Monthly Archives: June 2017

Homer City power plant, out of bankruptcy, still needs an overhaul – Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Posted: June 15, 2017 at 7:50 am

Its a nice hot week, and all three generating units at the Homer City coal-fired power plant are running around the clock.

Thats as far into the future as William Wexler can see.

Mr. Wexler, who is charged with restructuring the Indiana County plant to make it more attractive to a potential buyer, said the underlying conditions that forced the facility into bankruptcy in January havent changed. So the plant must.

The situation here at the moment, while its not dire, it certainly needs to improve fairly quickly, Mr. Wexler said.

When asked to clarify a timeline, he said, sooner than later.

In April, Homer City emerged from its second bankruptcy in five years. Formerly owned by a joint-venture headed by GE Capital, the plant is now largely the property of bondholders who swapped some $606 million in debt for equity in the new company, Homer City Holdings LLC. Mr. Wexler is its board chairman.

The current owners of Homer City are hedge funds and private equity firms, Mr. Wexler said, who arent interested in owning a coal plant for a long period of time.

Ive spoken to all the employees, and I explained who we are and what were here to do, he said. That is: to get this plant to be a far more profitable member of the community and to sell it.

Mr. Wexler was recruited for this effort fresh off another coal power plant restructuring in New York, where he oversaw two facilities that were sold last year.

There isnt much he can do about revenue, he said.

Thats a function of the market, which hasnt been kind to Homer City. Competition from cheap natural gas, falling demand and warmer winters has turned this once round-the-clock workhouse into a more sporadic resource.

But we can do a lot to engage on the expense side, he said. Fuel, employees and maintenance all of those are currently being attacked.

The 1,884-megawatt plant employs 240 workers. Its biggest expense is the coal it burns, so getting that more cheaply is a top priority.

The facilitys previous efforts to wiggle out of more expensive coal contracts landed it in court with its largest supplier, Cecil-based Consol Energy Inc. The two parties reached a resolution that maintains Consol as a coal provider for about 30 percent of the plants needs.

The facility is also in the process of selecting a company to operate the plant. It is currently run by NRG Energy, which is among the bidders being considered, Mr. Wexler said.

As for a speedy sale, he said its not imminent.

While some would-be suitors have expressed interest, Mr. Wexler said that people interested in energy assets right now are looking for bargain basement prices. Homer City commands more, Mr. Wexler believes.

GE Capital tried to find a buyer for Homer City last year and received bids ranging in value between $230 million and $535 million, but debt holders rejected them.

The companys advisers determined that the value maximizing path was to pursue a Chapter 11 restructuring, bankruptcy documents state.

Anya Litvak: alitvak@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1445.

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NRG Energy’s GenOn unit files for bankruptcy | Reuters – Reuters

Posted: at 7:50 am

By Tom Hals | WILMINGTON, Del.

WILMINGTON, Del. NRG Energy Inc's (NRG.N) GenOn business filed for bankruptcy on Wednesday with an agreement with bondholders to cut $1.75 billion of its debt and restructure the power generator as a standalone business, according to a securities filing.

The filing, which follows a debt restructuring agreement reached in May, comes as wholesale power companies struggle with weak electricity prices.

NRG, the largest independent U.S. power producer, appointed two directors in February and agreed to cut costs and sell assets in a deal with activist investors Elliott Management and Bluescape Energy Partners. The funds acquired a 9.4 percent stake in NRG early in 2017.

Shares of NRG were down 2.9 percent at $16.44 in late morning trade on the New York Stock Exchange.

The bankruptcy will transfer ownership of GenOn, which operates 32 power plants in eight states, to its senior noteholders. GenOn's plants, mostly in the Mid-Atlantic, have a total production capacity of approximately 15,394 megawatts. The company generates nearly two-thirds of its electricity from natural gas.

Holders of notes issued by affiliate GenOn Americas Generation will receive in cash 92 percent of the principal of the $695 million outstanding, plus accrued interest.

As part of the debt-cutting agreement, GenOn and NRG agreed to transition shared services to a third party and NRG will also pay a settlement of $261.3 million in cash to GenOn.

