This week, the Recipes for Health columnist Martha Rose Shulman asks readers to go beyond wild rice and get adventurous with their grains. She offers new recipes with some unusual grains you may not have ever cooked or eaten. Her recipes this week include:
Millet: Millet can be used in bird seed and animal feed, but the grain is enjoying a renaissance in the United States right now as a great source of gluten-free nutrition. It can be used in savory or sweet foods and, depending on how it’s cooked, can be crunchy or creamy. To avoid mushy millet, Ms. Shulman advises cooking no more than 2/3 cup at a time. Toast the seeds in a little oil first and take care not to stir the millet once you have added the water so you will get a fluffy result.
Triticale: This hearty, toothsome grain is a hybrid made from wheat and rye. It is a good source of phosphorus and a very good source of magnesium. It has a chewy texture and earthy flavor, similar to wheatberries.
Farro: Farro has a nutty flavor and a chewy texture, and holds up well in cooking because it doesn’t get mushy. When using farro in a salad, cook it until you see that the grains have begun to splay so they won’t be too chewy and can absorb the dressing properly.
Buckwheat: Buckwheat isn’t related to wheat and is actually a great gluten-free alternative. Ms. Shulman uses buckwheat soba noodles to add a nutty flavor and wholesomeness to her Skillet Soba Salad.
Here are five new ways to cook with grains.
Skillet Brown Rice, Barley or Triticale Salad With Mushrooms and Endive: Triticale is a hybrid grain made from wheat and rye, but any hearty grain would work in this salad.
Skillet Beet and Farro Salad: This hearty winter salad can be a meal or a side dish, and warming it in the skillet makes it particularly comforting.
Warm Millet, Carrot and Kale Salad With Curry-Scented Dressing: Millet can be tricky to cook, but if you are careful, you will be rewarded with a fluffy and delicious salad.
Skillet Wild Rice, Walnut and Broccoli Salad: Broccoli flowers catch the nutty, lemony dressing in this winter salad.
Skillet Soba, Baked Tofu and Green Bean Salad With Spicy Dressing: The nutty flavor of buckwheat soba noodles makes for a delicious salad.
On Friday the Federal Reserve released the transcripts of its discussions in 2007, the year the housing market, the financial markets, and the broader economy began to unravel. Focusing on the crucial period from August to December, reporters from The Times shared their findings on what the transcripts reveal in the blog entries and tweets below.
This post has been revised to reflect the following correction:
Correction: January 18, 2013
An earlier version of the 12:51 p.m. entry in this post misidentified the speaker at a December 2007 meeting who said, "I’m actually very, very worried," describing his concerns about derivative products. It was Frederic Mishkin, not Eric S. Rosengren.
WASHINGTON – Vice President Joe Biden laid out the White House’s plan to prevent future gun violence before the U.S. Conference of Mayors here Thursday, saying the proposal “isn’t just about guns.”
Speaking to a gathering of the nation’s mayors, Biden acknowledged that they are faced with a plethora of problems, but he labeled gun violence as the most immediate and urgent.
“Everyone acknowledges we have to do something, we have to act,” Biden said, adding that the Newtown, Conn., school shooting has affected the public psyche “in a way I’ve never seen before.”
Biden thanked a number of mayors for their input during the monthlong deliberations that brought in 229 groups to help form the administration’s gun proposals.
The vice president said he and Obama supported the 2nd Amendment but believe that certain individuals should be “disqualified” from gun ownership and the country needs to make “common-sense judgments” about how to keep military-style weapons off the streets.
PHOTOS: A look ahead at 2013’s political battles
Biden, who spoke extensively about high-capacity ammunition magazines that “leave victims with no chance,” stopped short of making a resounding call for an assault weapons ban.
“The president believes that there should be a new and stronger assault weapons ban,” Biden said, but he admitted that the gun industry would eventually find a way around legislative standards.
But he did call for focus on the nation’s background check system, which is plagued with inadequacies, as The Times noted in a recent article.
“Today there are 17 states that have made fewer than 10 mental health records available on the mental health background system,” Biden said, calling not only for increased funding but for universal background checks to cover all firearm sales.
Taking a jab at the National Rifle Assn.’s proposal that armed guards be placed in every school, Biden trumpeted Obama’s proposal to allow schools to decide on an individual basis whether they want to use federal funds for armed guards or other preventative measures, such as counseling.
“We don’t want rent-a-cops armed in schools,” Biden said, to the applause of a number of mayors.
PHOTOS: Past presidential inaugurations
Also in his pitch, Biden praised adjustments to the nation’s mental health services system included in the Affordable Care Act, with the caveat that there is still much more to be done, and he called for federal agencies to be given more flexibility in examining the underlying factors behind gun violence.
“Quite frankly, we don’t have sufficient data,” he said. “And as an informed society, we need data.”
Biden’s speech, which ran beyond the “10 or 12 minutes” he promised at the onset, provided a preview of the administration’s expected push for its gun proposals to the American public.
