#it has finally been signed into effect in california that any child featured on social media aka like family channels and such

[thetimelordbatgirl]

Did not have 'Demi Lovato helping with ending family channels' on my 2024 bingo, but holy shit.

[stellanault-blog]

Allegations Against Chidambarams Not Of Grave Magnitude

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The complaint indicates Potts "continued to disregard the squad's lights and sirens, and disregarded a visible stop sign" and drove away, attempting to flee the officer. Riley says it was the closest race for a starting quarterback spot he dealt with since coming to OU in 2015. Use the text box to describe your situation; you must be specific and detailed about any relevant events or information. Inspired by Buzz Lightyear, Woody, Bo Peep, and newcomer to the franchise, Forky, the shoes feature subtle nods to each character.Since each style is fairly tame in terms of tie ins to Toy Story aside from the colours, fans will be happy to know that the insole of each shoe is printed with an image of the character that inspired its design.

[howwelldoyouknowyourmoon]

Socialization techniques through which the UC / FFWPU members were able to influence

by Geri-Ann Galanti, Ph.D.

Abstract This article reports on the experiences and thoughts of an anthropologist who, under an assumed identity, participated in a 3-day Unification Church workshop.  Although the author’s expectation that she would encounter “brainwashing” techniques was not met, she was, nevertheless, struck by the subtle, yet powerful, socialization techniques through which the UC members were able to influence her.  She concludes that, to be effective, preventive education in this area must address the subtleties of the socialization processes that can bring about major personality changes.

__________________________________________

I recently had an encounter with what has been termed “brainwashing,” when I spent a weekend at Camp K, a Moonie training camp in Northern California [in circa 1981-83?].  As a result of my experience there, I would like to offer a few comments on the nature of brainwashing from the perspective of an anthropologist.  I went to the camp to do research for a project on deprogramming.  I thought it was important to see what the “programming” was all about.  I pretended, however, to be a young woman who wandered into their church by chance, and who knew little about Rev. Moon or Moonies.

To begin with, I was allowed plenty of sleep and given a sufficient amount of protein.  Both mornings, I got out of bed around 8:30 or 9:00 – when I was tired of laying around.  No one made me get up early.  We were given eggs, fish, tuna, something that looked like “chicken spam,” lasagna (meatless, but plenty of cheese) and other foods.  We were constantly being fed – three meals and about two snacks per day. Most people looked a bit overweight. In any case, the two things I was looking for that might “brainwash” me were not present.

I was further disarmed by the fact that the group let me know right up front that they were the Unification Church, and followers of the Reverent Moon.  The San Francisco Bay area center had earned a rather bad reputation for hiding that fact until a new recruit was already well entrenched in the group.  Apparently, this is no longer true.  I walked into the church on Bush Street in San Francisco on a Friday evening, and the first thing that was said to me was “You understand that this is the Unification Church and that we’re followers of the Reverent Moon?”  They also had a permanent sign on the front of their building stating “Unification Church.”  The first evening at Bush Street, after showing some interest in the Church, I was shown a videotape about the Church and Reverend Moon.  In order to go to their camp for the weekend, I had to sign a release, which clearly stated that I was going with the Unification Church.  However, the fact that they were now being honest about who they were, in contrast to their past deceptiveness, served to weaken my defense.

The first night, I heard the word “brainwashing” used four or five time, always in a joking context.  I finally asked John, my “spiritual father,” why that word kept cropping up so often.  He said it was because people often accuse them of being brainwashed.  The explanation I heard several times that weekend in this regard is that “people are so cynical and they can’t believe that we can be happy and want to help other people and love God and each other.  So they think that we must be brainwashed to feel this way.  Ha! Ha!”  I was also told by two different Moonies about a recent psychological study comparing Moonies with young adults from other mainstream religious groups.  They told me that Moonies came out much better in terms of independence, aggressiveness, assertiveness, and other positive characteristics.  The group is apparently meeting the criticism leveled at them head on.  Their explanations seemed so reasonable. They would ask, “We don’t look brainwashed, do we?”  And they didn’t.

I somehow expected to see glassy-eyed zombies.  I didn’t.  There was one new member – he’d been in the group only a month and a half – who seemed to fit that stereotype.  When I talked to him, his gaze wandered, his eyes not fixed on anything.  But everyone else seemed perfectly normal.  They were able to laugh and joke (about everything except themselves, which I’ll discuss later) and talk seriously about things.  The only thing that really struck me as strange was a kind of false over-enthusiasm.  Any time anyone performed, which was often, everyone would clap and cheer wildly.  They were good, but not that good.  During lectures, they would underscore points with a hearty “yeah!”  I must admit, however, that by the end of the weekend, much of the enthusiasm seemed more charming than odd.

Since the issue was brainwashing, I was constantly monitoring my mental state. During lectures (three per day, each lasting about an hour to an hour and a half), I would sit there and smugly critique the lecture (to myself) as it was presented.  My intellectual faculties were as sharp as ever.  I was able to note the kinds of techniques they were using as well.  Immediately before each lecture, we would sing songs from their songbook, to the accompaniment of a guitar.  Their songs are very beautiful, and the lyrics always upbeat.  As a result, you start off the lecture feeling good from the singing.  The lectures are always ended by singing a few more songs.  This puts a whole aura of “goodness” around the lectures.

The lectures were carefully orchestrated so as to create a feeling in the listener that they must be “learned,” rather than analyzed.  I could discuss this in greater detail, but for now, I will return to the issue of brainwashing.  Despite the use of questionable and manipulative educational techniques, I was constantly aware of the functioning of my intellect and of my beliefs, and at no time did I feel that they were being influenced.  This may not be the case with an individual who has not spent 13 years in college, but, as will become clear, it only underscores the power of brainwashing.  As an anthropologist, I found their beliefs interesting; as an individual, I found them ridiculous.  Nor did I experience any altered states of consciousness to indicate that I was being hypnotized in any way.  So I thought I was safe.

What I didn’t realize is that the “brainwashing” – or to use a better term, “mind control” – doesn’t come until later.  And what is really being talked about is a process of socialization, one which goes on in every household around the world.  Human beings are not born with ideas.   Ideas are learned.  Anthropologists, more than any other group, perhaps, are aware of the variety of beliefs that are held by people around the world.  We acquire these beliefs through a process that involves observation, imitation, and testing.  Beliefs that are acquired in childhood are generally the strongest, although they may be changed through experience as one grows older.  When we have experiences that conflict with our world view, we either rationalize the experience (e.g., I couldn’t find my necklace in the jewelry box yesterday, but today it’s there – I must have overlooked it, or someone must have taken it and put it back), leaving our beliefs intact (e.g., objects don’t magically disappear and reappear), or, if it happens too often and we are presented with an alternative world view which accounts for it, we may change our beliefs.  (This is the stuff that Kuhn writes about in his classic book, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions.)  it is possible to explain the same event in many ways.  What cults do is to offer an alternative way of looking at things.  When everyone holds the same belief but you, their view starts to make sense.  Society, especially the smaller scale societies we had throughout most of human evolution, could not operate smoothly if everyone were to hold a different belief about the nature of reality.  Millions of years of evolution have selected for a human tendency to be influenced by the beliefs of others.  If this were not the case, how could any child be socialized to be a member of the group? There are, of course, rebels and visionaries, people who do not accept the beliefs of the group.  But they are much fewer in number.  Furthermore, adolescence seems to be a major time for group conformity.  Teenagers appear to have a strong need to belong, to look and act like one of the group.  And it is these adolescents and post-adolescents who are most strongly attracted to cults.