NRG will also provide a $330 million letter of credit to GenOn.

NRG acquired GenOn in 2012 for $1.7 billion.

Mauricio Gutierrez, the president and chief executive of NRG, said in an emailed statement that the bankruptcy will help simplify NRG while maintaining a strong balance sheet.

The senior noteholders will also receive the right to participate in an offering of $700 million of new notes to refinance the company when it emerges from Chapter 11.

Cheap natural gas flowing from shale fields has brought down electricity prices in recent years, squeezing margins for wholesale power generation companies.

Exelon Corp (EXC.N) has hired a debt restructuring adviser and said it plans to close its Three Mile Island nuclear power plant ahead of schedule. FirstEnergy Corp (FE.N) has said it plans to exit its merchant business by mid-2018.

Energy Future Holdings Corp, the largest power generation company in Texas, filed for bankruptcy in 2014 and Panda Temple Power LLC filed earlier this year.

(Reporting by Tom Hals in Wilmington, Delaware; Editing by Phil Berlowitz)

TORONTO Freeport-McMoRan Inc , the world's biggest publicly traded copper miner, and China Molybdenum Co Ltd (CMOC) have agreed to terminate discussions on CMOC's acquisition of Freeport's cobalt assets, Freeport said on Wednesday.

Saudi Aramco's planned 2018 public share offering is being slowed down by a divide between Saudi Arabia's ruling family and executives of the kingdom's state oil company over where to list its shares, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday.

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‘New’ way to look at smallpox – Fiji Times

Posted: at 7:49 am

IN the past two decades there has been a growing interest among historians, students and masses at large, to explore medical history and the impact of medicine and diseases on society. Pacific medical history is one of the most ignored fields among historians. All preceding history has remained Eurocentric. Moreover, medical history is an esoteric field as one needs rigorous training as a medical historian to write clinician history. The vaccine, vaccination and means of production are historically contested fields.

Smallpox, perhaps more than any other disease, has inspired fear and terror in human beings because of its disgusting appearance, its extreme contagiousness and disfiguring consequences, especially in the eighteenth century when it seemed to be particularly virulent.

Pacific Islanders regarded new diseases like smallpox as a "white man's disease" as they indeed have regarded measles (Bach, S, The Colony of Fiji, 1874-1924, Government printer, Suva, Fiji, 1924, P.50) but they were impressed with the idea of vaccination that it was the "white man's cure" for the new disease. A disease such as smallpox had failed to make entry and the white man's medicine was a marvelous thing to them.

Globalisation of disease

The global spread of diseases, with the exception of deliberate attempts at biological warfare, has been largely unconscious and unintended.

According to the "germ theory of disease", the globalisation of disease was primarily unintended byproduct of European expansion and trade. Instead of being a last resort, the lethal microbes were used as hegemonial instrument to colonise the South Pacific in general and Fiji in particular. Military power, contagious diseases spread by microbes/micro-organism and superior technologies were the natural corollary used to colonise the New World.

There were also some deliberate attempts to spread diseases. James A Michener writes in his book Return to Paradise (Bantam Books, USA, 1966) about one such practice of the freebooter in the Pacific.

He describes the process as such: "A freebooter would catch a native, wait till he caught either measles or whooping cough, and then plop him on some island. Sometimes in less than a month 50 per cent of the population will die." (p185)

What is more outrageous is that when the ship will go back to Australia, the satanic captain would "narrate in public their cleverness in getting even with natives who were not willing to become slaves".

Various aspects of vaccination and their effects on society need to be researched, especially the history of the origin of smallpox, starting from Egypt and its further dissemination to distant parts of the New world such as Oceania (including Australia, PNG and New Zealand), the remunerations of local or provincial vaccinators in comparison with the European counterparts have witnessed a huge discrepancy.

Historical background

Fiji was ceded to Britain on October 10, 1874. Before the cession of Fiji to Britain, a report upon the effect of the climate of the newest possession was compiled by surgeon staff of her majesty's ship Pearl, Adam B, who visited in 1873-1874 and documented diseases in Fiji.

