PFT: Judge will release Johnson after 7 days

AP

The Packers apparently lit a fire under Desmond Bishop with his release.

And they may have to put it out twice a year.

Bishop told ESPNWisconsin.com?s Jason Wilde that being released today will serve as motivation, something a former sixth-rounder who worked his way into a starting job never needed.

?This is definitely a motivating factor. For several reasons, moreso I think than anything in my entire career,? Bishop said. ?Just from the standpoint of actually being cut. You figure it?s going to happen to everybody eventually at some point in their career, but I felt like I was the type of player who can go out on their own time.

?There?s something about being released that?s definitely going to add another chip to my shoulders. It?s motivation. It?s nothing negative about this whole situation. I think it?s all part of the plan, and I have to keep playing it out. I think it?s going to be good. I think all that is going to help me reach my goal.?

That goal might be sticking it to the Packers, as Bishop confirmed he?s headed to Minnesota tomorrow. Judd Zulgad of 1500ESPN.com in Minneapolis reported that Bishop will work out for Vikings officials Wednesday.

Bishop said the Packers told him they would try to trade him, but never offered him the option of a pay cut. He signed a four-year, $19 million contract extension in 2011, and was due to make $3.464 million this year.

Coming off a torn hamstring tendon in the preseason opener last year, Bishop didn?t participate in OTAs or minicamp, though he said he was healthy now.

The Packers also cut D.J. Smith (who replaced Bishop) after he suffered a torn ACL.

Not getting a chance to come back has clearly made an impression on Bishop, and apparently his choice of visits.

?If you had to go in a dark alley, I?d be one of the guys you?d take with you because you knew what you were going to get,? Bishop said. ?At the same time, I feel like I haven?t done enough ? as a Packer or as a football player. I feel like I have a lot more potential to fulfill. That?s my next goal, wherever it is. I still feel I can do a lot of great things.?

And while he might draw interest from others, this is where we point out that the Vikings play the Packers on Oct. 27, on NBC?s Sunday Night Football.

Source: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/06/17/judge-agrees-to-release-chad-johnson-after-seven-days/related/

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Optimism Blooms: Michigan's Small Business Leaders Poised to ...

Accident Fund Insurance Co.?s home in the refurbished Ottawa Street Power Station in Lansing. Accident Fund photo.

LANSING ? The latest Michigan Future Business Index survey of small and midsize business leaders shows unequalled confidence in the state?s business economy and a rekindled desire to reinvest in their own future.

Business owners said they have seen added growth in their businesses over the past six months and now plan to make investments in their workforce through increased wages and training.

?The Michigan Future Business Index surveys continue to show increasing evidence that Michigan?s business climate is improving,? said Mike Britt, president of Accident Fund Insurance Co. of America, which sponsors the survey.? ?Accident Fund?s customer base is primarily comprised of?small- and mid-size businesses, so we are happy to see Michigan businesses continue to grow and prosper.? A healthy business climate in Michigan is good for everyone.?

The previous Michigan Future Business Index survey, conducted in October 2012, showed indications of moderated optimism among businesses that had been incrementally building since 2010.? The survey pointed to setbacks in the national economy, the fear of the then-looming fiscal cliff, and the uncertainty of the then-unrealized presidential election as reasons for the pullback.? With most of those concerns now in the rearview mirror, optimism appears to have picked up again.

With expanded reports of growing sales and profits ? coupled with continued exuberance for new product and service launches ? businesses are planning for future growth.? Most see their workforce as their biggest asset and plan to increase wages and educational and training opportunities.? Employers cite growing challenges to finding qualified talent to fill open positions.

While the challenges of dealing with new government regulations and implementation of the Affordable Care Act remain, most say they will continue to offer benefits to workers, albeit requiring more out-of-pocket employee contributions.

After a short stall in positive momentum in October of 2012, the June 2013 survey shows small business employers have renewed their enthusiasm toward the state economy in a big way.