How does mind control work?  Let me rephrase that.  Even “mind control” is too strong a term – for it, too, conjures up visions of men reaching invisible fingers into your brain, controlling your thoughts and actions like a puppeteer.  I think of it more as a socialization process in which one is led to think like the rest of the group.  Robert Lifton, in his seminal book entitled: Thought Reform and the Psychology of Totalism:  A Study of Brainwashing in China, outlines the eight conditions that result in ideological totalism: milieu control, mystical manipulation, need for purity, personal confession, acceptance of basic group dogma as sacred, loading the language, subordination of person to doctrine, and dispensing of existence.  As I see it, all of these features conspire to do two things: (1) isolate the person within a particular cultural context so that that context becomes the only reality, and (2) make the individual feel that if he becomes a member of the group, he will be special.  These features are an inherent part of any culture, and not necessarily purposefully contrived to achieve particular aims.  Let me give an example.

Several years ago, I spent a summer doing fieldwork in Guatemala.  After a month in the field, I couldn’t remember a lot of things about home, e.g., my husband’s voice.  He was back in the U.S.  Reality was where I was, in Guatemala. One regret I have is not buying more of the beautiful Indian weavings.  The reason I didn’t was that they were “too expensive.”  The finest cost approximately $30.  To buy something similar here would cost well over $100.  But I had internalized the Guatemalan standard of money.  That summer, no one was purposely trying to control my environment.  It was controlled by virtue of the fact that I was spending most of my time in a small rural village. Though I retained most of my American ways and beliefs, my sense of reality was slowly changing, and Guatemala became the standard by which I tested reality.

Regarding the notion that ideological totalism functions to make an individual feel that if he joins the group, he will somehow be better than everyone who is not a member – this is not a new concept.  All cultures promote this idea about themselves.  The attitude is called “ethnocentrism.”  Everything we do is right and natural; everything outsiders do is unnatural, barbaric, etc.  The names that most small scale societies use to refer to themselves generally translate into something meaning “the people” or “human beings,” implying that everyone who is not a member of the group is somehow less than human.  Perhaps I am overstating the case, but what I saw the Moonies do was to do on a smaller scale what all cultures do with their members.

The techniques they use are for the most part, not very sinister.  They are things we encounter in everyday life.  They are how we become socialized.  The cult becomes a total subculture.

Which brings me to what I think is the most important part.  In the beginning, they don’t influence you by changing your beliefs.  As I said earlier, they did not affect mine in the least in that short weekend.  (although I should point out that my beliefs are very clear and strong.  Most people who join the church are self-described “searchers”: they’re looking for answers.)  the way they get to you is emotionally.  If you stay with an isolated group of people long enough, you will eventually begin to think like they do, act like they do, see the world as they do.  It’s part of human nature.  It’s what we anthropologists mean when we talk about enculturation.  The degree of enculturation (taking on the culture of another group) will depend upon the relative amount of time you associate with people from your own culture and from the new culture, among other factors.  If you associate only with members of the new culture, acculturation will generally be much more rapid.

So how do they get you to stay?  By giving you a good time, by being likeable, by being happy.  Of all the things I expected to happen that weekend, the last thing I expected was to have a good time.  Except for the lectures, which I found rather boring and insulting (I thought they were aimed at about a third grade level), I really had fun.  We sang a lot, people performed songs and poems, we put on a group talent show, we played volleyball.  We became children again, with no responsibilities.  It was like being at camp; in fact, it was called camp: Camp K.  the setting was beautiful – in the mountains, along a creek, with lots of trees.

They also make you feel really good about yourself.  One of the famous Moonie techniques is “love bombing,” which basically consists of giving someone a lot of positive attention.  For example, one morning, Jane said to me, “You know, you’re really one of the most open people I��ve ever met.  You don’t put up any defenses.  You’re really open.  I think that’s so great.”  When she said this, part of my mind went “flash.  Love-bombing, love bombing.”  But the other part of me went, “Yeah, but it’s really true.  (Don’t we all like to believe the best about ourselves?)  She probably really means it.”  In any case, it made me feel good.  Despite my intellectual recognition of what she was doing, emotionally, I bought it.

Another technique they use is to make you feel part of the group.  New recruits were constantly encouraged to take part in the many performances that were put on.  During one of the initial group sessions, when we were introducing ourselves, I mentioned that I like to dance.  That night, when we were making up our presentation for the “talent show,” everyone kept urging me to choreograph our musical number.  I felt a bit shy about it, but then figured, why not?  I had never seen a more supportive group in my life.  There was no way to fail – except not to take part.  I had about 5 minutes to make up and teach a number to a group of 15.  needless to say, my “dance” was simple and rather silly.  But it was all in fun and didn’t matter. It made me feel a part of the group.  It also gave them ample opportunity for more love-bombing.  After the show and all the next day, at least a dozen people came up to tell me what a “great” dance it was.  Despite the fact that I knew it wasn’t, it still felt good to have people compliment me on something that is important to me.  I was made to feel good by being part of the group.

They also made me feel that I was a lot like individual members of the group.  Part of my “cover” was that I was a third grade school teacher.  (I did teach 3rd grade for 10 weeks once.)  when I told this to my “spiritual father” he replied, “I used to be a school teacher too.”  He kept emphasizing how much alike we are.  (We’re not.)  He also told me how much I remind him of a close friend of his.  Someone else told me how much I reminded her of her sister-in-law.  Other people told me that I look “so familiar.”  It was rather transparent to me that this was merely a technique to make me feel that we were not so different and I could be a part of them.  (Actually, this technique was too obvious and not effective on me.)

Socialization also works through subtle peer pressure.  At the end of Saturday evening, we once again got in our groups to discuss “what we liked best about the day.”  As we went around the circle, people mentioned things like the lecture we had on Rev. Moon, or the movie about the Unification Church, or something that was said in the lecture.  As it was coming around to me, I was thinking, “My honest answer would be the volleyball game.  I really had a great time playing volleyball.  But if I say that, I’m going to sound really shallow compared to everybody else.  And I know I’m not shallow.”  So I chose something that was also true, thought less so, but which sounded much better.  When my turn came, I said, “I really enjoyed meeting a lot of really nice people.”  Because of a general human tendency to try to create a positive image of ourselves, I was slowly becoming socialized into the ways of the group.  If this were a group that valued physical activity, my true response would have been appropriate.  But this was a group that valued God, love, ideals, and so I found myself shaping myself in a way that emphasized the aspects of my being that were most acceptable to the values and standards of the group.  We are all multi-faceted.  It is a common experience to find that different people or groups of friends being out different aspects of our personality.  Generally, we change subtly as we interact with each group, thus emphasizing all aspects of our personality.  In a totalist group like the Moonies, however, the group values are so strong and so consistent that only one side of ourselves is elicited and reinforced.  We thus shape our personality as we become socialized into the group.

The most powerful aspect of the whole experience was the personal relationships.  At the beginning of the weekend, I remember thinking that there really wasn’t anyone there that I would want to be friends with.  But by the end of 2 ½ very intense days, I had developed a few attachments, especially to two of the women, Susan and Jane.  I also felt very guilty about deceiving them regarding who I was and why I was there.  Yet I couldn’t tell them the truth because then I couldn’t be sure that they weren’t treating me differently from others – non-researchers.  Even though I knew they were deceiving me in subtle ways and that the ultimate goal that was shaping their behavior toward me was the desire to get me to join the group, I still felt guilty.  I honestly liked them.  They seemed so open and honest with me, although I still don’t know how open and honest that really was.  They seemed to like me.  My ego wants to believe they did. The whole cult issue is very clouded in my mind.  It is exceedingly complex.  If their main motive was to get me to join the group, it was because they believed that by doing so, they were helping to save the world and my soul.  Is that so dishonest?  Yet how honest is it to consciously use those very effective techniques?  I see them as both victims and victimizers.  Simultaneously.