He mentioned Fiji was strictly tropical, could materially check the spread of diseases and prevent the accumulation of poisonous miasmatic arising from the enormous quality of decaying vegetable matter. He also mentioned smallpox and fever were as yet nearly unknown in Fiji.

The report on the health of the white population of Fiji mentioned the manner in which it was affected by the climate and modes of living together with some remarks on the different diseases, the nurturing of children, white and half-caste and the general hygienic state of the Islands.

Penalty on absentee

Various repositories such as the National Archives of Fiji reveal the attempts by vaccinators and physicians to carry out a mass vaccination of the islanders soon after the establishment of colonial rule. These efforts were met initially with very cold response from the islanders. In those vaccination campaigns, children were not brought by the parents.

A fine was later imposed by the administration on parents. Thus, some reports and ordinances passed for prevention of smallpox became highly valuable which are kept at the National Archives.

Why vaccination?

After a comprehensive survey of the history of the origin of smallpox and vaccination in the Pacific, especially in Fiji, it can be concluded from first-hand records that the British had several reasons for making the vaccination campaign a success.

Firstly, despite the islanders' resistance of vaccination and inspection, the colonisers had employed a huge administrative set-up by appointing European and native vaccinators to cure not just themselves but also the natives who could be colonised in the long-term. This reflected British's political motives to govern Fiji and simultaneously have a strategic advantage in the South Pacific.

Secondly, in addition to the political motive, they also had economic reasons for the British' vaccination campaign to maintain constant flow of income by using natives and foreign labourers in Fiji's plantations without the disruption of the deadly epidemic. Thirdly, this campaign also had a religious underpinning as smallpox was considered to be a "white man's disease" and a vaccination campaign was used as "white man's cure" to spread Christianity in Fiji.

Therefore, medicine was used as an auxiliary of religion. (Henderson, GC Fiji and Fijian 1835-1856, Angus and Robertson Ltd, Sydney, 1931,P.134) Besides religious mission, this campaign was also used to justify the acceptance of the British in Fijian society and extend their position as a saviour to cure mankind.

Lastly, all possible approaches were adopted for the vaccination campaign to succeed such as the hiring of vaccinators; natives, Europeans, missionaries, traders and private vaccinators; and issuing of vaccination certification; prosecuting and fining the defaulters who avoided vaccination; publishing and conducting lectures; even contesting with the buli and importation of lymph from New Zealand.

Conclusion

Overall it can be said that vaccination campaign had been a combination of economic, political, religious, social and strategic implications to successfully colonise the Fiji Islands by the British. This research probably raises more questions than the answers.

* Dr Mumtaz Alam is an assistant professor in history at the College of Humanities and Education of the Fiji National University. The views expressed are his own and not of this newspaper or his employer. For comments or suggestions, email: mumtazalig@gmail.com

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Aung San Suu Kyi’s Canadian Visit Exposes Media Blind Spots in … – Karen News

Posted: at 7:49 am

Protest during Suu Kyi's Canada visit (Photo-KCC)

Anyone working for social justice in Burma should be disappointed by the mainstream medias coverage of Aung San Suu Kyis visit to Canada last week. Given ongoing military abuses throughout Burmas ethnic regions, it was frustrating to see headlines focusing again and again that Canada must press Aung San Suu Kyi regarding her governments brutal treatment of Rohingya Muslim communities in Rakhine State, while ignoring the plight of other ethnic peoples in Burma.

Never once during the week was there any mention of the ongoing war in Kachin State that has displaced as many as a 100,000. On June 9, the day that Aung San Suu Kyi attended a Burmese community event at Toronto City Hall, was the sixth anniversary of the resumption of the Kachin war. However, the only Canadian media coverage of the event, an article in the Toronto Star, was silent on this issue. There was also no discussion of ongoing military occupation in ceasefire zones such as Karen State, where thousands of displaced villagers staged demonstrations last month.

In short, media coverage gave the Burmese military a free ride, while focusing all criticisms on Aung San Suu Kyis governments treatment of the Rohingya.