Satisfaction with the state economy has rocketed 13 points to 54 percent since October 2012, while dissatisfaction has plummeted to 44 percent.? This marks the first time business leader satisfaction with the direction of the economy has reached a majority since the Michigan Future Business Index survey began in 2006.

The percentage of businesses with new hires is now the highest it has been since the survey started with 25 percent now saying they have hired more employees over the past six months, up four points since October 2012. New hiring is the strongest in Metro Detroit (27 percent) and the Lansing region (26 percent).

There is also a significant increase in hiring among businesses with more than 20 employees (37 percent); those with revenues of $5 million or more (40 percent); and within the real estate, finance and insurance industries (35 percent).

Also a positive sign, 41 percent of business owners reported in the latest MFBI survey that sales have increased over the previous six months, a one-point increase from the October 2012 survey.? Sixty-one percent in the real estate, finance and insurance industries say sales have increased and that is a jump of 21 percent since October.

Other positive results from the survey include:

Six-month business outlook. Sixty-four percent (an increase of 12 percent over October) say their outlook for business over the next six months is good, with 22 percent (and increase of five percent) saying ?very good.? Fifty percent of respondents say they expect sales to increase in the next six months (an eight percent increase over October 2012) and 40 percent now say they expect their profits to increase in the next six months (up eight points from October).

Hiring and layoffs. Thirty percent of respondents say they plan to hire more employees in the next six months.? This is a six percent increase over October 2012 and a 14-point increase since June 2011. The outlook for new hires remains strongest in the Detroit Metro region (34 percent). New startup businesses (37 percent) and those with five employees or more are most likely to be hiring. The specific sectors most likely to hire are financial, insurance and real estate (37 percent) and manufacturing and construction (36 percent).

Increased wages. The outlook for increased wages continues to improve, as 28 percent of respondents say they plan to increase wages for their employees over the next six months ? up two points from October 2012 and up eight points from June 2011. Employers in West Michigan are still most likely to increase wages for workers, with 32 percent indicating they will do so. Additionally, wages are most likely to climb within the manufacturing and construction (32 percent) and financial, insurance and real estate sectors (31 percent).

The Michigan Future Business Index, commissioned by Accident Fund and the Michigan Business Network, is conducted semi-annually by Lansing-based Marketing Resource Group Inc. The survey has been conducted since 2006. A total of 1,015 Michigan business owners, operators, officers and managers were interviewed for the October 2012 survey.

To view a summary of the most recent Michigan Future Business Index, please visit the Accident Fund Insurance Co. of America website at www.accidentfund.com, or the Michigan Business Network website at www.michiganbusinessnetwork.com, or the Marketing Resource Group, Inc. website at www.mrgmi.com.

Source: http://detroit.cbslocal.com/2013/06/16/optimism-blooms-michigans-small-business-leaders-poised-to-invest/

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High court says driver records protected (The Arizona Republic)

Share With Friends: | | Politics - Top Stories Stories, RSS Feeds and Widgets via Feedzilla.

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/313296178?client_source=feed&format=rss

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Good 'Game of Thrones' dads rarer than dragons

TV

Anna Chan TODAY

7 hours ago

HBO

Tywin Lannister (Charles Dance), Jaime Lannister (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) and Ned Stark (Sean Bean) are all fathers on "Game of Thrones," but they're not all great.

Dragons. Swords. Battles. Adventures. Castles. "Game of Thrones" has plenty of these, but it also has a lot of fathers. And like the other characters that fill out the series, the dads are human -- in other words, they're flawed.

No one's perfect no matter how hard they might try, but in the world of "Thrones," it's obvious that some papas try a heck of a lot harder than others to be as close to being the perfect dad as possible. So as we raise a sword in honor of all dads, we take a look at the fathers of "GoT" to see who deserves an extra hug and kiss on the cheek.

