text:
The actual number of yearly removals ICE is making in the interior of the country, not counting the border, is still a tiny figure: about 81,000 illegal aliens in the most recent fiscal year.  Given that there are more than ten million illegal aliens in the country, removing even a fraction of them will take a long time.

The problem is that ICE doesn't have the manpower to deport millions of aliens.  Donald Trump wants to expand their manpower, but so far Congress has not cooperated.

This is not ICE's fault.

What is ICE's fault, however, is how it uses the existing manpower it has.  The raid on the ninety-eight 7-11 stores must have involved hundreds of ICE agents, but it netted only 21 illegal aliens.  It's great that businesses like 7-11 are given notice that employing illegals is no longer acceptable, but raids like this show that ICE is using its limited manpower terribly inefficiently.

Part of the problem is the leadership.  ICE is led by an Obama-era holdover named Thomas Homan.  Incredibly, nearly a year after taking office, President Trump still had not appointed his own nominee to run the most important agency related to his most important campaign issue.  He finally relented in November...deciding to nominate Homan, the acting director, to take the job on an official basis.

Debbie Schlussel has done some interesting reporting on Homan:

  Homan has been running ICE's Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO), which oversees deportation of illegal aliens, for several years during the Obama [a]dministration. And he's run it into the ground. Maybe that's why the Obama White House honored the guy with an award.

And more:

  Earlier this year, I told you about ICE's new, quiet policy of "reverse escorting," in which ICE flies deportation agents from places like Michigan to the Southern border to pick up and fly illegal alien youths back ... to places like Grand Rapids and Detroit and give them sanctuary with pro-illegal alien non-profits, while the aliens await immigration amnesty and/or while the non-profits train them on what to say and help them fraudulently obtain asylum.  My article was cited by U.S. [c]ongressman Kerry Bentivolio (R-[Mich.]) in a U.S. House hearing on border security, and Homan was asked about it.

  Homan predictably lied and claimed that what I wrote wasn't true.  In fact, it's all true...in spades.  Your money is being spent to escort illegal aliens into the American interior where they are sheltered until they can stay here permanently.

Schlussel also accuses Homan of quite a large number of sexual improprieties, which are unproved allegations but disturbing if true.

Given Homan's involvement in the Obama era, when ICE was turned into babysitters for illegal aliens, it is inexplicable that Trump has nominated him to continue in the job.

What Homan is doing now is a few high-profile "trophy" raids to get press attention but actually yield few results, such as the 21 arrests from the ninety-eight 7-11 raids.

This isn't rocket science.  Most illegals live in big urban areas like New York, Los Angeles, and Miami (you can find a map here).  The neighborhoods they live in are equally obvious because most people don't speak English in them.

All ICE would have to do is go to these neighborhoods and check for IDs outside shopping centers, supermarkets, drug stores, and other places with high traffic.  Just camping out outside of the Department of Motor Vehicles in San Jose would yield more arrests in an hour than the raid of ninety-eight 7-11s did in a day.  ICE should camp outside select DMV offices, welfare offices, and other government offices where illegals go for benefits.

They should also check IDs at public schools.  The Supreme Court created out of thin air the "right" of illegals to a taxpayer-funded education, but it did not create a right for them to go to school without being apprehended along the way for being in the country illegally.  It would be easy to target schools in the neighborhoods of illegals and have ICE checkpoints there.  ICE has a policy of not making arrests at schools, but that is just what it is – a self-imposed policy.

Such strategies would result in many more arrests in a shorter period of time.  Also, by making their presence known in public facilities, ICE would encourage many more illegals to self-deport.

Under the leadership of an Obama holdover, this is unlikely to happen.  Instead, expect more self-congratulatory press releases where 21 illegal immigrants are arrested in a day.

_ED STRAKER IS THE SENIOR WRITER AT NEWSMACHETE.COM._

At first glance, it would seem that things at the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency are going swimmingly.  ICE just raided ninety-eight 7-11 stores around the country and arrested a bunch of illegal aliens.  ICE's arrests for the 2017 fiscal year are nearly 37% higher than the year before.

So what is there to complain about?

The actual number of yearly removals ICE is making in the interior of the country, not counting the border, is still a tiny figure: about 81,000 illegal aliens in the most recent fiscal year.  Given that there are more than ten million illegal aliens in the country, removing even a fraction of them will take a long time.

The problem is that ICE doesn't have the manpower to deport millions of aliens.  Donald Trump wants to expand their manpower, but so far Congress has not cooperated.

This is not ICE's fault.

What is ICE's fault, however, is how it uses the existing manpower it has.  The raid on the ninety-eight 7-11 stores must have involved hundreds of ICE agents, but it netted only 21 illegal aliens.  It's great that businesses like 7-11 are given notice that employing illegals is no longer acceptable, but raids like this show that ICE is using its limited manpower terribly inefficiently.

Part of the problem is the leadership.  ICE is led by an Obama-era holdover named Thomas Homan.  Incredibly, nearly a year after taking office, President Trump still had not appointed his own nominee to run the most important agency related to his most important campaign issue.  He finally relented in November...deciding to nominate Homan, the acting director, to take the job on an official basis.

Debbie Schlussel has done some interesting reporting on Homan:

  Homan has been running ICE's Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO), which oversees deportation of illegal aliens, for several years during the Obama [a]dministration. And he's run it into the ground. Maybe that's why the Obama White House honored the guy with an award.

And more:

  Earlier this year, I told you about ICE's new, quiet policy of "reverse escorting," in which ICE flies deportation agents from places like Michigan to the Southern border to pick up and fly illegal alien youths back ... to places like Grand Rapids and Detroit and give them sanctuary with pro-illegal alien non-profits, while the aliens await immigration amnesty and/or while the non-profits train them on what to say and help them fraudulently obtain asylum.  My article was cited by U.S. [c]ongressman Kerry Bentivolio (R-[Mich.]) in a U.S. House hearing on border security, and Homan was asked about it.

  Homan predictably lied and claimed that what I wrote wasn't true.  In fact, it's all true...in spades.  Your money is being spent to escort illegal aliens into the American interior where they are sheltered until they can stay here permanently.

Schlussel also accuses Homan of quite a large number of sexual improprieties, which are unproved allegations but disturbing if true.

Given Homan's involvement in the Obama era, when ICE was turned into babysitters for illegal aliens, it is inexplicable that Trump has nominated him to continue in the job.

What Homan is doing now is a few high-profile "trophy" raids to get press attention but actually yield few results, such as the 21 arrests from the ninety-eight 7-11 raids.

This isn't rocket science.  Most illegals live in big urban areas like New York, Los Angeles, and Miami (you can find a map here).  The neighborhoods they live in are equally obvious because most people don't speak English in them.

All ICE would have to do is go to these neighborhoods and check for IDs outside shopping centers, supermarkets, drug stores, and other places with high traffic.  Just camping out outside of the Department of Motor Vehicles in San Jose would yield more arrests in an hour than the raid of ninety-eight 7-11s did in a day.  ICE should camp outside select DMV offices, welfare offices, and other government offices where illegals go for benefits.

They should also check IDs at public schools.  The Supreme Court created out of thin air the "right" of illegals to a taxpayer-funded education, but it did not create a right for them to go to school without being apprehended along the way for being in the country illegally.  It would be easy to target schools in the neighborhoods of illegals and have ICE checkpoints there.  ICE has a policy of not making arrests at schools, but that is just what it is – a self-imposed policy.

Such strategies would result in many more arrests in a shorter period of time.  Also, by making their presence known in public facilities, ICE would encourage many more illegals to self-deport.

Under the leadership of an Obama holdover, this is unlikely to happen.  Instead, expect more self-congratulatory press releases where 21 illegal immigrants are arrested in a day.

_ED STRAKER IS THE SENIOR WRITER AT NEWSMACHETE.COM._

question: What does the writer suggest the ICE should do to increase its efficiency?

answer: Most illegals live in big urban areas like New York, Los Angeles, and Miami. All ICE would have to do is go to these neighborhoods and check for IDs outside shopping centers, supermarkets, drug stores, and other places with high traffic. ICE should camp outside select DMV offices, welfare offices, and other government offices where illegals go for benefits. They should also check IDs at public schools.

question: What are the writer's views on Thomas Homan?

answer: Thomas Homan is the head of ICE. He was employed during the Obama era and re-employed by the Trump administration. It is the writer's contention that Homan has run the ERO, a section of the ICE, into the ground. The writer also points out that Homan is misspending taxpayers' money. He conducts trophy raids to get press attention. Yet these are costly and ineffective.


split: test

text:
EDDIE “AMONG ED” TONGOL PANLILIO (born December 6, 1953) is a Kapampangan Filipino Roman Catholic priest and Governor of Pampanga. He was suspended from his priestly duties upon announcing his intention to run as governor. He was elected governor in May 2007 in a three-way race against incumbent governor Mark Lapid and provincial board member Lilia Pineda. In February 2010, following a recount of votes due to an election protest, the Comelec ruled that Lilia Pineda had won the 2007 election over Panlilio.[1]

Panlilio was named “Filipino of the Year” for 2007 by the Philippine Daily Inquirer.[2]

Personal life

[Minalin, Pampanga (Poblacion) ancestral house and lot (where Eddie Panlilio was born)] Eddie Panlilio was born in Minalin, Pampanga on December 6, 1953. He is the sixth of seven children of Gervacio Cunanan Panlilio and Catalina Tongol. He is afflicted with vitiligo, a rare skin disease.