The focus on Rohingya suffering is understandable, and we are certainly not arguing that this coverage should stop. To the contrary, it needs to be set in the context of historical and ongoing patterns of Burmese military abuses. Singularly focusing on the Rohingya does not do justice to the suffering of other non-Burman ethnic peoples in the country. It also creates the simplistic notion that if only the government would uphold human rights of Rohingya, Burmas problems would be solved. However, Burmese military oppression is systemic in nature and permeates all of the militarys dealings with non-Burman ethnic communities.

Simplistic media portrayals of the situation in Burma are very troubling when we consider international development assistance to the central government. If international donors like Canada do not understand the complex situation in Burma, they risk subsidizing the Burmese governments continuing efforts to oppress and control the ethnic peoples. Our Karen community in Canada is very concerned with recent funding announcements by the Canadian government totaling CAD $28.8 million. We are worried that this funding will be distributed through central Burmese government channels, marginalizing ethnic civil society that continues to be a much-needed lifeline for conflict-affected communities.

The following case illustrates the impact of ongoing media marginalization of our Karen community in Canada. On June 9, our Karen community staged a demonstration in front of Toronto City Hall, while Aung San Suu Kyi attended an event with the Burmese community inside. Kachin and Rohingya communities staged concurrent protests. Our protest groups were gathered in the same area, all with strong messages condemning ongoing war, militarization, and human rights abuses in Burma. It was a perfect opportunity for Canadian news media to become more informed about the human rights situation in Burma. However, the resulting Toronto Star article only contained passing reference to the Rohingya protest, completely ignoring the Kachin and Karen demonstrations.

The Irrawaddy article covering our Karen demonstration made the opposite mistake, including reference to the Kachin protest nearby, but never mentioning the demonstration by our Rohingya brothers and sisters.

Media narratives that narrowly focus on single issues can be used to divides us and undermine our common struggle for justice. Following the demonstration, racist elements in the Burmese-Canadian community began attacking the Rohingya online. One of these attackers referenced incomplete coverage in both the Toronto Star and the Irrawaddy to bolster his attacks, taking to social media to claim that our Karen and Kachin protestors keep a distance from the Rohingya.

This is patently untrue. In fact, we collaborated with our Rohingya counterparts in organizing our joint events. Although there were times when our demonstrations diverged, we stood in solidarity together against the same oppressors the Burmese military. We also agreed to work together more closely with our Rohingya brothers and sisters in the future, and to combat racist and Islamophobic attitudes that persist among some in the overseas Burmese community. There is no room for racism or discrimination in our movement.

The mainstream medias singular focus on the Rohingya issue is unhelpful, as it overlooks ongoing suffering of other ethnic peoples under the same military oppression. There is a need for more informed media reporting on Burma issues to demonstrate that the plight of Rohingya and other ethnic nationalities in Burma are all part of the same root problem denial of basic human rights and equal right to life for all ethnic peoples in Burma. This realization should build more unity in our resistance, for only in unity will we have the strength to prevail.

Saw Lay Khu Wah is an informed Karen Community member in Canada. He can be reached at sawsroecho@gmail.com.

Tags: Aung San Suu Kyi, ethnic, Protest

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In 1972, WWP leader took on anti-gay oppression – Workers World

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The following is part of a document called From a Tendency to a Party written in 1972 (45 years ago!) by Sam Marcy, the founder and theoretical leader of Workers World Party. This section was entitled Gay oppression. The term gay people reflects the language of the movement in those early days, before its evolution into a struggle explicitly against the oppression of lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer, trans and gender-nonconforming people.

The oppression of national minorities is not the only oppression meted out by a divisive ruling class. There is also the extra oppression of women, of youth and of gay people.

The degeneration of monopoly capitalism into state monopoly capitalism carries to an extreme all the forms of oppression which the capitalist system, in the previous epoch, had engendered and developed.

As the crisis of the social system becomes more and more apparent, the need of the ruling class to unload its burden on the most oppressed sections of the society becomes more evident.

Only by dividing, fragmenting and continually pitting different elements of the oppressed masses against each other can the capitalist establishment maintain its sway over all society and hope to survive.

