President Obama?s Second Term: Big Bets, Black Swans

President Barack Obama?s second term will present him with opportunities to strengthen relations with rising powers, improve economic relations and increase security throughout the world. However, there are also low-probability, high-impact events that could unexpectedly derail the president?s agenda notes Martin Indyk, director of Foreign Policy at Brookings.?Foreign Policy at Brookings will release its policy recommendations for President Obama?s second term on January 17.

Source: http://webfeeds.brookings.edu/~r/BrookingsRSS/topfeeds/LatestFromBrookings/~3/aqkNQYhPp34/martin-indyk-on-obama-foreign-policy-big-bets-and-black-swans

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Gamesys acquires Richard Branson owned Virgin Games to boost ...

Gamesys acquires Richard Branson owned Virgin Games to boost gaming and igaming business

by mediamanoz
08/01/2013

Media Man www.mediamanint.com with the latest from the gaming, casino and igaming world...

According to gaming trade publication eGR Magazine, game development company Gamesys has acquired Sir Richard Branson?s Virgin Games for an undisclosed sum.

In addition, eGR (exclusively) reports that Gamesys has signed a ?long-term deal? to develop real money and social gambling properties, globally, under the Virgin brand.

Originally started in late 2003, Virgin Games is wholly owned by Richard Branson?s Virgin Group and offers casino (poker, slots, bingo and other) games for the internet and mobile devices.

Its new owner, UK-based online gambling holding Gamesys, recently made headlines when it launched a new Facebook app called ?Bingo Friendzy?, the first to hit the social network?s App Center that lets UK users aged 18 and over to play an online game for real cash prizes (rival 888 followed up with a similar offering back in December 2012).

Gamesys operates the UK?s leading bingo and slots website Jackpotjoy and other brands, such as The Sun Bingo and Caesars Casino, aside from developing its own social gaming properties.

A Gamesys spokesman advised eGR that it aims to migrate the Virgin Games site onto its own platform and relaunch it in the UK later this quarter. In a prepared statement, Richard Branson said:

?We are delighted the Gamesys Group has acquired Virgin Games and formed a partnership to build a global games business.

Simon Burridge and his team built a strong platform and now with the help of the Gamesys Group we can expand further internationally. We believe the Gamesys Group shares our vision and will be great partners in the sector.?

Simon Burridge is the former advertising executive who started and became CEO of Virgin Games in late 2003.

According to eGR, Virgin Games had been exploring outside investments in recent months, in a bid to expand its business across Europe.

Virgin Games is likely to come up against strong competition from the likes of bwin.party digital entertainment and its PartyCasino PartyPoker and World Poker Tour, and word is that Austraila's gaming king, James Packer, head of Crown Limited, is also aiming to further expand into online gaming well beyond betfair.

Stay turned to the Media Man www.mediamanint.com and Casino News Media www.casinonewsmedia.com network as the story continues to unfold.

News...

Gamesys agrees Virgin Games purchase...

Online casino and bingo operator Gamesys Limited has agreed to acquire operator Virgin Games for an undisclosed sum while additionally inking a long-term deal to develop a range of Virgin-branded real-money and social gaming propositions.

Gamesys, the operator behind popular online bingo domain JackpotJoy, revealed that the initial focus for the new partnership will be the UK market with the virgingames proposition set to be relaunched on the Gamesys platform in Q1 2013.

Established in 2001 by Noel Hayden, Andy Dixon and Robin Tombs, Gamesys became the first online gaming operator to agree a real-money deal with social network Facebook in August while it stated that it has been a ?long term admirer? of the Virgin brand.

?We are delighted to have the opportunity to leverage our unique platform, games and services to power Virgin gaming propositions around the world,? said Hayden.

For its part, Virgin Games was founded in 2004 by Virgin Group and hosted close to 300 games from leading suppliers including Microgaming and Playtech. It additionally operates online bingo as well as games of poker using the International Poker Network from Spielo G2.