They presented a lifestyle alternative that was very appealing.  Community, love, idealism.  They presented a picture of true happiness. Yet we learn from ex-members (who admittedly have their own biases) that this picture is false.  Or at least, only part of the picture.  What is left out is the fear and guilt and the loss of self.

What the “brainwashing” is all about, in my view, is grabbing you emotionally.  Giving you a good time, showing you others, like yourself, who are fulfilled.  People who, like you, were searching for answers to life’s basic questions and found them.  Why not stay a little longer, and learn a little more about them?  You don’t have to believe in the doctrine right away.  You can still think critically at the end of the weekend, when you make the decision to stay on for the 7-day seminar.  But you’ve begun to develop emotional ties that will keep you there.  To learn a little more.  Until they have finally socialized you into their way of life.  They grab you emotionally until they can keep you long enough to completely socialize you.

I am writing this article because I think it is important to understand what is going on.  I know that I didn’t understand, despite having done a lot of reading and talking to people about it.  I think it is because most of us have too many strong associations with the words “brainwashing” and “mind control.”  They seem so overt.  They’re not.  The process can be extremely subtle.  But because we have such strong associations, we do not recognize the process in its other manifestations.  I think that in part it is because it is so familiar.  It is something that happens everyday to every child that is born on this planet.  Society is possible only because socialization techniques are effective.  Socialization isn’t sinister.  The problem I see with the cults is the context.  As an anthropologist, I am aware of the existence of what we would term cults in other societies.  I think that cults have a greater and more damaging impact in our culture because we value the individual so highly.  From discussions with ex-members, it appears that one of the most negative effects of cult involvement is a loss of self.  Many other societies value the group over the individual.  Although I am not a psychiatrist, I would guess that it is not so damaging to the psyche to give up your individual identity to the group (the cult), if you have always been raised to value the group over the self.  But in our culture, where the opposite is true, this can be devastating to many individuals.

I think it was the contrast between my expectations and my experience that allowed the weekend to have such a strong emotional affect on me.  I was looking for something big and evil and what I found was very subtle and friendly, so I didn’t recognize its power.  I was also mistaken in believing that the socialization process (or the influence process) was intellectual.  It’s not.  It’s emotional, and thus touches a deeper and more central part of one’s brain.  When I left at the end of the weekend, a friend who had been in the Moonies and worked for a while as a deprogrammer picked me up.  One of the first things I said to him was, “I had a great time.  Remind me again what’s so bad about the Moonies.”

The next day I was interviewing a former deprogrammer.  About half-way through the interview I asked her to describe exactly what she did during the deprogramming.  She looked me directly in the eye and said, “Exactly what I’ve been doing with you.”  This shocked me, because I didn’t think I needed any deprogramming.  I didn’t buy their doctrine.  They didn’t brainwash me.  But they did get to me.  I had forgotten all of the organization’s abuses of church members: the long hours of fund-raising, sometimes in dangerous areas, late at night; the lack of proper nutrition; the suicide training; the fear and guilt; the relative poverty the members live in, while the leaders live in splendor; the munitions factory owned by a church which is supposedly striving for world peace; the divisions created between family members; the deception; all of the horrors.  Part of me remembered them, because I remember asking questions about what exactly the church does to make the world better, knowing that most members spend them time selling flowers.  But that knowledge didn’t seem important.  The people seemed good, so by association, the group did too.  I had been influenced.  The emotional truth was so much stronger than the intellectual one that it was the only one that seemed important.

I have mixed feelings about the use of the term “brainwashing” with regard to cult indoctrination.  Because of the general effectiveness of the techniques in influencing a person’s thoughts and actions, I can understand the persistence of its use.  If someone like Patty Hearst is going to be defended on such a basis, it needs to be recognized as a powerful and legitimate technique (although degree of susceptibility will vary).  However, if the goal is to keep people out of cults, I am afraid the contrast between the stereotypic notion of brainwashing (which I don’t think we can escape) and the experience a new recruit has is to sharp, that people are disarmed and no longer aware of the techniques being used on them.  Instead, I would advocate seeing the brainwashing process in the context of socialization.  This is something with which we are all familiar and about which we hold few, if any, negative connotations.  At the same time, it is something that we are aware of the power of.  I would contend that the process of “brainwashing” can best be understood as an intensified socialization experience.  I may be quibbling over semantics, but given the fact that the words in question are so loaded, I feel that semantics are important here.  The Moonies take the raw material of our human needs – to be loved and to be accepted – and use the same techniques that for centuries cultures have used to shape individuals into members of the culture: peer pressure, reward and punishment, and the experience of being surrounded by individuals who all view the world in the same way.

My weekend with the Moonies was intended to answer some questions I had.  Instead, it raised many more.  The most solid thing I came away with, however, and my reason for writing this, is a new understanding of brainwashing.  If we are to avoid it, we must first learn to recognize it.

__________________________________________

Geri-Ann Galanti is a medical anthropologist, and lecturer at the UCLA School of Medicine. Dr. Galanti was formerly on the faculty of California State University’s Department of Anthropology and California State University’s School of Nursing, where she developed the curriculum for the BSN program’s Cultural Diversity in Healthcare course. Dr. Galanti is a consultant to Civility Mutual.

Geri-Ann Galanti

This article is an electronic version of an article originally published in Cultic Studies Journal, 1984, Volume 1, Number 1, pages 27-36.

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Moon’s ultimate truth is … absolute obedience – Allen Tate Wood

Video: Paul Morantz on Cults, Confession and Mind Control

[rickhorrow]

10 To Watch : Mayors Edition 52019

RICK HORROW’S TOP 10 SPORTS/BIZ/TECH/PHILANTHROPY ISSUES FOR THE WEEK OF MAY 20 : MAYOR’S EDITION 

With Jacob Aere

“Game of Thrones” may be over, but the legend of Brooks Koepka grows. On Sunday, Brooks Koepka hoisted the Wanamaker Trophy and waded even further into fantastical lore. Perhaps USA Today said it best, “For a man almost childishly alert to perceived slights off the course, he moves through the choppy waters of a major like a shark focused on real meals and uninterested in the chum bobbing along the way.” Koepka overcame four consecutive bogeys on his inward nine Sunday – he led by seven strokes as the final round got underway – to beat Dustin Johnson by two shots with a final-round 74. The defending PGA champion, Koepka won for the fourth time in the last eight major championships he has played. He is guaranteed the top spot in the world golf rankings. Sunday’s victory netted him a cool $1.98 million. More importantly, it may have finally cemented ultimate respect and big paydays with potential sponsors. Koepka’s current biggest deals are with Nike and Michelob Ultra, and he doesn’t have an equipment sponsor. Dollar signs behind an equipment deal just went up big time.

