Potential NBA Trades

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Even though the trade deadline is still a couple months away, many teams are already looking at who they’re going to trade.  In a recent article, senior NBA writer Jeol Brigham wrote about some of the Eastern Conference players most likely to move in the next couple months:

Kris Humphries

Kris Humphries and Gerald Wallace of the Boston Celtics are more than likely to get traded.  The only reason they’re on the Celtics is because they were a necessary part of the Garnett/Pierce deal happen.  Therefore, it’s more than likely that these players are going to get traded.  Since his contract expires at the end of the season, Humphries is more likely to get traded than Wallace, but the Celtics will still jump on a deal to get rid of Wallace if a good one arises.

At least from a financial perspective, there are a lot of reasons for the Chicago Bulls to trade Luol Deng.  The right deal could get the Bulls out of paying the repeater’s luxury tax, as well as ensure that the team ends up with some assets for Deng before he were to become a free agent this Summer.  While the Bulls love Deng and are extremely loyal to him, this is the time that they’d consider moving him.

It makes a lot of sense for the Indiana Pacers to move Danny Granger in exchange for a more talented player as they get ready for a potential championship run.  However, it doesn’t make much sense from a financial point of view, since Indiana can’t take money back from Granger’s contract.

Iman Shumpert

Last week, there was a rumor suggesting that Iman Shumpert and Ray Felton of the New York Knicks would get traded to Toronto in exchange for Kyle Lowry, but the deal ended up falling through.  While Shumpert is the most desirable and expendable trade commodity on the team right now, the Knicks are clearly open to moving Felton as well.

There’s currently a fire sale going on in the Orlando Magic, as three of their players (Hedo Turkoglu, Jameer Nelson and Glen Davis) are all potentially up for trade.  While the team wants to hold onto their young, more promising core group of players, older players could all be up on the trading block.

The Philadelphia 76ers could potentially be selling Evan Turner and Thaddeus Young.  This summer, Turner is a restricted free agent, but Philadelphia doesn’t seem to want to pay him.  Young, on the other hand, is a pricy contract, and Philly would want to get rid of him to clear space and amass as many draft picks as they can.

Up north in Toronto, the Raptors have been cleaning house.  First it was Andrea Bargnani, then Rudy Gay, and it seems like Kyle Lowry will be next.  There’s something of a market for the Raptor’s current starting point guard.  Ujiri will keep shopping Shumpert in an attempt to revamp through the draft and free agency, where he has done very well in the past.

Top Places to Travel in 2014

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A recent article in Travel and Leisure wrote about the top 25 places to travel in 2014.  The list ranged across five different continents; some of the locations were well-known, others not so much.  Many of them were really surprising.  Listed below are some of the places mentioned in the article:

Cape Town, South Africa: This old town, previously the center of the Dutch colony in South Africa, is quickly evolving into a new hip, trendy city.  It’s filled with edgy boutiques, independent galleries and exciting, forward-thinking restaurants.

Beautiful Little Corn Island

Little Corn Island, Nicaragua: This 1-square-mile island off the coast of Nicaragua is a real gem, with cheap fresh lobster, hammocks and a “blissfully slow” pace.  The island is filled with biking and walking trails, making every nook and cranny of the island accessible.

Warsaw, Poland: The cultural center of Poland, Warsaw is cheap, rich in history and is quickly filling up with creative energy.

Pangulasian Island, Philippines: An hour’s flight from Manila, Pangulasian Island is home to the newest “El Nido” resort.  In addition, the island was spared the recent typhoon.

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: The future site of the 2016 Olympic Games, the city of Rio de Janeiro is quickly becoming infused with new energy.  Previously derelict slums are quickly bouncing back.

A photo of a picturesque fishing village on the coast of Uruguay.

Uruguay: This small South American nation hosts numerous idyllic, picturesque seaside towns that are quickly becoming a popular getaway destination for celebrities such as Shakira and Jason Wu.

Sochi, Russia: The site of the 2014 Winter Olympics, Sochi has been a popular vacation spot for Russians for years.

Palermo, Italy: While Palermo has had a troublesome history in the past, its popularity as a tourist destination is one the rise.  Wine tastings, delicious street food, nearby idyllic seaside villages, low-key hotels and fascinating modern art all make for a great vacation.

Tetiaroa, French Polynesia: The atoll of Tetiaroa has 12 islets so beautiful that they were used as a retreat for Polynesian royalty.