The good
It's a little sad to say, but there are really only two truly good dads on "Game of Thrones": Ned Stark and Davos Seaworth, and papas out there can certainly look to these two as examples of how to parent.

Both men clearly love their children and have their best interests at heart. The illiterate Onion Knight was born incredibly poor, and worked as a smuggler who slowly rose to the ranks of King Stannis' Hand by being loyal and honest -- good virtues, both. Everything he did, he did so that his sons could have a better life than he had, and become the educated lords he hopes for them to be.

As for Ned Stark, in a world where sons are valued over daughters, he loved all of his children equally regardless of their gender, whether they were trueborn or not. He accepted his kids as they were and encouraged them to follow their passions. (How many dads in Westeros would let their little girls learn the art of sword fighting over embroidery and songs?) When unpleasant life lessons came up, he didn't shy away. And perhaps most important, through his actions, he taught them that it is always best to do what is right and honorable -- even if that meant literally losing one's head.

The mediocre
Forgot Stannis Baratheon is a daddy, did you? It's pretty easy to do, seeing as how daughter Shireen is hidden away. (Is it because of her greyscale? Teach her that looks aren't everything!) But it does appear that he loves the little girl, despite rarely seeing her. And don't forget he fathered the shadow assassin -- thanks to Melisandre -- a creature that soon killed his brother Renley.

The bad
It almost seems silly to count Robert Baratheon and Jaime Lannister as dads. Yes, they fathered children -- a lot of children, in King Robert's case -- but that was about it. Neither man actually parented much. (Though we suppose Jaime had a good excuse for not stepping up, seeing as how incest and treason are frowned upon.) When the king did do his fatherly duties, it was obvious he'd rather be off drinking and hunting. He didn't bother to teach "his" royal kids right from wrong, and left the realm with Mad King Joffrey upon his death. And "Uncle" Jaime never had much to do with his "niece" and "nephews" at all.

Then there's Randyll Tarly. Sure, viewers haven't met him, but they've heard of him through son Sam, a member of the Night's Watch. And it's Sam's presence on The Wall that makes Lord Tarly such a bad dad. As the well-read crow tells Jon Snow in season one, the mighty lord was disgusted that his firstborn son was more interested in books than manlier pastimes, and gave him a choice between The Wall or a "hunting accident." Way to love your kid unconditionally.

Bad dads can't be discussed without a mention of Tywin Lannister, the biggest lion of Casterly Rock. Some might argue he's beyond bad, that he's the baddest of the bad, but hear us out about why he's merely just plain bad. Yes, he's a power-hungry lord who very obviously plays favorites with his children. (Is your name Jaime? No? Sorry, he doesn't really care about you.) But everything he does, he does to secure power, wealth and glory for Lannisters. ALL Lannisters. That includes Tyrion, whom he very clearly despises. And as much as he might hate his youngest son, he not only let the child live (albeit blaming him for his beloved wife's death as she birthed Tyrion), but let him live as a lord. That's got to count for something.

The worst
Yes, there really are worse dads than Tywin on "Game of Thrones," and their names are Balon Greyjoy and Craster. (You nearly forgot about them, didn't you?)

Balon at first didn't seem too terrible. He obviously loves and supports his daughter, Yara, who is anything but a traditional lady. But the same affection was denied son Theon, whom he considers more Stark than Greyjoy despite the young man's sacking of Winterfell to regain his father's love. Even worse, when Ramsay Bolton sent captive Theon's manhood back to his papa, Balon declared that since his son can no longer further the Greyjoy line, he was useless. Harsh.

As bad a dad as the Lord of Pyke is, Craster could beat him for title of the worst. The wildling fathers daughters of his wives, and when the girls are old enough, marries them and sires more daughters to repeat the endless cycle. As for the boys he fathers, they face an even more dire future: Craster leaves them in the snowy woods for the White Walkers to take. It doesn't get much worse than that.