After finishing elementary school at the Minalin Central Elementary School, Panlilio enrolled the Don Bosco Academy, Pampanga his sophomore year after spending a year at the Don Honorio Ventura College of Arts and Trades (DHVCAT). Panlilio was in and out of several seminaries as he went through a long discernment process, and after finishing his theology at the St. Augustine Major Seminary was ordained priest on December 13, 1981.

Priesthood

[Eddie T. Panlilio and 15 other priests from Minalin, Pampanga (Santa Monica Parish Church museum)] For fifteen years, Panlilio was the director of the Social Action Center of Pampanga (SACOP), which worked with communities displaced by lahar following the 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo. He established the micro-lending program Talete Panyulung ning Kapampangan Inc. (TPKI), based on the Grameen Bank-approach. Now on its 20th year, TPKI released P2 billion in loans to small entrepreneurs in Central Luzon.[3]

Panlilio was suspended from the priesthood by his superior, San Fernando archbishop Paciano Aniceto, for running for governor of Pampanga in 2007.[4] This means that he is forbidden by the Catholic Church to act like a priest or perform any of the sacraments reserved to priests. The Code of Canon Law, specifically Canon 285.3, forbids priests from occupying political posts.[5][6] Bishop Leonardo Medroso, chairman of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines Episcopal Commission on Canon Law cited a conflict between a role in politics and in the church.

Political career

Panlilio ran for the position of governor of Pampanga province in the 2007 Philippine general election. Panlilio defended his controversial decision to enter politics as a logical continuation of his ministry for the poor, whom he sees as having been exploited and neglected for too long by successive administrations of corrupt and uncaring politicians.[7]

Without any political party, he won over his two competitors, provincial board member Lilia Pineda and re-electionist governor Mark Lapid (both allies of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo). He defeated Pineda by a slim margin of 1,147 votes out of over 600,000 votes cast.[8]

Governor of Pampanga

Panlilio was inaugurated as the 26th governor of the province of Pampanga on June 30, 2007. Supreme Court Associate Justice Consuelo Ynares-Santiago administered the oath of office. During the inauguration, the new governor vowed to stop corruption and to make the province an example of a “new dawn in Philippine politics”.[9] [10] On July 4, 2007 Among Ed began serving his term amid the province's hope to erase its reputation of being the country's Vatican of “jueteng” or illegal gambling. Pampanga has had a long history of patronage politics and corruption.[11]

One of Panlilio's achievements in office was to increase the province's revenue from quarry taxes. It is suspected that under previous governors, notably Mark Lapid and Lito Lapid, the large quarry industry was riddled with corruption and graft.[12][13] The increased tax base has led to fighting among mayors over the new revenue.[14]

On August 27, 2007, Panlilio campaigned to bring his government closer to the Kapangpangans by leading the caravan “_Pamisaupan_ (_Helping One Another_)” in Pampanga. Panlilio and his team delivered bags of cement, toilet bowls, boxes of floor tiles and cans of paint to San Luis Hospital which had only 2 doctors, 8 nurses and 10 midwives to serve 140,000 residents of San Luis, Pampanga, San Simon, Pampanga and Candaba, Pampanga. Panlilio further vowed to improve the facilities and conditions in the province's 9 district hospitals including the Diosdado Macapagal Provincial Hospital from funds (P143-million development fund) and private groups' contributions. Panlilio stated, _What we are doing is bringing the provincial government's services to the people to make health, education and livelihood assistance accessible to them_. The capitol's P37-million special education fund (SEF) would be utilized for the SEFs of towns.[15]

Panlilio, launched the White Ribbon campaign on October 1, 2007 to engage the people of Pampanga to get involved in the crusade for good governance and good citizenship. Some 70 people gathered and white ribbons marked with words “_Good Governance_” and handbills with messages were distributed. Panlilio stated: “_I believe that the spirit of the white ribbon is still very much alive. This campaign is really a call and for a response to people to be involved in good governance and good citizenship_.” [16] [Minalin, Pampanga “Museo Ampon Simpanan Kabiasnan Ning Minalin” (Museum and Library of Minalin Among Ed Corner - books donated by Panlilio after his 2010 election defeat)]

On October 13, 2007, Panlilio admitted that a palace staff personally gave him a brown paper gift bag with 500,000 Philippine pesos (P1,000 bills in 5 bundles, P100,000 each). Panlilio confessed that money changed hands after the meeting “because as a priest and a public officer, I should not lie. I believe that since the money came from Malacanang, I also believe it is public money. So I should be accountable for it and transparent about it.” Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo called the meeting with 200 officers of the Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines (Ulap), an organization of governors, mayors and other local officials. It was held after Mrs. Arroyo met 190 congressmen, where envelopes of P200,000 and P500,000 were distributed. Cebu Rep. Antonio Cuenco confirmed he was given P200,000 as “_Christmas gift_.”[17]

Panlilio on June 23, 2008 filed a 6-page complaint-affidavit for plunder against Lubao businessman Rodolfo “Bong" Pineda before the Ombudsman in Quezon City. He accused Pineda of conspiracy with Joseph Estrada, based on the verdict rendered by the Sandiganbayan.[18]

Pampanga Bishop Pablo Virgilio David, on July 10 led the 69 bishops-signatories (of 80 bishops who attended the July plenary assembly of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines), to petition the Ombudsman, to “really attend to the merits” of the plunder case. Bishop Broderick Pabillo, director of the CBCP National Secretariat for Social Action, on the request of the Pampanga Anti-Gambling Council (PAGC) appealed to the CBCP. The letter states: “In the whole trial of Estrada, the name of Bong Pineda was mentioned several times. But he was dropped along the way. He has been free and no case was filed against him.”[19]

Panlilio on June 26, 2008, in his 20-page counter-affidavit filed with the Office of the Ombudsman, moved for the dismissal of the April, 2008 (Vice Governor Joseller Guiao / provincial board / Panlilio supporter Lolita Hizon) corruption (R.A. 3019) suit against him failure to implement the September, 2007 Ordinance 176. DOJ Justice Secretary Raul M. Gonzalez did not act on Panlilio's November, 2007 petition to nullify the ordinance, for it was “not a tax ordinance,” further ruling that the P 300 was a “regulatory fee.” Panlilio's however, who obtained a temporary restraining order from the Pampanga RTC (challenging Gonzalez's ruling), also asked for the suspension of the Ombudsmand perjury case, on the ground of “prejudicial question” raised by the Pampanga civil action.[20]

In Diliman, Quezon City, Candaba Mayor Jerry Pelayo, in tears, joined by 18 Pampanga mayors (except San Fernando and Angeles mayors) waged war against Panlilio by means of prayer. The members of the Pampanga Mayors League (PML) on June 26, 2008, attacked Eddie Panlilio due to his “autocratic style of governance” and alleged poor performance in office. The PML released the statement: “Panlilio is a type of leader who loves to project himself in media as good and working governor when in fact he has not accomplished anything significant for the welfare of the Kapampangan and for the development of the province for almost a year in office except the increase in quarry collection.” [21] [22]

Lawyer Elly Velez Lao Pamatong filed a perjury criminal case with the COMELEC Legal Department on June 24, 2008, against Eddie Panlilio for under-declaration of expenditures and contribution receipts: “Contrary to law, Fr. Eddie T. Panlilio, knowingly and maliciously concealed P6,011,329.51 in political contribution and what he declared was only P4,761,699.90.”[23]

Though all of these accusations were not proven enough.

Recount petition and dismissal

On August 21, 2008, a non-profit organization Kapanalig at Kambilan Ning Memalen Pampanga Inc. (Kambilan), led by its president Rosve Henson, a former election campaigner of losing gubernatorial candidate Lilia Pineda, launched a recall campaign against Panlilio, on the ground of loss of confidence in the governor’s leadership. In the case of Pampanga, the required petitioners must be at least 98,703 which represent 10% of the total number of registered voters in Pampanga as of 20 April 2007, the 2007 Philippine general election. This is based on the records of Commission on Elections, as required by Section 74, RA 7160, and COMELEC Resolution 7505, in relation to ARTICLE X, Sec. 3 and Section 74 of R.A. 7160, LOCAL GOVERNMENT CODE 1, as amended by Section 1, RA 9244.2 Panlilio is the first Pampanga governor which was subject of the recall campaign.[24][25]

On October 15, 2008, a formal recall petition against Panlilio for loss of confidence was filed with the Commission on Elections. 15,000 “Kambilan” petitioners delivered 168 boxes containing the 224,875 voters' signatures from 20 Pampanga towns and San Fernando City.[26] In a 32-page petition, Panlilio moved to dismiss the recall petition.[27][28]

In February 2010, COMELEC announced that they had conducted a recount following an election protest.[29] The Comelec ruled that Lilia Pineda had won in fact won election three years earlier and Pineda replace Panlilio as governor.[30] After that, they ordered him to step down from this position, but he only stepped down after he lost to Pineda in the 2010 elections. He was succeeded by Lilia Pineda on June 30, 2010.