“I’ve been in the fight a long time. I have no illusions about the fight ahead of us,” Biden said, adding that he was confident that with public support founded on “common-sense” consensus, “the political obstacles that will be put up in front of us are not impenetrable.”
Editor’s Note: James Daily, a lawyer and co-author of The Law and Superheroes, typically focuses his legal critiques on the superhero world at the Law and the Multiverse website he runs with fellow lawyer and co-author Ryan Davidson. Today, Daily takes a look a very important cultural document for Wired: The contract between Bilbo Baggins and the dwarves in The Hobbit.
Ordinarily I don’t discuss legal issues relating to fictional settings that are dramatically different from the real world in terms of their legal system. Thus, Star Wars, Star Trek, Tolkien’s Middle Earth, etc. are usually off-limits because we can’t meaningfully apply real-world law to them. But the contract featured in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey was just too good a topic to pass up, especially since you can buy a high-quality replica of it that is over 5 feet long unfolded.
First, it seems fairly clear (to me, anyway) that Tolkien wrote the Shire (where hobbits live) as a close analog to pastoral England, with its similar legal and political structures. For example, the Shire has a mayor and sheriffs, and there is a system of inheritance similar to the common law. The common law fundamentals of contract law have not changed significantly since the time that the Shire is meant to evoke, so it makes sense that the contract would be broadly similar to a modern contract (and likewise that we could apply modern contract law to it).
So, without further ado, let’s get to it.
The Contract in General
As mentioned, the contract is quite long. This is in contrast with the contract as described in the book, which is very terse. Its terms amounted to this:
For your hospitality our sincerest thanks, and for your offer of professional assistance our grateful acceptance. Terms: cash on delivery, up to and not exceeding one fourteenth of total profits (if any); all travelling expenses guaranteed in any event; funeral expenses to be defrayed by us or our representatives, if occasion arises and the matter is not otherwise arranged for.
Even in the book’s version we see an issue: the dwarves accept Bilbo’s “offer” but then proceed to give terms. This is not actually an acceptance but rather a counter-offer, since they’re adding terms. In the end it doesn’t matter because Bilbo effectively accepts the counter-offer by showing up and rendering his services as a burglar, but the basic point is that the words of a contract do not always have the legal effect that they claim to have. Sometimes you have to look past the form to the substance.
But back to the movie version: It has at least 40 major sections and numerous footnotes and digressions in smaller type. We will begin at the beginning and go on till we reach the end, except where the form of the contract requires some jumping around.
Bilbo’s Obligations to the Dwarves
Two clauses describe Bilbo’s primary obligations:
I, the undersigned, [referred to hereinafter as Burglar,] agree to travel to the Lonely Mountain, path to be determined by Thorin Oakenshield, who has a right to alter the course of the journey at his so choosing, without prior notification and/or liability for accident or injury incurred.
The aforementioned journey and subsequent extraction from the Lonely Mountain of any and all goods, valuables and chattels [which activities are described collectively herein as the Adventure] shall proceed in a timely manner and with all due care and consideration as seen fit by said Thorin Oakenshield and companions, numbering thirteen more or less, to wit, the Company.
All contracts require some consideration from all parties to the contract. Consideration, in the contract sense, means a bargained-for performance or promise. Restatement (Second) of Contracts § 71(1). Basically, this is something of value given or promised as part of the agreement. This can be anything that the parties agree is valuable; the classic example is a single peppercorn. Whitney v. Stearns, 16 Me. 394, 397 (1839).
Here, Bilbo is promising to go with the Company to the Lonely Mountain and performing various services there, including extracting the treasure, plus a few more services we’ll get to later. In turn, as we shall see, the Company promises to pay Bilbo one fourteenth of the profits, plus a few other obligations. Thus we have “a promise for a promise,” otherwise known as a bilateral contract.
There are some other details to notice in these clauses. One is the use of defined terms (e.g. “referred to hereinafter as Burglar”). The parties to a contract may define terms however they wish, even in ways that contradict the definition used in statutes or regulations.
This is important in this case because of the use of the defined term “Burglar.” Contracts to do something illegal are ordinarily unenforceable (e.g. collecting on an illegal gambling debt). But here what matters is not that the parties used the word ‘burglar’ but rather what sort of meaning they assigned to that defined term. As we shall see, the contract doesn’t require Bilbo to do anything illegal (or at least not obviously illegal), and so the contract will probably not fail for use of a questionable term.
Thorin’s Right to Alter the Journey
These two clauses also pose something of a contradiction. On the one hand we see the first of many liability waivers:
[Thorin has] a right to alter the course of the journey at his so choosing, without prior notification and/or liability for accident or injury incurred.” But on the other hand we see this explicit obligation of care: “[the Adventure] shall proceed in a timely manner and with all due care and consideration.