It’s graduation season, and we’d like to suggest a gift. Our Sport Business Handbook recognizes the last 50 years as the formative era of the modern sport business industry. As colleges and universities graduate their 2019 classes of aspiring career professionals, this is a rare opportunity to hear from some of the industry’s most influential players. Consider that according to Forbes and PriceWaterhouseCoopers, the U.S. Sports Industry will be an $80 billion annual category by 2022. Job growth across all sports-related industries is expanding at over 12 percent annually — more than double the national job market. In markets like Atlanta, Boston, Denver, Miami, Dallas, Jacksonville, Philadelphia, and Pittsburgh, sports-related job growth is increasing at or above 20% annually. The global sports industry is estimated to be a $1.3 trillion category. Sports media is the fastest-growing segment of the industry. As a subset of that, legalized sports gambling represents a multi-billion-dollar category poised to grow exponentially, as evidenced by casino and mobile sports betting legalized in Iowa last Monday. So if you have a child poised to join the workforce post college, they could do a lot worse than a career in sports.

The NCAA is opening the door for college athletes to be compensated for their names, images and likenesses. The Washington Post reported that the NCAA is examining how its rules can be modified to allow the change. Big East Commissioner Val Ackerman and Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith will head a new working group on the topic. “This group will bring together diverse opinions from the membership — from presidents and commissioners to student-athletes — that will examine the NCAA’s position on name, image and likeness benefits and potentially propose rule modifications tethered to education,” Ackerman said in a statement. In most scenarios, NCAA rules forbid its athletes from receiving benefits or compensation for their names, images and likenesses from either a school or a third party, including commercial contracts. While the working group will not consider any concepts that “could be construed as payment for participation in college sports,” the NCAA says that its mission is to “provide [an] opportunity for students to compete against other students [that] prohibits any contemplation of pay-for-play.” A final report is due to the NCAA’s board of governors in October.

The Indianapolis 500 will likely be the first time a CBD sponsorship will be featured during an official IndyCar race. The development comes after Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports (ASPM) last Thursday announced a partnership with CBD-based sports drink Defy, according to the Indianapolis Star. The product’s name will appear on both James Hinchliffe’s No. 5 and Marcus Ericsson’s No. 7 entry. CBD has been legal in Indiana since March 2018, and the growing CBD industry has the "potential to become a new revenue source for teams." That comes amid plenty of examples of "drivers struggling to find sponsors," including Kyle Kaiser's No. 32 car from Juncos Racing. ASPM Team President Jon Flack said that fellow team sponsors, IndyCar and NBC were "all open to and approved the idea of allowing sponsorships that advertise products containing CBD." Interestingly, while THC level in Defy is allegedly well below the 0.3% allowed, IndyCar drivers can’t drink it because CBD is on the organization’s banned substance list. As the CBD market grows across the country, it is fair to wonder what sponsorship effect it will have on IndyCar.

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds signed legislation "allowing gambling on college and professional sports in Iowa," according to the Des Moines Register. The new legislation  "allows Iowans 21 years and older to wager on sporting events at any of Iowa's 19 casinos and online if they visit a casino once in person to prove they are at least 21." It also "legalizes bets on fantasy sports through websites and apps like DraftKings and FanDuel." The law "does not allow in-game proposition bets on college sports." While the legislation "takes effect immediately, some of the rules still need to be ironed out." The Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission, which will regulate sports betting in Iowa, previously said that it would "start to develop rules for casinos to implement after Reynolds signed the legislation." Those rules "would likely be implemented in July or August," before college sports and NFL games start. Iowa is only the latest state to allow legal sports wagering, and with every state that signs on, the stakes – and the potential revenues – rise considerably.

U.S. Club Soccer, a prominent member of the U.S. Soccer Federation and the leading organization developing soccer clubs across America – welcomes Dick’s Sporting Goods as its Official Sporting Goods Partner. The strategic partnership provides U.S. Club Soccer members with a valuable resource for their soccer-related equipment and sporting goods needs. U.S. Club Soccer members will receive special discounts to Dick’s Sporting Goods stores throughout the country and online, while Dick’s Sporting Goods is presented to U.S. Club Soccer’s growing community of members through various digital, social, and on-site marketing efforts. US Club Soccer’s mission is to foster the growth and development of soccer clubs throughout the country to create the best possible development environment for players of all ages in every club. U.S. Club Soccer also prides itself on fostering the safest environment for players in youth sports – to whit, they’ve implemented best-in-class background checks for all registered staff, and require personnel to complete an online injury recognition course, as well as SafeSport online training.

The Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, home to the Oakland A’s and Raiders, is set to become the Ring Central Coliseum. Belmont-based communications firm Ring Central has sealed a three-year, $3 million naming rights deal for the 56,000-seater stadium, including an option for a fourth year. Ring Central will assume a role last held by Overstock.com, which pulled out of its $1.45 million-a-year deal with the Coliseum after the Raiders announced plans in 2016 to relocate to Las Vegas. Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum will soon become RingCentral Coliseum, as the California-based business communications provider is buying the naming rights and will pay $1 million a year for the "next three years, with an option for a fourth year." As the stadium authority approved the deal, the "name change would go into effect immediately." Even though the Oakland pro sports universe is undergoing seismic change, as the Raiders prepare for their Vegas move and the Warriors head to San Francisco, its signature sports facility remains an attractive target for brands.

Trump tariffs will impact sports, and sports fans. $11.4 billion. That’s the total value of the footwear imported from China to the U.S. last year as reported by SportsBusiness Daily. About 72% of sneakers imported to the U.S. are from China. The publication quoted CNBC’s Sara Eisen, who said of how the ongoing trade dispute is affecting the shoe industry, “These companies have been diversifying but there’s no denying that a lot of sneakers are still made in China.” So-called “sneaker wars” have long played a seminal role in basketball, soccer, and increasingly, in lifestyle brands popular in the U.S. and elsewhere. This may seem inconsequential compared to the toll expected in other industries like agriculture and electronics. But a prolonged sneaker tariff will have a lingering effect on the athlete pipeline, as those footwear brands have long funded the tournaments young athletes compete in in order to catch the attention of the pro ranks.

ESPN partners with Caesars for sports betting shows. According to Bloomberg, Caesars Entertainment Corp will have its odds data and branding integrated with ESPN programs. ESPN will put a studio inside Caesars’ Linq Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas and build a new series of shows and videos aimed at the sports gambling market. The gaming corporation plans to contribute to programming on the ESPN network, ESPN’s website, and on the ESPN app. The sports betting content on ESPN’s betting-related content includes a few podcasts, segments on shows like “SportsCenter” and “Outside the Lines,” and a full sports gambling show called “Daily Wager,” which launched in March. Nearly a year after the U.S. Supreme Court ruling which federally legalized sports gambling, TV networks have jumped on the opportunity to boost their viewership through sports betting as many consumers use other devices and OTT platforms for entertainment.

LeBron James is partnering with Wal-Mart to "feed the hungry and inspire positive change in Akron and across the country." According to the Cleveland Plain Dealer, James will be part of the retailer's "Fight Hunger Spark Change" campaign, which "raises money through donations and the purchase of participating products." The effort to date has raised $74 million, providing 749 million meals, with a goal of 1 billion meals. Wal-Mart will "keep the pantry at James' I Promise School stocked with food, toiletries, clothing and basic necessities." James and Wal-Mart will "support each other's education programs" starting this summer with a Back to School campaign. 

[insurancepolicypro]

Girls supporting Kavanaugh discover themselves in storm’s middle

NEW YORK (AP) — It began as a sequence of telephone calls amongst previous high-school mates and ended up embroiling 65 ladies within the firestorm over a sexual assault allegation that would form the Supreme Court docket.

In a matter of hours, all of them signed onto a letter rallying behind excessive court docket nominee and their highschool buddy Brett Kavanaugh as somebody who “has all the time handled ladies with decency and respect.” They usually signed up, whether or not they anticipated it or not, for turning into a spotlight of scrutiny themselves.