Post-governorship

Panlilio ran once again as governor in the 2013 elections, but he lost once again to incumbent governor Lilia Pineda.

[1]

[2]

[3] Gawad Kalinga takes Panlilio as partner in lifting poor

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]

[13]

[14] Inquirer.net, Board votes in favor of mayors vs Panlilio

[15] Inquirer.net, Panlilio brings government closer to people

[16] [http://www.sunstar.com.ph/static/net/2007/10/02/san.fernando.capitol.launches.white.ribbon.campaign.(11.10.a.m.).html SunStar, San Fernando: Capitol launches White Ribbon campaign (11:10 a.m.)]

[17] Inquirer.net, Saying he can't lie, Fr. Ed admits taking P500,000

[18] gmanews.tv, Pampanga gov files plunder case vs Bong Pineda

[19] inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines, 69 bishops back Panlilio plunder case vs Bong Pineda

[20] newsinfo.inquirer.net, Panlilio seeks dismissal of graft case over quarry ordinance

[21] gmanews.tv, Pampanga mayors declare 'war' vs Governor Panlilio

[22] abs-cbnnews.com, Pampanga mayors lambast Panlilio for alleged non-implementation of projects

[23] sunstar.com.ph, Pampanga guv faces perjury

[24] newsinfo.inquirer.net, Recall petition vs Among Ed started

[25] gmanews.tv/story, Recall move vs Pampanga gov launched

[26] newsinfo.inquirer, Recall petition filed vs Pampanga gov

[27] ph.news.yahoo.com, Pampanga gov asks Comelec to junk recall petition against him

[28] sunstar.com.ph, Panlilio seeks dismissal of recall petition

[29]

[30]

title: Eddie Panlilio

question: What does the article say about misfortunes that befell Panlilio?

answer: Panlilio is afflicted with vitiligo, a rare skin disease. Candaba Mayor Jerry Pelayo, along with 18 Palampanga mayors, waged war against Panlilio by means of prayer. Lawyer Elly Velez Lao Pamaton filed a perjury criminal case against him in 2008. Lilia Pineda launched a recall campaign against him that same year. A formal recall petition for loss of confidence was filed that October. He was ordered to step down in 2010.

question: What does the article say about Panlilio's children?


text:
NEW YORK -- St. Louis Blues defenseman Alex Pietrangelo, Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon and Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Curtis McElhinney have been named the NHL's "Three Stars" for the week ending March 18.

FIRST STAR - ALEX PIETRANGELO, D, ST. LOUIS BLUES

Pietrangelo led the NHL with 3-6-9 in four games to power the Blues (39-28-5, 83 points) to a 3-1-0 week and within one point of the final playoff spot in the Western Conference. He collected two assists in a 4-2 victory over the Anaheim Ducks March 12 before being held off the scoresheet in a 4-1 loss to the Colorado Avalanche March 15. Pietrangelo bounced back with 2-1-3, his fifth career three-point performance, in a 4-3 overtime win against the New York Rangers March 17. He then set a career high with 1 3-4, highlighted by the tying goal with 1:22 remaining in regulation and an assist on the overtime winner, in a 5-4 triumph versus the Chicago Blackhawks March 18. In doing so, Pietrangelo became the second defenseman in Blues history to record consecutive three-point games (also Rob Ramage: Dec. 26-27, 1987). The 28-year-old King City, Ont., native shares first place among NHL blueliners with 15 goals and ranks 10th among League defensemen with 50 points in 68 outings this season (15-35-50).

SECOND STAR - NATHAN MACKINNON, C, COLORADO AVALANCHE

MacKinnon paced the NHL with six goals and ranked second with eight points (6 2-8) in four games as the Avalanche (39-25-8, 86 points) went 3-1-0 to climb into the first Wild Card spot in the Western Conference. He scored one goal in a 5-1 victory against the Minnesota Wild March 13. MacKinnon then registered 2-1-3, including his League-leading 11th game-winning goal of the season (tied with Calgary's Sean Monahan), in a 4-1 triumph over the St. Louis Blues March 15. He added one goal in a 4-2 loss to the Nashville Predators March 16 before capping the week with 2-1-3, his League-best 13th three-point effort of the campaign, in a 5-1 victory against the Detroit Red Wings March 18. The 22-year-old Halifax, N.S., native paces the NHL with 1.39 points per game and ranks third overall with 38-51-89 in 64 contests this season, highlighted by 13-11-24 during an active 12-game point streak.

THIRD STAR - CURTIS MCELHINNEY, G, TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS

McElhinney went 3-0-0 with a 1.57 goals-against average, .955 save percentage and one shutout as the Maple Leafs (43-22-7, 93 points) posted a perfect week to move within two wins of matching the single-season franchise record (reached in 1998-99, 1999-00 and 2003-04). He made 13 saves in relief and added two shootout stops in a 6 5 victory over the Dallas Stars March 14. McElhinney then turned aside 38 shots in a 5-2 win against the Buffalo Sabres March 15. He closed the week with 33 saves for his eighth career shutout in a 4-0 triumph over the Montreal Canadiens March 17. The 34-year-old London, Ont., native owns a 10-4-1 record with a 2.09 goals-against average, .935 save percentage and three shutouts in 16 appearances this season

question: What does the article say about goals?

answer: Pietrangelo scored a tying goal with 1:22 remaining in a game against the Chicago Blackhawks. Nathan MacKinnon scored six goals in four games. He scored one against Minnesota. He also scored a game-winning goal against the St. Louis Blues. He added a goal in a loss against the Nashville Predators. McElhinney has a 1.57 goals-against average as a goalie.

question: What does the article say about football?


text:
BALAAM AND THE ANGEL are a Scottish rock band founded by Mark, James (Jim), and Desmond (Des) Morris in Cannock, England in 1984.[1][2]

Career

As children in Motherwell, Scotland, the Morris brothers worked in the entertainment industry as part of a cabaret act.[3] They moved south to England to Cannock, Staffordshire, where they formed Balaam and the Angel.[4]

Initially the band self-released a series of EP's and an album entitled _Sun Family_[5] via their own Chapter 22 label and played some tour dates opening for The Cult.[6] This caught the attention of Virgin Records, who signed them and released their debut album, _The Greatest Story Ever Told_.[7][8] It peaked at No. 67 in the UK Albums Chart in August 1986.[9] They toured in the United States with The Mission, Kiss and label mate Iggy Pop.

A second guitarist and the first non-sibling, Ian McKean of Twenty Flight Rockers,[10][11][12][13] was added to the band in 1988.[14] The band began to move away from gothic rock music styles into a sound that had more in common with hard rock. With their new-found style, they recorded the album _Live Free or Die_.[15] This was soon followed up in similar style when they recorded _Days of Madness_,[16] before leaving Virgin Records.[17] Their song “I'll Show You Something Special” appeared on the soundtrack for the film, _Planes, Trains and Automobiles_.[18]

Their presence was largely ignored by the time that their 1993 album, _Prime Time_, had failed to interest record buyers.[19]

Members

-   Mark Morris - vocals, bass (1983–1989, 1991–present)
-   Jim Morris - guitar, keyboards (1983–1989, 1991–present)
-   Des Morris - drums (1983–1989, 1991–present)
-   Chris P Notes (Chris Williams) - keyboards (1994–present)
-   Ian McKean - guitar (1988–1989, 1991–1994)

Discography

Albums

  ----------------- --------------------------------
  DATE OF RELEASE   ALBUM TITLE
  1985              _Sun Family_
  1986              _The Greatest Story Ever Told_
  1988              _Live Free or Die_
  1989              _Days of Madness_
  1993              _Prime Time_
  ----------------- --------------------------------

EPs

  ----------------- ---------------------------------- -------------- --------------- ------------ ------------------------------------- --------------- ------------------------------------------- ------------------ --------------------- ------------
  DATE OF RELEASE   EP TITLE
  1984              _World of Light_
  1985              _Love Me_
  1985              _Day and Night_
  1986              _Light of the World_
  1986              _She Knows_ UK No. 70{{cite book
  1986              _Slow Down_
  1991              _No More Innocence_
  ----------------- ---------------------------------- -------------- --------------- ------------ ------------------------------------- --------------- ------------------------------------------- ------------------ --------------------- ------------