It is, however, the same sharpening of the persecution and oppression, the same divisiveness and fragmentation of the specially oppressed in society, that have awakened them to struggle and brought about a genuinely progressive militancy and resurgence of Black and Brown people, women, youth and gay people.

There is a striking difference in the character of the support which has been given by the progressive movement generally to the oppressed nationalities, women and youth, as contrasted with the limited support to gay people. A great deal of this can be explained by the fact that the prejudice may be even more deep seated and profound than in the other cases. Much of it emanated from the religious bigotry of the Middle Ages, and little has been done to combat it. On the contrary, it has been reinforced by the entire course of capitalist development.

Some explain the limited measure of support and sympathy to gay people by saying they constitute a numerically small segment of the population. This, however, is highly disputed by such an authoritative figure as Kinsey [Alfred Kinsey, an author of the Kinsey Reports].

It is particularly significant that the public change in attitude such as it is comes on the heels of a very formidable wave of struggle by gay people, a veritable coming out in a most demonstrative way. Gay Pride took a cue from Black Pride.

Without the launching of the womens struggle, Freuds reactionary theory concerning the inferiority of women might still be the prevailing conception. Without the momentous liberation struggles launched in the 1960s, the racist ideology of Oswald Spengler [German author of The Decline of the West] and his [U.S.] American disciples would still be taught openly, unabashedly and unashamedly. Without the struggle launched by gay people, the prejudices which have been ground into the consciousness of the masses by indoctrination would not even have been challenged, let alone shaken to their foundations.

An important influence in the progressive movement, insofar as the gay struggle is concerned, dates back to the victory of the [1917] October Revolution in Russia. The Soviet government annulled all laws that restricted the rights of homosexuals. It also annulled all the reactionary laws pertaining to divorce as well as the feudal family relations.

For the first time in history, a workers government established equality in law, and to a measurable degree also in fact, between men and women, for heterosexuals and homosexuals. Unfortunately, this period of very progressive development was short lived, and was succeeded by a period of reaction with the rise of Stalin to power.

Our Party, which bases itself on Marxism-Leninism, looks to the early model of the Soviet Union as the embodiment of what our own political position should be in relation to the struggle of gay people.

Our first, most elementary and fundamental duty on this question is to completely eliminate and abolish all forms of persecution and oppression of gay people. We must also fight against all ideological, political and social manifestations of gay oppression that may be reflected in our own ranks.

Ending oppression is really an elementary democratic demand that a bourgeois democracy should be able to grant, along with all other democratic demands. But imperialist democracy tends to restrict the elementary rights of all people not only gays, women, youth, Brown and Black. It is only the struggle that can wrest concessions.

In the long run, only the abolition of the capitalist system can produce a lasting free and equal treatment of all peoples.

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8 arrested in police raids across Merseyside in war on drugs – Liverpool Echo

Posted: at 7:48 am

Homes have been raided this morning as part of a Merseyside Police operation targeting serious organised crime.

A convoy of police vans left the force's Canning Place HQ after a morning briefing over the suspected drugs network that is the focus of today's raids.

The crackdown comes after six nights of 'disruption activity', sparked by a spate of shootings, has been carried out by the force. More than 50 people have been arrested and knives, drugs and suspected stolen bikes have been seized.

Roadside checks have stopped suspicious vehicles in Toxteth, Speke and Bootle while open land searches have also taken place as officers hunt for weapons.

Just last night a gunman, thought to have been riding a scrambler bike, f ired three shots in a Litherland street. The incident left two vehicles damaged and was the eighth shooting in 15 days on Merseyside. Other gun incidents in that period included the fatal shooting of Yusuf Sonko in Toxteth and injury shootings in Speke, Kirkby, Seaforth and Fazakerley.

We'll be bringing you the very latest updates, pictures and video on this breaking news story.

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8 arrested in police raids across Merseyside in war on drugs - Liverpool Echo

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Today’s Song: The War on Drugs Walk into Light with Holding On – Atwood Magazine (blog)

Posted: at 7:48 am

Indie rock band The War On Drugs is known for a very distinct sound. The all-enveloping, larger-than-life tracks in the bands repertoire hold a certain, unique emotion, falling somewhere between appreciation and wonder. Each long-lived guitar solo and hazy instrumental interlude fits like a puzzle piece in nearly every situation, giving the band an incredible strength when it comes to creating a memorable soundtrack. Their latest single release, Holding On, is no exception.

