Mercedes started the 2015 season as they finished 2014, holding a significant advantage over the rest of the field during the first practice session for the Australian Grand Prix

Lewis Hamilton led the way in the final practice session ahead of qualifying for the Australian Grand Prix, although the session wasn't without a few wild moments for the reigning world champion

Recently seven students attending public schools in Detroit sued the state of Michigan in a Federal district court. Shortages of materials, not having skilled teachers, and poor conditions of their school buildings had deprived them of access to literacy, which, they argued, is essential in order to enjoy the other rights enumerated in the Constitution. …

The COVID-19 outbreak worldwide is affecting not just crime as I explained last week, but also law enforcement: How are police responding to COVID-19 and its knock-on effects on crime? What effects does the pandemic have on criminal groups and the policing they do? Where have all the coppers gone? Globally, police forces are predominantly…

As the coronavirus outbreak keeps many of us confined to our homes, now may be a unique opportunity to tackle some long-form reading. Here, people from across the Brookings Foreign Policy program offer their recommendations for books to enrich your understanding of the world outside your window. Madiha Afzal recommends Boko Haram: The History of…

As the coronavirus outbreak keeps many of us confined to our homes, now may be a unique opportunity to tackle some long-form reading. Here, people from across the Brookings Foreign Policy program offer their recommendations for books to enrich your understanding of the world outside your window. Madiha Afzal recommends Boko Haram: The History of…

Clifford Winston and Robert Crandall argue that occupational licensing for lawyers creates a monopoly in the legal field. They write that deregulating the industry would give consumers more responsive service while lowering costs.

Greenpeace has turned the global spotlight on Thai Union, the world's largest canned tuna producer and maker of Chicken of the Sea, for its horrific track record. Learn why you should boycott and what you can do to help.

Well, this is pretty clever. If you're enticed by the idea of having fresh eggs straight from the backyard, but are not sure if you're ready to commit, RentTheChicken.com lets you rent some chickens!

The Japanese pursuit of shinrin-yoku uses trees and nature to heal oneself – here's how you can do it even in a park.

Studies show that humans and kangaroos may have co-evolved to be mutually beneficial to one another.

Cotton is ubiquitous in modern life but the long trail between the fields in which the crop grows and the store at which a finished item is purchased is seldom considered.

Tailoring Anti-Aging Treatments To Patients' Needs

Musk has been a vocal critic of how government and health officials are reacting to the coronavirus pandemic that's killed at least 73,431 people in the United States.

As 40% of advisors plan to retire within the next 10 years, young financial advisors can help fill the gap. Here's how established advisory practices are integrating younger generations into their teams.

In mid-2016, I wrote about YA publisher Month9 Books' abrupt decision to scale back its list, reverting rights to as many as 50 authors across all its imprints. Explaining the culling, Month9 founder and CEO Georgia McBride cited her own health problems, along with staffing issues and the company's "substantial growing pains" over the past six to nine months.

McBride's announcement triggered a surge of complaints from Month9 authors, who described a host of serious problems at the company, including late or missing payments (for staff as well as authors), problems with royalty accounting, delayed pub dates, broken marketing promises, overcrowded publication schedules, communications breakdowns, and harsh treatment and bullying by McBride.

According to authors and staff, these problems were not new or even recent, but had been ongoing for a long time. Why had authors kept silent? Almost every writer who contacted me mentioned their fear of retaliation--along with the draconian NDA included in Month9's contracts. I've rarely encountered a situation where authors seemed so fearful of their publisher.

Things quieted down after the initial flood of revelations, as they often do. Month9 survived and kept on publishing, though its list continued to shrink: between a high point in 2016 and now, the number of titles appears to have fallen about 50%. Apart from a handful of additional complaints in late 2016 and early 2017 (similar to this one), I didn't hear much about Month9 in the years following.

Until now. Over the past few weeks, I've been contacted by multiple writers who say they are still suffering from the same problems that surfaced in 2016: primarily, late (sometimes very late) royalty and subrights advance payments and statements (in many cases received only after persistent prodding by authors and their agents), and allegations of irregularities in royalty reporting.