Singles

  ----------------- -----------------------------------------
  DATE OF RELEASE   SINGLE TITLE
  1987              “New Kind of Love”
  1987              “I'll Show You Something Special”
  1987              “I Love The Things You Do to Me”
  1988              “Live Free or Die (Texas Redbeard Mix)”
  1989              “I Took a Little”
  1990              “A Little Bit of Love”
  1993              “Shame on You”
  ----------------- -----------------------------------------

Compilation albums

  ----------------- ---------------------------------------------------
  DATE OF RELEASE   COMPILATION TITLE
  1987              _Young Virgins_ (featuring “Light of the World”.)
  2002              _Sun Family_
  ----------------- ---------------------------------------------------

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4] Moore, Christie (2006) _The Unultimate Rockopedia_, AuthorHouse, , p. 27-8

[5]

[6]

[7]

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[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]

[13]

[14]

[15]

[16]

[17]

[18]

[19]

title: Balaam and the Angel

question: Where did Mark, James and Desmond Morris grow up?

answer: The three brothers were born in Motherwell Scotland, where they worked as part of a cabaret act. They moved south to Cannock, England, where they formed Balaam and the Angel.


text:
BrooksBaseball.net Strikezone Maps

_Keeping Track of Every Call_

SELECT A DATE AND GAME TO FIND UMPIRING DATA:

[]
[]

How To Read These Graphs

These graphs only plot CALLS made by the home plate umpire. In other words, they only plot balls and called strikes. No other pitches or results are included. Intuitively, this provides a representation of the strikezone for each game.

Each pitch is represented by a single dot. Green dots are balls and red dots are strikes. Pitches marked as belonging to a particular team (for example "bos" or "nya") are designated with different shapes. These teams represent the PITCHING team, not the batting team. SO, A PITCH MARKED "BOS-CALLED STRIKE" WAS THROWN BY A BOSTON PITCHER.

These are from the Umpire's perspective, not the Pitcher's perspective.

These strikezone maps are now drawn to reflect the 2015 zone "as called" to LHH and RHH hitters. These strikezone maps _were_ drawn to the specifications of Mike Fast, a former writer for Baseball Prospectus who now works for the Houston Astros. These plots show actual calls superimposed onto dashed lines that represent the strikezones that all Umpires _generally call_. The dashed lines shift to represent typical deviations for LHH and RHH.

question: What do the graphs show?

answer: The graphs show calls made by the home plate umpire.

question: How does one distinguish between the teams while looking at the graph?

answer: Pitches from each team are designated with a particular shape.

question: How does one distinguish between balls and strikes?

answer: Green dots refer to balls and red dots refer to strikes.

question: Who came up with the specifications for the strikezone maps?

answer: Mike Fast, a former writer for Baseball Prospectus, drew the specifications of the strikezone map.

question: Write a ~3 sentence summary.

answer: Strikezone maps plot all the calls made by the home plate umpire. Green dots represent balls and red dots refer to strikes. Each team is given a specific shape.


text:
LAST UPDATED: 12 November 2020

Australian summers can be tough for people and animals...

And while many of us can endure the hottest days with the help of air conditioning and plenty of fluids to keep us hydrated, our wildlife friends can suffer terribly during extreme heat, and even die. Here are 6 ways you can help make the difference between life and death for wildlife during increasingly hot and dry Aussie summers:

[Leave water out.]

Sweltering summer days can be uncomfortable to be outside in for just a few minutes. Imagine what it is like for animals who have no way of escaping the heat. During heat waves, native animals can suffer terribly and even die — but the simple act of providing them save access to water can help them cope.

-   Leave SHALLOW DISHES OF WATER in the shade (try to avoid metal dishes unless they're in full shade as they will get very hot in the sun)
-   If you can put some dishes high up/in trees this will help keep wildlife safe from predators.
-   Shallow bowls are best, as small birds can become trapped in deep dishes and drown (cat litter trays can actually be quite handy for this reason, and these are often found in discount stores for just a few dollars)
-   If you only have large bowls or buckets — be sure to place some large twigs or rocks/bricks inside to allow any trapped animals to make their way out.

[Keep dogs and cats indoors.]

Not only will this help your animal companions escape the heat, but it will ENABLE THIRSTY WILDLIFE TO ACCESS WATER IN YOUR BACKYARD safely.

[Cover your pool.]

It may feel counter-intuitive to prevent wildlife from cooling down in your pool on a hot day. But heat-stressed animals looking to cool down are at risk of drowning in pools so taking away that access can actually save lives (it's also not ideal for animals to be drinking pool water as they can get sick). Ensure animals have access to safe and fresh water sources in your back yard instead.

[Keep an eye out for heat-stressed wildlife.]

If you spot any critters who look like they're struggling, call your local vet as well as local wildlife group for help. Particularly during natural disasters (eg. bushfires), wildlife carers can be overwhelmed — so it's worth contacting your vet who can assess the situation and treat injured animals (for free).

-   Be particularly mindful at dusk and at night as many nocturnal animals will be more active during this time.
-   PREPARE AN EMERGENCY KIT to keep in your car including water, a blanket/towel, and a box
-   Save a few local wildlife rescue contacts in your phone so that you can ring for advice if you need it.
-   Here are some measures you can take to help reduce the chances of animals being hit on the road.

[Share your fruit trees with hungry wildlife]

After extreme heat events and bushfires, Australias's flying foxes are in desperate need of help. Pictured is a flying fox who came into emergency vets after bushfires ravaged his home. Having survived the terrible fires, and with so many of his normal food sources gone, he was hungry and searching for food. This is what happened.

Wildlife who have survived through Australia's bushfire crisis are hungry. They have not only lost their homes, but their sources of food. And during this time of ecosystem devastation and habitat loss, it's never been more crucial to protect species like flying foxes — BECAUSE THEY'RE THE ONES WHO POLLINATE TREES. The more flying foxes we can keep healthy and happy, the better our ecosystems will survive and regenerate. So please, take down your tree netting, and share some love for wildlife by sharing your fruit trees

_Help spread this important message across Facebook and Twitter._

IMPORTANT: If you come across an injured or heat-stressed flying fox (fruit bat) DO NOT TOUCH the animal. This is for the animal's own safety. Instead, immediately call a wildlife carer for advice.

[Know what to do if you find distressed or injured wildlife]

If you have found an animal who is visibly distressed, wrap them loosely in a blanket or towel IF IT IS SAFE TO DO SO* and place them in a cardboard box, before placing the box in a dark, quiet, and cool place.

_*Note that injured animals will often be quite frightened, so if you feel worried they may scratch or bite try gently ushering them into a washing basket without touching them instead of wrapping them in a blanket or towel._

Offer water but not food and call a wildlife carer immediately, or your local vet. NEVER POUR WATER INTO AN ANIMALS' MOUTH — this is not natural and can cause additional distress and even physical harm. Instead, provide cool water in a bowl and allow them to lap from it.

DO NOT WRAP HEAT STRESSED ANIMALS IN WET TOWELS OR SUBMERSE IN WATER — this can kill them.

IMPORTANT: If you come across an injured or heat-stressed flying fox (fruit bat) DO NOT TOUCH the animal. This is for the animal's own safety. Instead, immediately call a wildlife carer for advice.

What does a heat-stressed animal look like?

Some of the signs that a native animal is heat-stressed include:

-   Nocturnal (active at night) animals, such as possums, out during the day
-   Tree-dwelling animals such as koalas, on the ground
-   Birds or animals displaying any loss of balance, collapse, confusion or panting
-   If you come across a wild animal being docile — ie. if you can approach them and they don't run away — this is a good sign that they are not well and need urgent care.

[shadow]

question: Summarize some of the hardships Australian animals face during summers there.

answer: At dusk and during the night, nocturnal animals are particularly active, as the repressive heat during the days repels them. There's also the threat of bush fires, which affect both humans and animals. Animals may move into more human-populated areas as a result of having lost their natural homes. Many animals also suffer dehydration and natural sources of water dry up.

question: Summarize some signs an animal is stressed out by the heat.

answer: If they are out of place-for example, usually are in the ground but are out-it means they are stressed out. Nocturnal animals' being out during the day is another sign. If their motor skills look less than fine-tuned, they are probably not doing so well. Additionally, if they are particularly docile where they typically are not, it's a sign the poor creature may be in need of urgent care, as it has no strength to resist potential enemy attacks.

question: Summarize resources for Australians to call up when their animals friends are in distress.

question: Summarize some of the counter-intuitive measures one can take to cool down an animal friend.

answer: Do not let them into bodies of water-including your own pool. They could drown because they either are not equipped for swimming or are too exhausted to do so. Also, they should not be drinking the chemically-treated water. Let them have your normally-protected fruit trees and garden wares.


text:
There were 140 qualifying places available for archery at the 2016 Summer Paralympics: 80 for men and 60 for women.

Each National Paralympic Committee (NPC) is permitted to enter a maximum of 13 competitors, 8 male, 5 female. NPC can enter a further two female athletes in Women's Compound W1 or Compound Open as World individual or mixed team champion in that event, so a theoretical maximum of fifteen archers is possible across the nine events.