Ordinarily “due care and consideration” signifies taking on liability for negligence, so this conflicts with the earlier liability waiver. Perhaps the two can be reconciled by the phrase “as seen fit by said Thorin Oakenshield and companions.” Thorin and Co. could always claim that the amount of care and consideration they saw fit was extremely minimal, though that runs the risk of making the clause meaningless, which courts usually don’t like to do. ”As a general proposition, whenever possible, the law favors reconciliation of clauses within a contract which appear contradictory.” City of Columbia v. Paul N. Howard Co., 707 F.2d 338, 340 (8th Cir. 1983). Taken together with the numerous other waivers and disclaimers, I think a court would probably conclude that Thorin & Co. were not taking on any particular duty of care. ”A writing is interpreted as a whole.” Restatement (Second) of Contracts § 202(2).
Waivers or disclaimers of liability are an important part of many contracts. These can include waivers of a product warranty (seen all the time in software license agreements) and waivers for liability due to negligence (often required before doing something dangerous like skydiving). But there are limits to liability waivers. While a party to a contract can ordinarily waive liability for negligence (although not in every jurisdiction), one cannot waive liability for gross negligence, recklessness, or intentional misconduct. So the numerous (and sweeping!) waivers and disclaimers may not be as effective as they appear at first glance.
So far the Dwarves haven’t committed any unsalvageable drafting errors or done anything that might jeopardize the validity of the contract. We’ll see if that keeps up!
Waivers for Notoriety and ‘Unlooked-for’ Misfortune
The next section is yet another waiver:
Burglar holds harmless and without blame in perpetuity the Company and its successors for any notoriety, incarceration, or proceedings brought against, in regard to or as a result of the adventure or any activities related thereto.
Also includes slander, libel, loss of face or of social standing in country of Burglar’s origin.
Remedies shall similarly not be sought for any unlooked-for misfortune befalling Burglar’s home during his absence.
The smaller text is written in the margin or otherwise in smaller writing. There’s a lot of that kind of writing in the margins that we’ll be referring to as we go through the contract. For the most part the size of the print doesn’t matter, but there are some contract terms, such as warranty disclaimers, that must be printed conspicuously, which usually means large print or all caps. UCC §§ 2-316(2), 1-201(b)(10). At common law we suspect the rules were even looser.
This set of waivers is not particularly objectionable. As discussed in the prior post, the actual scope of the waiver may not be as broad as the language suggests. For example, if the Dwarves intentionally burned down Bag End, this waiver would not prevent Bilbo from suing them for the damage.
It may bear mentioning that the slander waiver only protects the Company. Bilbo could still sue the actual slanderer, of course. Traditionally this has been easier to do in England than the United States. At common law, for example, truth was no defense to criminal libel (also known as seditious libel). Garrison v. Louisiana, 379 U.S. 64, 67-68 (1964).
Payment (and Funeral Expenses) for the Burglar
Now we come to some terms of the contract actually described in the book:
Cash on delivery, up to and not exceeding one fourteenth of the total profit [if any]. Not including any of the gross paid to other parties in lieu of royalties or help and provisions given or loaned.
All traveling expenses guaranteed in any event. But refer to attached and appended conditions, clauses and riders regarding any Return Journey. ‘Traveling expenses’ shall be understood to mean basic fare as seen fit by the Company. ‘Luxury’ catering or accomodation over and above this standard shall be enjoyed only at Burglar’s considerable [but justifiable] expense.
Funeral expenses to be defrayed by us or our representatives if occasion arises and the matter is not otherwise arranged for. Basic funeral to ‘commoner’ or peasant standard is allowed for only. Lavish ceremonies and jewelled (sic) or gilded coffins not provided. Plain pine box is the normal standard. Transport of any remains, in whole or in part, back to the country of Burglar’s origin is not included.
Most of these clauses are fairly straightforward. In terms of the plot, the more important clause is the one regarding profits. Already we see part of the definition: it excludes royalties paid to others and anything given or loaned to Bilbo counts against it. In the margins we see some more relevant terms:
Burglar acknowledges and agrees that each item of the Company’s valuables, goods, money or merchandise which he recovers from the Lonely Mountain [the 'Recovered Goods'] during the term of his engagement with the Company, shall remain the Property of the Company at all times, and in all respects, without limitation.
Furthermore, the company shall retain any and all Recovered Goods until such a time as a full and final reckoning can be made, from which the Total Profits can then be established. Then, and only then, will the Burglar’s fourteenth share be calculated and decided.
So Bilbo can’t just pick up some treasure that he likes and decide that it’s part of (or the entirety of) his share. Instead, as provided by yet another clause, he will be paid in gold or its equivalent, in correct weight or of good quality, respectively. And he can’t lay claim to any particular article of treasure. Indeed, the Dwarves could conceivably purchase gold from somewhere else and pay him with that. He’s not entitled to any part of the treasure itself as such.
There are several ways in which these contract terms affect the plot. The book has been out for about eighty years, but nonetheless, spoiler alert:
As anyone who has read the book knows, the definition of Bilbo’s “fourteenth share of total profits” goes directly to a major issue in the plot, namely Bilbo’s taking of the Arkenstone. In the book Bilbo feels comfortable taking it, since he figures it’s worth his fourteenth share, and the contract didn’t say which fourteenth he could take. This contract eliminates that possibility. We doubt that the plot will actually be modified to take this into account, but it may be an example of the writer of the contract being a bit too clever.