Santa Marta, Colombia: As the oldest city in Colombia, the city is rich in history; you can see native artifacts, in addition to the home of famed liberator Simón Bolívar.

Mokapu Beach, Hawaii: A dazzling 4 ½ mile stretch of beach, Mokapu beach has recently been revitalized by the resort Andaz Maui at Wailea.  The resort offers activities such as paddleboarding, swimming and sushi.

 

Argentina and the Falkland Islands

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With its rolling green hills and herds of sheep, the Falkland Islands remind one more of the British Isles than South America.

The Falkland Islands, a possession of the United Kingdom off the coast of Argentina, has always been an object of friction between Argentina and the British.  In 1982, Argentina invaded the islands in an effort to gain control of them.  While Argentina gained temporary control of the islands, Britain dispatched a naval task force and retook the islands.  By the end of the conflict, roughly 650 Argentines and 255 Britons had been killed.  In November, however, Argentina triggered a fresh diplomatic fight with Britain, after the Argentinean Congress passed a law that establishes criminal sanctions for the “illegal exploration” of hydrocarbons in the waters off of the Falkland Islands.

According to the Argentine embassy in London, the law provides for prison sentences for up to 15 years, fines equivalent to 1.5 million barrels of oil, the banning of people or companies from operating in Argentina, and the confiscation of equipment used to in “illegal exploration”.  According to Britain, the waters off the Falkland, South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands are a possession of the United Kingdom, and therefore Argentinean law has no authority there.  Any companies drilling for hydrocarbons in those waters are subject to British law, and British law alone.

Nonetheless, Argentina has already sent hundreds of letters to companies involved with drilling in those waters, warning them that they are now liable to administrative, civil and criminal action.  It has yet to be seen if a compromise occurs.

 

The Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria

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In late November, the world’s donor countries pledged $12 billion over three years to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.  The amount was more than the fund took in at its previous pledge conference three years earlier, but nonetheless less than the $15 billion that it had hoped for.  And it is far from the ambitious goal of $10 billion a year set back when the fund was first created in 2002.

Even though the Obama administration insists that an AIDS-free generation is in sight, and Bill Gates’ 2007 call to eradicate malaria, $4 billion a year for each of the three fronts on which the fund is fighting epidemics probably won’t drastically alter any of them.  Nonetheless, the fund’s executive director, Dr. Mark Dybul, called the $12 billion “incrdible”, and hoped to pry more soon from several countries and wealthy individuals.  Nonetheless, he doesn’t yet know if the fund will get to the ambitious goal of $15 billion.

While some advocates for the poor were grateful that the amount raised by the fund had gone up, others were bitter that rich countries continued to contribute much less than is needed for ultimate victory.  Chris Collins, director of public policy at an anti-AIDS group known as amfAR, called the $3 billion gap “disappointing”, but nonetheless said that the $12 billion raised showed that there’s a growing optimism that the fund is effective.

But Mr. Collin’s counterpart at the Health Global Access Project, Matthew Kavanagh, said it was “inexcusable that we are not yet on track to halt the AIDS crisis because of lack of funding”.  A spokeswoman for Doctors Without Borders said that the fights against AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria took a “big hit”.

So far, only about $9.2 billion of the funds recently generated are confirmed to come through; approximately $2.5 billion more has been “pledged”, but it is unclear if that money will actually come through.  During previous years, countries had reneged pledges, while unexpected donations came in as well.

In red are areas where there is a risk of contracting malaria.

While the funds are nonetheless great, the fund still needs more money.  In April, they estimated that $15 billion would help 85% of the people in need; therefore, this new round of funding would help approximately 68%.  The combat AIDS alone, the UN estimated that at least $24 billion a year would be needed.  At the same time, malaria deaths have dropped dramatically, thanks to insecticide-impregnated nets, indoor spraying and new drugs.  Nonetheless, lack of funds could threaten the progress made in combatting malaria.

Theoretically, tuberculosis is easier to tackle because first-line drugs are cheap, but the number of cases has been on the rise with H.I.V. infections since latent tuberculosis can be activated when the immune system is depressed.

At the current moment, the largest donor to the fund was the United States, Britain, France, Japan, Sweden, Norway, Bill Gates and Dato Sri Tahir (an Indonesian billionaire).  Another large hitter was Nigeria, a country with a terrible AIDS epidemic.