The highly effective strength-in-numbers assertion, supplied to bolster Kavanaugh’s denial of a declare that he attacked a woman at a celebration throughout their highschool years, has drawn questions from journalists, social media skeptics, even Hollywood figures.

How nicely did the ladies know him? How may an announcement and 65 signatures come collectively so quick after outlines of the allegation first surfaced publicly? And after subsequently listening to the small print and studying that his accuser was a girl a few of them knew, do they stand by their declaration?

Sure, say greater than a dozen signers who’ve since spoken to The Related Press or different media retailers.

“Brett would not do this in one million years. I am completely assured. That may be fully out of character for him,” stated Paula Duke Ebel. She stated she interacted with Kavanaugh lots of of instances whereas they had been college students in a close-knit constellation of single-sex Catholic colleges round Washington within the 1980s.

Christine Blasey Ford, 51, now a psychology professor in California, stated a really intoxicated Kavanaugh cornered her in a bed room throughout a celebration within the early 1980s. She stated he pinned her on a mattress, tried to undress her and clamped his hand over her mouth when she tried to scream. She escaped solely when a buddy of his jumped on the mattress and knocked them throughout.

The letter was launched the morning after the allegation first acquired large public consideration. The letter and its roster of supporters appeared to come back at supersonic pace and out of the blue.

Girls who organized and signed it say it was a fast response by a social community that endures many years after they graduated. They are saying it was straightforward to mobilize: a sequence of mates calling, texting and emailing mates from a Washington-area world the place many nonetheless dwell and see one another.

In the meantime, lots of of alumnae of the secular personal ladies faculty that Kavanaugh’s accuser attended have signed a letter supporting her and calling for an investigation of her allegations.

“We imagine Dr. Blasey Ford,” they wrote.

One of many signers, Cristina King Miranda, tweeted Wednesday that the alleged assault “was spoken about for days afterward at school” and that Kavanaugh “ought to cease mendacity.” However in a Fb put up hours later, she stated she had no firsthand information of the matter and would not remark additional amid a media “circus” and a barrage of interview requests.

Whereas that letter is signed by a mixture of Ford’s friends and college students from earlier than or after her time at her faculty, the letter backing Kavanaugh is from ladies who vouch that they knew Kavanaugh, now a federal appeals court docket choose, personally as a highschool scholar.

A number of stated they interacted with him extensively by sporting occasions, dances, events and different socializing or the telephone calls that occupied teenage weeknights within the pre-texting period.

One labored with him at a summer time camp. A second sought his assist with homework. Two dated him. Some nonetheless see him at social capabilities.

No less than one, although, hadn’t frolicked or talked one-on-one with him however nonetheless felt snug attaching her identify based mostly on the social conditions they shared.

Others who signed declined to remark or did not reply to inquiries. The AP left messages for all 65.

Some have been shocked by the eye. Many have stayed mum to keep away from “the media frenzy,” signer Maura Kane advised Fox Information, the outlet of selection for a number of who’ve given interviews.

Julie DeVol advised the AP she did not actually anticipate the letter would provoke such intense curiosity, although she sensed Kavanaugh’s critics “would do something” to delay his affirmation vote.

Kavanaugh, 53, appeared to be cruising towards that vote earlier than the sexual misconduct allegation turned public.

Kavanaugh has referred to as Ford’s allegation “fully false.” The Senate Judiciary Committee has invited him and Ford to testify at a listening to Monday, though Ford’s legal professionals say she needs the FBI to research her allegation earlier than she testifies.

Story continues

The Kavanaugh buddy who she stated was within the room on the celebration, conservative author Mark Choose, has stated he would not bear in mind any such incident.

When phrase of a high-school-era sexual misconduct allegation towards Kavanaugh emerged final Thursday afternoon, Meghan McCaleb and her husband, Scott, thought they and different highschool mates of the nominee wanted to talk out. Meghan McCaleb stated she launched the letter-writing effort after discussing it with a few of Kavanaugh’s former regulation clerks.

She stated she contacted mates, who contacted extra mates, they usually had 65 signatures by the subsequent morning.

The rapid-fire response sparked a flare of tweets, together with from actresses and liberal activists Debra Messing and Patricia Arquette, questioning how anybody may line up so many highschool buddies so shortly to talk up for somebody they did not truly go to highschool with. McCaleb says the reply is just “how strongly all of us imagine in Choose Kavanaugh and his integrity.”

Among the signers are conservative, akin to podcaster and former Republican Nationwide Committee spokeswoman Virginia Hume. Others are Democrats.

“This has nothing to do with politics,” stated one of many signers, Megan Williams. “It is nearly character.”

However additionally it is, inescapably, about whether or not they credit score one other girl’s account of sexual assault.

The query is sharpened by the #MeToo motion, which seeks to vary what supporters see as a historical past of doubt and dismissal of ladies who converse up about sexual misconduct. The query is also all of the extra pointed for girls who traveled an identical teenage social path as Ford, and in some circumstances met her alongside the best way.

McCaleb stated “I am not sure” when requested on Fox Information whether or not she believed Ford, a buddy of a buddy who went to the identical native pool Ford did. “She alleges that she had this traumatic occasion, and I really feel like it isn’t the Brett Kavanaugh that we all know.”

Sharon Crouch Clark did not know Ford and feels positive about having signed the letter, however the allegation.

“If it occurred to her, that is horrible,” Clark stated. However she questions whether or not the incident occurred as Ford described it, noting that Ford stated she was unable to recall sure particulars in regards to the date, place and different features of the alleged assault.

“I really feel like I might know all that,” stated Clark, who socialized with Kavanaugh amid teams of mates at events.

Girls who signed the letter stated they did not learn about or recall the celebration Ford described, they usually stated her account of a “stumbling drunk” Kavanaugh did not jibe with their reminiscences of a boy who drank some beer alongside them however by no means misplaced management or crossed a line with ladies.

“There have been youngsters who did act sort of loopy. … He simply wasn’t that man,” stated Williams, who remembers hanging out with Kavanaugh primarily in teams however generally one-on-one. “He was the child who all the time did the best factor.”

That is why six dozen ladies had been prepared to place their names on that letter, stated signer Missy Bigelow Carr, who labored at a summer time camp with Kavanaugh and coached ladies basketball towards him as an grownup.

“If there was any indication that he did not deal with even certainly one of us with respect or acted in a fashion that disrespected ladies/ladies,” she wrote in an electronic mail, “that may not be the case.”

___

Kunzelman reported from Silver Spring, Maryland. Related Press writers Dan Sewell in Cincinnati and Alanna Durkin Richer in Boston and researcher Rhonda Shafner contributed to this report.

from insurancepolicypro http://insurancepolicypro.com/?p=391

[shereeguercio61-blog]

The Woodchoppers Fitness Durability Educating Techniques.

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Our Required Instruction Courses offer nurse practitioners and taking care of workers along with tested typical classroom instruction, sensible engagement and assessments. I am going to quit all weight training as well as cardio a few times prior to the contest to permit my physical body remainder as well as bounce back. Coming from 1st January 2015 all newly enrolling THAT cases are going to end up being required efilers. Too much time invest in active prize will certainly tax your strength increase while the other does certainly not give you enough amount for muscular active trophy or even interpretation as demanded for physical body structure. If an action or technique is actually obligatory, people need to do this, due to the fact that that is actually a guideline or even a necessary retirement age has been raised. Customers with usual necessary profiles can easily log on along with the in your area cached duplicate of the required profile. This includes smooth relevant information circulation within as well as outside the company and far more past that which are mandatory for an association's presence. Following job ethics is essential in the personal- training of effective ways to be specialist.