Next we have a non-disclosure or confidentiality clause:
Confidentiality is of utmost importance and must be strictly maintained at all times. During the course of his employment with the Company, Burglar will hear, see, learn, apprehend, comprehend, and, in short, gain knowledge of particular facts, ideas, plans, strategies, theories, geography, cartography, iconography, means, tactics and/or policies, whether actual, tangible, conceptual, historical or fanciful. Burglar undertakes and agrees to maintain this knowledge in utmost secrecy and confidentiality, and to neither divulge nor make known said knowledge by any means, including but not limited to speech, writing, demonstration, re-enactment, mime, or storage and retrieval within means or apparatus currently known or unknown or as yet unthought of.
(It is a plain drafting error to refer to “the course of [the Burglar's] employment with the company”, since a later clause specifies in no uncertain terms that “Burglar is in all respects an independent contractor, and not an employee … of the Company.”)
This confidentiality agreement is a little overbroad, since by its strict terms it requires Bilbo to keep confident anything he learns on the journey, not just things he learns in confidence. The fact that information is already publicly known is usually a defense to a breach of confidentiality, since the information wasn’t actually secret. Overbreadth probably isn’t fatal to the clause, however.
What’s really unusual about this part of the contract is that it doesn’t appear to include a clause acknowledging that monetary damages alone would be inadequate compensation in the event of a breach of confidentiality. The purpose of such a clause is to make it easier to obtain an injunction ordering the breaching party to stop disclosing the confidential information. Ordinarily breach of contract results in a payment of monetary damages, and getting an injunction usually requires showing, among other things, that those damages are insufficient to remedy the harm done.
What’s doubly weird about this is that the contract does have this clause later on:
Burglar acknowledges that monetary damages alone will be adequate compensation for a breach of this contract by the Company.
It’s curious that the contract only contemplates injunctions defensively (i.e. protecting the Company from them) and not offensively (i.e. making it easier to enjoin Bilbo).
Mandatory Binding Arbitration in the Dwarvish Tongue
There are also a group of clauses dealing with disputes arising under the contract. This is an important part of many contracts. If you’re going to the trouble of creating a formal legal agreement, then you might as well contemplate what might happen if the deal goes bad. Somewhat anachronistically, the contract contains an arbitration clause:
Disputes arising between the Contract Parties shall be heard and judged by an arbitrator of the Company’s choosing
I say “somewhat anachronistically” because although arbitration has a long history in the common law — going back at least as far as 1609 — it was for centuries frowned upon by the courts. One early case, Vynior’s Case, held that mandatory arbitration clauses (i.e. requiring a party to a contract to submit to arbitration) were revocable. In other words, parties could submit to arbitration but only by ongoing, mutual agreement. It was not until the 1800s that mandatory arbitration really became acceptable in either England or the US. See, e.g., Burchell v. Marsh, 58 U.S. 344 (1854).
The other issue is that the clause allows the Company to choose the arbitrator. This is highly unusual and may actually invalidate the arbitration clause. In order to comport with due process, a mandatory arbitration agreement must, among other things, provide a neutral, impartial decision maker. Typically this is done by allowing the parties to jointly select an arbitrator or to have an impartial third party (such as an arbitration agency) select one.
The next part of the arbitration paragraph is a rarity for an American lawyer:
… and all pleas shall be pleaded, shrewed [sic], defended, answered, debated and judged in the Dwarvish Tongue
Obviously this is a significant disadvantage for Bilbo, as he evidently cannot read (and presumably cannot speak) Dwarvish. Choice of language clauses like this one are much more common in international contracts than in contracts between parties in the United States. They are also much more common in contracts that contain arbitration agreements rather than forum selection clauses (e.g. “any disputes arising under this contract will be heard in the courts of Capital City, State X”) because in most countries the courts only deal in one official language, making a choice of language clause redundant. But when the case will go to arbitration, the chosen arbitrator could potentially speak multiple languages.
However, the most common reason for a choice of language clause is when the contract itself is translated into multiple languages for the benefit of the parties. In that case it is common for the contract to specify that one version is the “authoritative” version.
Jurisdiction: The Shire vs. the Dwarven Kingdom?
The one thing that leaps out at me about this contract is that it doesn’t contain a choice of law clause. Such a clause allows the parties to specify what jurisdiction’s law will govern the contract. This is particularly useful when multiple jurisdictions may potentially apply. The area of the law that deals with figuring out which court has jurisdiction and which law applies is known as conflict of laws.
Conflict of laws is a complex subject. Typically it is a stand-alone course in law school. So we won’t go into too much detail here, but suffice to say that arguably both the law of the Shire and the law of the Dwarven Kingdom could conceivably apply to this contract. Some of the factors that a court might consider include:
The parties are a Hobbit of the Shire and a group of Dwarves.
The contract was signed in the Shire.
The contract concerns services to be performed in the Dwarven Kingdom.