The intimidation level, too, seems not to have changed. Most of the authors told me that they feared reprisal for coming forward, and asked me specifically not to mention their names or book titles. (Writer Beware never reveals names or other unique identifying information, unless we receive specific permission from the individual. That disclaimer is included on our website and in our correspondence.)

If you've been following the recent ChiZine scandal, you may be feeling some deja vu--notably, in the alleged existence of a toxic culture within the publisher that makes authors fearful and and helps to keep them silent. It's disappointing to learn that even if the issues that thrust Month9 into the spotlight three years ago have gone quiet, they don't seem to have eased. Writers be warned.


I wrote about Black Rose Writing in 2009, in connection with its requirement that authors buy their own books. Writers who submitted were asked how many of their own books they planned to buy; their response was then written into their contracts. (Book purchase requirements are back-end vanity publishing: even if writers aren't being asked to pay for production and distribution, they still must hand over money in order to see their work in print.)

Black Rose got rid of the book purchase requirement a few years later, and claimed to be a completely fee-free publisher. I had my suspicions that money might still somehow be involved, though...and as it turns out, I wasn't wrong.

I've recently learned that new Black Rose authors receive a Cooperative Marketing Catalog that sells a range of pay-to-play marketing and promotional services, with costs ranging from a few hundred dollars to four figures. For instance:


It's true that purchase is optional (though I would guess that authors are heavily solicited to buy). But reputable publishers don't sell marketing services to their authors--and in any case, much of what's on offer are things that other publishers, even very small ones, do for their authors free of charge, as part of the publication process.

That's not the only way in which Black Rose authors are encouraged to pay their publisher. Owner Reagan Rothe is a self-described "financial partner" in two additional businesses: the Maxy Awards, a high entry fee book competition that donates "a large part of every entry" to a charity (how large? No idea; that information is not provided); and Sublime Book Review, a paid review service.

Though Mr. Rothe's financial interest in these businesses is not disclosed on the business's websites, both businesses are clearly energetically promoted to Black Rose authors. On Sublime's website, nineteen of the first 20 book reviews are for Black Rose books. There's also this, from the marketing catalog (note the lack of disclaimer):


As for the Maxys, thirteen of the 17 winners and runners-up for 2019 are Black Rose books.

Mr. Rothe does admit his relationship with the businesses in this recent email to Black Rose authors--though only to afford them yet another opportunity to give him money:

Pagan healthcare providers discuss how they are coping with the stresses of the pandemic and how the power of their spiritual practices sustains them.

Continue reading Healthcare providers share how their Pagan practices nurture them through the pandemic at The Wild Hunt.

The National Basketball Association (NBA) has planned to reopen practice facilities in states and municipalities that were easing shutdown restrictions amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The states of Texas and Georgia have reopened businesses this weekend and players can return to team facilities for voluntary individual workouts but are still prohibited from holding group workouts or team activities, according to ESPN.

However, this is not an indication of the NBA approaching a new timetable for resuming the season.

The season has been suspended since March 11 due to the pandemic.

The US has reported 939,235 coronavirus cases, with 53,934 deaths, both tallies the highest in the world.

According to ESPN, a few team executives and General Managers have expressed their misgivings about the safety of the move considering the volume of medical opinions against the reopening of businesses, the lack of enough testing and a vaccine.

There are other executives however, who have been clamoring for players to be able to get back to training facilities, which they believed to be the safest places in current circumstances.

In places with more restrictive governance of stay-at-home orders, the NBA is telling teams the league will work with franchises to help find alternative arrangements for their players.

Catch up on all the latest sports news and updates here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates.

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Popular methods for judging the doneness of chicken may not ensure safety from pathogens, revealed findings presented by Solveig Langsrud of the Norwegian

According to Karen Villholth, a principal researcher focusing on groundwater for the International Water Management Institute, poorer rural communities in South Africa similarly struggle with groundwater issues — a problem exacerbated by the recent drought that has stricken the country.

Highlights : Telemedicine and Tele-health practice now possible in India Registered Medical Practitioner empowere

The U.S. government strictly regulates the therapeutic use of human cell and tissue products. However, a specific exception allows surgeons to harvest,

Indian MBBS students will have to write National Exit Test (NEXT) before being eligible to practice anywhere in the country, says Ministry official. The

Patients and health activists demanded the end to malpractices in private hospitals by voicing their concerns on Tuesday. They also urged the Health Ministry

A new national survey has revealed that heavy news consumers, young people and liberals are the groups engaging in the majority of recommended coronavirus preventative practices.

All Dermatologists need to know the basics of alternative medicine practices to treat their various side effects. By having proper knowledge of alternative

Women with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) practicing a one-hour mindful yoga class, done three times a week, have reduced testosterone levels by 29 percent over three months.

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This report analyses procurement rules and regulations in Mexico's state-owed petroleum company (PEMEX) and makes policy recommendations to promote competition and fight bid rigging in accordance with international best practices.

This paper reviews the use of tax preferences to achieve environmental policy objectives. Tax preferences involve using the tax system to adjust relative prices with a view to influencing producer or consumer behaviour in favour of goods or services that are considered to be environmentally beneficial.

Tax administrations continue to face the challenges of improving their performance while reducing costs, decreasing compliance burdens for taxpayers tackling non-compliance. Improving taxpayer services, while making non-compliance harder, is helping revenue bodies increase their efficiency and allowing governments to finance important programmes that will further benefit their citizens.

The Platform for Collaboration on Tax (PCT) – a joint initiative of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), United Nations (UN) and World Bank Group – has published a toolkit to provide practical guidance to developing countries to better protect their tax bases.

The OECD has published updated versions of transfer pricing country profiles (TPCP), reflecting the current transfer pricing legislation and practices of a large number of participating countries.

Building on BEPS Action 4, this practice note has been prepared by the OECD under a programme of co-operation with the Intergovernmental Forum on Mining, Minerals, Metals and Sustainable Development (IGF), to help guide tax officials on how to strengthen their defences against BEPS. Deadline for comment: 18 May 2018.

The OECD’s Centre for Tax Policy and Administration and the Intergovernmental Forum on Mining, Minerals, Metals and Sustainable Development (IGF) are collaborating to address some of the challenges developing countries face in raising revenue from their mining sectors. Under this partnership, a series of practice notes and tools are being developed for governments.

Further progress has been made by the OECD/G20 Inclusive Framework on BEPS in implementation of BEPS measures against harmful tax practices (BEPS Action 5).

18 November 2013 - Asia-Pacific Trade and Investment Week 2013 opened in Bangkok today with a regional conference on responsible business practices jointly organised by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission of Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

Jointly organised by the OECD and ESCAP, this conference focused on the role of governments in supporting and facilitating more sustainable and inclusive business practices in the Asia-Pacific region.

This Global Forum plays an important role as the tool for on-going dialogue on responsible business conduct. I am pleased to announce that today, Ministers from over 20 countries are coming together to discuss how to integrate responsibility considerations throughout government policies. Their work will contribute to protect internationally recognised fundamental rights and to ensure good governance, fair regulations, and transparency.

Following on from the London Anti-Corruption Summit which took place in May 2016, the OECD and the International Bar Association (IBA) have agreed to form a task force to develop professional conduct standards and practice guidance for lawyers involved in establishing and advising on international commercial structures and recommended actions for governments.

As part of the implementation strategy for the recently adopted OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains in the Garment and Footwear Sector, the OECD is conducting a series of surveys that target SMEs operating within the sector.

Dementia is increasing in prevalence, and to date has no cure or treatment. One element in improving this situation is using and sharing data more widely to increase the power of research. Further, moving beyond established medical data into big data offers the potential to tap into routinely collected data from both within and outside the health system.

This report concludes that actual application of bail-ins, involving bondholders in loss sharing, could effectively reign in perceptions of implicit guarantees for bank debt. However, bail-ins are rare owing to concerns about contagion risks and depositor and investor protection, so implicit guarantees persist.

Designing policies that protect society while allowing for Internet’s great economic potential to be fulfilled, is a difficult task. This paper investigates this challenge and takes stock of existing regulations in OECD and selected non-OECD countries in specific areas related to the digital economy.

This paper provides analysis of the regulatory governance of network sector regulators in electricity, gas, telecommunications, rail, airport and ports within the OECD as it stood in 2013.

Webinar presenting OECD’s and UNEP’s Compendium of Best Practices in Green Public Procurement

This conference provided a multi-disciplinary forum to discuss issues of regulatory reform involving both government and non-government actors.