Source: http://www.today.com/entertainment/good-dads-are-rarer-dragons-game-thrones-6C10315943

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Senior Consultant - Global Engagement Management at ESG ...

The Senior Consultant is a client-facing, Practice-based expert in global customer engagement management and complex strategic services offerings that can include pre-sales support, business problem solving, Competency/Practice/Cross-Practice solutions implementation & guidance, applying developed and specialized Competency/Practice expertise to deliver a high value client service solution, inspiring confidence, generating customer satisfaction and setting path for possible demand of additional services.
In the Consultative Selling Process, he/she works on one hand with strategic customers(sometimes with simultaneous large projects) to develop a deep understanding of client business problems / needs, translating them into high value solution definitions for the enhancement/ customization of current engagement methodologies and possibly setting also direction for the implementation and delivery; and on the other hand works closely with Competency Leaders, Regional, Delivery Managers and Solutions Architect.
The Senior Consultant typically reports to a Competency/Practice Leader, to whom they can act for and provide management coverage, can manage a group of Consultants and has relevant individual and team targets to support Practice growth and profits. Consultants are personally billable and have specific targets for the Utilization of their billable and non-billable time.
Principle Activities (Responsibilities):

Leads simultaneously multiple large geographic/global/strategic customer engagement teams which includes actions such as: proactively understand customer business needs and industry, anticipate problems, provide relevant timely customer discovery and consultative assessment information to appropriate team, deliver solutions and communicate value and effectiveness of proposed offering, foster additional business, and maintain customer relationships.
Prioritizes and aligns work with engagement/project plans, schedules, changing work demands, and all relevant Company policies, practices, plus local legal requirements as well as supporting practice leaders and BDMs in closing or seeking service opportunities.
Understands industry and market trends, determining implications for service offerings/solutions as well as identifying and maintaining relationships with key internal/external influencers, thought leaders, associations, industry panels, speaking engagements, and client and Offering user groups.
Shares all learnings with business Practice, services sales, solutions development, and Marketing teams to validate customer requirements and review deliverables prior to customer sign-off/release.
Contributes to the effectiveness and maintenance of Practice and consultative selling methods, certifying practice offerings, developing new services delivery techniques, methods, and processes.
Lead initiatives to improve quality, efficiency, customer satisfaction and cost reduction to drive additional services opportunity and represent the practice internally and externally ( conferences, trade-shows, media), Achieving all appropriate financial objectives through billable utilization objectives to meet or exceed business objectives and Practice P&L targets.
Coaches, mentors, and leads others less Senior Consultants, validating their skills/capabilities when assigned.

Education/Experience/ Technical competencies :

BS / BA in Engineering or equivalent in relevant technical or business major, MBA / MS is preferred.
At least 10 years of professional experience being 8 years of consulting and solutions development expertise, providing fee based services in a customer facing role and at least 2 years direct operations supervisory responsibility preferably in industries such as light and heavy manufacturing, oil and gas, utilities, construction or transportation
Knowledge and experience in managing Capital Effectiveness projects, EPC ideally in Oil & gas.
Mastery of standard office applications including Microsoft Word, Excel, Power Point and Project; familiarity with Mini Tab, Visio and Lotus Notes; Six Sigma methodology or similar tool is a plus.
Willingness to travel up to 80% in support of client engagements.
Fluency in both written and spoken English and Bahasa Indonesia or Malaysia language. Any other will be a plus.
High Level understanding of the essential cultural elements of world-class safety and Sustainability/Operations, fundamentals of safety managing systems and sustaining tools/processes as well as demonstrated experience in the applying safety/ health regulatory requirements in a commercial setting.
Demonstrated complex customer engagement experience, with multiple large, strategic projects, preferably some global, establishing and maintaining relationships with high-level customers being able to prove delivery of high , revenue growth, profit and customer satisfaction consulting and services solutions.