The most likely source of the breach of the contract occurs in the Dwarven Kingdom.
Since the applicable law is debatable, this is precisely the kind of case in which a choice of law clause makes sense, so its absence is notable.
Ownership of the Ring: Specialized Equipment?
Given the clauses describing ownership of the recovered goods, one might wonder whether the Company has a claim to the One Ring. After all, Bilbo has expressly agreed that he has only a right to 1/14th of the profits, to be paid in a form determined by the Company, and no right to the treasure itself. So could it be that the One Ring merely forms part of the treasure? The contract seems to indicate otherwise.
First, the contract describes the extraction of goods from the Lonely Mountain as being the subject of the Adventure, whereas the One Ring was found underneath the Misty Mountains. Second, the contract includes this clause:
Specialist equipment required in the execution of duties in his professional role as Burglar shall be purchased, procured, purlioned [sic] or obtained by Burglar, by whatsoever method Burglar sees fit.
The One Ring is definitely “specialist equipment” and it turns out to be required in the execution of Bilbo’s duties in his professional role as Burglar. Certainly he could not have defeated the spiders, evaded the Wood Elves, or snuck past Smaug without it (possibly only the last counts as proper burgling, but the point stands). So the Dwarves would not appear to have any claim to the One Ring.
I probably would have left out the “purloined” part, though. That comes dangerously close to making the contract unenforceable on the grounds that the subject matter of the contract is illegal.
Closing Thoughts
One the whole, the contract is pretty well written. There are some anachronisms, unnecessary clauses, typos, and a small number of clear drafting errors, but given the contract’s length and its role in the film (which is to say not a huge one, especially in the particulars) it’s an impressive piece of work. I congratulate prop-maker and artist Daniel Reeve on a strong piece of work. A lesser studio or artist might have been tempted to go with several pages of lorum ipsum written in Cirth. If you’d like an even more accurate replica of the contract, Weta’s online store has a version with hand-made touches by Mr. Reeve.
(Reuters) – Former Beatle Paul McCartney has recorded a new version of his 1971 song “Heart Of The Country,” and directed fans to YouTube where the song accompanies an animated clip featuring his late wife Linda.
“I did a new mega simple version of ‘Heart Of The Country’ for the Linda animation on YouTube,” McCartney posted on Twitter on Wednesday. The 40-second clip was posted in the United Kingdom on January 11 by “Linda McCartney.”
“Sounds cool to me!” he said in Wednesday’s tweet. In an earlier post, McCartney tweeted “Looks great – love it!”
In the clip, an animated Linda McCartney snaps photographs, prepares and serves food for children and animals and plays music in a forested setting.
Linda McCartney, who died 15 years ago, was an accomplished photographer and dedicated vegetarian and animal rights activist.
The singer did not say why he re-recorded the song, but people who posted comments on YouTube speculated that the clip and accompanying music would be used for a new advertisement for Linda McCartney’s line of vegetarian food products.
Media reports said the ad would air later this month.
“Heart Of The Country” was recorded for Paul and Linda McCartney’s 1971 “Ram,” which was the only album credited to the pair.
Linda McCartney died of breast cancer in 1998 at age 56.
(Reporting by Chris Michaud; editing by Patricia Reaney and Stacey Joyce)
Music News Headlines – Yahoo! News
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Suleika Jaouad writes about her experiences as a young adult with cancer.
There are a lot of things about having cancer in your 20s that feel absurd. One of those instances was when I found myself calling my brother Adam on Skype while he was studying abroad in Argentina to tell him that I had just been diagnosed with leukemia and that — no pressure — he was my only hope for a cure.
Today, my brother and I share almost identical DNA, the result of a successful bone marrow transplant I had last April using his healthy stem cells. But Adam and I couldn’t be more different. Like a lot of siblings, we got along swimmingly at one moment and were in each other’s hair the next. My younger brother by two years, he said I was a bossy older sister. I, of course, thought I knew best for my little brother and wanted him to see the world how I did. My brother is quieter, more reflective. I’m a chronic social butterfly who is probably a bit too impulsive and self-serious. I dreamed of dancing in the New York City Ballet, and he imagined himself playing in the N.B.A. While the sounds of the rapper Mos Def blared from Adam’s room growing up, I practiced for concerto competitions. Friends joked that one of us had to be adopted. We even look different, some people say. But really, we’re just siblings like any others.
When I was diagnosed with cancer at age 22, I learned just how much cancer affects families when it affects individuals. My doctors informed me that I had a high-risk form of leukemia and that a bone marrow transplant was my only shot at a cure. ‘Did I have any siblings?’ the doctors asked immediately. That would be my best chance to find a bone marrow match. Suddenly, everyone in our family was leaning on the little brother. He was in his last semester of college, and while his friends were applying to jobs and partying the final weeks of the school year away, he was soon shuttling from upstate New York to New York City for appointments with the transplant doctors.
I’d heard of organ transplants before, but what was a bone marrow transplant? The extent of my knowledge about bone marrow came from French cuisine: the fancy dish occasionally served with a side of toasted baguette.