Perfectly cohesive with the bands previous album release, Lost In The Dream, Holding On stands for a new chapter in a very parallel world of depth and fluid musicality.

Much of the bands work can be considered musically multi-dimensional, many times feeling incredibly dense and thought-provoking. Holding On though, while comparative to any track in the bands past release, feels different in overall tone. The track screams with a new lightness, reminiscent of an upbeat summer drive rather than a reflective summer night.

A Deeper Understanding The War on Drugs

Held together by a contagious, sporadic drum beat, the track is energetic and fun. A playful keyboard and guitar add elements that make the track truly multi-dimensional, lyrical aspects falling on top of an already complete, nearly perfect combination of advanced instrumentals. The heartbroken ode tells the full story of a love built and lost, ending in the simple uplifting yet heartbreaking statement heart of hope.

Holding On captures everything there is to love about The War On Drugs. The band conquers an individualistic creativity responsible for a disconnected, yet perfectly packaged sound in every song. The elements of dreaminess hold a psychedelic element comparative to 70s rock while staying completely modern and understandable in todays rock music world. In Holding On, a less-improvised track, the band proves they can hold a unique individuality while still creating a track coherent enough to make the rock charts.

The War on Drugs Shawn Brackbill

The track can lead listeners to believe the bands upcoming album, A Deeper Understanding, to be released August 25 via Atlantic Records, will be a swift follow-up to Lost In The Dream.

The band released a single titled Thinking Of A Place just weeks before Holding On, which falls into the bands deeper, most complex side. It holds a slower tempo, encouraging in-depth internalization of emotions rather than the manifestation of something new. The two tracks, while similar in instrumental makeup, beautifully represent the multiple personalities of The War On Drugs incredible complexity. While the songs hold different audible emotions, they play well together, hyping the combinations to come on the bands unreleased collection.

cover Shawn Brackbill

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The War On Drugs share the video for ‘Holding On’ – DIY Magazine

Posted: at 7:48 am

The War On Drugs are back and are set to release their fourth full-length album A Deeper Understanding on 25th August.

Theyd already shared its lead single, Holding On, and now its got a new video, which stars Frankie Faison (best known from The Wire) alongside Adam Granduciel, and directed by Brett Haley. Adding to that star line-up is Krysten Ritter (aka Jessica Jones), who provided the concept.

Its a heart-warming clip where Frankie plays a man who returns to his town after a long absence. There, hes greeted warmly by his neighbours, who are glad to see him out and about.

In November, The War On Drugs are set to go on a tour of the UK as part of a wider run, and two shows in Glasgow and Manchester have already sold out. Tickets are on sale for their other dates though!

Watch the video for Holding On and see all of The War On Drugs upcoming UK tour dates below.

NOVEMBER

09 Glasgow, Barrowlands 10 Glasgow, Barrowlands (sold out) 12 Manchester, O2 Apollo (sold out) 13 Manchester, O2 Apollo 14 London, Alexandra Palace

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406 gambling addicts banned from PH casinos – ABS-CBN News

Posted: at 7:48 am

Dealers check gaming cards inside a casino in Manila. Noel Celis, AFP/File Photo

MANILA - The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation has banned hundreds of gambling addicts from casinos all over the country to promote responsible gaming.

Pagcor chair Andrea Domingo said out of the 406 gambling addicts banned from Philippine casinos, more than 50% are cases of self-exclusion.

"They asked us to ban them for 3 months, 6 months, 1 year, 5 years. They are saying, 'I cant help myself, please don't allow us to come here,' and we do that," Domingo told ANC Thursday.

The remaining percentage, she said, were banned after someone -- a family member -- asked Pagcor to ban them.

This was the case of a former government employee, Jessie Javier Carlos, who set fire to gambling tables and tried to steal casino chips at Resorts World Manila earlier this month.