NPCs that qualify at least a single individual man and woman in a specific discipline - Compound W1, Compound Open or Recurve Open - are able to enter a two-member mixed team to the relevant team event, while also having each member compete in the individual event. If an NPC qualifies multiple archers in each gender in a specific discipline, however, they remain restricted to a single team in the mixed team event in that discipline.

Six places are reserved for Brazil as the host nation, one in each individual event, and as a consequence, Brazil will enter a team in each of the Mixed Pairs events. A further eleven will be decided by the Bipartite Commission. The remaining 123 places are then allocated through a qualification process, in which archers earned quota places for their respective NPCs, though not necessarily for themselves.

To be eligible to participate in the Paralympic Games after the NPC has obtained a quota place, all archers must be classified with a confirmed or review sports status, to ensure Paralympic eligibility, and have achieved a minimum qualification score (MQS):

-   Men's Ind. Compound W1: 575
-   Men's Ind. Compound Open: 630
-   Men's Ind. Recurve Open: 560
-   Women's Ind. Compound W1: 500
-   Women's Ind. Compound Open: 600
-   Women's Ind. Recurve Open: 520

The MQS must have been achieved between 1 July 2015 and 1 July 2016.

Timeline

+-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| Event                 | Date                  | Venue                 |
+=======================+=======================+=======================+
| Start date for MQS    | 1 July 2015           | -                     |
| performances          |                       |                       |
+-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| 2015 Parapan American | 7–15 August 2015      | Toronto               |
| Games                 |                       |                       |
+-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| 2015 Para Archery     | 23–30 August 2015     | Donaueschingen        |
| World Championships   |                       |                       |
+-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| 2015 Asian            | November 2015         | Bangkok               |
| qualification         |                       |                       |
| event[1]              |                       |                       |
+-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| 2016 European         | 2–10 April 2016       | Challans              |
| qualification event   |                       |                       |
| 2016 World Archery    |                       |                       |
| Europe Para           |                       |                       |
| Championships         |                       |                       |
+-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| 2016 Final World      | tbc                   |                       |
| qualification event   |                       |                       |
+-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| Bipartite Commission  | 1 May 2016            |                       |
| process               |                       |                       |
+-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| End date for MQS      | 1 July 2016           | -                     |
| performances          |                       |                       |
+-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| Final deadline for    | 15 August 2016        | -                     |
| entries               |                       |                       |
+-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+

Qualification details

Places are awarded to the NPC, not the individual athlete. Where an athlete's name appears, the athlete's NPC has selected that athlete to take this place in Rio; this athlete may or may not have gained the qualification.

+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Qualifiers for the Paralympic Games 2016 - Archery[2]                 |
+=======================================================================+
| Qualification Event                                                   |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Compound                                                              |
| W1                                                                    |
|  (max 2 per NPC)                                                      |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| 2015 WORLD PARA                                                       |
| ARCHERY CHAMPIONSHIPS[3]                                              |
| Donaueschingen, Germany                                               |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| 2015 PARA PANAMERICAN GAMES                                           |
| Toronto, Canada                                                       |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| 2016 ASIAN QUALIFIER                                                  |
| Bangkok, Thailand                                                     |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| 2016 EUROPEAN QUALIFIER                                               |
| Cevilles, France                                                      |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| 2016 FINAL PARALYMPIC QUALIFIER                                       |
| Nove Mesto,                                                           |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| HOST NATION QUOTAS                                                    |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| BIPARTITE COMMISSION QUOTAS                                           |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Total : 140                                                           |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+

* extra place available to world champions (individual or mixed pairs) only. Max 1 per NPC for all other nations.
Following the McLaren Report on State sponsored doping in Russia, the Paralympic team was excluded from the Games. As a consequence, Russian qualifiers in Archery were excluded.

Mixed team events

There is no direct qualification for the mixed pairs events, and an NPC may enter one team (1 man, 1 woman) per event if they have qualified those archers from individual events. However, since Rio 2016 quota places in individual events were awarded to the top finishers in the equivalent mixed pairs event at the 2015 World Para Archery Championships in Donau, Germany, a minimum number of teams per event is guaranteed.

On 5 September 2016, the IPC published the full entry lists for all mixed team events in archery. The following teams will enter:

+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Qualifiers for team events at the Paralympic Games 2016 - Archery[5]  |
+=======================================================================+
| Event                                                                 |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Qualifiers                                                            |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Teams                                                                 |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+

[1] Rio qualifiers from Asian Paralympic event . from World Archery.com

[2] Rio2016 - Paralympic Archery Qualifiers as of 1 September 2015.

[3]

[4] By winning two quotas at the World Championships, USA exceeded its maximum for this event, and relinquished one of its quota places, which therefore is awarded to Canada.

[5] Rio2016 - Paralympic Archery Qualifiers as of 1 February 2016.

title: Archery at the 2016 Summer Paralympics – Qualification

question: Summarize the rules for qualifications at the archery event of the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Brazil.

answer: The archery competition has 140 qualifying spots - 80 for men and 60 for women. Each country is permitted to enter a maximum of 13 competitors. However, two more athletes can be entered for the Women Compound W1 or Compound Open, hence up to 15 contestants can be registered by each participating country. As the host nation, Brazil has extra six spots reserved for it, which means it has a team in each of the archery events. To be eligible for participation, each of the archers must be classified with a confirmed sports status and must achieve a minimum qualification score (MQS).

question: Why do the hosts of the Paralympics get extra places?


text:
We are in an era on mobile where Freemium has won; but there are many out there who question whether this is a good or bad thing for the player. Indeed, are the current approaches to Free2Play design sustainable and are some of them even ethical?

Over the last 4 years, the reported ‘typical’ paying player appears to have dropped from 3-5% of total downloads* to a mere 1-2%. This isn’t a smoking gun and there is a lot of conflicting evidence, but when you consider the improvements in data analysis to aid retention and the huge increased marketing spend from games at the top, I believe it’s worth taking another look at how we can develop a more sustainable approach to game monetization.

Let’s agree on three principles before we start.

1.  The games business is a leaky bucket

We will always lose players! Games are consumable entertainment and players will inevitably churn. This means we have two options – add more people faster than we lose them or plug as many leaks as we can.

2.  Retention has a huge impact

    Look at the results of our Unity Ads Survey with EEDAR:

[Retention-Graph]

Online Survey Conducted in 2014 with 3,000 paying players

3.  Buying (even downloading) is a risk

[buying-is-risk]

In The Journal of Marketing, James W Taylor wrote about the four forces which prevent people from making any purchase, be it a game or a pair of shoes. We need to know what we are GETTING, what we are MISSING OUT ON, what OTHERS WILL THINK of our decisions and deal with OTHER THINGS IN OUR LIVES.

In short, if we are going to make better, more sustainable In App Purchase (IAP) design, then first we have to keep more players for longer and create the conditions where they feel safe to buy things in our game.

The current IAP models typically use:

-   UNLIMITED CONTENT – Capped by limited energy (such as Candy Crush Saga)
-   EXPONENTIAL COST ESCALATION – Building a bigger base requires bigger stores (Clash of Clans)
-   TIME-LIMITED EVENTS – Special limited editions and timed events (Puzzles & Dragons)
-   CASINO MECHANICS – Not part of this discussion as it relies on different psychology

These kind of purchases strongly focus on the conversion of the player to spending, rather than on delivering an expectation of value. We don’t get to retain users if we treat them as disposable, like visitors to a carnival midway (or fairground if you’re British). If we rig the games too far, then people will lose the joy and simply stop coming back.

The concept of ongoing spending as a user presents different short-term vs. long-term risks. Most players have a budget they are comfortable spending regularly. In the heat of a game they might exceed that, but this creates Buyer’s Remorse unless they feel they can choose to limit this spend in the future. We have to consider the short and long term risk profiles of the game as well as the context for players including:

-   ESCALATING COSTS – The perception of ever escalating costs will impact player demand. This isn’t the same as price sensitivity but never-ending upward pressure creates payment fatigue.
-   NEVER-ENDING SPEND – The perception that I will always be asked for more money from the game creates payment fatigue, but that is different from the desire to want to spend money of my own choice. Always have more for me to acquire on my own initiative; don’t make my basic retention depend on it.
-   COMPARATIVE PROGRESS – Seeing others perform better than me can create playing fatigue. If someone else’s spend alone makes it appear impractical for me to compete, I will abandon the game – claiming that it’s pay-to-win.
-   SUBSTITUTE GAMES – We can’t ignore that there were an average of 362 mobile games released every day in Feb this year alone. There are always substitute games, and they are all free too.

[]

Buyer’s Remorse is a real thing. We build up a great deal of anticipation and often get caught up in the heat of the moment when we make a purchase (or download).  But after our purchase is when we are at our most vulnerable and we will (at some point) cool down and review our purchase decision. The role of a designer is to keep that player playing. More than that, as a designer of IAP we have to keep players wanting to not just continue playing, but paying. That requires us to sustain their attention, interest, and desire over time!