Jokes aside, I learned that cancer patients become quick studies in the human body and how cancer treatment works. The thought of going through a bone marrow transplant, which in my case called for a life-threatening dose of chemotherapy followed by a total replacement of my body’s bone marrow, was scary enough. But then I learned that finding a donor can be the scariest part of all.
It turns out that not all transplants are created equal. Without a match, the path to a cure becomes much less certain, in many cases even impossible. This is particularly true for minorities and people from mixed ethnic backgrounds, groups that are severely underrepresented in bone marrow registries. As a first generation American, the child of a Swiss mother and Tunisian father, I suddenly found myself in a scary place. My doctors worried that a global, harried search for a bone marrow match would delay critical treatment for my fast-moving leukemia.
That meant that my younger brother was my best hope — but my doctors were careful to measure hope with reality. Siblings are the best chance for a match, but a match only happens about 25 percent of the time.
To our relief, results showed that my brother was a perfect match: a 10-out-of-10 on the donor scale. It was only then that it struck me how lucky I had been. Doctors never said it this way, but without a match, my chances of living through the next year were low. I have met many people since who, after dozens of efforts to encourage potential bone marrow donors to sign up, still have not found a match. Adding your name to the bone marrow registry is quick, easy and painless — you can sign up at marrow.org — and it just takes a swab of a Q-tip to get your DNA. For cancer patients around the world, it could mean a cure.
The bone marrow transplant procedure itself can be dangerous, but it is swift, which makes it feel strangely anti-climactic. On “Day Zero,” my brother’s stem cells dripped into my veins from a hanging I.V. bag, and it was all over in minutes. Doctors tell me that the hardest part of the transplant is recovering from it. I’ve found that to be true, and I’ve also recognized that the same is true for Adam. As I slowly grow stronger, my little brother has assumed a caretaker role in my life. I carry his blood cells — the ones keeping me alive — and he is carrying the responsibility, and often fear and anxiety, of the loving onlooker. He tells me I’m still a bossy older sister. But our relationship is now changed forever. I have to look to him for support and guidance more than I ever have. He’ll always be my little brother, but he’s growing up fast.
Suleika Jaouad (pronounced su-LAKE-uh ja-WAD) is a 24-year-old writer who lives in New York City. Her column, “Life, Interrupted,” chronicling her experiences as a young adult with cancer, appears regularly on Well. Follow @suleikajaouad on Twitter.
LONDON — Two expensive acquisitions have come at a steep price for Rio Tinto, the Anglo-Australian mining giant.
The company, the world’s second-largest mining company after BHP Billiton, said on Thursday that it was taking a $14 billion write-down on the value of aluminum and coal mining assets — a huge amount that came as a surprise to some analysts and investors.
As a result, the company’s chief executive, Tom Albanese, resigned after five years in the top post. The company quickly named Sam Walsh, head of the iron ore unit, as its new chief.
The write-down is a significant blow for Rio Tinto, which once looked poised to capitalize on a global economic boom. Analysts said that the size of the write-downs signaled just how much the company had misjudged the values of the acquisitions, one of which happened as recently as two years ago.
“The level of the write-down is very disappointing, and it does come as a surprise,” said Keith Bowman, an analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown. “There have been some rash takeovers in the mining industry, and I hope this continues to prove a lesson.”
The write-downs are linked to two of Rio Tinto’s biggest acquisitions in recent years: Alcan, an aluminum producer based in Canada, and the coal producer Riversdale Mining, which is based in Australia and manages mines in Africa.
The company blamed falling aluminum prices for $10 billion to $11 billion of the charge. Most of Rio Tinto’s aluminum assets stem from its $38 billion acquisition of Alcan, a deal that was led by Mr. Albanese.
The acquisition of Alcan was part of a multibillion-dollar takeover frenzy in the mining industry at the time. It was driven by soaring metal prices, and it led to Rio Tinto itself becoming a target in what would have been one of the biggest takeovers in history. In the end, Rio Tinto rejected the offer, by BHP Billiton, as too low.
Rio Tinto successfully outbid the American aluminum giant Alcoa to acquire Alcan in 2007. Rio Tinto seized on the merger, hoping to take advantage of rising metal prices on the back of a booming Chinese economy. But then global economic growth slowed, and demand for aluminum dropped quickly.
“In hindsight, it was a bad call,” said Richard Knights, an analyst at Liberum Capital. “But it was a different environment back then.”
The acquisition of Alcan in particular has weighed heavily on Rio Tinto’s performance. Mr. Albanese acknowledged last year that the company had paid a high price for the deal and he had repeatedly come under pressure to resign after the Alcan takeover had burdened Rio Tinto with debt.
Last year, Mr. Albanese decided to forgo his bonus after the company reported a 59 percent drop in 2011 earnings because it wrote down $8.9 billion on the value of Alcan assets.
“We are also deeply disappointed to have to take a further substantial write-down in our aluminum businesses, albeit in an industry that continues to experience significant adverse changes globally,” Jan du Plessis, Rio Tinto’s chairman, said in a statement.