Player exlucsion order on the gunman behind Resorts World Attack. Dennis Datu, ABS-CBN News

Carlos was banned from all Pagcor-regulated casinos about a month before the night of the shooting. Pagcor issued last March 24 a "player exclusion order" restricting Carlos' entry to all state-operated and regulated casinos from March 27, 2017 to March 26, 2018.

At that time, Carlos was already deep in debt due to his gambling addiction, causing a rift in his relationship with his wife and parents.

Domingo said Pagcor has also banned gamblers who become too rowdy or cause a disturbance in a casino.

She said some gambling addicts tend to stay and play overnight in a casino even if he or she had already won hundreds of millions.

"Even if you encourage them to go home na kasi talagang tired na rin 'yung dealers, ayaw yan talaga. Mag-i-stay 'yan," she said.

"Halimbawa meron diyan mananalo ng P150 million. Ayaw pa niya [umalis]. Tapos magdamag siya, tapos malu-lose pa niya 'yung P150 million niya," she added.

(Even if you encourage them to go home because the dealers, too, are already tired, they won't. They'll stay. For example, someone would win P150 million. He will not go home, he'll stay overnight and lose the P150 million.)

ALL GOV'T OFFICIALS BANNED FROM CASINOS

The countrys chief gaming regulator also said all government officials and elected officials are banned from entering all casinos.

Domingo said the policy is they should ban the officials from the casinos and report them to the proper government agency.

"There was a pronouncement by the President that even the first-degree relatives are [banned from casinos]," she added.

Following the incident at Resorts World Manila, Domingo said they will be strict in implementing the rules in all casinos.

She said they task monitoring teams of casinos to roam around the area and look for banned players sneaking in.

Domingo clarified that while the 406 players are banned from casinos, they are still allowed to enter the other facilities of places like Resorts World that has hotels and malls inside.

THE THRILL IN GAMBLING

A renowned Filipino psychologist previously told ANC that gambling addiction is often a "well-kept secret," with its symptoms not as obvious as in drug addiction.

Dr. Honey Carandang, a clinical psychologist, said it is usually the thrill of the possibility of getting "a big amount of money in a short period of time" that hooks a person to gambling.

Domingo said they have a referral system in casinos where players with symptoms of gambling addiction are referred to doctors or rehabilitation facilities.

The Pagcor chief earlier said they are currently preparing a more effective responsible gaming program following the attack at Resorts World Manila.

Domingo said she is consulting financial experts and the Commission on Audit if it is possible for Pagcor to allocate some of their funds to the rehabilitation of gambling addicts.

She said they will also launch a campaign on radio, TV and print to promote responsible gaming. Included in the campaign materials are videos showing symptoms of gambling addiction.

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Is Daily Fantasy Sports A Form Of Gambling? New Rutgers Study Seems To Imply It Is – Legal Sports Report

Posted: at 7:48 am

Daily fantasy sports is like gambling.

Thats the conclusion one will come to after reviewing Rutgers Center For Gambling Studies recent report:The Prevalence of Online and LandBased Gambling in New Jersey, Nower, L., Volberg, R.A. & Caler, K.R. (2017).

Of course, whether DFS sites like DraftKings and FanDuel are empirically or legally a form of gambling is a conversation for courts and state legislatures.

Whether or not DFS is gambling is beyond the scope of this report, the researchers note. However, the report clearly shows DFS players exhibit many of the same traits as traditional gamblers (and have a high crossover rate).

Thats not the best news for the DFS industry.

As it tries to gain approval in statehouses across the country, DFS has waged a war against the word gambling. The industry likes to refer to itself as a skill-based game that has little in common with traditional forms of gambling. DFS proponents use analogies like chess, the stock market, spelling bees, and bowling leagues, and it sells itself as good, clean fun.

The Rutgers study indicates it has some things in common with traditional forms of gambling.

Before delving into the prevalence reports DFS findings, I want to offer up some thoughts on peer-to-peer skill-based games with wagering components.

In a previous column, I asked if poker players and other advantage gamblers werent skewing problem gambling data.

But theres a second piece to this puzzle. Are so-called skill-based games a driver of problem gambling behavior, and/or are they magnets for problem gamblers?