Just like every game mechanic has to engage and entertain a player, our game purchases have to ‘supercharge’ a player’s sense of delight and drive repeat engagement.

-   UNFINISHED BUSINESS: Games like Kim Kardashian Hollywood do an amazing job with the narrative progression and the format of what are essentially ‘Cookie Clicker’ tasks and still create a sense of unfinished business. The gameplay may be limited but the engagement is very real – this leaves the player always wanting more. That engagement directly helps overcome the issues from any opportunity cost there may be

-   CONTINUED RELEVANCE: Games like the VEGA conflict show items which players will be able to unlock later in the game. Their associated stats similarly go a long way to show the continued relevance of playing as well as how what the players just unlocked fits into the game. Often this is about putting the monetization in the context loop, rather than in with the core game mechanics.

-   SOCIAL CAPITAL: It’s also important not to ignore both the social consequences and the value that players put on the ability to personalize their experience as long as others are able to observe their decisions. This was key to most of the revenue in the now shutdown Playstation®Home experience with examples like the ‘Gold Suit’ offering its wearers social capital. However, people often misunderstand this phenomena – customization has to be authentic as it’s about a real person’s response to your experience.

-   INERTIA: It’s also easy to underestimate how important it is to keep your players playing – even if they are freeloaders! The fact that a player deliberately chose to play your game is hugely valuable – it’s a massive compliment to you and your team and you should respect that.  This is the key to you being able to generate revenue in the first place and their ongoing commitment will be hard to win. That’s why your initial on-boarding process is so vital. Acknowledge that every player has a lifecycle and be aware of how their needs will change as they move from Discovering to Learning then Engaging.  Building longevity takes an understanding of the community as well as how your game’s rhythm of play fits into your players’ lifestyles.

We should not consider someone who pays once to be a customer.  They may have purchased, but unless they do it again there is work to do to not only create a scaleable business, but also one which delivers what our players actually want!

According to Park & Lee, players are buying because they have an expectation of value, not just because they are happy with the game. They are demonstrating a desire to get more out of our game and we have to sustain that if we are to encourage them to keep spending. You can’t sustain this desire if your IAP doesn’t deliver both logical and emotional value. If we respect our players, we will earn a longer Lifetime Value (LTV), but unfortunately no matter how good our game is there will always be a diminishing return.

That’s why we have to take a design view to the kinds of goods we offer players.  I like to break these down into four categories:

-   SUSTENANCE – Goods we require to continue playing
-   SHORTCUTS – Goods which speed up the actions we are performing
-   SOCIALISATION – Goods which are primarily about social capital
-   STRATEGY – Goods which open new playing options

These goods can come in various forms:

-   CONSUMABLE – a one-time use item
-   CAPACITY – something which enhances growth/play
-   PERMANENT – a permanent upgrade or unlock item
-   GENERATORS – an increase in the supply of a consumable

Looking at your game, you will be able to identify a point in the game mechanic or the context loops of play (perhaps even the metagame) where any of these items would benefit the players. However, the problem most developers fall into is forgetting to make their goods scaleable.

It’s something which, in my opinion, was the downfall of the free2play version of Dungeon Keeper.

Scale matters!

Some methods we can use to help scale goods include:

-   BUNDLES – Whether it’s a BOGO or a pack of 10, selling more than one consumable in a single transaction not only makes the offer more attractive to the player, it also means that they may have some left over. And that means they’ll need to come back to use them.
-   RATCHET MECHANISMS: It can be scaling how many recharge crystals you need to continue your run, having died multiple times like in Blades of Brim by SYBO, or the classic mechanic where to upgrade your HQ you first have to upgrade your Gold and Mana Stores (which of course takes an escalating amount of time and resources to complete). I’m falling out of love for this system to be honest, but it’s still valid when spread amongst a large number of assets such as the different heroes in Marvel Future Fight. This method also includes multi-part items such as the Blueprints in the Force Collection.
-   SCISSOR-PAPER-STONE: This remains my favorite approach to scale and I think the most consumer friendly – add a touch of dilemma to the purchase. Do you buy the Blue Sword or the Red one? Blue is better on Green, but Vulnerable to Red attacks… Do it well and you’ll turn purchase decisions into a positive part of the reason to play. Look at games like Hearthstone or DOTA where players have no problems with spending money. A dilemma doesn’t have to be profound, it can be as simple as the mental switch between collecting gems and avoiding obstacles in Lets Go Rocket from Cobra Mobile.
-   CUSTOMIZATION: The more creativity you allow your players, the more engaged they will be with their characters emotionally and the better impact your purchases will have on ongoing retention. However, this has to be authentic. You can’t fake Geek Cool.

There are other things you can consider too, such as how rare an item might be, what function that item delivers, why that’s special, and how it improves the gameplay. But also ask why an item will be something a player aspires to get and how you can make it more personal.

IAP must be part of the game design experience. We have to create a sense of anticipation and delight if we are to attract players’ interest and create the desire to act and purchase from us.  We are now retailers inside our game and as such have to think in a similar way. Why not consider some of the following techniques?

-   HELP FROM A FRIEND: Games like Criminal Case actively use Facebook connections to offer gifts to their friends of freely available consumable items like energy. Learning from Puzzles & Dragons as well as Marvel Future Fight, we can connect with other players who are online at the same time as us and make tentative allies. These can be a great excuse to see what impact a power or new character might have on our game, and make it easier to get past a troublesome boss.
-   FREE USE OF AN ITEM: Sometimes we have to show people what they are missing out on; unless you have used a better car/gun/etc, how will you know how much more fun it is that the one you already have? Sometimes this temporary use can be a reward or part of a daily challenge, but it can also be highly effective to use ‘Opt-In’ Video Ads to offer such experiences. These put a commercial value to the free item, something the player often appreciates more as a result.
-   PREDICTABLE UNCERTAINTY: Knowing you will get something but not knowing _what_ is a great tool. This is often used crudely by throwing a roulette wheel into the game. However, it’s more interesting in its use in Crossy Road: I regularly get a random creature from the coins I earn through play or from watching opt-in videos. These creatures are all delightful in some way, and each time I get one the other becomes more interesting. There are some which I just had to get my hands on straight away – as a result I was willing to spend real money to get the ones I wanted, Emo Goose and Frankenstein.
-   LIMITED OFFER: Whether it’s limited by time or event, it can be really effective to make players authentic and in-game context plausible offers. Fake scarcity will add to playing fatigue.

Finally, the point of making sustainable IAP is to look at the sale as the beginning not the end. If we are to really achieve that, then we have to recognize that each purchase we initiate creates its own sense of buyer’s remorse and build playing and paying fatigue – leading to churn. We have to constantly fight this inevitable loss by building post-purchase utility. That means making the user feel special every time they make a purchase, similar to the unboxing experience of an Apple product. Identify and allow players to show off ‘landmark items’ which genuinely expand the scale of play, but then don’t forget to show them what their money has bought. All this has to also take into account how each purchase affects the gameplay of others; we can’t afford to increase the engagement of one player at the cost of dozens of others.

Show me as a player that you respect my decision to invest in your game and give me a reason to do it again!

And for those of you want to see our recent webinar on this same topic, you can view it here:

question: What does the article describe as some challenges to retaining players on their mobile game?

answer: Hosting a mobile game on an app store comes with challenges to retain users. Players will inevitably churn but they will need to be added faster than losing them. Conditions need to be created where players feel safe to buy things in the game. When players demonstrate a desire to get more out of game, it needs to be sustained by delivering logical and emotional value. This will encourage more spending. If too much focus is placed on converting the player to spend, instead of delivering value, users will feel disposable. Allowing players more creativity will engage them with their characters emotionally, impacting purchases and retention in an authentic way.


text:
As US Congress prepares to approve America's biggest ever arms deal, state department spokesman Philip J Crowley stresses that Washington's priority is stability in the Middle East Reuters

The US Congress is poised to give its approval to the biggest arms deal in US history when it signs off on weapons sales to Saudi Arabia worth an estimated $60bn (£39bn).

The sale, under negotiation since 2007, is aimed mainly at bolstering Saudi defences against Iran, which the US suspects will achieve a nuclear weapons capability within the next few years. The transfer of advanced technology, mainly planes, is to provide Saudi Arabia with air superiority over Iran.

The Obama administration is due to send the deal to Congress in the next fortnight. The Senate and House then have 30 days to amend, cancel or approve the deal. If approved, the Obama administration can then take the final steps towards completing the deal.

Members of Congress have been notoriously difficult in regard to arms deals with Saudi Arabia over the last three decades, partly because of lobbying by Israel in the 1980s and 90s and partly as a reaction to the 9/11 attacks orchestrated by the Saudi-born al-Qaida leader, Osama bin Laden. They have also raised concerns over the lack of human rights and freedom for women in Saudi Arabia. Congress has amended and even blocked arms deals with the Saudis in the past.