Additional skills:
Business Acumen: Entrepreneurial spirit with passion for the task and business, seeking continuous personal development and knowledge improvement.
Communicating with impact: Ability to influence others, persuasive, with excellent oral/written communication and negotiation skills. Strong interpersonal skills, with high credibility and integrity
Driving for Results: Ability to set and manage expectations using the consultative sales approach with good planning and execution skills, delivering on commitments and accepting accountability for results, multitask oriented
Building Sustainable Customer Relationships: Ability to prioritize and meet deadlines with good management skills giving priority to client?s commitments remaining customer oriented.
Analysis and Judgment: Good analytical skills, enabling to present graphically delivering the message in a compelling way and being able to adapt them quickly to needs using standard features
Teamwork/Collaboration: Ability to work independently maintaining accountability to management coupled with team player skills.
Building Winning teams: Ability to structure and lead professional services engagement, to assess skills/ performance of project members, to relate findings to potential solution construction and to address organizational boundary challenges understanding customer policies, priorities and needs.
Championing Change: Highly self -motivated, flexible, with rapid adaptability to different cultures and environments. Ability to drive change management processes throughout the client engagement, interacting with senior leaders and to internally coach and mentor junior Consultant ensuring this type of culture

Source: http://www.ecopoint.asia/cms/jobs/job/634/senior-consultant-global-engagement-management-at-esg-search/

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UK territories sign on to tax-avoidance crackdown

LONDON (AP) ? U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron struck a deal Saturday with leaders of Britain's overseas territories to share tax information ? a move he heralded as a "positive step forward" on an issue at the forefront of next week's G-8 summit in Northern Ireland.

The prime minister met Saturday at Downing Street with representatives from Britain's network of overseas territories and dependencies, and he said that all agreed to sign up to a multilateral convention to exchange information automatically between tax authorities.

"I commend their leadership and I look to other international partners to work with their own territories to reach similar agreements," he said, adding that the deal is a "very positive step forward" that will strengthen Britain's voice in the G-8 and its campaign on the issue around the world.

"At the G-8 I'm going to push for international agreements to fight the scourge of tax evasion and aggressive tax avoidance," Cameron said. "That means automatic exchange of information between our tax authorities - so those who want to evade taxes have nowhere to hide."

It also means getting companies to report to tax authorities where they earn their profits and where they pay their tax, plus transparency about who owns which companies and who benefits, he added ? all moves Britain's territories and dependencies supported by signing onto the tax initiative Saturday.

Cameron said in an interview with the Guardian newspaper that in order to set an example to fellow G-8 leaders, he will introduce a new central register in Britain requiring the owners of "shadowy shell" companies be declared to tax authorities.

"Personally, I would hope the whole world will move towards public registers of beneficial ownership, but I want to maximize the leverage that the U.K. has got over others in terms of each step in turn," he added later.

Britain has a number of offshore territories, which include the British Virgin Islands, Bermuda, the Cayman Islands and the Channel Islands.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/uk-territories-sign-tax-avoidance-crackdown-151425486.html

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First Active Noise-Canceling Computer Fan Will Finally Shut Your Computer Up

If you've got a powerful desktop, it probably sounds like a jet engine. You could opt for watercooling, but if you stick with fans you're out of luck. They're just loud. Until you bolt on some active noise canceling.

Produced by enthusiast CPU-cooler pros, Noctua, with some help from RotoSub, the cooling unit is only a prototype, but popped up at this year's Computex in working order. Thanks to a built-in microphone that picks up on the fan's hum, and a set of speakers that put out a phase-shifted sound to cancel it out, the little miracle worker can take fans from BZZZZZ to damn near silent at the press of a button.

It's a clever solution to a pretty annoying problem, but you can bet that when it hits the market it's going to come at a hefty price. But exactly how much it'll be, and when you can get one is still TBD. Rf silence is really golden though, maybe it'll be worth it. [Noctua via Geek.com]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/first-active-noise-canceling-computer-fan-will-finally-513446648

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