?With many new opportunities opening up across the world, it was important to attract a new partner to capitalise the power of the Virgin brand,? said Simon Burridge, Chief Executive Officer for Virgin Games.

?We are delighted Virgin Games is being acquired by Gamesys, whose track record of growth and innovation speaks for itself.?

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Source: http://www.streetcorner.com.au/news/showPost.cfm?bid=25564&mycomm=WC

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UltraViolet to bundle free movies with Smart TVs and Blu-ray players

The Digital Entertainment Group has announced plans to give away free movies when you buy an UltraViolet compatible device. If you buy a Smart TV from one of the following brands, you'll get ten free movies accessible anywhere UltraViolet titles work; including CinemaNow, Flixster, Nook and VUDU. Blu-ray players will come with five free ones and you can choose hardware from LG, Panasonic, Philips, Samsung, Sony, Toshiba and Vizio -- so most of the big brands. We assume you'll get to choose from any of the 8,500 titles available on UltraViolet from Lionsgate, Paramount, Sony Pictures, Fox, Universal or Warner. The idea of the "UltraViolet Movie Starter Pack" is to expand the user-base beyond the current nine million registered households. This and the 2013 international expansion into Australia, France, Germany, Ireland and New Zealand are expected to push UltraViolet to the next level. That just might be, but if were us, we'd focus on getting that common file format to market and by deploying single sign-on to improve the usability of the service.

Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/01/09/ultraviolet-to-bundle-free-movies-with-smart-tvs-and-blu-ray-pla/

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Is Dr. McDreamy a coffee mogul? Not quite yet

TV doctor and actor, Patrick Dempsey, has apparently beat out Starbucks to buy Seattle-based Tully's Coffee, a bid Dempsey says will retain the company's jobs. Cnbc's Jane Wells reports.

By Martha C. White

Too much coffee can make anybody a little giddy.

Patrick Dempsey, best known as Dr. Derek ?McDreamy? Shepherd on medical drama "Grey's Anatomy," sent out a celebratory Tweet late last night after his investment group made the highest single bid for Tully?s Coffee in a Seattle bankruptcy auction. ?We met the green monster, looked her in the eye, and...SHE BLINKED! We got it! Thank you Seattle!? he wrote.

The ?green monster? is Starbucks, and either it or the bankruptcy judge who still has to approve the deal at a hearing next week could throw a wrench into Dempsey?s white knighthood.

The investment group of which Dempsey is a member, Global Baristas LLC, beat out the other six bidders, including the coffee giant, with an offer of $9.15 million for the 47-store chain. In a statement, Scott Pearson, CEO and president of Tully?s parent company TC Global, Inc., called the auction outcome ?a big win for Seattle.?

Tully?s, which filed for bankruptcy in October and closed 19 stores, has more than 500 employees. Dempsey said preserving those jobs was a top priority.??I?m thrilled that we won and I?m even more excited about saving Tully?s Coffee and its hundreds of jobs,? he said in a statement. ?I am honored to have the privilege to own Tully?s.?

But his grand plans and talk of ownership are a little premature. ?On its face, Dempsey won because he outbid everybody else, but they haven?t won yet,? said Anthony Michael Sabino, a bankruptcy attorney who specializes in corporate restructuring.

Global Baristas still has to get through a hearing on Jan. 11 and have a bankruptcy judge verify that its bid is the highest and best. ?The reasonable expectation is very high that the Dempsey group will be the new owner of Tully?s, but it?s not an absolute certainty yet,? Sabino said.

One roadblock could be Starbucks. ?We?ve made an offer for 25 locations and another bidder made an offer for all of the remaining assets and the combined amount of our bids is $10.56 million,? said spokesman Zack Hutson, who added that even though the auction is over, the judge hasn?t made her decision yet.?

With a bid nearly $1.5 million higher than Global Baristas, Starbucks or the unnamed second bidder could challenge the results of the auction in next week's hearing. "We're evaluating our options," Hutson said.