But Washington-based analysts say such concerns will be overridden because of the greater worries about Iran.

A US defence official told Reuters today that the US and Saudi Arabia are discussing a package that includes 84 new F-15 fighter jets, upgrading another 70 of them as well as buying 72 Black Hawk helicopters built by Sikorsky Aircraft, a unit of United Technologies Corporation.

The two sides are also discussing a package for the kingdom's navy.

The Saudis have agreed to an initial $30bn in sales, with another $30bn still under discussion. The initial figure to be sent to Congress for review may be $30bn for approval this year.

The deal rivals the al-Yamamah deal between the UK and Saudi Arabia signed in the mid-1980s, one of the biggest in history, worth $66bn in revenue for BAE.

Michael Knights, the Lafer fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, who has written in detail about the deal, predicted today a relatively smooth ride from Congress: "The deal has a much better chance of being approved with limited or no modifications.

First, the preparation for the package has been extensive and prolonged, stretching back to 2007. This has ironed out many potential problems, including significant consultations with the Israelis.

"Second, concern about a nuclear Iran is at an all-time high in Washington, Tel Aviv and Riyadh. Third, much has changed in the defence market since the last major Congressional campaign to block or downgrade a major Saudi arms deal, the 1993 Saudi purchase of F-15s aircraft. Since then, US manufacturers have had to up their game to compete with top-tier European technologies that are provided without limitations."

To help ease passage through Congress, Obama is to put the emphasis on jobs, an important consideration at a time of high unemployment in the US. Members of Congress will not want to be seen endangering jobs, especially in the run-up to November's mid-term Congressional elections.

The White House will stress that an estimated 75,000 jobs in companies such as Boeing, Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Martin and General Electric will be protected if the deal goes through.

Some of the weapons systems, in particular upgraded weapons systems, are specifically related to the threat posed by Iran. Details have been leaking out in the US media over the last few months, prompting angry denunciations from Tehran.

Israel, an even closer ally of the US than Saudi Arabia, has also expressed concerned over the transfer of advanced technology to Saudi Arabia.

Addressing Israeli concerns, advanced sensors on the new Saudi F-15s will have technology built in to prevent them being used against their Israeli equivalents.

While Israel sees Saudi Arabia as a useful buttress against Iran, there is a fear in Tel Aviv that a rogue Saudi pilot might opt for a suicide mission against Israel. The Israeli air force want to maintain an advantage.

Knights said: "Iran is certainly the only advanced state that Saudi Arabia needs to fear as a credible armed opponent in the next decade. Certain weapon systems like upgraded missile defences are explicitly concerned with Iran. The advanced sensors in the new Saudi F-15s will have fail-safes to prevent their effective use against US aircraft such as the types used by Israel."

The Pentagon neither confirmed nor denied today that a deal is in the offing. A defence department spokesman restated the formal position: "We have not concluded arms sales agreements with Saudi Arabia, and we have not notified Congress of pending sales. The US does partner with multiple countries in the Middle East in our multifaceted approach to regional security and stability. This involves a wide range of activities from training and exercises to military sales."

Congress has a history of being difficult about Saudi Arabia, passing legislation in 1986 to block sales of missiles and missile launchers approved by President Ronald Reagan. The deal finally went through only after Reagan was forced to withdraw Stinger missiles from the package.

In 1990, the administration of George H Bush planned to send Saudi Arabia $20bn in arms but opposition from Congress saw this cut down to $7bn.

question: Why has Congress not wanted to sign off Saudi arms deals over the last thirty years?

answer: Members of Congress have been notoriously difficult when it comes to arms deals with Saudi Arabia over the last three decades, partly because of lobbying by Israel in the 1980s and 90s and partly as a reaction to the 9/11 attacks orchestrated by the Saudi-born al-Qaida leader, Osama bin Laden. They have also raised concerns over the lack of human rights and freedom for women in Saudi Arabia.

question: Why is Congress more likely to sign off the deal now than in the past?

answer: The preparation for the package has been extensive, stretching back to 2007. This has ironed out many potential problems. Concern about a nuclear Iran is at an all-time high in Washington, Tel Aviv, and Riyadh. Third, much has changed in the defence market since the last major Congressional campaign. To help ease passage through Congress, Obama is to put the emphasis on jobs, an important consideration at a time of high unemployment in the US. Members of Congress will not want to be seen endangering jobs, especially in the run-up to November's mid-term Congressional elections.


text:
Freddie awoke to the sound of mutant toxic waste birds tweeting on a nearby charred tree.
“Ahhh.” He said as he deeply inhaled the nuclear fallout through his dolphin nose.” What a glorious day in post apocalyptia.” He said as he sat up and put his foot fins into the irradiated soil, his fins sinking into the tender ground. He immediately stuck his hand fins under his pillow and pulled out a crack pipe and a baggie of crack, he held the baggy up to his face.
”The last rock. Hey charleston we have one rock left, what do you want to do?” he called out into the empty room.
“Shit, man I thought I told you to make a trip to the crack tree last week.” The disembodied voice of charleston said.
“Well I guess we’ve gotta go get some more.” Freddie said back.
“Yeah. Give me a sec.”
Freddie stood up and walked over to the table adjacent to his bed and pack up his double bowed crossbow and gear. ” charleston, are you coming.” He yelled to seemingly no one in the room.
A big fat rat riddled with scars and flees all on his body came running out of a hole in the wall, buckling his utility belt around his fat stomach. “Sure am Freddie let’s get a moving.”
Freddie leaned over to pick up charleston and put him on his shoulder.
”ADVENTURE!” They both exclaimed.
Freddie opened the sheet metal door and stepped outside into the unforgiving heat.
“Ah. Music to my skin.” Said charleston as his hide bubbled under the uv rays.
“You said it little buddy.” Freddie retorted.
 Freddie began to walk and then looked back at the tiny decrepit shack with a burned out tree next to it and saw and owl land on the tree.
“Hey look it’s Henrietta the pot smoking acid dropping owl.” He said to charleston.
“Oh yeah it is.” charleston said with loathing in his tone.
Freddie ran to the tree as fast a his little fins could take him. ”Hi henry, what’s the chiz.”
“Oh, hey, guys what’s up.” The sweater and scarf clad owl said nonchalantly as she took a drag on her joint.
“Just about to go on an adventure to the crack tree.”
“Oh, the crack tree, huh? Not my cup of tea, as you can see.”
“Well, ok, by then.” charleston interjected.
“Uh, yeah see you guys later then. oh yeah I almost forgot to tell you guys Katarina the Kitty is supposed to be having some kind of cray cray party tonight, you should bring some of the crack you get from the tree.”
“Sounds good dude see ya.”
“Alright see ya guys.” she said as she flew off.
“Well back to the matter at hand.” charleston said.
“Yeah lets go get some crack.”
And just like that, they were off, on an adventure in the vast desert scape of this world. Freddie waddled for a While until he turned to charleston and asked. ”Hey man what's your problem with henry, she’s cool.”
“Well other than the fact that she eats rats, not a god damn thing man.” charleston said back with an annoyed tone.
“Dude she’s a vegetarian she eats like celery and shit.”
“Oh, I wish she would have told me that before, she is pretty cool then.”
“Yeah, she doesn’t eat meat or anything like that. You know if you just talked to people once and awhile you might have some friends other than me.”
“Oh sorry for thinking that the naturally predatorial owl is scary.”
“Whatever, man.”
Their conversation was abruptly stopped by Freddie being punched in the face. Freddie collapsed and fell onto his dolphin butt.
“What the heck man.” Freddie said as he rubbed the bruise on his face.
Freddie looked up and there he saw it, the masked puncher, but it wasn’t a masked puncher at all, it was a ninja. Freddie took aim and fired his crossbow. The bolt hit the ninja but he turned into a dark cloud and was gone. All that was left was an yellow colored rock that had fallen out of the smoke.
“What’s that then?” asked charleston.
“Idk, man.”
Freddie stood up and walked over to the mysterious rock and pick it up.
“Dude it looks like crack.” Freddie said as he turned it over in his fin.
“Shit dude, bust out that pipe, lets get smoking.”
“Hell yeah!”
Freddie pulled out his pipe and broke off a piece of the rock, dropping it in the pipe. He flicked his lighter and the crack bubbled.
“Shit man, this is some prime grade “A” shit.” Freddie said as he passed the over sized pipe to his rat friend.
Freddie and charleston both fell backwards as their minds were filled with the feeling of crack.
“AAAAAAAhhhhhhhhhhhh.” Is all they both could say as they lay on the hot desert floor, moaning in pure ecstasy. They both closed their eyes and went to sleep.