About $3 billion of the $14 billion write-down was related to lowered estimates of the value of its coal business in Mozambique after the company failed to secure crucial government approvals to ship coal it mined in the African country.
Rio Tinto also overestimated how much coking coal it could recover there. Rio Tinto bought Riversdale Mining for around $4 billion in 2011 after increasing its offer price to resolve a standoff with Riversdale’s shareholders.
Mr. du Plessis said in the statement that the scale of the write-down related to the assets in Mozambique was “unacceptable.”
Rio Tinto cited strong currencies and high energy and raw material costs as other factors leading to the write-down.
Doug Ritchie, a Rio Tinto executive who led the purchase of coal assets in Mozambique two years ago, also stepped down on Thursday.
Rio Tinto’s shares fell about 1 percent in trading in London on Thursday. The company’s shares have dropped 6 percent in the last 12 months, even as the stock price of its competitor BHP Billiton increased 0.8 percent in the same period.
Mr. Albanese said in the company’s statement that he fully recognized “that accountability for all aspects of the business rests with the C.E.O.”
Mr. Albanese will stay on until July 16 to help with the transition. He will not receive a bonus for this year and any outstanding remuneration in the form of deferred stock bonuses would lapse, Rio Tinto said.
LONDON — A helicopter smashed into a crane atop a high-rise building in central London and plummeted to the ground during the morning rush hour Wednesday, killing the pilot and a person on the ground, police and witnesses said.
More than a dozen people were injured in the shower of debris, but "it is probably miraculous that this wasn't much, much worse," Cmdr. Neil Basu of Scotland Yard told the BBC.
Video footage showed flaming wreckage on the ground where the chopper came down shortly before 8 a.m. in the Vauxhall district south of the Thames, close to MI6, Britain's spy agency. The site is also near the Nine Elms neighborhood where the U.S. is planning to build a large new embassy.
PHOTOS: London helicopter crash
The crash occurred on a gloomy morning with thick clouds or fog low in the sky. The nearby London Heliport said in a statement that the pilot had requested, via air traffic controllers at Heathrow Airport, to divert to the heliport and land there because of bad weather. But the chopper and the heliport never established direct contact.
Helicopters are a common sight over London, particularly around the financial district, where many high-rises are clustered.
Witness Patrick Gartland said he heard "an almighty crash" overhead and "a lot of yelling" from around the building, which is under construction.
"The helicopter had just plowed into the top of the crane. Rotors and debris sort of exploded, and then the helicopter had just gone into this massive sort of cart-wheeling," Gartland told Sky News. "It careered just over the flower market and just exploded when it hit Wandsworth Road."
The helicopter charter company RotorMotion identified the pilot as Peter Barnes, 50, a highly experienced flyer who had accumulated more than 12,000 flying hours.
Police said the chopper was not carrying any passengers. Seven people were treated at the scene for minor injuries, and six were taken to local hospitals, all for minor wounds except for one person who suffered a broken leg.
It’s the time of year when we promise ourselves that we’re going to eat better (and less), exercise more and drop some weight. Turns out you might want to skip the weight bench and hit the treadmill if you want to keep that last resolution but don’t have a lot of time to work out.
Researchers at Duke University have examined the impact of aerobic and resistance training on body and fat mass in overweight and obese adults and concluded that when it comes to losing weight, aerobic exercise has an edge.
“If you’re overweight, it’s good to lose fat and body weight,” Dr. Leslie Willis, an exercise physiologist at Duke and lead author of the study, said of aerobic exercise. “Spend time doing cardio training if that’s your main goal.”
She noted, however that she isn’t saying that resistance training is by any means a bad thing, and in fact remains vital because it promotes lean body mass — which becomes more important as we age.
The study, published last month in the Journal of Applied Physiology, surveyed 234 adults aged 18 to 70 who were overweight or obese. They participated in one of three eight-month programs consisting of aerobic training, resistance training and a combination of the two. The aerobic training group exercised at 70 to 85 percent maximum heart rate for 45 minutes three times a week. The resistance training group did eight to 12 repetitions on resistance machines, increasing weight as time progressed so they’d remain challenged. The remaining group combined the regimens of both groups. When they were done, each participant was weighed, measured and tested for cardio fitness, body composition and strength.
The study found the aerobic training group and combination groups lost the most weight, around 4 pounds. Those who did resistance training alone actually gained a similar amount of weight in lean body mass. While the cardio group lost weight, they also lost lean body mass. The cardio and combination groups also saw a reduction in waistline, the cardio group losing 1 and combination group losing 1.66 square centimeters. These groups also lost 1 and 2 percent body fat, respectively, whereas the resistance group saw little to no change. However, in the aerobic group, there was no alteration of lean body mass like there was in the groups that had some sort of resistance regimen.
Read this way, the study suggests that if you only have a few hours a week to work out and your goal is losing weight, concentrate your energy on aerobic workouts. It also shows that if you have the time, resistance training plus cardio is best to build lean body mass.