Sabino said price isn?t everything in bankruptcy sales, though. ?The quality of the bid can sometimes overcome higher [ ones],? Sabino said. The bankruptcy court has to weigh a variety of factors besides the dollar amount, such as how much of an offer is cash or assumption of debt versus equity, how quickly the deal is likely to close, whether or not there is likely to be any regulatory review that could delay the sale and which buyer?s plan for the company?s future will benefit stakeholders the most.

A Global Baristas spokesperson said via email it was confident it would prevail at the hearing ?because of the loss of jobs and breakup of company if others were chosen.?

Hutson countered by saying Starbucks also would keep jobs. ?If our bid is accepted along with the companion bid, we intend to invite Tully?s employees at the locations we acquire to apply for positions with us,? he said, adding that current Tully?s employees would get preference as long as they met Starbucks? job requirements.

Despite his onscreen ability to resuscitate the ailing, Dempsey doesn?t have a background in corporate turnarounds, and he began making plans to buy Tully?s only about a week before Christmas. He seemed eager to get involved, sending out Tweets throughout the day on Friday chronicling his visits to different Tully?s shops. ?Heading to Clyde Hill Tully's now to meet employees and our customers. Very exciting,? he wrote.

?I will be making Seattle my home away from home and spending a significant amount of time in the community,? he pledged.

Source: http://lifeinc.today.com/_news/2013/01/04/16354012-is-dr-mcdreamy-a-coffee-mogul-not-quite-yet?lite

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Video: Giffords heads to Newtown; photo brings hope

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Source: http://video.today.msnbc.msn.com/today/50362321/

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Two-time Olympian dies after being struck by taxi

Jacques Boissinot / AP file

Burry Stander, seen here in 2010, was hailed as a "South African icon and sporting great" by Oscar Pistorius.

?

By NBC News wire services

JOHANNESBURG - One of the world's top mountain bikers died Thursday after being hit by?a minibus taxi?while training on a coastal road.

Burry Stander, 25, narrowly missed out on a medal at the London Olympics, coming in fifth in the men's cross country event. He also finished 15th at the Beijing Games.

The South African was a former under-19 and under-23 world champion.

Police said Stander was killed on Thursday while cycling alone. He died at the scene of the accident in Shelly Beach, about 75 miles southwest of Durban.

'Ultra-competitive'
"The taxi driver allegedly stopped after the accident until the arrival of the police. No arrest has been made at this stage," police said in a statement.

"I'm totally shattered," said Gideon Sam, president of the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee. He called Stander "talented, ultra-competitive but at the same time extremely humble and a true gentleman."

Full international coverage from NBC News

The two-time Olympian's death prompted a flood of tributes on social media from South African athletes, politicians and celebrities. Oscar Pistorius, the double-amputee Olympic runner and multiple Paralympic medalist, said on Twitter he was "utterly devastated."

"A South African icon and sporting great. RIP my friend," Pistorius wrote.

Cycling South Africa said Stander was the country's most successful mountain biker and "a true icon and sporting role model."

Stander was the second leading cyclist to be killed in a road accident in South Africa in recent years. Carla Swart died in January 2011 when she was hit by a truck while training.

Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

More world stories from NBC News:

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Source: http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/01/04/16347157-two-time-olympian-killed-after-bike-is-struck-by-minibus-in-south-africa?lite

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Texans, Bengals Meet In Wild-Card Game Again ? CBS Houston

HOUSTON (AP) The Houston Texans were looking forward to enjoying a bye this week before beginning their work in the playoffs as the AFC?s top seed.

Instead, a terrible month in which they lost three of four games dropped the Texans to the third seed. It has them in the exact same spot as year ago, hosting the Cincinnati Bengals in a wild-card playoff game Saturday.

The Texans wasted little time this week lamenting their missed opportunities, though, instead focusing on their next task.

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Source: http://houston.cbslocal.com/2013/01/03/texans-bengals-meet-in-wild-card-game-again/

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