[racingtoaredlight]

Opening Bell: October 6, 2017

In relatively surprising about-face yesterday, the National Rifle Association (NRA), which is the premiere proponent of private gun ownership in the United States, came out against so-called “bump stocks.” This feature is added to a semi-automatic rifle and allows it to mimic the firing capability of a fully-automatic rifle. The NRA has asked the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) to review the legitimacy of regulations which currently allow for the sale of bump stocks. Within hours, bills were proposed in Congress by lawmakers who conceded that as recently as a week ago, they were not familiar with what a bump stock was. In yet another development, a surprising number of conservative Republicans indicated that they were open to such legislation which would restrict or eliminate the sales of bump stocks. The reason for this seems to be that the NRA’s move gives political cover for Republicans in Congress to come out in favor of legislation that they would otherwise resist tooth and nail. It remains to be seen if this is an opening for the NRA to be open to other forms of legislation in the future—if they did so, it would be a profound departure from their previous philosophy of avoiding the so-called “slippery slope” of evading gun rights—or whether this is a one-time political gambit to control the messaging on gun rights.

It was quietly announced late yesterday that President Donald Trump will “decertify” the Iran nuclear agreement in a speech in Washington next week, at a time and venue to be determined. This action would not scuttle the agreement necessarily, but would instead be a declaration that the agreement, in its current form, is not in the national security interest of the United States. This would put the responsibility for deciding whether or not to stay within the agreement, modify it, or withdraw entirely, to Congress. There does seem to be some common ground between congressional Republicans and Democrats on modifications to the deal; while Democrats are in favor of remaining within the agreement, Republicans generally would prefer to remove some of the friendlier aspects of the deal and sharpen some of the inspection provisions. There remains a question, however, of where Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell fits this on an already packed legislative calendar, which includes a pledge to consider major tax reform. It also leads to a question of how Iran would react to any modification of the deal.

Yesterday, the Pentagon announced that three members of the U.S. Army’s Special Forces, or Green Berets, were killed and two more wounded in an ambush while conducting a joint-training exercise in Niger. The Green Berets are training Niger’s army to counter regional insurgents, and not actively involved in the hostilities. The patrol, conducted with soldiers of the Nigerian Army, which also suffered casualties, was not an active combat operation or a raid, as has been the case when previous special operations commandos died in action in previous months. That an ambush was apparently not expected is what makes this all the more surprising. As Foreign Policy points out, the presence of the U.S. Army Special Forces in central sub-Saharan Africa reflects a broader U.S. military involvement in Africa that has been steadily growing in recent years.

On Wednesday, the White House formally requested $30 billion in disaster relief funding for Texas, Louisiana, Florida, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and western states which have battled record wildfires this summer. The funding is meant to provide direct disaster relief aid to those locations and also to allow the National Flood Insurance Program to increase its borrowing capacity. While this aid package is undoubtedly going to pass—drawing the ire of lawmakers in Texas, Florida, Louisiana, and California is rarely wise—there remains a question of where House Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell fit this in with other legislative priorities, such as weighing in on the Iran nuclear agreement and tax reform, to say nothing of yet another attempt by the GOP to formulate a repeal or modification of the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

One day after he announced that he would retire at the end of his current term in Congress, Rep. Tim Murphy (R-Pa) instead announced that he would resign, effective October 21. Murphy has come under a torrent of criticism in the last 48 hours after it was revealed that he encouraged his mistress—Murphy is married with one child of his own—to consider aborting a child which Murphy was the father of. The pregnancy turned out to be a false positive, but Murphy’s handling—he has been staunchly anti-abortion in his 15 years in Congress—of the situation led to widespread criticism. His resignation triggers a special election—the sixth of this Congress—in what is an otherwise safe GOP seat.

The U.S. Navy announced this week that the USS John S. McCain, which has been moored in Singapore since an August 21 collision with an oil tanker caused heavy damage to its hull, will be carried by a heavy lift transport ship to a U.S. naval base in Japan where it will undergo repairs. This stands in contrast to the USS Fitzgerald, which was severely damaged in another collision in June off the coast of Japan, which will have to be returned to a shipyard in the continental United States for much more complicated repairs. As reported here in recent weeks, the Fitzgerald’s repairs may take over a year to complete. The McCain will likely be able to return to the fleet in a matter of months.

As economies develop in Africa and individual incomes rise, western fast food enterprises are moving into sub-Sahara African nations. In those nations, western products, including restaurants are considered status symbols; patronizing them is a sign of upward social mobility. The New York Times looks at how western food outlets are being received as they expand into nations like Ghana and what this means for obesity rates in this nations.

The Brookings Institution looks at Myanmar which, though it is received coverage by the international media, the west has failed to appreciate the breadth and depth of the humanitarian crisis which has developed, including with the minority Rohingya Muslim minority. The de facto president of Myanmar, Aung San Suu Kyi, a former Nobel Peace Prize laureate, has been widely criticized for her failure to address the crisis, but it is worth mentioning that she does not control the nation’s military and her reticent attitude towards the Rohingya crisis is probably due to this fact.

Last Sunday, the Catalonia region of Spain—centered on the provincial and cultural capital of Barcelona—held a referendum on whether to declare independence from Madrid. Spain’s constitutional court declared the referendum illegal months ago, but Catalans persisted and images of heavily armed Spanish police officers breaking into polling stations, seizing ballot boxes and election materials, and clashing with voters, was seen as a massive overreaction by the national government. Nonetheless, while 90% of voters voted for independence, only 40% of Catalans bothered to vote in the first place. The Atlantic looks at this burgeoning constitutional crisis on the Iberian Peninsula.

Finally, Kyle Kondik of the Center for Politics has an in-depth analysis of the electoral prospects of the next three Senate classes; 2018, 2020, and 2022. Though, as Kondik points out, there will be far more Republican seats coming up for reelection in 2020 and 2022, if those Democrats who represent conservative states—such as West Virginia’s Joe Manchin, North Dakota’s Heidi Heitkamp, and Indiana’s Joe Donnelly—lose in 2018, Democrats may not be able to recover in the next two elections.

Welcome to the weekend.

[movietvtechgeeks]

Latest story from https://movietvtechgeeks.com/donald-trump-vs-tom-ford-plus-zayn-malik-louis-tomlinson-truce/

Donald Trump vs Tom Ford plus Zayn Malik, Louis Tomlinson truce

From Rosie O’Donnell to Arnold Schwarzenegger toVanity Fair, it feels like nothing is safe from the wrath of President-elect Donald Trump. Over the past few months, particularly in the midst of the recent US Presidential Election, Donald has been spewing criticism at pretty much anybody – or thing – that (he feels) has gotten in his way.

Although Donald is no longer desperately fighting for the coveted spot in the Oval Office (as he is days away from being sworn in as the 45th President of the United States), he made another bold public move by publicly condemning a new celebrity victim.

On Wednesday, Donald did a guest appearance on Fox & Friends. During this stint, the former Celebrity Apprentice host talked candidly about his not-so-favourable opinion of well-known fashion designer, Tom Ford.

A few months back, Tom publicly announced that he would not dress Donald’s wife, the soon-to-be first lady, Melania Trump. Tom told the press that he wanted to take a stand against Donald’s divisive and hate-fuelled platform. Therefore, by refusing to dress Melania, he felt he would be able to effectively portray his dissatisfaction with the President-elect.