 Twenty three hours later they awoke to a shrill voice.
“Get up you brutes.” The voice said. “Get up you good for nothing dopers.”
“Uhh, What do you want?” Freddie said.
Freddie opened his eyes to reveal a pale blonde haired blue eye face it was Norman the mormon.
“Get up you junky.”
“Oh hey Norm what’s up.” Freddie closed his eyes again.
“You better be before I tell the police on you.”
“Alright Norm I’m up.” Freddie stood up.”ok man so what'cha want.”
“I would like for you to go to church and repent your sins, but I don’t think that is going to happen any time soon.”
“No its not, did you just wake me up to be annoying or what man, because if the answer is yes, I’m going back to sleep. I’m too drugged out dude.”
“God is the only drug I need.”
“Yeah that and diet coke.”
“Uh.”Norm repulsed in disgust.”Diet coke isn’t a drug it’s healthy for you.”
“Yeah ok man whatever just leave me alone.”
“Ugh.” Norman tromped away fist clenched in a god fueled rage.
“What a dick.” charleston said
“Yeah, for sure.” Freddie said back.”Hey do you remember what we were doing yesterday?” Freddie asked charleston
“Um, I think we were smoking crack.”
“Oh yeah, we do that everyday. but there was something extraordinary about that crack but I just can't remember.”
Freddie rummaged around in his pockets and felt the familiar feeling on his fin and pulled it out.
“Oh yeah it was this gold crack that we smoked.”
“I remember now, we gotta find out where that ninja came from.” charleston said in revelation.
“Yeah he had some good ass crack.”
	“Hey do you think Norm knows where that ninja went.”
	“Maybe, he does like to spy on everyone.”
“yeah lets go see.”

They arrived  at Norm's mansion at the top of the hill overlooking the rest of the desert. Freddie walked up to the door and clanged the giant lionhead door knocker. After the second knock, the enormous door cracked open. ”Hello? Norm are you home?” Freddie stepped inside to the huge foyer. Nobody had ever been in the lair of the mormon, he was sort of a social outcast in this drug fueled desert. Freddie stood in ah of the huge room, the walls were adorned with medals, trophies, paintings and suits of armor lined the floor. There were two staircases leading up to an upper floor balcony with openings on each side. Freddie walked further inside.     ”Hey are you home dude, the door was open?” Both Freddie and charleston heard a trample of feet.
“What is that?” charleston asked
“Idk dude, but it’s coming our way.” Freddie said.
Out spewed 26 women and 19 children all dressed in old timey pioneer dresses.
“Are we in the right house?” Asked charleston.
“Yes you’re in the right house. We so rarely get visitors and the wives and children wanted to see who it was.” Norm said while he walked out from the right side opening dressed in a smoking jacket and pajama pants.
“Oh hey Norm, we came to see if you could help us with a problem we have.” Freddie said.
“And what makes you think i would help a couple of junkies like you.”
“Uh, well you're a mormon right and mormons are supposed to help out people and stuff? Right?”
	“Yes, but I will only help you under one condition.” He walked down the stairs over to Freddie.”You have to repent your sins and stop smoking crack.” He said as he poked Freddie in the chest.
	“Yeah sure. We were just wondering if you had seen where that ninja that attacked us went?”
	“Yeah I saw him, he actually came by to ask where you guys were. He came from the crack temple just past the haunted forest.” Norm said. “Alright Now you have to repent your sins.”
	“Alright I repent for my-”
	“Dude what are you doing.” charleston whispered.
	“relax.” Freddie Whispered back.
	“-Sins.”
	“Wow just like that. That was pretty eas-” Norm was cut off.
	“PSYCH!” Freddie yelled as he slapped Norm in the face with his fins while making dolphin noises. Freddie ran out as fast as he could leaving Norm in his dolphin dust. They stepped outside and ran down the stairs leading up to the enormous doors and they looked back.
	Norm ran out after them. “You’re not getting away that easily you stupid dolphin.” he said at the top of the stairs.
“woaw, that was racist.” Freddie said.
“I don’t care you’re a dolphin”
Norm held out his hand and it began to glow.
“What the heck dude.” charleston said.
Norm touched his glowing hand to the lion head knockers, a surge of power went through the head lighting up the eyes and mouth. Both metal lions leaped out of the door.
“Shit dude we gotta get out of here.” charleston said.
Freddie just stood his ground and pulled out his crossbow. He aimed and shot both lions in the head killing them instantly. They both fell to the ground, one fell on Norm’s foot crushing it into pieces. Freddie walked over to the mormon cocking back his crossbow.
“No wait, fellas we can talk this over. I didn’t mean to summon those lions.”
“That’s what they all say.” Freddie said as he put the crossbow to Norm’s head. “repent for your sins mutha fucka.” He pulled the trigger and with a click the arrows skewered Norm’s face.
“Holy shit, dude you just killed Norm!” charleston exclaimed.
“Well yeah, he tried to kill us and make us be mormon.”
“Oh yeah, I forgot.”
“Tally-ho off to the haunted forest we go.”
“but that will take forever.”
“No not with the power of movie magic, it will take 1 sentence.”

And so they journeyed down the the hill and north, to the edge of the forest.
“Well through the power of movie magic we’re here.” Freddie said.
“Movie magic.” Charleston repeated with wide eyes and arching his hands over his head.

Freddie just stood and gazed into the forest he noted how the nettles and thorns tried to break out of the shade that the trees provided, but it was futile seeing as how anywhere out of the shade was one-hundred and twenty degrees. Freddie knew the forest wasn’t really haunted it was just misunderstood, he felt for the forest. The forest was actually a pretty run of the mill forest, you know trees, plants, mushrooms, the works. All and everything that couldn’t handle the desert heat took refuge in the forest.
“Wow that is one dense forest.” Charleston commented.
 “Sure is.” Freddie said as he waddled into the woods.
They walked for a while until Freddie ran into a brick wall.
“What the heck.” Freddie looked up. That’s not a brick wall, freddie thought, it’s a macho man. He was staring at an enormous eight foot tall tower of a man,wearing a black tank top and shorts that lets be honest they were too short, pumping out his biceps with two-hundred pound dumb bells. Around the hulk was a wall of trees, he was blocking the only way through the forest.
“Oh man he’s blocking the only way through the forest.” Charles repeated.
Yes charles thanks for the naration.
“Excuse, me sir could you please move.” Freddie said to the macho man.
The man turned around, it was none other than former actor/wrestler Dwain “The Rock” Jonson. “Excuse me.” The Rock said.
The end to be continued

title: [sf]Freddie Friday and the Great Search for Great Crack.

question: What does the story say about ravens?

question: Summarize the story's main plot.

answer: Freddie Friday is a mutant dolphin who can live on land in a post-apocalyptic world. He and his friend, Charelston the rat, are addicted to smoking crack. They run out of crack and decide to go on an adventure to the crack tree. On the way there, Freddie is attacked by a ninja who accidentally drops a yellow-colored rock that turns out to be crack. The two friends smoke the crack and learn that it is prime grade A quality. Instead of going to the crack tree, they decide to find out where the ninja came from and ask Norm the Mormon for help. Freddie and Charleston learn that the ninja came from the crack temple past the haunted forest and was actually looking for them. They head to the forest and find that the only entrance was blocked by an 8 ft tall giant of a man named macho man, who turned out to be the former actor/wrestler Dwain "The Rock" Jonson.

question: What does the story say about the relationship between Freddie and Charleston?

answer: Freddie and Charleston are friends who are addicted to smoking crack. It appears that they are living together in one shack, with Charleston living in a hole in the wall.

question: What does the story say about Norm?

answer: Norm is short for "Norman the Mormon". He hates drug addicts and is a dick towards Freddie and Charleston, forcing them to repent their sins and quit smoking crack. He says God is the only drug he needs but is addicted to Diet Coke. Norm lives in a mansion on top of a hill overlooking the rest of the desert and is an outcast because everyone is doing drugs. He has 26 wives and 19 children who dress in old pioneer dresses. Norm has some sort of powers that make his hands glow, which enable him to animate and control inanimate objects. He turned iron lion knockers into metal lions that attacked Freddie and Charleston. Norm is defeated and dies at the hands of Freddie.

question: Describe the setting of the story.

answer: The story is set in a post-apocalyptic world destroyed by nuclear war. The animals living in the hot desert have become mutants that can talk and do all sorts of things. Freddie, for instance, is a dolphin that can breathe and walk on land. Most of the population is doing drugs like crack, pot, and acid. In this world, crack trees and crack temples exist, as well as ninjas and angry Mormons with superpowers. The setting also has a haunted forest.


text:
[WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 21: Special counsel Robert Mueller (2nd L) leaves after a closed meeting with members of the Senate Judiciary Committee June 21, 2017 at the Capitol in Washington, DC. The committee meets with Mueller to discuss the firing of former FBI Director James Comey. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)]

[WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 21: Special counsel Robert Mueller (2nd L) leaves after a closed meeting with members of the Senate Judiciary Committee June 21, 2017 at the Capitol in Washington, DC. The committee meets with Mueller to discuss the firing of former FBI Director James Comey. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)]

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