting more of their time. In terms of mobile, people expect that their products and providers are available anywhere they go. For email, it’s important for our users to have access to that. TechCrunch: Tell us about the cross-platform approach to your products, specifically something like Mail Adam Cahan: There’s a tremendous amount of nuance on every platform. Folks have been using webmail, so they come to expect certain things from Yahoo! and expect consistently. Each platform has its own subtlety. Nobody wants Mail on iOS and Android to act the same way. Our principles carry across though. For iPhone, infinite scroll is something that’s there. In the

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/jxHuCAzzuuU/

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Fiscal Cliff Negotiations Lead To Voter Disdain

HOOKSETT, N.H. ? Fear and frustration course through the lunch crowd at Robie's Country Store and Deli, a popular outpost 500 miles from where Washington is again locked in tense negotiations over taxes and spending as a critical deadline looms.

"I'm worried," Lorraine Cadren of nearby Manchester says between bites of her chicken sandwich. Her doubt in the nation's elected leaders is palpable: "I'm not sure what's going to come out of Washington next." Not that she has the time to pay much attention; the 64-year-old is unemployed and preoccupied with finding a new job as Christmas approaches.

A few tables away, John Pfeifle shares Cadren's angst while trying to enjoy his $6.99 chicken parmesan special.

"Somebody's gotta have some smarts," says the 63-year-old business owner, complaining that both President Barack Obama and House Republicans seem willing to allow the nation to go over the "fiscal cliff," triggering broad tax increases and massive spending cuts that economists warn could lead to another recession.

"I have no faith at all they'll do the right thing," Pfeifle said of Congress.

And why would these voters have confidence in Washington?

The scene playing out on Capitol Hill is a familiar one as lawmakers with competing ideologies wage an 11th-hour battle to avert a predictable crisis. This one comes just a year after an equally divided Washington nearly let the country default on its loan obligations ? a debt-ceiling debate that contributed to the electorate's deep lack of faith in their elected leaders and a drop in the nation's credit rating.

Evidence of Congress' plummeting popularity is everywhere.

From New Hampshire diners to Colorado coffee shops, weary residents report widespread concern. They relate the debate in Washington over their tax dollars with their own lives: average Americans who are struggling every day to make ends meet. And already distracted by the holidays and tired of politics after a bitter presidential campaign, they are calling on Washington to get its act together.

"It's pathetic. Nobody's doing their job," said Laura Hager, a retiree from Lancaster, Pa. "The rest of the country is being held hostage to this entire situation."

She said the uncertainty makes it difficult to shape a personal financial plan; she can't imagine what business leaders must be going through. "Nobody can plan. Nobody knows what they'll do," she said.

Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., warned that the public's disgust with Congress would reach new heights if lawmakers and the White House fail to reach an accord before the year-end deadline.

"Ninety percent disapproval rating is going to go up to 99 percent disapproval," the senator said at a panel discussion last week in Washington on the fiscal cliff's impact on businesses.

Warner overstated Congress' unpopularity, although not by much.

A recent Associated Press-GfK poll found that 74 percent of Americans disapprove of the way Congress is handling its job; just 23 percent approve. The figures are virtually unchanged from June and slightly above Congress' recent low point of 12 percent approval during the debt ceiling debate in August 2011.

Some voters are trying to ignore the debate altogether, although near-constant news coverage is making that difficult, especially as Obama and his Republican opponents work to rally their supporters.

In a campaign-style event Monday in Michigan, the heart of industrial America, Obama warned that he "won't compromise" on his demand that the wealthiest Americans pay more in taxes. Polls find that most voters agree with the president's deficit-cutting plan to raise tax rates on income over $200,000 for individuals and $250,000 for couples, although House Republicans are reluctant to agree.

The conservative group Crossroads GPS is running television ads across the country describing Obama's solution as "a huge tax increase" with "no real spending reforms." "Call President Obama and tell him it's time to show us a balanced plan," the ad says.

Most voters interviewed in recent days are calling for an immediate compromise and seem willing to raise taxes on the wealthy so long as the middle class is protected.

There is a vague sense that the "fiscal cliff" is more serious than other recent Capitol Hill clashes. But barely a month after the presidential contest ended, most people say they're not following the daily developments that consume Washington.

In a Denver coffee shop, interior designer Roxann Lloyd, 42, is mystified by the sound and fury out of Washington over the cliff.

"I don't think they have any idea what a big deal is to an average person," she said. "I'm just ignoring it."

Lloyd said she isn't surprised by the partisan bickering over the issue. "I don't feel like they are really looking out for us," she said of Congress.

John Baker, 65, a Denver psychologist, said he had little faith in Congress' ability to fix the problem: "I don't think Congress can fix a flat tire."

"It's a typical Washington, `Let's hit the panic button and keep people scared so they will let us do what we want to do,'" Baker said in a downtown Denver Starbucks. "Ultimately, it will be fixed but not until a lot of pockets are lined."

It's unclear whether members of Congress are hearing the message.

Rep. Charlie Bass, a New Hampshire Republican who lost his re-election bid last month, says it's unclear whether his GOP colleagues will "face the reality that the president, at least at this point, is not going to accept anything other than a tax rate increase."

A stalemate would result in "painful uncertainty," Bass said, offering his caucus a bit of advice: "We best get on with it ? get it done."

Back at Robie's, store owner Debbie Chouinard says she's burned out from election season and "tired of all the bull."

"I honestly haven't been paying attention," she said while feeding her 2-year-old granddaughter lunch during a brief lull. "People should be working together to get this country going."

___

Associated Press writers Nicholas Riccardi in Denver and Bill Barrow in Atlanta contributed to this report.

Also on HuffPost:

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/11/fiscal-cliff_n_2276502.html

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