Poker, DFS and other games are sold as skillful. Were led to believe that if players are smart and diligent enough they will have no problem beating the game.

The problem is these games are played against other players, so skill is only relative to that of others. This isnt a case of practicing Mike Tysons Punchout hour after hour every day and finding the right patterns and strategies to defeat each boxer. In DFS and poker, the opponents are also capable of improving.

Because of this, and because of the rake/fees taken by the house, there can only be so many winners. If blackjack were beatable with perfect strategy (suppose blackjack paid 2-1), then every skilled player would be a winner; they could all adopt the same strategies and beat the house.

Poker and DFS may be skill games, but for 95 percent of players, their skill wont translate to wins.

But because of the way the games are sold and because of variance, players can convince themselves they are skilled enough to win. Maybe right now theyre just unlucky, or theyre close to being skilled enough to win and just have to work harder, they can rationalize to themselves.

Its not hard to see how this mindset could lead to addictive behavior.

With that out of the way, lets move on to the studys findings.

The researchers explained the reasoning behind their inclusion of DFS (and day-trading) thusly:

A majority of activities listed in this study are historically classified and widely accepted as gambling, because they involve spending money on activities with an uncertain outcome and the possibility of winning or losing that can result in harm. However, other activities elude precise classification and are largely context and jurisdictiondependent.

Stock trading, for example, is traditionally viewed as a skillbased investment, focused on compounding earnings over time. The advent of daytrading, however, shifted the focus from investment to the exciting and immediate activity of taking greater, short term financial risks on options and futures for the potential of larger payouts but also larger losses.

Similarly, traditional fantasy sports games were originally seasonlong competitions based on the actual performance of players and were exempted from the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of (2006) (UIGEA) because they relied in large measure on the knowledge and skill of the players.

Given the lack of consensus over where high risk stocks and daily fantasy sports fall in the gambling spectrum, they are included in this study in a separate section.

According to the Rutgers study, A total of 336 respondents (out of 1,500) endorsed participation in daily fantasy sports (DFS) in the past year.

In all but seven instances, DFS players also took part in traditional gambling. That means 98 percent of DFS players in the survey also gambled on gaming machines, bingo, live casino table games, other games of skill, sports and horses.

According to the report, 84 percent of DFS players gambled on non-DFS games once a week or more, placing them in the high-frequency group. Ninety-five percent of DFS players landed in the high-frequency/high-risk for problem gambling group.

With a 336-person sample, further research will be needed. But on the surface it appears DFS players share much with traditional gamblers. And when it comes to addiction in general, theyre far more likely to succumb than traditional gamblers, as seen in this chart.

One of the stranger findings is the high level of mental health disorders among the DFS group.

The report states, Notably, DFS players also reported higher levels of substance use, behavioral problems and mental health issues than other nonDFS gamblers.

half the sample used tobacco, fourfifths used alcohol, and onethird reported binge drinking and using illicit drugs. DFS players were more than twice as likely as other gamblers to endorse problems with overeating, nearly four times more likely to have problems with sex and pornography, and five times more likely to exercise excessively. More than onefourth of DFS players reported serious mental health issues in the past 30 days, twice as many as other gamblers.

The report also states DFS players were 13 times more likely to report suicidal ideation than traditional gamblers. They are also nine times more likely to have attempted suicide compared to other gamblers.

According to the study, these findings suggest that DFS play is highly correlated with problem and disordered gambling and a host of other mental health problems. Policymakers should consider that data, the study suggests.

Policy decisions regarding DFS regulation should anticipate a very high prevalence of gambling problems in this group and the negative consequences that typically accompany those problems such as employment, legal, relationship, financial, health and mental health problems. It is important to ensure there are prevention, education, and treatment resources developed for and available to this population.

The only thing the report proves about DFS is that more research is needed.

If DFS players are just as, or more, likely to fall victim to the mental disorders that plague problem gamblers, then similar responsible gaming procedures should be put in place.

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Is Daily Fantasy Sports A Form Of Gambling? New Rutgers Study Seems To Imply It Is - Legal Sports Report

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