A problem, however, is that sometimes studies like this are taken too literally, said Dr. Abbie Smith-Ryan, an exercise and sports scientist at UNC. Although the science behind the study is “flawless” and adds great data to the body of knowledge on the subject, she said, it’s also important to consider additional practical factors before changing your workout routine.
“When I look at the changes in body fat alone,” she said, “it was just 4 pounds. While statistically significant, we would hope to see a larger change in body fat and weight with such a comprehensive training program.”
Much of Smith-Ryan’s research is in high-intensity interval training, where she noted that over less time performed a week, they are seeing some large changes. She agrees, though, that you shouldn’t tell people to stop resistance training, which can directly and indirectly influence metabolism by breaking down our muscles. The repair process is where the caloric demand arises, and the more intense the workout, the more calories we burn rebuilding those muscles.
“This to me doesn’t say, ‘Don’t do resistance training training, or just do aerobic training,’” she said. “They are both important. This study also highlights the importance of nutrition. Exercise is not only the important part of weight loss; nutrition is a big factor. The subjects were on a 2,000-calorie diet, which is practical, but there was such a small change in body fat and weight over a six-month period.
The main takeaway, then, is to find something that fits your goals (losing pounds, changing your shape, improving your cardio fitness) that you will stick with. Chances are if you only lose a few pounds and a percent or two in body fat in eight weeks, you won’t stick with it. Those looking to change their overall look need to up the ante with intensity and frequency. Oh, and eat less.
NEW YORK (AP) — Hollywood and the video game industry received scant attention Wednesday when President Barack Obama unveiled sweeping proposals for curbing gun violence in the wake of the Newtown, Conn., school shooting.
The White House pressed most forcefully for a reluctant Congress to pass universal background checks and bans on military-style assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines like the ones used in the Newtown, Conn., school shooting.
No connection was suggested between bloody entertainment fictions and real-life violence. Instead, the White House is calling on research on the effect of media and video games on gun violence.
Among the 23 executive measures signed Wednesday by Obama is a directive to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and scientific agencies to conduct research into the causes and prevention of gun violence. The order specifically cited “investigating the relationship between video games, media images and violence.”
The measure meant that media would not be exempt from conversations about violence, but it also suggested the White House would not make Hollywood, television networks and video game makers a central part of the discussion. It’s a relative footnote in the White House‘s broad, multi-point plan, and Obama did not mention violence in media in his remarks Wednesday.
The White House plan did mention media, but suggested that any effort would be related to ratings systems or technology: “The entertainment and video game industries have a responsibility to give parents tools and choices about the movies and programs their children watch and the games their children play.”
The administration is calling on Congress to provide $ 10 million for the research.
The CDC has been barred by Congress to use funds to “advocate or promote gun control,” but the White House order claims that “research on gun violence is not advocacy” and that providing information to Americans on the issue is “critical public health research.”
Since 26 were killed by a gunman at Sandy Hook Elementary in December, some have called for changes in the entertainment industry, which regularly churns out first-person shooter video games, grisly primetime dramas and casually violent blockbusters.
Hollywood, in turn, has suggested willingness for self-reflection. Motion Picture Association of America chairman and CEO Christopher Dodd — a former longtime U.S. senator from Connecticut — earlier said the MPAA stands “ready to be part of the national conversation.”
After the Newtown massacre, Wayne Pierre, vice-president of the National Rifle Association, attacked the entertainment industry, calling it “a callous, corrupt and corrupting shadow industry that sells and sows violence against its own people.” He cited a number of video games and films, most of them many years old, like the movies “American Psycho” and “Natural Born Killers,” and the video games “Mortal Kombat” and “Grand Theft Auto.”
President Obama‘s adviser, David Axelrod, had tweeted that he’s in favor of gun control, “but shouldn’t we also question marketing murder as a game?”
Others have countered that the same video games and movies are played and watched around the world, but that the tragedies of gun violence are for other reasons endemic to the U.S.
Several R-rated films released after Newton have been swept into the debate. Arnold Schwarzenegger, the former California governor and action film star, recently told USA Today in discussing his new shoot-em-up film “The Last Stand”: “It’s entertainment. People know the difference.”
Quentin Tarantino, whose new film “Django Unchained” is a cartoonish, bloody spaghetti western set in the slavery-era South, has often grown testy when questioned about movie violence and real-life violence. Speaking to NPR, Tarantino said it was disrespectful to the memory of the victims to talk about movies: “I don’t think one has to do with the other.”
In 2011, the Supreme Court rejected a California law banning the sale of violent video games to children. The decision claimed that video games, like other media, are protected by the First Amendment. In dissent, Justice Stephen G. Breyer claimed previous studies showed the link between violence and video games, concluding “the video games in question are particularly likely to harm children.”
Justice Antonin Scalia wrote that the government can’t regulate depictions of violence, which he said were age-old, anyway: “Grimm’s Fairy Tales, for example, are grim indeed.”
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As mentioned, the contract is quite long. This is in contrast with the contract as described in the book, which is very terse. Its terms amounted to this:
