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1959-2015. Satoru Iwata, president of Nintendo, passed away on Saturday due to ongoing health complications. He was 55 years old. Nintendo announced that the widely respected chief executive died on July 11 "due to a bile duct growth." Two representative directors remain at the company: Genyo Takeda and Shigeru Miyamoto. Iwata was first appointed as the director of Nintendo in June 2000. He was promoted to the position of president and representative director of Nintendo in 2002, following the resignation of Hiroshi Yamauchi. He also assumed responsibilities as chief executive of Nintendo of America in 2013. In related matters: Shigeru Miyamoto has issued a statement: “I am surprised at this sudden news and overcome with sadness.” Tributes have poured in from across the industry, with leaders at Sony, Microsoft, and the development community paying their respects. Nintendo of Europe President Satoru Shibata released a statement addressing the passing of his colleague. "It is difficult to put into words the sadness we feel at this time," he said. "He was a visionary in every sense of the word and we will miss him dearly. Just as Mr. Iwata challenged us to always push forward, we will ensure his legacy lives on through our ongoing work to always surprise and delight our fans." In the wake of Iwata's shock death, Nintendo must begin a new search for its next chief executive. The corporation has told GameSpot that succession plans have "not been decided at this point." But it adds that the two acting representative directors, Genyo Takeda and Shigeru Miyamoto, have already taken on the task of managing the business, and as such is hoping for a smooth transition. The company states: "Other than Mr. Iwata, we have two representative directors (Mr. Takeda and Mr. Miyamoto). Even by now, these representative directors have been together discussing and managing to operate the company, so we anticipate no issue in the near future." Iwata was absent from E3 last year due to health issues, later revealed to be a bile duct growth which was removed via surgery. He resumed his regular work schedule in October last year, although there were concerns about his rapid weight loss following treatment. Iwata was not present at this year's E3, staying in Japan in order to focus on Nintendo's "other areas of business." Prior to joining Nintendo, Iwata worked at HAL Laboratory as a programmer and designer. During his time there he worked on several games including the Kirby, Earthbound, and Balloon Fight series. He would go on to become president of HAL in 1993. Iwata garnered the adoration of fans and the industry as a whole through his candid demeanor and willingness to embody the playful nature of Nintendo's games, even as CEO of the company. Last year he took a 50 percent pay cut to apologise for the company's disappointing financial results, following lower Wii U sales than was projected. In addition to his regular Iwata Asks column, in which he would interview key members of various upcoming games, Iwata was also the face of the company's Nintendo Direct events. These streams, while primarily designed to make game announcements and provide updates on ongoing projects, became something more thanks to weird and wonderful skits, many of which Iwata would participate in. "On my business card, I am a corporate president. In my mind, I am a game developer. But in my heart, I am a gamer." Satoru Iwata, 1959-2015 Source http://www.gamespot.com/
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In an effort to cut defense spending, the Obama Administration plans to cut health benefits for active duty and retired military personnel and their families while not touching the benefits enjoyed by unionized civilian defense workers. The move, congressional aides suggested, is to force those individuals into Obamacare, Bill Gertz reported at the Washington Beacon. Gertz added: The proposed increases in health care payments by service members, which must be approved by Congress, are part of the Pentagon’s $487 billion cut in spending. It seeks to save $1.8 billion from the Tricare medical system in the fiscal 2013 budget, and $12.9 billion by 2017. Not everybody is happy with the plan, however. Military personnel would see their annual Tricare premiums increase anywhere from 30 - 78 percent in the first year, followed by sharply increased premiums "ranging from 94 percent to 345 percent—more than 3 times current levels." "According to congressional assessments, a retired Army colonel with a family currently paying $460 a year for health care will pay $2,048," Gertz wrote. Active duty military personnel would also see an increased cost for pharmaceuticals, and the incentive to use less expensive generic drugs would be gone. Health benefits has long been a prime reason many stay in the military - but some in the Pentagon fear the new rules will hamper recruitment and retention. “Would you stay with a car insurance company that raised your premiums by 345 percent in five years? Probably not,” one aide said. John Hayward of Human Events adds: Veterans will also be hit with a new annual fee for a program called Tricare for Life, on top of the monthly premiums they already pay, while some benefits will become “means-tested” in the manner of a social program – treating them like welfare instead of benefits for military service. Naturally, this is all timed to begin next year and “avoid upsetting military voters in a presidential election year,” according to critics. There will be congressional hearings on the new military health care policies next month. Opposition is building in Congress, and among veterans’ organizations, including the VFW, which has “called on all military personnel and the veterans’ community to block the health care increases.” Others are concerned about the double standard being set between uniformed military personnel - who are not unionized - and civilian defense workers who belong to public sector unions. Gertz wrote: A second congressional aide said the administration’s approach to the cuts shows a double standard that hurts the military. “We all recognize that we are in a time of austerity,” this aide said. “But defense has made up to this point 50 percent of deficit reduction cuts that we agreed to, but is only 20 percent of the budget.” The administration is asking troops to get by without the equipment and force levels needed for global missions. “And now they are going to them again and asking them to pay more for their health care when you’ve held the civilian workforce at DoD and across the federal government virtually harmless in all of these cuts. And it just doesn’t seem fair,” the second aide said. At least one Congressman is standing with the military on this issue. “We shouldn’t ask our military to pay our bills when we aren’t willing to impose a similar hardship on the rest of the population,” said Rep. Howard "Buck" McKeon (R-CA), who chairs the House Armed Services Committee. “We can’t keep asking those who have given so much to give that much more,” he added. McKeon will be joined by some 5 million members of 32 military service and veterans groups, according to retired Navy Capt. Kathryn M. Beasley of the Military Officers Association of America, who called the plan "a breach of faith." The Beacon also noted the curious timing of the plan, which is set to begin next year - after the 2012 elections. Critics say this is designed so as not to upset military voters. http://m.examiner.com/conservative-in-spokane/obama-to-cut-medical-benefits-for-active-retired-military-not-union-workers They cut more and more from military and yet the civilian employees working with the military are making more money and better bennefits. How much more are they gonna try and take?