In response to Tom’s refusal to dress Melania, Donald ranted to the hosts of Fox & Friends, “[Melania] never asked Tom Ford, doesn’t like Tom Ford, doesn’t like his designs. I’m not a fan of Tom Ford, never have been.” Donald went on to claim that his friend, Wynn Resorts CEO Steve Wynn, actually took the time to make sure any clothes designed by Tom in his hotels were thrown out. Donald recounted, “[Steve] just called me and he said he thought it was so terrible what Tom Ford said, that he threw his clothing out of his Las Vegas hotel.”

Well, it sure is convenient that Donald and Melania have “never” been fans of Tom Ford’s designs…They probably aren’t too fond of all of the musicians who have refused to perform at Donald’s upcoming inauguration as well!

Finally, after months of social media jabs and awkward award show encounters, former bandmates Zayn Malik and Louis Tomlinson have buried the hatchet. After Zayn announced he was leaving One Direction back in 2015, things got tense between him and Louis, as the rest of One Direction felt blindsided by Zayn’s bold move. However, now that both young stars have embarked on their own personal ventures (Zayn released a solo album, and Louis became a father, as well as released his own solo track), they have been able to get to a much better place in their friendship.

Earlier this week, Louis made a brief appearance on the radio show Hits 1 in Hollywood. During the appearance, Louis was asked what he thought about hearing Zayn’s solo music on the radio. The 25-year-old singer replied, “It’s a strange feeling, but it’s nice. His first song was an absolute smash and a great song. It’s nice.”

Shortly after, Louis talked candidly about how his relationship with Zayn is now. The One Direction artist explained, “I think a lot of [us, One Direction members] have spoken recently. Me and Zayn have spoken recently. I think we’ve gotten to a point now where you can just really be happy for each other. Things have happened in the past of course…but yeah, it’s great.”

Over the past few months, the boys of One Direction have all gone off to do their own thing. Currently, Niall Horan is enjoying the success of his first solo single, “Our Town,” as well as gearing up for the release of the accompanying album. Meanwhile, Harry Styles is starring in the upcoming blockbuster film Dunkirk and Liam Payne is expecting his first child with girlfriend Cheryl Cole.

President Barack Obama’s farewell gift to some of his longtime staffers was a private concert from “The Boss.”

A senior White House official says Bruce Springsteen performed a roughly two-hour acoustic concert Jan. 12 for members of Obama’s staff, mostly people who had served for all eight years of his presidency. There were no cameras present for the event.

The official wasn’t authorized to discuss a private event and spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity.

Obama presented Springsteen with the Presidential Medal of Freedom at the White House in November.

Springsteen appeared on the campaign trail for Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton in the fall.

Spike Lee says he won’t be using Chrisette Michele’s music in an upcoming project because of her decision to perform at President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration.

Michele seemed to allude to the controversy Thursday on her blog, where she wrote: “We can’t be present if we’re silent.” She says she hopes for “peaceful & progressive conversation.” She adds that she doesn’t mind criticism if it allows her “to be a voice for the voiceless.” She used the hashtag NoPoliticalGenius.

Lee wrote on Instagram that he was sorry Michele was performing at the inaugural. He says he was considering using Michele’s “Black Girl Magic” in his upcoming Netflix series, “She’s Gotta Have It” but won’t anymore.

Robert De Niro, Sally Field and other celebrities plan to join the mayors of New York and Minneapolis to rally cities to chart their own course on health care, climate change and other issues during Donald Trump’s administration, organizers said ahead of the inauguration-eve demonstration.

Aiming to energize and unite city dwellers concerned about the president-elect’s plans, activists and dignitaries planned to gather Thursday evening in front of Trump International Hotel and Tower, about a half-mile from his Trump Tower home. Groups including Greenpeace, Planned Parenthood and MoveOn.org have signed on.

Organizers said they expect thousands of people, including stars Rosie Perez, Marisa Tomei and Alec Baldwin, whose Trump impression on NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” has drawn barbs from the president-elect.

“Cities and towns across the country have the power to protect people and the environment by joining together,” actor Mark Ruffalo said in a statement, adding that the rally would signal to Washington “that we will fight, at every step, discrimination and harmful policies.”

New Yorkers, however, are split on how Mayor Bill de Blasio should deal with Trump, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released Thursday.

Forty-six percent said the Democratic mayor should try to get along with the Republican president-elect, while 45 percent said de Blasio should be a national leader in opposing the Trump administration’s policies, the poll of 1,005 voters found. It had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.

Meanwhile, Trump left New York for Washington on Thursday morning.

Miguel Ferrer, who brought stern authority to his featured role on CBS’ hit “NCIS: Los Angeles” and, before that, to NBC crime drama “Crossing Jordan,” has died.

CBS said Ferrer died Thursday of cancer at his Los Angeles home. He was 61.

He had played assistant director Owen Granger on “NCIS: Los Angeles” since 2012. Before that, he played the chief medical examiner and gruff-but-supportive boss to series star Jill Hennessy for the six seasons of “Crossing Jordan.”

A native of Santa Monica, California, Ferrer was the son of Academy Award-winning actor Jose Ferrer and singer-actress Rosemary Clooney, and a cousin of George Clooney, who issued a statement Thursday afternoon.

“Today, history will mark giant changes in our world,” Clooney said, “and lost to most will be that on the same day Miguel Ferrer lost his battle to throat cancer.  But not lost to his family. Miguel made the world brighter and funnier, and his passing is felt so deeply in our family that events of the day … pale in comparison. We love you, Miguel. We always will.”

In his own statement, “NCIS: Los Angeles” showrunner R. Scott Gemmill called Ferrer “a man of tremendous talent who had a powerful dramatic presence onscreen, a wicked sense of humor and a huge heart.”

Ferrer began his career in the early 1980s with guest shots on many TV series. In 1990 he scored a signature role as FBI Agent Albert Rosenfield on David Lynch’s smash series “Twin Peaks.” He reprised that character for the 1992 movie “Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me.”

He will encore yet again as Agent Rosenfield for Showtime’s “Twin Peaks” revival airing this spring.

Along with TV, Ferrer appeared in more than 40 movies, including “RoboCop,” where he played the villainous Bob Morton, designer of the title character, “Iron Man 3 ,” where he portrayed the vice president, and “Traffic.”

Voiceover credits include “Superman: The Animated Series,” ”Robot Chicken” and “American Dad!”

Before becoming an actor, he was a successful studio musician who played drums in a variety of bands and toured with his mother and Bing Crosby.

Survivors include his wife Lori and sons Lukas and Rafi.

Despite their meeting last month, Donald Trump’s Presidential Inaugural Committee team never asked Kanye West to perform at Friday’s event in Washington, DC. The reason: The rapper apparently isn’t “traditionally American” enough.

“We haven’t asked him,” Tom Barrack, the committee’s chair, told CNN earlier this week. “He considers himself a friend of the president-elect, but it’s not the venue. The venue we have for entertainment is filled out, it’s perfect, it’s going to be typically and traditionally American, and Kanye is a great guy, but we just haven’t asked him to perform. We move on with our agenda.”

Rather than West, one of the most popular recording artists of all time, the bill for the inauguration will feature significantly less high-profile acts like Toby Keith and Jackie Evancho.

But the committee is totally OK with that, despite previous reports that countless performers have turned down the opportunity to play at the inauguration and its satellite events — even a Bruce Springsteen cover band.

“This is not Woodstock,” committee spokesperson Brian Epshteyn told the network. “It’s not Summer Jam. It’s not a concert.”

While West may not be “traditionally American” enough to perform at the inauguration, the president-elect did still see fit to meet with him at Trump Tower last month to talk about “multicultural issues.”

President-elect Donald Trump is being urged by some advisers to save at least one dance, as he celebrates his inauguration on Friday night, for a very special Republican lady — Caitlyn Jenner.

“It’s a brilliant idea,” a member of the incoming administration told me.

Besides mollifying the LGBTQ community — wary of conservative Republicans in general, and of Trump in particular — dancing with Jenner could mend fences within the party.

“Time heals all wounds,” one GOPer pointed out.

Bruce Jenner was a stalwart Republican long before the parent of six (10 if you count stepkids) transitioned into Caitlyn.

“The image of Trump dancing with Caitlyn would send a strong message that he supports gay rights and trans rights,” the Republican said. “A picture is worth a thousand tweets.”

Jenner’s publicist said, “Can’t deal in hypotheticals. We’ll just have to wait and see.”

Also among the throngs at the inauguration will be Rowanne Brewer Lane, who dated Trump in 1990, and blasted the New York Times in May for mischaracterizing their relationship.

“They spun it to where it appeared negative. I did not have a negative experience with Donald Trump,” Brewer Lane said. “He never offended me in any way. He was very gracious.”

On Monday during his radio show, Steve Harvey defended his decision to meet with President-elect Donald Trump, saying he has received backlash since his highly publicized meeting with Trump on Friday.

“On a personal note, a lot of y’all hurt me,” he said on his show. “You really did. I didn’t expect the backlash to be so fierce.”

Harvey said he felt it was important to meet with the president-elect when asked.

“I have an obligation to take a seat at the table when invited,” Harvey said. “Change can only happen if you sit at the table … If you’re not at the table, you can’t even … suggest what we should be doing. Therefore, it was very important for me to take the meeting.”

Harvey said he was contacted about the meeting by email through his TV show contacts.

“The only way we can heal the divide in this country is through conversation,” he said.

The talk show host said the president-elect asked him what he wanted to be involved in, and Harvey answered he was interested in the initiatives surrounding housing and urban development.

The “Family Feud” host said Trump was “cordial” during their sit-down.

“He was very warm, and honestly, when we talked, he was very sincere,” Harvey said.

Ready or not, DC, Jill Zarin is coming for you.

The former “The Real Housewives of New York” personality announced Wednesday that she will be attending Donald Trump‘s inauguration Friday in the nation’s capital.

“Dad is out of woods and I’m packing for D.C.! This is my first inauguration. I am going as an AMERICAN to support democracy (and hey I got invited. ..!),” Zarin shared across her social media platforms.

“Here is the other in case curious. If you want to unfollow me … bye bye! I’m sick of bullies. I don’t agree with some things but running away won’t change it. Be there.. show up… use the system to communicate. But don’t you dare make me feel guilty for going to see OUR country at work,” she continued.

Upon posting a photo of the inauguration invite, several commenters sniped at the 53-year-old reality star about how she obtained the tickets, as the public is welcome to order free passes via the Presidential Inaugural Committee’s website.

“Free invites? The Trumps are old friends of ours,” Zarin stated on Facebook. “Bobby and I were invited.”

This isn’t the first time Zarin has supported Trump. She attended the eighth annual Eric Trump Golf Tournament in September 2014.

Uma Thurman’s lawyer hammered her French financier ex-boyfriend in their Manhattan custody trial Thursday, grilling him about cheating on a high school test, an alleged addiction to prostitutes and his rocky relationship with another ex, supermodel Elle Macpherson.

“Did you tell Ms. Thurman you had paid someone to take your baccalaureate exam for you?” the lawyer, Eleanor Alter, asked in Manhattan Supreme Court.

“Yes,” Arpad “Arki” Busson, answered from the witness stand. The then 17-year-old Busson was enrolled at the Institut Le Rosey boarding school in Switzerland at the time.

“Did you also tell Ms. Thurman you had been addicted to prostitutes?” Alter asked.

“No,” Busson said.

Judge Matthew Cooper, who’s presiding over a two-week custody trial between the former couple for a parenting schedule with their 4-year-old daughter Luna, cut off further questioning on the subject.

Thurman, dressed in a black suit and white shirt, looked down and away from her ex during the hearing. Busson, in a dark suit, leaned forward on the witness stand with his hands folded.

Alter also asked Busson about threatening Macpherson, a former girlfriend, and mother of his two teenage sons.

“You had threatened Ms. Macpherson which caused her to wear a wire,” Alter asked.

“Objection,” Busson’s lawyer interrupted.

The judge sustained the objection.

Busson hit back at Thurman, whom he dated for seven years through 2014, under redirect questioning from his attorney Peter Bronstein.

“Every time that I’m supposed to see Luna there is major drama,” he said.

The London-based businessman said at first he was very excited when he learned last summer that his daughter was coming to visit him for her birthday. But, he said, Thurman suddenly invited herself along.

“I was blackmailed. I had to buy business class tickets for the nanny and the mother and the daughter at an exorbitant price,” he griped about the $30,000 cost.

“Did you subsequently learn why the mother wanted to come to London?” Bronstein asked.

“Yes her lover was in London,” he said.

The verbal pounding continued until the late afternoon when Alter questioned Busson of being a neglectful dad.

She said he returned Luna to her mother on Monday with “matter hair” and “in dirty clothes.” Alter also said Busson once offered to give up all “his rights to Luna in exchange for giving up child support.”

He admitted making the offer, but claimed that Thurman makes it so “onerous” to see his daughter he often feels like “giving up.”

Jennifer Lopez suffered a rare wardrobe fail at the People’s Choice Awards on Wednesday night when her dress ripped.

The 47-year-old actress looked stunning in a dramatic embellished gown. However, as she left the stage with her Favorite TV Crime Drama Actress Award, cameras caught a tear behind the arm.

Lopez, who won the award for her role in “Shades of Blue,” was hardly let down by the rip, as the dress remained one of the most eye-catching of the evening.

The Reem Acra pre-fall 2017 velvet dress clung perfectly to her curves.

It had a cut-out-embellished chain bodice, under which the singer wore a nude bra for extra coverage.

Upon collecting her award, she said: “I want to say thank you to the people. Mi gente, gracias.”

She was up against other TV favorites including Sophia Bush, Lucy Liu, Pauley Perrette and Mariska Hargitay.

President-elect Donald Trump is “not an idiot,” insisted actor and longtime Democratic donor Michael Douglas, who urged Americans to withhold judgment on his golf buddy for at least 100 days.

“I personally know the President-elect Donald Trump. I’ve spent time with him, played golf with him, my wife Catherine and I have the same birthday and have had him (Trump) at parties together,” Douglas, 72, told the website hubculture.com at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

“I’ve always found him to be charming and have a self-deprecating humor — but then again, one of the things you learn playing golf is not to talk politics or religion,” he continued.

“I think we have to wait. He’s not an idiot, so I will be curious to see what plays out,” Douglas said.

Still, Douglas, who backed Hillary Clinton for president last year, said he’s concerned by Trump’s selection of Andy Puzder for labor secretary and Scott Pruitt to lead the Environmental Protection Agency.

The “Wall Street” actor — who owns property in Bermuda — noted that one of his top issues is mankind’s impact on climate change and that he sees, first-hand, the impact of global warming.

“We have a couple of salt water pools, at high tide the sea comes in and refreshes these pools,” he said. “Now it’s taking over some of the beach so you can definitely see an increasing water level there.”

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